Poison ivy

Baby and me shortly after birth. Maya still has the antibiotic ointment smeared across her eyes. They need a water soluble replacement. They had given Silver Nitrate to my first two (water soluble) but that has changed. Note my new glasses picked up just the day before. Please do not note the roots that need retouching badly. When my babies aren't around, then maybe I'll deal with roots. My chemo curls have morphed into chemo waves.

I am very sensitive to poison ivy. I am constantly scanning my surroundings for it and refuse to walk on paths where it may be brushing up against me. A month ago, we were walking Dakota down a path and I had to keep her on a very short lead due to it presence. The person with me saw no such danger so I had to do the dog leading. A few years ago I started to tug on it in my garden when I realized what it was. I quickly ran to wash it off and did not touch anything including my body. But 3 days later, the rash was all over my belly (which I certainly didn't touch). The other day, in a part of my yard I never saw poison ivy, I started to pull on a very small plant..ugh! baby poison ivy but so small the leaves weren't completely formed (it did have a red squarish stem though) I touched everything with my left uncontaminated hand and washed with fatty soap forever. Too late. It is all over my neck and under my chin 4 days later. I am nervous about Sunny's romps through the woods. She's given it to Julia a few times, who must be as sensitive as me. Last year I was careful to garden with gloves on at all times due to how fragile my nails were (thanks Taxol!!) and my immune system not being its usual self. I wore through the finger tips..need new gloves.


Maya had her first period yesterday. I had asked Naomi earlier and she thought I was crazy but Don'tae remembered that I said this was a possibility and didn't panic when they saw a bit of old blood.

All the babies (and their parents) come later today.
Happy Fourth!!!!!

Invasion of the grandbabies

Such tiny hands

Hard to believe that less than a year ago, Daniel was smaller than Maya

Sleeping peacefully on Grandma's bed

All the grandkids-2 days, 10 months, 29 months

Naomi was released today. Lots of hurry-up and wait situations getting her ready to leave. Since it is a Saturday and a holiday weekend, the hospital was empty with little services. Noone to check to see if we installed the car seat correctly (a very time consuming chore and we still don't think it's in right).

Shanna was too tired to drive through the night so they stopped but eventually made it here.

While Naomi was off showing the baby (I tried to float the idea of visitors coming to see her..not her driving all over the place with a newborn) I ran in the oven like heat. At least the humidity is low though it is baking my plants to a crisp.

No word from my world traveller. Hopefully he is safe.

Priority of the right

I feel uneasy when my kids are on long trips. I breathe a sigh of relief when they are safely there.

Shanna is driving from Boston to here trying to take advantage of the boys' sleep cycles. They have a video player to amuse them but they like to move after a while and don't suffer in silence. She left 12 hours ago, which means if she were me and didn't have her paasengers she'd be here already.

Josh is driving from Cologne, Germany to Paris, France. I mapped out several iternaries for him (as I am a map freak and love to do stuff like that). One going through Belgium, the other mainly through France but going by some cool cities and through Luxembourg. These will probably be ignored. He is with co-workers who hopefully understand French driving patterns better than he does. Their hotel is right across from the Loevre. Wish I were there.

One difference is the placement of traffic lights. Here they are in the middle of the intersection overhead. If I am the first car, I pull up to the crosswalk or all the way to the intersection. In France, if you do that, the light mounted on the side, will be behind you. It took a while for me to adjust to that and prodding by irate drivers behind me to go when I couldn't see the light.

And their cryptic "Vous n'avez pas la priorite de la droite!" In France, there is the priority of the right meaning people coming in from the right to a road get preference. Here we have the unspoken priority of the straight: meaning if you are on the road already, others coming in from the side will just have to wait their turn. In traffic circles (which are more common than lights), they will have "Vous n'avez pas la priorite de la droite!" as it ends up with less accidents. In Belgium, European capital of traffic accidents, that isn't so clear and it is the unspoken, priority of whomever jumps the gun first.

Maybe I should not have included Belgium in his road trip. Damn. I hope he bought the map I told him to.

Well they do what they want to do.

Steve told his mom who lives in Seattle, last night that she is a great-grandmother again. She of course was surprised. What, was she pregnant??!!!! Photos are being sent to her. She did get to meet Oliver in person when he was 14 months.

But I will have 3 babies here soon!

