Given that I have had three kids and a broken ankle, I am no stranger to hospital stays. I've had 6 surgeries in the past 4 years, 4 of the six have required overnight stays. I've had good experiences and really bad experiences.
For example; when I had Myah I wasn't comfortable with the idea of breastfeeding so I didn't try - until the last day, when I asked a nurse if she could show me the basics. Instead of being understanding, she yelled at me for waiting so long...literally raised her voice and scolded me. While I wasn't on the brink of death due to a bad medical decision, it completely ruined my in-hospital experience with my daughter.
This experience could not have been more opposite! Every single person I came in contact with: doctors, surgeons, cleaning ladies, ESPECIALLY THE NURSES, were AMAZING! So incredibly nice, helpful, encouraging, and just a pleasure! I couldn't believe it! While I shortened my stay by a day (or two according to one of the doctors) it was, hands down, the best experience I have ever had in a hospital! I made sure to personally thank every person that came in for being so kind...it really made it so relaxing! I also tried not to be needy and whiny...I hope I accomplished that!
Not only was everyone so nice, but they sent us a celebratory dinner! The night before we left, Brian and I had an upscale meal complete with cake, candlelight, and sparkling cider! What a great idea to help new parents celebrate before they get home! Maybe more hospitals do this and I am not aware of it, but I know Shawnee Mission does not...and they totally should! My parents took the kids to McDonalds and gave Brian and I some alone time...who knows when we will get that again!
The day after Vera was born, Brian stayed home with the kids during nap time and my parents got to spend the afternoon with me at the hospital. It was awesome just sitting around and talking - even if the room was too cold for them (Sorry!).
On the third day I was discharged! We put Vera in the car seat and started the journey home. There was no turning back...we were officially a family of five!
Unfortunately, Vera had high levels of biliruben (I think that's how you spell it), so she had to visit the hospital every day for the next 5 days to get her foot pricked and blood taken! Watching it happen once or twice is bad enough...but 6 times (including the time in the hospital) was too much for me! They finally decided that her jaundice levels were high due to my breastmilk and called it "breastfeeding jaundice". They said it posed no developmental problems and told us we didn't need any more tests! After 5 weeks, her eyes finally look white and not yellow!
Keep watching for the rest of my parents trip along with stories of breastfeeding, foot stamping, and more!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
The Toddler Games
Guys...I need some help.
As most of you know, I have anxiety problems. I take medication for it and it keeps me functional...most of the time. However, with Brian heading back to work in two weeks I'm getting more and more nervous about my new role as a mom of 3 kids under the age of 4. Can that be right?! Arg...it must be...how crazy are we?!
I like schedules...they keep me sane. It gives me things to work toward; starting and stopping points, to help me tackle the day. So, it's been suggested to me, by numerous people, that I put my family on a schedule for when Brian goes back to work so I don't lose my cool. Since it takes practice to get into a routine, we've decided to start tomorrow, so when Brian goes back, we all know our expectations.
The problem is, when I think of even setting up a schedule, my mind goes blank. It's one of the fun things of my anxiety. My mind won't stop racing when I want to calm down and when I need to think in stressful situations, it stops working.
So, I'm asking you guys for help! I need to come up with activities for the kids and I to do together to keep us busy. Trips, crafts, cleaning, schools, etc...I need all ideas. The general layout of the day goes like this:
6:30 - Kids wake up
7:45 - We drive Brian to the bus stop for work
8:05 - We arrive home
11:30 - The kids eat lunch
12-2 - Nap Time
5:45 - We pick up Brian from the bus stop
Taking into consideration I have to feed the baby every 3-4 hours, I have big time slots to fill from 8-12 and 2-6. I'm thinking just one activity, or two small ones, can fit in each time slot (i.e. two activities a day). We have the budget to go to one big trip (zoo, etc) once a week while everything else needs to be free or close to it. I live in the San Jose area, less than an hour to the beach, San Fran, etc. so if you have any ideas along that line, let me know!
This is where I need your creativity! What can I do with two toddlers and a newborn without going crazy?
Feel free to post ideas on this blog, on facebook, email me at mrsrelphie@gmail.com, or even text me!
I really appreciate all of your help on this. I know since I have two kids already I should already know what to do, but #3 has put me in a tailspin and I need my friends' help :)
Love you all!! Keep the ideas coming!
J
As most of you know, I have anxiety problems. I take medication for it and it keeps me functional...most of the time. However, with Brian heading back to work in two weeks I'm getting more and more nervous about my new role as a mom of 3 kids under the age of 4. Can that be right?! Arg...it must be...how crazy are we?!
