12 Weeks

Time is really flying by and fast.  I can't believe it is already 12 weeks since Little E was born.  Next month on the 8th she'll be three months old.

No the colic still hasn't abated. Yesterday was 6 shirt changes on her and one pair of pants for me.

She is teething at least I think she is.

She grew another inch.  Last night I placed the yard stick in her crib to check her length.  She is now 23 inches and a tiny bit but she kept wiggling so I just went with the full inch.

She is fully into the 3-6 month size clothes.  I started packing up the 3 month size on a few items that were running small.

Her nails are like razor blades.  I can't keep up on the filing of them down.  I've been tempted to take her for a manicure but I doubt it would be worth it.

She can stand assisted.

Her hair is falling out.  I rather knew it would.  Still it is hard to tell what color her hair will be when it comes in as her eye lashes are brown and her eye brows are a dark blonde.

Still not rolling over.  She rolls to her side but that is it.  I thought for sure the way she was going this morning she would roll from back to front but alas it was just to the side.  More often than not the only tummy time she gets is when she sleeps on one of us to take a quick nap.  She hates tummy time on the floor and will manage only a minute before she screams.

Oh God her screams!  She is ear piercing with those wales.

I'm loving every minute of her existence.   I just wish the days wouldn't fly by so quickly.

Finally Found the Dress

Yesterday, after months of searching and I mean months as I started looking for a christening gown before Little E was even born, I found and purchased a one-of-a-kind gown.  Well it might not have been ooak back in its day but it is now.

The gown is Edwardian (1901-1910) making it over 100 years old.  It does need a bit of minor repair to one seam and the addition of buttons to the back but I've been sewing since I was 4 years old.  I can handle this simple repair.

Here are the photos of the dress:

With a 22 inch chest and an overall length of 33 inches it will fit Little E come Christmas easily.  Little E is already boasting a 17.5 inch chest.

Now to find shoes, a slip, and a onesie for the big day.  We already have the bonnet which was a gift from my MIL which she purchased while in Scotland.  The bonnet becomes a hankie she can carry on her wedding day.

Today while Little E was doing her floor time I grabbed my dino camera and took some pictures and video of her.  There is no sound to the video.

Follow Up Gynecology Appointment

Dr. C. was really in a good mood today.  But then again I've yet to see him in a bad mood.  He is one of my all time favorite gynecologists.  Today I even learned something from him.

I learned that having the cervix removed is like getting sexually castrated.  I knew that the uterus was part of the sexual gratification but not the cervix.  How many times has a doctor told me and probably you too dear readers that the cervix has no nerve ending?  Well guess what?  It does so!

This means that I will be re-evaluating the surgery I'll be going through in January.  December is the next check up and since I don't have cervical cancer I'm going to request that the cervix be left in place.

I also found out that the endometriosis can also grow on the brain.  I knew about the lungs but I didn't know about the brain.

Good gravy that crap could be any where in my body!  Will I ever be without endometriosis pain?

As for the urinary incontinence issue; I'm being referred to a urologist.  Dr. C. is putting in the referral today.  He did a test on me today and it was mighty uncomfortable too. It involved a q-tip and my urethra...Dr.C. said I probably wouldn't feel a thing.  I told him yeah right.  Oh and it hurt like heck too.  Still hurts as in burns when I pee now.  But all looked good.  The main issue is that some nerves were probably severed when the uterus was removed causing me to lose urine whenever I squat down.  No amount of Kegel exercises will fix that he said.  I will be having to wear a pad for life.  Fun times.  So I asked if I could get something for my "diaper rash".  He prescribed me nystatin cream.  I asked, being the smart alec that I am, if it would turn my butt purple.  I've made worse comments to doctors before.  One time when being prescribed steroids I asked my doctor if it would give me a little penis.  Yes I'm that bad.  I have to keep good humor when dealing with possibly bad news.

My little chunker

Packing Up Clothing

Today while Little E was in her Mamaroo I was packing up her 0-3 month size clothing.  I swear the past three months has been a blur.

Little E turned 11 weeks old today.  Next week she'll be 12 weeks or 3 months if you do the calculations.  But I won't be saying to everyone she is three months old until the 8th of October.

It looks like J won't be having to leave after all.  Those budget cuts are on my side this time.  Now if only he could get a huge pay raise so I could afford a maid and a nanny.  I'd like to get a night's sleep.

