Since I last wrote, I am happy to report that we are home. Emily is doing much better. We are working on getting all her sugar levels regulated. Who knew that this was so much trial and error??
Who knows much about Type 1 Diabetes? I sure didn't. I feel like I still don't. But I'm learning quickly!
For example, did you know that when diagnosed, 70-80% of the cells that make insulin have been destroyed? And that within a year, the rest will be destroyed? Her pancreas will never make insulin again! I had no idea that T1D was an autoimmune disease! That's a huge difference between type 1 and type 2...type 2 can be somewhat controlled with diet. Type 1, even if you are eating the healthiest foods, you still need insulin to get the sugar to the cells. No "perfect" diet is going to give you that insulin. You HAVE to have injected insulin.
It's all so crazy to me!
And where does it come from? They don't know! Another one of those things that no one knows the origin of that just so happened to hit my family! Crazy, crazy, crazy!
So, we are trucking along. Em gets at least four injections a day, sometimes more, all depending on her glucose levels. Today was a happy day, with only four!
She has hated the injections....who would like them? She is getting better though. Someone told us a trick, which is helping tremendously. We freeze quarters, she puts them where she wants her injection, it numbs the skin a bit, and the injection doesn't hurt as bad. She then gets the quarter. I made a huge deal out of it and called them magic quarters. Now she thinks they are magic, and while she still says she's scared, she doesn't cry anymore.
I can't imagine how confused she must be. There's no way she can understand any of this.
Earlier tonight, Natalie was laying on the ground and Emily was being her doctor. She told Natalie that she was at the doctor because she had diabetes, and that she, herself, got diabetes when she was little. She explained to her that she needed "shots" and gave them to her. She also told her of the magic quarters and that all she had to do was say "brrrr".
She amazes me. She is so brave. She tells everyone, "I had to go to the doctor because I have diabetes." It breaks my heart to hear her say that. To me, it's still surreal!
My family has been through so much. And through it all, I still know that God is good.
I know some people think I'm crazy for thinking such a thing, especially after everything we've endured. I know, though, that He has a plan for us. It may not be a great plan! It may just be a plan to help our children learn to lean on Him, no matter what. Dillon told me last night that he knows God has big plans for our family. I'm not so sure. I certainly don't see us as the type to be out there telling the world our story, impacting loads of people, but if we can impact our children, it is all worth it to me.
I'm pretty sure, the plan won't be revealed to us, this side of Heaven, and I'm ok with that also.
In closing, just a cute thing that happened in the hospital.
There were loads of doctors coming in and out, everyone talking with Emily and us.
Someone was asking her about her brothers and sister. They asked who her favorite brother was. She looked at them like they had three heads, and said, "all of them, I love them all!"
And that's the type of girl Emily is. She loves everyone (except by the end of the hospital stay she did say she didn't really like people she didn't know..of course not, they all poked her!). She is so silly, and such a good big sister. If you know her, you are blessed. I don't know how we got lucky enough to be her parents. She's one amazing little girl.
Showing posts with label Miss Emily. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miss Emily. Show all posts
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Friday, April 15, 2011
Emism
We all know how much I love the Duggars, and I have truly learned a lot from them. When Jim Bob and Michelle spoke at the Homeschool Convention, they spoke to my heart.
I'm always telling Matt that such and such a book said this, and he says, "and how many kids do they have?" Almost always, the author has less kids than us, and then Matt comments that I could write the book and have more knowledge than the author. This may be true, who knows.
The Duggars, are the exception! They know a lot about raising kids! They have been here...right where I am! And survived!
I have taken so much from them and applied to our lives.
One thing we have applied is a loose buddy system. The Duggars have an older child paired with a couple younger children. They are buddies. The older one helps the younger ones throughout the day.
We started to realize that we need a buddy system, or else I'd be spending all my time tending to the needs of the little girls.
We have assigned the boys a rotating schedule to be Emily's buddy. Her buddy buckles her in the car seat, helps her get breakfast, helps her put on her shoes, and any other little thing that she may need. Of course, big stuff like kissing boo boos and the sort come to mommy.
The boys usually love the system because it makes them feel important and yet since it isn't every day, they don't get bored with it.
Emily takes this very seriously and won't let anyone unbuckle her in the car except her buddy, and if you are her buddy that day, you lose your name. She simply calls you, 'buddy'. It's awfully cute.
The other day, she was wanting some toaster waffles from breakfast. I was busy tending to Nannie and getting ready to start laundry. I asked her if she could find her buddy and ask him to help her with that.
She said, "Collin's my buddy, but you're my best friend! I need YOU to do it".
Point taken...I got her the waffles.
I'm always telling Matt that such and such a book said this, and he says, "and how many kids do they have?" Almost always, the author has less kids than us, and then Matt comments that I could write the book and have more knowledge than the author. This may be true, who knows.
The Duggars, are the exception! They know a lot about raising kids! They have been here...right where I am! And survived!
I have taken so much from them and applied to our lives.
One thing we have applied is a loose buddy system. The Duggars have an older child paired with a couple younger children. They are buddies. The older one helps the younger ones throughout the day.
We started to realize that we need a buddy system, or else I'd be spending all my time tending to the needs of the little girls.
We have assigned the boys a rotating schedule to be Emily's buddy. Her buddy buckles her in the car seat, helps her get breakfast, helps her put on her shoes, and any other little thing that she may need. Of course, big stuff like kissing boo boos and the sort come to mommy.
