First ER Visit (and second)

On Sunday morning about 3:30 am, Ryker woke up so upset, just crying and we could tell he was uncomfortable trying hard to breath.  We turned the shower up full blast to see if some steam would help him, but it didn't and his poor little chest and intercostal muscles were working so hard to breath.  He wanted to sleep so bad but couldn't breath so we rushed over to Jordan Valley hospital.  His temp was 99.8 and his oxygen level was really low.  He was given oxygen right away and then an albuterol treatment followed by some suctioning of the nose.  He had two chest xrays taken, fortunately they came back clear.  The doctor said it was bronciolitis.  After his Oxygen level stabilized, they sent us home with an inhaler and instructions to come back if his chest heaving got worse.
He was finally able to get some sleep but when he woke up he was still having a little trouble breathing.  Throughout the day, it continued to get worse, even though we were giving him the inhaler regularly.  He was not wanting to eat or drink and we were starting to worry again.  My Dad and uncle Reid gave him a blessing and almost immediately after he drank and ate a little bit.  We finally decided to take him back in to be on the safe side.  When we got back to the ER, the same nurse who was getting off duty when we arrived in the morning was getting back on duty.  He told me he was surprised we were not sent to Primarly Childrens Hospital that morning.  Ryker was again hooked up to a monitor and we were happy to see that his oxygen was up and looking good, but the chest heaving was still a worry.  He got another breathing treatment, and deeper nasal suctioning where they went clear down with tubes.  We saw a different doctor who also felt it was acute bronchiolitis, but that maybe there was an asthmatic factor as well due to the fact that he was having such a hard time breathing.  She gave him a steroid and gave us a prescription to give him the steroid for 5 more days.  She sent us home but said if we needed to come back in and get him suctioned out again we could.  ( She said she thought we would have to.)
Luckily when we got home, Ryker slept very well and we didn't need to take him back in for a treatment.  We took him to his regular doctor the next day who used to work for Primary Childrens Hospital.  He checked his O2 which was still looking great, and the chest heaving had greatly improved.  He still was a little feverish.  Our doctor said to him it seemed like RSV and he thinks maybe the labs came back wrong.  The treatment for RSV and bronchiolitis are the same though, it is a virus so antibiotics won't help.  He gave us tubing and albuterol to use for nebulizer treatments at home and instructed us to keep giving him tylenol and ibprofen to help him to be comfortable. 
Everytime a nurse or doctor came into the ER or doctors room, Ryker would get so upset.  He would not be comforted and just knew that these people were up to something that he didn't like.  Our ER nurse gave him his first sucker and that helped him calm down a little, but not much. 
He is doing so much better now and I just hope it only keeps improving.  It was a scary experience for us, but we had a lot of help from family and are so happy it seems to be getting better. 

11 Months Old

Each day it seems like Ryker grows in leaps and bounds.  He is such an intelligent boy and people often comment that he seems older than he is.  He is very determined and knows what he wants.  He is also aware when he accomplishes something and feels like a big boy.  There are so many fun aspects to his personality.  He will no longer eat baby food and likes to eat whatever we are having.  Some of his current favorite foods are cottage cheese, greek yogurt and bananas.  He is walking everywhere and climbing on everything.  He loves dancing and when we spin him around or put him in a blanket and swing him around.  He is always laughing and smiling.  He loves to give kisses, especially to other little kids, or our cats.  He has three top teeth coming in at the same time but has not been too fussy.  Sometimes he will try to stack things, such as our phones or cards from our wallets and carry them everywhere.  He will even try to gather blankets and clothes and carry them from one place to another.  He loves soft touch.  One time I was ticking his leg while he drifted off to sleep and I stopped because I thought he was asleep, and then he started tickling his leg himself.  It was so adorable.  He uses sippy cups and loves the ones that have straws so he can drink like a big boy.  He is still obsessed with remote controls and phones.  He will just talk away with the phone by his ear.  He is usually always babbling.  Recently he has started to like stuffed animals a bit more.  He loves loves loves pianos.  Whenever he sees one he wants to go play it and will sometimes sing along.  He has also recently started pointing at things, and moving his hands in a "gimme" motion.

