As always, here are 5 special reasons I am loving my boy this week:
5. Bedtime has become a total nightmare here (that is not something I am loving!) lately. The other night, after spending an hour trying to get a very tired Marino to sleep and being repeated hit and kicked, I put him in his crib to see what he would do. He cried for about 3 minutes. Then he said "Mommy?" 30 times. Then he said "No night night" 30 times. Then he said "I want Mommy" 30 times. Then he said, calm as can be, "Mino crying" 30 times. I had to laugh at the last one (and go get him).
4. Another bedtime struggle story...the other night I was trying to get Marino to sleep but he refused. Eventually I let him down and just pretended to sleep (this usually results in him prying my eyelids open and saying "Mommy, wake up!"). He went and got this dinosaur (no surprise, right...he LOVES Toy Story!), opened it's mouth and put it's mouth around my neck. Good thing I wasn't really asleep!
3. We have a new favorite book in our house, "Slinky Malinki, Open the Door" by Lynley Dodd. It's a really cute book, and has a repetition element to it, which Marino likes to "read" along with me. When he sees the book, he shouts "Slinky Linki!!"
2. Wednesday morning in the car, Marino said "Mommy is Sawa (Sara). Sawa, watch Monsters?"
1. Marino is obsessed with popsicles. No matter what time of day it is, if I ask what he wants to eat, he always says "popsicle" (I guess he is being honest, right)? And one popsicle is not enough. As soon as he finishes one, he will announce "Ok, Mino need orange popsicle" (or some color other than the one he just ate)...I guess he thinks he needs to eat one of each flavor each time. Luckily, he still enjoys eating lots of healthy things, so we can indulge him in the occasional popsicle.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Teaching Toddlers to Read - Part II, Mom's Wisdom
I hope you enjoy this guest blog by my mother, Nancy, who taught both my brother and I to read years before we started elementary school. She has been a true inspiration to me, both in her career and as a mother. Would you believe my mother went from being a high school dropout (with a GED) to a bank executive with a MBA in less than 10 years? All while raising 2 young children (with my dad's help, of course)? She's pretty amazing.
Thanks mom for writing this, and of course, for teaching me to read (and love it!).
Here's Mom's wisdom on teaching young children to read:
Sara asked me to do a guest post on teaching small children to read, since I taught both of my children (Sara and her brother Brendan, six years older) to read before they went to school, starting in 1974. I had no formal training in education, having dropped out of high school to get married and give birth to Brendan in my teens; I later earned a BS and MBA in Finance when Sara was in elementary school. I’m providing this background to support the idea that no one needs a degree in education to teach simple skills to their own children.
When I began teaching Brendan to read, I was a 19 year old stay-at-home mother and he was 2 years old. I had bought a small-format paperback book called “How to Teach Your Baby to Read” by Glenn Doman. Brendan had some familiarity with letters from watching Sesame Street. I remember we started out with flash cards using the sight-reading method of whole words. I made the cards myself by carefully printing the words on index cards. We started with words like his name, and others from the Dr. Seuss book “Hop on Pop”. It was a game for him to learn to identify the words on the card, and then in the book. We did this for a short period every day. He seemed to enjoy it. We always read to him daily and always had access to a library, even when stationed overseas in Germany when his father was in the Army, so we had a virtually unlimited source of new reading material for him to learn words.
Later, when Brendan was 4-5 years old, I used simple workbooks for elementary school children to teach him phonics (letter sounds), so he could sound out words on his own, along with making up more flash cards for phonics games. Sight reading alone is not enough to make a proficient reader – they also need phonics. I also taught him simple math at home, basic addition and subtraction. I made sure never to push it on him or go for longer than his attention span. He always seemed to enjoy the challenge of learning. Because it was a one-on-one interaction, it was always at his pace and geared to his attention span. He also remembers dictating stories for me to write for him before he could write himself. He could then keep and read them.
I used the same techniques for Sara when she turned 2 until she went to kindergarten at 5 years old. Brendan went to a German Montessori kindergarten for part of his fifth year, but did not finish and directly entered first grade after we returned to the US without having attended either pre-school or US kindergarten. Sara did not attend pre-school either. Both children entered public school able to read several grades ahead of their peers and did well in elementary school academically.
