We do not know what our little baby bray #4 is yet in terms of gender. But either boy or girl our baby needs a name. Tim & I have in the past really struggled with the names of our children. With Kaleb we fought so much that we ended up playing a name game that allowed all our family and friends to vote on their favorite of 4 names. That was honestly how Kaleb got his name. You all named him!
With Jasmyn it was different. Tim heard the name Jasmyn and loved it. I remember he came home and just said "if we have a girl her name is Jasmyn". He just kept up on it and eventually her name grew on me. Kaleb & Jasmyn's middle names are family names so that was easy.
Mason's name is a little different. It has a whole 6 degrees of seperation theme to Nicholas Cage. Nicholas Cage did 2 movies that either had a character named Mason (ConAir) or was about the Free Masons (National Treasure). One night I was flipping through the baby name book and came across the name Mason. Both Tim and I thought of the movies of our favorite actor Nicholas Cage and agreed we loved that name. Mason's middle name is Alexander. Tim has always loved the name Xander, but I hated it! Kaleb wanted to name Mason after his favorite character Alex, on the Disney movie Madagascar. So we combined the two suggestions and named him Mason Alexander.
Now we are pregnant with Baby #4 and this baby needs a name. So I wanted to open up the opportunity for you to make suggestions. Now I am not saying that I will use your name or that you will get naming rights, but if you have a name that you think fits in with the rest of the kids, or you just really think would work, please email me and let me know! The name of course has to hold up againist Tim's scrutiny (which can be fierce) and we will make the final decision. But I would love some suggestions from people that we love and that love us!
So please feel free to comment here, send me an email, comment on Facebook or text me your suggestions for either a boy or girl name!
March 31, 2009
March 30, 2009
Savings
The kids have been gathering pennies from Grandma and us, and other sources like birthdays, Christmas and other holidays. They have been keeping their coins in their piggy banks on their dressers. But the temptation to spend it is just to great. Every time Kaleb goes to a store he wants to bring money along to buy a toy. Don't get me wrong, spending is not a bad thing. But impulse spending for immediate gratification can become a problem later in life. Now perhaps teaching the lesson of saving to a 6 year old is over the top, but it is a lesson that Tim & I both struggle with even now. It is our personal financial goal to save a larger "rainy day fund" to solidify our financial future. And a family that saves together...is more likely to be successful!
We took each of the kids piggy banks and went to a coin star machine. Coin star is a coin sorting machine. Much to our dismay Kaleb had managed to save over $20 in coins. Jasmyn had $11 and Mason had $9. Pretty good for kids that don't even get an allowance yet! Not to mention the dollar bills they had gotten from relatives and friends. The kids were thrilled to use the coinstar machine and get paper money from the store. Although they are not sure how this whole bank account stuff works, they indulged me! Kaleb is the proud owner of a saving account with $36 buck in it! Jasmyn has $21! And Mason has $19. They got a fancy bank book and a water bottle as a prize! LOL!
As an ongoing savings goal the kids will make a monthly deposit to their savings accounts. 50% of what they earn or receive during the month goes to the savings account. 50% stays in the piggy bank for them to spend on toys and such. Hopefully this will help them delay gratification on instant toy purchase, make spending decisions more carefully and also save their "spending" 50% to buy a cool toy they REALLY want. I would like this to be a life long lesson they learn and apply to their adult lives!
I hope it works!
We took each of the kids piggy banks and went to a coin star machine. Coin star is a coin sorting machine. Much to our dismay Kaleb had managed to save over $20 in coins. Jasmyn had $11 and Mason had $9. Pretty good for kids that don't even get an allowance yet! Not to mention the dollar bills they had gotten from relatives and friends. The kids were thrilled to use the coinstar machine and get paper money from the store. Although they are not sure how this whole bank account stuff works, they indulged me! Kaleb is the proud owner of a saving account with $36 buck in it! Jasmyn has $21! And Mason has $19. They got a fancy bank book and a water bottle as a prize! LOL!
As an ongoing savings goal the kids will make a monthly deposit to their savings accounts. 50% of what they earn or receive during the month goes to the savings account. 50% stays in the piggy bank for them to spend on toys and such. Hopefully this will help them delay gratification on instant toy purchase, make spending decisions more carefully and also save their "spending" 50% to buy a cool toy they REALLY want. I would like this to be a life long lesson they learn and apply to their adult lives!
I hope it works!
March 29, 2009
13 weeks pregnant and all is well!
Today I am officially 13 weeks pregnant. At the end of this week when I hit 14 weeks I will be in my 2nd trimester. They (medical professionals) say that alot of discomfort from the 1st trimester magically disappears when you hit the 14 week mark. We shall see. This has not always held true in my previous pregnancies. So I thought I would give a quick update on how I am doing.
I have had quite a few headaches in the past few weeks. I am not sure why. I have been getting enough sleep and not doing anything to strain my eyes or anything. But I still get these bad put-me-in-bed type of headaches about once a week. Perhaps they are from dehydration because I seem to also have chapped lips alot as well. Chapped lips for me is a sign of me not drinking enough water. So I have been trying to drink more, but that makes me pee more and I would like to see something besides the inside of my bathroom in a day. I think the trick is finding balance. I am still working on that though.
My skin is a wreck. It is dry and yucky but also breaking out. I have some kind of excema type rash on the inside of both my forearms. Does not make alot of sense to be dry but breaking out. I guess pregnancy runs havoc on every system in your body. But I am encouraged because when I was pregnant with Jasmyn my skin was a WRECK the whole time. With Kaleb & Mason... it was fairly OK. So bad skin has = girl before. Probably an old wives tales, but I am still keeping my fingers crossed!
