Words from the Editor

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Minnesota, United States
Thanks for visiting my blog. It's sort of a running history of the trials and tribulations of raising a busy family. I work full time as a nurse and my husband is at home keeping the rest of our lives in some sort of order. Life is busy, fun and challenging every single day. I hope you enjoy our story!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Finally....a Diagnosis



As some of you already know, the problem with my low platelets did not resolve as quickly after my pregnancy with Sarah (as it did with Anna). Because of this and because they were so low by the day of the C-section, I was referred to a hematologist who I have been seeing on an outpatient basis. The week after I was released from the hospital, my platelets had rebounded to a very normal 208. This was encouraging news, but not a guarantee that there was not some underlying problem (since they had gotten so low). Anyways, I had another visit with them yesterday and they have dropped back down to 117. Normal is about 150-450. So, while they are not super low, they are not normal either. The hematologist has finally given a name to what he believes this is- Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia. Basically it means that anytime my immune system is challenged (as happens during pregnancy, illness, stress) my body not only attacks the foreign cells but it also sees my platelets as foreign and attacks and kills them. It usually begins sometime in your 20s and is something that persists for the rest of your life. Fortunately (as he pointed out) I was able to keep my platelets over 50 through the whole pregnancy and pregnancy is one of the best immune challenges you can give your body so he was encouraged by that. I do need to be cautious though because it can go from a very stable condition to an acute condition in which you bleed very quickly. Because of this I am not allowed to do any "dangerous activities" (contact sports, skydiving, skiing to name a few). As my mom pointed out, "Well, you've never been very athletic so that shouldn't be a problem"- thanks mom :) Also, having anymore babies would not be something he would recommend (we are done anyways!). I feel fortunate after knowing all of this that I was able to have 3 normal, healthy kids and feel all the more blessed that things went so well considering. Anyways, I now to get have a platelet check about every 6 months (or more if they are low) for the rest of my life. Not the best news, but it is nice to know the "why" behind the problem sometimes. The hematologist thinks that this will just be an annoying part of my life, but not something that I will need to actively deal with. I guess if you have to have a chronic disease, this isn't the worst thing that it could be.

Enough about me! I know you've all logged on to hear the latest about Sarah. She continues to grow into her own little person. She is quite the little spitfire :) Here's some recent pictures.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Holy Cow!

Just thought those of you interested in Sarah's weight would appreciate an update. I had to take her into the Pediatrician today because she has developed a case of thrush (poor kid!). Anyways, she weighs 10 lbs, 6 ounces today. I couldn't believe it. I was way off with my previous 9 pound guess. This would help explain why she is starting to outgrow some of her clothes already.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Perfect Parenting



So, I'm dedicating this post to all of the mothers (and fathers) out there who have ever done something that caused some kind of injury, pain, etc to your kids (unintentional of course) and then had the undeniable thought, "I'm a terrible mother!". This is how our weekend went. Sarah woke up from a nap on Saturday covered (and I mean head to toe) in a terrible looking red, pimply rash. After making sure she didn't have a fever and that her lips weren't swollen (as I first thought, my God, perhaps she had been stung by something in her sleep and had gone into anaphylaxis- anyways, I was a bit irrational from my 5 weeks of sleep deprivation). After thinking a bit clearly, I started to wonder (as all mothers do) what I had done wrong. It occurred to me, while I'd earlier in the day thought how good I was doing keeping up with everybody's laundry, I couldn't actually remember the last time I'd used the "baby" laundry soap. Of course, then it made sense- she broke out because I'd washed her clothes in the regular detergent (not on purpose of course, but when you miss half your sleep every night for 5 weeks, some brain cells are bound to be lost). Now not only did I have this terrible feeling in my stomach because of my failure as a mother, I was now overwhelmed with the daunting task of rewashing ALL of her clothes, blankets, towels, burp rags, etc. Since I couldn't pinpoint which items were washed incorrectly, it was my only choice. While I started ripping out everything from her dressers, Chris calmly gave her a baking soda bath and tried to reassure me that this was not my fault (or at least that it wasn't that big of a deal). Meanwhile, Alex discovered he had something stuck in his teeth- yes, it was an emergency to him and what was I going to do about it? Anyways, Alex and Anna have these easy flossers they got from the dentist and they are perfect for kids- not like the typical floss. I told him to go ahead and floss his teeth and if he couldn't get it I would help when I was done. Well.....apparently I wasn't specific enough and he used regular floss (which he's not very good at) and somehow ended up swallowing the floss. So, while the baby was crying (she was a bit unhappy about being put in the tub apparently), I was buried in piles of laundry and Alex was walking around the house like a cat with a hairball stuck in it's throat attempting to regurgitate the piece of floss that had found it's way down his throat, I thought.....this is what they mean when they say parenting is the hardest job you'll ever love. And while I certainly am not the perfect mother, I guess at least we made it through the day with no visits to the ER and 3 children who eventually calmed down. Plus- we had to admit, it was pretty funny to look back on a few hours later.

