She's Here!

Faith Aoife was born! She graced us with her presence today at 1:06pm. She's 7lbs 12oz and 19 1/2" long.

Speaking of pictures, I posted the below picture on facebook last week. A picture of me from a year ago. Not the most flattering of pictures, but it's good to have this one.

A Birthday, A Bulls Game and a Broken Washing Machine

Today my niece will be born. I am sitting here anxiously awaiting the official news, that she's here and everyone is all good. I guess going through Jesse's birth has jaded me. My sister went into labor last night, but never progressed, so this morning they induced her. I talked to my brother in law on my lunch break and she was dialated to a 5. That's not very far for 4 hours. This is how mine went but Jesse was "sunny side up" and kind of stuck. My plan is to head up there after work after a quick stop at home and a stop to my parents to start a load of laundry.

Yup, my washing maching broke over the weekend, just what we needed. At least it happened after I got most of it done, but I wasn't able to get Jesse's clothes done and he's starting to run low. Paul's going to see what he can do and determine if we need to call a repair guy. We were able to fix it last time, so I hope we get lucky with that again.

Friday afternoon my boss came in after an all day meeting in Indiana. He started telling me how their dog has been sick the past couple days. Then drops 2 Bulls tickets on my desk and asks if Paul and I want to go. He felt he should stay home with the dog. YES! I told him I needed to make a couple calls to make sure, but that I'd love to go. I call Paul, he's in. I call my mother in law and she was happy to watch Jesse. SWEET! My first Bulls game. My boss told me to leave early so we can get down to the United Center with some time to spare. We even got a free parking pass. We had a blast AND they won!

Out front, before the game.

I got nothing done over the weekend and we had a huge to-do list to prepare for Jesse's birthday party next weekend. Paul wants to clean the carpets, but I say, why don't we do that AFTER the party? It's just immediate family coming, who do we have to impress, then if anyone tracks any mud onto the carpet we won't have to clean twice. That's just me. Paul always feels the need to try to impress. Not that I want my house trashed or anything, but we aren't putting it on the market or anything, it's just a party.

Speaking of party, I have no clue what I am getting him! It's less than a week away and I haven't figured it out yet. I gave everyone else ideas, but didn't save one for myself. Guess I better figure it out. But for now I am focused on the little girl that will be arriving any minute.

More Tests

Paul had his back doctor appointment this morning. I posted that it was Friday, but it was today. They need to run more tests. The MRI he had showed that he had a lot of scar tissue. Now they need to do another Myelogram to see if the scar tissue is causing his nerve pain or if it's something else. This is what it is:

A myelogram uses a special dye and X-rays to make pictures of the bones and the fluid-filled space (subarachnoid space) between the bones in your spine (spinal canal). A myelogram may be done to find a tumor, an infection, problems with the spine such as a herniated disc, or narrowing of the spinal canal caused by arthritis.
The spinal canal holds the spinal cord, spinal nerve roots, and the subarachnoid space. A dye is put into the subarachnoid space with a thin needle. The dye moves through the subarachnoid space so the nerve roots and spinal cord can be seen more clearly. Pictures may be taken before and after the dye is used. To get more information from the test, a CT scan is often done after the X-rays, while the dye is still present.

Paul has already had 2 or 3 of these done within the past year and 8 months. It's done at the hospital and takes a few hours. After we go home, I have to monitor him to make sure he doesn't have any spinal fluid leaks. He has to lay down for several hours after and make sure he doesn't get a headache (which is an indication of the spinal fluid leaking). It's not a pleasant experience, but it will give the doctor some answers to why he's in pain.

P.S. My sister still hasn't gone into labor.

Nature's Light Show

This weekend was crazy, in the way that things somehow worked themselves out, I think. Friday I found out that my daycare provider no longer wanted the job. She's a close family friend of ours and I knew this day would come, but I wasn't sure when. She had a really hard time telling me, in fact she's been wanting to say something for a while now. When she started she committed to one school year. She started when her kids went back to school in August. It's worked out great for everyone, until he became mobile. I knew she was having a hard time. Now we are on the brink of walking. Her house isn't exactly the best place for a toddler, I know this. She spends a lot of time chasing him around so he doesn't get hurt. Due to this, she's not taking very good care of her home and her family, which is what needs to come first and I totally understand that. I understand this is what she needed to do and there's no hard feelings at all. The fact that she was able to help us out for this long was a lifesaver! She loves my son and always will. She will still be there for him if we ever need her. She also said she would continue to watch Jesse until we found someone we are comfortable with.

