Just thinking...

Today, as I sat in an exam room at my endocrinologist's office for almost an hour before my 3 minute visit, I started looking at online doctor reviews.  Then, I started thinking about what I would post if I decided to review my OB in Tucson from Kason's birth.

In case you don't remember, or I didn't tell you, I wasn't a big fan of hers.  Upon our first visit, at just shy of 6 weeks, she began by walking in the room and calling my urine, "pee pee".  Strike 1.  That same visit, she did an early ultrasound.  I was spotting and cramping badly.  The only thing visible on her crappy ultrasound machine was an empty sac.  She said, "there's your baby (when clearly there was no baby visible)", and turned the machine off.  She went on with her exam and then told me that I had a threatened miscarriage and I would be seen for an ultrasound by Obstetrix at 9 weeks.  I continued to spot and sat in worry through the Christmas holidays.  Strike 2.

After this first visit, I was thrilled to go to Obstetrix and see my handsome little guy with his heart beating away.  I, however, was a mess everytime I went back to Dr. I's office from that point on. As soon as I walked in, my blood pressure would sky rocket.  Thus began Dr. I's obsession with my blood pressure.  She prescribed me blood pressure medicine, even though I had purchased my own machine and took twice a day readings.  I even brought it in to her office to show that when I was there it matched her machine.  She 'diagnosed' me with chronic hypertension, even after seeing records from other physicians showing my blood pressure was normal, if not even a little low.  She sent me to the perinatologist, who agreed that I had white-coat syndrome (only in Dr. I's office) and there was absolutely no need for blood pressure medication.  Not only was there no need, it could be quite risky, especially since my typical readings are 90-100/50-70.  Dr. I was still upset that I refused the medication.

My blood pressure remained high every time I went to her office.  So, at 21 weeks, she insisted on a 24 hr urine sample and some blood work.  This is where my review would take a drastically different turn from the one I might have previously written.

Dr. I's obsession with my blood pressure could very well have saved Kason's life, as well as saved Kyle and I the heartache of infertility and/or repeated miscarriages.

The urine sample was clean and there was no problem with my blood pressure.  My blood work, however, showed that I had a very underactive thyroid.  Dr. I repeated the blood work and called several endocrinologists in the area to find me the first available appointment.  I was seen later that week by Dr. P and after more blood work, showing my thyroid antibodies and TSH were both through the roof, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease and hypothyroidism.  My hypothyroidism had most likely been accelerated by pregnancy and I was immediately started on a fairly high dosage of thyroid meds.

It took me a while to realize the true seriousness of a thyroid disorder in pregnancy and it took until my pregnancy with Noah to realize what the consequences of not having it checked early and often in pregnancy could be.  Had my thyroid problems remained undetected and untreated, we very well could have lost Kason.  Aside from late term loss and stillbirth, undiagnosed/untreated hypothyroidism can also cause infertility and even slight hypothyroidism can result in early loss. 

Today, I have no thyroid function at all and my body does not absorb the meds as efficiently as most would.  Therefore, I am on a dosage equivalent to what a 250 pound man with no function might need.  This dosage typically goes up throughout my pregnancies (I have had one dosage increase so far) and stabilizes after delivery.  So, while I wouldn't have gone back to Dr. I for a second pregnancy and had already switched OB's in Tucson when I found out I was pregnant with Emily, I do owe her a debt of gratitude.  I don't know where our road might have led had my thyroid disorder gone undetected, but I do know that my family could look very different than it does today. 

So, after all of this, I think my review will remain unwritten.

From Winter to Summer...

What the heck happened to spring????  Mother Nature seems to have skipped right over it here in Colorado.  We went from snow all of April into the first week of May to a high of 87 yesterday.  Blah!

So, in hopes that we are done with it for the year, enjoy some snow pics!

Bookmarks

I have lots and LOTS and LOTS of pics to catch up because blogger has decided it will no longer let me upload my pics from firefox like I always have.  Today, I finally decided to experiment with Chrome and voila!  Pictures.  So, over the next few days, I hope to get lots of catch-up posts going.

