Out of Order - a story about teeth.

When Jude was about 3 months old, my family swore he was teething... He got his first tooth when he was almost 8 months old. Second tooth a week later... and he JUST got his third tooth at almost 10 months. The typical child cuts one new tooth at about the rate of 1 tooth per month from 6 months on. So... Jude's a little behind.

Typically babies get their bottom two front teeth, top two front and then the ones on either side of the front teeth. (so, central incisors and then side incisors)

Well, for weeks now, I've seen Jude's top gums BULGING. I thought that at any second his two front teeth would bust through his gums. Instead... he got one of his top side incisors. As i detailed above... this is not the norm.

Leave it to me to be that parent who can't help but wonder "oh geeze... i hope every thing's OK". As luck would have it, Ryan and I had our 6 month cleaning tonight. All of the women were swooning over Jude. One women asked how many teeth he had and I figured that was my chance. As nonchalantly as I could I mentioned "He's 10 months old and only has two teeth! Well he just cut his third... but it's not the central incisor - it's one of the side ones." I really didn't think it was anything too bad... but hey, why not throw it out there. She completely shrugged it off. She had no interest at all in WHICH teeth had come in. Instead she started a conversation about whether Ryan or I were late to get teeth (I was).

So much for worrying about it.

For the first time in a long time...

... my gums bled when I was flossing :(

When I was younger, my mom used to take us to the dentist. My brother and I still to this day laugh about how we would have to lie to him and say we were leaving school early to go to lunch. He HATED the dentist. I, on the other hand, never really had a problem with it.

At some point we stopped going with my mom and I think there was an embarrassingly long lag before I took the initiative to make an appointment and go myself. Even with a few years of no professional dental care, on my first self-made visit, I was 100% cavity free! While my teeth are FAR from perfect, I took pride in my lack of cavities.

At some point I was forced to switch dentists. The one I was seeing before was a pediatric dentist and he had to break the news to me when I was about 21, that he wouldn't be able to squeeze me into his brightly colored kids chairs any longer. I was bummed.

When I went to my new dentist, I remember walking in and getting the standard x-rays and cleaning from the hygienist. Then the doctor came in to check things and go over my x-rays with me. I said something a long the lines of "I've never had a cavity before - if I do this time, I'm never coming back to you". He chuckled and turned on that oh-so-terrible light behind the x-ray. What came next? you guessed it... he told me it looked like I would never be coming back. I was soooo crushed! Then he continued and said it was a 'flossing cavity'. I was confused and pressed for more answers - "what's a flossing cavity?" Basically, it's from a lack of flossing and was actually in between two teeth - not your standard molar cavity.

In my head I began a whole line of self defense. How could I have a flossing cavity? Didn't he realize I was one of the ten people in my dorm building that owned their own floss? That I was one of maybe three that actually used it? Isn't there a section on their chart where the hygienist notes "gums didn't bleed during cleaning - she must floss!". Was he aware that I take care of my teeth? That I am one of the seven people in the world who get a little giddy at the thought of a good old-fashioned cleaning?? Surely he was not aware. But there it was - clear as day on an x-ray that I had MY FIRST CAVITY. Of course, I was so certain I'd never get another cavity again that I paid the extra money for a "tooth colored" filling. It would blend right in with the rest of my pearly whites and be forgotten about.

Fast forward to today... while rooting through the medicine cabinet I saw it sitting there. My floss that I'm pretty sure hasn't been moved since the last time Ryan and I made the trek up to the dentist. The floss that I once took so much pride in! The floss, that made me once question "did they switch the x-rays?". Left to gather dust.

It's just another one of those things that often times gets put into the "tomorrow" pile. After brushing with Jude (he brushes too), I'm faced with a decision "put Jude down and floss" or "worry about it tomorrow". As with most questions like this... Jude always wins.

A Trip to the Doctor's

Yesterday I had a random check up and of course, Jude came along. I was going to see the doctor who delivered Jude and so thought "this woman was probably the first person Jude ever saw".

Anyway - I get in the exam room and when she walked in, it was just so sweet. She was cooing over him and was asking how he's doing, etc. etc.

Then on my way out I ran into Karla. She is like a nurse practitioner, I had seen her for a number of my prenatal visits when my doctor may not have been available at my desired time. The first time I saw her, I remember not liking her. at all. However, over time I realized I was maybe just reading her personality wrong and she actually became one of my favorite people there! She was just thrilled to see us and asked all about the little man and what he had been up to, etc.

