Holy Busy!

I better get a blog entry in ... its been too long!

We haven't been doing anything crazy.. a few things had us down... a tummy flu bug that somehow skipped BOTH kids thank god, and just got Mama and Daddy...

And a small trip to the ER.. (read on...)

 

For now, we finally started planning SJ's 4th Birthday party..

The theme is a Lemonade Party..

I have been shopping and collecting ideas, and supplies..

But last week the invites that I made went out.

This week was my last week with SJ in school a few days a week.

So I enjoyed my mornings with this little guy.

Note the shoes.. he has a big sister.. enough said.. ha!

So we've been doing a lot of things that start with P.. ha!

Playing...

Plaques

I squeezed in a wedding plaque order this week



 

Pumpkin Muffins

Whenever I make them.. they are gone within 2 days..



 

Playdates

Samantha and her friend Katherine 

 

Popsicles

I made some blueberry cheesecake pops.. and Andrew insisted on eating it all by himself.

 

Purses...

This little almost 4 year old got an early birthday present from Miss Teta Nina.

We LOOOOVE our crewcuts purse!

She loves carrying it around the house and filling it with her little girl goodies.

 

Porch Swingin..

This little one.. things he's quite big now..

Climbing up onto chairs in the house recently, and now onto the porch rocker..

 

just about 20 minutes after this pic, he was running.. (he rarely walks anyway) and he ran right into the car, fell back and smacked the back of his head right on the concrete. The sound was unforgettable. and he was inconsolable for a good 25 minutes. He finally took a bottle and fell asleep, to which I freaked out..because they say you should keep them awake after they hit their head. So I called the doctor, and he suggested I wake him up and take him to the ER, just to make sure..

I was a mess... thinking the worst.. and returning to the Children's Hospital for the THIRD time with this child.. yes THIRD...

It was the fastest ER visit ever.. he got looked over, and strapped down for a CAT scan, and all came back negative.. He was acting normal and answering questions, eating, drinking and responding normal, so I thought he was ok. But hearing that the scan was ok made me feel at ease.

 

Ugh.. what a day.. Daddy came down to meet us but we were already about to get dismissed..
I really really hope we do not have to return to the hospital any time soon.

Picking Up Lunch

It was SJ's last day of her extended 3 week preschool program today.

She had a new teacher, new classmates for about 3 weeks, and today was the end.. I asked her what she wanted for her favorite lunch, so we headed to Wegmans after school and picked out some yummy Organic turkey per her request.



Pizzas & Puff Pastry Tart

We made pizza tonight...regular for Daddy and SJ, and I have been dying to try this recipe from Kelsey Nixon.

Ratatouille Tart with Homemade Tomato Jam..

Sooooo good.. I needed to cook/bake to get over this challenging week...

Here's to a better weekend.. and better week ahead!

Surgery Day for Andrew

Let me just preface... last night was ROUGH...

I wasnt allowed to feed him .. so he of course was MAD...

He woke up grabbing his ears and screaming around 1am... and didnt go back to sleep till 4:15.. And the alarm went off at 5:30am.. we had to be at the hospital at 6...

 



As soon as we checked in to admissions, I knew I needed a large one of these.....

He was in a bad mood... naturally...

 

Screaming and crying for most of the admission and when we went for the pre-op vitals, etc..

Then he passed out .. thank goodness... right before the surgery..

I was nervous of course.. but they were so wonderful at the Children's Hospital.

 

They explained everything so well. We got a pager, that the doc would beep us when it was finished... And there was also a computer board that looked like a flight schedule..

telling you where he was at all times. He was #14354 - It reads "In OR"

 

After the surgery... I was informed (thank you Nicole!!!) That he might freak out, and it would last a while.. and it was all normal.. the Anethesia ...

And boy was he MAD...

The nurses came to get me immediately after he woke up..

I tried to nurse him, a little, but he had just drank a bunch of juice.. and it didnt work..

Nothing was soothing him.

Nothing

PLus he was connected to monitors, and cords, and he was trying to kick them and rip them off..

We headed upstairs to recovery for more vitals..

Screaming ... crying...

Every time a nurse walked in he would freak.. as if he knew..

Then we were cleared to leave..

