Category Archives: doctors

And…He’s “Underweight” Again

C turned 18 months this week (update on that to come!), and that means he had to go to the doctor for his 18-month well-child visit. It went…okay.

He’s weighing in at just under 20 pounds and has dropped back into the 5th percentile for weight. The doctor recommended we see a nutritionist to talk about strategies to get him to eat more calories and/or types of food.

I’m frustrated. With several things.

1. I chase after the boy with food all day long. He has very little interest in eating. He’s always been that way! He’d rather be running, climbing, investigating…anything but eating. It’s like he doesn’t have time to slow down and eat.

2. He is so damn picky. He refuses to eat any type of vegetable. He refuses 95% of the meals I make. The only things he really loves are yogurt, applesauce, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, and macaroni & cheese. But sometimes he won’t even eat that.

3. Yes, I know that drinking milk would give him more calories. He hates milk. Yes, he might drink a little once in a while and make everyone believe that mama’s a liar, but in reality at home he will never ever drink milk.

4. I try so.hard. to get this boy to eat food. Most days, I am literally exhausted by trying to get him to eat. Quantity, quality and variety. It’s exhausting chasing after a child or begging a child to please eat some damn food so that he can grow. I’m sick of the battle. Why can’t this be easy? Just once, just one day.

So we’re going to see a nutritionist on the 20th to have a little discussion about my child’s eating habits and underweight-ness.

In other news, I had to schedule C’s 24-month appointment as well. I may or may not have hyperventilated a little when they wanted to schedule it in the beginning of May and I realized that I will be having Baby Deuce in the beginning of May. That’s only six months from now. Oh Lordy, how will I manage a newborn and chasing after a toddler who refuses to eat? Someone hold me!!!

Appointments and Other News

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The early part of this week has been chock full of appointments for C and me. C had his 15-month checkup, and is doing great. I absolutely love his new doctor. She’s extremely nice and very thorough. C is now 19 pounds (6th percentile) and 31.5 inches tall (60-something percentile). He had two immunizations and cried briefly – until I gave him goldfish crackers to snack on, of course.

I got contact lenses for the first time! They feel very weird, but I’m hoping I’ll adjust quickly.

I also went to my new OBGYN practice for a physical, and to get some questions answered about trying to conceive. One of my biggest concerns was that, like my previous experience, I wouldn’t be able to get a prenatal appointment until 8-12 weeks along and I’d have to battle hyperemesis again through that time. The nurse practitioner’s response, “Oh my goodness! No! We would never, ever make you wait that long. We’d get you in here as soon as possible. No, we never make people wait when they’re having problems with pregnancy – or any problems, for that matter!”

And there you have it – another of my fears, relieved.

Building My Team of Doctors

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So, if you haven’t heard…Hubster and I are starting to think about trying for Baby Deuce. Since I’ll be at high risk for experiencing another postpartum mood disorder, I want to be as prepared as possible before becoming pregnant. I’ve been working on building my “team.”

On Wednesday, I met with a therapist who has quite a bit of experience working with PPD. She was wonderful, and I was completely comfortable with her. I’m so happy to have found another therapist that I like. I have a hard time opening up, so I was nervous about finding someone.

On Thursday, I had an appointment with a psychiatrist that my therapist recommended. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am to have him on my team. The man is brilliant; you can just tell. When I explained how I’d been told to withdraw from Effexor, he raised his eyebrow and said, “She told you what?” He told me that Effexor, while a very effective drug, is one of the absolute worst drugs to miss a dose of and to withdraw from. We agreed on a very slow schedule of tapering off of the medication. It should take me about two months to come completely off, and then we’ll need to wait two weeks to see if I am okay without any medication.

He also chatted with me about SSRIs that have been proven to be safer during pregnancy, in the event that I would need to continue with medication. The man really knows his stuff, and I feel so blessed to be able to meet with him. I feel very confident that he’ll be able to help me through whatever mental health challenges, if any, are ahead of me.