It was all just very sweet and I loved how personal of an experience they gave everything considering how large of a practice they have.

So, What's up with Galbladder?

So probably about three months ago, I posted that I had gallstones. The idea of this scared me. I didn't want surgery, my body was just getting back to feel semi-normal so I thought I'd coast through it.

I had been sent for an ultrasound which confirmed I had gallstones and was told to pick up the prescription (referral?) to go see a specialist about getting my gallbladder removed. In the mean time I did a little research on my on and realized there are a few steps people recommended before getting your gallbladder removed. After all, I found it was one of the most common surgeries performed, so I assumed they may have been jumping the gun. There were flushes you could do which would basically break down/flush the stones and get your feeling better.

I had also read that apparently gaining a lot of weight quickly (as you do with pregnancy) and the pressure from the uterus could often times cause your gallbladder to get squished and make gallstones form.

All of this information lead me to the conclusion that I would NOT be jumping into surgery. After getting the results I said that if I got another attack (that's kind of what they are - they happen randomly and only last a little while) I would do the flush and see if that helped.

I think I got one more attack a couple of weeks later and again told myself I'd just put it off. Well, it's been about three months now and I have (knock on wood) had no signs of gallbladder issues.

During my search I also found that your diet had a lot to do with the frequency of attacks. For a little while I watched what I ate and tried to be good. I've since loosened up, but also avoid eating anything too greasy late at night and that seems to really help.

If the attacks come back at any point and become more frequent, then I plan to try the flush if I have to, but considering how infrequent the problems are I plan to just let it go for now. My biggest fear is that I've heard of people who didn't have attacks for awhile and out of no where they had terrible pain and had to be rushed in for emergency surgery. But, in my case, I think it was the result of the pregnancy and my body adjusting back to normal - at least I hope anyway.

However, if round #2 of pregnancy ever happens, I will be sure to mention this to my doctor as a potential problem that needs to be monitored.

So I Might have Gallstones...

... and on my list of foods to avoid:

Red Meat

Fried Foods

Dairy (including ice cream)

Chocolate

Alcohol, Beer, Wine Liquor

Avoid all Fruit Juice unless organic Grape

Carbonated Beverages

Beans

Wheat

Grapefruit

Oranges

Nuts

... and on my approved list of foods:

Beets

Green Beans

Cucumbers

Avocados

Garlic

Most fruits

Tomatoes

Lemon Juice (nothing like a good glass of lemon juice in the morning)

obviously not a comprehensive list, but from what I've gathered: "if it's good don't eat it - if it sucks eat all you'd like"

Lame.

Ultrasound tomorrow - we'll see if that's what it really is.

Hospital Adventures

Our stay at the Christiana Hospital was exceptional. Ryan (who has been nothing short of an amazing father from the second Jude was born - helping me in any way he can, and just glowing from excitement) just kept commenting that if you were to have a child, CCHS is THE place to do it.

All of the recovery rooms are single patient rooms. Fathers have their own bed for rooming in and your child stays with you the entire time (no nursery - except for infant ICU). The nurses for the most part were all AMAZING and extremely attentive as well (there was one in particular who I wasn't too fond of, but even she wasn't terrible).

The First Night:

After being ushered to our room somewhere around 9 or 9:30pm it was a pretty big adjustment. We had come from the delivery room where everything was pretty much taken care of and routine to our room where it was up to us to care for Jude and call the nurses when necessary.

We needed to rest after a long day, but of course we were still wide awake from all the excitement. Even though it was past visiting hours Barbie and Meghan got to come up to visit for a little bit and it was nice to be able to sit down and talk and just mellow out a little. After they left we of course tried to get some sleep but every little noise or sound Jude made had us wide awake - even though for the most part he was sound asleep.

In addition to his little noises, around 1:00 in the morning it was time for Jude's 6 hour check up. At 1:00am we were being shown how to care for Jude - from taking care of his little cord to giving him a bath. He and I both had our vitals checked and I had some blood work done. Not too long after it was time for my Rogham shot (ugh! again!). We got a little sleep but before we knew it the sun was on it's way up and the nurses were bustling again.

Full Day #1:

Early the next morning it was time to get things rolling with all the procedures for Jude. He needed his first pediatric check up and his circumcision. In addition I had my morning visit from my doctor making sure I was getting by OK. The pediatrician ended up coming while I was in the shower, so Ryan got to take care of that. He was told that Jude was good to go but that they were going to test him for jaundice because of my/his blood type mix.

