1/1/11: Happy New Year everybody! After a whirlwind holiday road trip spanning 15 days, travel through five states with two dogs and a toddler, we are *finally* back home! We’ve only been home a couple of hours but it’s such a relief to be back in our own space. 2010 was a rough year for us, so we’re hoping things will turn around in 2011.
Wishing you all health, wealth, love, and happiness in the new year!
1/12/11: At 3.5 years old, Dude has zero immune system and has been plagued with every ailment known to man. In the last three months he’s had a reaction to the bordetella vaccine, ringworm, and surgery to remove a tumor (his body created a tumor around the ringworm blocking off the fungus). Now we’re going back again this afternoon to find out why he’s so lethargic, is walking funny, crying when he gets up, and has another lump on his head. I just know this is going to end poorly. I love you Dudey!
1/15ish/11: Brady had her 2 year WCC (well child check) this morning. It’s two weeks late but we were out of town and I like to have the doctor do all of her visits for consistency. And because I like her so much better than everyone else in the office. Brady is doing great! She’s in the 92nd percentile for height at 36 inches and the 80th percentile for weight at 29.4 pounds! They stop checking head circumference at the 18 month visit so I don’t know what that is. Her soft spot still hasn’t quite closed all the way but the ultrasound in June made the doctor feel better about it being a normal variance and that there wasn’t some medical reason for it not closing. But it has gotten smaller so she’s just going at her own pace.
The only issue we had at the appointment was her ears. The doctor took a peek at them and they were both red, infected, and fluid-filled. She could not believeBrady hadn’t shown any symptoms of something being wrong (fever, runny nose, diarrhea, fussiness). The doctor mentioned that she has been a relatively healthy girl with not very many visits and that this was only her third ear infection ever. The office called in a prescription (which I already started her on) and she’ll go back in 2 weeks to have her ears checked. The office was out of flu shots so the doctor wrote me a prescription to take to HEB to get it but they only had pre-filled syringes and not the dosing thatBrady needed. Luckily, when we got home their office called me back saying they were ordering more and would get me a dose if she stilled needed it. So there were no shots at this appointment, but when we go back,Brady will have the flu shot and her last Prevnar shot. Then, she won’t need any more shots until she’s 4 and won’t need another WCC until she’s 3. That’s good news for me! These first two years have been filled with more needles than I would have liked but at least she’s protected!
We’ve been truly blessed that Brady has overcome her prematurity and is thriving (and growing) so much!
1/19ish/11: I ran my first 5k today (or 3.1 miles straight). I don’t necessarily know it’s my first ever but I’m pretty sure it is. And in all honesty, it was probably 50% run 50% walk. This wasn’t a race, just me running those 3.1 miles at home but I felt so accomplished. My time ended up being 44 minutes which I don’t think is that great. Apparently those that are running in timed (chipped) 5k’s want 12 minute miles. Boo, still too slow for that. But this is only the third time I’ve run in 2011 and the third since September and I wasn’t too great then either. And definitely wasn’t going this far. At least all at one time. I did better today and didn’t have any hives. I guess the Claritin
1/20ish/11: I took Cakes back to the pediatrician for a follow up and to get her Prevnar and flu shots. Her appointment was at 10:15 and we didn’t get put into the room until 11. Not only do I hate waiting but the waiting room is probably only a 12×12 room and sick/well kids are all mingling together. I saw dried snot on some of these kids faces and they were coughing and everyone was acting like it was ok we were all together. It’s not. I hate that waiting room and that there’s only one doctor. I adore the pediatrician though so it’s such a tough call on whether to stay with her practice or switch.
The nurse weighed Cakes again today and this time she stood on the scale long enough (by herself even this time) for the nurse to get a weight. It said she was 31.2 pounds which is up from 29.4 two weeks ago. Some of that probably is her clothes but I’m glad to see the number going up again. Unfortunately her ears are still infected and she’s being put on a higher strength antibiotic. One she’s never been on before, Omnicef, so I’m hoping she doesn’t have a reaction to it.
I heard the nurse practitioner call in the prescription while we were waiting so I stopped at Walgreens on my way home to pick it up. The tech said she didn’t see it and that she would check on it. After 25 minutes of waiting and no updates from her on whether it was there or not, I asked if they had located it yet and how long it would be and she said they had not and she didn’t know where the prescription was but she was still taking all the messages off the phone (how long had they been there? Cakes’s prescription was called in an hour ago by that time). I went ahead and brought her home to get her some lunch and a nap.
