Wednesday, July 15, 2009
10 years ago tonight
10 years ago today, i was sitting inside the County Line party room having dinner with my family and closest friends. It makes me somewhat sad to think that 2 people who were there that night are no longer with us. My grandpa Moe and our friend Mark have gone on to be with Jesus. We were eating Brisket, potato salad, beans, cornbread, and sipping on some ice tea. my little siblings were checking out the peacocks. i don't remember a lot of the conversation that night, but i do remember all the people who were there for me and Thomas. i remember that my 7 year old sister Mackinzie and I had on matching black and white polka dot dresses. i remember that it was pouring rain all day forcing us to eat inside rather than outside on the patio with all the peacocks. we smiled a bunch and I'm sure we laughed a lot too. My youngest sister, Elizabeth, was sitting in a high chair, she was only 9 months old. family members came from Lubbock, sundown, Dallas, Montana, north Dakota and Minnesota. many of them had never eaten barbecue before. i remember not eating much either because although i like brisket, i am not a fan of potato salad or baked beans or even cornbread. i remember getting a really sweet goodnight kiss from Thomas. i didn't sleep most of that night. i was much too excited about becoming Mrs. Thomas Van Dyke Head, Jr. the next day. 10 years ago on July 16th, i married my best friend. 10 years later we have 2 awesome boys and a precious daughter soon to join us. Life hasn't always been easy. theres been ups and downs, but its always been blessed. God has never once let us down. Thank You honey, for 10 wonderful years of wedded bliss. I can't wait to see what God has in store for the next 10 years ahead. I love You!
I was so excitied to get to see another ultrasound of my sweet little girl on Monday. she is growing good and trucking along in about the 54 percentile. my boys were always in the 90's so i'm thinking that maybe she will be a little smaller and more petite than the boys were. Thomas got to go along this time so i was glad for that. the tech gave us some ultrasound pics on a cd. i still don't know how to upload them though. thomas says he will try to put some up on our facebook page. we shall see...
as far as the cyst goes, we had a postitive report. the size is still the same, but the shape of it was different. it used to be an even round shape and now it is more of a pear shape with an uneven border. the tech said she thought that it was losing pressure inside and starting to shrink, similar to that of a helium balloon that was starting to shrivel up. i still have 12 more weeks until my due date and another 6 weeks until my post partum check up for that silly thing to shrivel up all the way and be gone. Not having surgery later would be the best!! i am praying beleiving for it to be gone BEFORE anna kate is born. i would really like to not have to worry about pumping milk ahead of time and praticing a bottle for her to have while i would be in surgery and during recovery.
thanks to all of you who've been praying for me!!
as far as the cyst goes, we had a postitive report. the size is still the same, but the shape of it was different. it used to be an even round shape and now it is more of a pear shape with an uneven border. the tech said she thought that it was losing pressure inside and starting to shrink, similar to that of a helium balloon that was starting to shrivel up. i still have 12 more weeks until my due date and another 6 weeks until my post partum check up for that silly thing to shrivel up all the way and be gone. Not having surgery later would be the best!! i am praying beleiving for it to be gone BEFORE anna kate is born. i would really like to not have to worry about pumping milk ahead of time and praticing a bottle for her to have while i would be in surgery and during recovery.
thanks to all of you who've been praying for me!!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
I am so thankful for my ob doctor! she really calmed my fears and concerns today. she told me today that she still feels that the best plan of action for now is to have a regular normal non-csection delivery. then, to come back 5 to 6 weeks after delivery and have a scope surgery done to remove the cyst.
and I agree completely!!!! this sounds like the best idea to me. it will give me some time to get nursing started, pump some extra milk for surgery day, and practice a little bit of the bottle before the surgery. then the surgery will only have me down for a day or two instead of the several weeks of a c-section. of course, im still praying for the cyst to just go away. dr. D thinks the only reason this would not work is if the cyst would begin to grow, it ruptures, or i would start having lots of pain. i haven't felt any true pain. i have felt some twinges and some pulling now and then, but nothing that i would have to stop and say, "i'm in pain." I still have an ultrasound on Monday with dr. A to see whats going on. i will probably see him every 2 to 3 weeks for awhile.
