TMJ

Daniel saw the TMJ specialist yesterday. It's confirmed; my nine-year-old has TMJ. And from the wearing away of the jaw joints, he also has arthritis in his jaw. Isn't that nice?

The doctor worked Daniel's jaw a little yesterday, to improve mobility, but we have to go back next week to have his bottom molars "built up" so that the jaw and bite will be aligned right.

Here are some images from the CAT scan they did in the office. Here is his head. He looks weird without a nose. He looks like he's wearing a helmet. And look at that mouth full of teeth! They are all crowded in there, fighting for their own spaces. So pretty. I thought this image was perfect for the upcoming Halloween season!
















These pictures show the jaw joints (both sides). The doctor drew on them to show me that the joints should be round, where Daniel's are flattened. And the bone is looking a little thin. It should be thicker.


















Daniel will need braces and it looks like we're going to be visiting with an orthodontist as soon as this round of treatment is over and we're sure it's working. The doctor only had one orthodontist he recommended as he feels the other ones in the area only mess up the TMJ patients. I wonder if they are relatives?!

When the assistant showed me what the charges for all of this would be, I nearly stopped breathing. We haven't even started on Sarah's and my medical bills yet. This is like getting another 1/2 of a baby! We were planning on our first trip to Disneyland a year from now. We may have to wait another year.

Life doesn't get boring for too long!

Pain...

A nasty, four-letter word and Daniel's new enemy.

Remember the jaw/cheek pain Daniel had at the beginning of the summer? We saw a chiropractor and that seems to take care of the problem. When it returned on the other side of his head last week, I took him to a chiropractic office closer to home. We were there Monday and Thursday (yesterday).

The chiropractor worked on him and said things should be better; twice. He didn't charge us for either visit. I am still grateful for that as it would have been about $100 by now. But last night at dinner, Daniel was about to die from his discomfort. He wouldn't even eat dinner (and there was no way we could get him to set the table). So I drove him to the medical clinic in a town 20 minutes away.

That doctor is going to see if a TMJ specialist (40 minutes away) will see him. The doctor was not sure he'd take such a young patient. Apparently, it's quite rare for children to be suffering what Daniel seems to be suffering (this according to just about every Dr./dentist we've seen). If he won't see him, he'll send us to an Ear-Nose-Throat specialist who will see children. Sending him to Primary Children's in SLC came up once, too. I don't really want to drive 40 minutes, so I'm pretty sure I don't want to drive to Salt Lake! And he mentioned "MRI" and "CAT scan" if the specialists aren't helpful, but we're not running to expose him to unnecessary radiation.

But the doctor doesn't work today (nor does his nurse) so nothing will be done with that until Monday. Yipee! Another weekend of moaning, groaning and crying. Oh, and don't forget the drugs.

Sharing

I just went in to get Sarah in response to her cries. Joseph met me in the hallway to "tell" me she was crying. "Uh..uh.." point, point

When I got to her bed, I looked in and found a baby doll on her head. Joseph was giving her a baby to play with. How sweet! He probably conked her right over the head with it. Poor Sarah. Love hurts.

Critic's Corner

New television shows are coming on scene and old favorites are returning. I don't watch a ton of TV, but I do have some I enjoy quite a bit. Some I watch just because my first choices aren't available or because I can't stand reruns. And then there are a lot of shows (most of them really) that are so bad, it's better to just turn the box off.

Last week we watched Jay Leno's new show. I think we caught every night, but might have missed one. It was a little disappointing. It really is just like watching the Tonight Show, with a few minor tweeks. I'd love to see more "Jay Walking" and "Headlines", etc. and less interviews. I know it's too much to expect him to get cleaner acts. I don't know why some things are so funny to people. For example, that Dan guy who did the bit at the car wash? He's very talented; he's funny, sings well and performs well. But he's dirty and crass. That really took a lot away from his performance. And the "Uninvited Guest" (what's his name) was a little hard to listen to. I don't even understand the title of the segment. He's obviously invited.

But the reason for this whole post is last night's viewing. My favorite show is NCIS. I feel like I miss it a lot, but strangely catch all the reruns of what I have seen. And the fact that it's on at 7 PM makes it really hard to catch. That's when we're putting our kids to bed! So I was looking forward to last night and a new episode. Sarah and I retreated to the bedroom just before 7. It was just as good as always. The humor is great and the character chemistry is perfect.

