Ah, Halloween. The holiday that officially welcomes Fall.
Yes, the air begins to have the first bitter chill and children's eyes light up at the prospect of baskets of sweet candy.
I love Fall. But, now it has a different meaning for me. I can't think of Halloween without thinking of the twins' first Halloween.
They had been home from the NICU for exactly 10 days. They were 4 weeks old. DH and I were still trying to figure out what the heck we were doing and barely able to see straight from the neverending cycle of bottles, diapers and 3 hours of sleep per day, if we were lucky.
October 31, 2009 started as usual but by late afternoon, Kendall became really fussy and would not stop crying. We thought it was gas but after 2 hours of not being able to calm her, we started getting worried. Could it be colick? She showed no interest in eating and the cries became more stressed. It was becoming obvious that something was wrong. Should I call the pediatrician? Are we overreacting? What if it is just gas?
She finally fell asleep around 7:00 pm and we thought we handled it. Whatever it was, it passed. It was time for their bottle at 8:00 pm and when we attempted to wake her, she was lethargic and pale. I remember standing at the changing table and thinking she looked really pale. Blue, almost.
We decided we weren't messing around anymore and that we needed to get her to the hospital. I called our neighbors to watch Christopher. It was right in the middle of H1N1 flu season and we knew we couldn't take him to the hospital. He was way too small and way too young.
We were out the door within 10 minutes. I'll never forget the drive. The hospital is about 10 minutes away and DH was weaving around cars and riding on the shoulder of the road so we didn't waste any time. I was sitting in the backseat next to Kendall with my hand on her chest to make sure she was still breathing.
We checked into the ER and they took us back within 5 minutes. The nurse asked us to undress her so they could take her weight and temperature. The thermometer read 96 degrees and we thought it was a fluke. Surely, her temperature wasn't 96 degrees?! The nurse told us she worked in the NICU for 10 years and that was a relief, considering we had just spent every day of the previous 4 weeks there.
She walked us back to the exam room and started asking what had happened. I was holding Kendall and talking to the nurse. All of the sudden DH said, "Something's wrong". Just as I looked down, the nurse grabbed Kendall from my arms and started rubbing her chest and shaking her gently. She kept saying, "Come back to us, come back baby".
Kendall had stopped breathing.
The shaking startled Kendall and her respirations started right back. Immediately, the room took on a different feel.
4 additional nurses came in the room. They moved in a warming bed, oxygen and immediately hooked her up to the monitors. They started an IV.
For most parents, I think the site of their child being hooked up to monitors, IVs and oxygen would be disturbing but oddly, hospitals were comforting to us. Juggling IV lines and monitor cords is how we got acquainted with our children for their first 3 weeks of life. It was familiar.
The doctor came in and gave us his thoughts on what was going on. He felt confident that she was battling some sort of infection. The question was -- what kind?
He wanted to be proactive and start her on antibiotics immediately. I remember him saying, "We can figure out the cause later. Right now, we need to get her started".
I'm convinced his decision saved my little girl's life.
Urinary tract infection was the frontrunner. That was a relief to hear. Easy enough to cure.
They got a urine sample and took it away to get tested. They also drew some blood.
An hour later, the nurse came back and said her urine was clear. Not a UTI.
The doctor came in and mentioned bacterial meningitis. He said we would need to do a spinal tap to be sure. He assured me it wouldn't hurt Kendall. The nerve endings in a newborn's spinal cord don't connect until after they are 10 weeks old so she wouldn't feel any pain. At the same time, it also makes the spinal cord vulnerable to infection because the column hasn't closed off yet.
30 minutes later, they were performing the spinal tap. Kendall had stablized at that point and her body temperature came back to normal. Yes, her temperature really was 96 degrees when we checked in. The nurse later explained that preemies tend to drop their temperature when they have a fever.
The nurses started talking about transferring Kendall to another hospital. One of the best on the East Coast and about an hour from our house. They started coordinating the transfer with that hospital's PICU unit.
They wanted to Life Flight her to the hospital (via helicopter) but it was raining that night and the choppers were grounded. We waited for an ambulance.
In the meantime, the results of her spinal tap came back. Spinal fluid is supposed to be sterile and it was growing bacteria.
It was meningitis. Now we needed to know what bacteria we were dealing with.
