Monday 30 January 2012

Things I miss eating

I'm going to sound like a crazy woman here... But I have now had a week to think and dream about the foods that I will once again be able to eat after I recover from my gallbladder surgery. It has been a week of soup, plain cheerios and steamed sole. I can't wait to have real food again! Matt and I decided that we are going to try and be more health conscience with what we eat on a daily basis, but after these annoying couple of months and some crazy weight loss, I think I deserve some tasty things!

I was going to post pictures of each of the items I am looking forward too, but that would be way too hard on me.

1. Home made macaroni and cheese Sadly, cheese is one of the last things that I am suppose to introduce.

2. Brownies and ice-cream

3. Caesar salad and chicken

4. Steak and baked potato

5. Spaghetti

I can't wait!!!

Friday 27 January 2012

Sisterhood Everlasting


Just finished reading the latest installment of The Sisterhood of the Travelling pants series. I haven't tore through a book that fast in a long time! Every spare moment I had I was reading it.

For those who have loved the past books, this story picks up 10 years after the last one. The girls (sorry... woman) have all gone different directions in their lives. Bee has been living with Eric, Carmen is a semi-famous actress living in New York City, Lena is teaching art classes and Tibby is off in Australia doing who knows what.

I have to warn you - the book starts out rather tragically. If it wasn't for one of my dearest friends (who has always shared the sisterhood love with me) convincing me that it would turn out okay I think I would have just closed the book and stopped reading. I was that upset. But as my friend said, it got better. I've never enjoyed the Carmen story lines and continued to find her pages kind of boring, but I couldn't find out fast enough what was going to happen with the others. You'll see most of the same characters including Eric, Kostos, Effie and Brian as well as meet a few new ones.

The end was really kind of perfect for the most part. The series left the characters where I wanted them to be. I felt like I could say goodbye and know that they will live happy lives. And yes, I do realize I sound very emotionally attached to the characters. The truth is, I am. I read this series throughout my teenaged years and kind of aged with them. And i think it's pretty cool that they are at a similar point in life as me.

So, if you were a fan of the other books, you will probably love this one too. Like me, you may be pretty upset at the first couple of chapters, but push past it. It gets so much better :)


Love you Ally ;)

“Love is like war: Easy to begin. Hard to end.”

---------------------------------

One little warning. Since the book takes place when the girls are almost 30, the content is a little more mature then the other books. Just as the original stories were about and meant for teens, this one is about and meant for adults.

Wednesday 25 January 2012

Surgery date.

Its official - I am going in for surgery one week from today. Eeeek!

I met with the surgeon yesterday (who had a very thick Russian accent that made me think of Gru from Despicable me) and he told me that my gallbladder is in bad shape and needs to come out ASAP! Apperently my attacks have been so severe that im developing scar tissue each time which makes it harder to operate on. I knew they hurt for a reason! He wants to get it out before I have another attack or else it may complicate my surgery.

The plan is for them to go in laproscopically. They will poke 4 tiny holes in my abdomen and pull the gallbladder out through my belly button. So weird. If things are messier in there then anticipated then they will have to go in the traditional way of cutting me open to minimize the risks to me. Please pray that doesnt need to happen as the recovery time would be substantially longer and harder.

I must admit that I am pretty nervous about this. I have never had surgery in my life and the idea of being under general anesthesia is kind of freaking me out. More then likely because I watched a movie with Matt a few years called "Awake." . Big mistake - what was I thinking.

Anyways, I'm sure everything will be just fine and my worry will be for nothing. In the meantime I am not allowed to eat anything with fat and have to stick mostly to liquids. Needless to say, I am pretty hungry and will probably be rather grumpy in a matter of days. My apologies in advance haha.

Prayers would be greatly appreciated in the meantime :)

Saturday 21 January 2012

Birthday weekend

I will be 26 on Monday.

I have no idea how this happened. How can I be 26? I still feel 18! I dont feel old enough to be married, have a child and be living in our own house. Its crazy, but true.

We celebrated this weekend since it was just easier then doing it on a week night. I decided ahead of time that I was going to try and enjoy my birthday meals despite being very stressed about what it might potentially do to me later in the evening. However, I did cancel my traditional ice cream cake and opt for something alot less fattening and I made sure I never ate to the point of being full.

First birthday with my little love!

Noah was feeling exceptionally happy that evening

Last night my mother cooked an amazing turkey dinner last night followed by cake, presents and a movie (Cars - love that one!)

