Sweet baby Kamryn!

Yesterday I needed to go to Gig Harbor to pick up some medication for Kamryn.  Because of the weather I asked Grammy if she could stay with her for a little while.  (a previous visit to the Dr that day reveled she still has the ear infections)  I dropped Kamryn off with Grammy.   Sometime during the hour this happened.

Sweet little Kamryn was eating peaches in the walker.  Her little cousin Keifer was standing beside the walker.  Kamryn politely offered the last peach to Keifer.   As Keifer reach out his hand to take the peach, Kamryn quickly put it in her mouth and signed the "all gone" sign.  I'm sure she smiled while she did it.  Sorry Keifer.

To Much SyFy

As I gave Kamryn her bottle this morning I heard some strange sounds.  A series of beeps and clicks that I couldn't explain.   Not the pleasant R2D2 sounds but the ominous M-3 Model B9 (Lost in Space) Robot.  In the dark, I half expected the robot to rise from the shadows with those scary claw like hands and harm us in the wee hours of the morning.  Mind you it doesn't help that the chair in front of the computer looks like a robot when your just waking up.  My other thought was.  I wonder how many other computers around the US or World were making the same sound,   That might be why Facebook knows what advertisements to put on my page.   Turns out it wasn't a robot or the computer, but the sounds of air inside Kamryn's bottle.  

This baby shouldn't be so happy!

Kamryn has had a cold for a little while.  Yesterday she started losing her voice.  It's so cute!  As a precaution I decided to call the Dr and try to get her seen today.  They didn't have any openings, but would call if something came up.  I really didn't think she had anything more than a cold.  I would probably have waited with one of my other children, but not with Kamryn.  The Dr called and set up an appointment for her in Silverdale.  Our regular Dr is in Port Orchard.  I don't like to Dr hop, it leads to more questions, extra phone calls and more wait time.  At the appointment the Dr looked at Kamryn's ears and listened to her chest. The Dr then prepared to write a script for an antibiotic.  I have been told that Kamryn can't have antibiotics.  So the Dr called the Cardiac team in Seattle to get instructions for treatment. It turns out she can have antibiotics, but the have to be carefully regulated.  I would have never guessed that Kamryn has a double ear infection and some congestion in her chest by her demeanor.  She is so happy and so pleasant, even when shes saying ouee.

11:30 PM Panic

Nothing says panic better than an 11:30 pm phone call from Children's Hospital.  I was lying in bed when my cell phone rang.  The only phone calls I would answer at that time of night would come from my kids, my other family members and Children's Hospital. The voice on the other end identified himself as Dr. Blah blah (its 11:30 pm I don't do that time of night)  from CH. He apologized for the late call and asked how Kamryn was doing.  Kamryn was blissfully asleep, dreaming of pink and purple legos and how to "open" them. The Dr then told me some of  Kamryn's lab work had come back, her potassium and BUN were high. (BUN stands for blood urea nitrogen.)  The Dr and I talked about her previous blood work, he told me he would call Dr Law (in the morning, I'm sure he is more sleep deprived than I am.) and let me know what was going on.  11:50 pm he calls back and says Dr Law wants to wait for the other labs to come back before doing anything.  And that should be the end of it right.... well no...   Back in my bed, I begin that... is she really okay... did I do what I was suppose to do... she has a stuffed up nose... she did go to sleep a little earlier than usual... oh and there was that man/ boy who sneezed near her.   Just as I stopped the dialog in my head guess who wakes up.  Yes, little missy!  Well okay diaper change, bottle, song, shes asleep, lay her in her bed. (yes the one in her room not the floor of the family room, where she sleeps all the time)  No sleep,  Okay try again... 2 am and again...3 am and again... 4 am...  This mommy has now completely forgotten all of the parenting skill, tricks, and songs...  I lay Kamryn on the floor in the family room and go to the couch in the living room.  I can here her... she isn't happy...5 am,  but is soon asleep and me too.  6 am meds... but we are able to go back to sleep fairly quickly.  7:30 am boy must get up....and get ready for school...(this is a task not left for an amateur or a sleep deprived mom.  I believe Mark is wearing his rain boots with his sweat pants.)   This mommy needs a nap... Kamryn is asleep  I think I take that nap now.

Crazy Mommy and the Insurance Company

I found a new lab, that has people with vast experience drawing blood.  As a courtesy, I called the insurance company (molina/medicaid) to let them know we were going to a different lab.  They informed me, I needed to have the lab call and get authorization for the blood draw.  I was told it wouldn't be an issue it was done all the time.  At the lab they had heard of nothing like this. But they called, requested an authorization and were told they needed a CPT code.  (a code that tells why Kamryn needs the blood work)  Without that code the blood work couldn't be done.   There was a code but evidently not the right one. As I stood there talking to the nice phlebotomist, tears weld up in my eyes, and frustration filled me.  It's not as if anything has changed over the last year.  The CPT code is the same, the diagnosis is the same, the insurance company has all the information they need to process the claim.  But no lab work today.  Crazy Mommy wanted to call up the insurance company and spit fire at them.  Wisdom prevailed and I went for retail therapy instead. As I search the isles for the largest bag of dark chocolate M&M I could find, once again wisdom prevailed.  I don't need the largest bag of M&Ms in the store, and instead I bought a Milky Way Midnight.  So tomorrow we will try again.  Tomorrow, I might need the largest bag of dark M&Ms in the store.  I'll let you know.

Crazy Mommy and the Lab

Today Kamryn needed blood drawn.  Crazy Mommy took Kamryn into the lab and stood around not sitting down for fear of GERMS.  The man over in the waiting area coughed.  He of course was the patient getting his blood drawn before Kamryn.  He left and our number was called.  The lab tech came out, called us back and said have a seat.  Hahaha.... Crazy Mommy asked if she would wipe down the seat, the arm rest and the surrounding area.  Fortunately, she understood and was gracious enough to do it.  And then....  Blood work for Kamryn sometimes takes a while.  3 patients came and went as we were waiting for our tech to pull the info, complete the phone call, gather the tubes and print the labels.  I believe there were 6 to 8 tubes and 12 labels.  Kamryn is an amazingly brave little girl.  She for the most part doesn't get upset about having her blood drawn.  The blue strap went on her arm and she made no noise. The needle was inserted into her arm and she whimpered A LITTLE.   Only when the lab tech had to "fish" around for the vein did she start to cry.  They looked at the other arm and couldn't find an adequate vein. She tried another vein in the original arm and that didn't work either. After two unsuccessful blood draws we stopped.  We will have to go back tomorrow for another blood drawn.  Now, Crazy Mommy is "shopping" for lab tech who has YEARS of experience drawing blood from a baby.