I have always been a reader myself and was naturally inclined to share this with my children. They seem to remember it favorably as well. It was something fun and interesting to do for all of us. Also, we didn’t have much money when they were young, and this was something I could do with them that didn’t cost very much. Both their father and I read to them frequently, and we always read books to them that were well ahead of their ability to read on their own. That way their language development continued. We started reading them chapter books, one chapter per night at bedtime, before they reached school age. I found the book “The Read Aloud Handbook” by Jim Trelease inspirational on this subject. We also limited their TV watching in the elementary school years so they would read and engage in creative activities at home. Going to the library was almost always a weekly event, and they were allowed to choose their own library books from a young age, along with some I chose for them until they no longer needed me to do so. Again, the library is a free resource; for people who go through as many books as we did, it would have been impossible to buy them all.
As for lasting effects, I really believe that children benefit by coming into the school system with a mastery of basic skills. It gives them self confidence and helps them be received more favorably by their teachers. It can only be good for our children to create a favorable first impression in any stage in life. Most importantly, reading will be a lifelong pleasure and source of knowledge for those who love it.
Thanks mom for writing this, and of course, for teaching me to read (and love it!).
Here's Mom's wisdom on teaching young children to read:
Sara asked me to do a guest post on teaching small children to read, since I taught both of my children (Sara and her brother Brendan, six years older) to read before they went to school, starting in 1974. I had no formal training in education, having dropped out of high school to get married and give birth to Brendan in my teens; I later earned a BS and MBA in Finance when Sara was in elementary school. I’m providing this background to support the idea that no one needs a degree in education to teach simple skills to their own children.
When I began teaching Brendan to read, I was a 19 year old stay-at-home mother and he was 2 years old. I had bought a small-format paperback book called “How to Teach Your Baby to Read” by Glenn Doman. Brendan had some familiarity with letters from watching Sesame Street. I remember we started out with flash cards using the sight-reading method of whole words. I made the cards myself by carefully printing the words on index cards. We started with words like his name, and others from the Dr. Seuss book “Hop on Pop”. It was a game for him to learn to identify the words on the card, and then in the book. We did this for a short period every day. He seemed to enjoy it. We always read to him daily and always had access to a library, even when stationed overseas in Germany when his father was in the Army, so we had a virtually unlimited source of new reading material for him to learn words.
Later, when Brendan was 4-5 years old, I used simple workbooks for elementary school children to teach him phonics (letter sounds), so he could sound out words on his own, along with making up more flash cards for phonics games. Sight reading alone is not enough to make a proficient reader – they also need phonics. I also taught him simple math at home, basic addition and subtraction. I made sure never to push it on him or go for longer than his attention span. He always seemed to enjoy the challenge of learning. Because it was a one-on-one interaction, it was always at his pace and geared to his attention span. He also remembers dictating stories for me to write for him before he could write himself. He could then keep and read them.
I used the same techniques for Sara when she turned 2 until she went to kindergarten at 5 years old. Brendan went to a German Montessori kindergarten for part of his fifth year, but did not finish and directly entered first grade after we returned to the US without having attended either pre-school or US kindergarten. Sara did not attend pre-school either. Both children entered public school able to read several grades ahead of their peers and did well in elementary school academically.
I have always been a reader myself and was naturally inclined to share this with my children. They seem to remember it favorably as well. It was something fun and interesting to do for all of us. Also, we didn’t have much money when they were young, and this was something I could do with them that didn’t cost very much. Both their father and I read to them frequently, and we always read books to them that were well ahead of their ability to read on their own. That way their language development continued. We started reading them chapter books, one chapter per night at bedtime, before they reached school age. I found the book “The Read Aloud Handbook” by Jim Trelease inspirational on this subject. We also limited their TV watching in the elementary school years so they would read and engage in creative activities at home. Going to the library was almost always a weekly event, and they were allowed to choose their own library books from a young age, along with some I chose for them until they no longer needed me to do so. Again, the library is a free resource; for people who go through as many books as we did, it would have been impossible to buy them all.
As for lasting effects, I really believe that children benefit by coming into the school system with a mastery of basic skills. It gives them self confidence and helps them be received more favorably by their teachers. It can only be good for our children to create a favorable first impression in any stage in life. Most importantly, reading will be a lifelong pleasure and source of knowledge for those who love it.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Teaching Toddlers to Read - Part I
Teaching Marino has been on my mind a lot lately. That may seem totally neurotic, considering he is just 25 months old, but my mother taught me how to read at 2 and a half. She also taught me to love to read, which I feel like is an important distinction. I hope to instill this same love of reading in Marino for 2 big reasons:
1. If you love to read, you can always entertain yourself, no matter where you are or what your financial circumstances are.
