Can you die of sleep deprivation?

Mila's sniffles never went away after her stay in the hospital.  It got worse the weekend after and now it seems to be slowly dissipating.  The problem now is that the mucous seems to have thickened, making her cough all night.  Last night she developed a raspy cough/voice.  Poor thing. 

Before bed, I turned on the vaporizer, hoping it would help loosen things up a bit.  Her cough kept waking me up until I finally got out of bed at 2 AM and did the saline spray and booger bulb.  I think that helped her breathe better.  But her cough persisted.  It got to the point where I had a momentary anxiety attack that she might have whooping cough.  I suppose it's still a possibility, but after visiting the Mayo Clinic website I decided there's not much I can do yet.  She doesn't have a fever and she doesn't cough to the point of turning red or blue, or vomiting.  According to Mayo, that's when I should take her to the doctor.  Hopefully we don't get to that point. 

4 o'clock rolled around and she was ready to eat.  It was Travis' night to feed her, but it still kept me up.  I feel like a zombie today.  I hit snooze three times and finally got out of bed after Travis' alarm went off.  I got up to make coffee and Aiden came running out of his bedroom immediately demanding milk and cereal.  I swear he was waiting at his door for one of us to get up.  I still don't understand why that kid only sleeps 7-8 hours a night.  Is that even okay for a small child??

Surprise Visit

My father-in-law stopped in for an impromptu visit this weekend.  He hadn't met Mila yet and it's been a while since we've seen him.  He drives a truck (which he is in the process of buying) which puts him in our area from time to time.  That's a plus for us because he lives in Alabama now.  With Travis' mom in North Carolina and the rest of our family in Illinois, that makes visiting everyone a lot more difficult.  If anyone can make it our way, we greatly appreciate it.

Curt got in Friday night.  I made tacos for dinner and then we stayed up late catching up.  Saturday was a lazy day.  We hung out at the house; Travis and Curt did yard work.  We've been getting tons of rain lately.  It's nice because that means I don't have to water the plants as often, but that also means the grass grows a foot a week.  Travis hasn't had to mow he lawn twice a week since the summer of 2010.  Last year we had the drought, and this year he doesn't really have time for that.



Post-yard-work nap

 Saturday evening we went to the Yeager's for Luke's third birthday party.  Luke is obsessed with dragons, so they decided to have a movie night with How To Train A Dragon.  Before the movie, we had pizza, cupcakes and Luke opened his presents.  There was a game with a bunch of balloons taped to the fence.  The kids got to pop them with a dragon stick and a toy or confetti fell out.  They played the movie on the back wall of their house so everyone could see easily. They rented a popcorn machine, passed out a bowl of candy and had balloons with a glow stick inside.  Aiden was one of the younger kids there, so he quickly lost his balloon to an older kid.  I felt really bad for him (I didn't see it happen or I would have done something about it), but he seemed to handle it okay. 

Singing Happy Birthday

Opposite outfits



Watching nicely as Luke opens his presents

Opening gifts



The movie crowd

We didn't get home until 10 that night.  Aiden had a long nap earlier in the day, so he was good the entire time.  I didn't get to bed until 11.  I was thankful when I woke up at 8.  Aiden had woken Grandpa up and they started a movie together.  It was nice to finally sleep in!  We wanted to get out of the house, so we went to a seafood restaurant for lunch.  It's right next to the new carnival pier in Galveston, so it was interesting to watch all the people coming and going and riding the rides. 

After lunch I got in my first real nap that I can remember.  I slept for TWO AND A HALF HOURS.  Can you believe it??  I didn't set my alarm because I was sure someone would wake me up.  BUT NOBODY DID.  Travis came in at 5 to see if I was still going to my friend Michelle's.  Whoopsie!  It was fantastic though.  I can't remember the last time I felt that refreshed.

That evening, the boys stayed home and grilled out.  Mila and I headed over to my friend Michelle's house for our weekly viewing of True Blood.  We always do some sort of food.  This weekend was Mexican themed.  I brought sopapillas and margaritas and everyone else provided the meal.  Since I didn't have Aiden, I stayed an hour later than we normally do.  So basically I null and voided any rest I got this weekend.  I didn't get to bed until midnight and then woke up with Mila at 4 AM.  Four hours of sleep just isn't enough.  I feel hungover.  I'm so happy there's not a drug test or breathalyzer for exhaustion because I would surely fail it.  I need to make an effort to be in bed by 9:30 from here on out. Otherwise I might go crazy. 

