So I think we are all set for surgery tomorrow....at least as ready as we're going to get. The surgery is scheduled for 11:00 am but we have to be at the hospital for 9:00. I'm glad our surgery time isn't too late in the day because obviously Josh isn't able to eat or drink before the surgery so I was hoping it wouldn't end up being a late surgery - 11am is a good time.
We had our pre-op appointment today which was interesting. A little prelude I suppose to what to expect from Josh tomorrow....a lot of crying and pleading to go home, a constant reminder that 'I no like the doctor' and his insistance that his hernia was already fixed at the store. Ugh, poor guy. He won't be impressed tomorrow when we have to go back to the hospital.
The pre-op appointment was interesting. We first met with a nurse who I guess basically runs/organizes the clinic and performs the pre-op assessment - which in Josh's case involved only a height and weight check. I suspect there's usually more involved than that but after seeing Josh's less than cooperative nature she said, 'Well we can just do the rest tomorrow when he's asleep'. Okay fine. Then she quickly runs through her checklist of questions: Is he currently on any medications? No. Does he have any allergies? No. Has he ever had a general anesthetic before? Okay, seriously? So I guess she hadn't read his chart like at all. So I gave a brief rundown of his medical history and answered the rest if her questions and then waited for the anesthesiologist - who by the way was awesome!
His name was Dr. Rosen and he was incredibly nice and helpful and better yet he had actually read Josh's chart thoroughly and was quite well rehearsed in his medical history. He even offered to put a page in to Dr. Gow (Josh's cardiologist) to see if we could get an echo while Josh is in the recovery room.
Cardiology called me last week with a date for Josh's one year follow up appointment, which has been booked for June 22. Even before this surgery came up I knew that Josh probably wasn't going to sit and cooperate for his echo and ECG again this year, but now after going through this experience Josh's dislike for doctors and, well, the hospital in general is only going to be that much stronger.
I had called cardiology myself on Monday to let them know about the surgery and the liklihood that the echo would be a no-go again this year and I inquired about the possiblity of getting the echo done while Josh was asleep for the surgery. I figured it likely wouldn't be possible given that it involves coordinating several different teams, but I had to at least ask. I never did get a response back from them so I brought it up with Dr. Rosen who offered to make an attempt to coordinate the teams involved, but did admit that 'it's very hard to organize something like that.' Hopefully it works out and Josh stays drowsy enough in the recovery room that they are able to get the echo done.
Another interesting thing I learned is that CHEO does in fact allow a parent to accompany their child into the operating room until they are asleep. I was dreading the moment when they would have to take Josh to the OR (kicking and screaming no doubt) without me. However, because of Josh's medical history (heart defect, post-natal stroke, history of seizures, etc) the anesiosiologist in the OR tomorrow may decide to not let me in the OR because Josh's medical history makes things much more complicated ): I sure hope this isn't the case.
I think Dr. Rosen sensed my disappointment with this statement and tried to put me at ease by telling me that Josh will be receiving a sedative when he arrives to the daycare surgery unit so that by the time he heads in to the OR he should be calm, relaxed and in a 'happy place'. I'd like to believe that, but somehow I just don't think any amount of sedative is going to put Josh in a 'happy place' tomorrow. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Surgery Date Is Set
We got the call from CHEO a little over a week ago letting us know that Josh will be going in for surgery [to fix his inguinal hernia] on June 17th. We meet with the anesthesiologist on the 16th at 9am and then we are supposed to receive a call later that day from admitting to let us know what time the surgery will be on the 17th. So surgery is about 1 1/2 weeks away which is good....I'll be glad to have this behind us. I know this won't be a pleasant experience for Josh.
We've already started to slowly get him prepared for what's ahead...well without getting into too much detail. He knows that he has a hernia (although he has no idea what a hernia is) and that the doctor has to fix it, but that's about the extent of his knowledge. And I probably won't go into much more detail than that with him - except that I'll prepare him for the fact that he will have to go to the hospital to get his hernia fixed and I guess I should do my best to prepare him for the moment when he will have to go in to the OR without me. Ugh! I'm not looking forward to that gut-wrenching good bye.
Although....the CHEO telethon aired this past weekend and during one of the featured stories it was mentioned that for some surguries a parent is able to accompany the child right into to operating room. Fingers crossed that I'll be able to do that. It would certainly help make that aspect of the surgery a little less stressful for everyone.
Other than the upcoming surgery, Josh is doing well. He's talking up a storm and I've noticed that there have been times that he has used two or three short sentences in one interaction. It's amazing.....how far he has come with his verbal expression in such a short amount of time.
Last week I had my stethoscope out and I was trying to listen to Josh's chest. He's been coughing a lot lately particularly in the evening/night and in the morning after waking and I was hoping to get a listen to his lung fields to see if I could hear any crackles. His lungs sounded clear but I couldn't get him to any nice deep breaths. I'm actually beginning to wonder if the coughing is maybe asthma related.
Anyway, after I listened to his lungs Josh wanted a turn so I let him take my stethoscope and I placed it on my chest so he could hear my heartbeat - which he seemed to enjoy. A short while later Josh came up to me and asked, "Mommy, where's my heart?"
