Bad Blogger Update

So, I haven't updated for a while. I've just been a little more busy since returning back to work, and also have been fighting illness, first Porter, then me.

Poor Porter was sick last week with a cough, low-grade fever and stuffy nose. He started getting sick last Wednesday, but really had a horrible night Friday into Saturday. He didn't sleep longer than a 2 hour stretch all night (which means we didn't either!). I brought him in the next morning to the clinic and they basically just said he has a cold and his left ear was a bit red. He gave me a prescription of Amoxicillin to fill just in case, and I went ahead and filled it because he still didn't seem like he was any better. Poor thing, he just moaned all night long and slept only for the 2 hours following a tylenol dose. He's up to 17lbs 11.5oz now too. Luckily he seems to be getting better, with just a little congestion now. He's really been working on rolling over, and can get his upper body turned, but is still working on the legs. Also he has been grabbing his toes and loves to have no clothes on so he can get a better grip on them. He's also been a lot more vocal lately and curls up his tongue and talks. Very cute. He's doing well with cereal and fruits and veggies. He still sometimes wants to suck on the spoon to get the food, but he's getting better at it.

So, on to my medical update. We went out on Monday to pick up Jeff's car from the dealership (it didn't want to start for him on Friday so he had to have them look at it). We went out to dinner on our way home, and I asked Jeff if it was drafty where we were sitting because I was so cold. I didn't even take my winter coat off when we sat down. I progressively became more chilled, and couldn't wait to get home and get in bed with the heating pad. My temp went up to 103.3 at the highest. I was really feeling miserable. I took some Advil, and it was starting to come down, but I called the doctor anyway since my mom had tested positive for Influenza B, and I had been exposed to her. He called in a prescription for Tamiflu which Jeff went to pick up. I took that around 10pm and went to bed. I woke up around 2am and vomited, and it looked like there was blood in it, and also when I coughed, it was bright red blood. I was a little freaked out by that. I threw up several more times during the night and continued to run a fever. I had called in sick the evening before, and Jeff brought the kids to daycare in the morning. I called the doctor and was able to get in at 8:45 to be seen. She did a chest x-ray, bloodwork and a urine test, and also swabbed my nose for Influenza, which came back negative. Turns out, I have bacterial pneumonia! I was really surprised, because it all came on so suddenly. I have had a bit of a productive cough lately, but nothing I was really bothered by. Very strange. Anyway, my whole right side of my back where the pneumonia is, is soooo painful. It's a little better today now that my Z-pack has kicked in a bit. I could hardly take a deep breath, and even yawning hurt. My daycare provider was kind enough to rearrange rides to preschool so we could send the kids again today and let me rest up. I will not be coming to work tomorrow or Friday, and of course I am scheduled all weekend too. I am going to wait and see how I feel for Saturday. I also don't want to expose any of my patients or co-workers either, but also want to make sure I can weather a 12 hour shift or 2! I'm still coughing up blood today too, so I'm not sure how much longer that will last. It's a little freaky.

Connor is turning 5 (!!!!) on Tuesday next week! I can hardly believe it. He wanted to have his party on his actual birthday, so we are going to Club Just Jump, an inflatable jumping place in Woodbury. We have invited 6 of his friends from preschool/daycare including his little girlfriend Emma! I've got to get some photos. They are too cute. They will also be going to kindergarten together next year at Transfiguration Catholic School. I had to send in his registration last week. I can't believe I'm getting my baby ready for kindergarten. I think he will really like it, but he says he doesn't want to go to all day kindergarten. When I told him he would be there all day anyway on the days I am working he seemed resigned to it. I think he will like doing before and after school care there because he has lots of friends from our neighborhood and from his hockey team who will be there as well. He has his last practices for hockey this weekend. Next I think we will do more swimming lessons, and explore soccer or t-ball depending on what he's interested in.

I will add pictures later when I have downloaded.

Porter is 4 months old!

Wow, time feels like it is really flying! Porter was 4 months old on Monday and had his 4 month check-up today. He weighs 16lbs 15oz which is between the 90th and 95th %. His head and length measurements were both in the 75th %. He is a big, healthy, strapping boy! Dr Delahunty said it was ok to start cereal, which I am grateful for since it might help him not need as much food overnight. Overall he has been doing pretty well, but last night was up every 3 hours to eat! That's pretty hard to manage when I have to work 12 hour shifts the next day. She said he should be able to go 8 hour stretches (which he usually does about once a week, so I know he is capable), so we could start letting him cry it out when he wakes before 4am. I might tackle that after my weekend stretch is over this weekend. He got some shots too, so hopefully they won't bother him as much as they did last time. He was just really fussy. This time I gave him some tylenol right after the shots and will keep giving him a dose every 4 hours until he goes to bed tonight. He still hasn't rolled over yet, so we are waiting for that to happen. He's still got everything in his mouth whenever he can get his hands on things, and if not then his hands are in his mouth. Dr D says she doesn't feel any imminent teeth though, so it could be a while.

