A quick little update
Just a quick little hello to everyone. I'm in the middle of a very busy work week for a change. Everything is going well... we continue to think the Little One is teething... cranky, eating smaller amounts, blah, blah, blah. We'll see. We're going to go look at the condo in St. Cloud tomorrow... we'll see about that as well. Anyway, just wanted to say hi and hope all is well with everyone.
It will live on in Memoriam.
By that title, I mean, the weekend. This Memorial Day weekend will not be easily forgotten. Ah, the days when a three (actually a four day, thanks to our supervisors) weekend was restful. Those really were great times. Enter the Crankiest Baby in the World. Seriously, he must be teething again because he (and us) did not sleep well all weekend and he was just PISSY all four days, which led to the weekend being... difficult. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination. It really was great to be home with my husband and son for four days. We got some stuff done around the house and did some fun things together, but let's just face it. Four straight days is a lot of baby time. I'll be working the next three days in a row and I'm looking forward to all three of them.
What else? We are still looking for a new place to live. We will be going out to St. Cloud in a few days to look at a condo for rent... maybe that will work out. St. Cloud is not exactly where I'd like to live, but the place looks nice and we will be very close to the future home of our future business. I'm definitely feeling some pressure to get that going, as I've been working part time for five months now and am steadily watching our savings account slowly dwindle.
Anyway, it was a great yet tough weekend and everything is good. My parents are in NC officially, still waiting to close the sale of their house in Ft. Lauderdale, which is stressing them out, but they seem to be ok. So... that's good.
Ooh, we had some hooligans raid the apt. complex last night. According to the rumor mill, it was a few neighborhood boys. They threw all the pool furniture into the pool... hee hee. They also ran all around the complex all night making noise, waking our baby, and apparently messed with the lock on our door. That's a little scary and maybe that was done not by the little boys at all, but by some drunk neighbors trying to get into the wrong apartment. I don't know. This place is getting a little weird... I guess it's good that we're moving on.
Everything's good!
Great news!! Apparently, the cyst has not changed in the past three months! So, that means no surgery for now and another MRI in three months to check again. If that MRI goes well, then we'll do another in 6 months, then another in a year, then another in two years. We are hoping that every MRI yields the same "no change" results and that maybe in a few years, we can all but forget about the whole thing (which of course we never really will forget about it). Anyway, just wanted to share with everyone... thanks for all the good thoughts... we are so lucky to have good news and to have friends and family like all of you.
A quick hello
Well, despite the very rough start, our family had a very pleasant weekend. We did make attempts to crash the Lisa Loeb concert (see Keith's blog), but when we got there, the Knack was playing instead. So we stood outside the concet fence, I got the video camera, and recorded Keith and Jack dancing with the Knack in the background playing a song that suspiciously sounded like My Sharona (but wasn't). I'm pretty sure that's illegal.
Anyway, me and my boy are getting ready to head to our hangout (the mall). We havent' been in over a week, so I think it will actually be fun. We're just sort of killing time today, waiting for tomorrow's appt. to roll around.
Oh, and has anyone seen the previews for the Superman movie? I usually don't like summer action movies... but I kind of want to see this one.
The incredibly true adventures of the second MRI
Well, our son did great! He was so good in the waiting room! He also did really well after it was all over. I, however, did not fare so well. Here's the basics:
We got to the hospital around 7:15 or so and checked in. We went to Radiology and waited. Somewhere around 8:00, I realized that I was really cold and achy. I turned to Keith and said I didn't feel good. He said something about how it was probably because I didn't eat breakfast. (I tend to have problems with low blood sugar... if I go too long with no sugar, I start to get weak and shaky, but as long as I eat some candy or drink a soda or something, I'm always fine). I assumed Keith was right, but I had no intention of leaving the waiting room to get a coke or something when I knew we were going to be called any minute.
Well, Jack continued to be fine and I continued to get way, way worse. Slowly, I realized that the tips of my fingers were numb and I was getting nauseous and I was really shaky and shivering. I could not get warm. The nurses by then had been told by Keith that I wasn't feeling good and had brought me blankets, but it didn't help at all. I was encouraged by Keith and the nurses to go to the cafeteria and get some food, and finally I agreed to go. I figured I would be a better support system for Jack if I was feeling better.