Little E is now preferring my company to that of her dad's.  I guess that is a good thing but it makes J feel like crap.  He'll just have to do more with her than fall asleep with her in his lap.  I play with her on the floor.  I take her for walks.  I read a loud to her.  Oh and I feed and change her and do her laundry but I doubt she notices the laundry part.

Tonight J was feeding Little E and he kept on feeding her without a burp break.  He is trying to rush through her feedings so that he doesn't fall asleep.  So yeah she paid him back.  She blew dinner all over him and the carpet.  He yelled for help.  Yes he is a bit dramatic.  He acted like her milk spew was toxic waste.  Just two weeks ago she spit up, more like barfed there was so much of it, down my v-neck shirt.  I just tucked a flannel wipe in the boob area and kept taking care of her.  When she was settled down again I took care of me.  I tell Little E that I'm washable so she isn't too feel bad when she can't control her spitting up.

I turned on sesame street today.  What happened to that show?  Scary how some of the characters are now cgi.  Flying trolls!

Well my brain is melting.  I have a GYN appointment tomorrow morning.  Hoping I get some answers as to the bladder issue.

Oh and tomorrow is my 9th wedding anniversary.  Where the heck has time gone?

Visit with the Oncologist

Sorry if this post seems a bit choppy.  I'm so tired right now I could fall asleep on the keyboard.

This morning's first appointment went well. J drove us to the oncologist office in Savannah at Candler Medical.

The two hour appointment was actually less than the allotted time giving me a chance to stop by my old OB office to show them the baby.  They had wanted to see her and requested that I bring her in after she was born to see the "end product" as they only ever get to see the babies on ultrasound.  I found out I was the first patient to actually ever bring in their baby.

At the oncologist office I got to meet my arch nemesis again; Wanda.  The doctor asked me to strip from the waist down so he could do an exam.  I asked if it was transvaginal and he said yes.  I said I thought I'd meet up with Wanda again.  He had actually never heard it called that before and liked the name.

So yeah, I'm abnormal.

How many of you gals out there have been told by your OB that you'll not have endometriosis grow while pregnant?

Yeah I know there are at least a few of you out there.

Mine grew but I knew that.  That lovely 4.5 cm pocket of tissue grew to 9 cm during the pregnancy while I was at JBLM.  It wasn't monitored when I got to Ft. Stewart though it should have been.  No it was brushed under the carpet.

So I now have not one but two, yes 2, endometriomas growing on my left ovary.  Dr. R offered me surgery right off the bat to remove them.  He was astounded to find out that I'm only 10 weeks postpartum and have endometriosis growing rampant.  He found other evidence of endometrial growth in the pelvic cavity too.

I said to him take it all.  He said he was just about to tell me that if doesn't take the ovaries too that it will grow back.  I already knew that.  Thank you bloggers for all that information.

He will also be taking the cervix and all other adhesions and endo he can find.  Since J isn't going to be around for a few months I'll be having the surgery early next year.  It can wait.  I am in pain and there is always a risk of ovarian torsion if one of the cysts should twist.  That went without him telling me as I had already told him I've had large cysts before.

The surgery will hopefully be done with the four small incisions that he thinks might do it.  But since I had the zipper surgery recently there might be too much scar tissue and he'll have to do another zipper surgery again.  I say zipper because it was a vertical incision with 19 staples in it.  Dr. R. said he would have used even more staples.  Great.

But he told J he would write him what ever note he needs to ensure that he gets the time off to be at home with me (lol) because he will have to care for the baby, do the house work (LOL) and prepare me meals (bigger LOL there).  Sorry but J doing any of the above and getting the time off would be nigh impossible without a congress.

Next week I see my gynecologist about the bladder issue.  More on that when I find out why I started leaking after the follow up appt. internal exam.  I didn't leak during pregnancy or after until that day in August.

New PCM

Yesterday was my first visit with my new PCM (primary care manager).  The doctor was rude.

He came into the exam room and told me to give him my life history in two minutes because that was all the time he had for me.  Sheesh.

He asked how old my son is.  Mind you SHE was dressed in a camouflage dress and bib but she also had a pink headband on her head with a pink flower on it.  I corrected him.  He said, "well you never know with today's army".  Really?

He then says I don't have spinal stenosis according to the MRI he looked at.   Well it would be nice if he looked at the newest one taken a few years ago and read the report from the neurologist I went to at JBLM.  He didn't even know that I had been to see a neurologist.