as a side note, Nathan has a double ear infection. on tuesday afternoon, he told us that his ear felt funny. he's had a cold for a few days so we thought maybe it was just some pressure built up. then, about 10 minutes later he comes to me and says "mom, i think you need to give me some medicine for my ear. it really hurts." i was digging in the medicine cabinet for some eardrops and tylenol when he starts crying and saying that it hurts really bad. i called or pediatrician's office hoping to get him in. it was only about 2:30. the receptionist told me dr.G was out of the office and that they were short on nurses and the other doctors in the office couldn't see him until the next morning. by this point, nathan is hysterical. we decided to take him to grace clinic. the copay there is $20 when the ER is $100. we had to wait about 20 minutes before they had us all checked in. the whole time nathan is crying and hollering rather loudly. the recptionist keeps looking at me and saying,"is he sick? does he not feel good?" duh!
He keeps crying and hollering that he hurts so bad, and keeps saying "i want to see the doctor" over and over. i am crying too because i don't know what to do for him. poor thing was in sooo much pain. finally we see the doctor. it really wasn't that long of a wait. they got us in pretty quickly, it just seems like a long time when your child is in pain. as i said, he has a double ear infection. she said that his ear canals where so swollen she couldn't even see his ear drums to tell if the infection was in the canal or behind the drum. however, at this time it was a mute point, either way he had to have antibiotics. also i found out that i wasn't giving him the right dose of tylenol. i wasn't giving him enough of a dose. that made me feel really bad that i could have helped him feel better sooner is i'd just upped the dose a little bit. live and learn, i guess.
we are getting ready for VBS next week at church. such an exciting time. it always brings me to tears to see the little ones giving their hearts to Jesus and asking Him to be the boss of their life and their forever friend. we can always use more help, so if you're not doing anything next week, come down and help us out!!
and I agree completely!!!! this sounds like the best idea to me. it will give me some time to get nursing started, pump some extra milk for surgery day, and practice a little bit of the bottle before the surgery. then the surgery will only have me down for a day or two instead of the several weeks of a c-section. of course, im still praying for the cyst to just go away. dr. D thinks the only reason this would not work is if the cyst would begin to grow, it ruptures, or i would start having lots of pain. i haven't felt any true pain. i have felt some twinges and some pulling now and then, but nothing that i would have to stop and say, "i'm in pain." I still have an ultrasound on Monday with dr. A to see whats going on. i will probably see him every 2 to 3 weeks for awhile.
as a side note, Nathan has a double ear infection. on tuesday afternoon, he told us that his ear felt funny. he's had a cold for a few days so we thought maybe it was just some pressure built up. then, about 10 minutes later he comes to me and says "mom, i think you need to give me some medicine for my ear. it really hurts." i was digging in the medicine cabinet for some eardrops and tylenol when he starts crying and saying that it hurts really bad. i called or pediatrician's office hoping to get him in. it was only about 2:30. the receptionist told me dr.G was out of the office and that they were short on nurses and the other doctors in the office couldn't see him until the next morning. by this point, nathan is hysterical. we decided to take him to grace clinic. the copay there is $20 when the ER is $100. we had to wait about 20 minutes before they had us all checked in. the whole time nathan is crying and hollering rather loudly. the recptionist keeps looking at me and saying,"is he sick? does he not feel good?" duh!
