So, she's sick. ER trip.

It's the first time she's really, truly been sick. And it stinks. It started with a cold, so we thought. A runny nose that we kept trying to pin on her teething (yep, still workin on those teeth, at this point, the top two and the bottom two are racing to break through we're not sure which tooth will succeed first, but they're all visible through her gum line) but the nose just kept running and running. Then came a bit of a cough. We decided to keep her home from Day Care because she was officially sick with a cold. 

Then, in the middle of the night, it got worse. She kept wailing in this screechy cry and threw these terrible sounding coughs in there, too. My poor baby. We called the advice line on Monday AM knowing they would tell us how to treat it (humidifier, steamy bathroom, plenty of fluids). 

She did better during the day and after talking to my Mom in the evening she asked if she had a fever. She didn't earlier in the day but as I was talking to my Mom I remembered her being on the toasty side last time I fed her. So I went and took her temp. 101.3. Crap. She continued her barky cry as I, again called the advice line. 

The woman was good, she asked me if it was a 'seal bark' cry and cough. She hit the nail on the head with that description. So, she set us up with a 'phone appointment' within minutes of the initial call to the advice line. 

The doctor called. He said it sounded like 'croup', something I had yet to hear of. So, he said to bundle her up and crack her window so she's breathing cold air as that can help with the symptoms (swelling of her lungs). Also, to continue with the humidifier, the saline spray and when it gets bad the steamy bathroom. *If it gets worse, give us a call back. 

So, it got worse. She woke up and we just couldn't help her go back to sleep, the steam didn't help, nothing did. I got back on the phone with the advice line (This is where it gets good)

I told the woman that it's gotten worse. She asked me "Well you saw the doctor, what did he do?" I told her we didn't see the doctor, we had a phone conference with him. "Oh, a PTE" I told her I didn't know what that was. She said "That means you met with him on the phone". Great. Thanks lady. I told her the doc said to call back should it get worse and if it didn't we had an appointment for 8:45 AM. "Can I hear her now?" I took her to Jenna. The woman FLIPPED OUT. She told me that the doctor should've sent us to the emergency room and, well she wasn't going to say much more because she wanted to keep her job. "That baby's lungs are too tight. You need to go to the Emergency Room right now. She's not going to last until 8:45"

Needless to say, I flipped. I started crying. This woman said my baby wasn't going to *last* until 8:45. OK, we're on the move. I put my shoes on and the phone rang. I picked it up it was the infamous woman from the advice line "Miss you're being recorded, how long will it take you to get to Walnut Creek?" I told her that after my husband puts on his shoes, 10 minutes. She proceeded to tell me "OK, I was going to tell you if it was going to take longer than that you need to call an ambulance." Ugh. 

We get there and of course Jenna stopped coughing and crying. She was just there, awake. I was grateful she was feeling better but felt stupid checking in with this calm baby to the ER at 11:30 at night. They took her in, weighted her (lol, as we were walking her naked from the scale to the initial room to take her temp and get her the super snazzy bands on her ankles, she farted with every step I took... it gave Nick and I a much needed laugh) took her temp (still high) and gave us a room. And we waited.... and waited. 

The nurse we had was weird. Just a bit odd. They said her lungs sounded great and after 2 hours, the doctor came in. Of course, before that Jenna did fall asleep once, but only for about 10 minutes before my favorite male nurse threw a sharp in our sharps container and woke her up... why he picked ours to drop it into, I have no clue. The doctor said she has croup but is on the mild end of the spectrum. When we told her the advice line woman advised an ambulance, she looked at us, and said "You didn't call the ambulance, did you?" No, no we didn't. 

Jenna got a shot of steroids and some tylenol. The nimrods that administered the tylenol and shot were trying to figure out the dosage of tylenol and both broke out their cell phones to use as a calculator. AND they checked their work between the two of them to see if they came up with the final result. I was too tired to question this behavior... but I was ticked. Then, when they gave it to her she SHOT 1.5 ml's into Jenna's mouth and of course she freaked out... then when we had calmed her down enough I asked her to give it to her slowly for the next 1.5ml... before I could finish my sentence she had squirted the rest in her mouth (so much that some shot back out of her mouth) and I yelled hang on! I tried to put my finger in her mouth so she could suck it and get the medicine down but the woman said "BLOW on her face!" 