I was holding him and about to step on the elevator, and he puked.. ALL OVER ME..

Not once, but twice...

We turned around and went back to the room.. I threw my shirt right in the garbage, and put on my sweatshirt I thankfully brought.

 

So then vitals again... GREAAAAAAAAT

Daddy took over this round...

The nurse was wonderful, and he DID calm down for her.

I think he felt better after he puked.

We changed him, and tried again to leave, this time success!

He was already happier when we got to the car.

 

And the ride home he ate some puffs and didnt make a sound

 

He came home and was so happy.. talking and cooing.. "mama" and "dada"

He was walking around the house, opening cabinets.. doing his usual "boy" things.. haha..

I was so happy to see him better ... and home.. 

I just nursed him to sleep so we'll see how well he naps..

Were taking it slow today... but hopefully he's on the road to feeling MUCH MUCH better..

I can thankfully say Im glad this is over..

Now how am I going to get through the rest of the day on 2 hours sleep????



Tubes

 

Sooooo....

The appointment we've been waiting for...

The ENT Dr.

 We did a hearing test.. which he scored pretty low on...

and then she did an ear exam and found lots of fluid build up.

 

So all those antibiotics he was on??

Did nothing.. nada..

Tubes it is..

Surgery is Monday for our little guy....

 

Big Sister was along for the visit, and wanted to be "sick" too..

ha! She's a little jealous of all the attention I think .. 



 

Everyone I've spoken to said the surgery is no big deal..

But the thought of putting my little baby to sleep just seems so scary to me.

Im hoping that the surgery makes a little bit of a difference.. He's just so miserable most of the time... Cant sleep, screams, pulls his ears constantly... and I cant do a thing for him! I think thats the worst part, knowing he has to endure this pain.. and I CANT HELP!!!

 

Releif is on the way little big dude...

Monday we have to be at the hospital at 6am..

Oh yea.. and I cant nurse him after midnight on Sunday.... great..

That is the ONLY way I've gotten him to sleep during the night to avoid a screaming freak out..

Its going to be an emotional 24 hours ...

A Little Scare {Trip to the ER with Andrew}

Trip to the Emergency Room {2.23.11}

Thursday we were having an awful day... but the whole week was awful.

So stressful but for some reason it seemed Andrew was worse with the screaming fits, and pain.

I had been giving him formula, and pumping and freezing my milk as well - double duty.. (very time consuming. He'd eat, and I'd have to put him down sleeping for the short time he would sleep.. and then I'd pump store and label and freeze bags.)

So Thursday I noticed he was miserable, but also not eating and pooping/peeing which made us really nervous.

He had literally been crying and screaming in pain for 2.5 hours, we could not calm him.

My Mom was over watching Samantha and she saw how he was .. she suggested we take him to the ER. Crazy, right? But I was afraid it may have been something that we were unaware of, something in his intestines, or stomach, or worse..

So we packed bags (again) for the hospital. I felt like I was JUST there.. We went to another hospital though, Children's Hospital. We spent about 2 hours waiting, and they decided to do an abdominal x-ray to see if anything showed up.

I brought him into the xray room, and saw a tiny little board with straps, it looked like some kind of device they use to constrain mental patients, and they put my 3 week old baby in there.. They said we had to wait outside.. and as I stood outside the door I heard my baby screaming and screaming.. and I lost it... Crying uncontrollably.. I had been soo spent at that point, dealing with my poor miserable baby and his suffering for over a week.. now we're in the ER and Im scared to death that something else is wrong...Mat just hugged me tight and put his head on mine.. We feel so helpless.. and we're so emotionally and physically exhausted.

No one wants their baby to be in pain, but worse, to not be able to console them? That is the worst. And o see a poor 3 week old baby be in such pain, my heart breaks every time he cries.

The xray came back negative, everything looked great.. What a releif. But they wanted to admit Andrew anyways.. to see if anything else is going on, and to observe.

