To B & P:
Before you were conceived I wanted you.
Before you were born I loved you.
Before you were here an hour I would die for you.
This is the miracle of love.
-Maureen Hawkins
I love you two beyond words. I am so blessed to be your mommy.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
P’s Birth Story
Daddy & I went to the hospital at 8am Friday morning for my scheduled amniocentesis. I was a little apprehensive about the procedure but I knew that I was in good hands. My doctor came in and explained everything he was doing step-by-step. The procedure was relatively painless. He removed the necessary fluid and said the more cloudy and filled with particles the fluid is, the better. He said he could see some particles in my fluid and that we would know an answer within the hour.
We went back into the waiting room until a nurse came from prenatal testing to get me so that I could be hooked up to the monitors. After a decent 20 minute wait, I was placed on a contraction and fetal heart rate monitor. I was cramping quite a bit and having some contractions (both completely normal post-amnio). After 25 minutes on the monitors, they said the strip looked great and that we could leave. Marcy, one of the nurses, tried to pull some strings and get an ante-partum room for us to stay in until my c-section. We stopped back by Frances, the receptionist, to ask if we needed to wait around for results or if we could go downstairs so that Daddy could eat. Connie, my nurse, said it was fine for Daddy to eat but that I could only watch. So off we went... I called my mom to let her know that we were waiting on the results and as soon as we stepped into the cafe, I was getting another call - it was Marcy, asking if I had received Lainee's (my other nurse) message to which I replied "no" - she excitedly told me that the results were positive and to head up to Labor & Delivery. I called my nurses back and Connie said that his lungs were mature and to head straight to Labor & Delivery because they were waiting for me. So off we went...
We were met by Karen, the charge nurse, who brought us into our room and introduced us to my L&D nurse, Tabitha. Karen told us that Dr. Robichaux wanted to get me into the OR right away but they had a patient back there already. I realized at this point that we were going to be in the OR much sooner than our scheduled 12pm timeslot... which meant I wasn't going to see B before going back. I called my mom to tell her that she needed to leave immediately but that she wouldn't get to see us before we went into the OR and that she would probably arrive just in time for P's birth. They placed my IV and by 10:35am I was walking to the OR.
The anesthesia team started my spinal and I felt pretty badly afterward. I figured it would pass so I wasn't going to say anything but apparently they could tell because they kept asking what was wrong. I told them I just didn't feel right and they fixed it quickly. I think they almost forgot to get Daddy because at one point the anesthesiologist looked at me and asked if I had anyone coming with me - I told him my husband. He asked the nurses to go and get Daddy and they were oblivious. My doctor told them and finally someone went to get Daddy - by the time he came into the OR, I was already being cut open (I could smell the cauterization going on). I looked up at him and smiled. The team moved rather quickly and the anesthesiologist told me that they had just broken my water and that P would be here soon. They pushed and pushed and pushed and I felt like I couldn't breathe at one point - they got his head out (and that was all that was outside of my uterus) and P was already crying {such a beautiful noise might I add} and they delivered the rest of him. Daddy went to take pictures and cut his cord while my doctor performed a tubal ligation. Daddy and P were able to sit with me for about 25 minutes before he had to be taken to the nursery. My doctor closed me back up and the anesthesia team administered a tap block and I went back to recovery.
I called my mom to let her know that I was in recovery and I asked her to bring B to see me. Around 1:04pm, P was brought in and I was able to hold my sweet little peanut in my arms for the first time. He nursed, not too well, because he was so tired. About 2 hours later we were brought to our post-partum room. On Sunday we were released to go home!
We went back into the waiting room until a nurse came from prenatal testing to get me so that I could be hooked up to the monitors. After a decent 20 minute wait, I was placed on a contraction and fetal heart rate monitor. I was cramping quite a bit and having some contractions (both completely normal post-amnio). After 25 minutes on the monitors, they said the strip looked great and that we could leave. Marcy, one of the nurses, tried to pull some strings and get an ante-partum room for us to stay in until my c-section. We stopped back by Frances, the receptionist, to ask if we needed to wait around for results or if we could go downstairs so that Daddy could eat. Connie, my nurse, said it was fine for Daddy to eat but that I could only watch. So off we went... I called my mom to let her know that we were waiting on the results and as soon as we stepped into the cafe, I was getting another call - it was Marcy, asking if I had received Lainee's (my other nurse) message to which I replied "no" - she excitedly told me that the results were positive and to head up to Labor & Delivery. I called my nurses back and Connie said that his lungs were mature and to head straight to Labor & Delivery because they were waiting for me. So off we went...
We were met by Karen, the charge nurse, who brought us into our room and introduced us to my L&D nurse, Tabitha. Karen told us that Dr. Robichaux wanted to get me into the OR right away but they had a patient back there already. I realized at this point that we were going to be in the OR much sooner than our scheduled 12pm timeslot... which meant I wasn't going to see B before going back. I called my mom to tell her that she needed to leave immediately but that she wouldn't get to see us before we went into the OR and that she would probably arrive just in time for P's birth. They placed my IV and by 10:35am I was walking to the OR.
The anesthesia team started my spinal and I felt pretty badly afterward. I figured it would pass so I wasn't going to say anything but apparently they could tell because they kept asking what was wrong. I told them I just didn't feel right and they fixed it quickly. I think they almost forgot to get Daddy because at one point the anesthesiologist looked at me and asked if I had anyone coming with me - I told him my husband. He asked the nurses to go and get Daddy and they were oblivious. My doctor told them and finally someone went to get Daddy - by the time he came into the OR, I was already being cut open (I could smell the cauterization going on). I looked up at him and smiled. The team moved rather quickly and the anesthesiologist told me that they had just broken my water and that P would be here soon. They pushed and pushed and pushed and I felt like I couldn't breathe at one point - they got his head out (and that was all that was outside of my uterus) and P was already crying {such a beautiful noise might I add} and they delivered the rest of him. Daddy went to take pictures and cut his cord while my doctor performed a tubal ligation. Daddy and P were able to sit with me for about 25 minutes before he had to be taken to the nursery. My doctor closed me back up and the anesthesia team administered a tap block and I went back to recovery.
I called my mom to let her know that I was in recovery and I asked her to bring B to see me. Around 1:04pm, P was brought in and I was able to hold my sweet little peanut in my arms for the first time. He nursed, not too well, because he was so tired. About 2 hours later we were brought to our post-partum room. On Sunday we were released to go home!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
P is here!
P joined our family at 11:15am.
He weighs 6lbs 15oz and is 19.5" long.
More details to come later...
He weighs 6lbs 15oz and is 19.5" long.
More details to come later...
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Bittersweet Days
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full and well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the Earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139: 13-16
We are all created with a purpose and knowing that part of my purpose here on Earth was to be B and P's mommy is one of the most gratifying things ever. I love all three of my guys with every fiber of my being, every ounce of my body. But my heart seems to burst at it's seems with love for my boys. I've never known a feeling so powerful. Don't get me wrong... I love my husband and my heart wants to explode with the love that I feel for him... but the love you have for a child is so completely different. It's something that you cannot fully experience without being a parent. It's a feeling that will make you happy even on your worst of days. I wish I could bottle it up and hand it out because this world would be a much better place if everyone could feel it.
I have to laugh at myself because one week ago, I know that I didn't feel sad over the ending of this pregnancy. I don't know if it's the hormones or what, but I am having some bittersweet moments this morning and I think they are going to keep coming for the next few days.
It's like I woke up this morning and realized that this was it. It's over. Finished. Complete. After P's arrival on Friday, I will never experience pregnancy again. As much as pregnancy doesn't agree with my body, I am sad that I will never have the pleasure of experiencing this beautiful feeling again. Being pregnant, having life grow within my womb, seeing his heart beat for the first time, hearing that beautiful thumping noise, seeing him on ultrasound and feeling him move within me are moments that I will never forget - I love those moments.
I feel as though this pregnancy has raced by me. I remember finding out on April 26 that we were having another baby. I remember the initial shock of seeing the word "pregnant" pop up on that test. I remember the laughter {albeit the scared to death type} that Daddy and I shared because what else do you do when you get the surprise of your life. I remember constantly telling myself that God wouldn't give us more than we could handle. I remember my OB calming my fears by telling me that God's blessings are never-ending. And here we are today... three days away from me meeting my second baby, second son.
Bittersweet.
I have been blessed.
I am so blessed.
And I know that I will continue to be blessed.
We are all created with a purpose and knowing that part of my purpose here on Earth was to be B and P's mommy is one of the most gratifying things ever. I love all three of my guys with every fiber of my being, every ounce of my body. But my heart seems to burst at it's seems with love for my boys. I've never known a feeling so powerful. Don't get me wrong... I love my husband and my heart wants to explode with the love that I feel for him... but the love you have for a child is so completely different. It's something that you cannot fully experience without being a parent. It's a feeling that will make you happy even on your worst of days. I wish I could bottle it up and hand it out because this world would be a much better place if everyone could feel it.
I have to laugh at myself because one week ago, I know that I didn't feel sad over the ending of this pregnancy. I don't know if it's the hormones or what, but I am having some bittersweet moments this morning and I think they are going to keep coming for the next few days.
It's like I woke up this morning and realized that this was it. It's over. Finished. Complete. After P's arrival on Friday, I will never experience pregnancy again. As much as pregnancy doesn't agree with my body, I am sad that I will never have the pleasure of experiencing this beautiful feeling again. Being pregnant, having life grow within my womb, seeing his heart beat for the first time, hearing that beautiful thumping noise, seeing him on ultrasound and feeling him move within me are moments that I will never forget - I love those moments.
I feel as though this pregnancy has raced by me. I remember finding out on April 26 that we were having another baby. I remember the initial shock of seeing the word "pregnant" pop up on that test. I remember the laughter {albeit the scared to death type} that Daddy and I shared because what else do you do when you get the surprise of your life. I remember constantly telling myself that God wouldn't give us more than we could handle. I remember my OB calming my fears by telling me that God's blessings are never-ending. And here we are today... three days away from me meeting my second baby, second son.
Bittersweet.
I have been blessed.
I am so blessed.
And I know that I will continue to be blessed.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Maternity
With B's pregnancy, I snapped a few self-portraits of my belly... I decided to do the same to document P's pregnancy... Enjoy!
My baby sister is getting married
{I feel a bit moose-like in these photos...}
So my baby sister is getting married... December 26 is her "big" day...
Saturday night was her bachelorette party. We went to the House of Blues (New Orleans) for dinner. My partying stopped there since I am 9 months pregnant and all. I think everyone really enjoyed themselves. The food was less than great - with the exception of the rosemary cornbread.
Kelly Clarkson was there for her "end of the year wrap party" - it was a private party in the Voodoo Gardens. A wall and some windows separated our table from her party... we had lots of live entertainment - singing, music, etc from her group. I snapped a few "stalker" photos {you know the ones from afar where you look like you're taking a pic of something else?!}. Then as my mom and I were leaving, I of course had to use the bathroom and guess who we ran into... Kelly. I ended up asking her to autograph a piece of paper for my boys and she happily obliged. She's a really sweet girl and she allowed me to snap a non-stalker photo of her too.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Whew!
Sorry for such a long {unannounced} hiatus... I just needed a break from life in general. I don't think I really got that break but that's ok.
I guess I should quickly catch you up on the past two months of life {brace yourself, this could be long... I know, I know, I said quickly...}
B is the most fabulous little man I've ever met. I fall more and more in love with his sweet and silly antics daily. I really feel blessed that I was chosen to be his mommy! I could just kiss his sweet face non-stop!
{Stats, Milestones, Etc}
* As of mid-November, my little monkey weighs 23.5 lbs and is 32" tall!
* He seems to be very healthy... finally! And we've officially, as of this
past Monday, been cleared by the immunologist! His most recent bloodwork
panel came back "normal" - we are so relieved!
* He has 5 teeth (well his top two are still not fully in... and he cut those in late September!)
* He started walking on Thanksgiving day! He still goes back and forth from
crawling to walking, but seeing him walk is the most adorable thing. His
little face beams with pride as he teeters around. love. it.
* He loves toys - anytime he sees one, he automatically thinks it's for him.
* He waves hi/bye --- every morning, Daddy tells him "Bye Monkey" and starts
waving goodbye and B shakes his head no and smiles - he's such a stinker
not waving to his daddy!
* He says "hewwo" when he hears the phone ringing, especially if it's not
answered quickly. He also likes to hold real phones, cell phones, toy phones,
or anything that may resemble a phone to his ear and act like he is talking...
he mumbles and {incoherently} talks away
* We moved him into his big boy room on Thursday, November 12. He sleeps in
a twin-sized bed now and he didn't give us an ounce of trouble when we moved
him! He went to sleep that night as though he had been sleeping there all
along.
* He LOVES to dance - any time he hears music, he starts to dance.
* He is ALL B.O.Y. --- he climbs, he loves Hot Wheels cars, he's fearless, etc
* His vocabulary is rather limited... we hear "mama," "daa," "hi" and a form of
"kitty" - he is constantly talking, just not in a language we understand!
* His comprehension is amazing... he surprises me with how well he listens to
simple commands.
* He knows several body parts... if you ask "Where's your... {head, tummy,
ears, nose, penis, feet}" he will touch that part. I plan on teaching him the
rest of his basic body parts and then moving on to either shapes, colors or
the ABC's!
* We are waiting to hear from his agency - they submitted him to a client for a
clothing catalog - fingers crossed, he's selected!
P is ever so rapidly expanding the front of my body. His pregnancy has definitely been more strenuous/painful than B's was. I can confidently say that I will be happy to have my tubes tied after his arrival. I am thankful that God gave me the ability to have children but I know that I never want to be pregnant again. I am excited to have all boys - I truly feel as though Daddy, B and P complete my life, my heart.
We had a 3D ultrasound of P in mid November and he's a cute little one, too! He looks, so far, a lot like B. The only difference we've noticed are his lips - he has the shape of Daddy’s lips but the fullness of mine.
{What can I say, we make some adorable babies}
{Pregnancy What-nots}
* As of November 5, P weighed 4lbs 1oz. I have another growth ultrasound
scheduled for next Wednesday, December 9
* I've gained 17.5 lbs
* I am still wearing both my engagement ring and wedding band! With B, my
wedding band came off at 5 months and my engagement ring at 8 months...
