I finally have a few moments where I can pop on here and let you all know how it went! He is, of course, very clingy right now. It hurts for him to eat or drink and also to talk. Swallowing hurts so he gets a bunch of spit in his mouth. He doesn't want to take his medications, which is a pain in the butt because we have to hold him down and force it. Anyhow, here's how the day went:
We had to have him there at 6:45, in Modesto, so we left the house at 6 and dropped Ali off at my sister's house so she could take her to school. We were checked in and got to sit there for about an hour while we fought with him to take his vitals and get his gown on. He wasn't having any of it.
Finally, they got an order from the doctor for Versed to calm him down and make him more cooperative. It took awhile for it to kick in, but boy, when it did it sure made a difference!! He was happy and laughing. Of course, he was also having visual hallucinations at that point.
He kept reaching his hand toward the wall and pointing, saying, "I want that." Of course, nothing was there. Then he lay back on the gurney and looked at the ceiling tiles and lights and said, "Wooooaaah! Mama!! You gotta look at this!" I humored him and lay back to look at nothing myself. Yeah, my baby was stoned.
When they wheeled him off, he waved goodbye to us and proceeded to play peek-a-boo with his blanket and the nurses. It was so cute.
We went and grabbed some McDonalds for breakfast (yuck and more yuck) and went back up to the waiting room where I inhaled a couple of cups of coffee and did some homework. Pretty soon we heard crying and screaming. Mike said, "Is that Reece?" Next we heard, "I want my mommy!!!" Yeah, it was him.
We went in and got him calmed down. He was trying his hardest to rip out the IV. The pulse oximeter didn't stand a chance. We finally got him to sleep some more and then after an hour or so he started drinking some water. We stayed there until around 12:30 or so.
The doctor thought the surgery would take between 20 and 30 minutes, but it was actually done in 15. He was a very brave little boy, but I don't want to have to go through all of it again.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Ahhhhh......
Or should I say "Aaaarrrrggghhhhh"? I feel as if I am running, running, running and getting nowhere fast. I can clean for seemingly all day and yet my house is messy. I try to eat right and yet I am gaining weight. I try to be a good mom and wife and yet I feel as if I am somehow lacking in both areas.
Oh well. That vent is over.
Reece is getting his tonsils and adenoids out. We have a surgery date, October 30, but we don't have a time. I have to remember to call the doctor and get it straightened out. How long are we supposed to wait to find out whether or not we actually have an appointment? I cannot wait for him to have this done. He has sleep apnea. It greatly affects him falling asleep and staying asleep. He is hyper during the day, bouncing off the walls, the furniture, the floor, his sister, ME. He is grumpy and crabby and lashes out. The doctor mentioned (as Reece tore around the examining room in an excellent impersonation of Dash from The Incredibles) that children with sleep apnea tend to be hyperactive and often they calm down after the surgery.
Pray with me, will you?
Hey, while you're at it, pray for my headaches. No, they aren't gone. No, the insurance hasn't started paying for the medication that actually works on me. No, I don't know what we're doing next. Right now we're putting bandaids on a missing limb. It just doesn't work. The latest is the Imitrex administered nasally. I have to stick this apparatus up my nostril and push a plunger, shooting the medication straight into my sinuses. About a minute later, the residual hits the back of my throat. It is the nastiest taste ever. I truly hate the taste; it makes me want to gag. I run for the refrigerator and look for whatever I can find to mask the taste, to drown it, to cover it up and not taste it anymore. The bitterness is consuming and as I prepare the dose, I mentally prepare for the nastiness by counting in my head and doing some deep breathing.
I really do not enjoy migraines.
Oh well. That vent is over.
Reece is getting his tonsils and adenoids out. We have a surgery date, October 30, but we don't have a time. I have to remember to call the doctor and get it straightened out. How long are we supposed to wait to find out whether or not we actually have an appointment? I cannot wait for him to have this done. He has sleep apnea. It greatly affects him falling asleep and staying asleep. He is hyper during the day, bouncing off the walls, the furniture, the floor, his sister, ME. He is grumpy and crabby and lashes out. The doctor mentioned (as Reece tore around the examining room in an excellent impersonation of Dash from The Incredibles) that children with sleep apnea tend to be hyperactive and often they calm down after the surgery.
Pray with me, will you?
Hey, while you're at it, pray for my headaches. No, they aren't gone. No, the insurance hasn't started paying for the medication that actually works on me. No, I don't know what we're doing next. Right now we're putting bandaids on a missing limb. It just doesn't work. The latest is the Imitrex administered nasally. I have to stick this apparatus up my nostril and push a plunger, shooting the medication straight into my sinuses. About a minute later, the residual hits the back of my throat. It is the nastiest taste ever. I truly hate the taste; it makes me want to gag. I run for the refrigerator and look for whatever I can find to mask the taste, to drown it, to cover it up and not taste it anymore. The bitterness is consuming and as I prepare the dose, I mentally prepare for the nastiness by counting in my head and doing some deep breathing.
I really do not enjoy migraines.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Perhaps if I put books on their heads?
