Wordless (almost) Wednesday

Week 7

Father's Day Astros Game
Daddy and Grampy

Taking a nap with Great Grandma

So sweet...

Miles - 7 weeks, Andrew - 17 months, Coy - 17 weeks

Grandma Update

The sister just called with good news. Grandma woke up this morning - as in fully awake with both eyes open. They moved her into her chair and into the dining room to see everyone. She had some water, vanilla milkshake, mashed potatoes and green beans! The first food she's had since breakfast Friday morning! Her eyes are open and she's talking too! However, they now feel that it was an actual stroke versus TIA because the right side of her face is now paralyzed. She is back to her smiling self - albeit from the left side only though.

I am so happy and glad that she's doing better now. I was VERY scared that something was going to happen to her this close to my due date. I know that sounds terrible and selfish of me, but after Grandpa passed away on our 1 year anniversary, that date forever makes me sad. Every year on October 15th, we go to the cemetary on the way to our annivesary dinner. I didn't want to have my baby's birthday be the same day that Grandma passed away. Plus I REALLY want her to be able to meet her first great-grandbaby. She tears up everytime we tell her about it.

**Please don't hate me or criticize me for what I said***

Update Round Up

Time for some all around updates...

The Sock-It-To-Me-Exchange is closing out. Last day to send out those cutie socks was on Saturday. I sent mine and can't wait for a picture to be posted on my recipient's blog! She's a reader of mine, so I hope you like them! I haven't received mine yet, but we haven't checked the mail since...er...Thursday I think.

ICLW has started. Actually it started on Saturday, so I have a lot of catching up to do. I just love ICLW. It brings new visitors to my neck of the woods and lets me read new blogs as well...Since I don't really have an "About Me" post to refer you new peeps to, I will steal the same idea that Nancy stole from Kym.... It's the ABC's of Me:

• April is the month my baby is due.
• Boy is what I think the gender is.
• Chocolate is my favorite!
• Dean is my husband's name. He's 23 years older than me, has a daughter 6 months younger than me, a son 4 years younger than me, and a 10 year old granddaugther!
• Eggs make me puke - any way you cook them...except for deviled.
• Foster kids are what I wanted if we hadn't gotten pregnant the last time.
• Grammy and Grampy can't wait to hold their first grandkid!
• Home is where I love. Since working from home the past 3 weeks, I have realized how much I really love our home and how little time I spent here before.
• Ice cream and orange cream slushes from Sonic are what I have been craving.
• January is the month that has the most birthdays in my family.
• KimboSue is a nickname my friend gave me when we were freshmen and it has stuck with me ever since.
• Love - overwhelming love is what I feel already for this baby.
• Mashed potatoes with BROWN gravy - MMM, MMM!
• None of my close friends (except for 1) have babies or kids.
• OctoMom pisses me the f*ck off.
• Peanut is what we have been calling our growing bun in the oven since we haven't found out the gender.
• Quinn is the name of an old friend's new baby girl.
• Rodeo is something I volunteer for. I'm on the sign shop committee. We make all the signs for the rodeo - exit here, buy beer tickets here, no minors, etc.
• Soon, in just 4 -1/2 short weeks (maybe more, maybe less) we will have ourselves a real live baby in this house!
• Trumpet is the horn that Deano plays. He used to play professionally. He has "retired" several times, but his friends keep asking him back!
• Uterus is Dean's new favorite word to say.
• Vagina is a word that I wish I could pretend didn't exist. It is so WEIRD.
• WalMart is awesome for a baby registry - no receipt to return something? No problem - here's some store credit. SWEET!
• Xrays of my teeth will be needed after I have this baby.
• Yogurty-caramel dip with apples is my new morning snack!
• Zebra is the Little People animal my friend Steph always calls "Giraffe" when playing with it and Andrew! He will forever get them confused! :0)