The last member of my “team” will be an OBGYN. I need to know that if I experience hyperemesis again, that I’ll be able to get an appointment earlier than the standard 8-12 weeks gestation. I need to know that my OBGYN is a competent surgeon, since I will need a scheduled c-section. I need to know that my OBGYN recognizes that I’m at high-risk for depression during pregnancy and postpartum. I will have this appointment in late July.

I’m so excited about my team! I’m thrilled that Hubster and I are in a larger city now, with a greater pool of medical professionals available. I’m happy that we’re going into this prepared for all possibilities. I’m excited for our family to grow.

C’s 6-Month Checkup

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After napping for an hour and 45 minutes, C was full of smiles and laughter despite his four immunizations! He is now 15 lbs, 6 oz (15th percentile) and 26.25 inches long (55th percentile). The doctor said that he’s growing well and eased my fears about his development (not rolling over back to tummy yet) by reminding us that every baby meets those milestones at a different rate. We can introduce a second feeding of solids each day whenever we think C is ready.

We just need to go back in another month or so for his flu booster. Then we’re all set until his 9-month checkup!

C’s 4-Month Checkup

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C had his 4-month checkup with his pediatrician today. He showered his nurse and doctor with smiles until that first immunization needle poked his thigh. He’s 13 pounds, 12 ounces and 25 inches long. His weight percentile actually decreased from his last well-child appointment, but we pretty much saw that one coming!

After the shots were over, we cuddled him and fed him a bottle and he quickly recovered. He spent most of the day sleeping in my arms, but in his wakeful moments he was quite happy.

So glad another round of vaccines is over!

Being Grateful for a Shower

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It is after 10:30pm and I just got done taking my shower for the day. Today was kind of crazy.

Between 8:10am and 8:25am, I woke up, made a pediatrician appointment for C, got myself ready and left for the doctor’s office for an 8:40 check-in time. (Thank you to my wonderful Hubster for getting C dressed, or I never would have made it out the door on time!) Naturally, after all that rushing we had to wait until 9:02 to get called in for the appointment. The good news is that C does not have an ear infection! His symptoms are just from his cold and other than that, he’s perfectly healthy. He’s also a svelt 12 pounds, 2 ounces now! ;)

C and I have been sick since we returned home from our vacation to visit family last Tuesday. It’s awful. C has a difficult time sleeping and wakes up a lot. He often screams and thrashes his body while we try to feed him, even though he’s hungry. It takes a while to feed him and he generally isn’t eating as much as usual. This screaming doesn’t help the splitting migraine that I’ve had since last Wednesday. I don’t feel like I’m getting any better, but I think it’s because I don’t get enough sleep. I’ve exiled myself to the couch since last Wednesday to avoid waking up C with my cough. Oh the perils of a 1-bedroom apartment. :-p Being on the couch, I wake up every time C needs to be fed at night, even if Hubster is doing the feeding. I also don’t have the advantage of the blackout curtain that we have in our bedroom, so the light wakes me up early in the morning.

Despite the good news that he received at the pediatrician’s office, C refused to nap for more than 30 minutes today unless he was lying in my arms. No naps for Mama. The screaming made my head want to explode. Then this afternoon, I felt like the air in our apartment was getting rather humid and warm. No joke – less than 2 minutes later, all the windows and glass in our apartment completely fogged over. Yep, the air conditioning went out. AGAIN. Only this time it was 96 degrees with a heat index of 112. It’s the kind of heat that suffocates you.

After notifying the appropriate staff and discovering this was a campus-wide issue (we currently reside on campus for Hubster’s live-in graduate assistantship), C and I returned to the apartment to discover that it was too sticky to be habitable. I called Hubster and the three of us headed to the mall to wait it out.