The first one here is from a few weeks ago.  We sat down and made bookmarks, which Josie then took to her school and laminated for us.

Ugh! Head Colds for Everyone

About 3 weeks ago, Noah was coughing a little bit at night.  It didn't really affect his sleeping and he was fine during the day.  About a week later, Emily started having the night-time coughing fits.  Same thing, though, she was fine during the day and it wasn't messing with her sleep much.

Fast forward to about 5 days ago.  Noah is coughing again, only this time, more phlegmy and he is up all night.  He has been sleeping in our bed for several days now, so of course, he gave his nasty cold to me for Mother's Day.  We both spent Sunday with fevers and feeling crummy.  Our fevers have gone away, but we are still feeling pretty nasty and sleeping horribly.  Boo!

Of course, this comes at a horrible time of year - the end of the school year.  There is so much going on at the kids' school, there is really just no time for being sick.  We had to skip out on Emily's field trip to the Butterfly Pavilion yesterday and I have my fingers crossed that Kason and Emily are both well enough to go to their 'fun day' at school tomorrow.  This will be there last day of regular school, with their programs and Kason's graduation next Tuesday.

It's been a while

As I'm sure you know, we've been busy around the Ottinger house.  We moved into our new house about a month ago and between visits from family, finishing up final move-out items in the rental house, and unpacking/setting up the new house, we have been BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!


So far, in the new house, we have:
1.  painted the entire interior except for the bathrooms (coming soon, I hope!)

2.  had a fence built

3.  had the kitchen cabinets painted

4.  installed new hardware on the kitchen cabinets

5.  replace the 4-ft gold plated, crystal chandelier (~100 lbs) in the entry way

6.  replace the brass light fixtures in the dining room and kitchen nook

7.  take out some rocks in backyard and add more grass


What we have left:
1.  paint bathrooms

2.  install drawer hardware

3.  clean out the garage

4.  organize the basement

5.  paint Kason's dresser and award shelf (i.e., finish Kason's room)

6.  paint/replace brass door hardware and bathroom fixtures

Someday (these things won't be happening anytime soon, but will hopefully happen slowly over the years):

1.  paint outside of house (it unfortunately has a fairly new coat of a nice rose color...yuck!)

2.  Replace kitchen appliances with stainless steel.  The current appliances are white and the fridge (which is awesome), dishwasher, and microwave are all fairly new, so we can't justify that expense right now.

3.  replace bathroom floors with tile - I get why people have carpeted bathrooms in Colorado (it's cold!), but it grosses me out.  Tile, please!
 
The weather hasn't been very spring-friendly around here, so many things have had to get pushed aside for a while, but it is looking up around here and hopefully, we will get some of those things done soon.  Kyle is going to set up the kids' trampoline this afternoon, which they are super excited about!  And, fingers crossed, they'll be so tired from jumping outside, they'll stop jumping on the furniture.  A mom can dream, right?

Hopefully, the house will be ready for me to take pics and post soon.  I'm so excited to show you the before and after pics.  Don't get me wrong.  The house was in great shape and didn't require a ton of work (at least not super expensive work), but it was not our style.  We love it now and are excited to watch our kids grow up here.

****ugh, tried to upload a few pics of moving days, but blogger is not cooperating.  will try again later***

Look at Me, Me, Me...I'm Three, Three, Three!

So, she's 3 and 1 month now, but better late than never, right?


My dear, sweet, Emmy girl,

You are the cutest, sweetest, happiest little girl.  You love everyone you meet and give them your biggest smile - quite the social butterfly, you are.  This is a phase Kason grew out of by this age, but I have a feeling, it will stick with you.  You love to assert your independence as a 'big girl', but know just when to protest, "but, I'm little", to try to get out of cleaning up toys or carried up the stairs.

As such a big girl, you are loving school and talk about your best friend, Catherine, all the time.  The two of you are so cute in the mornings when I drop you off, running to give hugs.  You love your teachers and to show Mommy and Daddy everything you did at school.  We love it when you come up home singing new songs and teaching them to Noah.

You have a huge, vivid imagination and I love to watch/hear you play.  You will sit for at least an hour playing with your farm animals and people or your princesses.  You talk to them, give them voices of their own, and have pretend conversations.  It is definitely one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

You love to read and have recently developed quite the fondness for the Pinkalicious books - no big surprise there.  As we get ready to move into our new house, we have been looking at lots of little girl rooms and you have been pretty adamant that you want a pink room with pink curtains and a pink bed.  Just recently, you have decided instead of just pink, you want pink AND purple.

You also love to do puzzles and have gotten very good at them.  You are beginning to try to spell a few words and write letters, and you are doing so, so well!

Next month, you are going to start soccer.  Mommy and Daddy aren't sure how much you'll really want to play, but Kason is dying for you to be on his team and this will be one of the only chances we'll ever get.  Soon, you will also start dance classes, which we have no doubt that you will absolutely love.  You are the girliest of the girly girls, loving clothes, shoes, dancing, make-up, princesses, etc., so what's not to love about dance class?

Mommy and Daddy can't wait to see what other things you will grow to love as you get bigger.  Sometimes, we wish we could stop time and keep you all little, but then we'd miss out on so many great things.  So, since we can't stop time, we will just love each and every second of watching you and your siblings growing up together.  You are so kind, sweet, gentle, and loving and we know God has great, great things in store for you.

We love you, Meeps!


******
For your birthday, all you wanted to do is paint and have Minnie Mouse balloons and cupcakes.  Even though it was low key, with family coming over for dinner later in the evening, I still think you had a pretty great day.

Noah - 18 Months

Our little No-no is growing so fast.  How have the past 18 months already gone by?

At 18 months, Noah is a character, to say the least.  He loves to sing and dance; has a great affection for the Pajanimals and Barney; still loves balls, whether it is throwing, hitting, or kicking them; likes building with blocks or anything else he can find to stack; is developing an affinity for trucks and cars; loves animals (Maggie is his best bud); and, gives everyone he meets a shy wave and a high five.


Noah is still quite the mommy monster - I'm sure this has to do with him still nursing, but it is getting worse by the day.  If he wakes at night and Kyle goes to his room, he throws himself back down on the bed screaming, "Mommy Mommy".  His favorite phrase at the moment is, "I wan Mommy hold me".

Speaking of phrases, I think he might be our most talkative child yet (Kyle still thinks Kason was - maybe a tie?).  All of our kids have been super early talkers and Noah already expresses himself in full sentences much of the time.  A lot of that, though, is copying his older brother and sister.  There is no doubt that he wants to be just like them.  The bigger he gets, the more he is able to keep up with them and he loves it.

Unfortunately, our little man, is not a great eater.  I somehow forgot that there is supposed to be a 15 month appointment, so we don't have an official weight from then (I know...bad, Mommy).  In my defense, though, we have so busy taking them to the doctor for illnesses, the thought of taking them well didn't even cross my mind.  So, he hasn't been officially weighed since 12 months and he doesn't go for his well check until the beginning of February.  Even with the 6 month difference, he is pretty tiny and I won't be surprised if he has not gained much weight.  Aside from battling illness after illness, the only things he wants to eat are pizza, mac and cheese, and all the fruits and veggies he can get his hands on.  He thinks most meat is disgusting and won't even try most things he doesn't recognize. 

Tiny or not, he is still the biggest snuggler of the bunch (and, we have some snuggly kids).  He has always given the best hugs and now, he usually graces you with a kiss, as well.  He loves to run and play, but will come back every few minutes to get a snuggle before he runs off again.  We cherish those snuggles and hope they never stop!

We love you, Noah!

Happy Halloween?

Yes, I am well aware that Halloween was many months ago.  Enjoy these pics anyway!

Mario, Luigi (Emily insisted on this costume!), & a very unhappy Yoshi

Pumpkin Patch

So handsome!

The pumpkin Kason picked out

Look Mommy, this pumpkin is bigger than me!

Impossible to get these kiddos still for a pic!

The pumpkin Emily picked ;)

Pics from Picture Day at School

Beautiful kiddos

Noah, don't run away!

He escaped!