4/30/13

Oh, My Aching Back

So I had my first visit to the Chiropractor last night. It was great… until about 3 hours later. Let me back up…..
About six week after I had Emma, right before my six week check-up, I’d be sitting on the couch nursing her, when all of a sudden I’d get this shooting pain up my back and I wouldn’t be able to move for about ten minutes. This would happen about five or six times a day. On the fourth day of having it I went in for my post-partum check.
I told my OB what was going on, and she said that my back was seizing. She had told me to stop nursing and start taking muscle relaxers. Well, I didn’t stop nursing, and I didn’t take the relaxers and it stopped seizing in its own about 3 days later. That was truly hell because when it would happen I couldn’t move. So if Emma was crying (which was all the time back then) I couldn’t pick her up or do anything about it until the pain stopped.
Fast-forward to around six months, post-partum. I made an appointment for my regular OB check-up.
I had told the doctor that I was still having tension in my back from holding Emma (she’s a BIG baby).  She checked me over, head-to-toe, and said that my whole body was tense. Okay folks, I don’t know about you, but I for sure thought I could tell if my whole body was tense, and it wasn’t. She prescribed me more muscle relaxers (three months worth).
After about two months of muscle relaxers, I noticed that my back no longer hurt, but my neck started hurting. I stopped the pills, and decided that if anything was going to help me, it would be a chiropractor.
Well, low and behold, I put it off so long that I can barely move my neck now. I finally went to the doctor last night, and here is what I found out: I am literally tight from my head to my toes. Literally. The OB was right.
I got 40 minutes of the electric shock stuff, 5 minutes of a massaging tool, and 5 agonizing minutes of him putting so much pressure at the top of the neck that I almost cried. After all that, he said that he still couldn’t adjust me because my body is in such bad shape. He told me to come back ASAP for the same treatment, and maybe after 5 or 6 more visits I can get an adjustment.
I had no idea that it was that bad. I mean, I know it hurts, but I just thought it was stiff neck… a normal thing.

So, around three hours after my appointmetn last night, after I was feeling on top of the world, the main areas started to swell and ache again. Burn even. And today they hurt again. They did warn me that this would happen, but ouchie!
Oh! I also found out that while Coventry is a crappy plan for medical coverage, it has AWESOME benefits for chiropractic; $20 copay per visit, no maximum number of visits. So, needless to say I’m going again on Wednesday, and then hopefully Friday, and then maybe Monday, Wednesday, Friday of next week too! Haha. Can’t stop me now!
I should mention too that I am seeing Dr. Gene Bell off of Lindbergh in Florissant, MO. He is great! I highly recommend him. J
Here’s to health!
Jenni

4/20/13

Emma is 9 Months Old!

Nine months ago I was a brand new Mommy. Overwhelmed, stressed, confused. Now, I've been a Mommy for nine months, and I'm still overwhelmed, stressed and confused. I knew it would be work to raise and take care of a baby, but I had no idea how hard that work would be! At least it is the most enjoyable, fulfilling hard work you could ever ask for. :)

On Monday, Emma was due for her nine month check-up. I was a little upset because this time the doctor seemed rushed. He must have been overbooked or behind. He still spent about 30 minutes with me, but it wasn't the casual, question and answer setting like before. Oh well, we all have bad days.

Emma measured at 29.25" long. Three months ago they measured her at 29". I asked this time why there was barely any growth, and their response was that they probably overstretched her before. I cannot accurately express my disappointment, but to give you an idea, her baby book will now appear that she has not grown at all, when she has grown out of some of her clothes so we know she's stretching out.

She weighted in at 23lbs. 13oz. - that's 99% again. Her doctor seemed very pleased at her height and weight and said that she's growing as she should.

He asked a lot of developmental questions to make sure that her brain is growing as it should too. He mentioned to me that she's ahead of schedule in each area, except... I can't remember the word he used. But, it has to do with interacting. Like, we should be practicing patty-cake, and the fist bump, and giving five, and "so big." He said it's a 12 month milestone really (meaning they learn it after 9mos but before 12mos), but since she's ahead in everything else that's what we should practice. So we are.

He asked if Emma was walking. No. He asked if she was standing on her own. No. He asked if she was letting go for a second or two. No. That's the one thing we were practicing, but she's so scared to let go and try her own balance! Dr. Murphy said that's not a big deal and they walk when they feel comfortable, so not to even bother with practicing and spend our time on the interactive side of things.

