I have four of dates to pick from for surgery.
1.)3/18 or 4/11 at Children's Boston Hospital
OR
2.)3/23 or 4/20 at Beth Isreal Hospital
With the way I feel right now I say the first date. But to just stop and really think about it all and what needs to be done I don't know when I want to do the surgery. It is just really a lot to think about because I don't know what I feel like.
Of course since I am no longer expecting, the pregnancy hormone is gone which means achy, stiff, painful hips again. It puts me in tears because I hate feeling this way. I knew this would happen and I would feel this way and it would be bad just since I haven't had really any problems while I was pregnant. I am finding hard to sit comfortably, move around, or stand around. The left one just is really bothering me. We did go out to look at after Christmas sales and to get some groceries and towards the end I was really hurting. And the rest of the I just haven't been able to get comfortable. It is the left one that is getting to me now.
The kids had a really wonderful Christmas. I enjoyed watching them open their presents. They just get so excited. Santa even brought Baby Edgar a glow-worm. My most cherished Christmas gift was my precious Baby Edgar. He is my little bundle of joy.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Busy and Tired
It is official Dusty has returned to work. Now it is up to me, well at least until he gets home, to manage the house and kids. I will admit that I am trying but finding it a bit hard to keep up. I do get tired and by evening I am ready for bed but Baby Edgar sometimes has other plans. He is a noisy baby. He sounds like an old man with his grunting. And the laundry never seems to end. I have been keeping up with that though. It is more the dishes. I feel like I live in the kitchen. It is nice because the older three are out for Christmas break.
Other then adjusting to a new little one, I have had to take him back to the hospital twice to have his newborn lab (PKU) drawn again. The first one in the hospital didn't work so we took him to the hospital to have it done again. That one did turn out. Everything was normal except he did have slightly elevated amino acid levels. The doctors office wanted it to be redone again to just double check. So here is hoping that 1. it works and 2. that it comes back with in normal limits.
I did get a new set of xrays and sent them off to Dr. Millis. He emailed me and told me that from the xrays he doesn't think much has changed over the past 9 months. He would like to have us go out there 3-4 weeks before surgery to have a new MRI and to donate one unit of blood at that time and to go over preop stuff. That was good news to me that at least the hips didn't change much. He did ask which one is bothering me more. During the pregnancy they were calm and didn't bother me. The left was the weaker one. So I said let's do the left first. And the left is worse. I am going to have to really talk myself into this again. I do worry about the recovery period. I also worry about not keeping the pain under control. I think the worries are there because I am tired and not really thinking straight so anything big or small is alot to think about and comprehend. But otherwise I am going to do this. Especially after the past couple of days. They just aren't stable. I forgot how unstable they are and how they can hurt. The pain is gradually coming back with the giving out. Not fun. But not much longer. We thought maybe an early March date.
My mom is already home from her colon surgery. She did get the results back. And it showed that that cancer was in the muscle but not out. They did find cancer cells in 6 out of the 18 lymph nodes that were removed. So the surgeon said it was very likely that she will need chemo. But she won't get the definite yes until next week (12/29) when she sees the oncologist.
Other then adjusting to a new little one, I have had to take him back to the hospital twice to have his newborn lab (PKU) drawn again. The first one in the hospital didn't work so we took him to the hospital to have it done again. That one did turn out. Everything was normal except he did have slightly elevated amino acid levels. The doctors office wanted it to be redone again to just double check. So here is hoping that 1. it works and 2. that it comes back with in normal limits.
I did get a new set of xrays and sent them off to Dr. Millis. He emailed me and told me that from the xrays he doesn't think much has changed over the past 9 months. He would like to have us go out there 3-4 weeks before surgery to have a new MRI and to donate one unit of blood at that time and to go over preop stuff. That was good news to me that at least the hips didn't change much. He did ask which one is bothering me more. During the pregnancy they were calm and didn't bother me. The left was the weaker one. So I said let's do the left first. And the left is worse. I am going to have to really talk myself into this again. I do worry about the recovery period. I also worry about not keeping the pain under control. I think the worries are there because I am tired and not really thinking straight so anything big or small is alot to think about and comprehend. But otherwise I am going to do this. Especially after the past couple of days. They just aren't stable. I forgot how unstable they are and how they can hurt. The pain is gradually coming back with the giving out. Not fun. But not much longer. We thought maybe an early March date.
