At least I got a room with a view.

I thought I was done with ERs and hospitals for a while...not so. Everything has been going very well with me, healthwise. I was feeling really great. This past Thursday night, I went to bed with some abdominal discomfort. Not really pain, but I knew something wasn't right. As always, I think it may be food poisoning, but I've had that enough that I know what it feels like. I went to bed anyway, hoping it would go away. A couple hours later, the discomfort got worse. As I lay in bed, so many thoughts went through my mind. Who would watch Little P if we had to go the ER? Who would take over RT's class the next day? Do I want to go through the whole ER procedure?

I woke up RT and told him my concerns. We talked it over, and he told me not to worry about all that stuff I mentioned earlier. We'd do what we had to. So, after an hour, the pain increased and I was vomiting. We loaded up all of Little P's belongings (in case we took her to day care the next morning) and went to the hospital. This was around midnight.

The ER was empty! Thank goodness! I was admitted right away. I got hooked up with the IV and had all the necessary blood draws. They quickly ruled out pancreatitis (which I suspected it wasn't). I also had x-rays and a CT scan. I was diagnosed with small bowel obstruction. This can often be a side effect of past abdominable surgeries. So, I had the privilege of having an NG tube shoved up my nose through to my stomach. As the nurse explained how it would make me tear up, burn my nose, irritate my throat, make me vomit--I was scared and panicky. I did not want that tube in me! As I looked at my sleeping daughter, I mustered up the courage and said let's do it. I pulled through like a champ! It was relatively easy. It did not feel good, and I wanted to pull it out--but RT kept reminding me that it was for the best. The tube was suctioning out all the junk in my abdomen to reduce the swelling and let my bowels rest.

I had to be admitted to the hospital. By now, it was 10:00 AM. Of course, as soon as they wheeled me into the room, they explained the circumstances about my roommate. I knew that wasn't a good sign. Why do I always get stuck with the loony bins? I was told that I would be moved right away when they had a room ready for me (that didn't happen until 6:00 PM).

Overall, the hospital stay was not too bad. I was not in a lot of pain. The tube actually alleviated the vomiting. The tube was very uncomfortable.

The next morning, I had more x-rays. The surgeon came in and basically said everything looked fine. I could go home!!! They took the NG tube out (double hooray!), and I started feeling nauseated. Uh-oh. I tried to sip some liquids and vomited that up as well. But, still, I was ready to go home to see my daughter.
Finally, I was discharged and headed for home. I felt so nauseated and my head felt like it was splitting open. At least I was going home. As I walked in the door, I heard Little P laughing and having a good time. My parents had come the day before as well as my sister to help watch her and give RT some support. I gave her a big hug, but it seems like she didn't even miss me! She was having too much fun with her grandparents.

We'll see what the next days bring. I was told to not eat raw vegetables, or anything made out of wood. This was an old-school surgeon. I am going to have to be very diligent with what I eat, but how can I not eat vegetables and salad? As of now, I'm still slowly sipping liquids and have some nausea. I have a feeling that this situation can and may come up again. I hope not. At least, I avoided surgery.

RT said that I should write a guidebook to central California hospitals (I've been to 8 different ones so far).

Seems like a while since I've last posted. There just hasn't been a whole lot going on with us. As with most new parents or parents with a new baby, life is consumed with baby--as it should be! I had alluded to another blog I started that was more tailored to all things baby, but took a while to get it going, so here's the link which is accessible now if anyone is interested in my life with baby http://lilsweetp.blogspot.com/.

RT took a week off last week and got a whole host of projects crossed off his list...yee haw! My world lately has been consumed with work and Little P and not a whole lot else. I did manage to resume my personal training, which is very hard to do (not the work-out part, but the part about squeezing time before work and being realistic about how motivated I'll be during these wee hours in the winter!).

Otherwise, we've been sticking close to home and haven't really made plans for much else. We press on, and life is good.

Hanging out at home.

Walking along the Cloisters path.

She's a busy girl.

Jannu relaxing after a day at Doggie Spa.

The bus gets a nice rack!

