Category Archives: Family

We Doan Need No Stinkin’ Gallbladders

Posted on by

UPDATE: Jenny is out of surgery and resting in her room. Everything went great, and she is testing out some graham crackers and Sprite. Despite some soreness and discomfort, overall she feels pretty good and looks forward to a real meal.

==========================================

It’s amazing how quickly your life can change. Tuesday night Jenny and I put Brenden to bed, had a nice dinner, and played some Wii before I went to work. A few hours later, Jenny texts me to report horrible abdominal pain, worse than labor had been a year ago (!). We went to the doctor Wednesday morning after I finished my shift and then to Baylor Irving for a sonogram. Diagnosis: gallstones. Yikes! Apparently pregnancy significantly increases a woman’s chances of gallstones due to changes in hormone levels and digestion. Thursday morning we met with a surgeon and agreed to have Jenny’s gallbladder removed. Right now we’re at Baylor Irving, and Jenny is in the operating room for a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, or gallbladder removal through tiny incisions in her abdomen. She hasn’t eaten anything but Jello since Tuesday night, so she’s both hungry and lethargic. Lisa came by to check Newbie’s heartrate before surgery, which we greatly enjoyed. Her anesthesiologist is my parents’ next-door neighbor. I’m taking advantage of Baylor’s free Wi-Fi while I wait. Dr. Clifford will meet me back here around 10:45am with an update while Jenny is in recovery. I’ll update you guys later.

A few random thoughts:

  • I am SO thankful to live in America, have good medical insurance, and have access to quality health care with so little wait. In less than 2.5 days Jenny went from excruciating pain to the OR in a top-notch hospital with skilled doctors and nurses. Had we lived in another country, we might have been waiting for weeks to reach this point. If we lived in rural Africa or another poorly developed area, she might have to endure the stones permanently.
  • Jenny might or might not need to significantly alter her diet without a gallbladder, which helps the body break down fat molecules. Some people need to nearly eliminate fatty foods. Others can keep a pretty normal diet. She’ll have to experiment a bit to see what her body can handle.
  • Of all the times during the pregnancy for this problem to pop up, this is ideal since she’s in her second trimester. Surgery during the first trimester is too risky because the baby is developing his major organs. During the third trimester there’s not enough room to perform this surgery safely. The second trimester is the only available time.

Humpty

Posted on by

My dad’s mother is a talented seamstress and has made countless blankets, toys, clothes, and other items over the years. One of her creations was a stuffed Humpty Dumpty that she made for me when I was a baby. Mom kept it all these years and let Brenden play with it once he arrived. He loved it like I did. Despite her arthritis, my grandmother decided to make Brenden a Humpty, a stuffed ball, and a bib of his own. As you can see, he loves it! Thanks, Great-Grandma Box!

Mr. Mom

Posted on by

Yesterday Jenny took a well-deserved break from Brenden duty and went to Canton with my sister (taking a well-deserved break from her own mommyhood) and my mom. I stayed home (Canton makes me twitch) so Brenden and I could have Guy Day. It wasn’t the first time I’d kept him alone, but it was one of the longest days.

It’s always interesting to stay home and have full charge of a little person. He was fully dependent on me, and only me, for his food, sleep, diapers, and safety. If something weird happened, I had to fix it. I could call the expert, but she was 2 hours away. Brenden’s routine is pretty solid, and most of the time we can figure out what’s wrong when he’s upset, so I used those facts to my advantage. We actually had a very nice day: a couple of solid meals and bottles, a loooooong morning nap and a shorter afternoon nap, and lots of playing. Since it was Guy Day, we had to make a run to Lowe’s for a home improvement product (single-pole light switches this time to replace our dimmers – don’t worry, I’ll handle the wiring). To make Grampy proud, we also went to Sam’s (one of his favorite stores) and got some light bulbs. During his naps and solo play time, I also managed to unpack some boxes, lay some contact paper, and put away some laundry. I felt very domestic. I should have made a cake or something.

Finally Jenny came home. Even though I’m glad she gets to take breaks, it’s always reassuring when she gets back. She’s more experienced with babies than I am and knows Brenden’s signs and routine better. In IT terms, she is the Level 2 support, the one who gets the calls that the Level 1 people like me can’t handle.

I also got to experience firsthand something that Jenny has described several times: babies steal part of your brain when you’re around them long enough. I used to have (I think) a pretty good memory and was fairly responsible. I could show up on time for an appointment or party. If I made a mental note to do something, I did it. But after a day of watching B and then scrambling to gather all his stuff for church, I forgot a crucial ingredient for a Brenden meal: a bib. At least I remembered the diapers!