She got two shots this time. Her last Hep P, and her last Rotovirus (I think). She didn't cry for either shot!!! The nurse said that these two don't sting as bad, but still, I've never known a baby to not cry for shots. That's my strong little girl. :)


He put his computer away and he said he needed to go over some things with me since she's learning things so quickly. He went over the stairs stuff again and talked about how we shouldn't be using a walker at all (even though we don't have stairs. He wanted to warn me that people will want to treat Emma like she's older, and to be sure to tell them that she's only 9mos old and to treat her gently. Then the last thing he wanted to talk about was her girly part. He said that starting at this age, bath time shouldn't be lasting more than 10 minutes total, and if there's play time it comes first. Once soap gets mixed in the water he said it's time to hurry and get her out. The reason why is because it can cause bacteria issues in girls. He also said that we would know if there were any issues if her diapers had a strong ammonia smell. Well, needless to say I think I smell pee all the time now. Lol.

After all of that he asked if I had any questions. Well I had a list, but I didn't get to ask them all. So, this is what I did ask:

I asked about formula and if the new Similac Go & Grow is any good. He said to just continue to use what I'm using because it's all a gimmick to get people to buy more (it's up to 24mos of age). Little does he know I had good coupons so I have three tubs of it. Lol.

I asked about cups with straws that say 12+ mos on them and he said that if she likes it then use it. He went on to explain that anything with an age on it is really just to get people to buy more because it creates a need to purchase the next level up.

I asked about allergies because I thought Emma was getting some, but he said that babies this young don't get SEASONAL allergies and what she had was more than likely a cold. Well, he was right because she gave it to me, my Mom and Gene. Go figure.

I didn't get to ask about some food examples. But we did talk a bit about carbs. At her 6mos check he said to keep her away from carbs. Well, what does she eat? Cheerios, pancakes, pasta, puffs. Lol. But he clarified that he meant simple carbs. So things like her puffs, and cereal should be in small quantities and not an every day occurrence. This wasn't because it's necessarily bad, it's more because of her size... so he says.

I mentioned to him about how Emma throws a complete hissy still when she has to be laid down... like for diaper changes, after bath, for lotion, etc. He said we shouldn't be using a diaper changing table anymore. I have a hard time with this seeing as we JUST bought one like 2 or 3 months ago for my parents' house and I'd feel like it was a waste of money if we don't use it. Plus, while she may weigh a bit more than most, she doesn't wiggle too much when getting changed. I don't know, I'm torn.

All in all it was a very informative. check-up, and she got a good bill of health. I do sometimes wish I would just go in every month to see Dr. Murphy, only to reassure myself that what I'm doing is okay.

So, that's it for the appointment. But before I'm done I want to mention everything that Emma's doing now that I may not have mentioned before.

We all know that Emma is crawling like crazy (after all, she came in 2nd place for the diaper derby), but did you know that she's climbing?!?! She climbs over anything she can, and she loves it! Here are some shots of her crawling all over her Daddy.



Emma can now wave and clap her hands. I feel like we've practiced both of those for months. She also does both waves; the standard side-to-side and the up-and-down. The clapping was more recent and I owe it all to my Mom who did patty-cake with her all the time for the last few weeks. Emma doesn't do patty-cake, but she claps, which I think is just so cute!

I get kisses all the time. I can hold her on my side and say "kiss" and I get a nice open-mouth kiss on the cheek. I say "aaaaaw" after each one as her reward. Hahaha.

She's better at feeding herself cheerios. She could do the pincher grab and feed herself before, but it's more perfected now. I just pour some on her tray and she goes to town. We don't let her feed herself any real food though because we don't like messes. Lol.


She says Momma and Dadda like a pro now. Sometimes she just babbles them when she's playing, but she does look at us and call us by our names when she wants us for something. Mostly when she's hurt or getting tired.

She finds things by name. We say "where's bunny?" or "where's chick?" and she finds them for us. It's the cutest thing and we are sure to congratulate her each time she's successful. :)

What we've been up to:

We go out to eat pretty much now that Emma can tolerate being in a high chair. She seems to enjoy it, and we like to get out of the house (especially if I don't have to cook).


I started planning Emma's 1st Birthday Party. I'm not full-on planning it, but I've decided the theme and I've started buying some decorations.

I tried to switch her to sippy cup only, and she went half a day without eating. I gave in, and decided to give her until she's a year old. I feel like I failed on that front.

Gene and I still hold her for every nap. For the whole nap! We don't mind since we don't get to see her for naps but two days. She still gets put down at Grandma and Grandpas. :)

We've been buying more books and reading to Emma more. We never really did so far, but lately we try to more.

We took Emma to the Cardinals' Home Opener. While the parking was an issue, and it was more difficult than we thought to take the Metro and carry a bunch of baby stuff around the ballpark, it was a great time. I think that each time the crowd cheered she thought it was for her. It was so cute!


Well, that's all I can think of at the moment. If I think of something else I may pop on here and add it.

I just can't believe we were/are so blessed to get Emma. I thank God every single day for her. She made me whole.

