Pokes

At the hospital after Maizy was born her blood sugar was low. So they had to retest her a couple times to make sure it was at a good number. Thankfully it was and there wasn't any problems with that. But I just felt bad that my poor tiny baby had to be poked so much because I had gestational diabetes and so SHE was born with low blood sugar.

Then at her newborn check up with the pediatrician they thought she looked a little jaundice more pokes. There was a student nurse. The regular nurse asked if I minded if the student did the heel prick and got the blood for the jaundice test and newborn screen. I figured it was a heel prick not too complicated shouldn't be too hard to do so I said ok. Bad decision! Apparently it's not as easy as it sounds. She didn't poke Maizy in the best spot and was having a hard time getting the blood to come out. It was taking so long and poor Maizy was just screaming. She was trying to pull blood down from her leg by squeezing her leg and pumping it. She did a lousy job getting the blood in the vile. There was blood all over.  Then just as the vile was almost full she dropped it on the floor!  Thankfully at that point the regular nurse asked the student to step out and get a wet rag to wipe up all the blood and took over. Had she not said she would take over I would have told the student myself she was done practicing on my baby! She came back in and was on the floor cleaning up my sweet baby's blood and I kind of wanted to kick her in the face (I was sitting on the exam table with Maizy so I was well positioned to do so!) I did not, I also couldn't look at her with out shooting death/hate darts at her with my eyes so I just didn't make eye contact, I also just had no reply for her when she apologized, what was I supposed to say, oh that's ok you tortured my baby?  Don't think so. Instead I said nothing, rude? Maybe but not as rude as what I felt like saying! The regular nurse had to poke Maizy again and start all over. It was so traumatic for both of us! I learned my lesson my baby is not for practicing on! My Mother I Law, Corinne was with us. She's a nurse and thus has been a student nurse. When both nurses left I said "I should have said no!" She replied how she has to learn and how she hoped this didn't traumatized the nurse. Not what I wanted to hear but it was good for me to think of how that student nurse felt, probably pretty awful too. It didn't make me feel any better but it did make me want to kick her in the face less. Thankfully the test for jaundice came back fine and she hasn't had to be poked again. Three weeks later and her poor heels are just clearing up from all the poke marks!  

Goupy

Everyone in my home was goupy. Maizy's umbilical stump fell off fairly early which can be normal, but then her belly button started bleeding.  A quick google search calmed my fears and told me this can be normal, especially when the umbilical stump falls off early. A call to the pediatrician confirmed this. Nothing to worry about just clean it with a Qtip and rubbing alcohol every morning and night. Her eye also got goupy, another call to the pediatrician determined it was a clogged tear duct, I was told to wash it with a warm wash cloth and massage it with every feeding. Goupy Maizy.

Brent had a cough that just wouldn't go away. He was coughing up all sorts of lovely flem. He finally went to the doctor and came home with antibiotics and inhaler. Goupy Brent.

Croix had a cough for about a week, it would mostly act up at night.  Then about day seven he started getting goupy eyes. (His long lucious eye lashes are awesome except when scrubbing eye goupiness out of them) Considering Brent had come home from the Dr. The day before with antibiotics and now Croix's eyes were goupy we headed in to the pediatrician where we were told he has a cold. Best part of this Croix likes to pick at and eat his eye goupies! So utterly disgusting!  Goupy Croix.

And me well I just had a baby so I still have postpartum bleeding. I am nursing and my boobs leak all.the.time! Maybe more leaky then goupy but, goupy me!

(At night when I was trying to sleep Maizy would be making all sorts of gassy newborn noises, Brent is making congested noises. Croix is coughing (which I can hear) and some how I was supposed to sleep through all of that and did!)

Indulging

I had my first outing with out the kids.(I do love being able to say kidS) It was oh so exciting, I went to the grocery store! I was craving carbs and didn't want to turn on the oven because it was already hot in my house. So as I left I said to Brent, bye I'll be back shortly with something very unhealthy for us. As I got to the store and was walking in I felt like I should have a T-shirt saying, "please excuse my appearance, I'm not normally such a scrub I just have a gassy newborn." I hadn't showered in a few days, had spit up on me, no makeup, hair was all sorts of awesome, you know the look.

Although I intended to get something naughty I did not intend to go as crazy as I did! I ended up getting a fruit tart, two eclairs, brownies, thin mints, toaster strudel, ice cream, and chips. At the check out I surveyed my loot and thought the cashier must think I'm a bulimic about to go binge and purge with all this crap! Have no fear I didn't eat it all at once, still have quite a bit of it left, and I've enjoyed every bite! On a completely unrelated not my skin has been breaking out. I'm sure this has absolutely nothing to do with my post gestational diabetes/nursing carb fest I've been indulging in. Rather it being caused by my  fluctuating hormones!  That's my opinion anyway!