10 Months!!!

We have a walking baby! Ryker started taking steps last month and has taken 13 steps in a row now. It is adorable, sometimes he hesitates, squats, and takes a step. He has improved his eating as well. He loves chicken nuggets, any ice cream/sweets, carrots, applesauce and bananas. He has learned to fake laugh and knows we think it is adorable so he will do it to make us laugh. He cried when I dropped him off at daycare for the first time today. Usually he doesn't want to leave! A few weeks ago he made a new friend at church, an 8 month old baby, and gave him kisses on the head. He is in between 12-18 month clothes right now. He loves to play chase and dance and clap his hands. He thinks it is funny when we play incy wincy spider and I try to play patty cake but he just giggles. He loves it when Jeremy tickles him and gets a silly contagious laugh when he is tired. He has become fond of jumbo Legos and also playing with his socks. He says mamamama a lot, which I love. He loves phones!!!  My mom had to take the batteries out of one of their cordless phones and send it home with him because he wanted it so badly.  He can be entertained for hours with phones.  We have bought him two play ones but he prefers the real thing.  He also saw my digital camera on the ground and altough he doesn't know what it is, he knows it is important so he likes to play with that and my iphone stacking them on top of each other and carrying them around.  Here are a couple pics:

9 Months Old

At Ryker's nine month appointment, he had actually lost a lb. Our Dr. Isn't too worried about it, he has become a lot more active recently and hasn't been wanting to eat as much as he used to, hopefully he will have a growth spurt soon. Ryker is standing on his own and has attempted to take a couple steps on his own. He is getting both of his lower anterior incisors and loves to say Ya ya ya because he can feel them with his tongue when he does. He can clap his hands together and makes a lot of cute sounds including a very excited playful scream. He loves being tickled and snuggled and kissed. He hates getting his diaper changed and wiggles around nonstop.

Christmas 2012

Christmas this year was so much fun. Ryker was pretty good at opening his presents, it was so enjoyable to spend the holiday with our family and friends. Ryker was pretty spoiled this year, he got many great gifts. One of his favorites is his lightening McQueen ride along car. He likes to walk with it more than ride it though. He also got a Nabi 2 tablet that Jeremy and I enjoy more than he does so far. He got some really fun toys from Grandma and Grandpa Zimmerman and also from Grandma and Grandpa Ault. For Christmas Eve we were able to go to Jeremy's parents for their annual holiday dinner and it was great food and company. Christmas day we went to my parents for brunch and my Grandma and Grandpa Ebell were able to come as well. I love that we are able to visit family and live close enough to do so. I am so grateful that we are able to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and I hope that we will always be able to share the importance of the season with Ryker and any other children we may have.

Eastern Carribean cruise

The last month has been so busy. We took Ryker on a cruise with my family, minus Taylor who had to work. We had to take three flights and sit at the airport for a long time, but Ryker was a trooper. We went to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Nassau the Bahamas. We swam in the ocean and Ryker was so relaxed he fell asleep in my arms floating. It was precious. He got to try all sorts of foods
and he especially liked pizza and creambrûlée and ice cream. We went to the Atlantis resort which had always been a dream of mine and Jeremy's. It was amazing and we didn't get to see all of it, or go on all the watersides. One of the funnest ones was on a tube and you go through a giant shark tank. Ryker also went down a small slide on my lap and didn't quite know what to think of it. We brought a small umbrella stroller to take with us everywhere and Ry loved to be held and push it himself. He also loved riding on suitcases and dancing to Pitbulls Bon Bon song. He was pretty go go go most of the trip. He loved getting attention from everyone especially our dinner staff who loved babies. We had such a great time with the whole family. I also got to go on a horseback ride through the ocean with my mom and sister. It was a beautiful trip. I am looking forward to hopefully more in the future.

8 Months! Can time please slow down!

Ever since Ryker was born, it seems like he is growing so quickly and achieving one milestone after another.  I wish time would just pause for a moment, so that Jeremy and I can catch up!  He is stubborn and determined, as well as so playful and the light of our lives.  Here are some fun facts about him at this stage.
-He loves his BYU blanket that my dear friend Jenae made him, he has it with him most of the time
-He can stand up on his own pretty well
-He loves straps of any kind, paper, and tags more than any baby toys
-He loves bread
-He loves splashing in the bathtub
-He babbles constantly
-He yells if someone is eating something he wants
-He likes all his friends at daycare and is sometimes sad to leave.
-He gives kisses
-He has the sweetest smile, and cheeser grin
-He has an adorable and infectious laugh
-He likes to be read to
-He would like to feed himself and sometimes refuses to eat when I am feeding him with a spoon
-He makes everything better and more fun
-He loves his Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles

Making a mess with carrots

Eating Pumpkin Pie

Jeremy dressed Ryker in the cutest outfit

My cousin Heaven's baby Spencer and Ryker are such great friends

Standing in his crib after we lowered it

First time standing in his crib

Dressed for church

Our little family at Thanksgiving

Ryker loves snuggling