Goodbye Gallbladder

I spent most of April with several bouts of what I thought was the stomach flu. In all fairness I went to the doc in a box and was told it was just the stomach flu. Turns out I had several gallbladder attacks. After a month, I went to see a specialist. The GI doctor thought it was either gallstones or ulcers. Turns out pregnancy can really wreak havoc on a body and many postpartum women have gallbladder issues. Once an ultrasound confirmed gallstones they sent me straight to a surgeon and I parted ways with my gallbladder on July 16. So long! It's been a pretty good 26 years, but it's time we went our separate ways. 

This was my first real surgery so I was a little nervous but honestly everything went smoothly. There was pain immediately after (obviously), but it wasn't unbearable. My stepmom stayed with us for a few days to help with Ryker. I wasn't allowed to lift anything for a week. And since technically my discharge papers say no strenuous activity until the 3 week follow up appointment... I'm taking a break from the gym. :)

Recovery wasn't terrible. I was fortunate enough to have a great support system in place so R didn't have to go without all the attention he needed. I did "overdo it" the day after my surgery by making my stepmom take me to Target. BUT we needed to get out of the house! The walls were closing in, J was sleeping (he works nights), and R was screaming just because he's a boy. So the rest of recovery was a little more painful than it probably should've been. But it's over now. We're two weeks out & I can finally wear pants again! Up until now everything would rub against my incision & it was so tender that I couldn't take it. Now we're fine. Here's to the rest of my life without a gallbladder!

Ten Months

June 7 - July 6

- At your 9 month check up on June 19, you weighed 20 lbs and were 28 inches long.
- You started feeding yourself crackers & "Cheetos." We're also starting to wean you off purees and formula and move on to finger foods and sippy cups. Right now you love bananas, fries, watered down apple juice, and cinnamon toast and don't care for cottage cheese, mandarin oranges, or eggs.

- We said goodbye to Grammy & Grandaddy when they moved out of the country for a year.

- You're spending lots of quality time with Mimsy at the pool. And now that Daddy's working nights you get to spend some good manly time with him.You like to go out to breakfast and Lowes and play outside with him. 

- You're so, so stubborn. Just like your mama. And you like to pull up on, crawl/cruise to, play with all the things you shouldn't... like stairs, fire places, electrical sockets, remote controls, cable boxes, plugs/cords, salsa (or whatever else is in the fridge) etc. But you are definitely learning the meaning of "no" even if you don't always listen and sometimes have to have a time out.

- You've become very attached lately. To your daddy, Mimsy, Uncle Joe, and especially to me. Like if I walk past you and don't pick you up you might have a mini melt down. Or if you can see me and I'm not holding you (and you're not distracted) you might have a mini meltdown. Part of me thinks you're going through a clingy phase; but another part thinks maybe you're nervous because this summer has been kind of inconsistent as far as your child care is concerned. And no two babysitters are alike, obviously. But you will go to a daycare in August and have a consistent routine every day.
- You have 6 teeth now. I'm not sure how often I update the blog on your teeth, but right now there's 6 and possibly 2 more coming in over the next month or so. You're drooly and chewing on things, but there are no white bumps yet.

(You're getting pretty good at mimicking my "silly mommy" smile.)

- You love to play with your toys. Right now your favorites are your walker, your "i-pod" and "i-pad" (you like to push the buttons for lights and music and then scoot it across the floors), your remote control, everything previously mentioned as dangerous, trucks, and you're really starting to like books.

- You're a little behind on your speech development, but the doctor isn't worried yet.
- You've accidentally taken a few steps on your own and can balance pretty well if you're already in the standing position.