So after explaining to him in the little time I had why I was there and asking for the lab results, of which, he said were normal, he put in the referrals that I requested.

I will be going to see a pulmonary specialist and getting the sleep study done.  He listened to my lungs and asked me how long I've had asthma.  Since 1997 and the hospital there noted that my O2 stats dropped into the 80's when I was sleeping.

I will be going to see the neurologist but will be needing a referral off post to get the MRI and EMG done.  Yes they could in theory do them at Winn but they don't allow the dependents to use the MRI and EMG testing facility now.  Why? I wondered.  It costs the government more to send us off post for testing.

I will be getting an ultrasound done on my thyroid to see if the cysts are shrinking.  It has been a good three years since the last one was done.

None of my questions were answered as to the blood work.  I wanted to know about the Large and Giant Platelets they had found and why it is so rare.  I wanted to know if the iron issue is back to normal. All he said about the iron was that it wasn't tested on the 2nd of September.  Really?  The internal med doctor specifically requested that test.  Oh I've booked an appointment with my internal med doctor for next week as the PCM told me I should follow up with that doctor instead even though my PCM had no idea why I was seeing him to begin with.  UGH!

The PCM did agree to prescribe me the lasix and the statin.  My cholesterol was high he said but he didn't tell me the numbers.  Hopefully I'll remember to ask next week.

As for the GYN visit I was supposed to have on this past Monday; GYN called late Friday last week to cancel it.  My doctor had to go on emergency leave.  He won't be back until early October.  I'm now rescheduled with another GYN, one I've seen before and liked, for next week to address the urinary incontinence issue that suddenly started after the pelvic exam in late August.

Little E is doing well.  My days are running together and I can't remember if I mentioned her weight and height from last visit.  She is 10 weeks old now and weighs 11 lbs 2 oz.  Length is 22.4 inches.

Here is a new photo of her from yesterday

Tomorrow is the oncology appointment in Savannah.  It is a two hour appointment.  Not sure what they are going to do but I can guess it won't be all medical history.  Hopefully this Savannah doctor will be on time because I have a dental appointment in Hinesville in the afternoon to have my new crown put in place.

Medical Report

Tuesday while I was at Winn ACH for Little E's pediatric appointment I stopped by the outpatient medical records room and requested my records for July when I was an inpatient.  It took a while but I now have my copy.  I can only request that period of time once without having to pay for the copies.  The reason why I wanted the copies is because of the oncology appointment next week.  I need to know what exactly they found inside of me.

Looking over all the lab tests and the procedures left me with questions that dr. google helped me figure out.  But now I have a few more questions, hopefully educated ones, to ask my doctor. I also have a gynecology follow up this week too.

1) Is it temporary for Large and Giant platelets to be found in my blood count?  If not does this mean something bad like what I've been reading?  Did I inherit something from my parents?   I know that both of them have clotting issues when they have surgery.

2) 900ml blood loss seems to be a lot to me.  Is there something I can do to prevent a bleed out of this proportion before my next surgery?

3) When comparing my most recent blood draw to that of when I was an inpatient do I fair better being on the iron pills?  With all those H and L's on my lab work from before does it look better now?  If not what can I do to make my blood healthier?  How long before I'm back to normal?

4) On the pathology report of my uterus it was noted that part of the corpus (uterus) wasn't well defined.  Is this the adenomyosis they suspected?

5)  On the night of 6 July I was admitted for induction and a  CBC was drawn.  There were L's and H's in my blood draw then.  Why wasn't I notified of the issues before I delivered baby girl on 8 July?

6) I was told that my endometriosis wouldn't continue to grow during my pregnancy.  I argued that it would several times without being taken seriously.  Now my left side of the pelvis is covered in adhesive film according to the operative report.  "The left ovary and tube were appreciated to be covered with filmy and dense adhesions attached to the left pelvic sidewall and poorly visualized.  The bilateral ureters were not visualized."

7) From the operative report I noticed that several things were clamped and cut and the bladder tucked back into place.  Is this the reason why I'm having more than a drop of urine issue now?  I never had bladder issues before, even when in my last weeks of pregnancy.

Now I only hope that I remember to ask all these questions when at my two doctor appointments next week.

If any has had any experience with Large and Giant platelets let me know what you think.  I'll be sure to ask at the appointments if I remember.

Your Opinion Counts

I'm asking for a bit of help here in making a decision on a Christening gown.  Yes I know just like a wedding dress it only gets worn once.  But I'm only going to get the one child and I don't know if she'll want to pass the dress on for generations.  I know that if I had a gown from my family and it fit my daughter I would have put her in it in a heart beat.