I replied, "It's right here inside your chest. And do see this white line? This is a scar because you were born with a broken heart and the doctor and to go in and fix it. This scat shows hoe very strong and brave you are."
Josh: "Huh. I can't believe it! I can't believe that I was such a brave baby!"
What a kid!
In potty training news, the process seems to be going well. I can't say that he's completely trained yet, but he has certainly come a long way. With the exception of the odd 'bad' day we generally get most, if not all, of the 'pee-pees' in the potty. Today for example, we had no accidents (: However a lot of it is me recognizing that he has to pee and insisting that he go sit on the potty. He does tell me he has to use the potty sometimes but not always....we're getting there.
Jessica is doing well. She is almost 6 months old now (which is soooo hard to believe) and I have just started her on solid foods. She seems to like it but I think she still needs a bit more time to get used to it. I think she's still adjusting to the change in texture.
So looks like next week
is a big week for us...I'll be glad when it's over. I'll keep you posted on how everything goes.
Thanks for checking in!
We've already started to slowly get him prepared for what's ahead...well without getting into too much detail. He knows that he has a hernia (although he has no idea what a hernia is) and that the doctor has to fix it, but that's about the extent of his knowledge. And I probably won't go into much more detail than that with him - except that I'll prepare him for the fact that he will have to go to the hospital to get his hernia fixed and I guess I should do my best to prepare him for the moment when he will have to go in to the OR without me. Ugh! I'm not looking forward to that gut-wrenching good bye.
Although....the CHEO telethon aired this past weekend and during one of the featured stories it was mentioned that for some surguries a parent is able to accompany the child right into to operating room. Fingers crossed that I'll be able to do that. It would certainly help make that aspect of the surgery a little less stressful for everyone.
Other than the upcoming surgery, Josh is doing well. He's talking up a storm and I've noticed that there have been times that he has used two or three short sentences in one interaction. It's amazing.....how far he has come with his verbal expression in such a short amount of time.
Last week I had my stethoscope out and I was trying to listen to Josh's chest. He's been coughing a lot lately particularly in the evening/night and in the morning after waking and I was hoping to get a listen to his lung fields to see if I could hear any crackles. His lungs sounded clear but I couldn't get him to any nice deep breaths. I'm actually beginning to wonder if the coughing is maybe asthma related.
Anyway, after I listened to his lungs Josh wanted a turn so I let him take my stethoscope and I placed it on my chest so he could hear my heartbeat - which he seemed to enjoy. A short while later Josh came up to me and asked, "Mommy, where's my heart?"
I replied, "It's right here inside your chest. And do see this white line? This is a scar because you were born with a broken heart and the doctor and to go in and fix it. This scat shows hoe very strong and brave you are."
Josh: "Huh. I can't believe it! I can't believe that I was such a brave baby!"
What a kid!
In potty training news, the process seems to be going well. I can't say that he's completely trained yet, but he has certainly come a long way. With the exception of the odd 'bad' day we generally get most, if not all, of the 'pee-pees' in the potty. Today for example, we had no accidents (: However a lot of it is me recognizing that he has to pee and insisting that he go sit on the potty. He does tell me he has to use the potty sometimes but not always....we're getting there.
Jessica is doing well. She is almost 6 months old now (which is soooo hard to believe) and I have just started her on solid foods. She seems to like it but I think she still needs a bit more time to get used to it. I think she's still adjusting to the change in texture.
So looks like next week
is a big week for us...I'll be glad when it's over. I'll keep you posted on how everything goes.
Thanks for checking in!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Neuro Update
Josh had his annual appointment with Neurology last week and I'm happy to report that the appointment went well. I wasn't expecting that there would be any issues - I know that Josh is doing awesome. In fact, there probably isn't a day that goes by that I don't marvel at the true miracle that he is. To see him walk and run and jump is amazing. You really and truly cannot tell that he has had a stroke.....and brain damage?.....if I hadn't seen the MRI scans I wouldn't believe it myself.
Sure I have noticed that he does have some difficulty climbing at the park - particularly up ladder type structures while other kids younger than him fly past him.....but is it because of the brain damage that it takes him longer to 'figure it out' or require considerably more practice to get it, or is it just because he is a cautious child. We'll never know and frankly it doesn't matter. He's awesome and I am so proud!
Now on to a potty training update. I think we're about a month into the potty training process with moderate success. We have good days and bad days - today was a bad day, so hopefully tomorrow will be better.
The good news is that I am starting to see that he grasps the concept and is able to understand that pee pee goes in the potty and not in his pants or on the floor. And there have even been times that he has told me that he had to pee or has asked to sit on the potty, but honestly those times are few and far between.
It's at the point now that I can sometimes tell when he has to pee. He gets fidgety, crosses his legs, sits on the floor, holds himself or gives some other indication that he needs to go - except if course actually verbalizing the need. And when I ask him, 'Josh do you need to go pee?' it's always met with quick 'No! No pee pee potty!' But of course I know it's not true so I rush him over to the potty in double time and he goes. He is always sooooo proud of himself afterward. His face is just beaming with a smile from ear to ear.
With a little time and a lot of patience I know we will master this whole potty training thing. I think our biggest obstacle will be getting Josh to stop what he is doing long enough to get himself to the potty on time. I think that is what is holding us back. He knows that he has to pee but doesn't want to stop playing to go. It gets frustrating at times but we'll get there - eventually.
