I got a COOL Flip camera as a gift from my hubby when Luke was born, and it's so easy to take and upload video with this little contraption that I'm hoping it will make posting videos so easy I have no excuses.
Here's one of the first that we've taken...
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Another update
Update:
We have the MOST wonderful practice of pediatricians in the world. I just received (within 10 minutes of each other) calls from both our regular pediatrician (who we didn't get to see on Monday and who has today OFF) and the pediatrician that we did see. They both had questions that I couldn't answer, so I will call back on one of them and our regular doctor (Dr. L) will have a conversation with Dr. G about his questions.
I feel VERY blessed to be in Houston where there is so much technology available to us and where we have so many truly caring doctors.
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We had Jack's hip aspirated this morning and it turns out that there was hardly enough fluid to actually aspirate. But what fluid he did get, he's 99.99% sure is NOT infected. They're doing a culture just to be safe.
So, the next step is a perthes test in a "couple of months"...the thing the orthopedist doesn't know is that we've met our deductible this year! We'll be back sooner rather than later!! :)
The waking up was the hardest part. He wanted that IV OUT NOW!! Eventually we were able to get through to him and he drank his sprite and peed and then they took that darn IV out and we were out the door in less than 5 minutes. It was none too soon for Mommy and Daddy.
I have to say that I couldn't have done it without my Michael. He's been my strength and my equal partner in all of this. I'm soooo thankful for you, Michael and wouldn't want to go through this parenting roller coaster with anyone else! *smooch*
We have the MOST wonderful practice of pediatricians in the world. I just received (within 10 minutes of each other) calls from both our regular pediatrician (who we didn't get to see on Monday and who has today OFF) and the pediatrician that we did see. They both had questions that I couldn't answer, so I will call back on one of them and our regular doctor (Dr. L) will have a conversation with Dr. G about his questions.
I feel VERY blessed to be in Houston where there is so much technology available to us and where we have so many truly caring doctors.
------------------------
We had Jack's hip aspirated this morning and it turns out that there was hardly enough fluid to actually aspirate. But what fluid he did get, he's 99.99% sure is NOT infected. They're doing a culture just to be safe.
So, the next step is a perthes test in a "couple of months"...the thing the orthopedist doesn't know is that we've met our deductible this year! We'll be back sooner rather than later!! :)
The waking up was the hardest part. He wanted that IV OUT NOW!! Eventually we were able to get through to him and he drank his sprite and peed and then they took that darn IV out and we were out the door in less than 5 minutes. It was none too soon for Mommy and Daddy.
I have to say that I couldn't have done it without my Michael. He's been my strength and my equal partner in all of this. I'm soooo thankful for you, Michael and wouldn't want to go through this parenting roller coaster with anyone else! *smooch*
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Jack update
Found out this morning that there is "non-specific fluid" on his hip. Will have it aspirated tomorrow morning. Should be interesting.
He's able to walk around (on his tip toes) but we're trying to keep him still...wish us luck. :)
He's able to walk around (on his tip toes) but we're trying to keep him still...wish us luck. :)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Catching up
Just so you know, I had Baby Luke 9 days ago! He's beautiful and perfect and wonderful...in every single way! I hope to have time this week to write down the details for posterity's sake. But not tonight.
Today we took Jack to the doctor only to return with no answers. He's been complaining of his right hip hurting for weeks. Being the "tough" parents that we are, we've been compassionate but not overly pro-active about his pain because it hasn't really slowed him down at all. Until this morning...when Michael found him crying on the floor of his room unable to walk. We decided to go to the pediatrician and as soon as I could pull myself outta bed (it wasn't Lukie's best night), I made the appointment. At the doctor's office, you could definitely tell there was a problem so the pedi diagnosised it as "Irritable Hip Syndrome" and made an appointment for us with the best pediatric orthopedist in Houston. They also did some blood work on him and diagnosised that he has a virus. We went to see the orthopedist and they did x-rays that are NORMAL thank goodness. The plan was for us to also have an ultrasound to determine if there's fluid on his hip, but the US tech was gone for the day so we'll do that tomorrow.
