I haven't decided yet what my new year's resolution will be. I have only followed through with one resolution in my life - to stop drinking soda. That was way back when in Jan. 2011. I didn't specifically mention it in that post, but part of my cutting back processed foods was to stop drinking soda. I did not learn how to shoot a gun (still haven't).
For this year, I'm debating between the top two (I'm guessing) of all time resolutions: lose weight and clean up financially.
Obviously, I need to lose some weight - still carrying around 20lbs extra from my pre-baby weight. But I need to make a resolution with something tangible. Like lose 10lbs by March 1. Or no more sweets, but I know that's not something I can live with forever. Heck, I'm constantly pinning cupcake ideas right now for the baby's first birthday party!
The other one is more of a challenge. Our financial situation is about to get ugly when my husband's unemployment benefit runs out. So I'm not sure what my resolution will be. Maybe keep a zero balance on the credit card, no matter what. Or save a certain amount every month. No eating out for lunch - which would probably help both of these initiatives.
What is your resolution?
Monday
Thursday
11 months and our dog is a butthead
Whoops! I didn't post in an entire month. What can I say? The holidays and end-of-the-year projects took over my life.
Tomorrow, my little guy will be 11 months old. We are already planning his first birthday party - CRAZY. This year has been insane. I posted it on facebook a while back that this year has been simultaneously the best and worst year of my life. Obviously the best for the blessing of my healthy, happy baby boy. The worst because of my back and all the struggles that have come with a ruptured disc, surgery and slow recovery.
I still haven't fully recovered but found out in early December that I will not be having surgery again soon unless something drastic changes in my situation. I still have some random pains every day, but my neurosurgeon wants to hold off on surgery again unless I'm in constant pain. I see him again at the end of January so hopefully he will give me the freedom to pick up my hunk of a son again. It will have been five months of his 12-month life at that point that I have not been left alone with him.
About him - he's walking like crazy now and starting to almost run. He'll take about 4 or 5 quick steps and then trip. He's getting bumps and bruises like nobody's business. At paw-paw's house he smacked into a large flower pot that gave him a pretty good knot/bruise over Christmas and also had a scratch on his nose - those made for some nice photos. :)
He's still sleeping through the night from about 830pm-7am and takes at least one nap a day. Sometimes two if we are lucky. He pretty much refuses to eat any veggies but does like green beans from a can and still loves any fruit or meat (except pot roast...) including fish. He is transitioning to 18-mo pants and has been wearing 18-mo shirts for a while. His shoes are size 5W, but are not very roomy already.
Today, while my little man was running around the "baby-dome" area of the house, he was chasing the dog. The dog decided to get snippy and semi-growl/snap at the baby's hand. The dog has never shown interest in the baby or even pretend to like being around him, but I was really hoping he would eventually come around to the idea of another person in this house. The idea of the dog biting my son scares the bejeezus out of me and the husband is even more of a worry-wart than me. Tonight was the first time we started talking about getting rid of our 8-year-old pug.
It makes me sad to think of not having General, but at the end of the day, he's just a dog and quite frankly, is replaceable. The baby is not. What if we can't have another child for some reason? Right now, he's the only child we have and we need to protect him.
Tomorrow, my little guy will be 11 months old. We are already planning his first birthday party - CRAZY. This year has been insane. I posted it on facebook a while back that this year has been simultaneously the best and worst year of my life. Obviously the best for the blessing of my healthy, happy baby boy. The worst because of my back and all the struggles that have come with a ruptured disc, surgery and slow recovery.
I still haven't fully recovered but found out in early December that I will not be having surgery again soon unless something drastic changes in my situation. I still have some random pains every day, but my neurosurgeon wants to hold off on surgery again unless I'm in constant pain. I see him again at the end of January so hopefully he will give me the freedom to pick up my hunk of a son again. It will have been five months of his 12-month life at that point that I have not been left alone with him.