* I have days where the pain is so bad in my pubic bone and pelvis that I can
hardly walk... when I do move, I am on the verge of tears {but it's worth it}
* I only have one doctor appointment left before P arrives!
* I have a scheduled amnio and a c-section on DECEMBER 18!!! I cannot
wait to hold my sweet bundle of love in my arms!
That's all for now... check back tomorrow for some new pictures of B! For now, I am off to play with my little love muffin that just woke from his morning nap!
Take care...
I guess I should quickly catch you up on the past two months of life {brace yourself, this could be long... I know, I know, I said quickly...}
B is the most fabulous little man I've ever met. I fall more and more in love with his sweet and silly antics daily. I really feel blessed that I was chosen to be his mommy! I could just kiss his sweet face non-stop!
{Stats, Milestones, Etc}
* As of mid-November, my little monkey weighs 23.5 lbs and is 32" tall!
* He seems to be very healthy... finally! And we've officially, as of this
past Monday, been cleared by the immunologist! His most recent bloodwork
panel came back "normal" - we are so relieved!
* He has 5 teeth (well his top two are still not fully in... and he cut those in late September!)
* He started walking on Thanksgiving day! He still goes back and forth from
crawling to walking, but seeing him walk is the most adorable thing. His
little face beams with pride as he teeters around. love. it.
* He loves toys - anytime he sees one, he automatically thinks it's for him.
* He waves hi/bye --- every morning, Daddy tells him "Bye Monkey" and starts
waving goodbye and B shakes his head no and smiles - he's such a stinker
not waving to his daddy!
* He says "hewwo" when he hears the phone ringing, especially if it's not
answered quickly. He also likes to hold real phones, cell phones, toy phones,
or anything that may resemble a phone to his ear and act like he is talking...
he mumbles and {incoherently} talks away
* We moved him into his big boy room on Thursday, November 12. He sleeps in
a twin-sized bed now and he didn't give us an ounce of trouble when we moved
him! He went to sleep that night as though he had been sleeping there all
along.
* He LOVES to dance - any time he hears music, he starts to dance.
* He is ALL B.O.Y. --- he climbs, he loves Hot Wheels cars, he's fearless, etc
* His vocabulary is rather limited... we hear "mama," "daa," "hi" and a form of
"kitty" - he is constantly talking, just not in a language we understand!
* His comprehension is amazing... he surprises me with how well he listens to
simple commands.
* He knows several body parts... if you ask "Where's your... {head, tummy,
ears, nose, penis, feet}" he will touch that part. I plan on teaching him the
rest of his basic body parts and then moving on to either shapes, colors or
the ABC's!
* We are waiting to hear from his agency - they submitted him to a client for a
clothing catalog - fingers crossed, he's selected!
P is ever so rapidly expanding the front of my body. His pregnancy has definitely been more strenuous/painful than B's was. I can confidently say that I will be happy to have my tubes tied after his arrival. I am thankful that God gave me the ability to have children but I know that I never want to be pregnant again. I am excited to have all boys - I truly feel as though Daddy, B and P complete my life, my heart.
We had a 3D ultrasound of P in mid November and he's a cute little one, too! He looks, so far, a lot like B. The only difference we've noticed are his lips - he has the shape of Daddy’s lips but the fullness of mine.
{What can I say, we make some adorable babies}
{Pregnancy What-nots}
* As of November 5, P weighed 4lbs 1oz. I have another growth ultrasound
scheduled for next Wednesday, December 9
* I've gained 17.5 lbs
* I am still wearing both my engagement ring and wedding band! With B, my
wedding band came off at 5 months and my engagement ring at 8 months...
* I have days where the pain is so bad in my pubic bone and pelvis that I can
hardly walk... when I do move, I am on the verge of tears {but it's worth it}
* I only have one doctor appointment left before P arrives!
* I have a scheduled amnio and a c-section on DECEMBER 18!!! I cannot
wait to hold my sweet bundle of love in my arms!
That's all for now... check back tomorrow for some new pictures of B! For now, I am off to play with my little love muffin that just woke from his morning nap!
Take care...
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Updates
We received the results from B's bloodwork last Thursday.
Overall, his immune system appears to be functioning relatively okay {thank goodness}.
His blood titers for diptheria, tetanus and HIB came back normal.
His blood titer for pneumoccocal did not. She tested him for 14 different strains because she knew it would pick up the seven strains that Prevnar (PCV-7) innoculates against.
We have to do repeat bloodwork 26 days after he receives his Prevnar booster.
She also wants to check his CH50 level again - it came back either elevated or lowered (not sure which as they didn't specify, they just stated it was positive). She said that it could be a few things: (1) a false positive - if the blood is not almost immediately frozen, as it has to be sent to a specialist, it can come back with a false positive; or (2) if it's a true positive it could mean two things (a) nothing as long as everything else appears to be functioning properly or (b) an infection. If his CH50 level comes back positive again, she will do further testing to determine if there is a problem.
His daily breathing treatments really seem to be working. We have had about 2 weeks of no wheezing (which means I only have to do 1 breathing treatment a day - instead of every 8 hours... a nice break for me). We have also {knock on wood} had a nice long stretch of no illnesses, viruses, etc... about 5 weeks - the longest we've gone since he was 5 months old. It's been the most lovely break for me and B as well.
His reflux is starting back up. I spoke with his pediatrician at length last Thursday because it had seemed to disappear at 9 months. Here we are at 13 months and it's back. We reviewed his typical diet and nothing should be triggering it. She stated his reflux may have gone silent for those 4 months. We are being referred to a pediatric gastroenterologist - we have an appointment on October 12.
In other {non-medical} news, B cut his top two teeth on Sept 20 - you can barely see them, but we can feel them. He cut his lower right lateral on Sept 30. He is finally catching up on the tooth cutting train! He still isn't walking... what can I say, he comes from two very strong-willed people... it will be done on his terms - end of story! He definitely has the ability to walk - he cruises along furniture/walls, he pushes his walking toys throughout the house, and as of this past weekend, he has started standing unassisted for 5-15 second intervals (yay for progress). He is a lightening fast crawler. He LOVES to dance - if he hears music and he is standing, he will do the cutest little dance. If he is seated, he will clap his hands and move his body from side to side. He is just the cutest!!
As far as P goes, he is still just as active as ever. I am curious to know whether he is breech because I feel tons of activity in my pelvis and lots of jabs to both hip bones. I will be 7 months pregnant (28 weeks) on Friday. I see my OB next Wednesday - so I will have a better update for you then!
I think that's about it for now! Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers! Have a great day!
Overall, his immune system appears to be functioning relatively okay {thank goodness}.
His blood titers for diptheria, tetanus and HIB came back normal.
His blood titer for pneumoccocal did not. She tested him for 14 different strains because she knew it would pick up the seven strains that Prevnar (PCV-7) innoculates against.
We have to do repeat bloodwork 26 days after he receives his Prevnar booster.
She also wants to check his CH50 level again - it came back either elevated or lowered (not sure which as they didn't specify, they just stated it was positive). She said that it could be a few things: (1) a false positive - if the blood is not almost immediately frozen, as it has to be sent to a specialist, it can come back with a false positive; or (2) if it's a true positive it could mean two things (a) nothing as long as everything else appears to be functioning properly or (b) an infection. If his CH50 level comes back positive again, she will do further testing to determine if there is a problem.
His daily breathing treatments really seem to be working. We have had about 2 weeks of no wheezing (which means I only have to do 1 breathing treatment a day - instead of every 8 hours... a nice break for me). We have also {knock on wood} had a nice long stretch of no illnesses, viruses, etc... about 5 weeks - the longest we've gone since he was 5 months old. It's been the most lovely break for me and B as well.
His reflux is starting back up. I spoke with his pediatrician at length last Thursday because it had seemed to disappear at 9 months. Here we are at 13 months and it's back. We reviewed his typical diet and nothing should be triggering it. She stated his reflux may have gone silent for those 4 months. We are being referred to a pediatric gastroenterologist - we have an appointment on October 12.
In other {non-medical} news, B cut his top two teeth on Sept 20 - you can barely see them, but we can feel them. He cut his lower right lateral on Sept 30. He is finally catching up on the tooth cutting train! He still isn't walking... what can I say, he comes from two very strong-willed people... it will be done on his terms - end of story! He definitely has the ability to walk - he cruises along furniture/walls, he pushes his walking toys throughout the house, and as of this past weekend, he has started standing unassisted for 5-15 second intervals (yay for progress). He is a lightening fast crawler. He LOVES to dance - if he hears music and he is standing, he will do the cutest little dance. If he is seated, he will clap his hands and move his body from side to side. He is just the cutest!!
As far as P goes, he is still just as active as ever. I am curious to know whether he is breech because I feel tons of activity in my pelvis and lots of jabs to both hip bones. I will be 7 months pregnant (28 weeks) on Friday. I see my OB next Wednesday - so I will have a better update for you then!
I think that's about it for now! Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers! Have a great day!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Heaven’s Newest Angel
My mom's absolute best friend, Sheryl, died this morning, October 5, at 3:45am. She fought a 20 year battle against breast cancer. My heart breaks for her family. She is survived my her husband, three beautiful daughters, two grandsons, one grand-daughter and another grand-daughter due in late January. Please pray for the family as they cope with their loss. Please pray that eventually peace will pass understanding for them.
I have always proudly worn a pink ribbon during the month of October. Each year I run the Race for the Cure in New Orleans in honor of Sheryl. This year, the race takes on a new meaning to me as I will be running in loving memory of Sheryl.
I ask you to find it in your heart to donate whatever you can to the Susan G. Komen foundation so that they can continue in their efforts of finding a cure for this horrible beast. I know that times are tough economically, so if you are not in a position to donate, I completely understand and instead, I ask for your prayers for everyone involved - survivors, angels, doctors, family, etc.
If you are in a position to donate, please do so HERE!!! (the actual link is: http://race.komenneworleans.org/site/TR/Race/General?px=1042661&pg=personal&fr_id=1000).
Thank you again...
I have always proudly worn a pink ribbon during the month of October. Each year I run the Race for the Cure in New Orleans in honor of Sheryl. This year, the race takes on a new meaning to me as I will be running in loving memory of Sheryl.
I ask you to find it in your heart to donate whatever you can to the Susan G. Komen foundation so that they can continue in their efforts of finding a cure for this horrible beast. I know that times are tough economically, so if you are not in a position to donate, I completely understand and instead, I ask for your prayers for everyone involved - survivors, angels, doctors, family, etc.
If you are in a position to donate, please do so HERE!!! (the actual link is: http://race.komenneworleans.org/site/TR/Race/General?px=1042661&pg=personal&fr_id=1000).
Thank you again...
Friday, September 18, 2009
Life
Here is another quick recap post on life in general... I really want life to settle down so that I can blog more often. I don't want to forget any of the memorable moments in P's pregnancy but I feel like I am really slacking in that aspect. Plus, I dislike writing one million words blogs to get you caught up on what's going on for us... and I am sure that those particular posts, send your brains into sensory overload. So I am not going to make any promises, but really, I will try to post more frequently.
Me:
Things are going pretty decent for me. I have mild hydronephrosis of my right kidney - I had this happen when I was pregnant with B. It is more annoying than painful lately. I ended up in Labor & Delivery a week ago today because it was more painful than annoying at that point. They hooked me up to the monitors (fetal and contraction - I had a period of regular contractions but nothing major), gave me two bags of IV fluids (after the nurse blew out the vein in the top of my hand), and sent me on my way... 5 hours later. I felt badly for Daddy because he was sick and spent the entire 5 hours on a very uncomfortable stool.
I had a prenatal visit on Wednesday (9/16/09). P's HR = 143bpm. I had my gestational diabetes test and I passed! I go back to my doctor on 10/14 for my last 4 week check-up - I will also see anesthesia for my pre-op and meet with registration for phase 2... I can't believe I am getting so close to meeting P!
Today I am 25 weeks pregnant!
B:
His 1 year check-up went well (9/9/09). He weighs 22lbs 0oz (35th percentile) and is 29.25" long (25th percentile). He is a fantastic little guy!
We went to the immunologist's office (9/15/09) and God has been hearing my prayers. She believes that we just hit a string of bad luck with his health. Overall, she thinks he is healthy. We did some follow-up blood work at Children's Hospital to find out if in fact his immune system is running up to par. She is going to check his titer levels for some of his childhood immunizations - if they show antibodies being built, then his immune system is working properly. If not, well we didn't even discuss that in all honesty.
Yesterday, B had his first dentist appointment! He did very well. He still only has two teeth... the lower two. He cried during the cleaning but was very pleasant the rest of the time.
Afterward, we went to the pediatrician because B was coughing and I suspected that he was wheezing as well. I didn't think that he was "sick" per say because he wasn't running fever or displaying any other "sick" symptoms. But I was concerned about the coughing/wheezing because everything seems to effect his lungs and most things move rapidly and then keep him sick for what feels like forever, but I digress. The pedi checked him out and said that he wasn't sick but he definitely was wheezing. We did a breathing treatment in the office. She sent us home with a nebulizer and a new treatment plan for B. She is treating him for Reactive Airway Disease. We have one medication, Xopenex, that we administer via nublizer every 8 hours for two days, then every 12 hours for 2 days, then prn for wheezing spells. His second medication, Pulmicort, we administer via nebulizer once daily until we are told to discontinue.
B is a tough little guy. He remains very happy and active, even with all the junk thrown his way.
We have quite a bit coming up in the next few weeks - I feel like every weekend is booked until December... and then it's touch and go for my little family of three until P's arrival and we become a family of four!!!
Daddy and I are so excited for the month of December. We are thrilled that our family will be completed in December. We love that B will be a big brother and we cannot wait to hold P in our arms. And December means Christmas! We know that B was around last Christmas, but he was only four months old! This Christmas, he will be able to get into his presents and unwrap them, and play with all of his new toys! We can't wait to see the excitement on his face. Please hurry up, December!
Christmas will be very low key for us this year, that is, if I am still pregnant. We will be staying very close to home and we will probably spend Christmas Day at home because between me being pregnant and my younger sister getting married the next day, our family dinner has been canceled. It will be nice to spend a holiday not running all over to visit everyone... at times, relaxation is a beautiful thing!