Before I go I want to share one of our earlier potty training experiences. It was probably our second week in and I was having Josh sit on his potty hoping to catch him at that right time. He had his water cup on the table beside him and I was feeding Jessica on the sofa. He grabbed his water and took a sip and then when he thought I wasn't looking or paying attention he shook his sippy cup between his legs and into his potty and then stood up and did his best to convince me that he had peed in the potty. What a kid!
I'm going to leave you with a few photos. The first requires a bit of an explanation. I've recently received a big bag of girl clothes from a friend whose daughter has recently outgrown them. The clothes are mostly size 2 and 3.....so Josh's size. One morning I asked Josh to grab a shirt from the pile of laundry [that I had just folded and had sitting on the table] for him to wear that day, forgetting that I had a few of the girl shirts on the table as well. He saw this one and insisted that he wear it. And wear it he did.....all day. He was pretty cute and proud - showing off his shirt to everyone.
This second picture is of Josh and I on Mother's Day. He must have wished me a Happy Mother's Day a dozen times that day and I relished it every...single....time. (:
And I guess I shouldn't leave out sweet Jessica so here's a picture of Jessica on Mother's Day as well. What a sweetie!
Thanks for checking in!
Sure I have noticed that he does have some difficulty climbing at the park - particularly up ladder type structures while other kids younger than him fly past him.....but is it because of the brain damage that it takes him longer to 'figure it out' or require considerably more practice to get it, or is it just because he is a cautious child. We'll never know and frankly it doesn't matter. He's awesome and I am so proud!
Now on to a potty training update. I think we're about a month into the potty training process with moderate success. We have good days and bad days - today was a bad day, so hopefully tomorrow will be better.
The good news is that I am starting to see that he grasps the concept and is able to understand that pee pee goes in the potty and not in his pants or on the floor. And there have even been times that he has told me that he had to pee or has asked to sit on the potty, but honestly those times are few and far between.
It's at the point now that I can sometimes tell when he has to pee. He gets fidgety, crosses his legs, sits on the floor, holds himself or gives some other indication that he needs to go - except if course actually verbalizing the need. And when I ask him, 'Josh do you need to go pee?' it's always met with quick 'No! No pee pee potty!' But of course I know it's not true so I rush him over to the potty in double time and he goes. He is always sooooo proud of himself afterward. His face is just beaming with a smile from ear to ear.
With a little time and a lot of patience I know we will master this whole potty training thing. I think our biggest obstacle will be getting Josh to stop what he is doing long enough to get himself to the potty on time. I think that is what is holding us back. He knows that he has to pee but doesn't want to stop playing to go. It gets frustrating at times but we'll get there - eventually.
Before I go I want to share one of our earlier potty training experiences. It was probably our second week in and I was having Josh sit on his potty hoping to catch him at that right time. He had his water cup on the table beside him and I was feeding Jessica on the sofa. He grabbed his water and took a sip and then when he thought I wasn't looking or paying attention he shook his sippy cup between his legs and into his potty and then stood up and did his best to convince me that he had peed in the potty. What a kid!
I'm going to leave you with a few photos. The first requires a bit of an explanation. I've recently received a big bag of girl clothes from a friend whose daughter has recently outgrown them. The clothes are mostly size 2 and 3.....so Josh's size. One morning I asked Josh to grab a shirt from the pile of laundry [that I had just folded and had sitting on the table] for him to wear that day, forgetting that I had a few of the girl shirts on the table as well. He saw this one and insisted that he wear it. And wear it he did.....all day. He was pretty cute and proud - showing off his shirt to everyone.
This second picture is of Josh and I on Mother's Day. He must have wished me a Happy Mother's Day a dozen times that day and I relished it every...single....time. (:
And I guess I shouldn't leave out sweet Jessica so here's a picture of Jessica on Mother's Day as well. What a sweetie!
Thanks for checking in!
Monday, May 3, 2010
It's Official....Another Surgery Ahead
We met with the surgeon this morning at CHEO for our consult regarding josh's possible inguinal hernia. I explained to him that a hernia had been discovered [by general surgery] when Josh was two months old but could not be repaired due to his bowel obstruction and necessary repair. And since his bowel resection the hernia had not returned.
That report in itself was enough to convince the surgeon that a surgery was necessary because as Dr. Betolli put it, "If there was a hernia then, there's a hernia now. It's not going to go away on it's own." He still made an attempt to look at the hernia but Josh was being less than cooperative. I mentioned that I had a picture of the hernia on my phone and he opted to take a look at it. One quick glance and he said, "Yep, hernia." and with that it was settled - another surgery.
I know this one is really not a big deal - it's day surgery so Josh won't even have to spend the night but I'm really not looking forward to it for several reasons.
One: Josh already hates doctors and hospitals and he [presumably] has no memory of any painful experiences ever happening. He'll remember this one for some time which I can only surmise will heighten his distaste for both. Which will, by the way, make his cardiology appointment this summer very interesting.
Two: I am not looking forward to having to say our goodbyes outside of the operating suite. It is one of the worst feelings ever - watching your child leave your side and be taken into the depths of the operating suite knowing that from that moment there is nothing more that you can do but wait. Wait, and place your trust in the hands of the surgeon and your faith in the hands of God.