Funny Connor story:

He had his friend Henry over the other day to play, and I had to feed Porter. I went up in the baby's room hoping they wouldn't come up, but of course they did. I had a blanket over Porter just in case, and Henry says "Is the baby under there?" "What is he doing?" I said he was eating, and he said "How does he eat from your tummy?". Connor whips up his shirt, points to his nipple and says "Outta here, only WAY bigger". I could have died laughing, but waited until they left the room. It was pretty hilarious. Hopefully Henry isn't traumatized by the newfound knowledge that he has, but he seemed like it wasn't a big deal. You just never know what's going to come out of their mouths sometimes!

Brothers

It's been so fun lately having 2 boys. I'm sure this would be true if Porter had been a girl too, just seeing what a good big brother Connor has been. He loves to entertain Porter and make him smile and laugh, and it seems like Porter is really noticing Connor more lately. Connor being a goofball is finally paying off for him, and he has an audience who appreciates him. It's just fun to see the two of them interacting with each other. I hope they will be best buddies for life!






As for Porter, he has really started drooling and wanting to put everything in his mouth. I remember Connor doing this around 4 months and he didn't get his first tooth until he was nearly 8 mos old. I don't feel anything in his mouth yet, but he sure wants to chomp on everything.


We got his high chair out because he seems to get fussy during dinner time, and either Jeff or I end up holding him on our laps during dinner because he wants to be in on the action. He seems to be content in the high chair, and enjoys being part of dinner with us even if he isn't eating table food yet. He has his 4 month appointment with the pediatrician next week, and I'm sure she will say he can start with the cereal, so it won't be long. It will be interesting to see if he likes it, but I have a feeling he will.




Here is a photo of Porter sitting in the Bumbo. He really tries to sit up when he laying down. You can see him trying to crunch up those tummy muscles!


Here's Connor at hockey this week, and Porter all bundled up to watch his brother:
Connor has been skating well, and has improved so much from when he started in November. He was goalie yesterday and made some really good saves.

Porter's 3 month photos & more

So, all is going well with me being back at work. I feel like we are starting to get into a routine. Jeff is doing great with the boys on the nights when I work until 8pm. He's doing the drop-off in the morning, and the pick up at night, getting dinner ready and getting the boys ready for bed. I get home at 8pm and help out with bedtime. It's nice to see the boys when I get home! Porter is such a happy guy, and Connor has been doing better at daycare now that Porter is there with him. I dropped them both off today for a free day for myself, since I only work an 8 hour shift on Friday this week. Marylee and I negotiated that I would only have to pay her for 2 days instead of 3 during the week that I only work once. This way I get a day to run errands etc. Connor was totally fine today. No whining, no clinging. I think it just really helps that Porter is there with him.

Jeff & boys reading Horton Hatches the Egg:

Jeff and Connor asleep:

My cute boys:

Connor's new use for the Bumbo: (or as Jeff calls it, the Bimbo)

I had Porter's 3 month photos taken last week. They turned out really well. I need to go and order them tomorrow. I took photos of the proofs that she gave me. The quality isn't too good, and the big C in the photo is for Copyrighted. I will post the real ones later and I'm sure they will look better. He has just been so much fun lately. He is smiley almost all the time and has been laughing really hard too which is so fun! For the most part he is a pretty easy baby. He goes to bed much more easily than Connor did too. If only I had known when I had Connor, to just put him in his bed and let him put himself to sleep! Guess you have to be dumb the first time around.







Oh, and my friends Keri and Dean delivered a healthy baby boy, Griffin Dean today!! He weighed 9lbs 6oz!!! I will be working on Friday, so I will for sure see him then, but may try to get down to the hospital and see them all sooner. Congratulations Keri & Dean!!!

Update

Well, my breast ultrasound went well. They did see a fluid-filled cyst on ultrasound, but no intervention needs to be done unless it becomes painful, then they can do a needle aspiration if needed. So, I was hoping it would be nothing. I'm glad I went in to get it checked out, and am relieved that it's nothing major.

I am currently at work, and so far it is going ok. Jeff said getting them to daycare went fine today. I spoke with my daycare provider, and she said Porter has not taken more than 2 oz of milk yet today as of lunch time. Hopefully he will if he gets hungry enough. I'm sure there will be an adjustment period, and then he will do ok when he figures out that's the only way he will get food when he's there. She said he wasn't too fussy and was going down for naps fine.

So far I haven't been too emotional at work yet, but I did wear waterproof mascara just in case! I have had my emotions pretty close to the surface for the past 2 days and have been tearing up on and off. It's just so hard when you have carried a baby in your body for 9 months and then been with them pretty much 24/7 for the next 3 mos. I just felt pretty sad about being separated from him. Connor & I were both a little weepy last night at bedtime. He wanted to know why I was sad about going back to work, and I just said "because I'm going to miss you guys", but I could hardly get it out. I don't really want him to see me like that because then he gets sad, but I couldn't help it. Jeff doesn't get it, but I guess it's a mom thing.