WARNING TMI APPROACHING***** SKIP to next Paragraph if you are easily offended******
So with previous pregnancies my breasts getting sore and swollen has been a tell tale sign of pregnancy. Meaning my breasts would be sore long before I even missed my period. With this pregnancy they were just fine. In fact that is part if why I was so surprised to get a positive pregnancy tests, cause my breasts were just normal feeling. I attributed my lack of sensitivity to the fact that I have breastfed a grand total of like 41 months (3.5 years) when you add up Kaleb, Jasmyn and Mason's nursing time. Usually first time Moms have the sore breasts because of a hormonal response of the final development of milk ducts and the breasts preparing for breast feeding. So I *thought* I might get lucky and not have the breast soreness because of my breast feeding "hard time" so to speak. Yeah. I am not that lucky. The breast fairy arrived a week or so ago and gave them a refill. They are now swollen, firm and sore. Not that I mind the firmness part, casue lets be honest after 41 months of nursing.... firmness is NOT a word I would usually use to descibe my breasts! LOL! But I wish they could be swollen and firm without the soreness. And since the Breast fairy inflated them again... Bra shopping might become very neccessary in the coming weeks.
END OF TMI**** Resume your regular reading!
I have been doing what I can to stay awake. LOL! Tim will attest to this. Try as I might I can not get through an afternoon without a nap. I try to get to bed at a reasonable time every night and get at least 7-8 hours of sleep. But even when I hit the 8 hours of sleep I still feel an afternoon low and need a cat nap to make it through the evening. My mind seems to not be as sharp either. Tim has always said that when I get pregnant I give 1/2 my brain to the baby. So as of now I only have about 1/16th of what I started with pre kids! Which is probably why the fridge is mostly empty and the bills are late... not because of the ecomony.... but because I don't have enough energy to shop or brain power to pay the bills! LOL!
I have been trying to take my prenatal vitamins in order to help with my energy levels and overall health. I have only recently be able to try as prior to this week I had been vomitting on a regular basis. Almost daily in fact. Maybe this is one of those things they (medical professionals) are right about having it end in the 1st trimester. That is FINE with me. I'll take it! So as soon as I was able to keep everything down I decided to try to take prenatals again. 5 days into it and I have been successful so far!
I also got my blood test results back from my thyroid blood draw from March 10th. Dr. L send me a letter to say the blood levels are perfect and to continue on my current dose. This is good news. We will continue to monitor the blood levels over the whole pregnancy on a monthly basis. Dr.L will adjust my dosage as needed to ensure the health of myself and the baby!
Most likely in large part to the fact that I was vomiting daily for a few months, I am still losing weight. I am down 9 pounds from where I was on March 10th. Or it could just be the way my body does pregnancy. I checked back on my previous pregnancy weight charts and it is typical for me to lose 10-15 pounds in the first few months and then level out during the middle months and then gain it back at the end. By the time baby is born, I am about where I started, albeit a little less tone in my abdomin. But lets face it... I did not start out with rock hard abs! I will just be happy to not gain a bunch of weight and still have a healthy weight baby!
The only other thing that has been interesting during my first trimester is the way crazy and VIVID dreams. I dream about people that I have not spoken to in years, some people that are no longer with us, and people in my every day life. Sometimes all these folks are scrambled together in a crazy party and sometimes I have one on one dreams with someone. None of my dreams are scary, although some of them are manifestations of my deepest thoughts and feelings. If I am angry about someone I will have a dream that they moved away. Or that I told them EXACTLY how I feel about them. In words that I would Not use in real life. In some ways it is freeing to have a dream confrontation with someone. It is very safe that way. No consequences to deal with. The only negative aspect of the vivid dreams is the moment when you wake up and you are trying to dicipher fact from dream. And also sometimes the intesity or vividness of the dreams wakes me up at odd hours and makes going back to sleep difficult.
I am just happy to be pregnant and happy to be experiencing every little moment of this journey. Tim & I intend for this child to be the completion of our family. So there is a bit of "savoring each drop" this time around. I thought that it might be bitter sweet. I am pleasantly surprised that I feel content and peaceful about our decision. This does feel like the completeion of this (infancy) phase of our lives. I am happy to be going through it, but I am happy to be nearing the end of this journey as well.
I have had quite a few headaches in the past few weeks. I am not sure why. I have been getting enough sleep and not doing anything to strain my eyes or anything. But I still get these bad put-me-in-bed type of headaches about once a week. Perhaps they are from dehydration because I seem to also have chapped lips alot as well. Chapped lips for me is a sign of me not drinking enough water. So I have been trying to drink more, but that makes me pee more and I would like to see something besides the inside of my bathroom in a day. I think the trick is finding balance. I am still working on that though.
My skin is a wreck. It is dry and yucky but also breaking out. I have some kind of excema type rash on the inside of both my forearms. Does not make alot of sense to be dry but breaking out. I guess pregnancy runs havoc on every system in your body. But I am encouraged because when I was pregnant with Jasmyn my skin was a WRECK the whole time. With Kaleb & Mason... it was fairly OK. So bad skin has = girl before. Probably an old wives tales, but I am still keeping my fingers crossed!
WARNING TMI APPROACHING***** SKIP to next Paragraph if you are easily offended******
So with previous pregnancies my breasts getting sore and swollen has been a tell tale sign of pregnancy. Meaning my breasts would be sore long before I even missed my period. With this pregnancy they were just fine. In fact that is part if why I was so surprised to get a positive pregnancy tests, cause my breasts were just normal feeling. I attributed my lack of sensitivity to the fact that I have breastfed a grand total of like 41 months (3.5 years) when you add up Kaleb, Jasmyn and Mason's nursing time. Usually first time Moms have the sore breasts because of a hormonal response of the final development of milk ducts and the breasts preparing for breast feeding. So I *thought* I might get lucky and not have the breast soreness because of my breast feeding "hard time" so to speak. Yeah. I am not that lucky. The breast fairy arrived a week or so ago and gave them a refill. They are now swollen, firm and sore. Not that I mind the firmness part, casue lets be honest after 41 months of nursing.... firmness is NOT a word I would usually use to descibe my breasts! LOL! But I wish they could be swollen and firm without the soreness. And since the Breast fairy inflated them again... Bra shopping might become very neccessary in the coming weeks.
