Thursday, May 9, 2013
Real quick
Due to screaming child at home, this will be super fast. Dakotah has laryngomalacia. It is a grow out of thing. Just stay on oxygen and a monitor for a few months. In two weeks we have a swallow study to determine if she will need surgery. Very good doc appointment today. Amazing. Stress level is down a lot. Still keep doing what we're doing. But not so afraid of the unknown. Hurray!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Scattered update
It's the small things that make a big difference. Since starting the oxygen, she slept 6 hours straight in one night. 6!!!!! She did so well the past few nights, I decided to try her on her back last night. DUH! What was I thinking?! So this morning I hooked her up to her oxygen, and put her in her stroller. She was out! At least, I think she is.... I left her in the very capable hand of her daddy and big sister and a monitor. Yup.
After the oxygen test, they took the monitor away. I was a complete wreck. Here was this nice little device that could warn me before it got bad and now I had to rely on my own (seriously diminished) ability to recognize when something is wrong. At church, my friend who has had a preemie, told me that she had a monitor that I could borrow. What a HUGE blessing and miracle. The stress is greatly reduced!
She is doing good though. No more attacks when she is asleep, but only when she is awake. She just drops for whatever reason.
On another note, if your child is suffering from an extended period of pink eye, please do not bring them or their unmedicated/ contagious siblings to nursery. Katie got it. While I do have meds and hers is almost gone, now Ty is getting it. And trying to tell a 3 year old "don't touch the baby" or "dont get within 10 feet of the baby or anything the baby touches" is kind of unrealistic. It also prevents people from coming to help hold the baby, and thus long lives the skunk. Thank goodness Ty finished a term this week and has school off for the rest of the week. He got and A and a B! I am super proud of him!!!!
After the oxygen test, they took the monitor away. I was a complete wreck. Here was this nice little device that could warn me before it got bad and now I had to rely on my own (seriously diminished) ability to recognize when something is wrong. At church, my friend who has had a preemie, told me that she had a monitor that I could borrow. What a HUGE blessing and miracle. The stress is greatly reduced!
She is doing good though. No more attacks when she is asleep, but only when she is awake. She just drops for whatever reason.
On another note, if your child is suffering from an extended period of pink eye, please do not bring them or their unmedicated/ contagious siblings to nursery. Katie got it. While I do have meds and hers is almost gone, now Ty is getting it. And trying to tell a 3 year old "don't touch the baby" or "dont get within 10 feet of the baby or anything the baby touches" is kind of unrealistic. It also prevents people from coming to help hold the baby, and thus long lives the skunk. Thank goodness Ty finished a term this week and has school off for the rest of the week. He got and A and a B! I am super proud of him!!!!
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Update on Dakotah
The past few days have been interesting and stressful. After an at home oxygen test, the results show that Dakotah has a specific pattern of where her levels drop. While the drops are quite drastic, they don't last long. And a few times her heart stops/skips beats. This happens while she is asleep and awake. The doctor said that her body is able to recover quick enough so she ordered oxygen for the nighttime, hoping that it will help with those dips and the air flow might also help stimulate her to breath. She said it wasn't bad enough to be too worried, but "I'm ordering oxygen so your baby lives during the next two weeks" doesn't sound so encouraging to this mommy. She wants Dakotah to be seen by another specialist who works at Primary Children's. He didn't have anything for a few months. BUT he does clinics once a week at the U of U hospital and agreed to see us there in 2 weeks. So for the time being, she is on oxygen at night and I am supposed to watch her during the day and gently shake/tap her when she stops breathing or her heart weirds out. I must admit it is quite stressful. I am so grateful to my mom who has been there to talk to and offer support and insight. And my friend who came over and helped hold Dakotah so I could just take a shower. (that darn skunk!) lol
I figure it isn't normal for a mother to feel guilty and scared to leave her sleeping baby alone in a room. That is usually a huge celebration. But this morning, as I was trying to get ready for the day, Katie comes running out of my room (note: every time she goes in there she tries to wake Dakotah up by pulling blankets off her and hugging her and kissing her and it always -unfortunately- works) with a big smile saying "hey mommy! I touched Dakotah and she didn't wake up!" AHHHHHH!!!!!!! She was fine, but I am sure MY heart skipped a few beats!