First day on earth

Asleep in her bassinet

Getting clean for their big trip

I've yet to see Ms. Maya with her eyes open but Don'Tae took this shot while I wasn't around. From this, it appears she has Naomi's eyes and mouth. Naomi says the eyes are green but there's a good chance they will turn brown. No sign of red hair.

Since Naomi had the baby after 8 pm, she isn't being kicked out until tomorrow. So far Maya appears to be quite healthy and eager to nurse. We visited her today and all is well.

When Dakota jumped off a bed onto a carpet and had trouble walking, Naomi did take her to the HS but without her paying cash up front, they wouldn't see her. So much for wanting to help dogs. Just as well they didn't see her as then they would seize the dog if she didn't have resources to fix it. Apparently dog ownership is only for the rich.But she seemed to get better and clearly was not in pain, we assumed she'd heal (and now she is using her leg even more!).Even the vet who first examined her agreed that the dog was not in pain. We have this in writing. Today was the day we had to prove we have a surgery scheduled or they seize the dog. In their eyes, this was way more important than Naomi being in labor. Imagine being in labor and some bully comes in threatening to take your dog away!!! No word from them yet. Dakota is no longer with us. One would assume they have bigger fish to fry with all the dog fighting going on but this investigator seemed fairly committed. Meanwhile our house guest denied launching this. She has said that they asked her if she would like to file a 'cruelty' charge but said no.She said she had no idea that they would pursue this. I am angry at her because she knew how much the dog was loved and cared for. How come she couldn't tell them that?

And would people take their animals to the HS if they knew that if somehow some rare condition is found, they would be prosecuted for not knowing about it?

And my adorable grandsons should be on their way as I type to visit. They (the parents) will try to drive while they sleep. They aren't so adorable being confined and awake. So tomorrow, I will see all my grandbabies.

Maya is ex utero

Don'Tae holds his daughter for the first time

Yep, I'm a girl. About 5 minutes after she was born, Naomi asked-oh, is she a girl?

Happy mom and Maya's first meal. Naomi seems to have nursing down pat.

Maya Rose was born at 9:15 pm weighing 7#14 oz. Naomi happily chatted with friends until 7:30 pm when the new midwife on duty, Ann, decided to break her waters. Contractions then became fast and furious with no breaks in between. She tried to relax in the tub. She handled things quite well with breathing for about an hour but it was becoming more and more difficult. She never asked for drugs nor was she offered any. She did ask for God to help her...please. About 8:45, she was 8 cm. Soon after, she wanted to push and it was hard to get the midwives back. She pushed for about 5- 10 minutes and I could see Maya's head getting bigger and bigger. When there was 2 inches of head showing (looking scarily like the top of a walnut-quite bumpy), she reached down to feel her baby. Several loops of cord were around her neck which made her heart rate go down towards the end. She lay quietly on top of Naomi blinking at her new world while Naomi cried. Soon she was happily nursing after Don'tae cut the cord. She has about a half inch of loose black curls but has very light skin. She is very healthy. It was a miracle.

We are in the hospital!

Last full belly shot at 39 weeks in triage while waiting for a room

A day later

Naomi is having the strangest labor ever. She is at 7 cm, having fairly strong contractions, and is in her room now, the tub room, to comfort her if she ever experiences pain. Her girlfriends are visiting her now so I am giving her privacy. Now she is going for a walk..unbelievable. We went for 4 long walks today at a good clip for 3 hours total.. No waddling or heavy breathing for her. The baby's head is down in a good position. They estimate the baby to be about 7 lbs but I bet it is 8. She is quite chipper. Don'tae is coming soon with his family.