Three: His heart is awesome and we've had no cause for concern since his heart was repaired but I always seem to have that sneaky little voice in the back of my head whispering suggestions of doubt. Like, "What if his heart goes wonky during surgery?" I know his heart is strong and he's had an excellent repair but I doubt I'll ever be able to shake these thoughts.
I'm supposed to be receiving a call from the OR secretary with a surgery date. Surgery will likely happen sometime in the next 1-3 months which is actually quicker than I was expecting. I'll be glad when it's all over and done with.
Oh and one more thing about the appointment today....Josh got a height/weight check today and though I did miss how tall he measured I do know that we have FINALLY managed to break the 30 lb mark, albeit barely. He weighed in at a whopping 30.14 lbs. It seems like he's been hovering in the 28-29 lb range forever so it's nice to see him get on the other side of 30 lbs.
So that's where we stand right now and I'll be sure to let you know the surgery date as soon as I know.
I'll leave you with some pictures of Josh at the park that I took over the weekend. That boy LOVES being outside!
Showing off his new rake.
Flying a kite with daddy.
Building a sandcastle, or rather, destroying one.
And yes, Jessica was there too!
Thanks for checking in!
That report in itself was enough to convince the surgeon that a surgery was necessary because as Dr. Betolli put it, "If there was a hernia then, there's a hernia now. It's not going to go away on it's own." He still made an attempt to look at the hernia but Josh was being less than cooperative. I mentioned that I had a picture of the hernia on my phone and he opted to take a look at it. One quick glance and he said, "Yep, hernia." and with that it was settled - another surgery.
I know this one is really not a big deal - it's day surgery so Josh won't even have to spend the night but I'm really not looking forward to it for several reasons.
One: Josh already hates doctors and hospitals and he [presumably] has no memory of any painful experiences ever happening. He'll remember this one for some time which I can only surmise will heighten his distaste for both. Which will, by the way, make his cardiology appointment this summer very interesting.
Two: I am not looking forward to having to say our goodbyes outside of the operating suite. It is one of the worst feelings ever - watching your child leave your side and be taken into the depths of the operating suite knowing that from that moment there is nothing more that you can do but wait. Wait, and place your trust in the hands of the surgeon and your faith in the hands of God.
Three: His heart is awesome and we've had no cause for concern since his heart was repaired but I always seem to have that sneaky little voice in the back of my head whispering suggestions of doubt. Like, "What if his heart goes wonky during surgery?" I know his heart is strong and he's had an excellent repair but I doubt I'll ever be able to shake these thoughts.
I'm supposed to be receiving a call from the OR secretary with a surgery date. Surgery will likely happen sometime in the next 1-3 months which is actually quicker than I was expecting. I'll be glad when it's all over and done with.
Oh and one more thing about the appointment today....Josh got a height/weight check today and though I did miss how tall he measured I do know that we have FINALLY managed to break the 30 lb mark, albeit barely. He weighed in at a whopping 30.14 lbs. It seems like he's been hovering in the 28-29 lb range forever so it's nice to see him get on the other side of 30 lbs.
So that's where we stand right now and I'll be sure to let you know the surgery date as soon as I know.
I'll leave you with some pictures of Josh at the park that I took over the weekend. That boy LOVES being outside!
Showing off his new rake.
Flying a kite with daddy.
Building a sandcastle, or rather, destroying one.
And yes, Jessica was there too!
Thanks for checking in!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Appointment with the Pediatrician
Today I had to take both kids to the pediatrician for a joint appointment. I knew it wasn't going to be pleasant given Josh's shyness, his fear of doctors, and his proclivity to crying when other people/children are upset or crying.....and I was right. It wasn't a pleasant experience. Josh was not a happy camper, but we got through it and we all survived.
Jessica had her four month check up and second round of immunizations. She is doing well! She is now 12 lbs 6 oz and is 25 inches long. I knew she was tall so I'm not surprised by the 25 inches, but I did think she would be a bit heavier than that. I'm not concerned with her weight she doesn't look too skinny or unhealthy but it's those darn percentiles....I hate them. For height she's in the 65th percentile and for her weight she's in the 14th. At her last check up she was in the 24th percentile, so she's dropped 10 percentiles. I don't like that but as I said she looks healthy and her doctor isn't concerned so screw the percentiles - they'll drive you crazy!
On an interesting note, when Josh was 4 months old he weighed 15 lbs. Hard to believe considering he weighed less than 9 lbs at two months old.
So now on to Josh's turn with the doctor. We had him there so that the doctor could take a look at what we suspect is an inguinal hernia. It's an intermittent thing though that comes and goes as it pleases depending on what Josh is doing. I've seen it come out when he cries (but not always), when he coughs (but not always), and I've seen it pop out for no obvious reason while he was playing.
Of course, it did not pop out during our appointment because that would have just made things too easy. I had taken a picture of the bulge on my phone so that should this happen I could show it to the doctor - but of course I forgot my phone in the car.