The boys usually love the system because it makes them feel important and yet since it isn't every day, they don't get bored with it.
Emily takes this very seriously and won't let anyone unbuckle her in the car except her buddy, and if you are her buddy that day, you lose your name. She simply calls you, 'buddy'. It's awfully cute.
The other day, she was wanting some toaster waffles from breakfast. I was busy tending to Nannie and getting ready to start laundry. I asked her if she could find her buddy and ask him to help her with that.
She said, "Collin's my buddy, but you're my best friend! I need YOU to do it".
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Changes
Oh my. I stink at updating lately. I just don't have the gumption to sit and write.
Life is feeling pretty monotonous lately, so I don't write.
But alas!! CHANGES!!
First change, if you recall, we should be in Colorado right now. Well, as luck would have it, our plans had to change, and now Matt is in Colorado, and the kids and I are here. For seven long weeks. Although, we already have almost one under our belts.
I'm not complaining. I am so thankful that he is only in Colorado, and only for seven weeks. It's much better than Iraq!
Other changes include Emily. She is now on Singulair, in an effort to stop this coughing. The constant coughing. I'm thinking the pulmonologist thinks I'm just batty at this point. Because, of course, she doesn't cough around him. However, when the pastor's wife holds her, she manages to cough up phlegm on her. Lovely, indeed. It is all so very frustrating. If the Singulair doesn't help in about three weeks, then he wants to scope her and make sure she is anatomically correct. Ha, that sounds funny. But you get my point.
Em is now 5 months and 2 weeks, she started sitting up yesterday. All by her self. Such a big girl! And a big event like that, calls for a big celebration. So we celebrated today by giving her her first food! MMMMMM, she loved her bananas!
Normally, I'm a strict nothing-but-breatmilk-for-the-first-six-months type of mama, but she was so ready. She wanted to gobble everything up that went in my mouth!
And onto a totally different topic..my dad is coming to visit this weekend. We are all so excited. We really enjoy having visitors in these parts. Probably because we are so all alone here. But it's really ok. We have each other, and that's all that matters.
The school books have started to roll in. And the kids are getting pretty excited about school starting. As usual, I'm hoping to do a better job this year than last! I say that every year, and I think I do better every year!
I started this post talking about changes, but got sidetracked. Sorry. I have to go get to cleaning.
Yep, we sure were messy!
Matthew was taking pictures today.
Some pics from the birthday party
Life is feeling pretty monotonous lately, so I don't write.
But alas!! CHANGES!!
First change, if you recall, we should be in Colorado right now. Well, as luck would have it, our plans had to change, and now Matt is in Colorado, and the kids and I are here. For seven long weeks. Although, we already have almost one under our belts.
I'm not complaining. I am so thankful that he is only in Colorado, and only for seven weeks. It's much better than Iraq!
Other changes include Emily. She is now on Singulair, in an effort to stop this coughing. The constant coughing. I'm thinking the pulmonologist thinks I'm just batty at this point. Because, of course, she doesn't cough around him. However, when the pastor's wife holds her, she manages to cough up phlegm on her. Lovely, indeed. It is all so very frustrating. If the Singulair doesn't help in about three weeks, then he wants to scope her and make sure she is anatomically correct. Ha, that sounds funny. But you get my point.
Em is now 5 months and 2 weeks, she started sitting up yesterday. All by her self. Such a big girl! And a big event like that, calls for a big celebration. So we celebrated today by giving her her first food! MMMMMM, she loved her bananas!
Normally, I'm a strict nothing-but-breatmilk-for-the-first-six-months type of mama, but she was so ready. She wanted to gobble everything up that went in my mouth!
And onto a totally different topic..my dad is coming to visit this weekend. We are all so excited. We really enjoy having visitors in these parts. Probably because we are so all alone here. But it's really ok. We have each other, and that's all that matters.
The school books have started to roll in. And the kids are getting pretty excited about school starting. As usual, I'm hoping to do a better job this year than last! I say that every year, and I think I do better every year!
I started this post talking about changes, but got sidetracked. Sorry. I have to go get to cleaning.
Yep, we sure were messy!
Matthew was taking pictures today.
Some pics from the birthday party
Monday, July 9, 2007
I'm not dead!
I've been asked if I'm still alive, and the answer is YES! Aren't you so glad?
So much has happened since my last update, I don't know where to start.
Maybe I'll do the short version! Wait, there's no such thing!
Ok, so Matt's parents came to visit the third week of June. We had such a great time! It was sad to see them go. We did all kinds of fun things like the Alamo, and Sea World, and even a mission or two. Unfortunately, the day we did the Alamo and Riverwalk it was sooo hot. It was pretty miserable. But we made the best of it anyway. Then a couple days it poured! Phooey! We never did make it down to the coast. This was a huge bummer. When we lived in Ohio, Matt's parents came to visit and we were going to go to Niagara Falls, but we had a blizzard! This time the rain ruined things. Oh yes, and a baby who HATES the carseat! Maybe next time they come we'll make it down there!
As for said baby...she is doing great! The night Matt's parents got in we got a new to us couch and love seat. Suddenly, Em's breathing got better! Then there was a definite pattern to her crying. She cried when her meds for the reflux wore off. But we quit the breathing treatments and she has done great. We know we are dealing with an allergy for sure now. She has started to roll over now, but I don't put her down too much because when she is down on the ground (even on a blanket) her face is breaking out.
