I had my first appointment with Dr.Lloyd, and he is a lifesaver.
I am now taking Methotrexate (which is a chemo drug) to lower my immune system. I have to be careful while I'm on it, because a simple cold or the flu, passed on, can be deadly to me. For now, I'm on 3 pills weekly.
He also put me on prednisone (a steroid) to help with inflamation. Let me just say that these two drugs are saving me right now. For weeks, I could hardly function. I couldn't take care of my kids by myself. Now...I am getting by.
I still have yet to venture out with the kids, or drive much. My hands are still a little swollen for that. I will live....with RA.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
A new chapter in life
In my last post, I explained a little bit about what started out seeming like hormonal changes from having Josie. She was almost a month, and after I had Wyatt, my body started to go back to normal around the same time.
However, when things got worse, and I mean much much worse, I know there was something else going on. Thank the Lord that Richard had some time off from work, and could help some. I also had a ton of help from Mom (Lorraine) and Dad.
The very first business day after Christmas... Monday, December 27th, I went to our family Doctor here in town, and explained my problems. By this time my hands and shoulders, even feet were so swollen I couldn't move them much. She did some blood work and told me to double up on the ibuprofin I had been taking. Not exactly the answers I had been looking for.
The next morning, Mom and Dad came to help me some. Richard was still here, and at this point he was so upset that they hadn't let me know anything, that he went to their office and waited to talk to the Doctor. She said that she hoped to have the test results back that afternoon. She finally called, about 4 o'clock that afternoon. The blood tests showed that I had Rheumatoid Arthritis, or RA. She was sending me to a Rheumatologist for follow up.
I guess this is where the page in my life turns. I will never spend another day without some sort of pain and stiffness. There will always be a reminder of how my body has failed me. I will try to stay positive, and active...and enjoy the good things this messy life of mine brings me!
Like them.....
However, when things got worse, and I mean much much worse, I know there was something else going on. Thank the Lord that Richard had some time off from work, and could help some. I also had a ton of help from Mom (Lorraine) and Dad.
The very first business day after Christmas... Monday, December 27th, I went to our family Doctor here in town, and explained my problems. By this time my hands and shoulders, even feet were so swollen I couldn't move them much. She did some blood work and told me to double up on the ibuprofin I had been taking. Not exactly the answers I had been looking for.
The next morning, Mom and Dad came to help me some. Richard was still here, and at this point he was so upset that they hadn't let me know anything, that he went to their office and waited to talk to the Doctor. She said that she hoped to have the test results back that afternoon. She finally called, about 4 o'clock that afternoon. The blood tests showed that I had Rheumatoid Arthritis, or RA. She was sending me to a Rheumatologist for follow up.
I guess this is where the page in my life turns. I will never spend another day without some sort of pain and stiffness. There will always be a reminder of how my body has failed me. I will try to stay positive, and active...and enjoy the good things this messy life of mine brings me!
Like them.....
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Happy Holidays!!
Better late than never. I just wanted to post pictures from Thanksgiving through Christmas....until I can get all caught up on my blog, and get back to being a faithful blogger.
There aren't any from Thanksgiving. Josie was only 9 days old, and the last thing I thought about doing was taking pictures.... boooo...hissss. Looking back, I could kick myself in the arse!
Christmas, was so very difficult. I woke up 2 o'clock that morning to feed Josie, and screamed out in pain. I tried to walk, and knew it hurt, but as soon as I tried to pick her up it felt like my wrists, hands and arms were breaking. It was only 3 steps from our bed to her bassinette, so I didn't realize till I had to crawl (yes, I mean crawl...like a baby) to Richard and cry for help. I couldn't pick my baby up, I couldn't walk to the bathroom, I could hardly move. I made it to the recliner, he put her in my arms and helped me adjust her (and myself) so I could get the boob out to nurse her. It was so painful to bend my wrists or move at all. He sat up with me while I fed her. I took a pain pill and laid back down.
I was up a few hours later and was still hurting...not as bad. The pain meds made it much more tolerable. Richard got int he shower with me and helped me stand and bathe. I made it long enough to get the ham in the oven, then he and Jim took it from there. I was so doped up, that I hardly remember anything about the day, except that it sucked.
It was Josie's first Christmas, and I was helpless. I hated that I could hardly take care of her, or enjoy the day with my family.
I want to share these pictures before I get caught up in another day's story! I will be posting more about this later, when I have more time.
There aren't any from Thanksgiving. Josie was only 9 days old, and the last thing I thought about doing was taking pictures.... boooo...hissss. Looking back, I could kick myself in the arse!
