The Long Of It

I hate it when I go to Birmingham when it’s raining. The only other trip it was raining was that first trip down. On that time we found out about all the tests that we would be doing. And what was in store for our little one. All subsequent trips weren’t the easiest in the world but the sun was shining which made it a little easier. Tuesday though was awful. There were tornado warnings and flood warnings, I just knew this wasn’t going to be a good day.

After my surgery on October 17^th Rayne started to get sick. Not too bad at first but it slowly go worse. There was a lot of vomiting, crying and doctors involved in the process. It was a virus that reeked havoc on our little girl and left her with a paralyzed stomach. Paralyzed stomach is often temporary after a virus and just means that the body says “I’m taking a break. Don’t bug me” So Rayne was on a liquid diet for just about a week and then she started to eat. And I mean eat! She would eat almost as much as I would at a meal. Almost a week this lasted and Rayne put on two pounds. Then she stopped.

Honestly we expected it to happen eventually. It was just so much food we thought that maybe she was just trying to catch up. But she started to get really fussy and acting like her reflux was bothering her. Rayne didn’t want to lay down, she would arch her back pick at and pat her chest all day. The oddest quirk was that when I would snap up her sleepers at the top most snap she would fuss. We made sure that all doses of meds were given on time everyday (Prilosec twice a day, Axid three times a day, Pepicd once a day). We even through in some extra doses of Carafate which coats everything and is more about comfort than suppression. This didn’t help. I called the nurse at the Gastrointestinal doctor and she said to try giving the Carafate an hour after her other meds. It could be coating enough that her meds aren’t absorbing. We gave it a week. We were a little better but if a dose of anything was missed heaven help us all. There was no way around it Rayne needed to see the doctor.

Tuesday it rained, and rained, and rained. Our appointment wasn’t until 4 so I closely watched the weather reports and decided to pack enough things for us to stay overnight. Besides the weather I didn’t know what the doctor was going to do. If we needed to stay to run a test I wanted to be ready. It’s a 90min drive each way I didn’t want to have to come back for a test if I didn’t have to. The whole drive I just knew something drastic was going to happen that day and as I started to pass car accidents requiring tow trucks and ambulances I started praying really hard that an accident wasn’t it. We made it to the doctors safe and sound though.

Rayne weighed in at 18 pounds 2 ounces 28.5 inches long! Later I found out she made that chart with that, 1%. WAHOO!! Once the Doctor King got into the room I could tell he knew what his next move was. Sometimes I hate that feeling, because well it’s not always an easy thing the doctor is about tell you to do. Then came the words, “I think it’s time for a Fundoplication.” I had heard this word before and I knew it was a surgical procedure where part of the stomach was wrapped around the esophagus to help the sphincter close properly.

The reason we have to do surgery is that there is no other medical option. Rayne is maxed out on all of her meds. With this much medication she shouldn’t need the Carafate five times a day, a month ago we didn’t have to. Something has changed, what no one knows, but medicine isn’t going to cut it anymore. There is no point to Rayne suffering until she ‘grows out of it’ because that often takes years. Anywhere from 3-6 years. Not only is that hard on baby but mommy and daddy. Giving meds 8 times a day doesn’t get any easier as a child gets bigger. Also Rayne is still classified as failure to thrive. Which is not uncommon for kids with sever reflux because the meds can block nutrient absorption and they don’t want to eat much because it hurts. So it made sense.

Then Doctor King said, “That’s not the bad news. The bad news is you have to do one last test before the surgeon I want to do it will. It is called a pH probe.” He then went on to explain that I would take Rayne to the hospital have her admitted and she would have a probe fed down her nose through the esophagus and it will sit right at the top of the stomach. The probe stays in for 23 hours. It measures exactly how much, how often and how long acid gets out of her stomach. This is for a definitive diagnosis and the surgeon wants it because he’s not one to cut someone open just for the heck of it. And as I’ve read about it, this test can also help with some of the decisions the surgeon has to make. It’s no fun to have something down your nose and to make it even more awful Rayne has to be off her suppression meds for FIVE days before the procedure. Thankfully we can still use the Carafate every four hours but still, it’s going to be a long week. We are trying to get the test set up to happen in Huntsville because it would be so much easier on us, but we will see.

After the pH probe it will take a few days for the information to be complied and then we will make an appointment with the surgeon and set up the surgery. The surgery itself is an hour or less but will require a two to three day stay in the Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. They have to watch for complications and in infants it is not uncommon to put in some kind of feeding tube, since they have no desire to eat. But we will get more information about that when we meet with the surgeon.

Right now we are in a holding pattern because of the holidays. Most offices were closed so nothing has been scheduled and we have no idea how quickly this will happen. It could be all be said and done by Christmas or surgery may not happen until January or February for all we know.

