The DDA Trouble Free Zone Part 13

[Eeyorecln]

We survived the trip to the dentist!

Much to my dismay, Matthew fought off a nap (Alyssa used to fall asleep in the car within seconds...he has other ideas), and he was crying so much that the very sweet receptionist decided she'd hold him until my teeth were cleaned.

Alyssa was very interested in my check-up and she handled her own check-up fabulously! I rewarded her good behavior with a new pack of Zizzlingers (or was I really rewarding myself for the whole experience?!! ).

The dentist did sternly tell me it's time for Alyssa to stop sucking her thumb. Where as, I don't want to see her do any damage to her bone structure, I also feel she needs this comfort for a little while longer as she continues to adjust to life in our new home with her new brother.

I'm also stressed, because I know potty training and a transition to a big girl bed need to happen soon. I just don't want to overwhelm her (or myself) with too many changes at once.

I'd appreciate any advice anyone has on any or all of these subjects!

I would wait awhile before potty training and moving her into a big bed as she has enough adjustment for her age with a new baby in the house. We had our first 3 one right after the other (not planned that way) all a little over a year apart. I think the boys adjusted to each addition fine because we kept certain things as consistent as possible. Then I would pick one thing at a time and let them get used to it before adding another. I would advise picking whatevers more important to you, the bed or potty, to start with when you do feel she's ready for another change. Hope that helps.

 

[ReAnSt]

Actually I am 40 but I have two older step children. Melissa is 26 and Sam is 29......I raised them as my own since they were Kindergarten and 2nd grade. I thought I was the coolest 21yr old mom around. Now with Austin (12) and Alex (8) now I think I am the oldest looking mother around. Funny how things go full circle. I am actually a Meme of 3 grandchildren also. Boy am I feeling really old right about now.

Lynn

You were the coolest 21 year old mom!!!

Believe me you are not the oldest looking mom....that belongs to some of the parents I've met at the High School...one I kept thinking you should be the grandma.

Your only five years older than me.....so if your old than I am too!!

I kind of have both extremes my Mom was 24 when I was born and my Dad was 36. I am now 24, she is 48, and he is 60.

My Aunt/sister whichever I happen to be calling her at the curent time as we were always together as kids. She is only 5 years older than me and my mother was 19 when she was born. Her mother(my grandmother) was 36 when she was born and her father was about 56. She is now 29, her Mother is 65, and her father is 85.

Talk about having old parents. My grandfather refused to believe that she could be pregnant as she wasn't showing at all. If I find a picture I will have to post as she hardly looks pregnant at all.

Then again the amount of time I spent raising my cousins when I was in high school I had several people thinking I was an extremely, extremely young mother. As in I would have had to have the oldest at 12 and the younger at 15, but it probably looked worse as they have always been large for their ages. They would always give me the look of you are so how horrible I can't believe you did that. Try making a person feel great for helping out a family member.

 

[Eeyorecln]

Santa gets to work quite early around our house! With 4 kids, we have to start our Christmas shopping in August, in order not to break the bank!

I hear ya. We still end up feeling like we broke the bank though.

 

[Eeyorecln]

I want to know what the little guy is singing while he's dancing!!

I had to look again as I didn't notice he was singing at first.

 

[Eeyorecln]

Prayers needed for June...​

I just got off the phone with Melanie, June's daughter. One of the tests came back with a result that is not good. It appears that June has lung cancer. They are waiting for a return call/visit from the oncologist. Meanwhile, cards and prayers and thoughts and pixie dust will help, I know. I really don't know anything more than that. When I do I will certainly let y'all know. Please PM this to anyone that you think might not see it on here.

She has been and will continue to be in prayers. I didn't realize they were doing more tests past the pneumonia. I assume she's at the same address you put out earlier.

 

[ReAnSt]

We did what Abi wanted to do tonight...this is where I got my first real inkling that she is resenting her sister.
Abi "I thought we were going to do our stuff after she left!"
"Cassidy decided to not go to the ball game."
Abi "Well then what's the fun of tonight then?"

We went to Country Buffet, Abi is really the only one who can eat her portion at a buffet!! We then went to BAB to get stuff for her exchange.
Lane Bryant just opened at mall that BAB is at so I went....got a great deal but I hate spending money on my clothes and myself.
I then promised her the mommy and me time.

I'm sorry to hear the Abi feels that way about her sister at the current moment in time. Sending that things smooth out soon.

