A Quick Update on Madi and a Prayer Request for Deena

For those of you who are our friends on Facebook, you may have seen that Madi was in the hospital this weekend.  On Friday she woke up seizing, but it wasn't a typical series of seizures for her.  After maxing her out on her rescue med, I called 911 and asked to be taken to the hospital.  She was awake the whole time, but I think she was hallucinating because she kept talking about seeing Sponge Bob and skeletons; two things she never talks about or watches on TV.  At the hospital she had another seizure are required IV meds to stop it.  After that she finally fell asleep and I knew that the worst had passed.  We had to change rooms because they were understaffed and were moving everyone over to the adult ED section, but she slept through all of that, thankfully.

While we were at the hospital they ran tests to try and see why she had a seizure.  Her shunt series came back just fine, her urine looked great, but they came back and said her blood work looked terrible.  Her white and red counts, as well as her platelets, were very low.  They told me they needed to transfer me to another hospital so that she could see a hematologist and prepared me for the fact that she might need a platelet transplant.

They let me transfer with her, so I was very thankful for that.  This is the first ambulance ride she remembers, and she was pretty excited, but also nervous and wanted me to hold her hand the whole time.  I'm thankful I was able to be there to do that for her.  

At the next hospital the brought us directly to the PICU.  We were put in a room with a nurse that already new Madi, and she was really sweet with her.  You could see in her eyes, though, that she was worried for her and what news might be headed our way.  They sent the hematologist to talk to me.  She started using words like "leukemia" and "cancer" and we were starting to get worried.  They wanted to re-run her tests to get a baseline there.  Thankfully they were able to use the ultrasound machine to find a vein in her leg, so the blood draw didn't bother her at all.  Normally it is very traumatic and upsetting for her.  

After a long day of waiting, they got her blood test results back.  Everything looked perfect.  Not one thing was low.  They transferred us to the hematologist unit and out of the PICU and the doctor came to talk with us again.  They basically said that they couldn't believe the blood work was from the same child.  The doctor did say she has seen this happen one other time, where things went from looking terrible to looking just fine.  She said she wasn't sure what happened, but we were all so relieved.  God is watching out for our sweet girl for sure.  We stayed overnight for monitoring but were discharged the next morning.

It was a crazy and stressful whirlwind, but we are so glad to be home as a family again.  Madi is back to her normal, spunky self, and we couldn't be more thankful!

Next up... Deena!  Sweet Deena has dental surgery tomorrow.  She's needed it for months but this is the first opening her dentist had available and we are thankful the time has come.  She came home from India with some rotten teeth, lots of cavities, and a special little mouth that's missing most of her adult teeth.  In addition to having OI (osteogenesis imperfecta), she also had DI ( Dentinogenesis Imperfecta).  Tomorrow they will pull some of the teeth that are beyond saving, repair those that can be repaired, and cap those that can be saved with a cap.  The surgery should last about 1 1/2 hours and should be outpatient if all goes as planned.  The long term plan is to keep her teeth as healthy as possible, going to partial dentures when needed.  Please be praying for a safe surgery and fast recovery.

Thank you!!

     

A Kidney Update

I forgot to update on the blog yesterday, but WE ARE HOME!!!  We spent last night in our own bed, and it felt wonderful!  Wooo hoooo!  I slept from 8pm until 6 am straight, which is a lot of sleep for me.  Here's a little update, then on to the kidney news :).

Monday night was not a fun night.  They couldn't get her tube to drain, though it was draining around it well, like Dr. Zuniga said it likely would.  Starting at about 1 a.m., they kept coming in about every 30 minutes trying to get the tube (that was draining the vesicostomy site) to work.  They kept trying to flush it, thinking it was clogged.  It was hard to sleep with them coming in and out, but we got some sleep here and there.  Dr. Zuniga came in at 6:30 a.m., checked her vesicostomy, and saw that the tube was out, which is why it wasn't draining.  He said he was going to take it out anyway and so he wasn't concerned at all. 

We had two different tests that needed to be done, and they were scheduled for 3:00 and 3:30.  The first test was to check her kidney function and the second was a swallow study.  We hung out, did crafts, visited with friends, then we went off to the studies.  The swallow study went well and we saw that Madi is not aspirating on her food, which is great!  It also doesn't seem to be getting stuck in any little pockets in her throat or anything, so that is great news.  She coughs quite a bit when she eats, and it's reassuring to know that it's not anything too problematic.  We went back to our room and were discharged about an hour later, getting us home at about 5:30.  Our friends Ryan and Leslie brought us a very yummy dinner and it was great to rest and eat a yummy meal as a family!