In the end his pediatrician decided to just go ahead and make a referral to general surgery at CHEO to have them make an assessment. We have an appointment with them first thing Monday morning. Actually his appointment is with Dr. Bettoli which is the surgeon who performed Josh's bowel resection. So at least we know he'll be in good hands. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
I'm going to leave you with a picture I took on Tuesday of Joshua outside in the snow.....yes snow, on April 27th. He was thrilled to see the white stuff falling from the sky when he woke up in the morning and was begging me all morning to go out and build a snowman. He didn't quite seem to understand that there wasn't nearly enough snow, but you can't blame the kid for trying.
Thanks for checking in!
Jessica had her four month check up and second round of immunizations. She is doing well! She is now 12 lbs 6 oz and is 25 inches long. I knew she was tall so I'm not surprised by the 25 inches, but I did think she would be a bit heavier than that. I'm not concerned with her weight she doesn't look too skinny or unhealthy but it's those darn percentiles....I hate them. For height she's in the 65th percentile and for her weight she's in the 14th. At her last check up she was in the 24th percentile, so she's dropped 10 percentiles. I don't like that but as I said she looks healthy and her doctor isn't concerned so screw the percentiles - they'll drive you crazy!
On an interesting note, when Josh was 4 months old he weighed 15 lbs. Hard to believe considering he weighed less than 9 lbs at two months old.
So now on to Josh's turn with the doctor. We had him there so that the doctor could take a look at what we suspect is an inguinal hernia. It's an intermittent thing though that comes and goes as it pleases depending on what Josh is doing. I've seen it come out when he cries (but not always), when he coughs (but not always), and I've seen it pop out for no obvious reason while he was playing.
Of course, it did not pop out during our appointment because that would have just made things too easy. I had taken a picture of the bulge on my phone so that should this happen I could show it to the doctor - but of course I forgot my phone in the car.
In the end his pediatrician decided to just go ahead and make a referral to general surgery at CHEO to have them make an assessment. We have an appointment with them first thing Monday morning. Actually his appointment is with Dr. Bettoli which is the surgeon who performed Josh's bowel resection. So at least we know he'll be in good hands. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
I'm going to leave you with a picture I took on Tuesday of Joshua outside in the snow.....yes snow, on April 27th. He was thrilled to see the white stuff falling from the sky when he woke up in the morning and was begging me all morning to go out and build a snowman. He didn't quite seem to understand that there wasn't nearly enough snow, but you can't blame the kid for trying.
Thanks for checking in!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Potty Training 101
So obviously I didn't meet my goal of getting the slideshow up by the end of last week. It's in progress but not quite done so hopefully I'll have it up soon.
Today was day 1 of toilet training Josh. I have been sitting him on the potty for the last several weeks but it hasn't been consistent, and therein lies the problem. So I figured our best hope for success was to lose the diapers all together during the day time.
Success, however, was not on our side today. We went through 10 pairs of pants, had 3 puddles on the floor and no pee actually made it into the potty. I'm remaining optimistic that tomorrow will bring us better results. Josh knows where the pee is supposed to go so its just a matter of coordinating all the little steps needed to get him to the potty in time. We did manage to get a #2 in the potty though. Just after supper I recognized his tell-tale posture and was able to get him to sit on the potty. He was quite proud of himself! I'll keep you posted on our progress.
In other news, it looks like Josh's inguinal hernia is back. The hernia was first discovered when Josh was about 2 months old and we were in the midst of dealing with his partial bowel obstruction. The surgeons couldn't however fix the hernia at the same time as the bowel resection in case one caused complications with the other. For example, if an infection were to develop at the inguinal incision it could cause detrimental effects to the the repaired bowel.
Anyway, after Josh's bowel was repaired and the pressure in his abdomen subsided his hernia was no longer an issue. At least I never again saw the bulge in his groin during diaper changes...at least that is until last Friday.
I had just finished giving Josh a bath and had him in the bedroom getting ready to get him dressed. Jessica was laying beside him on the bed and was starting to fuss and then starting crying. Josh, who was already not in a great mood, starting crying as well and out popped this big bulge in his groin. I touched it (it was soft) and applied light pressure and it went back in. I released my hand and it popped back out again (he was still crying). I quickly got his diaper on and got him to calm down and stop crying. I haven't seen the bulge again since.
I called Josh's pediatrician today and he has an appointment next Wednesday. Hopefully the hernia pops out at the right time so that his doctor can get a good look at it to decide if he needs surgury or not. So far I've noticed that his hernia only comes out when he's crying. Not every time that he cries, but sometimes. He will definitely cry at the doctors office so that's not an issue, it just depends on if the hernia decides to present itself. Fingers crossed that it does so at least we know one way or the other what we're up against.
Honestly, the thought of another surgery makes me sick to my stomach but if it has to be then so be it. We will get through it.
Thanks for checking in!
Today was day 1 of toilet training Josh. I have been sitting him on the potty for the last several weeks but it hasn't been consistent, and therein lies the problem. So I figured our best hope for success was to lose the diapers all together during the day time.
Success, however, was not on our side today. We went through 10 pairs of pants, had 3 puddles on the floor and no pee actually made it into the potty. I'm remaining optimistic that tomorrow will bring us better results. Josh knows where the pee is supposed to go so its just a matter of coordinating all the little steps needed to get him to the potty in time. We did manage to get a #2 in the potty though. Just after supper I recognized his tell-tale posture and was able to get him to sit on the potty. He was quite proud of himself! I'll keep you posted on our progress.
