Back From Vacation

We are finally home from our 2 week vacation in California - we had such a great time! Nolan's ear infection did clear before we left, which was a relief. The flight was no problem at all and we had a great time visiting Sea World, Lego Land, and a spur-of-the-moment trip to Disneyland.

We also visited the beaches, went miniature golfing, and ate as much Mexican food as our bellies would hold.

Nolan did really well on the trip, with only one day of tummy trouble. The day we left San Diego, we decided to visit the KidSpace Museum in Glendale/Pasadena. About 20 minutes out from the museum, Nolan begged us to vent him. He doesn't ask for this very often, but I figured his breakfast of nearly 2 pancakes must have generated a little extra air or was causing discomfort. I tried to vent in the car, but nothing came out of the tube. We shrugged our shoulders and Nolan seemed a bit fatigued, but said he was OK.

We walked into the museum and the temperature was over 100 degrees, so we went to the indoor gallery first. The kids climbed a bit, then Nolan walked over to the pretend ant-hill and sat down. Then he vomited.

This was pre-stomach-explosion. Not feeling so hot.

I took him to the office, where he proceeded to vomit about 4 more times. I had the museum staff find Dennis and Matthew, we gathered as many plastic bags as we could, and we headed back to Oxnard. Nolan vomited about every 10 minutes on the ride home, which took about 2 hours. Once we got him to my parents house, he was extremely drowsy and fell into a deep sleep. When he woke 2 hours after that, he was a bit "off" for the first 30 minutes, and was then totally fine. His energy was back, he ate, he drank... he was completely fine.

It wasn't like he had the stomach flu, or even reflux. It was very odd - like a "vomiting attack," if you will. Whatever the cause, I was grateful that he was right as rain by the afternoon. We didn't see a repeat of the episode for the rest of the week, which was a relief!

I will put pictures on our other blog as time allows (and as I transfer them from our laptop computer). I have several articles to write for Hubpages to finish my required minimum as part of the Apprenticeship Program. I also have the kids' school registration information packets to complete and Nolan has a dietitian appointment in Rochester tomorrow. These last two weeks of summer are going to be busy!

Vacationing with Nolan

Nolan retched again last night, three separate times. I'm not sure what caused the retching events, because he had been fine all day Saturday. He also woke up with no difficulty and asked for a cheese sandwich for breakfast. Go figure. He seems relatively back to normal, whatever that is.

I am working on getting our vacation pictures posted on the other blog, if you want to read about our trip to Myrtle Beach. I will, however, write about the "medical" aspect of the vacation on this blog. We've always tried to keep the medical issues separate from the boy, which is why I maintain a regular "family" blog and this one, which helps me organize the various appointments and medical randomness that is Nolan. The vacation was absolutely wonderful, though Nolan had some issues with fatigue on the trip. He simply doesn't walk very far before he breaks down and has to be carried. Sometimes this involves a mammoth tantrum, other times he just sits down. We didn't bring the stroller on this trip, which was a mistake we won't repeat.

Trying to get Nolan to walk. Heading into collapse mode.

We also became more comfortable with venting Nolan in public. He asked to be vented daily, and he can be rather insistent when his tummy is bloated. We vented him in the parking lot of a McDonald's, in an Olive Garden, and at Margaritaville. At Margaritaville, Nolan shouted, "VENT ME, MOMMY!" and then went under the table to dig out the extension set from my purse.

Under the table at Margaritaville.

He required frequent venting on vacation. I'm not sure if it was because of all the swimming (gulping air), the food, or just a random coincidence, but the little guy tended to get rather bloated.

 Bloated tummy.

Venting air.

I am very glad we went on a beach vacation rather than a more taxing location. He did wonderfully at the beach and the pool, where he could just huddle up with a towel and take a break when needed.

Taking an energy break on the beach.

We learned several things on this vacation:

1) Having a condo was a necessity. We needed the kitchen, the fridge, the ability to store food for Nolan (so that he could eat on his own schedule) and the laundry facilities. I am so grateful to my brother and sister-in-law for giving us the condo unit for Christmas. Best. Gift. Ever.

2) Traveling by car made things easier. Nolan's equipment now takes up a suitcase of its own: the C-Pap machine, the hearing aid gear (including Dry and Store), the extra g-tube button and supplies, etc. Being able to stop whenever we needed to made the trip easier. We could eat, vent Nolan's tube, or do any other necessary action on our own timetable.

3) Nolan really fatigues. We don't notice it as much around the house or even when he's at school, but he just doesn't have the energy to consistently be on the "go." He requires a lot of rests, and a stroller would have come in handy on more than one day of this trip. We never walked far, but any time we went to a shopping center or walked for more than five minutes, he had to be carried. We do notice this in our local mall, but it was more evident on vacation.

Hopefully the little guy will get stronger over time, but the fatigue issues have been with him for a rather long time. He will learn how to cope with his fatigue better as he gets older, at least - I can hope that the raging tantrums will reduce as he gains a few more coping skills!

Overheard

"Hey, Matt - let's tic tac toe past Mommy and go to the beach!"

-Nolan, age 4.

Home from Vacation

I'm too tired to write a lot now, but we had an absolutely fabulous time in Myrtle Beach. The drive down was unremarkable (which is a wonderful thing), but the drive back was much tougher since Matthew had a terrible case of food poisoning or stomach flu - let's just say that I am very thankful that Walmart is open for 24 hours, because that cheap plastic bowl came in handy every 10 minutes. Poor kiddo.

I'll write more later, but here is a picture from the glorious, glorious beach:

Jumping for joy.