I think that's about it for now! Have a great weekend! I plan on doing a very late birthday post to Brice on Monday... lots of pictures to come!
Me:
Things are going pretty decent for me. I have mild hydronephrosis of my right kidney - I had this happen when I was pregnant with B. It is more annoying than painful lately. I ended up in Labor & Delivery a week ago today because it was more painful than annoying at that point. They hooked me up to the monitors (fetal and contraction - I had a period of regular contractions but nothing major), gave me two bags of IV fluids (after the nurse blew out the vein in the top of my hand), and sent me on my way... 5 hours later. I felt badly for Daddy because he was sick and spent the entire 5 hours on a very uncomfortable stool.
I had a prenatal visit on Wednesday (9/16/09). P's HR = 143bpm. I had my gestational diabetes test and I passed! I go back to my doctor on 10/14 for my last 4 week check-up - I will also see anesthesia for my pre-op and meet with registration for phase 2... I can't believe I am getting so close to meeting P!
Today I am 25 weeks pregnant!
B:
His 1 year check-up went well (9/9/09). He weighs 22lbs 0oz (35th percentile) and is 29.25" long (25th percentile). He is a fantastic little guy!
We went to the immunologist's office (9/15/09) and God has been hearing my prayers. She believes that we just hit a string of bad luck with his health. Overall, she thinks he is healthy. We did some follow-up blood work at Children's Hospital to find out if in fact his immune system is running up to par. She is going to check his titer levels for some of his childhood immunizations - if they show antibodies being built, then his immune system is working properly. If not, well we didn't even discuss that in all honesty.
Yesterday, B had his first dentist appointment! He did very well. He still only has two teeth... the lower two. He cried during the cleaning but was very pleasant the rest of the time.
Afterward, we went to the pediatrician because B was coughing and I suspected that he was wheezing as well. I didn't think that he was "sick" per say because he wasn't running fever or displaying any other "sick" symptoms. But I was concerned about the coughing/wheezing because everything seems to effect his lungs and most things move rapidly and then keep him sick for what feels like forever, but I digress. The pedi checked him out and said that he wasn't sick but he definitely was wheezing. We did a breathing treatment in the office. She sent us home with a nebulizer and a new treatment plan for B. She is treating him for Reactive Airway Disease. We have one medication, Xopenex, that we administer via nublizer every 8 hours for two days, then every 12 hours for 2 days, then prn for wheezing spells. His second medication, Pulmicort, we administer via nebulizer once daily until we are told to discontinue.
B is a tough little guy. He remains very happy and active, even with all the junk thrown his way.
We have quite a bit coming up in the next few weeks - I feel like every weekend is booked until December... and then it's touch and go for my little family of three until P's arrival and we become a family of four!!!
Daddy and I are so excited for the month of December. We are thrilled that our family will be completed in December. We love that B will be a big brother and we cannot wait to hold P in our arms. And December means Christmas! We know that B was around last Christmas, but he was only four months old! This Christmas, he will be able to get into his presents and unwrap them, and play with all of his new toys! We can't wait to see the excitement on his face. Please hurry up, December!
Christmas will be very low key for us this year, that is, if I am still pregnant. We will be staying very close to home and we will probably spend Christmas Day at home because between me being pregnant and my younger sister getting married the next day, our family dinner has been canceled. It will be nice to spend a holiday not running all over to visit everyone... at times, relaxation is a beautiful thing!
I think that's about it for now! Have a great weekend! I plan on doing a very late birthday post to Brice on Monday... lots of pictures to come!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Contractions
Ah yes, it seems as though my uterus has decided to misbehave... maybe as a punishment for the crazy little firecracker living within its walls? P is one active little man, as I've said before. He is constantly kicking, moving, punching, building forts, etc within my womb. I think he is going to really keep me on my toes once he enters the world. Brice loves attention, particularly from me and Daddy, but this kid, P, the world needs to look out for. I think he is going to be a spot-light stealing, lime-light loving kid... and he comes by it very naturally (courtesy of none other than me). But I digress. Back to that misbehavin' uterus of mine. I started having pretty regular contractions on Saturday and I am still having them. They last anywhere from 1-3 hours and for the most part, are not painful. I started having random contractions at 22 weeks with B (and random contractions at 19 weeks with P) but never anything timeable and/or regular.
I went to visit my fantastic doctor today... I really do have a special place in my heart for that man (I mean how could I not?!)... he checked me out and did a Ffn test. He said that everything looks good - cervix is closed, etc. At this point, he is comfortable with me having 6 contractions an hour. I feel happy knowing that this is okay at this point but also kinda blah over the fact that I could potentially have very regular contractions for the next 15.5 weeks! Oh well, it could be worse!
P's heartbeat was 146bpm today and I had my first belly measurement - I am measuring right on track - 23.5weeks! I go back to see my doctor next Wednesday for a check-up.
Tomorrow is B's (late, I know) 1 year check-up and I see my surgeon for my post-op. Take care!
I went to visit my fantastic doctor today... I really do have a special place in my heart for that man (I mean how could I not?!)... he checked me out and did a Ffn test. He said that everything looks good - cervix is closed, etc. At this point, he is comfortable with me having 6 contractions an hour. I feel happy knowing that this is okay at this point but also kinda blah over the fact that I could potentially have very regular contractions for the next 15.5 weeks! Oh well, it could be worse!
P's heartbeat was 146bpm today and I had my first belly measurement - I am measuring right on track - 23.5weeks! I go back to see my doctor next Wednesday for a check-up.
Tomorrow is B's (late, I know) 1 year check-up and I see my surgeon for my post-op. Take care!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Where to begin... {if your eyeballs ache afterward, my apologies}
Lots of Updates...
Surgery Update:
Surgery went well - I was slightly nervous about having surgery, nonetheless in my abdomen, while being pregnant. I think my procedure lasted less than 75 minutes. Upon waking up in recovery, I was in some pretty intense pain and then I had a very sharp/hard contraction. Overall, the nurses quickly got my pain under control and then they called for my OB's resident to come and check P's heartbeat (via Doppler). I was in recovery for quite some time and there were some strange birds in the recovery unit as well... at least I was entertained. After Dr. Jones (OB resident) came and checked out P, I was finally given the okay to be moved into a more private room (where I was reunited with my mom and we stayed until I was discharged).
Let me tell you one of the downfalls of a general anesthetic... when you're put to sleep, obviously your entire body goes to sleep... here's the kicker - I drank tons of water in the first recovery area and felt the urge to pee... well my bladder was still asleep. I sat in the bathroom for 10 minutes before I finally gave up. A little while later I decided to give it another try (since I had to pee in order to be discharged)... the teeniest amount came out after lots of convincing and begging my bladder to work (but hey, it was some progress, right?) The nurse brought me some graham crackers, more water and after another, very successful, bathroom attempt, I was finally free to go home to my sweet baby boy!
I've been going ever since I got home. I fed B dinner that night and I haven't stopped yet. On Friday, I got up and baked B's birthday cakes because my little man TURNED ONE! How did that happen? Where did the time go to? But I will honor my sweet baby's birthday with it's own separate post.
On Monday, after taking B to the pediatrician (more to come on that later), I had a follow-up appointment with my OB. He did an exam to check my cervical length to make sure I had no shortening occur. He asked me I had been cramping and I told him quite a bit. He told me to come back about 1 hour later because he wanted to do an ultrasound to get an actual measurement. All is well with my cervix (thankfully) and with P. I wasn't given an exact measurement but my doctor seemed pleased with the length. He told me if the cramping keeps up, to call them back. He is attributing the cramping to the possibility that I may have had a catheter during surgery or the amount of fluids they pushed through me... who knows... but the cramping, as of today, is still persisting. I actually stood up from the table a little while ago and my breath was taken away by some hard cramping and tightening. I had to slowly walk to the kitchen while waiting on it to subside. I am still cramping a good bit as of this morning.
Overall, my recovery is going well. I had to go see a surgery resident yesterday (my surgeon is out of town) because on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, I felt pulling to the right of my belly button. Wednesday morning, along with the pulling feeling, I felt a pop. So I called the nurse and she suggested for me to go in. The resident poked and prodded in my lowest incision to feel for a hernia and thankfully, I have no signs of one. They decided to run some blood work on me and everything looks good. I still feel pretty bruised on my abdomen - don't know if that's normal or not.
WHEW... did you make it through that? Be prepared for much more after this...
B:
Mr. B turned ONE on Friday (August 28). We had a tiny gathering to celebrate... but again, I am saving all of those details for an upcoming post.
On Saturday (last weekend), B was definitely not feeling well. He ran fever all weekend - the lowest was 101.2 and the highest was 101.7 - not too bad. But poor B was miserable - all he wanted to do was lay around, cuddle with his blanket and be held by his mommy and daddy. We, of course, completely obliged. I called the answering center for his pediatrician's office and within 30 minutes his pedi called us back {she is fabulous}. I told her what was going on and she said if his fever got any worse to call her back but if not, she wanted to see him Monday morning. Thankfully, his fever remained the same the rest of the weekend. Brice showed some improvement on Sunday - his demeanor was better. He actually crawled around and did some smiling and laughing. We took him to Smoothie King thinking he might eat a smoothie... that was a no-go.
Monday morning came bright and early and fever-free! My mom picked both of us up and off we went to the pediatrician's office. His ears and throat were clear and more importantly, his lungs were clear! I was so relieved to hear that. We went over a chunk of his lab work that as of the last time we had spoken was unavailable. This portion concerned his immunoglobulins. We have 5 different immunoglobulins: IgG, IgA, IgM, IgE and IgD. If you care to read more about what each particular one is responsible for, you can do so HERE.
His IgM is level is low; his IgA level and IgG levels are borderline low (for his age, the range for IgA is 12-75 and his is 15; for IgG, the range is 247-910 and he is 267). The pedi said if anything she expected to see his IgM level high because was in the middle of fighting pneumonia and it really concerned her that it came back low. She referred us to an immunologist. We will be seeing Dr. D on September 15 to figure out this whole situation. The levels he is deficient in have nothing to with allergies (food or airborne); his levels concern his ability to fight infection - bacterial and viral (but again you can read all about it at the link I posted). Our pedi also stated that this is the cause for him getting sick so often and taking so long to recover from each illness.
I've tried to research low immunoglobulin levels in general and more specifically, in children, and I don't get very far. Some of the articles I've read state that it's very rare and I've read (multiple times) the statistic of it occurring in children is 0.03%. I've also read that it can be something as minor as (and I use that term very loosely) him being sick often, because his body just can't defend itself, all the way to cancer. When my mom and I were reading the site that I referred you to above, the only thing that was consistent across the board for the three Ig's that he is deficient in, was leukemia. So do you see how frustrating this situation is? I enjoy reading and researching and I despise the fact that I cannot get anywhere. Daddy and I know that we cannot put even one of our eggs into any basket. We refuse, at the moment, to let our minds go down the road of cancer. We are very anxiously awaiting his appointment.
For now, we've become more strict with hand-washing, sanitizing, and disinfecting. We are also be very cautious around those who are sick/have been sick and those who have been around them. We have a 3-day rule in effect - if you've been sick or around someone that has been sick, we ask for a 3 day waiting period to occur before contact with B. We are avoiding large crowds, especially since the flu seems to be rampant here. We just cannot take any chances and we don't want to feel as though we could have avoided an illness. We certainly don't want to make B a bubble boy, but we are taking precautions for now.
I received paperwork from Dr. D's office detailing what to expect at the first appointment and the usual intake forms. Since he has an immunology issue, we can expect more blood work - at least I will be prepared this time (unlike last time). The only thing I am less than thrilled about is that we will have to wait a couple weeks for those results. I don't like waiting when it comes to health related issues. It brings me back to a time in mine and Daddy’s life - many, many years ago - when Daddy had a cancerous growth removed from his back. God was with us back then because the mass below the surface was incapsulated. His fantastic oncologist was able to remove everything below the surface without having to do a skin graft. But the waiting involved to hear that everything was removed seemed to last forever - it was two weeks to be exact. But I digress.
I despise waiting on health issues. I despise not being able to research what could potentially be wrong with B. I am scared that something could be (seriously) wrong with him. I am a huge ball of emotions sprinkled with pregnancy hormones. Like I told Daddy the other day, I am just taking it one day at a time and trying to keep my head above water. I am far from freaking out because (1) it's not warranted and even if it was, it would do no good; and (2) it would do no good.
I know that no matter what God has us wrapped tightly in his arms. He will take care of us... of B. He has been there before and will be there forever. Whatever he has in his plans for us, we are ready for (and let me tell you that's a hard statement coming from a control freak like myself).
PIERCE:
I am 23w 1d pregnant today! This little boy is a wild one! He is constantly kicking and moving. He continuously kicked one of my incisions for the first 3-4 days after surgery. I am pretty sure he is going to be a little firecracker once he exits my womb. I had an ultrasound 1 week post-op to confirm that my cervix had not shortened. His heartbeat was 156bpm. My cervix looks good. I go back to the doctor on September 16.
Daddy:
My husband is wonderful. He surprised me after surgery by getting home earlier than expected – He was in Atlanta for work! I know that he was less than thrilled about having to be away while I had surgery, but it was work related and no one else could go in his place. He spent all of last weekend taking care of me and B - he did anything and everything I asked of him. I am very blessed to have him as my husband.
Ok... I have more that I can say, but for now, I will stop. Look for another post in the coming days. I will be taking B to the pediatrician on Wednesday for his one-year checkup. I will probably do a birthday post and then another update post. I am hoping life calms down a little so that I can post more often. Take care and enjoy your Labor Day weekend!
Surgery Update:
Surgery went well - I was slightly nervous about having surgery, nonetheless in my abdomen, while being pregnant. I think my procedure lasted less than 75 minutes. Upon waking up in recovery, I was in some pretty intense pain and then I had a very sharp/hard contraction. Overall, the nurses quickly got my pain under control and then they called for my OB's resident to come and check P's heartbeat (via Doppler). I was in recovery for quite some time and there were some strange birds in the recovery unit as well... at least I was entertained. After Dr. Jones (OB resident) came and checked out P, I was finally given the okay to be moved into a more private room (where I was reunited with my mom and we stayed until I was discharged).