He keeps crying and hollering that he hurts so bad, and keeps saying "i want to see the doctor" over and over. i am crying too because i don't know what to do for him. poor thing was in sooo much pain. finally we see the doctor. it really wasn't that long of a wait. they got us in pretty quickly, it just seems like a long time when your child is in pain. as i said, he has a double ear infection. she said that his ear canals where so swollen she couldn't even see his ear drums to tell if the infection was in the canal or behind the drum. however, at this time it was a mute point, either way he had to have antibiotics. also i found out that i wasn't giving him the right dose of tylenol. i wasn't giving him enough of a dose. that made me feel really bad that i could have helped him feel better sooner is i'd just upped the dose a little bit. live and learn, i guess.
we are getting ready for VBS next week at church. such an exciting time. it always brings me to tears to see the little ones giving their hearts to Jesus and asking Him to be the boss of their life and their forever friend. we can always use more help, so if you're not doing anything next week, come down and help us out!!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
hey everyone! Just bared here. sitting in my bed, taking it easy, a little bored while the boys are taking a nap. they have been fighting off colds, so they were both pretty tired. I pumped them full of vitamin C and zinc. I would sure be mad if i had to miss out on a rockin' 4th of july party on saturday evening just because my kids had colds. Nor, do i want a cold either.
I have been enjoying listening to Gus-Gus singing the last couple of day. I am pet sitting for my parents. they brought me their Labradoodle Yogi and their parakeet. I am really digging the bird! never thought i would like to have one, but its really relaxing to hear him singing and chirping. the only problem would be T's bird dog. our cats are leaving the bird alone, but Sandy is very interested in Gus. My mom says i can't keep him when she gets home. I told T he will need to get me one though. and, poor Yogi, she doesn't seem to understand what's happened to her mommy. she darts out the front door everytime someone comes or goes. we've had to be real careful.
I got called to go to see my OB next week on thursday. she probably wants to visit some more about my options concerning the cyst situation. i will try to remember to update here. my next ultrasound with Dr. A will be on July 13th.
I have been enjoying listening to Gus-Gus singing the last couple of day. I am pet sitting for my parents. they brought me their Labradoodle Yogi and their parakeet. I am really digging the bird! never thought i would like to have one, but its really relaxing to hear him singing and chirping. the only problem would be T's bird dog. our cats are leaving the bird alone, but Sandy is very interested in Gus. My mom says i can't keep him when she gets home. I told T he will need to get me one though. and, poor Yogi, she doesn't seem to understand what's happened to her mommy. she darts out the front door everytime someone comes or goes. we've had to be real careful.
I got called to go to see my OB next week on thursday. she probably wants to visit some more about my options concerning the cyst situation. i will try to remember to update here. my next ultrasound with Dr. A will be on July 13th.
Friday, June 26, 2009
New status
so, i kinda have a new status from my newest ultrasound today. The cyst on my right ovary is still there. It hasn't shrunk (bad) or grown any bigger(good i guess). According to how far along I am in my pregnancy, my ovary should be about midway up my side. Mine, however is not. Dr. A said it is still down really, really low and is tucked behind my uterus. He thinks that it is a endometrial cyst, and possibly the cyst and ovary have become attached with endometrial tissue to the back of my uterus and who knows what else in there.
He then told me about a woman they treat recently, that had a similar cyst rupture at 31 weeks causing her to go into labor and then into emergency surgery to remove the ovary and tube. And, of course, landing her preemie baby in the NICU for several weeks. I am 25 weeks this week so, I have a long way to go yet.
That really scared me! I am on strict orders to have no strenuous activity and no lifting. "You just need to be really, really careful," he said. If i feel any pain, no matter how minor, I am to head to the ER right away. He said they really don't like to have to do surgery during pregnancy, but it would be better to do a scope surgery while pregnant than to have to deliver a really early baby and have emergency surgery if the cyst ruptures. As it stands, it looks like the most likely option will be delivery by c-section and doing surgery at the same time. Most likely I will lose the ovary and the tube on the right side. I will go back again in 2 weeks to check it out again. Dr. A also said he doesn't understand how I am feeling okay and not in pain all the time.
