Lisa Bonnema

Mom. Writer. Speaker.

Archives for 2007

Update on Baby Seth

by

I’ve been wanting to post about Baby Seth for days, but I wanted to read through the email I got so I could make some sense of it. So, here is an edited version of the info I received from my girlfriend:

The doctors are all in agreement that little Seth has a cancer known as neuroblastoma. One of their doctors would like to see his scan again to decide whether or not they should start chemotherapy.

The positive thing about Seth’s prognosis is that he is so young, and the crucial tests came back with the numbers the doctors wanted to see. Other than high blood pressure, the symptoms on paper give a positive picture. The unfortunate part is that when you see Seth, his belly is so obviously full, that there are concerns.

At this point, it is possible that Seth could be one of those babies who have this condition and then it actually slowly dissipates. The way to deal with this is to watch him closely, measure him daily, do scans weekly, and decide based on those answers if he is one of those ‘miracles.’ If in the midst of the waiting there is any significant change, they would most likely begin chemo.

The other scenario would mean doing the chemo now, with the hope that it would shrink the liver as well as the tumor. Although the lay person’s response is usually to just do the chemo, the medical community believes that avoiding the effects of chemo are worth it if at all possible simply because there is proof that Seth could be a miracle based on his situation.

The family has asked that you pray for patience and energy as they wait for some answers. I will keep you posted on what I hear from my girlfriend. In the meantime, the family says: “…we will just be grateful for our little big-bellied babe. We all agree that it just makes him look more like his papa!”

We are praying Baby Seth!

Since we’re on the subject…

by

I thought I might as well tell you that Emma is starting to NOT pee in her pants. Well, she is still peeing, but in the last 3 days, she has peed and gone #2 in her potty two times each!

The funny thing is that I wasn’t planning on starting the whole potty training thing until after the baby was born, but Miss Emma had been showing signs of being ready. After talking to my mom I decided it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.

So on Saturday morning, we tried and she did it! She got a sticker and we made a really big deal about it. Yesterday morning, she peed, but we had to go to church, so I didn’t push #2. But this morning, she did #2 again. We’ll see what the rest of the week brings…

I’m not going to push it because at 22 months, she is still fairly young, but if she’s acting ready, I also don’t want to miss my window. We’ve had the potty out for her to “play” on for a while so we could have some discussion about the whole concept, and lately, she really seemed to understand more than before. Plus, her wet diapers have been spreading out, she has scheduled bowel movements, and she wants me to change her as soon as she goes #2. I don’t think the pee bothers her at all since her diapers are so absorbent and I change her pretty often, so that may be our hurdle. Still, I figure one thing at a time. None of this was planned, so I’m not going to freak out about it or make it a big deal.

But…

How awesome would it be if I only had one diaper to change instead of two?!!!! I know they often revert after a new baby, which is why I was going to wait. But, I might as well try now that she seems open to it. I have to admit part of me is sad that this might really be happening. She’s growing up so quickly — but I know this is just the beginning of many stages that will make me miss those early days. Let’s not even mention the fact that her birthday is almost a month away!

Both Jeff and I are really in shock at how fast it has all gone by. It’s so bitter sweet how proud you are of them, yet want so badly to make it all stop. It’s like when I peek in Emma’s room and she “reading” her book to herself, pointing out pictures and naming them. I get these overwhelming feelings of pride and sadness. I want her do it by herself (especially so I can get a few things done), but part of me wants to run in there and read her the book myself. I can see how parents can smother their kids. It’s just so tempting!

But I know there are times when I need to step back and let life happen. Even if it means letting my baby grow into a little person. There’s always eternity!

Yep, I peed my pants…

by

And I have the emergency room receipt to prove it.

Let me explain:

*Note: This may be TMI for most of you, but I haven’t posted a juicy preggers story yet, so I feel I’m due!*

Last week started out to be a good week. Emma’s meltdowns had slowed down, and we had a great Father’s Day. Then Tuesday hit. I felt like total crap. Flu-like symptoms all day and totally exhausted. And I felt like I was peeing EVERY.TWO.SECONDS. I felt like I was newly pregnant again, but yuckier. I even asked Jeff to come home early from work (read: on time for once). He didn’t, but that’s another post…

Anyway, Jeff comes home, lets me take an hour nap, and then is off to job #2. I start to feel better, put Emma to bed, and get a little work done. Around 10pm, I headed upstairs to go to bed, but stopped on our main floor to pee for the millionth time. Then I made my way upstairs, and by the time I reached our room, I noticed my underwear was soaked. Not just a little wet, but soaked. I had felt nothing come out, and what was there didn’t smell like urine. I couldn’t get a hold of Jeff, so I called the doctor.

Now let me preface this by saying that I normally would have written this off as a weird pregnancy thing, but because I felt so yucky all day, I got a little nervous. I had flu-like symptoms a few days before Emma was born, and my water broke before I went into labor. Now with Emma, it was the stereotypical gushing tidal wave they tell you will never happen. But, as most of you know, “they” say it is USUALLY more like a constant trickle of water. So, the wet undies and flu symptoms made me extra cautious. Our baby wasn’t even 1 pound yet!

Long story short, the doctor told me to go to the emergency room, but said it was probably urine. Jeff got home, my mom came over to sit with Emma, and a long night of waiting, tests, and an ultrasound (bonus!) told us Baby B was just fine. The diagnosis was a urinary tract infection, and antibiotics were prescribed.

Four days later I find out none of it was necessary. Apparently my bladder has a mind of its own (even when I don’t sneeze!)

So that’s the good news. But then Emma got sick. And not sick with a mild summer cold. Nope. Weeeeee got another one of those good ole viruses!

As you saw from Friday’s post, we were getting temps in the 102-103 range for a few days. That, I could handle. The next few days, however, have totally sucked.

Zero sleep Friday night brought us to the doctor on Saturday, who informed me that Miss Emma had stomatitis, which is basically the mouth version of hand, foot and mouth disease. Our poor baby had sores all throughout her mouth. She was miserable, wouldn’t eat, and wouldn’t drink anything other than cold milk. We even tried rice ice cream and milk shakes for the first time, but she was too afraid to try anything new.

Yesterday was the first day she was able to have a full meal without wincing in pain. That has been the hardest part, watching her be soooo very hungry, try to take a bite of something soft, and then make this horrible face and spit it all out. We have honestly been living on scrambled eggs, oatmeal, and milk.

The nights have also been pretty bad. Most of the time, there was nothing I could do to comfort her. Motrin wouldn’t even help. I’ve never felt so helpless or heartbroken in my life. And this was just a stupid virus!

Anyway, we are on the road to recovery, and Little Miss is already back to her old opinionated ways. I think we both have been cooped up for too long and are way overtired. A few nights of good rest and a fun morning at Grandma’s today should hopefully get us over this hump for good.

So there you have it. For now, I’ll leave you with the little bit of fun we managed to have during our 6-day house arrest.

As any good mom will tell you: When in doubt, make cookies!

IMG_4083

IMG_4087

Wish me luck!

by

I’ve entered another one of Stephanie’s contests, and I really hope I win this one. I have officially been sold on the whole babywearing thing, and I can’t wait to start building my carrier collection. I recently got a water sling from Ashlee over at Nest, and Mama C-ta gave me a brown carrier that is so comfy I wish someone would carry me around in it.

Anyway, if I win a sling from KimzKreations, I get to design my own. How fun is that?! I’ll keep you all posted!