Some sweet relief

Well, it's been awhile since I posted and God has been good! At the time, we have limited internet access at home so blogging is very difficult. I am currently at the home of my personal chef making this post just to update you all quickly... no, I don't really have a chef, but Celeste has cooked for my family every weeknight for the past month while I have been trying to keep my own food down... may God bless her for that awesome gift

!

So anyway, on to the update. We decided not to put in another PICC line because the vomiting was no longer out of control (meaning it was only a couple times a day as opposed to 8) and unless completely necessary, my doctor didn't see it being worth the risk. It seems to have been the right decision because we now think the 5 days I had it in allowed us to get on top of the sickness and take control. I am back on the oral meds twice a day and the Phenergan at night to help me sleep and I am doing very well. Food is staying down, I am able to drink liquids regularly throughout the day and I've even begun some more 'normal' activity. I have been warned to continue to take it slow and not jump back into my busy lifestyle too quickly, but we have been leaving the house and getting reaquainted with friends we haven't seen in over a month! I have returned to both bible study groups, very appreciative of all the love, prayers and support that came from both groups of women, and am even very thankful for the ability to do my own grovery shopping again! It's the little things, isn't it?

Logan is very happy and adjusting very well to our slow transition back to 'normal' as he has enjoyed getting to go to playgroup and even the nursery at church again. People that didn't get to see him much throughout the last month continuously comment on how much he has grown up... he is becoming very independent and mommy is loving that too!

Thanks again for all the prayers... our next appt is Tuesday March 3rd so hopefully we will have our internet working again by then and I will be back to more regular posts! Recent pics of Logan coming soon... and I've got to get some more videos on here of all his little sayings and songs! He cracks us up on a daily basis!

Oh for goodness sakes!

Alright... here it goes. So, the PICC line was put in on Monday and since then I was pretty much free of being sick. It was sore the first 24 hours, but after that I felt like I was adjusting well. On Thursday night, we awoke in the middle of the night to change my fluid bag and realized that the IV was not infusing.... the Zofran pump was still going and not beeping to signify a blockage, so we didn't think too much of it. Jeff just clamped off the fluid line and we went back to sleep to deal with it in the morning. Come Friday, the line flushed and fluid started flowing again, so we had no worries. As the day went on, I started to feel a little discomfort which progressed throughout the day, but I tried to tell myself that, "Heck, you just had the incision done a few days ago. Be tough!" Just FYI: that was the wrong thing to do!

So, before going to bed Friday night, I was using a heating pad to decrease the pain as well as taking Tylenol, but then when it came time to go to bed the IV fluid started to back up again and stopped infusing... once again, the Zofran pump was going, so that struck me as odd. Instead of calling the home health people, we decided to just sleep without the IV and deal with it in the morning when they could possibly send someone out to check on me. Again, probably a mistake, but that's hindsight for ya!

About 3:50 in the morning, I woke up in so much PAIN! I couldn't move my arm and if I even tried to rest it up on a pillow, it made me want to scream! I tried to toss and turn, walk around, and think, but by 5am I was waking up Jeff and calling into the 24hr home health nurses. The pressure in my arm was so tight, feeling like if I could just cut my arm open and release it, it would all be better (but don't worry, I didn't do that!). The nurse on call instructed me to head to the emergency room (thanks again to family for my dad coming over at that hour to be here when Logan woke up!).

So, on to the result... after 4 hours in the ER, the PICC was removed. After an ultrasound, they confirmed that there was not a blood clot present (good news!) but that something must be going wrong inside for my arm to feel the way it did... maybe on a nerve, putting stress on some tissue, who knows... they really had no idea, but keeping it in just wasn't an option... I needed some relief! As the doctor removed the catheter I almost immediately felt relief... still pain, but not the pressure... and I could move my arm freely again which was nice.

Where do we go from here? We are back to oral meds... Zofran tablets and the Phenergan (which knocks me out!). We got home from the hospital at 11:30, I ate some breakfast and slept until 6 pm! The pain is pretty much subsided, though the upper arm is pretty bruised and VERY sensitive to the touch. This is all pretty much a mystery... but I guess we'll all get our collective heads together on Monday and see what we can do next. They can put another one in, try my right arm, but if it's due to an allergy to latex (which would explain all the other prior issues with the IV sites and Zofran port trouble in my leg!) than that won't be an option. For the weekend, I'm thankful to have such a wonderful husband and the Phenergan to let me sleep the days away!

Please continue to pray for this situation... I know the outcome is worth it in the end, but I just don't think having a baby should be this hard on a mother!