My mom is already home from her colon surgery. She did get the results back. And it showed that that cancer was in the muscle but not out. They did find cancer cells in 6 out of the 18 lymph nodes that were removed. So the surgeon said it was very likely that she will need chemo. But she won't get the definite yes until next week (12/29) when she sees the oncologist.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Big Girl Emma
After many attempts to get our 3 year old potty trained. I can officially say she has accomplished it.
It wasn't an easy journey though. She caught onto to going pee pretty easily but would refuse to go number 2. She would go in her underwear and after ruining many pairs of underwear I took a break from training. So after we had the baby, I told Emma that we were going to try again. We asked her what she wanted and she told us a Belle doll. So we made a deal with her that if she went poo in her potty chair she could have a Belle doll. She liked the idea. But it didn't work immediately.
Well she would wake up in the morning and do her business in her diaper before I had time to put her in her undies. So the other day we were out shopping and we picked her up a Belle doll and displayed it on top of the fridge where she could see and we told her once she made a deposit in the potty she could have her toy. She was agreeable to that.
So on Sunday she made her deposit and told her sister Hannah to come and see what she did. I heard Hannah say something about poop so I told Dusty that I thought Emma may have did it. We went back to check and sure enough she did. The things we get excited about but we clapped and yeahed for her. She was so proud of herself too. And she got to open her new Belle doll.
Now she is a Big Girl.
It wasn't an easy journey though. She caught onto to going pee pretty easily but would refuse to go number 2. She would go in her underwear and after ruining many pairs of underwear I took a break from training. So after we had the baby, I told Emma that we were going to try again. We asked her what she wanted and she told us a Belle doll. So we made a deal with her that if she went poo in her potty chair she could have a Belle doll. She liked the idea. But it didn't work immediately.
Well she would wake up in the morning and do her business in her diaper before I had time to put her in her undies. So the other day we were out shopping and we picked her up a Belle doll and displayed it on top of the fridge where she could see and we told her once she made a deposit in the potty she could have her toy. She was agreeable to that.
So on Sunday she made her deposit and told her sister Hannah to come and see what she did. I heard Hannah say something about poop so I told Dusty that I thought Emma may have did it. We went back to check and sure enough she did. The things we get excited about but we clapped and yeahed for her. She was so proud of herself too. And she got to open her new Belle doll.
Now she is a Big Girl.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
It's a Boy---Edgar Nicholas
Edgar Nicholas is the newest addition to our family! He made his appearance on Sunday December 5, 2010 at 841pm. The following is his birth story...
I woke up Sunday morning at 115 am to use the bathroom and afterwards I started to cramp and get some contractions. I decided to go ahead and finish packing my bag and take a shower. I did try to lay down but found I was uncomfortable and tired so I got up and sat on my birth ball for awhile. At about 4am I asked the Lord to spread them apart so I could get some rest. He listened and I went to lay down. I still was contracting but they did spread apartand I managed to get some sleep . When I did wake up, again, I got dressed and looked at the ads. I saw many things in the Target ad by the way. Any way I was still having contractions but they weren't long enough or in a regular pattern so I didn't worry much about them to want to go into the hospital. I did do some laundry and cleaned up a bit. I also took a nap in the early afternoon. I did soak in the tub a couple of times. And after the 2nd soak I noticed that the contractions were a bit closer but still weren't long enough plus I was still happy. Finally I decided that I wanted to try some different labor positions since they seemed to be picking up. One I tried was knealing and leaning over the birth ball. At first I didn't like it but I didn't want to just give up after one contraction so when the 2nd contraction came I tried again and as I was leaning over the ball, GUSH went my water. It took me by such surprise but Dusty was calm and brought me a towel. And what a time to break, dinner time, 518pm. The kids were all sitting at the kitchen table eating pizza and I was in the living room. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do at this point. I finally decided that maybe we should get ready and go in. Dusty phoned my mom to come over, it was time. And like I say it was dinner time and my parents were just ordering their food. They said they would be over shortly. I had hesitated about going in but I am glad we decided to go in because the contractions really picked up and were lasting longer.