Friday afternoon Grandma had a small stroke. The term they used was TIA stroke. I have been scared to Go.ogle it, so maybe Martha RN can fill me in? The doctors said that she would come out of it within 24 hours. 24 hours was over Saturday morning, 11 AM. So far there has been no progress. They have her on oxygen with a continuous care nurse by her side 24x7 in the event she comes to. Other than that, its pretty much like she is just sleeping all the time. She does move a little and rubs her face or scratches her arm sometimes. She has opened her eyes a couple of times, but not really focusing on anyone in the room (she's been at an Alzheimer's/Dementia facility since 10/06) and the nurse said if she puts the flashlight in her eyes that her eyes are not dialating as they should be. So all we can do is visit and rub her arms or face and talk to her. However, it does appear that she can hear what we are saying. Yesterday morning the nurse told her she was going to suction her mouth and throat out for her and she promptly snapped her mouth shut. Apparently she doesn't like this. I wouldn't either - I saw it done on Grandpa - and no thank you. Please everyone keep Grandma in your prayers and pray that she wakes up out of this state so we can start having our funny little conversations again...

My sleep was better last night - finally. I think the bed was the culprit. We have one of those mattresses that looks like a regular mattress, but actually is a waterbed inside. I told Dean we needed more water in it - to make it firmer. Apparently my fat pregnant ass was so heavy, it was sinking during the night and since I have to sleep on my sides, that is what was causing my hips to hurt so much. So last night was MUCH better and I only had to pee 3 times. A little relief anyway!

There's a banner at the top of this page for ExpectNet - it's the Baby Artall Guessing Game. Time is quickly running out fellas. I'm closing the game on April 1st, so get your guesses in now. There will be an actual prize (I should probably get working on said prize now, you know, before Peanut shows up and takes up all my time!) for the winner. Right now, girl votes outnumber the boy votes!

Thanks for taking the time to read all of this, especially if you're here from ICLW!

Recent Pics and an Update

This is Dean and I at Grandma's 82nd birthday 2 weeks ago. She's not as talkative as she once was, but when she does, she's still quick as a whip!! Love you Grandma!

Our House - Christmas 2008....I need to take another. The lights inside aren't on and you can't see either of the 2 trees!

The finished Tinkerbell (one of them) and the cake....well this pic was last night. This morning, both this Tink and my backup Tink broke to pieces. I had to rush to Wal-Mart to find SOMETHING Tink to go on the cake...

And here's the replacement....So sad. I wanted my icing Tinks to work. Oh well. I guess I need to practice more. She's going on the circle cake. But a bonus...press that little lady bug and Tink's wings flutter!!

And last, but definitely not least.....I have finally fallen into the Land of Belly Pics. This is me, 21 weeks, 1 day,sporting my Christmas watch no less!! And a way too tight tank top. Good thing you can't see what I was seeing because the girls were all kinds of pouring out of there! I am hoping to keep wearing this shirt for the pics so you can really see the belly and how much smaller the shirt gets!!!

So before this morning's Tink Disaster, we had an awesome experience. After hitting snooze twice already, I was laying there and felt a little bump in my tummy. Then the bumps started back to back - like Peanut is in a marching band!! I told Dean I could feel him kicking and squirming around and then he felt it too! It was so awesome. The first time I felt it, was the first time he felt it! I couldn't believe how much she was moving around in there. Also, lots of people refer to the feeling as flutters or butterflies or gas bubbles. It reminded me of a muscle twitch - you know, like you get in your leg, arm, eyelid, etc. but it was on the inside! So awesome! I had to snooze it again so we could feel it longer. YEAH!

The Peanut Card

I got my doctor recommended flu shot @ work yesterday. However, according to some boards I have been reading, lots of people claim it isn't safe for the pregnancy. I would think that it would be, especially since its a preventative measure. Thoughts?

The evening sickness is seeming to fade. THANKFULLY. However, the weird food combos are still in abundance. Sunday,we went to Denny's around 11. Dean ordered a carafe of OJ before I could tell him I wasn't feeling the breakfast menu. So I had OJ with the appetizer chicken tenders with buffalo sauce and ranch! Then the weirdness overtook me and I gave in to a Dr Pepper.