All is not peachy here in the land of strange labor. We got a visit today from the  animal cruelty officers!!!! I was asleep at the time as I had stayed up with Naomi. Steve answered the door having no idea what they were talking about, not that they identified themselves at all. It is not clear why they did not ask for me as I was listed as the contact person. No mention was made of Naomi whose dog Dakota really is. Apparently the powers that be do not feel that we have been taking proper care of Dakota (despite the $500 of care over the last 2 weeks) because I didn't swear that I'd immediately take her to an orthopedic specialist. The vet had called me when I was on my way to the hospital. I never said that I wouldn't deal with the leg. Anyrate, if we don't have a plan in place by tomorrow, they will seize Dakota..no special consideration for the fact I am dealing with a laboring teenager..the dog comes first!!!Is the dog in pain? No!We have this in writing from the vet. She told me that the dog MIGHT be in pain in the future as the bone tries to heal but was not in pain for the time being. Apparently my house guest had exaggerated the sub-optimal care she received. Now she denies that she wanted to launch a cruelty investigation but that's what is happening. She had volunteered to take Dakota in while we dealt with other issues in return for her staying with us but we were paying for everything.  Now we are told that she told them or at least gave them the impression, if it weren't for her, the dog would never get care. I have left a message that she is to correct that statement. Meanwhile, she moved out of our house while we were in the hospital dealing with Naomi. She led them to believe she was a neighbor, not a life long friend who was staying with us. I don't know why these people can not get their fact straight as it should be obvious that she was acting as our agent. She had the vet write down all her findings so there would be no mistake.

So if someone can't afford a $2000+ surgery, should they have their dog removed? We are not cruel nor was the dog in pain except when it first landed. The leg was not even swollen. Even their vet didn't think the dog was in pain. Would people take their pet to the HS if they knew that the animal could be seized due to alleged neglect? I really think the public should know that this is a possibility. My advice to anyone reading this is NEVER use their clinic.

Naomi was concentrating on her contractions and these dog nazis come in and upset her with this!!!

Silent labor

Well Maya is still in utero. Naomi is a medical puzzle, one Midwife Kathy has never met the likes of. The other night at "Meet the Midwives", Naomi listened to each one's spiel and made decisions whether she liked them or not. She liked Kathy the best except for Heather whom she sees. Kathy is a redhead who rides a Harley to work as UM does not charge for motorcycles but charges its employees' cars an arm and a leg to park. She seems a no nonsense type of woman with no make-up and does not fuss one minute with her hair.

We waited a long time in triage as they we were busy. Finally she was hooked up to a monitor. Strong contractions every 3 minutes, at 5 cm with a bulging bag of waters pushing through the cervix (no it didn't break): all the classic signs of active labor except one: the patient feels nothing. She lay through contractions giggling and continued to talk to the midwife without taking a breath. Does she have unusual pain tolerance? HA!!! Ms. Everything is a Ten. Menstrual cramps feel like end stage labor to her. I got her birth control pills in part to see if the menstrual cramps would ease..fat lotta good they did. Cramps and PREGNANT. Of course there was some issue with compliance.

So we had a dilemma: she could be admitted but would be encouraged to walk until something happened (by then it was close to midnight) or she could go home if we lived close (which we do) and she could rest. She was sure Naomi would be back in a few hours but she was wrong. I suspect this labor has been silently going on for sometime (like the past 2 weeks). I drove Don'tae back to his apartment and made a midnight dinner for Naomi who said she was starving but ate about a cupful and was full. Steve was nervous that Naomi would just silently have the baby in bed and we'd wake up to a mess. I noticed a light on at 5am and found her on the computer. She had one painful contraction at 4:40 am but nothing more painful. Her back hurts. I hear her downstairs snarfing down cereal. When I get dressed, we will walk and walk.

Meanwhile we have our tiny post-surgical patient. She was very groggy yesterday and threw-up several times. She had her first accident since she moved here a week ago or so. She slept quietly in the crate near our bed but when I got up to check on Naomi, she got up too wanting to eat and go outside. So she seems to be healing. The vet called to give me the sad story about her leg. A  months ago or so, she landed on it strangely (on carpet jumping off a bed, not a huge distance) and began to limp. She didn't seem to be in pain beyond the first day (lets you touch the leg without biting). I assumed she sprained it (in contrast, Sunny misjudged something and ended up landing 6 feet down on cement-yelped and limped for a day and then was fine as a pup). Dakota used the back leg only occasionally for a while and now one leg is noticeably bigger than the other. For the intake physical for the spaying, they didn't think it was broken but just atrophied due to little use but yesterday she was x-rayed while she was under. There had been a break of the femur head and now the hip socket has degenerated. If we were 'good' dog parents, we would get a hip replacement or maybe even an amputation. She said the leg would not heal correctly and even though she is in no pain now, might become in pain down the road when she's older. There was also the possiblility of the hip socket already degenerated due to Legg-Perthe-Calves disease but how was I to know it? The dog was not in pain. We have this in writing from the vet.

But this will have to wait.

We have a baby to entice out.