Milestones Galore!

Well apparently Madelyn is trying to get in as many milestones as possible before she turns 9 months! So far this month we have learned how to clap, learned how to play peek-a-boo, gotten a third tooth (I KNOW there are more in there...they just haven't shown themselves yet), and now she is scooting all over on her tummy, trying to pull up to get on her knees, AND she pulled up from sitting to standing in her crib all on her own!! Her favorite thing to do is still to crawl into the bottom of her exersaucer. Everytime she gets going, that is the first place she heads to! She is also starting to think a lot of things are just HILARIOUS. She was laughing at a plastic container the other day. Who knows what that was about! OH one more thing I forgot to mention...I'm trying to introduce her to finger foods. I got some gerber puffs and she isn't quite so fond of them yet. I put some cheese on her high chair tray and she just pushed it all to the floor. Then I gave her a teething biscuit and HOLY COW. She didn't want to give that up for anything! She ate almost the whole thing with no problems! She did feed that to herself, while I watched of course, but she doesn't quite understand yet that she can pick up little things, like the puffs or cheese, and put them in her mouth. Which is kind of a good thing now that she is scooting all over the floor...but we just started so I'm sure it will be soon and she'll be picking up everything in sight! Right now she is getting frustrated because she is scooting to her ball, then when she finally reaches it, she goes to grab it and it rolls farther away. Poor baby! It is just so much fun watching her do all these new things. And now she just put her ball into the bottom of her exersaucer and is crawling in after it. She is so smart!

Here is a picture update of how our day went on Friday.

We got up early to go to the hospital so I could get a test done. Which didn't happen. They wanted me to drink this stuff that was so thick I pretty much had to chew it to get it down. Well it didn't stay down for very long...so they sent me home. Next test is July 1st. It should go better than the last one. But look how pretty my baby looks in her skirt! Her new thing is this cheesy grin but I haven't gotten a picture of it yet. Its so stinkin cute!

My husband and his pride and joy. I'm talking about the mower. Its so hot outside and we haven't had any rain so our grass is all dying. Good thing we just bought a $2500 lawn mower to cut the dead grass with!

Maddy driving

She got SO dirty. Look at those dirty toes!!

So then we had to take a bath and scrub her clean!

Look at that hair! Its starting to grow grow grow!!

And we played "Where's Maddy" with the towel. Everything goes on her head now.

Then we ended the day with pulling up to standing from sitting in her crib. Big girl!!

And here are some videos!

Maddy

Here she is after she crawled into the bottom of her exersaucer.

Maddy

And this one cracks me up. She LOVES to eat, so when she started to pull herself up on her high chair, it was like she was saying "MOM! FEED ME!" haha

Maddy

And then she stood up in her crib. She is growing up way too fast.

Life as we know it is officially over.

Madelyn is mobile.

I took Amanda's advice and bribed Maddy to scoot with my cell phone. It worked like a charm! Now, just hours later, she is scooting ALL OVER the place!! Its amazing how once she gets the hang of something, there is no stopping her! I am SO proud of my baby girl!

She scooted into the bottom of her exersaucer today. Silly girl! She did it all by herself! Then she got mad when I took her out! Here are some pictures from that!






She also scooted over to her high chair and tried to pull herself up on it! AHH too much in one day!!!! I took a video of that, I will post it tomorrow when it finishes uploading, along with a few other videos that I took today of her new adventures!

Well tomorrow morning I have a test at the hospital. I think its just x-rays. I'm going to get some sleep, I hate getting up before 8am!!


OH and please don't forget to vote for Maddy!!

This kid might actually crawl after all!

Apparently she was just waiting on something she REALLY wanted to crawl to. Well not "crawling" yet but at least she is starting to realize she can move. Hopefully it won't be too much longer! I really didn't think she would EVER scoot, crawl, creep, anything!


