I'm just a bill. Yes, I'm only a bill.

We got our EOB (i.e. explanation of benefits for all you non-insurance folk) from our brief hospital stay in Minnesota.

Total charges: $3,297.90
Patient responsibility: $50.00
Good health insurance: priceless

Do you know how much the IV cost? $1785...just for the IV! That's over half of the total bill. Still waiting on the Urgent Care visit.

Total teeth count = 14 (8 bottom, 6 top)
So, I found yet another tooth making 6 new ones in the past month. Well, 2 of the uppers aren't quite through yet but I think the major pain has passed. Only 6 more to go! Not sure where they're all going to fit though.

This is Lu during a "time out". I've read they don't really work until 18 months, at the earliest, but sometimes he just needs to calm down when he gets into tantrum mode. It seems to help. He just lays there and thinks things through.


Tom's due home tonight. We've surely missed him.

Amoxicillin, Augmentin, Omnicef...oh my!

I'm glad to say that last week is over. I got a call from daycare Tuesday afternoon reporting that Lu had a another fever (102). I was hoping this was another 24-hour deal, but unfortunately he didn't make it back to daycare the rest of the week. His temperature kept climbing every night and finally peaked at 104 early Friday morning.
I took Lu to the doc's Thursday morning and found out that the Augmentin that he had just finished the night before didn't cure his ear infection. His ear looked worse than before! The doc brought out the big guns and put him on a 10-day course of Omnicef. If this doesn't work we're off to the ENT for possible tubes.
He's been on antibiotics since early March and I would hate for him to be on them much longer.
Luckily Lu hasn't had a fever since Friday afternoon but he hasn't eaten much since last Tuesday...unless you count the old piece of cat hair-covered shredded wheat that he found under the recliner or some sweet smelling silica gel (I'll get to that one later). My big man has lost some weight but I'm sure he'll put it back on soon.
I'm pretty sure he's not eating because of his FIVE new teeth. At least that's how many I can count. With the fever, infection, and teething the poor thing was miserable.
Last night Tom had to make our first call to Poison Control. Lu had been chewing on the cap to our Airborne tablets. FYI, they put that silica gel moisture absorbing stuff in it and so toddlers probably shouldn't be chewing on it. Of course we realized this when most of that stuff had already been consumed. It was actually the happiest he had been all week. Maybe we discovered some new teething/ear infection cure. Anyhoo, they said it wasn't poisonous, only a potential choking hazard. He seems fine today!
Tom's off to Orlando for a conference (that lucky @#%@#$) so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Lu's cleared for daycare on Monday.

We found a new park but it wasn't that impressive.
Feeling his new teeth.


Climbing over the rail.

Happy Mother's Day!

After a fun evening of play last weekend, Lu woke up with goopy eyes. I was keeping my fingers crossed that it wasn't pink eye but on Monday we were sent home from daycare with the fear that it was. So, Tom took Lu to the Doctor's...again. No pink eye. Yes double ear infection. He had JUST gotten the clear on his ears the previous Friday. So...he's back on a stronger antibiotic and we're hoping this kicks those buggers. He was out of daycare again on Thursday because he had a fever. Couple that with the diarrhea and subsequent diaper rash from the antibiotics and you have a very unhappy child. He seems to be back to normal now. The poor guy has had a rough few weeks!Oh,and I just found another new tooth. Top right side.

My second Mother's Day was fantastic. I stayed in bed until 8:30a while Tom cleaned the entire apartment and made some bacon and pancakes for breakfast. We took Lu to the park in the afternoon. Here's the proof.

His first time on the swings.










His first time drinking out of a fountain.



This is what happens when you leave an opened container of vaseline in front of Lu while you're changing his diaper.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there.

Cinco de Mayo

Not much to report this week.
Lucius has 2 molars in so that makes 10 teeth total (as far as I can tell).
We went to a friend's house on Saturday and Lucius got to play with their 2.5 year old, Noah.



Look how fast he can slide!


Playing Lacrosse


Lucius loved playing with all of Noah's cool toys.

Our Week in Minnesota

Auntie Carol and Great-Grandma stopped by Saturday night to give Lu his birthday present (Thanks for the great book!).

It was near impossible to get a good picture.


This was taken a few hours before Lu's hospital visit.


The infamous hospital visit. Barry (the bear-creative, I know) kept him good company.


I kept waking up through out the night to see Lu sitting up, entangled in his IV line. I'm amazed he didn't pull it out.

The following morning. You can tell he's fully hydrated by the size of his diaper.


Tom's feeding Lu pedialyte through a syringe/medicine dropper. Lu was very apologetic for stressing out his parents and having to be admitted to the hospital.


Visiting with friends.




Lucius and Lotar (biiiig dog) got along famously. Lots of kisses were exchanged. Hopefully Lotar didn't catch "the virus".


I should mention that Lu cut another tooth (bottom right side) and is cutting about 2 more (bottom left side). Yes, that was on top of the 102 fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and double ear infection.


Playing with Uncle Paul.