Dude, lady... back off. I should've asked to give her the meds. Then, with the shot. She was standing there with Tweedle Dee and is reading from the screen "Left lateral thigh" and she pats her left lateral thigh (as if to show off this knowledge). I asked if it was possible to give it in her right thigh as it was already exposed... She had to do some searching in the computer but found it and promptly patted her right lateral thigh (seriously, this killed me). She went to give the shot and she announced "STICK!" when she got the needle in. She was slow and fumbling. Poor Jenna. Amateur night at the ER her first visit. It took a bit to calm her down. 

Of course, the minute we hit the car, she was out. Slept a good 3 hour block, woke to feed, down again. 

Her cough sounds a bit better this morning. Of course, when I went to my phone to call Irma, there was a serious message from my Mom saying "Call right away." I called. Last night, my Dad had some chest pains and *drove himself to the hospital*. He's currently being tested. A few skipped heartbeats and low potassium levels. He may have had a heart attack  but they can't tell yet. He's currently admitted in the heart ward of the hospital. It's been one emotional day, lemme tell you. 

apparently it wasn't just a bladder infection

There will be an update later on this. I have a fever, chills, aches and pains and I just feel 'flu-like' minus the other symptoms. I essentially have some other type of infection brewing in me as the bladder symptoms have gone, but the 'infection' symptoms persist.

Which means I will probably be put on another type of antibiotic to take care of whatever this other one is, and I will still have to be diligent about treating the thrush (which has gotten a bit worse with the antibiotics. This sucks. A lot.

And, Nick's going out of town this weekend for a bachelor party. I really hope he enjoys his baby free sleep. I'm jealous.

What?!?! I can't hear you over the screaming!

In the last week, Jenna's officially been diagnosed as being colicky with reflux (which we're treating). The picture above gives you a small taste of what it's like when she goes off on a fit. It's difficult. We try to feed her, make sure she's been changed, and really attempt to try to decipher any sort of schedule so we just know when she's going to be tired and try to course her to sleep. We're getting better at soothing her, but the fits do persist... the worst is after she's had a couple of good days and then just melt down. But anyway, I know it will get better, as I'm taking EVERYONE's word for it.  

Just a few days after being diagnosed with the colic and reflux, I was asking about her first diaper rash (which was super stubborn!) in one of my Mom's groups and we found out she has thrush, as do I. So, it's been an exciting week in our household. The treatment for thrush can be as easy to explain as she gets a medicine orally, and a cream for her diaper rash. I get a cream for my nipples. But the problem is that anything that touches the 3 'hot spots' must be either sterilized or put through a deep cleaning, exposed to sunlight or air dried out. I won't go into more details because it's exhausting to think about, let alone type out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can remedy this relatively quickly. 

In any case, that's the un-fun update. 

7w,2d

Update (um, grossly detailed)

So, I saw my "regular" NP today. She looked at my poor swollen ankles, and I briefly discussed my symptoms with her. Then, she said "Are you at the point where you're saying 'just get this baby out of me?' yet?" My response: Yes, do you think stripping membranes is a good idea?" 

"Yes, it doesn't guarantee anything, but it's worth a shot at this point"

OK, good. So, I had my membranes stripped. It wasn't comfortable, especially on my bladder, but hopefully it will get things going. I also told her I've been a bit constipated, and she said that that may be keeping the baby's head off my cervix, preventing it from getting enough pressure to trigger labor. She described labor as a big puzzle, multiple pieces must come together for everything to get started. She told me to help with the constipation, to go get an enema (I was SHOCKED!) 

She also said the most comforting thing I've heard in the last month: "I think this baby knows right when to come out, and she's aiming for her due date." Kaiser has my EDD a few days after I do.... 6/26. One week from today. But just having her state that the baby's still likely a week away really takes some pressure off and doesn't have me on my toes so much. Does that mean that I'll freak if I go into labor now? No, it just means it happens sooner than she thought. I really, really needed to hear that, as my last two encounters with health care professionals left me with anticipation of birth being within a few days... a couple weeks of that will truly drive you crazy! 

So, I'm still pregnant, and I'm OK with that. Bummer is, my parents are in town until Sunday, then they'll be gone until the following weekend, but if I deliver in a week (Thursday) then they'll be here just as we're coming home (though my mom will travel sooner, and my dad might figure out how to do the same). And that wouldn't be to bad. 