Maddy scooting

Back from the hospital update

Ok so when I left off, I was scheduled to have my EGD on tuesday. Well we had a little change of plans. I had a bad pain attack sunday night. It started around 10pm and I took some vicodin since Maddy was already in bed. It didn't help. So, I ate half a roll of rolaids. Still no relief. I took another vicodin. Still nothing. By this time it is around 11:30 and I'm still in pain. I called the GI clinic and talked to the nurse on call. She said to go to the ER. I was crying and could barely talk because it was hurting to breathe, so I called my mom to come over from Ponchatoula so I could go to the ER. Mitch happened to be on a call on his way to Jackson at the time. She asked if I could wait until she got there and I said no. So...I called my neighbor Amanda and woke her up and asked if she would come sleep at my house until my mom and sister got there. Thankfully she did. I seriously don't know what I do without her!! Then I drove myself to the ER. It was PACKED when I got there at midnight. I didn't get seen until 3am. Since it was my 3rd ER visit in a week and I had tests scheduled, the ER Dr. just went ahead and admitted me. I got some pain meds, nausea meds, and antacids and got into a room. Oh yeah, and I got the results of the MRCP from friday. It showed cysts on my liver, which the dr. says is not causing my pain. Everything else is normal.

The next morning, after pretty much NO sleep, I got to go have my EGD done. Ok this is where it starts to get complicated and I can't go into a lot of detail. But anyway, we found out in a roundabout way that I have errosions in my stomach, basically pre-ulcers. I have a lot of them. The Dr. doesn't think this is causing my pain however. So, she schedules me for a colonoscopy the next day. Yes.....the test that normally old men have to have. It wasn't bad at all though, they put me to sleep for it. The best part was that after the test was done and I woke up, I got to EAT!! I hadn't eaten in two days. Ok so the results of the colonoscopy: I had one tiny little polyp that she took out and sent off for a biopsy. Otherwise, normal. So I got to come home last night.

I still have two tests scheduled but they are out-patient. They are just two forms of x-rays. They are supposed to call me today to let me know when to go in for those tests. So, as I said, I can't go into a lot of detail but I am very disappointed with my doctor and the hospital and I won't be going back there. After my tests are done, if they are normal, I am going to follow up with a different GI doctor.

So today, I finally get to be home with my baby girl. Today will HOPEFULLY be a normal day. I have to eat a bland diet...so I had toast for breakfast and I'm going to make some mashed potatoes for lunch I think.

SO to sum up (this is for me mostly so I can keep track):
cysts on ovaries
cysts on liver
errosions in stomach
polyp in colon
anemic

new additions!!

Ok well since you have been updated on the not so great things....lets talk about the GOOD things that happened this week!!



Well as I said in my previous post, I spent the weekend in Ponchatoula at my mom's house. While I was there, I adopted a chihuahua puppy!! Her name is Delilah, she is 9 weeks old, and is black, white, and tan. She is PRECIOUS and such a good puppy. She is doing so well with her potty training already! Queso isn't too thrilled about his new sister but I'm sure he will get used to it and before we know it they will be snuggled up together. She's very lovey and follows me all over the house, and she loves to hide her face in my neck and sleep. I just love her!



Also, today...Maddy got tooth number THREE! Finally!!! Her poor little gums have been swollen and red for a week now and she has just not been in a good mood. I've been giving her motrin and tylenol to help her get through it. Today I looked (she doesn't make it easy) and I finally saw one peeking through!! YEAH!! Its her top left incisor. Not the ones in the middle but right on the side of that. I have a feeling I will be seeing three more in the near future. Oh I hate teething. I'm sure Maddy hates it much more than me, though!

Also, Maddy has been developing quite an attitude. Nanny was playing on my laptop and Maddy was sitting next to her and she kept trying to get the keyboard. Brooke kept telling her no no and she was getting so frustrated. I offered her one of her toys to get her mind off the laptop and she threw her hands down and said "UGH!" She did not want her toy, she knew what she wanted and she was mad she couldn't have it!! Also, she now knows how to clap her hands and will do it when you say "yay!" well most of the time anyway if she is in the mood. Her personality is really starting to develop and I have a feeling she is going to be a headstrong child!!