We are trying not to worry too much. With the oxygen results there are other possible diagnosis: brain, heart, tonsils, ect. I am all for tonsils. Or a central nervous system immaturity that she can outgrow. We truly believe that she will be ok and it wont be a big deal. And obviously, it isn't if she is not in the hospital. I hope the doctor is over-reacting. (come on, you never hint at death in anyway to a parent you are not sending to the hospital) It is kind of hard to see her in distress and have to shake her or tap her and go from this red faced stiff baby to a relaxed happy baby. Night and day difference within a minute.
I am so grateful for all the prayers on her behalf. I know that they are sustaining not only her, but the rest of us. I believe that these prayers are what will help her the most.
Minus the few seconds long scares, she really is a happy, social, chunky and strong baby! She laughs and coos, She holds her head up. She tries to mimic facial expressions. She loves to cuddle and dance. She is amazing!
I figure it isn't normal for a mother to feel guilty and scared to leave her sleeping baby alone in a room. That is usually a huge celebration. But this morning, as I was trying to get ready for the day, Katie comes running out of my room (note: every time she goes in there she tries to wake Dakotah up by pulling blankets off her and hugging her and kissing her and it always -unfortunately- works) with a big smile saying "hey mommy! I touched Dakotah and she didn't wake up!" AHHHHHH!!!!!!! She was fine, but I am sure MY heart skipped a few beats!
We are trying not to worry too much. With the oxygen results there are other possible diagnosis: brain, heart, tonsils, ect. I am all for tonsils. Or a central nervous system immaturity that she can outgrow. We truly believe that she will be ok and it wont be a big deal. And obviously, it isn't if she is not in the hospital. I hope the doctor is over-reacting. (come on, you never hint at death in anyway to a parent you are not sending to the hospital) It is kind of hard to see her in distress and have to shake her or tap her and go from this red faced stiff baby to a relaxed happy baby. Night and day difference within a minute.
I am so grateful for all the prayers on her behalf. I know that they are sustaining not only her, but the rest of us. I believe that these prayers are what will help her the most.
Minus the few seconds long scares, she really is a happy, social, chunky and strong baby! She laughs and coos, She holds her head up. She tries to mimic facial expressions. She loves to cuddle and dance. She is amazing!
Monday, April 22, 2013
Dakotah's Update I.E. my big mommy fail
I did not expect to be here last week. Last week I was an extremely tired mom, who thought she was dealing with a normal healthy child. Our world has kind of changed since Friday morning when I was answering normal questions at Dakotah's 2 month check up and the nurse ran out of the room to find the doctor.
A little back story: Since about one month old, I had noticed what I thought was awful reflux in Dakotah. Especially when she laid on her back. She would stop breathing for a few seconds at a time. We changed her sleeping position to a slant and that seemed to help. She still had episodes, but not as long.
The nurse started asking "How long does she sleep? (30-45 minutes at a time maybe if we are really lucky, 2 hours) How often does she eat? (Every half hour to hour for 5-10 minutes at a time) Does she sleep on her back?" When I answered no to that one and explained why, she stopped me mid sentence and said "Sleep apnea." And proceeded out of the room calling for the doctor. He was very calm when he came in and said "I am so glad you came in today and that your baby is alive." Now I am feeling really concerned, but trying not to freak out. (I can really do good at that...) I kept trying to convince him that it was reflux. He would say "Ok yes it could be that, but you need to go see this doctor. You really need to get in as soon as possible."
The medicine he had ordered didn't go through the pharmacy so I figured that I would just call and talk to this doctor he had recommended and wait for the meds to clear. But now knowing that this was a scary situation, i started worrying every time she stopped breathing. Whereas before I didn't. The number he gave me was disconnected so Saturday morning we went and found a different number and left a message.
This morning (was it really just over 12 hours ago?) I woke up and felt prompted to call. So I did. Turns out this is the ONLY pediatric sleep specialist in the state of Utah. THE ONLY ONE! And she was booked out til June 6th with a cancellation list of over 100. So I scheduled and got off the phone and cried. I called to Katie and told her we needed to pray that the doctor could see Dakotah today. Not more than 5 minutes later, the phone rang. The front desk nurse said that we were a priority and needed to get in and they had just had an opening for noon. As I ran around putting everything together, Katie reminded me to say a prayer of thanks. It was a BIG miracle.