I've really been struggling with my weight.  I've had a hard time shedding the pregnancy pounds and it's really eating away at my self esteem.  So far I have lost 19 pounds.  I still have another 15 until I can fit my pre-pregnancy clothes.  I never realized how important my weight is to me.  I've never gotten into exercise, so the only way for me to manage my weight is though a healthy diet.  I'm trying to do that now, but I've pretty much plateaued on the weight loss.  It's so frustrating!  I think part of it might be my sleep deprivation.  I know that can lead to obesity.  I feel like I am fairly active in my daily life.  It's not like I'm sitting on the couch all day. 

One thing that is nagging at the back of my mind is 'what if it's hypothyroidism??'  My mom had a hard time losing weight after she had her third child.  I think it was about a year after having my brother that she went to the doctor to discuss the possibilities.  That's how she found out she had hypothyroidism, which can cause unexplained weight gain . I know it's only been two and a half months since I had Mila, so I'm trying not to over react yet.  It's just a thought that keeps worrying me.  I really want to wear all my old clothes.  I despise that the only thing that currently fits me are maternity clothes.  I'm sure it doesn't help that a couple weeks ago a woman asked me how far along I am.  So embarrassing.

A Frequently Used Snooze Button

Things are a little better. Mila can do an 8-hour stretch of sleep. The trick is timing it to be when we go to bed as well. I've been trying to get her to take her last bottle at 10, but most of the time she doesn't want to wake up. Because of her stuffy nose she wakes up angry several times per night. She goes right back to sleep but it still wakes me up.

We're attempting to transition Aiden out of Pull Ups at night. He's doing great without them at naptime. Sometimes he does good at night, sometimes he wets the bed. We should probably hold off on this until Mila is over her cold. Too much at once!

I've started to fear going to bed. Being awake but tired is much easier to handle than falling asleep and having to wake 3 to 5 times throughout the night.

I don't remember it being this difficult with Aiden. I need to go back and read my blog posts from after I had him. Maybe it's one of those things that you just forget. There is a conference room down the hall from my desk that is usually dark. It calls my name as I pass by every time. I just want to curl up under that conference table and never get up again.

Tonight is Travis' night to get up with Mila if she wakes up. I'm thinking about sleeping on the couch because even when it's his night I still wake up. The couch isn't my favorite place to sleep but at this point I'll do anything for consecutive blocks of sleep.

Last night Travis, Mila and I all passed out as soon as we put Aiden to bed at 8:15. I had set my alarm for 10 to feed Mila one more time. I woke to the sounds of Aiden playing in the living room. I'm assuming he'd had free roam of the house since we fell asleep. When he woke up at 4 AM because he wet the bed he fought going back to sleep. WHY DOESN'T THAT KID LIKE SLEEPING???

Too Much

Ugh.  Travis and I are both sick now.  Thankfully neither of us have a fever.  Just pressure filled sinus cavities that require a box of Kleenex per day. 

I feel horrible that my mom's visit has been filled with so much chaos.  She came two weeks ago and stayed with my sister for the first week.  It rained that entire week.  She came over here last Thursday and we went to the hospital Friday.  Now we're sick.  Not the best visit, that's for sure.

Sunday night I hurt my neck in my sleep.  I have no idea what I did.  I'm not sure if it was a muscle spasm/cramp or if something went out when I rolled over.  Either way, the pain woke me up.  I fell back to sleep as soon as it went away.  When I woke Monday morning, I couldn't turn my head to the right at all and there was some pain when I looked to the left.  Thankfully I was able to make it to the chiropractor last night.  I haven't been in over three years.  He thought I'd moved away.  HA.  I said, "No.  I just have kids."  I'm a little sore today from the adjustment, but I feel SO much better.

Today was Mila's 2-month Well Baby visit. The appointment was in the middle of the day so I had to pick her up from daycare and bring her back.  It was also considered her post-hospital-stay check up.  The doctor was pleased with her. 