Porter did well last night sleeping. He went to bed at around 9 and got up around 3 and then 5:40am which was fine because then I got a chance to feed him before going to work. I would have gotten a nice stretch of sleep but Connor woke up around 11 screaming. See, Murphy's Law of Mothers really does happen! He gets night terrors sometimes, and I think sometimes they happen when he has to go to the bathroom. He was only up for about 10 min though and then went back to bed. Hopefully I will get more rest tonight.

I hope the going back to work thing continues to go well, and that Porter starts eating normally at Marylee's.

Porter is 3 mos old

Porter was 3 mos old on Friday. Here is a photo of him:



I only have one day left of freedom before going back to work! I'm spending it taking Connor to preschool, then running downtown to have a breast ultrasound because I have a lump that I need to have checked out. I'm hoping it's just lumpy because of breastfeeding, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. After that I have to pick Connor back up from preschool, have lunch and then bring him to the dentist. Not too exciting, just part of our normal routine. Hopefully me being back at work will become routine for us too. I can help being sad about leaving Porter. I haven't really been separated from him for more than a couple of hours yet, so I'm sure it will be hard on me. I'm sure he will do just fine at Marylee's with Connor. When I went back to work after having Connor, I had to return on a night shift, and it happened to be my birthday that night. That was a big bummer. Now no more night shifts at least.

I've been feeling fairly reminiscent of my whole IVF experience lately because I am coming up on the one year anniversary of doing IVF when we got pregnant with Porter. Also, I've been doing a lot of thinking about infertility and just how lucky and blessed I feel to have Porter. Any misgivings or reservations I had about doing IVF (and there were many both financial, emotional, moral and probably others I can't come up with right now) they all go out the window when I look into my beautiful baby's gorgeous blue eyes and he bursts into a smile just because he sees me! Oh how that melts my heart and makes the whole horrible 2 1/2 years of infertility struggle, countless shots, ultrasounds, lab draws, heartbreaks, crazy emotions, procedures, a surgery and more appointments than I could keep track of, all seem worthwhile to me. It was hard to know if I would ever see then end of it, and I did come close to giving up on doing fertility treatments because I felt like I was hitting rock bottom emotionally. I ended up needing to see a therapist to help me figure out where I was going with everything and to help dig me out of depression after a failed IVF cycle. I needed to take some time off from trying to conceive, and that really helped me. I also switched doctors to get a second opinion since my previous doctor told us he thought another IVF cycle had a 50% chance of failing again, but couldn't really tell us why ours failed. Eventually I felt prepared to try again. We decided to do the shared risk program where you pay for 3 cycles and you would get 70% of your money back if you weren't able to get pg in the 3 cycles. Of course as luck would have it, we got pg the very first cycle with the new doctor. Not that I can complain about that! I feel more fortunate than I can even express, especially when I know there are many couples out there who may never be able to have a biological child, much less two. I'm fairly certain I will never undergo IVF or any other infertility treatments again. If I were able to get pg on my own I would be thrilled to have another child, but if not, I am certainly pleased to have two healthy boys. For one thing, I am not as young as I once was and might not qualify for certain treatments, and for another thing I just don't think I could handle any more emotional rollercoaster that infertility brings.

Anyway, just my musings on infertility since my positive pregnancy anniversary is coming up at the end of the month. Just think, a year ago I was injecting myself with hormones!

Here's wishing that my return to work goes well and is painless for everyone. I also hope my breast ultrasound is unremarkable. Will update when I have results.

Porter's Baptism

Porter's Baptism was yesterday, and we ended up having a really nice day and a nice party at our house. Porter was a very good baby during the baptism and hardly cried. Connor on the other hand was fairly naughty during mass and kept saying "I'm bored. Really, really bored". Of course we were sitting in the front row, right in front of the priest! To his credit he was very tired from all the hard playing he has been doing for almost the last week straight with his cousins. They all left to go home this morning. It's very quiet in our house all of the sudden! Hopefully they will have a safe trip back to Chicago today, and won't have as much snow and treacherous driving as they had on the way up here.

It's hard to believe that Porter is almost 3 mos old already, and that I am going back to work in just 8 days. I'm not sure if I'm totally ready for it. It would be nice to have another month, but what can you do. I don't have as much benefit time as I had when I had Connor. Somehow those kids just suck up your sick time!

Here are photos from Porter's big day:

Claudia & Grandma dressing Porter in the Ingham family baptism gown:

Godmother Claudia, Porter and cousin Daniel:

The whole gang around the baptismal font:

Porter being baptized:

Jeff, Nancy, Father Bob, Porter, Godfather Steve Dolan & Godmother Claudia Roberts:

Porter in his baptism gown:

Porter with his two Grandmas:

Porter with Papa Dan:

Big smile: