It was very surreal to be home just the three of us at first after really just spending her first day in the hospital. We were able to get unpacked and settled in before my inlaws delivered our dog and stayed to cut our grass and a bit later my parents brought home That Little Girl following her ceremony at preschool. I remember just sitting in our chair holding That Baby and both of us falling asleep before the reality of being home really set it. There is so much I don’t remember about those first few days. Some of that is likely attributed to the normal mom of a newborn haze of constantly nursing, pumping, little naps, and lots of laundry. I felt a little like I was on the outside of my life looking in and trying to remind myself to be present. Knowing I need to really take it all in and enjoy, since this is the last newborn we are going to have. I was always wondering how long I will be here to know her and her to know me.
Wacky Wednesday – Germaphobia!
Since this blog sat on my to do list for a while as I was busy living this life and journey, I’ve started out writing about the past. Most of it is pretty ugly. Breast Cancer isn’t really very funny. Parenthood, however, I will admit can be really really funny. And I do try to laugh at myself as often as possible. When you combine That Girl, That Guy, and My Girls, you get a pretty Wacky life. When I was a child, probably when I was learning to read, one of my favorite books was “Wacky Wednesday” by Dr. Seuss. Since we constantly talk about how wacky my oldest is, my Wednesday posts will be sharing what I think are pretty Wacky stories, quotes, and silliness from our lives. Enjoy!
Prior to my first chemotherapy infusion, I had met with someone in the oncologist’s office. I was pretty nervous about the whole thing as it was brand new to me and I had no idea what to expect. Friends had told me stories about their friends and family and some of the pictures they painted were really awful. So there I sit, telling her how nervous I am and she is going on about how my blood levels may dip so low that I won’t be able to leave the house for the next six months and if I do I will have to wear a mask and so on. I was not expecting to feel well enough to go do anything significant, but I was not expecting full on house arrest, either. I was not feeling any more relaxed about what to expect when I left to get my infusion that afternoon.
All Things Pink and Gratitude
So I’ve been debating addressing, commenting on, or just ignoring the Pink-tober hoopla. I mean, pink has always been a favorite color of mine. But we all know that is not what I’m talking about. For whatever reason, this hasn’t been the easiest emotional month for me. September was a rough month for me physically, having spent time in the hospital which was immediately followed by a large portion of my family and help team being sick, so it could be an emotional “hangover” from all that went along with the month that needed to just end. Then my completely loving amazing supportive mom brought me a breast cancer gift bag with absolutely no ill intention, and I figured it out.
Let’s Go Have a Baby! – Part 2
So here we are, seven hours after arriving at the hospital and I’m exactly where I started. I was a little discouraged.
Let’s Go Have a Baby! – Part 1
See why I was waiting to go to the hospital or start at the beginning.
After a few false starts, I was approved to go into the hospital to start the induction about 12 hours after originally planned. When I called, they said to give them a couple hours and then go in. We drove over to the hospital and when we approached the front desk for a badge for my husband, they came toward us with badge in hand. We giggled saying they probably thought I was actually in labor, because I was pretty big for 36 weeks and we must have looked in a hurry. By the time we arrived on the floor, a few people had gone into labor on their own and arrived ahead of us. We sat in the waiting room literally waiting for a room for about an hour. Still I know, that under normal circumstances I would not have been approved to go in. The schedule for my care was important to keep on track. With a weekend coming up I was concerned knowing that they do not typically admit you to our hospital to induce on the weekends.
Yes, I needed a haircut
So you read all about how I chose my wig and how my daughter told people about it, but that all happened so long ago that I had to get a wig cut already. For the last month or so I had noticed that combing out my wig, it was getting a bit rough. Like when your hair gets a bit long and the ends are just rough and damaged and need to be trimmed. I was getting a little too close to Barbie frizz territory and I decided to call the woman who sold me the wig to schedule a trim. When I told my mom I had called to schedule a haircut, well, she did a double take, “Wait, what?” reaction.
Final Countdown to That Baby
See how we got here buy a hair or start at the beginning.
Now that we had an induction date and a wig picked out, we spent the weekend preparing for That Baby girl to arrive. Friends near and far had sent us things to let us know that they were thinking of us! We had a weekend with a fresh flower delivery, a fruit arrangement, food to stock our freezer, and cupcakes!
Peony delivery from a friend across the country!
What cOMfort zone?
You may have seen me tweet recently that I was headed to a mediation class. I have not been able to find one that focuses on curing or a disease type healing meditation. There is a local studio that offered a free meditation class, so I had nothing to lose. I asked a friend to go with me, and off we went.
Wacky Wednesday – Who Does Your Hair?
Since this blog sat on my to do list for a while as I was busy living this life and journey, I’ve started out writing about the past. Most of it is pretty ugly. Breast Cancer isn’t really very funny. Parenthood, however, I will admit can be really really funny. And I do try to laugh at myself as often as possible. When you combine That Girl, That Guy, and My Girls, you get a pretty Wacky life. When I was a child, probably when I was learning to read, one of my favorite books was “Wacky Wednesday” by Dr. Seuss. Since we constantly talk about how wacky my oldest is, my Wednesday posts will be sharing what I think are pretty Wacky stories, quotes, and silliness from our lives. Enjoy!
So it is not a secret to those closest to me that I enjoy a good shopping trip. Over the years, I generally shop the same places and have become friendly with long time employees there. Like most expectant and then new moms, I wasn’t out shopping much during that time. About one month after my treatments started, I decided to ditch what had passed for casual office attire for some more comfortable stay-at-home mom type clothes now and again when running here and there. So out I went to find some that were a little bit more presentable than what others might mistake for pajamas. I also decided to get over my fear of having to try on clothes in public with a wig on.
Buy A Hair
During the week to remember, I had to start sharing with those at work who needed to know sooner than later. I was lucky enough to have some flexibility to work from home to field phone calls from my medical team and get my work done and hours in while I could around all the appointments. I started taking steps to wrap things up and making lists of what needed to be done for me to take some time off. I sat in on a monthly meeting to present information to leadership and there was the normal pre-maternity leave joking about how quickly the mom would be back. There were sympathetic looks from those who had heard the entire story through the grapevine that exists in offices. Since it was common knowledge I had been high risk throughout the pregnancy, no one beyond that really questioned why I might be going out so early. I spent what seemed like forever trying to figure out short term disability and how that would work with two different causes. Eventually, I realized that was for them to figure out. They did. Again, I found that people are caring and naturally well meaning. [Read more…]
All About My Girls 