Swine Flu

Being a sweet lil angel! His crib looks like a jail!

"Uhhhh Mom, what is this IN my foot?"




Sick? Who's sick? Such a sweet lil boy! Even when he is hosopitalized.





At the ER in Destin with Mimi.




Holy shit my kid has swine flu!!!!! Yes thats right, you hear all about the swine flu in winter of 2008, but never hear anything about anyone you know actually getting it. Well just wait six months and poof, here we are!! I have no idea how this happened. Yes I am a nurse that works at a hospital, but "right now" doesn't even touch patients (gosh I hate this job). No other employees have shown any signs or symptoms, so how in the world did I catch it? It's a mystery. Last week I packed up Oran and we headed to Destin for a summer vacation. I was so excited! I got the whole family in on this trip. On July 29th around 4ish I wake from a "car-nap". My mother was driving Oran and I to Florida. I tell my mom that I feel fever-ish and sorta outta it. I thought it was just from the car-nap, or too long of a mid-afternoon nap (naps make me feel weird). I shrug it off. I develop a major cough that I also shrug off. After I put Oran to bed around 8ish I too go to sleep. And proceed to sleep 12-14 hours! If you know me thats nothing. I love to sleep. But now that I have a child sleeping more than 8 hours is unheard of. Over the next day my symptoms get worse. Cough from HELL, headache, bodyaches, fever, chills, sweats, all your classic signs. I refuse to go to the doctor, I am on vacation! I eventually muster up the strength to take my nephew to the pool that is just yards away. I knew I was sick when I was sitting in the pool and I developed chills! I was literally chilly in the sun. Not good! The next day everyone arrived. By everyone I mean Tracy, Sarah, Steve, Robert and Jack. They immediately realize I am sick and beg me to seek medical attention. I blow them off. After spending the day sleeping, and coughing and complaining, my family insisted that I go and visit a doctor. (Nurses are the worst patients) I go, I have freaking influenza in August! Yuck. Well my sweet little lamb-chop had also been feeling crummy but I blamed it on teeth, or his ole ear infection. Yeh WRONG! I end up taking him TWO days later to the doctor, yes supermom waited 2 stinkin days!! I am so sorry Oran! Well he was diagnosed with asthma and bacterial pneumonia, yikes! Well by then we had all the fun we could stand. So we loaded up and headed back home after Orans dinner so he could sleep the whole way home. After a few hours in the crib at Mimi's we got back in the car to head for real home, Athens. I am searching for a place to get Oran a breathing machine. I call my doctor to get a written order and to make a follow-up appt. They insisted I come in to get an order. I was a lil annoyed that I couldn't just go get my machine and go HOME. While we are waiting for our appt. Oran starts to wheeze. I have the albuterol just no damn machine. I frantically knock on neighbors doors looking for this stupid thing with NO luck. I realize that Oran is struggling to breathe more the longer I search, so I put him in the car and we go to the ER. This is my stomping grounds. I march in there and tell the triage nurse that I need a breathing treatment until I can make it to the doctors office. I point out his increased effort to breathe along with his diagnoses of pneumonia. but she says he is in no distress and puts me in the waiting room. I was pissed, but acted like a good patient and set in the waiting room just like everyone else. After 45 mins I decide to just go on to the doctors office a bit early. Doctors first words, "He is in respiratory distress!" He was appalled that they did NOTHING at the ER. Oran then gets tested for the Flu and is positive, big shock. Why wasn't he tested in Florida? Heck I dunno, when you're sick things slip right past you. Why did they do a chest x-ray and no flu test? Again I have no idea. Wow this story keeps going in 10 different directions. Blah anywho long story short...we are admitted to the hospital. Everyone entering the room must put on a gown, gloves, eye protection, and TWO masks! It looks like he has something horrible like SWINE FLU!!! Oh wait, he does! (Either I am very tired or still sick because this story sucks. My head is all over the place, not one organized thought anywhere. I'll blame the H1N1 FLU) (Mimi is mentioned nowhere in this post because she was everywhere, meaning she was by my side the ENTIRE time! I love you MOM!)

