oh man..we are in for it! TODDLER BEDS!

The other day Marcin mentioned making the transition to toddler beds for J&K. Originally we wanted to wait as long as possible for this transition, for obvious reasons hehe However, due to my surgery I cannot lift anything really for 5-6 weeks. I want to think I will able to before then but I am guessing probably now. And even I can, not the best idea since there is a lot of healing going on that I can't even see. Anywho, I told Marcin I thought it would be a sensible idea because I won't need help every during week getting lil guys in/out of beds at nap times. Kaleb has already been climbing in and out of his crib. Jakob will swing a leg over but thats it.

 

So this morning while Gavin and I sat on couch snuggling watching Care Bears and J&K ran around/watched tv/sat/fought/laughed/etc., Marcin got started on feeding the monitor through the wall although didnt' quite work but it is safey from reach of little hands. Eventually we all went upstairs to 'help' :-) Eh hem...I sat on the glider and supervised (see? I am being a good patient today) Marcin & Gavin put Jakob's toddler rail on first...at first I think Jakob was upset because he started yelling and pointing at his bed like it was broken. Then we explained it was his 'big boy' bed and he was excited when he realized the endless opportunities this presented him with.

In fact he was so excited, he decided to take off his pajamas, find a bucket for his head and run around like a crazy child! lol He is such a silly kid!!

Kaleb was also excited by Jakob's new bed...Kaleb always wants to climb in Jakob's bed. I do not understand the fascination of it. As you may have guessed, when Kaleb saw Jakob's toddler bed he wanted to 'lay down tooooooo.' Jakob complied at first. Then Jakob decided no one was allowed in his bed. Period. I just hope he stays in it and sleeps during nap and night time!

Marcin then tells Kaleb that its his turn to get a big boy bed too! Kaleb's eyes get really big and he says, "I AM SO EXCITED!" He truly was excited, he was jumping around like a monkey and couldn't wait to get in his new bed!
Gavin was a great helper with both beds, such a little man :-)

Kaleb was not nearly as possessive over his new bed. He invited everyone to come lay down and tuck their toes :-)

I am not certain how this will go...could be good or really bad :/ I REALLY hope it does signify an end to naps. I have a feeling it may for a week or so until they adjust. I also hope it doesn't result in super early morning wake ups.

These guys are in their owns rooms....we went back and forth on this when I was pregnant with them. I was pretty adamant about them having their own rooms. I was terrified, regardless of how many say they get used to each other, that they would wake one another up. We also had the space so I figured why stress over it. At the time we had two spare rooms upstairs, one was being used as a guest room. Thankfully we were also in the process of finishing our basement and we had put an extra room down there. That room became the new guest room and J&K got the two rooms upstairs.

Wish us luck!
 

First follow up AND I got out of house, YIPPEE!!!!

Sadly I have not been out of my house since I got home last Saturday. Clearly, I haven't missed much but a lot of grey skies and rain, ugh! I was anxious to get to my follow up with plastic surgeon because I had a lot of questions.

I really like the plastic surgeon, he is great but he wasn't too helpful in the post-op area. He just said I would be in a lot of pain and take my med. I like for things to be more specific than that. For example, the shower confusion. The nurse at hospital said I could not take a shower for at least a couple of weeks (ICK!) but on my discharge papers, the doc said I could shower. It seemed to be routine to get an antibiotic after surgery to prevent any infections but I didn't get that either.
My only instructions at discharge were 1) I can shower 2) empty grenades 3-4 times a day 3) open binder a few times a day for 10 minutes or so 4) rest, alot. um....ok.

So that is that I have been doing. Except for the shower part...I tried that once, it hurt. I won't be doing that again for a few days. Not to mention it was too much work with the drainage tubes going every which a way, not being able to bend to wash some places, etc. Overall, just a pita. So I will just continue with my sink bath and get Marcin to help me wash my hair. I tried the No Rinse Shampoo....very interesting stuff. Worked pretty well....my hair looked clean for about 2 days. not bad.