Speaking of Lane Bryant's just opening, a Lane Byant outlet just opened here, although I have yet to go. I probably should as my current pants are beginning to fall off of me, but I am not sure I want to spend that much money for stuff I hopefully won't wear long at all. Then again last time I was there none of the pants were long enough.

Perhaps I should go to goodwill instead for cheap stuff.

I also found out today that an LL Bean store is opening about an hour from here in October.

 

[ReAnSt]

I said hello on a separate thread but was encouraged to come by here and introduce myself as well. I have been lurking here for a month or two so it is well past time.

My name is Suzanne and I have two beautiful kids. Michelle, 6, is the reason we are going to WDW in October. She was diagnosed June 1, 2005 with Aplastic Anemia, her body wasn't making blood cells. After trying some drugs which didn't work, she had to have a bone marrow transplant, November 11, 2005. We live in California but decided to have the transplant in Wisconsin. Michelle had some complications that kept us there longer than we hoped. We ended up staying there for 9 months. DH was there off and on and my mom brought DS out. My son Ian, (will be 4 Sep 11) had a hard time this past year with mommy and sister being gone so much. He came to visit but it wasn't the same as having us home.

Make A Wish granted Michelle's wish to go to Walt Disney World! We will be there October 7-15 and are staying at the Poly! The kids are thrilled and can't wait to go down the volcano slide. I have some special events planned for them, tea with Sleeping Beauty for Michelle and I and a pirate cruise for Ian. We are looking forward to spending some quality time together as a family.

Anyways, I came here to get some cool creative ideas. The trip is getting close enough I need to start working on things before time gets away from me. I am looking forward to meeting some new friends and getting some new ideas.

Suzanne

to the DDA Suzanne

I look forward to getting to know more about you and your family.

We may be kinda zany and off the wall but we are definitely very supportive of one another and very much a family.

I'm sorry to hear that your daughter has had to go through all of that. Is Michelle doing better now? WDW will definitely be a great place for your family to bond and spend time together.

If you need tips, information or anything just holler I am sure someone will be able to help you out.

 

[ReAnSt]

Thanks for the PM Theresa!

So sorry to hear about June.

{{{Dawn & Caroline}}}

Denise, can't wait to see your room!

Kate, good luck with your surgery tomorrow!


Ooooh, guess what? Craig is supposed to have a "commission" program at work. (We'll actually believe it when we see it) but Craig pulled up some of the numbers to show his boss and it's a nice little sum. So when he came home from work tonight and told me the amount, he said something about going to WDW. I'm not getting my hopes up at all ( ) because his employer's not real good on follow through, but it'll be nice to dream. So think pixie dust for us, please

Sending for Craig's program to come through.

 

[Eeyorecln]

I just wanted to remind everyone that Kate is having her knee surgery tomorrow. So, please keep her in your prayers as well. Thanks, everyone! This is such a great group!

Sending prayers for a successful surgery and recovery.

 

[ReAnSt]

Hi folks, been a bit busy today. I have yet to finsh a few things before bed. I wish I had had more time to chat today, maybe tomorrow.

PD and prayers for all who need it.

If anything changes with June, Dawn or Kate anyone with my number please call me if I don't log on by later afternoon.

Sorry I wish I could stay and talk, but I have a new thing that must get done ASAP.


Read ya later

Hope eveything went well with whatever must be done ASAP.

 

[Eeyorecln]

Well, I can't believe it but I am finally caught up. You all have been incredibly chatty this week.

Prayers and PD for all who need it .

Mac, congratulations on your impending addition to the family.

Jo, hope the move is going great. Hope to hear from you from Orlando soon.

Kate, good luck with the surgery.

Welcome back to those who recently returned from vacations.

Marci, for you and your mom.

Paula, I think I already said this, but thank you to you and your girls for my postcard. It made me smile when I got home from work and saw it on the kitchen table.

We got home last Friday from taking Scott to college. He has settled in well, and finished his first week of classes. I haven't been nearly as emotional as I thought I would be. I think it is because Scott is a much better communicator, so I can talk to him, e-mail him etc. and not feel like he is so far away.

We spent this week cleaning out the boys room, including moving all the furniture, and I bought all new bedding. I can't tell you how great it feels to know their room is really clean. When they are home they don't want me cleaning their room, and they don't do it much either. There were lots of COBWEBS behind the furniture. Yuck!

Now we are preparing for our family clambake on Sunday, and my sister's family is coming for the long weekend. I know I will get way behind again if you all continue to be so talkative.