Ty came home from school to a very frantic, one track minded wife with two children ready to run out the door. We went to drop him off early at work and his boss told him to just come in later. As we sped down to West Jordan I was feeling a mix of gratitude and mommy guilt. I had though it was just reflux, not something really bad. I counted it being really bad by professionals reactions.
When we arrived and as we were getting checked in, Dakotah was sleeping in her car seat and had an episode right in front of the nurse. She was all "you do know that is not good, right?" Yeah, so I am learning. The doctor said the same thing as the pediatrician, "I am so glad your baby is alive today." Me too. I feel that I have been inspired on how to help her in certain situations, such as waking her, or sleeping her at a slant, or constantly holding her.
The doctor ordered a bunch of tests and was amazed that she was able to schedule them right in order for the remainder of this week. The first was what is called an upper GI and that was a few hours later out in Riverton. Ty's boss gave him the day off and he and his dad (who works out there) gave her a blessing in between appointments.
After the test at the hospital (she almost rolled off the xray table) they found that reflux was not the issue. She has it, but not bad enough to cause problems. Cue more intense mommy guilt.
The doctor is pretty surprised that she has this issue. Usually these are problems more commonly occurring in preemie babies. She is a whopping 15 lbs. No failure to thrive here.
The next few tests they will run are monitoring her oxygen when she sleeps- A little sensor taped to her foot that beeps really loud if the numbers get below 92. Then they will run a prob down her nose to check and see if she has something called "something stenosis" where the nose bone is smaller than normal. It is fixable. They will then check to see if her tracical tube and vocal cords are connected and if so it is also fixable. Nothing major. All in all, it is good to know they can fix it. But the fact that the specialist was worried and said "We need to do this fast but methodically so we can keep your daughter alive" was somewhat disconcerting.
So needless to say, sleep is something I am not sure exists anymore. I know I shouldn't feel guilty. But knowing and not doing are two different things. And it is hard to feel like I should even worry about this. I don't want to feel like I am making a big deal about it. There are some many more people out there that I feel have much harder trials. But this is my child. And this seems like a tremendous mountain right now.
Since her blessing however, she has seemed to be able to sleep longer and eat longer without as much a problem breathing. Ty said that if she is ok he will cry because it will be another miracle. I will too. I will also cry at the bills. :) lol We try to laugh at this, because laughter helps us keep moving. I believe that it can happen. I know she will be ok eventually. She is not going to die (thanks a lot doctors for tossing that around). I know that our prayers and the prayers of our friends and family have helped her and us today.
A little back story: Since about one month old, I had noticed what I thought was awful reflux in Dakotah. Especially when she laid on her back. She would stop breathing for a few seconds at a time. We changed her sleeping position to a slant and that seemed to help. She still had episodes, but not as long.
The nurse started asking "How long does she sleep? (30-45 minutes at a time maybe if we are really lucky, 2 hours) How often does she eat? (Every half hour to hour for 5-10 minutes at a time) Does she sleep on her back?" When I answered no to that one and explained why, she stopped me mid sentence and said "Sleep apnea." And proceeded out of the room calling for the doctor. He was very calm when he came in and said "I am so glad you came in today and that your baby is alive." Now I am feeling really concerned, but trying not to freak out. (I can really do good at that...) I kept trying to convince him that it was reflux. He would say "Ok yes it could be that, but you need to go see this doctor. You really need to get in as soon as possible."
The medicine he had ordered didn't go through the pharmacy so I figured that I would just call and talk to this doctor he had recommended and wait for the meds to clear. But now knowing that this was a scary situation, i started worrying every time she stopped breathing. Whereas before I didn't. The number he gave me was disconnected so Saturday morning we went and found a different number and left a message.