• She is in the 75th percentile and she has gained sufficient weight (she lost a few ounces since her stay in the hospital - she's at 11 lbs, 14 oz, 23.5 in. long) that the doctor is okay with her feeding on demand throughout the night.  At the moment, we wake her up between 2 and 3 to feed her.  I'm really excited about the prospect of being able to sleep through the night, or at least most of the night.  I'm hoping if we feed her close to 10, before we go to sleep, then she will sleep all the way until my alarm goes off in the morning.  Fingers crossed.
• She received 4 vaccinations, 1 oral and 3 intramuscular.  One of which is for two types of meningitis.  That means if she ever goes into the hospital again, they will be MUCH less likely to do a lumbar puncture like they threatened to do.
• The doctor hypothesized that Mila is sensitive to fevers.  When she was 7 days old, she had an elevated body temperature of 99.6.  That's not considered a fever, but the doctor wanted to see her at the time anyway.  We were told to monitor her and bring her to the ER if it went over 100.4.  Thankfully it never did.  It's so strange because Travis, Aiden and I rarely get fevers.  I get a cold once a year, but that's about the extent of it.  Hopefully it's all just a fluke.
• I got the doctor's approval to take her outside with baby sunscreen on.  Not that we spend much time out in this humid heat, but it's good to know!

When I signed in at the front desk for her appointment, the receptionist said Mila was not listed on my insurance.  I about shit a brick.  She said perhaps the paperwork hadn't gone through yet.  But when we were in the hospital, the nurse said the same thing and I totally forgot about it.  I got really caught up in what they were doing with Mila and it slipped my mind.  I called human resources immediately to see what is up.  They said they never received my paperwork (I sent it via email).  Holy crap I should have checked on that!

Meh.  After some back and forth with HR, I found that they will add her to my insurance immediately and since I already have family insurance, she will be covered from birth.  THANK. GAWD.  Hospital stays are expensive WITH insurance.  I don't even want to think what it would be without it.  The receptionist was hopeful that my insurance would come through, so she did not make me pay for Mila's appointment this morning. 

I'm so exhausted.  Still figuring out how to live life with two kids.  Mila spent the weekend in the hospital.  She still has a stuffed up nose, so she's not sleeping well.  Travis and I are both sick.  Travis is on-call this week (he had to go out on a job last night).  I hurt my neck.  Trouble with insurance.  Aiden fights anything we ask him to do.  On top of it all, we're approaching the end of the fiscal year which means its our one annual chance to make changes to our benefits at work.  I'm working to create a more lucrative retirement plan to my account and a flexible spending account for daycare.  Both will take a chunk out of my paycheck, so I want to make sure I'm doing it right.

I wonder if anyone would notice if I curled up under my desk for a nap...

Logo Fails

Several of these took me a few moments to see the fail...

Top 15 Worst Logo Fails Ever

Looooong Weekend

I am EXHAUSTED.  Mila was released from the hospital yesterday at 5 pm.  She never developed more than a fever and a booger nose.  She was really tired on Saturday, but I'm sure that's because they kept her up so late with the poking and prodding.  Her doctor was an infectious disease doctor, which turned out to be a godsend.  He didn't freak out about her fever and immediately do a lumbar puncture.  Apparently that's standard procedure when babies under two months have a fever.  Because she was exhibiting cold symptoms (she also had a slight cough) and her brother had the exact same thing at home, he didn't jump the gun.  I am very thankful.  She was poked enough (blood draw and a catheter to get urine).  No need to get her in the back as well!

I stayed at the hospital all day Saturday.  Travis came back up late that afternoon to trade me places.  I went home for a much needed shower, ate dinner and went straight to bed.  We postponed my birthday party that was originally planned for Saturday night.  For dinner we ate leftovers from the dinner my mom made for my birthday on Friday, since I didn't get any - fish tacos.  Aiden woke up once in the middle of the night.  I heard his door open so I went to see what he was doing.  When I asked what he was doing, he said Phage pooped in his room.  I didn't see or smell anything, so I asked him where.  He pointed to a few spots by the door.  I picked them up with a tissue and realized it was vomit, not poo.  When I went to flush it in the toilet, I found a giant clump of cat vomit wrapped in toilet paper already in the toilet.  Aiden had cleaned up Phage's mess.  Aiden likes to help, but sometimes I think he tackles tasks bigger than he's capable of doing.

Travis said Saturday night was fairly uneventful - just the regular vitals checks from the RN.  Her last recorded fever was Saturday afternoon.  I fed Aiden breakfast and headed up to trade spots with Travis.  I was hoping he'd go home and rest, but he chose to clean the house instead.  Someday this refusal to rest is going to catch up with him.  I spent Sunday afternoon with Mila just watching TV and playing around on Pinterest and Facebook (all accessible on my phone).  I was ecstatic when they finally let us leave at 5. 

For dinner, my mom and Travis made broccoli-cheese soup with bread.  We have a lot of food from the cancelled party we need to eat.  We'll save the canned and boxed foods, but the perishables won't last until we can reschedule.

