We were told that there's a very distinctive pattern after a T&A surgery. When the kids wake up, they freak out. They feel very bad. Then, during the first few days, they tend to feel better. Then, sometime between Days 3-5, the pain is at its worst. Then it gets better. Days 7-10 are the riskiest in terms of post-op complications: as the scab comes off, there is a risk of bleeding. Bad bleeding means a return trip to the hospital, anaesthesia, re-cauterization of the wounds, re-recovery. It's very rare. I am putting much intention toward a smooth Days 7-10.
True to form, Days 3-5 have posed challenges. Day 3 was much better. When my mother came over from our next-door neighbor's house (where she and my father spent a few nights while our neighbors were away), Elan said "Good morning, Nana!" with so much alacrity she wondered if she had accidentally stepped into the wrong house. I was out remembering what day of the week it was, so I missed most of his extraordinary good mood, but he was still feeling well enough to play football in the driveway in ... more
Botanical gardens, Berkeley, January 2012I want to say thank you for the text messages, emails, phone calls, voicemails, old-fashioned cards, and telepathic messages that have been sent our way over the past week. It's been so nice to feel the support of our community as we deal with this, our first real medical situation with one of our children. (And how lucky we felt, at Children's Hospital, where there are some very sick children, that this was our first -- and still an elective ... more
Elan doing his impression of a giant-eyed wood elf, January 2012First off, Elan's T&A surgery went fine. The surgeon told us afterwards that his adenoids were big, and that she thinks the surgery will correct the sleep apnea. So that's the good news, and it was a big relief to hear after what was, for me, the worst part - the time during the actual surgery. I have an overactive imagination, and I've watched a lot of Grey's Anatomy episodes.The bad news is that ... more
Elan, nearly 5 years old, November 2011Back in October, we took Elan to the Stanford Sleep Clinic. The doctors there examined him and then took a complete history, which translated into an hour and a half of us talking, trying to explain exactly how it is that our child doesn't sleep. That's an exaggeration. He does sleep, obviously, otherwise I would have sold him on Craigslist by now, or checked myself into a mental institution. But he sleeps fitfully, with frequent wakings, regular bouts ... more
Comfort food in progress, October 20111. When all else fails, cook a brisket. With lots of roasted carrots and potatoes to soak in the briskety juices. Do not expect your 4-going-on-5-year-old, the source of The Trouble, to touch it, but the baby, who still has no teeth yet loves chicken sausage and pesto pasta, might gobble it up.2. Do not allow your husband, plumbing novice, to try to replace the garbage disposal, even though you asked him to do it just last night. Understand ... more
Dandelion, Washington, August 2011Some of my favorite friends-who-also-happen-to-be-bloggers have written recently on this question I was exploring yesterday, the how does she do it? question we women tend to ask ourselves about other women who seem to effortlessly and perfectly juggle the balls that we ourselves feel we might currently be dropping.(Yes, I know there's a Sarah Jessica Parker movie with almost that title, but no, I haven't seen it. Movie theaters are not part of my current reality.)I said that I liked to ... more
Ocean and sunlight, San Diego, July 2011*A friend who had been on dialysis got a new kidney from a living donor, a woman who is a friend of a friend but not someone she had ever met before the transplant process began. Recipient and donor, both young women, are doing well post-surgery. I am blown away by the generosity.*Emry can crawl.*Elan can read.*Both my children slept until 6 a.m. this morning, drank some milk, and went back to sleep until after 7:30.*I went to ... more
Drayton Harbor, Washington, visiting my in-laws, August 2011I've been writing a lot of blog posts in my head in the middle of the night.That's because I haven't been doing a lot of sleeping in the middle of the night.Back when Emry was still a work-in-progress, the thing I was most nervous about when it came to expanding the family was sleep. Elan has always been a bad sleeper, mediocre in his best stretches, and so I was justifiably nervous that I would end up ... more
Mama, I don't know WHAT you're talking about... Emry eating yogurt, July 2011
The children have been mean at night lately. One night, Emry's up every hour and a half. The next night, Elan's up several times. Last night, Mikhail was away for Night 3 of his business trip, and they split the night: Elan took the first half (1 a.m., 3 a.m.) and Emry took the second half (4 a.m., 5:30 a.m.). See, it works better that way. Neither of them get too tired ... more
Mikhail went on his first (of many to come) business trip last week. It was trial by fire for me: 5 full days, 4 and a half nights of doing the parenting-2-children thing on my own. Luckily for me, my sisters-in-law took Elan for one night so that I had one night and morning of only having Emry, which was quite luxurious and relaxing. I do so love living close to family!Emry in the Ergo, camping, MayThe week went pretty well on the whole. ... more