This morning (was it really just over 12 hours ago?) I woke up and felt prompted to call. So I did. Turns out this is the ONLY pediatric sleep specialist in the state of Utah. THE ONLY ONE! And she was booked out til June 6th with a cancellation list of over 100. So I scheduled and got off the phone and cried. I called to Katie and told her we needed to pray that the doctor could see Dakotah today. Not more than 5 minutes later, the phone rang. The front desk nurse said that we were a priority and needed to get in and they had just had an opening for noon. As I ran around putting everything together, Katie reminded me to say a prayer of thanks. It was a BIG miracle.
Ty came home from school to a very frantic, one track minded wife with two children ready to run out the door. We went to drop him off early at work and his boss told him to just come in later. As we sped down to West Jordan I was feeling a mix of gratitude and mommy guilt. I had though it was just reflux, not something really bad. I counted it being really bad by professionals reactions.
When we arrived and as we were getting checked in, Dakotah was sleeping in her car seat and had an episode right in front of the nurse. She was all "you do know that is not good, right?" Yeah, so I am learning. The doctor said the same thing as the pediatrician, "I am so glad your baby is alive today." Me too. I feel that I have been inspired on how to help her in certain situations, such as waking her, or sleeping her at a slant, or constantly holding her.
The doctor ordered a bunch of tests and was amazed that she was able to schedule them right in order for the remainder of this week. The first was what is called an upper GI and that was a few hours later out in Riverton. Ty's boss gave him the day off and he and his dad (who works out there) gave her a blessing in between appointments.
After the test at the hospital (she almost rolled off the xray table) they found that reflux was not the issue. She has it, but not bad enough to cause problems. Cue more intense mommy guilt.
The doctor is pretty surprised that she has this issue. Usually these are problems more commonly occurring in preemie babies. She is a whopping 15 lbs. No failure to thrive here.
The next few tests they will run are monitoring her oxygen when she sleeps- A little sensor taped to her foot that beeps really loud if the numbers get below 92. Then they will run a prob down her nose to check and see if she has something called "something stenosis" where the nose bone is smaller than normal. It is fixable. They will then check to see if her tracical tube and vocal cords are connected and if so it is also fixable. Nothing major. All in all, it is good to know they can fix it. But the fact that the specialist was worried and said "We need to do this fast but methodically so we can keep your daughter alive" was somewhat disconcerting.
So needless to say, sleep is something I am not sure exists anymore. I know I shouldn't feel guilty. But knowing and not doing are two different things. And it is hard to feel like I should even worry about this. I don't want to feel like I am making a big deal about it. There are some many more people out there that I feel have much harder trials. But this is my child. And this seems like a tremendous mountain right now.
Since her blessing however, she has seemed to be able to sleep longer and eat longer without as much a problem breathing. Ty said that if she is ok he will cry because it will be another miracle. I will too. I will also cry at the bills. :) lol We try to laugh at this, because laughter helps us keep moving. I believe that it can happen. I know she will be ok eventually. She is not going to die (thanks a lot doctors for tossing that around). I know that our prayers and the prayers of our friends and family have helped her and us today.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Confessions of a brainless mom
I ate a box of Thin Mints in one night, Twice.
I forget my second child's name frequently.
I let a load of laundry sit in the washer for 3 days.
Katie and I can recite all commercials on TV, and she loves the channel 4 news team. Anyone know where Kylie Conway went? Katie's had a few melt downs the past week when she hasn't been on.
I once sat down and continued to feed the baby after answering the door and realised I couldn't remember if I'd been decent or not when I was at the door.
I thought a skunk was dead outside or something and tried to sniff around to find it. It turned out the smell was me.
I still have thank you cards I haven't sent out yet.
Scripture reading with Katie consists of singing songs from the children's song book while I feed Dakota.
There is more but this is a library visit with both children. If we are on tonight's news for disturbing the peace, I wont be surprised.
I forget my second child's name frequently.
I let a load of laundry sit in the washer for 3 days.
Katie and I can recite all commercials on TV, and she loves the channel 4 news team. Anyone know where Kylie Conway went? Katie's had a few melt downs the past week when she hasn't been on.
I once sat down and continued to feed the baby after answering the door and realised I couldn't remember if I'd been decent or not when I was at the door.
I thought a skunk was dead outside or something and tried to sniff around to find it. It turned out the smell was me.
I still have thank you cards I haven't sent out yet.
