Friday, February 17, 2012

7 Quick Takes Friday (Take 47)


--- 1 ---


My mom’s received the results to her recent cancer scans.  The cancer has not returned, but some of her thyroid remained despite her surgery and radiation.  She will have to undergo more radiation to get rid of the rest of her thyroid (as a precautionary measure).  Normally this wouldn’ t be a big deal, but she had a very extreme adverse reaction to the radiation last time, and we worry what an increased dose will do.  Thank you to all who prayed for her!  I appreciate your support and ask that you continue your prayers for her until she gets through radiation (it’s not scheduled yet, but will probably happen sometime next month.

--- 2 ---
One of my best friends was diagnosed yesterday with the same thyroid cancer my mom had.  Just like my mom, her prognosis is good and she will probably live a long healthy life after she undergoes the same surgery and radiation.  But I still can’t help worrying and I know that she is very scared.  It is a blessing that she is able to have my mom as support.  I’ve been friends with her since childhood and she is very dear to my family as well.  It is extremely difficult for me to be so far away from her.  She was there for me and my family when my mom was going through treatment, and I wish I could be by her side while she goes through this.  I ask for your prayers  for her as well.

--- 3 ---


I promising this is my last depressing medical Quick Take (and it’s not really all that depressing) and then I’ll get on to something more happy.  My other best friend is having surgery next month, and I just booked a flight for me and Lucia to be there when she has it.  She just moved to Atlanta to start grad school in the fall and I didn’t want her to be without someone she knows intimately to care for her.  It was really important for me to be there for her and David was very supportive of me going.  He even offered to stay home with Lucia while I was gone, but my best friend is looking forward to seeing her and David will be finishing his dissertation at that time (not to mention that being separated from her makes me very anxious), so it’s just much easier that I take her.

--- 4 ---


Lucia and I are going to infant massage classes on Mondays.  The teacher needs to teach a certain number of class hours before receiving her certification, so it’s free!  We went to our first class this week and I’ve been giving her a massage every day.  She loves it!  Although it doesn’t really calm her down at all, instead she becomes a chatterbox and is all smiles and wiggles.  I love it too; it’s some very special skin-to-skin bonding time between the two of us.  David’s coming to the class next week because it’s supposed to be great bonding for dad and baby since he doesn’t get skin-to-skin time with her like I do while nursing.

--- 5 ---

David and I went out to dinner on Monday for Valentine’s Day.  Lucia tagged along too of course.  We had a couple gift cards for the restaurant from Christmas, so we splurged a little and bought ourselves drinks as well.  I had a margarita, the first drink I’ve had since before I was pregnant and it was so delicious!

--- 6 ---


I bought my bridesmaid dress and shoes.  The restaurant we went to dinner at was near a Ross and TJ Maxx, so I went into both just to see what they had and was surprised to find exactly what I was looking for.  I got my shoes at one and my dress at the other (still need cowboy boots though).  Needless to say, they were at great prices.  I was shocked to find a dress that looked nice on me even though I haven’t lost too much of the baby weight yet (and will look even nicer if I do lose some more before the wedding).  I found a picture of it online:


--- 7 ---


Lucia was quite the heartbreaker this week.  She got Valentine gifts from two cute little boy babies this week.  But she only had eyes for one young man.  Here’s a picture of her with her real Valentine:



This week's Quick Takes are hosted at Betty Beguiles!

20 comments:

  1. Wow! I am so sorry to hear about your friend! I'll continue to pray for your mom and now your friend(s)! Isn't nice to get out to dinner, even when the little one is with you? It just feels good to get out sometimes! And the margarita is a bonus! Good for you! I just thought yesterday that I need to pop in to TJMaxx to look for an Easter dress/dress to wear to a spring wedding. Your two Valentines are adorable! There's nothing like a daddy and his daughter!

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  2. Sorry to hear about your friend. And glad to hear your Mom is doing okay, despite needing more radiation.