After work I went to visit Grandma and took her a card. She was confused why she had to wait 6 months to see her great-grandbaby! Then I had to register for Course 4 ( I know, I broke down, but it's the last one!) And that was a cluster since the cashier chick was new and didn't know what to do. But a bonus - I saw my friend Holly in class taking Course 1. Apparently I am an "inspiration" to her - she has the cake fever now! Hi Holly! So I didn't get home until after 7.

Dinner consisted of a bowl of cocoa puffs and a cup of diced peaches. Hey - I wasn't very hungry and Doc said I could eat whatever I wanted right now, as long as I was eating!

Dean may have to travel to the Netherlands next week for work. Oh goodie, he'll be super jet-lagged for my birthday. I can hardly wait. :(

Below is the card I sent out to family and a few friends, announcing or rather confirming the pregnancy. Enjoy!

Resting...

The follow up u/s with Dr. H on Saturday proved upsetting. The follies didn't grow from the size they were on Tuesday until Saturday, even with the extra Men.opur injections. They were still only 8. This was very distressing since during the previous cycle, on the same protocol, they were growing like weeds.

Dr. H wanted to "talk" after the scan so I knew what was coming. Basically he said my body was "unresponsive to ovulation." The fact that sometimes it responds well and sometimes it doesn't means that it really doesn't know what it wants to do. He also thinks the reactions may be indicating P.C.O.S. Because of the differing reactions, he suggested a rest cycle this time. Although it tore me up to agree with him, I do agree. It's time to give my body a rest from all the extra hormones and injections I have been giving her since January. This is also good timing as we are scheduled to be out of town every weekend for the remainder of May, as well as a 7 day cruise the first week of June. I can't imagine shooting up on a cruise ship...

So along with rest and relaxation, he has also prescribed Met.formin to be started 21 days after my cycle starts this month. This is traditionally a diabetic medication, but has been studied to help P.C.O.S patients get pregnant. Apparently there are side effects ranging from upset stomach, diarrhea, to weight-loss. I'm all over the last one!!! The side effects are typical in the first week of taking it, as the body is getting used to it. Then the 2nd week, the dosage and is doubled, and the 3rd week, tripled. After the Met.formin is in my system, we'll proceed with IUI #4. Depending on how my body responds to this we'll determine the protocol.

So that's how my weekend started. Not very uplifting or positive in any way. Although the husband keeps telling me that at least Dr. H didn't say there was NO chance. There is a chance, it just isn't going to happen until the summer and we will be able to try again. To get my mind off of the rest cycle, we spent the rest of the day gardening. D had to get a new part for his 25 year old Snapper to mow the yard and I pulled weeds for like 5 hours. It was hot, so that 5 hours included several breaks to prevent getting overheated. We also made a soaker hose and buried it in one of the bigger beds behind the garage. If I can't grow eggs, at least I can grow pretty flowers!

Yesterday we visited Grandma for Mother's Day. She still has some wit about her, I'll tell you that. She even cried when I read our card out loud to her. After the visit, we picked up the china cabinet from her house to take to mine. Dad even gave me her old china to put in it. It was very sweet of him. It is very special to me. I'll have to post pics once everything is cleaned up and in the cabinet.

Grateful for: (wow, even after a shitty weekend, I have 5!!)

• "Slow and steady wins the race" is the new motto. I am the new Tortoise.
• I can now participate in the margaritas during the Memorial Day family camping trip.
• Also I can share the bottle of wine being provided to us during the cruise with D.
• And I can drink more of the wine we picked up during winery weekend!! (Man it sounds like I am an alcoholic, but really I just love wine!!!)
• Fish Fry at Mom & Dad's tonight!

Yesterday was a GOOD Day!

For 5 reasons...