Scripture reading with Katie consists of singing songs from the children's song book while I feed Dakota.
There is more but this is a library visit with both children. If we are on tonight's news for disturbing the peace, I wont be surprised.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Crazy fast no time update
AHHHH! I have no time to write any nice blogs anymore. In between nursing and changing diapers and playdates and Ty starting school and only having one car and doctors visits and everything else there is hardly time to get to the library let alone blog while I am here.
So really quick:
Dakotah Ryleigh Webster was born February 8th weighing 7lbs 13 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. True in form to the pregnancy, there have been a few health scares since birth, but nothing big. She is a healthy and mostly happy 6 week old. She has redish hair and loves to smile and try to laugh. Her favorite place to sleep is while being held but she will allow us to place her in her car seat or stroller to sleep. She is a porker and is already filling out her 6 month old clothes.
Katie is enjoying (for the most part) being a big sister. She has had a few rough moments but overall is a great help and pretty happy. She turns 3 tomorrow. Oh where has the time gone??? She loves playdough, stickers, chalk, Daniel Tiger, playing with her friends and anyone trying to give attention to Dakotah, getting out of the house and helping in the kitchen. She is so smart and loving.
Ty is starting school next week. It will be a great adventure (says the mom who will be stuck at home with two little girls M-TH each week) and in the end will be a big blessing.
Well, the baby is starting to wake up because the parakeets in the library keep chirping. And I still have to run to the store and the post office and be back home in 45 minutes so that Ty can leave for work. When I am on the go I am busy busy busy, but at home its quiet and laid back (and boringly stir crazy!).
I shall attempt something like this next month.
So really quick:
Dakotah Ryleigh Webster was born February 8th weighing 7lbs 13 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. True in form to the pregnancy, there have been a few health scares since birth, but nothing big. She is a healthy and mostly happy 6 week old. She has redish hair and loves to smile and try to laugh. Her favorite place to sleep is while being held but she will allow us to place her in her car seat or stroller to sleep. She is a porker and is already filling out her 6 month old clothes.
Katie is enjoying (for the most part) being a big sister. She has had a few rough moments but overall is a great help and pretty happy. She turns 3 tomorrow. Oh where has the time gone??? She loves playdough, stickers, chalk, Daniel Tiger, playing with her friends and anyone trying to give attention to Dakotah, getting out of the house and helping in the kitchen. She is so smart and loving.
Ty is starting school next week. It will be a great adventure (says the mom who will be stuck at home with two little girls M-TH each week) and in the end will be a big blessing.
Well, the baby is starting to wake up because the parakeets in the library keep chirping. And I still have to run to the store and the post office and be back home in 45 minutes so that Ty can leave for work. When I am on the go I am busy busy busy, but at home its quiet and laid back (and boringly stir crazy!).
I shall attempt something like this next month.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
2 y.o. self care
"Iiiiiii, Just SOOOOOOOO OO OOO SAAAAD!"
Thus began this morning. Over the past week we have set up the house to prepare for the baby. (The whole "well your water could break anytime so just go to the hospital when it does" was the extra incentive we needed to get prepped.) We brought half the toy room out to the front room to allow for more interaction with Katie as I sit on the couch. We set up a space for the baby in our room. (Yes, yes we do have 3 bedrooms. I however am a paranoid mother and still have a baby monitor in Katie's room. And I am not a good night wake-er. So having the baby within arm reach is what is best for us.) Katie helped me pull out all the clothes and toys and wash everything. We have meals in the freezer, bags packed, and we even made 14 cloth diapers the other day. (anyone ever gone that way before???!!!! I have no clue what I am thinking!) All in all, I thought she was handling it well. We involve her in everything, and have made matching blankets and shirts for them, and have a few special presents she will get when the baby is born. She sits and has cuddle time with my tummy, gives the baby good night hugs, plays ring around the rosey (my belly has pinch marks from where she grabs on) and sits and sings and reads to the baby. But she is only 2 (almost 3), and I knew that a day like today was coming. I am sure there will be more.
It started because I pulled out and washed all the "newborn" inserts for the the bouncer, highchair, car seats ect. I left them to dry on the couch last night and woke up to "Oh mommy! Can I use this? Did you wash it for me!??"
