Performing Minor Surgery

I celebrated about my "healing" just a little too early. The steri-strips were on/over my wound for 35 hours, give or take. Just a few minutes ago, before I sat down to blog, I couldn't take the itching and pain from the steri-strips any longer. I consulted with my Mom since she's a nurse, and because Mike didn't answer his phone (cause he's working), and she advised me to take the strips off and pack the wound myself. I've actually done this once before, just a few nights ago, when Mike and I were having a little bitty disagreement. I was in the wrong.

Now let me tell you how easy this one was. It may be too much information, but this is all the material I have to blog about tonight! If it's too much, imagine you have this wound on the back of your lower leg. First you have to stand in the shower and spray the wound out. Then you realize that you probably missed the thing altogether because you couldn't see it and you line the bathroom floor with towels so you can try again in front of the mirror. After that you have to take a Q-tip and try your darndest not to hurt yourself as you pack it with as much 1/2 inch gauze that you can. After this, you (if you're playing along)/I am able to walk without the irritation those stupid little plastic steri-strips caused and they weren't even sticking that well.

I don't know how much longer my wound saga will continue but I'll take this over the irritation. Tomorrow morning, we hit the road to Valdosta. It will be Evan's first car ride over an hour. Hopefully he will sleep the entire 3 1/2-4 hours. If not, I don't blame him.... I start to cry in a car over 2 hours myself. At least the trip will create good, if not better, blogging material than my surgical skills.

Updates

I went to the doctor this morning and we finally decided to close the good ole c-section wound up. I asked to avoid the Lidocaine shots and stitching and she did. Instead, I have nice little steri-strips. Here's hoping it works and I don't have to go back to packing the wound some more. Either way, I don't go back to the doctor until March! YAY!

Evan's baptism will not be before Lent. I'm disappointed and worked so hard to get things worked out but oh well. Between trips and our priest being transferred, things were just too difficult. I'm working on the week after Easter or by the first weekend in May. On Friday, I met Julie at Discover Mills and we traded out Evan's outfit for a larger baptismal gown. It's very boyish and has a onesie underneath. I was first opposed to the gowns but this one is nice. I'll post a new picture later.

Lastly, it's Katy's due date and no baby. Mike, Evan, and I are headed to Valdosta on Wednesday morning to visit with Katy and Derrick for a few days. If her baby boy decides to join us, that will be great.

I hope everyone else has had a good start to their week!

The things we do for the people that we love (and like a lot)

Evan's Baptismal Outfit
The new furnace ($4,000 deserves a couple of pictures)
The new A/C

Well today has been interesting. Mike called the HVAC service guy and it turns out we needed a new furnace and A/C. The cost for these two lovely items... $4,000. We don't have that kind of money. I told my mom about it and she paid for it so that we could avoid finance charges with another loan or putting it on a credit card. We are going to pay her back as the money comes in but it was so sweet of her to help us out. Luckily, Mike might have another flight tomorrow so he will make a little extra money.

As these two items were being installed, I left the house to run errands. (Side note: When you pay $4,000, they come to your house 30 minutes after the sales guy leaves to install it). Yesterday, I looked for Tummy Soother or Gripe Water for Evan at Target, Babies R Us, the Walgreens next to the house, CVS, and Eckerd. No one had it or they were sold out. Walgreens actually did have it but it was tampered with and the seal was broken. I ended up going to the Walgreen's up by the church, which is about 20 minutes further out from the house, and they had the Tummy Soother. Since he's been fussy lately, I figure this stuff will help. I've been doing a lot of reading on the Baby Center message boards for the December 2006 babies and that's where I found out about this stuff. Luckily, we haven't needed it today.

Yesterday, a lady from church, Julie Ciccone, called me. She helps me out with the Wedding Guild and she and her husband are very involved in the church. Back when I was still pregnant, she told me that she wanted to buy Evan's christening outfit and she wanted to buy it from Strausberg Children at Discover Mills. I said sure, even though I know that place is very pricey. After all, I'm not classy enough for a place that wraps their baby clothes in plastic on the hanger and who's slogan is "in the business of dressing angels". Angels must have a lot of money! Well back to my story, yesterday, Evan and I met her up there and she bought him an outfit, bonnet, booties with crosses, a bib with a cross, knee-high socks, and a beautiful blanket with a cross. I was floored by the gesture and the price (just under $200)! Everything is absolutely beautiful. We were going to get him a gown but he is too small. He is still in newborn size and we plan on having his baptism sometime in February. I have to call Fr. Chito tomorrow and see if we can have it at the Cathedral of Christ the King, where he was reassigned. We just have to get special permission to have a private baptism.

