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So my doctor called (after I called them) and my HIDA scan results were normal. As happy as I am to hear that and know that it looks like I wont be needing any surgery, I am a little bummed because it leaves me in the dark about what actually happened. It could have been the Ecoli and they told me to go ahead and keep taking my antibiotics and eating a tame diet for the next 2 or 3 weeks. I guess we’ll just play it by ear and see if any of that pain comes back again. If it does, at least I have some hydrocodone on hand to help with the pain.

In other news, today was a very trying day for this new Mommy. Zoey would not get comfortable and was fussy most of the day. I pretty much had her in my arms the entire day and by around 5 PM I was really wanting Gene home. We both laid down in the bed around 6 PM and we slept until about 8:30. Gene got home sometime around 6:30. He has been taking care of her since we got up this evening. I’m tired and hoping that he will take the night time duty tonight so I can get some rest.

I was so exhausted by about 5 PM that Zoey and I both just cried and cried for a good 20 minutes. Well, I cried for a solid 45 minutes but she only cried off and on for about 20 minutes. I just held her close and rocked her and cried. I just didn’t know what else to do to make her stop being so fussy and I was so tired that I just couldn’t hold back anymore. I’m sure a lot of this has to do with the fact that I just started my first period since she was born and it is a vicious one. The pain is full throttle and I’ve been having to take extra strength Tylenol around the clock. Thinking I need to get back on the pill soon to tame this beast.

Mom told me my Grandpa was taken to the hospital via ambulance this evening. A neighbor went to check on him and found him slumped over in his chair due to low blood sugar. The paramedics were able to get his sugar up and get him somewhat coherent but they are admitting him into the hospital tonight. Also, he fell and cut himself and couldn’t get it to stop bleeding (he is on blood thinners) but luckily the neighbor helped him bandage it up. Oh and the neighbor found him on his riding lawn mower and he couldn’t get off so the neighbor had to help him with that too. It really stinks that he is so far away (3 hour drive) from us. I wish we lived closer so that I could go check on him several times a week. I miss him a lot and had a good time being there over the weekend. It seems like it is always something lately!

Anyway, that is all for tonight. Hoping to have a mild weekend. We’ll see.

Candy :: May.29.2009 :: Baby, Family, Health, Motherhood, Zoey :: 1 Comment »

Haven’t been good with taking pictures lately, or posting updates for that matter. A lot of it has to do with how busy we’ve been. I’m trying to be better.

Today I went and had the HIDA (I’ve been spelling it Hydascan all this time, oops!) scan done. It was pretty bad. They started an IV (first try! I wanted to kiss the poor girl! I told her I wanted her number so I could call her any time I ever needed an IV in the future) and injected something into it to make my gall bladder fill. Once it was full, she injected something else into my IV to make the gall bladder start contracting and to empty. Almost instantly the horrible abdominal cramping and nausea started and it lasted a good 5 minutes. I was laying there, trying to breathe through the pain but she told me not to breathe so heavily as it would cause my gall bladder to move on the screen. Ugh!! I’m sooo glad it’s over. I am hoping to hear from my doctor by tomorrow about what the results are and whether or not I’m going to need the surgery.

I went online to the hospital I had Zoey in to check my balance and I found that it looks like this little munchkin is going to end up costing me about $2,600. I’m still paying on my knee surgery (though not a whole lot left) and if I end up having this gall bladder deal done, that will be one more surgery to add to the list. Ugh.

Right now I am just going through the motions. Trying to get back to normal, whatever that is. Our time with Zoey is going sooo quickly. It seems like just yesterday we were driving home from the hospital and here we are, in disbelief that she is 6 weeks old.

She definitely has her fussy periods and they seem to be mostly in the evenings. I think a lot of the time it goes on for so long is because we are trying to guess what exactly it is she is crying about. We have most of her cries figured out but sometimes she changes is up on us. When we think it’s her boredom cry, she’ll end up just needing a diaper change so it takes us a bit to figure that out. Like Gene once said, we need a newborn flow chart so that we know exactly what step to try/take next.