Time for the PICC line

Well here is another update. My veins have been giving us a very hard time with the IV support and after careful consideration, my doctor and home health team made the decision this morning to have a PICC put into my arm for a better distribution of both IV fluids and my Zofran port. This is my last chance at any relief, so I'm truly on my last bit of prayers hoping that this can help me out. I just got home from the hospital and as the numbing agent is starting to wear off, my arm is becoming a little sore, but hopefully it won't be as invasive as all the bruising on my arms from the previous IV sites. They say this can stay in for up to 6 weeks, with the dressings being changed once a week. I'll be able to manage all the meds and fluids myself, and can hopefully figure out a schedule that my body will cooperate with that allows me to disconnect for some of the day and get out of the house with Logan... maybe be a normal mom again! I am still on a leave of absence from the Y because I cannot partake in physical activity with the PICC line in and thankfully my position is awaiting me when I get better. Thanks again to all of you who are praying for me and for all the kind notes I've been receiving... it's so good to go through something like this with family and friends by my side.

Logan came home yesterday after spending a week in Graham and I was very happy to see him. He has taken every opportunity today to hug me and tell me how much he loves me, often saying that he missed me while he was gone.... SO SWEET! This morning, though he woke a little earlier than usual, I was excited to greet him when he called for me saying, "Mommy, I excited to be home now. Come get me!" Who wouldn't be able to get out of bed after hearing that sweet thing on the monitor???

Did I Jinx Myself?

Well, we are still not enjoying this pregnancy very much.
Thanks to family and friends, we are surviving, but the light at the end of the tunnel seems very far away.
This week has been interesting.
On Sunday, a nurse came to re-start my IV line (something that has to be done every 2-3 days) and I asked her to take a look at the port sites on my legs from the Zofran. She was in awe when she saw them... they literally looked (and felt) like I had multiple spider bites on my legs. I was immediately taken off of that form of treatment and then discussed on Monday the possibility of sending me to the hospital for a PIC line to be put in (a more major IV that goes directly through a major artery, straight to the heart). I was thankful that they decided against that for the time being and it seemed to all be working in my favor. I was doing much better OFF of the Zofran, and am solely on Phenergan right now, with an IV of fluids 24 hrs a day. Until yesterday, I had not gotten sick since the port had been stopped, but then came my demise! I sent out an email to my friends that were all praying so diligently, letting them know of my improvement and within hours, I was throwing up again. This morning has been a rough one and we seem to be going backwards! I know that with Hyperemesis (the actual diagnosis of my suffering) there will be good days and bad days, I just got a little excited as things appeared to be improving.

Now, I must say thank you to our family that is helping tremendously! Logan is at Jeff's parents' house until Sunday, so I am taking advantage and letting the Phenergan do its job... which means I sleep a lot. Debra has him all to herself until the weekend and I know from experience that her hands are very full with that little boy! It's a blessing she loves him as much as she does!
My wonderful mother came Tuesday and cleaned my ENTIRE house- what a champ she is!! I was able to help minimally, but she wanted to help... and boy did she!

Thanks to all of you that have been lifting me up in prayer... PLEASE DON'T STOP! And I also must thank my neighbor and friend Celeste for feeding my husband every night... her cooking looks so good, I only wish I could eat some too!

I am still on the IV because my intake of fluids is not enough right now and my hydration levels are still testing low, but that is doable... much better than having to poke myself in the leg multiple times with drugs that were really irritating the skin... the bruises on my legs are looking much better and I am hopeful to never have to go down that route again.

For my girlfriends... when I am done with this pregnancy and we have another healthy baby to be thankful for, please don't ever ask me when we are going for #3....
It's not happening!!

Home Health... my goodness!

Well, this baby is making me one sick mommy! I know I've already told you all that, but this is just horrible. On Tuesday, my vomiting was so out of control (like 5 times before 11am!!) that the doctor decided it was time for home health... which is better than being in a hospital, so I guess it isn't the worst case scenario.

So, a nurse came to the house Tuesday night and set me up with an IV of fluids... which I will have until Sunday! On top of that, I have a Zofran port in my leg that I have to change about every 8 hours... it includes changing the line to the other leg, which means sticking myself with a needle and loading up the drug dispenser. I am going back and forth between the two legs, as the area around the port gets very irritated and bruised by the time the 8 hours has passed. The nurse said most women could keep it in for 12-16 hours, but I don't have enough fat tissue for the absorption to last that long... I guess that's a good thing, but it didn't make me feel much better.