I went to the cafeteria and was really starting to feel crappy. Kind of faint and cold and really nauseous. I was also shaking like a leaf. I couldn't control it. I got in line with my bagel and drinks and tried to pay, only to be told that they don't take debit cards and that I had to go to the atm outside of the cafeteria. I went and got some cash and returned and was feeling even worse. I paid and wondered if I should sit down and eat in the cafeteria because at this point I was feeling like death, and based on the way people were looking at me, I must have looked like it, too. Suddenly I realized I was going to be getting sick very soon and hightailed it out of there. Luckily I knew where a bathroom was. Too bad I hadn't eaten breakfast. As we all know, dry heaves suck and so does barfing up stomach acid.
As soon as I could get myself together, I hauled ass back to Radiology and walked in as they called Jack's name. Keith looked at me as I walked in and I could tell I looked bad. Somehow, we got to the anesthesia room where they did the whole run down about what they were going to do to Jack. Keith signed all the papers and I basically sat in a chair and cried. I was shaking pretty violently and everyone looked way more worried about me, which caused me to have immense guilt. Hello, Jack is the priority here! The anesthesiologist could tell I was in bad shape (at this point, my toes were numb and I was getting scared... the good thing was, at least I was already in a hospital). The Dr. took my pulse, blood pressure, etc, and said my vitals were all ok and I probably just had a virus. Somewhere in there, they took Jack away and I didn't get to hold him or tell him goodbye or anything. As you can probably imagine, more tears.
Then we returned to the waiting room, where at this point, it was packed. There was probably about thirty people in there. Keith put me in a chair and watched over me as we waited. And waited. And waited. It was taking a really long time. At some point, I tried to eat the bagel I'd bought and instead, had to run to the bathroom and puke my guts out again. Anyway, they finally called us back and told us that it took so long because in the middle of the MRI, Jack woke up and proceeded to pull out his IV! They had to stop, readminister his medication, wait for him to fall asleep, and start over again. Jack is such a little stinker. There's a part of me that just loves that he did that. That boy doesn't take any crap.
We walked in and he was out cold on the little bed. They told us it would be a while before he woke up because they'd had to give him so much medicine to knock him out. This was not good news because A. I wanted him to be awake so I would know he's ok and B. I wanted him awake because I wanted to get home because I still felt like I was dying. We sat there with him for about five minutes and a nurse walked by, talking loudly, and he woke up. And I mean, he woke up wide awake, with no grogginess. It was almost kind of creepy. He proceeded to drink his little bottle of pedialyte and appeared to be totally fine. The nurse was so surprised that she said she'd go ahead and discharge him early. Score!
We got out of there and headed home, where Jack proceeded to have a very normal day and I got in bed and slowly got better. Jack is doing great and I'm pretty much fine now. I guess it was a virus, probably one of those 24 hour things. It was so weird though and horrible timing. I got the sense that I was being looked at by the other parents as this crazy mom who has to compete with her child for attention, like, "I'm going to be even sicker than my baby". Although, when you're in the middle of puking hell and your son is having a major medical procedure, you don't care much what anyone else thinks. Also, since my mystery disease cleared up pretty much upon leaving the hospital, there's a chance that I created it myself... you know, like either I made myself sick subconciously to distract myself from the anxiety of Jack's procedure, or maybe I got sick because I was so worried/ stressed. I don't know what it was, but I'm very glad that it's gone... it was awful.
Anyway, today we had a great day and are looking forward to tomorrow when the grandparents come to babysit and Keith and I get to see a movie. We don't get to the movies too much these days, so this is very exciting! Yes!
Hope you are all doing well...
And so it begins.
Well, here we go. My husband is giving our little boy his bedtime bottle. We are going to be waking him up at 11:30 tonight to try to get him to drink another bottle (no food or formula after midnight), and then we're going to try to get some sleep. We have to be at the hospital to check in at 7:30am, the MRI is supposed to be at 8:30. The baby is probably going to be pretty hungry by then, but hopefully, the commotion of the hospital will keep him entertained/ distracted. With any luck, we will be out of there by 10:00am or so, and hopefully off to enjoy a nice Friday together. I plan to try not to think to much about Wednesday's appt., we'll see how it goes. The frustrating thing is that the neurosurgeon could just look up our son's MRI in the hospital database right after it's done, and get an idea of what he wants to do. However, we will have to wait until our appt. to actually hear from him what he thinks.