So it was around 1am at that time, we got to our room and finally all settled to sleep a little around 4am. We were beat. Daddy slept in a chair with his head resting on my diaper bag sitting on a table, and I got a fold out chair/bed.
Poor thing was hooked up to a bunch of monitors... its so scary to see your tiny baby in a hospital crib, and hooked up to wires..
I was trying to thank God during all this and remember how blessed we were.
Andrew is healthy, he is just having a few minor issues, which in the grand scheme of things are not a big deal, just painful and emotionally draining.
We were on a floor with some very unfortunate children and small babies whom Im sure would love to trade places with Andrew, who only stayed a mere 12 hours at the hospital.

Andrew slept pretty well in the hospital, go figure! The staff must have thought we were crazy making up such stories about a screaming, vomiting, uncontrollable baby.. But he was good.

They said he was suffering from a few things..

Colic, Severe Reflux, and Hyperlactation (my issue- my milk coming in too fast for him)

So I met with a bunch of Nurses and Doctors, giving us tips, what to watch for etc..

And we have an appt to have a scan of his tummy done to see how sever the reflux is.

It was a scary scary 12 hours, but we have piece of mind now, and know it is nothing more severe, and that to me is worth it to know.

Im glad he will eventually be alright, but every day is a challenge.

Im taking it one day at a time.

The main challenge for me, is that he's so high maintenance AND I have a 2 year old to watch on top of it all.

So this too shall pass..
I hope this is the one and only time I ever have to see any of my babies in a teeny hospital crib like this.

Andrew George Malenic - 1-31-2012

Introducing:

Andrew George

Born January 31, 2012

at

7:48pm

8lbs - 2oz.

21 inches long

After 23 hours of difficult labor.. I finally pushed him out

We are adjusting to a family of four, and we are so in love with our new little man.

More posts on his birth story and our first week coming soon!

Baby's Hospital Bag {Packed and Ready}

Baby's Hospital Bag

I had so much fun packing all the yummy little baby things into his hospital bag this weekend.

With SJ I had no warning ... I was induced on the spot, and couldnt go home to "get ready" So this time I really made sure we're prepared.

Here's everything in the bag.. although I may add a few more clothing items, its so hard to narrow it down, plus we dont know how big he'll be either..
A closer look:
Little Sherpa Booties
Undershirts/Onesies
Caps
Scratch Mittens
Baby Socks
This little gap hat was worn by his sister when she was in the hospital... so I thought it would be a nice tradition to pass it along...
Going home outfits:
The brown one with matching hat is size NB
Underneath is a fleece sleeper with guitar on it 0-3m
On top are Gerber side snap tees for in the hospital.. I just love these shirts!
Swaddle Blankets - The first one is THE softest thing I've ever felt.. my favorite

Hand Sanitizer for all those diaper changes, and for visitors when they come, My #1 nasal aspirator, b/c the ones they sell in the store STINK!!.., 2 choices for Paci's, a Hair Brush, - since doctors seem to think he's got a lot of hair already.., and Vaseline for his little bum bum...

So as far as baby's bag is concerned, I feel pretty prepared. Although our hospital is 5 minutes down the road.. In North Carolina, it was a 45 minute drive. So If I forget anything.. its only a short distance away.. I have my bag almost all ready.. except a few things. I'll post mine soon!

Hospital Tour

Last night Daddy and I went for a Sushi dinner, and then went for a tour at the hospital where I will have baby #2. When I had SJ, Mathew was still in the military, and we had her on the base Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune. My experience was wonderful as far as the staff, etc.. recovery, lactation.. SO I cant help but be very curious and cautious about this experience now. So I had LOTS of questions of course..
-Is it a private recovery room? - yes if you request your own room
- How many visitors allowed? - while in labor ...4 at a time I think its just gonna be me and the hubby though.. I dont want a big party in there!
- Do they give the baby right to the mom after birth - yes you and baby have 1 hour to spend only momma, baby, and daddy..and nurse said.. "cherish this hour, you will never get it back, we call it the Golden Hour" After that baby gets a bath, so does Momma, etc..
- When do I initiate breastfeeding? - During the Golden Hour, right away. With SJ, I think they took her away and washed her up, and then I got washed up, and we didnt try to breastfeed until we were in recovery almost 4 hours after I had her...so this will be a little different.
- There's a nursery? (in NC, SJ stayed with me the whole time, there was no nursery)- Yes, and according to some friends, if you need to rest, they will take the baby for a few hours if Momma wants to sleep,etc.. (which will also be very new to me)

Below is the bed (one of or may be THE one) that I will be "birthing" in.