So for now Rayne isn’t eating a lot. What she eats she keeps down; thankfully she was never one to spit up because of reflux. Only when she’s sick do we have problems with things coming up. And the doctor told us to give her whatever she wants to eat. If she wants all pasta let her have it. It’s an acid absorber, but more importantly it will keep her happy. Fruits and vegetables can be hard to digest so if she doesn’t want them don’t force it. Just keep her from losing weight and hydrated. Also if she wants to sleep sitting up or on top of us, just do whatever we feel is right and keep her as comfortable as possible.

You can also check out these link for more information
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8ATpSWQrIE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bnIuKiHdDE

The Best

So Fred and I are dorks. We have little code sayings and phrases that help us communicate. Some or them are obvious or silly and some are covert. A very common one "I'm the best wife/husband in the world". We use this phrase to communicate that we have gotten a lot done or we thought to do something without being asked. Some nights I tell Fred "I am not the best wife in the world" and this is my way of telling Fred my day has been a little rough and expect the house to be a wreck when he gets home. There are several reasons why I can have a tough night. A big one tonight Rayne...

We had a day full of things. So when we got home she was very tired and so was mommy. 45 minutes into Rayne's nap she started fussing. Needing to be held. I picked her up and we rocked. Next thing I knew Rayne was awake fussing again and it was 8pm. My foot was swollen from sleeping sitting up, Rayne was having a reflux attack and my contacts had dried out. We were in pretty sad shape.

The next three hours were filled with bottles, diapers, tears, medicine, cuddles, and Veggie Tales. The laundry is not done, dishes aren't put away, dirty dishes in the kitchen, and toys all over the living room. Most importantly Rayne was comfortably asleep. I am very still very sore and very tired, so the house work won't be getting done.

So tonight I am not "The best wife in the world." but I am "The best Mom in the world." I was there when my daughter needed me, and I'm going to go to bed so when she needs me tonight I'll be there for her then too. All in all life is really great :)

Blessing in the Banana Bread

I was making Banana Bread Muffins tonight. They are a donation for a bake sale at our local cloth diaper store- A Nurturing Moment. They are trying to raise money for and organization that helps support low income breastfeeding mothers. They are having a rummage sale as well. It should be a great event. And a chance to bless families with what they need. Anyway that is not the blessing that I am talking about.

What I am talking about is from dropping my Banana Bread Muffins. Yes dropping my muffins was a blessing. So here I was making these wonderful soy, nut, egg free banana bread. The color was perfect, texture to die for. These were the best banana bread I had ever made. I was so proud. It looked like I was going to get 36 muffins and 3 loafs of bread. The first 24 muffins came out just fine. I put in the next 12 and let them bake. As I was pulling them out of it oven it happened. My hand gave out. It does this from time to time. It's part of my chronic condition. I'll be holding something and then all of a sudden I won't be. So here were my wonderful muffins falling out of the pan and right back in to the oven. Most landed on the rack but a few made it to the coil down below and set fire. I turned off the oven grabbed the grill tongs and fished them all out. Almost in tears as I did this. It was so rare that my bread came out perfect, and here they were on fire.

I called Fred. I need someone to tell me that yes it stinks but it will be okay. I know that sounds kind of childish but it is really hard for me when this happens. Fred commented how lucky we were that my hands never gave out when I am holding Rayne. Before I could think I said, "It's not luck it's a blessing." Which it truly is. And after I hung up and regained a little more composure I realized that every time I drop something is a time I won't be dropping Rayne. I really am watched over and that if this frail body is going to give way Heavenly Father blesses me to have it happen with very minor things.

So there you have it the blessing in the Banana Bread.

And so it begins

I have started my countdown. 32 days...

32 days that I will try NOT to stress out about what I need to get done.

32 days that I will hopefully keep my focus

32 days to think about what is going to happen

32 days is so far yet so close

On October 17th I will be having surgery. Nothing overly major... I hope. Okay let me back track and try to make this a little clearer.

As everyone should know just over a year ago I gave birth to my wonderful baby girl. What you may not have heard or remember is that the actually birthing part was very tough on my body. I was in no serious danger but I can clearly remember the doctor telling the nurse, "I stopped counting after 50 (stitches)". Later when the doctor came to check on me she described my birth as a vaginal c-section. There was a lot of tearing, bleeding and damage.

Due to several things I did not heal very well. And now I need some repair work. Surgical repair work. We won't know exactly how extensive it will be until the day of. But what we do know it that I will be flat in bed for a good week and on restriction for at least a week after that. If not longer. Joy, oh joy.

Thankfully we have some wonderful mothers that are coming to help. The first week Fred's mom will be here and Fred will be off work. The second week my mom will be here, but Fred will be back at work. So hopefully I'll be a little more mobile so I can help watch Rayne. Maybe go do a couple of fun things too.

Overall recovery is going to be key. If I try to do too much I could pop stitches again, cause more damage and we might have to do this all over again. But if all goes well then I may fulfill my dream of a natural child birth. But will just have to see.

Well I hope that was the right balance of details for everyone. If you want more you can contact me directly. Then if I'm in a good mood I'll give you some ;)

All and all that is the news.... 32 days.