Christmas, was so very difficult. I woke up 2 o'clock that morning to feed Josie, and screamed out in pain. I tried to walk, and knew it hurt, but as soon as I tried to pick her up it felt like my wrists, hands and arms were breaking. It was only 3 steps from our bed to her bassinette, so I didn't realize till I had to crawl (yes, I mean crawl...like a baby) to Richard and cry for help. I couldn't pick my baby up, I couldn't walk to the bathroom, I could hardly move. I made it to the recliner, he put her in my arms and helped me adjust her (and myself) so I could get the boob out to nurse her. It was so painful to bend my wrists or move at all. He sat up with me while I fed her. I took a pain pill and laid back down.
I was up a few hours later and was still hurting...not as bad. The pain meds made it much more tolerable. Richard got int he shower with me and helped me stand and bathe. I made it long enough to get the ham in the oven, then he and Jim took it from there. I was so doped up, that I hardly remember anything about the day, except that it sucked.
It was Josie's first Christmas, and I was helpless. I hated that I could hardly take care of her, or enjoy the day with my family.
I want to share these pictures before I get caught up in another day's story! I will be posting more about this later, when I have more time.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Josie's first photo shoot
The day after we got home, Christy came by the house to do some newborn photos of Josie. She was difficult to say the least. God bless Christy for her patience! She did get a few beautiful shots before she wore herself out (Josie, not Christy!!!)
Wyatt had to get in on the action too!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
First Days
Never thought we'd have first days home twice! We got home later in the afternoon, so most everyone waited to come till the next day. Josie was born on November 16th, a Tuesday....and we were home the next day around 6:00.
I have to say, the recovery was horrendous. I would much rather recover from a C-Section like with Wyatt....it hurt terribly to do anything. Hurt to sit, walk, go potty, shower, even laying down was difficult. Dr. Iobst did say, had he known how big she really was, he would have done a repeat C-Section. The last U/S for her estimated weight around 7lb 9oz, which was just a little bigger than Wyatt was....blahahaha...jokes on me!
Josie, however did great! She slept most of the time, and since I breast fed her...she was busy eating the rest of the time. She was just beautiful, her little head full of dark, almost-black hair.
I know I was hormonal, and acting like a really big beeatch, but thank the Lord for my Mother. Grammy came and stayed with us for the 2 weeks. Richard was home the first week, so she came for weeks 2 and 3! I was horrible to her, and looking back, I am so ashamed. I found out at my 6 week check up that I had mild Post Partum Depression.... and was a total wreck. I know she was about ready to hitch a ride back to Orlando, but for sticking it out with me, I thank and love her!
Wyatt wasawful, ugly, BAD! He knew he had a sister coming, but once we brought her home, he went nuts. He showed out every chance he got. At first, I thought to myself...what in the hell have I done? It took about 5 weeks, and he was, for the most part, back to normal! He spent a lot of time with Moon in the first few days. I guess he felt safer with her, knowing that she wasn't going to go and bring a new little person home with her.
Even through the rough patches, I would go back and do it all over again....I love my babies!
Josie with Granddaddy
I have to say, the recovery was horrendous. I would much rather recover from a C-Section like with Wyatt....it hurt terribly to do anything. Hurt to sit, walk, go potty, shower, even laying down was difficult. Dr. Iobst did say, had he known how big she really was, he would have done a repeat C-Section. The last U/S for her estimated weight around 7lb 9oz, which was just a little bigger than Wyatt was....blahahaha...jokes on me!
Josie, however did great! She slept most of the time, and since I breast fed her...she was busy eating the rest of the time. She was just beautiful, her little head full of dark, almost-black hair.
Wyatt was
Even through the rough patches, I would go back and do it all over again....I love my babies!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Almost home
These were all taken just after Josie was born. Don't know how I missed them in the last post....
Daddy's Girl!
In her carseat.....here we go!
Her first visitors at home.....Grandma and Grandpa!
Her first visitors at home.....Grandma and Grandpa!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Josie's birth...part 2!!
Things went pretty slowly. I called Nancy to have her bring my bags to me, and then I called Kristin. They both came later that evening.
They came in and decided to start pitocin.... ummmm...yay!? They were increasing it every time they came in to check me. The pain was starting to get to be much to handle. I asked for an epidural, and got partial relief. Jsut like with Wyatt, it worked only on the left side of my body. I don't even remember how many times they came in to "top it off".