Two poopy diapers in two hours later (have I mentioned I hate changing diapers in public restrooms?!), we returned to mercifully find that the air conditioning had been restored. C was fed and went to bed rather easily. Hubster sweetly washed all of the bottles while I nursed my headache on the couch. Now I’m sharing this day with you fine people before I attempt to spend yet another night on the couch, while Hubster is simultaneously watching ESPN and playing XBox 360. Here’s to another day in the life…

C’s 2-Month Checkup

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We had C’s 2-month appointment with his pediatrician this week. He’s doing great! He’s 23 inches and weighing in at 11 pounds, 1 ounce. I think he’s going to be a lanky kid, like Hubster was.

C was such a trooper during his shots (one oral, two in his left thigh, one in his right thigh)! We were so proud of him. I think I had a harder time than he did. ;)

He’s been sleeping a lot, but hasn’t had any adverse reactions yet. I love when things turn out better than I anticipated!

Birth Plans

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All of the pregnancy books tell you to come up with a birth plan so that you know exactly what you want to do when the time comes.

I’ll admit, the thought of a birth plan was a little daunting to me. This was my first pregnancy and I had no idea what to expect from a labor and delivery experience. I was afraid to plan it all out because that meant I had to really think about it ahead of time. My doctor asked me about it during one of my late third trimester appointments. When I said I didn’t really have one, but I knew I wanted an epidural, she just chuckled and said it was probably a good thing. The people who come in with a three-page birth plan, for example, are often disappointed because things never seem to go exactly as planned.

I went in knowing that I wanted an epidural and a vaginal delivery. That was the extent of my birth plan, and I thought of it as very relaxed and “go-with-the-flow.” Hubster can attest to my laid-back approach – I even allowed him to watch the NFL draft on ESPN while I was in labor!

As it turns out, I was not quite as “go-with-the-flow” about everything as I thought.

After 16 hours of laboring in the hospital (preceded by 3 days of early labor at home) and 1.5 hours of pushing, the on-call OBGYN broke the news that I would require a cesarean delivery. I immediately burst into tears. I had only wanted two things out of my birth experience, and a c-section was NOT one of them. I thought about the surgery, the longer recovery time, the fact that I would need c-sections with any future deliveries. I felt like I had failed by not being able to deliver my son vaginally. I had pushed for 1.5 hours, to no avail. Why couldn’t I do it? It was devastating.

Nearly three weeks later, I have the gift of hindsight. In retrospect, my c-section was not a terrible thing. Our little C is here, and he is perfect. My incision is healing very well. Even though I went through surgery, I have TONS more energy than I had at the end of my pregnancy. I was worried about losing weight because I would be less active, but I’ve lost all but 6 pounds of my baby weight already. Yes, I have a long way to go before my incision and abdominal muscles totally heal. Yes, I will need to have a cesarean with my future kids; but on the bright side, I will never need to experience a painful labor again.

While I have been reflecting on this topic myself, I also feel there are additional reasons to blog about it. I have a few friends and family members who are expecting and will be thinking about their birth plans soon. I’ve also seen birth plans mentioned by several people I follow on Twitter. Even though I was pretty laid back about my birth plan, I still was devastated when things didn’t go as I had hoped. I really want to encourage women to go in with a plan of what they would prefer to happen, but to also be open to the very realistic possibility that events could happen that will change that plan. I don’t want anyone to feel like they have failed their baby or themselves because things didn’t go as planned.

If you don’t want drugs, but find you need them – you are NOT a failure. Labor and delivery HURTS. It’s okay to need medication to be more comfortable.

If you need pitocin to move things along – you are NOT a failure.

If your doctor needs to use forceps or a vacuum to assist in your delivery – you are NOT a failure. Your doctor does this all the time and feels that it’s best for your baby to get out faster with assistance.

If you need to have a cesarean – you are NOT a failure.

Events occur during pregnancy, labor and delivery that you may or may not anticipate, but that’s okay. You are giving LIFE, and that is an amazing thing. How your baby arrives here does not matter a day, a week, or a year later. You’ve carried, nourished and given life to a little person. That’s all that is important in the end.