When Jude was taken away for his circumcision I felt terrible for the poor little man. Come to find out when he was brought back, the poor little guy wasn't even done. He has a hypospadias which basically is an irregular urethra opening which needs extra attention in the next few months. As a result they started the incision, saw the problem and had to stitch him back up. I felt terrible. But he seems fine and the stitches should heal without a problem. Unfortunately we'll have to take him to a pediatric urologist later on to get it treated further.

In addition, the jaundice test came back that he had slightly elevated levels of bilirubin which meant extra monitoring for jaundice. We were off to a great start!

All in all though he's a healthy adorable, amazing baby boy!

He and I spend the rest of the day sitting around the hospital room, taking visitors and Ryan ran a couple of errands and went home to shower and tend to Buddy.

Later when it came time to sleep, Jude had been sleeping all day so we were afraid he'd be up the whole night. We weren't too far off base. For the most part he was asleep, but wouldn't stay asleep in his bassinet very well. Which means that I was up most of the night holding him close to my chest to keep him content.

Day #2 - Getting Ready to Go Home:

First this Thursday morning I was very ready to get out of the hospital. I woke up bright and early and got showered and dressed to leave. Unfortunately we found out that his bilirubin levels came back higher than they should be and he would need to be sent home with a biliblanket. This meant we had to wait around a few hours for the delivery man to bring it through. We hung out around the room trying to keep ourselves occupied. Ryan carried all of our gifts and belongings outside and we were just waiting for the blanket. Once it came on home we went!

My Cinco de Mayo

Perhaps I should start this LONG blog somewhere around the end of May 4th. Laying in bed that night I of course had a million thoughts running through my head. I kept telling myself that I HAD to get some sleep, but it was much easier said than done.

The Night Before:

As I mentioned earlier, I was scared of delivery. Thinking about everything that was ahead of us the next day I started to get nervous. I had no idea what to expect in terms of delivery and no matter how excited I was to finally see him, I was scared. Really scared. I will be completely honest and tell you that I sat in bed and cried (not just cried, but big old baby tears); telling Ryan "I can't do this! I don't want to do this anymore!". I was not afraid of having a child, but of delivering a child. Being the logical person he is, Ryan reminded me that he has to come out SOME how at this point. Needless to say I was awake on and off all night and into the morning.

The Waiting Game:

We were expecting a call somewhere between 4am and 8am. We both slept until about 6am with the phone by our side. At that time we woke up and showered trying to make the morning as "routine" as we could. By 8 o'clock we had gotten a couple of calls from the family and friends asking for updates and we told them what we knew: nothing. At 8 o'clock, Ryan asked me if we thought we should call the doctor's office. I thought they had told me to wait to call their office until 9 o'clock and I was right, even at 8:20 the office was still closed so the waiting continued. Around 8:30 though we got a phone call from my doctor's office apologizing that they hadn't called yet but there were no open beds for patients being induced. I guess they need to keep so many available for mothers going into labor naturally and those with emergencies. Talk about disappointing!

I instantly thought they'd try to reschedule for the next day, but was surprised to find out that my doctor (Dr. Larkin) was working some insanely long shift (she told Ryan exactly how many hours and I was amazed) and would be there through the night and into tomorrow morning and so they would bring me in as soon as they had a bed available. They estimated that it'd be early afternoon sometime and that I should try to be as available as possible when they call. They also let me know that other than 2 women who were being induced for medical reasons, I was their first 'normal' induction on the list (sorry to any women out there who thought they'd get their Cinco de Mayo baby and were put on hold!) which was exciting that I wasn't just waiting to get through some long list of women for my chance.

Being that sitting around the house all morning seemed to be an impossible feat considering what was ahead of us we decided we'd try to run a few errands and get some breakfast at Bob Evan's. Since we were expecting to be delivering a child though, we didn't have any pressing things to do. I probably 'shouldn't' have been eating, but we didn't know when I was going in, which also meant we didn't know when I'd be able to eat again. As we finished paying and got in the car my phone rang and it was CCHS (the hospital) letting us know that there was a bed available and they'd like me there as soon as possible! EeK!

I remember the way they brought it up was like "do you think you can make it here in 15 minutes?" Almost like they expected us to be out of town or something. OF COURSE WE CAN MAKE IT THERE IN 15 MINUTES!

We ran home, grabbed the last of our stuff that wasn't already in the car and were on our way. My heart was beating about a million miles a minute and we were both beaming from ear to ear that it was finally here. We of course called our families as we were approaching the hospital and gave them all a heads up that I was going in and should have the baby by the end of the day or early the next morning! I really wanted the actual birth to be all about Ryan and I, so we didn't call our families until we got to the hospital, so we could check in without an entourage.