Last night was miserable.  Mila's nose was completely stopped up last night . She won't drink more than an ounce or two of formula before she gets too angry about not being able to breathe.  Since Travis had horrible sleep at the hospital Saturday night, I stayed up with her last night.  She was awake off and on until midnight.  She had horrible gurgling out the nose until that point.  When she woke this morning she seemed to be able to breathe better.  Not perfect, but MUCH better than last night.

The daycare won't use the booger bulb.  I'm really bummed because I know that means she will have a really hard time eating today.  I asked if they had any other kids sick last week and they said there were a few that went home in Aiden's class.  Bummer.  Hopefully we've seen the worst of it.  I need some sleep.

Away From Home

Aiden just woke my mom up because he was yelling for us. Then the poor kid threw up in a trash can. He has a raspy cough that he developed yesterday. My mom thinks he threw up because he was crying and coughing. I wish I could be there for him.

So tired. Went to bed at midnight. Got up at 1 to take Mila for chest x-rays. Up again at 2:45 to feed Mila. Now I'm just waiting to make sure my mom has everything under control before I go back to sleep.

There's a baby down the hall that keeps crying. It's breaking my heart. I just want to yell at the nurses to fix it. I have no idea what's wrong with him/her though.

Now I'm hungry too.

Dirty Thirty

Worst birthday ever. Here's why:

- I turned 30. Officially no longer a kid.
- My family forgot to tell me happy birthday. I had to remind all but one of them. (Travis and Aiden remembered though.)
- My friends were all too busy to go out to lunch today (totally understandable). A few of the folks at my new job did take me out though.
- Now I'm finishing the day off with a hospital stay with Mila.

I noticed Mila was warm when I got her out of the car seat after daycare. Took her temp and it was 100.5F. I called the on-call nurse and she recommended taking her to urgent care or the ER immediately. When we got to urgent care they took her temp and it was at 101.6F. That doctor recommended admitting her to the hospital for observation and run some tests.

I am currently sitting on the fold-out couch in her room with Travis while they take blood and urine samples. My mom is at home with Aiden, who is sleeping.

Urgent care gave Mila Tylenol before we left so her temp was already down to 99.6F by the time she was admitted to the hospital. I hope they will release her in the morning if all goes well tonight but the doctor said 24 hours. I REALLY hope we don't have to stay here that long. My birthday party is set for tomorrow night and I really don't want to cancel that. Of course if it has to be done, Mila is totally worth it.

Night and Day

It's amazing how solidly Mila sleeps when one of us is holding her or when she is in bed with us. Aiden is the opposite. He can sense our presence and it instantly wakes and irritates him. He has been like that since he was a baby. I wonder if that's because he had swaddling to comfort him? Mila does not like to be swaddled.

Today was my first day at work (the new job!) and therefore Mila's first day at daycare. I will blog later though. Must sleep...

Goblet

I remember lying in bed at my dad's house when I was in high school reading the Harry Potter books. I loved them. I used to stay up WAY too late on school nights because I was caught up in a book.

Today Aiden is sitting on the couch, watching the movie made about the fourth book in the series. I frequently find myself thinking about moments in my past - could I ever have imagined where I would be in my life at this moment? Laying in that bed, reading those books, could I ever have thought my son would be watching the movie interpretation of that same book?

So Sleepy

Five days left until I go back to work. So sad! Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to the new job. But I will miss my kiddos!

This week I wanted to treat mornings like I was back at work. I'm not sure how adding Mila to the mix will affect our schedule.

We conveniently forgot to try this yesterday so today was our first go at it. I set my alarm for the same time I used to get up. I wasn't ready to leave the house until 30 minutes after I would normally need to leave for work.

I soooo don't want to set my alarm for 30 minutes earlier tomorrow. 5:15 is too early. Waaaahhh!!

It might not be so bad but Aiden doesn't like to go to sleep until 10 and he wakes up at 5:45. I need to go to sleep at 8:05, immediately after putting Aiden to bed to get enough rest in the night. That does not happen due to Aiden's sleep patterns. How can this kid need less sleep than an adult? Granted, I have been waking up once per night with Mila.

Quitting Time?

I have slowly been weaning Mila. I am currently down to pumping three times per day. Tomorrow I plan to make it two times per day. Why am I so dang nervous about cutting it off completely?

I'm thinking about keeping one or two feeds per day for a while. It would actually be more convenient at this point to quit pumping altogether. It's difficult to pump and take care of a baby at the same time. Ugh I don't know!!