Auntie Lisa and cousin Ryan.


Lu and Grandma blowing out their candles. Happy Birthday!


I suggested to Tom that he may not want to give Lu a whole piece of cake. Tom's response was, "Oh, he won't eat it all". Yeah, right. The kid has a major sweet teeth. Just like at daycare, he inserted some applause in between bites.


Grandma with grandsons. Looks like Ryan got all of the hair!


Our flight home. While it was great to see everyone, I wish "the virus" hadn't followed us West. Unfortunately, Grandpa caught it on Thursday. Word has it that he's feeling better. Sorry Grandpa! Get well soon!

Doing better

Lu is doing much better today. He has yet to throw up and has been able to hold down some milk, cheerios, and a banana. He's even smiling again!
I'll have to wait to post pics until we get home. I forgot to pack the cord for the camera.

How we ended up at Minneapolis Children's Hospital

Well, Lu had his first ER/hospital visit and I'm really hoping we won't have to go back this week.
Last Thursday Lu came down with a virus that had been going around daycare. Diarrhea, vomiting, fever - the works. Tom and I were read to change our planned trip to Minnesota that Saturday. However, Lu did pretty well on Friday so we boarded a plane Saturday morning and headed to the Twin Cities. Once we got to baggage claim things started going downhill. His diarrhea started again. We got to Tom's parents' house and the vomiting followed shortly thereafter. The poor thing couldn't even keep water down.
By 1:30p on Sunday I finally talked Tom into taking him to an Urgent Care. The doc told us he had a double ear infection on top of the virus. The perfect storm as Tom put it. They had to take his blood from a heel prick and that did not go over so well. People in the waiting room could hear him screaming. The lab results came back screwy and since he hadn't eaten since Saturday morning and had only 2 oz. of water in between, the doc sent us off to the Children's Hospital in Minneapolis.
We were admitted quickly - no wait! They took the typical history and did the typical exam and decided to give him some IV fluids.
Took two tries to get the IV in. Not too horrible, although Lu would probably say otherwise. They also ran another blood test while we waited.
Lu's glucose levels and blood cell levels were all within normal range but his CO2 was low - 15. If it's a 14 they automatically admit you.
We stayed at the ER for a couple of hours and the doc finally decided to admit us since Lu wasn't doing much better.
So, we stayed over night. Lu got a couple doses of antibiotics for his ears, some ibuprofen for his fever and pain, and his IV of fluids.
We were discharged at around 12:30p today.
Unfortunately, Lu has thrown up twice since then and has only had 2 oz. of formula. Right now he's refusing ALL possible flavors of pedialyte.

School Pictures

I don't know why, but I get such a kick out of this picture. My little man.
Note the black nail.

NPS 2006-2007

12-month checkup

Lu had his 12-month checkup on Friday.

Height: 32 3/4 inches
Weight: 24 lbs

He was great getting his shots...no worries there. However, when we were about to leave the nurse informed me that Lu had to go to the lab to get his blood drawn. Yikes! As a former "phlebotomist" I knew he would be difficult because you can't see any veins. And baby veins are quite small. He sat on my lap while I held his free arm down and head slightly tilted back. They went back and forth between his two arms looking for a good vein. I have to give major props to the phlebotomist because he got Lu on the first try. Lu yelped when the needle went in but then watched with curiosity as his blood coiled through the tubing. He ended the day with 3 cool band-aids and a Clifford sticker.

On Saturday we went up to Boston to hang out with Blake, Ellen, Susan, Mel, and Jeff. Mel and Jeff are running the Boston marathon tomorrow. Good luck!
Here are some pics of Lu opening his presents from Daniela and Susan. He loved them!

Susan's keeping his attention.


Whatchu talking 'bout Susan?

Another milestone!

Lucius had another first today. His first timeout at daycare. Oy vey. Supposedly he "went off" on a little girl. I'm assuming that entailed biting because they mentioned that luckily she was wearing three layers. The daycare ladies think she took his toy. I'd buy that theory because Lu has become very possessive of his playthings. He doesn't let anyone get away with taking his toys. So...he had to sit in his crib for a couple of minutes to calm down and collect himself. Looks like I got the bully...not the bullied.

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

One of my favorite authors passed away yesterday -- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Perhaps best known for Slaughterhouse-Five, I highly recommend reading Cat's Cradle, Sirens of Titan, and Breakfast of Champions. Those are my faves.

Daycare birthday

Here's a video from daycare. Notice that Lu keeps randomly clapping. He was the only one.



Thanks to everyone for the great presents and the birthday moola. Now I really need to open Lu a bank account. Or, I could get a pedicure...

Birth story continued

Happy Birthday Lu! You sure have come a long way.

