Its 2:30am and I'm still up!!! I am having the hardest time falling asleep at night. I think it is stress. Too much is going on with my family, as always, especially since the holidays are here. Family drama ruins every single holiday it seems like, and its gotten worse since my parents' divorce a few years ago.
Anyway, here are the latest developments in Madelyn's life. First of all, she has discovered that she has HANDS! She balls them up into a fist and just stares at them like its the most amazing thing ever. She is starting to reach for her toys that dangle from the bar on her swing and bouncy seat, too. Second, she is so much more interactive now. She loves to be talked to, especially if you make simple noises like "oooooh" or "aaaaah" and she will coo and smile back at you. I got what I think was a giggle the other day, too. Third, unfortunately, she has become a drool machine. She soaks her clothes and when she wakes up her face is covered in it. She is getting little red bumps on her cheeks from laying in it, poor baby. And she constantly blows spit bubbles...yuck.
I try to add a picture to each entry but I don't feel like hooking up the camera to upload pics at 2:30am. I am going to make an attempt to fall asleep now. Wish me luck!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Christmas pics
Well I had my post op appointment yesterday. Everything looks good except that I am STILL itching all over. He gave me a prescription to help with the itching but it puts me to sleep. Not good when you're home alone with a two month old!
Maddy is growing way too fast. She has dropped a nighttime feeding now. So, she sleeps through the night!!!!!!! She usually goes down at about 11 and wakes up around 6. Then she will eat and want to go back to sleep until about 11. Its great! The rest of the day she is up for the most part, she will nap for an hour here and there.
Yesterday we also went over to Amanda's and she took our family Christmas pictures! I had been trying since the beginning of December to get them done but it has been a little hectic around here!
I am working on a project. I am going to put our "year in review" in either a slideshow or a scrapbook. I want to do a scrapbook because then I can get it printed out but I can't find any that I like on Smilebox which is what I usually use. This year has been CRAZY. So many great things have happened to us.
Well Maddy is trying to scoot off the couch so I better go catch her!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Feeling better!!
Today was my first day at home alone with Maddy since the surgeries. Everyone has been so great with coming over to help take care of her. I am SO glad to be feeling better...enough to take care of my OWN baby!! We had such a great day. She is staying awake more and more each day and sleeping better at night. Woohoo!!!
I put her in her Christmas dress today, which she promptly spit up on. *sigh* I was going to try to get some cute pics of her in it but that didn't happen. So, I put her in a different Christmas outfit and she got all mad so I fed her and put her down for a nap. When she woke up I hurried to get some good shots of her. She is always so happy when she first wakes up. I got THE CUTEST PICTURE OF HER EVER. I want to poster size it and wallpaper my house with it. I love love love it.
Sooo as far as how I'm feeling these days, today was actually the first day that I wasn't crying from frustration from all the itching. I still itch but not nearly as bad as I have been. Hopefully now my skin can start to heal. I also still get nauseous pretty much every time I eat but at least my appetite is coming back. The best part, though....NO MORE PAIN. Absolutely none!!! Getting my health back will be the greatest Christmas present I could ever ask for.
Well I haven't heard any peeps out of baby girl in about 15 minutes so maybe she really is asleep this time. Going lay down before she wakes up again!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Surprise Surgery #2 update!
Thought it was all over didn't you? So did I! Wrong!! The two days after my gall bladder removal surgery were fine, I felt better, and I thought everything was finally on the way to being normal again. Thursday I started feeling more pain, and Friday it was so bad that I called the doctor. I spoke to his nurse and she said the pain I was feeling was most likely from the CO2 that they pump into your abdomen when they do the surgery. I said okay...went all weekend and I was back to taking vicodin every 3 hours or so. I had gone through 2 whole bottles of it in ONE week. My post-op appt was supposed to be tuesday but I was in so much pain that I called monday and had it rescheduled for that day.