2. Even when you read for pleasure (including the chick lit I love reading in the summer), you continuously expose your mind to new things: new vocabulary, different perspectives, etc.
My mom introduced me to the book The Read Aloud Handbook. One of the key points in the book is that if reading is a pleasurable, comfortable thing for children to do with their parents, those feelings about reading will continue as the child grows into adulthood. (Another key point in the book is that the number of vocabulary words a child has been exposed to by the time they reach kindergarden is the greatest indicator of educational success throughout their life...quite a case for reading to your kids, huh?) I have great memories of sitting on my mom's lap in a rocking chair with her reading me stories. Even long after I was reading on my own, my father used to read me a chapter from a book each night, like A Cricket in Times Square, using different voices for all the characters. I loved it!
Marino is always on the move, so lately I've been attempting to read to him when he's eating (captive audience) and when he's tired. As much as I would love to have him reading all day, I make sure not to make reading a chore...I want it to be something fun he does with Mommy and Daddy, not something he HAS to do. If nothing else, it's undivided attention and he certainly loves that!
I asked my mother to write a guest blog (which I will post in the morning) about how she taught my brother and I to read as toddlers. Having not grown up with younger siblings or around children younger than me, the concepts behind teaching young children are unknown to me, so I found what my mother wrote really interesting. Hope you enjoy it!
1. If you love to read, you can always entertain yourself, no matter where you are or what your financial circumstances are.
2. Even when you read for pleasure (including the chick lit I love reading in the summer), you continuously expose your mind to new things: new vocabulary, different perspectives, etc.
My mom introduced me to the book The Read Aloud Handbook. One of the key points in the book is that if reading is a pleasurable, comfortable thing for children to do with their parents, those feelings about reading will continue as the child grows into adulthood. (Another key point in the book is that the number of vocabulary words a child has been exposed to by the time they reach kindergarden is the greatest indicator of educational success throughout their life...quite a case for reading to your kids, huh?) I have great memories of sitting on my mom's lap in a rocking chair with her reading me stories. Even long after I was reading on my own, my father used to read me a chapter from a book each night, like A Cricket in Times Square, using different voices for all the characters. I loved it!
Marino is always on the move, so lately I've been attempting to read to him when he's eating (captive audience) and when he's tired. As much as I would love to have him reading all day, I make sure not to make reading a chore...I want it to be something fun he does with Mommy and Daddy, not something he HAS to do. If nothing else, it's undivided attention and he certainly loves that!
I asked my mother to write a guest blog (which I will post in the morning) about how she taught my brother and I to read as toddlers. Having not grown up with younger siblings or around children younger than me, the concepts behind teaching young children are unknown to me, so I found what my mother wrote really interesting. Hope you enjoy it!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Back to Normal Life...
I'm feeling very thankful to be feeling well and getting back to our normal life. It's amazing the things in life we take for granted (like being healthy).
On Saturday, Marino and I went to North Beach to get together with some new and old friends. We had a great time and thankfully it was under 90 degrees! Marino enjoyed standing in the water up to his knees, but had no interest in going any further in the water unless I was holding him.
I'm starting to think that Marino may be introverted in the same way I am. I have lots of friends who I love spending time with, but I always need plenty of quiet/me time in a day or else I feel totally drained. Marino seems to be the same way. We were having lots of fun at the beach but after a couple hours, he announced "Go home now. Bye bye everybody!" It's interesting to see his personality develop and him express his desires/needs more. There's definitely a delicate balance, I feel, between being respectful of his wishes and setting boundaries and rules. I imagine that next year at this time, this will be less of a struggle, as we understand and know each other better.
On Saturday, Marino and I went to North Beach to get together with some new and old friends. We had a great time and thankfully it was under 90 degrees! Marino enjoyed standing in the water up to his knees, but had no interest in going any further in the water unless I was holding him.