Do you think she's getting enough to eat?

It seems like all the friends we've made here are leaving! Don is a friend of RT's from work. Before "the wife" moved over, Don kept RT entertained. Don was also Jannu's sitter. We decided to throw a party in his honor. We kept saying we needed to have a party--this is our first one since we moved. It seemed like a great idea at first, but as the weekend approached I wondered if we were just plain dumb because we didn't factor in working around the new baby thing. The Friday before, Little P didn't sleep until 2 am, and then got up around 7 am. It seeemed like she would never go down for a nap. We had a lot of house cleaning and food prep. Thankfully, the party was on Sunday. Finally, she slept for a chunk in the afternoon as we're racing around dusting, vacuuming, cleaning the backyard, chopping fruit, baking desserts all the while listening for the "ah-ah" sound she makes upon awaking.
These folks were mostly from Fish & Game and associates. We had a good time. Little P slept through most of the party. I actually woke her up so some of them could meet her. You can never go wrong with good food and good company. Best of luck to you Don (& Cody) in your new endeavors!

[The margarita cupcakes were a hit...maybe because of the tequila in the frosting?]

[Us before the guests arrived; me with chocolate all over my face...

I had to try the dessert, right?]

[Cody aka Mr. Co-dangles]

[The DFG crew with Anna from MBNEP]

[Don, RT, & Little P]

(Do these pants make my butt look big? It's the cloth diapers...)

Usually 4th of July around here turns out to be quite foggy, but the day turned out beautifully. The day before my sis, bro-in-law, and nephews came to visit. It was so nice; they babysat that evening so RT and I could go out to dinner. We were a little worried because Little P seemed pretty fussy all week and seemed out of her usual routine (maybe cutting teeth). We went anyway and had such a great a time. It was relaxing to "get a way" for a while! Thank you guys!

The following day, my parents came over. We walked along the beach, barbecued, and relaxed together. It was fun to watch Little P interact with them especially when she was smiling or "talking". It was especially fun to watch my older nephew with Little P. He says that he is the Baby Whisperer and knows how to make her happy (until she cries!!). My parents brought all kinds of food for the weekend, and my dad cooked it all. That was definitely a treat! We forwent the fireworks. We weren't brave enough to deal with the crowds, and right now I'd rather see fireworks in my sleep!

These days, I can never keep track of the date. At work, I don't have any wall space for a calendar, so back in January I bought some paper to make a desk calendar. I finally carved out some time to make it.

...live together in perfect harmony♫. Some people have asked us how Jannu has been handling the new baby situation. During our pregnancy, we watched the Dog Whisperer shows and read articles on how to introduce the dog to the baby. I was a bit nervous because Jannu was the center of our attention for 9 years. The experts said to leave the baby clothes out so the dog can sniff before bringing home baby or to walk the dog before introducing to the baby. Did we do any of these things? No way! All of that went out the door as we brought home our screaming baby. Jannu was actually at my parents' house, but they ended up coming to our house the same evening we came home from the hospital (because of my begging and pleading interspersed with hormonal bouts of crying). Jannu came bounding up the steps so excited to see us, but instead what she found was going to change her life forever!
Suprisingly, Jannu showed no interest in the baby. She would cautiously sniff her things and gingerly step around her, always being careful not to touch any of her blankets or even get too near.
I think it has helped that we've kept Jannu's routine as normal as possible, walking her as often as we can. The only reaction we get is if Little P is crying really loud, then Jannu will leave the room. We did notice this strange phenomenom: when we've had visitors come and hold the baby (strangers in Jannu's eyes), Jannu became a little protective of the baby! I guess she's accepted the fact that Little P is part of our pack. It's a doggone good thing!

Over the years, I've made baby albums for close friends and my sister. I did this because I figured a new mother does not have time for a lot of things, much less a scrapbooking project. I created albums with a page dedicted for each month of the newborn baby's first year of life. So all the new mother has to do is to remember to take a picture and insert into that page. I didn't take pictures of all my albums, but I do have photos of some. Now, if I can get around to finishing my album before Little P turns one...