We went into the office and I was in so much pain that they let me lie down in one of the rooms while I waited on the doctor. He ended up having to go over the hospital to do an emergency surgery or something so I waited there for an hour. I was sobbing and ended up throwing up from the pain. He finally came in and checked me and ordered some tests for the next day to figure out why I was still hurting so badly. He sent me home and told me I couldn't have any pain meds after midnight because they would affect the tests the next day which were scheduled to start at 7:30am. I made it to about 5am before I couldn't take it anymore and ended up in the ER.
We got there and the pain was soooo bad. I was crying and couldn't breathe, swallow, or move. I begged the ER doctor for some pain meds and he told me I could have a small amount of Demerol. It took the edge off for a little while and I went for the first test, which took an hour and half. I had to lay on this table and they took pictures of my abdomen every 5 to 10 minutes. The first hour was ok but by the end I was crying in pain again. My nurse from the ER came to give me some more Demerol when the first test was done and the stupid guy in Nuclear Medicine wouldn't let me have it. I yelled at him that I HAD to have SOMETHING and he still sent her away. So I ended up crying and throwing up AGAIN...and then I was off to ultrasound. That took about 30 more minutes. After that they took me back to my room in the ER and told me I had to drink this contrast stuff so I could have a CT scan, THEN I could finally get some pain meds. I took one look at that stuff and told my nurse I could NOT do it. I was sobbing and couldn't breathe let alone swallow two huge bottles of contrast. She said to "try" and left me there. My mom and Mitch kept telling me to just drink it and I kept crying and yelling at them that I just could not do it. My mom was so upset at one point that she had to leave the room. I seriously was in so much pain that I don't really remember a lot of what happened but I know I was yelling at them telling them that I could not take it anymore. Anyway, I got about half of one bottle down and it came right back up. The radiologist came back and told me not to worry about trying to drink anymore and she took me to get my CT scan done. That took about 10 minutes thank God, then I had to go back to Nuclear Medicine and have one more picture taken. FINALLY I got back to my room and got some Demerol. It did NOTHING for the pain. The nurse came back and had to give me some Dilauded which is pretty much the strongest thing she could give me. I could still feel pain but at least it was tolerable.
So finally the doctor says that he could basically tell nothing from all the tests. Great. So he sent me up to the GI lab and they put me to sleep and put a scope down my throat to find out what was going on. Well it ended up that I had a leftover gall stone stuck in one of my bile ducts blocking anything from flowing through it. They took out the stone and opened up the duct with a balloon. FINALLY. RELIEF!!!
I woke up in the recovery room and asked my nurse what happened. She explained it all to me and I cried and kept saying over and over that I was SO glad it was finally all over and I could take care of my baby now. I was in and out of sleep for the next few minutes and finally I ended up in a room. The doctor asked if I wanted to go home or stay and I chose to stay just in case. I'm glad I did because I couldn't hold ANYTHING down...not even ice...for the rest of the night. If I wasn't there getting fluids I would've been dehydrated.
But anyway...I am still recovering. My liver was not working right because of the gall stone, so I ended up getting jaundiced which causes my whole body to itch and feels like I have a sunburn everywhere. I have gashes and scratches all over from scratching. I am sooo tired but sooo glad not to be in any more pain!!!! I really hope this is all over with. It was worse than labor. Seriously.
Ok well I am going rest. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers AGAIN!
We went into the office and I was in so much pain that they let me lie down in one of the rooms while I waited on the doctor. He ended up having to go over the hospital to do an emergency surgery or something so I waited there for an hour. I was sobbing and ended up throwing up from the pain. He finally came in and checked me and ordered some tests for the next day to figure out why I was still hurting so badly. He sent me home and told me I couldn't have any pain meds after midnight because they would affect the tests the next day which were scheduled to start at 7:30am. I made it to about 5am before I couldn't take it anymore and ended up in the ER.