All in all, we are very lucky and loved people. I am so thankful to have a mom that is concerned about us and doesn't want us in financial ruin. I am also thankful to have great friends and family who show their love and post me messages about my blog, among other things... and occasionally, those angels from above that buy us expensive as heck baptismal clothes for my beautiful little boy.... oh and one more thing...thankful Walgreen's somewhere had something to help my baby's tummy next time we have a really, really bad day.

I stand corrected.... Katy

My sister-in-law, Katy has a blog too. Yay! Check out Katy's Blog in the links on the right. We'll see you next week and baby needs to be here!

The Blogging Phenomenon

Add another one of my friends to the list of bloggers. Check out Christina's page, The Bresnan Family, by clicking the link at the right. Christina is my friend from work who I've know since I started at Northside, over 7 years ago. She has a baby girl, Lindsay who was born in June. Enjoy blogging, Christina.

Now we have to see if Katy will start after her little man is born, sometime next week!

Sleep

6 Weeks!

Evan is 6 weeks old today! Time is flying. I'm enjoying it all and dreading that I only have 6 more weeks off of work. Evan has been cranky for the past few days. He hasn't been sleeping all that well. The 5 hour night was a one time only appearance. Saturday night he gave us a 4 hour time span and now we're back to the 3 hour naps. I didn't expect it to last long but it was nice while it lasted.

Today, I've got Evan to take a few good naps, instead of the drink an ounce, sleep 20 minutes, cry, repeat. While he has napped, I've been a total geek. I've played on MySpace reconnecting with any and everyone I can think of and tracked Mike's flight to Houston and will probably track it as he flies back. Mike left around 1:00 this afternoon to transport a patient from Dekalb to Houston. He should be back home some time around 10 or 11 tonight.

Things are still good. I enjoy Evan immensly, especially since he's started following voices and he's starting to grasp at a few things. I still haven't seen a smile, but I was reading that since he was early, it might take him a little longer. I will patiently await each and every milestone!

A Sign of Things to Come?

Yesterday started out rough as Evan woke up at 6:40 something in the morning. He proceeded to stay awake, with a couple of 20 minute naps, until about 1:00 PM. Finally, we loaded him in the car seat so we could go buy a new computer chair and he finally slept.

We went to church at 5:30 PM and all seemed fantastic. (Side note: We sit inside the main part of the church since he usually sleeps.) Around 6:50 (Fr. Jack's Mass was long), during the final blessing, Evan let out a loud shrieking cry. You would have thought I dropped him on his head. Everyone proceeded to turn around and look at us but I had a bottle ready to go.

After Mass, we went to dinner in Loganville with Christina, Jeremy, Cole, and Jeremy's parents Barbara and Jimmy. After we returned home around 10 PM, Evan proceeded to stay up and restless until 1:00 AM. This morning, Mike was getting ready for work around 5:00 AM and asked asked me if I had gotten up to feed Evan. I hadn't. Mike left and at 6:00 AM, Evan finally woke up. He ate and we slept again until 9 AM. He has proceeded to eat and sleep in 20 minute segments again today, but I'm so excited that he slept for 5 hours straight. Maybe he feels sorry for us and maybe it was a one time deal but it is a nice change of pace.

A Funny Video for Today

I don't know if you are a fan of Scrubs but this is one of the funniest things I've seen in a while. It comes in a close second to Katie's blog - Cup of Joe. Hope you had a great day!

Lazy Cold Day

Evan, deep in sleep
After his bath last night

Sometime early this week

My cousin and best friend, Christina, with Evan this past weekend.


Today, I am putting random pictures in my post because Evan and I have done absolutely nothing. It has been too cold. We woke up around 10:15 AM, not counting the every three hour eating routine, and sat around and now he is taking a long nap. I've been outside twice today, once for the mail and another to get the garbage can off of the street. Other than that, I have 4 lazy animals sleeping on our bed and all is quiet in the house. Today is a good day to be a mommy, I just wish there were more to do in this bad weather.

Another Blogger

Today, I received an email from my sister-in-law, Heather, also in Texas, who has started a blog. Her blog link is on the right, Laney's Mommy. Elena was born on August 30, 2006 and started the Falk family baby boom. Of course, I was next with Evan, and Katy (Mike's sister) is due January 29, 2007 with her baby boy. Make sure you check out her page since she has joined the blogging world.

My Friend, Erin

My favorite picture

Soccer Match?

My friend in Texas, Erin, has a blog of her own that I just found out about! I met Erin when we were both planning our weddings back in 2004. We became instant friends but then she had to go and move to Texas. Erin also took our engagement pictures and our wedding pictures at the fire station. They are the best pictures ever (see above). She has an adorable baby girl, Lana. Check out her blog by clicking on the link on the right, The Ross Family. We miss you, Erin!

