My mom called me on Saturday. My Granny's surgery has been scheduled for Wednesday, the 7th. I know I didn't get around to mentioning it before, probably because I was hoping to get some time to process it and write something poignant. But I'm pretty lazy when it comes to blogging I guess. My grandmother has breast cancer. And apparently it's pretty advanced, but it's isolated to a lump so her doctor was pretty confident that he could remove the lump and just give her radiation therapy to resolve it. My mom didn't think her health (she has COPD and was just getting to a point where she didn't need oxygen to move around anymore) would last through radiation treatments. So my mom had her doctor consider other options and they sought a second opinion. The next doctor told my grandmother that a complete mastectomy would negate the need for radiation. My Granny wasn't really going to go for it, but finally came around to our way of thinking. I think she was rather scared because my Papa passed away within months of his cancer diagnosis (when I was only 13). He had pretty advanced cancer too and when they went in to remove it, they found tumors throughout his body. He just never made it through the chemotherapy. But the reason my mom called, other than to wish me a happy birthday and apologize for not being able to visit, was to say that the surgery had been scheduled and Granny had taken a turn for the worse in health. She's been through a lot of tests to assess her for surgery and she's been getting progressively run down since Liam's birthday party. Well, it turns out that her potassium and sodium levels have plummeted again (this happened last year too). It leaves her so weak and unsteady; she's tired all the time.
We went to visit her today. She is pretty worn out. Her voice is deep and congested sounding. She was wearing her dressing gown. She hadn't made her bed in three days she said. We brought the boys to entertain her and just be generally cheerful, but I don't think her surgeon is going to want to do the surgery after I saw how she was doing. I made her bed. Jon went out and brought in the trash cans and took out the newspaper to the recycling bin. We brought in her walker and her toilet seat which upset her because she just got them out of the house at the beginning of the summer. She's back on oxygen, but only at night. She didn't have any water to drink the whole time we were there. Mom came in from work (she's just moved out of the house and back into her own house but is still working in Sac) and made Granny a sandwich and we had a little chit chat. I think it was a good visit overall and I'm glad we insisted on visiting. Who cares that she didn't have a gift or card for my birthday? I'm 32 tomorrow. It's not a cool birthday; I'm claiming to be 27 again. But she did give me some money. We stopped by Louis Cairos in Williams on the way home and brought home delicious steak dinner. I got a rib eye smothered in miso onion butter and grilled onion with ranch beans and minestrone soup. Yummers. So I still got a great gift.
On a side note, I also got a call from my dad yesterday. He was apologizing for being incommunicado the last 2 months and wanted us to swing by to pick up some money he wanted us to have for Liam's daycare. His van finally died last week and I guess he and my uncle Ted spent the day on Saturday shopping for my dad's first new vehicle since they bought my Garfunkle when I was 12 (um, 20 years ago!). He got a Toyota Tacoma pickup, new, and I think it will be a great investment for him and his property. But he also told me that my Grandpa Bert was in the hospital in Stockton, just having had surgery and was recovering really well. I thought this was for a kidney transplant that dad said he needed. But no. Apparently he had a brain tumor too. And his doctor had not originally wanted to operate on it; I guess he said "let's wait a couple of months and see, but I don't think it's malignant." So I guess my grandpa told him that if he didn't get the tumor out of his brain, then he would stop going to dialysis. I can understand his reasoning. The man's 90 years old. If his brain isn't good enough to rescue, why should his kidney be?
All in all, I'm so lucky that my boys have 3 great grandparents still in their lives, even though we only spend a significant amount of time with my Granny. I still have fond memories of my two great grandmothers, both of whom I knew throughout elementary school.
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Monday, September 5, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Colin is 4 (months)
The little Coco-butter is now 4 months old and becoming a better human every day. I'm getting a little apprehensive because I can't believe it's almost Back to School time and I'll be leaving my little guy and heading back to work in a couple weeks. Here's the latest on Colin Alexander Rogers: Age 4m.
Likes:
Development:
Happy 4 months my little man. I love you!!!
Likes:- sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's bed (no we don't co-sleep, but he falls asleep nice and hard after his early morning meal and can sleep a couple hours more if we leave him on the bed)
- his JumperRoo (which he is now a pro at using and gets everyone in the house smiling when he uses it)
- his feet - he hasn't quite gotten them into his mouth yet, but he loves to hold them and usually only talks when he's got his feet in his hands
- LIAM!!! - zOMG his big brother is probably the most awesome thing Colin has ever encountered
- diaper changes - probably the time Daddy and I get the biggest smiles from him is when he's trying to make diaper changing difficult by grabbing feet, diapers, or various articles of clothing
- Lamaze toys - he was obsessing over Mortimer "Bruce" Moose earlier in the month but switched to Jacques Peacock. Then we got him a "knot monster" the other day when we wanted to go to Roseville and he love love loves that.
Development:
- talking/cooing - he's a chatty little guy, but see above note about feet
- rolling over - ummm, still trying hard on that one; Colin gets about halfway over and decided being on his side is better
- no longer needs to be swaddled, but it still calms him down a lot of the time
- can be put down for a nap/sleep without falling asleep in the arms
- has basically outgrown the Puj (his baby tub)
- almost reached out for me in his first moment of "Mommy, you need to come here and pick me up" when he caught eye contact with me after I had been at the grocery store and didn't come get him as soon as I got home. He also cried really loud then.
- sleeping for long long stretches at night and on a good-night schedule that usually has him asleep within 30-45 min of putting Liam to bed each night (8-10hours of straight sleeping baby = bliss for Momma)
- Dr. Honeychurch is still not concerned with Colin's poop-schedule. Yup, Colin is still pooping only once every 3-4 days. Because he's not straining and his belly isn't distended and there's no blood in the stool, he's just not a poopy baby. It's just so weird for a mostly breastfed baby to not poop all damn day. Liam pooped at least 3x/day and he was mostly formula fed by this age.
- Jon thinks Colin's hemangioma is getting smaller. I can't see a difference. Doctor said it would actually shrink from the inside (middle) out so I don't think it is shrinking just yet.
- Both Daddy and I were WAY off on our guesses for how big he would be. We had a bit of a cheat in that we weighed him the day we took Liam in to ask about his fever & rash. Colin was 14 1/2 lbs on that day.
- 15 3/4 lbs (55th percentile)
- 27 1/2 inches tall (99th+ percentile)
- 42 1/2 cm head circumference - my babies have such enormous braincases
- Got more shots at the doc's this time. Only, unlike the 2 month visit, he was not so much of a trooper. And boy was he miserably grouchy for the rest of the day.
- Still mostly breastfed; he takes only about one bottle/day anywhere between 4-6oz of formula.
- Had an allergy attack this week. Basically, seasonal/environmental allergies. Luckily his only reaction was red rimmed eyes and lots of congestion (which led us to haul out the dreaded sot snucker)
- 4th of July celebration at the Stonehouses. Colin did a little better swimming in their pool than he did in Katherine's pool in June.
- Spent a day at Granny's with Granny and Mannam while we were at a food & wine afternoon with friends.
- We went to the doctor for Liam; ergo we went to ice cream at Ben & Jerry's scoop shop
- We went to Roseville to go shopping for a breast pump adapter for the car; ergo we went to Big Spoon for fro-yo.
Happy 4 months my little man. I love you!!!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Before nap: Momma, Weeum have a beiber.
No you don't. You're cool as a cucumber. 98.2.
Weeum sick. Come in Daddy. Need med'cin. Yeah, purple med'cin.
No sweetheart. You're fine.
After nap: Mommy, Weeum hot. Too hot. Weeum tired. Ouch.
OH! 101.8 Time for medicine and juice.
Night night Baby Cawn. Weeum go back to sweep.
No you don't. You're cool as a cucumber. 98.2.
Weeum sick. Come in Daddy. Need med'cin. Yeah, purple med'cin.
No sweetheart. You're fine.
After nap: Mommy, Weeum hot. Too hot. Weeum tired. Ouch.
OH! 101.8 Time for medicine and juice.
Night night Baby Cawn. Weeum go back to sweep.