We arrived at the hospital at 6pm. The front desk started to ask me questions but then ended up asking Dusty and having him sign the papers. A good sign to me because just maybe I was farther along then 4cm (what I have always been in with all the other kids)since I was having trouble focusing. They also didn't mess around on getting us to our room either. Once we were there the nurse asked me and Dusty all sorts of questions and then finally examed me and I was 6 cm!!! And then as the other nurse was starting my IV I started to shake and she called the doctor to do an exam and I was 7cm!!! Wow it went quick. But then I started to feel it in my back so I got out of bed and layed against my ball again, rocked back and forth. I started to feel more pressure so the nurse had the doctor check but I was still just at 7cm. But after that the contractions started to really be effective and causing more pressure. I decided that I needed to go to the bathroom and sat on the toilet through 2 or 3 contractions and then the pressure really started to grow. The nurse asked what I wanted to do I said I wanted to stand by the bed and when I did that the pressure was really there. I didn't want to get back in the bed but the doctor wanted to check. So somehow I managed to get back and the doctor checked. She said I was 8 cm. After that exam I just stayed in the bed. And with every contraction I would notice that the pressure just grew and grew and finally I felt like I had to push. The doctor checked once more but I pulled her hands away and said no more. She said I had a little bit more cervix left but that I could push through that. So when the next contraction started I pushed and it all became so intense. Then after a couple of contractions baby was born! At that point I couldn't believe that I did it all natural---no pitocin, no IV drugs, no epidural. It was all me!!! And I had just given birth to a baby boy! It was so amazing that words just can't describe. It was truly amazing.
He weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. He was 18.5 inches long. And his head was 14 inches. He was just so perfect to me. And Dusty was a wonderful coach! I couldn't have done it without him.
I woke up Sunday morning at 115 am to use the bathroom and afterwards I started to cramp and get some contractions. I decided to go ahead and finish packing my bag and take a shower. I did try to lay down but found I was uncomfortable and tired so I got up and sat on my birth ball for awhile. At about 4am I asked the Lord to spread them apart so I could get some rest. He listened and I went to lay down. I still was contracting but they did spread apartand I managed to get some sleep . When I did wake up, again, I got dressed and looked at the ads. I saw many things in the Target ad by the way. Any way I was still having contractions but they weren't long enough or in a regular pattern so I didn't worry much about them to want to go into the hospital. I did do some laundry and cleaned up a bit. I also took a nap in the early afternoon. I did soak in the tub a couple of times. And after the 2nd soak I noticed that the contractions were a bit closer but still weren't long enough plus I was still happy. Finally I decided that I wanted to try some different labor positions since they seemed to be picking up. One I tried was knealing and leaning over the birth ball. At first I didn't like it but I didn't want to just give up after one contraction so when the 2nd contraction came I tried again and as I was leaning over the ball, GUSH went my water. It took me by such surprise but Dusty was calm and brought me a towel. And what a time to break, dinner time, 518pm. The kids were all sitting at the kitchen table eating pizza and I was in the living room. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do at this point. I finally decided that maybe we should get ready and go in. Dusty phoned my mom to come over, it was time. And like I say it was dinner time and my parents were just ordering their food. They said they would be over shortly. I had hesitated about going in but I am glad we decided to go in because the contractions really picked up and were lasting longer.