I just called Walgreens and her prescription is *finally* ready. When she wakes up (she’s been down for three hours now and she slept ’til almost nine today) we’ll head back over there and pick it up. I was hoping to get both doses of the prescription in her today but that’s not going to happen now. It was also suggested that I buy her some probiotics
Poor baby! This is only her third ear infection but I worry about hearing damage/loss each time she gets one. Her first ear infection at a year old didn’t clear up with the first round of antibiotics either so here’s hoping that it’s just a stubborn one and no damage has been done.
1/27/11: I feel the day has completely gotten away from me and I’m so behind on everything. Yesterday, I went to the doctor under the impression I’d be getting blood work done. Apparently, last time I was there the correct information was not entered into their system, and my appointment got listed as a preconception appointment.
Last week was when my original appointment was scheduled but the doctor was out and so I had to reschedule to this week with the midwife (even though their office canceled I would have had to wait another six weeks to get back into see the doctor). And really if you’re just getting lab orders, what does it matter who writes them? Cakes did really well while we were in the waiting room and had a fascination with seating in each of the chairs and pointing out different pieces of art. When we got called back for the appointment, she completely flipped out when I put her down to get weighed. She kept this up until we got in the room, then freaked out again when the midwife walked in. The midwife didn’t want to scare her so she kept her distance and ending up laying on the exam table while we talked. This helped but I don’t know why she did that. My only thought is maybe she’s associating doctor’s offices with getting her ears probed (which she hates)?
The appointment started out with the midwife asking how long ago I miscarried and if we were interested in trying again. I told her it had been six weeks and that yes (obviously), we wanted another baby. She said since I had already completed one cycle and my “clock had reset” that we could go ahead and start trying again now. When she asked if I had any questions, I told her I was a little confused by this because it contradicted what the doctor had told me at my last appointment which was to wait two cycles. I told her I was supposed to be getting blood work at this appointment and wanted to talk about what they were looking for and what that might mean.
The midwife had no idea what I was talking about and left to go get my chart (why it was still in the hall, I don’t know). When she returned she said she took back what she said and that I should wait until after my next cycle before trying to get pregnant again. She gave me the paperwork for the tests and briefly explained they’d be looking for reasons my body might be throwing mini clots. They don’t know that I have a clotting disorder at all (or if I do, what would be causing it) but they want to rule that out because a clotting disorder could explain my abruption with Cakes and miscarriage last month. The midwife told me they don’t expect to find anything and that if the results are normal I’ll be able to see the results on their patient portal in a few days but if they were abnormal I’d need to schedule with one of the doctors because “if you schedule with one of the midwives we’re going to be like, what? And not know what to do.” I’m already not feeling super confident about this practice and to hear things like that doesn’t help matters. Basically, she said it’d be a wait and see type thing but most clotting disorders can be controlled with baby aspirin or blood thinners. We finished up and she sent me over to the M.A. to get my blood drawn. The M.A. said they were unable to do this type of testing in their office and directed me to another lab (upstairs) because they didn’t have the right type of tubes or a freezer (testing for coagulation?).
The doctor’s office/lab is about 20 miles from my house so I figured I’d try getting everything done at one time and Cakes and I headed upstairs. I’m shocked that there’s no line and start feeling confident they can get me in before finding out that I have to fast for 10-12 hours before they can draw blood. So this morning after getting dressed and giving Cakes breakfast (she gets car sick on an empty tummy), we headed back to the lab. I waited a little while before heading over there (they open at 7) thinking that people would stop in on their way to work or want to get the blood work over and done with as early as possible so they could eat and get on with their day and that if I waited there wouldn’t be that many people there. I was so wrong – the waiting room was packed (I counted 14 other people) and I expected to be there a long, long time.
Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait very long at all. Cakes wasn’t quite restless yet and was eating Goldfish and reading a book when they called us back. I put her down so I could sit in the chair for the blood draw and she flipped out again. Big ole tears were rolling down her faces and she kept saying bye. I got out my phone and started playing a Sesame Street movie (Abby in Wonderland
I usually hate getting my blood drawn (I still do) but part of it is the environment it’s being drawn in. The entire building is newer and this office didn’t have the same type of feel as the strip mall type labs but was warmer and more welcoming. And the staff seemed much more professional from the receptionist to the phlebotomist. Hopefully the glucose challenge test will be a little less painful if I get it done in that office.
So there ya have it – the reason my day is off. Cakes is down for a nap now and I’m hoping she takes a longish one so I can feel somewhat good about my accomplishments for the day.