I'm starting to think that Marino may be introverted in the same way I am. I have lots of friends who I love spending time with, but I always need plenty of quiet/me time in a day or else I feel totally drained. Marino seems to be the same way. We were having lots of fun at the beach but after a couple hours, he announced "Go home now. Bye bye everybody!" It's interesting to see his personality develop and him express his desires/needs more. There's definitely a delicate balance, I feel, between being respectful of his wishes and setting boundaries and rules. I imagine that next year at this time, this will be less of a struggle, as we understand and know each other better.
Friends at North Beach: Nicholas, Sydney, Natalie, Emily, Morgan and Lily (Marino was not compliant for this picture taking)
Morgan is too cute!
Trying on Nicholas' sunglasses
Hanging out at North Beach
Sunday, Marino and I went over to visit my Aunt Kerry, who had 2 surgeries last week, poor thing. Kerry's best friend, Marietta, was visiting from California and it was great to see her for the first time in several years and finally meet her son, Christopher, who is 10 years old. Christopher is great: sweet, great with kids and animals and very bright. He's an only child and I asked him how he felt about being an only child and he told me he loves it.
Here's Marino giving Aunt Kerry a big hug
Snuggling with Marietta
Bonding with Christopher, who Marino thought was very cool. He kept saying "He's boy!"
He kept mimicking whatever Christopher was doing
Big hug for Marietta (isn't she gorgeous?)
Friday, July 30, 2010
5 on Friday
As always, here are 5 special reasons I am loving my boy this week (and last week when I was out of commission):
5. At Great Seneca Park, Marino was picking at a tree. Evan told him it's not nice to hurt the tree because trees are our friends. Marino said "I know, Daddy. Tree need big hug" and proceeded to hug the tree and ask Evan and I to hug it as well:)
4. My mom and stepfather came to visit the weekend before last and, as I said last month, Marino has really bonded with all of his grandparents. When my mom and stepfather were leaving, Marino cried and said "Mino go too?"
3. My mom has a special song that she always sings to Marino while rocking him in the rocking chair (her favorite thing). This weekend he said "rock a bye baby?" when he wanted her to sing:)
2. The other day we were watching Toy Story (for the 800th time) and when we got to the part where Woody comes to the realization that he is a "lost toy", Marino said "Calm down, Boody!"
1. I occasionally call Marino "Babycakes" because it makes him laugh. When he and Evan walked into the packed ER after parking the car on Monday, he yelled "HEY, BABYCAKES!" when he saw me.
5. At Great Seneca Park, Marino was picking at a tree. Evan told him it's not nice to hurt the tree because trees are our friends. Marino said "I know, Daddy. Tree need big hug" and proceeded to hug the tree and ask Evan and I to hug it as well:)
4. My mom and stepfather came to visit the weekend before last and, as I said last month, Marino has really bonded with all of his grandparents. When my mom and stepfather were leaving, Marino cried and said "Mino go too?"
3. My mom has a special song that she always sings to Marino while rocking him in the rocking chair (her favorite thing). This weekend he said "rock a bye baby?" when he wanted her to sing:)
2. The other day we were watching Toy Story (for the 800th time) and when we got to the part where Woody comes to the realization that he is a "lost toy", Marino said "Calm down, Boody!"
1. I occasionally call Marino "Babycakes" because it makes him laugh. When he and Evan walked into the packed ER after parking the car on Monday, he yelled "HEY, BABYCAKES!" when he saw me.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Marino's 2nd Birthday Party
I know, I am so behind on posting this, but here are some pictures and details from Marino's 2nd birthday party (July 3rd). We had it at Romp N Roll and it was really an amazing day. At this age, you never know how your child will be for their birthday party (cranky, overstimulated, shy) but Marino was running around the whole time with a huge smile and a look of sheer joy on his face. He ate up all the attention and always wanted to be up front during circle time. He certainly seemed to understand it was his special day. In case you don't want to view the whole slide show, here's a few of my favorite pictures (all taken by my friend Regina Brown).
Isn't that Plex hat the coolest? This etsy seller made it for me...complete with a removable birthday hat on Plex's head, so I can take the birthday hat portion off and he can wear the hat in the winter! If you have an unique hat needs, definitely contact her! She came up with the idea herself and sent it to me in a couple weeks for a great price!
We had a great time with great friends (20 toddlers!)and I feel so blessed that we have so many special people in our lives that love Marino. The party had a Yo Gabba Gabba theme and we dined on eggless cupcakes (made by me) and Rita's Italian Ice. Marino gobbled up all of the treats and promptly threw them up on me at the end of the party (too much sugar and excitement, I guess). It was definitely a day I will remember for the rest of my life...to see my boy so happy, excited and full of joy - life doesn't get much better.