It was 2:00 am when I climbed into the ambulance with my baby. DH left to relieve our neighbors from watching Christopher around midnight. My sister was meeting me at the new hospital with an overnight bag. There was NO way I was leaving Kendall's side.
The rest of that night was horribly memorable. I never went to sleep. I just sat beside her bed, holding her hand, sobbing and praying.
After everything we had been through. The horrible delivery, 3 weeks in the NICU. How could this be happening?
She spent 2 weeks in the hospital. The doctor's weren't sure if she would suffer any long-term brain damage. Only time would tell. They did 2 extensive hearing tests that came back normal. A good sign.
My little Kendall would endure one more life threatening infection one month later that landed her in the hospital for 3 weeks. That was our first Christmas.
Two years later, she's a thriving, smart little girl. The doctor's are now confident that we caught the infection before any damage was done. She should continue to grow as a normal, healthy child.
And that is the best TREAT of all.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Farm Fun
We took advantage of a fantastic fall day and ventured to a local animal park / farm. It was our first time at this farm and I'm so glad we went. The kids had a blast!
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| "Hello "Or See"" |
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| Kendall loved this camel - we couldn't tear her away! |
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| Catching a glimpse of "hoppy hoppy" (bunny) |
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| Best Friends |
Friday, October 14, 2011
Parlez-vous, Toddler?
I took 6 years of French in high school and college. I won't admit how many years ago that was. But, if you're an avid blogger, you'll know you can find my age in my profile.
At any rate, I don't remember much of what I learned. The old "use it or lose it" cliche.
I do remember whacky things like how to conjugate verbs. Because, you know. It's useful in every day conversation to know how to say "to remember" to any audience. Like, duh!
You can imagine I don't fashion myself to be some superior linguist who is able to master any language within minutes. No. I'm no Rosetta Stone user.
But, I have conquered the language of Toddler. I have cracked the code and I think I owe it to all of you to share my knowledge.
Please print this handy guide and keep it with you at all times. It makes translation so much easier when you are visiting Toddlerland as a tourist.
Toddlerism English Translation
ba mina banana
Bof fom Bottom (also known as rear end)
Melk Milk
Zooes Shoes
Zocks Socks
Woof Dog
Mee owwww Cat
I wan yellow I would like to color
Be air Bear
All wet You took a bath and smell nice
Or see Horsey
pump key Pumpkin
Buck key Buckle
Daw fee Coffee
Bra fur Brother
Where go? Have you seen my?
Poon Spoon
Man Go Mango
Box Blocks
Bach Book
Air Hair
Please feel free to add to the list as you learn additional words in your own travels.
Je vous en prie.
At any rate, I don't remember much of what I learned. The old "use it or lose it" cliche.
I do remember whacky things like how to conjugate verbs. Because, you know. It's useful in every day conversation to know how to say "to remember" to any audience. Like, duh!
You can imagine I don't fashion myself to be some superior linguist who is able to master any language within minutes. No. I'm no Rosetta Stone user.
But, I have conquered the language of Toddler. I have cracked the code and I think I owe it to all of you to share my knowledge.
Please print this handy guide and keep it with you at all times. It makes translation so much easier when you are visiting Toddlerland as a tourist.
Toddlerism English Translation
ba mina banana
Bof fom Bottom (also known as rear end)
Melk Milk
Zooes Shoes
Zocks Socks
Woof Dog
Mee owwww Cat
I wan yellow I would like to color
Be air Bear
All wet You took a bath and smell nice
Or see Horsey
pump key Pumpkin
Buck key Buckle
Daw fee Coffee
Bra fur Brother
Where go? Have you seen my
Poon Spoon
Man Go Mango
Box Blocks
Bach Book
Air Hair
Please feel free to add to the list as you learn additional words in your own travels.
Je vous en prie.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
October 4, 2009
The day I will always remember. The day that changed my life forever. The day my beautiful children were born.
It was a Sunday and the days preceding it were "off". I worked from home that Thursday and had an appointment with the perinatologist that morning. When I got there, the ultrasound tech did her thing and said both babies looked fine. She left the room and said the doctor would be in shortly. About 5 minutes later, she came back and said he was called over to the hospital but I was welcome to wait, if I wanted. She didn't know how long he'd be gone and I had been feeling OK so I decided to come back home. The afternoon went fine but by early evening, I started having some back pain. I knew Christopher had been sitting low and thought he was probably just laying on my pelvic bone. By 8:00, the pain was uncomfortable enough for me to take a Tylenol. I also put myself on bedrest for the rest of the evening and the next day.