I think it was around 2 am that I really started feeling like I HAD to push. The nurse came in and found that I was completely dialated and I said I could start pushing.
Kristin was holding my left leg, and Richard had my right...while Nancy stood beside the bed. All of the sudden, Kristin said she didn't feel good, and her eyes rolled back in her head. She told Nancy that she was gonna have to come hold my leg. The nurse got her a stool and made her sit down. Nancy looked like she was going to throw up....she said it was because of the smell... LOL! They both did an awesome job though.....couldn't have done it without them!
Things went slow, but okay for a good long while, till about 3:45 am. The monitor wasn't picking up her heartbeat anymore. The nurse called for extra hands, and all of the sudden the room was flooded with nurses. They flipped me onto the opposite side, that didn't work...still no heartbeat. Then they had me get up on my hands and knees (which isn't easy when you have an epidural) that didn't work either. They put oxygen on me, and Dr.Iobst came in.
The rest of this was so quick....... he got out the forceps and started to pull. Then he made a small cut, then he pulled, then another cut.....finally he told me to really push while he pulled, and I can remember begging him to do whatever he had to do, to get her out alive. Finally...I can remember pushing as hard as I could, and him pulling with all his might...me screaming and she was finally out. Josie Lucille was born on November 16, 2010 at 4:06 am. She weighed 8lb 10oz and was 21" long.
She started crying, and I just knew that everything was going to be okay. She laid there on me for a while, then Richard finally got to cut her cord.
The nurses took her and started to clean her up and suction her out, while Dr. Iobst sutured me up.
I found out after the fact (from Richard) that the Dr had his knee on the end of the bed for leverage while he was pulling...she was stuck...and I also found out that she was face up, just like Wyatt was. That's why the delivery was so hard.
I ended up with a 3rd degree episiotomy, but Josie was okay...and that's all that mattered.
I couldn't thank Dr.Iobst enough for saving her! I love that man, almost as much as I love Richard! Hahahah! After he was done sewing me up, he spent a while with Josie while they finished cleaning her up.
They came in and decided to start pitocin.... ummmm...yay!? They were increasing it every time they came in to check me. The pain was starting to get to be much to handle. I asked for an epidural, and got partial relief. Jsut like with Wyatt, it worked only on the left side of my body. I don't even remember how many times they came in to "top it off".
I think it was around 2 am that I really started feeling like I HAD to push. The nurse came in and found that I was completely dialated and I said I could start pushing.
Kristin was holding my left leg, and Richard had my right...while Nancy stood beside the bed. All of the sudden, Kristin said she didn't feel good, and her eyes rolled back in her head. She told Nancy that she was gonna have to come hold my leg. The nurse got her a stool and made her sit down. Nancy looked like she was going to throw up....she said it was because of the smell... LOL! They both did an awesome job though.....couldn't have done it without them!
Things went slow, but okay for a good long while, till about 3:45 am. The monitor wasn't picking up her heartbeat anymore. The nurse called for extra hands, and all of the sudden the room was flooded with nurses. They flipped me onto the opposite side, that didn't work...still no heartbeat. Then they had me get up on my hands and knees (which isn't easy when you have an epidural) that didn't work either. They put oxygen on me, and Dr.Iobst came in.
The rest of this was so quick....... he got out the forceps and started to pull. Then he made a small cut, then he pulled, then another cut.....finally he told me to really push while he pulled, and I can remember begging him to do whatever he had to do, to get her out alive. Finally...I can remember pushing as hard as I could, and him pulling with all his might...me screaming and she was finally out. Josie Lucille was born on November 16, 2010 at 4:06 am. She weighed 8lb 10oz and was 21" long.
She started crying, and I just knew that everything was going to be okay. She laid there on me for a while, then Richard finally got to cut her cord.
The nurses took her and started to clean her up and suction her out, while Dr. Iobst sutured me up.
I found out after the fact (from Richard) that the Dr had his knee on the end of the bed for leverage while he was pulling...she was stuck...and I also found out that she was face up, just like Wyatt was. That's why the delivery was so hard.
I ended up with a 3rd degree episiotomy, but Josie was okay...and that's all that mattered.
I couldn't thank Dr.Iobst enough for saving her! I love that man, almost as much as I love Richard! Hahahah! After he was done sewing me up, he spent a while with Josie while they finished cleaning her up.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
No better time than today
To start blogging again, that is.
So many changes have happened, and so much has been going on since my last decent post. For that, I am sorry!