Cake cutting

Matt got me a Pandora charm bracelet with a blue stoned baby booty charm to represent Noah. My parents got me some stoppers to go on it aswell.


Today was my birthday lunch with friends. A group of us went to Mongolie Grill (my fav) and I was totally spoiled with gift cards, flowers and cash to put towards another charm for my bracelet. Thank you everyone for coming and celebrating with me!

So what will I do Monday on my real birthday you may ask? Nothing... clean the house maybe? Haha.

Tuesday 17 January 2012

Noah at 5 months

My little man turned 5 months old this past Sunday. I cannot believe that it has almost been half a year since he was born. It feels like only a few weeks ago! A family member said to me a little while ago that once you have kids you have a physical reminder of how fast time flies. How true that is!

Here are some 5 month facts about my little love.

* He has started sitting up on his own. As long as he is sitting straight or leaning forward hes fine. But if he tries to reach to his side he will topple over.



* He hates rice cereal. He loved it the first time we gave it to him, but hes gagged everytime since. May have to skip it and go straight to fruits and veggies.



* He likes to sleep (at night) He passes out just after 6pm every evening and stays in bed until 7:00am. Usually I will feed him around 300am - which is fine because thats still 9 hours straight. But Sunday night he actually slept right through without waking at all. It was AMAZING.



* He is not a big napper. He maybe sleeps for 2 hours in total during the day.

* Lately he has developed a frustration 'grunt' and its rather annoying. If I take too long to pick him up or take a certain book he will let me know he is upset.

* Hes not a huge cuddler. He likes to be held but as far as actual snuggles go, it only happens when hes tired. Otherwise he wants to be facing outward where he can see the world.


* He loves to not wear pants. If hes a little cranky I find stripping off his pants and letting him roll around on the ground while he tries to eat his toes is always a mood changer.

* He has got the sweetest laugh. I think its pretty much my favorite sound in the whole world.



Its hard to believe that in only another few months he could be crawling and starting to say things like 'mama' and 'dada.' Its even harder to believe that in 6 months or so, he could be walking. I just cant wrap my brain around that. Hes growing up so fast!

Monday 16 January 2012

Gallstones

Welcome to the latest edition of Carolyn visits the hospital! This time, we've finally got answers (and proof with an ultrasound!)

I had another attack yesterday morning around 530am and went to the hospital via ambulance. At least I was able to get sleep during the night before spending hours at emerg! Once again, the only way to take the pain away was to get one very strong shot of morphine. This time they scheduled me straight away for an ultrasound and they found multiple gallstones (thank you pregnancy...) Since I have more then one and because I have now had 3 attacks, I will be getting surgery to have it removed. Unfortunately the wait time can be long, but they are hoping to have it done in the next two months or so. I cannot wait to have it gone and not have to worry about experiencing that pain anymore.

In the meantime, they sent me home with some very strong morphine and a prescription for more. That way if I have another attack I won't need to go to the hospital (just need to make sure someone else is around to take care of Noah) I need to cut out fast food (bye bye yummy pizza...) and other greasy high fat foods, which is fine cause it goes along with my new years resolution of getting healthy.

Tuesday 10 January 2012

A new diagnosis

In my last blog I posted that my doctor figured I had bronchitis again and put me on antibiotics. After a few days I noticed they werent working and the pain was actually getting worse. By Sunday evening I felt like I had a huge peice of something lodged in my esophagus and chest and was having difficulty even swallowing water. I called my doctor (he was on call) and he told me to come in first thing Monday morning.
After going over all my symptoms and being checked over, hes pretty sure this all has to do with me having gastoesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and at the moment Espophagitis. Ive already got an ulcer thats healing, and now he believes that my esophugas has been burned raw from it and the nerves around it into my chest are being affected. He put me on a new medication for 10 days to heal it and told me no solids for a week. I was also sent for lots of blood work and a chest xray to rule out something more serious. I didnt get a call yesterday, so I am assuming things were all clear.

Today my esphophagus doesnt hurt so much and I can feel that the swelling has gone down. My chest still hurts but will hopefully that will start to get better over the next couple of days. In the meantime, I don't have alot of food options. Pretty much been eating soup, yogurt, bananas and mashed potates. Not very exciting, but maybe ill manage to lose a few extra pounds from this (thatd be nice...) If anyone else has been on one of these food restrictions and has some suggestions please send them my way. This stuff is going to get boring fast!