In other news, it looks like Josh's inguinal hernia is back. The hernia was first discovered when Josh was about 2 months old and we were in the midst of dealing with his partial bowel obstruction. The surgeons couldn't however fix the hernia at the same time as the bowel resection in case one caused complications with the other. For example, if an infection were to develop at the inguinal incision it could cause detrimental effects to the the repaired bowel.
Anyway, after Josh's bowel was repaired and the pressure in his abdomen subsided his hernia was no longer an issue. At least I never again saw the bulge in his groin during diaper changes...at least that is until last Friday.
I had just finished giving Josh a bath and had him in the bedroom getting ready to get him dressed. Jessica was laying beside him on the bed and was starting to fuss and then starting crying. Josh, who was already not in a great mood, starting crying as well and out popped this big bulge in his groin. I touched it (it was soft) and applied light pressure and it went back in. I released my hand and it popped back out again (he was still crying). I quickly got his diaper on and got him to calm down and stop crying. I haven't seen the bulge again since.
I called Josh's pediatrician today and he has an appointment next Wednesday. Hopefully the hernia pops out at the right time so that his doctor can get a good look at it to decide if he needs surgury or not. So far I've noticed that his hernia only comes out when he's crying. Not every time that he cries, but sometimes. He will definitely cry at the doctors office so that's not an issue, it just depends on if the hernia decides to present itself. Fingers crossed that it does so at least we know one way or the other what we're up against.
Honestly, the thought of another surgery makes me sick to my stomach but if it has to be then so be it. We will get through it.
Thanks for checking in!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
A Long Overdue Update
Wow, where do I begin.? First of all sorry for taking so long to get this post up. Things have been busy and I never have the chance to get on the computer. So, to get you up to date. I'm happy to report that Jessica made her arrival on Dec. 17th at 4:58pm. She made it to her due date and was actually 4 days overdue.
The labour and delivery was an interesting experience to say the least. I did end up getting put on the induction list on the Monday before she was born (dec 14th) and I was called to the hospital on Wednesday evening (dec 16th). The induction started at 9:30pm with a dose of Cervidil. With Josh's induction all it took was the one dose of Cervidil to get labour going - he was born less than 12 hours later, so I was expecting a similar experience. This was not the case.
When the induction started I was dilated 1cm. They inserted the Cervidil with the plan to reassess me at 9:30 the next morning. Well I guess overnight the labour and delivery floor got really busy and by 7 am the unit was at capacity. Needless to say come 9:30 the doctors were very busy and were unable to come and assess me and sadly the Cervidil had done very little to get labour going. I mean it did start contractions but they weren't very strong.
A doctor finally came around at 11:30 am and recommended that I go empty my bladder before she assessed me because if she had decided that I needed another dose of Cervidil I would have to stay in bed hooked up to the monitor for two hours afterward. And so I did. When I got out of the bathroom the doctor was gone and I was informed that she had been called to the OR and would be back in a little while. An hour and a half later another doctor finally came in to see me.
At this point it was 1pm. The doctor removed the Cervidil and checked my cervix. I was only 3 cm. :( She decided however that I did not need another dose of Cervidil. She was able
to break my water and the plan was to wait an hour or two to see if that would be enough to start labour. If not, they would start me on Oxytocin. My contractions increased in strength and frequency but still it wasn't anything unbearable.
Just before 3 pm my nurse came in to check me...I was still 3 cm :( The oxytocin was started at 3pm and shortly after I noticed a definite change in the strength of my contractions and I was definitely more uncomfortable. By about 3:45 pm I had decided that I would opt for the epidural. The contractions were intense but still manageable and I since I ran out of time to get the epidural with Josh's labour I thought I would make my request before the pain got too bad. Plus I had noticed that Jessica's heart rate wasn't really stable. I mean it stayed within the "normal" range but it wasn't showing an "ideal" pattern. My concern was that if this was a sign that she wasn't tolerating the labour and if something were to happen requiring an emergency c-section I wanted to have an epidural in place so there would be no delays and so they wouldn't have to knock me right out.
When my nurse came in just before 4 pm to increase my Oxytocin I told her that my contractions were quite strong and I would like to get an epidural. She checked my cervix - I was now 4 cm and so I was able to get the epidural. She made the phone call to the anestheiologist only to find out that he is in the OR right now with a c-section but will come as soon as he's done. :( Shortly after she left, my contractions kicked it up a notch...or two....or three. I knew that labour wasn't going to last much longer and that epidural just wasn't going to happen.
When my nurse came in again (I have no idea what time it was but I suspect it was around 4:30) I told her that my contractions were crazy strong and I was in a lot of pain. She looked at the monitor - specifically at the reading measuring the strength of my contractions - and I could tell that she didn't really believe me or she thought I was a weeny. I acknowledged that the contractions on the screen didn't look that strong but I assured her that they were and I didn't think that the probe was positioned on my belly properly to get an accurate reading. She repositioned the probe and sure enough I was right. Her reaction was kind of like, " Oh wow! Hang on let me check you." I was 6-7 cm. And then the crazy nurse proceeded to increase my oxytocin again. Yeah, I don't think that was at all necessary. Labour was going full force and actually Jessica was showing signs that the labour was too intense for her. Her heart rate was starting to drop which would prompt the nurse to tell me to turn on my side to try and get her heart rate back up.