I’ll let everyone know how my test results are as soon as I find out. And I’ll try to take more photos and start posting more again. It seems like these newborn baby days go by so quickly. I hardly have time to go pee, eat or drink. I’m not even breastfeeding either. I think the key to getting more done is hiding my darn laptop. Every time I get a few minutes, I end up on this stupid thing and waste an hour on here.

Candy :: May.28.2009 :: Baby, Health, Zoey :: 1 Comment »

The drive to Grandpa’s house went smoothly. We stopped half way to feed and change Zoey and then got back on the road. We got there just in time as a short but heavy thunderstorm passed through just as we got into the house. It was soo nice to see Grandpa again and I think he really enjoyed the company. We’re going back at the end of June because my Aunt (the one who just had a baby, as well) will be in town.

Sunday afternoon we met my Uncle and his family at a Mexican restaurant in town and had lunch. It was so good to see them all again! Well, after we ate there I started having some mild cramping in my upper abdomen, right under my breasts. I didn’t really think much of it and tried to just ignore it. We had dinner at Grandpa’s house and then Gene and I went to Walmart to get food/snacks for our family reunion on Monday. While in Walmart it got increasingly worse and I just wanted to leave.

I tried to get into bed sometime around 11:30 but could not get comfortable. It was hurting to the point where I was holding my stomach and could not get into a position to relieve the pain no matter what I tried. I fell asleep for a good hour but woke up still in horrible pain. I tried the recliner, the couch and the rocking chair and could not get comfortable. The pain was getting a lot worse. I took 2 extra strength tylenol and woke my Mom up at about 2:30 AM to see what she thought was going on. She said it sounded like my gall bladder.

It started to subside a good hour later so I took another tylenol. In the mean time, Zoey woke up for her next feeding so Gene and I took care of her and put her back down around 5:30 AM. We went to bed and slept until 8. I was rushing around trying to get ready for our family reunion (we wanted to leave around 9:30 AM) and the pain started to return. I sat down and tried to relax and it just got increasingly worse, very quickly. By about 9:00 I was in horrible pain and we decided I needed to go to the ER. Gene drove me to the ER and I got in immediately (small towns rock!).

They hooked me up to an IV (but not after 3 horrible sticks, 2 blown veins!) and gave me morphine. The pain almost completely went away. I did a urine sample for them and they had to call in an ultrasound technician. Since it’s a small town, we had to wait for the ultrasound tech to drive in from ANOTHER STATE (about 30 minutes away). He showed up and checked me out, no signs of gall stones. They gave me more morphine and told me I needed to have a Hydascan done when I got back home, it could be a malfunctioning gall bladder. Monday was the very first time that both Gene and I had to leave Zoey. We left her at my Grandpa’s house with my Mom while Gene took me to the ER. Of course, Grandma took really good care of her and I wasn’t worried at all.. But after a good 5 hours in the ER, I was really missing my baby. Add to that the fact that I was in the ER in a town 3 hours away from home, I just felt really uneasy.

So unfortunately, I totally missed the family reunion. And it took us a good 5 hours to make the 3 hour trip home. We had to stop half way because I was so sick and miserable. We ate at Arby’s and I was feeling quite a bit better. I slept the rest of the way home because I was too scared to wake up in fear that I would get nauseated again. Ever since, I have felt fine. I went to see my general physician on Tuesday and they ordered the Hydascan for Thursday morning. Tomorrow we have to be checking in at the hospital at 7:30 AM. Gotta love these early appointments with a new baby! Looks like I’ll be getting up at 5:30 or 6 AM to get ready to leave.

In a way, I hope they find something wrong with my gall bladder just so I will know what is causing this pain. I hate to become a medical mystery.. it scares the living crap out of me. But at the same time, I just had a pretty major surgery (c-section) 6 weeks ago, am I really ready for yet another surgery? At least this one would be a lot quicker healing process and less invasive. But still, it’s a surgery!

Add to all of this the fact that I am really needing to get a root canal done but haven’t been able to schedule that appointment.. I have a pretty full plate. Too full. I just want to be at home and take care of my baby girl. I don’t want to deal with any of this crap!

Oh and btw, the nurse from the ER in my Grandpa’s town called me today and said my urine came back positive for Ecoli. She called me in a prescription for a strong antibiotic. I seriously just laughed out loud when she told me this. Because really? Is there anything else wrong with me?