Its a gorgeous hospital, ipod docs, flat screen tv's in every room, private showers, etc.. and very very clean!

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After that we passed by the nursery, and saw 2 brand new babies being cared for, temperature being taken, one was being fed... It just brought tears to my eyes.. How we will be so blessed in just 9 weeks or so with our very own little bundle again. Its been 2.5 years since we had a newborn, and we started saying to each other .. "do you remember how to give a newborn a bath?" "Oh my gosh, remember Samantha looked like that?" and "Look how small he is!" I can surely say we are very very pumped and cant wait for baby brother to arrive. Touring the hospital was a very good dose of reality and excitement for us for sure.. I cant wait!
Before the tour I turned in my paperwork for admissions...

Which, being a LIST person, got me thinking about Hospital Bag items, etc.. so I started "pinning" a few ideas on pinterest, and making lists of things I need, such as a new diaper bag, coming home outfit, etc..baby booties, hat.. etc..

Concerns!
While touring we also talked about the "signs" of labor, and contractions, and when to come to the hospital, etc. Which Im nervous about, only because with SJ I had a kidney stone, and was also low on fluid, so they induced me, and I had a regular delivery (36 hours total.. but it was a regular delivery) ...
BUt I really dont know the signs of labor, or what my water breaking feels like, or to have to "time" contractions! I guess we'll figure it out however it all plays out. I just hope for a safe and quick delivery... hopefully naturally this time again as well. But most importantly.. I just want a healthy baby again.. Thats really all it comes down to.

Just perfect and healthy.. Im getting butterflies just thinking about it!

For me, giving birth is one of those moments in life that you can never get back, but you never forget.. and even though its scary, unpredictable, painful, exhausting.. (you get the idea).. Even though its ALL those things.. I CANNOT WAIT! (sounds crazy right? haha)

4th of July baby?

Last year at this very moment I was hanging in there.. dialated at 4cm only after being induced at 12 noon at the Naval Hospital, Camp Lejeune, NC.

I was about 1 hour away from my epidural. In so much pain, but trying to "experience labor" and "stick it out" as long as I could. I could NOT anymore.. haha..


We had gone to the hospital to check how I was doing since my week long stay. The Dr. looked at Samantha, and said to me .. "hmm, well this changes things a bit,"... as I looked nervously. "See this black circle, thats the placenta, and see this white stuff, thats fluid.. I dont see a lot of fluid in there and this is a concern. Instead of inducing you on the 6th, we're going to do it today, okay, cause I dont like what I see."

GULP... Today? ..... I thought.. Im not ready.. I dont have my bags, this was only supposed to be a check up! My induction date was set for 7/6! - I asked.. "Can I go home and get my things?" To which he replied, "No, I want to get you admitted right away and start the process.

HOLY LORD! - So as of 12 noon on the fourth of July, I was in a hospital gown, watching TV as the nurses prepped my birthing suite, and Mom and Mathew went home to get my things, grab some food, drinks and their overnight necessities.. they were campin' out with me until that baby came! ..

We lived 45 min away from Camp Lejeune, so Mom and Mathew had no choice! haha..
Its so foggy to me, but I will try to re-collect the details of today 1 year ago.

I remember getting induced and having a bulbus placed "down there" haha.. which would help soften and get things going. At 5pm, not a lot of progess, so the doctor broke my water for me, to get things moving... they moved very SLOWLY...



By 11pm I was dialated only to 4cm, and had an epidural administered. I was in so much pain.. I had a catheter at that time, so i couldnt leave the bed once that was in.. and i just cried and wimpered all night. Mathew played Jazz music, scratched my back and I tried to relax,

I cant really recall the type of pain, I just remember that the epidural didnt take the pain away entirely like I thought it would. I imagined the epidural as being this miracle drug, and I would be numb all over and the baby would just slide right out.. WRONG!

I mean, I was numb all over, and I couldnt move my legs or feel anything from the waist down, (such a weird experience) But I still was in pain...



