Nola is 6 Weeks Old!

6 Weeks Old

Yep, I'm late, I know. Although this time it's not due to laziness, it's because I've been sick. Went in for the HIDA scan yesterday which was ok except it took 4 hours instead of 2 hours because they needed to prove that I wasn't pregnant. I told them there was no way I could be seeing as I just had my 6 week OB appt on Monday, but they needed a blood test. The lab took forever to process it. Then it took quite a while to find a vein for the IV since I had been fasting they were all collapsed. They had me lay flat on my back on this hard plastic thing for the 1.5 hour test and it was excruciatingly painful. Plus, I was freezing and when I finally got home my fever was 102.4. I've been getting fevers like that everyday for the past week. This morning I called my mom around 7 to see if she could come over to help me since I was feeling so horrible and I ended up puking and taking quite a few percocet to make it through the day. The problem with taking percocet when I don't have anyone here to help me is that it makes me so tired I have to go to bed. So I spent half the day sleeping and half the day sitting downstairs feeding Nola and pumping. Oh, bonus is that I have to pump and dump until Saturday because of the radiation they put in my IV for the HIDA scan. I just want to know what's wrong with me and get it fixed. I'm very scared that they're just going to say something like, 'oh it's arthritis, you just have to deal with it.' I can't possibly imagine living the rest of my life like this.

So, onto Nola. She's doing good. She's not fighting about taking the bottle or drinking formula which is a relief since we have no other options for a few days. She has developed quite the case of baby acne, but it probably didn't help that we didn't bathe her for like 2 weeks since I can't do it by myself with 2 kids while I'm sick. She seems more interested in her bouncer and her swing and particularly likes the vibrating feature on the bouncer, but then it broke. We replaced it with one from craigslist for $15.

Nola is 5 Weeks Old!

5 Weeks old
Taken 12/1/10

Oy, this week has been one for the books. There is something wrong with me. First it was just my back, then it was only the right side of my back and right shoulder with something weird going all spazzy when I ate. Then since I could only sleep on my left side, that whole side ended up getting very sore from arthritis. The dr sent me in for an ultrasound of my gallbladder which looked totally normal and now is trying to get me in for a HIDA scan which checks the functionality of the gallbladder instead of just looking for stones and infection. Problem is, we have to wait for the insurance to authorize it and in the meantime, I'm in pain. Lots of pain. I've tried ice, I've tried heat, I've tried stretching, I've tried massage...anything is just a temporary fix, if a fix at all. Yesterday out of desperation, I went to the ER. The dr there pretty much sucked. He said he didn't think it was my gallbladder so he wouldn't do the HIDA scan and he thought it was muscular. Basically they did blood work and a urinalysis (which just showed my potassium and sodium are low) and sent me home. It was rather infuriating.

I can't believe Nola is over a month old already. I swear, I feel like I just got home from the hospital with her. Nola seems to be sleeping slightly better and we're trying out a new plan. Tony gets up with her once during the night to feed her formula because I'm thinking she might sleep longer that way. Last night was the first night trying it out and it went fine, so we'll see if my plan has any merit. Either way, I'll be getting more sleep because I'll be skipping a feeding during the night and that alone is a huge blessing. Weird thing is that since having Nola, Embry has been waking up screaming at night, like she's having a nightmare. She probably gets that from me because I have nightmares all the time...poor thing.

The first month or so that Nola was home, she was pretty easy going. She hardly ever cried and just kinda whimpered when she needed something. I thought maybe she'd be the laid-back baby that Embry wasn't...I was wrong. She's started crying a TON over the last week or so. It seems that the only way to keep her calm (and sometimes that doesn't even work) is to either feed her or hold her. Oh, but a good thing is that she enjoys riding in the car most of the time. So the crying thing has not helped my daytime sleeping ability. Today was the first time in a week that I've gotten a nap, and boy was it heavenly!

Ha, I almost forgot, Nola had her first Thanksgiving! It was lots of fun besides the fact that I was upstairs half the time trying to fix my back. Anyhow, Tony's mom, Allison, Alex, and his dad came over as well as my parents, Donny, Oasis, and Maisie. The food was delicious (thanks to Tony, his mom, and my mom...cuz all I made was the monkey bread) and we got some really cute pictures of the family outside. I also got a picture that I have envisioned for a while...our girls with both sets of grandparents! :) Then that night Tony's mom, Allison, and I went over to our friend's house to play games which was hysterically fun, I love games and friends. The day after Thanksgiving Allison and I went to do a bit of shopping and then Saturday Allison got the flu that Embry had and so did my mom. Then Donny and Oasis also got it as well as tony's mom. Apparently it's a very strong strain. Saturday before Tony's family left we took the girls with Alex and Doro to the desert museum which was really fun and I can't wait to go back!