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Thursday, May 26, 2011
Colin 2 month
Colin turns 2 months old today. Yesterday we kept Liam out of school and took both of them down to Davis to see Dr. Honeychurch. The weather turned to crap pretty quick too. Can you believe it? It's almost Memorial Day and we've only had 1 day all spring that felt like it was getting warmer. It's basically been in the high 60s all spring and yesterday the temps dropped again and we had torrential rains in our area (it was only slightly sprinkling in Davis though). On an aside: I had to call Dad a couple of times yesterday afternoon to try to wake him up (he sleeps days/works nights) because his town was right in the path of a tornado warning!!! He didn't answer but I think it might havebeen hard to hear the phone when it was hailing so hard. Luckily no tornado touched down in Rio Linda, but . . . there were 4 confirmed tornadoes in the area yesterday. FOUR TORNADOES!!!
Okay, Liam still has a nasty little preschool plague. Jon's got it now and so do I. I'm starting to feel a bit better now though. Luckily Colin is only a little congested. Doctor didn't seem too concerned at all either about their lungs; both boys had clear lungs (as clear as you can get with a cold). Liam got a check-up too since he needed one for preschool. He's 39 1/2" tall which I kind of suspected since he's been walking around with a meter stick from my classroom and is pretty much as tall as it is. He also weighed in at 36 lbs. That puts him at 99th percentile for height and 65th percentile for weight. It also explains why he's still wearing 2T size waist but has to have 4T length. My boy is so hard to shop for. Since his eyes were a little crusty from his cold, the doctor decided to give us a prescription for pink eye medication just in case he should develop conjunctivitis. Gawd I'm not looking forward to putting eye drops in his eyes - please pray he doesn't get pink eye from preschool.
Colin was 23 1/2" and just a smidge over 12 lbs. He's pretty much in the 80th percentile for both. I compared their charts and Colin is consistent with a little shorter and a little chubbier at every mark so far. He had to get his next round of vaccinations and that was sad for poor baby. But I took him out and nursed him in the car right after the appointment and he seemed to be comfortable right away. He also did not get a fever or sleepy from his shots; he stayed on his normal schedule all day. Doctor also took a look at his strawberry hemangioma, which has gotten quite a bit bigger since his 2 weeks appointment but seems to have slowed/stopped growing now. Doctor said that it'll probably go away on its own but that it might take up to 2 years. He also told us to keep a good watch on it because they can get bigger and are very vascular so if it should get scratched, it wouldn't be uncommon for it to bleed for an hour or more. Ugh. He also said there's a treatment for it that uses lasers, but he doesn't want to consider it until Colin's growth has slowed in toddlerhood.
Okay, Liam still has a nasty little preschool plague. Jon's got it now and so do I. I'm starting to feel a bit better now though. Luckily Colin is only a little congested. Doctor didn't seem too concerned at all either about their lungs; both boys had clear lungs (as clear as you can get with a cold). Liam got a check-up too since he needed one for preschool. He's 39 1/2" tall which I kind of suspected since he's been walking around with a meter stick from my classroom and is pretty much as tall as it is. He also weighed in at 36 lbs. That puts him at 99th percentile for height and 65th percentile for weight. It also explains why he's still wearing 2T size waist but has to have 4T length. My boy is so hard to shop for. Since his eyes were a little crusty from his cold, the doctor decided to give us a prescription for pink eye medication just in case he should develop conjunctivitis. Gawd I'm not looking forward to putting eye drops in his eyes - please pray he doesn't get pink eye from preschool.
Colin was 23 1/2" and just a smidge over 12 lbs. He's pretty much in the 80th percentile for both. I compared their charts and Colin is consistent with a little shorter and a little chubbier at every mark so far. He had to get his next round of vaccinations and that was sad for poor baby. But I took him out and nursed him in the car right after the appointment and he seemed to be comfortable right away. He also did not get a fever or sleepy from his shots; he stayed on his normal schedule all day. Doctor also took a look at his strawberry hemangioma, which has gotten quite a bit bigger since his 2 weeks appointment but seems to have slowed/stopped growing now. Doctor said that it'll probably go away on its own but that it might take up to 2 years. He also told us to keep a good watch on it because they can get bigger and are very vascular so if it should get scratched, it wouldn't be uncommon for it to bleed for an hour or more. Ugh. He also said there's a treatment for it that uses lasers, but he doesn't want to consider it until Colin's growth has slowed in toddlerhood.
Without further ado, here are pictures of my big little boy!
Look at how strong he is and holding up that head of his! Good job!
Look at how strong he is and holding up that head of his! Good job!
Obviously Liam was not having a good time trying to take a picture with his brother. He really does love him, honestly.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
May Day - Man Down
The plague hit us. The preschool plague finally hit us. We made it two full weeks before Liam got sick-sick. He started a cough last Monday. By the time our friend Kara and her 5 month old, Aidric, came to visit us on Wednesday, Jon and I had sore throats; Liam started having coughing fits during the night. I was sure we would be getting them sick too, but as she lives in Washington and we might not see them again until November, we had her visit anyway. Well, she forgot her coat and since I had to go into Roseville to pick up a note from my doctor, I volunteered to bring it to her on Friday. I drove down with Colin and the 4 of us went out for Cheesecake Factory lunch. I also brought her a book that is by one of her favorite authors (she turned both Jon and me on to him when we were up visiting them last June). I tried desperately not to cough on her since I was having awful post-nasal drip attacks.
I got home from Rocklin around 4pm. Liam had only been up from his nap for a little bit and he looked awful. Jon said he had been out of sorts and kinda tantrummy at preschool. When he got home, he proceeded to barely eat any of his lunch and headed straight into bed. He had a fever. A mild fever, but one nonetheless. He vomited while in bed. This is awful for us since he doesn't get sick like that at all. With Tylenol and love, Liam's fever had passed. But just at bedtime, it picked back up again. In fact, I could tell when it happened. He was sitting next to me on the couch watching Olivia and by the time it was over he had slumped onto me and was just staring at the television. The side of his face that was leaning on me was 103.4, but his forehead and other temple were only 101 so another dose of Tylenol he got and went to bed. Saturday, he was cool all day, but obviously out of sorts again. He spent the whole day on the couch when he wasn't napping in his room. And of course, by bedtime, he had another fever. He woke up in the middle of the night from a coughing fit and Jon spent the majority of the early hours sleeping in his room in the recliner because "he was just staring into the dark and breathing so pathetically. It freaked me out."
Sunday . . . cool and active all day. No fever. Officially ready for preschool on Monday. But oh, his nose runs and the snot and coughing are oh so bad. And he tells us everything hurts.
Liam: "Mah finger hurt. Mah knee hurt. Mah elbow hurt. Mah heh (head) hurt. Mah eye hurt. Mah ear hurt (this one makes me concerned because I don't want this cold to turn into an ear infection). Mah toe hurt."
Me: "Does your brain hurt?"
L: "Mah bain hurt."
Me: "Do your pants hurt?"
L: "Yeah, mah pants hurt."
Me: "Does your shoe hurt?"
L: "Yeah, shoo hurt."
You can see where this goes. I continued to ask him more and more inanimate objects that have nothing to do with him. Apparently everything hurts.
He was up at 6:30(OMG!!!) for Monday morning. He went to school and had a great day. He fought going down for a nap, but I slept with him and did okay until I woke him up with my coughing. Then he got into such a coughing fit that he vomited again. It was mostly mucus (you're so lucky you get to hear all this). End of nap.
Yesterday, up at 6:00am (OMFG!!!) for the day. But at least he was eating his cereal (he was fighting eating breakfast at home last week). He had a great day and was "so HAPPY!" according to his teachers. Nap was easy. He was being pleasant, but when I got out of the kitchen and took a good look at my child's pallid face with faint shadows growing under his eyes, I sent him in. He didn't argue or fight me. A definite sign he still feels awful. And by 6:30 in the evening, he grabbed his blankie and sang a made up song with "green ghost" as the only words (that's his blankie's name). He disappeared. I was nursing Colin so I figured he was just quietly reading when he didn't come back out. Nope. When I checked he was awake, but laying in his bed, facing the wall. When he heard me he looked me square in the eye and said "Mommy, I so sick. I so tired."
Breaks your heart :(
Today's been another day of miserable coughing and running nose. He and I slept at naptime again until, again, I woke him up with my own coughing fits. He's probably gonna have to have eye drops for pink eye (more on that in the next post) thanks to his well-child check-up today. Not looking forward to dosing my child with eye drops. I am already have horrid memories of my own parents having to do the same to me.
I'm going to drop off the infant in his daddy's arms and take the little man to the shower. I think we both need to get rid of these plague germs we have all over us (seriously . . . I'm sure you've seen a snotty toddler so you know how gross his face and arms and hands are right now).
