Today was a FUN day- despite my pain.
Since Brandon still gets up in the middle of the night a few times- I get up with him. I like getting up with him and cuddling with him- even though I am still groggy from pain meds.
Since that is my role, Rob steps up in the morning and takes care of him while I get an extra hour of sleep.
Once we were all up and bright eyed we decided to do a Target run since we need some very basic supplies that we some how got low on! I decided to add a trip to the Unique Thrift Store. I LOVE THIS STORE!!!! Brandon just outgrew his 12 month clothes this week- mostly his 3 pairs of jeans. We ended up getting 4 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of shorts, 4 shirts, a pair of cute nike shoes, 2 pajamas and oodles and oodles of toys for about $50.00! He got a huge bucket of the big lego block things. He got a ball toy that pops balls in the air and spins them around. He got 2 animal tupperware containers to store food it. Mom got 2 new (never used) travel coffee mugs and Brandon got 25 little hot wheels cars. I think I am forgetting a few things too!
It was a fun day with the family. I LOVE thrift stores!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Mohawk visits the Children's Museum
Last Saturday Auntie Key, Grandma, Mommy and Brandon had a special night at the Children's Museum. It was a private event for the companies that sponsored the museum and Auntie Key got 4 tickets for us to go. They provided a great meal and all the exhibits were open to play. Mr. Mohawk had a fun time. He got to spend lots of time in the water area and got soaked- even with an apron on. It is interesting to see his attention span. If we let him he would have stayed at that water station (one small part of the water station) for hours. It the photos posted at the 'sand' table- he was there for close to 20 minutes. He will be one of those kids where you have to tell him 'time to leave' over and over. I am preparing for that. It was nice to see that he could play for longer periods of time and a child the same age next to him couldn't play there for half a minute. We had a fun time. 
Friday, May 8, 2009
Single Dad
Yes, you may need to re-read the title of this post. Yes, I did write "Single Dad".
Rob is becoming a single dad and I am more than okay with that. Actually, I am thankful for that.
To clear up the 'elephant in the room' I will explain further.
NO- we are not getting divorced.
NO- we are not separating.
NO- we don't have the perfect marriage and we have had our share of really rough times. However, NO I am not going anywhere- per say. Everything about Rob becoming a single dad revolves around me and my back.
For starters; I have degenerative disc disease in my lumbar spine. This has caused the disc to bulge and now within the past few weeks has dehydrated. Think of a grape drying up into a raisin. Your discs are mostly water and fluid and they show up white on an MRI. Mine shows up pitch black. We also just learned that I have one extra vertebrae in my back as well which has caused some issues in my treatment the past 6 months in what disc and what vertebrae. Along with the disc bulge and becoming dehydrated I have a annular tear that has continued to tear in the past few months- even through my treatment. Because of all this stuff going on in my lower back a mass has started to form and needs to be fixed.
After undergoing treatment for 7 months now I have found a new neurosurgeon who decided there is nothing more I can do but to go ahead with surgery. I will be having a level 1 (might become a level 2 depending on an upcoming MRI and CT scan) spinal fusion surgery on Friday, June 5th. My neurosurgeon wants me to stay in the hospital for a minimum of 5 days. Once I go home I will be in bed for another few weeks and hopefully able to walk to the end of the driveway in a few weeks post surgery. It is a VERY painful surgery and a long recovery. I will have to wear a brace for almost 9 months after the surgery. The surgery also requires a bone graph which they will take bone from my hip to help repair my back. My hip will also be in pain for up to 3 months. They will be inserting a pain pump which will help with the pain but it will be a very painful few months.
I have to be honest. I am VERY SCARED. I have been freaking out- waking up in tears in the middle of the night, having nightmares and lots of anxiety over the issue. I am scared of the pain, the hospital stay, moving, even going to the bathroom. I am also scared of the house, the cats, paying bills, medications, recovering, Rob and Brandon.
Because of this massive surgery, Rob will become a single dad. I will not be able to lift Brandon for at least 9 months after the surgery. Rob will be responsible for every aspect of our home. There is no "can you watch Brandon so I can take a shower" or "You get Brandon in his high chair and I will get his lunch." or "Can you get up with him in the middle of the night?" or "He is getting into the toilet...stop him." Rob will have to do it all. We usually do things well as a team and it works great. I won't be able to get out of bed. Not only will Rob have to be a single dad to Brandon but I will need round the clock care as well. Asking for help is the MOST difficult thing for both of us. I am worried that I will try and do too much too soon or not follow Dr.s orders. I am worried that Rob will get burnt out and also have a hard time asking for help. We will be taking it one day at a time.