This morning I got a call from Dr. Zuniga, our urologist (I say "our" since every one of my kids has seen him; even Conner!).  He wanted to check on Madi, we chatted a bit about Ramya and her urinary stuff, and then he checked Madi's kidney scan so he could give me the results from that.  Her left kidney should be functioning at about 30%.  The results of the scan said 1.5%, but he said you really can't even measure that low, so it's likely some where between 1.5 and 6%.  So, basically her left kidney isn't really working at all.  My heart sank a tiny bit when I heard that, but then came the good news.  Her right kidney doesn't look like a typical kidney of a child with spina bifida (which is often times smaller, shaped differently, etc....).  Her right kidney is actually larger than normal for a child her age, but it's a good thing!  It functions super well, and makes up for the lack of her left kidney function.  He said her blood labs showed completely normal kidney function and that you would never know her left kidney doesn't function, because her right functions so well to compensate.  I asked what that meant in the long-run, and he said as long as her right kidney stays healthy, which it should, that she shouldn't ever need a transplant or dialysis or anything because it functions so well.  He compared it to what he sees with kiddos born with only one kidney.  He did say, though, that if the kidney doesn't grow/start functioning better with her having a vesicostomy, we may want to think about removing it.  He said since it's not really doing anything anyway, but still runs the risk of getting an infection, if we are in there for another surgery anyway, we may want to remove it and then not have to worry about it getting an infection or have to worry about the reflux that was on that side.  I'll have to research that a bit more but we don't have to worry about that right now anyhow. 

Madi is healing pretty well.  She had some pain this morning but felt better when I gave her some medicine.  She also has some pain when I change her diaper, but other than that, as long as she is sitting or laying and resting, she doesn't hurt too much any more.  I'm so glad!  She really is such a trooper and such a sweet little girl!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers for my little gal.  We really appreciate you!

An Update from Our Current Hospital Stay

As some of you know (from my Facebook posts), Madi and I are back at Phoenix Children's Hospital.  We are going on our second night here, though it looks like we will be sprung tomorrow... woooo hoooo!

 A view I'm thankful for, but could use a break from seeing ;)

 

 

 

On Wednesday we had a normal day.  Madi had a little dance recital and was glowing.  She did so great!  Conner had Karate and was given a red stripe on his white belt, and couldn't be more excited! We didn't know he was getting one and we are so proud of him!  Ramya had a good day and was enjoying watching Conner and Madi and being with family.  It was a wonderful day.... until dinner time came.  About half way through her dinner, Madi stopped eating and started looking a little ashen.  She started throwing up and told me her stomach hurt.  Madi throws up during eating fairly often, so it was nothing new to us.  She and Ramya were fighting over a little plastic bird earlier that evening, and Madi was crying and upset that Ramya wouldn't give her the little bird, so I figured the crying upset her little tummy and that was why she was throwing up.  She stopped throwing up, but looked like she didn't feel well.  She was talking to me normally, responding normally, but just didn't look quite right.  She also didn't want her brownie, so that tells you something was very wrong ;).  She started throwing up again, and just kept going.  At first she didn't want out of her special tomato chair (she was sitting and eating next to me), but she kept throwing up, so I took her out, sat on the floor with her (so that if she threw up, we were still on the tile), and held her.  I started noticing she was spacing out and looking off to the right.  I told David something didn't look right and told him to get her rescue med.  He went to get it, and by the time he got back, the repetitive twitching had started.  I gave her one dose, and she started to come back a bit, but still wasn't looking quite right.  We called 911 to have them come evaluate her.  They came and asked a bunch of questions, started assessing her, and then the seizing started again.  They watched her for a bit and were trying to get an IV in (thank God they were able to get it in her little foot.  I'm so thankful she doesn't feel it there so it can't hurt her!!).  I asked if I should give another dose of the rescue meds and they said yes, so I gave another.  She seemed to come out of it a bit, but she had never seized twice in a row before, had never seized other than coming in or out of sleep before,  and she had never not responded to the first dose of rescue meds before, so we loaded up in the ambulance to bring her in and have her evaluated.  On the way to the hospital, she started seizing again.  They gave her verset in her IV, and shortly after, she was completely knocked out, but wasn't seizing anymore.  Because we had just checked her shunt on Friday, they didn't feel the need to do xrays and a CT scan again, but neurology wanted us to stay for another EEG and observation, so they admitted us.

