Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Incidentally

-I've had several pumpkin spice lattes in the last few weeks (half caf! most of the time!) and have noticed that sometimes they taste SCRUMPTIOUS and I think that I have never had a yummier coffee drink, and then other times they taste exactly like sipping on a gaggy-smelling scented candle. I think I'm going to chalk this up to my weird olfactory senses due to my worst case of hay fever ever, rather than assuming there is really that much inconsistency in the way the drinks are being made.

-Between me, the dog and Jameson, our family has made a grand total of six doctor visits in the last two weeks, and that's not counting the four bilirubin draws. When I was little and fantasizing about having babies, I had no idea how much of my job as a mother would be simply ferrying people to various medical facilities and signing under "guardian" on various forms for them.

-The one visit that was for me was for an injury I sustained during Jameson's birth- to my BICEP. Yes, that's correct, I have been diagnosed with bicep tendonitis, which presumably occured during the pushing part of baby's birth, when I was gripping metal bars on the walls above the sides of the tub. The bars are at kind of a high, awkward angle (you can actually see it in one of the pictures in the black and white slideshow, I think) and my doula and one of the nurses both warned me that some moms find them uncomfortable. I found it helpful at the time to have something to grab on to, though, and didn't notice any pain in my right shoulder/arm until about three days later, which not coincidentally is when I began weaning off the prescription-strength Motrin my doctor gave for cramping.

At first I thought I was having a bad reaction to the TDaP booster I got at the hospital (we've had some nasty pertussis outbreaks in our area recently) but when it didn't get better and was in fact getting worse, I finally went in to have it checked out. Bad news. Also, bad luck, 'cause there's not much to do for tendonitis issues other than physical therapy (don't have time for THAT right now,) steroid shots (can't do while nursing,) strong painkillers (ditto w/ the nursing issue,) and resting the effected muscle (kinda tricky with a newborn that constantly needs carried and breastfed!) So I'm just taking Advil round the clock, trying to ice it when I remember, and favoring my left arm as much as possible.

-We are finally running out of leftovers from all the food the Church Ladies brought us, which means... I will soon have to do a real grocery trip (as opposed to quick runs for necessities like Kotex and Peanut M and M's.) I am anticipating it with about the same mentality as I did labor: an extreme challenge both physically and mentally, and one which I have not undertaken for awhile, but from which afterwards I will hopefully emerge feeling spent and exhausted but triumphant and fulfilled.

Or I might just flee the store, covered in milk leaks and hormone sweat, and get takeout Chinese. Like an epidural, it's an option that I never like to ENTIRELY rule out. Just in case.

11 comments:

Lisa @ Lisa Moves said...

I have three kids about the same age...and I make my husband do the grocery shopping. Preferably having taken at least one child with him :-)

Marie Green said...

Ha, ha, I LOVE your grocery shopping and chinese take-out comparisons to birth! So funny and oddly accurate!

You sound like you are in good humor- bum arm or not- and I'm so sticking excited to read how things are going for you. I can picture you there, holding your warm little loaf and pecking out a witty blog post to boot.

Swistle said...

I have noticed that with coffee drinks that are supposed to be caramel or toffee: sometimes delicious, sometimes just like air freshener.

Jess said...

Oh, the arm thing! Ouch! That seems so UNFAIR. Glad you got your Tdap, though. Torsten just went to get his last week so that we can cocoon Piglet from pertussis. (I happened to have mine last year when I was due for a tetanus booster anyway.)

d e v a n said...

Oh man, my arms were SO sore after i gave birth to L. I gripped the hell out of those bars. BUT, I didn't get tendonitis, ouch. You poor thing!

You can totally do the grocery store, but keeping the Chinese option is a good one. ;)

Tracy said...

ouch! that doesn't sound good at all! keep up with the advil, and maybe you can do some PT in a few months.

Also, I find that the pumpkin spice lattes vary in taste as well. Sometimes they are very yummy, other times- not so much. I think it must have to do with who makes them.

As for grocery shopping, you can do it! Just stick to the essentials. No browsing. (yeah, right~!)

Michelle said...

Pumpkin spice lattes could be the death of me. After reading this last night, I had to run to Starbucks to get one (decaf).
Sorry about the arm. That does not sound like a fun complication.

artemisia said...

I have never tried the pumpkin spice latte, but mostly I don't like Starbucks' coffee. But pumpkin sounds ... weird.

Sorry about your arm. I do hope it starts to heal.

Jen @ Rolling Through Looneyville said...

1. I totally found the same thing with these pumpkin spice coffees... (I just inhaled one, and it was DELIGHTFUL... the one before? meh). Funny that you mentioned hay fever because holy snot nose, batman, me too.

2. Congratulations! I haven't been by to mention that, but I've been reading. He's a cute little muffin!

3. You can take something as strong as percoset if necessary... not sure for how long, but that's what I've had after each of my c-sections, and my babies are all super fine, (they might get a smidge sleepy at times in the beginning, but they're sleepy anyway, so who really knows?) Anyway, if you're in agony, might be worth a look.

3. Ferrying children to the doctor's wears me out. The driving is fine... it's the PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, DON"T TOUCH THAT! that I have to continue because I, who am not a germaphobe on a normal basis, am completely skeeved out by the possibility that my kids will pick something up while we're there.

B said...

So sorry about the arm :(
GREAT analogy with grocery store and labor! I'm going to remember that one!

CAQuincy said...

Hee, hee! Yes! You have the right to Chinese take-out, and NO ONE should make you feel ashamed about it!