Draft

I'll write the title of a post and maybe one sentence to remind me what to write about and save it as a draft to complete when I have more time.  Apparently I forget about them often!  I just found about 20 drafts.  So if you're wondering about the random posts, that's what they are.  I deleted almost half of them because I can't remember what I wanted to specifically blog about!  I'm sad about that!  I better be more diligent about finishing up those drafts!  (There are currently a handful of drafts still waiting for me to have time to write! HA)

Big Boy

Last weekend, three separate times someone referred to Croix as a big boy.  Not to me, in fact all three times I just over heard it.  It makes me a little sad.  He is turning into such a big boy.  I don't think there's any baby left in him at all.  Time is flying by too fast.  (3/14/11)

2010

Up The Nose

**Another draft I just found, it was just the title.  Not remembering the details too much but I do remember Croix stuck something up his nose before church.  It was super exciting. 

Rain!

***  I just saw this in a draft and so I'm posting it.  (It rained today, poured.   We still loved it.  Croix and I went to the grocery store and he loved using an umbrella, even though he didn't really need it any more :)

Rain is a rarity here in the dessert. We usually know its coming days in advance and it is awaited with great anticipation. Well the other day we had a surprise storm. Croix and I went out and sat in the sprinkles. I watered my tomato plants thinking that was all it was going to do. There was some thunder and Croix says "it sounds like scary" so I explained thunder and we got excited when we heard it.  Then it started to pour! We headed inside. Croix watched from the window and kept saying cool! We loved it!!! Ah how we love the rain in the dessert!

video of Croix and his umbrella :)

 

Boo Boo

I had mentioned to Brent recently that we should pick up some more band aids because Croix has reached that age where he gets boo boos all the time.  So when he and Croix were out at a store they picked up some Cars and Angry Birds band aids.  Croix LOVES them.  Of course he wanted to use them.  I was explaining that you only use a band aid when you have a boo boo that's bleeding.  He climbed off the couch and started throwing himself on the floor.  Kind of like a frog hop, and throwing his knees into the ground.  Then he rolls over onto his back and says waah waah.  He came over to me and says "Mommy I have a boo boo I need a band aid"  We laughed so hard I had tears.  I said to Brent, "I think I'm going to pee my pants".  Brent then says to Croix "oh no mommy's going to pee her pants, we're going to have to give her spankings".  Of course Croix promptly comes over to me and smacks my leg and then proudly reports to Brent, "I give Mommy spankings".  A good laugh was just what I needed.  How I love my little boy!
**Just a couple days later he needed a band aid, post on why coming soon.

Gas

Maizy is a gassy baby.  It's hard.  I've blogged this post a dozen times in my head, usually in the middle of the night when we should be sleeping.  It really is so sad.  She'll be soundly sleeping and then just wake up screaming.  You can see in her little face that she is hurting, her body tenses up, her cry is a pained cry.  Oh I wish I could just instantly help her feel better, but we just have to wait for it to pass.  Funny how the sound of a good burp from her really makes me so happy!  And a good toot, even happier, because it's usually been causing pain, and crying for quite a while before it comes.  I talked to a lactation consultant because I feel like the gas is mostly coming from her gulping air.  She suggested hand expressing a little milk before feeding her so I'm not so full, burping her for 10-15 minutes between sides and at the end of a feeding, burping her on her tummy, using gas drops at every feeding.  These seem to be helping a little.  The episodes of fussiness don't seem quite as frequent.  The burping suggestions have definitely helped up be more successful in burping her, especially tummy burping. 

It is exhausting.  I really honestly have tennis elbow from burping her so much, in both arms.  My tendons just hurt.  I need to ice them, I just keep forgetting.  My rotator cuff muscles are tired.  20-30 minutes of burping every feeding, when feedings are still pretty consistently every 2 hours is a LOT of burping.  I'm always so happy when she burps easily and quickly and smother her in kisses for a job well done!  This also leaves little time for sleep, 30 minutes of burping plus 20-30 minutes of feeding, add in a diaper change and well it's almost time to feed again.  Her fussiest time still seems to be from around 9 (when we would normally be going to bed) to anywhere from 11-1.  We continue to feed every two hours all night.  Then Croix wakes up at 7.  The worst is when Maizy wakes up to feed around six, because then I'm just up for the day.  By time we are done, Croix is getting up.  I am amazed at how much I can still manage to get done on so little sleep, more then I ever imagined possible.

If you had told me I would get this little sleep, and have a baby this fussy I would have told  you no way, I can't do that.  Yet somehow here we are, still alive and going.  The other day, after a long night I got Croix put down for a nap and Maizy started fussing.  I was so tired and just wanted a nap so desperately.  I started praying and heard myself saying "Heavenly Father what were you thinking giving me a gassy baby?  I don't know that I can do this!  I'm so tired.  I need my sleep, like really need it more then most people!  What were you thinking giving me a gassy baby?"  All this on the verge of tears.  Then I remembered a scripture I had read that very morning.  Third Nephi 3:7, we all know it well;

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."

My faith was strengthened, not only in the fact that I can do this, the Lord will support me and I will not be given more than I can handle.  But also my faith that my Heavenly Father loves me.  I find no coincidence in the fact that I read that scripture that very morning, or the fact that I remembered it in that moment when I needed reminded of those principles so desperately!  I've done hard things before.  Harder than I thought I could bear, and a loving heavenly Father and my Savior have always helped me through.  This time in my life will be no different. 

It is hard.  But I have faith.