Welcome Google Searchers....

It's strange to me that of all the crazy assortment of things that I write about on this blog, the posts that get the most hits from search engines have to do with 1) ultrasound results or 2) collecting a urine sample from a baby.

1) About the urine sample thing. I've now been in the position to experience (as the mother) collections from both boys and girls. Let me tell you, until they hit potty training stage, neither gender is fun.

As I posted a long time ago, for a baby girl, doctors can sometimes attach a collection bag around the genital area. When she pees, it goes in the bag. I think this method isn't the most sterile, so it probably depends on what kind of a test they're going to run--might be fine for a dipstick kind of thing, but probably not for an actual culture (where they watch it for a couple of days and check what kinds of bacteria grow).

For a boy, about the only method is a catheter (unless you're really lucky and catch him mid-pee). The doctor threads a very tiny tube up the ureter (yes, the pee-hole at the end of the baby boy's boy-parts!) and up into the bladder. There is a balloon somehow used through this tube up in tehe bladder to force the urine down the tube and into a waiting vessel. This eliminates contact with the outside skin, and allows less contamination. They will do this to girls, also, if they need to. From my own c-section experiences, the process doesn't hurt, but it feels really strange and annoying, and the baby will probably cry at first. My son Trystan had to have a catheter in place for nearly 2 weeks after one of his surgeries, and there were no bad side effects (swelling or bleeding or anything like that) once it was finally removed. Cringe-worthy, yes, and the worst part is having to watch it done to your baby.

2) Ultrasound results. My son had both a dialated kidney and a 2-vessel cord show up on his ultrasound. I cannot reassure another parent with a similar diagnosis that "its nothing" because its not nothing. It's definitely something. Trystan's story can be found in posts here, here, and here (and probably a whole lot more that I haven't linked--start reading around November '06). In his case, his dialated kidney was caused by one kidney being larger than the other--now at 1.5 years old, he has one good kidney (the larger one), and the other "kidney" is little more than a small amount of tissue that doesn't do much. The kidney was larger because it was doing the job of two. All he needs is one good kidney, so this is the least of our worries with his health (far below even routine ear infections and colds!)

The two-vessel cord (or single umbilical artery or several other name variations) was an early sign of his eventual diagnosis with VACTERL association. Sometime during early development (in the first trimester...probably within the first 4 weeks of pregnancy), something went wrong with development of his umbilical cord. Instead of 2 arteries and one vein, he got one artery and one vein. That made my pregnancy a high-risk one, where I had twice-a-week non-stress tests for the entire third trimester to monitor his heartrate and activity levels. Like most of Trystan's "problems", he sailed right through, strong and active. He does have heart defects--a VSD and an Anuerism in the Sinus of Valsalva. The Anuerism will require surgery, likely in the next year. But neither defect has ever caused him a day of grief so far (lots of echocardiograms, but that's all). And while the heart defects are related to the umbilical cord problem (and to the rest of his symptoms), they weren't caused by it.

If you're a parent facing any of these issues, welcome and I'm sorry! None are any fun! If you feel up to it, stay a while and browse around on my blog. Especially if you're expecting, have scary stuff show up in ultrasounds, and are fearing the worst. I hope you will find some hope here. Trystan is a special kid--smart, funny, absolutely adorable (don't believe me after hearing about all these "defects"? Check out some photos). I should videotape his giggle to share, it's that infectious and heartwarming. Sometimes the best things in life just require a little more effort on our part, that's all.

Recent Google Searches

It's been a while since I checked on who was reading my blog, and why. Google has been kind enough to forward folks my way through the following searches:

• how to collect a urine sample from a baby (Note: this is a rather popular one..apparently the process of taping a urine collection bag to a baby girl's diaper region is not otherwise well documented in the blogsphere. I have found my claim to fame....)


• umbilical cord single artery uti (Actually, there tend to be several variations on single umbilical artery that link to me...my prayers are with anyone just starting on that journey!)


• reading ultrasound results (Along with single-umbilical artery, VACTERL, and imperforate anus searches, this one is also popular)


• 9 weeks pregnant - can i drink soup from a vending machine? (I hope this person found what they were looking for. I just have to wonder why would you want to?)
• pantyhose adventures (Ah, pantyhose)


• Ingredients in Prepackaged Rice Krispy Treats (The Rice Krispy Treat post is another that has become oddly popular...)


• green salad with chicken (I think I might get more cooking hits if I posted more cooking/recipe type content. I feel bad about not having photos with my posts, and I'm so not a photographer.)


• noonsies second breakfast hobbits (I have 2 hobbits these days, and second breakfast is a daily requirement for both)


• training underwear padded


• pickles made baby throw up


• spaghetti factory charlotte (I'm guessing that my little Char isn't quite the one they were hoping for here)


• bombay company kids bugs quilt


• june cleaver kitchen photos

I wonder if I should take these referrals into account in my search for a new identity. Maybe I should be considering "TapeItToYourButt" or "NoShit", or a long title of "The In's and Out's of Motherhood: One woman's struggle to feed her children, and what came of it all".

Recent Web Searches

Welcome web surfers. If you searched on one of the following topics and found my site, you're in the right place! Well, maybe it's not exactly what you were looking for....

"knifty knitters"
"pasta salad with olive pesto"
"Sings of impending pregnancy labour" (Note: This is not a typo, someone apparently wants music written about childbirth....)
"myspace motherhood"
"Tennis Anyone"
"striptease"
"alphabet pasta salad"
"banana strawberry smoothie denise austin"
"good charlotte "she was down" "i don't know ""
"march of dimes walk balloons"
"hair dos little ponytails"
"she's a carnivore"

Wayward Google Searches

Administrator, "Assistant's Day"

clifford drowned

without my glasses

free knifty knitter video lessons

"beef soup base" hard piece

collecting a urine sample in a 2 year old that is not potty trained

motherhood pressure

The modern day secretary as Administrator

Google Searches

After seeing MyPetRock using Site Meter to find out who's reading his blog, I thought it would be amusing to try the same thing. It looks like some people have found me with some rather creative searches....

"knifty knitters" I have a set of these and have made a handful of hats, scarves, and baby booties. They're a lot of fun! I haven't managed to post any photos, though. If you're thinking about buying a set, I say to go for it! If you find any good patterns, let me know :)

"didn't have to exercise" I actually quite enjoy most forms of exercise. There are days that I wish that I didn't have to, but I'm usually glad I did.

"urine sample paper towel" I guess someone found my post about collecting a urine sample from a baby....I don't know what the paper towel was for, but good luck to you with whatever you're up to here...

"Caffeine amounts in Cadbury Cream Eggs" Hmm....I don't know about most people, but the caffeine is the least of my health worries when eating a Cadbury Cream Egg...