I don't watch TV (or movies) because of "hunky" actors and besides Mark Harmon, I probably couldn't give you the names of the actors on the show. But I know their character names and personalities.

There has long been hype of the new spin off: NCIS Los Angeles. I was skeptical as most spin offs just aren't as good. And I am very loyal to my NCIS. My impression of the show? Not as good. It seems like too much "gadgetry" (is that a word?) and hi-tech special effects and not enough connection between the actors. And there are so many people in it! The conference room was always crammed with people. I wasn't sure who was who and why they were supposed to be so important to even be there.

The acting was not as good as NCIS with the exception of LL Cool J. He's pretty believable. The short lady (Kindergarten Cop...but don't know her name) was good, too. I guess I just have a hard time placing her in the roll. Chris O'Donnell needs to lose some "boyishness". But I have to say, I learned yesterday that he has 5 kids (with the same woman - his WIFE even) and I'm VERY impressed!

The story line was good though. I think they just need to get better at acting (though I'm no revered critic) and quit using so much fancy technology (or at least, quit making it so obvious). That's the opinion of a conservative, 30-40 year old, white woman of middle class.

Noisy Sleeper

Here is video of Sarah last night, before we went to bed. She was a pretty sleepy little girl last night!

I told you she was a noisy sleeper. Here's two minutes of proof.

Joseph just got up from his nap and came into me where I was having a nap of my own. He cried and threw up on the floor by my bed. What is it with my kids? Is that the only way they think they can get me out of bed? Sheesh. I'm going to have to get the carpet cleaner out later. At least Leah had the decency to run all the way to the kitchen!

Here is a picture of the poor little guy just after lunch. Don't get too close; those are some nasty germs!

Nasty Germs...Help!

We are being invaded. Leah has been sick. I let her go to school yesterday because she said she felt "good". During my nap, she got into a coughing fit and threw up all over the kitchen floor. My stomach did a little flip-flop at that one. When I saw her eyes were still a little red and dull last night, I told her she would be staying home today. We have a very upset little girl today. She's really in love with Kindergarten.

Last night, Joseph was sick. Chad spent some time with him. Eventually, he ended up in bed with us and I noticed he had a fever. Currently, he is crying for attention and still hasn't been dressed or had his diaper changed.

But I've got to take care of Sarah right now. How do I handle all of this? I'm trying to keep the germs from Sarah. Joseph really needs to be held. Leah doesn't get the staying home sick thing and is asking to invite friends over. Thankfully, Rebekah is not ill. Yet.

I may break down in tears before the day is out. Chad gets home in 9 hours! We can do it! ?

Influential

There is a family (somewhat local) that just enjoyed their first Family Home Evening in many years. The parents of the family were married in the temple nearly 12 years ago. They have 4 children, two of whom have been baptized. I assume they are full tithe payers (since they have temple recommends), but I don't really know those kind of details...and don't really care either way.

The family blog yesterday relates their experience with FHE and mentions how excited the kids were. They had all sorts of fun and look forward to (hopefully) having more FHE successes. Sounds great, right?

The blog post starts out mentioning why it has taken them so long to get "into" FHE. Apparently, it's my fault. Approximately 20 years ago, I ruined the FHE experience. Wow. I never dreamed I could be so influential. And all along I thought no one cared.

I guess it's easier to blame things on others than admit you may have been holding out on your own. Anyone else want to blame me for something? Did you yell at your kids? Haven't renewed your Ensign subscription? Fail your driver's license test? I am available and the possibilities are so great!

Maybe I should feel flattered. I'll work on that ... as soon I get done telling myself not to feel bad that I'm currently held in such obvious "high esteem".

Friendly Competition

We change Sarah's diapers on the bed in our room. When we're done, we roll up the diaper and throw it to the garbage can. I try to imagine a bullseye on the wall above so it will bounce in perfectly. I make it only about half the time (but hey, it's often the wee hours of the morning!) and then there are lots of little diaper balls on the floor all around the garbage. I call it scatter decorating.

But now the diaper throwing sport has become a little more competitive. If Joseph is on the bed when the diaper is changed, he grabs the diaper and throws it himself! He does throw it in the right direction, but NEVER reaches the target. In fact, sometimes it just lands on the other side of the mattress. I don't penalize him for bad form though because he often is the one who stops and picks up all the diapers on the floor and ensures they make it into the garbage.