 

 

 



The only thing they can see that may have caused Wednesday nights events is that Madi's urine sample from Friday had grown e-coli.  This isn't surprising at all, since Madi is cathed 4 times a day and always has some bacteria in her system and e-coli is the most common and least concerning.  She also has renal reflux, which compounds everything.  She is on a prophylactic antibiotic because of it as well, to try and keep UTIs away.  Usually, the urologist only worries if she is showing signs of a UTI.  Her urine is clear, though, she's not throwing up unless she's seizing, she's had no fevers, I haven't seen her dumping white blood cells, there is no smell to her urine, her appetite is good, and she has no symptoms of a UTI.  With the culture that grew, though, the numbers were higher than they like to see, even with it being unsymptomatic.  They decided to treat the bacteria/UTI because if it is causing her seizure threshold to lower, then it's absolutely worth treating.  I'm praying that is what was causing her body to go haywire and that, once treated, the seizures will stop.   I told the neurologist that Madi had never seized during the day like that before, and never not responded to her medication like that before, and basically he said seizures can change and it's not unusual for things like this to happen.

Madi just got her second dose of IV antibiotics.  They want to observe her through tonight, but think we will be able to go home tomorrow.  They are upping her doses of daily and rescue seizure meds in hopes that the higher dose will help keep the seizures away as well.  She was on a very conservative dose, and still has some more room to increase if we need.

Conner and Ramya both cried when Madi and I left via ambulance again.  I feel sad that I have to be away from them.  Between the India trip, the extra doctor's appointments, and the trip in last Friday, it's just been a lot for them and their little hearts.  When I was talking to Ramya on the phone last night, she told me she was sad and wanted me to rock her.  I made sure to tell her that daddy is really good at rocking too :).  Today she and Conner came down to visit.  The hospital is still on RSV restrictions, so they couldn't come up, but David and I switched spots so I could spend some time with them.  It seemed to help (well, that and a pack of Scooby Do fruit snacks too ;)). 

I'm exhausted from about 3 hours of sleep last night, and I'm feeling a little sad and nervous about what happened on Wednesday night.  I'm trying to dwell on the positive, though, so I thought I'd post some things I am thankful for.

1) I am thankful for family who comes to help out.  For my mom who helped with Conner and Madi today, and then came down to the hospital to visit with us.  Also, for my sister-in-law who came to visit and brought Madi a cute little green tu-tu and green and pink monster stuffed animal.

 

Rockin' her green tu-tu!

 

 

2) For therapy dogs...

 

 

 

3) For the view from our room...

 

 

 

4) For Child Life and their help keeping Madi entertained and happy

 

Playing Candy Land

 

 

 

5) For reasonably priced food at the hospital that tastes pretty good too.  Also, of course, for the Starbucks here in the hospital!!  I didn't eat anything or get coffee until about 2pm, when my mom came with my wallet, so that Starbucks was like mana from  Heaven right about then :).

 

6)  For amazing doctors that care about Madi and make sure to come check in with us, even when they don't "have to".

 









7) That the paramedics now know exactly where our house is and don't get lost any more ;).

8) For good friends who love us, pray for us, and even brighten our day with little gifts.

 

 

9) For facetime and Yahoo Instant Messenger, helping us feel more connected, even during our times away.

 



10) For my faith and hope in God, because no matter how hard things feel, I know everything will be ok.  I may feel like things are out of control, but I rest assured knowing that God is always in control.

 

 



Tomorrow Ramya has a urology appointment at 1:00 at PCH for a urodynamics test and an appointment with the urologist.  The hospital said they will most likely be able to get us out in time for her appointment, so the plan is for my mom to bring Ramya down and for Madi and I to go right over with her.  It will be another busy day, but then we will be home again as a family, and most of Ramya's initial tests and appointments will be behind us for the time being.  That is sweet music to this tired momma's ears!

Our Trial Run With Two Needing Medical Care

Kyla, the teen staying with us for a bit, has been having some health problems.  She gets attacks of very intense abdominal pains that leave her in tears and unable to lay down or fully stand.  They have landed her in the hospital twice, and so far, nothing big has been found to be the source of her pain.  She's on a very bland diet and medication to coat her stomach, but so far, nothing is helping. 

While I was in the hospital trying to help Kyla get to the bottom of her pain, my mom and David did an amazing job taking care of the kiddos.  David learned how to cath Madi (though we'll save him doing it for times like this) and even got the kids down for a nap.  My mom came in the morning when David had to get up for work, and did a great job keeping them asleep.  She, of course, did an awesome job playing with them too, but that goes without saying!!