Let's Get Things Going:

Walking into the hospital around 10:45-11:00ish (?) I was still nervous, but also much more excited that SOMETHING was finally happening! I expected the check in process to be mind numbing and long, but it only took a couple of minutes until we were being sent up to the LND floor! We got into our room and the nurse was there waiting for us to get started.

After stripping down, they hooked me up to about a million different machines (my IV, blood pressure, fetal monitor, contraction monitor) and my doctor came in a few moments later to check me out. As I mentioned previously I was already dilated (4cm) and effaced (75%) so she went right on in and broke my water to get things going; what a weird and awkward feeling that was - not at all painful though, just weird. I remember when I was pregnant being afraid it would break and it would be painful - it wasn't - at all. It was so strange how much my stomach shrunk down just from releasing the fluids. Almost instantly after breaking my water there were minor little contractions coming every few minutes, but nothing I couldn't handle. Up until this point, I hadn't experienced any contractions, so it was interesting and new to (again) finally be progressing.

I had told the nurse before that I didn't want the Epidural until I felt I needed it, so I just sat there and took what came. None of it was too terrible (at first I could only feel my stomach tightening - no actual pain). After a little while it got to the point where I needed to relieve the pain a little by clenching my fist or focusing on something else, and knew that before long the pain would really be coming. I had never really had any traumatizing/painful experience before, so I'm a bit of a wimp. Labor was so scary to me, because I wasn't sure how I'd be able to handle the pain. It was fun to watch how "intense" they were on the monitor to see just how well I was handling it!

We had checked in around 11:00 and were probably all hooked up and rolling by 12:00...

Things are Really Rolling Now:

A little while later the pain became much more intense - Ryan had to hold my hand through it and we anxiously watched the monitor waiting for them to be done. So, I decided now was the time to ask for some relief - knowing it'd take a little time before I could actually get something (I wish I had times for all of this, but everything was seriously happening so fast that I don't even know at what time this happened - let's assume I asked for the epidural around 3:00ish??). Before long (maybe 20 minutes later) the anesthesiologist came in and it was time for the dreaded needle everyone talks about.

I had to sit on the edge of the bed with Ryan in front of me and my back to the doctor. I didn't even look at the needle thinking that it was probably for the best to not really know what was coming - you hear so many horror stories. There was one initial prick which was basically just numbing and a second after that, which actually placed the catheter. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected! After placing the catheter they gave a 'test' medicine which would determine if the tube was placed in the right spot. Typically the responses they're looking for that would potentially mean it was wrong are light headed-ness, funny bone reactions in your legs, etc. Within seconds I was super light headed and felt like at any moment I could pass out. Before I knew it I could feel some warm feeling going down my back. Apparently they had hit a blood vessel and needed to re-place the catheter. At this point my back was already still numb from the first prick and the contractions were getting worse (we had to wait for a contraction to pass before they would try again), so the second needle for the new catheter was no problem at all. Almost instantly I felt relief except for a little bit of a "pang" (is that a word?) of pain on the lower right hand side of my abdomen.

I let the nurse know about the minor pain and she said that it's normal to feel a little bit of pressure. Compared to the contractions this was nothing. We trucked right on through and I believe at some point during the epidural period Ryan went down and gave everyone a heads up that I had the epidural and things were rolling. When he came back up, he had a couple of gifts from some of our family. The thing that stands out most is "raw clyde". It was a dancing/singing stuffed cactus from my brother. I remember assuming this was a gift from him for his nephew, but he said he knew how nervous I was and it was actually a gift for me: to make me smile.

Here He Comes!

Shortly after the epidural was given and we had a little time to kind of sit around and wait I started to feel the sharp pain on my lower right hand side a little stronger (we'll say it was close to 5:00 now). With each contraction I could feel it more and I knew that it wasn't a good sign. Once or twice they hit the little button that gives the epidural a boost, but I insisted that it wasn't doing anything. Ryan called my nurse in and she checked me and called the anesthesiologist back in. When she was leaving she mentioned that she'd like to do it now to make sure I get relief before I'm 10 cm - because after that, there was no time for adjusting. I'm not exactly sure what he (the epidural man) did (I know he changed a cord of some sort) but it worked fairly quickly and the pain was subsiding. Almost minutes after he left my nurse came in and asked how I was feeling. I told her it felt much better and that I should be fine now - what pain I had felt, was pretty much gone. I could still feel the pressure of the contractions though and was very in tune with my body and when contractions were coming and going.