I'm BAAAAAACK!

So I got my new laptop and wireless Internet, so I am super happy! There is sssoooo much to catch up on I am (again) not sure where to begin. For a quick catch up Oran will be 6 months old on the 28th!! He has already cut his bottom two teeth. He really hasn't been that fussy at all (I'm so lucky). He has had one confirmed illness...Croup. He was diagnosed about a week after he started daycare! (Not that Croup is contagious, but just "sick" and "daycare" in general) He sounded horrible but again not really too fussy. The "Croup" Story is a whole blog in itself, so I'll save that one. I am officially back in school to get my Bachelor's RN. Only because I had nothing else to occupy my time HAHAHAHAHA! Work and being a single mom is enough to make anyone crumble, but I thought that my back could handle the weight of school as well. How's that going you wonder...well I haven't been sent to the loony bin yet and I am still breathing, so it's going...yeh it's just going. IT IS HAAAAARD! But all I can think about is how it could be SO much worse. I am so very fortunate to have such a wonderful support group aka my family and Jeremy and Jerry! But back to my love, Mr. Oran Thomas Ledford. Every time I turn around he is doing something new! He is learning so fast and growing fast as well. (hopefully I'll have new pix soon) Oran has the cutest lil chubby knees, I love them. His eyes right now have a dark blue ring around the outside fading into light blue, with a brownish hazel right around his pupil. I love those too. He prefers to cross his right foot over his left, like crossing his lil ankles like a proper fellow. And I also love that. He has a gross rash all under his chin/neck from him being a drool monkey, that I don't love as much. When I put him in his crib he will always turn himself towards the door, so he is squished "short ways/sideways" with his feet propped up on the bumper. Too cute! He is always smiling. When he is ready to go to sleep and I snuggle him in his room he turns his head to the side, usually the left (away from me), like he's sorta saying "I'm pooped ma, stop kissin' on meeeeee!" I kiss that child so much it's a wonder my lips impressions aren't settled into his skin. Oran is my everything, he is every beat of my heart. I love him more every day, every minute. Last time we visited his doctor he was in the 90th percentile for height and weight. So needless to say he is a "healthy" boy. Ok enough for now, I'll try and get caught up on here and post new pictures ASAP.

It's been a while

ok ok ok I know its been a LONG time, but I have been banned from blogging @ work. I am purchasing a laptop to take care of that! :) So the blogging will begin again soon! I have ssssoooo much to talk about! Oran is almost 5 months!! Holy moly he'll be driving before I know it! Stay tuned there will be more.....eventually.

