Wednesday, Dorian celebrated (read: slept-through) his first month birthday. He is currently 8lbs 12 oz and jumped to 21.25 inches long. We've had a really tough month, the two of us. His first two weeks, he wasn't gaining weight well, he had frothy stools, suffered dehydration, his allrgies were all over the place... Finally, we found that he is allergic to cedar and that he is lactose intolerant. He wasn't digesting the breastmilk well, so we have been supplementing with lactose-free formula for him and have put him on probiotics. So far so good.
While I was still at the hospital after having the baby, Lily had her second appointment with the psychologist. It didn't go well since her father went with her. Lily's going to therapy to deal with her nightmares. Her nightmares have one reoccuring theme: her grandmother, her father's mother, causing harm to the family. So while her dad sat next to her in the room, she refused to say anything that could possibly help deal with her dreams for fear of insulting her father. She was afraid of saying anything negative about her grandmother since J was sitting in the room, so the entire session was a complete waste of time for everyone. We've been dealing with her issues by ourselves since, but plan to return if what we are doing doesn't help. It's been frustrating to say the least.
Iris and Rose are doing well. Iris more than Rose. Rose has been waking up in the middle of the night crying; she's still trying to adjust to all of the changes. I wish I could do more for the kids, but we work with what we have.
All in all the kids are generally happy and very healthy. They are growing like weeds both physically and intellectually; Rose's vocabulary has exploded in this past month. Dorian is hungry...always. As a matter of fact, I need to go feed him again.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Baby Delivery
It's been almost two weeks and I have yet to write anything about my hospital stay or the fmaily. Sorry about that. I've been recovering these past two weeks, and have gotten much needed rest. (As much as is possible when you have a newborn, anyway.)
First off, the delivery went, for the most part, smoothly. J and I arrived at the hospital at around 5:16 to sign in and let them know we were ready. I was prepped, getting hooked up to IVs, poked and prodded, and had to answer a bajillion questions for paperwork that was filled out for me while I'm in the process of being poked and prodded. J was easily distracted by his Nook. :) Annoyingly enough, this actually took a good hour or so to do.
At around 6:30, everyone who was supposed to be in the OR comes in, gives me the run down, which I shamelessly nod off through due to barely sleeping, and having done this three times already, and am wheeled out to the OR. We make it in at exactly 7am and I am poked and prodded some more. Apparently, I was retaining too much water, or was just too fat, that the anesthesiologists were having a hard time finding a spot between my vertabrae to insert the needle. This sucked. Majorly. The female was using her fingernail to make an indention. I had to be poked about 4 or 5 different times just to numb the area they needed, and even then, we were all having a hard time. Finally, the nurse who was holding me, gave me a stool to rest my feet so that I could lean over and curl properly. Once that happened, everything seemed to fall perfectly into place and the doctors were able to finally insert the needle in spine without any issues.
After that, the scene went according to plan. Screen up, arms tied down, OB and surgical tech hovering over my abdomen with scapels, nurses on standby, anesthetic team hovering overhead, med students watching along the walls...
Dorian arrived at 7:40 am on the 7th, much to the delight of the entire medical staff in the room. You hear my doctor and his tech, who is also male, being as serious as possible as they make their incisions, when suddenly, you hear the tech say "Oh, look at his tiny little ears!" and both men are just melting at the adorableness that is my son. According to Justin, the nurses throughout the room were also squealing and pointing at my gorgeous baby. :)
What can I say? I make pretty babies.
First off, the delivery went, for the most part, smoothly. J and I arrived at the hospital at around 5:16 to sign in and let them know we were ready. I was prepped, getting hooked up to IVs, poked and prodded, and had to answer a bajillion questions for paperwork that was filled out for me while I'm in the process of being poked and prodded. J was easily distracted by his Nook. :) Annoyingly enough, this actually took a good hour or so to do.