Fail= "groan. sweetheart, those are for baby Dakotah." roll over and try to get back to sleep. (in my defense, I was tired. She'd been up with a bad dream at 3am.)
Thus began a sob session. She had hit her limit. The cool toys (teething rings and rattles) were for the baby, the clothes were for the baby, the blankets, the car seat, the play pen, the bouncer, the diapers, the wipes, the binkis, the bottles..... all of it was for the baby. It was just too much for her little brain to handle anymore. (silly mommy thinking that somehow doing this right after christmas when she had gotten a lot of new stuff would help at all.)
"It is a lot of baby stuff, huh?"
Sniff, sniff "YEEEAAAAHHH!"
"Hmmmm, well, it sounds like we need some Katie big girl stuff."
Silence.
"How about a trip to the DI to see if we can find some?"
"OH YES YES YES!"
Tears vanished, she jumped off the rocking chair and instantly stripped so that she could get changed to go.
3$ later we left the DI. Satisfied, if but for the moment. She really will be such a great big sister. She tells me all the time what games and toys and blankets she will share. She even said that she will play ring around the rosey with Dakotah when she is born so that I can take a shower. (This mommy might pull the bouncer into the bathroom and hide the baby!) She is just learning a very important aspect of life. You can give and give and give to others, but ultimately, you have to take care of yourself, too.
Sigh. Too bad hair cuts or pedis/manis aren't 3$.
lol
Thus began this morning. Over the past week we have set up the house to prepare for the baby. (The whole "well your water could break anytime so just go to the hospital when it does" was the extra incentive we needed to get prepped.) We brought half the toy room out to the front room to allow for more interaction with Katie as I sit on the couch. We set up a space for the baby in our room. (Yes, yes we do have 3 bedrooms. I however am a paranoid mother and still have a baby monitor in Katie's room. And I am not a good night wake-er. So having the baby within arm reach is what is best for us.) Katie helped me pull out all the clothes and toys and wash everything. We have meals in the freezer, bags packed, and we even made 14 cloth diapers the other day. (anyone ever gone that way before???!!!! I have no clue what I am thinking!) All in all, I thought she was handling it well. We involve her in everything, and have made matching blankets and shirts for them, and have a few special presents she will get when the baby is born. She sits and has cuddle time with my tummy, gives the baby good night hugs, plays ring around the rosey (my belly has pinch marks from where she grabs on) and sits and sings and reads to the baby. But she is only 2 (almost 3), and I knew that a day like today was coming. I am sure there will be more.
It started because I pulled out and washed all the "newborn" inserts for the the bouncer, highchair, car seats ect. I left them to dry on the couch last night and woke up to "Oh mommy! Can I use this? Did you wash it for me!??"
Fail= "groan. sweetheart, those are for baby Dakotah." roll over and try to get back to sleep. (in my defense, I was tired. She'd been up with a bad dream at 3am.)
Thus began a sob session. She had hit her limit. The cool toys (teething rings and rattles) were for the baby, the clothes were for the baby, the blankets, the car seat, the play pen, the bouncer, the diapers, the wipes, the binkis, the bottles..... all of it was for the baby. It was just too much for her little brain to handle anymore. (silly mommy thinking that somehow doing this right after christmas when she had gotten a lot of new stuff would help at all.)
"It is a lot of baby stuff, huh?"
Sniff, sniff "YEEEAAAAHHH!"
"Hmmmm, well, it sounds like we need some Katie big girl stuff."
Silence.
"How about a trip to the DI to see if we can find some?"
"OH YES YES YES!"
Tears vanished, she jumped off the rocking chair and instantly stripped so that she could get changed to go.
3$ later we left the DI. Satisfied, if but for the moment. She really will be such a great big sister. She tells me all the time what games and toys and blankets she will share. She even said that she will play ring around the rosey with Dakotah when she is born so that I can take a shower. (This mommy might pull the bouncer into the bathroom and hide the baby!) She is just learning a very important aspect of life. You can give and give and give to others, but ultimately, you have to take care of yourself, too.
Sigh. Too bad hair cuts or pedis/manis aren't 3$.
lol
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