I like schedules...they keep me sane. It gives me things to work toward; starting and stopping points, to help me tackle the day. So, it's been suggested to me, by numerous people, that I put my family on a schedule for when Brian goes back to work so I don't lose my cool. Since it takes practice to get into a routine, we've decided to start tomorrow, so when Brian goes back, we all know our expectations.
The problem is, when I think of even setting up a schedule, my mind goes blank. It's one of the fun things of my anxiety. My mind won't stop racing when I want to calm down and when I need to think in stressful situations, it stops working.
So, I'm asking you guys for help! I need to come up with activities for the kids and I to do together to keep us busy. Trips, crafts, cleaning, schools, etc...I need all ideas. The general layout of the day goes like this:
6:30 - Kids wake up
7:45 - We drive Brian to the bus stop for work
8:05 - We arrive home
11:30 - The kids eat lunch
12-2 - Nap Time
5:45 - We pick up Brian from the bus stop
Taking into consideration I have to feed the baby every 3-4 hours, I have big time slots to fill from 8-12 and 2-6. I'm thinking just one activity, or two small ones, can fit in each time slot (i.e. two activities a day). We have the budget to go to one big trip (zoo, etc) once a week while everything else needs to be free or close to it. I live in the San Jose area, less than an hour to the beach, San Fran, etc. so if you have any ideas along that line, let me know!
This is where I need your creativity! What can I do with two toddlers and a newborn without going crazy?
Feel free to post ideas on this blog, on facebook, email me at mrsrelphie@gmail.com, or even text me!
I really appreciate all of your help on this. I know since I have two kids already I should already know what to do, but #3 has put me in a tailspin and I need my friends' help :)
Love you all!! Keep the ideas coming!
J
Friday, April 13, 2012
Labor Day
Hello All!!
Thank you for being so patient with me! The past 5 weeks (she's 5 weeks already!!!) have been a whirlwind and sitting down to write a blog would have produced one of two things:
1. A cranky post about how tough this is; OR
2. A meltdown from my family because I was on the computer instead of being with them.
I didn't want to put you through #1 and I didn't want to put myself through #2, so I decided to take a break :).
Now that Vera is 5 weeks old, things aren't really slowing down, but I'm slowly speeding up, so I decided to try and fit in my blogging again! It also really helps that Brian is home for another 2 weeks :).
So I will take you back to March 8th...LABOR DAY!!! (I know, technically, I can't call it "Labor Day" because I STILL NEVER WENT INTO LABOR (what is with that?!) but I'm gonna anyway :))
My parents flew in the day before and I have never been so excited to see them! It had been 9 months since I had seen my mom and TWO YEARS since I had seen my dad...needless to say, I was extremely excited to see them!! We went to the airport to pick them up and it was an amazing sight seeing my kids run into their grandparents' arms...IT WAS AWESOME!!!! Since my parents spent 6 hours on the airplane, they were hungry, so we stopped by Jack in the Box to eat lunch! My parents hadn't eaten there since 1989 when we left Texas so it was fun to go again!
The rest of the day was spent catching up, hugging, and loving every minute of being together! Vera moved in my tummy and my mom got to feel her move; first grandkid she got to feel move! We all finally wore out and went to bed...unfortunately I was too amped up to stay asleep so I got about 3 hours of sleep :).
Since my parents are on East Coast time, my dad woke up early and we had a great couple of hours sitting on the couch and talking! When the rest of the family got up, I called the hospital and they told me I needed to be there between 10:30 and 11:00...just a few more hours!! My dad stayed home with the toddlers and Brian, my mom, and I went to Babies 'R Us and bought a PackNPlay so Vera had a place to sleep when she came home :). After the store, it was time to go to the hospital!!
My cesarean was scheduled for 1:30 and when we got there they said we were still on track for that time! After having contractions for 4 weeks straight, I was sooooo relieved that I didn't have to wait any longer! I signed in to the front desk and they took us back to the L&D room...which was HUGE!! In Kansas, Shawnee Mission had great L&D rooms but this one was special...here's why: With my past two kids, after the baby was born, Brian left the delivery room with the baby to help wash the baby and feed it for the first time. I was closed up and sent to a recovery room to wait until Brian and the baby came back before I got to hold him/her. This whole process was a couple of hours so I couldn't even hold my baby until they were a couple of hours old! It always bummed me out so I was incredibly excited to learn that they do it differently out here! Right after the baby is born I had the option to have her placed on my chest (which I declined...I can't handle the vernix). They weighed her and measured her and then handed her to Brian. After they finished closing me up they handed her to me and I got to carry her out of the delivery room!!! They wheeled me back to the L&D room where my mom was waiting and my mom got to hold her right when we got there :). Then they gave her a bath right in the room! It was such a great experience to have her with me the whole time and not whisked away to another room!
It was no surprise that Vera was our biggest baby, yet! 8 pounds, 2.2 ounces and 20 inches! Over a pound and 2 inches bigger than my other two; granted this WAS my longest pregnancy.
After things calmed down a little, Brian and my mom went back to the house to get the kids and my dad! Luckily they had put me in the biggest room so there was plenty of space for the whole family! Myah was so incredibly excited to meet Vera! She wanted to hold her right away...Elijah couldn't have cared less :). If you notice in our pictures, Eli refused to look at the camera or even touch the baby...I think he was a little overwhelmed.
I had been up since 3am, so I was quickly running out of steam, so the family went home and it was time to sleep :) It was a wonderful day!
Stay tuned for the rest of the Bedore Invasion and more craziness from our household!!
Thank you for being so patient with me! The past 5 weeks (she's 5 weeks already!!!) have been a whirlwind and sitting down to write a blog would have produced one of two things:
1. A cranky post about how tough this is; OR
2. A meltdown from my family because I was on the computer instead of being with them.
I didn't want to put you through #1 and I didn't want to put myself through #2, so I decided to take a break :).
Now that Vera is 5 weeks old, things aren't really slowing down, but I'm slowly speeding up, so I decided to try and fit in my blogging again! It also really helps that Brian is home for another 2 weeks :).
So I will take you back to March 8th...LABOR DAY!!! (I know, technically, I can't call it "Labor Day" because I STILL NEVER WENT INTO LABOR (what is with that?!) but I'm gonna anyway :))
My parents flew in the day before and I have never been so excited to see them! It had been 9 months since I had seen my mom and TWO YEARS since I had seen my dad...needless to say, I was extremely excited to see them!! We went to the airport to pick them up and it was an amazing sight seeing my kids run into their grandparents' arms...IT WAS AWESOME!!!! Since my parents spent 6 hours on the airplane, they were hungry, so we stopped by Jack in the Box to eat lunch! My parents hadn't eaten there since 1989 when we left Texas so it was fun to go again!
The rest of the day was spent catching up, hugging, and loving every minute of being together! Vera moved in my tummy and my mom got to feel her move; first grandkid she got to feel move! We all finally wore out and went to bed...unfortunately I was too amped up to stay asleep so I got about 3 hours of sleep :).
Since my parents are on East Coast time, my dad woke up early and we had a great couple of hours sitting on the couch and talking! When the rest of the family got up, I called the hospital and they told me I needed to be there between 10:30 and 11:00...just a few more hours!! My dad stayed home with the toddlers and Brian, my mom, and I went to Babies 'R Us and bought a PackNPlay so Vera had a place to sleep when she came home :). After the store, it was time to go to the hospital!!
My cesarean was scheduled for 1:30 and when we got there they said we were still on track for that time! After having contractions for 4 weeks straight, I was sooooo relieved that I didn't have to wait any longer! I signed in to the front desk and they took us back to the L&D room...which was HUGE!! In Kansas, Shawnee Mission had great L&D rooms but this one was special...here's why: With my past two kids, after the baby was born, Brian left the delivery room with the baby to help wash the baby and feed it for the first time. I was closed up and sent to a recovery room to wait until Brian and the baby came back before I got to hold him/her. This whole process was a couple of hours so I couldn't even hold my baby until they were a couple of hours old! It always bummed me out so I was incredibly excited to learn that they do it differently out here! Right after the baby is born I had the option to have her placed on my chest (which I declined...I can't handle the vernix). They weighed her and measured her and then handed her to Brian. After they finished closing me up they handed her to me and I got to carry her out of the delivery room!!! They wheeled me back to the L&D room where my mom was waiting and my mom got to hold her right when we got there :). Then they gave her a bath right in the room! It was such a great experience to have her with me the whole time and not whisked away to another room!
It was no surprise that Vera was our biggest baby, yet! 8 pounds, 2.2 ounces and 20 inches! Over a pound and 2 inches bigger than my other two; granted this WAS my longest pregnancy.
After things calmed down a little, Brian and my mom went back to the house to get the kids and my dad! Luckily they had put me in the biggest room so there was plenty of space for the whole family! Myah was so incredibly excited to meet Vera! She wanted to hold her right away...Elijah couldn't have cared less :). If you notice in our pictures, Eli refused to look at the camera or even touch the baby...I think he was a little overwhelmed.
I had been up since 3am, so I was quickly running out of steam, so the family went home and it was time to sleep :) It was a wonderful day!
Stay tuned for the rest of the Bedore Invasion and more craziness from our household!!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
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