Reason #1. Grandma got out of the hospital and is back at her Alzheimer's facility. No pneumonia!

Reason #2. I had my follow-up appointment with the RE yesterday. He confirmed (through methods we'll leave to the imagination) that the cyst is gone. YEAH! Also, I am to stop taking BCP immediately. Hopefully, he says, this will also make AF stop the flowin'. Also, husband's swimmer analysis results are in...

Count: 11.6 MILLION Motility: 25% Morphology: 4%

Side note: When I got home, I posted this SA report on the fridge, you know like some of you do with your kids' report cards? I was just so proud of him and his great counts thanks to his Proxeed supplements!! :) :) :)

Doc says the morphology is kind of low, but with the increased count and with the "wash" they do beforehand - his numbers are FABULOUS!!! On Thursday, I am scheduled to go back for some lab work and then on Saturday...We start our first Clomid cycle! This will be taken on Days 5-9 of the cycle. Then we'll go for more labs and confirm if I'm ovulating and then...........**DRUM ROLL PLEASE** We go for our insemenination!! YAHOO!! Also, since my insurance does not have fertility coverage, we had to pay for the Clomid cycle and the insemination-to-be yesterday. I was headed to check out and doc said to ask for Anna when I got there. HUH?

Me: "OK - can I speak to Anna? "

Checkout lady: "Oh have a seat right there maa'm. She'll be right with you."

Anna's office door sign reads "Financial Aid Office" EEKS! Luckily, if we paid for all of it then, we would get a 20% discount, whereas had we opted for the payment plan - no discount. So, we're all paid up!

Reason #3. Our Short Term Incentive Plan (STIP)/Bonus numbers were announced at work. This is the first company I have worked for that have paid bonuses so I am WAY excited no matter what the $$ amount is that is paid out. But let's just say...if we have to go the IVF method, we'll have all the money we need!

Reason #4. Our homemade wine made it to Day 14 and has now been transferred into its new home. She is resting quietly in the wine rack, which will be her home for the next 6 months. Notice the Man Tool of choice for the vigorous stirring required? Yes, that would be RYOBI!
Reason #5. The outdoor kitchen is complete!

Grandma Update #2...

6:00PM Friday - I stopped by the hospital to visit Grandma after work. Uncle T was there too. She was still in a sleep state, kind of slumped over, but would still answer my questions, how are you, are you treating the nurses well, etc. Meanwhile the doc came in. T had a long list of questions to ask him since neither Dad nor Aunt B had seen him lately. Here's a rundown:

1. Combination of Alzheimer's and Arterial Dementia is causing her sleepy state.
2. CT finally read (from Wednesday) looks clear, although not very decisive about the results. As previously stated, she had not inspirated at the right time.
3. Started a small antibiotic to clear up any pneumonia that he couldn't see.
4. Had not heard results of 2nd chest x-ray - me: what chest x-ray? There was never one ordered and Aunt B has been here all day...no x-ray. doc: ok I'll check on that. Nurse actually came in later and said he ordered the x-ray for in the morning.
5. We requested that he put in orders to have someone feed her the pureed food. Apparently had we not have family there, she wouldn't have eaten because "there aren't orders to feed her." BULLSHIT.
6. She does not have Parkinson's as initially thought.
7. Suggested a feeding tube. When did we get to this point? Doc says that he thinks she is not getting enough nutrition into her system - thus the sodium blah blah (can't recall the name at the moment) because she was dehydrated. Said if we continue "pleasure feeding" her, we have to know there is a risk that she could get aspirational pneumonia. HUH? WHAT? He described this as having food go down the wrong pipe - into the lungs - and the food and bacteria from the food can cause pneumonia. Said for the family to discuss the tube over the weekend. Discussed in the room after doc left and Dad and Aunt B showed up - no.
8. Stated we can get his updates on her via the nurses - yeah right.