39w, 3d

Grrr

So, at my appointment today, the NP didn't check my progress. This isn't the NP I loved, it's the one I'm seeing since my fav NP is out on vacation. She doesn't think baby's dropped (based on measuring my uterus from the outside). I think it was a total waste of time, my copay and a pee collection. LAME! 

36w

Sometimes I feel bad...

I know that it's not a bad thing, and I know it's not anyone's fault, but sometimes I feel bad that Nick and I were so lucky with concieving our little monkey so easily. I'm not saying I would trade our luck in for anything, I'm very, very grateful that we've had the fortune we've had.

I just feel bad because I've made a number of friends that are having trouble concieving their own children, and I don't want to rub it in that we're expecting, or how far along I am, or, whatever. I know that there is so much heartbreak with TTC, and especially T-TTC, and it's hard to say "I'm so sorry" and still have a little ticker showing how far along you are.

Totally random, depressing post... but I feel it's a bit overdue.

All that being said, we did see our NP today. She nixed any plans of drinking wine (even small glasses) by saying "Unless you plan to put alcohol in the babies bottle, there's no reason to drink. The alcohol crosses the placenta so quickly and easily, you'll be allowing your baby to drink. There's so much brain development going on between conception and when they're 2 years old, it's not worth the risk". And, as I've noted before Nick sees our NP's opinion as the word of gospel, so I won't be drinking until approx. June 2010 when our little baby heads toward the terrible two's. Good. Then I'll need a drink.

Babie's doing great, I'm doing great, we're all doing great.

19w, 3d

Big Ultrasound!

So, we officially know the sex of our baby. However, I'm not sharing until after this weekend, as my mom reads this blog, and I don't want the suprise ruined for her. (Mom, I'm sure you're checking this to see if I've "slipped") :)



The baby's measuring a couple of days early, and it weighs in at 11 oz. It's crazy to think our baby weighs as much as a can of soda!



On other news, I finally went and was professionaly measured for my pregnant boobs. The $10 target bras weren't cutting it anymore, and were pushing on my belly, which wasn't comfortable at all. Well, $70 later and an additional size up, the 'girls' are feeling much better.

That reminds me, it's about time for all the stats I post not as much as I should...

Weight - 147 lbs.
Size: 2/4 this doesn't really change, but I'm in 'small' maternity clothing...
Bra size: 34DD

Traveling, Classes and Maybe a broken foot?

Wow, a lot's happened in the last week or so. First of all: We're officially in the second trimester! Yay! Who's "we're"? Uh, I don't know, either me and the baby, or Nick and I or well, I guess all 3 of us.

First news? We got our bugaboo... yay! Super excited and pics to follow.

We went to our 'early pregnancy class' about a week ago. It was good. I wasn't the farthest along, but I was the one with the noticeable bump... how that works, I have no idea. One of the women hadn't even told her work yet and she was 15 weeks along!

Also, I some how hurt my foot. I've had x-rays, it's not broken, but they can't rule out a stress fracture. So now I'm running around in a big ol' boot to protect my foot. Fun times.

We just saw our NP again today. We got to hear the heartbeat, although it's being stubborn, it kicked and punched a couple of times before we could actually hear the heart beat. She said we've got a little active one, and she's sure I'm not going to enjoy that later on in the pregnancy. But for now, I'm looking forward to feeling it moving around...

Oh, speaking of "it" we don't have our big ultrasound scheduled yet. Apparently, if we haven't heard from Radiology in the next week or so, we're supposed to call and schedule it ourselves. Fine by me! I think our NP wants to see us a week after that appointment, so hopefully it will be the week of the 21st of January... and the clock beings to tick tock a little slower...

That's it for now, although I'm due for a new belly shot... Maybe in the next day or so.

14 weeks 3 days

NT Scan

OK, so first of all, I have no pictures to post with this one... BUT I'll be able to describe what happened. Yesterday, we had the ultrasound portion of our NT scan. This test tells us our chances of having a child with Down's Syndrome. We went to Oakland for this appointment (far!) to a new facility. We got there, they brought us in pretty quick and we had a super nice tech initially. This room was much bigger than the room we've been going to to see our NP. They had a monitor for us, and one for them (great idea!) The clarity on the monitor was great! She plopped the gel on, and started moving the ultrasound head and found our baby right away.

