Six weeks out

We are now past the six week point after Ripley's surgery.  Six weeks was the guideline given for taking extra precautions in his recovery, including not picking him up under the armpits, not giving him full baths, and not putting anything on the incision site.  It is somewhat relieving to be past this benchmark. 

Even so, because he got his surgery at such a young age, we still continue to have the newborn hardships that I mentioned previously.  He had his 2 month well check on Monday.  He had to get three shots and the oral rotavirus vaccine, none of which he was happy about.  Also, the scale at the pediatrician's office said he is 7 ounces lighter than the one he was measured on at the Friday cardiology appointment.  The pediatrician says it could be due to it being a different scale, but that made me very nervous.  I will be meeting with the lactation consultant on Friday to check his growth again and work on remaining nursing issues.

The past couple of days, unfortunately, I had a plugged duct in the lower part of my right breast.  I was warned that use of a nipple shield could lead to plugged ducts or mastitis.  Thankfully, I was able to get it unplugged with massage, heat, a bath, and using an electric toothbrush on the lump to work it out.  

Yesterday, everything seemed to pile up on me though and I felt hopeless.  I felt like all of the stress from Ripley's situation, my own health coming into the mix, and a dermatological issue our toddler has came to a head.  I know that we will get through this all, but I really pray that 2017 is kinder to us all.  This week, we have seven appointments amongst our family of four.  We have gone to the hospital or medical clinic every single week since August.  Our medical expenses will rack up to be over $1 million this year.  It just is a lot to handle, particularly when you are getting little sleep.  I know we still have much to be thankful for, but things could certainly be a lot easier too.  Someday, I hope to look back on this time period as one during which we became stronger and learned how much we really can bear.