Break a Mamma's Heart

It's been an interesting week. On Saturday night I noticed that Gabe had blood in his stool. It sort of freaked me out (to say the least) and I was anxious for Monday to come along so I could take him to see his Dr. The bloody diapers seemed to get worse and at one point on Sunday he had just blood coming out. Not good.

Monday comes along and I go to see Dr. Zollo in Provo with Gabe. I really like Zollo. He asks about what Gabe has been eating and such (usually blood in the stool is due to breast milk but I had weaned Gabe the week before). He feels Gabe's belly and decides to send us to the Hospital lab for an ultrasound to see if Gabe had an intestinal blockage.

We get the ultrasound and there is no intestinal blockage, but they do discover a totally unrelated "mass" on Gabe's spleen that is 1/2 inch in diameter. The radiologist decides he needs a better look so he sends us directly in for a CT scan (meanwhile, mom totally loses it)

The CT scan required an IV. I don't know how many of you have seen your 1 month old get an IV, but I felt like a mama bear protecting her cub in there. At any moment I would lash out and kill the poor phlebotomist and he surely sensed it. ;)

The results of the CT scan indicated that Gabe did in fact have a mass on his spleen. (Tell me something I didn't know after the ultrasound. Grrrr....) The mass could be a blod clot, a cist, or cancer. We are deciding what our next step will be. Dr. Zollo would like to wait another 3 months and do another ultrasound to see if the mass increases in size.

All of this is totally unrelated to the fact that Gabe had blood in his stool. The Dr. put him on a different formula (that happens to be about 100 bucks a can) to see if it will help with Gabe's digestive problems. So far, so good (all accept the additional episode with another visit to the hospital on Tuesday). It was an emotional couple of days for me and I'm sure a lot of moms out there can relate. No one likes to see their baby in pain.

After it all I'm grateful for supportive friends and family and good health insurance.

I'll keep you all posted ;)

Random Freaking Adorable Pictures

A Visit from the Griffins and Nan :)

The Griffins all came in town the weekend of April 10th for Kaleigh's baptism. We enjoyed the visit!

Swim Lessons

We signed Axton up for swimming lessons this Spring and his first one was Saturday. It was so much fun! Axton got a little cold, but he seemed to really like it!

Dear Myself, You Make Cute Babies.

I had Michele Reyes take pictures of Gabriel when he was 8 days old. They turned out so well. If you'd like to see the rest you can go HERE under "clients". The password is darling.

Spring is FINALLY Here!

Baby Brother

Easter Egg's, Easter Egg Hunt

Trying things over again
Otter Pops

...and messes that mom only allows outside!

My Mom

There was a moment in the hospital where I realized how much my mom knows me. It was after the c-section and she had gone back to my house to let the dog out. While she was gone, a nurse came in to get me out of bed for the first time. Those of you that have had c-sections will know that getting out of bed for the first time can look a lot like the shower scene from Psycho. Danny was busy keeping my Grandma occupied while the nurse and I gave it a go. It was bad. It was bloody. I was tethered by both my IV and a catheter. I was shaky and weak and it was humiliating to have the nurse wash me down and then wash the floor and shower up after me. When the nurse left I cried.

Mom came back after I got it together and I told her what happened. Then she looked at me closely and said, "then when it was all over did you cry?"

She knew.

She made me a few quilts and a beautiful diaper wreath. She sewed me a carseat cover in a few hours when I asked. She cooked, she cleaned, she did dishes and most importantly payed special attention to Axton. I hate to think of what it would have been like if she weren't there that week.

Thank you mom for everything. I love you.