So, basically, I'm kinda freaked out. I really don't like the idea of surgery during pregnancy, having the cyst rupture and having a NICU baby, really don't want to have a c-section, nor do i like the idea of losing some of my parts. Don't really like ANY of these options at all. the option I like the best is complete and total healing of the ovary and cyst and that I can have a normal delivery and have a healthy baby and a healthy momma! I know that Dr. A and my OB are christians, so I'm sure they would choose the same option as me. so, all my blogger/facebook friends out there, please pray this for me! Thanks!!!
On a positive note, Anna Kate is growing good and doing wonderful. She currently weighs about 1 pound 4 ounces which puts her at the 51 percentile. Right where she should be! I got to see some really good 4-D snapshots of her face. The tech even said that she looked really cute! Thomas didn't get to go with me today. Thomas and Noah spent 4am to 8am in the ER. Noah has croup and had trouble breathing but is doing fine after some meds and a shot. So, I went to this ultrasound solo.
Tomorrow is a garage sale. i am soooo ready to get this junk OUT of my house!
He then told me about a woman they treat recently, that had a similar cyst rupture at 31 weeks causing her to go into labor and then into emergency surgery to remove the ovary and tube. And, of course, landing her preemie baby in the NICU for several weeks. I am 25 weeks this week so, I have a long way to go yet.
That really scared me! I am on strict orders to have no strenuous activity and no lifting. "You just need to be really, really careful," he said. If i feel any pain, no matter how minor, I am to head to the ER right away. He said they really don't like to have to do surgery during pregnancy, but it would be better to do a scope surgery while pregnant than to have to deliver a really early baby and have emergency surgery if the cyst ruptures. As it stands, it looks like the most likely option will be delivery by c-section and doing surgery at the same time. Most likely I will lose the ovary and the tube on the right side. I will go back again in 2 weeks to check it out again. Dr. A also said he doesn't understand how I am feeling okay and not in pain all the time.
So, basically, I'm kinda freaked out. I really don't like the idea of surgery during pregnancy, having the cyst rupture and having a NICU baby, really don't want to have a c-section, nor do i like the idea of losing some of my parts. Don't really like ANY of these options at all. the option I like the best is complete and total healing of the ovary and cyst and that I can have a normal delivery and have a healthy baby and a healthy momma! I know that Dr. A and my OB are christians, so I'm sure they would choose the same option as me. so, all my blogger/facebook friends out there, please pray this for me! Thanks!!!
On a positive note, Anna Kate is growing good and doing wonderful. She currently weighs about 1 pound 4 ounces which puts her at the 51 percentile. Right where she should be! I got to see some really good 4-D snapshots of her face. The tech even said that she looked really cute! Thomas didn't get to go with me today. Thomas and Noah spent 4am to 8am in the ER. Noah has croup and had trouble breathing but is doing fine after some meds and a shot. So, I went to this ultrasound solo.
Tomorrow is a garage sale. i am soooo ready to get this junk OUT of my house!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
really needed to update
Okay, so most of you know that we are having a GIRL! We couldn't be more thrilled! Thomas wanted to take the boys with us to the ultrasound. i was not very thrilled about the idea, however, thomas thought it was important for them to be there. i let him win on this one. My appointment was at 845. we were supposed to be leaving for a vacation trip to dallas as soon as i got through with the appointment. we left our house at 800 to drop our dogs off at the kennel for the weekend. for some reason, it took FOREVER to check them in. I ended up being about 30 minutes late at the doctors office. I was NOT happy. I CANNOT stand to be late for anything, makes me feel really, really stressed out. So, i was not in the best of moods. once we finally got into a room, the ultrasound tech told us right away that we were having a girl. The boys were excitied! Thomas just looked at me and said, "i told you!" I was completely surprised. I had secretly been hoping for a girl, but didn't want to get my hopes up or to feel disappointed in any way. Needless to say, I was thrilled. The boys were really good for about 30 minutes and then they started hitting each other, arguring, and acting up. Another nurse came and took the boys out for a walk around the office and to get a sucker. i was embarrassed about that. they will Not be going with us for any follow up visits!