P.S. Cute/Funny baby story. So at Arby’s we need to change Zoey but there are no changing tables in the restrooms. Gene lays her on his lap and is going to change her that way. Mom and I joke about her peeing on him because lately she likes to pee once you open her diaper. I joke that she is going to “mark her territory” as soon as he starts. Well, what do you know! She pees all over him. And it just so happens to be on his crotch. It was the funniest thing ever! He finished changing her and wore a receiving blanket tucked into his pants to hide the evidence. As we were walking to the car, I was behind him and all the back of his pants/crotch area was wet lol Little girl really soaked him :D

Candy :: May.27.2009 :: Health, Tidbits, Zoey :: 1 Comment »

Last night we put Zoey down around 11:45 and she didn’t wake me up until 3 AM. It was glorious to get 3 solid hours of sleep! I put her back down around 4 and she was up at 6:30. I fed her at 7 and she was up again at 8:30. I picked her up and cuddled her in bed and we both slept soundly until about 10 when I awoke to her being fidgety.

At 3 AM, I was wide awake. When I put her down around 3:45, I laid in bed for a good 20 minutes, wide awake, not able to fall asleep. I was thinking about Grandma and my heart was heavy. I constructed a mental letter to Grandma. It talked about how much I miss her. I was telling her that Gene and I finally got married (she was alive when we got married but not coherent). I told her how I knew she would be so happy that we finally got married after all of those years of living in sin. I told her about how we conceived her first great grand-child the week that she passed away. I thanked her for that little miracle because I just knew she had something to do with it. I told her about how Zoey was born the day after my birthday and how she is so beautiful. About how I wished there was some way she could have met her because I just know she would have loved Zoey to pieces.

I finally fell asleep and proceeded to dream of Grandma and Zoey meeting. It was lovely. Probably one of the first times ever that I’ve had a relevant dream without any odd people showing up in it. Grandma, I love you and miss you so much :(

I really wish Gene and I could have gotten married sooner and yeah I would have loved to have had our first child a few years ago but in hindsight, I know that waiting was the best thing for us. We had time for Gene to graduate college and get a job, for us to buy our first home and to feel emotionally, physically and financially ready for growing up. We got married 10 years after we became a couple and had a baby 11 years after. The only regret I have is that my Grandma wasn’t able to see me get married, let alone meet her first great grand-child.

Well, tomorrow morning I am dropping the dogs off at the kennel and we are heading to Grandpa’s house. We’ll stay until Monday and then head to the park where we have our annual “family re-union” of sorts. Its our first trip out of town for a couple of nights with the baby. I’ve got a small carry-on suitecase full of tiny shirts, pants, onesies, gowns, socks and hats. It has plenty of receiving blankets and diapers. Gene will load the pack n play and the bouncy chair in the car tonight. We’ll pack our bag this evening and hopefully can make it to Miami (Oklahoma, not Florida) by 3 at the latest. It’s a 3 hour drive, so I am hoping to feed Zoey when we leave and hoping she will make the whole drive.

Candy :: May.22.2009 :: Baby, Family, Letters, Zoey :: 1 Comment »

So, I haven’t been writing lately and I’m really disappointed in myself. I’m using this as a place to keep track of Zoey’s milestones and our day to day gig we got goin’ on over here. I want to have something to look back on so I can remember these early days of Motherhood. Because honestly, my current memory is long gone and I’m not sure if I’ll ever get it back.

Anyway, the reason for my lack of posting is a couple of things. 1) I have been really busy with this little munchkin. Gene went back to work full time on Monday so it has just been Zoey and I from about 6 AM to 6 PM. I also do all of the night time feedings during the week so that he can get some rest. It’s been tiring but rewarding at the same time. I just love spending time with my little munchkin. 2) I am having some serious teeth issues. First of all, I need to call a couple of dentists because I have to have a root canal done. I am not looking forward to this at all. Also, my teeth are really sensitive lately. I don’t mean the kind of sensitive where it may hurt briefly whenever you eat something cold in a specific part of your mouth. Oh no, I’m talking, it hurts in my entire mouth, on every single tooth, just to breathe in air. To talk. To drink. To eat. To bite. Every single thing that involves opening my mouth hurts really, really bad. I have been dealing with this pain since early last week and I am almost to the point where I’m about to rip my hair out over it. I’m going to the dentist tomorrow afternoon to discuss this.