Friday and Saturday, I felt fine. No pain. No aches.
Sunday, around mid-morning, I started feeling like I had to pee every 5 minutes. I've had my share of UTIs and thought that I was probably getting one - although there was no pain when I did go and most times, it was just a trickle. I layed on the couch for most of the day watching football.
At 4:30, I got up to pee for oh, the 10th time that day. Again, I thought either UTI or that Christopher was sitting on my bladder. I had absolutely no idea - I've never been pregnant!
I also noticed an increase in pressure but again, I had no idea if it was normal. After all, I was carrying 40 lbs of fluid and baby. Why wouldn't there be pressure?
And then, all of the sudden, I started peeing like I hadn't gone in 6 months. After a few seconds, I thought, "This is weird" and I looked in the toilet.
Bright. red. blood.
Thank God I knew I had a partial placenta previa or else I would have FREAKED out!
I opened the door and yelled, "DH! I'm bleeding and I think my water broke. I need a pad and a ride to the hospital"!
We arrived at the hospital in 10 minutes and I explained what happened. They were very casual about the whole thing. Which I guess is good in hindsight.
If they freaked, I would have freaked more than I was. I remember the nurse just kept saying, "It's going to be OK. You're 32 weeks".
They confirmed both babies were doing fine and the doctor ordered an ultrasound to see where the blood was coming from. They also confirmed that my water was leaking.
I was starting to feel a little cramping but the doctor assured me it was normal with bleeding. It was tolerable. A 4 on a scale of 1-10.
The doctor finally said I was on immediate bedrest and that he wanted to get me to 34 weeks. Oh, and that I wasn't leaving the hospital until I had the babies. I got checked into a regular room and then the fun began.
The cramping really picked up and the back pain came back. With a vengeance. Oh, and the heartburn too. Out of my whole "labor" experience, I remember the heart burn the most.
Since I was bleeding, I had to lay flat. Which is pure torture when you have heartburn. We left the house in such a hurry that I didn't grab anything. Including my sacred Tums.
I called my sister and my mom and told them I was admitted to the hospital and that I thought I was in labor but the doctor thought the contractions would taper off as the bleeding stopped.
After an hour, the contractions were picking up. The nurse came in and looked at the tape and asked if I was feeling them. I said, "yeah" as I squirmed in the bed and she said, "You're really cranking those out - every minute or so". And then she said she was going to call the doctor because it was obvious they weren't going away.
10 minutes later, she said they were prepping the ER for an emergency c-section.
The c-section started normally. I got the epidural and some medicine for the heart burn (finally!). The kids were born without incident - both cried immediately.
I thought everything was fine until I heard the doctor say, "I need a mop, my hysterectomy kit and 2 units of blood". It still didn't register with me. I thought he just needed something out of this kit, like a tool?
And then I heard the nurse tell DH that he needed to go with her. I didn't really think anything of it because I thought it was procedure for him to leave with the babies.
Finally, I asked the anesthesiologist (because he was the only one I could see) if I was having a hysterectomy. He politely replied, "Yes, you've had a complication".
From here on out, it was organized chaos. Everyone remained calm but I could tell there was definitely a sense of urgency. Another team was pulled off another c-section to assist. Suddenly, there were double the people in the room.
I heard the doctor ask for 2 more units of blood. At this point, I was still aware of what was happening but starting to feel funny. I was shaking uncontrollably and started feeling really, really sleepy. I also got really cold.
I heard the anesthesiologist say, "Her blood pressure is 80/30" and then he ordered 4 more medications.
I don't really remember much after that. I'm pretty sure I passed out for a period of time. When I came to, I was still on the operating table and they were counting all of the instruments to make sure they recovered all of them. I still don't know how long I was actually in the operating room but I suspect it was over 2 hours.
I was in recovery for another 2 hours and then finally moved to a room where I could see DH. He assured me the babies were fine and showed me their first pictures.
Christopher was born at 11:00 pm weighing 4 lbs 7 oz. Kendall was born at 11:01 pm weighing 3 lbs 15 oz.