Let me tell you one of the downfalls of a general anesthetic... when you're put to sleep, obviously your entire body goes to sleep... here's the kicker - I drank tons of water in the first recovery area and felt the urge to pee... well my bladder was still asleep. I sat in the bathroom for 10 minutes before I finally gave up. A little while later I decided to give it another try (since I had to pee in order to be discharged)... the teeniest amount came out after lots of convincing and begging my bladder to work (but hey, it was some progress, right?) The nurse brought me some graham crackers, more water and after another, very successful, bathroom attempt, I was finally free to go home to my sweet baby boy!
I've been going ever since I got home. I fed B dinner that night and I haven't stopped yet. On Friday, I got up and baked B's birthday cakes because my little man TURNED ONE! How did that happen? Where did the time go to? But I will honor my sweet baby's birthday with it's own separate post.
On Monday, after taking B to the pediatrician (more to come on that later), I had a follow-up appointment with my OB. He did an exam to check my cervical length to make sure I had no shortening occur. He asked me I had been cramping and I told him quite a bit. He told me to come back about 1 hour later because he wanted to do an ultrasound to get an actual measurement. All is well with my cervix (thankfully) and with P. I wasn't given an exact measurement but my doctor seemed pleased with the length. He told me if the cramping keeps up, to call them back. He is attributing the cramping to the possibility that I may have had a catheter during surgery or the amount of fluids they pushed through me... who knows... but the cramping, as of today, is still persisting. I actually stood up from the table a little while ago and my breath was taken away by some hard cramping and tightening. I had to slowly walk to the kitchen while waiting on it to subside. I am still cramping a good bit as of this morning.
Overall, my recovery is going well. I had to go see a surgery resident yesterday (my surgeon is out of town) because on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, I felt pulling to the right of my belly button. Wednesday morning, along with the pulling feeling, I felt a pop. So I called the nurse and she suggested for me to go in. The resident poked and prodded in my lowest incision to feel for a hernia and thankfully, I have no signs of one. They decided to run some blood work on me and everything looks good. I still feel pretty bruised on my abdomen - don't know if that's normal or not.
WHEW... did you make it through that? Be prepared for much more after this...
B:
Mr. B turned ONE on Friday (August 28). We had a tiny gathering to celebrate... but again, I am saving all of those details for an upcoming post.
On Saturday (last weekend), B was definitely not feeling well. He ran fever all weekend - the lowest was 101.2 and the highest was 101.7 - not too bad. But poor B was miserable - all he wanted to do was lay around, cuddle with his blanket and be held by his mommy and daddy. We, of course, completely obliged. I called the answering center for his pediatrician's office and within 30 minutes his pedi called us back {she is fabulous}. I told her what was going on and she said if his fever got any worse to call her back but if not, she wanted to see him Monday morning. Thankfully, his fever remained the same the rest of the weekend. Brice showed some improvement on Sunday - his demeanor was better. He actually crawled around and did some smiling and laughing. We took him to Smoothie King thinking he might eat a smoothie... that was a no-go.
Monday morning came bright and early and fever-free! My mom picked both of us up and off we went to the pediatrician's office. His ears and throat were clear and more importantly, his lungs were clear! I was so relieved to hear that. We went over a chunk of his lab work that as of the last time we had spoken was unavailable. This portion concerned his immunoglobulins. We have 5 different immunoglobulins: IgG, IgA, IgM, IgE and IgD. If you care to read more about what each particular one is responsible for, you can do so HERE.
His IgM is level is low; his IgA level and IgG levels are borderline low (for his age, the range for IgA is 12-75 and his is 15; for IgG, the range is 247-910 and he is 267). The pedi said if anything she expected to see his IgM level high because was in the middle of fighting pneumonia and it really concerned her that it came back low. She referred us to an immunologist. We will be seeing Dr. D on September 15 to figure out this whole situation. The levels he is deficient in have nothing to with allergies (food or airborne); his levels concern his ability to fight infection - bacterial and viral (but again you can read all about it at the link I posted). Our pedi also stated that this is the cause for him getting sick so often and taking so long to recover from each illness.
I've tried to research low immunoglobulin levels in general and more specifically, in children, and I don't get very far. Some of the articles I've read state that it's very rare and I've read (multiple times) the statistic of it occurring in children is 0.03%. I've also read that it can be something as minor as (and I use that term very loosely) him being sick often, because his body just can't defend itself, all the way to cancer. When my mom and I were reading the site that I referred you to above, the only thing that was consistent across the board for the three Ig's that he is deficient in, was leukemia. So do you see how frustrating this situation is? I enjoy reading and researching and I despise the fact that I cannot get anywhere. Daddy and I know that we cannot put even one of our eggs into any basket. We refuse, at the moment, to let our minds go down the road of cancer. We are very anxiously awaiting his appointment.
For now, we've become more strict with hand-washing, sanitizing, and disinfecting. We are also be very cautious around those who are sick/have been sick and those who have been around them. We have a 3-day rule in effect - if you've been sick or around someone that has been sick, we ask for a 3 day waiting period to occur before contact with B. We are avoiding large crowds, especially since the flu seems to be rampant here. We just cannot take any chances and we don't want to feel as though we could have avoided an illness. We certainly don't want to make B a bubble boy, but we are taking precautions for now.
I received paperwork from Dr. D's office detailing what to expect at the first appointment and the usual intake forms. Since he has an immunology issue, we can expect more blood work - at least I will be prepared this time (unlike last time). The only thing I am less than thrilled about is that we will have to wait a couple weeks for those results. I don't like waiting when it comes to health related issues. It brings me back to a time in mine and Daddy’s life - many, many years ago - when Daddy had a cancerous growth removed from his back. God was with us back then because the mass below the surface was incapsulated. His fantastic oncologist was able to remove everything below the surface without having to do a skin graft. But the waiting involved to hear that everything was removed seemed to last forever - it was two weeks to be exact. But I digress.
I despise waiting on health issues. I despise not being able to research what could potentially be wrong with B. I am scared that something could be (seriously) wrong with him. I am a huge ball of emotions sprinkled with pregnancy hormones. Like I told Daddy the other day, I am just taking it one day at a time and trying to keep my head above water. I am far from freaking out because (1) it's not warranted and even if it was, it would do no good; and (2) it would do no good.
I know that no matter what God has us wrapped tightly in his arms. He will take care of us... of B. He has been there before and will be there forever. Whatever he has in his plans for us, we are ready for (and let me tell you that's a hard statement coming from a control freak like myself).
PIERCE:
I am 23w 1d pregnant today! This little boy is a wild one! He is constantly kicking and moving. He continuously kicked one of my incisions for the first 3-4 days after surgery. I am pretty sure he is going to be a little firecracker once he exits my womb. I had an ultrasound 1 week post-op to confirm that my cervix had not shortened. His heartbeat was 156bpm. My cervix looks good. I go back to the doctor on September 16.
Daddy:
My husband is wonderful. He surprised me after surgery by getting home earlier than expected – He was in Atlanta for work! I know that he was less than thrilled about having to be away while I had surgery, but it was work related and no one else could go in his place. He spent all of last weekend taking care of me and B - he did anything and everything I asked of him. I am very blessed to have him as my husband.
Ok... I have more that I can say, but for now, I will stop. Look for another post in the coming days. I will be taking B to the pediatrician on Wednesday for his one-year checkup. I will probably do a birthday post and then another update post. I am hoping life calms down a little so that I can post more often. Take care and enjoy your Labor Day weekend!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Surgery Day
I'm currently en route to the hospital for my gallbladder removal operation. I didn't sleep well last night but I expected that - I kept waking up and checking the time. All. night. long.
The worst part of today for me is knowing that B isn't going to wake up to me. He is 362 days old and he has ALWAYS woken up to his mommy's face. I know that he will be fine - it's just me.
Then the part that I will struggle with for the next week + is that I can't pick him up. It's funny when I tell people (with children, might I add) that and their response is something along the lines of "well make sure you listen" or "it will be okay" or "he will be fine" etc.... Hmmm you try not picking up your sweet baby for longer than a week and maybe we'll talk. It's going to break my heart. I know I have to listen to that rule but I'm beyond less than thrilled.
Well that's it for now... I will attempt to punch out an update post later today (once I'm coherent enough).
Please pray for the surgeons and ask God to wrap me and P in His safe/loving arms.
Thanks and have a good morning!
The worst part of today for me is knowing that B isn't going to wake up to me. He is 362 days old and he has ALWAYS woken up to his mommy's face. I know that he will be fine - it's just me.
Then the part that I will struggle with for the next week + is that I can't pick him up. It's funny when I tell people (with children, might I add) that and their response is something along the lines of "well make sure you listen" or "it will be okay" or "he will be fine" etc.... Hmmm you try not picking up your sweet baby for longer than a week and maybe we'll talk. It's going to break my heart. I know I have to listen to that rule but I'm beyond less than thrilled.
Well that's it for now... I will attempt to punch out an update post later today (once I'm coherent enough).
Please pray for the surgeons and ask God to wrap me and P in His safe/loving arms.
Thanks and have a good morning!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Updates
B is doing MUCH better. Thanks for all of your prayers! We met with the pediatrician earlier this week. She can still hear crackling noises in his left lunch... so we are still fighting this little pneumonia monster, but I think we are winning. She put him on a steroid for four days to help reduce/eliminate the inflammation in his lungs. And then she said the magic words, "we are out of the woods for a hospitalization." Whew, I felt like I could finally breathe again! We are seeing marked improvement with his appetite. And since we are 1 week away from his BIG FIRST BIRTHDAY, we've decided to begin the transition to whole-milk. We are giving him a half formula-half milk solution and we will probably do this for 1-2 weeks. He is tolerating it very well. I can't believe that we are rapidly approaching his first birthday!
In other updates... let's see:
* I am 21 weeks pregnant
* I had an ultrasound yesterday - P is one active little boy. His HB was 148bpm and he weighs approximately 13oz. Unfortunately, Daddy was unable to make it, so he had to settle with just looking at pictures. The first thing he said was "P looks just like B" and boy-oh-boy, is he right!
* I am having surgery on Tuesday to remove my gallbladder. I met with the general surgeon, Dr. Bowen, on Wednesday. He was looking at a Sept 17 surgery date but he called my OB to receive approval for the surgery and then, for the date. My OB said he wanted it sooner. Dr. Bowen came back into my room and said "Dr. Robichaux wants your surgery done sooner, so I can do it this Tuesday." I wanted to go talk to Dr. Robichaux about why it couldn't wait a few weeks. After speaking with Dr. Robichaux, I realized that we had to move forward with August 25 (apparently 24 weeks opens a window to greater risks for the baby). I am a little apprehensive about having surgery while pregnant, but I know that P and I are in good earthly hands and even better, in His hands. The anesthesiologist stated that P would be on a monitor the entire time and they will have OB on stand-by if something were to occur (main concern is pre-term labor).
I am also a little concerned with how B will react to me not being able to pick him up. I can hold him but I cannot pick him up for 7 days, and after that I am to use extreme caution until I hit the two week mark. I really want to listen to those orders because the chance for me to get a hernia is about 10-15% since I am pregnant (usually it's about 1%)... but really, it's going to be very heart-wrenching (initially) to see him wanting me to pick him and hold him like I do every day... but we will adjust.
I also hope that I am feeling well enough to go to dinner Friday night to celebrate B's 1st Birthday! His big birthday bash has been postponed until September 26.
So if you will, please keep P and I in your prayers on Tuesday morning. My operation is scheduled to begin at 7am. Thanks!
In other updates... let's see:
* I am 21 weeks pregnant
* I had an ultrasound yesterday - P is one active little boy. His HB was 148bpm and he weighs approximately 13oz. Unfortunately, Daddy was unable to make it, so he had to settle with just looking at pictures. The first thing he said was "P looks just like B" and boy-oh-boy, is he right!
* I am having surgery on Tuesday to remove my gallbladder. I met with the general surgeon, Dr. Bowen, on Wednesday. He was looking at a Sept 17 surgery date but he called my OB to receive approval for the surgery and then, for the date. My OB said he wanted it sooner. Dr. Bowen came back into my room and said "Dr. Robichaux wants your surgery done sooner, so I can do it this Tuesday." I wanted to go talk to Dr. Robichaux about why it couldn't wait a few weeks. After speaking with Dr. Robichaux, I realized that we had to move forward with August 25 (apparently 24 weeks opens a window to greater risks for the baby). I am a little apprehensive about having surgery while pregnant, but I know that P and I are in good earthly hands and even better, in His hands. The anesthesiologist stated that P would be on a monitor the entire time and they will have OB on stand-by if something were to occur (main concern is pre-term labor).
I am also a little concerned with how B will react to me not being able to pick him up. I can hold him but I cannot pick him up for 7 days, and after that I am to use extreme caution until I hit the two week mark. I really want to listen to those orders because the chance for me to get a hernia is about 10-15% since I am pregnant (usually it's about 1%)... but really, it's going to be very heart-wrenching (initially) to see him wanting me to pick him and hold him like I do every day... but we will adjust.
I also hope that I am feeling well enough to go to dinner Friday night to celebrate B's 1st Birthday! His big birthday bash has been postponed until September 26.
So if you will, please keep P and I in your prayers on Tuesday morning. My operation is scheduled to begin at 7am. Thanks!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
A trumpet
Monday morning felt as though it started like any other but I knew that the day would be one burned into my memory forever. We woke up at 6:30am, took our showers, had breakfast and got dressed... normal so far, right? But this was not normal because we were preparing ourselves to go to church to celebrate the life of one truly amazing man, my grandfather.
We arrived at the church. We went through the motions of saying our hello's and talking with some people we see weekly and others that we don't see often enough. B was an amazing little boy. We held him during the wake - fed him Cheerios, his milk and played with his puppy. Then we were informed that the service would start in 10 minutes. I felt prepared for what was to come {at least I thought I was prepared}.
I sat down on the front pew of the church. I was holding B and sitting next to Daddy... I felt rather comforted and secure. My younger sister struggled through tears and overwhelming emotions to read a poem. My older sister put together a spoken tribute of sorts from the grandchildren with our memories. We sang Holy, Holy, Holy and B tried to sing along with us (it was the cutest thing ever!). Daddy took B to our car because he needed a nap. I felt as though my comforts were taken away from me and I was taken back to my dad's memorial service.