Here's a recent picture of Sarah, she's growing like crazy so we must be doing something right. I don't know how much she weighs as she hasn't been to the doctor for about a month now, but I would guess she's maybe 9 pounds?

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Month One



Hard to believe it has already been a month since Sarah was born! Pregnancy is starting to feel like a long ago memory and we already can't remember what life was like without this new little person. Sarah is quite good at making her presence known actually. We think she has somehow figured out she will always be the baby of the family and is taking full advantage of this. She is, as Chris likes to call her, our high maintenance, patience tester baby. Probably a good thing we had her last as the other two have already broken us in and made us more patient. She is definitely not an easy going baby like Anna was, nor is she easy to calm down when she gets herself worked up. She loves to be outside, however, and that is generally what will calm her down the quickest. Chris seems to think this means she'll be a tomboy- I knew he secretly wanted another fishing partner :)

Alex continues to do really well with the baby and is more help than I ever thought he could be. He has now learned how to get himself breakfast, feed the dog, pour the milk for him and Anna and hold Sarah so I can take a shower- what a busy little man! Anna has had her share of meltdowns in the last couple of weeks. It seems she doesn't like being the middle child- I'm often reminded of the Brady Bunch episode where Jan is distraught by being "just the middle child" and whines the famous line "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha". Anyways, maybe you all aren't as familiar with the Bradys as I am. Last night, for instance, Anna had a fit because Sarah was getting to take a bath and she wasn't. So far she hasn't tried to do anything to Sarah, but she did have a bit of an uncharacteristic violent episode with my poor little niece that earned her a bit of time in the naughty corner. Good thing Maddy is quite forgiving. We are looking forward to preschool starting, that's for sure!

Anyways, just a couple new pictures to share- I thought I better include one of Sarah crying as this seems to be her favorite face lately! Enjoy :)

Monday, August 11, 2008

Puppy Love




Just in case anyone is wondering what Jazz thinks of his new baby, here are some recent photos....and another shot of Sarah sleeping :)

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Holding On



















Sarah loves to be held- can't blame her really, who wouldn't? Anyways, just thought I'd share some of the pictures of her in her favorite position with some of her favorite people (don't be offended if you aren't pictured on here- Chris was better at remembering to take pictures than me in the first few days! Many of you have already come by to hold her, but for those of you who haven't, give us a call, we are always (almost) home and most days are up for company :)

Monday, August 4, 2008

More Pictures





Couldn't resist posting these cute pictures for everybody....

Sleeping like a baby.....





Well, we've made it through 2 weeks now, my how time flies. Sarah is a good sleeper- during the day that is - as you'll notice almost all pictures with her eyes closed. She has given us many sleepless nights and as anyone who has tried to keep a newborn awake during the day knows, that is a nearly impossible task. I'm hopeful she'll figure out what night time is all about before I completely collapse with exhaustion! Otherwise things are going well, everyone has gotten used to having her around and there haven't been too many jealousy issues. I'm actually finding that Alex and Anna are more help than I could have imagined and most of the time they are happy to help. Enjoy the new pictures- I think she's getting a double chin already!