Ella's Eyes

I'm sort of working backwards here on the things that have been going on lately, so if something seems out of order, it's just kind of because my brain is working out of order.  Not that my brain IS out of order.  Wait a minute...

Anyway.

Ella had surgery on her eyes last week to correct the exotropia (outward drifting) that we were seeing.  The patching that we'd tried didn't work, and the drift had progressed to a point that her doctor wanted to go ahead and proceed with the surgery. 

It was an outpatient procedure, and didn't take long at all -- less than an hour -- but it was still pretty nervewracking for me.  I mean, it was surgery.  She had general anesthesia, an IV, was intubated -- the whole nine. 

Awesome surgery pajamas.  The pants kept falling off her.

I have to tell you, though.  This kid of ours is a trooper.  A serious trooper.

We had to be there at the ass-crack of dawn (6am), and of course, Ella couldn't eat any breakfast -- she didn't gripe or whine, though.  

She never cried through any of the pre-op stuff with a bunch of doctors and nurses she'd never met before.  She even had to do a neublizer before getting the anesthesia, and she did great with it. 

And she was pretty much back to her regular self that same evening. 

If it had been me?  I'd have needed a week off work -- at least -- to recover.  (Yes, I'm a wimp.  Shut up.)

The only real trouble we ran into was with the ointment that we had to put in her eyes twice a day for a week.  That was not a hit.  Eyelids, as I learned, can be very, very strong when they are squeezed closed.  However, a little bribery from Grandma did the trick, and she was fairly cooperative after that.  (Reward: her very own pink VTech computer.  Woo!)

We went back for her post-op check today, and the doctor said she's healing well, that and everything looks good. She goes back in six weeks for another check.

Sicky.

Evidently, something Ella had last night at dinner didn't agree with her, and she woke up at 2:30 am, having thrown up all over herself.  It was the first time we'd had this happen, and understandably, she was a little freaked out (as were we).  I felt terrible for her, b/c she just didn't get what was going on and was so upset.

Jon and I made a good team -- he got her bed and room cleaned up, and I got her cleaned up.  She didn't want to go back to sleep right away, so we sat up for about an hour until she felt comfortable enough to lay back down.  She slept through the rest of the night with nary a peep, thankfully.

It seems like it was just a one-off thing...even though she clearly felt a little out of it earlier in the day, she kept everything down that she ate, and by the end of the day, she was pretty much back to 100%.

Fevers and boo-boos.

So Ella has spiked a fever the last two weekends in a row.  Not fun, especially given that it's happening on when we could/should be out doing stuff, and really weird, since I can't figure out what's causing it.  This weekend wasn't as bad (100.3 vs last weekend's high of 102.9), and it usually dissipates within 24 hours, with the help of some infant Tylenol. But it's still a bit disconcerting, and you can tell she just doesn't feel well on the whole. 

She's also discovered the allure of Band-Aids this past week.  She cut her finger at school on Wednesday -- her teacher wasn't sure exactly how it happened, and Ella wouldn't commit to anything more specific than it was a toy that did it.  Since then, though, the injured finger has required a Band-Aid at all times, even though now, it's pretty much healed up.  Boring Mommy doesn't have fun character Band-Aids like they have at school, but the plain ones will do in a pinch. (Blame Costco.  We bought one of their ginormous packs of Band-Aids back before she was even born, and we still haven't used them up.  I refuse to buy new ones until we're down to at least one box.  That could take until she's in middle school.)

So between the fevers and the boo-boo, it's been sort of a rough week for the kid.  She's a trooper, though.

School's out for Xmas break starting this coming Tuesday, and the last day of Little Gym until the New Year was today.  I hope the weather improves over what we've been having so far this month so we're able to get out of the house and DO some stuff over the next couple of weeks.

Ella's Eyes

This past Tuesday, we had a visit with the pediatric ophthalmologist regarding Ella's drifting eye.  It's been going on for awhile now, and after speaking with her regular doctor about it a couple of times, and seeing no improvement, he referred us for a consultation.

I tried to prep her in advance and let her know that the doctor just wanted to look at her eyes and wasn't going to hurt her, but of course, that was all in vain.  As I expected, she freaked out.  I have no idea how he managed to examine her, with all the screaming and crying -- I had to physically restrain the child (I felt AWFUL) -- but he did, and diagnosed her with moderate exotropia, which means that her eyes -- with her, mainly the right one -- turn outward.  Aside from that, though, he said her eyes looked good and healthy, which was great to hear.

So we're trying patch therapy.  She has to wear a sticky eye patch for a couple of hours a day on her good eye (and yes, we do call her "Patchy" and talk to her in pirate-speak -- I'm sure that will be brought up in therapy) to see if that will help strengthen the weaker one.  It wouldn't be a cure, but it can help to correct it.    We'll do this for about 3 months, and then she'll have another exam to see if there's been any improvement.

She actually doesn't seem to mind the patches too much, which I'm really impressed with.  She fussed at me a bit the first day I put one on her, but since then, she's been good about it.   That definitely makes it easier.

Keep your fingers crossed that the patching is effective.  We really hope that it works and we can avoid anything more invasive (read: surgery).

Back among the living.

We've been living in a house of pestilence and disease, but finally (about 10 days later), there's light at the end of the tunnel, and we're all on the mend. Thank goodness. It was nasty head colds and coughs all around. Ella's been a trooper through the whole thing...probably more of one that I was at times.

Anyway, while we were all wallowing in sickness and piling the tissues up on the floor, Ella turned 16 months! Last Thursday, to be exact. I didn't get around to snapping a few pictures until yesterday...I didn't feel like doing it before then, and I'm pretty sure she didn't feel like having her beauty struck before then either :)



-I have to keep her hair pulled up in a topknot like this most of the time, because otherwise, she pulls it down in front of her face and puts it in her mouth, which makes me insane.
-She is REALLY into books...she loves for both Jon and me to read to her. Current favorites include Jamberry, Moo Baa La La La, and the book we got at Kindermusik.
-She walks everywhere all the time now.
-She thinks petting the animals is such a hoot -- she gets so tickled when she pets them, just squeals and laughs. She's really good about being gentle with them, too.
-She's always toting her stuffed animals around with her. She gives them hugs and kisses, and likes to give them to Jon and me for hugs as well.

What's that saying again...

...about good intentions? And the road to hell? Something like that.

We had such nice plans this weekend -- Renaissance Faire one day and Duke Gardens and dinner with the Robersons on another.

So guess who woke up sick this morning? Me, baby. Me.

I could feel it coming on last night, and I knew there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. That's the worst, I think. When it's in the mail -- and you know it.

So instead of fun, today consisted of me sleeping and resting a lot, and Jon taking care of the baby.

I feel okay, not great -- mostly just run-down. Hopefully, it will be short-lived. Sadly, though, I think Ella is already getting whatever it is. She was starting to get sniffly before bed tonight, and acted like she just didn't feel that great this evening.

House of Pain

We're all falling apart.

I had a headache for about 3 days straight. That's finally dissipated.

Jon has been having horrible, immobilizing back pain for about 2 weeks. He went to the doctor yesterday, and he has a torn muscle. I don't have personal experience, but I'd say that's not something you'd want to deal with any place in your body, but particularly not in your back. He's on an anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxer, which seems to be giving him some relief.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed Cosmo had a sizable growth on one of his front legs, and he had also developed a sporadic limp. We had the lump removed, and the vet's pretty certain that it's just a fatty growth and is unrelated to the limping (although he has pretty serious hip dysplasia and secondary arthritis in his back end), which is good news. He has a couple of stitches in his leg, though, and even though he's bandaged up, he wouldn't leave it alone and was trying to lick and chew at it. So poor Mo is doomed to the satellite dish for the next 9 days or so, until his stitches come out. He just crashes around, with no concept of how big the radius of his noggin now is. I feel bad for him, but it's sort of hard not to giggle.

I guess we're more or less on the mend, though.

And just for the sake of cuteness....

So little has been going on lately that I couldn't even come up with a title for this particular blog entry.

It's been really cold. I guess compared to the majority of the country, it's not that cold, but my genteel Southern upbringing (ha) doesn't allow me to tolerate these kind of temperatures well. So Ella and I have pretty much just been staying inside and keeping warm. The only time I've been venturing outside these past few days has been to take the dogs out. We've been having to walk them on their leashes because a tree fell on our fence, and there was a gaping hole in it (which Cosmo escaped through back before we went to Charleston...Jon got him back before he went too far though, thank goodness). The hole was fixed this afternoon, though -- hooray!

What else? I've been in a class for work this past week which will allow me to do online chat support. I'm pretty excited about this...I'll be able to work some when Jon isn't here, and I think I'm actually going to like it more than the phone. That finishes up next week.

Ella and I are pretty much over our colds, but we've both still got a bit of a nagging cough that we can't quite kick. Other than that, we're back to normal. Or as normal as it gets around this house.

Quarantined.

Jon wound up taking Ella to the doctor on Friday afternoon (I had to work, so I couldn't go). As suspected, she's dealing with her first cold. She doesn't have any secondary infections, so that's a good thing. She got sent home with a prescription for some cough medicine, which I suspect tastes good, as she has no problems taking it, and the doctor told us we could give her infant Tylenol as well if she was particularly fussy.

She's been a little trooper. Jon said she was great for the doc (although she didn't like him digging around in her ears too much), and even though you can tell she doesn't feel good, she's still smiling and generally agreeable. She does get a bit sad and whiny at night before bed, and that's kind of tough. I just keep telling myself, "It's building her immune system!" But she's eating well, which is good, and she has been sleeping well at night too. Hopefully, she'll be over this in no time.

I'm dealing with pretty much the same strain of ick that she's got, and I can sympathize with the kid.

Sadly, we're going to miss Gracie's first birthday party tomorrow. I feel bad... I really wanted to go. But I don't want to infect anyone, especially the other babies, with this mess. So we bowed out. I told Sara to post lots of pics on her blog :)

Charleston

Jon and I took a few days and headed down to Charleston this week, while Ella spent some quality time with Grandma and Pop. Everyone involved had a good time. Jon and I didn't do anything in particular...slept late, ate lots of amazing seafood, wandered around downtown (Jon even humored me one afternoon by letting me poke around in a few cemeteries and take pictures).

Here are a few pics:

Charleston skyline, from the USS Yorktown


Bridge and sky


Baskets at the Market


Possibly the vaguest gravestone ever :)


Now that we're back, Ella and I are both sick. Jon actually had this particular crud before we left on our trip, and the baby and I have developed it in the meantime. I feel OK for the moment, but it's just starting to set in, I think. Poor Ella has a nasty rattly cough, runny nose, sneezing, the whole nine. Jon is taking her to the doctor this afternoon.

Several things.

1) We're back from vacation, and we had SUCH a great time. More on that later.

2) Apparently while we were ON vacation, we left the back door unlocked the whole time. Nice work.

3) I had a horrific migraine the other night... so bad that I was throwing up. As a result, I discovered today that I now have a lovely busted blood vessel in my left eye. It's right in the corner, though, so you can't really see it unless I turn my head (or my eye, I guess).

4) I'm actually starting to SHOW, finally! Yay for not just looking fat (or somewhat, anyway). Also, I've started to feel her kicking around in there a little bit, which is neat :)

5) I got my promotion at work! Woohoo! Of course, I missed the training since I was on vacation, and while I was there on Sunday, I missed Monday due to above referenced migraine, and am off today. So I'm sort of behind the curve. Oh well. I'm a quick study.

Cheap glasses!

Since I've had to have some form of vision correction since I was about 9 years old, I've been through my fair share of glasses and contacts. Here's a Great Discovry:$ 8 Prescription Glasses From Zenni Optical. I can't imagine only paying $8 for a pair of glasses... I'll definitely have to check them out when it comes time to order my next pair. That would be a huge savings over what I normally pay.

I'm the newest psychic friend.

So Jon and I were both up at about 6am yesterday morning (him to let Lukin out, who's been sick, and me to pee). I told him that I had just had a dream about the hockey game coming up that night, which we had tickets to go to. I had dreamed that the score was 7-2, with the Oilers winning.

Needless to say, I was more than a little freaked out when we were at the game last night, and Eric Staal scored his hat-trick goal w/less than a minute left... and the final score was 7-2. I got the teams reversed, as the Hurricanes actually won, but it was really weird nonetheless.

Anyway, we went and had dinner w/Sara and Randy at their house before the game. Gracie is a doll baby...so precious, hardly fussy at all, and so teensy! I'm trying to add a photo of her, but blogger isn't letting me for some reason. Will work on that later.

What else? It's snowing here, I have a UTI, and I seemingly reek of garlic (ate some w/dinner last night, and it seems to be radiating from my pores... I'm glad I'm home today b/c I'd be afraid of running everyone off at work w/my stench).

Nice shiny smile!

I am really squidgy about my teeth and mouth. I don't like mouth or tooth pain. I also hate having a dry, cotton-esque mouth....I will occasionally get bouts of sensitivity to cold things. I've never had a cavity either, and I have every intention of keeping it that way.

A lot of toothpastes actually make my mouth burn, believe it or not. Up through college, I used kids' toothpaste. I recently tried a toothpaste calledBiotene. I wasn't sure what to expect, but after I read that it's made with the number one sensitivity ingredient, I figured I'd give it a whirl.

The first thing I noticed was the taste -- tasted like Chiclets, which to me, was not a bad thing. Definitely mild and different from any other toothpastes I'd ever used.

This pain-sensitive toothpaste is also low-foaming, which is great. No great bundle of toothpaste foam falling down on your shirt ;)

I definitely would have liked to have had this in the past when I was having tooth issues. It would have been great after I had my wisdom teeth out too.

Give it a try if you have tooth issues.

Give a little support during the holidays

Alzheimer's Disease is one of the saddest of all diseases, in my opinion. It robs someone you love of their memory and facilites, leaving nothing but a shell of the former person you once knew. It can be a devastating diagnosis and progression for families, and can cause much stress for the person who is responsible for being a caregiver.

With the holidays upon us, maybe you are struggling to find the perfect gift for someone you know and love. Why don't you visit the Alzheimer's Foundation of America eStore? If you purchase a holiday gift from them, all the proceeds go to the Alzheimer's Foundation. They even have special gifts available for caregivers...what a heartfelt gesture that would be for someone who is caring for (or who has cared for) an Alzheimer's patient.

Of course, the ideal scenario that would occur is that a cure is found -- and soon. But the reality is that a cure may be many years in the future. In the meantime, it is really important to ensure quality care for those who suffer from this debilitating disease. This simply cannot and should not be overlooked...and this makes the holidays an even better time to purchase a gift or make a donation through the eStore.

According to the Alzheimer's website, Alzheimer's currently affects an estimated five million Americans, and the number is expected to triple by mid-century. One in ten Americans aged 65 or older and nearly half of those 85 or older are stricken with this devastating disease. My grandfather was one of those people. For every individual afflicted with Alzheimer's or a related illness, surveys indicate that one to four caregivers carry the responsibility of care.

Clearly, many, many people are impacted by this disease. Check out their website, and do something if you can.

Much better today!

I tell ya, drugs are amazing things.

I'm still coughing a good deal, and my voice comes and goes, but I'm really feeling much better compared to two days ago. Quite a turn. And I actually managec to get a good night's sleep last night too as I stole one of Jon's Ambiens. So I probably was coughing, but I just didn't know it.

It's probably helping that I'm in a training class at work all week (actually for 2 weeks after this as well), so my talking is being kept to a minimum. Resting the voice is a good thing.

Since I've been sick, the house has become a wreck. I couldn't be bothered to clean over the weekend... I kept up w/the laundry and that was about it. I've been trying to weed out my desk tonight... I can see the surface in spots now, so that's a plus!

Bronchitis, laryngitis... any other -itis?

So I wound up going to the walk-in clinic this morning when, after I woke up, I couldn't stop coughing and was coughing to the point of yacking. Not great.

I got seen amazingly quickly, and the doc said I have bronchitis along w/my very obvious laryngitis. I'm now on antibiotics, steroids, and an inhaler. I'm not griping though...my throat is already hurting less. And I can breathe, which is a huge plus.

Laryngitis

I have little to no voice at this point. This is the 2nd day of it. For those that don't know, I basically talk on the phone at work for 10 hrs a day. So I'm not exactly sure how that's going to play out when I go in to work here in about an hour. I mean, I guess I can take calls, but it's only going to exacerbate my problem, and *no one* will be able to understand me. Jon could hardly understand me last night when he was sitting on the other end of the sofa from me.

Should be an interesting day.

Let me talk to you about a few things.

1) All-Dressed Chips. These are possibly the most delicious, delectable potato chips ever made. "What?" you say. "I've never heard of these treats." Well, that's because Ruffles, for whatever reason, only sells them in Canada. This is a travesty. People in the States like freaky-flavored chips just as much as the next country, and I have little doubt that they would be a big seller. There's actually an online petition to bring them here, which Jon and I have both signed.

2) Disposable placemats for little ones. Let me tell you how much I hate these things. A freaking lot, that's how much. Really, if your child needs a placemat at a restaurant, is it that much trouble to roll up a plastic one and tuck it in your diaper bag? I understand that some things are for the sake of convienence, but this just takes the cake.

3) Jon and I are both still sick. It's been almost a week now of coughing, sore throats, fevers, chills, and general malaise. A trip to the doctor might be in the near future for both of us.

Weight Loss

For some people in this overweight nation, weight loss surgery is a last resort, but maybe one that's been hard met. There are some options that are less invasive than others, such as LapBand surgery. No parts are removed (always a plus in my book), and it can be reversed if you ever wanted to do so. Definitely if this is something you are considering, weigh out (no pun intended) all your options carefully.