In other news, our cat Lily, who mainly stays outside, has tonsilitis. I never knew cats could get that until our neighbor's cat got it recently. One day Lily came in with a very hoarse meow and laid around all day, didn't even whine to go out...so I knew something was wrong. So now she is on two antibiodics. Luckily its not TOO hard to give her the medicine.



Also, today was Father's Day! Maddy got her daddy a card and she colored on the inside with markers. It was so cute. Too bad he had to work today. =( Oh yeah he got the new UFC game for XBox also....I have a feeling that is why I have not heard much out of him all day. =P



Well this post will not contain any pictures due to the fact that the battery on my camera is dead. I have it charging and will post pictures of our new puppy, and Maddy's new tooth (if she lets me) as soon as I can!





Also, just a reminder, please go vote for my baby by clicking here! The contest runs through July 23th I believe and you can vote as many times as your heart desires!!

long explanation of what is going on.

So as I'm sure most of you know, I've been sick. Let's go back to when this all started. PREGNANCY. AH! I had a really rough pregnancy, I only gained about 10 pounds during the whole 9 months because I could not keep food or liquids down at all until about the third trimester, then by then the baby was so big that I couldn't eat much anyway. Well 2 months after Madelyn was born, I was still not feeling right. I would get horrible, excrutiating pain in my abdomen that I previously thought was heartburn. One night during a bad "attack" my mom told me to go to the ER and tell them to ultrasound my abdomen to check for gall stones. They did...the doctor came in and said "definite, DEFINITE gall stones." So, the next day, I had surgery to have my gall bladder taken out. And I thought that would be the end of it.

Well a few days after the surgery I called the surgeon's office because I was still in pain. They said it was probably from the air they pump into your abdomen during surgery, take some gas-x, and it will get better. Well...the pain just got worse. I didn't even make it to my post-op date a week later. I was back in the surgeon's office. I was jaundiced, and itching all over my entire body. My liver was not working. So he set me up to go to the hospital the next day to have a HIDA scan and an ultrasound and a CT scan to see what was going on in there. I couldn't take any pain pills after midnight because it would affect the scans. So. I made it to about 4am, and we ended up in the ER in the most excruciating pain I have ever felt.

They went ahead and scheduled my HIDA scan first. For this test I had to lay flat on my back for an hour and a half while they took pictures of my abdomen. They had given me a tiny bit of demerol when I got there but it wore off about halfway through this procedure. I was throwing up, crying, begging for pain meds and they wouldn't give me any. When the HIDA scan was finally over, I had to go to ultrasound. Still couldn't have any pain meds. I really truely thought I was going to pass out from the pain. That took about 20 minutes, then they sent me back to my room. STILL couldn't have any pain meds, AND they wanted me to drink the barium thing for my CT scan which was next. I got a little of it down, and promptly threw it back up. They decided to just take me for the scan anyway. That went really quickly and I finally got back to the room where they FINALLY gave me some more demerol. 20 minutes later I was still in pain. So they came back and gave me some dilauded. Normally dilauded knocks you out...I was in so much pain it barely did anything. So finally the Dr. comes in and says I'm getting no blood flow to my liver. So up to the 5th floor I go for surgery. I had an ERCP (basically a fancy scope thing) down my throat (I was asleep for that thank God), and while the dr was in there he found a 6mm stone stuck in a bile duct blocking everything off from my liver. He removed it. I went home the next day, and only had ONE pain pill that night. Previously I had gone through a whole bottle in about 4 days.

So a few months go by and I start to feel kind of weird. Well that turned out to be a hormone issue I believe, which is now resolved. So I'm thinking, great, I'm finally healthy, I can finally relax.

No.