Weekend Adventures

Posted on by

This has been a wild weekend! Here’s a recap of the highlights:

  1. Friday I shopped for supplies for our CARES Super Bowl Party. Jenny and I watched the end of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We’d ordered the 1988 version from Blockbuster Online, but they sent the 2005 edition, which is excellent. Then I finished up 3:10 to Yuma, which is an excellent Western that I highly recommend. Two Baylor alums wrote the screenplay along with another guy.
  2. Saturday we went to Houston for a wedding. In the process of getting there, first I drove off without a milk supply for my parents, who were watching Brenden for the weekend. We drove back, picked up the milk, and dropped off the boy. On the way to the airport, I realized I’d forgotten my backback, which contained our flight passes, my airline ID, confirmation numbers, and my laptop. We picked that up and went straight to the employee parking lot at the airport since we were too late for the Headquarters shuttle.
  3. Upon arrival at the airport, Jenny was told that our flight had been canceled. Instead of leaving at 1:00pm, we were now on the 2:00pm flight trying to make a 5:00 wedding. Hmm. At the gate we learned that the flight was nearly full due to the spillover from the 1:00 cancelation. I signed up for the cockpit jumpseat and prayed that Jenny would get an open seat. At about 5 minutes until push time, with me sweating and pacing in the jetway waiting for her, Jenny learned that the gate agent had somehow deleted her from our flight listing. Another gate agent fixed it and gave her a boarding pass.
  4. In Houston we got a car around 3:30 and pulled onto I-45 only to find a huge traffic jam. I kicked myself for not getting that iPhone with the built-in GPS and Google Maps. Jenny and I figured out a detour and finally found the hotel with less than an hour to spare. The checkin line had several folks from Amsterdam. Jenny grabbed our bag and changed into wedding clothes in the ladies’ room while I waited to check in.
  5. Keys in hand, we ran up to the room. Then I realized the other thing I’d forgotten: a dress shirt. I decided my best option was to do the GQ thing and wear a nice collared shirt with my suit and no tie. It worked surprisingly well. I didn’t have time to shower and forgot to shave. Why hadn’t I done those things in the morning?
  6. Finally we rushed to the hotel and found it with 10 minutes to spare. Sitting in the pew before the start, I got a text picture from my sister: my son wearing a pink shirt and a big pink bow. At first I thought it was Reagan until Jenny corrected me.
  7. The wedding was beautiful and uneventful other than the traumatic picture beforehand. The reception was at a fancy club on the 43rd floor of a building in downtown Houston. On the bride’s recommendation, I used valet parking for the first time ever. I’ve always thought of valet parking as more suited to Porsches, Lexii, Ferraris, and the like, not for Dodge Calibers that rent for $22/day. At the reception I got to visit with some old friends from Baylor whom I hadn’t seen in over 7 years. We got to visit with the bride a bit, and she and Jenny got to meet for the first time like I’d hoped. The bride and groom seemed extremely happy and well-suited for each other. I love attending weddings that give me confidence in the marriage instead of feeling like a train wreck is coming. I actually met a dispatcher for Continental Express who happened to be a bridesmaid.
  8. On Sunday morning we had planned to attend a brunch at the newlyweds’ house, but after our many problems the previous day and a forecast of possibly thunderstorms for Sunday afternoon, we bugged out early to get home for the Super Bowl party. If we couldn’t make it back, hungry and excited residents would show up for our party and find the door locked. I texted the bride with the news. I hope she reads text messages instead of ignoring them like I used to do.
  9. We hung out with Mom and Dad and Brenden for a while at their house. Work called begging for someone to work a doubletime shift that night, which meant leaving the party early. I hadn’t planned on working but figured they had to be desperate if they were calling me, so I worked out a plan.
  10. Just before the party we learned that a good friend of ours was in the hospital. Despite some serious issues, he still has his sense of humor.
  11. The party went fairly well, with lower than expected turnout but a great game and plenty of food. I was halfheartedly pulling for the Cardinals since they’d never won before. They would have done it without that fantastic reception at the end by the Steelers. Great game.
  12. Once I got to work, I got a call from Jenny saying the power had gone out just at our apartment, just after the A/C unit made some weird noises. Since the apartment is nearly new, I don’t understand why that would happen. I tried to report the outage to Oncor, but their automated reporting system is terrible and wouldn’t let me do it. Somehow one of their reps detected that I was trying to report the problem and called me back. She didn’t have a fix for me, but at least they know. Dad came to drive Jenny and Brenden to their house for the night.

Fortunately it’s now technically Monday, so our weekend adventures have come to an end. I need a nap.

Spending Freeze

Posted on by

Jenny’s mom sent us an interesting article from the Dallas Morning News. I hope you read the whole article, but it’s about a couple who decided to go an entire year without buying anything new. Used items were okay, as were necessary purchases such as gas, food, and toiletries. But it did mean no new clothes, games, electronics, cars, or toys, even as gifts. From this experiment they saved a huge amount of money and realized that they really didn’t need all the stuff they used to buy.

Other people go on short-term spending freezes where they don’t buy ANYTHING for a week or two at a time except absolute necessities. When they’re hungry, they dig something out of the pantry. If they “need” a new pair of shoes, they just keep wearing what they have until the freeze lifts (thaws?).

Jenny and I are attempting a short-term spending freeze right now, with the following exceptions:

  • Gas
  • Dinner out with friends on Sunday nights IF we split something)
  • Um, anything else that we absolutely cannot live without

So far it hasn’t been too bad except that my cell phone holster broke. I have a Blackjack with a large (already cracked) screen and exposed QUERTY keyboard, so I am prone to accidentally dialing people if I carry it in my pocket. So if you get a call from me but all you hear is background noise, yell really loud to show me what I’ve done. =)