AAAgghh! so glad to be back in the land of iced coffee, no smoking and sufficient voltage to power my hair dryer!
It was a great trip but i was ready to come home and enjoy all the things i am used to. I may have been born in Europe but that continent and I share nothing in common. For some people it's heaven for me it's an ( expensive) place that i don't understand and certainly can live without.
Madi made it through the journey with no seizures. Yeey!
successfully turned half a year today with a lot of new tricks under her belt- rolling over back and fort, sitting up, blabbing like crazy. she is quite a riot.
All the things i wanted to write are now vanished from my head, may be because it 's 2:00 am in Belgium and i have been up since 6:00.
didn't get to nap on the plane because Madison and I traveled alone and Jeff was on a different flight.
The flight went quite fine but at the end they pissed me off because i had to wait for all the luggage to be brought out before i can take my stroller and since i had no bags to wait for i just took off without the stroller, fuming of course.
E
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Greetings from the old continent
We are having a grand time in Europe. Spent three days in London. I love London except for the fact that everything is so damn expensive and i can never figure out which to look out for coming cars. Maddie and I spent a lovely day at the British museum, after we tried to do a self guided walk through the financial district. We ditched halfway through because of streets too narrow to handle all the construction and a stroller.
We got lost and then we jumped on the tube to catch an exhibit at the museum- it was fantastic.
The tube is not the easiest to navigate with a stroller but the people were nice enough and very helpful. We stayed at a great Holiday Inn in a very quaint neighborhood if anyone ever needs a hotel in london- it's right on top of Camden Lock Market.
Now we are in Brussels.Not quite sure if i have a good impression of the city. Brugges was absolutely fantastic- you feel like you are walking through the middle ages.
Brussels, hmmm I don't know. People think it's ok to cut you off in a line and push you out of the way even if you have a baby in your arms. It was quite dirty today while we walked, I don't know if it was because it's sunday. The service is incredibly slow and they charge you $3 for a small bottle of water. Everything is tiny from hotel rooms to soda glasses to the bathtub. The sightseeing is wonderful but Maddie is quite shaken from riding on the cobblestone streets.
she is doing great.
She finally met her other grandparents and seems to enjoy their company even though they are driving her mommy crazy with endless questions and empty arguments.
E
We got lost and then we jumped on the tube to catch an exhibit at the museum- it was fantastic.
The tube is not the easiest to navigate with a stroller but the people were nice enough and very helpful. We stayed at a great Holiday Inn in a very quaint neighborhood if anyone ever needs a hotel in london- it's right on top of Camden Lock Market.
Now we are in Brussels.Not quite sure if i have a good impression of the city. Brugges was absolutely fantastic- you feel like you are walking through the middle ages.
Brussels, hmmm I don't know. People think it's ok to cut you off in a line and push you out of the way even if you have a baby in your arms. It was quite dirty today while we walked, I don't know if it was because it's sunday. The service is incredibly slow and they charge you $3 for a small bottle of water. Everything is tiny from hotel rooms to soda glasses to the bathtub. The sightseeing is wonderful but Maddie is quite shaken from riding on the cobblestone streets.
she is doing great.
She finally met her other grandparents and seems to enjoy their company even though they are driving her mommy crazy with endless questions and empty arguments.
E
Friday, June 13, 2008
Somewhere between a box of chocolates and lemonade
We are officially diagnosed with Epilepsy.
Does that change anything? No! We still have the most beautiful and good natured baby. She is still as happy as can be and reaching her milestones beautifully, even before she is expected to. she still gives smile to everyone, talks, sings and enjoys walks in the park.
Does that change the way we feel about her?
YES, because if that is possible we love her even more.
Two thoughts have been chasing each other in my head:
" Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get."
" when life gives you a lemon make a lemonade."
Although it always seems that epilepsy is something that happens to other people it is a part of life and never a reason to stop living life to the fullest. It's just another reason to enjoy life even more.
My in-laws think that we should wrap Madison in a bubble and not do anything just because she might have a seizure. I refuse to think of my child as someone who is handicapped in any way. She will grow up knowing that she can do anything she can put her mind to. And when life hands her a chocolate with a sour cherry in it she will know how spit the pit out and keep trying more chocolates.
Or that lemonade is not always as sweet as we want it to be but that doesn't mean that we can't enjoy it anyway.