I got home from Rocklin around 4pm. Liam had only been up from his nap for a little bit and he looked awful. Jon said he had been out of sorts and kinda tantrummy at preschool. When he got home, he proceeded to barely eat any of his lunch and headed straight into bed. He had a fever. A mild fever, but one nonetheless. He vomited while in bed. This is awful for us since he doesn't get sick like that at all. With Tylenol and love, Liam's fever had passed. But just at bedtime, it picked back up again. In fact, I could tell when it happened. He was sitting next to me on the couch watching Olivia and by the time it was over he had slumped onto me and was just staring at the television. The side of his face that was leaning on me was 103.4, but his forehead and other temple were only 101 so another dose of Tylenol he got and went to bed. Saturday, he was cool all day, but obviously out of sorts again. He spent the whole day on the couch when he wasn't napping in his room. And of course, by bedtime, he had another fever. He woke up in the middle of the night from a coughing fit and Jon spent the majority of the early hours sleeping in his room in the recliner because "he was just staring into the dark and breathing so pathetically. It freaked me out."
Sunday . . . cool and active all day. No fever. Officially ready for preschool on Monday. But oh, his nose runs and the snot and coughing are oh so bad. And he tells us everything hurts.
Liam: "Mah finger hurt. Mah knee hurt. Mah elbow hurt. Mah heh (head) hurt. Mah eye hurt. Mah ear hurt (this one makes me concerned because I don't want this cold to turn into an ear infection). Mah toe hurt."
Me: "Does your brain hurt?"
L: "Mah bain hurt."
Me: "Do your pants hurt?"
L: "Yeah, mah pants hurt."
Me: "Does your shoe hurt?"
L: "Yeah, shoo hurt."
You can see where this goes. I continued to ask him more and more inanimate objects that have nothing to do with him. Apparently everything hurts.
He was up at 6:30(OMG!!!) for Monday morning. He went to school and had a great day. He fought going down for a nap, but I slept with him and did okay until I woke him up with my coughing. Then he got into such a coughing fit that he vomited again. It was mostly mucus (you're so lucky you get to hear all this). End of nap.
Yesterday, up at 6:00am (OMFG!!!) for the day. But at least he was eating his cereal (he was fighting eating breakfast at home last week). He had a great day and was "so HAPPY!" according to his teachers. Nap was easy. He was being pleasant, but when I got out of the kitchen and took a good look at my child's pallid face with faint shadows growing under his eyes, I sent him in. He didn't argue or fight me. A definite sign he still feels awful. And by 6:30 in the evening, he grabbed his blankie and sang a made up song with "green ghost" as the only words (that's his blankie's name). He disappeared. I was nursing Colin so I figured he was just quietly reading when he didn't come back out. Nope. When I checked he was awake, but laying in his bed, facing the wall. When he heard me he looked me square in the eye and said "Mommy, I so sick. I so tired."
Breaks your heart :(
Today's been another day of miserable coughing and running nose. He and I slept at naptime again until, again, I woke him up with my own coughing fits. He's probably gonna have to have eye drops for pink eye (more on that in the next post) thanks to his well-child check-up today. Not looking forward to dosing my child with eye drops. I am already have horrid memories of my own parents having to do the same to me.
I'm going to drop off the infant in his daddy's arms and take the little man to the shower. I think we both need to get rid of these plague germs we have all over us (seriously . . . I'm sure you've seen a snotty toddler so you know how gross his face and arms and hands are right now).
Monday, May 9, 2011
Mothers Day & school
Yesterday was my 3rd Mothers Day and my first being a mother of TWO!!! It was a pretty low-key affair. We basically stayed indoors all day. Jon made all the meals and got me a card. We watched Toy Story 3 and The Princess & the Frog to help keep Liam placated and entertained. Dinner was steaks, baked potato, and roasted asparagus. I will probably go get a pedicure or a hair cut or something as a mommy gift to myself.
On Saturday, I took Colin all the way down to Roseville very very early in the morning because I had to do my glucose tolerance test to see if my diabetes has gone away. I had to fast for 8-10 hours overnight and I just barely passed the fasting glucose. I still don't know what my 2-hour result is. Colin and I are also participating in a study about gestational diabetes/diabetes. So I had all my measurements taken; height, weight, waist, BMI. And then Colin got measured (basically the same thing). He's only 6 weeks and he's now 11lbs and 22.4". Wow! Then afterward, I took my mom and grandmother out for lunch at Spaghetti Factory. Granny kept sneaking glances at Colin about every 3 minutes. When we went back to Granny's house, I fixed her email and her Facebook page for her. She kept falling asleep in the easy chair and talking in her sleep. It was very funny.
I got some pics uploaded from Liam's milkshake adventure if you want to go back and view them. I have to admit, they are frickin' ADORABLE (and I'm not just saying that because he's my sweet little man).
And now, our big milestone . . . Liam went off to preschool this morning. The school is on the opposite corner of our block. He's as big as the 4y/o kids but of course he's 32m. He'll be going from 7:30-12:30 every weekday and we plan to keep it up over the summer. He didn't want to wake up this morning, but he did eat his breakfast and get dressed with ease. We walked him there and he immediately ran into the preschool room and began playing with the toy cars. He couldn't have cared less if we were there; he only cried when Jon tried to get a hug goodbye because he didn't want to stop playing. I think it's gonna be so great for him. I'm really excited.
On Saturday, I took Colin all the way down to Roseville very very early in the morning because I had to do my glucose tolerance test to see if my diabetes has gone away. I had to fast for 8-10 hours overnight and I just barely passed the fasting glucose. I still don't know what my 2-hour result is. Colin and I are also participating in a study about gestational diabetes/diabetes. So I had all my measurements taken; height, weight, waist, BMI. And then Colin got measured (basically the same thing). He's only 6 weeks and he's now 11lbs and 22.4". Wow! Then afterward, I took my mom and grandmother out for lunch at Spaghetti Factory. Granny kept sneaking glances at Colin about every 3 minutes. When we went back to Granny's house, I fixed her email and her Facebook page for her. She kept falling asleep in the easy chair and talking in her sleep. It was very funny.
I got some pics uploaded from Liam's milkshake adventure if you want to go back and view them. I have to admit, they are frickin' ADORABLE (and I'm not just saying that because he's my sweet little man).
And now, our big milestone . . . Liam went off to preschool this morning. The school is on the opposite corner of our block. He's as big as the 4y/o kids but of course he's 32m. He'll be going from 7:30-12:30 every weekday and we plan to keep it up over the summer. He didn't want to wake up this morning, but he did eat his breakfast and get dressed with ease. We walked him there and he immediately ran into the preschool room and began playing with the toy cars. He couldn't have cared less if we were there; he only cried when Jon tried to get a hug goodbye because he didn't want to stop playing. I think it's gonna be so great for him. I'm really excited.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Announcing Colin Alexander!
Finally!!! Got a chance to get onto the blog and finally type up the birth story of our newest, precious little boy.
I decided that Thursday, March 24th was pretty much my last day at school. I was so tired. We had just finished a unit on the Renaissance and I had taken them through a week of drawing single-point perspective drawings. My next doctor's appt was on Friday anyway and I wasn't going to be able to take a partial day since my appointment was in the middle of the day. I called my long term sub, told her to plan on coming in on Monday and told the secretary I was going to keep my keys for the weekend so I could come in and get some things taken care of and some housekeeping done. I went home. After dinner and putting Liam to bed, we popped the cork on another bottle of champagne. Awww. Jon discusses with me what kind of induction I'd be willing to have if it comes to that.
Friday, Jon and I both had showers (never go to the Lady Doc without a shower; that's just rude!). We made a list of all the things that should just get packed into the car for our stay in the hospital and for Liam's stay with Nana and Granny. There was a "last minute list" too. I decided to take the Durango down and told him I'd go shopping while I was down there for some odds and ends like cheap magazines and diapers for Yam.
I get to the doc's office and my BP is beautiful 112/79. My weight 208.5 (with clothes on).
Doc checks my cervix and says 4cms!!! The heartbeat was a lot stronger than the last visit. She says she wants me to get an induction since we live far away. "How about tomorrow morning? I'm the OB at L&D tomorrow." Wow, okay...ummm...(secretly it would be nice for her to deliver me since she's been my doctor for 2 decades now) but I don't want another pitocin induction. Well, it turns out that L&D had too much scheduled for Saturday morning, but they want me to come in at 8pm that night!!! Okay. I call Jon and my mom to tell them that tonight is the night. Then I did that shopping I was going to do. Liam and Jon arrive around 4pm. We had Chinese food for dinner (just like the night Liam was induced). We wish them good luck with our little Yamster and Jon has me drive to the hospital because he needs to call family and let them know we're on our way.
