Saturday, September 18, 2010

No more Dr. Visits PLEASE!!!!

I don't think I can take any more Urgent Care visits with Sutton.  My nerves are fried.  The latest diagnosis is Bronchitis.  So we begin antibiotics today.  I hope this is it.  Prayers for good health and many thanks to our Heavenly Father for the blessing of Bronchitis and not Pneumonia or Pertussis.
Picture #1 - Crazy contraption you have to use when x-raying an infant.  It keeps them from moving.

Picture #2 - X-ray picture of Suttons chest.  Apparently she is VERY gassy. 

Picture #3 - Mom comforting little Sutton.  Actually I was just comforting myself.  Sutton was a trooper.  Mom on the other hand is about to lose it.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

And the Award for Best Dr. Visit Goes to........

JACQUELYNN!

Today Jacque had to go in for her 4 year old physical and well check.  Included in this visit were 5, count them, 1,2,3,4,5 vaccinations.  5 Shots!  FIVE.  Knowing this rather large number, I had to go in with a plan.  Jacquelynn is my most vocal child.  When she does not like something, SHE DOES NOT LIKE IT!!!  

So the plan was to prepare her for what was to come.  You can't surprise Jacque, she is too smart for that.  So I prepared her for the parade of shots.  She freaked out when I told her.  Yelling for more the 20 minutes.  Thankfully I told her a few days in advance and not the day of.  So today, the day of the visit, I was ready.  In the car, I told her that if she was a tough kid and did not yell of cry in her visit, then we would go directly to Target after and she could get her Puppy in a Purse.  She has been wanting this since Brooklyn got hers for her Birthday.  So.....when she heard she could get one if she was a "tough" kid, she was psyched.  

Yes she was psyched then, but would it carry over into the appointment?  



IT SURE DID!  Jacquelynn braced herself, and the shots went in.  She did not wince, budge, cry or even frown.  She was a ROCKSTAR!  This kid was AMAZING!  I was so thrilled and amazed at what she did.  Even the nurses were amazed.  When this little girls wants something, she will go the distance.  LOVE YOU JACK-JACK!!!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Counting My Blessings.......

My beautiful baby girl Sutton joined our family 5 months ago today.  I love this doll more today then I did the day I met her and my love just continues to grow.  She is the most happy baby I have ever met.  Oh how she longs to keep up with her big sisters.  I know, you are probably thinking.....shes only 5 months, how could she want to keep up with her sisters?  Let me give you an example.  Today, the girls were jumping on my bed and Sutton was in her sleep and rocker watching them play.  All of the sudden she literally grabs the sides of her rocker and pulls herself into a sitting position!  Yeah....shes only 5 months and here she is trying to get up and go jump with the girls.  I LOVE THIS KID!!!

She has recently given me a little bit of a scare.  Now I am always on top of my girls and their immunizations.  I am always up to date and very scheduled about Dr. visits.  One could say I am a bit OCD about it.  Well, with the birth of Sutton, my darling husband forgot that you have 30 days after the birth of a new child to enroll them in the company Insurance.  So imagine my surprise when I was in the Dr. office and the nurse told me that Sutton was not on our family plan!  WHAT!!!  Yep, Eddie missed the 30 day window so Sutton was uninsured.  

Now if you don't have insurance, Dr. Visits can cost up to $300 a visit.  $300 is not something extra we have in our budget.  So like a penny pincher that I am, I passed on the visit....until we could get insured.  So I went the independent route.....yeah....never doing that again.  Blue Cross is still dragging their feet.  Even though I signed up for private insurance over a month ago, they still have not made a decision to insure her or not.  

Anyway, Sutton got sick.  I thought nothing of it until I began reading all the chaos that the Whooping Cough is causing here in California.  Apparently it has become an epidemic here in California.  Oh that's just great.  So for the last 4 days I have been freaking out that my little girl has Pertussis (Whooping Cough).  This so called cough is taking the lives of little ones.  The way to prevent it is to get vaccinated.  Well, we had no insurance, so we were not vaccinated, so we were flipping out while waiting for her test results to come in.  

Did you know the best time to treat Pertussis is in its early stages.  It is.  But, the symptoms of Pertussis are the same as a common cold.  You just have to wait and see if those symptoms progress.  But the longer you wait to treat, the more difficult it is to treat.  So what do you do?  Well, you can get tested.  But guess how long that takes?  One full week to get results back.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!  

So with no insurance and no sleep from constant worry, I drove Sutton to the CHOC Clinic.  This place offers Dr. visits to children without insurance.  Thank the Lord above for CHOC.  The Dr. who saw Sutton did not think she needed to be tested, but like the worrier that I am I wanted it done anyway.  So we did.  

Today on her 5 month birthday, I went back to the CHOC Clinic for a physical and to begin her immunizations.  Her 1st preliminary test results came back negative.  HURRAY!  So now with a little less worry, we are awaiting her culture test.  



I feel so much better today and hopefully I can sleep now knowing that Sutton most likely does not have Pertussis.  Counting my blessings today.  

I guess I want to thank my Father in Heaven for his blessings a comfort in this time of worry.  I am thankful that my husband is a worthy priesthood holder and was able to give Sutton a Priesthood blessing.  I am thankful for the power of prayer and the comfort and strength it can bring.  I am also very thankful for the nurses and Dr. at the CHOC Clinic in Costa Mesa.  

I love my little girl and I will continue to keep praying for a speedy recovery of this cold that is making her uncomfortable.  Trust me, I would take this cold any day over the insane Pertussis that has become an epidemic in California.


http://www.chocwalk.net/mommyvilla