Katy

Today is a memorable day around here and has been for 36 years since Katheryn Lynn Bowen was born. So... Happy Birthday to the Katy that our Katy Jo is named after.

smooth recovery

So... I know I am due for a follow up blog updating you guys on my status post-surgery. Rest assured, I am doing well. We are well stocked around here with my donut pillow, Dermoplast, Dulcolax, pads, ice packs, Darvocet and everything else a girl might need to survive a surgery like this. And for some amazing reason (thank you God) I have had no significant pain so far. Quite unbelievable. But, I guess compared to my first go around this should be pretty smooth. I'm taking it easy around the house, spending lots of time in bed. I feel like Bethany and Jill before the breakup when they spent the summer in the Hamptons--- in bed (except my bestie is currently Katy Jo). I've been feeling so good, I even managed a lil' photo shoot. Enjoy!

Fix You

After assessing where my sweet little Katy Jo tore through me, it was confirmed by a friendly young Doctor, that my repair was not done properly and now needs to be redone. Ugh. How often does that happen? And as I remember back to the delivery, I can picture myself squatting on that little stool with my midwife in front of me asking me to give her two more good pushes. Despite being medicated with IV pain meds I had enough common L&D sense to quickly ask for an episiotomy. Well, Dagmar (my German midwife) did not think this was necessary and explained that they don't regularly do episiotomies today in Germany. After being up in stirrups for an hour for the repair and losing enough blood to make my Hemoglobin drop to 7, it was a rough recovery. I will not scare you with the details, but let me just say... I had more trouble with my stitches during recovery, I could not sit, walk, or even turn in bed without a great deal of pain. The head OB doc had to reassess my stitches three days after delivery, and I screamed out in pain as I reached to pull his hand away. Something was wrong, but at the time we thought it was due to a hematoma, or maybe the stitches were too tight, or perhaps because in Germany they don't hand out Vicodin after you deliver. I was given various homeopathic remedies, but no actual narcotics for the pain. But, none of the docs saw anything wrong with my repair.

So... I am not casting any blame. However, in Germany they will not induce you until 10 days after your due date. Technically my due date was May 19th, so Katy Jo arrived exactly 10 days later at 8.2lbs. Had I been induced as I had requested she may have been a tiny bit smaller. But, I also must say I didn't cut back on the banana splits at this point either.

All this to say, I have a wonderful Physician, a young woman who I felt very comfortable with. The minute she saw my repair she knew it had to be redone and she went in search of a mirror to show me. On her way out the door she patted my shoulder and said, "we can fix this." I held back tears thinking how relived I was to have lucked out with this doctor.

My mini surgery is scheduled for this coming Monday and in the meantime I will be storing up mommy milk for Katy Jo and listening to Cold Play's Fix You.

Hot day in Gruene Texas

After a perfect night of sleep (uninterrupted from 8:30pm-5:00am) we took a short road trip down to the German named town of Gruene. My in-laws frequently talk about Gruene and it was recently featured in the Houston Chronicle, so I was pumped to be going for the first time. We had a lovely time shopping and having a delicious lunch at the Gristmill on the Guadelupe. I enjoyed the Gristmill burger with spicy queso, and lots of pickles. The outing was a success (we remembered the diaper bag) as was the bottle feeding and the car ride. However... what is the deal with these diaper blow-outs?!? Why can't she just poop and have a normal messy diaper. Why does it have to run up the back of her outfit and down her legs. Are we using the wrong size? I have no idea. But, I do know that I forced Bo into the women's bathroom with me today because I couldn't do it myself. Poor boy. Here are some shots of the day. None of the diaper.