Coming home/breastfeeding woes

So I wanted to give breastfeeding a whirl for obvious reasons (burning calories, nutrition, and bonding). Oran knew what to do from 15 minutes old when I first fed him in the hospital. That lil sugar-snap latched on and chugged! OMG OUCH!!!! Nevertheless still worth it. I practiced with the lactation nurse on different holds and how to keep him awake to eat. She is super smart about babies and boobies. (I thought that sounded cute) Oran and I were released 12/30/08 around 6pm from the hospital. Mimi drove Oran and I home and had dinner cooked for me and my house was SPOTLESS! (thanks MOM!) So our first night was a ROUGH one. I insisted he sleep in the bed with me since he had to eat every 2 hours, and I love snuggle-time. Well breastfeeding mothers know that the first 3 days you only produce colostrum (not milk), which is basically a liquid laxative. Fun diaper changes. Well that can make a baby super gassy. Well I knew about Mylicon drops but figured I didn't need them like when he was 3 days old! Boy was I wrong. Oran was so gassy that he would NOT breastfeed even though he was hungry and thirsty. He was crying (that sweet lil newborn baa-ing) so much that his mouth was dry as a bone. Nurse instincts kick in...I dip his pacifier in water and let him get a bit that way and try to breastfeed again. Oran continues to REFUSE! Now I really wanted to strictly breastfeed for as long as possible. No such luck. Oran's mucus membranes were dry and that means dehydration which is critical in a newborn. After him not eating for over 4 hours I decide to make a bottle with the formula Brittany so kindly donated to me. (Lifesaver, literally) Oran drank it right down with no problems. So now I get paranoid that he isn't getting what he needs from me, milk-wise. The next morning we head off to the Peds office for a routine well-baby check-up. Well Oran wasn't so "well". He had lost too much weight in only 15 hours. The Dr. told me that we would have to re-admit Oran to the hospital for fluids and food. I begged and asked what I could do to avoid this with a few tears in my eyes. (Being a nurse at St. Mary's I knew that Oran would not go back to the nursery, he would have to go to the Peds floor where all the RSV babies are. RSV is a very contagious respiratory virus that can be life-threatening especially in newborns) I was so scared and upset, my lil lovie was only 3 days old and sooooooo fragile. The MD said that I could go home and force-feed Oran as much formula as I could and to return in 4 hours for a re-check on his weight. Well I did that and he took exactly 4 ounces in 4 hours. Back to the MD's office...(fingers crossed). Oran gained exactly 4 ounces, just enough to keep us out of the hospital that night. (thank goodness he didn't pee at all in that 4 hours otherwise we would have been admitted) We also had to endure 2 heel-sticks on day 3 and 5 of his life for a bilirubin level to monitor his slight jaundice. So I stuck with the breastfeeding because the milk finally came in for a short time. It seemed like Oran was constantly feeding. I would literally feed him for 30 minutes on each "tata" and he would still seem hungry. So here comes the breast pump. UGH! Good- now I know how much he is drinking. Bad- very time consuming, being a single mom it was nearly impossible to pump for a full 30 mins. So my New Year's Eve consisted of pumping my boobs and going to sleep early. (I was able to go to sleep early because Mimi and Pappa were there to help me, THANKS!) Wow now I feel OLD! So I only breastfeed for 1 month, but hey that's better than nothing. Things I will not miss about breast-feeding: leaky boobs, wearing pads in my bra, chapped nipples (yeh u thought chapped lips hurt) and the PAIN. Things that I will miss: losing most of my mommy weight FAST, round-perky vs. flat boobies, the bonding, and did I mention big boobs?! haha

Uncle Rocky's HALF-day

HA HA Uncle Rocky doesn't know how to make bottles!

Aunt Sarie & Oran

Uncle Rocky feeding Oran a bottle I had prepared (thank heavens)

Ok so I have to post this now because its just too funny. I call it a "Half-day" because I think a whole day would have resulted in something unpleasant for Oran & Uncle Rocky. My sister Sarah had the wonderful idea of going to Six Flags for Easter like we did last year. Her husband Robert (Uncle Rocky) bravely said that he would keep Oran while we went. Last year we were in and out of Six Flags in 3 hours and were able to ride everything. I said if Robert felt comfortable keeping Oran that I would be ok with it. I mean he is a 30-something man with 4 other nephews, how clueless could he be? Now I try and keep Oran on a strict schedule because we both LOVE it! So I am trying to tell Robert bits and pieces here and there so I won't overwhelm him all at once. All along he is so cool and casual saying, and I quote "It's just a baby, how hard could it be?" HAHAHAHAHA! Well I do have to admit for the most part Uncle Rocky did a GREAT job. Oran was alive and happy when we got home. They were sitting on the porch with Oran just in a onesie (for those of u who know me I keep my child bundled like we live in Antarctica). He had lost his pants, socks and blanket. Now it was a nice day its not like it was cold, but still, it's a mother thing. Sarah turns around and says what's this? It was a dirty diaper (just pee) flung next to the door wide open. Robert says, "That's is far as it got." Ha ha ha I know exactly what he means even though I always try and wrap them up. Then I say how I missed Oran and Robert's all "Here you wanna hold him?" HA HA! Love it. Poor thing an infant one on one is REALLY rough. THANKS UNCLE ROCKY! Ok now for the best part...later we were all talking in the kitchen and I think we were going to heat up some water in Oran's bottle for his next feeding. Rocky looks at the bottle and says, "You aren't going to use that much water are you? That's a lot." Sarah and I were all haha you're very funny. Oh yeh you guessed it he wasn't joking! Ok so I let a few bottles stack up before I wash them. I use Avent and when I am through with them I rinse the bottle and nipple, then leave a little bit of water in the bottle and then put the nipple in upside down and fill it with water so it will slowly drip through the hole. (That sounds OCD, I know) So I tell Robert 10 times, 6 ounces of water and 3 level unpacked scoops of formula heated for 20-30 seconds.(and its written down) Well Sarah measures out a bottle for him and puts it next to his formula and I set another clean bottle with that. I took the dirty bottles out of the sink and set them on the opposite side of the sink (far away) from the clean bottles because I am weird about hands or dishes being rinsed off over the bottles. (germaphobic?) These dirty bottles were used to feed my child!!!! And god only knows how much water was in each bottle. Obviously no where near 6 ounces since he thought that was a lot. So poor Oran had to suck down a paste. He had a lil belly ache and was probably a tiny bit dehydrated. But I fixed that. Anyways I was cracking up. I knew that Oran was going to be fine and I thought it was funny. Robert was so sorry and felt so bad. So I bet next time (if there EVER is a next time) he will listen a bit closer. Aunt Sarie and Uncle Rocky are working up the courage to have kids and I hope this didn't scare Rocky s**tless. It might have scared Sarah more. :) Well I had an AWESOME time at Six Flags, thanks Uncle Rocky, we love you!

