...but let's not get carried away.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
6 Weeks
Remy turned 6 weeks old on Wednesday. He is such a smart, mellow, handsome little guy! He is excellent company. And we had a great week because Mommo was here, and she's great company too! She came out to help me after my scary gallbladder attack the week before. I haven't had any more severe attacks but 
I had some pretty sore days, and it was a load off to have someone to take care of Remy, food, driving, and the cleaning when I didn't feel up to it. Even better was just hanging out all day and enjoying Remy together. I think I will always remember this week not for the gallbladder drama but for the wonderful times with two of my favorite people.
Now she is back home, but the last two days I have felt significantly better and I think maybe the gallbladder is calming down. It's distracting and annoying to be dealing with this when I just want to focus on being a momma to Remy, but that's life. Tuesday I have an appointment with my new doctor (well, his PA actually) and I'll talk to him about what the anesthesiologist said, and my plan to try to postpone the surgery til 12 weeks postpartum. Of course, I'm counting on a refill of my pain medicine or the waiting plan will go out the window.
In developmental news, Remy has started smiling! Big, goofy, open-mouthed smiles. And sometimes he makes a primitive giggling noise that is just too cute. He is a total champ at holding his head up now and loves to sit on laps. He is also alarmingly interested in the TV. Fortunately he is equally interested in the windows and so I try to set him in his little seat facing the window for a little while every day.
He has gone from pooping about a bazillion times a day to going days between poops. This was really scary at first until I read that it is common with breast fed babies - something about the efficiency of the system and not producing a lot of waste. So hey, in that case, poop as little as you want, little guy! We'll save on the diapers!
I still leave his mittens on him every day because when I take them off he
invariably has a welt on his cheek within minutes. But I read in my baby book that he is supposed to start grabbing things soon so I may have to put the mittens away. I clipped the nails on his left had while he was sleeping but they still seemed kind of sharp to me. We'll just have to see how it goes.
July is coming up fast and it's going to be an awesome month! I'll turn 32, go to a live taping of Wheel of Fortune at the Venetian, and host the Stangers for a week during their big cross-country vacation. Bring on the awesome!
I had some pretty sore days, and it was a load off to have someone to take care of Remy, food, driving, and the cleaning when I didn't feel up to it. Even better was just hanging out all day and enjoying Remy together. I think I will always remember this week not for the gallbladder drama but for the wonderful times with two of my favorite people.
Now she is back home, but the last two days I have felt significantly better and I think maybe the gallbladder is calming down. It's distracting and annoying to be dealing with this when I just want to focus on being a momma to Remy, but that's life. Tuesday I have an appointment with my new doctor (well, his PA actually) and I'll talk to him about what the anesthesiologist said, and my plan to try to postpone the surgery til 12 weeks postpartum. Of course, I'm counting on a refill of my pain medicine or the waiting plan will go out the window.
In developmental news, Remy has started smiling! Big, goofy, open-mouthed smiles. And sometimes he makes a primitive giggling noise that is just too cute. He is a total champ at holding his head up now and loves to sit on laps. He is also alarmingly interested in the TV. Fortunately he is equally interested in the windows and so I try to set him in his little seat facing the window for a little while every day.
He has gone from pooping about a bazillion times a day to going days between poops. This was really scary at first until I read that it is common with breast fed babies - something about the efficiency of the system and not producing a lot of waste. So hey, in that case, poop as little as you want, little guy! We'll save on the diapers!
I still leave his mittens on him every day because when I take them off he
invariably has a welt on his cheek within minutes. But I read in my baby book that he is supposed to start grabbing things soon so I may have to put the mittens away. I clipped the nails on his left had while he was sleeping but they still seemed kind of sharp to me. We'll just have to see how it goes.
July is coming up fast and it's going to be an awesome month! I'll turn 32, go to a live taping of Wheel of Fortune at the Venetian, and host the Stangers for a week during their big cross-country vacation. Bring on the awesome!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, June 14, 2010
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.)
(Not one of the potted plants, this is the tree that grows in front of our balcony.)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
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.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
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!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
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.
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!"
- 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!"Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Monday, June 07, 2010
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.
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.
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