Jenni

4/12/13

Random Thoughts

Have I mentioned to you all how excited I get for Emma’s check-ups? I get to go, ask as many questions as I want to, I get to see her height and weight listed out for me, and I always walk out feeling like I might be doing okay as a parent. I honestly wish I would have just taken her each month for a check-up… but I don’t have that much vacation time so that wouldn’t happen really.
Anyway, my sweet baby turned 9 months old TODAY! I can’t believe how big she is getting. I mean, I know they get bigger as time goes by and all, but when it happens to your own baby it’s kind of shocking. Just 9 months ago she was so tiny. Haha. Well, tiny for a human, not tiny for a baby because let’s face it, she was a BIG baby.
Isn’t funny that nine months being pregnant, waiting for your bundle of joy, it feels like it really takes years instead of months? Then afterwards, nine months go by so quickly. What makes it even more strange, is that each day feels like three. So really, I feel like 27 months have gone by. Lol.
I’m already starting to plan out Emma’s first birthday party. Pinterest will be a big help in the end, but really, all the thoughts I’ve come up with so far are my own original ones. That could be why there’s no real theme, but it’ll be great no matter what. J
I think Gene is worried that I’ll go over the top, because I will. Yes, I’m going to invite way too many people. And yes, I’m going to go overboard with food and drinks. But, I love to entertain, so that’s how it always is… he should be used to that! *I might even have a photo area for guests to get their pictures taken!
A co-worker is pregnant. I’m jealous. I wanted to hurry up and get to cookin’ another one right away, but Gene decided that he wanted to wait. How are we supposed to be the Duggars if we wait so long?!?! My thought on it is that if we didn’t do it right away, then we were going to wait like a year and a half before trying again. Then I read an article just this week about how more U.S. women are dying during and after childbirth. It’s scary stuff! It makes me think that Emma might just have to be the only one. But, I want to also say that I couldn’t be happier for said co-worker. I’ve already started making a list of all the things that worked out so well for Emma and her friends so that I can be sure to get them for her. J Oh, and she’s having a girl!!!
So, Emma goes to the doctor on Monday and I will be sure to post her stats and all conversations had with the doctor right away. If I had to guess, I think Emma is around 32” long, and 26lbs. We shall see if I’m close. J
Talk to you Monday!

4/5/13

Movies

With the passing of famed movie critic Roger Ebert, I’ve been surrounded by conversations about movies – the good, the bad and the ugly – so I thought I’d put together a little blurb about my loves, and some recommendations. *I could have probably listed hundreds of recommendations, but these are the ones that come to mind.
Top 3:
1.       A League of Their Own. Hands down my all-time favorite movie. I could watch it morning, noon, night, weekday, weekend, winter, summer… you get the picture. The actresses (and occasional actor) were phenomenal. They were able to make you fall in love with their character, with the thought of all-female baseball, and with the story as a whole. I think what made me love this movie even more is that aside from the actual participation in the league, my mom could be Dottie; she can play ball better than any unprofessional male or female I know. She would have definitely made the team.
2.       Terminator 2. While I can’t see myself watching this movie more than once or twice a year, I feel like it was the start of an entirely new movie generation. It was well before its time as far as storyline and effects go, and let’s face it, “I’ll be back” is one of the most buzzed about movie quotes. J Definitely a must see for all generations young and old.
3.       Finding Nemo. While this slot could have held so many movies for me, I had to go with Finding Nemo. It is a movie that anyone of any age can enjoy. It has a great story plot. You laugh. You cry. And while it has its annoying parts “Shark Bait ooh-ha-ha!” it still captures the heart of many. My favorite character? Dory, of course!
Recommendations:
-          Any movie with Tom Hanks. This man cannot make a bad movie. Even the “weird” ones like The Terminal are fantastic. FYI, The Terminal is a WONDERFUL story. It will be boring to those of you like my friend Holli who cannot sit through a movie unless it’s a comedy or horror, but it’s worth the watch (or attempt, if you’re like her).
-          Pride and Prejudice. Okay, so Holli wouldn’t like this one either, but it’s a must see for those of you who are like me and wishes the world was the same as it was back then (except with modern medicine of course).
-          The female classics: Pretty Woman, Dirty Dancing, Steel Magnolias. Can you believe Holli hasn’t seen Steel Magnolias? The girl doesn’t have good taste in movies. Haha.
-          Roadhouse. There is just something about this movie that makes it a great one. No idea what it is… maybe subliminal messages?
-          Moulin Rouge. Okay, I have a HUGE, GIANT crush on Ewan McGregor. I think he might be gay though. *Sigh* All the super cute ones are.
-          Oh! But Jude Law isn’t and him and Kate Winslet both play in a fantastic movie called Contagion. Seriously. See it. Watch it. Think long and hard about it.
-          Multiples: Lord of the Rings, Twilight, Pirates of the Caribbean, Die Hard.
I love movies. I used to dream about having Roger Ebert’s job. To be able to sit privately and watch thousands of wonderful movies? Aaaah, only a fantasy to those like me. J
RIP Roger Ebert.