Stupid dog, I seriously cannot get rid of her. No one will take her. The humane societies are all full. I have no idea how to get rid of her, short of taking her to the country and dumping her...which I wouldn't do! She has to go though. We are on the waiting list at a couple humane societies, so pray for an opening for us!
Emily sees the pulmonologist on Monday, and we are going to keep that appointment. We just finished up VBS, it was a wild west theme and we had hay and all sorts of horse stuff in the chapel. Em's breathing was bad then. So, we need to see how to control all of this.
She saw the gastro who said it sounded like we were doing a good job controlling the reflux, which I agree about.
We also saw a new ped for her four month check. I really liked her, even if she wasn't that pro breastfeeding! Oh well. Can't win them all.
Matthew finished up pathfinders and was awarded pathfinder of the year. YAY MATTHEW!! So Matthew was pathfinder of the year, Dill was adventurer of the year, and Collin was Eager Beaver of the year. All their hard work paid off for them, and we're so proud!
In August we are headed to Colorado Springs for 6 weeks. It will be so nice to have a break from Texas for awhile. They needed a temporary audiologist, so Matt volunteered to go. Fun times!
Let's see..what else? I don't know. How abot some cute poop stories??
Zachy insists on getting naked to poop, and we still have to wipe his bottom. So he called for us to come wipe him. When Matt walked in, Zachy was sitting on the pot, in the classic meditation stance...heels together, elbows resting on his knees, middle finger and thumb together..chanting "ummmm..yucka yucka yucka..ummmm..yucka yucka yucka yucka" So funny!
The week of VBS, Collin was having some intestinal issues. He was in the bathroom when I heard, "oh no..I pooped a little in my pants" Then a horrified, "OH DEAR" I asked what was wrong, "it's melted" he replied!! It was just a tad in his pants, by the way.
The melted poop carried on for several days. I had to stop by Family Christian Book store on my way to church one night. And Collin said, "I have to poop, and I know it will be melted" So we hurry to the bathroom. It was one with just one toilet and sink. It took awhile so I was standing there nursing Emily. He is pooping, while someone is rattling on the door. I hollar out that someone is in the bathroom. It was Zachy. He had to go. He had to go now or else he was going to poop his pants! His had melted by this time as well. So, I'm standing there, nursing Em, telling Collin to take a break and let Zachy sit down so Zachy doesn't poop his pants. Collin freaked out that he would then poop his pants. I'm trying to plead with him to get up so Zach won't poop his pants. It was mighty comical I'm sure. But no one pooped their pants. When I opened the door, there was a line of people waiting to use the bathroom! HOW EMBARASSING!
Anyway, that's it..my poop stories, and my update. Have a great week!
So much has happened since my last update, I don't know where to start.
Maybe I'll do the short version! Wait, there's no such thing!
Ok, so Matt's parents came to visit the third week of June. We had such a great time! It was sad to see them go. We did all kinds of fun things like the Alamo, and Sea World, and even a mission or two. Unfortunately, the day we did the Alamo and Riverwalk it was sooo hot. It was pretty miserable. But we made the best of it anyway. Then a couple days it poured! Phooey! We never did make it down to the coast. This was a huge bummer. When we lived in Ohio, Matt's parents came to visit and we were going to go to Niagara Falls, but we had a blizzard! This time the rain ruined things. Oh yes, and a baby who HATES the carseat! Maybe next time they come we'll make it down there!
As for said baby...she is doing great! The night Matt's parents got in we got a new to us couch and love seat. Suddenly, Em's breathing got better! Then there was a definite pattern to her crying. She cried when her meds for the reflux wore off. But we quit the breathing treatments and she has done great. We know we are dealing with an allergy for sure now. She has started to roll over now, but I don't put her down too much because when she is down on the ground (even on a blanket) her face is breaking out.
Stupid dog, I seriously cannot get rid of her. No one will take her. The humane societies are all full. I have no idea how to get rid of her, short of taking her to the country and dumping her...which I wouldn't do! She has to go though. We are on the waiting list at a couple humane societies, so pray for an opening for us!
Emily sees the pulmonologist on Monday, and we are going to keep that appointment. We just finished up VBS, it was a wild west theme and we had hay and all sorts of horse stuff in the chapel. Em's breathing was bad then. So, we need to see how to control all of this.
She saw the gastro who said it sounded like we were doing a good job controlling the reflux, which I agree about.
We also saw a new ped for her four month check. I really liked her, even if she wasn't that pro breastfeeding! Oh well. Can't win them all.
Matthew finished up pathfinders and was awarded pathfinder of the year. YAY MATTHEW!! So Matthew was pathfinder of the year, Dill was adventurer of the year, and Collin was Eager Beaver of the year. All their hard work paid off for them, and we're so proud!
In August we are headed to Colorado Springs for 6 weeks. It will be so nice to have a break from Texas for awhile. They needed a temporary audiologist, so Matt volunteered to go. Fun times!
Let's see..what else? I don't know. How abot some cute poop stories??
Zachy insists on getting naked to poop, and we still have to wipe his bottom. So he called for us to come wipe him. When Matt walked in, Zachy was sitting on the pot, in the classic meditation stance...heels together, elbows resting on his knees, middle finger and thumb together..chanting "ummmm..yucka yucka yucka..ummmm..yucka yucka yucka yucka" So funny!
The week of VBS, Collin was having some intestinal issues. He was in the bathroom when I heard, "oh no..I pooped a little in my pants" Then a horrified, "OH DEAR" I asked what was wrong, "it's melted" he replied!! It was just a tad in his pants, by the way.
