It All Turned Out OK

When I woke up during the night on Saturday the 13th unable to sit up or walk, I was mildly alarmed. I say mildly because I've always gotten light-headed when I get up quickly especially after being asleep, and also because I wasn't thinking totally clearly. It wasn't until Scott says that he found me trying to crawl along the floor and swaying dangerously, that I realized something more serious could be going on. My symptoms increased dramatically until I couldn't move at all, had spotty memory for what was going on, and my vision was blurring. It didn't help that my left arm and check were tingly from having been laying so heavily on that side of my body. Scott called 911 thinking I was having a stroke. When the EMT's arrived, they did too.

Fast forward - we got the absolute best possible outcome. A virus lodged in my head interfering with the information my brain was getting from my eyes and ears. It was scary for sure, but in every way ended up better than expected.

A few things worth noting:

Zoe and Mia, you are capable of sleeping past 6:20AM!!! Do it more often, will ya? It seems to be the case only in an emergency, when I'm having babies, or when I have to wake up very very early for work.

Scott was a rock star. First, he turned on the humor and it worked for me. When I called to tell him the cat scan was clear, he responded in his best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice "It's not a tumor." He helped lighten the mood in every way, especially given some less than ideal hospital circumstances. He was attentive to the kids who were engaged in play dates and, other than Sophie, never saw me when things were scary.

Some lessons learned/reinforced:

Friendly trumps pretty everytime, and competent is way better than both! Hear that nursie? No thank you for leaving me without a call button, for leaving me in the bathroom alone unable to move, for sending me home with two dozen heart monitors on me, etc. etc. etc. Next time, spend less time putting on make up in the morning and more time getting your head and heart in the game for work.

If you don't know the answer to a question, don't answer it! How is it helpful to tell someone, "No, this medicine absolutely won't interfere with breastfeeding" when you don't know? Nurses, please get better information and don't mislead patients. Good thing I had back up informers.

Birth planning training works in several situations. It absolutely helped with Scott's advocacy for me. He knew to make sure that the right people got the right information at the right times.

You lose your rights when you call 9-1-1. This isn't a bad thing, just a reminder. None of the dozen EMT's entering my home cared that I had three kids sleeping, no one wanted to stop and talk about whether any particular procedure was necessary, etc. This is a good thing in an emergency, and the EMT's thought they were likely dealing with a stroke patient, and time is of the essence. When we got in the ambulance with Scott trying to tell the EMT one last detail as they shut the door on his face, I said to the EMT, "you'd be nervous too if you had 3 small kids and thought your wife was having a major medical event." He at least smiled.

When Zoe was born, I remember trying to think through various scenarios that could come up and interfere with my ability to nurse her. Usually work events were what I played out and had to accommodate, but every so often I'd think about a medical event. I could never sort those out as well. In this situation, I wasn't clear enough to even think about nursing Sophie until later in the morning, but even then, I couldn't control my body well enough to manage it. The doctor said they'd likely not have answers for a little while, but that there was a medication they could start me on that would help the mobility problems I was having. We didn't know if it was ok for breastfeeding moms, but I would likely have to take it for up to 10 days, effectively ending my nursing relationship with Sophie if it turned out to be hazardous to breast milk. That was not how I wanted it to end.

Scott brought Sophie to the hospital, and I was able to nurse her before we made the medicine decision. She was thankfully very still, Scott brought a stuffed animal for her to hold so she didn't keep pulling at all my wires, and Scott positioned her and moved her when needed. We got very lucky that we found a "Pat-approved" medication for me, and I was able to nurse again later that night.

Here's to a very happy ending.

Sophie - Seventeen Months

This has been the month of settling in. You are accustomed to (and LOVE) wearing shoes. You (mostly) use your teeth the way they were intended - to eat food, and don't seem as disturbed by new teeth appearing. Your hair is much longer now, and you let us put it up without continually taking the hair bands out and putting them in your mouth. You know our house well, and easily climb on and off every piece of furniture in the house (especially the couch - over and over again).

You have a comfortable way of playing with or near other kids and your sisters even when they're a little older and doing things that are a little rougher or require more dexterity than you have just yet.

You had one accident this month that sent us to the doctor. After a simple fall at the playground, you were clearly in pain and unable to use your arm. After an exam, the pediatrician was certain it was fractured and sent us to the hospital for x-rays. That was relatively pointless because x-rays on people your size don't often show fractures because the bones aren't calcified fully yet. So, we were sent home and told to keep you on ibuprofen. If you began using your arm within 48 hours, we'd know it was a bad sprain and not a fracture. At about the 36 hour mark, you started using your arm again. Whew!

You've been spending your time at the pool and at parks. We also go to the library often, and you have music class each week. We try to be outside as much as possible.

You're drinking from a cup more happily now, and you want to use spoons or forks to eat all by yourself. We nurse a couple times a day in the morning and at night. Now, you also insist on reading books during our morning and night routine which is a treat for me.

Happy 17 months Sophie!

I love you,

Mom

Summer

I love the summer and warm weather. There is so much life to live in summer. It's a time for long, lazy days, and all types of fun activities just somehow manage to happen. I am always hungry in the summer with so much possibility. I feel like I could eat the air.

The strangest thing about summer for me though is how having kids makes time race by. I remember feeling like summer stretched on and on. There was so much time to be barefoot and run around the neighborhood. Since Zoe was old enough to really run around, I feel like I blink and summer is gone. Maybe I need to start making a summer list like some friends do to help capture all that happens. I just can't get over how fast it happens.

I hope you girls have memories of summers full of outside open time, catching bugs and jumping in puddles, parks and beaches, riding bikes, comfy clothes, trying new things, sports, farm visits and gardening, County Fairs, pools and sprinklers, and on and on and on.

PS - I am trying very hard to be equally enthusiastic about winter and winter activities, but that's a slightly tougher sell. I'm still a Miami girl at heart.