Ouch.

Lest life should get boring, I ate a Big Mac on Tuesday night and ended up in the hospital. Turns out I have gallbladder disease. Stones and sludge in the gallbladder and elevated liver enzymes and white blood cells in the blood. I stayed in the hospital over night and they treated me with antibiotics and morphine and on Wednesday the surgeon recommended we have the gallbladder removed. Initially I agreed because I wanted to nip this in the bud and get back to taking care of my baby, but at the last minute I changed my mind.

I was down in the OR getting preped when the anesthesiologist explained that having surgery at 5 weeks postpartum is just as dangerous as having surgery during pregnancy because the pregnancy hormones are still present, causing the sphincter at the bottom of the esophagus to be relaxed and increasing the risk of aspirating into the lungs. She explained that if I can wait until 12 weeks PP then the risk of aspiration will be down to normal. Even if I can only make it to 8 weeks that would be better than doing it at 5 weeks.

So the plan is to get a referel from my doctor for a surgeon (since the hospital's surgeon is only covered by my insurance for in-patient procedures...and he was kinda a jerk) and schedule the procedure for 12 weeks out. Until then I need to be very careful about what I eat and Mom is coming out to help out the first week.

I was not really surprised that this happened since my mom and sister went through the same thing after their first child. But I can't say I was prepared for the pain. The consensus seems to be that labor is the most painful thing you can experience...well, maybe it was my imagination, or maybe I'm already forgetting what labor felt like, but this seemed a hell of a lot worse to me. I don't think I'll ever feel the same about my old friend the Big Mac.

Growing Things

When Ross's mom and dad were in town they picked up some new plants for the balcony. They look great and seem to be surviving the climate (knock on wood!)






(Not one of the potted plants, this is the tree that grows in front of our balcony.)

Where the Sidewalk Ends

A few minutes north or our place Las Vegas ends and the wilderness begins! Here are some pictures from our drive there this evening.

The Cats are Adjusting

Sugar and Jojo have both snuggled up to him this week. And they seem to love the smell of his hair as much as I do!

4 Weeks Old

So Remy turned 4 weeks old yesterday. I am really surprised at all the ways he has changed already. In fact, I feel a list coming on.

• Remy was born with a full and fuzzy head of soft, brown hair. At some point in the last week he dropped most of the hair on the top. Meanwhile the hair on the sides and back seems to be getting longer. It makes him look like a miniature middle aged man.
• He's getting less floppy. Now he loves to hold his head up...until he can't anymore, and then comes the inevitable head butt into Mommy's face. Maybe God made noses of cartilage and put lips over teeth so that when one holds one's son the little guy won't injure himself on one's face?
  
• Rocking used to freak him out. He would go bug eyed and throw out his limbs like he'd just been tossed from a plane. Now he can't get enough.
  
• He's switched pacifiers. Soothies are so yesterday. If we try to give him one he spits it out and glares at us.
  
• He actually wants to stay awake and, like, do stuff. I didn't expect it to happen this fast! I hate to say it but I miss the days when he would just lay in his sleeper looking adorable ALL DAY LONG.
• He used to be oblivious to most noise. He probably could have slept through a parade. Now I turn on the faucet to do dishes and he nearly jumps out of his skin.
  
• He wants to watch tv. I catch him craning his little neck to see it all the time. No, Remy! TV will rot your brain! Do you want to end up addicted to Days of Our Lives like Mommy?
  

New favorite pacifier (Aunt Lauren knows how to pick 'em!)

Do the make Rogaine for babies?

Getting too tall for his britches!

He's thinking about head-butting me, I can just tell.

"OMG, Mom, Hope is about to see Bo's divorce papers!"

A Great Visit

Ross's parents just left on Saturday after a week long visit. They will be missed!

They cooked up a storm. I told Ross that they first day they were here was the first day our kitchen has really smelled like a kitchen. Some of the meals we were treated to: shrimp etouffee, t-bone steak, jambalaya...and we still have left overs!

One day they came home from the store with five new plants for my balcony, four of them flowers. If you know me, then you know this made me very happy! And they spruced up our plain old balcony with new seat covers, a snazzy new table runner and some really cute new pots.

And while Ross was at work they took the cars in for the repairs that we have been putting off for months (and probably would have continued to put off *blush*). I feel so much better putting the baby into the car now.

Between Mom and Steph's visit a couple of weeks ago and this visit from the Cangelosis we have been totally spoiled!

The Real Birth Story (A little late, I know!)

Disclaimer: I wrote this a couple of weeks ago in the height of sleep deprivation so I'm sure it is a total mess but I only have a couple of minutes here before you-know-who wakes up and I'd rather use that time eating something than editing a bad birth story...so here it is, and I apologize :P

Prodromal labor had started in earnest on Friday and continued through the weekend. No fun! On Monday bloody show began and at my scheduled OB appointment on Tuesday he informed me that I had dilated from 1-2cm to 2-2.5cm. That night, though they still felt irregular to me, my contractions got much stronger. I was up all night with them and was extremely frustrating because they were getting more and more painful but didn't seem (at least to me) to be regular at all! It was hard to tell though because I had constant back pain.