delivery continued...

Well the nurse made a mistake by telling me to call when I "felt" like pushing. Well considering this is the BIGGEST MOST IMPORTANT moment of my life, that would change my life FOREVER, I was sorta scared to push. So I quietly laid there in pain for well over an hour. Finally the pain started to get the best of me and I guess I snapped at all the ladies talking in my room. By ladies I am talking about my gigantic fantastic family, Mom, Sarah, Tracy, Carol, Shannon and Brittany...and the men came pacing in and out. I was ready for some peace and quiet because I guess it was TIME!! During the whole day my sister Sarah kept asking me if I wanted socks. Well my ill behavior got my nurse to the room quickly. She asked if I was feeling pain and I told her YES! She said that I wasn't supposed to be feeling any, UH OH! She gave me a blous(big dose) of my epidural and went to check my "process". Before I know it the nurse rips off the end of my bed and throws my legs into the stirrups and tells ME its time to push. I was like, wait wait but I didn't say I was ready. She said "his head is right here". Sarah: You want some socks? Me: NOOOO! Now I went on and on earlier about my gushing amniotic fluid to tell you this: when we asked if he would have much hair, the nurse "reached in" (eewwwwww) and said he was gonna be as "bald as a cue ball". Well when she threw my legs in the stirrups she noticed that I had another bag of fluid. Yes that is another whole sac of amniotic fluid. Now thats just plain weird. So she proceeded to break the next bag and told me when I was having contractions to push. Sarah: You want some socks? Me: NOOOO!Since I was sitting quietly in pain for so long I did what they call "labor down", meaning that I let the contractions move the baby down for me instead of pushing. So I only pushed for 30 mins!! I was in labor for 12 hours, but again only pushed for 30 mins!! I am a PRO! :) Justin, Oran's father was at the bedside during the delivery, my mom, dad, and both sisters were also in the room with me. The miracle of birth is something that I didn't want to deny anyone who wanted to see. Sarah: You want some socks? Me: If you ask me one more time I am gonna kill you! Awww my sweet sister just wanted me to be comfortable. During the short 30 mins of pushing I keep hearing both my sisters' encouragement "you're doing great Abbey. Keep pushing. Oh my goodness I can see his head, go Abbey!" The nurse tells me "His head is almost out, you're doing good just keep pushing". I say, "well then just pull him out if he is so close!" Now that got a laugh from everyone but me, I was serious. After I got his head out they said one more big push and he would be HERE! So I push with all might and....GUSH! A HUGE mess of fluid comes flying out behind Oran and washes him off so he is super clean. Ok that was weird, more fluid?? The nurse said it was possibly another yes a 3rd bag of fluid! Or what I am thinking that it was just fluid left behind him from the 2nd sac. It's insane how much fluid I was holding! So in my fantasy world I didn't gain any "fat" weight. It must have been all the fluid weighing 30lbs. Haha. Ok so the first thing I do when I see Oran is...CRY. Now all you mothers know that these are tears of happiness, pure JOY. HOLY CRAP, I, yes lil ole me just created LIFE!!!!! What a feeling. Oran was 7lbs 9oz born at 5:43pm on 12/28/08. He was healthy, all any mother could ask for.
Visitor List:
Mimi & Pappa (my mom and dad)
Tracy (sister)
Sarah & Robert (sister and brother-in-law)
Justin (Oran's father)
Carol & Jim (aunt and uncle)
Brittany (cousin)
Shannon (cousin)
Ashley (cousin)
Great-Gran (my grandmother)
Cindy (aunt)
Gran, Nini and Becca (Justin's parents and sister)
Carol S. (co-worker)
Susy & Terry (co-workers)
Now I think that is all if I forgot anyone my excuse is, I WAS DRUGGED!
So I think thats all there is to say about my easy delivery. I was very lucky to have everything go so smoothly for me. Now I am scared to have any other kids, because we all know lightening doesn't strike the same place twice. Meaning I doubt I will be so lucky to have an "easy" pregnancy and delivery again. I want to say thank you to everyone that was there for me at the hospital, THANK YOU!! Ya'lls support means the world to me. I am blessed to have such a loving and supportive family. I love you all!
P.S. I don't want any socks Sarah!!!! But thanks anyways. :)