The melted poop carried on for several days. I had to stop by Family Christian Book store on my way to church one night. And Collin said, "I have to poop, and I know it will be melted" So we hurry to the bathroom. It was one with just one toilet and sink. It took awhile so I was standing there nursing Emily. He is pooping, while someone is rattling on the door. I hollar out that someone is in the bathroom. It was Zachy. He had to go. He had to go now or else he was going to poop his pants! His had melted by this time as well. So, I'm standing there, nursing Em, telling Collin to take a break and let Zachy sit down so Zachy doesn't poop his pants. Collin freaked out that he would then poop his pants. I'm trying to plead with him to get up so Zach won't poop his pants. It was mighty comical I'm sure. But no one pooped their pants. When I opened the door, there was a line of people waiting to use the bathroom! HOW EMBARASSING!
Anyway, that's it..my poop stories, and my update. Have a great week!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Just a quick update
ok real quick like...Em saw the dr on Monday. He agreed with the other dr that she needs to be seen by a pulmunologist and a gastro doc. She is scheduled to see the gastro doc on July 3. Still waiting on the pulmunology appt. He also ordered allergy testing, but I'm not holding my breath that they will be conclusive. They did a nasal wash to rule out RSV as well. It was negative. They upped her breathing treatments to twice a day.
So now we just wait, I guess. *sigh* It's really pain, I wish we had answers, now.
OK, off to clean, must get ready for the in law visit.
So now we just wait, I guess. *sigh* It's really pain, I wish we had answers, now.
OK, off to clean, must get ready for the in law visit.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
More Emily Cuteness
First off, let me say that Em had her upper GI this morning and she does NOT have reflux. Which is oh so frustrating for me. It puts us right back at square one. Something is wrong with my baby, and I don't know what. GRRRRRR
Anyway, here are some pictures from last night, Matthew and Dillon were playing with her trying to get her to smile.
Anyway, here are some pictures from last night, Matthew and Dillon were playing with her trying to get her to smile.
Monday, May 21, 2007
An answer...finally..and some pics
So Emily just seemed to be getting sicker and sicker. She was constantly choking and gagging. Starting last Wednesday, she was throwing up every morning. On Sunday, her breathing got pretty labored. I decided it was time to see the dr. So we went to the ER yesterday. And the dr said, "she has reflux". He said that she would need an upper GI but that he could tell it was reflux. He started her on pepcid yesterday, and already she is improving. Still really congested, but not nearly as fussy.
Today, we followed up with the ped and she now has an upper GI scheduled for Wednesday morning. I hope it is simple. And I hope we get the answer to all of her misery, once and for all.
I was asked to put some more pictures of her up here, but the reality is, we don't have many. Why? Because she is constantly crying and in our arms, or sleeping. But you've seen lots of sleeping pics. So tonight we got some other pics. And here they are, along with some of Collin, just because he suddenly seems so grown up to me.
I don't know if you can tell in this picture that she is trying to get her jammies in her mouth. Her hands are constantly in her mouth, and she puts anything she can get her hands on in it. It's awfully cute!
This is a picture from a mother's day tea that Collin's adventurers class put on. They sang a few songs for us and told us about their favorite Bible friend. Collin's was Jesus. No surprise there! :-)
Today, we followed up with the ped and she now has an upper GI scheduled for Wednesday morning. I hope it is simple. And I hope we get the answer to all of her misery, once and for all.
I was asked to put some more pictures of her up here, but the reality is, we don't have many. Why? Because she is constantly crying and in our arms, or sleeping. But you've seen lots of sleeping pics. So tonight we got some other pics. And here they are, along with some of Collin, just because he suddenly seems so grown up to me.
I don't know if you can tell in this picture that she is trying to get her jammies in her mouth. Her hands are constantly in her mouth, and she puts anything she can get her hands on in it. It's awfully cute!
This is a picture from a mother's day tea that Collin's adventurers class put on. They sang a few songs for us and told us about their favorite Bible friend. Collin's was Jesus. No surprise there! :-)
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Our usual night
Here are some pictures of our usual night. I don't know what we ever did without an exercise ball in the past!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Sorry
I don't know when I'll be back in the swing of things.
Last night was awful. Crying. Crying. Crying.
In fact, at one point I was just ready to go to the ER. She finally stopped.
Something hurts.
Tonight is better though.
I think she is actually asleep in there with Matt..so I'm off to bed.
Last night was awful. Crying. Crying. Crying.
In fact, at one point I was just ready to go to the ER. She finally stopped.
Something hurts.
Tonight is better though.
I think she is actually asleep in there with Matt..so I'm off to bed.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
SHE SMILES!!
I am so happy!! Yesterday, while we were killing time, Emily started smiling huge smiles! Over and over and over! I was almost in tears. How sad is that? I was just so happy to see her look happy.
I'm thinking there may be something wrong with her tummy. I'm going to order some gripe water this week. She is really spitty, and when she burps, it makes her cry. I think her tummy just hurts.
In completely unrelated news, we now have a new dryer. Matt changed the heating element in the old one, and it worked long enough for me to get caught up on the laundry. So, we said to heck with it and bought a new one. We also bought an extended warranty, so we have a 4 year warranty now. At least that guarantees us 4 years of use, which is much more than we got with this one!
I'm thinking there may be something wrong with her tummy. I'm going to order some gripe water this week. She is really spitty, and when she burps, it makes her cry. I think her tummy just hurts.