As for Brandon, he obviously doesn't know this is coming. Due to my last discogram (where they placed needles into my disc to see which disc and which areas are the most painful- IT WAS A MILLION TIMES WORSE THAN CHILDBIRTH) I have been in more pain. Because I can only do so much in a day I take lots of breaks. The most painful is sitting and standing so I am in our bedroom often lying down. Brandon and Rob have built a huge bond together the past few days and it will only get stronger. I am worried about Brandon and him not understanding why mommy can't pick him up or why mommy is always in bed or why mommy can't even bend over to kiss me. This is what I am most scared of and what hurts me the most. Give me the needles, the bone graphs, the rods and screws in my spine....but me not being able to lift my son or hug him or kiss his little head goodnight is what will hurt the most. I guess I am most scared for the emotional part of this surgery and how to try and be mommy. I am preparing my best but it will hit me like a ton of bricks when he walks over to me and lifts his arms and wants me to pick him up.
Like I said, I have started distancing myself from Brandon and Rob already. Tonight I took Brandon too visit my mom and my sister and it was very hard. The 2 hours I was gone with him were very painful and rough. As I pulled in the driveway Rob came out to get Brandon and I headed to bed. That was all I could do for one day.
I will do my best to post my journey and share what I can (and willing to). You can only prepare so much...
Rob is becoming a single dad and I am more than okay with that. Actually, I am thankful for that.
To clear up the 'elephant in the room' I will explain further.
NO- we are not getting divorced.
NO- we are not separating.
NO- we don't have the perfect marriage and we have had our share of really rough times. However, NO I am not going anywhere- per say. Everything about Rob becoming a single dad revolves around me and my back.
For starters; I have degenerative disc disease in my lumbar spine. This has caused the disc to bulge and now within the past few weeks has dehydrated. Think of a grape drying up into a raisin. Your discs are mostly water and fluid and they show up white on an MRI. Mine shows up pitch black. We also just learned that I have one extra vertebrae in my back as well which has caused some issues in my treatment the past 6 months in what disc and what vertebrae. Along with the disc bulge and becoming dehydrated I have a annular tear that has continued to tear in the past few months- even through my treatment. Because of all this stuff going on in my lower back a mass has started to form and needs to be fixed.
After undergoing treatment for 7 months now I have found a new neurosurgeon who decided there is nothing more I can do but to go ahead with surgery. I will be having a level 1 (might become a level 2 depending on an upcoming MRI and CT scan) spinal fusion surgery on Friday, June 5th. My neurosurgeon wants me to stay in the hospital for a minimum of 5 days. Once I go home I will be in bed for another few weeks and hopefully able to walk to the end of the driveway in a few weeks post surgery. It is a VERY painful surgery and a long recovery. I will have to wear a brace for almost 9 months after the surgery. The surgery also requires a bone graph which they will take bone from my hip to help repair my back. My hip will also be in pain for up to 3 months. They will be inserting a pain pump which will help with the pain but it will be a very painful few months.
I have to be honest. I am VERY SCARED. I have been freaking out- waking up in tears in the middle of the night, having nightmares and lots of anxiety over the issue. I am scared of the pain, the hospital stay, moving, even going to the bathroom. I am also scared of the house, the cats, paying bills, medications, recovering, Rob and Brandon.
Because of this massive surgery, Rob will become a single dad. I will not be able to lift Brandon for at least 9 months after the surgery. Rob will be responsible for every aspect of our home. There is no "can you watch Brandon so I can take a shower" or "You get Brandon in his high chair and I will get his lunch." or "Can you get up with him in the middle of the night?" or "He is getting into the toilet...stop him." Rob will have to do it all. We usually do things well as a team and it works great. I won't be able to get out of bed. Not only will Rob have to be a single dad to Brandon but I will need round the clock care as well. Asking for help is the MOST difficult thing for both of us. I am worried that I will try and do too much too soon or not follow Dr.s orders. I am worried that Rob will get burnt out and also have a hard time asking for help. We will be taking it one day at a time.
