My Poor little ER baby

Well, on Sunday it happened again... blood in my little boys diaper. So, off I went to After Hours Pediatrician. They checked him out and immediately sent me to the regular ER. Once there, they did a few tests, took some X-Rays and then promptly told me that Tristan needed to be admitted so they could observe him and be sure that he didn't have a condition requiring surgery. Holt was in Chicago and desperately trying to get home.. but couldn't - it was horrible.

My heart stopped...yes, stopped. Then, the tears started. Thankfully, my mother in law (MIL) me me at the hospital. The ER check in lady was ROTTEN and the nurse that initially took care of us was even worse. I thought my MIL was going to kill her, it was actually funny. (Nurse Deb you need to work on your bedside manner, you are NOT nice.) She yanked and poked Tristan and I thought I was going to kill her. Candace..the other nurse... she was very sweet. Dr. Badger and Dr. Saad (not a great name for an ER doc) were great too... and after explaining it's hard to get through newborn "chub" to find a vein, he said that the head is the easiest place to put an IV. So... they did.

Here is my little boys head - and his nasty IV!!



Heartbreaking... and he had blood all over his head until they finally cleaned it up. Ugh



Finally, they told me I was getting moved up to a room. This is Ms. Kori, she was Tristan's nurse and she was INCREDIBLE. We loved Ms. Kori. She took great care of us all night long!!

Kimmie came up to the hospital to stay the night with me. We settled Mr. Cheeks in and then snuggled into a hospital bed together. Reminiscent of our Breast Cancer Walk days when we slept in the tent and snuggled because we were so cold. We even had a bought of laughing our butts off like little kids. Thank you Kimmie for the comic relief (and for the McDonald's) and Bebah for going to my house and getting all of my stuff that I desperately needed!!

Bebah and Grandpa Sam came back up in the morning to see Tristan and give him lots and lots of kisses (and some food to boot!)

FINALLY, at 9am on Monday... Daddy arrived. Whew

Then Daddy stole Mr. T's paci...which was VERY funny...

Then we were released at 2pm yesterday and I was SO thankful.

We went back to the pediatrician today, and Dr. Katz gave him the "all clear" - my little man is fine. Well, as long as I cut out ALL dairy, ALL eggs and THEN he'll be fine. So basically, I just went on a major diet. Wanted to lose 15 pounds anyway!

Praise God that my boy is ok, that Holt is home and that we get one more week.. with me home...just the three of us. Back to the real world next week. It's ok though, my little guy is in good hands!

To be HUGged or PAMPERed..what's the TARGET of your affection?

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? Size 1? All of 'em?



Well... diapers SUCK. I mean they SAY what the sizes are but clearly...they don't use a baby to measure!


Ok, so the first are Size 1 HUGGIES (8-14 lbs), next... Size 1 Target (8-10 lbs).... next Size 1 Pampers (8-14 lbs) (hence my horrible joke above)

So I don't know if you can clearly see but they are NOT the same size... about a knuckle a part in how high up his back they go....

Can you tell better here? Probably not, but when I hold them tight you can see. Too lazy to go take that picture.




Anyway, being the first time mom that I am... I am buying by NUMBER... not by SIZE (So in my mind size 1 is size 1) BUT in my defense... 8-14 lbs is NOT the same in Huggies and Pampers, period.

So now I have 4 bags of Target diapers that Target wont' let me exchange and 3 bags of Huggies that I can't exchange... does that suck or what? The good thing is I get to give them (and my knowledge of above) to some people we know with little ones.

Bad news portion #2... I locked Holt's car... he has BOTH sets of keys (brilliant I know.. I thought I had a set) and my Pampers that he can actually wear (that he is almost out of) are in the back of Holt's truck. I'm down to 4 diapers that fit. Yes, I can go buy more BUT I have so many damn diapers that I'm irate! So anyway, in my brilliance or maybe sheer lack of sleep in the last 24 hours.... (up at 4am and stayed up because of a sick little guy - OUCH)So I can open that bo of 154 and he can wear probably 20 of them OR I can bust open the Size 2 in my closet. I choose Size 2 an Holt can try and return all of the bags of diapers in his car. I thought I was smart stacking up...and to be honest, I really didn't have that many bags... my little guy is just growing quick.

He said, don't look at me ...it's not my fault I'm short and chunky like my mom!!

Hee, hee............we are funny!

PS - I'm making light of my little guy cuz he had blood in his diaper again..just a touch...and mommy looks happy BUT she's worried. :(

Been searching....

For my thumb for days....

FOUND IT!!!

*SIGH*... Tristan may be sick AND the future Easter bunnies are no more

Woke up at 4am to Tristan having blood in his diaper again. Luckily this late mornings poopie diaper didn't contain any more blood.

I'm watching him like a hawk and if I see ANY more... off to the 24/7 Pediatrician's office for a look into what's going on. Ugh.........so scary.

Then... to round off my crappy morning, I went to check on my bunnies and they are all dead. I'm not sure if it's because we moved them, because it was 37 degrees the last two nights or because the mom never came back... but they died. They were all huddled together, so I assume it was in their sleep. Kimmie and I did our best to keep them warm and surround the makeshift den with blankets but I looked at the thistle and stuff we used to hide the "house" and it hadn't been moved so things didn't look good.