END OF TMI**** Resume your regular reading!
I have been doing what I can to stay awake. LOL! Tim will attest to this. Try as I might I can not get through an afternoon without a nap. I try to get to bed at a reasonable time every night and get at least 7-8 hours of sleep. But even when I hit the 8 hours of sleep I still feel an afternoon low and need a cat nap to make it through the evening. My mind seems to not be as sharp either. Tim has always said that when I get pregnant I give 1/2 my brain to the baby. So as of now I only have about 1/16th of what I started with pre kids! Which is probably why the fridge is mostly empty and the bills are late... not because of the ecomony.... but because I don't have enough energy to shop or brain power to pay the bills! LOL!
I have been trying to take my prenatal vitamins in order to help with my energy levels and overall health. I have only recently be able to try as prior to this week I had been vomitting on a regular basis. Almost daily in fact. Maybe this is one of those things they (medical professionals) are right about having it end in the 1st trimester. That is FINE with me. I'll take it! So as soon as I was able to keep everything down I decided to try to take prenatals again. 5 days into it and I have been successful so far!
I also got my blood test results back from my thyroid blood draw from March 10th. Dr. L send me a letter to say the blood levels are perfect and to continue on my current dose. This is good news. We will continue to monitor the blood levels over the whole pregnancy on a monthly basis. Dr.L will adjust my dosage as needed to ensure the health of myself and the baby!
Most likely in large part to the fact that I was vomiting daily for a few months, I am still losing weight. I am down 9 pounds from where I was on March 10th. Or it could just be the way my body does pregnancy. I checked back on my previous pregnancy weight charts and it is typical for me to lose 10-15 pounds in the first few months and then level out during the middle months and then gain it back at the end. By the time baby is born, I am about where I started, albeit a little less tone in my abdomin. But lets face it... I did not start out with rock hard abs! I will just be happy to not gain a bunch of weight and still have a healthy weight baby!
The only other thing that has been interesting during my first trimester is the way crazy and VIVID dreams. I dream about people that I have not spoken to in years, some people that are no longer with us, and people in my every day life. Sometimes all these folks are scrambled together in a crazy party and sometimes I have one on one dreams with someone. None of my dreams are scary, although some of them are manifestations of my deepest thoughts and feelings. If I am angry about someone I will have a dream that they moved away. Or that I told them EXACTLY how I feel about them. In words that I would Not use in real life. In some ways it is freeing to have a dream confrontation with someone. It is very safe that way. No consequences to deal with. The only negative aspect of the vivid dreams is the moment when you wake up and you are trying to dicipher fact from dream. And also sometimes the intesity or vividness of the dreams wakes me up at odd hours and makes going back to sleep difficult.
I am just happy to be pregnant and happy to be experiencing every little moment of this journey. Tim & I intend for this child to be the completion of our family. So there is a bit of "savoring each drop" this time around. I thought that it might be bitter sweet. I am pleasantly surprised that I feel content and peaceful about our decision. This does feel like the completeion of this (infancy) phase of our lives. I am happy to be going through it, but I am happy to be nearing the end of this journey as well.
March 18, 2009
Mason's Post-Op update
Mason had ear tube surgery on Monday. He did awesome. Well the surgery went awesome.... Mason behaved exactly how a 2 year old should behave given the situation!
We had to check into the ENT office by 7am. So that means leaving our home by 6:20am to make the drive there and arrive on time. Getting up before 6am is about 2 hours earlier than our regular wake time. Mason was unimpressed! He was even more unimpressed that he could not eat or drink anything when he woke up. Kaleb the night before was very worried about Mason. He had a hard time at bedtime wondering if Mason would be "brave enough". It was very sweet. When I got Mason dressed Kaleb hear us moving around. Mason was sitting on the couch and Kaleb brought him his stuffed puppy to take with him. In a sleepy haze he staggered over to give him a kiss and tell him to be brave. Then Mason wanted his Baby Jaguar as well. So Kaleb went and got that stuffed animal as well. I sent Kaleb back to bed after assuring him Mason was "brave enough".
On the drive there Mason fell back asleep. He was way grumpy when I woke him up, pulled him out of the Van into the cold frosty morning air and took him inside a strange building with strange people looking at him. He responded by pulling the hood of his jacket up and over his eyes. Then he buried what was left showing of his face directly into my breasts. He tucked his hands around his stuffed animals and under himself and would not move. We sat in the waiting room like that for about 5 minutes.
When they called us back he started to fuss. He knew something was up. They put us in a curtained off area to "prep" us. Basically to get him into a gown, take him weight, and allow the nurses and Drs to ask us a bunch of the same questions over and over again. Nurse gave us a gown and asked me to leave his socks and diaper on and tie the gown in back. She then briskly yanked the curtain closed around us. Well the curtain makes that loud metal ring on metal rail noise and completely freaked Mason out. He does NOT want the curtain closed. He does NOT want to take off his clothes. So I open the curtain back up. He settles down a bit, that is until I start taking off his clothes. He is screaming and kicking and throwing a bona-fided tantrum. I wrestle him out of his clothes while 3 nurses stand at the desk 6 feet away and watch. Right as I am pulling his pants off the brisk curtain pulling nurse says, "Oh if he is THAT upset, you can just leave his clothes on". Well it is too late now. He is naked. He doesn't want his clothes back on and he is having NOTHING to do with the cute tiger gown they have given us.