I do have my dad's christening gown.  It is badly stained and very fragile looking.  It is also a newborn size and Little E will most likely be wearing 6-9 month size when we get her Christened.

Mom knows now for sure that my own Christening gown is a lost cause.  Even if she found it I was only 3 weeks old when I was Christened.

So I've been web browsing for gowns.  I had thought to make one myself since I'm quite good with needle and thread.  But I don't have the time to make one.

J gave me a budget to stick to then he picked out a gown he likes that blew the budget to shreds by almost double the price.  So much for the budget.

If you follow me on pinterest you'll see the gowns I like under the Christening gown board I started.


Now I'll share some links with all of you and photos where possible.

From Etsy.com
https://www.etsy.com/listing/112068511/sophia-victorian-silk-baptismal-gown-and?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

https://www.etsy.com/listing/159924258/silk-and-lace-christening-gownvictorian?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

https://www.etsy.com/listing/113267215/victorian-inspired-christening-heirloom?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

https://www.etsy.com/listing/166150795/baptism-silk-grown-with-bonnetvictorian?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

https://www.etsy.com/listing/114523840/claravictorian-style-christening-gown?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

https://www.etsy.com/listing/93858412/christening-silk-gownbaptism?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

One Small Child
http://www.onesmallchild.com/preslee-beaded-silk-christening-gown.html

Christeninggowns.com
http://www.christeninggowns.com/Penelope-Christening-Gown-p/pe10.htm

http://www.christeninggowns.com/Clementine-Christening-Gown-p/cl00.htm

Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/White-Embroidered-Tulle-Christening-Baptism/dp/B002PIJV5A/?qid=1408763992&s=apparel&ref=sr_1_18&ie=UTF8&sr=1-18

http://www.amazon.com/Lauren-Madison-Newborn-Christening-Baptism/dp/B005S6C770/?qid=1408765235&s=apparel&sr=1-5&keywords=christening+gowns+for+girls&ie=UTF8&ref=sr_1_5

and lastly
babysakes.com
http://www.babysakes.com/100-Cotton-Sateen-Christening-Gown-p/lt-cs10gs.htm

I love the ones from Etsy.  J loves the one from One Small Child but also likes all the others as well and is leaving it up to me.  Yeah and I don't want him disappointed because I don't like his dress as much as the other ones.  If it were a bridal gown he wouldn't get a say but it is our daughter's one and only Christening.

Two Month Check Up

Little E turned 9 weeks old yesterday.  We went to the pediatrician's office for her two month check up and vaccinations.

Weight is now 11 lbs 2 oz  55th percentile
Length is now 58 cm or 22.4 inches  50th percentile
Head is now 38 cm which puts it in the 41st percentile

Not too shabby for a growth restricted baby.

She had two shots in the left thigh and one in the right with an oral vaccine as well to boot.  I cried when they gave her the shots.  I mean I can give myself an injection but it is different watching the doctors inject your baby.  (I cry when they give Bugsy injections at the vet clinic too.  Hey he is also my baby. )  Poor baby girl had a nasty red swollen area on her left thigh last night of which J took it upon himself to massage for her.  She screamed until her baby tylenol kicked in.  We ended up giving her two doses over the night.  None of us got any sleep.

Today she is taking her bottle quite well but is still having quite a bit of spit up from the after effects of the shots.  Just when I thought I had the spit up under control too.  I'm sure she'll feel better in a few days.

Soon I'll have to pack up another box of baby clothing to donate to the Army hospital's social services department.  Some of the smaller cut, usually the Gerber body suits run small along with a few Carters, clothing will be getting put into the box each load of laundry this week.  It is now time to put the three month size clothing into her middle dresser drawer.

My system is simple.  Top drawer of her dresser is the socks, flannel wipe, spare changing pad cover, hats, tights, mittens and booties.  Middle drawer is the clothing she currently fits into.  Bottom drawer is the clothing she almost fits into but if needed in a hurry it is there to be worn; nightgowns and sleepers are usually what will get broken in first on those nights where I'm not about to do a third load of her laundry for a fresh sleeper in her current size.

Cloth diapering is going quite well.  Most days we go through about six diapers then switch off to paper at night to make the clean up job easier for Daddy.  For the next few days, since I was warned by the Peds doc, I'll be using paper diapers only until diarrhea watch is over.  I do have paper inserts for the cloth diapers but if you use cloth diapers you'll know quite well that firm is much easier to remove from cloth than watery poo.

