Funny...

Updates: Baby Piper (34 Weeks), Grandparents, and Caleb

Today I went back to the doctor for my 34 week visit. Caleb had to go with me and I was a little concerned about how he was going to act, but silly me, I forgot that my strange little boy LOVES going to the doctor. It doesn't matter that he wasn't being seen, he still kept asking when the doctor was coming. Anyway, I took deep cleansing breaths all morning, had a little decaf Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks and my blood pressure was down! I also lost a little weight (fluid) too, so the doctor was happy with everything. He said he can tell that I've been taking it easy the past 2 weeks and that I just need to continue doing what I have been doing. I go back next week. We are on the downhill slide and he is starting to give me the "if you go into labor or you water breaks call me and get right to the hospital" speech each time.

I talked with my mom this morning and it looks like my grandfather will be released from the hospital today. The theory is that a new medication that he recently started caused his sodium levels to drop, which caused all his symptoms. Needless to say, they are going to switch that medication to something else that will hopefully do the trick. My grandmother is going to released today to, or so we have heard. You know how those transfers from hospitals go sometimes... Anyway, my mom and dad were able to secure her a spot back in the nursing facility that she was in before all this mess started, thanks to the help and persistance of a couple of great doctors, a social worker and a chaplain.

Caleb is doing relatively well too. Yesterday he started complaining of his ears hurting, which we were told would happen around day 5 to 7. Yesterday was day 6, so right on schedule. He is quite moody from time to time and the only thing we can attribute that to is that he is in pain. As soon as he gets some pain medication (we're down to Motrin at this point instead of the narcotic) and it kicks in, he's usually pretty ok. The hardest part is night time. Caleb wakes up 2-4 times per night, not crying but whimpering. It's pretty pitiful, but we really don't know what to do. We try to give him medication when he needs it, but at night he really needs to be knocked out to get enough rest. There's really nothing that will do that. If this keeps up, we'll be calling the doctor to get some suggestions!

PB&J

Yesterday morning Caleb started asking me for a sandwich. I didn't want to give him the traditional lunchmeat/cheese combo due to the fact that it was 9:30 in the morning. So, I decided to give him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, his first. This might not seem like a big deal to most people, but with Caleb's asthma and allergies and everything else he has had issues with, his pulmonologist told us to put off the peanut butter until at least age 3. We have been so used to excluding all products with nuts in it that I think we could have put off the introduction of peanuts and all the peanut products for many more years, but a couple of weeks ago Caleb found a bag of peanut butter M&M's that were on the kitchen counter and ate some. We found out that afternoon that he is not allergic and have been slowly incorporating the food into his diet. He seems to really like it and loved the sandwich yesterday!

I Hope Your Last 6 Days Have Been Better Than Ours.

So here's how our last 6 days or so have shaped up.

Wednesday: Caleb's surgery. Not the best day due to all the stress and lack of sleep. Although Caleb did remarkably well, we were all quite concerned because of his asthma and all the risks that anesthesia and intubation pose with that particular condition.

Here's Caleb about 1 hour or so after surgery. He was still a little loopy, but looking pretty good.


Thursday: Exhaustion was what ruled the day on Thursday. When we were finally released from the hospital, Caleb and I drug ourselves to the store to pick up a few things and get his medications. We got home and literally collapsed. What ensued was a 6 hour nap for Caleb and a 4 hour nap for me.

















If you look closely here you can see the dark circles under Caleb's eyes. We had only had a few hours of sleep the whole 2 days we were in the hospital. This picture was taken shortly before we left with his new puppy that his Mommaw (my mom) gave him.

Friday: This was by far the worst day so far after Caleb's surgery. He had the most pain on Friday and I spent most of the day going back and forth between him and the kitchen to help to alleviate some of his symptoms between medication doses. As you can see, there was not a sign of bed rest for me those days. I'm sure I'll hear about it when I go back to the doctor Wednesday.