Nurse Brisk wants to weigh him. She walks us back to a counter with a baby scale on it. I try to put him on the scale. His butt doesn't even hit the cold metal before he is crawling back into my arms. Then Nurse Brisk gets the bright idea to try to hold him down. Yeah that doesn't work either. Hard to get a scale to balance with a wiggling 2 year old screaming and clawing at you. So Nurse Brisk picks him up and walks out of the room to the adult scale down the hall. she holds him while he is screaming and kicking and weighs herself and him. She gets off the scale, hands Mason back to me, he is basically puddle of wet tears and relief to be back in my arms. She gets back on the scale and re weighs just herself. Then she uses a calculator to figure out the difference. Mason weighs 30 pounds. Which by the way is what I told her he weighed at his appointment in HER office just 5 days earlier. But whatever. She got her "accurate" weight on him.
We go back to our curtain area to wait some more. Another nurse comes over to listen to his lungs and ask the same questions again. She also puts an ID bracelet on his ankle. He is NOT amused at all by that event. She tells me that Mason doesn't have to wear the gown. Good thing cause he wasn't having it anyway! Then the anesthesiologist comes in to listen to his lungs again and ask the same questions AGAIN. Satisfied that Mason's lungs are clear due to all the screaming he leaves, probably to go stop the bleeding in his own ear drums from Mason's screams bursting them! LOL!
We wait and then we wait some more for Dr. B to show up. He is about 30 minutes late. Mind you Mason is just in his diaper and socks at this point. He is getting cold. Nurse offers us a warm blanket. Nope Mason throws it on the floor. I wrap him up in his coat. I put my jacket around his legs and hold him close. His face is still buried in my breasts. Dr B. FINALLY arrives. He says Hi, I sign the consent form and he leaves. The nice nurse comes back and says "it is time". Mason understands what that means. But contrary to his antics thus far he remains calm. I give him a big hug and a kiss. I tell him to be brave. Nice Nurse picks him up and Mason hugs his stuffed animals and her neck. She walks away and he is looking at me over her shoulder. I wave bye bye and blow him a kiss. He fusses a bit, shoots me a dirty -I-Can't-believe-you-let-this-woman-take-me-to-certain-death-look and they round the corner out of sight.
I take this opportunity to burst into tears myself. I sob quietly into my sleeve for a few moments. I gather our belongings and Nurse Brisk shows me to the waiting room. Tim & I exchange a few texts while I wait. Tim was at home with Jasmyn & Mason, but his heart was with me and Mason, holding both our hands. I swear not even 10minutes went by and Dr. B was calling me over for a post-op update. Mason still had fluid behind both ear drums. They removed the fluid, put the tube in and all was well. Mason was in the recovery room and as soon as he started to wake they would come and get me.
I go back to my waiting room chair. I wait another 5 minutes, while exchanging texts with Tim. They finally call me back. Mason is cuddled up in a warm blanket with a nurse I have not seen before. He holds his arms out to me as soon as he sees me from across the room. I scoop him up. He is groggy and cranky. They offer him some juice which he refuses. I ask him if he wants his clothes. He says "YES!" I get him dressed, the nurse goes over some discharge instructions and then we leave.
Mason fell asleep again in the van on the drive home. I let Tim Jasmyn and Kaleb know that we are on our way home. Kaleb is very happy that Mason was "brave enough". We arrive home to hugs and kisses and everyone is so proud of Mason. Mason is just plain tuckered out. The meds are still making him sleepy. He asks to go lay in my bed. So we do. We both end up sleeping in until about 12:30. It was an awesome nap! First time ever that Mason willingly laid down to nap with me. No crying no fussing, out like a light in 5 minutes. Sweet!
When we woke up it was like the mornings events never happened. He was happy, played normally and ate well. Things have been normal ever since. We have a follow-up and a hearing test the 2nd week in April. I will keep everyone posted on how he is doing!
Thanks for reading this story. I wrote out the long versions so that *I* won't forget and for his baby book! I hope you enjoyed it!
We had to check into the ENT office by 7am. So that means leaving our home by 6:20am to make the drive there and arrive on time. Getting up before 6am is about 2 hours earlier than our regular wake time. Mason was unimpressed! He was even more unimpressed that he could not eat or drink anything when he woke up. Kaleb the night before was very worried about Mason. He had a hard time at bedtime wondering if Mason would be "brave enough". It was very sweet. When I got Mason dressed Kaleb hear us moving around. Mason was sitting on the couch and Kaleb brought him his stuffed puppy to take with him. In a sleepy haze he staggered over to give him a kiss and tell him to be brave. Then Mason wanted his Baby Jaguar as well. So Kaleb went and got that stuffed animal as well. I sent Kaleb back to bed after assuring him Mason was "brave enough".
On the drive there Mason fell back asleep. He was way grumpy when I woke him up, pulled him out of the Van into the cold frosty morning air and took him inside a strange building with strange people looking at him. He responded by pulling the hood of his jacket up and over his eyes. Then he buried what was left showing of his face directly into my breasts. He tucked his hands around his stuffed animals and under himself and would not move. We sat in the waiting room like that for about 5 minutes.
When they called us back he started to fuss. He knew something was up. They put us in a curtained off area to "prep" us. Basically to get him into a gown, take him weight, and allow the nurses and Drs to ask us a bunch of the same questions over and over again. Nurse gave us a gown and asked me to leave his socks and diaper on and tie the gown in back. She then briskly yanked the curtain closed around us. Well the curtain makes that loud metal ring on metal rail noise and completely freaked Mason out. He does NOT want the curtain closed. He does NOT want to take off his clothes. So I open the curtain back up. He settles down a bit, that is until I start taking off his clothes. He is screaming and kicking and throwing a bona-fided tantrum. I wrestle him out of his clothes while 3 nurses stand at the desk 6 feet away and watch. Right as I am pulling his pants off the brisk curtain pulling nurse says, "Oh if he is THAT upset, you can just leave his clothes on". Well it is too late now. He is naked. He doesn't want his clothes back on and he is having NOTHING to do with the cute tiger gown they have given us.