At my follow up today, the nurse Dana was SUPER helpful! I asked her where she was a week ago and why she is not doing rounds at the hospital to help out the patients! She said she is currently putting together a post-op packet. I told her I would be happy to help because I feel I have learned a lot the past week that could be helpful to others. She gave me her email....I hope she is prepared for my email LOL

So Dana took stitches out of my new belly button. That was weird...being that my entire stomach is numb and tingly ( IF you have had a c/s, remember the numbness around c/s scar? think of that but all over your midsection, weird.) I don't like to touch it because it freaks me out to know I am touching it but can't feel it.

I digress....she then proceeded to hold one end of the tube close to my stomach and then squeeze all the way down the tube to the grenade.UM WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! lol it did not hurt me but seeing her do it made it hurt. She explained I should have been doing this all week. I told her no one told me to do that. She also said I could let the grenades just hang down....currently they are safety pinned to my binder. They are not something I feel should just be 'hanging' down....what if one comes out? what if I get wrapped up in them while I sleep? the tubes are as long as my legs! I told her that was not a good idea for me but good to know :-P

I inquired about showering..she said that yes absolutely I could shower. THANK YOU!

Back pain....comes with the territory. She had some ideas for sitting and propping legs up, blah blah blah. I have already tried those things...did/does not work. I will deal with it and thank god for percocets!

She gave me a fancy new binder...it is super sexy too!!! Blogger isn't letting me insert a pic but picture this.....nude color biker shorts that go from bottom of chest to top of knees. S.E.X.Y. This is soooooo much more comfy than the other binder the hospital gave me. I am loving Dana at this point! lol

She said to keep on my pain meds as I need them...I told her that is about 2 every 4 hours. She suggested I alternate with 800mg tylenol with the percocets. hmmmm....maybe next week ;-)

I go back to see her next week to have my drainage tubes/grenades taken out. HOORAY!!! YIPPEE!!!! WOO HOO!!!! I hate these darn things....always in my way and stress me out! She said to keep them in as long as I tolerate them, up to 10-14 days. I asked her what the point of the drains were, she explained that the area of my surgery is so large and will produce too much fluid for my body to absorb, the drains help with that. Some surgeons do not do the drains but the fluids will then build up in your body and you have to go to doc to get them drained. YUCK!  *sigh* so one more week with the darn drains. One week down....I can do this!

I was thinking this morning, I feel the best in the mornings, that overall this experience has not been awful. It is a temporary inconvenience and fortunately we have fantastic family and friends helping us out. I wouldn't want to do it again by any means but I know some people who are considering this surgery and on a scale of 1-10, I would put it around a 5. It is tolerable.

Maybe....just maybe I will post my before and after pics. If you want to see, I will happily email them to you but I am not ready for them to be in blogger world just yet :-P
 

b.o.r.i.n.g.

6 days post-op...I am over it! LOL The first two days were fun and nice, now I am ready to be recovered and move on.
Unfortunately that is not the way it works *sigh*

I over did it yesterday. I have been taking 2 percocets every 4 hours...they knock me out and I hate that drug induced foggy head. So yesterday I thought I would try taking 1 perc every 4 hours. Big mistake. I felt ok until the afternoon and then it felt like doc had inserted a full sheet of metal in place of my stomach. The numbness was painful and my back was killing me, so back to 2 percocets I went. 2 hours later and I felt fantastic, except for the back pain. That doesn't really stop...in retrospect, I should have rented a walker with tennis balls for a few days.

I had a slight anxiety attack last night when I realized I didn't have enough meds to get me to my follow up appt tomorrow =0 I called doc office this morning completely prepared to beg for them because when I had my c/s, they would not give me anymore. Told me to take 3 motrin. hmph...I need more than 3 motrin. The nurse listened to my winded explanation and said, "Of course we can give you more but you need to come pick up the script. We cannot call in a narcotics script." I told her my husband would be there to pick it up. She is an angel I tell ya lol

So 6 days post-op....overall physically I feel pretty good except my back. Mentally I am sad because I can't play or snuggle with my boys. Nor can I really snuggle with hubby. This dreary grey weather outside doesn't exactly cheer a girl up either. oh well. I'd rather be stuck inside on a day like this instead of a nice, sunny warm June day.