The only real problem I've found with using cloth diapers thus far is that they take up way more room in the body suits than a paper diaper.  This means moving up a size in clothing quicker than I'd like to.

Last time traveling in her car seat with the insert behind her.  She is finally weighty enough to remove it J declared with pride.

He is such a cutie.  Photo taken just before bedtime.

Bottling It Up

Yesterday a gal that I know from my time in the hospital was offering 6 Dr. Brown bottles to whomever responded first.  Her child didn't like the bottles.  Mine loves those bottles.  I messaged her and offered her 6 Avent bottles and the Comotomo bottle that Little E detests.  We exchanged the bottles and I couldn't be happier.

I'm still using stage 1 nipples on the bottles.  I have plenty of stage 2 and 3 but am unsure of when to switch them out.  Any input folks?

Today J went back to work.  This is my first day alone with Little E in almost a month.  Last month he had to go in to work for a few days.  I don't mind it so far today but I can see it is going to be a fun day inside instead of outside.  I would have loved to have taken her out in the stroller this morning while it was still cool but it was raining.  It gets so darn hot here in Georgia that taking the baby out during the day really isn't much of an option until late Autumn.

I'm bottling up some anger.  I just found out that J won't be gone for only a month.  It could now be three months.  How the hell am I do get the baby christened without him?  We had hoped to take her up for Columbus Day Weekend.  That had to be changed to Thanksgiving and now to Christmas.  I'm not liking the idea of traveling three days journey up and three days journey back in the snow season with a cat and a baby in the SUV.  Sure the SUV is safe but it is still going to suck with the other drivers out there and their bad driving skills in the snow.

I'm trying to bottle up the anger I'm feeling at myself for being bloated.  I've gained back almost 12 pounds in water.  The internal medicine physician forgot to put in the script for the lasix last week.  He agreed to put it in the computer system because my legs are badly swollen.

Next week I have four doctor appointments one of which is the dentist but the dentist is a doctor too.  I'll be seeing the oncologist next week.  Now the fun really begins.

Waiting in Limbo

Yesterday was the appointment with the doctor at Internal Medicine.  The doctor never examined me.  He had his briefcase on the exam table.  I sat in the chair nearest the table.

We did go over why I was there to see him.  Did he not get the computer memo?  Ugh.  So he said I need to get a PCM as the one listed in the computer is the one from JBLM.  Yeah, I knew that.  Apparently Tricare forgot to automatically assign me a new one when I moved, probably because I was pregnant.

Dr. L. put me in for a referral to see the nephrologist.   He ordered a CBC, thyroid, lipid panel, H1a1C test and something else requiring four vials of blood to be drawn.  The CBC was my request to see if the anemia is better now.

The reason for my rib pain is osteoarthritis.  Somehow I forgot I had it.  Yeah I remember now.  I forget easily and the doctor is going to have me checked by someone for that very memory issue since Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases run in my family.

He has told me that I need to request from my PCM a sleep study (my O2 stats dropped into the 80s every time while I was sleeping when I was in the hospital), a pulmonary specialist for my yearly asthma check up, and a new referral to see the neurologist as some how the referral I had disappeared from the system.

Dr. L. also told me I need to make another appointment with Dr. N at OB/GYN to follow up on the bladder issues I'm having and to find out when I'm cleared to drive and have sex again.  Dr. N. didn't clear me two weeks ago.  Just after seeing Dr.N. my bladder started its issue.  I didn't have that issue before or even while pregnant.

Yesterday I had my mammogram.  I'll find out those results next appointment with Dr. N.  Hoping that my pap results will also be in when I see him too.

Little E is doing well.  She still hates tummy time and bath time.  Both have become a screaming fest.  I feel so guilty when I hear her cry that I want to pick her up and cuddle her.  But how is she to get bathed or to strengthen her muscles if I keep picking her up?

It is hard to believe that she turned 8 weeks old yesterday.  I'm hoping that in a few weeks she will have out grown her colic.  We are up to 2 teaspoons of rice formula per 5 ounce bottle every 3.5 - 4.5 hours.

J heads back to work this coming Monday.  Sure now that his leave is almost at an end he is finally learning that I'm right and he needs to start now with setting a good male example for his daughter.  Ugh!  Last minute effort but I'm hoping he sticks to it.