At around 6:30, everyone who was supposed to be in the OR comes in, gives me the run down, which I shamelessly nod off through due to barely sleeping, and having done this three times already, and am wheeled out to the OR. We make it in at exactly 7am and I am poked and prodded some more. Apparently, I was retaining too much water, or was just too fat, that the anesthesiologists were having a hard time finding a spot between my vertabrae to insert the needle. This sucked. Majorly. The female was using her fingernail to make an indention. I had to be poked about 4 or 5 different times just to numb the area they needed, and even then, we were all having a hard time. Finally, the nurse who was holding me, gave me a stool to rest my feet so that I could lean over and curl properly. Once that happened, everything seemed to fall perfectly into place and the doctors were able to finally insert the needle in spine without any issues.
After that, the scene went according to plan. Screen up, arms tied down, OB and surgical tech hovering over my abdomen with scapels, nurses on standby, anesthetic team hovering overhead, med students watching along the walls...
Dorian arrived at 7:40 am on the 7th, much to the delight of the entire medical staff in the room. You hear my doctor and his tech, who is also male, being as serious as possible as they make their incisions, when suddenly, you hear the tech say "Oh, look at his tiny little ears!" and both men are just melting at the adorableness that is my son. According to Justin, the nurses throughout the room were also squealing and pointing at my gorgeous baby. :)
What can I say? I make pretty babies.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Please Welcome...
More to come...
Today's the Day
So, we head out to the hospital in a matter of a few hours. I have to be checked in no later than 530am. My hospital bags are packed (have been for the past two weeks now), I'm showered, the girls are cleaned and have clothes set for the day... and I can't sleep. I *want* to sleep, but I am so anxious for this that I keep waking up every hour.
Soon.
I'll be posting a picture with all the stats as soon as I can. :)
Soon.
I'll be posting a picture with all the stats as soon as I can. :)
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
First Session
Lily had her first psychological therapy session today. Because of all the stress we have been under, I have been worried about her mental health and how she is dealing with everything. I try and sit down and talk to her regularly, but there are times when I can't get through to her and she shuts down.
The session this afternoon was pretty simple. Ken just wanted to know what has happened in the past six months, which I explained, as well as how she has handled all of it. He understood my concerns and explained to me that the way she is coping is through her nightmares. We are going to try and help her come out of her shell in the next few sessions to try and get her to verbalize her fears so that we can stop the nightmares and she can deal with her stress in a more healthy way, not all bottled up.
She has another appointment next week. I'm actually excited about this. While sitting there watching her talk to the therapist, playing with random toys, and petting his large retriever, Princess, she was able to express herself without censoring herself. I'm hoping this helps her. I hate knowing that she's under this much stress and has so many fears.
The session this afternoon was pretty simple. Ken just wanted to know what has happened in the past six months, which I explained, as well as how she has handled all of it. He understood my concerns and explained to me that the way she is coping is through her nightmares. We are going to try and help her come out of her shell in the next few sessions to try and get her to verbalize her fears so that we can stop the nightmares and she can deal with her stress in a more healthy way, not all bottled up.
She has another appointment next week. I'm actually excited about this. While sitting there watching her talk to the therapist, playing with random toys, and petting his large retriever, Princess, she was able to express herself without censoring herself. I'm hoping this helps her. I hate knowing that she's under this much stress and has so many fears.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
T-Minus One Week
So, last night/this morning was interesting...
Yesterday afternoon was my 38-week check up with the OBGYN. Everything is as it should be. I'm still closed and long (no dilation, baby still not dropped) and still in a lot of pain. Seeing that I haven't slept in what feels like weeks, my doctor prescribed me vicodin for the pain. The day progresses, I still feel like the plague, so I take my pill and wait.
And wait...
and wait...
The pain gets worse. I had taken a good pain killer and I was still in a crap load of pain. I was horribly uncomfortable and in tears. I couldn't handle it anymore. So, we get to labor and delivery around 11pm and are admitted in to see how things will go. My contractions are mild, but 2 to 3 minutes apart. My scar burns like fire, and I'm super exhausted.
After a couple of hours of monitoring, the nurse hooks me up to an IV, sticks me with a hardcore antihistamine, and leaves me there to see what happens. My contractions get further apart, and I doze off. I still have enough pain to where I holler every ten minutes, but instead of every two, it's every ten, which is nice. A good half gallon of water is pumped into my system by then and I just want to sleep.