So sad......... here's to hoping the afternoon gets better!

Aunt Kimmie and Miss Julanne! Chicago... here we come!

HAPPY SATURDAY EVERYONE!!

Kimberly came to have a big girl sleep over - we intended to watch Thelma and Louise (that's what we call each other) but instead... drank some wine and talked for HOURS.

Prior to though, we gave Tristan a bath! I forgot to get bath shots... maybe next time... but we sure did have fun!












Aunt Kimmie looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooves Tristan. And Tristan looooooooooooooooooves Aunt Kimmie!! VERY sweet!!














Below is my friend Julanne, she's in my Life Group. She came over to let me walk the obnoxious dogs (I guess I don't blame them, they haven't been walked in 4 days) and then I ran a few errands. This is the second time she has done this for me... she's a SAINT!!





We took the bottle away for juuuust a second and Tristan got ticked... so don't mind the tears, he just wanted his food back!! He's like me - ha!







Ms. Julanne and her family are also going to watch Tristan on Sunday while I sing in the choir...


then Bebah is coming over to watch him second service. Everything is harder when Holt is out of town. I don't know how single parents do it!!

Have a very Happy Saturday everyone! Off to Chicago on Tuesday...Tristan's first plane ride. We'll see how hated I am when I get off - ha! Hopefully all will go well! I'll have many more pictures to post of our Chicago friends......can't wait to see everyone!

Computer problems?

I am NOT KIDDING

Bill is PHENOMINAL AND VERY reasonable............... he completely restored our computer that Circuit City and Best Buy could not fix BUT wanted to charged us HUNDREDS to fix....

Bill W. Pierce
Owner/Technician
New Age Media PC
214-208-0767
972-767-7579
bill@newagemediapc.com
www.newagemediapc.com

I lost EVERY file and EVERY picture of my son AND wedding and he recovered them all. I am his biggest fan!!!

I have all my stuff and my PC hasn't crashed like it has for over a year.

THANK YOU BILL!!!!

Goodbye sweet Joelle

Well, this is a sad post... my friend from college... Joelle Manganaro passed away last night.

Joelle and I were roomies for a bit but more importantly shared a million laughs. She, Bill and I were like the rat pack...

Jo has been sick for a long time... we lost touch for a few years and found each other again last January. From the moment we started talking again...she was sick. Brain cancer, Lupus flare ups, ovarian cancer, stomach cancer... ER visits every week, throwing up for days at a time... surgery after surgery after surgery.

The ironic thing is...we spoke on Saturday and although she was sad at the thought of leaving her boyfriend and her daughter... she said this was no quality of life...and if this was it... she'd rather go. I'd never heard her say that before. I don't think she gave up, I think she just accepted it and realized that she may not live long.

We talked about God a lot... we talked about how He could let her suffer and be so sick...for so long. I promised her that although I didn't have every answer, I KNEW that He was with her and that He was shattered by her pain. He loves her and cares for her and is with her EVERY SINGLE STEP. I don't know where her heart finally fell.. but I believe she loved the Lord even though this was so horrible.

She said the pictures I sent her of Tristan made her heart smile. My angel made her smile and now may she be rejoicing in the heavens!

Goodbye to my sweet friend... you will be missed.

Early Happy Easter!

I look horrible........BUT happy!



Look at my bunnies!!




They were hopping all over..........

and my daddy was holding them ............. it was fun!!

even though I don't know if I like anything yet........even cute bunnies!

We'll see...it's not Easter yet!

Bye!

Tummy Time...............stinks!

Hiiiiiiii, Tristan has eaten and is up and ready to play. All is going well... he's HAPPY!



Dr. Katz says TUMMY TIME is a must............ so I flipped him over.



I explained that once he's done a minute or so (we're working up to longer periods) he can flip back over and I'll play the music!!

This is what he thought of that.............. oops... someone hates tummy time.

So after a minute of that....... I flipped Mr. Cheeks back over and played the tunes!

He was boogying!

Life is so tough for a two month old! Ha!!

I'm cute cuz my Bebah says so!!

This is my Bebah.......she says I'm cute! She's coming to babysit me on Wed night cuz my mom has choir practice!!

Can you see my second chin?

How about NOW?

I am sitting up like a big boy now and Dr. Katz says my neck is VERY strong. YAHOOOOOO

I'll be walking in no time - NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO says my Mommy!!!

I love my daddy!!

By any chance... have you seen MY BUNNIES??

Here comes Peter Cottontail.... ok, obviously NOT PETER

Peter can't have babies!! But Penelope can - that's what I named the mama. I call her Pen for short!

Look.........Holt found bunnies again in our backyard! Holt was digging out his flower bed (with a shovel) and after whacking into the dirt a few times... heard this small little noise... he still dug but with a bit more caution.... then he remembered the little guys from last year so he used his gloves and dug... there were obvious signs that my bunny lovin' self would have seen... like the MOUND of mama bunny fur... so after a little lookin' he came inside, locked the dogs up and said "DOODLE, COME HERE". Now, Tristan is in bed but it was the "you are gonna love this" tone that he had so I knew it was good.