Friday was also the culmination of some family drama for us. My grandmother (the one who had the stroke back in September) has been in a skilled nursing facility since being released from the hospital in October. My grandfather decided about a month ago that he wanted to bring her home and take care of her himself. Friday was the day he picked for her to come home.


Saturday: I received a phone call Saturday morning that my grandmother (the one who came home the afternoon before) had been transported to the hospital after the home health nurse came to their home to check on her. Less than 24 hours home and the nurse took one look at her and said that it wasn't going to work. She was also nursing a terrible bladder infection and needed treatment.


Sunday: Jes went to church and Caleb and I stayed home (he couldn't go to the nursery quite yet). During the time that Jes was gone I got another phone call telling me that my grandfather had been admitted to the hospital. That's right, both of them, in the same hospital, at the same time. We headed out to Garland immediately, of course, to see both of them. When we left around 6pm, there was still no diagnosis as to what was exactly wrong with my grandfather. Needless to say, my mom and dad are pretty exhausted and have been running back and forth for days now.


Monday: The phone hasn't rung all day, thank goodness, and Jes is working on Piper's room as we speak. I'm hoping that my parents will get a little rest today and that the mess with my grandmother will get worked out. There has been some issue with getting her back into the nursing facility (again she wasn't gone for more than 24 hours), but hopefully that will be resolved today.

Look At What My Husband Bought Me

Evidently, our little Volkswagen was no longer reliable, in Jes's mind, so he bought me a new car! We got a really great deal, but I still got a little misty when they drove off in my Passat. I loved that car, but it was on its last leg (again according to Jes) and we did need more room. This is the Kia Sportage and it has more than enough room for our little family of soon to be 4. I especially love the cargo space in the back. There is enough room for our double stroller and still be able to put groceries or shopping bags in the back too.

Any Idea...

...what it's like to be trapped in a hospital room with a 3 year old boy, full of energy, feeling just fine, wanting to go home, bored out of his mind, after the doctor comes by and tells you that you can go home 2 hours earlier waiting for a nurse who can't get herself together enough to hand you your papers? I'm just saying...

Caleb

Caleb is out of surgery and is now watching Super Why and drinking apple juice. His surgery went well and they were able to remove all his tonsils and all his adenoids. He had a little trouble waking up with his oxygen level staying in the range they wanted it, but they were able to give him a little nebulized medication and get him over that hump.

Dr. McDuffie told us that his nasal passage ways are very small (something we have known since birth) and that he saw an area at the back of his passage ways that were quite swollen. He said this is common in people who have pretty severe allergies. If you've been around Caleb for any period of time, you know that this is an issue we have battled for the last 3 years with him. We are going to try to add another allergy med and see if that helps. If not, we progress on to allergy testing and shots. Either way, we are just glad that this surgery is over and that he did well. I have to say the 40 minutes he was away from us was the longest 40 minutes we have experienced in a long time!

Thanks for all of you for praying for us and for Caleb.

Wednesday Is the Day **Updated**

We are on the board for 7:10 tomorrow morning. That means we have to BE there at 5:45. AM. EEK!

Well, we scheduled Caleb's surgery. It will we Wednesday. I'm not sure of the time yet, but we preregistered this morning over the phone and I go sign all the papers on Tuesday after I drop the boys off at school. Caleb will have to stay over night, so it will be long day/night, but we know that he needs this surgery and will be so much better afterward but it still worries us a little.