    Congrats on finding a dress and shoes, what a relief. Oh, and don't worry about the baby weight yet. You're still in the "4th trimester," give yourself time. Easier said than done, I know. But seriously, the weight will come off.

    So cool that you and Lucia are trying infant massage. My babies love being massaged, shoot, who doesn't?

    Have a great weekend!

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  3. Prayers for you mom and your friends. Hope everything goes well!

    Love that dress and love that picture of your Valentines. Too cute!

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  4. Prayers for all the medically related requests! I sure hope everything goes smoothly for everyone.
    I'm glad you went out for Vday :-) I used to love the taste of Margaritas, but I'm on a champagne/wine kick now, so when we went out I had a Bellini :-)
    Love that cute photo of your Valentines!

    ps. regarding the weight/dress.. I was surprised I didn't loose weight quicker because I had heard that BFing made it just "fall off." I didn't find that to be true. It was until I started doing some exercise that things got back to normal. I also agree that you have to give yourself time. I didn't believe it, but time really is the biggest factor! I'd say by the time she is 6 months old you'll be back to, or better than, what you were pre-pregnancy.

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  5. I will keep your mom and friends in my prayers!

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  6. The first postpartum drink is WONDERFUL. :)

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  7. I love that dress! It's definitely re-wearable after the wedding.

    Also, I just said the Our Father/Hail Mary/Glory Be for the intentions of your mom and two friends.

    Blessings!

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  8. Oooh - infant massage! That's something I delved into just a bit with my second daughter -- but not at all with my boys. Interestingly enough, I think they would have really liked it. 

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  9. I love that dress! That is going to be fabulous. Many prayers for your Mom and your friend. I am so glad that you get to go and be with her. I am sure she will be blessed by your presence. I am glad that you enjoyed your Valentine's day.

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  10. That's so neat that you are doing infant massage. My research is about early-life increased maternal stimulation in rats (licking and grooming) and how it increases stress resilience in the rat pups. Infant massage may have the same benefits.

    You are a lovely friend to travel to be with your friend undergoing surgery. May you have safe travels, and prayers for all the health concerns of your family and friends. (Oh, and prayers for that dissertation, I know it ain't easy!)

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  11. Funny how health issues seem to come in bunches, I will be keeping all the 'patients' in my prayers.
    I see you kept the best for last...gorgeous valentine couple :-)
    Jen x

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  12. So true, it seems that everything in life comes in threes - births, deaths, wedding, etc!

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  13. Wow, that's really interesting. How do you measure stress resilience? I definitely believe there are health benefits to more touchy time!

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  14. Yes, my best friends was extremely touched that I would come for her surgery, although I really didn't give a second thought to it, of course I was going to be there!

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  15. I hadn't really heard anything about infant massage until I received an email about the free class. If I hadn't, I would still be in the dark about it and I'm so glad I'm not because I can tell that there are definite benefits!

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  16. Thanks for your prayers! I don't have many opportunities to dress up that much, but I thought the dress would be rewearable too! I'm just so glad I found it though, because I can be very indecisive and if I ended up having to order one off the internet, I would be so stressed about picking the "perfect" one!

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  17. I didn't really feel like I missed drinking that much and didn't have more than one or two drinks a month before, but it was so GOOD!

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  18. Kaylene, thanks for the prayers, I'm praying for a smooth move for you as well!

    Yeah, I heard that a lot about the weight coming off so easily while breastfeeding, but I haven't seen it. I didn't lose a pound between my two week and 7 week appointments. I'm sure I've lost a pound or two since then, but I'm still quite a bit bigger than my prepregnancy size (I was a size 6, not I have to really squeeze into a size 12). I don't mind so much, I just wish I had decent clothes that fit.

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  19. I'm praying for your mom and your friends.  How wonderful of you to go to your friend's surgery!
    I'm glad to hear that the infant massage is going so well!  I have a good friend who is working on her doctorate in human development, and her focus is on the benefits of infant massage.  Elise and I did a couple sessions with her, and Elise didn't take to it -- but that's just her temperament. ;)  It can be a wonderful bonding tool.

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