Isn't that Plex hat the coolest? This etsy seller made it for me...complete with a removable birthday hat on Plex's head, so I can take the birthday hat portion off and he can wear the hat in the winter! If you have an unique hat needs, definitely contact her! She came up with the idea herself and sent it to me in a couple weeks for a great price! We had a great time with great friends (20 toddlers!)and I feel so blessed that we have so many special people in our lives that love Marino. The party had a Yo Gabba Gabba theme and we dined on eggless cupcakes (made by me) and Rita's Italian Ice. Marino gobbled up all of the treats and promptly threw them up on me at the end of the party (too much sugar and excitement, I guess). It was definitely a day I will remember for the rest of my life...to see my boy so happy, excited and full of joy - life doesn't get much better.
Hope you enjoy the slideshow!
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Paging Dr. House...
We had a medical mystery on our hands this past week and it was very unpleasant, to say the least.
At the zoo, I started developing a headache. It was hot and I wasn't drinking or eating much, so it wasn't that strange I had a headache. But after a few hours, it developed into a migraine. It quickly became the worst migraine of my life...not only did my head feel like it would explode at any minute, but my legs and arms were going numb. I had extreme photophobia (pain from light). I decided there was no way I could make a 2.5 hour drive home to Maryland so Evan took me to the ER in Chesterfield, Pennsylvania.
The ER gave me morphine and IV fluids which helped the migraine. They performed a CAT scan which looked normal, but insisted they needed to do a spinal tap to rule out a brain hemorrhage. I was TERRIFIED! I almost left AMA, but finally decided it was probably necessary. Thankfully, they gave me a second dose of morphine plus Ativan so I really don't even remember the spinal tap (or the next 8 hours). Unfortunately, the spinal tap revealed red blood cells, white blood cells and neutrophils, so they were concerned that I did, in fact, have a subarachnoid hemorrhage in my brain. They transferred me to another hospital with MRI capabilities (I really don't remember any of this).
I woke up the next day (Friday) and waited all day for a MRI which never happened. Evan came to visit me (and bring my Kindle) and convince the nurses to feed me (by 5pm I had not been given anything to eat or drink). My mother in law watched Marino so he didn't have to take the 2 hour trip again. As long as I laid down, I felt ok. The neurology team came to interview me about my migraine and medical history. I was really upset to have to stay another night and not see Marino. I definately had a breakdown about that when Evan was there. It's so difficult not to see him for a whole day, let alone 36 hours.
I had a roommate in the hospital which I always thought would be awful but it was fine. She was the same age as me and, considering we were on the stroke floor of the hospital, I guess that's why they put us together. But I felt lucky to have a nice, considerate, low maintenence roommate.
Saturday morning, I had the MRI. The nurses were kind enough to give me Ativan beforehand, so I slept through it. The neurologist came in to tell me the MRI did not show any hemorrhage, just some white spots which are indicative of migraines. Sonia and Sabrina came by with lots of great gluten-free snacks, magazines and sundries I was in desperate need of...it was so wonderful of them to come visit me. Being hours from home and without my boys was very hard so I felt blessed to have a visit from some of my favorite people.
At the zoo, I started developing a headache. It was hot and I wasn't drinking or eating much, so it wasn't that strange I had a headache. But after a few hours, it developed into a migraine. It quickly became the worst migraine of my life...not only did my head feel like it would explode at any minute, but my legs and arms were going numb. I had extreme photophobia (pain from light). I decided there was no way I could make a 2.5 hour drive home to Maryland so Evan took me to the ER in Chesterfield, Pennsylvania.
The ER gave me morphine and IV fluids which helped the migraine. They performed a CAT scan which looked normal, but insisted they needed to do a spinal tap to rule out a brain hemorrhage. I was TERRIFIED! I almost left AMA, but finally decided it was probably necessary. Thankfully, they gave me a second dose of morphine plus Ativan so I really don't even remember the spinal tap (or the next 8 hours). Unfortunately, the spinal tap revealed red blood cells, white blood cells and neutrophils, so they were concerned that I did, in fact, have a subarachnoid hemorrhage in my brain. They transferred me to another hospital with MRI capabilities (I really don't remember any of this).
