Update on Alex

It's officially been a week since Alex fell over the balcony. It seems that we all got very very lucky this time. For the most part, he is acting like himself - hearing but not listening, testing his boundaries, fighting with his brother, and climbing on top of everything.

We went to the pediatrician for a follow up today, and she said that Alex most certainly has a guardian angel. She said that since he seems to be acting normal and he is moving/functioning symmetrically, we don't need to watch him any closer than we would watch his brother. Kids are amazing.

Of course, we will continue to be extra careful with both of our little monkeys who just LOVE to climb and still have no fear. We will also remember that we did get lucky and luck doesn't last forever. As an added precaution, we put up some higher fencing on the balcony where Alex fell, and, so far, they haven't shown any interest in checking it out. Thanks to everyone for all your concern, good wishes, and prayers. Here's a picture of the "new" fence:

"Luck never gives; it only lends." ~Swedish Proverb

First trip to the ER

"The guardian angels of life fly so high as to be beyond our sight, but they are always looking down upon us."

- Jean Paul Richter

I swear our little Alex has some sort of guardian angel watching over him!! From being born all blue/grey, not really breathing and having the cord wrapped around his neck, to our NICU neonatal necrotizing (NEC) watch, to the scare he gave us on NYE....

It was just before 6:00 p.m. and Jaime and I were preparing the house and patio for our festivities. The boys had been "helping" us and playing all day, when Alex decided to climb over the banister above the garage. Jaime had just run down the GATED staircase to put something away, and I was just inside our apartment.

All of a sudden I hear Jaime yell "No! No! No! No!!!" I jumped up and ran outside expecting to see that one of the boys had fallen off the Little Tykes playground or something... As I rounded the corner, I only saw Connor and the gated staircase. Then, I saw Jaime coming up the stairs with a screaming/crying Alex in his arms.

He had fallen just over 3 meters (10 feet) to the concrete floor below!! I can't even describe how I felt, mostly nauseous and scared I think. I took Alex and Jaime called his brother, Arturo, to come take us to the urgencias (ER) since neither one of us was in any condition to drive and he lives nearby. We loaded everyone into the car and got to the hospital as fast as we could trying to keep Alex awake as we drove.

The ER was pretty busy, but they took us directly to a room in the pediatric area. I suppose a screaming toddler with head trauma is a pretty urgent thing. Everyone there was very nice even though I didn't understated most of what they were saying. Arturo checked us in and watched Connor while Jaime and I stayed with Alex. The "chichon" (bump) on his head was so huge his head looked deformed (a la Elephant Man), his head and ear were scraped up and he kept crying and crying.

Luckily he never blacked out or vomited, so that was a good sign. They took his temp and gave him some Dalsy (their brand name for ibuprofen) and then took a couple of X-ray's. Then we waited...

I went out to see how Arturo was doing with Connor, and Lela (grandma) was there as well. We were so lucky to have concerned family there to support us and watch Connor who was, understandably, a bit upset as well...not to mention starving. Lela and tio Arturo gave him a Kit Kat which he inhaled...he must have thought that was pretty great.

Back in the ER the doctor told us the X-ray's looked good and that she thought Alex would be okay. She said that the X-ray couldn't detect any bleeding, and we would just need to watch him for unusual symptoms or behavior. Because of the size of his head/bump and the distance he fell, she also gave us the option to leave him there overnight. They would not monitor him in any way other than to look in on him occasionally, and only one of us could elect to stay with him. The primary benefit would be that we would already be in the hospital should something happen. We decided to bring him home where we could all be together and both of us could watch him all night (and where we were with germs we knew).

We arrived back home around 8:00 p.m., we fed the boys, got them to bed, and then prepared for our guests. Of course it was NYE and there were parties and fireworks all over the neighborhood, so the boys didn't have a really "fair" shot at at good nights rest, but they did well overall. Alex woke up several times, we gave him more ibuprofen, nothing major.

He woke up as usual the next morning with his head "back to normal" except for the scraped ear. He was a bit off balance and perhaps a little more tired and sensitive (could have been the meds), but you almost wouldn't know anything happened...Although, we certainly remember.

It's difficult not to "replay" those moments over and over and, I can only imagine all the other possible scenarios. Certainly, none of them would have turned out like this. It's all still so unbelievable, and a scary reminder of how life can change in an instant. We still need to watch him for a couple of days, but hopefully all will continue to be well. Here are some pictures and a video of our angels on New Year's Day:

I guess they come in pairs?

Well, this morning Alex's bump from yesterday looked quite a bit better...

...but then this afternoon....he fell into the door frame again and got another one!! Poor little guy.

Jaime put the soft side of some Velcro tape we have along the doors. It's not super padded but it should break another fall should there be one. I'm glad he got these bumps AFTER the birthday pictures.



You can pretend to be serious; you can't pretend to be witty.
- Sacha Guitry

Ouch!

Late this afternoon Alex joined the "fight club" and got his first MAJOR bump. As he was walking across the house, he tripped and fell right into the corner of the door frame! Almost the exact same thing Connor did a few months ago... except Alex got a much bigger lump.
I'm sure there are many more to come...


"Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future." - John F. Kennedy

Alex is growing up!!

Well, not too much exciting today. We mostly hung around the house and then took the boys for a walk in the evening.

However, yesterday was a tiny bit more interesting...

First, Alex is finally breaking his front bottom teeth!! His adorable toothless grin is about to have some pearly whites! We'll be posting pictures as soon as there is enough to see on "film." Alex is also really working hard at trying to crawl with his tummy off the floor, but he usually "gives up" and does the much faster "army" crawl.

Just a recent picture of Alex as it seems almost unfair to have one of Connor and not Alex:


Second, Connor took another great fall right into the corner of the door frame. Just as his old bruise was disappearing, he marked his face with a nice long line from mid cheek to forehead. He continues to work on his walking skills and has also added climbing to his repertoire.





And finally, Jaime's sister came over to babysit in the evening and Jaime and I got to go on a bit of a "date." We drove into Santa Cruz and walked around town. We ran a couple errands (just little ones), sat down in a park cafe and enjoyed a soda, and then went for some tapas before heading back home. It was nice and the boys seemed to have had a pretty good time as well. I didn't' want to look like a tourist, so I only got a couple pictures. I will take more as we are out more.

Here is a quick picture of our drive into Santa Cruz:


And a picture of one of the walking streets:


Oh, and one more picture. This was our breakfast today. Jaime's mom frequently makes this this "breakfast cake" called Bizcocho... and often we score some for ourselves. Here is our Bizcocho and coffee:

Saturday's Falls & Fiestas

Yesterday morning started with some very cranky boys. They seemed tired as soon as they woke up as was evidenced by all the falling they were doing. Connor took the prize though, and fell the most dramatically. His reward?? The biggest bump/bruise he has gotten to date... although it's difficult to see it in the photo.





Yesterday was also a fiesta for Jaime's parents 46th anniversary, and a sort of "meet and greet" for the boys. Jaime's mom, Nieves, threw a nice party for the family. Alex and Connor got to meet cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. We ate lots of great food, drank good wine, and indulged in several different desserts. The adults hung out and chatted and the older kids swam in the pool (the boys will probably get to try out swimming later in the week). The afternoon/evening ended with Spain beating Sweden in the EuroCup games.