At first, it was cooperative. It was laying in a nice position to see the neck (what they measure during this appointment). At first, I just thought it had it's little hand up towards it's head, but then, with further inspection, we saw that it was sucking it's thumb! This runs in my family, so I told Nick that it's definitely our baby! (Duh, as if it's not inside me! I haven't quite figured that out yet... maybe when it starts kicking and I can feel it!). We also got to see and hear the heartbeat, a healthy 153 beats per minute. The other thing we noticed, just about right away was how big it's little belly was! The tech said that some babies at this stage aren't very well defined and look a little, um, odd. She said that ours definitely looks like a little person, and it looks very, very healthy! (Yay! nice to hear it from someone other than us!). Then, the second tech came in. Apparently the first tech doesn't have the certificate to take the NT measurements.

Oh, and our baby's measuring a day ahead. Maybe I AM almost out of the first tri!

This second tech wasn't unfriendly, she just wasn't excitable and talkative like the first one. So, when she put the ultrasound head on my belly (with a VERY full bladder, per the instructions) the baby had turned so you could see it's back (little, tiny spine!). Apparently, our baby had the same thoughts on this woman as I did. It wasn't interested in giving her a great view, because she just wasn't as nice and talkative. She thought she'd try to turn it by bouncing the ultrasound head forcefully up and down on my uterus (and, in turn my very full bladder). Nope, that didn't work... after many, many tries. She had me cough, and she got a few shots, with just enough of a view to take the measurements she needed. Note to self: when the tech is nice and revels in the fact that you and your husband is enjoying watching your little one, TAKE ADVANTAGE, as the next one may not enjoy it as much as you do!

Good news? Our baby has a minimal chance of having downs syndrome. Only 1 in 10,000 of a chance. :)

12w, 4d

So, it's official! Everyone knows!

OK, so a lot's happened since my last posting. I'll try and go in chronological order:

Our appointment. We went back to see my favorite NP Carolyn. She's great. This was supposed to be my 'first' prenatal appointment with her, which means it comes with the oh so fun stuff that happens at the yearly appointments. Nick (I'm using his name from here on out....) had to sit on the side as Carolyn waved her little mascara wand thingy around. 

She said she understood why I've had some spotting. And every thing's looking great. Then, she

 said the magic words "let me go get the ultrasound machine". This is why I love that woman. 

So, she gets the machine and turns it on. Once she found the baby, the monitor was turned towards her and Nick. All the sudden they jump "Wow!" Apparently, as soon as they found it, it flipped positions. When they turned the monitor to me, I saw it's little arms and legs dancing around. She happened to snap this super cute ultrasound picture: I think it looks like a gummy bear! Also, all those pregnancy books show this little scrawny belly, whereas ours definitely has a tummy!

Then, the next day, I got to tell work. We had a staff meeting, and went through all the boring stuff. The last thing listed said "Company News". So, I went into a locked office and brought out a bunch of small cupcakes. On the top of the cupcakes said "Baby due in June" I said we needed some food for the meeting, so I brought some. When I put the cupcakes down, there were 2-3 people that were just going to dive in and eat one. I said... "Wait! What's it say?" The one person I knew would get super excited read it aloud, there was a brief pause and then she jumped up and came to give me a hug. I think if no one else was there, she would have cried. Everyone was really surprised, and excited. One of the people actually said she glanced at me earlier in the week and after seeing my belly thought to herself "She better slow down with that snacking, she's gaining a lot weight!" She apologized for her 'thoughts' after the announcement (cracks me up!). 

I did have an emotional afternoon later that day, over something stupid, but I guess one can't go through pregnancy without at least one crying fit. 

11w, 5d

So I'm throwing this in here early...

My husband's profession is in the computer realm. However, we're having router issues at home, so I'm not sure that I'll be able to pop on tonight and post our newest ultrasound photo.

But, that being said, I will give you a run down of the appointment: it went great. We got to see the little flicker of a heartbeat. It's heartbeat is 161 beats per minute, crazy fast! We have 'blob' pictures to share with our parents this weekend. The NP was pretty funny, she said, well, that's what they look like at this age!