The Delivery

now how can you put a caption on this?

Welcome to the world Oran

lil chubby cheeks

Me in the last moments of pregnancy.

Oh it feels so good to finally stretch out

Pappa and Oran

Aunt Tracy and Oran

Aunt Sarie and Oran

MiMi and Oran

Cindy (my aunt) and Oran

GREAT-Gran and Oran

So my due date was January 2nd 2009. Well since it was so close to the beginning of the new year I opted to induce for a few reasons. First and foremost I did it for the tax money! Does that make me a bad person? No way Jose! Other reasons being that I was huge and didn't feel like being pregnant another second and I am not into surprises. So I set up an induction for December 28th. (Oran mommy is so sorry that your birthday is so close to the holidays!) My mom and dad came and spent the night with me so they could drive me to the hospital the next morning. So my alarm goes off nice and early about 5am on the morning of December 28th. I was so excited that I popped straight up in bed. Well maybe a little too excited because my water broke as I was "popping" up. Now thats a weird sensation! So I showered and fixed my hair all pretty, put on a diaper sized pad and headed to work errr to have my baby. I did deliver where I work, St. Mary's. So by the time I get to the hospital I can feel warm amniotic fluid filling my pants and running down my leg. (hope no one is squeamish, us nurses love gross stuff) I get up to my room and rip off my soaking pants and got into a lovely hospital gown. By the time I get situated in the bed I am soaking wet again and have to get a new pad on the bed and another between my legs. My nurse asks if I am having contractions and I tell her no, because I have no idea what they feel like. The nurse proceeds to tell me they feel like really bad cramps. So I am all "well yeh I have been having those for days". DUH! Now I know! My nurse started my Pitocin (helps contractions). Soon my hospital room was filled with all the people I love! My mom, dad, sisters, brother-in-law, aunt, uncle, cousins, and Oran's father were all surrounding me cheering me on. Or should I say placing bets as to when I will deliver. I ask for some pain medicine and they gave me Stadol! Ugh that stuff only worked from my neck up...meaning I felt stupid drunk but was still in pain. So I ask for the real stuff, the epidural! WOW now that stuff works! I couldn't even lift my legs off the bed. The nurse just told me to call when I felt like pushing. To be continued...