First we found 4 bunnies, but then he found two more. Aren't they cute??

Well, God bless him, he's the ONLY man I know (besides my dad) that loves me enough to love their garden/landscaping but loves me more to let them live in that same area. See, bunnies can't move too far from where their mama left 'em. You can also touch bunnies too, and the mom's will come back. So anyway, Holt built a little bunny haven so Pen could get in, they are safe and warm (we put newspaper shreddings and the fur/twig stuff that Pen made in there) and placed them all on a big fluffy towel to burrow in.

We did our best to put rocks on and around it so Simba... the mighty hunter... won't get the little guys. Trust me, I will monitor and smack him if he gets near it. I don't know if you can see but the crate has a handle where the Pen can squeeze in. Holt cut and nailed sides on it to keep out the nasty elements... I will be checking on them when it rains and replacing the towel. HOPEFULLY it works out ok. We couldn't leave them where they were - they would never have survived but it's NEXT TO where they were so we're hoping! Below you can kind of see the "door".

Anyway, I will bring out lettuce and carrots to entice Pen to come.... and we'll see how it goes. Last year, we lost 3 bunnies but we think 1 made it. They would come to me when I came out it was SO cute.... I would sit next to them and they would come out of their hole and crawl into my hands.

I tried to get them to a vet or animal shelter but they won't take them. I guess wild bunnies just don't make the cut so I did the best I could to help them survive. It breaks my heart and sometimes I wonder if God's giving me a gift because bunnies - oddly enough - have always been a very happy sign of life for me. Long stories around that ... and I won't get into it but let's just say... I love them lots.

I'll keep ya posted! BYE!!!

It's a bird, it's a plane... it's an American Eagle!

More presents for ME!!

Grandpa (Harold, seen in the photo below giving Grandma Margie bunny ears.... now you see where I get it from!) gave Tristan a 1999 1 oz. gold American Eagle coin today! I will be taking this over to my in-laws to hide away in their safe until Tristan is old enough to understand what a GREAT GIFT Grandpa just gave to him! For those of you that don't know, my dad has always had a great love for coins and he's collected them all of my life and I'm quite sure much longer. I actually have a silver penny that for some reason I am very, VERY fond of... hee, hee, hee

He can't wait to thank you in person dad!

Then, Tristan got these great shoes from my friend Julie King in Chicago. I was in Bible study with her long ago and although I am bad about staying in touch with her... she's ALWAYS been one of those people that I immediately loved. She and her husband Steve and their fabulous kids will always hold a special place in my heart!!

Thanks Jules!! Oh...and the rest of the King clan!

Off to help Holt with our garden. I love Saturdays!!

One shot, two shots, three shots - WAAAAAH NO MORE!!

Oh man........ I am pathetic. Tristan had his two month appointment with Dr. Katz today (whom I LOVE... if I forgot to mention before) and it was all going well...

We arrived, people commented on how cute my little guy was... then they called us in. He weighed in at 12.44 (75th percentile for weight) and his height is 22 1/2 (which is in the lower 25th - 50th percentile) he's apparently taking after me... short and chubby. *SIGH*

Then ... Fabulous Katz answered all of my questions... still has minor cradle cap (A.K.A. stinkin' dandruff - and I thought it was a "condition") ... so Selson Blue is what needs to happen. Sweet... I can do that... CHECK!

Then he is holding his head up great but now we need to increase it to EVERY awake time and then when he's mad... make him go 2 minutes more, really tick him off... ok, can do that... CHECK!

Remove the bumper pads in his crib... they are cute but I don't like them that much... Out they go... CHECK!

Then... this adorable little nurse came in. Satan in disguise.... ok, that's mean... but SHE had the shots. Ugh. First one he drank.... and he enjoyed it. Whew... one down.

Another nurse came in... and I couldn't take it.. I bailed. I had to sit in the hallway... and CRY. Ugh. Dr. Fabulous busted me and said "It's ok... don't feel bad about being out here" - it's like I'M GETTING THE STUPID SHOT....

TRISTAN WAILS............... (I cry, cry, cry)

Then TRISTAN WAILS LOUDER........... (Now not only am I crying, I'm busting in the door regretting that I'm a wimp and can't watch my son get poked.) Thank God Holt was there.

I look at my sweet boy and he has tears rolling down the sides of his eyes... I snag him from Holt and tell him that I'll be tougher next time and won't leave him alone... even though he wasn't alone... he was in perfectly good and protective hands... but I won't leave him alone feeling the pain all by himself. Holt is tough, he tells him to suck it up, and I have to get tougher so I don't project my crap onto him BUT ... for today... I will just kiss and rock my sweet boy and cry with him.

*SIGH*

I'm a sucker for my baby and I can't help it.

I hate shots....... thankfully I'm working and Holt will go to his 4 month appt without me (unless I leave work and come, I don't know if I can NOT be there)

So, my short chubby boy is peacefully sleeping now, I feel better....... I'm gonna go eat something.

Chubba-wubba Barber over and out.