After 6 hours of being in L&D, I'm finally released home, told to take another vicodin, and told that my problem was the fact that I was dehydrated. How I became dehydrated, nobody even knows. My husband, even my stepmom-in-law were surprised to find that the problem I have is keeping enough fluids in my system.
I drink my weight in water, but apparently 64 oz of water every day isn't enough. Because of the scar tissue and the constant pull, I have to have *more* fluids in me to deal with my uterus. The husband bought me a large 44 oz cup from the gas station and I'm meant to drink that twice a day. The nurse also suggested I eat foods rich in fluids, like jello, soup, and watermelon for an extra boost.
This pregnancy has not been kind to me. Seriously. I'm very glad that in seven days I'll finally be able to hold my son.
Seven more days.
Yesterday afternoon was my 38-week check up with the OBGYN. Everything is as it should be. I'm still closed and long (no dilation, baby still not dropped) and still in a lot of pain. Seeing that I haven't slept in what feels like weeks, my doctor prescribed me vicodin for the pain. The day progresses, I still feel like the plague, so I take my pill and wait.
And wait...
and wait...
The pain gets worse. I had taken a good pain killer and I was still in a crap load of pain. I was horribly uncomfortable and in tears. I couldn't handle it anymore. So, we get to labor and delivery around 11pm and are admitted in to see how things will go. My contractions are mild, but 2 to 3 minutes apart. My scar burns like fire, and I'm super exhausted.
After a couple of hours of monitoring, the nurse hooks me up to an IV, sticks me with a hardcore antihistamine, and leaves me there to see what happens. My contractions get further apart, and I doze off. I still have enough pain to where I holler every ten minutes, but instead of every two, it's every ten, which is nice. A good half gallon of water is pumped into my system by then and I just want to sleep.
After 6 hours of being in L&D, I'm finally released home, told to take another vicodin, and told that my problem was the fact that I was dehydrated. How I became dehydrated, nobody even knows. My husband, even my stepmom-in-law were surprised to find that the problem I have is keeping enough fluids in my system.
I drink my weight in water, but apparently 64 oz of water every day isn't enough. Because of the scar tissue and the constant pull, I have to have *more* fluids in me to deal with my uterus. The husband bought me a large 44 oz cup from the gas station and I'm meant to drink that twice a day. The nurse also suggested I eat foods rich in fluids, like jello, soup, and watermelon for an extra boost.
This pregnancy has not been kind to me. Seriously. I'm very glad that in seven days I'll finally be able to hold my son.
Seven more days.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
It Feels Neverending
Well, I've been putting Lily's insurance card to work this past month. First, her yearly check up, which gave us referrals to two more doctors. The first referral, her eyes, which proved that she did indeed needed glass (which she wears regularly and looks adorable in.) The second referral, her ears, which showed that while she hears well, she shuts down emotioanlly when stressed and tunes out. That leads me to now.
I got in contact with an old clinic I used to go to when she was a baby. I have an appointment set up with my old psychologist to deal with the stress we are currently going through, and set one up for Lily with one of the child therapists so she can learn to deal with her stress as well.
The past six months have been hard on Lily, and she's been coping to the best of her ability, but she's only 6 and can only understand so much. I'm hoping this will help calm any fears she has, deal with her nightmares, and give her a healthier mental state. She's a smart kid and all of this stress is not good for her; it's not even good for an adult. I hope after a while, she'll be feeling a lot better.
I got in contact with an old clinic I used to go to when she was a baby. I have an appointment set up with my old psychologist to deal with the stress we are currently going through, and set one up for Lily with one of the child therapists so she can learn to deal with her stress as well.
The past six months have been hard on Lily, and she's been coping to the best of her ability, but she's only 6 and can only understand so much. I'm hoping this will help calm any fears she has, deal with her nightmares, and give her a healthier mental state. She's a smart kid and all of this stress is not good for her; it's not even good for an adult. I hope after a while, she'll be feeling a lot better.
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