About him - he's walking like crazy now and starting to almost run. He'll take about 4 or 5 quick steps and then trip. He's getting bumps and bruises like nobody's business. At paw-paw's house he smacked into a large flower pot that gave him a pretty good knot/bruise over Christmas and also had a scratch on his nose - those made for some nice photos. :)
He's still sleeping through the night from about 830pm-7am and takes at least one nap a day. Sometimes two if we are lucky. He pretty much refuses to eat any veggies but does like green beans from a can and still loves any fruit or meat (except pot roast...) including fish. He is transitioning to 18-mo pants and has been wearing 18-mo shirts for a while. His shoes are size 5W, but are not very roomy already.
Today, while my little man was running around the "baby-dome" area of the house, he was chasing the dog. The dog decided to get snippy and semi-growl/snap at the baby's hand. The dog has never shown interest in the baby or even pretend to like being around him, but I was really hoping he would eventually come around to the idea of another person in this house. The idea of the dog biting my son scares the bejeezus out of me and the husband is even more of a worry-wart than me. Tonight was the first time we started talking about getting rid of our 8-year-old pug.
It makes me sad to think of not having General, but at the end of the day, he's just a dog and quite frankly, is replaceable. The baby is not. What if we can't have another child for some reason? Right now, he's the only child we have and we need to protect him.
Wednesday
10 months!
My sweet sweet boy is 10 months old!! I can't believe he's so close to turning one. Then we'll be in years, not months. I booked his one-year photo shoot this morning. I'm loving the photos his photographer is posting on her facebook page, so hopefully we'll get some equally cute ones too.
What is my boy up to these days? Walking. That's what. Walking and trying to get out of what we call the "baby-dome." The baby-dome is the baby-safe area of the house that includes his room, the living room and the front foyer. He cannot get to the kitchen, bathrooms or bedrooms. If he manages to escape the baby-dome, he immediately starts grunting and breathing loudly to let us know his mischievous side is out, and heads straight for the dog's water bowl.
His favorite things to eat are meat products. No surprise there. If we give him chicken he shoves it in by the fist-full and mmmms while he's chewing. We let him try the bratwurst we made last weekend and he LOVED it. He could not get enough of it. Honestly, mom couldn't either. I ate two. :)
At his last pediatrician appointment (9months) he weighed 25lb 4oz, was 30in tall and was at the 90th percentile for those two numbers and his head circumference. BIG boy.
What is my boy up to these days? Walking. That's what. Walking and trying to get out of what we call the "baby-dome." The baby-dome is the baby-safe area of the house that includes his room, the living room and the front foyer. He cannot get to the kitchen, bathrooms or bedrooms. If he manages to escape the baby-dome, he immediately starts grunting and breathing loudly to let us know his mischievous side is out, and heads straight for the dog's water bowl.
His favorite things to eat are meat products. No surprise there. If we give him chicken he shoves it in by the fist-full and mmmms while he's chewing. We let him try the bratwurst we made last weekend and he LOVED it. He could not get enough of it. Honestly, mom couldn't either. I ate two. :)
At his last pediatrician appointment (9months) he weighed 25lb 4oz, was 30in tall and was at the 90th percentile for those two numbers and his head circumference. BIG boy.
Saturday
Steroid injection
The MRI results showed I do have a tiny bulge exactly in the same spot that I had surgery. BOOO.
That means I still can't pick up anything over 10lbs. That means I still can't be left alone with my child. That means I will probably have to have surgery again.
I'm having a steroid injection on Monday - that wasn't even an option because the disc was so bulged that there was no room to insert any thing in that space. Hopefully that will make the bulge go back in on its own. We wait 6 weeks and see. If it doesn't, I'll most likely have surgery again.
That means I still can't pick up anything over 10lbs. That means I still can't be left alone with my child. That means I will probably have to have surgery again.
I'm having a steroid injection on Monday - that wasn't even an option because the disc was so bulged that there was no room to insert any thing in that space. Hopefully that will make the bulge go back in on its own. We wait 6 weeks and see. If it doesn't, I'll most likely have surgery again.