If you heard me say today that Jack has Synovitis, please excuse the misdiagnosis. I was under the impression that the hip pain + virus = infection in the hip. But that doesn't seem to be the case. If there is fluid on his hip, they'll do an asperation of it, which means no food after 1 AM tomorrow morning.
If there is no fluid, we're kinda back to the drawing board for a reason for his pain. Thankfully, the orthopedist seems to be interested in really finding out what's going on.
We'll keep you updated...
Today we took Jack to the doctor only to return with no answers. He's been complaining of his right hip hurting for weeks. Being the "tough" parents that we are, we've been compassionate but not overly pro-active about his pain because it hasn't really slowed him down at all. Until this morning...when Michael found him crying on the floor of his room unable to walk. We decided to go to the pediatrician and as soon as I could pull myself outta bed (it wasn't Lukie's best night), I made the appointment. At the doctor's office, you could definitely tell there was a problem so the pedi diagnosised it as "Irritable Hip Syndrome" and made an appointment for us with the best pediatric orthopedist in Houston. They also did some blood work on him and diagnosised that he has a virus. We went to see the orthopedist and they did x-rays that are NORMAL thank goodness. The plan was for us to also have an ultrasound to determine if there's fluid on his hip, but the US tech was gone for the day so we'll do that tomorrow.
If you heard me say today that Jack has Synovitis, please excuse the misdiagnosis. I was under the impression that the hip pain + virus = infection in the hip. But that doesn't seem to be the case. If there is fluid on his hip, they'll do an asperation of it, which means no food after 1 AM tomorrow morning.
If there is no fluid, we're kinda back to the drawing board for a reason for his pain. Thankfully, the orthopedist seems to be interested in really finding out what's going on.
We'll keep you updated...
Friday, September 04, 2009
Building my confidence
I'm not sure how I got here, but I realized tonight that I'm quite scared about this labor and about being able to manage three beautiful children. It wouldn't surprise me at all to one day to hear God say, "Dear One, I kept sending you into labor, but you weren't ready."
I think there was a time in my life where there was no doubt in my mind that I could deliver this baby the way I want, the way I know I'm capable of doing. But maybe it was the concern over the oldest two and my ability to get them safely to someone who could care for them in my absence, or maybe it was concern over whether Michael could get to me quickly enough. Or maybe it was my concern over getting EVERYTHING ready prior to his arrival. Maybe it's my concern about being able to continue the norms of the older two while nurturing the precious babe that's in my womb. Maybe it wasn't of those things, maybe it's been all of it that has undermined confidence.
Whatever "it" is, I'm releasing it tonight. I am SURROUNDED by my Creator: the ONE who supplies strength in my times of weakness, the ONE who provides comfort in my time of discomfort, the ONE who provides love in my times of loneliness. He does this miraculously by surrounding me with friends and family that WANT desperately to pitch in and help, and by giving me the most wonderful life partner in the world, who wants nothing more than to see me succeed and will bend over backwards to make that happen.
So baby Luke, precious one, Mama's heart is now ready for you to come. I've had all the physical "stuff" ready for at least a month now, but now the real transition has happened...my heart is surrendered to the fact that I can't and won't do all of this myself. But don't you worry, everything's gonna be fine, dear one. Our Heavenly Father is holding us both in his hands and won't let either one of us fall out of his reach.
A labor update
Yesterday I went in for my weekly checkup and when asked the question: "Is the baby moving well?" I honestly answered "No." I hadn't felt him move in about 15 hours. So, they put me on the baby monitor and monitored his heart beat. At one point during a contraction his heart beat dipped a bit. Then they did a measurement of my amniotic fluid and it was at the cutoff mark for being "OK". So, between those three things the midwives sent me to the hospital to be induced as I was 40 weeks on Wednesday. This was certainly NOT my #1 choice for a labor plan, but Luke's safety comes first, obviously. But by the time I got into a L&D room I'd been having fairly regular contractions for 2 hours, so not only was there no need to induce me it was too late...we all thought I was in labor. YEAH! BUT by 8:30 last night the contractions had virtually stopped.