We arrived at the hospital at 6pm. The front desk started to ask me questions but then ended up asking Dusty and having him sign the papers. A good sign to me because just maybe I was farther along then 4cm (what I have always been in with all the other kids)since I was having trouble focusing. They also didn't mess around on getting us to our room either. Once we were there the nurse asked me and Dusty all sorts of questions and then finally examed me and I was 6 cm!!! And then as the other nurse was starting my IV I started to shake and she called the doctor to do an exam and I was 7cm!!! Wow it went quick. But then I started to feel it in my back so I got out of bed and layed against my ball again, rocked back and forth. I started to feel more pressure so the nurse had the doctor check but I was still just at 7cm. But after that the contractions started to really be effective and causing more pressure. I decided that I needed to go to the bathroom and sat on the toilet through 2 or 3 contractions and then the pressure really started to grow. The nurse asked what I wanted to do I said I wanted to stand by the bed and when I did that the pressure was really there. I didn't want to get back in the bed but the doctor wanted to check. So somehow I managed to get back and the doctor checked. She said I was 8 cm. After that exam I just stayed in the bed. And with every contraction I would notice that the pressure just grew and grew and finally I felt like I had to push. The doctor checked once more but I pulled her hands away and said no more. She said I had a little bit more cervix left but that I could push through that. So when the next contraction started I pushed and it all became so intense. Then after a couple of contractions baby was born! At that point I couldn't believe that I did it all natural---no pitocin, no IV drugs, no epidural. It was all me!!! And I had just given birth to a baby boy! It was so amazing that words just can't describe. It was truly amazing.
He weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. He was 18.5 inches long. And his head was 14 inches. He was just so perfect to me. And Dusty was a wonderful coach! I couldn't have done it without him.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Early Labor
This is my first time to be overdue. But I don't think much longer. Starting to feel the contractions. They aren't regular or lasting long enough at this point. But hopefully when they get there that it won't be long. Now all I can do is wait. This will be my first time to attempt to do a natural childbirth without any pitocin. Here's hoping it will happen. Right now just trying to rest because I don't know how long it will take.
Friday, November 12, 2010
How Time Flies
It seems just like yesterday I had my PAO surgery scheduled and then was canceling the date because we were expecting. And now we are 2-3 weeks away from having our precious little blessing. Time really does fly by.
Overall, my hips have held up through the pregnancy. If this is just a taste of what I will feel after recovering from surgery then yes it will be well worth it to go through with it. I must admit that the pregnancy hormones have been in overdrive with the emotions I have been having about surgery. It is scary to think about what will actually be done. Of course surgery alone is scary. The fear of the unknown is what it is. Once you do it you then go on to recover. It is just getting to the BIG day. But that is true with anything in life.
I thought before we have this baby that I need to get into touch with the doctor again to see if I will need new xrays/MRI and if I can schedule about 4 months out. I can officially check this off my list now. Hubby and I accomplished it this week. And Dr. Millis was very quick in responding back. He did mention that there are closer doctors but that him and Dr. Kim do have the most experience. He does want to have another consultation and at that time get new xrays and MRI since back in March I was already showing signs of having arthitis. He just wants to make sure that a PAO is still an option. And at the every end he wanted to "when" I was looking at for the consultation and that surgery could be scheduled out about 5 weeks out from that. I told him a consultation in Jan./Feb. would be good and surgery in March/April. I did talk with my OB about when he thought would be good after having a baby to have surgery. He thought March if everything is going well.
Having a baby and planning surgery-wow what a lot to think about. But in the end I do get the best of both worlds, a baby first and then surgery. It wasn't planned this way but I do believe that things happen for a reason and they aren't always understood. We just need to be accepting.
Overall, my hips have held up through the pregnancy. If this is just a taste of what I will feel after recovering from surgery then yes it will be well worth it to go through with it. I must admit that the pregnancy hormones have been in overdrive with the emotions I have been having about surgery. It is scary to think about what will actually be done. Of course surgery alone is scary. The fear of the unknown is what it is. Once you do it you then go on to recover. It is just getting to the BIG day. But that is true with anything in life.