For those of you I owe phone calls and "thank you's" too, I promise, they are coming!  Between this, the flu, and Christmas, there hasn't been much time to catch up, but I'm getting there!  (Sue and Petey.... two of these people are you... you guys are such a blessing to me!!)

Please keep Kyla in your prayers and pray they can get to the bottom of this! 

My Hospital Stay Tips

I've been meaning to write this for some time, but just never seem to actually sit down and do it.  I thought some people might find it helpful to have a good set of hospital stay tips, in case they had a baby/toddler/child that is facing their first hospital stay.  Please feel free to leave a comment with your own tips. 

1- If possible, tour the hospital your child will be staying at.  Talk to the doctors and nurses, find out where things are, and ask any questions you need feel will help you be prepared.  Find out how meals and the such work, where the bathrooms, showers, and washing machines are, and all that good stuff. 

2- This is one I really can't stress enough.  If at all possible, stay with your child  day and night.  I know that this is not doable for everyone, and my heart really goes out to those that want to be there and just cannot find any way to make it work, but I really feel this is huge for your child.  The nurses will be great with your child.  They will take good care of your child.  However, they usually have at least 2 children to take care of and they just cannot give your child what you can.  They cannot give them the same amount of hugs, skin-to-skin contact, feelings of safety, and reassurance that you can.  When I was in the NICU with Madi, the first night they did not have a private room for us so I stayed in a separate room within the NICU designed for parents to stay with their babies the night before they took them home.  The plan was they would come to get me when they needed me.  I regret that decision all the time, though I cannot change it.  Madi was upset and instead of coming to get me, they decided she needed pain medication (she may have, I'm not saying that, but she might have just needed momma too), and gave her morphine.  They gave it too fast, though, and she stopped breathing (or her heart stopped, I'm really not too sure, it's all kind of hazy right now).  They came and got me after they got everything under control, but I should have been there in the first place.  I still cannot imagine what it would have felt like if I wasn't, and the stuff they gave her to counteract the morphine did not work.  I can't even think about that.  I was in such a daze because I had just given birth and all that good stuff, and I should have just insisted I slept in a chair by her bed.  They moved us to a private room the next day and I clearly remember the set of twins across from us.  One was going to get to go home, but one was not, so they separated them to rooms side-by-side.  The parents would come for an hour or two and hold them (give them "friendly touch" as they called it) and then leave.  I felt so bad for the baby that was going to have to stay, though.  They would turn his lights on max during the night and poke and prod him all night.  He would cry this pathetic little cry, and no one was there to ask them to turn down the lights, or to do his testing during the day and let his little body rest and heal at night.  They did all his blood transfusions and everything and never let him rest.  How was he supposed to get better?  In Madi and my second stay in the PICU, a nurse was telling me one of the hardest things she had to do was let the babies cry because she had to attend to her other children too, as well as doing her computer logging and the such.  Beyond all that, I really think that the reason we got out so quickly the first time (5 days instead of the normal 2 weeks) is because I was there with Madi and she got so much skin-to-skin time.  I was nursing her and holding her just 2 hours after her first big surgery to close her back and put in her first shunt.  I know it's not typical, but I really think it helped.  The fact of the matter is no one loves your child as much as you, and no one will advocate for them like you will.  If there is any possible way to be there, I really believe it is best.  If you cannot be there, maybe you have friends or family or people from Church that can take shifts.  If none of that is possible, make best friends with child life.  They can get volunteers in your child's room as much as possible so they are not alone.

3- Do not be afraid to ask questions and speak up.  Just because they usually do something at a particular time or in a particular way does not mean it has to be done that way.  They always wanted to bathe and weigh Madi at 2 or 3 am because it was their slow time.  She was trying to sleep, though, and would get very upset.  I asked if I could just give her baths and weigh her in the morning myself, and they were fine with that.  Some things have to be a certain way, but not everything does, and it doesn't hurt to ask.  I also found it helpful to bring a laptop with me.  Not only did it help me pass the time, but I also could use it to look up information if I was confused on something.  For example, they wanted Madi to go NPO (nothing by mouth) for 6 hours.  For a breastfed baby, though, most hospitals only require 2-4 hours.  I looked on the La Leche League website, as well as a few others, saw that 6 hours was not necessary, talked to the doctor about it, and they happily agreed to 4 hours.  They just hadn't realized Madi was nursing.  Of course you have to be careful because there is LOTS of bad information out there on the Internet, but it is nice to be able to research a bit more if you feel you need to.

4- The hospital can be a noisy place!  Bring a fan or a boom box for some white noise.  We always bring our CD player/boom box (do they even call them that any more, or am I just really showing my age right there???) with a nice relaxing classical CD, then put it on "repeat" all night long.  It really changed the atmosphere of the room and helped us both get good sleep at night.

5- If your little one sleeps in bed with you at home, you can request that they let you sleep together at the hospital too.  We always have to sign a waver that says we will not sue them if Madi falls out of bed, but they have no problem with it.  Instead of a crib, they would bring us a "big bed" along with some blankets to roll up and put on both sides of the bed, next to the railing, to close up any gaps.  Even if you do not sleep together at home, sometimes it is nice to be able to be close.  Many times after surgery, kiddos just need to be closer.  I did not realize you could do this until a few nights in to our first PICU stay.  Madi had just gotten out of surgery and would not let me put her down.  I kept falling asleep sitting up on the couch with her, which they frown upon (they will take the baby from you and put them in the crib as they say it is a "fall hazard").  I told the nurse that I just wanted to be able to sleep next to Madi so she was comfortable and she said, "Oh!  You can do that!  Hold on!"  She came back with my waver to sign and a big bed for us.  It was awesome!!

6- Do not forget what you need to take care of yourself.  Bring everything you need to keep yourself fresh, like a toothbrush, toothpaste, change of clothes, deodorant, and things like that, but also things to keep you upbeat.  Bring movies, your laptop if you have one (you can even request one at some hospitals), music to listen to, some snacks, a water bottle, books and/or magazines, games if you have games you like, and pictures that your other children drew for you to hang up in the room as well as pictures of your other children (Conner was not even 2 when Madi and I had the most hospital time, it was rough!!) to name a few.  Chocolate, of course, is always pretty necessary too, as is money for food (unless you are nursing and get it free)

7- If you have a baby, and there is any way to nurse them or pump and give them your milk, do it!  You can also ask for donated milk instead of formula if you need to supplement (I supplemented with donated milk by using a supplemental nurser system until my milk came in).  Breastmilk is amazing and contains all kinds of crazy and cool stuff like DNA, Immunoglobulins (antibodies), Lysozyme (antibacterial), fatty acids, probiotics (or is that prebiotics, I can't remember), and so many other great things.  It also helps by lowering the SIDS rate, decrease the risk of some childhood cancers, and so much more.  Plus, it's free, and I like free.  There are a few things to know if you are nursing/pumping.  You can ask for a hospital-grade pump to have in the room.  I needed to pump every time Madi went NPO and many times after surgery when she wasn't feeling good, and it was so nice having a pump right there in our room.  They also gave me labels to stick on the bottles of milk so they could freeze or refrigerate it for me.  I got many comments about all the milk I had in their freezer (which I was later able to donate to a baby in need.... pretty cool!).  Another really important thing to know is you might be able to eat for free!  Since your insurance company does not have to pay for formula, they usually will pay for your meals.  It was so nice to get to pick up the phone, tell them I was a nursing mom, order food, and have it delivered to the room for free!  Some hospitals give tickets for food, some deliver it, some do both, but either way, you will be well fed :).  I found it helpful to bring my "hooter hider" to pump under, since you never really know who will walk in your room or when.  The doctors thought Madi was adorable and would come and watch us through our window and talk about how cute she was.  I thought it was super sweet, but I would have felt a little awkward about it had they been watching me in action.  I know they see it a lot, and think nothing of it, but I liked my privacy. 

 

8- If you find your child wants/needs to be held a lot, it can be really helpful to bring a good carrier, such as an Ergo or Beco, to hold them in.  If you have a wee little one, a good soft wrap, like a gypsymama or moby, works really good too.  This will give you free hands to do whatever you need, but will also let you keep your little one close.  You do have to watch for wires and the such, but it is very doable!

9- I liked having a pre-written care plan for Madi that the nurses could read before they started their shift.  When I had Madi I knew that we would be stuck at different hospitals for a little while.  Thankfully it was only a few hours, but I sent David with Madi and my care plan before I could be there.  The nurses said they had never seen one before, but were excited about it and they all made sure they read it and helped us out.  I put things in there like the fact that our goal was to breastfeed and to please help us do whatever we needed to make that possible, that I wanted to nurse on demand, to please keep the lights dim at night, to test as much as they could during the day so that we could rest at night, and things like that.  They nurses were very respectful and helpful.  Of course, you can request something and that does not mean it will be able to happen, but it doesn't hurt to ask :).  The important thing is just to know that your plan may have to change, and that's ok.