I received 4 units of blood throughout the night and wasn't allowed to get up to see the babies until 6:30 Monday night.
It wasn't until the next day that I realized the severity of the delivery. The doctor came in to see me and apologized for doing the hysterectomy but said, "I had to do it to save your life". He told me I hemorrhaged when he attempted to remove one of the placentas and lost 1/2 of my total blood volume in 20 minutes. I almost bled to death.
Wow.
Here we are 2 years later and I'm thankful every day for the blessings I have. They have filled my heart with more joy than I could ever imagine.
Happy Birthday my babies. I love you.
It was a Sunday and the days preceding it were "off". I worked from home that Thursday and had an appointment with the perinatologist that morning. When I got there, the ultrasound tech did her thing and said both babies looked fine. She left the room and said the doctor would be in shortly. About 5 minutes later, she came back and said he was called over to the hospital but I was welcome to wait, if I wanted. She didn't know how long he'd be gone and I had been feeling OK so I decided to come back home. The afternoon went fine but by early evening, I started having some back pain. I knew Christopher had been sitting low and thought he was probably just laying on my pelvic bone. By 8:00, the pain was uncomfortable enough for me to take a Tylenol. I also put myself on bedrest for the rest of the evening and the next day.
Friday and Saturday, I felt fine. No pain. No aches.
Sunday, around mid-morning, I started feeling like I had to pee every 5 minutes. I've had my share of UTIs and thought that I was probably getting one - although there was no pain when I did go and most times, it was just a trickle. I layed on the couch for most of the day watching football.
At 4:30, I got up to pee for oh, the 10th time that day. Again, I thought either UTI or that Christopher was sitting on my bladder. I had absolutely no idea - I've never been pregnant!
I also noticed an increase in pressure but again, I had no idea if it was normal. After all, I was carrying 40 lbs of fluid and baby. Why wouldn't there be pressure?
And then, all of the sudden, I started peeing like I hadn't gone in 6 months. After a few seconds, I thought, "This is weird" and I looked in the toilet.
Bright. red. blood.
Thank God I knew I had a partial placenta previa or else I would have FREAKED out!
I opened the door and yelled, "DH! I'm bleeding and I think my water broke. I need a pad and a ride to the hospital"!
We arrived at the hospital in 10 minutes and I explained what happened. They were very casual about the whole thing. Which I guess is good in hindsight.
If they freaked, I would have freaked more than I was. I remember the nurse just kept saying, "It's going to be OK. You're 32 weeks".
They confirmed both babies were doing fine and the doctor ordered an ultrasound to see where the blood was coming from. They also confirmed that my water was leaking.
I was starting to feel a little cramping but the doctor assured me it was normal with bleeding. It was tolerable. A 4 on a scale of 1-10.
The doctor finally said I was on immediate bedrest and that he wanted to get me to 34 weeks. Oh, and that I wasn't leaving the hospital until I had the babies. I got checked into a regular room and then the fun began.
The cramping really picked up and the back pain came back. With a vengeance. Oh, and the heartburn too. Out of my whole "labor" experience, I remember the heart burn the most.
Since I was bleeding, I had to lay flat. Which is pure torture when you have heartburn. We left the house in such a hurry that I didn't grab anything. Including my sacred Tums.
I called my sister and my mom and told them I was admitted to the hospital and that I thought I was in labor but the doctor thought the contractions would taper off as the bleeding stopped.
After an hour, the contractions were picking up. The nurse came in and looked at the tape and asked if I was feeling them. I said, "yeah" as I squirmed in the bed and she said, "You're really cranking those out - every minute or so". And then she said she was going to call the doctor because it was obvious they weren't going away.
10 minutes later, she said they were prepping the ER for an emergency c-section.
The c-section started normally. I got the epidural and some medicine for the heart burn (finally!). The kids were born without incident - both cried immediately.
I thought everything was fine until I heard the doctor say, "I need a mop, my hysterectomy kit and 2 units of blood". It still didn't register with me. I thought he just needed something out of this kit, like a tool?
And then I heard the nurse tell DH that he needed to go with her. I didn't really think anything of it because I thought it was procedure for him to leave with the babies.