We got there and the pain was soooo bad. I was crying and couldn't breathe, swallow, or move. I begged the ER doctor for some pain meds and he told me I could have a small amount of Demerol. It took the edge off for a little while and I went for the first test, which took an hour and half. I had to lay on this table and they took pictures of my abdomen every 5 to 10 minutes. The first hour was ok but by the end I was crying in pain again. My nurse from the ER came to give me some more Demerol when the first test was done and the stupid guy in Nuclear Medicine wouldn't let me have it. I yelled at him that I HAD to have SOMETHING and he still sent her away. So I ended up crying and throwing up AGAIN...and then I was off to ultrasound. That took about 30 more minutes. After that they took me back to my room in the ER and told me I had to drink this contrast stuff so I could have a CT scan, THEN I could finally get some pain meds. I took one look at that stuff and told my nurse I could NOT do it. I was sobbing and couldn't breathe let alone swallow two huge bottles of contrast. She said to "try" and left me there. My mom and Mitch kept telling me to just drink it and I kept crying and yelling at them that I just could not do it. My mom was so upset at one point that she had to leave the room. I seriously was in so much pain that I don't really remember a lot of what happened but I know I was yelling at them telling them that I could not take it anymore. Anyway, I got about half of one bottle down and it came right back up. The radiologist came back and told me not to worry about trying to drink anymore and she took me to get my CT scan done. That took about 10 minutes thank God, then I had to go back to Nuclear Medicine and have one more picture taken. FINALLY I got back to my room and got some Demerol. It did NOTHING for the pain. The nurse came back and had to give me some Dilauded which is pretty much the strongest thing she could give me. I could still feel pain but at least it was tolerable.
So finally the doctor says that he could basically tell nothing from all the tests. Great. So he sent me up to the GI lab and they put me to sleep and put a scope down my throat to find out what was going on. Well it ended up that I had a leftover gall stone stuck in one of my bile ducts blocking anything from flowing through it. They took out the stone and opened up the duct with a balloon. FINALLY. RELIEF!!!
I woke up in the recovery room and asked my nurse what happened. She explained it all to me and I cried and kept saying over and over that I was SO glad it was finally all over and I could take care of my baby now. I was in and out of sleep for the next few minutes and finally I ended up in a room. The doctor asked if I wanted to go home or stay and I chose to stay just in case. I'm glad I did because I couldn't hold ANYTHING down...not even ice...for the rest of the night. If I wasn't there getting fluids I would've been dehydrated.
But anyway...I am still recovering. My liver was not working right because of the gall stone, so I ended up getting jaundiced which causes my whole body to itch and feels like I have a sunburn everywhere. I have gashes and scratches all over from scratching. I am sooo tired but sooo glad not to be in any more pain!!!! I really hope this is all over with. It was worse than labor. Seriously.
Ok well I am going rest. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers AGAIN!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
2 month checkup
Madelyn had her two month checkup and shots visit today. I couldn't go because I was having a lot of pain last night and needed to take a vicodin, so daddy took her. I'm kind of glad I didn't go because apparently she screamed bloody murder for her shots and I know I would've cried. She weighs 11lbs 8oz and she is 23 1/2in long! My big girl! I think that was the 75th percentile for height and weight. She has been super cranky all day from her shots. I feel so bad for her. Thank goodness my mom was here today, she held her pretty much all day long so I could rest and Mitch could get the housework done. I am sooo tired of being sore. I keep trying to go without taking the pain meds because they knock me out, but I end up in so much pain that I have to. Yesterday I started to feel back to normal and I think I did too much, because last night I definitely paid for it. bleh.