Anyway my contractions continued to get worse, Jessica's heart rate continued to drop and then recover with repositioning on my part and at some point my nurse finally decided it was time to turn of the Oxytocin. I could tell that my nurse was actually pretty freaked out. Probably by how quickly my labour progressed and by the fact that Jessica's heart rate wasn't stable.
Towards the end of the labour I was having to flip in the bed continuously back to side, side to back to try and get Jessica's heart rate up but it was no longer responding. I later learned that my nurse had to call a code ( code 222 - which is an alert that there is a baby in distress.). In the moment all that I was aware of was that all of a sudden there was a slew of people rushing into the room. The doctor had her hand inside me trying to stimulate the baby and attach a fetal monitor to her scalp. I'm not even sure if they got it attached or not because it quickly came to a point where the baby had to come out. Her heart rate was in the 80's and was not coming back up. The doctor was yelling at me to get the baby out. I just remember her saying, "push, push, push Corrie. Don't stop pushing until your baby is out. She's in trouble and you need to get her out of there.". Talk about motivation - I got her out in two pushes. Once she was out her heart rate recovered and thankfully she was fine - strong and healthy, weighing 6 lbs 13 oz.
The rest of our hospital stay was rather uneventful except for the extra day we had to spend there because Jessica had developed jaundice and required photo therapy.
The first couple of weeks at home were a bit rough mainly due to Joshua's difficulty with adjusting to the new baby. I mean he was thrilled to have a little sister and loved to give her kisses but whenever she cried he cried too - like he screamed uncontrolably. I figured we would have that problem because Josh is very sensitive and he doesn't like it when other kids cry, scream or yell, but I was really hoping that wouldn't be the case. Wishful thinking I suppose.
The first four weeks were tough. Jessica seemed to want to nurse constantly and Josh was a wreck every time Jessica cried, which let's face it, was often. Plus of course he was dealing with the fact that he now had to share me. He used to have me all to himself and now this little baby was taking all my attention. It's a tough adjustment to make.
Probably our one saving grace was that my mom had arrived from British Colombia just before Christmas and was able to give me a hand for the week that she was here. She was able to offer Josh some distraction whenever Jessica started crying and that most likely saved me from going clinically insane.
Anyway, we all survived that newborn phase and Jessica is now 3 1/2 months old and doing well. Josh has settled in to our new routine and no longer cries or freaks out whenever she is upset, which is a welcome relief.
And just to update you on Josh, he is doing fantastic! His speech has really taken off and we are consistently getting 4 word sentences from him, which is truly amazing. We used to get so little out of him in terms of verbal expression it's just been an awesome experience to hear his little voice and to hear him say things like ' I wuv you mommy'. It melts my heart. His speech therapist is thrilled and no longer has any open concerns about his speech development. Based on my report she says that Josh is near age appropriate for verbal expression. Yay! Way to go Josh! Hopefully she'll be able to discharge us soon.
Well I guess I'll wrap this post up. The problem with being so behind with my blogging is you end up missing out on a lot of the little details. But suffice it to say we had a nice Christmas and a wonderful Easter (the weather was amazing!) and everyone is doing well. I have a bunch of pictures I want to post....I think I will do that as a slideshow in a future post - my goal is to have it up by the end if next week. I got an iPhone for my birthday from Robb which is how I have been able to finally get this post finished, but I will need to get on the main computer to do the slideshow.
Thanks for being so patient with me and for taking the time to check in on us!
The labour and delivery was an interesting experience to say the least. I did end up getting put on the induction list on the Monday before she was born (dec 14th) and I was called to the hospital on Wednesday evening (dec 16th). The induction started at 9:30pm with a dose of Cervidil. With Josh's induction all it took was the one dose of Cervidil to get labour going - he was born less than 12 hours later, so I was expecting a similar experience. This was not the case.
When the induction started I was dilated 1cm. They inserted the Cervidil with the plan to reassess me at 9:30 the next morning. Well I guess overnight the labour and delivery floor got really busy and by 7 am the unit was at capacity. Needless to say come 9:30 the doctors were very busy and were unable to come and assess me and sadly the Cervidil had done very little to get labour going. I mean it did start contractions but they weren't very strong.
A doctor finally came around at 11:30 am and recommended that I go empty my bladder before she assessed me because if she had decided that I needed another dose of Cervidil I would have to stay in bed hooked up to the monitor for two hours afterward. And so I did. When I got out of the bathroom the doctor was gone and I was informed that she had been called to the OR and would be back in a little while. An hour and a half later another doctor finally came in to see me.
At this point it was 1pm. The doctor removed the Cervidil and checked my cervix. I was only 3 cm. :( She decided however that I did not need another dose of Cervidil. She was able
to break my water and the plan was to wait an hour or two to see if that would be enough to start labour. If not, they would start me on Oxytocin. My contractions increased in strength and frequency but still it wasn't anything unbearable.