Thank goodness for my family! My mom stayed here the first night to help out with Logan and then he went to their house today, staying until Jeff gets off work tomorrow night. I have only had to take care of him along for about 6 hours total since all this has happened and if I didn't have that help, I think we would both be very irritated right now! We will tackle next week when we get there... taking it one day at a time! They say I could be on the port for up to 20 weeks into the pregnancy, but I'm really hoping and praying that isn't the case! I am still getting sick with this thing, but instead of the usual 8 times a day, yesterday I only made three trips to the porcelain gods! Today I am going to get lots of rest since Logan is gone, and I'm sure he's in loving hands and having a great time!

It's Official

Well, we are 8 weeks along and the baby is growing strong! We had our appt on Friday and although I had been hoping we were further along, everything is developing on pace. I am VERY SICK... and nausea is just the base of it. Nothing stays down and no meds are currently giving me any relief, but I went through this with Logan and have to keep reminding myself of the end result! Logan is adjusting better... he absolutely hates when I'm getting sick in the bathroom, but I think he's starting to get used to it (how sad is that!) He loves to tell people he's going to be a big brother, but I'm pretty confident that he has no idea what that really means for him! I'm just hoping he never puts together that the baby is what is making me sick... don't want him to harbor any ill feelings toward his little sibling before it even arrives!

So, just to give an update and share the official due date:
August 23rd!

My husband the hero

Well, I have to brag. Jeff's sense of "calm" whenever things just aren't that way never ceases to amaze me... I just wish I could have witnessed the great thing he did this morning.

While working out before work, in the Anadarko facilities, he heard someone calling for help and was quick to a scene of a man that had a heart attack. While one woman who was certified got CPR started, Jeff got the defibrillator going and shocked the man's chest! I can only imagine how well he must have kept his cool until the ambulance got there, just knowing how he is.

They got a report later that the man had to be shocked a few more times on the way to the hospital, where they opened him up to find a blood clot and one artery that was 99% blocked. They were very impressed by the work done at the Anadarko facility, telling his wife that most people that have that kind of a heart attack never even make it to the hospital.
From what I understand, Jeff was one of three people that took care of this man and I am very proud of him. Emails were circulated around his work praising that group of three very brave people. I am certified in CPR, but the idea of ever having to actually use it scares me very much.
Anyway, Jeff would be embarrassed if he knew I was posting this, but I just had to share how proud I am of him!

2008 Wraps up... what's ahead, you ask?

Happy New Year to all of you...
hope you rang in the New Year safely!

Christmas around here was definitely an adventure, filled with some unexpected happenings.

On Wednesday, December 17 we lost my grandmother to the horrible disease of Alzheimers, thus sending us to NY for five days to visit family and attend services.
Logan did not make the trip with us for several reasons...
1. The whole atmosphere of our trip was not for a two-year-old
2. My family just saw him during our visit there in October
3. We are going again in April for my uncle's wedding
4. and the big kicker... the price of a plane ticket, with no notice, around the holidays!
It was such a blessing to have family so close that they could come and take him for that time and he didn't have any clue as to how sad the whole thing really was... he truly enjoyed his visit with Grana, Papa and Aunt Kelley that week and it was so nice to know he was well taken care of. As soon as our trip began, I was assured that we had made the right decision, as we were landed in Tampa with no connection to NY due to a winter storm and the closing of all airports in the NY area! Six hours in an airport is a long time without a 2 yr old, so you can imagine how thrilled I was that he was not with us, especially while I watched other parents trying to contain there toddlers during the afternoon of delays!
We did make it safely to and from NY and it was a nice time getting to visit the family. Though I wish it could have been under different circumstances, I know that my Grandma is in a much better place right now, filled with memories and thoughts that she had been missing for the last several years!

And then we return to celebrate Christmas, getting Logan back just in time for Christmas Eve (in which we did absolutely nothing) and a very relaxing holiday spent at my parents' house! The kid was a little spoiled, but when you are the only grandchild on either side, that's bound to happen, huh?
Here are just a FEW pics...

Enjoying his new "desk" and the singing Rudolph that
Great Grandma sent!
Helping mommy and daddy open their new package of assorted meats from Omaha Steaks!!! So yummy!

Cool kid!
Some nice posed pics after he was dressed in his new clothes...
Mommy and Logan
Grandma and Logan
Uncle Mike and Logan
Watching Curious George, with the animal himself...
while we were all getting ourselves dressed!

And when it came to the BIG gift, Uncle Mike played Santa this year! Due to weather and the circumstances the week leading up to Christmas, this was not set up until the day after, but that didn't seem to matter to Logan...
his new "trampoWeen"
and when it comes to my two boys, sometimes I wonder who enjoys this new "toy" the most!

