Here we go -

Here we go - no pics again - stuck with my witty commentary... or something like that.

Well, our cereal feedings are getting easier - day by day - they are finally figuring out that - HEY! THIS STUFF IS GOOD! And that they actually need to OPEN their mouths and refrain from pushing it back out to enjoy all those filling benefits - hee, hee...

I'm sad to report that little Dane had a bout with something, nobody knows or can diagnose what.... if that's not frustrating? I love this - I bring all the babies into the ped for their 6 month check up - this is a 2 hour sweat fest for those of you who have never corralled 4 babies into an 8x10 room before. THANK GOODNESS they were all so great for us while we were there (thanks mom for helping me out!) - those walls close in in a hurry when they all decide to let 'er rip! (nice double word usage there... is that legal?) Anyhow, poor Dane is screaming all night long, not eating well AT ALL, and I'm literally watching him lose weight - he lost like 1/2 a pound in one week and I am a wreck about it. These little babes go from so healthy to SO SICK, SO FAST it's just scary.

They check him out and it's not an ear infection, which they initially thought. They assure me that teething won't do that... sooooo... "Just watch him for a couple days and then we'll bring him back in. We're not sure what it could be." Love the peds - don't love the "just haul them back in" mentality.

DID YOU MISS THE FACT THAT I HAVE 6 KIDS!?!?!? "Just" coming back in is a MAJOR production in my life - I need at least 2 people, preferably 3, at the cottage to watch the other babies and big boys - unless I am lucky enough not to find any and bring them all with me.

Now there's a good time =)

Anyhow, I called twice over the course of the next couple days and thankfully Dane is now on the mend. But so skinny!! It's just weird - he was always our little porker and now I think that Summer looks bigger than him! We are just praying that nobody else catches that bug... or whatever it was. Ugh.

All in all a lot to be grateful for - our first "sickness" since bringing the babies home. I CHALK IT UP TO ALL THAT GERM-X!!! Say what you want, being a germ-phobe can't hurt the health of our family...

And on the mama T front - yep - surgery on March 9th. I don't have time to drag you all through my months of appointments, second opinions, third opinions, etc. - but it was quite the ride!! In the end I just have to say LISTEN TO YOUR GUT AND GET THAT NEXT OPINION IF YOU NEED TO!!!

With three different surgeons I got three COMPLETELY different surgery options to fix the same exact hernia!! I was blown away. I am not well versed on our medical community and how it all goes down, and being an outsider I was floored. Here were the three opinions, in order in which I received them:
#1- Open cut from rib cage to below belly button to insert mesh and contain massive umbilical hernia. Out of the question to bring ab muscles back together, can not just "fix" abs (my question - wanted to fix the root of the problem!). No laproscopy.
#2- I have three options: laproscopy to insert mesh over hernia, open cut ribs to belly button to insert mesh only, or open cut (same enormous vertical cut) to insert mesh and then bring abdominal walls back together over top... OK. Not possible to use low horizontal incision.
#3- Horizontal cut near c-section scar to insert mesh and fix abs over top.

HUH!?!??! Thank GOODNESS the second surgeon INSISTED that I get the third opinion - I really wasn't going to because I felt like I was making a mountain out of a molehill... I knew in my heart that I wanted to actually FIX my abs not just cover up the problem. We are not talking about some small hernia, folks. This puppy is HUGE and is getting worse by the week - I am going to take pics and post them - I swear. Freak you out it may - but heck! I'd be interested in what having quads can do to those abs!!

So, I called 4 days before I was going in with surgeon #2 with some reservations and last minute questions and he really did INSIST that I call surgeon #3 - I felt like a fool doing so at the time but now I couldn't be happier!!! Both docs will actually be in the surgery, #2 does mesh #3 fixes abs... interesting how it all plays out.

March 9th it is - overnight stay, what? Ugh - I hope all will be well on the homefront with mommy laid up for a while but docs encouraged me to get it fixed ASAP and my weight limit will still include holding babies since they are still pretty small... thank goodness!!

Pray for daddy? Perhaps....