We decided at that point to do a 1L saline drip to maybe bolster the amniotic fluid in hopes that I could go home today to rest and maybe go into labor again on my own. This morning they did an additional monitoring of his health called a biophysical profile (BPP). It includes measuring the AF (it was up to 5.6...not all that much of a bump since they had given me another 1L bag of saline this morning), and measuring his "reflexive" movements (purposeful movements: open and closing his hands, flexing his neck, kicking, etc) and "fetal breathing" which is where he "practices" breathing...this was amazing to see is ribs expand and contract.
Since he passed the non-stress test (all the heart rate monitoring) and the BPP, and with my promise that I will rest from now on, and that I wouldn't hesitate to come back if I "think" I might be in labor and with an appointment to come back in Saturday morning for another non-stress test, they let me come home this morning. There are more plans for me over the weekend, but they're all assuming that things don't progress into labor on my own. So, for now, we'll take in one step at a time.
Speaking of my first promise, I'm off to lay down. I think that catches you all up on where we are.
I think there was a time in my life where there was no doubt in my mind that I could deliver this baby the way I want, the way I know I'm capable of doing. But maybe it was the concern over the oldest two and my ability to get them safely to someone who could care for them in my absence, or maybe it was concern over whether Michael could get to me quickly enough. Or maybe it was my concern over getting EVERYTHING ready prior to his arrival. Maybe it's my concern about being able to continue the norms of the older two while nurturing the precious babe that's in my womb. Maybe it wasn't of those things, maybe it's been all of it that has undermined confidence.
Whatever "it" is, I'm releasing it tonight. I am SURROUNDED by my Creator: the ONE who supplies strength in my times of weakness, the ONE who provides comfort in my time of discomfort, the ONE who provides love in my times of loneliness. He does this miraculously by surrounding me with friends and family that WANT desperately to pitch in and help, and by giving me the most wonderful life partner in the world, who wants nothing more than to see me succeed and will bend over backwards to make that happen.
So baby Luke, precious one, Mama's heart is now ready for you to come. I've had all the physical "stuff" ready for at least a month now, but now the real transition has happened...my heart is surrendered to the fact that I can't and won't do all of this myself. But don't you worry, everything's gonna be fine, dear one. Our Heavenly Father is holding us both in his hands and won't let either one of us fall out of his reach.
A labor update
Yesterday I went in for my weekly checkup and when asked the question: "Is the baby moving well?" I honestly answered "No." I hadn't felt him move in about 15 hours. So, they put me on the baby monitor and monitored his heart beat. At one point during a contraction his heart beat dipped a bit. Then they did a measurement of my amniotic fluid and it was at the cutoff mark for being "OK". So, between those three things the midwives sent me to the hospital to be induced as I was 40 weeks on Wednesday. This was certainly NOT my #1 choice for a labor plan, but Luke's safety comes first, obviously. But by the time I got into a L&D room I'd been having fairly regular contractions for 2 hours, so not only was there no need to induce me it was too late...we all thought I was in labor. YEAH! BUT by 8:30 last night the contractions had virtually stopped.
We decided at that point to do a 1L saline drip to maybe bolster the amniotic fluid in hopes that I could go home today to rest and maybe go into labor again on my own. This morning they did an additional monitoring of his health called a biophysical profile (BPP). It includes measuring the AF (it was up to 5.6...not all that much of a bump since they had given me another 1L bag of saline this morning), and measuring his "reflexive" movements (purposeful movements: open and closing his hands, flexing his neck, kicking, etc) and "fetal breathing" which is where he "practices" breathing...this was amazing to see is ribs expand and contract.
Since he passed the non-stress test (all the heart rate monitoring) and the BPP, and with my promise that I will rest from now on, and that I wouldn't hesitate to come back if I "think" I might be in labor and with an appointment to come back in Saturday morning for another non-stress test, they let me come home this morning. There are more plans for me over the weekend, but they're all assuming that things don't progress into labor on my own. So, for now, we'll take in one step at a time.
Speaking of my first promise, I'm off to lay down. I think that catches you all up on where we are.
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