Nurse Brisk wants to weigh him. She walks us back to a counter with a baby scale on it. I try to put him on the scale. His butt doesn't even hit the cold metal before he is crawling back into my arms. Then Nurse Brisk gets the bright idea to try to hold him down. Yeah that doesn't work either. Hard to get a scale to balance with a wiggling 2 year old screaming and clawing at you. So Nurse Brisk picks him up and walks out of the room to the adult scale down the hall. she holds him while he is screaming and kicking and weighs herself and him. She gets off the scale, hands Mason back to me, he is basically puddle of wet tears and relief to be back in my arms. She gets back on the scale and re weighs just herself. Then she uses a calculator to figure out the difference. Mason weighs 30 pounds. Which by the way is what I told her he weighed at his appointment in HER office just 5 days earlier. But whatever. She got her "accurate" weight on him.
We go back to our curtain area to wait some more. Another nurse comes over to listen to his lungs and ask the same questions again. She also puts an ID bracelet on his ankle. He is NOT amused at all by that event. She tells me that Mason doesn't have to wear the gown. Good thing cause he wasn't having it anyway! Then the anesthesiologist comes in to listen to his lungs again and ask the same questions AGAIN. Satisfied that Mason's lungs are clear due to all the screaming he leaves, probably to go stop the bleeding in his own ear drums from Mason's screams bursting them! LOL!
We wait and then we wait some more for Dr. B to show up. He is about 30 minutes late. Mind you Mason is just in his diaper and socks at this point. He is getting cold. Nurse offers us a warm blanket. Nope Mason throws it on the floor. I wrap him up in his coat. I put my jacket around his legs and hold him close. His face is still buried in my breasts. Dr B. FINALLY arrives. He says Hi, I sign the consent form and he leaves. The nice nurse comes back and says "it is time". Mason understands what that means. But contrary to his antics thus far he remains calm. I give him a big hug and a kiss. I tell him to be brave. Nice Nurse picks him up and Mason hugs his stuffed animals and her neck. She walks away and he is looking at me over her shoulder. I wave bye bye and blow him a kiss. He fusses a bit, shoots me a dirty -I-Can't-believe-you-let-this-woman-take-me-to-certain-death-look and they round the corner out of sight.
I take this opportunity to burst into tears myself. I sob quietly into my sleeve for a few moments. I gather our belongings and Nurse Brisk shows me to the waiting room. Tim & I exchange a few texts while I wait. Tim was at home with Jasmyn & Mason, but his heart was with me and Mason, holding both our hands. I swear not even 10minutes went by and Dr. B was calling me over for a post-op update. Mason still had fluid behind both ear drums. They removed the fluid, put the tube in and all was well. Mason was in the recovery room and as soon as he started to wake they would come and get me.
I go back to my waiting room chair. I wait another 5 minutes, while exchanging texts with Tim. They finally call me back. Mason is cuddled up in a warm blanket with a nurse I have not seen before. He holds his arms out to me as soon as he sees me from across the room. I scoop him up. He is groggy and cranky. They offer him some juice which he refuses. I ask him if he wants his clothes. He says "YES!" I get him dressed, the nurse goes over some discharge instructions and then we leave.
Mason fell asleep again in the van on the drive home. I let Tim Jasmyn and Kaleb know that we are on our way home. Kaleb is very happy that Mason was "brave enough". We arrive home to hugs and kisses and everyone is so proud of Mason. Mason is just plain tuckered out. The meds are still making him sleepy. He asks to go lay in my bed. So we do. We both end up sleeping in until about 12:30. It was an awesome nap! First time ever that Mason willingly laid down to nap with me. No crying no fussing, out like a light in 5 minutes. Sweet!
When we woke up it was like the mornings events never happened. He was happy, played normally and ate well. Things have been normal ever since. We have a follow-up and a hearing test the 2nd week in April. I will keep everyone posted on how he is doing!
Thanks for reading this story. I wrote out the long versions so that *I* won't forget and for his baby book! I hope you enjoyed it!
March 15, 2009
Unneccessary c-sections
Most of my readers know where I stand on birth. The more natural the better. I have had 2 completely unmedicated births. One in the hospital and one at home. There are some truths in childbirth that I believe. I found this blog on an online community I visit and it speaks some of the truths that I believe about unnecessary c-sections. She writes with humor and lots of sarcasm. Perfect for this topic. I hope you enjoy reading it and that perhaps you will glean a nugget of truth for yourself!
http://www.faintstarlite.com/2009/03/top-7-ways-to-have-an-unnecessary-c-section/
http://www.faintstarlite.com/2009/03/top-7-ways-to-have-an-unnecessary-c-section/
March 10, 2009
Jen's Pregnancy Update 1
This is where I write out all the important or at least pertinent information that I glean from my Drs. appointments that relate directly to my pregnancy. I have done this with every pregnancy thus far, but since this is my first pregnancy since starting this blog, I will be doing the updates here instead of through email. I will be using the same title as above "Jen's Pregnancy Update" and then the correct number. Should make it easier to keep track. Well at least that is the goal!
I am going to lump my first 4 appointments into this post because it makes it easier and catches everyone up to date.
At every appointment with the MW I test my urine for glucose and protein. It is a simple dip stick test. I also weigh myself on their scale and then report my findings to the MW. This is their way of making me a team player in my own health care. Either that or they just don't like handling another person's pee! LOL! They also take my blood pressure, feel my tummy for my fundus, and listen to baby's heart rate. So in all my MW appt notes you will see some abbreviations like BP (blood Pressure) BHR (baby's heart rate) Gluc (glucose) Prot (protein) FH (Fundus Height). Wit my weight I will just say + x pounds. I know what my baseline is. Nobody needs to know what that number is! LOL! Just wanted to clarify here once instead of every appt update.