My kids are growing far too quickly for my liking. When we went into summer, Reece was a size 2T. That is T as in Toddler. A little guy. He had just turned 3. Now, as fall comes upon us, he is bypassing the 3T's altogether and filling out a 4T!!! Actually, I shouldn't say "filling out" because he is on the slender side. He has gotten so tall, however, that the smaller pants are all highwaters on him. It's not a good look.
Last week, he decided it was a good time to be potty-trained. We had tried in the past. I would ask him throughout the day if he needed to go to the bathroom and he'd answer no - and then promptly pee his pants within five minutes. Last week, however, was a different story. He decided he wanted to wear his underwear. I told him that if he is going to wear it, he is not to go to the bathroom in it.
"Okay." he said.
He has stuck by it. Yes, he's had a couple of accidents, but on the whole, he's trained. He has had zero accidents at night, something about which I am extremely excited! He is also very proud of himself.
Now, onto Alicia. She is growing as well. She has gotten so tall! All of the little skorts that she wore over the summer are now obscenely short on her and I am having to remove them from her dresser. I weeded everything out a couple of months ago and now I am needing to do it again. She is wearing a 6X or 7, for length, and they are, as usual, hanging off her hips. She still has yet to break the 50 pound mark, yet she is already over 4 feet tall. Considering that she is going to be 6 next month, that's quite something.
In addition to trying to catch up to her mom in height, she has been losing things as well - out of her mouth! That's right, she is starting to lose her baby teeth. She lost the first one on Sept. 28th while at school. I was kind of bummed because I really wanted to be there and see when it came out. She was so excited, though, that I couldn't be sad for too long. She was really excited when she woke up the next morning and found a dollar under her pillow!
Last Friday night, the 13th, my sister and her girls were here for dinner. Alicia knows that Karnette works in a dental office and asked her if she could pull the second tooth. Karnette was more than happy to do it! She grabbed a tissue, reached in, and pulled. Out it came. I have such a brave little girl. Personally, I think she just wanted another dollar.
The next morning, when she woke up and found her dollar under her pillow, she was beaming ear to ear, her gapped-toothed smile just lighting up the morning. As we got ready for the day, she said to me, "Mom, I know what the tooth fairy looks like."
"Oh yeah?" I asked.
"Yep. She is tall, with long brown hair and she's beautiful like you are."
Oops. Has she figured it out already, just two teeth into the deal? I mean, I haven't exactly said that there is a tooth fairy, but I haven't said that there isn't, either.
She continued, "But the tooth fairy has wings."
So far she has lost the bottom front teeth. Currently, the top two front teeth are loosening up, as well as another on the bottom. How long do you figure she'll keep believing in an actual tooth fairy? Because, again, she is growing up so quickly, after all.
Last week, he decided it was a good time to be potty-trained. We had tried in the past. I would ask him throughout the day if he needed to go to the bathroom and he'd answer no - and then promptly pee his pants within five minutes. Last week, however, was a different story. He decided he wanted to wear his underwear. I told him that if he is going to wear it, he is not to go to the bathroom in it.
"Okay." he said.
He has stuck by it. Yes, he's had a couple of accidents, but on the whole, he's trained. He has had zero accidents at night, something about which I am extremely excited! He is also very proud of himself.
Now, onto Alicia. She is growing as well. She has gotten so tall! All of the little skorts that she wore over the summer are now obscenely short on her and I am having to remove them from her dresser. I weeded everything out a couple of months ago and now I am needing to do it again. She is wearing a 6X or 7, for length, and they are, as usual, hanging off her hips. She still has yet to break the 50 pound mark, yet she is already over 4 feet tall. Considering that she is going to be 6 next month, that's quite something.
In addition to trying to catch up to her mom in height, she has been losing things as well - out of her mouth! That's right, she is starting to lose her baby teeth. She lost the first one on Sept. 28th while at school. I was kind of bummed because I really wanted to be there and see when it came out. She was so excited, though, that I couldn't be sad for too long. She was really excited when she woke up the next morning and found a dollar under her pillow!
Last Friday night, the 13th, my sister and her girls were here for dinner. Alicia knows that Karnette works in a dental office and asked her if she could pull the second tooth. Karnette was more than happy to do it! She grabbed a tissue, reached in, and pulled. Out it came. I have such a brave little girl. Personally, I think she just wanted another dollar.
The next morning, when she woke up and found her dollar under her pillow, she was beaming ear to ear, her gapped-toothed smile just lighting up the morning. As we got ready for the day, she said to me, "Mom, I know what the tooth fairy looks like."
"Oh yeah?" I asked.
"Yep. She is tall, with long brown hair and she's beautiful like you are."
Oops. Has she figured it out already, just two teeth into the deal? I mean, I haven't exactly said that there is a tooth fairy, but I haven't said that there isn't, either.
She continued, "But the tooth fairy has wings."
So far she has lost the bottom front teeth. Currently, the top two front teeth are loosening up, as well as another on the bottom. How long do you figure she'll keep believing in an actual tooth fairy? Because, again, she is growing up so quickly, after all.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Late night ramblings.