My dad died very tragically and suddenly in December 2006. His memorial service was in the same church. I sat in the same pew... almost in the same exact spot. One of the funeral arrangements for my grandfather was almost identical to the one we had for my dad - the flowers were a little different but the size and colors, right down to the massive orange ribbon, were the same. I began to zone out. It was a lot to handle. These memories were flooded with the memory of kissing my grandfather for the last time around 4am on Friday, August 14. Again, I was very strong until that moment. When I kissed him farewell, I was brought back to the very day I kissed my dad farewell (albeit different terms - I said farewell to my father in a morgue while he laid on the table draped in a white sheet with only his face and left arm visible for us to touch). Their skin felt the same - very thick and cool - the softness and plumpness were gone.
We left the church and I felt better. We arrived at the cemetery and drove a long winding path to the back where the mausoleum is. Everyone piled out of their cars and waited for his American flag covered coffin to be taken out of the hearse. Two Army soldiers saluted his coffin as the pallbearers brought it inside. The crowd very solemnly followed behind it and either took the elevator or stairs to the second floor. It was hot and very humid. The air smelled very musky. We all gathered in the hallway where my grandfather would be laid to rest - top left corner of the wall on the right side of the hallway, with my grandmother.
The pastor spoke and then one of the soldiers stepped outside on to the fire escape and lifted his very shiny, silver trumpet. I lost it at this point. Hearing that trumpeter belt out Taps was just too much for me. I looked down at my sweet baby boy laying in his stroller and I cried quietly. I couldn't believe that this was really the end. I continued to cry while watching the most beautiful flag folding ceremony I've ever witnessed. The tears started to flow harder when I watched them hand the flag to my aunt, his youngest daughter. Finality.
I know that he is in a much better place... one that we can only long to be in one day, but that doesn't change how much we miss him. I will never forget the last few days I was able to spend with him. The last time I heard his sweet voice was that Tuesday. I went in his room and said "Popi, look who is here to see you." And amazingly, he opened his eyes. The room was filled with happiness as he smiled from ear-to-ear realizing that I was holding B. He reach his arms out to hug Brice. I leaned in with B and Popi gave him a kiss on his cheek and he said "I miss you." I stood back up and went to ask how he was feeling and his eyes rolled back as he went back to sleep. That was my last verbal interaction with him. I will treasure that memory. Forever.
We arrived at the church. We went through the motions of saying our hello's and talking with some people we see weekly and others that we don't see often enough. B was an amazing little boy. We held him during the wake - fed him Cheerios, his milk and played with his puppy. Then we were informed that the service would start in 10 minutes. I felt prepared for what was to come {at least I thought I was prepared}.
I sat down on the front pew of the church. I was holding B and sitting next to Daddy... I felt rather comforted and secure. My younger sister struggled through tears and overwhelming emotions to read a poem. My older sister put together a spoken tribute of sorts from the grandchildren with our memories. We sang Holy, Holy, Holy and B tried to sing along with us (it was the cutest thing ever!). Daddy took B to our car because he needed a nap. I felt as though my comforts were taken away from me and I was taken back to my dad's memorial service.
My dad died very tragically and suddenly in December 2006. His memorial service was in the same church. I sat in the same pew... almost in the same exact spot. One of the funeral arrangements for my grandfather was almost identical to the one we had for my dad - the flowers were a little different but the size and colors, right down to the massive orange ribbon, were the same. I began to zone out. It was a lot to handle. These memories were flooded with the memory of kissing my grandfather for the last time around 4am on Friday, August 14. Again, I was very strong until that moment. When I kissed him farewell, I was brought back to the very day I kissed my dad farewell (albeit different terms - I said farewell to my father in a morgue while he laid on the table draped in a white sheet with only his face and left arm visible for us to touch). Their skin felt the same - very thick and cool - the softness and plumpness were gone.
We left the church and I felt better. We arrived at the cemetery and drove a long winding path to the back where the mausoleum is. Everyone piled out of their cars and waited for his American flag covered coffin to be taken out of the hearse. Two Army soldiers saluted his coffin as the pallbearers brought it inside. The crowd very solemnly followed behind it and either took the elevator or stairs to the second floor. It was hot and very humid. The air smelled very musky. We all gathered in the hallway where my grandfather would be laid to rest - top left corner of the wall on the right side of the hallway, with my grandmother.
The pastor spoke and then one of the soldiers stepped outside on to the fire escape and lifted his very shiny, silver trumpet. I lost it at this point. Hearing that trumpeter belt out Taps was just too much for me. I looked down at my sweet baby boy laying in his stroller and I cried quietly. I couldn't believe that this was really the end. I continued to cry while watching the most beautiful flag folding ceremony I've ever witnessed. The tears started to flow harder when I watched them hand the flag to my aunt, his youngest daughter. Finality.
I know that he is in a much better place... one that we can only long to be in one day, but that doesn't change how much we miss him. I will never forget the last few days I was able to spend with him. The last time I heard his sweet voice was that Tuesday. I went in his room and said "Popi, look who is here to see you." And amazingly, he opened his eyes. The room was filled with happiness as he smiled from ear-to-ear realizing that I was holding B. He reach his arms out to hug Brice. I leaned in with B and Popi gave him a kiss on his cheek and he said "I miss you." I stood back up and went to ask how he was feeling and his eyes rolled back as he went back to sleep. That was my last verbal interaction with him. I will treasure that memory. Forever.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Finally!
I feel as though I'm seeing some light at the end of this long, sleepless tunnel.
B slept ALL NIGHT LONG! I woke up at 6am to hearing him through the baby monitor. Daddy and I were prepared to face another sleepless night but thankfully, Brice got the sleep he needed!
And even better, this super drained, tired, pregnant mama finally got the sleep she needed! I slept for 8 uninterrupted hours. I feel like a brand new woman today. I actually had some energy to clean (ie dust, sweep, mop, clean the bathrooms, etc) my house that I've neglected since B got sick (we would tidy here and there and the dishes were about the only thing consistently taken care of). I still have a few rooms left to do but I'm making lots of progress.
Tomorrow, we have my grandfather's wake, funeral and burial. We've decided to bring our babysitter along with us so that she can take care of B, especially during the service and burial.
Thanks to everyone who prayed for my family. We feel your prayers and God is answering them.
Now... all we have to do is make it through Wednesday with good results and no hospitalization and I will definitely be able to breathe much easier!
B slept ALL NIGHT LONG! I woke up at 6am to hearing him through the baby monitor. Daddy and I were prepared to face another sleepless night but thankfully, Brice got the sleep he needed!
And even better, this super drained, tired, pregnant mama finally got the sleep she needed! I slept for 8 uninterrupted hours. I feel like a brand new woman today. I actually had some energy to clean (ie dust, sweep, mop, clean the bathrooms, etc) my house that I've neglected since B got sick (we would tidy here and there and the dishes were about the only thing consistently taken care of). I still have a few rooms left to do but I'm making lots of progress.
Tomorrow, we have my grandfather's wake, funeral and burial. We've decided to bring our babysitter along with us so that she can take care of B, especially during the service and burial.
Thanks to everyone who prayed for my family. We feel your prayers and God is answering them.
Now... all we have to do is make it through Wednesday with good results and no hospitalization and I will definitely be able to breathe much easier!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Please pray for B
The past few days have been {long, rough, exhausting, an emotional rollercoaster, stressful, seeming to never end, had their moments of happiness}. As you may have read in my previous post, my grandfather died. I can honestly say I'm at complete peace with his loss. I'm so relieved to no longer see him suffering. I'm happy to know that he is reunited with my grandmother. He is in a place of pure joy and beauty. A place we should all long to be in one day. I'm sad that I no longer get to see his sweet face, his goofy antics or hear his "Here's to you and me..." toast any longer. It's very surreal. I'm saddened that his namesake won't get to meet him but happy that B was able to. He was an amazing man and I am honored to be his grand-daughter.
On top of spending the last few days at my grandfather's bedside, we've also been dealing with a sick babyyet again. Thursday was a day from hell - there is no better way to put it. I had my gallbladder ultrasound that morning and B was flat miserable. all. day. long. He would scream and cry very randomly and he was running fever (easily controlled with Tylenol). I called his pediatrician and spoke with the nurse. I informed her that he finished his 10 day Augmentin course Tuesday evening and of B's behavior and fever. She said that because he was running fever again the pedi would want to see him. We scheduled an appointment for Friday morning. He spent the rest of the day letting everyone know just how poorly he felt. Thankfully, he slept well that night. {Myself on the other hand... eh, not so much. My brother and sister came to my house at 2:45am and scared the poop out of the dogs, Daddy and I because they came into the house and we didn't hear them until the dogs went nuts informed us that Popi had died. I got myself together and went to be with my family until 5am.}
We went to his appointment. The pedi came in and did the usual examination. After she looked at me and said that she could hear crackling noises in his lungs, particularly his left. She wanted us to go get bloodwork and more chest x-rays. We left her office to go to the lab. I called Daddy and my mom. I was freaking out inside of my head over the bloodwork. How would they draw blood from such a little person? I mean I knew that it was obviously possible but the thought of inflicting that type of pain on my sweet baby boy was paralyzing. We arrived at the lab and waited for 50 long minutes. We were brought into a room, his information was taken and then hell broke loose. The tech placed the blue rubber tie around his upper right arm and he lost it. Then she moved to his left arm. I was holding him in my lap as tightly as I could and he was pulling his arm away from her. She left the room to get another tech and I calmed him down. They both came in and he started to whine and shake his head no. One tech stabilized his right arm while the other one prepped it and then drew his blood. He was SCREAMING CRYING, kicking, trying to turn around into my arms - I sat there kissing him constantly and telling him it was going to be okay and that it would end soon and I was fighting back tears. Finally, 3 vials later, she was finished. I immediately turned him around, comforted him, hugged him, kissed him and he was still crying. When we walked back through the very full waiting room, you could tell that everyone heard him screaming because I was receiving looks of sympathy and I could hear people saying things along the lines of "aww poor baby." I think this moment was the most traumatic event I've experienced thus far in motherhood. I called Daddy and he didn't answer. Then I called my mom and absolutely broke down sobbing on the phone with her. Daddy called me back and I spoke to him until we arrived at the x-ray facility. They were wonderful - immediately checked us in, registered us and brought us straight back to a private waiting area for his x-ray. I, of course, could not be in the room with him because I'm pregnant but the 3 ladies that took him from my arms were so sweet. I could hear them talking to him in the room and he was crying but it was over quickly and at least I knew what to expect.
I spoke with his pediatrician later and she said that he still had bilateral (both lungs) infiltrates. I couldn't believe it. She decided to place him on Zithromax. And then her next statement felt as though somebody punched me as hard as they could in the stomach... If he doesn't imrpove by next week he will have to be admitted to the hospital. I felt as though I couldn't breathe. As soon as I hung up the tears started. My baby. Hospitalized. How could this be happening? I'm so not prepared mentally for something of this nature. But I know that if this what it takes to get him healthy then so be it (even though it's rather frightening).
Last night was R-O-U-G-H. B went to sleep around 7:30pm and at 10:45pm he woke up screaming... This screaming and crying fit didn't end until 3am. Nothing that Daddy and I would do was comforting for longer then 2ish minutes. I felt as though my nerves were fraying. I laid in bed at one point and just cried too. I felt so helpless. Why couldn't I help my sweet baby boy? Finally around 3am the house quieted down and we didn't hear him again until 6am.
I called his pedi's office this morning to find out his bloodwork results and to let her know about last night. They called me back and said his bloodwork was normal (thank goodness). The girl also said that Dr. Lawrence is hoping last night was just a bad night and a byproduct of his illness but if we have another night like that tonight, we have to call her in the morning and she will admit him tomorrow. Again, another punch in the stomach.
As I type this, B is peacefully sleeping in his room. I'm hoping he stays that way all night. I ask that you pray for a few specific things:
* last night will not repeat itself tonight
* that his new antibiotics will work and by Wednesday we will see an improvement in his lungs
* his appetite will increase - he has lost 5oz in the last 2 weeks. Daddy changed his diaper this morning after he woke up and that was the only time it needed to be changed until bedtime and it was barely wet.
* and lastly for me, I've had 16 hours of sleep in the last 4 days. I'm running on empty physically and emotionally. If I can get a decent night's sleep tonight, I know I will function better tomorrow. But in all honesty, my baby boy is worth it. He wants me (and only me) and I want to comfort him and take care of him.
And lastly, I am meeting with a general surgeon on Wednesday to discuss my gallbladder. I have so many questions and I really need to feel confident in whatever decision is made.
Have a good night.
On top of spending the last few days at my grandfather's bedside, we've also been dealing with a sick baby
We went to his appointment. The pedi came in and did the usual examination. After she looked at me and said that she could hear crackling noises in his lungs, particularly his left. She wanted us to go get bloodwork and more chest x-rays. We left her office to go to the lab. I called Daddy and my mom. I was freaking out inside of my head over the bloodwork. How would they draw blood from such a little person? I mean I knew that it was obviously possible but the thought of inflicting that type of pain on my sweet baby boy was paralyzing. We arrived at the lab and waited for 50 long minutes. We were brought into a room, his information was taken and then hell broke loose. The tech placed the blue rubber tie around his upper right arm and he lost it. Then she moved to his left arm. I was holding him in my lap as tightly as I could and he was pulling his arm away from her. She left the room to get another tech and I calmed him down. They both came in and he started to whine and shake his head no. One tech stabilized his right arm while the other one prepped it and then drew his blood. He was SCREAMING CRYING, kicking, trying to turn around into my arms - I sat there kissing him constantly and telling him it was going to be okay and that it would end soon and I was fighting back tears. Finally, 3 vials later, she was finished. I immediately turned him around, comforted him, hugged him, kissed him and he was still crying. When we walked back through the very full waiting room, you could tell that everyone heard him screaming because I was receiving looks of sympathy and I could hear people saying things along the lines of "aww poor baby." I think this moment was the most traumatic event I've experienced thus far in motherhood. I called Daddy and he didn't answer. Then I called my mom and absolutely broke down sobbing on the phone with her. Daddy called me back and I spoke to him until we arrived at the x-ray facility. They were wonderful - immediately checked us in, registered us and brought us straight back to a private waiting area for his x-ray. I, of course, could not be in the room with him because I'm pregnant but the 3 ladies that took him from my arms were so sweet. I could hear them talking to him in the room and he was crying but it was over quickly and at least I knew what to expect.
