Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tater's Surgery
Tater's surgery went great. Thank you for all your well wishes. We got there around 7:45 and the after all the paperwork, waiting, taking of vitals and such they took him back around 9:45. The surgery lasted about an hour. Then they let me go back and try to nurse him. He was not a happy camper. They gave him a couple of shots of pain medication before releasing him around noon and he was much happier. Once we got him home he took a 4 hour nap and ate a bowl of cereal and was back to his happy self. He has some swelling and stitches but he doesn't seem to be bothered by it. I am so glad it is over with.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Doctor Appts, Dentist Appt, and Surgery - Oh My!
During Tater's 9 month checkup appointment the doctor noted that the hydrocele he was born with has not resolved itself. Basically he has extra fluid around his te$ticles and possibly a hernia. We were told when he was born that these typically resolve themselves by 1 year old but in Tater's case it doesn't seem to be improving. So we got a referral to see a general surgeon.
Today I took Tater in to see the surgeon and he diagnosed him as having a inguinal hernia along with the hydrocele. At this time it is not causing him any issues but it will not resolve itself and we would have to have it surgically repaired. I'm not a fan of putting thing like this off so I told the doctor to go ahead and schedule it as soon as possible. I was a little shocked when he told me they could do it Monday morning at the outpatient surgery center at my local clinic. We did a little schedule reworking with my family and got my Mom to agree to come down and stay with Bear while we take Tater in Monday morning. It is a quick in and out surgery that should take an hour or so but it is still a little scary when they have to put your child under anethesia.
I will be glad to have this over with though and move on. Speaking of things I put off I finally took Bear in for his first dentist visit this week. Which ended up being a complete and total waste of time. When I first mentioned to the dentist last year that I thought it was time to bring Bear in he didn't seem to think it was pressing. I thought it was a little odd but I figured I would just wait until Bear was a little bigger so he would be better able to deal with him. So I waited a year and scheduled the appointment for this week. On Tuesday I dropped Tater off at Mother's Day Out and take Bear across town to the dentist.
When we get there they took us back and tried to get him to stand at one of those x-ray machines that does the panaramic view where you bite down and the machine circles your head. You can see where this is obviously not going to work on a nervous 3 year old. So the dental assistant said we will hold off on the x-rays for now. Then she has me sit in the dental chair with Bear and the dentist comes in. He asks me if I have seen any brown spots or anything that concerns me. I told him that I saw nothing obvious but its not like I have little dental mirrors in his mouth every evening looking for cavities. So he has Bear smile and him and says his teeth look good and he will see us again in a year. SERIOUSLY!!!
He did not touch Bear's mouth. Did not even get closer than 2 foot away. I know he isn't a pediatric dentist but he is what is covered by our insurance and we don't have a lot of options here to choose from. I was beyond pissed. If he wasn't comfortable handling children as patients then he should just say that instead of having me waste my time coming in and billing my insurance for a visit. So I will have to wait 6 months and try to find someone my insurance covers that can handle children. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect but I at least expected someone to look at all of his teeth and maybe talk to him about brushing his teeth and such.
So I drive back across town to drop off Bear at Mother's Day Out and the teacher remarked on how quick the appointment went. I told her what happened and who my dentist was and she said she had the exact same deal happen with him. She took in her 4 year old with an obvious cavity on a top front tooth and he dentist looked at her and pronounced she looked fine. The teacher had to show him the cavity and even then he was very reluctant to fill it. The teacher explained that he is the only dentist covered by her insurance in this area and she can't afford to go to another dentist so he did do it but not willingly. Grrr...I never had a problem with him as my dentist but it would be nice to find someone who could do the whole family at one place.
