August 25, 2008 *WARNING! Some material may not be suitable for all readers!!! :)
August has been a blur! How could the summer be over, my newborn be 3 1/2 weeks old, and my nine year old be at school? I managed to feed Alivia, get dressed, and get Abby to school on time, with camera in hand, and in the rain no less! (Be impressed people, be very impressed!) Especially the part about being dressed. Let me back up a few days. Last weekend Alivia developed thrush (looks like white milk mouth but doesn't go away and can cause major problems...which it did!) She infected me (as the lactation experts so kindly informed me when I called them in excruciating pain while nursing...think razor blades and fire and you'll have some idea what I'm talking about.) Alivia had to have yucky medicine and I had to mix 3 different creams and apply after nursing (very time consuming and painful). The nurses said it could take 48-72 hours to see any improvement. (Really? This is a week later and I'm still hurting on one side!) In addition to the cream, they suggest you "air dry" as often as possible. Not really a problem since the pain doesn't allow you to wear a shirt! So for 3 days all the blinds were closed, I'm in severe pain, SHIRTLESS, and homebound. Let's just say poor Abby saw more than she wanted and needed to. Now let's fast forward to Friday when Scott's big "V" procedure was scheduled. (Fortunately Abby had a spend the night party and missed all this drama). I got to be "in the room" and can I just say it was the most fun I've had in 9 months and 3 weeks! I think every woman who has experienced childbirth should hear a doctor tell their husband "drop your pants and put your feet in the stirrups!" Oh the look on my husband's face! It was almost more than I could take. I thought I might lose a stitch or too. Before you think I'm too cruel, just know I have been in pain....real pain people...and I needed a laugh! It was only a few minutes before he got some really good "I don't care about anything" medicine and didn't care anymore. The doctor was a hoot and the whole procedure literally only took 15 minutes. So imagine us coming home-me "air drying" and Scott applying "frozen peas". What a sight! (No-I take that back...PLEASE don't try to visualize this!)
My neighbor (who was unaware of what we were going through) calls and asks if there is anything we need. I fill her in and tell her we need garbage bags (not something you want to run out of with dirty diapers around). She tells her husband about the garbage bags but NOT about our "health" issues. Chad comes over later to deliver the bags (yes I had a shirt on), and when he walks in the door...my husband...who is still very dopey...says "Hey Chad" while removing the frozen peas! I wish you could have seen the look on Chad's face...he just simply said "Hey, how's it going"...as if people pull frozen peas out of their shorts everyday! It wasn't until the next day that Scott realized what he did and was TOTALLY embarrassed. Chad simply shrugged it off and laughed. What a great neighbor! (When we all first moved in our houses and nobody had blinds yet- we used to tease and say "somebody's gonna see somebody naked". Let's just say we came as close to that line this week as possible!) When you get old and have had 2 children...modesty just goes out the window. Someone asked Scott this week how we were doing. He said "Honestly? We are old and it hurts!" So true! We love precious Alivia more than words can say and wouldnt' trade this experience for the world. But WOW- the physical, emotional, and hormonal issues are almost overwhelming. You forget how much you love SLEEP until you don't sleep through the night. You forget how much "stuff" a baby needs until you go somewhere and it takes 3 people to carry it all (not to mention you have to start getting ready to leave like 3 hours ahead of time). You forget how much laundry a baby goes through (they can't walk, sweat, run, play, work...seriously? How do they get things so dirty?) You forget what 3 meals a day are until it's 1:45 and you haven't had breakfast. You forget so much until that little 8 pound bundle of joy reminds you. One thing I won't forget....all the years we prayed for this blessing and how God finally answered our prayers. I won't forget how quickly time passes (as proved by my niece starting college and my friend dropping off her last child to kindergarten today.) I will cherish EVERY minute of this experience because I know it will pass too quickly. I'm done blogging- I'm going to hold my sweet Alivia while I can!
August has been a blur! How could the summer be over, my newborn be 3 1/2 weeks old, and my nine year old be at school? I managed to feed Alivia, get dressed, and get Abby to school on time, with camera in hand, and in the rain no less! (Be impressed people, be very impressed!) Especially the part about being dressed. Let me back up a few days. Last weekend Alivia developed thrush (looks like white milk mouth but doesn't go away and can cause major problems...which it did!) She infected me (as the lactation experts so kindly informed me when I called them in excruciating pain while nursing...think razor blades and fire and you'll have some idea what I'm talking about.) Alivia had to have yucky medicine and I had to mix 3 different creams and apply after nursing (very time consuming and painful). The nurses said it could take 48-72 hours to see any improvement. (Really? This is a week later and I'm still hurting on one side!) In addition to the cream, they suggest you "air dry" as often as possible. Not really a problem since the pain doesn't allow you to wear a shirt! So for 3 days all the blinds were closed, I'm in severe pain, SHIRTLESS, and homebound. Let's just say poor Abby saw more than she wanted and needed to. Now let's fast forward to Friday when Scott's big "V" procedure was scheduled. (Fortunately Abby had a spend the night party and missed all this drama). I got to be "in the room" and can I just say it was the most fun I've had in 9 months and 3 weeks! I think every woman who has experienced childbirth should hear a doctor tell their husband "drop your pants and put your feet in the stirrups!" Oh the look on my husband's face! It was almost more than I could take. I thought I might lose a stitch or too. Before you think I'm too cruel, just know I have been in pain....real pain people...and I needed a laugh! It was only a few minutes before he got some really good "I don't care about anything" medicine and didn't care anymore. The doctor was a hoot and the whole procedure literally only took 15 minutes. So imagine us coming home-me "air drying" and Scott applying "frozen peas". What a sight! (No-I take that back...PLEASE don't try to visualize this!)
My neighbor (who was unaware of what we were going through) calls and asks if there is anything we need. I fill her in and tell her we need garbage bags (not something you want to run out of with dirty diapers around). She tells her husband about the garbage bags but NOT about our "health" issues. Chad comes over later to deliver the bags (yes I had a shirt on), and when he walks in the door...my husband...who is still very dopey...says "Hey Chad" while removing the frozen peas! I wish you could have seen the look on Chad's face...he just simply said "Hey, how's it going"...as if people pull frozen peas out of their shorts everyday! It wasn't until the next day that Scott realized what he did and was TOTALLY embarrassed. Chad simply shrugged it off and laughed. What a great neighbor! (When we all first moved in our houses and nobody had blinds yet- we used to tease and say "somebody's gonna see somebody naked". Let's just say we came as close to that line this week as possible!) When you get old and have had 2 children...modesty just goes out the window. Someone asked Scott this week how we were doing. He said "Honestly? We are old and it hurts!" So true! We love precious Alivia more than words can say and wouldnt' trade this experience for the world. But WOW- the physical, emotional, and hormonal issues are almost overwhelming. You forget how much you love SLEEP until you don't sleep through the night. You forget how much "stuff" a baby needs until you go somewhere and it takes 3 people to carry it all (not to mention you have to start getting ready to leave like 3 hours ahead of time). You forget how much laundry a baby goes through (they can't walk, sweat, run, play, work...seriously? How do they get things so dirty?) You forget what 3 meals a day are until it's 1:45 and you haven't had breakfast. You forget so much until that little 8 pound bundle of joy reminds you. One thing I won't forget....all the years we prayed for this blessing and how God finally answered our prayers. I won't forget how quickly time passes (as proved by my niece starting college and my friend dropping off her last child to kindergarten today.) I will cherish EVERY minute of this experience because I know it will pass too quickly. I'm done blogging- I'm going to hold my sweet Alivia while I can!