As for Brandon, he obviously doesn't know this is coming. Due to my last discogram (where they placed needles into my disc to see which disc and which areas are the most painful- IT WAS A MILLION TIMES WORSE THAN CHILDBIRTH) I have been in more pain. Because I can only do so much in a day I take lots of breaks. The most painful is sitting and standing so I am in our bedroom often lying down. Brandon and Rob have built a huge bond together the past few days and it will only get stronger. I am worried about Brandon and him not understanding why mommy can't pick him up or why mommy is always in bed or why mommy can't even bend over to kiss me. This is what I am most scared of and what hurts me the most. Give me the needles, the bone graphs, the rods and screws in my spine....but me not being able to lift my son or hug him or kiss his little head goodnight is what will hurt the most. I guess I am most scared for the emotional part of this surgery and how to try and be mommy. I am preparing my best but it will hit me like a ton of bricks when he walks over to me and lifts his arms and wants me to pick him up.
Like I said, I have started distancing myself from Brandon and Rob already. Tonight I took Brandon too visit my mom and my sister and it was very hard. The 2 hours I was gone with him were very painful and rough. As I pulled in the driveway Rob came out to get Brandon and I headed to bed. That was all I could do for one day.
I will do my best to post my journey and share what I can (and willing to). You can only prepare so much...
Happenings in the Jurgens House
It has been some time since I have updated and I apologize for not being prompt on my posts. I am on Facebook as well as momslikeme.com daily and I post info and photos of what is going on.
I think it is time to write some updates here too!
* Brandon is now 1 year old! WOW how it goes so fast. He enjoyed his birthday on April 21st with Mom and Dad. Once Mom got home from a big presentation at work we all went to the MOA. We visited Underwater World and saw the sharks. Brandon really liked it. He oooed and aaaahed. After Underwater World we headed to the fun park and went on one small ride that goes in circles. It is the rides that you always saw outside of KMarts growing up! He liked it. Pretty soon he will be riding the BIG rides. After the quick ride we ate some ice cream. Brandon thought he could eat his and dads!
* Brandon's birthday was on Sunday the 26th. We had a full house and lots of toys and food. I was disappointed in the cake situation. I had planned on making him a bear cake and even practiced and prepared. However a few days before the party I had to have a discogram on my back which put me in bed for a couple of days and there was no way I could stand to make a cake when I could barely walk without help so we opted for Sam's Club. He got his own cake. He mushed the entire thing and wonderful Auntie Key gave him a bath. The issue was getting him from his high chair to the bath so dad stuck him in a garbage bag with his head sticking out...it worked.
* Most of Rob's family wasn't able to make the party due to a bad accident. The day before the party Rob's step-dad was in a serious atv accident in northern MN. He broke almost all of his ribs in many places. He also punctured both of his lungs and was placed into a coma. From my understanding he is very lucky to be alive. He is still in the hospital in Duluth and it will take a few more weeks before he is stable to be transfered to the cities. From what I have been told he will be in the hospital down here in the cities for some time as well. I believe he is done working and it sounds like will take months to 'get back to normal'. We await updates periodically.
* We have a new addition to our family! Little Oliver Gus-Gus Jurgens joined our family on April 23rd. He is a baby, orange, tabby cat. He was a rescue and fairly unhealthy. We have been receiving free vet treatments since he was a rescue. He only weighed 1 pound 10 ounces at 8 weeks of age. Needless to say we are stuffing him with water and food. He is doing better after a week or so with us. The other 2 cats, Ash and Allie had a rough time getting used to him but after 3 days they all loved each other and play together and sleep together. It is fun having a little kitten in the house again. Brandon does well with him too. He likes to rest his head on the kitties bellies like they are pillows.
* Brandon is walking. He tumbles every now and then but he can walk down the hallway and around the house. He does best with no shoes and being on carpet. Sometimes shoes just weigh him down. We do our best to encourage him to walk and walk and walk but he still knows that crawling is just faster!
* Brandon has discovered some new fun things. 1- Moms camera actually takes photos. 2- The TV has an on and off button and it lights up in red when it needs to be pushed. 3- Toilet paper comes off the roll rather quickly. 4- The toilet paper goes well in the toilet. 5- If not interested in the toilet paper he just likes to splash in the toilet. 6- He likes to wash his hands under running water.