February 3, 2009 Appt with Linda my Midwife
Weight: Got baseline number
Gluc: Neg
Protein: Neg
BP: 120/80
BHR: Too early to detect
FH: still in pelvis, not measurable.
At this appointment we basically went over their office policies, talked about their on call schedule, and who I would most likely be seeing for most of my appointments. Things have not changed that much since my birth with Mason. We are still planning to have a home birth as long as everything stays low risk and normal.
We discussed what medications I am on and whether I needed to discontinue any of them.
I am on Levoxyl for my Thyroid and will be followed my by Endocrinologist Dr. L very closely throughout my pregnancy. I will be having monthly blood draws to check thyroid function. Dr. L will adjust my medication level as needed throughout. As soon as I told Dr. L I was pregnant he increased my dosage by 25%. So instead of taking 125mcg per day, I am now taking a 142mcg per day. My blood draw on Feb 2nd supports his increase of dosage.
I am on Metformin as well. I take Metformin to help with Insulin resistance. It basically helps regulate all my hormones from insulin to progesterone to estrogen etc. Linda my MW was unsure if this medication was safe for pregnancy. She asked that I go see Dr. L to make sure.
I am also on Prozac. This medication is known to be safe during pregnancy. Although I could go off it, I am not sure I want to. It really had helped tremendously with my overall emotional levels. I don't think at this time I will adjust it. My therapist and my old OB both told me it was safe to take while pregnant. My MW agrees with that.
We also talked about my due date. Based on LMP (Last Menstrual Period) my Due date would be 10/6/09. Based on my calculations I say 10/4/09. But honestly, neither date is all that important because baby gets to decide when s/he is born. Beside the fact I tend to be a slow cooker when it comes to pregnancy, so I am anticipating the baby to be at least 1 week overdue. So my guess date is 10/11/09.
She also drew my blood for the thyroid panel, a 90 day glucose test, RH antibodies, Hemoglobin, and Hematocrit. I think there might have been other tests, but I don't remember.
On to my next appointment:
February 20th, 2009 Inland Imaging for the 1st ultrasound.
I have already posted the pictures from the ultrasound here and here. Basically they found 1 baby inside my uterus. Baby's heart rate BHR: 154.67bpm. The full report will be sent to my MW.
February 27, 2009 with Endocrinologist Dr. L
They weighed me and from my last visit in June to my visit in Feb (8 mos) I have lost 20 pounds. They were thrilled with that. :) Me too!
He did his normal exam, checked my neck for goiters, did my reflexes, told me to not take prenatal vitamins containing calcium within 4 hrs of my Levoxyl (calcium inhibits my body absorption of levoxyl). Exam was normal. He had received my blood test results from my 2/3/09 draw and the numbers look good. He left my Levoxyl level at the same dosage.
I asked him about the Metformin and pregnancy. He said that recent research has shown Metformin to be safe during pregnancy. I think it is because Metformin helps keep insulin and glucose levels in check which could in turn help a pregnant mom avoid gestational diabetes. So I will stay on the Metformin throughout my pregnancy. Dr. L also wants to make sure I do my Glucouse tolerance test at 28wks. I assured him I will. I have with the other pregnancies, so I will with this one as well.
He reminded me that I will need to have monthly blood draws to monitor my thyroid function. I agreed to that as well. He scheduled me for a follow up appointment with him in August.
That was pretty much it.
March 10, 2009 Appointment with Beth my Midwife
Weight: same
Gluc: neg
Prot: Neg
BP: 120/88 (a little high, probably because I am sick)
BHR: She could not get the BHR. It is still early. But she could hear the baby moving around.
FH: +4 which means 4cm above my pubic bone.
She gave me blood test results.
Glucose 90 day screen was normal.
Thyroid panel was normal.
Rh antibodies: Neg
Hemoglobin: 11.6 normal
Hematocrit: 34.6 A tiny bit low. I need to eat more iron rich foods.
She gave me the U/S report. It says my placenta is anterior and has slight placenta previa. That is dr terms for placenta is currently on front side of uterus and slightly covering the cervix. The previa is what freaks me out a bit. MW assured me it will move. As your uterus grows, the placenta grows and moves as well. But this is something we will have to check again at my 22 wk ultrasound. Previa that does not move out of the way by your 38th week is an automatic scheduled c-section. Placenta obviously cannot be born before the baby. The only way to ensure the safety of baby and Mom is to do a c-section. This would obviously be a complete opposite of my birth plan. I would do the c-section in this case, but it would be a very difficult adjustment for me. So keep me in your prayers that the placenta moves out of the way.
Then she drew my blood for my March thyroid panel and made my next appointment: April 14th.
If you have any questions or comments please let me know. Hit the comment option at the top under the title and it will send me an email.
I am going to lump my first 4 appointments into this post because it makes it easier and catches everyone up to date.
At every appointment with the MW I test my urine for glucose and protein. It is a simple dip stick test. I also weigh myself on their scale and then report my findings to the MW. This is their way of making me a team player in my own health care. Either that or they just don't like handling another person's pee! LOL! They also take my blood pressure, feel my tummy for my fundus, and listen to baby's heart rate. So in all my MW appt notes you will see some abbreviations like BP (blood Pressure) BHR (baby's heart rate) Gluc (glucose) Prot (protein) FH (Fundus Height). Wit my weight I will just say + x pounds. I know what my baseline is. Nobody needs to know what that number is! LOL! Just wanted to clarify here once instead of every appt update.
February 3, 2009 Appt with Linda my Midwife
Weight: Got baseline number
Gluc: Neg
Protein: Neg
BP: 120/80
BHR: Too early to detect
FH: still in pelvis, not measurable.