I woke up the next day (Friday) and waited all day for a MRI which never happened. Evan came to visit me (and bring my Kindle) and convince the nurses to feed me (by 5pm I had not been given anything to eat or drink). My mother in law watched Marino so he didn't have to take the 2 hour trip again. As long as I laid down, I felt ok. The neurology team came to interview me about my migraine and medical history. I was really upset to have to stay another night and not see Marino. I definately had a breakdown about that when Evan was there. It's so difficult not to see him for a whole day, let alone 36 hours.
I had a roommate in the hospital which I always thought would be awful but it was fine. She was the same age as me and, considering we were on the stroke floor of the hospital, I guess that's why they put us together. But I felt lucky to have a nice, considerate, low maintenence roommate.
Saturday morning, I had the MRI. The nurses were kind enough to give me Ativan beforehand, so I slept through it. The neurologist came in to tell me the MRI did not show any hemorrhage, just some white spots which are indicative of migraines. Sonia and Sabrina came by with lots of great gluten-free snacks, magazines and sundries I was in desperate need of...it was so wonderful of them to come visit me. Being hours from home and without my boys was very hard so I felt blessed to have a visit from some of my favorite people.
Saturday afternoon I was discharged but immediately my migraine came back on the car ride home. I wasn't sure if it was the sitting up or the sun, but I was in pain. By Saturday night, I needed to go to the ER again. My amazing friend Lauren brought me to our local ER so Evan could stay with Marino (this was midnight). They immediately gave me morphine, Benadryl and some anti nausea medicine that made my muscles lock out so I couldn't walk (won't be taking that again!). But my migraine was gone and I got a good night's sleep.
The ER doc gave me a prescription for Tylenol with Codeine and I needed to take that several times on Sunday, with minimal relief. Then we had a huge storm and lost power, so all of us went over to my mother in law's house for the night (she had power). I slept ok and got up and tried to get ready for work. My headache got worse and worse. Once I got in the car, I decided there was no way I could drive. The pain was just excruciating. I made an appointment with my regular doctor for 1:30pm.
By the time I got there, the pain was intolerable. I was vomiting in the bathroom at the doctor's office and I grabbed a nurse and begged her to help me. They had me lie down in a dark room, which immediately decreased the pain. After talking to the doctor, she was certain that the problem was not a migraine, but a spinal headache caused from the lumbar puncture. Apparently during the puncture, a leak of spinal fluid can occur, which causes the brain to drop and produces extreme pressure on the brain. The pain is positional - always worse when sitting or standing and better when laying down. This is, of course, very rare...generally only 2% of lumbar punctures result in spinal headaches. I have a history of being unlucky when it comes to medical odds! My doctor called the ER and prepared them for me coming in for a blood patch, a procedure in which they take some of your blood and inject it into the lumbar puncture site. This causes clotting and "plugs" the leak.
Unfortunately, due to the storm and the power outages, the ER was packed. I sent Evan and Marino home, knowing I would be there a long time (I got there at 2:30 and left at 8:30). I waited 2 hours before I even got a bed, so you can imagine how I felt having to sit up all that time. Then the nurses had trouble getting an IV in me. One even went so far as to tell me it was my fault she couldn't get it because I was too tense and thinking bad thoughts! Finally they called in an awesome phlebotomist who was incredibly kind and got the IV in no problem and without pain. They gave me morphine, fluids and ativan.
The anesthesiologist came in to explain the procedure to me. I was really scared but he was wonderful and very reassuring. While preparing for the procedure, he had asked me some questions about my favorite things and about Marino and at the scary parts of the blood patch, he would say things like "think about taking Marino to Tybee Island" (which is my favorite beach). I feel like many times doctors are sort of clueless about patient's fears, but he was awesome.
He numbed my back with a local anesthetic. He and the phlebotomist had a hard time getting enough blood from me (they needed 50 ccs for the patch) so they had a tag team effort trying to get the blood and passing it back to the needle for the patch. It was over quickly and my headache felt 75% better immediately.
After resting for an hour, I was allowed to go home, with orders to stay on bed rest for 2 days, no lifting more than 3 pounds, and to take Percocet for pain. I still have a small headache (not positional) and some pain in my back and one of my arms where they had trouble trying one of the IVs.
The whole thing was really scary and so painful. I am still kind of in shock about all that happened, but relieved to be on the other side of it now.
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