The day after Christmas Jeff's family came to celebrate with us... we had a very nice, relaxing weekend with them... shopping, eating and playing games together. I was feeling a little under the weather and the camera didn't come out once... sorry Graces, Kelley I'll have to get some pics from you!


And now, what's ahead for 09??? Well, let's just say that there ought to be even more excitement in our lives next Christmas, as Logan will have to share the attention with someone else...
will it be a brother or a sister? Only time will tell!
All I can tell you right now is that it's making mommy VERY sick!

And on this note, Sunday at church we sang a song that really wrapped up this whole end of the year experience for me... I cried while I sang, being reminded of God's sovereignty and the working of His perfect plan!

"You give and take away, You give and take away,
My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be your name!"

He has taken someone very precious away from us, but my faith is in this new life, the timing of the news, and what wonderful things it will bring to our family, near and far.

Snow??? In Houston???

Yes, you read that right... we got snow last night. It's crazy...

Tuesday it hit 70 here... yesterday was so bitter cold and brought snow...
Today is it's supposed to get into the 60s this afternoon,
but drop again to freezing tonight.
Seriously! Very difficult to make plans around here. We are supposed to go to the zoo tomorrow with a friend of mine and her little girl, but it will be a last minute decision with the way the weather around here has been. Here are some pics of our event yesterday...
and NY family, don't laugh at how little the amount is that we were celebrating. This is Houston and snow is an extremely rare occurrence!

While Logan was napping is when it all started, so as soon as he woke up we made our way outside so he could see snow for the very first time. You can tell by his smushy face that he had just woken up! :-)

Very little was sticking to the grass, but it was enough to see that he was leaving his trail behind him when he walked through the yard.
Thankfully our neighbor parks his car outside and Logan got to get his hands on some of the "white rain"- that's what he was calling it!
Here is his handprint on Enrique's hood... "it cold mommy"
Then I showed him how to make a snowball and he suddenly forgot how cold it was!
White rooftops in the neighborhood on our way out to get some dinner!

And before we went to bed, letting the dog out brought a sight to our eyes... again, no laughing!
Here is our deck just after 10 o'clock...

and here is Logan's swing set...

and I believe our dog is a snow-virgin too, so it definitely took some prodding to get him to head out and yellow any snow! But really, how precious are these paw prints!?!?!

All in all, it was lots of fun... my mom says that this is NOT why she moved to TX, having had a very difficult time keeping herself warm while we were out and about shopping yesterday. But lucky for her, all the snow was gone just hours after the sun came up this morning. Today's weather is worse though, because the wind is making the cold so much less bearable.

Christmas in our home!

Christmas has begun and what a difference with a two year old compared to last year at this time! Logan so gets the excitement and as you will see in the pics below, he really enjoyed the night of putting up our tree and pulling out all the decorations. We have only just begun, as nothing else is really up yet, but it was an exciting night!

Helping daddy put the tree together...
at least that's what he thought he was doing!

Realizing he may have been in Daddy's way was no big deal
when he found the box and decided to play in it!
While I was looking for the tree skirt, this is what he was doing with it.
After I showed him what the tree skirt was really for, the Santa hat sparked his interest. We were playing Christmas music while doing this, so here you may be able to tell he was actually dancing!

The first ornaments to be placed on the tree were the first two homemade ornaments Logan has ever made... though I know there are MANY more to come! :-) Both were made in the church nurseries this past week...
so precious to mommy!

Putting up some ornaments with a little help from daddy. He thought this was so cool... especially when he'd find ones with his name or picture on them!

Last night really began the holiday season for me. Seeing the excitement through Logan was so much fun and really helped remind me what Christmas is all about.

Holiday in Gordon/Graham

Ok, so I'm like a week behind on this, but our Thanksgiving was so wonderful. The weekend before, we celebrated the holiday in town at my parents' house and my brother came to town... such a nice, relaxing couple of days. For the holiday week, we went to Gordon and then on to Graham and thanks to Grana and Papa (Jeff's parents) we had such a great break, as they took care of everything "logan." Mommy (me) got to sleep in every day and came back very refreshed! Here are some good family pics we were able to get with the people that were together this year!

All the boys... Jeff, Logan, Tommy, Kevin, Big Papa and Kris
All the girls... Brenda, Muna, Debra, Katie, Kelley and Jessica

Grace Family... but I think Logan was DONE with pictures!
Running around outside was just too much fun!

Playing with the new sticker book Grana got him... this was a daily occurence- sometimes multiple times a day! Thank you Grana for the new book, but mostly for your patience while Logan wanted to do itHIS way... not the way the book told you to! :-)

Doing one of his favorite things... driving! Gotta watch him though Aunt Kel,

or that nickel's gonna get stuck in the cd player!

