Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Say What?

It's been a while.

Kora is 8 and a 1/2 months old!
Paige graduated PreK and will start kindergarten in the fall!
Jeremy just got promoted to a supervisor position at work.
I'm rolling along, taking on new tasks at work and trying to balance life.

Let's start with Kora - I feel like I've been to the pediatrician's office every week since February. I'm probably exaggerating a little - but it's been a lot. She got her ear tubes on April 20th and we are still fighting some infections/drainage. But at least the tubes have been doing their job. She's allergic to at least 2 antibiotics and today she had blood drawn to get tested for a food allergy - peas (which apparently can be related to peanut allergies) and eggs. It was rough for me to help hold her while they drew her blood but they did a great job and so did Kora! She fussed but I don't think she shed a single tear and stopped fussing right after they did it! Such a tough little kid!
She now has 2 teeth and is tearing up the house! She's crawling around everywhere and you can definitely tell that she wants to try standing, she keeps trying to pull up on the furniture. She's a happy baby and a pretty good sleeper (until she wakes up, wants her paci, but can't find it).

Paige. We were pretty fortunate - I think we skipped the terrible 2s and 3s... but landed in the ferocious 4s. This kid can be pretty stubborn at times, but still a great kid! She had a great year in PreK and I'm constantly amazed at what she's learning and how she's growing. And for the most part she's staying pretty healthy!

Jeremy is, as always, being an amazing husband. I've been gone to a conference, ladies night outs, a weekend getaway, training for a mini-marathon and so much more. He's always supportive, loving, and the perfect match for me. He loves our girls more than anything and it's always a joy to watch him with them.

Then there's me. Time to get a little transparent. So dating back to high school and college, I occasionally had trouble staying awake in class. Never really thought much of it back then, just chalked it up to being busy, not getting enough sleep, etc. Fast forward to my job at Regenstrief. I knew going into the job that staying awake in meetings would be tough. I also struggle to stay awake in church. I get restless legs when I sit for too long, always twitching and moving around to get comfortable. I never really thought much of it, just that it was something I had to live with. As I predicted I've had trouble staying awake in meetings... for 6 years. Why haven't I thought to ask a doc about it sooner? I just thought maybe I hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before, or maybe I was just 'lazy'. It's been getting worse since Kora was born. I get exhausted in the evenings, I always want to take naps at my desk, and now I'm getting sleepy driving to work sometimes. That's when I knew things needed to change.

So I finally scheduled an appointment with a PCP and got in to see him May 12th. He thinks I have Narcolepsy, so he referred me to a sleep doctor. Initially I wasn't supposed to get in until August 8th, but I asked to be put on a waiting list and praise God I was able to get in on May 13th! The sleep doc thinks the same thing. Possible Narcolepsy without cataplexy or it could be related to Restless Leg Syndrome. Essentially, my brain is not making the connection to when it's supposed to be awake vs. asleep.

What happens now?? Well, I'm heading up to Community North for a sleep study tonight and tomorrow. Tonight I just sleep 'normal' with sensors and what-not and tomorrow I get to stay there all day and take 15 minute naps (which I just found out about today). Praying that I get some answers from this. It really sucks feeling 'tired' for most of your day and not having the energy at night to workout or play with your kids.

Thanks for sticking with me through this update :) Hope you all are doing well!!