At this appointment we basically went over their office policies, talked about their on call schedule, and who I would most likely be seeing for most of my appointments. Things have not changed that much since my birth with Mason. We are still planning to have a home birth as long as everything stays low risk and normal.
We discussed what medications I am on and whether I needed to discontinue any of them.
I am on Levoxyl for my Thyroid and will be followed my by Endocrinologist Dr. L very closely throughout my pregnancy. I will be having monthly blood draws to check thyroid function. Dr. L will adjust my medication level as needed throughout. As soon as I told Dr. L I was pregnant he increased my dosage by 25%. So instead of taking 125mcg per day, I am now taking a 142mcg per day. My blood draw on Feb 2nd supports his increase of dosage.
I am on Metformin as well. I take Metformin to help with Insulin resistance. It basically helps regulate all my hormones from insulin to progesterone to estrogen etc. Linda my MW was unsure if this medication was safe for pregnancy. She asked that I go see Dr. L to make sure.
I am also on Prozac. This medication is known to be safe during pregnancy. Although I could go off it, I am not sure I want to. It really had helped tremendously with my overall emotional levels. I don't think at this time I will adjust it. My therapist and my old OB both told me it was safe to take while pregnant. My MW agrees with that.
We also talked about my due date. Based on LMP (Last Menstrual Period) my Due date would be 10/6/09. Based on my calculations I say 10/4/09. But honestly, neither date is all that important because baby gets to decide when s/he is born. Beside the fact I tend to be a slow cooker when it comes to pregnancy, so I am anticipating the baby to be at least 1 week overdue. So my guess date is 10/11/09.
She also drew my blood for the thyroid panel, a 90 day glucose test, RH antibodies, Hemoglobin, and Hematocrit. I think there might have been other tests, but I don't remember.
On to my next appointment:
February 20th, 2009 Inland Imaging for the 1st ultrasound.
I have already posted the pictures from the ultrasound here and here. Basically they found 1 baby inside my uterus. Baby's heart rate BHR: 154.67bpm. The full report will be sent to my MW.
February 27, 2009 with Endocrinologist Dr. L
They weighed me and from my last visit in June to my visit in Feb (8 mos) I have lost 20 pounds. They were thrilled with that. :) Me too!
He did his normal exam, checked my neck for goiters, did my reflexes, told me to not take prenatal vitamins containing calcium within 4 hrs of my Levoxyl (calcium inhibits my body absorption of levoxyl). Exam was normal. He had received my blood test results from my 2/3/09 draw and the numbers look good. He left my Levoxyl level at the same dosage.
I asked him about the Metformin and pregnancy. He said that recent research has shown Metformin to be safe during pregnancy. I think it is because Metformin helps keep insulin and glucose levels in check which could in turn help a pregnant mom avoid gestational diabetes. So I will stay on the Metformin throughout my pregnancy. Dr. L also wants to make sure I do my Glucouse tolerance test at 28wks. I assured him I will. I have with the other pregnancies, so I will with this one as well.
He reminded me that I will need to have monthly blood draws to monitor my thyroid function. I agreed to that as well. He scheduled me for a follow up appointment with him in August.
That was pretty much it.
March 10, 2009 Appointment with Beth my Midwife
Weight: same
Gluc: neg
Prot: Neg
BP: 120/88 (a little high, probably because I am sick)
BHR: She could not get the BHR. It is still early. But she could hear the baby moving around.
FH: +4 which means 4cm above my pubic bone.
She gave me blood test results.
Glucose 90 day screen was normal.
Thyroid panel was normal.
Rh antibodies: Neg
Hemoglobin: 11.6 normal
Hematocrit: 34.6 A tiny bit low. I need to eat more iron rich foods.
She gave me the U/S report. It says my placenta is anterior and has slight placenta previa. That is dr terms for placenta is currently on front side of uterus and slightly covering the cervix. The previa is what freaks me out a bit. MW assured me it will move. As your uterus grows, the placenta grows and moves as well. But this is something we will have to check again at my 22 wk ultrasound. Previa that does not move out of the way by your 38th week is an automatic scheduled c-section. Placenta obviously cannot be born before the baby. The only way to ensure the safety of baby and Mom is to do a c-section. This would obviously be a complete opposite of my birth plan. I would do the c-section in this case, but it would be a very difficult adjustment for me. So keep me in your prayers that the placenta moves out of the way.
Then she drew my blood for my March thyroid panel and made my next appointment: April 14th.
If you have any questions or comments please let me know. Hit the comment option at the top under the title and it will send me an email.
Update on Mason part 2
I took Mason to the ENT this morning. He did great! He cried a bit, but for the most part held still. He still has a fluid behind both ear drums. While the fluid at this point is not infected, the fact that it is still there is a concern. First concern is that the next cold or flu virus that he comes into contact with will already have a nice warm moist place to set up shop. Which means more antibiotics for another ear infection. Eventually he will exhaust his options with antibiotics, and start building immunities against them. Not to mention the pain and discomfort of having an ear infection in the first place. The second and, in my opinion, the biggest issue with fluid behind his ear drums is the effect it has on his ability to hear. His ability to hear effects his ability to speak. We do not want his speech to be delayed.
Dr. B suggested we do surgery to remove the fluid and insert tubes to help prevent fluid from building up. Again this problem is about ear "plumbing". His Eustachian tube is flat instead of slanted. As he grows his head will grow and will allow room for the Eustachian tube to become more slanted in order to facilitate fluid draining. But until his head grows he will need tubes or he will have recurrent ear infections. So tubes it is.
I told Tim that it was his fault! Kaleb & Mason have more physical structures like Tim. Tim needed tubes when he was young. Jasmyn on the other hand takes after my body structure (God Help her!) and she has never had problems with ear infections! So this is just faulty Bray Ear Plumbing! Tim blames it on his Mom's side of the family! LOL!