E
Does that change anything? No! We still have the most beautiful and good natured baby. She is still as happy as can be and reaching her milestones beautifully, even before she is expected to. she still gives smile to everyone, talks, sings and enjoys walks in the park.
Does that change the way we feel about her?
YES, because if that is possible we love her even more.
Two thoughts have been chasing each other in my head:
" Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get."
" when life gives you a lemon make a lemonade."
Although it always seems that epilepsy is something that happens to other people it is a part of life and never a reason to stop living life to the fullest. It's just another reason to enjoy life even more.
My in-laws think that we should wrap Madison in a bubble and not do anything just because she might have a seizure. I refuse to think of my child as someone who is handicapped in any way. She will grow up knowing that she can do anything she can put her mind to. And when life hands her a chocolate with a sour cherry in it she will know how spit the pit out and keep trying more chocolates.
Or that lemonade is not always as sweet as we want it to be but that doesn't mean that we can't enjoy it anyway.
E
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Seizures and Bananas
No they have nothing in common. Bananas most definitely are not causing seizures. So it seems that peanut butter may not have anything to do with it either. Madison had two small seizures last night-one after the other for about 2 min each and they stopped on their own. Obviously i had not eaten peanut butter.She was sleep deprived, however. My nanny can't make her sleep so she missed a big part of her nap time yesterday. The seizure involved only her right arm- just like seizure #1. all of a sudden it became stiff while she was laying with Jeff and then it started twitching. she was conscious and was crying the whole time. I wish i knew what it feels like so i can help her and make her feel more comfortable.
Tomorrow we are seeing the neurologist again to see if they found anything unusual with her EEG.
Her development doesn't seem to be hindered by these episodes. She managed to sit up by herself yesterday. And is trying again today although she just ends up on her tummy rather than sitting up.
After the avocado, we tried bananas today and she likes those too. she's becoming a pro in eating semi-solid foods with a soon.
I am finally under 130 lbs-129.8 if we have to be exact. You may laugh but it's quite exciting or someone who used to weigh 180 lbs less that 6 months ago. My body seems to know best. It gained 65 lbs no matter what i ate (or didn't eat for that matter) and lost it just as easily regardless of the endless thin mints and the bottomless ice cream cups.
E
Tomorrow we are seeing the neurologist again to see if they found anything unusual with her EEG.
Her development doesn't seem to be hindered by these episodes. She managed to sit up by herself yesterday. And is trying again today although she just ends up on her tummy rather than sitting up.
After the avocado, we tried bananas today and she likes those too. she's becoming a pro in eating semi-solid foods with a soon.
I am finally under 130 lbs-129.8 if we have to be exact. You may laugh but it's quite exciting or someone who used to weigh 180 lbs less that 6 months ago. My body seems to know best. It gained 65 lbs no matter what i ate (or didn't eat for that matter) and lost it just as easily regardless of the endless thin mints and the bottomless ice cream cups.
E
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Good things
I have made a resolution to write about good things as well as the bad things. IT seems i write every time we visit the hospital or have a seizure but skip the good things.
So today Madison had some avocado for the first time. She seemed to like it- especially spreading it all over her eyebrows. Now we 'll wait a couple of days to make sure she is not allergic and move on to may be some bananas...mmmmmm
It's amazing how fast they grow. It feels like just yesterday she was so tiny and this morning when i looked at her she is so big- almost 16 lbs and 26 inches tall. Now we are starting to learn to eat with a spoon and before I know it she'll be asking me for ice cream and cookies and chocolate.
No peanut butter though!
E
So today Madison had some avocado for the first time. She seemed to like it- especially spreading it all over her eyebrows. Now we 'll wait a couple of days to make sure she is not allergic and move on to may be some bananas...mmmmmm
It's amazing how fast they grow. It feels like just yesterday she was so tiny and this morning when i looked at her she is so big- almost 16 lbs and 26 inches tall. Now we are starting to learn to eat with a spoon and before I know it she'll be asking me for ice cream and cookies and chocolate.
No peanut butter though!
E
Saturday, June 7, 2008
another trip to the hospital
According to every doctor we see Madison couldn't be healthier.
My pediatrician says that although we are very lucky to have such a good natured baby it's hard to know what is bothering her because she hardly ever complains. Yesterday she threw up and gave me a big smile right after that.