Well, that's about it. I'm in total protective mom mode, completely uninterested and uncapable of thinking about anything else.
Some good news!
Just a quick post to share our good news. The MRI is for tomorrow and it was originally scheduled for 2:00pm... which meant our son was going to have to fast pretty much all day. Well, yesterday, the hospital called and they had a cancellation for Friday morning and offered us the appointment! Needless to say, I grabbed the spot and we are very happy to announce that our son will now be getting his MRI at 8:30am... this pretty much eliminates the fasting, which will make for an easier day for him. Of course, tomorrow will still be pretty rough for me and my husband, and of course, our baby, who's going to be put under. It's pretty much all I can think about right now... I'm just going to go to work and try to keep busy. At least by this time tomorrow we'll almost be done with the MRI... then we'll just have to wait for the follow up appt.
I hate MTV.
I'm still shaking my head in disbelief. a few minutes ago, I turned on MTV... that was my first mistake, and then saw some sort of reality show about teen girls wanting to be in beauty pageants... ugh. THEN... one girl (who was not exactly stick thin skinny) was in a bikini and her mom was standing there with her and she was telling her daughter that her ass was too big and she shouldn't have these love handles and "just look at the cellulite back there". Oh My God. I guess it makes sense why this little girl wants to be in pageants when her mother is so focused on appearances. Now, my mom has said a few things in my life regarding my body that I'd rather she'd not said, but never made comments like that! Now, you may be thinking, Duh, of course not, you're a rail... that's true... but I mean in the way that she'd be telling me I'd have to change the way my body looks if I wanted to be considered beautiful. There are so many things wrong with that that I don't even think I know where to start, considering my limited computer time.
Once again, I'm glad that I have a son and not a daughter, because the good old US of A is not a nice place for little girls to grow up in... if you want them to have a decent self esteem that isn't based on how nice their boobs or ass are. I CANNOT STAND THAT SHIT.
Sorry about all the cursing.
A post set to retro 80's music
I am currently listening to an old Blondie song. Do I actually need to say "old" there? Does Blondie even have any new songs? Watch, she probably just put out a hot new cd that everyone knows about but me. Damn!
I am also currently alone in my home. This is a big deal. This hardly ever ever happens. My husband took our son to the mall, apparently to do some shopping? I think my son procrastinated about mother's day and was panicked because he didn't get me anything. My husband, being the sweetheart that he is, decided to take him to the mall to pick something out. So, anyway, that leaves me alone in the home... I have cleaned the entire house in an hour and a half. Amazing.
Now it's that song about being On the road to Nowhere? Talking Heads, maybe? I don't know.
Well, I don't really even know what else to say. I keep trying to think of some witty little anecdote... but I've got nothin'. Sometimes blogging is hard... it's a lot of pressure to find the right information to share and have it be interesting to read and hopefully sometimes a little funny.
Now it's the Pretenders.
Well, hope everyone is having a great weekend... in case I don't post tomorrow... Happy Mother's Day to all the mommys!! I think we deserve more than one day, but if it's one day we're given, I'll take it.
A little bit panicky
It is a dark, quiet morning here. It's cloudy outside and the baby is taking his nap. He actually went to sleep a little early. He made some progress re: crawling this morning... I can't wait for him to show his daddy today. He's not actually crawling yet, but he's close.
Do you ever get an anxious feeling that you have a lot to do, and then you try to think about it and you can't even remember all the things that you are supposed to do? It's hard with a baby, because every time I remember I'm supposed to call someone, it seems to be when he's napping. And I can't call people then because it will wake him up. I think about all the friends that I have that I haven't talked to in forever and how I'd like to call them, but know that if I can't even seem to find time to call family (sorry, Bobo), how am I going to find time to call friends? Ugh...
I think I am in some understated panic due to the upcoming hurricane season (I already started stocking up on water and formula) and bird flu. Natural disasters take on a whole new spin when you have a little one. During the great Hurricane Season '04, when central FL got hit with four hurricanes in a month, I remember going shopping for supplies and being nervous, but it's not at all what I already feel now that there's a baby around.
Change of subject...
What's going on with SNL lately? Tom Hanks, of course, was a great host, but the writing seems to have taken a dive. Although that little 1990 video about "Please don't smash my testicles" was pretty good.
The impending second MRI
I just read my husband's blog and the reality of MRI #2 is setting in. I may or may not write about it again, I just don't know. However, in case you haven't read K's blog, here are the facts:
May 19~ The MRI is at 2:00. Our son has to fast for 12 hours leading up to it. This even means no water. I already feel my heart breaking for him. MRI is about a 45 minute procedure, then we can see him. He will most likely still be completely sedated and drugged, but we will get to be there while he wakes up. This was very hard last time. As long as he comes out of the anesthesia ok, then we're free to go. We won't know anything about the cyst at this point.
May 24~ Yes, that's five whole days later. We have our follow up appt. with the neurosurgeon to review the results. This is when, you guessed it, we're told what's what with the cyst. This will be the day that we are told what the next step will be.
Just like last time, I'd really prefer not to get phone calls about this, even though I know you are all just wanting us to know you're thinking of us. If you want to contact me during all this, please just email or comment on the blog. I'll let you all know the prognosis soon after the appt. on the 24th.
Thanks for being so patient and respectful. I'm sure it's hard for you guys to just sit and wait, but it's really the only way I can do all this.
In 16 days we'll know our next step.
Quick update
OK, I don't want to jinx it or anything... but so far, we've had a really great Saturday. I say this because our past three Saturdays have been... trying. The baby had been fussy and cranky and we were both coming off of long weeks, and it just added up to three frustrated, cranky, tired people trying to get through the day together. But, today has been really good so far!
We left for Publix a little after seven... yes, seven AM... in order to get the shopping done and to try out the baby in his little shopping cart padding thing... which he loved. That killed a big part of the early morning and we returned home to have only a ten minute crying spell before the nap, and it's been smooth sailing ever since.
I'm happy.
It's a beautiful (but kind of hot) day and we're planning to head out and keep the little guy busy. Hope you all are having a good Saturday, too.
Yes!
He's asleep! Now it's officially a happy Friday!
Rough Morning
Well, we've been working on taking a nap for a half an hour now, and he's currently screaming in his crib. Ugh... Tough morning... I know he's exhausted and he has to fall asleep soon. But this sucks...
This pissed me off.
So, I work in a small building surrounded by other small buildings, many of them dr. offices. Sometimes the parking lot at my building gets too full and I have to park down the street, usually in front of a random medical office. Today that happened and I had to park in front of a Women's Center. We all know what this means, right? So, I park, get out, walk to the sidewalk and there's a woman there on the sidewalk, looking at the building, with her maybe 2 year old daughter, holding rosary beads, and praying. She looked at me and I could tell she assumed I would be going into the women's center and began praying for me.
OK...
1. Don't pray for me... unless it serves YOU some kind of purpose and makes you feel better.
2. This is directed at that woman... Don't Assume!!!!
3. Also directed at that woman... Don't Judge!!!
4. Also for the woman... Don't try to put your beliefs on someone else!!! Why can't people just leave other people alone?
There is a lot more that I could say on this topic, but I'll hold off for now.
The month of intensity
In an attempt to keep things lighthearted while at the start of what can only be called an Intense Month, I will blog about one of my favorite things. My best friend gave me a gift certificate for my birthday. I love gift certificates... some may say it's an impersonal gift, but I say it's a free shopping trip. Now I get to shop without the nagging worry of money! She's the best. I plan to spend every penny of it this afternoon.
Why is it an intense month? Because our son returns for his second MRI and follow up appt. with the neurosurgeon and I have some lovely medical issues of my own. On top of that, work gets crazy for both my husband and I because it's near the end of the school year. We also have to continue our search to find a new place to live. Also, my parents are getting ready to move to NC, which causes stress and chaos for them, understandably. It also causes sadness for me. They haven't seen our son since Christmas and will not be able to see him before they move. Then, they'll be moving and who knows how long it will be. Very disappointing. So, basically there is a lot of stress and a lot of very emotional things happening. I just hope it goes fast.