In completely unrelated news, we now have a new dryer. Matt changed the heating element in the old one, and it worked long enough for me to get caught up on the laundry. So, we said to heck with it and bought a new one. We also bought an extended warranty, so we have a 4 year warranty now. At least that guarantees us 4 years of use, which is much more than we got with this one!
Friday, April 20, 2007
And I know it really doesn't matter
but Emily really isn't smiling yet.
She smiled that one time at Dillon, and once looking out the window at the sky.
Neither times were the type of smile where her whole face just lights up.
I looked and all the boys were smiling by now. She'll be 7 weeks old tomorrow.
When, oh when will I get those gorgeous heart melting smiles??
She smiled that one time at Dillon, and once looking out the window at the sky.
Neither times were the type of smile where her whole face just lights up.
I looked and all the boys were smiling by now. She'll be 7 weeks old tomorrow.
When, oh when will I get those gorgeous heart melting smiles??
Thursday, April 12, 2007
I am so in love with this girl
I could stare at this little face forever. I feel like I have, actually, her face looks just like all of her brothers! These pics were taken last night, so you can see how much better it looks. I ate tomatoes last night, and nothing happened. One thing eliminated!
I think the top right pic is my favorite.
Put your cursor on the mosaic and click to start it. Then just roll your cursor over the pictures to see the big picture. If it stops, just refresh the page.
I think the top right pic is my favorite.
Put your cursor on the mosaic and click to start it. Then just roll your cursor over the pictures to see the big picture. If it stops, just refresh the page.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Beside myself
I am feeling so incredibly overwhelmed right now.
I have eliminated chocolate, dairy, nuts, fish, eggs and now tomatoes from my diet. I had the last tomato on Thursday. Em's face is finally starting to clear.
But here's what I've noticed. Yesterday, we spend the whole day at church. The day before I had cleaned our room really well and shut the door, to keep out the animals. We have an air purifier going in there too.
On Friday, I also washed all her clothes in Dreft. I know, bad me, I hadn't been doing that before. But her body doesn't seem all that affected.
For weeks she has had a stuffy nose. We assumed it was a cold, but it hasn't gone away. And it drives her crazy. She also has a clogged tear duct and her eye is always goopy and icky.
Yesterday morning, for the first time, I didn't have to uncrust it to get it to open. Then we were at church, like I said. Throughout the day, I noticed the redness of her face going away too. And her neck was almost all flesh colored. Her nose wasn't stuffy at all, and I never once had to wipe her eye.
Within an hour of getting home, I was wiping goop out of her eye, and she was stuffy again.
Her face is sitll looking pretty good, not great, mind you, not great at all...but much better than the pictures.
Could she be allergic to the pets? Is that even possible at 5 weeks old? Younger considering when the stuffy nose and eye goop started. The eczema started about a week and a half ago. I wonder about the pets simply because I would think there would be dust mites and other allergens at a church that is all carpeted with cushioned pews.
And the bigger question is, how do we figure all this out? I certainly don't want to do allergy testing, and I'm not sure they would do it anyway.
Everything I read says that having animals in the house actually makes them have fewer allergies. But is that always the case? Allergies are inherited. My sister is allergic to cats, and I think my dad is too. Matt's family all suffer from allergies as well. I think most of them are seasonal allergies, but I'm totally not sure about his brother, who seems to be the worst of them. It seems entirely possible to me that that is what it could be. Even if she is young.
But is it the cat? Or the dog? Or the rodents or birds?? Or is it just something I was eating? But what about the eye?? Do you see how this is killing me? Around and around I go...and I haven't the foggiest idea how to get to the bottom of it.
Truth be told, I'm ready to banish all pets from the house, if it means my baby won't be miserable.
And speaking of allergies to cats...how's this for observant?? When we lived in Ohio, in an apartment, Dillon developed allergies for the first time. They were more severe than they have been anywhere else. And in the winter time no less. We coudlnt' figure out what in the world was blooming and making him allergic. Now it dawns on me that that is the same time we got the cat, who was strictly indoors at that point. Strangely (or not anymore) his allergies seem to always be worst in bad weather...hmmm like the times the cat stays in because it is too cold to go outside??!! How could we be so blind and not see that?
So it seems like a reasonable assumption that Dillon is allergic to cats. But what about Bugaboo? It seems awfully severe if that is what it is.
UGH..I just don't know. And I wish someone could just give me the answers and let me know what to do to fix this. Could you do that?? Pretty please??
These pictures were taken on Thursday. What you can't see is that in between any red area is totally rough skin. Also, what you can't see (obviously) is that it completely covered her neck, and spread down her back and chest, and now her arms. It's pretty bad. Today, her right ear is peeling from the dry skin coming off. I am lathering her in cetaphil constantly. My poor poor baby.
I have eliminated chocolate, dairy, nuts, fish, eggs and now tomatoes from my diet. I had the last tomato on Thursday. Em's face is finally starting to clear.
But here's what I've noticed. Yesterday, we spend the whole day at church. The day before I had cleaned our room really well and shut the door, to keep out the animals. We have an air purifier going in there too.
On Friday, I also washed all her clothes in Dreft. I know, bad me, I hadn't been doing that before. But her body doesn't seem all that affected.
For weeks she has had a stuffy nose. We assumed it was a cold, but it hasn't gone away. And it drives her crazy. She also has a clogged tear duct and her eye is always goopy and icky.