Checked in at 8. I ask for the midwife side. Got an awesome sassy black momma for my first nurse (with 6 kids of her own). They broke my bag at 9. It took awhile for them to get a good baseline on baby's heartbeat - about an hour. I wasn't having any painful contractions. But then they let me get up
and we took a couple laps around the delivery floor and I start having actual contractions; next I sat on the yoga ball for an hour or leaned over it during my contractions. Pain level 3-4. Back in bed for monitoring but baby's shifted so I have to get on my side; this causes the contraction monitor to not pick up anything, but they were a comin'. Within 20 minutes I was spiking pain levels to 7-8 and I could feel those contractions were working on dilating and spreading. Got my epidural at 1am and of course it DIDN'T WORK ON THE RIGHT SIDE just like last time. Ugh. And then they gave me the pit. The nurse anesthetist knew my dad, she used to work with him at Morse Avenue.
After the epidural, they decided to check my progress. "You're at 9cm, and fully stretchy in your cervix, but baby's still at -1 so we're gonna have you labor down. Try to sleep." We turned out the lights, Jon unfolded the reclining bench, and we tried to sleep (of course, they checked me every 30 minutes). Not too much time goes by and then the nurse comes in to check my progress. By the way, the epidural has fully kicked in and I felt like a weeble people from the hips down. "Let's check to see what station you're at." She lifts the blankets and . . . "oh my, we're having a baby."
The midwife slammed her cuppa joe, the nurses barely had enough time to get the table set up and get my legs in the stirrups. I had one spot in my abdomen that I could feel my contractions. I absolutely didn't push at all!!! He came out with the contractions. The midwife kept thanking me for such an easy delivery after the week she'd had even though he did pee on her (I did get a 2nd degree tear because he came out with one hand up at his shoulder). They scrubbed him off and put him on my chest and he crawled right up to the breast! He nursed perfectly for 30 minutes on each side. The nurses did his vaccinations and his heel stick and eye
goop while he nursed; he never cried, just winced and went right on nursing. The nurse said she'd never had a baby do the breast crawl or never cry in the 15 years she's been in L&D. Let me just say that compared to Liam's birth, this was so much more of what I wanted, stress free, a little productive pain, medication, easy delivery (I didn't even sweat).
After over an hour, they took him for his vitals and he pooped just before his first bath. Smart guy. Born 1 day early on March 26th 2011 @ 4:29am, weighing in at 7lbs 11oz, stretching 20.5" long, and a head circ. of 14",
I decided that Thursday, March 24th was pretty much my last day at school. I was so tired. We had just finished a unit on the Renaissance and I had taken them through a week of drawing single-point perspective drawings. My next doctor's appt was on Friday anyway and I wasn't going to be able to take a partial day since my appointment was in the middle of the day. I called my long term sub, told her to plan on coming in on Monday and told the secretary I was going to keep my keys for the weekend so I could come in and get some things taken care of and some housekeeping done. I went home. After dinner and putting Liam to bed, we popped the cork on another bottle of champagne. Awww. Jon discusses with me what kind of induction I'd be willing to have if it comes to that.
Friday, Jon and I both had showers (never go to the Lady Doc without a shower; that's just rude!). We made a list of all the things that should just get packed into the car for our stay in the hospital and for Liam's stay with Nana and Granny. There was a "last minute list" too. I decided to take the Durango down and told him I'd go shopping while I was down there for some odds and ends like cheap magazines and diapers for Yam.
I get to the doc's office and my BP is beautiful 112/79. My weight 208.5 (with clothes on).
Doc checks my cervix and says 4cms!!! The heartbeat was a lot stronger than the last visit. She says she wants me to get an induction since we live far away. "How about tomorrow morning? I'm the OB at L&D tomorrow." Wow, okay...ummm...(secretly it would be nice for her to deliver me since she's been my doctor for 2 decades now) but I don't want another pitocin induction. Well, it turns out that L&D had too much scheduled for Saturday morning, but they want me to come in at 8pm that night!!! Okay. I call Jon and my mom to tell them that tonight is the night. Then I did that shopping I was going to do. Liam and Jon arrive around 4pm. We had Chinese food for dinner (just like the night Liam was induced). We wish them good luck with our little Yamster and Jon has me drive to the hospital because he needs to call family and let them know we're on our way.Checked in at 8. I ask for the midwife side. Got an awesome sassy black momma for my first nurse (with 6 kids of her own). They broke my bag at 9. It took awhile for them to get a good baseline on baby's heartbeat - about an hour. I wasn't having any painful contractions. But then they let me get up
and we took a couple laps around the delivery floor and I start having actual contractions; next I sat on the yoga ball for an hour or leaned over it during my contractions. Pain level 3-4. Back in bed for monitoring but baby's shifted so I have to get on my side; this causes the contraction monitor to not pick up anything, but they were a comin'. Within 20 minutes I was spiking pain levels to 7-8 and I could feel those contractions were working on dilating and spreading. Got my epidural at 1am and of course it DIDN'T WORK ON THE RIGHT SIDE just like last time. Ugh. And then they gave me the pit. The nurse anesthetist knew my dad, she used to work with him at Morse Avenue.After the epidural, they decided to check my progress. "You're at 9cm, and fully stretchy in your cervix, but baby's still at -1 so we're gonna have you labor down. Try to sleep." We turned out the lights, Jon unfolded the reclining bench, and we tried to sleep (of course, they checked me every 30 minutes). Not too much time goes by and then the nurse comes in to check my progress. By the way, the epidural has fully kicked in and I felt like a weeble people from the hips down. "Let's check to see what station you're at." She lifts the blankets and . . . "oh my, we're having a baby."
The midwife slammed her cuppa joe, the nurses barely had enough time to get the table set up and get my legs in the stirrups. I had one spot in my abdomen that I could feel my contractions. I absolutely didn't push at all!!! He came out with the contractions. The midwife kept thanking me for such an easy delivery after the week she'd had even though he did pee on her (I did get a 2nd degree tear because he came out with one hand up at his shoulder). They scrubbed him off and put him on my chest and he crawled right up to the breast! He nursed perfectly for 30 minutes on each side. The nurses did his vaccinations and his heel stick and eye
goop while he nursed; he never cried, just winced and went right on nursing. The nurse said she'd never had a baby do the breast crawl or never cry in the 15 years she's been in L&D. Let me just say that compared to Liam's birth, this was so much more of what I wanted, stress free, a little productive pain, medication, easy delivery (I didn't even sweat).After over an hour, they took him for his vitals and he pooped just before his first bath. Smart guy. Born 1 day early on March 26th 2011 @ 4:29am, weighing in at 7lbs 11oz, stretching 20.5" long, and a head circ. of 14",
here he is . . . Colin Alexander Rogers!!!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
32 weeks
So here we are with 2 months left. I don't know which seems shorter or freaks me out more in terms of leaving my classroom unprepared. 8 weeks? 2 months? Either way, I'm still hoping to work up until I go into labor or my doctors refuse to let me work. And either way, it freaks me out because I'm so busy and focused just trying to get my lessons for the next month all squared away and pull off our school's first medieval festival that I haven't had time to put a schedule of lessons for long-term (and as yet undetermined) substitute. Things were so much easier when I knew I was having my baby in the summer. This not knowing thing is awful in the middle of the school year. I go to the doc on Wednesday.
So here's some updates:
Baby B still has no potential names.
He is now the size of a squash, but what does that mean? I know he's definitely bigger than any summer variety squash (like zucchini or crook neck). But does it mean he weighs the same as a squash or that he's the length of a squash? Acorn squash are small but dense. Is he a spaghetti squash? a butternut? (I love butternut squash). All this talk of squash is making me nostalgic - acorn squash puree was Liam's very first solid food!
Home scale says I'm only slightly up from my pre-preggo weight. Only about 1-2 lbs on avg. I made a specific point to ask my high-risk clinic nurse when she called a couple weeks ago for my blood sugar report. My doctor hasn't said anything about the weight. The nurse said that if I'm eating right (following my diabetic diet), snacking frequently, and not feeling hungry or deprived then it's okay to not gain weight. She said I was overweight to begin with (I know) and that the doctor would probably only want a 15lb gain overall. She also reminded me the fastest gain will be in the last 2 months, when I'll probably gain 1lb. week.
