My Son's CT Scan (and other stuff)

This was originally written on Tuesday, January 6, 2009:

Happy 2009! For me, the new year starts today since we were celebrating Christmas up until Jan. 3rd, and then yesterday was Logan's CT scan. Now I can hopefully start fresh. Right now I'm waiting to hear back about Logan's results so then his surgery can be scheduled.

Yesterday morning I set the alarm for 2:30 AM because Logan wasn't allowed to have formula after that. I made a big 8 oz bottle hoping that would satisfy him until the scan at 9:15. . .but Logan wouldn't wake up! So his drinking was very slow, but I forced two ounces down him. They had also said that he could have breastmilk until 4:30 AM, so I set the alarm to nurse him at that time. I had pumped a bottle as well, but the same thing happened--he did not want to wake up, so I breastfed for just 90 seconds and then put him back in his crib. I was worried he was going to wake up and be starving, but of course the one day that we had to get up early (we were supposed to be at the hospital at 7:45) Logan was still sleeping at 7:15 when we got him up to leave. :p The good part was that he seemed oblivious that our usual schedule was off, and was all smiles the whole way to Children's Hospital.

It brought back memories of when we were there for his jaundice. I remembered my way around. . .it didn't seem like it'd been 8.5 months. (By the way, I've officially been a mom longer than I was pregnant--crazy!)

The staff was nice and Logan enjoyed meeting everyone. He was calm and content as they checked his vitals and looked him over. He thought the nurse's blood pressure cuff was yummy so she let him have it to distract him--and he wouldn't let go, haha!

By then it was 8:30: time for the IV. That, by far, was the worst part of the experience. My calm, content, happy baby was suddenly screaming so horrific that at times no sound was coming out. He seems to have inherited my problem--nurses have never had an easy time getting a vein when I've had to give blood. They always have to try over and over and over. That's what happened to Logan, it was awful, no mother should have to see their baby being stabbed repeatedly. I was balling my eyes out.

The first vein they found in his hand collapsed (popped) so then they had to search for another. His cry was so pitiful, it wasn't his normal "mad" cry (the only time he usually cries)--this was pained, betrayed, and just as loud. His face was red, huge tears were falling down his face, and his mouth was open as wide as could be. Joe and I did our best to try and comfort him. Joe rubbed his shoulders while I tried to distract him with toys. I was glad that he kept his eyes open (most of the time he cries with his eyes closed so he doesn't notice me) so that he could see me as hopefully comfort. . .but then he also kept looking at the nurses like "why are you doing this to me?"

I was so relieved once they finally got the IV in his left arm, however then came the sedation drink which they warned us tastes awful (strange that they can't put a flavor in it!) so he continued to cry horribly and choked as it went down. We were glad there wasn't much (just a small syringe full) and then we held him in our arms for the next 5-10 minutes as he fell asleep.

The scan itself wasn't a big deal, it lasted less than ten minutes and since he was sedated he wasn't scared, and obviously there wasn't any pain. They allowed one adult in the room with him, so I said I'd go. They had me stand behind a piece of glass (a lead protector) and then they did two scans, one without contrast and one with contrast.

I walked back upstairs with the nurse and Logan on the bed, and then waited about 20 minutes for him to wake up. Since it was also his nap time, he was not moving at all, even when the nurse wiped a cold washcloth over his face. So she said she'd come back in another 20 minutes. Logan still wasn't stirring (they all thought I was brilliant for bringing his nail clippers, lol) so we tried more to arouse him. He started to move on his own, but he wanted to keep sleeping. At one point the nurse sat him up and he looked exactly like the very first video of him we ever took (seconds after he was born). I had never seen him look like that again, and so whenever I watched that video I was always thinking that looked like a completely different baby--but yesterday Logan's facial features, expressions, and movements were identical!!!

At about 10:15 (an hour and 45 min from when they gave the sedation) Logan was awake enough to nurse. He was very groggy, though, so once again it reminded me of when he was a newborn--he was so slow and lazy, but got enough that they allowed us to leave. We pulled out of the parking lot at 10:45--exactly three hours from when we had arrived.