Yesterday morning, for the first time, I didn't have to uncrust it to get it to open. Then we were at church, like I said. Throughout the day, I noticed the redness of her face going away too. And her neck was almost all flesh colored. Her nose wasn't stuffy at all, and I never once had to wipe her eye.
Within an hour of getting home, I was wiping goop out of her eye, and she was stuffy again.
Her face is sitll looking pretty good, not great, mind you, not great at all...but much better than the pictures.
Could she be allergic to the pets? Is that even possible at 5 weeks old? Younger considering when the stuffy nose and eye goop started. The eczema started about a week and a half ago. I wonder about the pets simply because I would think there would be dust mites and other allergens at a church that is all carpeted with cushioned pews.
And the bigger question is, how do we figure all this out? I certainly don't want to do allergy testing, and I'm not sure they would do it anyway.
Everything I read says that having animals in the house actually makes them have fewer allergies. But is that always the case? Allergies are inherited. My sister is allergic to cats, and I think my dad is too. Matt's family all suffer from allergies as well. I think most of them are seasonal allergies, but I'm totally not sure about his brother, who seems to be the worst of them. It seems entirely possible to me that that is what it could be. Even if she is young.
But is it the cat? Or the dog? Or the rodents or birds?? Or is it just something I was eating? But what about the eye?? Do you see how this is killing me? Around and around I go...and I haven't the foggiest idea how to get to the bottom of it.
Truth be told, I'm ready to banish all pets from the house, if it means my baby won't be miserable.
And speaking of allergies to cats...how's this for observant?? When we lived in Ohio, in an apartment, Dillon developed allergies for the first time. They were more severe than they have been anywhere else. And in the winter time no less. We coudlnt' figure out what in the world was blooming and making him allergic. Now it dawns on me that that is the same time we got the cat, who was strictly indoors at that point. Strangely (or not anymore) his allergies seem to always be worst in bad weather...hmmm like the times the cat stays in because it is too cold to go outside??!! How could we be so blind and not see that?
So it seems like a reasonable assumption that Dillon is allergic to cats. But what about Bugaboo? It seems awfully severe if that is what it is.
UGH..I just don't know. And I wish someone could just give me the answers and let me know what to do to fix this. Could you do that?? Pretty please??
These pictures were taken on Thursday. What you can't see is that in between any red area is totally rough skin. Also, what you can't see (obviously) is that it completely covered her neck, and spread down her back and chest, and now her arms. It's pretty bad. Today, her right ear is peeling from the dry skin coming off. I am lathering her in cetaphil constantly. My poor poor baby.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Emily's birth story
Finally, I've typed it out. It's long, be warned.
Also, be warned that her birth was far from "natural" which I know is a bit upsetting to some of you, but it worked for us. She's here, and that's all that matters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The decision was made between the peri and OB to induce at 37 weeks.
I was scheduled for induction on March 1st…37 weeks and 2 days. On March 1st the hospital was totally full, probably the result of the full moon. No room for inductions. I was rescheduled for March 3rd. I was disappointed, but not too bad. After all, this bumped me back to 37 weeks and 4 days, closer to 38 weeks than before.
My friend and her daughter came over Friday night and spent the night with us. She would stay throughout the day and watch the kids for us. Matt and I got up bright and early Saturday, dressed, and said goodbye to the kids. I was my usual nervous, yet totally excited, self.
On our way to the hospital, the moon was still up. It was 6:30, starting to get light. The moon was huge, and full. It looked like we would drive right into it. I said that hopefully it was a sign of good things to come.
As soon as we got to labor and delivery, we were taken right to our room. A million questions were asked. I would have thought they would have had all these questions in my chart from the doctor. At any rate, after they were all answered, the dreaded IV placement started.
The IV was probably one of the worst parts of the day. It took several tries, and lots of digging around. Inevitably, I would jump while they were digging. The nurse then said, “you jump and it makes the vein blow” HOGWASH!! If it were good placement, there would be no digging. The third nurse was finally able to get it in. I was so glad to have that done and over with.
I was checked then, and told my cervix was shut, and about 50% effaced. What a bummer. I had always been dilated by this point in my pregnancies before.
At that point, they started monitoring me and baby. Her heartbeat was way down on the left side of my abdomen. All of a sudden, there was tons of movement, and her heartbeat was gone. It was found up on my right side, much higher up. The nurse called the doctor who ordered a sono, to make sure she hadn’t turned breech on us.
Thankfully, she hadn’t, but it was discovered then that she was posterior. Not wanting to relive the pain I had with Zachary, I started to consider having an epidural. I was nervous though, that it would make me too numb, and if she had a hard time coming out, I wouldn’t be able to push well.
The pitocin had been started probably around 8:00, and the contractions were coming. They were never very long, but slowly increased in intensity. The doctor then decided it was time to break my water. I told her she couldn’t, because I wasn’t dilated at all. She checked me and said I was 3-4 CM. She broke my water, and it was all nice and clear. However, Emily was still pretty high up, so the nurse told me I couldn’t sit up.
This scared me badly. I knew the pain would increase in my back, with her being posterior. I remembered wanting to be in any position but on my back with Zachary. I decided on the epidural.
At noon, the anesthesiologist came and gave me my epidural. It was a really good epidural. It took the edge off the contractions, but I was still able to wiggle my toes and lift my legs up. I knew I was in for a long haul, laying on my back, unable to move.
