Another in my “let’s see what’s in the cabinet” recipe series.

4 Chicken Breasts
6 Red Potatoes
1 Can of Green Beans
1 Can of Cream of Chicken Soup
Milk
1/2 TSP Kosher Salt (Use 1/4 TSP of regular table salt.)
1/2 TSP Pepper
1/4 TSP Garlic Powder
1/2 TSP Poultry Seasoning
French Fried Onions

Preheat your oven to 375. Cut your chicken into bite sized cubes. Quarter your potatoes. Drain your green beans. In a casserole dish, combine your cream of chicken soup with about half a can of milk. Whisk this together and add your seasonings. I never measure anything but I’ve taken a stab at it above. Toss in your chicken, potatoes and green beans. Mix everything to coat and add half a cup of the french fried onions. Bake for 30 minutes. Bring the casserole out and top with another half cup of the fried onions. Bake for another 5 minutes. Enjoy a hearty casserole with your family.

Sophie is only a month old and already she has a favorite game.

It begins when I start working in another part of the house while Sophie is asleep. All of the sudden I’ll hear a SCREAM that rattles the windows and breaks glass. I’ll race over to her expecting to find her dangling from the ceiling by her toenails.

She is sleeping peacefully. Five minutes later…

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

I run back ready to beat back the maniac with a pitchfork who surely is standing over her now. Nothing. Sleeping baby. So soundly sleeping that I have to put a hand on her chest to make sure she’s still breathing.

She’s having a really good time driving Mama COMPLETELY FREAKING INSANE.

So much has happened in the last couple of weeks. Every night I fall into bed thinking “Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll post.” Tomorrow is now today and I’ll do my best to get to everything.

Sophie came home on January 31st, two weeks after she was born. That Monday we had been told by the doctors and nurses that Sophie was going fast and would likely be home that weekend. Tuesday night, Sophie took it upon herself to remove her own feeding tube and demand bottles at every feeding. They told us that we would be taking classes on Wednesday and going home on Thursday. On Monday night I started feeling not-so-great. By Wednesday morning I had horrible pains in my abdomen and begged my doctor to work me in. She saw me at 2:30 that afternoon and did a sonogram. Nothing was wrong with my uterus and that was all she could see. She suggested that I go to the ER and get a CAT scan. She called ahead to get me in faster and I called Ben. He met me at the ER and we waited about an hour before going back. A shot of morphine came about an hour later. This helped me through the CAT scan and also made TV reeeeeeeeally funny. Around 7:45 they finally came in an said that I had a small kidney stone and a UTI. They game me some IV antibiotics and scripts for more antibiotics and pain meds. We went home and collapsed into bed. The next day we spent about an hour at the drug store and finally made it up to the hospital. It took us a while but finally we were on our way home with our little girl in the backseat. Mom met us at home and we settled into a tentative routine of feeding, changing and sleeping.

The next day, Ben stayed home. I’m glad he did because I started feeling even worse. My grandparents came over for a visit and when they left I checked my temperature. It was 100.5 and I was feeling pretty cruddy. I called my OB and told her. She looked up my account to see what the doctors in the ER had done. I told her what they told me (white blood cell count high showing an infection and CT showing the small stone) and she hesitated. She asked if they had taken a urine sample. I told her that they had not. She said that my account said that my white blood cell count was normal and that they had never done a urinalysis. Basically, the doctor lied and misdiagnosed me. What’s more, the antibiotic that I was taking was NOT for women who are breastfeeding. I had asked the doctor eighty times if everything was safe and he kept reassuring me that it was. She told me to stop taking the antibiotic and to get up to her office ASAP for a urinalysis. My sister took me and by the time I got back, my temperature was over 102. It kept climbing. We called my mom to come look after me and Sophie while Ben went to get my scripts. By the time she came over I was delirious. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family support system. My mother is amazing. After sleeping for a while, a dose or two of Tylenol and some orange, I felt better. Mama went home and left us in the care of my wonderfully patient husband.

Just as I felt better, Sophie started fussing at night more than usual. I know she’s only been home for a week but I know my child. I know when something is wrong. One night while changing her I noticed that her stomach was hard and distended. We were going to the pediatrician the next day so I just held her while she cried. She was straining and grunting whenever she filled her diaper. I gave her small meals and made sure she was burped well. I let her sleep in her car seat and, when that stopped working, I held her while she slept on me. We went to the pediatrician a week after she came home. The doctor said that Sophie was having reflux problems and was horribly constipated. She told me to stop using the formula mixed in my milk and to start giving her a little bit of apple juice in water each day. She also told me to give her a suppository that day. I’ll let you guess which one Sophie liked more. If Sophie was still having problems then I was to bring her back in a week. Today Sophie’s tummy looks and feels much better and she’s sleeping in her bassinet again. She’s also eating more at each feeding which means her tummy is acting right again. This is the hardest thing I have done as a mother. My child hurt and all I could do was hold her and cry with her. I’m glad that’s over.

Ben is starting to get back into the swing of things back at work. He’s still having to put in some overtime so that things can get done after these last couple of weeks. I’m trying to learn a routine here at home that lets Sophie relax, lets me sleep and still keep the house running. It’s slow going but I know it will work. The shower / welcome home party is in the works and Ben’s parents are coming here around Sophie’s actual due date. We even plan on going to church soon! I haven’t been since Sophie was born.

In other news, I got my hair cut yesterday. You’ll have to wait until I can fix it the right way before I post pictures.

Mission in life at age 18: To march with the Tech flag corps, sing in the Tech choir and meet lots of new people while actually acting like a grownup because oh my gosh I’m away from home for the first time in my life!

Mission in life at age 28: To go to the bathroom without a child on my shoulder who refuses to be put down until she burps but is also refusing to burp and a cat at my feet whining for me to turn on the faucet so she can drink the water.

KC: (examining Sophie’s legs) This child has horribly dry skin. One of the moms at the NICU told me that Mustela is the best thing to use.

RB: Isn’t that what Australians put on their sandwiches?

KC: Um…I’m not putting chocolate hazelnut spread on our child. Besides, that’s Italian.

RB: Oh wait…I got it confused with Vegemite.

KC: Yeah…I’m not putting that on her either.