I spoke with his pediatrician later and she said that he still had bilateral (both lungs) infiltrates. I couldn't believe it. She decided to place him on Zithromax. And then her next statement felt as though somebody punched me as hard as they could in the stomach... If he doesn't imrpove by next week he will have to be admitted to the hospital. I felt as though I couldn't breathe. As soon as I hung up the tears started. My baby. Hospitalized. How could this be happening? I'm so not prepared mentally for something of this nature. But I know that if this what it takes to get him healthy then so be it (even though it's rather frightening).
Last night was R-O-U-G-H. B went to sleep around 7:30pm and at 10:45pm he woke up screaming... This screaming and crying fit didn't end until 3am. Nothing that Daddy and I would do was comforting for longer then 2ish minutes. I felt as though my nerves were fraying. I laid in bed at one point and just cried too. I felt so helpless. Why couldn't I help my sweet baby boy? Finally around 3am the house quieted down and we didn't hear him again until 6am.
I called his pedi's office this morning to find out his bloodwork results and to let her know about last night. They called me back and said his bloodwork was normal (thank goodness). The girl also said that Dr. Lawrence is hoping last night was just a bad night and a byproduct of his illness but if we have another night like that tonight, we have to call her in the morning and she will admit him tomorrow. Again, another punch in the stomach.
As I type this, B is peacefully sleeping in his room. I'm hoping he stays that way all night. I ask that you pray for a few specific things:
* last night will not repeat itself tonight
* that his new antibiotics will work and by Wednesday we will see an improvement in his lungs
* his appetite will increase - he has lost 5oz in the last 2 weeks. Daddy changed his diaper this morning after he woke up and that was the only time it needed to be changed until bedtime and it was barely wet.
* and lastly for me, I've had 16 hours of sleep in the last 4 days. I'm running on empty physically and emotionally. If I can get a decent night's sleep tonight, I know I will function better tomorrow. But in all honesty, my baby boy is worth it. He wants me (and only me) and I want to comfort him and take care of him.
And lastly, I am meeting with a general surgeon on Wednesday to discuss my gallbladder. I have so many questions and I really need to feel confident in whatever decision is made.
Have a good night.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Flying with Angels
My sweet grandfather went home to be with Jesus at 2:15am. Please lift my family up in prayer.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
And the verdict is in…
I had an ultrasound this morning of my gallbladder.
I have gallstones.
My OB is putting me on a gallbladder diet and I have to meet with a general surgeon to determine whether or not I need surgery now.
I will update when I know more.
I have gallstones.
My OB is putting me on a gallbladder diet and I have to meet with a general surgeon to determine whether or not I need surgery now.
I will update when I know more.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Bittersweet
There is no gentle way to say this... my grandfather is dying.
He has Alzheimer's Disease and prostate and rectal cancer. He is presently on hospice (a decision that was made between my mom and her 2 sisters after his colostomy and radiation treatment for the rectal cancer). He is not doing well.
Last night was a very emotional night for me. Daddy, B and I went over to my aunt's to be with our family in these last hours. This has proven itself to be a difficult line to walk. The selfish side of me wants him to live because I want him to meet my second child and see my baby sister walk down the aisle in December. And then there is the rational side of me that knows he doesn't deserve to suffer in pain and more than anything, he deserves to be in heaven with his loving wife, my grammie.
You have to understand something about my grandfather. He fulfilled the word gentleman in ways most men could never dream of. He is the kindest, most loving person who lived and breathed for his family. He is the type of man that children wish was their father, women wish for as a husband and grandchildren could only hope to be blessed with.
Last night, as I stood by his bed, I was overcome by a very bittersweet moment. I was holding my grandfather's hand while he was having some difficulty breathing. During that moment, I placed my hand on my belly because P was kicking up a storm. One hand was holding a life that is slowly slipping away, while the other hand was feeling a life that is being created. It was very bittersweet for me. P’s middle name is my grandfather's middle name So that moment was even more bittersweet because of that. And on a side note, B's middle name, is after Daddy, his father and grandfather (who is deceased as well). I feel privileged to have honored such great men with the naming of our children.
I feel very frustrated because I hate so much that he is having to suffer. I keep praying over and over for God to do His will but I'm so confused as to why he has to suffer so much. I am, of course, sad, too. It hurts to see that look in the eyes of my loved ones. It hurts to see my mom fighting back tears and it hurts even more to see her cry. This process is draining.
I know and truly believe that in time peace will pass all understanding.
I ask that you pray for my family during this difficult journey and these very dark hours. Thank you.
He has Alzheimer's Disease and prostate and rectal cancer. He is presently on hospice (a decision that was made between my mom and her 2 sisters after his colostomy and radiation treatment for the rectal cancer). He is not doing well.
Last night was a very emotional night for me. Daddy, B and I went over to my aunt's to be with our family in these last hours. This has proven itself to be a difficult line to walk. The selfish side of me wants him to live because I want him to meet my second child and see my baby sister walk down the aisle in December. And then there is the rational side of me that knows he doesn't deserve to suffer in pain and more than anything, he deserves to be in heaven with his loving wife, my grammie.
You have to understand something about my grandfather. He fulfilled the word gentleman in ways most men could never dream of. He is the kindest, most loving person who lived and breathed for his family. He is the type of man that children wish was their father, women wish for as a husband and grandchildren could only hope to be blessed with.
Last night, as I stood by his bed, I was overcome by a very bittersweet moment. I was holding my grandfather's hand while he was having some difficulty breathing. During that moment, I placed my hand on my belly because P was kicking up a storm. One hand was holding a life that is slowly slipping away, while the other hand was feeling a life that is being created. It was very bittersweet for me. P’s middle name is my grandfather's middle name So that moment was even more bittersweet because of that. And on a side note, B's middle name, is after Daddy, his father and grandfather (who is deceased as well). I feel privileged to have honored such great men with the naming of our children.
I feel very frustrated because I hate so much that he is having to suffer. I keep praying over and over for God to do His will but I'm so confused as to why he has to suffer so much. I am, of course, sad, too. It hurts to see that look in the eyes of my loved ones. It hurts to see my mom fighting back tears and it hurts even more to see her cry. This process is draining.
I know and truly believe that in time peace will pass all understanding.
I ask that you pray for my family during this difficult journey and these very dark hours. Thank you.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Expendable
Do you know what the black arrow is pointing to?
No, you say? No problem... a quick introduction will be my pleasure!
Everyone meet Ms. Gallbladder and Ms. Gallbladder meet everyone!
Ms. Gallbladder why don't you let everyone know why I am introducing you to them? What's that... you don't know why? Oh, I know why. YOU ARE WREAKING HAVOC ON MY POOR (pregnant) BODY!
Yes, it's true. I seem to be having some major issues with my gallbladder. It's definitely no joy ride. At the moment, I have to modify my diet and avoid foods that I know cause an attack. Here's the catch... I don't know which foods will cause a problem until a few hours after I've eaten it. For instance, a piece of pizza (so far) causes me no trouble and a chicken sandwich had me doubled over in pain crying. Any food that's slightly to highly fatty or greasy can bring on an attack from hell... the worst. stomach. pains. ever and because I am so nice, I will spare you the rest of the details that accompany those hellish attacks... let's just say, it's not pretty.
Why does my body contain so many expendable organs that despise me? Would you like a few examples... not a problem. {Example 1} Mr. & Mrs. Tonsil - on July 31, 2000 I got rid of those boogers after they inflicted many bouts of pain in my throat; {Example 2} Ms. Cervix - I obviously still have that since I am pregnant and all... but I don't have too much of it - April 20, 2006 was the day I had a large chunk of it removed (surgically, that is); and {Example 3} Ms. Gallbladder - need I say anymore?
My doctor wants to look at my gallbladder in depth at my next ultrasound (August 21). In addition to the whole "avoid the foods that cause you problems" advice, he also said to call if I have any more attacks because they will want to run bloodwork as soon as possible because they would be able to see something.
And to ice this big ole' stale cake, nothing can be done about it, in a surgical sense, at this point (ideally). If it got to the point where I had to have it removed, they would do surgery, but that's not ideal. And I will be breastfeeding after delivery, so it will have to be postponed that much more.
Other than my gallbladder hating my body in ways that I did not know were capable for an inanimate object to do, things are well!
This pregnancy is trucking along. I am 18w5d pregnant today. I can't really complain - which is so lovely to say because at this point with B, I was super miserable and it only got worse. Since I am closer to 19 weeks... this is what P supposedly looks like...
And on a side note - I received my new, super cool double stroller yesterday {very long story as to why we received it so early... if you want a Bumbleride, don't believe them when they say it's back ordered by 1+ month(s)}. I am in serious L.O.V.E. with it - and no longer feeling semi-nauseous over the price we paid for it. It's worth every single penny!
Bumbleride - Indie Twin
And B, well he is just a fabulous little person. Thanks for asking...
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
B’s Commercial
I received an email yesterday regarding the commercial B was a part of in May. It's finally ready and you can view it hereAssociated Bank of Wisconsin {scroll down and you will see a small black screen in the lower right corner and underneath you can click a link to view the video on a full screen}. I am such a proud mama right now!!!
its been a long 4 days
{Warning: Get comfortable... your eyeballs may hurt after reading this post}
On Friday, B started running fever. We were out visiting family all day and when we got home that evening, I took his temperature. It was 102F. I gave him some Motrin and figured that by the morning he would be fine. I took his temp Saturday morning... still running a fever. We rotated Motrin and Tylenol all day long. The lowest that we could get his temp was 101F and the highest (that we are aware of) was 103.7F. We tried every fever breaking trick in the book - letting him just wear a diaper, keeping the house a little cooler (but not too cool as we did not want to induce more chills for him), tepid baths, etc. I began to get worried by early evening (6pm or so) because he had not wet a diaper or taken in any fluids for 4+ hours at that point (very unlike B). Around 7pm, his temp was 102.1F so I made the decision that it was time to head to the ER.
We arrived at the ER and thankfully we didn't wait long. We were taken immediately to triage. His weight was taken (21lbs 13oz - fully clothed/diapered) and we were brought into a room. The nurse took his vitals - O2 97%, HR 150bpm - both great for his age. They took his temp and it was 102.6F. Another nurse came in and administered some Tylenol. They asked us to have a seat in the waiting area. After waiting for about 10 minutes, we were called to registration. We verified our information and went back into the waiting room. About 15 minutes later, we were brought into our room. The doctor came in and asked for a quick run down and decided it would be best to do a rapid strep swab (oral), an influenza type A and B swab (nasal) and a chest x-ray. He said it was pointless at that moment to do bloodwork because we would obviously see that Brice's white blood cell count was elevated but it would not tell us why.
Two nurses came in for the swabs and a radiology tech came for the x-ray. My mom was in the room with us at that point because Daddy had stepped out to make a phone call. My mom asked if she should come back and the tech said no. So we walked to the x-ray area and I went into the room and she was telling me how to hold his hands up by his head and I replied that I couldn't be in the room because I was 18 weeks pregnant - I guess she didn't realize! They had another tech hold his arms up. All the while, I waited in the hall outside the door, holding his pacifier and blanket and fighting off tears knowing he was okay but he looked like he was in a torture contraption...
{this is not B... just some random kid off the internet... plus B was screaming the whole time!}
The doctor came into the room later in the evening to let us know that his diagnosis was bilateral bronchial pneumonia. I was shocked. I honestly figured, at worst, he had the flu. He said he wanted to give B a shot of Rocephin and put him on a 10 day course of Augmentin. We had to hang out for an additional 45 minutes after the injection because they wanted to make sure that B did not have a reaction to the shot. Around 10:50pm, we were discharged (still with a fever of 102) but with a plan of action. Little did I know that I had a looong night ahead of me.
I didn't crawl into bed until 12:30am. I was in the nursery from 3:15am on. When I went in to check on him, he was screaming and so hot to touch. I took his temp and it was 103.3F. I stripped him down, gave him Motrin and he was wide awake until 5:00am. He finally fell asleep on my chest until 7:30am. We called several local pharmacies looking for one that was open so we could fill his prescription. We ventured out, dropped the script off and I ran into the grocery while we waited for it to be filled. We went home and gave B his medicine (side note: B does not like medicine. at. all.) and put him down for a nap. He napped for 2 hour spurts at a time - either in his crib or on my chest while I sat in the chair in his room - all day long. Around 4pm, we finally saw a break from the fever. His temp was 98.7F and he was such a happy little boy. It was nice being able to play with him and to see him smile and laugh. And we could tell when the fever was kicking back in because he started to get cranky. We gave him a bath early, fed him dinner and he was sleeping by 7pm.
Monday started very early but thankfully, fever free!! We had to be out of the house for 6:30am to make it into New Orleans for an 8am doctor appointment. We arrived with plenty of time to spare. The nurse weighed B (21lbs 12oz - fully clothed/diapered), took his temp and brought us into a room. B's pediatrician came in and I handed him a sheet of paper that I typed up documenting when I took B's temp, what it was, when I administered Tylenol and Motrin, and our eventful ER trip. I answered his questions and he looked at me and said, I can tell you right now that B does not have pneumonia. He asked me to get a copy of the x-ray film and the radiology report because he was curious to see what they both showed. He said that ER doctors are not typically equipped to handle infants and young children (I totally agree) and that they are rather quick to hand out broad spectrum antibiotics. He wanted to discontinue B on the Augmentin but stated that he would only do so after viewing the films and the report, just in case the ER doctor was correct. He went on to state that B may have roseola - a condition where a child runs high fevers for 3 days and then breaks out into a rash. I was frustrated and decided that I would drive the 45 minutes back to the ER to pick up the films and radiology report and that I would drive another 45 minutes back so that I could be with the pediatrician when he read them. So off we went...