Two weeks ago I began to have the same excrutiating pain in my abdomen, which felt like gall bladder attacks. I know that's not what it is considering my gallbladder is gone. So, one night my dear sweet neighbor came over and sat with Maddy so I could go to the ER. They drew blood, checked my pancreas, everything was normal, they sent me home with a referral to the GI doctor. The next day I called the GI clinic to make an appointment and they told me I could not be seen until July 1st. I explained that I was having severe attacks of pain and was referred from the ER. She still wouldn't fit me in. So, back to the ER the next day. They gave me demerol, zofran for nausea, and pepcid for any acid that might be causing me to be in pain. Drew more bloodwork, all came back normal. So they sent me for a CT scan. Normal, except that they found some cysts on my ovaries, but the doctor doesn't seem to think its anything to worry about. I told him I could not go home knowing that I would just be back in the ER the next day when I was in pain again. I NEEDED to see the GI doctor, whether they had to call her in to the ER or if he could get me an earlier appointment. He came back and said go to the clinic first thing in the morning.

So, we get up and get to the clinic for about 8. She examines me, looks at my chart and everything I've had done, and schedules me for an MRCP (which is basically just an MRI of the abdomen), and an EGD (Upper GI Endoscopy, they stick the camera down your throat and look at stomach and intestines, and can take biopsies if they need to). I had the MRCP on friday which was terrifying as I am claustrophobic but some Ativan got me through it. That night I went to Ponchatoula to my mom's house since Mitch would be working and I needed help with the baby since I was on pain meds. Friday I felt pretty okay. Saturday we went out to eat for my brother's birthday, got home, and I was in severe pain again. This time it was so bad that I actually started throwing up. My EGD was scheduled for Tuesday, but I was in such bad pain that my mom called the on-call GI dr and she said to go in Mon to the office to at least get the results of the MRI. So tomorrow morning I will be in the clinic AGAIN. Tuesday I have my EGD scheduled for 9:30 (they put you to sleep for that). I'm very frustrated and feeling sort of defeated at this point because the pain I am in is NOT normal but all my tests keep coming back as nothing is wrong. I don't know what to do. I am hoping and praying that the MRCP and EGD will hold some answers for me.

So now you can see why I have been slacking on updating the blog. As I have been going through all of this I want to thank my husband for being so patient, and taking good care of me and Maddy as I have been sort of incapacitated at times due to the pain meds. Also, my mom and my sister for dropping everything at all times of the day or night, even taking off of work, to come and help with the baby when I needed to go to the ER or to an appointment, or if I just needed someone to watch Maddy while Mitch was at work because I was in pain. Also thank you to my dear sweet neighbor Amanda for giving up some of her precious sleep time to babysit, and also for offering to bring me dinner and help out. And everyone else who has kept me in your thoughts and prayers! Thank you!!!!! I don't know what I would have done without all of yall. When I get better I am going to have to cook you all dinner or something.

So that is where we stand right now. I will try to keep everyone updated, I just didn't really want to get into it because I had no answers yet. But since everyone seems so concerned, I just wanted to let everyone know what was going on and that I am okay, just still going through tests and hopefully we will know something soon.

Later I will post about the new addition to our family, and some new developments in Madelyn's life! =) STAY TUNED!!

VOTE FOR MADDY!

Vote for Maddy in WeTV's cutest baby contest!! Click the link below! Thank you!! =)


VOTE VOTE VOTE!

pictures and a video

Not much to blog about. I just wanted to post a few pictures and a video. I have a ton of school stuff to do and finals are next week, so thats why I haven't been updating as often. So here is a little update. =)

Drinking her bottle with her feet

She loves her excersaucer

Her fave new toy. She loves to take the toys out of it but she doesn't get how to put them back in yet.

Playing with her cookie jar

Haha...this one is for her future friends when she's about 13. I can hear it now..."OMG mooooooooooom!" =)

Bouncy Baby

8 months pics and stats!

CHEESE! I'm 8 months old!

My baby is 8 months old as of yesterday! Can you believe it?? She now weighs 20 lbs 12oz, and is 28.5 inches long!