I'm really hoping and praying that this is the correct diagnosis. If it is, I will probably need to be on some kind of antacid medication for good and my diet will have to change. Cut out soda and coffee and try to limit spicy foods, citruses and things like tomato sauce. Its funny, because I never really get heartburn. Apperently though you can have it without feeling a burn, simply a pain. I am still going for an ultrasound in the next few weeks to rule out gallbladder.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers. They have been greatly appreciated :)

Thursday 5 January 2012

Infections and ultrasounds

Thankfully our house has so far avoided the stomach flu this season, but we have had a cold going back and forth between various members. I had a cold weeks ago and this morning I started experiencing pain and tightness in my chest. I went to the doctor since I needed a follow up appointment about my ulcer anyway, but left with antiobiotics for bronchitis. Its gotten worse even since I arrived home (maybe due to walking to and from the office) and I am eager to get my prescription filled so this pain goes away. Ive had it twice before and it is never a pleasant experience. Should be interesting while Im taking care of a 5 month old.

I am also being sent for an ultrasound to check my gallbladder. The pain in my abdomen has gone away on the ulcer medication but I am still getting some pain around my back. We just want the gallbladder thing ruled out because I do not want anymore of those attacks.

Hopefully Noah will let me lay low today. He was a very good boy at the doctors office. I was informed that I have the most laid back happy baby in the world. He obviously hasnt seen Noah around 500pm!

Wednesday 4 January 2012

Website made

I mentioned in yesterdays blog that I planned to make a website to post pictures and videos on. Well, I did. The web address is as follows, but you will need a password to get onto it.
If you want access, send me a comment here or private message me with your email address and I will add you.

http://thebechardsfamily.shutterfly.com/

Just an added note here as I had a few people messaging me yesterday wondering why I wasnt going to be posting anything on facebook anymore. I didnt say I wont be posting anything anymore... just much less then before. So if you do want to see an overload of Noah photos and everyday pictures of our lives, youll need to check out the website.

Tuesday 3 January 2012

I dont normally do this, but...

... I've got some resolutions this year. I rarely make resolutions at the start of a new year, mainly because I believe that if I did want to change something I should start it right away. But alas, here I am.

#1, I want to facebook less. Every now and then I go through my facebook and delete a bunch of people that I never talk to or really dont know that well. Honestly, I wish I had the guts to delete like 200 people, but I am way too curious about other peoples lives to do it. Nosy, I know. But even though I dont talk to someone anymore does in no way mean that I dont care about them or want to know how they are doing. And so, I hope to do the reverse.
I plan to post less pictures. I love taking, sharing and looking at photos, but I dont think all 500 of my facebook friends really need or care to see them. So I plan to make a website to post pictures on - and those who really want to see photos can go there. Im not being drastic here, I will still post photos from time to time, but not to the extent that I was.
I also plan to try to do less status updates. I dont want to be known as a whiner, bragger or someone who feels the need to post everything she does or thinks in a day. Again, doesnt mean I never will post updates. I just want to try to limit them from the whole facebook world. I plan to still keep up with my blog - so once again only those who really want to know what I am up to can find out there.



#2 I want to get healthier.
I realize this is the most common resolution, but it is a good one. I had a baby last year. Thats a big deal. And by big, I mean gain 23 pounds over 9 months and then push a 9 pound kid out big. While I was pregnant I ate super healthy. I lived on fruit and veggies and avoided junkfood for the most part. I was also able to drop all my baby weight within a few weeks of Noah being born. I currently weigh less then I did before I got pregnant. Awesome yes - but my body shape has changed, and I dont like it. My waist is no longer as tiny and my hips have gotten wider. This may be irreversible, especially considering that I want to have another child in the not too distant future. But I want to do all I can to make sure that I am healthy before carrying another baby, and it wouldnt hurt to look good doing it ;)
Its hard to find time to excercise with a 5 month old, but I was thinking today that it would work to do some kind of excercise video while he has his morning nap (if anyone has some dvd suggestions please send them my way!) When the weather is nice I would also like to get out walking more.
Eating wise I am usually pretty good. But Noah is now nursing only half the time and before long, he wont be nursing at all. Once that happens I know I wont be burning as many calories a day. I need to think more about what I am putting into my body everytime I open my mouth. I have cut out soda and coffee and I already notice a difference in how my body feels since doing that.


Would be nice to have back the body I had on my wedding day. Impossible post baby?

I dont like making New Years resolutions - because it means that I have to try and hold myself to them. And when I share them, it means others can call me out on them. Not fun. But I know these two things are for the better, so I am willing to give them a fair shot.