Speaking of diet . . . I've been bad lately. I've been sneaking in sugary snacks here and there and everywhere. So this last week I decided I needed to monitor my sugars more than my required 3x week. The worst thing is that my fasting glucose levels have been sneaking up. They're supposed to be <100 and preferably <90. Well, this week I've had several levels higher than 90 and the last two days were just over 100. I'm gonna get in trouble. I MUST have a late night snack of only protein!!!
Aches? The sciatica is easing. A lot in fact. At the beginning of last week it was so bad that I could barely stand. But I think I've finally gotten used to the new mattress (which is heavenly by the way). Since about Wednesday, the pain has just gone away. Ahhhh! I did get some stretching ideas from a coworker who is seeing a PT for his sciatica. They help when I do feel some twinging.
Weirdest moment this week was watching B spin somersaults around my belly. Jon got one of those weird-cool kicks out of it. I just liked watching him go-go-go. He's very active. Doctor said last time that this one might be our athlete...great.
Cravings? Many, but all things I really shouldn't have. Ice cream. Candy. The best was my idea was lays potato chips dipped in See's chocolate.
So here's some updates:
Baby B still has no potential names.
He is now the size of a squash, but what does that mean? I know he's definitely bigger than any summer variety squash (like zucchini or crook neck). But does it mean he weighs the same as a squash or that he's the length of a squash? Acorn squash are small but dense. Is he a spaghetti squash? a butternut? (I love butternut squash). All this talk of squash is making me nostalgic - acorn squash puree was Liam's very first solid food!
Home scale says I'm only slightly up from my pre-preggo weight. Only about 1-2 lbs on avg. I made a specific point to ask my high-risk clinic nurse when she called a couple weeks ago for my blood sugar report. My doctor hasn't said anything about the weight. The nurse said that if I'm eating right (following my diabetic diet), snacking frequently, and not feeling hungry or deprived then it's okay to not gain weight. She said I was overweight to begin with (I know) and that the doctor would probably only want a 15lb gain overall. She also reminded me the fastest gain will be in the last 2 months, when I'll probably gain 1lb. week.
Speaking of diet . . . I've been bad lately. I've been sneaking in sugary snacks here and there and everywhere. So this last week I decided I needed to monitor my sugars more than my required 3x week. The worst thing is that my fasting glucose levels have been sneaking up. They're supposed to be <100 and preferably <90. Well, this week I've had several levels higher than 90 and the last two days were just over 100. I'm gonna get in trouble. I MUST have a late night snack of only protein!!!
Aches? The sciatica is easing. A lot in fact. At the beginning of last week it was so bad that I could barely stand. But I think I've finally gotten used to the new mattress (which is heavenly by the way). Since about Wednesday, the pain has just gone away. Ahhhh! I did get some stretching ideas from a coworker who is seeing a PT for his sciatica. They help when I do feel some twinging.
Weirdest moment this week was watching B spin somersaults around my belly. Jon got one of those weird-cool kicks out of it. I just liked watching him go-go-go. He's very active. Doctor said last time that this one might be our athlete...great.
Cravings? Many, but all things I really shouldn't have. Ice cream. Candy. The best was my idea was lays potato chips dipped in See's chocolate.
Monday, January 17, 2011
popeye
Yesterday I did really poorly in terms of my diabetic diet. I was supposed to be monitoring my sugars (Tues, Thurs, Sunday) but completely forgot to take my fasting glucose and then started my day off right with a giant chocolate chip cookie made by Jon the night before. I spent the rest of the day maintaining a diet of higher carb:protein ration than I'm supposed to. I also spent the day napping which was probably an effect of too many carbs.
So by dinner time, I was feeling icky and Jon made me a dinner of asian-flavored chicken breast and a spinach & tomato salad. Liam got plain seasoned chicken breast and nothing else as he doesn't normally eat any veggies and is very particular about his carbs (my kid doesn't eat noodles - what toddler doesn't eat buttered noodles?!!!). But he came over to my bowl of salad while I was eating it and reached right in and grabbed a spinach leaf. Wuh?! I don't use dressing; this was a plain boring spinach flavored spinach leaf. He gobbled it down. Then he grabbed more. Liam spent more time eating my salad (he had a couple of tomato slices too) than he ate his chicken. Too funny. The only other time we've seen this is when we went out to Black Angus just before meeting Santa Claus and he was eating ice berg lettuce off of Jon's and my mom's salads. Those were covered in dressing so we figured it was the dressing he liked. But no, maybe it's the crunch of the leaves. Can't say I'm complaining about a toddler who'll eat his leafy greens.
So by dinner time, I was feeling icky and Jon made me a dinner of asian-flavored chicken breast and a spinach & tomato salad. Liam got plain seasoned chicken breast and nothing else as he doesn't normally eat any veggies and is very particular about his carbs (my kid doesn't eat noodles - what toddler doesn't eat buttered noodles?!!!). But he came over to my bowl of salad while I was eating it and reached right in and grabbed a spinach leaf. Wuh?! I don't use dressing; this was a plain boring spinach flavored spinach leaf. He gobbled it down. Then he grabbed more. Liam spent more time eating my salad (he had a couple of tomato slices too) than he ate his chicken. Too funny. The only other time we've seen this is when we went out to Black Angus just before meeting Santa Claus and he was eating ice berg lettuce off of Jon's and my mom's salads. Those were covered in dressing so we figured it was the dressing he liked. But no, maybe it's the crunch of the leaves. Can't say I'm complaining about a toddler who'll eat his leafy greens.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Sick mom
Okay okay. The tummy bug has gone around the house now (well except for the cats, if they start horking all over the house I'm gonna be pissed). Liam was puking all Christmas Day. He's totally fine now and his cough has even gone away except for a few times when he's totally verclemt from dairy.
Jon was feeling better on Wednesday. He was surprised at how quickly he rebounded. I was too. I think it was letting him sleep all alone in the bed. Oh yeah, we ate Carls Jr. on our way back from YC and I had the Superstar (double burger) nom nom nom. But I guess there goes another of our make-ahead meals from the week.
I woke up yesterday full of the blechs. I felt like I had morning sickness all day. Or like I was totally full. I spent a good portion of the day miserable in the recliner; this is awful when you have to turn every few minutes to your side because the back is ailing. I could feel my stomach contents just rumbling over to the other side, gurgling and rolling. I also spent a couple hours in bed, hoping to nap, but just read my book (which isn't bad) A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. I wished I could belch or barf since I knew either would make me feel immensely better. With one burp, I realized it tasted like chocolate which would have been my protein shake breakfast. Okay, so this meant that non of my food was digesting - not like I ate very much at all yesterday - because I had breakfast at 8:30 and that burp was sometime around 3:30. Blarf!
The evening was a bit frustrating. I spent most of my time moaning and groaning and dozing in the recliner. Liam spent the hours vacillating between being the most charming little devil; like when he pulled the camera out and was was saying "CHEESE!" to encourage me take his pic (or when he was singing a song from Yo Gabba Gabba and gibberished the words "babies, babies, ikeruhvaleiurfhaelivufa, babies!"
He did a lot of refusing to stand still.
And then we had instant tantrum pouts too. This was a day for toddler frustrations.
Mostly I was totally bummed because I had to cancel out on my friend from work who invited me to a Girls' Night Out celebration. I had been looking forward to this get together for about 2 weeks (even though I couldn't drink, I was certainly gonna participate in dancing, chit-chat, making new friends, and karaoke). Boo for the blarfs!
Around Liam's bedtime, I managed to feel the need for a popsicle. After Jon put the Yam down, he was a dutiful hubby of a pregnant wife and ran to the grocery store. I made sure he didn't get the sugarfree kind since I'd had no calories since breakfast (I sipped sf ginger ale all day). After my first, I felt well enough for a second. I can't decide if it was truly beginning to feel better or if I was rallying. Maybe the sugar was something I desperately needed. Then I felt blarfy again... just wish I could have puked!!! Finally went to bed; this time I got the bed to myself and Jon slept on the couch. Woke up feeling exhausted but my tummy was miraculously better. Took the hottest shower I could stand - it's amazing how icky you get in one day of being sick and still doing nothing.
Liam has been even worse all day when it comes to attitude. He woke up and did nothing but bitch at Jon for 30 minutes. He's been up/down in his emotions all day. Oh well. At least we're ringing out the old year with tantrums and maybe tomorrow and the new year will bring much more happiness.
Good bye 2010!!!