Last time I had time to sit and blog, we had just found out that Wyatt was gonna be a big brother to a little sister. He knew that sissy was in my belly, but I don't think anything could have really prepared him for what was to come. More on that later, for now I'm going to attempt to start where I left off.
for over half of the pregnancy, I dealt with Gestational Diabetes, which was loooads of fun. I was so limited in what I could eat, and the all day sickness didn't make it any easier since all that sounded good were things I wasn't supposed to have. Around 28 weeks, I started going to the OB twice a month, to have growth and blood sugars monitored. I think it was my 30 week visit that they told me she was a big girl. Already weighing in at 5lbs.....2 lbs heavier than normal.
32 weeks hit, and I was sent to L&D because of premature labor. My OB....who, by the way is AWESOME, was doing twice monthly Non Stress Tests because of the GD. during that visit the discovered that I was having regular contractions. L&D hooked me to an IV and got the contractions to stop, and sent me home.
34 weeks came and then I was seeing my OB every week already, for more NST's. Eerything was going pretty smooth, other than the fact that I was HUGE.
I wasn't sure how I could get any bigger, to be honest with you. The only good thing about it, was that Richard loved it, and he made sure I knew it too, he was always telling me. He made me feel so loved, even though when I looked in the mirror, all I could think was....holy crap, I am HUGE! I love him with all of my heart, for making me still feel wanted.
Here I am on Halloween. We let Wyatt help put sissy's "costume" on her......
So many changes have happened, and so much has been going on since my last decent post. For that, I am sorry!
Last time I had time to sit and blog, we had just found out that Wyatt was gonna be a big brother to a little sister. He knew that sissy was in my belly, but I don't think anything could have really prepared him for what was to come. More on that later, for now I'm going to attempt to start where I left off.
for over half of the pregnancy, I dealt with Gestational Diabetes, which was loooads of fun. I was so limited in what I could eat, and the all day sickness didn't make it any easier since all that sounded good were things I wasn't supposed to have. Around 28 weeks, I started going to the OB twice a month, to have growth and blood sugars monitored. I think it was my 30 week visit that they told me she was a big girl. Already weighing in at 5lbs.....2 lbs heavier than normal.
32 weeks hit, and I was sent to L&D because of premature labor. My OB....who, by the way is AWESOME, was doing twice monthly Non Stress Tests because of the GD. during that visit the discovered that I was having regular contractions. L&D hooked me to an IV and got the contractions to stop, and sent me home.
34 weeks came and then I was seeing my OB every week already, for more NST's. Eerything was going pretty smooth, other than the fact that I was HUGE.
These both were taken on 9/28/10 at 31 Weeks..... Still 8 weeks to go!
I wasn't sure how I could get any bigger, to be honest with you. The only good thing about it, was that Richard loved it, and he made sure I knew it too, he was always telling me. He made me feel so loved, even though when I looked in the mirror, all I could think was....holy crap, I am HUGE! I love him with all of my heart, for making me still feel wanted.
Here I am on Halloween. We let Wyatt help put sissy's "costume" on her......
Almost 36 weeks....still 4 weeks to go!
I just kept getting bigger and bigger! She was estimated to weigh almost 6lbs now, and I was still supposed to bake her for another month.
I started having mild contractions on November 3rd. They weren't strong at all, but made me very uncomfortable. They would come and go, day and night. Every week I was at the OB's office, and my cervix was soft, and I had been dilated about 1cm every visit. I was soooo hoping that there was at least a little change.
At least this time my blood pressure was great for the most part. Except for the gestational diabetes, everything was going smoothly!
I kept having the contractions, till finally on November 15, a Monday morning, I just couldn't stand it anymore. I called and they had me come in. They hooked me to the monitors and sure enough- I was having contractions. They sent me up to L&D and got the IV started.
We had Wyatt with us, so Richard met his Mom and Dad to drop him off with them. Before he got back, Dr.Iobst cam in and said that he was going to break my water after he did another delivery. Richard made it back to the room just a few minutes before he came back in. he broke my water, and there was no turning back.
Once they started the IV fluids, my feet and face started to swell....
I kept having the contractions, till finally on November 15, a Monday morning, I just couldn't stand it anymore. I called and they had me come in. They hooked me to the monitors and sure enough- I was having contractions. They sent me up to L&D and got the IV started.
We had Wyatt with us, so Richard met his Mom and Dad to drop him off with them. Before he got back, Dr.Iobst cam in and said that he was going to break my water after he did another delivery. Richard made it back to the room just a few minutes before he came back in. he broke my water, and there was no turning back.
Once they started the IV fluids, my feet and face started to swell....
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