It was pretty scary at first, she kept looking around and around at the ultrasound monitor. It was at least 30 seconds and her spinning the ultrasound head around and around before she said, ah! There it is! Apparently, with the spotting and the early bouts of nausea, she was thinking there was a possibility of twins. Nope! Thank goodness for me! I'd like them one at a time, to be completely honest.

When she dated the pregnancy via ultrasound, she said "7 weeks, 1 day!" Woo Hoo! I was dead on. That's what I've guessed from the beginning. I think because of my short menstrual periods, it actually allowed me to, um 'skip' a week of pregnancy. Fine by me!

Thanks for tuning in, and I'll post a pic as soon as our computer issues are resolved.

7 weeks, 1 day (officially!)

I love my NP!

OK. So I went into the appointment yesterday a little freaked out, not too bad. Then, I registered and asked where to go (how would I know?). The woman that registered me happened to remember me from last week, she was the one that announced our pregnancy to the entire first floor building of Kaiser. Anyway, she told me that for this, along with all other prenatal appointments, I would need to "collect a specimine" for the appointment. She told me where to put my paperwork, and go get the specimine.

So, I throw my paperwork in the little box, and go to the bathroom. Why, oh why did they not put a little purse shelf in these bathrooms? I don't put my purses on the ground, let alone on the floor of a public bathroom! And, the handles aren't long enough to go around my neck. Anyway, I tried to "collect my sample" and I suddenly got very, very nervous. I could feel my heart rate go up as I thought: "Holy crap, what am I doing here, why did I even think to call? I'm pregnant!" I still haven't really got that into my head. So, I had, um, stage fright. I don't even think I pee'd half an ounce. Weird.

So I go and sit in the waiting room, look around. Shit. No one else is pregnant, no one else is holding a little brown baggie with Kaiser in the front. I'm still freaking out and worried. My husband is on his way, but not there yet and as I'm calling him the nurse peeks her head out and calls me back. I'm shaking.

Thoughts are rushing through my head as she sat me down and asked how far along I am (here we go again.. no need to describe). My head is swirling with thoughts that maybe I'm not pregnant, maybe I am and something's wrong. Then, it hit me like a ton of bricks: I'm freaking out because I don't have anyone to ask "Is this normal"

It makes so much sense! I would normally call and freak out to my mom, she would tell me everything's ok, and we'd be able to talk it out. The nurse wasn't as friendly as I would have liked her to be. She mentioned that she has kids and I thought, "well of course you know what I'm going through, but I don't, and I don't have anyone to talk to!" She took my blood pressure, weight (happily gaining nice and slow) and took me into exam room and left me sitting there while she went to hunt for my husband. It was at this point that the epiphiany I had almost made me cry. I'm suddenly having pregnancy emotions. I'm ok, I'm ok.

My husband comes through the door, and I couldn't be happier. He's such a great support system. I asked him how he was, and he said he'd be much better, except the room is wallpapered in pictures of the female anatomy and pregnant women with their tummys pulled back to see their innerds. He's been so sheltered all his life.

So, my nurse practitioner came through the door. She sized me up right away. We discussed the stupid pregancy wheel, she automatically changed my dates in the computer (wow, she's great!) She told me that with my 'type A' personality (who? ME?!?!?) she understands what I'm going through, explained some symptoms and said "Well, we might as well do an ultrasound" Music to my ears.

She brought the machine in, my poor husband has his initiation to the stirrups (they had knitted booties on them, my NP knits and her favorite color is purple. Things I'm writing down as a reminder to myself.) He was a little iffy on the stirrups, but the nice drape cloth thing helped. Anyway up went the little stick and she found the bean right away. Right where it needed to be. I can't describe what it feels like to look at what's growing inside. The NP then turned the monitor to my husband, and let me tell you, there's nothing more awesome than watching your husband look at something growing inside of you. His face lit up like I've never seen it do before.

We've got it's first picture. And, the best part is that she asked if we wanted to come back in a few weeks to see what looks more like a baby and less like a bean. OMG. I love her. She's making additional appointments just so we can look inside! And, we scheduled it right before we tell our parents so we'll have baby's second picture to show the grandparents, aunt and uncles.

So, after the mini freak out, all is good. I love my NP, she's going to be great.