C’s 2-Week Checkup

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C had his first checkup with his pediatrician this afternoon and he did great. At 8 pounds, 13 ounces, he successfully surpassed his birth weight! His doctor prescribed Zantac for his acid reflux. We will be able to start and stop that for him as we wish to experiment and see if it helps him. I’m relieved that we can have that to fall back on, since my own experimenting with avoiding certain foods for breastfeeding (spicy, citrus, chocolate, etc.) has yielded zero results.

I’m really excited that his pediatrician is very nice, thorough and didn’t make us feel rushed at all when we were asking questions. This doctor was recommended by Hubster’s supervisor, who has three boys, and I couldn’t be happier with his recommendation.

C is now in the 82nd percentile for weight. That just makes me laugh, because he looks so scrawny! His arms and legs are a bit too long for most of his newborn-size clothes, but all the 0-3 month clothes just hang on his little frame.

Hoping the Zantac will give our little man some relief!

A Delivery Story

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Our son has arrived! Labor and delivery definitely didn’t turn out as I had expected or hoped for. The recovery process is going to be way longer than I wanted, but our beautiful baby boy is here and he’s perfect in every way. I can’t believe how cute he is. And it’s crazy to think that we MADE him.

I went into early labor on Tuesday. Wednesday we went to the hospital because I had bleeding and cramping…turns out the bleeding was okay and the cramps were actually contractions, but I wasn’t dilating quickly enough for them to admit me. Thursday afternoon, my contractions became 3-5 minutes apart, so we trekked back to the hospital and checked in. I was 3cm dilated at that point (on Wednesday I had been 2.5cm when I was sent home). When I got to 4cm, I ordered the epidural. I was terrified of getting it (the thought of a needle getting stuck in your spine is a little scary!), but it really was not nearly as bad as I anticipated. I would definitely recommend it to any woman!

They gave me pitocin to speed along the dilation and I couldn’t even feel my contractions. The epi was bliss and I was more comfortable than I’d been in weeks…but that was short-lived…

By 4am, I had completely dilated and began to push. I pushed for 1.5 hours when the doctor came in to see how I was progressing. C still hadn’t pushed past my cervix, so the doctor ordered a c-section. I was devastated and started crying. I had really hoped to avoid a c-section because of the recovery time. I was also so exhausted at that point that I was just super emotional. They capped the epi to prepare me for the transfer to the OR, where I was to receive a stronger medication to completely numb me for surgery. Then…the epi wore off.

O.M.G., the pain of C being stuck against my tailbone combined with contractions and being told not to push…I really thought I was going to pass out from the pain. I have never experienced so much pain in my life. It seemed to take forever to get to the OR. People were coming in and out and drawing blood, prepping me for surgery, and somehow I signed a consent form during that time even though I don’t even remember being able to open my eyes. Hubster was awesome and I couldn’t have done it without him holding my hand – I thought I would die! I finally got taken to the OR, where they put some stronger stuff in my epidural and I got some relief. Before I knew it, there was a significant amount of pulling and tugging (along with searing vaginal pain because the epi doesn’t reach there and they had to pull out C’s head). Hubster was able to stand up to look over the draping and saw them pull C out. He cut the cord. They brought C over to me so I could see him before taking him to the nursery, but my eyes couldn’t focus from being so tired and having so much pain so I barely even saw my baby! Hubster left with him when they went to the nursery. C had expelled meconium in the womb and had some in his lungs, so they had to monitor him and suck it out.

It took the doctor about 20 minutes to finish the surgery. When he was done, he told me that there was no way C would have come out vaginally. Not only was he facing up, but he would not have fit through my pelvis. It made me feel better emotionally that even if I had tried more pushing, I wouldn’t have been able to get him out. At the same time, though….I’m guessing that means I’ll have to have a c-section with every future baby because C’s only 8lbs 4oz and my pelvis was too small for him.

I got wheeled to recovery and it took them FOREVER to get me some pain killers. I was there for an hour and the whole time I was thinking how much I just wanted to see my baby. Finally, Hubster was able to come in and brought C with him. He laid him on my chest so I could at least look at him.

I think the hardest part about having a c-section is not being able to do everything you want for your baby. For example, I couldn’t hold him for a while. I wasn’t able to leave the bed until the following morning (24 hours after surgery), so the first time I changed his diaper was that afternoon. I can’t stand up with him, so someone always has to bring him to me/take him from me when I’m changing positions. It’s sad!

We’re so glad that he’s finally here! He’s awesome and we adore him. :)

In Labor…Got Sent Home

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Major TMI alert…if you don’t want to know the details, just know that I’m in early labor but was sent home from the hospital.

If you’re still reading, here goes…

I’ve had spotting since last Thursday, which is a bit concerning for a pregnant woman! When I saw my OB on Friday, she said that it was probably from my cervix dilating and I didn’t have to worry about it as long as it continued to be spotting and didn’t get any heavier or redder. Well, last night it definitely got heavier. When I woke up this morning, I noticed that there were also some clots. RED FLAG! I was pretty freaked out. It was 7am and I had gotten up early to get ready for my 9:45am doctor appointment (where I was hoping to schedule an induction for next week, since I’m overdue).

The clinic wasn’t open yet, so I called Labor & Delivery. They couldn’t consult my doctor because she was in surgery but they must have talked to someone else who suggested I come in. We got ready and got to L&D around 8:20am. Thankfully, the bleeding was not from a placental abruption or anything equally terrible. All the cramping I’m having turned out to be contractions. They were not regular, but all 3-8 minutes apart. Was still bleeding, but had not made any dilation progress. In fact, I’ve been dilated the same for about three weeks. Every hour was spent walking for 30 minutes, then monitoring for 30 minutes. My doctor decided to keep me there for monitoring until 1pm to see if I was dilating. While there was a small cervical change, there was no progress in dilation. My contractions remain irregular and I was sent home.

So here I sit, with contractions that bring severe cramps and back pain (albeit irregular) and continuous bleeding. I can’t believe I was sent home and not induced. I’m past my due date, for goodness sake! They said early labor could last like this for hours or days.

While we were walking the halls at the hospital, we saw a couple there who had been in our birthing class. She was only due one day before me. They were headed HOME with their baby. We were excited for them when we saw them. After being sent home, it’s just severely depressing. :-/

Well, Baby C, after a month of false alarms and this morning, we are definitely ready for you to get here. I’m convinced you’re never coming out and my body has no idea how to get you out. Hopefully this will all be over soon.

Waiting for Labor is a Crash-Course in Patience

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I’ve never been a patient person. Waiting for labor is driving me completely insane. I am now convinced (illogically, I admit) that Baby C is NEVER. COMING. OUT. Good thing I didn’t get my hopes up yesterday when they told me I was probably dilating and labor would come soon…I had my appointment today and there was absolutely no change. I’m still at 2.5cm. His head is as low as it can get, so it’s no surprise that I feel like I’m holding a bowling ball in between my legs.

I’m frustrated that my due date has always been incorrect. Had it been correct, I would already be at 40 weeks and we could talk about an induction next week. Instead, I’ll technically be 42 weeks before they’ll entertain the idea of an induction. Stupid PCOS and irregular periods.

I’m frustrated that all my cramping and contractions are getting me nowhere.

I’m frustrated that my doctor told me 4 weeks ago that I would be early.

I’m frustrated that I’m too exhausted and in pain to want to do anything to make the time pass more quickly.

I’m frustrated that I see people with due dates AFTER mine having their babies before me.

I’m frustrated at the following question: “No baby yet?” REALLY?!

So Hubster and I are going to go for a long walk and hopefully get some kind of contractions started. But those contractions will probably end up stopping, just like they have every other time this month.

I’m not patient. Hard as I try, I never will be. Baby C, spare me the insanity and please come out to meet us!