I thought before we have this baby that I need to get into touch with the doctor again to see if I will need new xrays/MRI and if I can schedule about 4 months out. I can officially check this off my list now. Hubby and I accomplished it this week. And Dr. Millis was very quick in responding back. He did mention that there are closer doctors but that him and Dr. Kim do have the most experience. He does want to have another consultation and at that time get new xrays and MRI since back in March I was already showing signs of having arthitis. He just wants to make sure that a PAO is still an option. And at the every end he wanted to "when" I was looking at for the consultation and that surgery could be scheduled out about 5 weeks out from that. I told him a consultation in Jan./Feb. would be good and surgery in March/April. I did talk with my OB about when he thought would be good after having a baby to have surgery. He thought March if everything is going well.
Having a baby and planning surgery-wow what a lot to think about. But in the end I do get the best of both worlds, a baby first and then surgery. It wasn't planned this way but I do believe that things happen for a reason and they aren't always understood. We just need to be accepting.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
After attending just a few Bradley Birth Classes, it really has got me thinking about the current doctor I am seeing and the choices I have and what has happened with past births. I feel already more informed about labor and how our bodies are meant to work and have babies. And so that got me thinking....
Before starting the classes I just already had my mind set on needing pitocin to get keep labor going. I just assumed it was normal and my body doesn't know how to labor on its own. Well after attending class and talking to the teacher a bit about my concerns, I have found out that it isn't me, doctors really like to use pitocin. It is hard for them to just around and wait for nature to do its thing. Now in some cases pitocin is necessary and I am open to it but if I am ok, baby is ok, and my water hasn't broke just send me back home to try to get contractions going again or just wait patiently. But trying to go without taking any type of drug during labor or even getting the epidural really makes it hard when you have pitocin running through the IV line. They are much harder which then makes it very difficult (for me anyway) to relax and breath through the contractions.
On Monday I had another doctor appt. with my current OB and I decided to ask him about pitocin and how I just really wanted to avoid it and be given a chance. Well he explained to me that they use it for inductions and augmenting labor. For instance if a woman's water breaks she will be immediately started on pitocin upon admittance. The idea is to get baby delivered asap due to risk of infection. No more waiting to see if contractions will start. He also said that if a woman's labor stalls he will break the water and that usually gets labor started but if that doesn't work then using pitocin is the next step. In the past I have had my water broken to attempt to get contractions going again but it doesn't work soon enough so pitocin is always started. This time I don't want my water broke. Plus the doctor told me that if a woman has only had pitocin for labor then she has nothing to compare too only from what she hears from others. Obviously he is a man and never had a baby but your own contractions are much easier to get through in my opinion. Then he throw in how his wife has had pitocin with all their kids. So to him it isn't a big deal and a drug that works. But to me I want to do this for the baby and myself.
Later that evening I had scheduled a tour at a birthcenter that is run by two midwives. Our teacher had told us about this place at our first class, and I thought it interesting so I looked more into and asked her more about it. She recommended that we take a tour of the place. That is what we did. We met just one of the midwives and she showed us around, explaining everything very throroughly. They have two birthrooms. They use just a doppler and listen to the baby every 30 minutes at first and then as mom gets closer to delivering it is every 15 minutes. They do transfer mom if there is a complication to the nearest hospital by ambulance. They view birth as a natural process. She did talk about pitocin and if my water were to break that they do have a 24 hour time frame to get baby delivered. So if I wasn't contracting by some point they would try other methods such as castrol oil to help get labor started. But if all else fells I would be transferred to the hospital where they go and then start pitocin.
I am keeping an open mind about the whole thing but at the same time I am going to look into all my options and find what I believe will fit my needs the best. I do feel pressure from a few family members about using a birthcenter to give birth and not the hospital. They think it unsafe if something goes wrong and there won't be time. Where in the hospital they have it all right there. It would make it easier if they were more supportive and really listen to me and why I am looking into to this. They have told me to just tell the doctor "no." or "can't that wait." A doctor is going to do what they want. They have their way of practice so to me it is more important to find the one that shares the same views as me instead of trying to convince them of news ones.