Maddy and Daddy going to the doctor
And this pic pretty much sums up the rest of the day. =(
Pictures from the past couple days:
Post-Surgery snuggles with my baby
She was holding her ring! I don't think on purpose but still...lol
Her cute going to the doctor outfit
Maddy and Daddy going to the doctorAnd this pic pretty much sums up the rest of the day. =(Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Surgery
I ended up having to have a surprise surgery on Monday morning. Some background: I've had heartburn/acid reflux problems pretty much my whole life. It got BAD during my pregnancy and even worse afterwards. I would get bouts of it that would last 6-7 hours to where I couldn't sit, lay down, walk, bend over, or breathe. It landed me in the ER twice in the past month. I was soooo embarrassed about having to go to the ER for heartburn but it was just so bad. This past saturday night I woke up at around midnight with chest pain, again. I got up and took some Maaloxx, Rolaids, and Prilosec but continued to hurt until around 6 that morning. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and called my mom. She convinced me that this was NOT heartburn and I needed to go to the ER and basically demand that they do an ultrasound to check my gall bladder. So we packed up baby, Mitch called in to work, and off to the ER we went. I got a good doctor this time and he sent me to have an ultrasound done. It was soo painful and took FOREVER. But when it was done, it didn't take him very long to come back and say "DEFINITE gall stones." So, he called the surgeon to see if he could take it out that day (AH! scary) but he couldn't do it so we scheduled it for the next morning. He offered to let me stay in the hospital overnight but I wanted to be home with my baby girl. So, my mom and sister came up and spent the night that night. They took care of Maddy so Mitch and I could sleep before the big day.
Monday morning I had to be at pre-op for 7am. My mom, Mitch, and I went while my sister sat with Maddy. I had to wait FOREVER in the waiting room because I was an add-on, so they didn't actually take me back to pre-op until about 11:30. That really sucked. But once I got back there it went really quick. They started my IV, asked me a million questions, I met the surgeon, and then they gave me some meds and I was OUT. Next thing I know, I was waking up in the recovery room. The first thing I remember is asking for my baby, and my nose and face was itching horribly from the morphine. I remember asking how long I had been in there and the nurse said about 20 minutes. My chest and back were hurting pretty badly so I asked for more pain meds. Then I was out again. When I woke up I was in my room. My chest and back were still really hurting, because apparently they pump you up with carbon dioxide so they can work inside there, so you get what feels like really bad gas pains. Anyway, I just have 4 small incisions because they took out the gall bladder laproscopically. I ended up going home around 7pm that evening. My mom and sister went home and Mitch's mom came up and spent the night and took care of Maddy so we could get some rest. Today I have just been resting and taking my pain meds. I was able to get up a few times and even get a shower so I think I am recovering pretty well. I just really hope that all my "heartburn" troubles are gone now!! I can't believe all this time it was really my gall bladder, and something could have been done about it!
Well I should get back in bed now, but I just wanted to update everyone on the situation and let everyone know that I'm okay! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!!!
Monday morning I had to be at pre-op for 7am. My mom, Mitch, and I went while my sister sat with Maddy. I had to wait FOREVER in the waiting room because I was an add-on, so they didn't actually take me back to pre-op until about 11:30. That really sucked. But once I got back there it went really quick. They started my IV, asked me a million questions, I met the surgeon, and then they gave me some meds and I was OUT. Next thing I know, I was waking up in the recovery room. The first thing I remember is asking for my baby, and my nose and face was itching horribly from the morphine. I remember asking how long I had been in there and the nurse said about 20 minutes. My chest and back were hurting pretty badly so I asked for more pain meds. Then I was out again. When I woke up I was in my room. My chest and back were still really hurting, because apparently they pump you up with carbon dioxide so they can work inside there, so you get what feels like really bad gas pains. Anyway, I just have 4 small incisions because they took out the gall bladder laproscopically. I ended up going home around 7pm that evening. My mom and sister went home and Mitch's mom came up and spent the night and took care of Maddy so we could get some rest. Today I have just been resting and taking my pain meds. I was able to get up a few times and even get a shower so I think I am recovering pretty well. I just really hope that all my "heartburn" troubles are gone now!! I can't believe all this time it was really my gall bladder, and something could have been done about it!
Well I should get back in bed now, but I just wanted to update everyone on the situation and let everyone know that I'm okay! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!!!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