Oh No

Today I went to see my Ob for my 32 week check. Like normal, I went potty in a cup and then had my blood pressure checked. It was a little high for me and the nurse said that she wanted to check my urine for protein right then. The girl that was training that day placed me in a room while the nurse did her tests and I waited to see the doctor. When he came in he commented on my higher pressure and said he was no happy with it and that we would have to check it again. Before we did the recheck, though, he measured me and went searching for Piper's heart beat. She was breech (head up), so it made it a little more difficult to find as he was looking for her to be head down. He found it, made me lie down, and wait for the nurse to come in and recheck my pressure. It was within normal range when she checked it which was a relief, but it showed that as long as I was lying down it was good. My doctor then said the words I'd been dreading, bed rest. He didn't put me on traditional bed rest, however he did tell me that I needed to clear my schedule, slow down and stay home on the couch/bed when I am home. I'm not completely confined to the house (that would be torture for me) but I have to choose to be home and on the couch more than not. Right before I left the office, Dr. Robins looked at me and said, "do you have any help at home with your son?" I said, "no", and he said, "you might think about finding some because if your pressure is higher next time, you might need it." My only thought was Oh No!

ENT Visit Today

Today, Caleb went to see a new ENT, Dr. McDuffie, in Frisco, just up the road from our house. This visit came because our nurse practitioner saw him last Monday and noticed that his tonsils were really big. Dr. McDuffie said that they are still quite large and based on the fact that he does have variable apnea and snores while sleeping, we will be having his tonsils and his adenoids out. I have known for quite a long time that Caleb needed this done, but we had to wait until he was of age and we found a good ENT. We don't know when we will have the surgery, but it will need to be soon as he will need to spend the night and someone will need to be with him while he is in the hospital. That someone will be me as I know that Jes would not be comfortable doing that by himself (he's very capable, by the way, but has always deferred to me when it comes to anything medical or health related). Anyway, the long and short of it is that we have to have this done before I have this baby, so hopefully before the end of the month.
This is not the first time by any means that Caleb has undergone anesthesia, however we are all a little nervous about him having this procedure. We know, however, that he needs this badly and will do very well!

My Mama

In honor of Mother's Day, I thought I would post on some of the things that you may (or may not) know about my Mama and me.
1. We look so much alike that people she has worked with for years have walked right up to me and started talking to me actually thinking I'm her.
2. She had me very young, therefore we have practically grown up together. I have gotten used to people assuming that we are sisters, however it used to really offend me.
3. My Mama used to have hair the color of a new penny but lost the color when she was pregnant with me. Now it is an auburn color, something I have always wished to have.
4. She absolutely hates sweet potatoes but she still makes them for me and my Daddy every holiday season. I have actually seen her gag while doing this, but she still does it!
5. You will never find an empty glass sitting around her house for more than a moment or two. I have actually put one down, turned around to get something to put in it, and turned back around and saw her putting it in the dishwasher. I have found myself doing this too, so I guess she has passed that one on!
6. When I was a senior in high school she gave up a job that made her quite a bit of money to take a job where she could be home more with my Daddy and I so that she wouldn't miss so much of our lives.
7. She will tell you that she's not a good grandmother, but Caleb thinks she's the best thing walking and actually prefers her over anyone else. He loves on her like nothing else. It's very sweet to see.
8. I think she's the best Mama a girl can have! Happy Mother's Day Mama! I love you!

A Longer Tribute

I had just returned from the funeral today for my cousin and saw this new tribute to him on the 5 o'clock news. I wanted to share and save the link for posterity.

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa080509_jh_soldier.e4dc9b45.html

Sad News

Earlier this week my mom emailed me to tell me that my cousin, Clay, was killed in Iraq. While we weren't close by any stretch of the imagination, he is still family and it was very sad and shocking news. My grandmother has always kept me up to date with what was going on with Clay and his family. Clay is the son on Deborah, the daughter of my grandmother's sister who was killed in a tragic and strange house fire 20 some odd years ago. Clay was married with a nearly 1 and a half year old daughter. I have included some links to a blog who pays tribute to the fallen soldiers and the link to the news story from channel 11 last night. The last link has pictures of Clay and the video that shows his precious daughter and wife.

http://goodsoldiers.blogspot.com/2008/05/fallen-heroes-clay-craig.html

http://cbs11tv.com/local/Clay.Craig.mesquite.2.713269.html

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa080501_jh_mesquitesoldier.bb80ea51.html