We picked up the radiology report and while waiting on the films, I decided to read the report. It stated: "FINDINGS: The heart is within normal limits in size. There is no evidence of a pleural effusion. There is increase in the perihilar lung markings compatible with perihilar pneumonitis. IMPRESSION: Perihilar Pneumonitis." Now I am not a doctor, so I had no clue what portion of the lungs were the perihilar areas but I did know that the prefix pneumo- means lung and the suffix -itis means inflammation (so lung inflammation). I also read the ER doctor's report and it stated: "... Chest x-ray, rapid strep and influenza A and B obtained. Rapid strep and influenza are negative. Chest x-ray reveals bilateral perihilar infiltrates. Rocephin administered. IMPRESSION: Pneumonia. PLAN: Augmentin, follow-up with pediatrician Monday." We received the two x-rays and headed back to New Orleans.
We waited to see the pediatrician again. The nurse attached the radiology report to the door so that he would know we were in the room waiting. He came in and said that he read the report and the radiologist noted perihilar pneumonitis. He said that was basically puffy/inflammed areas of the lungs. He took the x-rays out of the room to look at them. When he came back he stated that he believed that the films looked normal and to discontinue the Augmentin. I walked out the office feeling even more confused and frustrated than ever before. I was curious as to why the ER physician and the radiologist (who for petes sake went to school, has an MD and specialized in reading x-rays) concurred and our pediatrician disagreed. All I knew was that I did not feel okay with what was going on. For me, my son's health is not a game of Russian roulette. I don't believe in pushing antibiotics if a child (or adult for that matter) is not in need of them. And it could have been purely coincidental that B started to show drastic improvement once we started the Augmentin or the Augmentin was actually working. I didn't want to risk pulling him off the antibiotics because I didn't want the infection to have the opportunity to come back worse than before (especially with it potentially being in his lungs). I decided it was time for a second opinion because all I knew was that over the weekend my husband and I had a very sick baby on our hands.
I met my mom at Home Depot and she read the reports and we talked about who I should contact regarding a second opinion. I thought about the pediatrician that B's cousin sees but I was uncertain as to whether or not I could get a same day appointment. I wanted answers and I was not willing to wait. My mom said "what happened to the Marty Kleins of the world" - he was our pediatrician and a good family friend (and one of the most amazing doctors ever). Dr. Klein retired several years ago and Dr. Lawrence took over his practice (I saw her a few times as an older teenager before Dr. Klein retired). My mom and I almost said it simultaneously... what about Dr. Lawrence. I waited until they were back from lunch and decided to just "pop in to say hi." She and one of my favorite nurses from the practice were chatting with Brice and I. They asked how he was doing and I said "Well..." Dr. Lawrence looked at the films and immediately agreed with the perihilar pneumonitis diagnosis. She held up one the films and pointed to a section of Brice's lungs and said "Do you see all of this white junk... that does not belong in his lungs." I instantly felt relieved... like I was making progress in being an advocate for B's health. She also stated that she would not go as far as saying pneumonia but more like acute bronchitis - it most likely started out viral and the reason he was responding to the antibiotics was because it was a secondary bacterial infection. Apparently at this age, they are more prone to the viral gunk picking up a host of bacteria. I told her that 1 week ago we were in Urgent Care because B was running fever and it had lasted for 4 days and we were told that he had a virus. She said she could almost guarantee that virus was the primary infection and it turned into a bacterial one several days later. She advised to continue the antibiotics. FINALLY, a freaking answer as to what was going on with my sweet baby boy.
At times being a parent is made much more difficult than necessary. I know that I don't have MD behind my name but I do know when my mommy instinct isscreaming saying "something isn't right... red flag alert." I definitely look forward to the day when B can say "Mommy this hurts, etc." - it's tough trying to search for clues as to what could potentially be wrong.
But I am very happy to report that as of this morning, my sweet little monkey is almost back to working at 100%. He is playing hard and giggling, smiling and crawling all over the place. The only thing that we need to work on is his appetite - he still is not showing much interest in food - but that will come in due time.
Now I am off to catch up on everything else I let slip by this weekend. Have a great day!
On Friday, B started running fever. We were out visiting family all day and when we got home that evening, I took his temperature. It was 102F. I gave him some Motrin and figured that by the morning he would be fine. I took his temp Saturday morning... still running a fever. We rotated Motrin and Tylenol all day long. The lowest that we could get his temp was 101F and the highest (that we are aware of) was 103.7F. We tried every fever breaking trick in the book - letting him just wear a diaper, keeping the house a little cooler (but not too cool as we did not want to induce more chills for him), tepid baths, etc. I began to get worried by early evening (6pm or so) because he had not wet a diaper or taken in any fluids for 4+ hours at that point (very unlike B). Around 7pm, his temp was 102.1F so I made the decision that it was time to head to the ER.
We arrived at the ER and thankfully we didn't wait long. We were taken immediately to triage. His weight was taken (21lbs 13oz - fully clothed/diapered) and we were brought into a room. The nurse took his vitals - O2 97%, HR 150bpm - both great for his age. They took his temp and it was 102.6F. Another nurse came in and administered some Tylenol. They asked us to have a seat in the waiting area. After waiting for about 10 minutes, we were called to registration. We verified our information and went back into the waiting room. About 15 minutes later, we were brought into our room. The doctor came in and asked for a quick run down and decided it would be best to do a rapid strep swab (oral), an influenza type A and B swab (nasal) and a chest x-ray. He said it was pointless at that moment to do bloodwork because we would obviously see that Brice's white blood cell count was elevated but it would not tell us why.
Two nurses came in for the swabs and a radiology tech came for the x-ray. My mom was in the room with us at that point because Daddy had stepped out to make a phone call. My mom asked if she should come back and the tech said no. So we walked to the x-ray area and I went into the room and she was telling me how to hold his hands up by his head and I replied that I couldn't be in the room because I was 18 weeks pregnant - I guess she didn't realize! They had another tech hold his arms up. All the while, I waited in the hall outside the door, holding his pacifier and blanket and fighting off tears knowing he was okay but he looked like he was in a torture contraption...
{this is not B... just some random kid off the internet... plus B was screaming the whole time!}
The doctor came into the room later in the evening to let us know that his diagnosis was bilateral bronchial pneumonia. I was shocked. I honestly figured, at worst, he had the flu. He said he wanted to give B a shot of Rocephin and put him on a 10 day course of Augmentin. We had to hang out for an additional 45 minutes after the injection because they wanted to make sure that B did not have a reaction to the shot. Around 10:50pm, we were discharged (still with a fever of 102) but with a plan of action. Little did I know that I had a looong night ahead of me.
I didn't crawl into bed until 12:30am. I was in the nursery from 3:15am on. When I went in to check on him, he was screaming and so hot to touch. I took his temp and it was 103.3F. I stripped him down, gave him Motrin and he was wide awake until 5:00am. He finally fell asleep on my chest until 7:30am. We called several local pharmacies looking for one that was open so we could fill his prescription. We ventured out, dropped the script off and I ran into the grocery while we waited for it to be filled. We went home and gave B his medicine (side note: B does not like medicine. at. all.) and put him down for a nap. He napped for 2 hour spurts at a time - either in his crib or on my chest while I sat in the chair in his room - all day long. Around 4pm, we finally saw a break from the fever. His temp was 98.7F and he was such a happy little boy. It was nice being able to play with him and to see him smile and laugh. And we could tell when the fever was kicking back in because he started to get cranky. We gave him a bath early, fed him dinner and he was sleeping by 7pm.
Monday started very early but thankfully, fever free!! We had to be out of the house for 6:30am to make it into New Orleans for an 8am doctor appointment. We arrived with plenty of time to spare. The nurse weighed B (21lbs 12oz - fully clothed/diapered), took his temp and brought us into a room. B's pediatrician came in and I handed him a sheet of paper that I typed up documenting when I took B's temp, what it was, when I administered Tylenol and Motrin, and our eventful ER trip. I answered his questions and he looked at me and said, I can tell you right now that B does not have pneumonia. He asked me to get a copy of the x-ray film and the radiology report because he was curious to see what they both showed. He said that ER doctors are not typically equipped to handle infants and young children (I totally agree) and that they are rather quick to hand out broad spectrum antibiotics. He wanted to discontinue B on the Augmentin but stated that he would only do so after viewing the films and the report, just in case the ER doctor was correct. He went on to state that B may have roseola - a condition where a child runs high fevers for 3 days and then breaks out into a rash. I was frustrated and decided that I would drive the 45 minutes back to the ER to pick up the films and radiology report and that I would drive another 45 minutes back so that I could be with the pediatrician when he read them. So off we went...
We picked up the radiology report and while waiting on the films, I decided to read the report. It stated: "FINDINGS: The heart is within normal limits in size. There is no evidence of a pleural effusion. There is increase in the perihilar lung markings compatible with perihilar pneumonitis. IMPRESSION: Perihilar Pneumonitis." Now I am not a doctor, so I had no clue what portion of the lungs were the perihilar areas but I did know that the prefix pneumo- means lung and the suffix -itis means inflammation (so lung inflammation). I also read the ER doctor's report and it stated: "... Chest x-ray, rapid strep and influenza A and B obtained. Rapid strep and influenza are negative. Chest x-ray reveals bilateral perihilar infiltrates. Rocephin administered. IMPRESSION: Pneumonia. PLAN: Augmentin, follow-up with pediatrician Monday." We received the two x-rays and headed back to New Orleans.
We waited to see the pediatrician again. The nurse attached the radiology report to the door so that he would know we were in the room waiting. He came in and said that he read the report and the radiologist noted perihilar pneumonitis. He said that was basically puffy/inflammed areas of the lungs. He took the x-rays out of the room to look at them. When he came back he stated that he believed that the films looked normal and to discontinue the Augmentin. I walked out the office feeling even more confused and frustrated than ever before. I was curious as to why the ER physician and the radiologist (who for petes sake went to school, has an MD and specialized in reading x-rays) concurred and our pediatrician disagreed. All I knew was that I did not feel okay with what was going on. For me, my son's health is not a game of Russian roulette. I don't believe in pushing antibiotics if a child (or adult for that matter) is not in need of them. And it could have been purely coincidental that B started to show drastic improvement once we started the Augmentin or the Augmentin was actually working. I didn't want to risk pulling him off the antibiotics because I didn't want the infection to have the opportunity to come back worse than before (especially with it potentially being in his lungs). I decided it was time for a second opinion because all I knew was that over the weekend my husband and I had a very sick baby on our hands.
I met my mom at Home Depot and she read the reports and we talked about who I should contact regarding a second opinion. I thought about the pediatrician that B's cousin sees but I was uncertain as to whether or not I could get a same day appointment. I wanted answers and I was not willing to wait. My mom said "what happened to the Marty Kleins of the world" - he was our pediatrician and a good family friend (and one of the most amazing doctors ever). Dr. Klein retired several years ago and Dr. Lawrence took over his practice (I saw her a few times as an older teenager before Dr. Klein retired). My mom and I almost said it simultaneously... what about Dr. Lawrence. I waited until they were back from lunch and decided to just "pop in to say hi." She and one of my favorite nurses from the practice were chatting with Brice and I. They asked how he was doing and I said "Well..." Dr. Lawrence looked at the films and immediately agreed with the perihilar pneumonitis diagnosis. She held up one the films and pointed to a section of Brice's lungs and said "Do you see all of this white junk... that does not belong in his lungs." I instantly felt relieved... like I was making progress in being an advocate for B's health. She also stated that she would not go as far as saying pneumonia but more like acute bronchitis - it most likely started out viral and the reason he was responding to the antibiotics was because it was a secondary bacterial infection. Apparently at this age, they are more prone to the viral gunk picking up a host of bacteria. I told her that 1 week ago we were in Urgent Care because B was running fever and it had lasted for 4 days and we were told that he had a virus. She said she could almost guarantee that virus was the primary infection and it turned into a bacterial one several days later. She advised to continue the antibiotics. FINALLY, a freaking answer as to what was going on with my sweet baby boy.
At times being a parent is made much more difficult than necessary. I know that I don't have MD behind my name but I do know when my mommy instinct is
But I am very happy to report that as of this morning, my sweet little monkey is almost back to working at 100%. He is playing hard and giggling, smiling and crawling all over the place. The only thing that we need to work on is his appetite - he still is not showing much interest in food - but that will come in due time.
Now I am off to catch up on everything else I let slip by this weekend. Have a great day!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
…
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:28-29
Monday, July 27, 2009
Stellan Updates
From Mck Mama's blog
“Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday Morning Update
Hello prayer warriors! This is Carrie, posting for Jennifer this morning as she continues to do whatever she can to help her son. As you read Jennifer's words below you will see how much she and Stellan need your prayers right now.....
Stellan had a shitty night. Sorry, but he did. So whatever. I'll swear if I want to. And believe me, I am. I've been vomiting all night with sympathy barfing for my son. Stellan is crumpling. He's still in SVT (3 days and counting? I can no longer keep track. How terrible is that?) and his heart is giving way.
He is barely urinating because his heart can't keep up anymore to keep his kidneys functioning well and so on. Stellan has a low ph and low bicarbs. He's in some kind of metabolic, acidotic state. His body temperature is 94.7 and he is pale with cold extremities and thready pulses. He really, really needs help to get out of this hole. He began vomiting at midnight and can't keep anything down.
I've been doing kangaroo care with him...skin to skin with him on my chest...to try to keep him warm and at peace. The doctors here are trying what they can. We'll talk soon with the Boston doctor again and hopefully he'll have some kind of insight as to what to try next.
I'm spent, in all meanings of the word. And so is Stellan.”
“Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday Morning Update
Hello prayer warriors! This is Carrie, posting for Jennifer this morning as she continues to do whatever she can to help her son. As you read Jennifer's words below you will see how much she and Stellan need your prayers right now.....
Stellan had a shitty night. Sorry, but he did. So whatever. I'll swear if I want to. And believe me, I am. I've been vomiting all night with sympathy barfing for my son. Stellan is crumpling. He's still in SVT (3 days and counting? I can no longer keep track. How terrible is that?) and his heart is giving way.
He is barely urinating because his heart can't keep up anymore to keep his kidneys functioning well and so on. Stellan has a low ph and low bicarbs. He's in some kind of metabolic, acidotic state. His body temperature is 94.7 and he is pale with cold extremities and thready pulses. He really, really needs help to get out of this hole. He began vomiting at midnight and can't keep anything down.
I've been doing kangaroo care with him...skin to skin with him on my chest...to try to keep him warm and at peace. The doctors here are trying what they can. We'll talk soon with the Boston doctor again and hopefully he'll have some kind of insight as to what to try next.