Maybe I should have him watch me clean up his room more. Then he could compete with me in that, too.

I can't take the noise!

I just spent the last hour being tortured. It's currently 2:21 AM.

Chad and I were trying to go to bed at about 11:30, but Sarah wouldn't play her "sleepy baby" part. Chad took her and I crawled (gratefully) into bed. I heard her fussing occasionally as I drifted off.

My next notice of anything came at 1:18. I heard Sarah again, but it was more grunting type noises than crying. I woke up enough to realize that she was in her bed and Chad was asleep. I knew for sure that she was awake because it wasn't natural to make that much noise and remain asleep. As a nursing mother, I learned with Daniel not to jerk awake at every sound because babies are so noisy. Sarah is really testing me on this; I have never heard such a noisy sleeper. Ever. I should get a little video of it sometime for you all. I just have to talk myself into doing it in the middle of the night.

So it's the wee hours of the morning and I'm half awake, ready for the cry that tells me she's ready to eat. It doesn't come...just the continuing grunting. Then Chad joins the party (or maybe I finally woke up enough to notice him). Chad snores (love the man, not the snoring). He is so good at it that he can snore while sleeping on his stomach. I don't know how he was sleeping, just that he was snoring...loudly. Woodsman kind of loud. Now I'm right between two very noisy, but sleeping people. The one with the most decency to remain quiet is the one who is awake!

For almost an hour, I nearly lost my hearing. I kept waiting for Sarah to wake up enough to demand food. She was just so noisy, I couldn't believe that she was really asleep! I had the thought to put my pillow over my head. The worrying part of me didn't like that idea because what if all the noise was to keep me awake because this is the night Sarah would narrowly escape SIDS? The guilt would be too much. Eventually, the situation got to me.

I jiggled around in the bed enough to make Chad change position and quiet him down. As he did, I worried that the change in sound would actually wake Sarah up. It didn't, but she didn't get any quieter. I finally got up and prepared to wake her so I could feed her and get some sleep. (I have no idea why that would help. Is the stomach in any way connected to breathing/grunting?) Just as I was about to get her out of bed, she got quiet. FIGURES! I turned the little light back out and started to go back to sleep. It was 2:19.

Sarah started crying.

I wanted to join her.

I took my nursing baby and fled to the computer (obviously). She nursed on one side and now I can't wake her enough to finish what she started. She's breathing normally now (maybe there is a connection), so do I dare try to go back to sleep? I'm afraid the association with her bed will remind her to either cry or grunt. Neither one is going to help me get any sleep.

Well, it's now 2:51. I've typed much of this one-handed. I'm going to try to put her back to bed and salvage the rest of the night. I am not very optimistic about it all. Church starts at 9 AM.

Sarah's Baby Blessing

For those family members planning on driving out, up or over for Sarah's blessing:

Fast Sunday is 11 October - the week AFTER General Conference. The meeting starts at 9 AM (Sorry. I can do NOTHING about that.). There isn't a lot of room here for sleeping over, but more if you don't mind the floor.

If you still plan to come, and plan to come to the house first, please come early. You're welcome to change clothes here if you need to, use the bathroom, etc. But if you're in the driveway, so are we! We want to get to the church in time to get enough seats. Of course, you can always drive directly to the church. We can give you directions if you need them.

We'll probably have a few crockpots of lunch simmering. If there is anything specific you'd like to bring, go ahead. I'm not going to plan and coordinate food and try to make it through the morning, too. Not that I don't care that you're bringing anything; I just don't want to worry about who and what and when.

Church lasts 3 hours. If you've got other plans and are leaving earlier, you're welcome to stop by the house and help yourself to lunch and the bathroom (just don't steal the valuables - dirty laundry not included).

Hormone Therapy

My poor kids are going to need therapy for the abuse they've been getting while I wait for my hormones to balance out. Bluntly said, "I am WAY cranky."

There are few chances given around here lately. The first sound of fighting earns my wrath. If you don't respond after the 2nd time, you're likely to be singled out and faced with a very unfriendly comment. I have learned to leave the room when I'm feeling too crazed.

I feel bad about my recent attitude, but only upon reflection. It does nothing to keep me from losing control the next time something irritates me. So not only am I dealing with little sleep, crazy hormones, a depressed sense of self-image, I'm feeling large amounts of guilt, too. Yay for me and the family!