I was so happy that Logan didn't seem to have any memory of the IV situation. He had the same personality as the car ride there--he was happy, content, and playing well.

They had warned us that it takes 4 hrs for the sedation to leave the system, so for the next two hours he would be like a drunk person (very wobbly).

It was kind of funny when he had woken up from the sedation he was babbling a lot, whereas before that morning he'd been very quiet, so we were asking him if he was telling us about the bad dream he'd had, haha.

When we got home, sure enough, his head was like a newborn's--we were having to hold it so it wouldn't fall over. I had thought maybe he'd be slow-moving the rest of the day, but instead when we put him on the floor he took off crawling with all of his usual same energy and desire! A couple of times he lost his balance and toppled over, but by 12:30 he was back to his normal, active self. So much for me thinking it was going to be a lazy day. :p

I hadn't been able to go back to sleep after the first alarm at 2:30 AM and so I was exhausted (especially after being emotionally drained from watching him get the IV), so I was happy when at 1:30 he went down for another nap. For once, I took one as well until he woke up at 3:30. I thought maybe he'd act like his arm hurt (mine always does after an IV or shot) but he has shown no signs that anything unusual happened yesterday. I definitely think this is the best age to do all of this. It seems like it would have been rougher for ALL of us if his little body was smaller (had we done it at 3-4 months) but seems like in the next couple of months he'll be alert enough to be scared/traumatized. I'm still dreading the surgery (since the IV situation seemed bad enough) but I'm ready to get it over with. It will be nice not to have to worry about the hole anymore. I just hope it's the quick/easy version (the hole at the surface) rather than up to his ear (because then he'll have to say in the hospital 1-2 extra days). I'll let you know when we hear from the ENT.

Since I last blogged on my birthday, the next day (Monday, December 22) Joe returned to work for the first time since finding out he had diverticulitis. (You can read my blog about that here.) He came home early, though, so I could get my hair re-done. . .but it still looks brown rather than red.

That night we packed and then left the next day (Tuesday, December 23) for Joe's mom's house in Newton, Iowa. His sister AnMarie was there, and then Joe's mom's friend Sue and Joe's HS friend and his fiancee' came over to have potato soup and help decorate the tree (a tradition in Joe's family because his mom has so many ornaments)!

I forgot to mention in my last post that I had my third period since Logan on December 13th without even realizing it!!! I was a few days late, but after November's (where I'd had cramps again) I wasn't prepared at all because I was waiting for the smallest sign first (which usually happens a week in advance). . .and there was none! I was so caught off guard. . .but so happy!!!! It was just like my first one after Logan in October, completely painfree and symptom free. Maybe having a baby has helped how every other month for me will go.

I also forgot to mention that Logan's third tooth (his right canine) came in on Monday, December 15th! Once again, just like his first two on October 28th, it popped through with no warning! His fourth one (left big boy in front) did the same thing on Monday, December 29th, and a FIFTH (right big boy) on New Year's Day, Thursday, January 1st. It appears that number #6 (his right left canine) is going to pop through any second. He's on a roll all of a sudden! I'm so glad they never bother him!

Okay, back to Christmas. . .

On Christmas Eve (Wednesday, December 24) Joe and I were so thankful to his mom and sister that morning for letting us sleep in while they took care of Logan! That afternoon we all went to town so Joe could do his last minute shopping, lol, and then we stopped at his friend's house, followed by Joe & I went out to lunch.

Logan did really well on this trip. Not only out in public and with all of the people, but he slept pretty much the whole way to Iowa (hopefully we're back to him liking the carseat and car) as well as the way home on Christmas Day. (I'm still sitting in the back with him right now.)

For the rest of Christmas Eve night, we played some games and ate good food. We opened presents right away on Christmas morning (Thursday, December 25). Sandi always does an amazing job as "Santa." She goes above and beyond what anyone should do (it takes us hours to open the gifts), she actually gets us things we want, and she pays attention throughout the year to things we say that we don't even realize we want--but we do! Like, the past few months I've been buying frozen dough rather than store-bought-bread because I like it better fresh & coming right out of the oven. Well she got me a breadmaker! It goes along with my new year's resolution to do more homemade cooking. No more even frozen dough--I'm going to be making my own bread from scratch! (Yes, this might be scary, I'll let you know how it goes.)