Scott's 18th b-day is this Sat., and he will be starting his first day of work at MSU. He is going to be working for the police department helping out with parking during home football games. I guess he gets paid for 5 hours before the game, then he gets paid for going to the game, and for an hour after. Not a bad job I suppose, and I guess this also gets him into the games for free.

I sent him a few care packages for his b-day, and a cake from the michigan state bakery will be delivered tomorrow afternoon. I also ordered him a pillowcase from Kodakgallery with a picture of our dog on it. He will probably think I'm a geek for it, but at least he will know I was thinking of him. I'm a little sad that he will be away for his 18th b-day, but I'm glad he's enjoying school and having fun.

I think I mentioned that DS Mike broke his wrist the day he got to school, well he is now in a cast for up to 12 weeks. Otherwise he is doing ok too, although he doesn't tell me much so I never really know for sure. He says he's doing fine though.

Well, that's a really long post from me, so I'll stop. Sorry I couldn't respond to everyone along the way, but I would have never caught up.

Have a fun weekend.

 

[ReAnSt]

Welcome Suzanne!

But that scary Bruce in your avatar is going to make me uneasy every time you post...I'm afraid of sharks!

Wait, did I just share a weakness with you all? Who's going to be evil and post pictures of sharks for me to wake up to?

Sharks I like sharks. I wanna

with them.

I'll spare you the pictures or stories Amy, as I don't wanna creep you or anyone else out.

 

[bengalbelle]

Before I get started on the update, June I am praying like crazy for you. I know you can fight this!

Kate, good luck on your surgery.

Amy, thanks for keeping me in the loop.

Thank each and every one of you for all of the prayers and good thoughts. I haven't been able to read them yet, but once I called Amy Tuesday night I went back to Caroline's room feeling the power of all of you behind us.

I did read Amy's posts so I didn't repeat too much info, but that was much earlier today and I never had enough time to post this update. I couldn't let any more time go by without telling you all how grateful I am so forgive me if I'm repeating too much.

As you know we were several blocks from the pediatrician's office Tuesday when Caroline choked on a large amount of spit up. She turned blue and sort of gray and the look on her face is something that I'll never be able to forget. I truly believed she would die in my arms before we could get help for her. Once we got to the office all 3 dr's started working on her immediately. She had a focal seizure and they gave her Valium, which stopped it. She was also on oxygen. By that time the paramedics arrived and she was stablized enough to transport her to the NICU.

We are very fortunate to have one of only a handful of specialized hospitals in the country and there is a Neonatologist here 24/7. I know you know all of the tests that she had so I won't repeat all of that. So far everything has come back negative. No pre-existing conditions have shown up and they assure us that she will have no permanent damage from lack of oxygen.

Several days after her birth we realized she had reflux. We knew the signs because Christopher also had it. We discussed it with her pediatrician and the ped. on call, but they weren't convinced she really had it. Fortunately the Neonatologist took the approach that we knew what we were talking about and we would monitor and watch her instead of having to put her through the pneumogram and ph probe, which is very uncomfortable. She spit/vomited so heavily that the nurses had trouble suctioning her. He diagnosed it as a severe case of reflux and started her on meds last night. We believe the Zantac is working already because she's not crying after feedings anymore, but he said it will take a few days for the Reglan to be effective and we'll probably have to play with the dosage to get it right. She is still spitting up fairly heavily, but we do see some improvement. We've also switched her to a formula with added rice, but we're still having to add rice cereal to thicken it up. That helps keep the formula down. We tried to breastfeed, but I'm not going to be able to .

She's still on antibiotics since there are a few tests still outstanding, but she came off the IV fluids yesterday so she's just on formula now. They weighed her this evening and she's up to 6.9 lbs . They also moved us from an isolation room to a bonding room. It's still part of the NICU, but there are 2 pullout chairs so Brian and I can stay with her all of the time. Before we had to go out of the NICU to go to the bathroom, sleep, etc. Here they bring meals to us, we have a private bathroom, TV, phone, etc. I haven't left the room since they moved us here yesterday. She's still being monitored and we're only a few feet away from the nurses station.

As things stand now it looks like we'll be discharged on Saturday. Thank you all again!

I hope everyone is doing well, and here's and for anyone who needs it.

 

[ReAnSt]

We're still trying to get Effie in his own bed. I am always tired cause he moves a lot in his sleep and keeps me awake. I'm hoping by Dec. that he'll be sleeping in his own room. (We need a finger crossing smilie.)

 

[bear74]

Before I get started on the update, June I am praying like crazy for you. I know you can fight this!

Kate, good luck on your surgery.

Amy, thanks for keeping me in the loop.