I am still being a recluse upstairs in our sitting room. On the plus side, this darn room is actually getting some use! who knew?! hehe We have an extra love seat up here and it has been perfect for me to sit with my computer, cell, drinks, magazines, meds, water, etc. I have been downstairs a few times but I realize it is better if I stay upstairs for a few reasons:
1) I rest more upstairs
2) I feel like I should be helping when I am downstairs. I can't really help so then that becomes guilt that I can't help
3) I hate telling the boys I can't pick them up or play with them
4) it's quiet up here. I am thinking these pain meds amplify noises or something lol

I can still hear them all downstairs...the boys laughing, Jakob yelling no because he didnt' get his way or wants to do something himself. They don't really miss me that much which I am fine with....sort of. If they missed alot then they would be crying for me all the time and that would drive anyone crazy. Plus I am so glad that as tired as they probably are (And won't admit to me), my dad and Gay get to spend some time with the kids and bond with them. The boys are having a great time with them. They leave on Friday....I am not sure who will be the saddest? them? the kids? me? marcin? lol

I have completed a photobook and 2 calendars! I have 2 more photobooks to finish up...I think I can do that by end of week, HOORAY!!! it is easy to pick out pictures while in my percocet haze...hard to type or see letters very clearly. They all run together hehe

I received a fantastic surprise when I got home from hospital and another one yesterday. My friend Keeley picked the perfect time to send my birthday gift...a box of goodies and these awesome headbands that I've wanted since I visited her in April! As a matter of fact I need to order some for a couple of belated birthday gifts :/ They do not slip at all!
http://www.sweatybands.com/

My other friend Meg sent me some super cute and comfy pj pants with a People Magazine. Now some may be thinking...a magazine? I was so excited for this magazine! I gave up long ago on reading magazines....they end up at the bottom of the mail pile unread. I actually got to read ALL of this one! As soon as they drainage tubes are taken out, I will be wearing my comfy pj pants! HOORAY!!!!

ok time for some online shopping before I forget what I need to look for! EK!!! thanks for reading my random thoughts ;-D
 

4 days post surgery !

I did it...I actually went through with it. There were a few moments when I was scared to death and wanted to back out. For those of you who aren't aware, I had a procedure last Friday....an abdominoplasty with liposuction to be exact. Also known as a tummy tuck.

Over the past 2 years I have gone back and forth on this surgery. It terrified me, the mom guilt was ridiculous, the amount of money was ridiculous, the recovery & all the help we would need (i.e. inconveniencing others) and it was something all for me. After my 2nd consult with surgeon, I scheduled surgery. This was during summer. Boy that time flew by and before I knew it it was January....then January 10, then the big day, ACK! The plastic surgeon told me numerous times the recovery would be much worse than a c-section and it was by far the worst recovery out of all the surgeries he does. Lovely. I have had 2 c/s and some days felt I would rather not know what I was getting myself into but then after the surgery, I was thankful for my c/s experience...those surgeries have definitely made it easier to cope with this recovery.

So doc cut me hip to hip below bikini line, ouch! I have a drainage tube attached to a grenade looking container on each hip for excess fluid, yuck! I have to wear a binder around my abdomen (just like I did after c/s) and empty out the hand grenades :/ Overall, 4 days post-op I feel pretty good. I am still taking 2 percocets every 4 hours, going to try and cut back to one tomorrow. I have a check up with doc on Thursday and again next week to hopefully get the tubes taken out. They are annoying.


I havent seen the boys and gotten any cuddles in FOUR days....man I miss those little guys :-( Saturday I came home with Marcin and my dad and Gay took boys in basement while I snuck upstairs to my room. I have been hiding out since. They don't seem to miss me too much, at least I get to hear those sweet laughs and Gavin talking nonstop. I am really worried about them accidentally pulling on the drainage tubes. I believe Gavin would be ok but the lil guys worry me. I decided today to be a recluse for one more day :-P Hopefully I can catch up on my hugs and kisses tomorrow!

I thought I would have been much more productive while sitting on my butt for a few days. I have finished one out of 3 photo books I need to do. I need to complete one photo calendar and clean out my inbox. I want to watch a good movie but I have yet to find one that holds my interest :-( I tried '10 Years'.....nope. I then tried "Young Adults" with Charlize Theoron...nope. I was really hopeful Breaking Dawn part 2 would be on DVD by now *sigh* IF you have any suggestions, send them my way! Or some good tv series you have been watching :-)

Thanks!