Ready to go out into the cold! That hat makes his head look huge, huh?!

Ok, so here we have a new-found love.
The wind was so strong in Graham (a place where "fall" actually exists) and we ended up with a yard full of leaves. Too bad this was discovered just as we were leaving, because I think he'd have wanted to play in the leaves every minute for the rest of our trip if
we weren't all ready and packed to head home!
He LOVED this and it was just precious to watch!

Throwing them into the wind!

Taking a "swim" in the leaves! This made me want to get down and roll around with him... but it was freezing out and I stayed around just long enough to get these shots!

Hope you all had a blessed holiday time. Can't believe we are in December already!

A Hammer??? Or just some cheese?!?!

One day last week we were eating lunch and Logan kept pointing and saying, "Hammer! Look, mommy... hammer" over and over again. At first I thought, oh, he must see the hammer on the counter or something, so I said, "Yeah, uh huh." Really I was probably ignoring him while enjoying my food, but he wasn't going to take that. So, he kept on and on and finally I started to look around and wonder what he was talking about, seeing then that there was no hammer out on the counter. He was pointing to the queso bowl that we had been eating out of and that really threw me for a loop. SO... I decided to inquire further, and this is what I found....

I mean really... he was so stuck on making sure I saw this, and Jeff and I were very impressed!

I think we'll start pouring milk or ink on the table and further test these skills of his! :-)

Oil Ranch Trip 2008

Last week (pre-potty training) we went on our Second Annual trip to the Oil Ranch in Magnolia with our friends from our church playgroup. Last year was fun, but this year was so great with Logan knowing all of the animals and thus having more of an interest and a knowledge about where we were. Of course, he kept referring to it as a farm, and who can blame him!

No picture of Logan milking or petting the cow this year. We waited in line behind the other group of kids as he told me everything he knows about cows... mooing continuously and then singing, "The cows give us milk!" But when we approached the cow, he wanted nothing to do with it. Not much scares him, but that big black and white thing eating hay must have been intimidating.

Here's my little farmer driving the tractor.


We passed this thing many times and he kept stopping and staring,
watching it go up and down.

Waiting to get into the petting zoo.

This is as close as he would come to feeding the animals. You were supposed to hold the pellets in your hand and let them eat out of it... he threw his handful at them. Then he decided that feeding them hay was less threatening... poor animals!

The rabbit wasn't threatening at all... probably helps that his Grandma has one and he holds it all the time! (that's "baby Chase" watching him)

Here he is taking a look at the goats and sheep. And he called all the goats "Billy"... get it... Billy Goat! haha!

We spent most of the visit there walking around with my friend Tanya and her two kids Sarah and Chase. Here all three of them are checking out the pig.
And here's the pig's close up... taking a nap after rolling in the mud!

Logan was very excited to ride the train. He even got to play with the bell on the front while we waited for more people to show up.
All Aboard!
And after the conductor (kind of a scary looking fella) rang the loud horn, this is how Logan spent the rest of the ride... after I calmed him down enough to even stop crying. He wouldn't even look at the man the whole ride... kept his face to the side or straddled me, looking over my shoulder!

Then came the pony ride. After the experience with the cow, I wasn't sure what to expect, but he did so well. He kept saying, "Giddy Up Horsey" "Ride 'em Cowboy" and "Yee-haw!" I was very proud of him and it was an enjoyment watching him get so into "cowboy" character! Wish I had been video-taping it!
"Ride em Cowboy!"


I had tried to get him to sit on hay in the petting zoo for a picture, but apparently he needed a pumpkin to feel comfortable doing that. He and Sarah had a good time climbing on the hay bells!
On accident, he dropped his pumpkin and it rolled down the stack. So, the boy that he is, got the great idea to throw (obviously not on accident) his pumpkin down and mommy caught him in the act with a photo to prove it! :-)
Then I wanted to get pics of him in the patch and this is how that started...
Sitting ON a pumpkin...
Finding and hugging the HUGE pumpkin...
And taking one pumpkin home with us... he had to carry it "all by loganself" (those are his words, not mine, and he says "loganself" smooth like one word)


We had such a great time that day and he has talked about it every day since. The two things that stand out in his mind the most were riding the pony and not wanting to go near the cow. He keeps saying, "No Logan feed touch cow."

Thanks to Tanya for planning such a great day out and getting enough people to sign up so that we could get the group discount. This is definitely going to be an annual thing because this is where I always get my pumpkin patch picture! Logan loves animals, so he definitely enjoys himself!