2 More Weeks and Other Random Bits...

The offending outfit
My baby burrito after we got home

As I watch 24, Evan watches me

Today, I went to the doctor, again. The goal was to finally close up the wound that remains from my c-section. Evan conveniently woke up right before my doctor and the nurse came back in. The nurse ended up holding and feeding him while I got poked at and shot up with Lidocaine to numb the area so that I could get put back together. I was watching the nurse and my baby boy and talking about how tired I was, with that being the reason Evan was wearing a horrible ensemble. He was wearing his ultra cool Gap onesie that says "I Love Daddy" in blue, with red and white striped pants and a totally different color of blue socks. I was horrified with myself as I kept watching them and wincing in pain from the needle.

Eventually my wonderful doctor had my lower abdomen numb and tried to sew me up but I was bleeding too much (lucky me). She was concerned about closing it up too soon and said that we should give it another 2 weeks of the twice daily dressing changes and then see how things look. After that failed attempt, we went to her office and she asked me twice if I was getting enough sleep. I must have looked really rough today but it was sweet of her to ask and I really love Dr. Nezhat because she's so sweet and good to me, even when she pokes me with needles. Other that that, I'm cleared to live my life again, so now I can try to do a little bit of exercise since my 7 lb baby left my body almost 5 weeks ago and I've only lost 5 lbs, or gained 2 lbs, whichever way you want to look at it.

After I came home and Evan went back to sleep, I tackled cleaning and organizing his room again, for the 10th time. I'm still not done and don't know when I will be. I know Evan is a very loved baby because we have more clothes for him than Imelda Marcos has shoes. Some are new but most are hand-me-downs. Since Evan will never wear them all and Mike is going to Haiti towards the end of February on a Medical Mission trip, I put a lot of clothes in bags. Mike is going to take them to the poor people they help in Hinche, Haiti since they need them more than we do.

If I ever heal from this c-section and the lack of sleep, we will try again for another baby after Evan reaches the one year mark. As I remember the pain of the Lidocaine needle and c-section issues I have every 12 hours when my dressing is changed, it makes it hard to think about another baby. Then, as I look at his room and the mounds of clothes and toys, I think we need to have another boy to use all of this stuff again, but we want a girl next (in a perfect world!). If we have another boy next time, we will try a third time. I'm wondering if I'll make it that long. Right now, if I don't get a paycheck in the mail tomorrow (thanks MLK for no mail today), I won't be surviving for long. Work screwed up my paycheck for my leave and the check that I was supposed to get back on 1/5/07, still isn't here, but hopefully it will be tomorrow. I can only borrow so much money from our savings account to pay my bills. Hope you enjoyed my dose of drama for today! Who knew one person could have so much!

24 is back!

Blogs about my baby boy will make a reappearance tomorrow.....

Mike and I are hooked on 24. I've never missed an episode and I own all of the first seasons on DVD. I hate violence and scary stuff but this is one show that I just can't get enough of. The first season, I would have voted for President Palmer on the show, because I thought he was a darn good president, and even though there is no way Jack Bauer can do everything he has done in each course of a day, I totally buy into it. Anywho...glad we have Tivo because with Evan, 2 hours tonight and 2 hours tomorrow night might be difficult. We are going to enjoy it though!

A Visit From Andrea and David

I'm slack and didn't take any pictures of Andrea and David's visit today so you will have to click on the Royal Family link to your right to see pictures. Andrea and David were kind enough to come see Evan and me today and bring us a yummy salad from Wendy's and some books for us to read. I finally met David and he is cuter in person than all of his pictures. Evan stayed awake most of the time they were here because he didn't want to miss anything.

Thanks again, Andrea, for driving the long way and visiting us. We will return the favor very soon!

Today, oh Today!

Today, I went to the doctor for what I thought was my post-partum appointment and wound follow-up. We have to dress my wound for yet another week but at least it is healing nicely, from what I'm told. I have no desire to look at it myself. I get to go back next Monday and hopefully, it can be sutured closed then.

Evan went with me today, as Mike is currently on a flight (his second job is as a flight medic). Evan was a doll baby as usual and made it through lots of handling at my office with my coworkers and a nice lunch with my friend, Chris, at work.

This afternoon, I got some disappointing news though... Mike's and my favorite priest, Fr. Chito, is being transferred to Christ the King. I called the church to schedule Evan's baptism and the secretary told me the bad news. Evan will still be baptised by Fr. Chito but it looks like it will be at Christ the King. I have to call him in a few weeks after he knows the baptism schedule at the Cathedral but we are planning on February 3 or 4. At least the Cathedral is beautiful and we can still have "our" priest baptise him. It saddens me, almost to tears, that our priest has to go. I knew it had to happen someday but Fr. Jack was only recently instilled as our pastor, less than a year ago. It just seems like too much change, too fast, but luckily, I'll live.