Of course, being how I am, I posted something about this on facebook almost immediately to see if anyone would come out of the woodwork, and someone did. I went on facebook Saturday morning and I saw someone comment, "You can always drop him off at my house. I am home all day with 2 kids already :)". She's not a close friend, but an aquaintence. I know she loves kids and I know she does stuff with her kids. We exchanged a few emails and I really think this will work out for all of us. Jesse can probably help occupy her 3 year old, maybe even the 7 month old too. One big factor that will be nice, she's close to my work. Which means I can see him on my lunch and I can be there fast if anything comes up. I almost think this is better than having someone close to home. Paul, Jesse and I are going over there tonight after work to see if we all get along. She posted on facebook this morning that she's excited to meet Jesse. I also want our husbands to meet, they are both musicians. :)

I really thought it would take weeks, if not months to find someone who we like and can afford. So lets hope this is what I am looking for.

Paul got his MRI results. Good news and bad news. The good news is that all his new hardware is still in place. The bad news is that his has a lot of scar tissue (which could be causing his nerve pain) and they told him he has the back of an elderly person. He's not taking that last part very well, as I would expect from him. Not really sure where we go from here. He'll find out at his appointment on Friday when he sees the doctor.

Saturday was beautiful, sunny and not so cold (I don't think I can say warm yet). After Jesse's midday nap I took him outside and put him in the walker. How he loved his freedom, the wind blowing, the sun shining. More to come little guy.... plenty more to come.

My favorite part of this weekend.... last night when the storms rolled in. Jesse and I sat in front of the front window and watched natures spectacular light show. It was like watching fireworks. I don't want Jesse to be afraid of thunder and lightening and it was cool hanging out in the dark, just the two of us.

Spring has Almost Sprung

I believe our winter is finally coming to an end. Last year at this time it was beautiful and warm. We're getting there, yesterday and today we are in the mid 50's. Not too bad. We started going for walks this week. How I have missed our walks. I took Jesse for many walks last year. Now that it's getting warmer and the sun is still up when I get home from work, we can walk again. We went for a walk the other night and I put Jesse in a swing. He liked it at first, but when the cold air hit him in the face on his way back down, his opinion changed dramatically. Maybe on a warmer day we'll try that one again, I hope I have not completely damaged his opinion of swinging at the park.

Next to the park is a lake. Coda likes to swim there if there are no fishermen and if it's a little warm. Not that Coda minds, she will swim in it if it's half frozen, but she needs a bath when she gets home and no one wants to bust out the hose when it's cold out. We walked around the lake last night, caught the sunset, it was a beautiful reminder of what's to come.

4 Weeks Post-Op

We went for our post-op appointment today. Dr. S said he's healing "perfectly". Hooray! He can resume a normal diet in 2 weeks, just in time for birthday cake. She was very impressed with the new sounds he's making and we were happy to report he hasn't had anything come out his nose. Before surgery it was quite common for Jesse to sneeze during a meal and when he sneezed, food always came out his nose. So now that food isn't coming out, that's another sign that the surgery was a success. We go back in May to meet with the whole team. She mentioned that he may need a lip and nose revision since one side of his lip is fatter than the other, but said that's much easier to fix and much better than a pull (where his lip appears as if something is pulling up on it). We will keep an eye on it as he grows, if he were to need that, it wouldn't happen until he's 5ish, she would do the revision before he started Kindergarten. She also mentioned that she doesn't think he will need dental surgery, but will definitely need braces. This is something that won't be evaluated until he's older. So great news all around!

Bathtub Pic!

Paul had his MRI last Tuesday, still waiting to hear the results.

My sister is pregnant, due at the end of the month. She lost her mucus plug this morning, so her baby girl is coming soon, maybe even today!

A Good Weekend and More Medical Drama

So things are finally getting better at home with Jesse. He still isn't sleeping through the night, but at least he's going back to bed after a late night feeding. We had a good weekend. Saturday Jesse finally got to meet my Godparents and they were thrilled to finally meet him. They live about 5-6 hours away and were caring for my Godfather's Mom until recently when she passed away. She always has and always will have a special place in my heart. For the last several years it's been hard for them to leave her alone. So seeing them was nice and long overdue.

After we saw them, my sister and I took our son's to see our Grandmother at the nursing home. She's 93 years old and not so "together". The visit started off hard. She was obviously experiencing some dimensia and was very angry and suicidal. She left the room on a very bad note. My sister is there much more than I so I suggested she talk to one of Grandmas nurses. She did and she came back in tears. It was hard seeing her upset like that, but I also understand that she's 8 months pregnant and emotional right now. A few minutes go by and Grandma comes back a new person. She needed a refresher in who we were but unlike a few minutes earlier she was happy to see us. It was important for me to take Jesse to see her as we aren't sure when her last day will be. I have taken Jesse to see her in the past, but she's always sleeping when I go. I made the decision to not take him to see her until after his lip was repaired as I knew she would not understand what a cleft is. She really enjoyed seeing him and mentioned several times what a cutie he is. I was even able to sit Jesse on her lap and get a few pictures of them. Mission accomplished.