Finally at 3-something in the morning I had such a bad contraction that I was DONE! I told husband we were going to the hospital, 5-1-1 rule be damned! He was not happy because he was sure they were just going to scold us and send us home, but I didn't care!

We got there a little after four and nurse took one look at me and promised that we were going to have our baby that day. Sure enough when the hooked me up to the monitor I was having good contractions every two minutes and I was dilated to 4cm.

The rest of the morning I continued to progress steadily so at 12:30, at 6-6.5cm I got an epidural. He had to do it twice because he hit a capillary, but he eventually got it working. Unfortunately, it stalled my labor. My contractions spread out to more than 5 minutes apart and I completely stopped dilating. At the doctor's suggestion we started on the minimum dose of pitocin around 5. The nurse didn't seem optimistic but I felt the contractions really kick back into gear, and after just one hour I was fully dilated!

At that point the doctor came in and checked, and we found out that Remy was still at 0 station and his head was transverse. The doctor immediately started talking about a c-section! I asked if it was possible that pushing would help him move down and the doctor said it could, but he wanted me to understand that it might not. He said he would give me two hours to push and then we would talk again about our options.

I thought that sounded fair enough. Complicating things though the anesthesiologist came in at that point and even though my nurse told him I was fully dilated and about to start pushing he seriously over did it with the drugs. My legs went completely dead. I couldn't feel a thing! My nurse was pissed and I was scared because I couldn't imagine how I could push numb like that, but we got set up and started trying.

Amazingly, after only three or four pushes, his head was visible! They brought over the mirror so I could see, and I still didn't quite believe it! I totally credit visualization with helping me push, because I had no sensation down there at all to focus on. I managed to get him all the way down there, but then he didn't seem like his head was pretty much stuck, so the OB came back in, did a little snip, and I pushed him right out.

He was 7lbs, 15oz and 19.5 inches. He had some minor breathing issues the first night and had to spend a couple of hours in NICU, but has been great since then. He has a great latch but we supplemented with formula at first at the pediatrician's recommendation.

Two Weeks Old!

Remy will be two weeks old tomorrow! How has he changed?

• His umbilical cord stump has finally, mercifully, fallen off!
  
• His dark, wispy hair looks longer, especially in the back. It's so soft and kissable.
  
• According to his last wellness check, he's already taller.
• His little thighs are filling out deliciously.
• His feet never turn purple anymore.
• He spends more time in the day awake and alert. He likes to hang out with me in the kitchen and watch the action. Or the edge of the laundry room door, whichever is closer. :P
  
• He rarely cries, but he loves to grunt. When he's really frustrated he'll grunt as loud as he can and scowl. If that doesn't resolve the issue, he'll let out an ear piercing squeal!
  

Tomorrow is his 2 week appointment. I'm anxious about it and praying that the circumcision and the blood test will go smoothly and with as little pain as possible!

Notes from the Early Days

• Pushing was amazing. Even though the anesthesiologist had overdone it and I couldn't feel a thing below my waist, I was still able to push and help bring my little guy into the world. It was the most intense hour of my life.
  
• He has dark hair! Ross and I both have dark hair, but Ross was born blond and I was afraid Remy would be too. No offense to blonds, but I have a hard time imagining him that way.
  
• He likes to ask me with his eyebrows if I'm sure I know what I'm doing. "Of course I do, I'm your mother" - and then I accidentally scratch him, let his head flop over, or get his umbilical stump caught on his diaper.
  
• We went 24 hours without supplementing with any formula yesterday! I'm still in awe that this breastfeeding thing is actually working (knock on wood!)
• You know that extremely annoying Aerosmith song? The "I don't want to close my eyes" one? That's exactly how I feel. I wish there was some kind of sleep exemption for new moms.
• I am feeling quite svelte, so it's a shock every time I pass a mirror! I've started using a belly binder and it's helping my shape a little, and the water weight is slow-ly coming off, but the rest is going to take some time. Which means I get to go clothes shopping ;P
• The circumcision is scheduled for next week. I'm so dreading it. I've tried to suggest to Ross that Remy's little guy looks just fine the way it is, but he is standing his ground. God, I pray it goes well!
• Maybe it was the adrenaline, but the moment they put a hot, slimy little Remy on my belly I decided that I definitely want to have more kids.
  

He's Here!

Tuesday night labor really kicked into gear and at about 7:56pm on Wednesday evening Remy was delivered weighing 7lbs, 15oz and measuring 19.5 inches. He's wonderful and we are in love with him!

40 Week Appointment

I've continued to have irregular contractions since our visit to L&D over the weekend and it has left me exhausted and sore. It hasn't helped my mood, either. I have made some minor progress though, and I'm trying to feel encouraged by it. Last night I began experiencing bloody show and today the OB informed me that I've gone from last week's "1-2cm" to "2-2.5cm". He said he thinks I'll give birth in the next two days, but if not we'll induce early next week, probably Tuesday. Somehow, despite the space crunch, Remy has continue to be an active little guy and his heart rate has been great.