10- If you do not like a nurse, ask for a new one!  I thankfully never had to do this, but you can.  If you like a nurse a lot, ask for them again.  I did this a lot.  It really helped to have the same nurses as many days/nights in a row as we could. 

11- If you have an older child, bring games, postcards, their favorite lovies, and anything else that will make them comfortable.  I have not had a stay with an older child yet, since Madi is not quite 2 yet, so maybe some other more experienced moms can chime in with advice here.

12- Visitors are always nice, but it can be hard when your little one is in and out of cat scans and x-rays and all that fun stuff.  I found it helpful to just have them text with a time range that they wanted to come, and I'd text back with what time would work.  Sometimes I had to have them wait a few minutes, but it was so nice to have people to talk to and interact with.  The hospital can be so lonely!  I remember when Madi and I were there for almost 3 weeks and I was so homesick.  Having company made my day!  Don't be afraid to ask for visitors, but also do not be afraid to say "no" if you just need some time to yourself, or if your little one is under the weather and needs things quiet.

13- Updating everyone can be frustrating.  Everyone that loves you and your child will be calling to see how they are doing.  It is a good thing, don't get me wrong.  I always really appreciated that people took the time to call and that they cared enough to do so.  It was hard, though, when I had a crying baby or doctors to talk to, or had testing going on, or whatever, and obviously people do not know your schedule or circumstances.  I found it helpful to have a blog that people could read for updates (well, this blog ;)), to have a "go to" person they could call that I kept updated, to have people e-mail so that I could get back to them when I had time, and to send out mass e-mails every so often of what was going on and what people could be praying for.  It is awesome to have so many people loving your child and praying for them!

14- Do something special for your husband and little ones back at home.  I missed Conner so so so bad when we were away.  I had never been away from him before, he was still nursing, he still slept in bed with me, and wow was it hard to be away!!  I found it helpful to bring cards to write to him.  Even though he was little, he loved getting them in the mail.  I also got fruit snacks for him from the cafeteria to bring him every time I ran home to visit (when someone would sit with Madi for me) or when he came to visit me (when it was not RSV season, that is).  It sounds silly, but it was our thing, and it really meant a lot to him!  I think it really helped me too.  (** Just a little update... Conner is now 7 and STILL appreciates those fruit snacks and asks about them any time I am coming home from the hospital.  It's now our little tradition :)).  I also wrote David little cards and notes.  It helped keep us all connected and close.  We did not have a video chat set up, or I would have done that too.  It would have been really helpful.  We also were not able to have David and Conner stay at the Ronald McDonald, because David had to work (our moms helped watch him during the day), but that is also a great option for having the rest of your family close for visits and the such.  The Ronald McDonald house is awesome!!  They have kitchens and playgrounds, vending machines and toys, computers and activities, and a lot more.  Another great thing was letting some of our friends bring Conner and David dinners while I was gone.  They loved the company and yummy meals, and it helped take a lot of stress off of David.  Some of our friends even helped him clean the house during Madi's biggest stay, and it meant so much to all of us!

15- Don't forget a nice pair of slippers.  Hospital floors are very yucky, so you probably shouldn't (though I did) go around bare foot, so it's nice to have a pair of slippers to slip on and off.

16- Get out sometimes.  Take your child for walks.  Take them to the hospital playground or playroom if they have one.  Have someone sit with your child while you go shower, run home, spend time with your husband or other kids, or do whatever you need to do to stay happy and sane. 

17- Don't forget gum!  Sometimes things get crazy and you realize it's been a while since your last tooth brushing.  It's a fast way to freshen up until you have time to take care of yourself.  It really sucks when you can't figure out where that smell is coming from, and you realize it's you.  Yup, been there.  Deodorant and gum were my best friends some days!

18- It is ok to question why.  Do it politely, but do not be afraid.  I would have had a c-section, instead of the birth I wanted, had I not asked why I had to have that c-section.  I am so glad I asked why!


Well, that's all I can think of for now!  I hope this helps someone out there!


Here are some more tips to share from fellow bloggers:

http://mindfulmeerkats.blogspot.com/2012/03/10-tips-for-inpatient-stays.html

http://mindfulmeerkats.blogspot.com/2012/03/ten-tips-for-hospital-visits.html