a floating brain is a happy brain

O.K., first of all, here's a picture at least three of you have been waiting for -->

Lilly's arrival was quite a bit easier than her big sister's; from the time Cabella (our Nurse Anesthetist) came and got Shannon to the time Lilly was born was slightly less than 45 minutes. When the doctors opened the womb for the C-section, there was a slight pop and a large baby. Note Lilly's size relative to her momma in this picture. The child is just over two days old!

You may also notice the aforementioned mosquito bite(s) on Maggie's face. Thank goodness for Benadryl Itch Relief Stick! Maggie hardly seems to notice the bites anymore, but that's no surprise, b/c she's one tough little girl. The medicine may help explain her, ahem, enthusiasm for this family portrait. As far as Lilly goes, she wasn't too interested in the camera, choosing instead to focus on her impersonation of a sleepy old man.

Today (Tuesday) was a bit of an adventure. Shannon woke up again with a headache, but not just any headache. She had a spinal headache (actually, she had it for just over two days), which is a side effect of her brain washing aground in her skull due to a lack of spinal fluid. This is a side effect of the spinal block procedure that Cabella did on her during the C-section.

Normally doctors tell their patients who are having spinal headaches to just lay down for a few days and drink plenty of caffeine. (This somehow helps, but I'm not sure why) However, since Shannon didn't really have the luxury of laying around for a few days waiting for her spinal cord to close up, repressurize, and get her brain floating again, her anesthesiologist called her back in to the hospital and did a little thing we like to call a blood patch to get her fixed up in a hurry.

Five minutes after Dr. Raja said "Let's begin" Shannon had a little less blood in her right arm, a higher volume and pressure in her spinal cord, and no headache. We stayed up at the hospital for another hour or so so they could observe her, and then we made it back home in time for lunch and naps.

Now let me tell you, naps are pretty important when you have a 15-month-old and a four-day-old and your brain hasn't been floating like it should.

Now everything is as right as rain, with the possible exception of our vehicle not having a working A/C system. Oh well, life's imperfect - but it's always a great adventure. (And thank goodness we have friends who are great mechanics!)

-jeffrey