Today I took Tater in to see the surgeon and he diagnosed him as having a inguinal hernia along with the hydrocele. At this time it is not causing him any issues but it will not resolve itself and we would have to have it surgically repaired. I'm not a fan of putting thing like this off so I told the doctor to go ahead and schedule it as soon as possible. I was a little shocked when he told me they could do it Monday morning at the outpatient surgery center at my local clinic. We did a little schedule reworking with my family and got my Mom to agree to come down and stay with Bear while we take Tater in Monday morning. It is a quick in and out surgery that should take an hour or so but it is still a little scary when they have to put your child under anethesia.
I will be glad to have this over with though and move on. Speaking of things I put off I finally took Bear in for his first dentist visit this week. Which ended up being a complete and total waste of time. When I first mentioned to the dentist last year that I thought it was time to bring Bear in he didn't seem to think it was pressing. I thought it was a little odd but I figured I would just wait until Bear was a little bigger so he would be better able to deal with him. So I waited a year and scheduled the appointment for this week. On Tuesday I dropped Tater off at Mother's Day Out and take Bear across town to the dentist.
When we get there they took us back and tried to get him to stand at one of those x-ray machines that does the panaramic view where you bite down and the machine circles your head. You can see where this is obviously not going to work on a nervous 3 year old. So the dental assistant said we will hold off on the x-rays for now. Then she has me sit in the dental chair with Bear and the dentist comes in. He asks me if I have seen any brown spots or anything that concerns me. I told him that I saw nothing obvious but its not like I have little dental mirrors in his mouth every evening looking for cavities. So he has Bear smile and him and says his teeth look good and he will see us again in a year. SERIOUSLY!!!
He did not touch Bear's mouth. Did not even get closer than 2 foot away. I know he isn't a pediatric dentist but he is what is covered by our insurance and we don't have a lot of options here to choose from. I was beyond pissed. If he wasn't comfortable handling children as patients then he should just say that instead of having me waste my time coming in and billing my insurance for a visit. So I will have to wait 6 months and try to find someone my insurance covers that can handle children. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect but I at least expected someone to look at all of his teeth and maybe talk to him about brushing his teeth and such.
So I drive back across town to drop off Bear at Mother's Day Out and the teacher remarked on how quick the appointment went. I told her what happened and who my dentist was and she said she had the exact same deal happen with him. She took in her 4 year old with an obvious cavity on a top front tooth and he dentist looked at her and pronounced she looked fine. The teacher had to show him the cavity and even then he was very reluctant to fill it. The teacher explained that he is the only dentist covered by her insurance in this area and she can't afford to go to another dentist so he did do it but not willingly. Grrr...I never had a problem with him as my dentist but it would be nice to find someone who could do the whole family at one place.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
3/4 of a year
So on Monday Tater turned 9 months old. And last night he slept through the night. FOR THE FIRST TIME. I've been semi counting the few times that he slept from like 12-6 but really it doesn't count to me until they sleep from a reasonable hour until sometime after the sun is up. I'm sure it was just some fluke of nature but it sure was nice. Of course I still woke up periodically during the night to check on him and verify the baby monitor was working.
I took him in for his 9 month checkup yesterday morning. He was 17lb 10oz which is on the thinner side of the percentile chart but the doctor seems to think he is plenty healthy and will probably be a thin kid. He was 28 inches long which is right about average. During the course of the examination the doctor noticed that Tater has his first ear infection. I felt terrible because I had no clue. He had no fever, fussiness, loss of appetite or anything to indicate he didn't feel well. Poor baby. Then to add insult to injury they take blood at the 9 month checkup to check for anemia and such. So we got to go over to the lab and have 3 lab techs try to find a suitable vein. Tater was already past nap time, hungry, sick with an ear infection and now having his arm prodded at by three different people. They finally gave up on getting blood from his arm and instead got it from his heel. It was awful.