Logan wasn't quite old enough to really "get" Christmas this year, and fell asleep halfway through, but he has definitely been enjoying all of his toys since!

That afternoon Andy & Ashley came over (they're whose wedding we went to in September when I wrote my post, All Places Need A Changing Table & Nursing Station; Andy was Joe's bestman in our wedding) so we had fun chatting with them before heading back to Omaha.

From now on, Joe & I are going to always have all of Christmas Eve and all of Christmas Day at our house to share with just our children, but since Logan was too young to care this year, and Joe & my usual tradition was off anyway because of having a baby, we were fine not getting home until that night. We did our very small gift exchange and then went to bed.

On Friday, December 26th, my mom & stepdad came over on their way home from having Christmas in Kansas City (where my mom's family lives). We went out to eat to a Chinese restaurant and then did our gift exchange. Logan shouldn't get bored again anytime soon!!!

Remember how in my last post I said that I really wanted to see a movie? My mom & stepdad were nice enough to watch Logan before they headed home on Saturday, December 27th so that Joe & I could go to the theater!!! (They also let us sleep in, in the morning.) It was hard for me to choose just one, but we picked Four Christmases and LOVED it! I could relate since we generally have SIX Christmases (this year we only had four; my stepdad's family's would have been the weekend before Christmas/my birthday, but after my grandma's surgery in early Dec. to make sure her cancer was gone, they decided not to do it this year).

On Sunday, December 28 Joe finished his antibiotics and changed to a high fiber diet (after his all-liquid diet he'd gone on a low-fiber diet and then an average-fiber diet), which he has to be on from now on. He can eat whatever he wants again--just limit processed foods, small seeds, and make sure he eats fiber every single day. He hasn't had any problems since, so let's hope it stays that way!

Joe returned to work on Monday, December 29. . .and then on Tuesday, December 30th we had to take Logan to the pediatrician for his check-up to make sure we could proceed with the sedation/CT scan. Our doctor wasn't working that day so we met with his partner and she discovered Logan has his first ear infection. :( He had come down with his first cold on December 26th (less than a week after I posted here that he hadn't had a virus yet in his 8 months of life) but the first few days it didn't seem like a big deal. He had a runny nose, but never seemed to notice (until I would wipe it - he didn't like that). He was happy and didn't have a fever or any other symptoms. I had to use the suction thing for the first time (that they gave us at the hospital when he was born) much to his dismay (or mine, as I'm sad to say sometimes he won the battle of strength). But I was glad we happened to be at the doctor's that day, because that particular day he WAS acting sick & really fussy and pulling on his ear a lot (it was also very red) so I think I would have ended up making an appt. for him anyway. I've heard that you shouldn't give babies antibiotics unless they have ear infections because antibiotics weaken their immune systems and generally they can fight virus' on their own, however ear infections are a different story because they can be dangerous for babies and cause hearing problems (MSNBC did a story about how after the age of 2 or 3 you can even wait on antibiotics for ear infections), so we filled his prescription for amoxicillin. Logan hasn't had any side effects so it's good to know he's not allergic to penicillin.

Taking care of him was extra exhausting that day, as well as on Wednesday, December 31st, but after that his nose started drying up (although his congestion isn't all of the way gone yet) so I had hoped that his ear infection was over. However, the doctor at the hospital yesterday noticed he still has it. His antibiotics will end in two days so I hope that it'll be gone by then! (Today he's been pulling on it every hour.) Everyone at the pediatrician's office and the hospital said it was impressive that he made it to 8.5 months without a cold or ear infection, which made me feel better because for some reason I had been blaming myself. I had hoped that breastfeeding and not being in daycare would prevent him from ever getting sick. Joe reminded me that it doesn't guarantee a baby won't get sick--it just reduces the chances.

This week is my last for pumping--yeay! I wanted to continue through yesterday (Logan's scan) and am so glad that I made it. I realized yesterday (Logan wanted to nurse all day and the staff had said breastmilk would be best on his stomach for the first day) that I continued through the highs and lows for this exact moment. It was all leading up to so I could do it for his scan and surgery. It's definitely been worth it.

Aside from yesterday, though, nursing doesn't seem to be enough anymore. While in Iowa for Christmas we started giving him formula which means we're almost done with the samples from when he was born (i.e. we'll have to start buying formula for the first time soon), and I only have a few more bags of breastmilk left in our freezer. But I plan to continue nursing until his surgery. . .which means we're on the homestretch now!

Wednesday, December 31st was New Year's Eve. Originally we were going to go back to Iowa for our last Christmas (with my dad) but sadly my paternal grandma fell and ended up in the hospital. :( Joe worked, and because of Logan being sick we didn't do anything except watch a movie here at home. We also watched the ball fall and went to bed.

I sent out a mass e-mail that my cousin (who lost baby boy Caden last year) had her baby girl that afternoon. 6 lbs, 11 oz. and 19 3/4 inches! I'm so glad that Adyson is healthy!

Thursday, January 1st and Friday, January 2nd Joe had the days off. I wanted to take advantage of having him here to watch Logan so that I could do a much-needed-long-time-no-see-deep cleaning of our house! I decided that despite the cons outweighing the pros in my post More Of Son's 7th Month, where I debated about whether to get a cleaning service--I'm gonna do it later this year! Why not? As my cousin's wife pointed out, I'll even have more time for fiction writing (I wrote about my new plan in my post, 8 Months Old! :)

I didn't make any new year's resolution's last year, so I have ten this year (here they are in reverse order starting with the cleaning service):

10) Hire a maid
9) Once I get caught up on my blogs to present day, then blog 5 days a week (SHORT blogs, haha)
8) Take a weekend road trip by myself to visit friends in Iowa
7) Read at least one fiction book a month
6) Go to physical therapy/get rid of de Quervain's Tenosynovitis
5) Eliptical machine, aerobics, or yoga at least five days a week
4) Cook something healthy & homemade every single night
3) Decorate all of the rooms in my house
2) Learn CPR and heimlich
1) Write another book

Saturday, January 3rd was our rescheduled Christmas with my dad's family. Joe, Logan, and I drove down to Missouri where my grandma lives. (Logan did well again on the trip, whew!) She had just been released from the hospital to an assisted living home for the first time, but fortunately it's just down the street from her house so we could all gather there that afternoon. My dad & stepmom brought lunch and we all exchanged gifts.

My brother was home from California, and neighbor Judy came over, too. We had a really nice time, but it was hard to see my grandma not doing so well. She's the one who turned 95 this year so it's to be expected--I hope I do as well as she's done up until now--but it was sad to feel that she might leave us this year.

I finished cleaning on Sunday, January 4th (it felt wonderful) and I already told you about yesterday Monday, January 5th (Logan's scan), so all that's left is to cover things in past e-mails that haven't been updated. . .

Due to the holidays and traveling, "month 7" didn't end up being any easier than month 6. Month 8, though, has been one of my absolute favorites. Logan has seemed extra happy and fun lately--I have no complaints aside from the two days during his virus, which is good because I've had NO energy since January began. The holidays really took their toll on me this year. I have a massage scheduled for next Tuesday which I think will help since I haven't had one since the beginning of November, and that really helped when I started going in September after my other not-so-fun month (month 4). Month 7 was actually the hardest month of all. So 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 were months I loved, but 4, 6, and 7 I struggled through.

One good thing to come out of "month 7" is I feel like I'm getting used to the whole crawling thing, now. (Not feeling so out of control/unable to handle him.) It's helped that we've been keeping Logan completely confined in our family room. It was just impossible to keep him from getting into trouble when he had free range to all of our rooms. I was never in such a hurry to take down Christmas decorations as I was on New Year's Day this year!

We've moved a lot of things out of the family room so that it's as empty as can be, hidden the cords, and it's a lot easier to keep the floor of just one room always clean compared to every room in the house. There's still the occasional dog toy or bone that Bella & Cosmo bring in from the living room (where I put their toys now), and one day Logan even found a piece of dog food and ate it (grrr), but 99% of the time I've been getting to everything before Logan.

Despite relaxing in my mind, physically though I'm still running after him all day long, picking him up, moving him, and picking up toys. So I don't know when I'll be able to feel rejuvinated.

We haven't had a chance to put the "hook things" on our cupboards so he keeps opening our entertainment center, or our desk when he's in the office, (we've had the outlet covers on since my shower last March, which is good because he wants to put his fingers in the sockets; we are going shopping this weekend for the remainder of our babyproofing materials which includes a huge baby gate. We have a small one but not one big enough for one of our doorways)! I haven't given him the opportunity to get to our stairs because the other day I had him in our family room blocked by boxes and he climbed over the boxes! So now we have really tall boxes :p

He's become very curious and exploratory. When I go into the office (by opening the door from the family room), or the bathroom or laundry room (also both doors from our family room), he follows me! We've had to take the door stops off from all of the walls because he plays with them just like Bella did when she was a puppy, haha. He likes our vents (hopefully his fingers won't get stuck) and also today was trying to crawl behind our couch, but there wasn't enough room. :p

When I come into his room in the mornings now, he's always looking around very interested in his surroundings--and is always sitting up or trying to climb out of the crib. We had to raise the side so that he can't fall out. But before we did that, I walked in one morning and the top half of his body was leaning over! We are going to lower the mattress all of the way to the floor soon because otherwise in another month he will be able to climb out even with the side high.

I had to take down his mobile the other day because he still loves it so much that now that he can pull himself up I was afraid he was going to break it. Several times I walked in and he was spinning it around so that it was playing music on its own! His face was so in awe, it's neat to see him actually communicating now to the things that I've always been able to tell that he likes. For example, now he even laughs during funny parts of his Baby Einstein DVD!

He's already pulled several things off tables, such as my Cherry Coke (I'm getting the carpet cleaned for the only time except July) and on Christmas my mother-in-law's big camera fell on him because he reached for it on a table.

The funny thing is that he has a suspicious laugh whenever he's going somewhere or doing something that he's not supposed to! So, if I leave the room for a minute and I hear "the laugh," I know that he's up to something! Then when he sees me walk in, he crawls even faster to whatever it is before I can pick him up! I did not expect that behavior from an eight month old! I've been having to say "no" for the first time and he's starting to understand because lately he'll cry when I say it :( I told him the first rule/lesson to learn in life is that you can't always get what you want. :p

As for the sleeping, now that the holidays and traveling are over I am optimistic that Logan will return to sleeping 8-12 hrs consistantly thru the night. (However, I forgot that I had already tried the "pointing down" in the diaper over the summer after first hearing about it from my cousin's wife, but for Logan that doesn't help--he's still had a few nights since I last posted where he'd peed all over his tummy.)

Joe did get me the Becoming Baby Wise book for Christmas, so I'm going to see what the book says. I also asked Sandi for a book by Dr. Sears called The Fussy Baby Book. LOL. Even though Logan isn't fussy, I thought it couldn't hurt to learn some tips for our bad days! Believe it or not, these will be my first parenting books, aside from the What To Expect.

Lastly, I forgot to mention last time that Logan had his first injury from me on December 14th. I can't cut his fingernails while he sleeps anymore because it's too hard to reach his hands when he's in his crib. Some of you may remember that over the summer I tried it once when he was awake and he moved--and so I cut him. Somehow I hadn't cut him since (even though since month 5 it's had to be done while he's awake, usually drinking a bottle). . .but since last month it doesn't even work to do it then because he moves his hands constantly. Unlike the time before, this time he SCREAMED and blood GUSHED out. It got all over everything and I couldn't help but cry. He acted in such pain. Eventually Joe & I were able to get the bleeding stopped and put the tiniest bandaid ever on his thumb. It healed incredibly fast--the next day you could hardly tell, so it was probably more traumatic on me than him. I was upset with myself. :(