New developments: She is talking alot. Most of it doesn't make sense of course, but she does know what ba-ba (bottle) means although she doesn't say it, and she says ny-ny (nite nite) when you rock her and she is tired. Also, she can wave bye bye! Not at appropriate times but if you say bye bye and wave, she will (most of the time) wave back! SMART BABY! As you saw a couple posts back she was doing the "itsy bitsy spider" well now she refuses to do it. Good thing we got it on video or no one would believe us! She also waves her arms up and down when she hears music or when you sing. And she usually looks at me if I say "Maddy, look at mama!"

Amanda and I went out to eat Mexican with the kiddos the other night and Maddy was grabbing at everything, throwing her toys on the floor, babbling, and I think at one point her and Carsyn were actually having a conversation in babynese...LOL. But it hit me all of a sudden that she is turning into a REAL human! Like she's not just a baby blob anymore! She understands me, she looks for me, she knows what she wants and how to get it most of the time. She is 0% interested in crawling however and plenty of tummy time and cheering does not motivate her. If you try to put a toy right out of her reach, she will just find another one to play with or she will play with her blanket or the rug. She can stand up holding on to something for a little bit if you put her there. I am getting more and more convinced that she will never crawl and will go straight to walking.

As for food...well she is still on regular baby food. I have tried to introduce finger foods like mashed banana or mashed carrots. She plays with them and makes a huge mess but if it (most of the time accidently) gets in her mouth, she gags and throws up. So I guess she is just not ready. We will have to try again in a few weeks. Either that or she is gerber gourmet snob. Whoever thought pureed vegetables would be so yummy?

Well here are the pictures that I know yall came here for. =) They all were so cute, it was hard to decide which ones to post! If you want to see all of them I will be posting to MySpace or Facebook soon. =)

LOVE LOVE LOVE the last one. Would've been cuter if daddy's hands weren't in the way! hehe

lots of pics

I wanted to catch up on all of Maddy's pictures from 7 months before she turns 8 months old tomorrow! So here you go....there are a ton. The first two were done by my neighbor Amanda. Aren't they PRECIOUS??

Her first time in a swing at the park!

Sitting up in the Wal-Mart buggy...she has one of those things you put over the seat but Mitch refuses to use it because its pink.

I love that smile!!

She did this herself. I looked over and this is what I saw.

Going to church in Natchez with daddy.

Sweet sleepy baby

I don't know if you can see it in this picture but this morning she had some crazy bedhead. Her hair on the side was sticking straight out.

She's very advanced for a 7 month old. Already reading and everything! =)

PRECIOUS!

My sweet baby

Well that is all for tonight. Tomorrow I will be taking her 8 month pictures!! She is growing up way too fast!

Three Bean Soup recipe!

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, and since I am trying to make an effort to eat healthier, I thought I would try it out. I didn't have very high expectations but it came out DELICIOUS! And it made a TON of soup so you will have a lot left over.



Three Bean Soup

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 medium carrots, sliced
3 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
3 cups water
2 tablespoons parsley flakes
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (15.5 ounce) can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 lb Andouille sausage

So basically all you do is saute the onion in the oil, then add all the rest of the ingredients except for the spinach and sausage. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the veggies are tender. Then add in the spinach and sausage and let it cook until everything is heated through. Very easy and yummy!

The original recipe didn't call for sausage but I felt like it needed it. Also I added some crushed red pepper for some kick.

update

Well I have been slacking on my blog posts. Sorry!! I will try and get a good one in tonight with some pictures.

What has been keeping me so busy?? Well first, school. I had midterms and a team project on top of regular work and tests, so last week was a little busy. Second, I haven't been feeling so great. At first I thought it was my thyroid so I went to the doctor and had bloodwork done. She also wanted to test for a virus called CMV which is like mono, and do a blood count, and a liver function test. So I had four HUGE vials of blood drawn...and everything came back normal. So then I had labwork done to test my hormone levels. I haven't gotten the results from that back yet, but the doctor put me on some progesterone and I am feeling a lot better already! I guess my body just hasn't caught back up since having the baby.

Well this week shoud be a little slower, I hope! I am off to play with Maddy for a little bit before her nap. She is staring at me as I type this so I guess she wants my attention. =)