Jon was feeling better on Wednesday. He was surprised at how quickly he rebounded. I was too. I think it was letting him sleep all alone in the bed. Oh yeah, we ate Carls Jr. on our way back from YC and I had the Superstar (double burger) nom nom nom. But I guess there goes another of our make-ahead meals from the week.
I woke up yesterday full of the blechs. I felt like I had morning sickness all day. Or like I was totally full. I spent a good portion of the day miserable in the recliner; this is awful when you have to turn every few minutes to your side because the back is ailing. I could feel my stomach contents just rumbling over to the other side, gurgling and rolling. I also spent a couple hours in bed, hoping to nap, but just read my book (which isn't bad) A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. I wished I could belch or barf since I knew either would make me feel immensely better. With one burp, I realized it tasted like chocolate which would have been my protein shake breakfast. Okay, so this meant that non of my food was digesting - not like I ate very much at all yesterday - because I had breakfast at 8:30 and that burp was sometime around 3:30. Blarf!
The evening was a bit frustrating. I spent most of my time moaning and groaning and dozing in the recliner. Liam spent the hours vacillating between being the most charming little devil; like when he pulled the camera out and was was saying "CHEESE!" to encourage me take his pic (or when he was singing a song from Yo Gabba Gabba and gibberished the words "babies, babies, ikeruhvaleiurfhaelivufa, babies!"
He did a lot of refusing to stand still.
And then we had instant tantrum pouts too. This was a day for toddler frustrations.
Mostly I was totally bummed because I had to cancel out on my friend from work who invited me to a Girls' Night Out celebration. I had been looking forward to this get together for about 2 weeks (even though I couldn't drink, I was certainly gonna participate in dancing, chit-chat, making new friends, and karaoke). Boo for the blarfs!
Around Liam's bedtime, I managed to feel the need for a popsicle. After Jon put the Yam down, he was a dutiful hubby of a pregnant wife and ran to the grocery store. I made sure he didn't get the sugarfree kind since I'd had no calories since breakfast (I sipped sf ginger ale all day). After my first, I felt well enough for a second. I can't decide if it was truly beginning to feel better or if I was rallying. Maybe the sugar was something I desperately needed. Then I felt blarfy again... just wish I could have puked!!! Finally went to bed; this time I got the bed to myself and Jon slept on the couch. Woke up feeling exhausted but my tummy was miraculously better. Took the hottest shower I could stand - it's amazing how icky you get in one day of being sick and still doing nothing.
Liam has been even worse all day when it comes to attitude. He woke up and did nothing but bitch at Jon for 30 minutes. He's been up/down in his emotions all day. Oh well. At least we're ringing out the old year with tantrums and maybe tomorrow and the new year will bring much more happiness.
Good bye 2010!!!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Pregnancy update: 25/26 weeks
Yesterday was a loooooong long day. I had trouble sleeping. Then while I was completely awake at 3-something, Liam woke up screaming so I got up with him instead of making Jon do it. He only took 2o minutes to get back to full sleep but I was still totally awake and chose to read. I didn't turn off the light until 4:45 (the alarm goes off at 5:15 ugh). Luckily everything I'm teaching this week is for next quarter when we return in January, so I think "If I screw up teaching about the Norman Invasion of England in 1066, well at least I have time to reteach it." Surprise!!! Get to work at 7:45 and had an IEP (special ed) meeting I'd completely forgotten about.
After school, it's off to the doctor's office. I actually got a coworker to cover 10 minutes of the end of the day so I could leave early. My doc works in Roseville which is about 75 minutes from school if I speed. This time I got to my appt with a few minutes to spare which meant my blood pressure was way down (in November, I sprinted up the two flights of stairs while suffering from a head cold and congestion so I was very winded). No proteins in my pee so pre-eclampsia is still not a worry (not that I was concerned, look at my ankles, they're shapely and Michelangelo would beg to sculpt them in marble). Only 1.5lbs gained from my pre-pregnancy weight. Don't freak out about that now - A) my doctor has never been concerned with my weight gain in either pregnancy because I've never had any major problems (like too much or too fast), B) I started off 20lbs heavier with this one than with Liam and officially in the "overweight BMI category, C) I've been on my diabetic diet the whole pregnancy and have been losing weight all over whilst baby/body/uterus gains.
She chose to increase my anti-depressants a little. (I think they're the cause of my sleep trouble so I'm switching to morning doses). I explained that I understand that they don't work like valium to take my world away on a cloud; they have been taking the immediate edge off of my reaction to things. Unfortunately, I am not seeking out the stressors in my life and I can't avoid the ones that are happening to me - namely things like angry parents or lack of money. But, besides being a union negotiator in the midst of compromising on $250k in stimulus money we got, I'm not choosing stress. Social obligations of the holidays have been especially difficult to (if you read my last whiny post, you understand my feelings). There was no more talk about going on disability, but only because I've only been on the zoloft for 4 weeks. I'll see how things are going when I meet with her/psychologist during break. Speaking of psyche . . . still can't get in to see one; they're so booked (probably the holidays).
Made my doc swear there was only one baby in my belly since I feel huge and ugly and none of my clothes fit. She said, only one - I've had 3 ultrasounds, and I'm measuring about a week behind by fundal height. Baby B's heartbeat was super strong though and very loud. She joked this one might be our athlete.
Got home around 7. Ended up not feeling tired until about almost 11pm. Wha?!!! Didn't I wake up at 3 am?! Wow, who knows why I had that much energy still. Hope to get a belly pic sometime this week.
After school, it's off to the doctor's office. I actually got a coworker to cover 10 minutes of the end of the day so I could leave early. My doc works in Roseville which is about 75 minutes from school if I speed. This time I got to my appt with a few minutes to spare which meant my blood pressure was way down (in November, I sprinted up the two flights of stairs while suffering from a head cold and congestion so I was very winded). No proteins in my pee so pre-eclampsia is still not a worry (not that I was concerned, look at my ankles, they're shapely and Michelangelo would beg to sculpt them in marble). Only 1.5lbs gained from my pre-pregnancy weight. Don't freak out about that now - A) my doctor has never been concerned with my weight gain in either pregnancy because I've never had any major problems (like too much or too fast), B) I started off 20lbs heavier with this one than with Liam and officially in the "overweight BMI category, C) I've been on my diabetic diet the whole pregnancy and have been losing weight all over whilst baby/body/uterus gains.
She chose to increase my anti-depressants a little. (I think they're the cause of my sleep trouble so I'm switching to morning doses). I explained that I understand that they don't work like valium to take my world away on a cloud; they have been taking the immediate edge off of my reaction to things. Unfortunately, I am not seeking out the stressors in my life and I can't avoid the ones that are happening to me - namely things like angry parents or lack of money. But, besides being a union negotiator in the midst of compromising on $250k in stimulus money we got, I'm not choosing stress. Social obligations of the holidays have been especially difficult to (if you read my last whiny post, you understand my feelings). There was no more talk about going on disability, but only because I've only been on the zoloft for 4 weeks. I'll see how things are going when I meet with her/psychologist during break. Speaking of psyche . . . still can't get in to see one; they're so booked (probably the holidays).
Made my doc swear there was only one baby in my belly since I feel huge and ugly and none of my clothes fit. She said, only one - I've had 3 ultrasounds, and I'm measuring about a week behind by fundal height. Baby B's heartbeat was super strong though and very loud. She joked this one might be our athlete.
Got home around 7. Ended up not feeling tired until about almost 11pm. Wha?!!! Didn't I wake up at 3 am?! Wow, who knows why I had that much energy still. Hope to get a belly pic sometime this week.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Happy news
Keeping you in the dark on the happy news for a moment, I just have to say my little Yam is being so cute right now. He's recently just reached the point where his little characters "talk" to each other. Right now his sitting at the coffee table with a construction worker, a cow, and a jeep and they are having the most intriguing conversation. Occasionally, the cow hops on the jeep . . . I didn't know cows could drive.
Okay, so my happy news. . . This morning when I woke up, I did NOT have to take my fasting blood glucose. Yup, it's not a day I have to check my sugars. I called in my glucose levels to the perinatal high-risk clinic last night and yes, I got a bit of a chastising with one of my fasting level being 100 (they want them <100, <90 is even better) but I totally understand that my night-time snack was heavy on fruit and milk (all carbs - no protein). I didn't even admit to the cookie I had :) But after that, she told me that my levels have been so good lately that I can now reduce my number of stabbings to 3x/week. Yup, Tues, Thurs, and Sat. I'll still have to check fasting and after all meals; at least it's only 12 stabbings instead of 28! Of course, the first Thursday this time in Thanksgiving! But she told me I could check on Friday instead (well, I'll check on Thursday because we're doing Thanksgiving dinner with my family on Friday as my mom has to work on Thursday). Hooray!