But it's not all my fault. When Daniel thought it would be funny to make his sisters and brother put very spicy hot pepper seeds into their mouths, my first thought was...Give him one, too! I didn't feel bad when he cried (and he made sure he cried the loudest and longest). Daniel usually does irritating things, but this was too much for the hormones. Little Bully, meet Big Bully.

And when the boys somehow got water all over the table, chairs and floor and then left it? I waved the soggy mail I'd peeled from the table, lectured them and dealt a punishment. If I can't count on the oldest ones to show some responsibility, I expect the crankiness to last a while.

Since I'm so cranky, I feel like it's showing weakness to smile or laugh, even when it's deserved. Earlier today Rebekah yelled from Joseph's room, "Joseph is drawing all over his arm!"

Me: "What is he drawing with?"
R: "A pen."
Me: "Did you take it away?"
There is a pause. The next thing we hear is Rebekah saying to Joseph, "Give me that!" and then she yells out, "Yes!"

Everyone laughed, but I tried to keep it in (unsuccessfully).

Something else to add to the stress around here...Daniel's jaw is hurting again, on the other side. When Daniel is in pain, everyone knows. It becomes his excuse for everything he doesn't want to do. He is suddenly addicted to children's pain meds and lies around moaning, groaning and sometimes screaming. I guess I'll have to find him a chiropractor to go to around here. I know where one is 40 minutes away, but I'm hoping for a little less road time. Why is it that medical problems ALWAYS happen at the end of the week? It makes for very long, cranky weekends.

I've seen two quotes as I've been driving around this week. Some of you may have seen them, too. I'm only sharing them because I liked them. This is not a jab at anyone, nor am I trying to send any "messages" at all.

First one on a sign of a local church: Hold up your head but keep your nose at a friendly level.
Second one at a local business: Borrow money from a pessimist...they don't expect it back.

In the KITCHEN!

Do not give gogurts to young children and simply tell them to stay in the kitchen. You must remain with them and repeat your demand often while physically putting hands on them and turning them away from the kitchen exits. I left the kitchen for 5 minutes and returned to find Joseph now trying to eat from the CLOSED end of the gogurt tube. This resulted in blobs of yogurt on the carpet and his clothes. Even then, I was having to repeat myself about legal eating areas until the wrappers were in the garbage.

Speaking of "in the kitchen," I've spent my morning there. My fridge, though not perfect, is much cleaner. We had a bottom freezer model in our old house. This fridge has the freezer on top. It's so much harder to clean this one, not to mention finding hidden food that's beginning to qualify as science experiments. I haven't been able to bend over that far for several months and since having the baby, I'm just barely there again. So I worked on the fridge. It had been a long time since its last cleaning, but it was better than I expected.

From there, I got to sweep the floor. Nasty job in this house. Even though one of the kids is supposed to sweep each night after dinner, they seem to miss about 80% of the mess. I swept and mopped two days ago (and only felt the sting of my incision a little) because I finally decided that it felt like I was walking OUTSIDE, not in the house, in a room where we prepare and consume food.

All jobs in the house right now seem to take 3 times as long as they should as I often have to stop and comfort Sarah. She knows when she's not being held! I finally got the baby swing out yesterday and cleaned it up. I was afraid she'd be too small to like it, but it's the only way I've worked in the kitchen this morning. (As I type, I listen for her to start complaining.) I love that swing. You may remember gushing about it when Joseph was a baby. You can refresh your memory here.

Most of the house is a mess. Things have a funny way of creeping out of their hiding places while you're not looking. Two days ago, I heard Daniel say, "Now I know how Mommy feels! I just cleaned up this room and it's already messy again." A teeny tiny taste of satisfaction for the mommy with that comment! But then this morning, I walked into the library that Chad had cleaned up last night (it was so nice to walk in and know I wasn't going to step on ANYTHING) and found a big mess of books and crayons, etc. I thought Joseph had done it. No. It was Daniel. He'd started cleaning it the other day, but got tired or distracted or something. This morning, he saw that while the library was clean, the books weren't actually in the right places. So he pulled out the offending books and then left the room (again). It's still a big mess. I'm not quite up to crawling around on the floor yet.

And now for a little comment that's been on my mind since hearing a judgement relayed this direction a few weeks ago. If you think I complain about my kids too much and shouldn't have 6, then you'll probably want to take me off your blog list. I'm no saint and don't have a day job or a near-by relative to dump my kids on whenever I want a break. This (my blog) is where I get rid of the stress without leaving the house or the kids. If you had 6 kids (all under the age of 9.5), you'd not only be very happy and love each one of them, but you'd be a little more understanding and less judgemental (maybe).