Just before 3 pm my nurse came in to check me...I was still 3 cm :( The oxytocin was started at 3pm and shortly after I noticed a definite change in the strength of my contractions and I was definitely more uncomfortable. By about 3:45 pm I had decided that I would opt for the epidural. The contractions were intense but still manageable and I since I ran out of time to get the epidural with Josh's labour I thought I would make my request before the pain got too bad. Plus I had noticed that Jessica's heart rate wasn't really stable. I mean it stayed within the "normal" range but it wasn't showing an "ideal" pattern. My concern was that if this was a sign that she wasn't tolerating the labour and if something were to happen requiring an emergency c-section I wanted to have an epidural in place so there would be no delays and so they wouldn't have to knock me right out.
When my nurse came in just before 4 pm to increase my Oxytocin I told her that my contractions were quite strong and I would like to get an epidural. She checked my cervix - I was now 4 cm and so I was able to get the epidural. She made the phone call to the anestheiologist only to find out that he is in the OR right now with a c-section but will come as soon as he's done. :( Shortly after she left, my contractions kicked it up a notch...or two....or three. I knew that labour wasn't going to last much longer and that epidural just wasn't going to happen.
When my nurse came in again (I have no idea what time it was but I suspect it was around 4:30) I told her that my contractions were crazy strong and I was in a lot of pain. She looked at the monitor - specifically at the reading measuring the strength of my contractions - and I could tell that she didn't really believe me or she thought I was a weeny. I acknowledged that the contractions on the screen didn't look that strong but I assured her that they were and I didn't think that the probe was positioned on my belly properly to get an accurate reading. She repositioned the probe and sure enough I was right. Her reaction was kind of like, " Oh wow! Hang on let me check you." I was 6-7 cm. And then the crazy nurse proceeded to increase my oxytocin again. Yeah, I don't think that was at all necessary. Labour was going full force and actually Jessica was showing signs that the labour was too intense for her. Her heart rate was starting to drop which would prompt the nurse to tell me to turn on my side to try and get her heart rate back up.
Anyway my contractions continued to get worse, Jessica's heart rate continued to drop and then recover with repositioning on my part and at some point my nurse finally decided it was time to turn of the Oxytocin. I could tell that my nurse was actually pretty freaked out. Probably by how quickly my labour progressed and by the fact that Jessica's heart rate wasn't stable.
Towards the end of the labour I was having to flip in the bed continuously back to side, side to back to try and get Jessica's heart rate up but it was no longer responding. I later learned that my nurse had to call a code ( code 222 - which is an alert that there is a baby in distress.). In the moment all that I was aware of was that all of a sudden there was a slew of people rushing into the room. The doctor had her hand inside me trying to stimulate the baby and attach a fetal monitor to her scalp. I'm not even sure if they got it attached or not because it quickly came to a point where the baby had to come out. Her heart rate was in the 80's and was not coming back up. The doctor was yelling at me to get the baby out. I just remember her saying, "push, push, push Corrie. Don't stop pushing until your baby is out. She's in trouble and you need to get her out of there.". Talk about motivation - I got her out in two pushes. Once she was out her heart rate recovered and thankfully she was fine - strong and healthy, weighing 6 lbs 13 oz.
The rest of our hospital stay was rather uneventful except for the extra day we had to spend there because Jessica had developed jaundice and required photo therapy.
The first couple of weeks at home were a bit rough mainly due to Joshua's difficulty with adjusting to the new baby. I mean he was thrilled to have a little sister and loved to give her kisses but whenever she cried he cried too - like he screamed uncontrolably. I figured we would have that problem because Josh is very sensitive and he doesn't like it when other kids cry, scream or yell, but I was really hoping that wouldn't be the case. Wishful thinking I suppose.
The first four weeks were tough. Jessica seemed to want to nurse constantly and Josh was a wreck every time Jessica cried, which let's face it, was often. Plus of course he was dealing with the fact that he now had to share me. He used to have me all to himself and now this little baby was taking all my attention. It's a tough adjustment to make.
Probably our one saving grace was that my mom had arrived from British Colombia just before Christmas and was able to give me a hand for the week that she was here. She was able to offer Josh some distraction whenever Jessica started crying and that most likely saved me from going clinically insane.
Anyway, we all survived that newborn phase and Jessica is now 3 1/2 months old and doing well. Josh has settled in to our new routine and no longer cries or freaks out whenever she is upset, which is a welcome relief.
And just to update you on Josh, he is doing fantastic! His speech has really taken off and we are consistently getting 4 word sentences from him, which is truly amazing. We used to get so little out of him in terms of verbal expression it's just been an awesome experience to hear his little voice and to hear him say things like ' I wuv you mommy'. It melts my heart. His speech therapist is thrilled and no longer has any open concerns about his speech development. Based on my report she says that Josh is near age appropriate for verbal expression. Yay! Way to go Josh! Hopefully she'll be able to discharge us soon.
Well I guess I'll wrap this post up. The problem with being so behind with my blogging is you end up missing out on a lot of the little details. But suffice it to say we had a nice Christmas and a wonderful Easter (the weather was amazing!) and everyone is doing well. I have a bunch of pictures I want to post....I think I will do that as a slideshow in a future post - my goal is to have it up by the end if next week. I got an iPhone for my birthday from Robb which is how I have been able to finally get this post finished, but I will need to get on the main computer to do the slideshow.
Thanks for being so patient with me and for taking the time to check in on us!
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