A Visit From Cole

Christina, Cole and Jeremy came to visit us last night. Cole loves his "Baby Heaven" as Evan is sometimes called and insists on supervising diaper changes, feedings and activity time. Cole took a turn yesterday at holding and feeding Evan and I was lucky enough to have the camera handy. Next time I will make sure I have the camera ready when Cole helps with a diaper change on a step stool next to the changing table.

Afterwards, Cole wanted to be the baby as you see from the last picture. We went out for a nice dinner at Frontera afterward.

Our First Date Night

Well..sorta. We dropped Evan off with my mom last night and went to church. The church was having a party for the Parish Leaders and since I run the wedding guild and skip all of the parish leadership meetings, I figured that we should attend. It was a lot of fun for the first couple of hours. The White Elephant game had 80 numbers in it though and it took forever. Best yet, I ended up with something shaped like a cheese block with cheese knives in it. I'm definitely taking it back to the party next year.

I talked to Fr. Jack at this party and played connect the dots on how we knew Andrea. It was a conversation starter but it worked! Fr. Jack even tried to throw his hat in the ring to do Evan's baptism. Overall, it was a good night. I would have liked the party to be shorter but it was a start on getting us out without Evan.

Baby Blues

No one warned me about the baby blues. If I was warned, I guess I didn't pay that much attention. As you can tell, from my previous posts, Mike going back to work caused me a lot of anxiety. I made it through the his first shift back and he's home now, sleeping.

Today is the reason for this post. I got up around 8 AM, after going to bed around midnight and then getting up at 2:45 AM and 6:00 AM. I took care of the few things that I needed to do and then went to my endocrinologist's office. I had a 10:00 AM appointment and arrived at 9:40 AM. At around 10:45, I looked around the waiting room and it was almost empty. I had also read 150 pages of my Jenny McCarthy Baby Laughs book so I was wondering what was going on. I asked the check in person if I had been missed (which I usually don't do because I'm used to waiting at least 30 minutes at this office - he takes his time with the patients). The girl gave me a funny look and said hold on. It turns out that when I checked in, they didn't click something on the computer so it looked like I was a no show! A few minutes later, another person told me that they would take me back in a few minutes. Almost 20 minutes later, I was still sitting so I asked if I could have another appointment and that's when I lost it. I broke down crying because it had been almost 4 hours since I last pumped and Mike got no sleep at work last night. I knew Mike would be suffering. I was right about the suffering part when I got home around 12:40 PM and saw a very tired Mike and Evan.

I was embarrassed but the tears would not stop. At this point, the whole office knew I had a 3 week old and they took me back to see another doctor. I cry at the drop of a hat lately. It's just a mild case of the baby blues but none-the-less I've got it. I'm still stressed about the no sleep thing and the breastfeeding issues but I know that in time it will all get better. Nothing about Evan makes me cry, except when I look at him sleeping and think he's so sweet and beautiful. It's everything else around us that stresses me to tears.

Follow Up

Mid-morning swing time
Lola visiting before work
(Lola is Filipino for grandmother because my mom looks way too young!)

Wide Awake

Before our current nap

About to fall asleep

It is now almost 8:00 PM. I've made it over 12 hours without my wonderful husband. The night is what scares me the most though. I know I will wake up as soon as Evan cries but it has been something I have feared that I will sleep through. Today, we've eaten, fussed, changed diapers and even took a short trip to Kroger. Evan slept the entire time we went and Kroger is less than a mile away but I needed some milk and sandwich meat and Mike needed coffee for the morning when he gets home. It probably could have waited until tomorrow but it was something I needed to do.

My mom came over around 5:30 PM, before she went to work tonight. She changed my c-section wound dressing (since that still plagues me) and fed Evan so that I could eat and get a few things put together. I never got a chance to take care of taking down our Christmas decorations but maybe tomorrow. I'm going to sleep after Evan's next feeding and diaper change, sometime around 9 PM, I'm guessing and give the night my best shot. I have to be up early to go to my endocrinologist and get my blood sugars back in order. Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Just the two of us

Last night (that's me sporting the snowflake red pants and purple robe...fashionable!)
Another picture from yesterday

Mike went back to work this morning. This day has caused me more anxiety in the last week that anyone could ever imagine. Now that the day is here, I am okay so far, but I still have until 8 AM tomorrow morning. I know I can handle it with just Evan and me but things are still so brand new. I guess I still feel a little overwhelmed too since I am having to feed him then pump (since I still have breastfeeding issues) and then clean the parts while I still remember to eat.

Evan was 3 weeks old yesterday! Time flies! We are still figuring each other out but things are still wonderful. If today is particularly good or bad, I'll post something later!