Vacation Recap

So, we're home from Arizona! Travelling with a toddler - what an adventure. What an unbelievably exhausting trip - notice... I didn't say vacation! Don't get me wrong, it had it's fun moments, but it wasn't exactly relaxing! I am glad to be home, and I'm glad to have my baby boy back. Here's a recap of the trip, just to give you an idea of how things went:

Friday: We leave for the airport and things are going great. We got some cute pics of Gabers at the airport and he did fantastic on the flights. He slept most of the second flight, which was the longer of the two at 4 hours. We arrived in Scottsdale at our condo at around 11:00 pm - their time (1:00 am our time) and Gabers was wide awake. He went to bed after about 45 minutes and all was well.

Saturday: We did some swimming and noticed Gabe just wasn't acting like himself. We thought maybe the clorine bothered him or most likely he was just overtired from the travelling the day before, but we couldn't really figure it out. We took it kind of easy and had an early night. We had PF Chang's w/Papa and Grandma too!

Sunday: Let me introduce "Damian"! WOW. I've never seen this kid act like this before (or any other kid for that matter!) We had pancakes by the pool and Gabe wouldn't eat, which is way unlike him... normally, he's wolfing those things down! It's one of his favorite foods. After pancakes, the resort sponsored an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Gabe wasn't too thrilled about that either. So, we went back to the condo and that's when Damian came out to play! He was just inconsolable. He rolled around on the floor and just screamed. By this point, Greg, Gabe's Mom, and Grandma were all getting scared, so we decided to take him to the ER. Scottsdale has a Mayo Hospital so we went there.

First of all, we were there for nearly 6 hours with an inconsolable baby. Secondly, the doctor was pretty much a jerk. Third, we found out that Gabe did not have influenza (after a torturing nose swab!). Finally, we found out that he most likely had strep. (I also had it) The doctor saw white spots on the back of his throat, but the test results would take 2 days to confirm. He prescribed the tasty "pink stuff" antibiotic and tylenol with codeine to help with the pain and to help Gabe sleep. Before going to the ER we were having the worst time getting Gabe to eat, drink, poop, or sleep.

Monday: We followed the doctor's orders regarding the meds. Gabe was still miserable. The tylenol w/codeine was knocking him out. He was absolutely exhausted. We took him to dinner with the rest of the family that evening for Grandma & Papa's anniversary and he just did not behave. Damian returns!!

Tuesday: We called our doctor back home and found out the ER doctor had prescribed WAY too much tylenol with codeine. Our doctor said the only time they ever give a 14 month old tylenol with codeine is after a surgery. They said at most they would give him 1/2 a teaspoon before bed. The ER doc had prescribed 1 teaspoon every 4 hours. Gabe was still so cranky because he was drugged out and everyone was trying to cheer him up!! He just wanted to be left alone so he could pass out and sleep. Tuesday we also took a drive with him through the desert. He slept the entire time. We stopped the codeine medicine that morning and gave him only tylenol if he seemed to be in pain. We haven't decided if we're going to report that doctor or anything. The thing that makes me so angry is that codeine slows your respirations. Gabe could've seriously been injured! Or, he could've stopped breathing!

Wednesday: We're starting to get our baby back. We took him to the Grand Canyon and it was just breathtaking! He was tired of being in the stroller and wanted out! I was not about to let him out though... way too dangerous!! The trip to the Grand Canyon took a total of 8 hours in the car. Due to the tylenol still in his system, Gabe slept for 6 of those hours.

Thursday: We finally had our child back! We took Gabe to the Phoenix Zoo and it was great. He was a little warm, but he enjoyed seeing the animals. We only spent about an hour there because of the heat, but we finally had our baby boy back. It was great to see him enjoying things again. That afternoon, we went to the pool with all of the cousins for some fun. That evening Gabe's Aunts, Uncles, & cousins watched him so Gabe's Dad and I could go out for supper. We had a great meal and we both had Gelato on the way home! It was yummy!!

Friday: We left Scottsdale at 7:30 am and got back to Illinois at 10:00 pm. Gabe did great on the first flight (3 1/2 hours - he slept the entire time) and was pretty much a stinker on the final hour and 1/2 flight. We were glad to be back safe and sound. We all crashed in our own beds. Ahhh....

So, overall, it was a pretty rough vacation for our first travelling experience with a toddler. But, thank God he's ok and we made it home safe and sound. We had a great time with our family. They are the best - they all just love Gabe so much and it's so great as a parent to see your family love your child. You just know they're going to grow up with a great support system. Gabe loves his cousins and has become his cousin Braden's shadow. His cousin Katie helped with babysitting for the first time on this trip too. That's kind of crazy for me since I used to babysit her! We're so fortunate to have been able to go on this trip with our family. I love that Gabe will grow up going on vacations like Greg and I did as kids. We're making memories.