Then came the 3 letters I hate most in this world : D-N-R Doc said he put in the DNR orders as requested so that there are no drastic measures taken given something should happen. I know it's as she setup in her will years ago when she was able to think and make decisions for herself, but it still breaks my heart to hear the words - and like Grandpa - see the words in action, or rather lack of action.

Grandma Update

1:40PM Friday - A neurologist came to visit grandma. He said he is still unable to read the catscan that was done WEDNESDAY NIGHT because the CT machine is broken.

REALLY?? There is only 1 machine in the entire friggin' hospital???

The regular doctor also has her on a sodium chloride drip that will last 20 hours. Why? No idea. Something about another MRI ordered and the nurse said it's scheduled for "tomorrow." However in hospital language ,being that today is Friday, "tomorrow" equals MONDAY!! But was also told the doctor cancelled it? Now we have a call in to the doctor to find out:

A. What is the sodium chloride for?
B. Why was the test cancelled?

Grandma's in the Hospital

My grandma, who is currently living in an Alzheimer's facility, was taken to the Emergency Room on Wednesday morning to a hospital which will remain nameless. NOTE: it is part of a major chain of hospitals in the Houston area and is located on Astoria Blvd. Management thought she may have come down with pneumonia because she seemed to be breathing hard and was a little unresponsive. They did an MRI and a chest x-ray but her lungs appeared clear. The doctors in the ER discussed admitting her and getting her on an antibiotic drip every 6 hours and oxygen. 12 HOURS later, she was finally admitted into a room. They began monitoring her vitals and put her on oxygen. No drugs...

7:00AM Thursday - Dad goes up to the hospital in hopes of catching the doctor who was seeing her. NOTE: her primary care physician was changed after my grandpa passed away by a relative also to remain nameless. It was changed to a doctor who makes "house calls" to her Alzheimer's facility and the last time she was in a different hospital in Pasadena, was told he did not see patients there, but he had privileges at before mentioned hospital. This being the reason she was taken to said hospital.

2:30PM Thursday- status check. This puts my dad being there about 7.5 hours. The update is....NONE as the doctor has still not shown up. AND when she was admitted the night before, they requested that her food be pureed as she cannot chew and swallow very well. When breakfast AND lunch came...normal food. So basically, she didn't eat hardly anything all day. Now, is it normal practice for hospitals to admit 80+ year old patients whom they THINK have pneumonia and NOT do anything and NOT contact the doctor? GRRRRR. My sister called for a status around the same time. She is a pedi-ICU nurse and was pissed. She immediately hung up and called to speak to the charge nurse about the lack of antibiotics and the lack of a doctor visit. She advised that this particular doctor (recently chosen again for his house calls to the Alzheimer's place) does NOT visit said hospital. WHAT? We thought he had privileges here. Charge Nurse: "Oh, he does. He just never comes to the hospitals himself. He sends another doctor from his group. Oh and that guy's here making rounds now. I'll make for sure he sees her."

3:00PM Thursday - Doctor finally shows up. Says her lungs appear clear from the x-ray and she has no fever. "Probably" doesn't have pneumonia. Is that a common medical term, DOCTOR?? PROBABLY? Mentioned something about wanting to do another x-ray because the original wasn't a "good one." He said a "good one" means that the patient takes a breath and holds it for the picture to be taken. Given that at the time she didn't have hardly any breath at all, to hold it would be difficult. The nurse sister later pointed out that you don't necessarily have to have a breath hold for a good x-ray, only for the tech to know what they are doing and take it when the patient inspirates - or breathes in. Are there orders for a 2nd x-ray? NO. Is she on antibiotics? NO. Are there orders for antibiotics? NO.

Oh - a side note...Dinner did come pureed and she gobbled up every last bite because she was STARVING due to no breakfast or lunch!!!

8:30AM Friday - No change. My aunt is staying with her today. She said she is very sleepy and had to be woke up for breakfast. Doctor been in? NO. Orders for anything today? NO.

WHY, WHY, WHY is she sitting at the hospital for NO TREATMENT???