Sunday, April 9th 2006

Around 9am I was finally admitted to labor and delivery. My contractions were getting harder and I was ready to get this show on the road. During the pregnancy, Tom and I had been practicing hypnobirthing with the hopes of having a pain free birth. Ha! Unfortunately, I forgot that when I’m in pain no one’s allowed to talk to me, touch me, or even look at me. So, Tom got to sit in a chair in the corner of the room while I labored for 11 hours. Although I was hooked up to an IV I was relatively free to move around and so I did. The L&D staff and my midwife, Kristen, were truly fabulous. They let me sit in the shower with hot water running and the door shut for 3 hours. I’m pretty sure I used all of the hot water in New Haven that day. Occasionally they would come in and check Lu’s heartbeat then leave me be. My mantra was repeatedly counting to 10. For some reason that seemed to get me through the contractions. They knew I was scared of pitocin so Kristen said she’d only give me a whiff- and for that I’m grateful. My contractions were consistently 3-5 minutes apart and about 45 seconds long. Very doable if you’ve ever been in labor. Long enough to consider having drugs but enough of a break in between to actually experience microsleep with dreams and everything. Around 3pm my midwife very kindly urged me out of the shower for an examine. Prior to the shower I was only 2 cm dilated. I knew that if I hadn’t progressed after those 3 hours I would’ve asked for drugs. Good news, I was 8 cm - woo hoo! I was fully dilated by 5p and told I could start pushing. Little did I know it would be almost 3 more hours before Lucius would enter the world. I remember there was a clock hanging on the wall directly in front of me and I just kept watching the hands go around. I was positive this whole ordeal would be over by 3p at the latest since my water broke 24 hours prior. I made a promise to myself that this would be over by 8pm, so help me…
For the most part I was in “laborland” as they call it. But I could tell that Kristen and the nurse were starting to get nervous considering it had been over 24 hours since my water broke and I was GBS positive. At one point I saw Kristen tell the nurse to up the pitocin. They tried to do it on the sly but trust me, I could tell. Those last 3 hours were the absolute worst. The shift changed at 7pm so Kristen didn’t get to stay for the birth. Luckily, Amanda, the other midwife that I was hoping to get, came on at 7p. And at 7:51pm Lu was born. The most fabulous fours words that I’ve ever heard in my life were, “The head is out!” And then Amanda had the audacity to ask ME to catch my baby. “Are you bleeping kidding me?” was my initial thought but not wanting to look like an ungrateful mother so soon I half-heartedly reached my hands down and they guided Lu to my chest. While Tom was overcome with joy and shedding a couple of tears all I could do was smile at him and say my first words of the day “it’s over, it’s over!”
After 45 minutes of putting me back together (which took the ob/gyn and the midwife, btw), my parents (who had been waiting outside the room for 5 hours) finally came in to see their grandson. After about 1.5 hours in L&D they moved me up to a postpartum room and Tom went with Lu to the nursery where he was measured, weighed, bathed, poked, prodded, etc…
I got some food and starting calling everyone I knew.
Tom and Lu came back around midnight when I was finally ready to really look at my beautiful son, attempt to feed him (ha!), and try to get some sleep. Over the next few days everyone that examined Lu kept mentioning how perfect his head was and how he looked like a c-section baby. Yeah, tell me about it. Typically a newborn's head is pliable and smooshes together during birth. Nope, not Lu's...hence why it took him 3 hours to make that very short trip.
Although my memory of the experience has yet to fade (you were right mom!), I still want to go natural for the next one. Now how crazy is that?

P.S. If anyone’s in the southern CT area and wants to attempt a natural hospital birth (that’s usually an oxymoron) I highly highly recommend Yale-New Haven Hospital.

P.P.S I'll post some video of Lu's daycare party tomorrow.

Happy Easter!

Lu didn't take an afternoon nap at daycare on Tuesday so he passed at when we got home. Tom finally woke him up at 6:30p.


Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the great birthday gift! Lu loves it! Although we're (especially Ichabod) a little nervous about him with a bat. Does that shirt look familiar Boyd's boys?



Well,one year ago today at 2:45p my water broke while I was napping in bed. It was a Saturday and Tom and I were planning on going out to eat for the last time pre-kid. Lu wasn't due until the following Friday (4/14), so we thought we had plenty of time. Of course Lucius had other plans. I should've known when I spent Friday night cleaning our bedroom like I had never cleaned before. I was just thankful that my water broke at home and not a day earlier while I was at work. What a mess! Luckily, Tom had been making me sleep on towel for the last month, so the bed was safe.
Since I was GBS positive the midwife said I had to be admitted as soon as my water broke (which only happens prior to labor starting 10% of the time). So, I knew dinner plans were cancelled and I had a long night ahead in the hospital. I was able to take a shower and we took a couple of "heading to the hospital" pictures. I called my parents to tell them to get their bags packed because they'd be driving to Connecticut the following morning.

Oh, poor Ichabod has no clue what's in store.


I spent the night hooked up to monitors and an IV (which took four tries!) of antibiotics and fluids. The doc checked me every few hours and gave me something (not pitocin, that came later) to speed things along.
I was able to call friends and family to tell them that this little boy would be here soon! But not soon enough - ha. Until tomorrow...

Video

Here's a video compilation of the weekend. It's several minutes long.