I thought newborns were supposed to be sleepy

This isn't the first time I've done this newborn thing. Even so, I'm having a hard time remembering something. Aren't new babies supposed to sleep all day? (Experience has already taught me they are up all night.)

I had two opportunities for naps today. Sarah didn't let me take either one. I finally got her to sleep 10 minutes before my first nap time was over. At least I got some computer time in that way. (A neighbor had called up and offered to take Rebekah and Joseph for me so I could get some rest. It was a really good idea - or so I thought.)

During our official nap time after lunch, Sarah was determined to stay awake. She started out asleep. Just as I started to doze, she woke up. Over half the time was gone before she started getting really sleepy again. Even then, I had to put my arm over her and set my face mere inches from hers. I was cross-eyed and she was getting an earful of my warm breath. I guess she liked it because she settled down and went to sleep.

Unfortunately, in order to get my face that close to hers, I had to put my unused arm (which was under me) behind me. Eventually, that part of me went to sleep, too. It was a little tricky getting up after that!

And what of this evening? Sarah has been awake for the past 6+ hours. She's looking all around, her tongue is slowly poking in and out of her mouth, she waves her hands in the air, occasionally she asks to eat or have her diaper changed, but she doesn't fall asleep. Combined with this morning and afternoon, this is a lot of "alert" time. Aren't newborns supposed to be sleepy? (I know I'm sleepy!) She's not even 3 weeks old. I am hopeful that this means she'll sleep really well tonight, but she won't make it through the night with her tiny tummy. I sure pray that she won't get her "second wind" and keep me up all night, too. I want some sleep!

Sarah - Center Stage

OK...time to put a story to the pictures and get them into some sort of order.

These first pictures are all of the kids on their second visit to the hospital. They all wanted a turn holding Sarah. You can see that Joseph found a way to stay in the chair, regardless of whose turn it was! Such a sneaky boy.

These next few pictures were taken one quiet morning before the sun came up. The nursery would keep Sarah until she got hungry and then a nurse would bring her to my room for a feeding. If it was past 6 AM, I didn't bother sending her back (it takes her an hour to eat anyway) and chose to enjoy a little pre-dawn bonding time. That doesn't mean I was able to stay awake the whole time, but we bonded anyway. :)

Here she is, past ready to eat. Her tongue is working and looking for food. Hey! No starting without me!

Ahhh...! Contentment comes in a good swaddle and a full tummy. You can see the sunlight is starting to gather and is reflecting on the sheets behind her.

Here is what you get if you are not swift enough with getting her majesty into a good, solid feeding latch!

Such peace. She stopped liking that pacifier. We'll have to convince her eventually that she likes it again.

The hospital provides a "Stork Dinner" for the mommy and a companion on the night before her release from the hospital. I chose Chad as my companion. :) Here is our dinner. It was really yummy, especially in the shadow of being labeled "hospital food." I couldn't eat very much and wasted about 3/4 of some very good cheesecake. That's probably a good thing, but when am I going to get cheesecake again?

Here is Sarah on Sunday afternoon. She's all dressed up and ready to go home. I've learned that "newborn" sized clothes don't give much room to grow when you start out at 20 inches long. The outfit is not too big!

Here is Chad, dressed down from his church clothes of the morning. Maybe if I was an expert photographer, I'd be able to snap a picture of him with his eyes open. Sarah was upset at the delay and was letting us know her feelings.

We finally made it home and have had to hold the kids back ever since! They all want to hold her! Joseph has had a cold the whole time. I'm hoping Sarah has enough natural antibodies to keep her safe during this round of germs. Short of isolation, I don't know how to keep her from being exposed.

Here, Rebekah and Joseph are loving their baby. Such a cute bunch of kids!

These last two pictures are to show just how tiny and adorable our new baby is. She only sleeps this soundly when the sun is shining. I think she's part owl. The last picture is Sarah sleeping on her blanket, which is spread over my pillow (it has a green pillow case). It's just a standard size pillow. She fits on the pillow with more than enough room to spare!

These videos were taking during an early morning bonding time. Moving pictures are always so cute.





Even when they're just videos of a crying, hungry baby.