I'm spent, in all meanings of the word. And so is Stellan.”
Friday, July 24, 2009
Pregnancy & Monkey Updates
I actually can't complain at this point! My first trimester was much more difficult than B's first trimester... but here we are, in the second trimester and I am actually feeling pretty good! My headaches have started to become less frequent and the nausea only happens every so often.
My poor little monkey has something going on... yesterday, he felt pretty warm so I took his temp and it was 100.6 (around 5:45pm); I gave him a dose of Motrin. He went to bed a little earlier than usual because he decided to boycott his afternoon nap (meaning, he was awake from his morning nap that ended at 10am until he went to sleep at 6:45pm)! He woke up several times throughout the night. Around 11:30pm, I gave him a dose of Tylenol. This morning, Daddy fed him breakfast so that I could take a quick shower and feel more human-like again. After they finished eating, Daddy brought him into our bathroom. I took B to go change him and he still felt warm. I took his temp again and it was 100.5 (6:45am). So, I gave him another dose of Motrin. He has a clear runny nose but that's about it. He shows no signs of any new teeth coming in - no red, swollen gums, etc. If he is still running fever tomorrow I might take him into the doctor (but I would really rather avoid that!).
Now back to P & my ever-so-rapidly changing body. I feel huge {imagine what I will look like in, oh, about 22 more weeks!}... really, I've had people ask me if I'm sure I'm not having twins... ummm, 5 ultrasounds later I would say yes, I'm pretty darn positive I only have one bambino in my womb!
What Mr. P "looks" like....
Here are some cute random pictures of my monkey... enjoy!
My poor little monkey has something going on... yesterday, he felt pretty warm so I took his temp and it was 100.6 (around 5:45pm); I gave him a dose of Motrin. He went to bed a little earlier than usual because he decided to boycott his afternoon nap (meaning, he was awake from his morning nap that ended at 10am until he went to sleep at 6:45pm)! He woke up several times throughout the night. Around 11:30pm, I gave him a dose of Tylenol. This morning, Daddy fed him breakfast so that I could take a quick shower
Now back to P & my ever-so-rapidly changing body. I feel huge {imagine what I will look like in, oh, about 22 more weeks!}... really, I've had people ask me if I'm sure I'm not having twins... ummm, 5 ultrasounds later I would say yes, I'm pretty darn positive I only have one bambino in my womb!
What Mr. P "looks" like....
Here are some cute random pictures of my monkey... enjoy!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Newbies
Courtesy of Katie, I've decided to participate in ICLW (which by the way I had no clue what it was until 30-45 minutes ago!)...
So for those of you who are new to my blog... welcome and here are a few interesting tidbits about my little life:
• I am 26 and I have been married to my soul mate for 2 years (we've been together for 9 years though).
• I am a SAHM to a sweet baby boy, B, who will turn 1 on August 28.
• We are expecting our second (surprise) bundle of joy, P, on January 1, 2010.
• We have two dogs - Daisy & Duke (both boxers) and two kitties - Neo & Trinity (yes, they're named after The Matrix courtesy of my husband).
• I have a mom that I adore and 1 older sister, a younger sister and brother and 1 niece and nephew (twins)
• One day I will finish my degree but for now I am soaking up being a mommy – truly the best job you could ever be blessed with!
Thanks for stopping by to visit :)
So for those of you who are new to my blog... welcome and here are a few interesting tidbits about my little life:
• I am 26 and I have been married to my soul mate for 2 years (we've been together for 9 years though).
• I am a SAHM to a sweet baby boy, B, who will turn 1 on August 28.
• We are expecting our second (surprise) bundle of joy, P, on January 1, 2010.
• We have two dogs - Daisy & Duke (both boxers) and two kitties - Neo & Trinity (yes, they're named after The Matrix courtesy of my husband).
• I have a mom that I adore and 1 older sister, a younger sister and brother and 1 niece and nephew (twins)
• One day I will finish my degree but for now I am soaking up being a mommy – truly the best job you could ever be blessed with!
Thanks for stopping by to visit :)
Monday, July 20, 2009
It's A...
It is with great honor that I introduce you to B's Baby Brother (yep, that's right, It's A Boy!!!)
We are over the moon excited and we cannot wait until late December to meet our sweet {second-born} son, P.
We are over the moon excited and we cannot wait until late December to meet our sweet {second-born} son, P.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Kylie Rae
Meet Kylie Rae and her proud parents, Krystal & David...
Sweet Kylie was born 5 weeks early on July 11 at 5:52 pm weighing 5lbs 6oz. She is in the NICU fighting for her chance to get to go home. She was initially on CPAP and a feeding tube. She still uses the feeding tube from time to time but she has graduated to some bottle feeding and nursing sessions. Krystal says that Kylie eats the absolute best when she is nursing - she eats for 30 minutes and is very satisfied after!
I ask you to please pray for Kylie --- specifically for her bilirubin levels to decrease (jaundice), to stabilize/maintain her body temperature, her alertness, residuals and she is experiencing some episodes of apnea. As of noon today, she went 12 hours without an episode. Krystal was there during her last episode and she said it was very scary - she noticed her chest was no longer rising and falling as it should and her pulse ox level and heartbeat were dropping, so she got the nurses before the alarms started going off. Krystal said they had to shake sweet Kylie to get her to breathe again. I can't even imagine the fear going through this first time mommy's mind. Her husband, David, is in the military and had to spend this week at the FBI Headquarters (in Quantico) for a masters training program - thankfully he was there for Kylie's birth and was able to spend one night in the hospital before he had to leave. He comes home tomorrow!
Krystal told me the other day that as soon as Kylie overcomes one hurdle, a new one seems to pop up. Please pray that this is no longer the case. Please pray that Kylie gets to go home very soon!!
I will update as I know more... thanks :)
Sweet Kylie was born 5 weeks early on July 11 at 5:52 pm weighing 5lbs 6oz. She is in the NICU fighting for her chance to get to go home. She was initially on CPAP and a feeding tube. She still uses the feeding tube from time to time but she has graduated to some bottle feeding and nursing sessions. Krystal says that Kylie eats the absolute best when she is nursing - she eats for 30 minutes and is very satisfied after!
I ask you to please pray for Kylie --- specifically for her bilirubin levels to decrease (jaundice), to stabilize/maintain her body temperature, her alertness, residuals and she is experiencing some episodes of apnea. As of noon today, she went 12 hours without an episode. Krystal was there during her last episode and she said it was very scary - she noticed her chest was no longer rising and falling as it should and her pulse ox level and heartbeat were dropping, so she got the nurses before the alarms started going off. Krystal said they had to shake sweet Kylie to get her to breathe again. I can't even imagine the fear going through this first time mommy's mind. Her husband, David, is in the military and had to spend this week at the FBI Headquarters (in Quantico) for a masters training program - thankfully he was there for Kylie's birth and was able to spend one night in the hospital before he had to leave. He comes home tomorrow!
Krystal told me the other day that as soon as Kylie overcomes one hurdle, a new one seems to pop up. Please pray that this is no longer the case. Please pray that Kylie gets to go home very soon!!
I will update as I know more... thanks :)
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Belly pics
I think I am going to be massive at the end of this pregnancy...
15 weeks + 1 day (yesterday's belly pic)
10 wks vs. 15wks(+1)... Lovie
15 weeks + 1 day (yesterday's belly pic)
10 wks vs. 15wks(+1)... Lovie
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy Birthday America!
Today was a rather long day. But let's start with last night, shall we?
Last night I decided to bake red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing (all from scratch). Everything was going just fine until I removed the cupcakes from the oven. I turned them around mid-way through the baking process and at that point, I smelled a burning smell, but didn't see any evidence of burnt anything. Back to taking them out of the oven... as I was removing each cupcake from the pan, I noticed the bottoms were black... all two dozen... 24 wasted cupcakes. I really wanted to break down and hysterically cry but I had to quickly re-route that emotion because of the peanut gallery saying "you're not going to cry over that, are you?" I was pretty ticked that I was too dumb to move the oven rack up one notch. Thank goodness I made two batches worth of batter. I had Daddy move the oven rack up and successfully baked two dozen cupcakes. After making the icing and allowing them to completely cool, I iced each cupcake and topped it with a blueberry (just a tad patriotic).
This morning, my little monkey was in rare, and I mean rare, form. He decided to start his day at 5am... screaming and crying. Normally, I can go in his room, hand him a pacifier and he will either doze back off or play very quietly for 30-45 minutes. Then I go back in and do the same and he actively plays until 6:15am. Not. This. Morning. I gave in to the little terrorist (as Amy puts it when her little one is not giving up). My sad/cranky/angry/not satisfied with anything little monkey stayed in his put-out mood until about 1:00pm. At this point we were at Daddy’s family function. I was happy that he willingly went to other people and was smiling and talking to them as well. I brought the red velvet cupcakes with me and when we left no one had touched them yet. We took one tray back with us (who knows what happened to the rest... I will be happy with whatever outcome so long as I get my silver fleur-di-lis platter back).
Then we journeyed onto my family function. We had to stop at our house to pick up the two homemade baked macaroni dishes I made. Daddy and B slept the entire 45 minutes back to our house (and a few minutes longer after we left). We arrived at my aunt & uncle's at 3:00pm. It was a very small gathering but very nice, too! They decided to get in the pool and even though I had my swimsuit on, I decided to pass. I was just too tired to even think about swimming. We put B in a swim diaper and handed him off to the pool crew. At some point, while in the pool, soon-to-be Uncle M was doing something (I know, how much more vague can I get?) and he managed to dislocate his shoulder (he really needs to get surgery but keeps putting it off). So M & M left for the E.R. Around 4:45pm (I think), we decided to head home. We were just too exhausted (all 3.5 of us) to keep socializing. We made a pit stop on the way home to pick up some fireworks (more like sparklers, jumping jacks, and a few other odds and ends... nothing too exciting because I did the shopping and had no clue as to what I was looking at). After my semi-successful fireworks stop, we went home.
B & I bathed Daisy & Duke while Daddy took a nap. By the time we finished that task, it was time for dinner, bath and bedtime. B wore his super cute 4th of July pajamas to bed! Daddy and I ordered pizza for dinner once B went to bed. We ate, went outside and did a few fireworks and decided to wait until later to do the rest... bad move... I fell asleep on the couch! And that's pretty much how our day went. I am going to do a separate post with pictures because this post feels long enough!!!
Last night I decided to bake red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing (all from scratch). Everything was going just fine until I removed the cupcakes from the oven. I turned them around mid-way through the baking process and at that point, I smelled a burning smell, but didn't see any evidence of burnt anything. Back to taking them out of the oven... as I was removing each cupcake from the pan, I noticed the bottoms were black... all two dozen... 24 wasted cupcakes. I
This morning, my little monkey was in rare, and I mean rare, form. He decided to start his day at 5am... screaming and crying. Normally, I can go in his room, hand him a pacifier and he will either doze back off or play very quietly for 30-45 minutes. Then I go back in and do the same and he actively plays until 6:15am. Not. This. Morning. I gave in to the little terrorist (as Amy puts it when her little one is not giving up). My sad/cranky/angry/not satisfied with anything little monkey stayed in his put-out mood until about 1:00pm. At this point we were at Daddy’s family function. I was happy that he willingly went to other people and was smiling and talking to them as well. I brought the red velvet cupcakes with me and when we left no one had touched them yet. We took one tray back with us (who knows what happened to the rest... I will be happy with whatever outcome so long as I get my silver fleur-di-lis platter back).
Then we journeyed onto my family function. We had to stop at our house to pick up the two homemade baked macaroni dishes I made. Daddy and B slept the entire 45 minutes back to our house (and a few minutes longer after we left). We arrived at my aunt & uncle's at 3:00pm. It was a very small gathering but very nice, too! They decided to get in the pool and even though I had my swimsuit on, I decided to pass. I was just too tired to even think about swimming. We put B in a swim diaper and handed him off to the pool crew. At some point, while in the pool, soon-to-be Uncle M was doing something (I know, how much more vague can I get?) and he managed to dislocate his shoulder (he really needs to get surgery but keeps putting it off). So M & M left for the E.R. Around 4:45pm (I think), we decided to head home. We were just too exhausted (all 3.5 of us) to keep socializing. We made a pit stop on the way home to pick up some fireworks (more like sparklers, jumping jacks, and a few other odds and ends... nothing too exciting because I did the shopping and had no clue as to what I was looking at). After my semi-successful fireworks stop, we went home.
B & I bathed Daisy & Duke while Daddy took a nap. By the time we finished that task, it was time for dinner, bath and bedtime. B wore his super cute 4th of July pajamas to bed! Daddy and I ordered pizza for dinner once B went to bed. We ate, went outside and did a few fireworks and decided to wait until later to do the rest... bad move... I fell asleep on the couch! And that's pretty much how our day went. I am going to do a separate post with pictures because this post feels long enough!!!
Kate McRae
Meet Kate McRae... this sweet, beautiful little 5 year old's world (and her parent's world) was completely flipped upside down on Monday. Her mother, Holly, took her to the doctor for a hand tremor that appeared on her right side. They completed a CT scan and PET scan and the results were rather devastating.
The results showed a very large brain tumor growing in the area of her brain concerning motor skills. The PET scan indicated that the tumor is very aggressive and malignant.
Kate had a craniotomy yesterday to remove as much of the tumor as possible. Going into the surgery, the neurosurgeons knew they would only be able to remove a portion of the tumor because of how vascular it was. Their assumptions were correct; they were able to remove about 50% of the tumor and it still appeared to be very aggressive and malignant.
The doctors told her parents that approximately 2000 children each year will have some type of brain tumor. Some tumors, sadly, do not respond to treatment.
They are waiting on the pathology report now. If this tumor appears to be responsive to treatment, Kate may undergo future surgeries, bone marrow transplants, chemotherapy and radiation.
Please pray specifically for a few things:
* For her parents, Holly & Aaron, to continue with the strength they have and for her siblings, Olivia and Will.
* For the tumor to be responsive to treatment
* Kate has shown some movement on her left side but absolutely nothing on her right side. They will be doing an MRI this morning to look for bleeding.
Please pray for a miracle to happen for this sweet family.
You can continue read about Kate's very brave battle here.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
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