Since it was July 4th. The base was basically shut down. There were hardly any people in the whole hospital .. It was very quiet, and I think only 1 other person was having a baby at the same time as I was.

Mom would step out and make phone calls giving our family updates on what was going on, etc, and I remember my nurses were so patient and wonderful.We were asking so many questions and asking advice, etc.. and they were great.

Mom and Mathew I remember were on two pullout beds in front of mine, and would take turns waking up if I needed anyting. We waited and waited and all night nothing happened.

No 4th of July baby for me.. I knew it would have to happen on the 5th, but I didnt know just when. I remember falling in and out of sleep...and then before i knew it, morning was here



To be continued tomorrow!

June 21-25th 2009 - One Year Ago - Warning .. Long post!

Exactly one year ago on Father's Day.. I was huge and pregnant, just taking a nap with George and I started getting unbeleiveable back pain. I knew it wasnt labor, although I was about 36 weeks pregnant. So I took a shower, and it got so bad, that Mathew found me crying on the floor in the bathroom in pain, and throwing up.

This was my "home" for 6 days, and I came home with no baby.. and pain not totally gone.



He called the Labor and Delivery line at the base to see what this could be. They said it may be back labor .. beginning.. and not to worry, and I dont need to come in.

The pain escalated so badly .. by 6pm, we were racing to Camp Lejeune, and had to pull over, so I could get sick in a parking lot on base. I had no idea what it could have been. All I knew was that I was scared for the baby, and wanted this unbeleivable pain to go away.

They hooked me up to a fetal monitor, and asked me where the pain was on a scale of 1-10.. I cried out .. 10!!

So after tests, etc.. they sent me home with a HUGE bag of medicine, which I didnt want to take .. b/c I was scared for the baby.. So at 5am, the pain was back.. and we were back on the road to the hospital again. and I stayed for 6 days.



They had me on Morphine to control my pain, and it was the ONLY thing that worked. I checked in to a regular room for the first night, and then they moved me to the post-pardum wing.. So I had my own room, which coincidentally ended up being the same room and SAME bed after I had Samantha.

My stay was so tough.. since no one could tell me what was causing the pain. They did tests, blood work, xrays (what they could do with baby inside me) and they attributed it to a possible Kidney Stone. But again I was there for 5 days... hooked up to an IV and just hoping I would at least go into labor.

I was in so much pain I couldnt do anything. I hardly ate, and drank, and Mathew had to help me do everything, He washed me in the shower, and held my IV cord so it wouldnt get wet, and he'd help me get dressed and since I wasnt home to cook dinner, he and George had to fend for themselves, so he'd come to the hospital every day.. and usually again around dinner, and we would share one of these...



We got to like the food, and I remember I loved drinking chocolate milk most of all, and we both loved this dish they gave us one night called Chuck Wagon Stew! haha.. I'll have to try and make it someday.

We'd eat, and cuddle, and watch Seinfeld on TV. Then Mathew would go home, and get ready for work the next day, and spend some QT with George (the kitty)... By the end of the week George was sleeping next to him in bed.. awww. ( miss you boodie)!!!

So at night I would hear all the crying babies and I would start crying myself, thinking, will I ever have this baby, and please God, make everything be ok. Please let my baby be ok after all this.

So exactly one year ago today.. around this very time .. 12 noon they let me go home. No baby, no explainations as to why all the pain. They wouldnt induce me before 39 weeks, so I had a follow up appointment with the doctor on July 4th at 10am. to see how I was feeling after being discharged.

I think the Doctor's thought that if I did have a kidney stone, I would most likely go into labor anyway, and thats why they admitted me, to control my pain, and wait it out. But after 5 days.. I had just about had enough, I wanted to go home and wait there.



So I said farewell to my home away from home, for now.

It was a Friday afternoon in Jacksonville, and we headed to the commissary.. Me, slowly waddling down the aisles, still in pain ....but pain I could deal with. We got groceries and headed home, where I took a long nap... I got hardly any sleep in the hospital, since they kept bringing me my pills in the middle of the night and I would call them for more pain meds as I was literally crying out loud with pain some nights.

Ahhh, but I was home....and who knew when the baby was coming. It was nice to be in our big bed again, and with Mathew and George.