The birth center is considered out of network so insurance won't cover the entire the birth just a very little portion. I don't know what that portion would be. It is less expensive than going to the hospital. Whatever I decide I want to feel satisfied by my decision. I think the biggest thing holding me back is that I don't know what our out of pocket cost could be. And with two hip surgeries in the future, uncertain of what we will be spending there, I don't want a lot of medical bills.
Decisions, decisions, decisions. At least the hips are cooperating and not giving me problems.
Before starting the classes I just already had my mind set on needing pitocin to get keep labor going. I just assumed it was normal and my body doesn't know how to labor on its own. Well after attending class and talking to the teacher a bit about my concerns, I have found out that it isn't me, doctors really like to use pitocin. It is hard for them to just around and wait for nature to do its thing. Now in some cases pitocin is necessary and I am open to it but if I am ok, baby is ok, and my water hasn't broke just send me back home to try to get contractions going again or just wait patiently. But trying to go without taking any type of drug during labor or even getting the epidural really makes it hard when you have pitocin running through the IV line. They are much harder which then makes it very difficult (for me anyway) to relax and breath through the contractions.
On Monday I had another doctor appt. with my current OB and I decided to ask him about pitocin and how I just really wanted to avoid it and be given a chance. Well he explained to me that they use it for inductions and augmenting labor. For instance if a woman's water breaks she will be immediately started on pitocin upon admittance. The idea is to get baby delivered asap due to risk of infection. No more waiting to see if contractions will start. He also said that if a woman's labor stalls he will break the water and that usually gets labor started but if that doesn't work then using pitocin is the next step. In the past I have had my water broken to attempt to get contractions going again but it doesn't work soon enough so pitocin is always started. This time I don't want my water broke. Plus the doctor told me that if a woman has only had pitocin for labor then she has nothing to compare too only from what she hears from others. Obviously he is a man and never had a baby but your own contractions are much easier to get through in my opinion. Then he throw in how his wife has had pitocin with all their kids. So to him it isn't a big deal and a drug that works. But to me I want to do this for the baby and myself.
Later that evening I had scheduled a tour at a birthcenter that is run by two midwives. Our teacher had told us about this place at our first class, and I thought it interesting so I looked more into and asked her more about it. She recommended that we take a tour of the place. That is what we did. We met just one of the midwives and she showed us around, explaining everything very throroughly. They have two birthrooms. They use just a doppler and listen to the baby every 30 minutes at first and then as mom gets closer to delivering it is every 15 minutes. They do transfer mom if there is a complication to the nearest hospital by ambulance. They view birth as a natural process. She did talk about pitocin and if my water were to break that they do have a 24 hour time frame to get baby delivered. So if I wasn't contracting by some point they would try other methods such as castrol oil to help get labor started. But if all else fells I would be transferred to the hospital where they go and then start pitocin.
I am keeping an open mind about the whole thing but at the same time I am going to look into all my options and find what I believe will fit my needs the best. I do feel pressure from a few family members about using a birthcenter to give birth and not the hospital. They think it unsafe if something goes wrong and there won't be time. Where in the hospital they have it all right there. It would make it easier if they were more supportive and really listen to me and why I am looking into to this. They have told me to just tell the doctor "no." or "can't that wait." A doctor is going to do what they want. They have their way of practice so to me it is more important to find the one that shares the same views as me instead of trying to convince them of news ones.
The birth center is considered out of network so insurance won't cover the entire the birth just a very little portion. I don't know what that portion would be. It is less expensive than going to the hospital. Whatever I decide I want to feel satisfied by my decision. I think the biggest thing holding me back is that I don't know what our out of pocket cost could be. And with two hip surgeries in the future, uncertain of what we will be spending there, I don't want a lot of medical bills.
Decisions, decisions, decisions. At least the hips are cooperating and not giving me problems.
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