Okay, so my happy news. . . This morning when I woke up, I did NOT have to take my fasting blood glucose. Yup, it's not a day I have to check my sugars. I called in my glucose levels to the perinatal high-risk clinic last night and yes, I got a bit of a chastising with one of my fasting level being 100 (they want them <100, <90 is even better) but I totally understand that my night-time snack was heavy on fruit and milk (all carbs - no protein). I didn't even admit to the cookie I had :) But after that, she told me that my levels have been so good lately that I can now reduce my number of stabbings to 3x/week. Yup, Tues, Thurs, and Sat. I'll still have to check fasting and after all meals; at least it's only 12 stabbings instead of 28! Of course, the first Thursday this time in Thanksgiving! But she told me I could check on Friday instead (well, I'll check on Thursday because we're doing Thanksgiving dinner with my family on Friday as my mom has to work on Thursday). Hooray!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
we're sick
Compromised Immune System Volume 2:
Okay, the other day, my husband was looking for any out of the ordinary legions on his skin (because of the month of ringworm around here). He found what looked like a little patch of angry pimples on his lower abdomen. The next day, I guess they started hurting because he texts me while I'm at work. He thinks he's got shingles!!! WTF?!
Okay, this makes sense. The spots aren't itching him but he has radiating pain that is travelling around back toward his spine in a line from the patch of bumps to his back. Actually, he says the bumps don't hurt, just the back. He also never had chicken pox as a kid and got them when he was like 21 or 22 years old.
Worry time for me. I'm really susceptible to herpes zoster virus. I've had it twice as a child. My mother had it three times (once as a child and both times I got it). My dad's had chicken pox once as a child and then came down with shingles a couple summers ago. So, my family just doesn't do well with the chicken pox virus. Don't worry about Liam, he's already had the vaccine (lucky kid). But I'm pregnant. I'm only 22 weeks and coming down with shingles in the first 24w can cause congenital defects in the fetus. Also the risk of developing pneumonia is really high. And people with high stress in their lives are more likely to develop shingles. Eek! To tell the truth, I've been swinging between really stressed and really apathetic at work (not to mention I had a total beeyotch of a mom hassling me this week).
So, precautions: Jon is now required to wear a shirt at all times and sleep in a shirt to bed. We will be washing the sheets with 2 wash cycles (and the blankets are getting an extra wash too which may also help with our ringworm prob). Jon and I will be using separate soaps of a few weeks. Hopefully this will clear up quickly and his pain won't last too long.
Okay, the other day, my husband was looking for any out of the ordinary legions on his skin (because of the month of ringworm around here). He found what looked like a little patch of angry pimples on his lower abdomen. The next day, I guess they started hurting because he texts me while I'm at work. He thinks he's got shingles!!! WTF?!
Okay, this makes sense. The spots aren't itching him but he has radiating pain that is travelling around back toward his spine in a line from the patch of bumps to his back. Actually, he says the bumps don't hurt, just the back. He also never had chicken pox as a kid and got them when he was like 21 or 22 years old.
Worry time for me. I'm really susceptible to herpes zoster virus. I've had it twice as a child. My mother had it three times (once as a child and both times I got it). My dad's had chicken pox once as a child and then came down with shingles a couple summers ago. So, my family just doesn't do well with the chicken pox virus. Don't worry about Liam, he's already had the vaccine (lucky kid). But I'm pregnant. I'm only 22 weeks and coming down with shingles in the first 24w can cause congenital defects in the fetus. Also the risk of developing pneumonia is really high. And people with high stress in their lives are more likely to develop shingles. Eek! To tell the truth, I've been swinging between really stressed and really apathetic at work (not to mention I had a total beeyotch of a mom hassling me this week).
So, precautions: Jon is now required to wear a shirt at all times and sleep in a shirt to bed. We will be washing the sheets with 2 wash cycles (and the blankets are getting an extra wash too which may also help with our ringworm prob). Jon and I will be using separate soaps of a few weeks. Hopefully this will clear up quickly and his pain won't last too long.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Fungus amongus
We've been sick here in the Rogers house. It all started with a little bug bite on my ankle one morning, mid-October, when I woke up. It was the kind that I scratched the hell out of (it even bled a little) and then never bothered with it again. Well, a couple days later it was starting to look like a pimple or an ingrown hair. Then I made the mistake of shaving over it --- stupid!!! Within 10 days, it had gotten to be a red spot the size of a quarter and had that distinct circular ring shape. Yep, I have Tinea corporis, aka ringworm! I had been suspecting it for about a week, even before the ring shape developed and had been treating with miconozole (which I knew from my previous pregnancy was safe for topical fungal/yeast treatment) but it wasn't helping and now my legion was hurting.
Liam developed one ring spot on the back of his leg just before Halloween. We stopped by Target on November 1st and asked the pharmacist (they're great people, they know their shit, use them as a resource). She suggested clortrimozole; apply 2x daily like the package says. Well, my legion started to go away right away and is now practically gone. Two weekends later and Liam's spot is bigger and looks, to quote my husband, "angry." Over the weekend, we also noticed that Poppy has a bald spot on her ear and it's inflamed. Monday night Jon emails a photo to the doc; Tuesday found us racing to catch the last appointment.
Doc looks at both legions and says "yup it's ringworm." But apply 4x daily and expect it to take 4-6 weeks to clear up. Has to do with the compromised immune system of children. Add to that we've had head colds and mild congestion the last week and then I mentioned that Liam's cradle-cap is back. "Yup, more evidence of immature immune system. Perfectly normal."
How did I get it? you ask. Well, my coworker (and landlord's girlfriend) had a major outbreak of ringworm in her house this summer. I then roomed with her on a business trip while she was treating it. Any physical contact with her or her things could have caused it. But that was August!!! you exclaim. Yes, but ringworm is a fungus and can live dormant for a long time. I basically gave it to my cat, who gave it back to me, and that fateful morning I scratched that bug bite until it hurt-so-good I transferred it back from my hand (and the cat) to my leg.
As for treating the cat . . . the same clortrimozole cream on her ear a couple times a day. Rub it in really good so she licks as little as possible off. Her ear already looks better in the last couple days.
Stay healthy!
Liam developed one ring spot on the back of his leg just before Halloween. We stopped by Target on November 1st and asked the pharmacist (they're great people, they know their shit, use them as a resource). She suggested clortrimozole; apply 2x daily like the package says. Well, my legion started to go away right away and is now practically gone. Two weekends later and Liam's spot is bigger and looks, to quote my husband, "angry." Over the weekend, we also noticed that Poppy has a bald spot on her ear and it's inflamed. Monday night Jon emails a photo to the doc; Tuesday found us racing to catch the last appointment.
Doc looks at both legions and says "yup it's ringworm." But apply 4x daily and expect it to take 4-6 weeks to clear up. Has to do with the compromised immune system of children. Add to that we've had head colds and mild congestion the last week and then I mentioned that Liam's cradle-cap is back. "Yup, more evidence of immature immune system. Perfectly normal."
How did I get it? you ask. Well, my coworker (and landlord's girlfriend) had a major outbreak of ringworm in her house this summer. I then roomed with her on a business trip while she was treating it. Any physical contact with her or her things could have caused it. But that was August!!! you exclaim. Yes, but ringworm is a fungus and can live dormant for a long time. I basically gave it to my cat, who gave it back to me, and that fateful morning I scratched that bug bite until it hurt-so-good I transferred it back from my hand (and the cat) to my leg.
As for treating the cat . . . the same clortrimozole cream on her ear a couple times a day. Rub it in really good so she licks as little as possible off. Her ear already looks better in the last couple days.
Stay healthy!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
It's May
Today is the first of May and for some reason I'm feeling especially closer connections to my old Wiccan roots. This is of course, May Day or Beltane. It's the ancient celebration of life and creation and fertility. I don't know. I think the connection must come from the fact that I'm now officially "preheating the oven" and we are soon to be trying for another baby. I went to see my doctor yesterday and get my Mirena removed. It hurt way less than getting it inserted. In fact, I really don't think it hurt at all. Jon kept asking me if I was doing alright and I kept saying that I was fine. No cramping or tired feeling or pain. I did get my thyroid levels checked and that hurt more since it required a blood draw. (btw, got my results back and my thyroid hormone is in the normal range but it is on the low side of normal). So my doctor said that we are allowed to start trying after I have one normal cycle. Which means, I can start TTC basically at the beginning of June. YAY!!! I guess I'm feeling May because I'm really thinking about my own fertility. Hrmmm, let's see... I'm really hoping for a May baby so we better get busy by August ;)
Sunday, April 25, 2010
plans for prepping
What are you trying to do to prep your body for pregnancy?