Sunday
Another MRI
At my 6-week post-op check up, my neurosurgeon said I should not be having any pain whatsoever. So, I have another MRI this week to find out what's going on. He said it could just be swollen still from the surgery or I've irritated it somehow. It could also be that the disc has re-herniated = worst case.
He put me on a drug called Lyrica that is supposed to help with nerve pain. I started taking it one week ago today and took half the dose prescribed (1x/day instead of 2) all week. In that time, I was definitely dizzy, exhausted and gained four pounds. The side effects are mostly dizziness, fatigue and weight gain. However, I was pain free and actually felt like myself for the first time in about a year.
I stopped taking it Friday when I stepped on the scale. Right now, I'd rather be in a small amount of pain than gain four lbs every week. We'll see how I feel later this week.
He put me on a drug called Lyrica that is supposed to help with nerve pain. I started taking it one week ago today and took half the dose prescribed (1x/day instead of 2) all week. In that time, I was definitely dizzy, exhausted and gained four pounds. The side effects are mostly dizziness, fatigue and weight gain. However, I was pain free and actually felt like myself for the first time in about a year.
I stopped taking it Friday when I stepped on the scale. Right now, I'd rather be in a small amount of pain than gain four lbs every week. We'll see how I feel later this week.
Thursday
9 months
He's wearing 18-month clothing, and needs to get some shoes since he is so close to walking. The size 1.5 and 2 are waaaay too small. I held up a size 3 at the store and they didn't really look big enough either.
He sleeps through the night again - mostly 9p-7a
He loves apples, green beans, cantaloupe, yogurt, sweet potatoes, turkey, cheese and eating whatever mom is eating.
I moved all the plastic containers to one cabinet on the lower level so he can play in "his cabinet" while I clean the kitchen every night. He loves my large water cup with the plastic straw from the hospital.
Monday
6 weeks post-op
The bad news is I'm still having pain every day. It's mild - some days I don't even take any pain medication. But, it's still there. I called last week to tell the neurosurgeon and talked to the nurse. I gave her the run down and even told her my theory that the disc below where I had surgery is now bulged/herniated and sitting on my sciatic nerve. She didn't think that was the case and said "I'm not really concerned about this pain. It sounds pretty normal." She told me to take it easy, with no lifting, bending or twisting.
How does someone live without lifting, bending or twisting? I can live by the no lifting rule, for the most part. I really am trying not to lift anything, but without my husband constantly at my side, I'm not sure how I would do it. What if I were a single parent? How would the baby get in bed, take a bath or eat in his high chair? I don't even want to think about it. I was just unloading the dishwasher and thinking about how I was currently breaking two of the rules. I was bending and twisting (and lifting if you count a plate as heavy) to get dishes out and put them away.
The really depressing thing is how unbelievably out of shape and inflexible I'm becoming. I feel like such a slug with zero muscle and I am so far gone from the pre-pregnant yoga flexibility I had built up. I mean, I can barely sit Indian-style these days. I can't wait to get the okay to at least stretch/do some pilates. I'm not even allowed to start physical therapy for surgery until after I see the neurosurgeon again - Nov. 1.
Until then, we wait.
How does someone live without lifting, bending or twisting? I can live by the no lifting rule, for the most part. I really am trying not to lift anything, but without my husband constantly at my side, I'm not sure how I would do it. What if I were a single parent? How would the baby get in bed, take a bath or eat in his high chair? I don't even want to think about it. I was just unloading the dishwasher and thinking about how I was currently breaking two of the rules. I was bending and twisting (and lifting if you count a plate as heavy) to get dishes out and put them away.
The really depressing thing is how unbelievably out of shape and inflexible I'm becoming. I feel like such a slug with zero muscle and I am so far gone from the pre-pregnant yoga flexibility I had built up. I mean, I can barely sit Indian-style these days. I can't wait to get the okay to at least stretch/do some pilates. I'm not even allowed to start physical therapy for surgery until after I see the neurosurgeon again - Nov. 1.
Until then, we wait.
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