Around 3:00, I was still 3-4 CM, and things started to get scary. With every contraction, her heartbeat would drop down into the 60s and 70s. We could watch the mountain on the monitor go up with contractions, and watch her line go down right along with it. They started rolling me from side to side. Just about ever contraction would bring a change in position. The nurses would rush in and say, “quickly, roll over” This is easier said than done when you have an epidural! I was checked again, and still 3-4 CM. I got really scared. I knew they wouldn’t let this go on forever before I would need a C-section. Having a C-section is one of my biggest fears in life. But at the time, I was more concerned that they wouldn’t do one soon enough, and that we would lose her. My best friend, Michelle, called around that time and Matt told her I was really scared and what was going on. She tells me that phone call took place at 2 her time, so 4 our time.
I started to feel the contractions more. At first it was pressure. Then it was pain. And lots of pain in my back. I asked for more drugs. I was starting to lose it. The fear and pain was too much. I was crying with each contraction. Looking back, I should have known something was happening. I started crying when I hit transition with Zachary, and that’s what was happening now, I just had no idea. They told me I couldn’t have any more drugs because we needed to get the contractions to do something. The whole time the contractions were never longer than 40 seconds long, and 2 ½ minutes apart. I knew nothing had changed, but I asked them to check me. I needed to know if there was any change. I needed to feel like I was making progress so that I could gather myself together and get through the pain.
The nurse checked me and said I was an 8. The doctor came in and asked if I was a loose 8, and if I could just push through it. I was freaking out, thinking of pushing while I was only an 8. She checked me and said, “let’s just have this baby” I told her no way was I pushing. I knew it was going to hurt like the dickens, and I wasn’t ready for that. I had another contraction and remember the doctor telling me to get on top of the pain, and the next contraction we would start pushing.
After that contraction, Matt asked if he could video tape, and they said not the delivery, but afterwards he could. He went to the corner of the room where my bag was, to get the camera as the next contraction came. He was busy digging through the bag while I was contracting.
The pressure was incredible and I started telling the doctor, “she’s in my butt, she’s in my butt” I knew she was coming soon, and I kept thinking that if Matt didn’t turn around, he was going to miss it. The doctor lifted up the sheet and said, “ why yes she was, there’s her head”
Matt turned around and looked and said, “holy cow, there’s her head” This is actually my most vivid memory of the whole thing. I don’t think I will ever forget the look on Matt’s face or the sound of his voice.
I thought they meant she was crowning, or that they could just barely see her head, but no, it was all the way out. Another contraction came and she slid the rest of the way out. I never pushed once. There was never any time to take the bed apart or anything. She was just there. We joke that she just walked right out. I had no tearing at all. She was born at 4:40 PM. The actual delivery was the easiest by far.
Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist had returned and started giving me more drugs in my epidural, as she was coming out. Matt told her I didn’t need it, but she said I would need it for stitching that was done. But I never had any. I was so dead in my legs after that, that I couldn’t move them for hours. It was horrible. I wish she had never appeared.
The best part of the delivery, by far, was how pink she was, and that she came out screaming. The relief was huge.
Later on that night, the nurses came to give her a bath, and didn’t bring her back. When I asked what was going on, they told me she would have to go to the NICU because she was grunting with her breathing, and her sugars were really low.
I was completely devastated. She spent the night in the NICU, but was then able to come back to be with me the next evening. He sugars had gone up, and her grunting stopped. The next morning, her bilirubin was checked and it was found that she had jaundice, and needed to be under the bili lights. Thankfully, the lights were portable, and she was able to stay in my room, under the lights. It was so hard to see her lying there when all I wanted to do was hold her. She was under the lights for 2 days, and finally released from the hospital. She was six days old when she came home.
She is such a wonderful baby, and the perfect addition to our family. The boys are all so in love with her. Even Zachy does better than we ever suspected.
How blessed we are.
Also, be warned that her birth was far from "natural" which I know is a bit upsetting to some of you, but it worked for us. She's here, and that's all that matters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The decision was made between the peri and OB to induce at 37 weeks.
I was scheduled for induction on March 1st…37 weeks and 2 days. On March 1st the hospital was totally full, probably the result of the full moon. No room for inductions. I was rescheduled for March 3rd. I was disappointed, but not too bad. After all, this bumped me back to 37 weeks and 4 days, closer to 38 weeks than before.
My friend and her daughter came over Friday night and spent the night with us. She would stay throughout the day and watch the kids for us. Matt and I got up bright and early Saturday, dressed, and said goodbye to the kids. I was my usual nervous, yet totally excited, self.
On our way to the hospital, the moon was still up. It was 6:30, starting to get light. The moon was huge, and full. It looked like we would drive right into it. I said that hopefully it was a sign of good things to come.
As soon as we got to labor and delivery, we were taken right to our room. A million questions were asked. I would have thought they would have had all these questions in my chart from the doctor. At any rate, after they were all answered, the dreaded IV placement started.
The IV was probably one of the worst parts of the day. It took several tries, and lots of digging around. Inevitably, I would jump while they were digging. The nurse then said, “you jump and it makes the vein blow” HOGWASH!! If it were good placement, there would be no digging. The third nurse was finally able to get it in. I was so glad to have that done and over with.
I was checked then, and told my cervix was shut, and about 50% effaced. What a bummer. I had always been dilated by this point in my pregnancies before.
At that point, they started monitoring me and baby. Her heartbeat was way down on the left side of my abdomen. All of a sudden, there was tons of movement, and her heartbeat was gone. It was found up on my right side, much higher up. The nurse called the doctor who ordered a sono, to make sure she hadn’t turned breech on us.
