Pumpkin Patch

I just realized that I forgot to post pictures of our trip to the pumpkin patch last weekend. I post tons of pictures to Facebook and then often forget to put them up here as well. We had big plans for last Saturday that included taking Gemma to a pumpkin patch and then a date night for us. Things ended up not going quite as planned since Gemma ended up on a weird nap schedule on Saturday, but on Sunday afternoon we made it out of the house in search of pumpkins.

Gemma was hilarious at the pumpkin patch. There was so much to look at, and she was completely overwhelmed. She has been extremely observant pretty much since the day she was born, and she spent most of the time at the pumpkin patch whipping her head back and forth taking everything in.


We picked out a daddy-sized pumpkin, a mama-sized pumpkin, and a little baby pumpkin for baby Gemma.

Gemma was dressed like a pumpkin and totally blended in with her surroundings.

Before we left, Gemma got to sit on a super cool horse made of hay that was pulling a wagon full of pumpkins.

It was so much fun watching her taking in this new experience! She is more and more fun every day!

And on a happier note. . .some recent pictures of my supercute child!

In the Same Boat (Literally)

An update on my dizziness/vertigo/boat-rocking-sensation issues: This past Monday (Oct. 25) I went for a follow-up with an ENT at MUSC. It was. . .interesting, to say the least. The doctor was a bit weird, for one thing. For example, he went off on this really long rant about how he's stocking up on incandescent light bulbs and we should too, because before you know it, they're all going to be gone! And then what will we do! Stuff like that. Anyway. . . after sitting in a germ-infested waiting room for forever freaking out because I couldn't find my hand sanitizer, I finally got in to see the doctor. He came in and made me do some weird things, like marching in place with my eyes closed (during which I veered sharply to the left), having my head whipped around in different directions while lying flat on a table, and having a tuning fork vibrated against my head (?). And yeah, that last part felt really bizarre.

We tried to explain the situation to the doctor, but he really liked to hear himself talk and wasn't so good with the listening. Also he had apparently convinced himself ahead of time that my problem was not an ear problem, but that it was somehow caused by migraines (which I get pretty infrequently these days). He actually wanted me to see a neurologist about this, which I am not doing, because that would be stupid, since I don't have a problem with migraines.

In the end, I left feeling very frustrated because this appointment was similar to so many others. The conclusion was that my dizziness "could be caused by this, or it could be caused by that" and "this might help, or that might help" but "there's not much we can do." I was sent home with a sheet of Cawthorne-Cooksey exercises for my eyes. (I have done these before, though not as extensively, so maybe the extended version will help.) I am also supposed to be going back to physical therapy, and the doctor suggested I try the PT for at least 6 months (in the meantime, there was of course some sort of confusion about the referral so now I have to sort that out).

I left feeling very downhearted. (My mood did not improve when I was nearly mugged in the MUSC parking garage, but that is a whole different story.) I manage pretty well these days, but living life on an imaginary boat is not really ideal and it does restrict me and cause problems with certain tasks. It also makes me worry about being inadequate in taking care of Gemma. I really fear that one day the room will just start tilting and I will drop her or something equally bad will happen. I also worry that people think I am a hypochondriac because there is nothing tangibly wrong with me, and I function pretty well. Anyway. . .still very frustrated and could really use some prayer that the PT and the eye exercises will help. At this point, even the slightest improvement would be a welcome relief.

How Fast Does This Little Tree Twirl?

Today I experienced yet another phase in my ongoing, epic battle with vertigo. I haven't mentioned it in a while, but it's still never gone away; it was merely pushed to the sidelines while I dealt with all the ups and downs that pregnancy threw my way. I knew that there wasn't much anyone could do for me while I was pregnant, but now, at 5 months postpartum, I figured that it was a good time to go back to another doctor. I'm not terribly hopeful that they will be able to fix my problem completely, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try. So I made an appointment at the MUSC ENT clinic.

This morning, I went in for a battery of ENG tests. When I called to make my appointment, the assistant I spoke to was shocked to learn that I had never yet undergone these tests. They are apparently pretty standard for diagnosing balance disorders, yet I have never had them although I have been suffering from vertigo for over a year. If nothing else, I at least felt that the MUSC folks were much more on top of things than the last ENT I saw (who did no tests and diagnosed me on the basis that I exhibited "classic textbook symptoms" and then simply referred me to someone else).

I was really dreading the testing this morning, as they warned me that they would be trying to aggravate my symptoms and that I would quite possibly leave feeling worse than when I arrived. After being dizzy for over a year, I was not excited about someone making me feel worse. (They even told me not to eat this morning as I was likely to vomit. Good times.)

For the first test, I was strapped into a harness and had to stand on a moving platform. The platform tilted different ways, at times the background scenery moved, and I had to do this alternating between having my eyes closed and having them open. One time I fell and we had to stop the test and start that part over. I had a very hard time keeping my balance and felt a little bit queasy. After that, they did a hearing test, which was fine.

Then it was time for the not-so-fun part: the rotational chair. I was strapped into a chair wearing weird goggles with a camera in them to track my eye movements. Then I was spun around various ways at various speeds. Then the chair stopped spinning, but for me, the room kept on spinning. I managed not to throw up. After that, I was laid back onto a table (still wearing the sweet headgear) and water was sprayed into each of my ears for 20 seconds. This made the room spin even worse than the spinning chair.

After that I was finally done. The audiologist said the tests were showing that I definitely have a vestibular problem (no kidding) but it will be up to the ENT doctor to make a definite diagnosis and decide on treatment. I will see him on Oct. 25. Right now, it is looking like I might have vestibular migraines, mal de debarquement syndrome (which I have suspected from the cruise I went on, and which is incurable), or possibly some neurological vestibular vision issue of which I can't remember the actual name. The treatment is most likely going to be to send me back to physical therapy, and possibly a special migraine diet too if the diagnosis is vestibular migraines.

Even though I still don't feel like I made much progress toward feeling better at this point, I was extremely relieved that I made it through the tests without regressing. I even felt well enough afterward to reward myself with an apple bagel and pumpkin spice coffee from Bruegger's. I have felt a little queasy and shaky the rest of the day, but much better than I expected.

Anyway. . .that is the latest update in my ongoing battle to debark my invisible, personal cruise ship. We would really appreciate prayers that this doctor will make an accurate diagnosis and that any treatment will be effective. It has been a long year and a half, and although I've learned to cope, the constant dizziness is very frustrating to live with (especially as it fluctuates in intensity) and there are occasional meltdowns.

5 Months Old!

Gemma is officially 5 months old today. I thought this month's picture turned out extra cute, as she gave her giraffe a great big hug right as I snapped the picture. As you can see, she is definitely growing! (Although she is pretty tiny compared to other babies her age - she just recently outgrew her 0-3 month clothes!) It has been a crazy fantastic 5 months - it has gone by so fast!

First Time Eating Cereal

A couple of nights ago, we fed Gemma some rice cereal for the first time. Because she has already displayed some food allergies, her pediatrician wanted us to wait until she was around 5 to 5.5 months old before starting any type of solids.

So the other night we fed her some rice cereal. I use the term "fed" very loosely here. She's not so good with closing her mouth and swallowing, so mostly the cereal just came dripping back out down her chin. (We made the rookie mistake of not having any plastic bibs on hand--the cloth one she was wearing was dripping with cereal by the time she was done.) She actually did much better than we were expecting--she gave us such a hard time transitioning to formula that we were expecting more of the same behavior in this situation. But when we "fed" her the cereal, she actually swallowed a lot more of it than we were expecting. We also got some really good laughs at her facial expressions. Can't wait to see what happens when we start her on some veggies!