Finally, I asked the anesthesiologist (because he was the only one I could see) if I was having a hysterectomy. He politely replied, "Yes, you've had a complication".
From here on out, it was organized chaos. Everyone remained calm but I could tell there was definitely a sense of urgency. Another team was pulled off another c-section to assist. Suddenly, there were double the people in the room.
I heard the doctor ask for 2 more units of blood. At this point, I was still aware of what was happening but starting to feel funny. I was shaking uncontrollably and started feeling really, really sleepy. I also got really cold.
I heard the anesthesiologist say, "Her blood pressure is 80/30" and then he ordered 4 more medications.
I don't really remember much after that. I'm pretty sure I passed out for a period of time. When I came to, I was still on the operating table and they were counting all of the instruments to make sure they recovered all of them. I still don't know how long I was actually in the operating room but I suspect it was over 2 hours.
I was in recovery for another 2 hours and then finally moved to a room where I could see DH. He assured me the babies were fine and showed me their first pictures.
Christopher was born at 11:00 pm weighing 4 lbs 7 oz. Kendall was born at 11:01 pm weighing 3 lbs 15 oz.
I received 4 units of blood throughout the night and wasn't allowed to get up to see the babies until 6:30 Monday night.
It wasn't until the next day that I realized the severity of the delivery. The doctor came in to see me and apologized for doing the hysterectomy but said, "I had to do it to save your life". He told me I hemorrhaged when he attempted to remove one of the placentas and lost 1/2 of my total blood volume in 20 minutes. I almost bled to death.
Wow.
Here we are 2 years later and I'm thankful every day for the blessings I have. They have filled my heart with more joy than I could ever imagine.
Happy Birthday my babies. I love you.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
2nd Birthday Party - Sesame Style
We had the twins' 2nd birthday party today. You might remember in one of my last posts that I was kicking myself for not reserving the picnic pavilion at our local park.
Now, I'm glad I didn't waste the $80. The weather turned bitterly cold yesterday and continued into today. It was 45 degrees this morning. And, rainy..... again.
So, all 21 members of our immediate family piled into our townhouse. And you know what?
It was OK!
I started alot of the prep work last night and thankfully my MIL came over and stayed the night. We were up until 11:30 last night blowing up balloons, hanging streamers and just trying to make things look as cute as we could.
The twins were excited when they heard their cousins were coming to see them.
So excited that they both fell asleep about 30 minutes before our guests arrived.
Everyone arrived around 11:00 am. And, it quickly became a full house.
We had some munchies to snack on until the pizza came. Keeping with the Sesame Street theme, we had chocolate chip cookies, Dorothy the Goldfish crackers and pretzels.
And, of course cupcakes! An acquaintance from high school started her own cupcake business in honor of her best friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer. All of the proceeds go toward cancer patients and their families.
Aren't they awesome?
They were delish!
The twins got some great gifts including Elmo's Sesame Street guitar, Elmo's Learning ABC blocks, a Thomas the Train starter set, a princess dress up costume, Doodle pads, Legos and a lot more!
It was a long and somewhat exhausting day but the kids had a blast and that's all that matters.
Now, I'm glad I didn't waste the $80. The weather turned bitterly cold yesterday and continued into today. It was 45 degrees this morning. And, rainy..... again.
So, all 21 members of our immediate family piled into our townhouse. And you know what?
It was OK!
I started alot of the prep work last night and thankfully my MIL came over and stayed the night. We were up until 11:30 last night blowing up balloons, hanging streamers and just trying to make things look as cute as we could.
The twins were excited when they heard their cousins were coming to see them.
So excited that they both fell asleep about 30 minutes before our guests arrived.
Everyone arrived around 11:00 am. And, it quickly became a full house.
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| The play kitchen from Mom Mom and Pop Pop was big hit for all ages! |
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| We even put the Dorothy crackers in a fish bowl! |
And, of course cupcakes! An acquaintance from high school started her own cupcake business in honor of her best friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer. All of the proceeds go toward cancer patients and their families.
Aren't they awesome?
The twins got some great gifts including Elmo's Sesame Street guitar, Elmo's Learning ABC blocks, a Thomas the Train starter set, a princess dress up costume, Doodle pads, Legos and a lot more!
It was a long and somewhat exhausting day but the kids had a blast and that's all that matters.
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