Sunday we took Jesse shopping. I am not a big fan of shopping. I am the type of girl that goes in, gets what I need and gets the hell out. I am not a browser, my husband is. So Paul wants to go and I agree. I make a list of things to get and a list of things to look at and not get; there's several things we'd like to get but need to do research on. Can you believe it? I actually had fun. We found a few dollar toys for Jesse too. He loved looking at all the merchandise and the people and grabbed anything that was within his reach.

It's Monday and low and behold, it started off with medical drama. At least it has nothing to do with Jesse, Paul this time. He needs an MRI. We have been waiting for Work Comp to approve it, in the mean time 3rd party medical services have been calling Paul non stop. This morning they told him they scheduled an MRI for him tomorrow morning at a facility not associated with his doctors office which is too far away for him to travel. He informs them that he will not be going there for his MRI, the lady indicates she will mark in his file that he is refusing and she hangs up on him. After a call to the attorney and a call to Paul's doctors office, we got this resolved and Paul will be having an MRI at HIS doctors office. I don't know what WC is trying to pull, but we are all over it. The MRI is to determine why Paul is in more pain now than he was before surgery.

First Haircut

Tuesday night I took Jesse for his first haircut. I wasn't really sure what to expect. I wasn't sure how Jesse would behave, I wasn't sure if I needed to know a hairstyle I wanted. I know, that seems silly. But if I was asked, "How would you like it cut?", I wouldn't have an answer.

I went home and picked him up and we headed over to my salon. BTW, my hairdresser does first haircuts for free. Score!

We go in and the place is buzzing with ladies, young and old, for cuts and colors. The smell of hair dye lingering in the air. The scent of a salon. Jesse is happy, we sit out front and wait for Regina to complete applying the dye to the woman in front of us. Alex comes over, she's the youngest hairdresser at the salon, she entertains Jesse until her Mom is ready for us. Regina practically announces that her "first haircut" is here! We sit him in the big chair on a booster without any belts to hold him down. Regina says, "Just the basic little boy cut?", "Yes, please." I bust out my pocket cam and away she goes. Her first 2 attempts to start get blocked, then he gave in and the hair begins to fall. I don't think I realized how badly he needed a cut until she started to cut. She even had a certificate for him with a spot for his cut hair.

Trying to block her.

I get to play with the water bottle.

The finished look.

2 weeks Post-Op

I am not going to sugar coat it, we've had a rough 2 weeks since surgery, but we seem to have reached a turning point this past weekend. We've had some pretty rough nights. Sleepless nights. We'd put Jesse to bed for the night around 8:30 (his normal bed time), then he would wake between 11:30 and midnight and think he was waking from a nap. So he would stay up for the next 3-4 hours. Paul would help as much as he could, but even if he was with Paul and crying, I could not get any sleep. I stopped giving him Tylenol 3 (tylenol with codeine) during the day on Monday and Wednesday night was his last dose before bed. By Friday I was at wits end and called Jesse's surgeons office and told them what we were going through. I was literally losing my mind from lack of sleep. I would only get to sleep from 10 or 10:30-12, then again from 3:30-6:30 or 7. That's an average of less than 5 hours a night. Yes, I've had insomnia my whole life, but being up for 3-4 hours in the middle of the night will kick your ass. The surgeons office told me that this is common. The anesthesia and narcotics can linger in the body for several weeks after surgery and they will cause sleeplessness. Plus just the surgery itself can and will cause a disruption in sleep habits and the codeine causes constipation. They told me to give it time, he should return back to normal soon. And he did. Friday night I put him down at the normal time with some plain generic dye free Tylenol. I switched to the dye free at the advise of a friend. I also gave him a small amount of Benedryl (also dye free) and started alternating with Motrin (dye free). WOW, what a difference. Friday night he slept a few hours and was up, took a bottle and some Motrin then went to bed. A few hours later, same thing, and again one more time. I was thankful that he was at least going back to bed. Saturday night went even better, he only woke up once around 3am, took a bottle and some Motrin and went back to bed. This has been the pattern since then, but this is a pattern I can handle. Yesterday he only had the Tylenol once during the day and then before bed. Paul's aunt was with him and she said it didn't seem like he needed it so she didn't give it to him after his morning dose. I think we've reached a turning point. The road to recovery seems a little brighter now. Unfortunately Paul's back on bedrest. We need to get him on the bighter road too.