Our little sweetie was soooo very active. It took the tech a long time to get all the pictures that she needed. whenever she was able to get a still shot, measure the stuff she needed, and then switched back to a video shot, she would have completly flipped around to the other side. Literally, it took her 30 minutes to get the four pictures of the heart that she needed. I started to get worried that something was wrong because she was taking so long on the heart. The tech told me that the baby was just so active she couldn't get any good shots of the heart.
I did have a small problem with a large cyst on one of my ovaries. The Dr said that they become concerned when one measures 5cm or more. Mine measured 7cm. I am supposed to just be aware if I start to feel any kind of pain on that side. The concern would be that the weight of the cyst would make the ovary twist over and cause the tube to become twisted cutting off blood flow to the ovary, which would require emergency surgery. I had a 5cm cyst when I carried Noah. It went away on its own then, so I am beleiving that to be the same outcome again. I will go back at the end of June to check on things again. If by chance it doesn't go away by the time this little girl is born, I will probably be looking at surgery to remove it before I would come home from the hospital. I really don't want that to happen because I don't want anything to stop or slow down the nursing process. No bottles for my baby! I know it wouldn't be the end of the world, babies have bottles everyday, but still..... So, my prayer and belief is that by my next check the cyst will be gone!!!
After, we got finished with our appointment, we called the grandparents. Talking to my mom, is when the tears hit for me. I'm having a GIRL!!!! We headed to wal-mart and with the same tradition as with the boys, Thomas got to pick out the first girl outfit. the boys picked out a really sweet white and pink stuffed bunny.
After a few more quick errands and some lunch we were finally on the road to Dallas. This post has gotten long enough for now, and i guess i will post more about our dallas trip later.
I'm having a Girl. I'm having a Girl. Sorry, I'm just excitied. I'm having a Girl!
Our little sweetie was soooo very active. It took the tech a long time to get all the pictures that she needed. whenever she was able to get a still shot, measure the stuff she needed, and then switched back to a video shot, she would have completly flipped around to the other side. Literally, it took her 30 minutes to get the four pictures of the heart that she needed. I started to get worried that something was wrong because she was taking so long on the heart. The tech told me that the baby was just so active she couldn't get any good shots of the heart.
I did have a small problem with a large cyst on one of my ovaries. The Dr said that they become concerned when one measures 5cm or more. Mine measured 7cm. I am supposed to just be aware if I start to feel any kind of pain on that side. The concern would be that the weight of the cyst would make the ovary twist over and cause the tube to become twisted cutting off blood flow to the ovary, which would require emergency surgery. I had a 5cm cyst when I carried Noah. It went away on its own then, so I am beleiving that to be the same outcome again. I will go back at the end of June to check on things again. If by chance it doesn't go away by the time this little girl is born, I will probably be looking at surgery to remove it before I would come home from the hospital. I really don't want that to happen because I don't want anything to stop or slow down the nursing process. No bottles for my baby! I know it wouldn't be the end of the world, babies have bottles everyday, but still..... So, my prayer and belief is that by my next check the cyst will be gone!!!
After, we got finished with our appointment, we called the grandparents. Talking to my mom, is when the tears hit for me. I'm having a GIRL!!!! We headed to wal-mart and with the same tradition as with the boys, Thomas got to pick out the first girl outfit. the boys picked out a really sweet white and pink stuffed bunny.
After a few more quick errands and some lunch we were finally on the road to Dallas. This post has gotten long enough for now, and i guess i will post more about our dallas trip later.
I'm having a Girl. I'm having a Girl. Sorry, I'm just excitied. I'm having a Girl!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Help me! I need help!
Well, there is only a couple more days until we finally get to have our ultrasound. We should definitly be able to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. but, what we need some major help with, is baby names. i have a few ideas and thomas has a few himself, but there isn't anything that we both like. so, everyone, please send me some names. we like traditional names, not necessaraily bible names, but nothing too trendy or overly common. i don't really want there to be 4 of the same name in the nursery class.
again, send me you name ideas!!!!!!
again, send me you name ideas!!!!!!
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