Anyway, surgery is scheduled for Monday the 16th. Keep him in your prayers!
Dr. B suggested we do surgery to remove the fluid and insert tubes to help prevent fluid from building up. Again this problem is about ear "plumbing". His Eustachian tube is flat instead of slanted. As he grows his head will grow and will allow room for the Eustachian tube to become more slanted in order to facilitate fluid draining. But until his head grows he will need tubes or he will have recurrent ear infections. So tubes it is.
I told Tim that it was his fault! Kaleb & Mason have more physical structures like Tim. Tim needed tubes when he was young. Jasmyn on the other hand takes after my body structure (God Help her!) and she has never had problems with ear infections! So this is just faulty Bray Ear Plumbing! Tim blames it on his Mom's side of the family! LOL!
Anyway, surgery is scheduled for Monday the 16th. Keep him in your prayers!
March 7, 2009
Update on Mason
Mason has had an ear infection since the last week of January. If you remember from reading this that he had been put on antibiotics twice. The second round the Dr said might not work but because of his stomach and diarrhea issues she did not want to give him the stronger antibiotic. Well 7 days later he was still very sick. It was obvious those antibiotics did not work either. So this time the only place we could get in to see a Dr was Urgent Care. Urgent Care Dr put him on the Stronger antibiotic. He was on that for the whole 10 days as prescribed. But he was still complaining of ear pain and also not sleeping very well at night. So on Monday we went back to his pediatrician.
She said that he most likely has what is called "glue ear". Basically it is where the fluid just builds up behind his ear drum and his Eustachian tube is unable to drain the fluid either because of fluid buildup or because the tube lies flat in his head instead of at an angle to facilitate draining. That was the problem with Kaleb. His Eustachian tube was basically flat whereas in an adult as your skull grows the tube becomes more angled to facilitate draining from your ear back to your sinus where the fluid is then swallowed or comes out your nose.
The only way to know for sure if it is "glue ear" is to have an Ear Nose and Throat specialist take a look and most likely open the ear drum and drain the fluid. But since I knew the referral to the ENT would take some time I asked his Ped what we could do for him today. She told me that he had exhausted all the oral antibiotic options. We could give him an injection of antibiotics that might work. But then she wants us to follow up with ENT. I agreed.
The injection was horrible. Well I should say InjectionS. Because if his size he needed a larger dose of the medication than what they can give in one spot. So he got 2 injections. They know that the medicine burns and hurts as it goes in so the automatically mix in lidocaine to help with the pain. Ouch! So 2 nurses came in and I held his little hands and upper body as they gave the injections at the same time into each one of his thighs. Poor baby. He cried, I cried. It was horrible. Then we had to sit for 20 minutes to make sure he did not have any reaction to the meds. Luckily they gave him a lollipop to occupy his time. When we were cleared to go home I could tell his legs were still sore. They told me to give him Motrin and a warm bath when I got home.
Upon getting him in the bath I discovered 2 goose egg lumps where the injections went in. He was sore and cranky. But the bath and the Motrin helped and he did Ok for the rest of the evening.
I called the ENT the next day and made him an appointment. Mason goes in on Tuesday the 10th to see Dr. B. We already have a relationship with Dr. B because he is Kaleb's ENT Dr. and recently just did an ear procedure on Kaleb to remove ear wax plugs. We are hoping that Dr. B is able to determine what is going on with Mason's ears. Mason is still complaining of ear pain so I am leaning more towards the Ped diagnosis of "glue ear". That diagnosis means Mason will probably need tubes. I am hoping that Dr. B can get the tubes done sometime next week, as I just want Mason to feel better and soon!
I will keep this blog posted as we travel this journey!
She said that he most likely has what is called "glue ear". Basically it is where the fluid just builds up behind his ear drum and his Eustachian tube is unable to drain the fluid either because of fluid buildup or because the tube lies flat in his head instead of at an angle to facilitate draining. That was the problem with Kaleb. His Eustachian tube was basically flat whereas in an adult as your skull grows the tube becomes more angled to facilitate draining from your ear back to your sinus where the fluid is then swallowed or comes out your nose.
The only way to know for sure if it is "glue ear" is to have an Ear Nose and Throat specialist take a look and most likely open the ear drum and drain the fluid. But since I knew the referral to the ENT would take some time I asked his Ped what we could do for him today. She told me that he had exhausted all the oral antibiotic options. We could give him an injection of antibiotics that might work. But then she wants us to follow up with ENT. I agreed.
The injection was horrible. Well I should say InjectionS. Because if his size he needed a larger dose of the medication than what they can give in one spot. So he got 2 injections. They know that the medicine burns and hurts as it goes in so the automatically mix in lidocaine to help with the pain. Ouch! So 2 nurses came in and I held his little hands and upper body as they gave the injections at the same time into each one of his thighs. Poor baby. He cried, I cried. It was horrible. Then we had to sit for 20 minutes to make sure he did not have any reaction to the meds. Luckily they gave him a lollipop to occupy his time. When we were cleared to go home I could tell his legs were still sore. They told me to give him Motrin and a warm bath when I got home.
Upon getting him in the bath I discovered 2 goose egg lumps where the injections went in. He was sore and cranky. But the bath and the Motrin helped and he did Ok for the rest of the evening.
I called the ENT the next day and made him an appointment. Mason goes in on Tuesday the 10th to see Dr. B. We already have a relationship with Dr. B because he is Kaleb's ENT Dr. and recently just did an ear procedure on Kaleb to remove ear wax plugs. We are hoping that Dr. B is able to determine what is going on with Mason's ears. Mason is still complaining of ear pain so I am leaning more towards the Ped diagnosis of "glue ear". That diagnosis means Mason will probably need tubes. I am hoping that Dr. B can get the tubes done sometime next week, as I just want Mason to feel better and soon!
I will keep this blog posted as we travel this journey!
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