I really think this tooth issue is gonna be the death of me. It hurts to sit here and just breathe. With every inhalation, my teeth and mouth just shoot with horrible sharp pain. I tried to eat some Oreo pudding that I made earlier and the cold was killing me. I was even trying to eat it so that it wasn’t directly touching any of my teeth and it didn’t matter. I finally gave up after a few small bites. Last night I couldn’t even bite into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without horrible, shooting pain.

I have so much to talk about. I have so much I want to document. But until I can gather the strength, I can’t quite get to it. Hopefully in the next week or so my teeth will get better. Because right now the pain is so much that it is taking over my life.

Candy :: May.20.2009 :: Daily, Health, Zoey :: 2 Comments »

Last night was a really rough night. The munchkin had some tummy issues and did not eat much or sleep much. So today I pretty much slept the day away because she took a whole bottle this morning and we both slept from 7:30 to 10:30 and then again from about 11:30 to 2:30. It felt so great to get that extra sleep though. I’m thankful that I don’t have a job to be at and that I am able to do that. It helps tremendously!

This afternoon I had to go to the dentist to get a crown put on a tooth I had worked on a week after I had Zoey. Well, I’ve been having a lot of cold/heat sensitivity issues and so now I have to call a specialist to get a root canal done. I was not happy! I teared up when he told me that. Partially because of how expensive it is and partially because I hate the dentist office and it causes horrible anxiety for me.

Today was the first time I’ve driven a car in a month and the first time I’ve had to leave Zoey. Luckily I was leaving her with Gene so I didn’t feel anxious or anything. I was a little sad to leave them and I did miss them so much but I wasn’t gone for more than 1 1/2 hours so it wasn’t too awful.

Tomorrow we’re going to have a busy day. We’re supposed to go up to Gene’s work in the morning and then stop by Babies R Us. At some point I think we’re going to Sam’s Club with my mom. I need a few household items like trash bags, paper towels, granola bars, etc.

Well, I’m gonna go take a bath now. I haven’t had a bath in over a month and I’m really looking forward to a little soak in the tub. I’m hoping to get into bed as soon as Zoey goes down tonight and try to get some rest. I hope she has a better night tonight. I feel so bad when her tummy is obviously bothering her and there is only so much I can do. Right now we’re on Good Start formula and we are going to try Earth’s Best Organic formula next. If that doesn’t work (I hope it does) then we’ll go back to Enfamil because I think maybe it was starting to work better. This Good Start stuff is crap for her. It has made her poop volume increase a LOT and has also made it a really gross green color and it smells horrible.

Candy :: May.14.2009 :: Baby, Zoey :: 1 Comment »

It’s hard to believe that she is already 4 weeks old. I can’t even believe that we’ve had her in our lives for an entire month now. It seems to surreal. I still find myself stopping at least once a day to realize how unbelievable all of this is. Sometimes it doesn’t even feel like it’s my life. Sometimes I feel like maybe I am living someone else’s life. And I mean that in the best way possible. I am having the best time of my life.

Today we took Zoey to the doctor for a check up. She is now weighing 6 pounds 14 ounces and is 20 1/2 inches long. I can’t even believe that she has gained 1 pound 5 ounces in the last 2 weeks and also grew an inch. I have already had to start a stack of clothes to be put away that don’t fit her anymore (preemie stuff, of course). How sad but so exciting. I am loving watching her chub up and grow. When the doctor came in to examine her, she made a big and loud poo poo for her lol It stunk up the whole room! Little girl already has her comic timing down.

We go back in June for her 2 month check up in which case she will get 3 shots. I’m already dreading that appointment. I am going to try my hardest not to cry. I may not be able to watch. I think I’m going to have to leave that part up to Gene.

Well, Zoey is sleeping and I think I’m gonna go snooze for a bit too. Gene is doing some work from home right now. This morning after her appointment we went by Target to grab a few things and also had to stop by the post office. It’s funny how little errands like that have turned into these long outings that seem to wear me out pretty quickly.

Candy :: May.12.2009 :: Baby, Zoey :: 1 Comment »