I'm trying to drop a few pounds. I gained about 41 during my last pregnancy and lost about 35 of it, but over the course of the last 20 months I've gotten lazy and complacent. I'm back to about 30 lbs over my pre-preggo weight. I got PG almosti mmediately after getting my BMI under 25% last time. Hoping for that again. I'm getting more exercise. I used to be a dancer. I used to be so flexible and lean. Now I'm stiff and my back hurts all the time (from sitting on my rump). I'm trying to walk at least 25 minutes everyday and I've added in a 5 minute stretching routine before bed or waking in the morning. I think it's time to get back to Wii Fit.
I'm going to talk to my doc about anti-depressants before conception. I'm in a bad way; it's a miasma of functional depression. I've lived with depression almost half of my life and pregnancy was the only time I've ever felt "happy" but I take no joy in most things and am so hard on myself that I need to change things soon.
I'm eating better. Cutting out "white" carbs like refined and processed foods, white flour, sugar, etc. Added in a ton of whole grains, protein, and more veggies/salad/fruit. Let me say that so far (two weeks) it's working and I've lost 7 lbs and am not cravings carbs as much as I was 2 weeks ago. Also not eating after 8:30pm so sometimes I end up missing dessert after I put DS to bed. Oh well.
I'm switching to half-caff coffee and am going to limit my coffee to 2 travel mugs max and gradually wean off (hoping to be down to 1 cup by end of school year in 6 weeks). I realized last week I drink sometimes 6-8 cups and usually 3 travel mugs during work week.
I'm cutting my alcohol intake. I also realized I was drinking 2 drinks a night on a regular basis. Limit to 1 and this should also help my carb cutting too.
Getting DH to the doctor was helpful too. He's our SAHD and I don't think DS has gotten the best of care in the recent few months, but he's avoided the doc like a typical man for the last 5 years. DH also has depression and realized he has high cholesterol now. He's gotten on medication for the depression and I've made the diet change affect him too. Good news, he's lost 5 lbs too.
I'm trying to drop a few pounds. I gained about 41 during my last pregnancy and lost about 35 of it, but over the course of the last 20 months I've gotten lazy and complacent. I'm back to about 30 lbs over my pre-preggo weight. I got PG almosti mmediately after getting my BMI under 25% last time. Hoping for that again. I'm getting more exercise. I used to be a dancer. I used to be so flexible and lean. Now I'm stiff and my back hurts all the time (from sitting on my rump). I'm trying to walk at least 25 minutes everyday and I've added in a 5 minute stretching routine before bed or waking in the morning. I think it's time to get back to Wii Fit.
I'm going to talk to my doc about anti-depressants before conception. I'm in a bad way; it's a miasma of functional depression. I've lived with depression almost half of my life and pregnancy was the only time I've ever felt "happy" but I take no joy in most things and am so hard on myself that I need to change things soon.
I'm eating better. Cutting out "white" carbs like refined and processed foods, white flour, sugar, etc. Added in a ton of whole grains, protein, and more veggies/salad/fruit. Let me say that so far (two weeks) it's working and I've lost 7 lbs and am not cravings carbs as much as I was 2 weeks ago. Also not eating after 8:30pm so sometimes I end up missing dessert after I put DS to bed. Oh well.
I'm switching to half-caff coffee and am going to limit my coffee to 2 travel mugs max and gradually wean off (hoping to be down to 1 cup by end of school year in 6 weeks). I realized last week I drink sometimes 6-8 cups and usually 3 travel mugs during work week.
I'm cutting my alcohol intake. I also realized I was drinking 2 drinks a night on a regular basis. Limit to 1 and this should also help my carb cutting too.
Getting DH to the doctor was helpful too. He's our SAHD and I don't think DS has gotten the best of care in the recent few months, but he's avoided the doc like a typical man for the last 5 years. DH also has depression and realized he has high cholesterol now. He's gotten on medication for the depression and I've made the diet change affect him too. Good news, he's lost 5 lbs too.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Get Younger - Day 1
So today is the day I began. I'm trying to get "younger" based on the things I posted previously in my list of advice from Real Age. Would be happy to have 6 years added and to be my own age, but if I can add a couple more years in the process, why not.
Here's the skinny...
206 lbs.
28.7 BMI
42" waist
size 16 pants
So I was watching Dr. Oz the other day (this is why I hate Spring Break, I watch crappy ass daytime TV) and he had a show about diet based on your genetics. I thought this was kinda cool. The one thing I learned is . . . I should be on a low-carb diet. No I didn't have any genetic screening done, I just base this assumption on the "typical dinner" that he showed for each diet and the one my body went zOMG-shproing!!! for was the low-carbohydrate dinner. So I looked into it and thought about it and read up on it online and decided that I need to do a "lower" carbohydrate diet. So I'm cutting back on white foods, processed carbs, and too much sugar in general. I'll be adding more brown grains, lean meat, and fruit/veg into my daily intake. I wasn't about to do a diet like Atkins or South Beach because I don't think I could put my body/mind through that kind of strain of depleting it of its major energy source. I'm just gonna reduce the energy as I change of. Think of it as my body's conversion to bio-diesel.
Other things that are definite immediate on my list...
I'll let you know how it works out.
Here's the skinny...
206 lbs.
28.7 BMI
42" waist
size 16 pants
So I was watching Dr. Oz the other day (this is why I hate Spring Break, I watch crappy ass daytime TV) and he had a show about diet based on your genetics. I thought this was kinda cool. The one thing I learned is . . . I should be on a low-carb diet. No I didn't have any genetic screening done, I just base this assumption on the "typical dinner" that he showed for each diet and the one my body went zOMG-shproing!!! for was the low-carbohydrate dinner. So I looked into it and thought about it and read up on it online and decided that I need to do a "lower" carbohydrate diet. So I'm cutting back on white foods, processed carbs, and too much sugar in general. I'll be adding more brown grains, lean meat, and fruit/veg into my daily intake. I wasn't about to do a diet like Atkins or South Beach because I don't think I could put my body/mind through that kind of strain of depleting it of its major energy source. I'm just gonna reduce the energy as I change of. Think of it as my body's conversion to bio-diesel.
Other things that are definite immediate on my list...
- drive the speed limit (Even on the boring ol' interstate on my way to/from work)
- floss
- reduced alcohol to 1 drink/day
- talk with friends & family more often...actually talk (hey guess what, my dad stopped by today totally unannounced)
- take multi-vitamin
- stretch daily
- walk daily
I'll let you know how it works out.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
OMG I'm Old
So I've been thinking about trying for another baby and know there will need to be some changes in my lifestyle to get prepared. With Husbter going to the doctor for checkups this week and getting come blood tests done et al, it's more on my brain. So I logged back on to my Real Age account. My age versus my real age actually increased by a whole year and I'm now 36.6 y/o (according to my body and my lifestyle) rather than my 30.58 years. I joined an online group dedicated to lowering your age in 8 weeks (coincidentally the time between now and our cruise for my belated 30th birthday trip).
So, in the interest of full disclosure. Here's is my list of things I need to do to reduce my age:
So, in the interest of full disclosure. Here's is my list of things I need to do to reduce my age:
- get HDL cholesterol levels checked
- talk w/ doc about depression meds/therapy classes
- reduced speed when driving
- don't talk on phone while driving - even hands free
- reduced alcoholic drinks to 1/day
- floss every day
- talk with friends and family more often
- take multi-vitamin/supplements: folate 700iu, vitamin E 400iu, vitamin C 1200mg
- reduce red meant to 1-2 servings/week
- more omega-3 fatty acids (2+ fish servings/week)
- more potassium-rich foods 3000mg/day
- more whole grains 6-11 servings/day
- diversity in diet
- eat a rainbow
- 90 minutes of weight training/week (13 min/day)
- 210 minutes of cardio/week (30 min/day)
- shed extra weight (5% is a good start)
- 30 min/week of stretching (5 min/day)
- then add 10 more minutes/week of exercise
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