Alicia lost her first tooth while at school on September 28. She was listening to a story and playing with it and apparently the teacher pulled it out. I kind of felt bad because I wanted to be there when it happened. I just knew it was going to come out just about any time. She was so excited!! She brought it home in an envelope with a tooth on it that read "Congratulations, Alicia!"
She got a dollar from the tooth fairy and was more excited that I had imagined. What a sweet girl.
Reece is going to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. His breathing has sounded horrible for so long when he sleeps. I finally videoed it and took him to the doctor's office. The doctor listened and then checked inside his throat. Sure enough, the tonsils are very swollen. He said, "Yep, I think it's time for them to come out." We were referred to another doctor to schedule surgery.
We finally got to see that doctor, it took about a month to get into his office, and the first thing he said when he checked them was, "Wow!! Look at the size of those things!!" Apparently Reece only has about 1/4 inch or so between them. The doctor also wants to take out the adenoids because Reece has sleep apnea. You would really have to hear him to believe it. It's horrible. I cannot say how many times I've listened to him and said under my breath, "Breathe, baby, breathe..."
Anyhow, his surgery date is the day before Halloween. We don't celebrate Halloween, so that's not a big deal for us. I'll just give him extra ice cream that night.
Oh, another thing the specialist mentioned is that he has observed that many kids with sleep apnea are hyperactive. I think he brought it up because Reece was literally bouncing off the walls in the office and jumping everywhere. Part of it is naturally him, but come on now, he had a whole new audience!! He HAD to show off!! The doctor said to imagine how we are when we're sleep-deprived. We get jittery and over-active to compensate for being tired. Perhaps my child will settle down after the surgery? I can hope, can't I?
Today, I went to my friend Dawn's 29th birthday party. Dawn is so cool. Really, she is. Everybody loves her, to the point of stalking her. It would be kind of funny if she didn't get a little paranoid about it.
Anyhow, she didn't get fancy birthday parties while growing up. Her dad was raising her and her mom wasn't around much. Dawn has always made a big deal out of her kids' parties because she didn't get that. This year, her mom found out how she felt and threw her a Princess Party. Isn't that cool?
We got to color pictures of Belle and Beast ahead of time and bring them for judging. There were two standing princess cakes, made just by her mom. Every woman and girl got a tiara. We played Kiss the Frog, which was great for laughs. Imagine full-grown women putting on lipstick, putting on a blindfold, turning 3 times to get dizzy and then kissing a picture of a frog taped to the wall. Quite funny to watch. I lost, badly, but that's just fine with me. I'm not real keen on kissing frogs anyway.
We even had a pinata. Dawn got to go first and we got plenty of pictures of her smacking the heck out of 3 Disney princesses pasted to a heart. The kids all went to town on the candy. What a great party it was.
She got a dollar from the tooth fairy and was more excited that I had imagined. What a sweet girl.
Reece is going to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. His breathing has sounded horrible for so long when he sleeps. I finally videoed it and took him to the doctor's office. The doctor listened and then checked inside his throat. Sure enough, the tonsils are very swollen. He said, "Yep, I think it's time for them to come out." We were referred to another doctor to schedule surgery.
We finally got to see that doctor, it took about a month to get into his office, and the first thing he said when he checked them was, "Wow!! Look at the size of those things!!" Apparently Reece only has about 1/4 inch or so between them. The doctor also wants to take out the adenoids because Reece has sleep apnea. You would really have to hear him to believe it. It's horrible. I cannot say how many times I've listened to him and said under my breath, "Breathe, baby, breathe..."
Anyhow, his surgery date is the day before Halloween. We don't celebrate Halloween, so that's not a big deal for us. I'll just give him extra ice cream that night.
Oh, another thing the specialist mentioned is that he has observed that many kids with sleep apnea are hyperactive. I think he brought it up because Reece was literally bouncing off the walls in the office and jumping everywhere. Part of it is naturally him, but come on now, he had a whole new audience!! He HAD to show off!! The doctor said to imagine how we are when we're sleep-deprived. We get jittery and over-active to compensate for being tired. Perhaps my child will settle down after the surgery? I can hope, can't I?
Today, I went to my friend Dawn's 29th birthday party. Dawn is so cool. Really, she is. Everybody loves her, to the point of stalking her. It would be kind of funny if she didn't get a little paranoid about it.
Anyhow, she didn't get fancy birthday parties while growing up. Her dad was raising her and her mom wasn't around much. Dawn has always made a big deal out of her kids' parties because she didn't get that. This year, her mom found out how she felt and threw her a Princess Party. Isn't that cool?
We got to color pictures of Belle and Beast ahead of time and bring them for judging. There were two standing princess cakes, made just by her mom. Every woman and girl got a tiara. We played Kiss the Frog, which was great for laughs. Imagine full-grown women putting on lipstick, putting on a blindfold, turning 3 times to get dizzy and then kissing a picture of a frog taped to the wall. Quite funny to watch. I lost, badly, but that's just fine with me. I'm not real keen on kissing frogs anyway.
We even had a pinata. Dawn got to go first and we got plenty of pictures of her smacking the heck out of 3 Disney princesses pasted to a heart. The kids all went to town on the candy. What a great party it was.
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