I think she's been having some bug but went trough all that with a smile
what a trooper
Here are some pics
E
As seen here :
we visited the Ocean for the first time while in San diego
Hung out by the pool
Played tennis in Whindam
Had enormous fun with daddy while 12 wires were attached to her head under that funny white hat and
today we posed in our brand new orange outfit
My pediatrician says that although we are very lucky to have such a good natured baby it's hard to know what is bothering her because she hardly ever complains. Yesterday she threw up and gave me a big smile right after that.
I think she's been having some bug but went trough all that with a smile
what a trooper
Here are some pics
E
As seen here :
we visited the Ocean for the first time while in San diego
Hung out by the pool
Played tennis in Whindam
Had enormous fun with daddy while 12 wires were attached to her head under that funny white hat and
today we posed in our brand new orange outfit
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Seizure #3
Yes we had another seizure yesterday morning. It was different from the previous two. It was only her left side and she was fully responsive and alert the whole time. She 's been having weird bright green diarrhea for about 10 days now and she vomited around 5:30 that morning. Then she fell asleep with Jeff and at 7:48 (according to JEff) she started convulsing.We waited until 7:54 to give her the Diastat- a valium based drug that stops seizures. She continued twitching until about 7:58 and then was ok. she was alert and wanted to eat and play. A Little later she slept.
Today we are going to the hospital. We are going to do a 24 hr EEG to monitor her brain activity for 24 hours ans see if that shows anything abnormal.
I want to make a note for myself although many people think i am crazy.
The only consistency in the seizures that I see is peanut butter. I know it sounds crazy and is very unlikely but here is my time table.
I had peanut butter before the last two seizures. The time length and the severity of the seizure were proportional to the amount of peanut butter consumed. Before the first seizure I am about 60% sure I had peanut butter as well.
Here is my recollection of it:
Seizures occur approximately 8- 12 hours after i have peanut butter and approximately 1-3 hours after the last time she has been fed.
For example: On Monday night I had two cups of Mousse tracks ice cream around 8:30 - 9 pm. Madison last ate right before she threw up -so around 5:30 she had a seizure at 7:48. One can argue that she threw up what she ate, but she had eaten probably around 4:00 am as well- not sure about the time.
For the previous seizure I had peanut butter for breakfast- 7-8 am. Madison ate around 8 pm and had a seizure at 9:45.
Doctors and other medical professionals tell me that seizures are not a typical allergic reaction to peanut butter, but may be my body produces something that causes such a reaction in her.
We'll see what the EEG says and we'll take it from there. the only way to prove my theory is to have some peanut butter.
On a happier note Madison is doing great ( except for the seizures). she rolls over an sits up by herself, transfers objects from one hand to the other and according to every doctor we have seen she couldn't be healthier.
Go figure!!
E
Today we are going to the hospital. We are going to do a 24 hr EEG to monitor her brain activity for 24 hours ans see if that shows anything abnormal.
I want to make a note for myself although many people think i am crazy.
The only consistency in the seizures that I see is peanut butter. I know it sounds crazy and is very unlikely but here is my time table.
I had peanut butter before the last two seizures. The time length and the severity of the seizure were proportional to the amount of peanut butter consumed. Before the first seizure I am about 60% sure I had peanut butter as well.
Here is my recollection of it:
Seizures occur approximately 8- 12 hours after i have peanut butter and approximately 1-3 hours after the last time she has been fed.
For example: On Monday night I had two cups of Mousse tracks ice cream around 8:30 - 9 pm. Madison last ate right before she threw up -so around 5:30 she had a seizure at 7:48. One can argue that she threw up what she ate, but she had eaten probably around 4:00 am as well- not sure about the time.
For the previous seizure I had peanut butter for breakfast- 7-8 am. Madison ate around 8 pm and had a seizure at 9:45.
Doctors and other medical professionals tell me that seizures are not a typical allergic reaction to peanut butter, but may be my body produces something that causes such a reaction in her.
We'll see what the EEG says and we'll take it from there. the only way to prove my theory is to have some peanut butter.
On a happier note Madison is doing great ( except for the seizures). she rolls over an sits up by herself, transfers objects from one hand to the other and according to every doctor we have seen she couldn't be healthier.
Go figure!!
E
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