* Brandon is down to one nap a day. Oddly enough it is at 11am when he normally goes down. It is rather odd since most kids nap after lunch- he would rather nap during lunch time. He always gets lunch when he gets up.
* Food and Drink: He is now doing milk but we have to do it slowly since the first few times it upset his tummy. He just needs to get used to it. He still loves his favorites- Nutrigrain bars, puffs, crackers, ritz with cheese, plain cheese, yogurt, applesauce, jelly sandwiches, toast, apples, peaches, pears, pudding, mandarin oranges. We have struggled with meats. He is a picky kid- which doesn't surprise us since Rob and I were HORRID eaters growing up. We would starve before we ate anything. There are some great premade food items in the toddler section. It has a veggie on one side and entree on another. We decided to try it and he loves them. We use this to get some meats in him since he won't eat it any other way. It is frustrating. He also now drinks out of a straw. He can be messy with it but he loves being able to drink from a straw. As for bottles he gets about 3 a day. We can start weaning these down but we are waiting for some positive iron tests. More on that next...
* We have to take Brandon for his one year check up. We were 3 weeks late on his 9 month so we are pushing the 12 month one off for vaccine reasons. We are really hoping his hemaglobin tests come back better. If it does not then that means more blood work and we need to try something else. The low iron levels he first had were hopefully diet related. Now that we are bombarding him with iron rich foods if the test comes back bad then it could be a blood disorder of some kind.
* Brandon's car seat now faces forward. YEAH!!! He loves the new minivan (as do I- even though I miss my convertible). Doctors are recommending he face backward until he is 2 but because he is so tall that is not possible. His legs would be crunched up if we left him backwards.
* We go on many outings with Brandon- Como zoo, EP Center, Playgrounds (loves slides but hates swings-odd), MOA, Landscape Arboretum, Pool, Walks around lakes (small ones for moms sake) and Gmas and Gpas often.
* When we are at home Brandon has lots of new favorite toys- his car that winds up and races across the floor, the workbench with all the tools, his Chuck fire engine, touch and feel books, his Igloo tent from Auntie Key for his BDay, his shape hippo, construction blocks (mom and dad had to put them all together), books, baseball and bat, 2 learning tables, mom and dads cell phones, Playstation controller, matchbox cars.
The post on my back will come later. That is a long story.
So, why do I post all this stuff? Why tell people what his favorite toys are? The main reason is actually for Brandon. I have started printing out pages of the blog and putting them in a book for him so he can always see it and will know what he did at what stage. This blog is mostly for Brandon. I have kept a baby book and calendar of special days but this blog is also an addition to that. I just can't wait until I get to write about embarrassing stuff he says!
I think it is time to write some updates here too!
* Brandon is now 1 year old! WOW how it goes so fast. He enjoyed his birthday on April 21st with Mom and Dad. Once Mom got home from a big presentation at work we all went to the MOA. We visited Underwater World and saw the sharks. Brandon really liked it. He oooed and aaaahed. After Underwater World we headed to the fun park and went on one small ride that goes in circles. It is the rides that you always saw outside of KMarts growing up! He liked it. Pretty soon he will be riding the BIG rides. After the quick ride we ate some ice cream. Brandon thought he could eat his and dads!
* Brandon's birthday was on Sunday the 26th. We had a full house and lots of toys and food. I was disappointed in the cake situation. I had planned on making him a bear cake and even practiced and prepared. However a few days before the party I had to have a discogram on my back which put me in bed for a couple of days and there was no way I could stand to make a cake when I could barely walk without help so we opted for Sam's Club. He got his own cake. He mushed the entire thing and wonderful Auntie Key gave him a bath. The issue was getting him from his high chair to the bath so dad stuck him in a garbage bag with his head sticking out...it worked.
* Most of Rob's family wasn't able to make the party due to a bad accident. The day before the party Rob's step-dad was in a serious atv accident in northern MN. He broke almost all of his ribs in many places. He also punctured both of his lungs and was placed into a coma. From my understanding he is very lucky to be alive. He is still in the hospital in Duluth and it will take a few more weeks before he is stable to be transfered to the cities. From what I have been told he will be in the hospital down here in the cities for some time as well. I believe he is done working and it sounds like will take months to 'get back to normal'. We await updates periodically.