Thank each and every one of you for all of the prayers and good thoughts. I haven't been able to read them yet, but once I called Amy Tuesday night I went back to Caroline's room feeling the power of all of you behind us.

I did read Amy's posts so I didn't repeat too much info, but that was much earlier today and I never had enough time to post this update. I couldn't let any more time go by without telling you all how grateful I am so forgive me if I'm repeating too much.

As you know we were several blocks from the pediatrician's office Tuesday when Caroline choked on a large amount of spit up. She turned blue and sort of gray and the look on her face is something that I'll never be able to forget. I truly believed she would die in my arms before we could get help for her. Once we got to the office all 3 dr's started working on her immediately. She had a focal seizure and they gave her Valium, which stopped it. She was also on oxygen. By that time the paramedics arrived and she was stablized enough to transport her to the NICU.

We are very fortunate to have one of only a handful of specialized hospitals in the country and there is a Neonatologist here 24/7. I know you know all of the tests that she had so I won't repeat all of that. So far everything has come back negative. No pre-existing conditions have shown up and they assure us that she will have no permanent damage from lack of oxygen.

Several days after her birth we realized she had reflux. We knew the signs because Christopher also had it. We discussed it with her pediatrician and the ped. on call, but they weren't convinced she really had it. Fortunately the Neonatologist took the approach that we knew what we were talking about and we would monitor and watch her instead of having to put her through the pneumogram and ph probe, which is very uncomfortable. She spit/vomited so heavily that the nurses had trouble suctioning her. He diagnosed it as a severe case of reflux and started her on meds last night. We believe the Zantac is working already because she's not crying after feedings anymore, but he said it will take a few days for the Reglan to be effective and we'll probably have to play with the dosage to get it right. She is still spitting up fairly heavily, but we do see some improvement. We've also switched her to a formula with added rice, but we're still having to add rice cereal to thicken it up. That helps keep the formula down. We tried to breastfeed, but I'm not going to be able to .

She's still on antibiotics since there are a few tests still outstanding, but she came off the IV fluids yesterday so she's just on formula now. They weighed her this evening and she's up to 6.9 lbs . They also moved us from an isolation room to a bonding room. It's still part of the NICU, but there are 2 pullout chairs so Brian and I can stay with her all of the time. Before we had to go out of the NICU to go to the bathroom, sleep, etc. Here they bring meals to us, we have a private bathroom, TV, phone, etc. I haven't left the room since they moved us here yesterday. She's still being monitored and we're only a few feet away from the nurses station.

As things stand now it looks like we'll be discharged on Saturday.

I hope everyone is doing well, and here's and for anyone who needs it.

Dawn so glad to hear that things are definetally getting better. I hate it when the Dr.s don't listen to us.

 

[ReAnSt]

Thank each and every one of you for all of the prayers and good thoughts. I haven't been able to read them yet, but once I called Amy Tuesday night I went back to Caroline's room feeling the power of all of you behind us.

I hope everyone is doing well, and here's and for anyone who needs it.

Dawn-Thank you for stopping by. Please don't forget to take care of yourself as well. Sending prayers, and .

 

[ReAnSt]

I am off to attempt to sleep, perhaps to dream.

Sending prayers, and to everyone who needs it.

 

[Eeyorecln]

My favorite movie is Steel Magnolias. I think the part about there is nothing better than laughing through tears would be appropo for us all at the moment. Now we just need something to make us laugh!

I love that movie and yes laughter helps with the tears. This is why this group has been such a lifesaver for me. All the smilies and jokes have kept me going. I may not post about my struggles much but coming here has helped me to deal with things and thinking about others helps me to put my troubles in perspective.

 

[Eeyorecln]

Just a quick post to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday weekend!! We are having 7 trees and over 70 bushes delievered tomorrow so I won't be on again until Tuesday at the earliest (Tuesday is also Kyle's first day of school!)

I just wanted to say what a wonderful group this is and it really touches me the way you can behind another member when the going gets tough. I am so proud to be associated with all of you!!

Take care and I'll "read" ya soon!
Kristin

Good luck with your landscaping. And hope Kyle does well his first day of school.

 

[Eeyorecln]

Thanks gals, I called the Ask a Nurse at our hospital and they told me what to do. Isn't it funny how I came here first. I just need to watch her shoulder for the next 2 weeks to see if starts to look infected or if she develops a fever/rash. She told me that the tick would need to be in her for 48-72 hours to normally cause a problem and I just noticed it tonight.

Hope it all goes well and no rash develops.