I took him in for his 9 month checkup yesterday morning. He was 17lb 10oz which is on the thinner side of the percentile chart but the doctor seems to think he is plenty healthy and will probably be a thin kid. He was 28 inches long which is right about average. During the course of the examination the doctor noticed that Tater has his first ear infection. I felt terrible because I had no clue. He had no fever, fussiness, loss of appetite or anything to indicate he didn't feel well. Poor baby. Then to add insult to injury they take blood at the 9 month checkup to check for anemia and such. So we got to go over to the lab and have 3 lab techs try to find a suitable vein. Tater was already past nap time, hungry, sick with an ear infection and now having his arm prodded at by three different people. They finally gave up on getting blood from his arm and instead got it from his heel. It was awful.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Spring Cleaning
Dear Lord, where did all this junk come from? Seriously. I threw away an entire garbage bag full of stuff from my closet today and you cannot tell one bit of difference. We are constantly fighting the junk that creeps into our house. The endless piles of mail to go through and sort. The piles of toys. The clothes to be donated, stored away for a different season, or for the younger child.
We spent hours yesterday putting away the Christmas tree and assorted paraphernalia but I still feel cluttered and trapped by all this stuff. Last weekend I cleared out 2 boxes of stuff from my kitchen cabinets. The week before that I emptied half of the toys from Bear's toy box to clear space for the new stuff he would inevitably get for Christmas despite my warnings that we do not need any more toys!!!!
I feel like I spend the better part of my life putting away clutter, sorting clutter or throwing away clutter. You cannot imagine the hours we have spent clearing out cabinets, closets, baskets and under beds. There has to be some way to get this under control but I can't figure out how. The simplest answer would be to quit bringing in stuff but we live in a disposable society where nothing ever seems to be designed to last longer than a season. A new sweater purchased in September looks like something fit for my dog to sleep on my December. No matter the price spent or the supposed quality. The kids outgrow clothes faster than I can buy them. The mailbox is always overflowing with statements, advertisements, invitations all needing to be read, sorted and saved or discarded. Plus the constant upgrading to the new improved etc appliance or electronic gadget.
I also half believe that my junk breeds in the quiet dark corners of closets and kitchen cabinets. There is no way I could have possibly purchased 40+ shot glasses in my lifetime, right? And considering the fact that I can't actually remember the last time I took a shot I believe it is safe to whittle the collection down to no more than a quarter of it's current size. The funny thing is that I am not a hoarder by nature. I honestly do not care to have 2 dozen of everything (except maybe flip flops because I do need a pair in every color Old Navy has ever carried). Beyond that small weakness I am quite adept at throwing out the old. I enjoy the purging process I just wish I had to do it a little less often.
We spent hours yesterday putting away the Christmas tree and assorted paraphernalia but I still feel cluttered and trapped by all this stuff. Last weekend I cleared out 2 boxes of stuff from my kitchen cabinets. The week before that I emptied half of the toys from Bear's toy box to clear space for the new stuff he would inevitably get for Christmas despite my warnings that we do not need any more toys!!!!
I feel like I spend the better part of my life putting away clutter, sorting clutter or throwing away clutter. You cannot imagine the hours we have spent clearing out cabinets, closets, baskets and under beds. There has to be some way to get this under control but I can't figure out how. The simplest answer would be to quit bringing in stuff but we live in a disposable society where nothing ever seems to be designed to last longer than a season. A new sweater purchased in September looks like something fit for my dog to sleep on my December. No matter the price spent or the supposed quality. The kids outgrow clothes faster than I can buy them. The mailbox is always overflowing with statements, advertisements, invitations all needing to be read, sorted and saved or discarded. Plus the constant upgrading to the new improved etc appliance or electronic gadget.
I also half believe that my junk breeds in the quiet dark corners of closets and kitchen cabinets. There is no way I could have possibly purchased 40+ shot glasses in my lifetime, right? And considering the fact that I can't actually remember the last time I took a shot I believe it is safe to whittle the collection down to no more than a quarter of it's current size. The funny thing is that I am not a hoarder by nature. I honestly do not care to have 2 dozen of everything (except maybe flip flops because I do need a pair in every color Old Navy has ever carried). Beyond that small weakness I am quite adept at throwing out the old. I enjoy the purging process I just wish I had to do it a little less often.
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