Thankfully, she hadn’t, but it was discovered then that she was posterior. Not wanting to relive the pain I had with Zachary, I started to consider having an epidural. I was nervous though, that it would make me too numb, and if she had a hard time coming out, I wouldn’t be able to push well.
The pitocin had been started probably around 8:00, and the contractions were coming. They were never very long, but slowly increased in intensity. The doctor then decided it was time to break my water. I told her she couldn’t, because I wasn’t dilated at all. She checked me and said I was 3-4 CM. She broke my water, and it was all nice and clear. However, Emily was still pretty high up, so the nurse told me I couldn’t sit up.
This scared me badly. I knew the pain would increase in my back, with her being posterior. I remembered wanting to be in any position but on my back with Zachary. I decided on the epidural.
At noon, the anesthesiologist came and gave me my epidural. It was a really good epidural. It took the edge off the contractions, but I was still able to wiggle my toes and lift my legs up. I knew I was in for a long haul, laying on my back, unable to move.
Around 3:00, I was still 3-4 CM, and things started to get scary. With every contraction, her heartbeat would drop down into the 60s and 70s. We could watch the mountain on the monitor go up with contractions, and watch her line go down right along with it. They started rolling me from side to side. Just about ever contraction would bring a change in position. The nurses would rush in and say, “quickly, roll over” This is easier said than done when you have an epidural! I was checked again, and still 3-4 CM. I got really scared. I knew they wouldn’t let this go on forever before I would need a C-section. Having a C-section is one of my biggest fears in life. But at the time, I was more concerned that they wouldn’t do one soon enough, and that we would lose her. My best friend, Michelle, called around that time and Matt told her I was really scared and what was going on. She tells me that phone call took place at 2 her time, so 4 our time.
I started to feel the contractions more. At first it was pressure. Then it was pain. And lots of pain in my back. I asked for more drugs. I was starting to lose it. The fear and pain was too much. I was crying with each contraction. Looking back, I should have known something was happening. I started crying when I hit transition with Zachary, and that’s what was happening now, I just had no idea. They told me I couldn’t have any more drugs because we needed to get the contractions to do something. The whole time the contractions were never longer than 40 seconds long, and 2 ½ minutes apart. I knew nothing had changed, but I asked them to check me. I needed to know if there was any change. I needed to feel like I was making progress so that I could gather myself together and get through the pain.
The nurse checked me and said I was an 8. The doctor came in and asked if I was a loose 8, and if I could just push through it. I was freaking out, thinking of pushing while I was only an 8. She checked me and said, “let’s just have this baby” I told her no way was I pushing. I knew it was going to hurt like the dickens, and I wasn’t ready for that. I had another contraction and remember the doctor telling me to get on top of the pain, and the next contraction we would start pushing.
After that contraction, Matt asked if he could video tape, and they said not the delivery, but afterwards he could. He went to the corner of the room where my bag was, to get the camera as the next contraction came. He was busy digging through the bag while I was contracting.
The pressure was incredible and I started telling the doctor, “she’s in my butt, she’s in my butt” I knew she was coming soon, and I kept thinking that if Matt didn’t turn around, he was going to miss it. The doctor lifted up the sheet and said, “ why yes she was, there’s her head”
Matt turned around and looked and said, “holy cow, there’s her head” This is actually my most vivid memory of the whole thing. I don’t think I will ever forget the look on Matt’s face or the sound of his voice.
I thought they meant she was crowning, or that they could just barely see her head, but no, it was all the way out. Another contraction came and she slid the rest of the way out. I never pushed once. There was never any time to take the bed apart or anything. She was just there. We joke that she just walked right out. I had no tearing at all. She was born at 4:40 PM. The actual delivery was the easiest by far.
Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist had returned and started giving me more drugs in my epidural, as she was coming out. Matt told her I didn’t need it, but she said I would need it for stitching that was done. But I never had any. I was so dead in my legs after that, that I couldn’t move them for hours. It was horrible. I wish she had never appeared.
The best part of the delivery, by far, was how pink she was, and that she came out screaming. The relief was huge.
Later on that night, the nurses came to give her a bath, and didn’t bring her back. When I asked what was going on, they told me she would have to go to the NICU because she was grunting with her breathing, and her sugars were really low.
I was completely devastated. She spent the night in the NICU, but was then able to come back to be with me the next evening. He sugars had gone up, and her grunting stopped. The next morning, her bilirubin was checked and it was found that she had jaundice, and needed to be under the bili lights. Thankfully, the lights were portable, and she was able to stay in my room, under the lights. It was so hard to see her lying there when all I wanted to do was hold her. She was under the lights for 2 days, and finally released from the hospital. She was six days old when she came home.
She is such a wonderful baby, and the perfect addition to our family. The boys are all so in love with her. Even Zachy does better than we ever suspected.
How blessed we are.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
The most beautiful girl in the world
Just a quick update to let you all know that miss Emily Jean is here. She was born March 3 at 4:40 pm. She weighed 8 lb 3 oz and was 18.5 in long. A little shorty.
We just got home today due to issues with jaundice. I'll write a real entry soon.
But for now, a picture. She is the most perfect little girl and she is a wonderful addition to our family. Everyone is head over heels in love with her.
We just got home today due to issues with jaundice. I'll write a real entry soon.
But for now, a picture. She is the most perfect little girl and she is a wonderful addition to our family. Everyone is head over heels in love with her.
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