* We have a new addition to our family! Little Oliver Gus-Gus Jurgens joined our family on April 23rd. He is a baby, orange, tabby cat. He was a rescue and fairly unhealthy. We have been receiving free vet treatments since he was a rescue. He only weighed 1 pound 10 ounces at 8 weeks of age. Needless to say we are stuffing him with water and food. He is doing better after a week or so with us. The other 2 cats, Ash and Allie had a rough time getting used to him but after 3 days they all loved each other and play together and sleep together. It is fun having a little kitten in the house again. Brandon does well with him too. He likes to rest his head on the kitties bellies like they are pillows.
* Brandon is walking. He tumbles every now and then but he can walk down the hallway and around the house. He does best with no shoes and being on carpet. Sometimes shoes just weigh him down. We do our best to encourage him to walk and walk and walk but he still knows that crawling is just faster!
* Brandon has discovered some new fun things. 1- Moms camera actually takes photos. 2- The TV has an on and off button and it lights up in red when it needs to be pushed. 3- Toilet paper comes off the roll rather quickly. 4- The toilet paper goes well in the toilet. 5- If not interested in the toilet paper he just likes to splash in the toilet. 6- He likes to wash his hands under running water.
* Brandon is down to one nap a day. Oddly enough it is at 11am when he normally goes down. It is rather odd since most kids nap after lunch- he would rather nap during lunch time. He always gets lunch when he gets up.
* Food and Drink: He is now doing milk but we have to do it slowly since the first few times it upset his tummy. He just needs to get used to it. He still loves his favorites- Nutrigrain bars, puffs, crackers, ritz with cheese, plain cheese, yogurt, applesauce, jelly sandwiches, toast, apples, peaches, pears, pudding, mandarin oranges. We have struggled with meats. He is a picky kid- which doesn't surprise us since Rob and I were HORRID eaters growing up. We would starve before we ate anything. There are some great premade food items in the toddler section. It has a veggie on one side and entree on another. We decided to try it and he loves them. We use this to get some meats in him since he won't eat it any other way. It is frustrating. He also now drinks out of a straw. He can be messy with it but he loves being able to drink from a straw. As for bottles he gets about 3 a day. We can start weaning these down but we are waiting for some positive iron tests. More on that next...
* We have to take Brandon for his one year check up. We were 3 weeks late on his 9 month so we are pushing the 12 month one off for vaccine reasons. We are really hoping his hemaglobin tests come back better. If it does not then that means more blood work and we need to try something else. The low iron levels he first had were hopefully diet related. Now that we are bombarding him with iron rich foods if the test comes back bad then it could be a blood disorder of some kind.
* Brandon's car seat now faces forward. YEAH!!! He loves the new minivan (as do I- even though I miss my convertible). Doctors are recommending he face backward until he is 2 but because he is so tall that is not possible. His legs would be crunched up if we left him backwards.
* We go on many outings with Brandon- Como zoo, EP Center, Playgrounds (loves slides but hates swings-odd), MOA, Landscape Arboretum, Pool, Walks around lakes (small ones for moms sake) and Gmas and Gpas often.
* When we are at home Brandon has lots of new favorite toys- his car that winds up and races across the floor, the workbench with all the tools, his Chuck fire engine, touch and feel books, his Igloo tent from Auntie Key for his BDay, his shape hippo, construction blocks (mom and dad had to put them all together), books, baseball and bat, 2 learning tables, mom and dads cell phones, Playstation controller, matchbox cars.
The post on my back will come later. That is a long story.
So, why do I post all this stuff? Why tell people what his favorite toys are? The main reason is actually for Brandon. I have started printing out pages of the blog and putting them in a book for him so he can always see it and will know what he did at what stage. This blog is mostly for Brandon. I have kept a baby book and calendar of special days but this blog is also an addition to that. I just can't wait until I get to write about embarrassing stuff he says!
Mohawk
Brandon gets a mohawk every now and then. It is auntie's favorite and this day we were heading to a special event at The Children's Museum!
Baby Oliver
Meet our newest addition to our family- Oliver. He is 8 weeks old and weighs almost 2 pounds. He is a bit too playful but that is the kitten in him! 
Hanging Around at home
These photos are of Brandon just hanging around at home. He is trying on dads shoes, sleeping on dad because he was sick, playing with his shoes in the car seat and having a picnic with dad in the living room.
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