Around that time my doctor poked her head in and checked me again. We asked her for a update so Ryan could run down and let everyone know where we stood and she said "oh, she's 10 cm - we're ready to push". Needless to say, he didn't get a chance to let everyone know!

When she said "you're ready to push" I expected to have the bed transformed into a more typical OB GYN bed with the leg supports and butcher paper, but none of that happens. Ryan stood to the left of me, the nurse to the right and my doctor sat at the end of the bed. It was not at all what you'd expect after years of movie watching. The lights were dimmed (from earlier) and it was all very relaxing.

As my doctor sat down at the end of the bed she told me that it should be a quick delivery because he was RIGHT there (she asked if I'd like to see in a mirror and I graciously declined) and ready to go - this was all around 6:15 or so. When the next contraction hit they let me know to start pushing and I got some great words of encouragement telling me that everything was going great. I remember being told I was a pushing champion and most of the time they didn't even need to tell me to push. As I said, I felt very in tune with what was going on that without anyone telling me, I just felt like I knew when to push.

In between contractions it was like a bizarre experience. We all relaxed (well, I did - the nurse and doctor - and even Ryan -were so mellow the whole time) and held random conversation. One specific conversation was Ryan and my doctor talking about Batman (Ryan was wearing one of his many batman t-shirts and the doctor was saying her son was a huge fan). It was so strange, but reassuring and soothing (if that makes sense). I was afraid of tearing or need to be cut, so at one point I even asked how things were going in that area. My doctor said I was stretching perfecting and it didn't look like I'd need any stitches. If things hadn't been so relaxing, I would have been worried something would go wrong. It just gave me that feeling that everything was going just fine and any second I'd hear my little guy crying. Boy could I have been any more correct. After only about 30-35 minutes of pushing he was out and in my arms.

No matter how aware I was that I was pregnant and we were going to be having a child it was still such a strange and exciting moment to finally get to hold him in my arms. He was perfect and so adorable. I'm sure every parent thinks that their baby is the cutest thing ever, but I'm totally convinced he is the most precious.

After-Birth Stuff

I remember watching specifically when Ryan cut the cord, but I honestly have no idea what happened 'down there' after I had him in my arms. I did very little to deliver the placenta and the doctor/nurses did all my cleaning up and such. I was so wrapped up in taking in every second of those first few minutes with my precious baby boy that any thing else going on around me was not important.

I only vaguely remember getting my couple of stitches from his premature arm. I saw the needle and thread going and asked what was happening. My doctor informed me that he had his little hand up by his ear and that cause a small tear, but nothing serious.

After they took him away with Ryan shortly after for his weight and everything else, I got disconnected from all my monitors and then Ryan being the super proud dad he is/was made a bee-line for the waiting room with camera in hand to spread the word that Jude Michael was finally here! I on the other hand sat there hold my little baby boy. Ryan wasn't there and the nurses were tending to their post-delivery duties. I remember he was crying at one point and I felt so incapable of caring for him. What should I do? What does he need? Do these women think I'm already a terrible mother? I had taken class after class at the hospital, but felt more unprepared then ever for those first few moments.

Before he was born, I felt confident I could get him latched on and sucking all on my own, but sitting there in the delivery room, I asked for help. The nurse - a young and very friendly girl dropped what she was doing to come help. I can't remember the details of it, but I know he latched on and even though I didn't feel like a professional, things no longer seemed as intimidating.

As I said, Jude was crying those newborn tears at first, but not too long after, he was wide awake and alert, taking in everything going on around him. His deep blue eyes heavy from his big day were yearning to stay awake, not wanting to miss one second of this new world.

After getting everything settled in our delivery room, we were told it'd be a little while before we'd be escorted down to our room we'd be staying in, so Ryan started to usher people up to LND a few at a time to meet Jude. That of course happened so quickly and before we knew it we were in the recovery room and completely unaware of how to take care of such a small baby.

All I wanted to do after having Jude was hold him and look into his beautiful blue eyes. Having guests come up and hold him and coo at him was wonderful, but at the same time overwhelming. We had all had a long day, so it was a bit of a relief to hear that visiting hours were over and once we went to our room, Ryan and I could really have a chance to take it all in.

Stay tuned for "Hospital Adventures" and "The First Few Days at Home"...

*** this post was edited slightly 1/21/10.