Oxygen and Tee Pees
This week has been one of those weeks where you feel like you have so much going on that you forget to come up for air. Today, I feel like I finally caught my breath. Oxygen is nice. I need to remember that.
A good portion of Tuesday was spent at the hospital, holding my breath. I mentioned that Harper's pediatrician wanted her to have an ultrasound because her head was measuring larger than normal. I did a really good job of not getting too nervous or worried about it...after all, her brother has a pretty big noggin himself. But that all changed when the radiologist was concerned because her fluid levels were elevated and they wanted to do further testing on her. He asked us to wait in the waiting room while he consulted with her pediatrician and was going to squeeze us in for a ct scan. Unfortunately for my nerves the term "squeeze" meant waiting and worrying and googling diagnoses on my phone for the next 2 1/2 hours. I'm so thankful that Rick insisted on going with us. And I'm so thankful that Mary insisted on sticking around and was therefore able to pick up Harrison from school while we were stuck at the hospital.
There is just something completely wrong about seeing a baby on a hospital bed. She looked so tiny. She must have known I was worried sick because she was flashing us the biggest smiles while the doctor was strapping her to the table. She didn't fuss one bit. I think she must have thought she was being swaddled up for a nap or something!
The test results came back later that afternoon and her doctor called me to discuss them. She has something called benign subarachnoid effusions, which basically means she has excess fluid on her brain located in pockets its not supposed to be pooling in. But, praise God, it is a harmless condition that typically alleviates itself by age 2. He said that unlike hydrocephalus, her fluid volume isn't causing any brain deformities or damage at all and the scan came back showing a perfectly formed brain. She won't need any further testing or screening unless she develops any symptoms. The only thing we have to be careful about is that she's at a little bit of a higher risk of having subdural bleeding if she has any head trauma, but other than that she is perfectly fine. Believe me when I say I could have bear hugged her doctor right through the phone when he told me that!
Wednesday was filled with BSF and lunch with girlfriends and lots of cooking and baking. Our small group had our Thanksgiving meal that night and I made a couple of dishes to take. I also baked pumpkin bread for Harrison's teachers and cupcakes in waffle cones for Harrison's class' craft project I mentioned before. I was a little worried about the tee pee project there for a while. They kept tipping over and spilling batter all over my oven. I had to open the windows because of all the smoke but in the end I think they turned out to be pretty cute!
Thursday was Harrison's Thanksgiving Feast. I also had a doctor appointment that morning, so I had to rush to get him and all the party supplies and food dropped off to make it all the way across town in time for my check up. Is it creepy that I'm a little sad I won't need to see my OB again for an entire year? I've been a regular for the last couple of years and it's going to be weird not seeing him all the time, ha! (He did tell me I could fix that and just get pregnant again. Heh. Sorry Doc, I don't like you that much.) After my appointment I had to immediately rush back to Harrison's school to start setting up for the party. Harper did great -- she actually slept through the whole thing and I got to give her brother my undivided attention. It was so fun seeing him in the classroom setting with all of his friends!
A good portion of Tuesday was spent at the hospital, holding my breath. I mentioned that Harper's pediatrician wanted her to have an ultrasound because her head was measuring larger than normal. I did a really good job of not getting too nervous or worried about it...after all, her brother has a pretty big noggin himself. But that all changed when the radiologist was concerned because her fluid levels were elevated and they wanted to do further testing on her. He asked us to wait in the waiting room while he consulted with her pediatrician and was going to squeeze us in for a ct scan. Unfortunately for my nerves the term "squeeze" meant waiting and worrying and googling diagnoses on my phone for the next 2 1/2 hours. I'm so thankful that Rick insisted on going with us. And I'm so thankful that Mary insisted on sticking around and was therefore able to pick up Harrison from school while we were stuck at the hospital.
There is just something completely wrong about seeing a baby on a hospital bed. She looked so tiny. She must have known I was worried sick because she was flashing us the biggest smiles while the doctor was strapping her to the table. She didn't fuss one bit. I think she must have thought she was being swaddled up for a nap or something!
The test results came back later that afternoon and her doctor called me to discuss them. She has something called benign subarachnoid effusions, which basically means she has excess fluid on her brain located in pockets its not supposed to be pooling in. But, praise God, it is a harmless condition that typically alleviates itself by age 2. He said that unlike hydrocephalus, her fluid volume isn't causing any brain deformities or damage at all and the scan came back showing a perfectly formed brain. She won't need any further testing or screening unless she develops any symptoms. The only thing we have to be careful about is that she's at a little bit of a higher risk of having subdural bleeding if she has any head trauma, but other than that she is perfectly fine. Believe me when I say I could have bear hugged her doctor right through the phone when he told me that!
Wednesday was filled with BSF and lunch with girlfriends and lots of cooking and baking. Our small group had our Thanksgiving meal that night and I made a couple of dishes to take. I also baked pumpkin bread for Harrison's teachers and cupcakes in waffle cones for Harrison's class' craft project I mentioned before. I was a little worried about the tee pee project there for a while. They kept tipping over and spilling batter all over my oven. I had to open the windows because of all the smoke but in the end I think they turned out to be pretty cute!
Thursday was Harrison's Thanksgiving Feast. I also had a doctor appointment that morning, so I had to rush to get him and all the party supplies and food dropped off to make it all the way across town in time for my check up. Is it creepy that I'm a little sad I won't need to see my OB again for an entire year? I've been a regular for the last couple of years and it's going to be weird not seeing him all the time, ha! (He did tell me I could fix that and just get pregnant again. Heh. Sorry Doc, I don't like you that much.) After my appointment I had to immediately rush back to Harrison's school to start setting up for the party. Harper did great -- she actually slept through the whole thing and I got to give her brother my undivided attention. It was so fun seeing him in the classroom setting with all of his friends!
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