Cold Season

Bed Rest: Day 24

N has come down with the cold bug that is going around. Now that all the kids are back in school they are sharing germs. I'm sure this was bound to happen, but right now? Seriously? I don't want to get sick!! I've got enough goin on!

I had D take N to prompt care this morning to get some meds for him. N's not super sick, but he does have a runny nose, a cough and is starting to touch his ears. This seems to be the same old cold he gets a few times every year. I've learned in that past that if I let this type of cold go too long it turns into an ear infection and an upper respiratory infection. I was really
hoping the doctor would prescribe some meds so we could prevent N from getting worse and prevent me from getting infected, but the doctor wouldn't do it. D said that from the moment he saw the doctor he could tell the guy was either going to say "Sorry, no can do" or he was going to hand D
a script so he'd just get the heck out of the office.. The guy is working on Labor Day after all. Unfortunalely the guy did not empathize with N's history of ear infections or the fact that I am on bed rest and do not want to get sick. He also must not have put it together that, because I am on bed rest I cannot take my child to the doctor...Or that I need N to get well and stay in school so I can rest while he's there. (That sounds selfish, I know, but it's the truth.) The doctor clearly did not put it together that if we have to return to the doctor in as little as 24 hours when our son's cold does turn into an infection that my husband will likely have to take time off of work to return to our son's pediatrician for the script this guy should have written us in the first place! Erghh! But, then again, I suppose doctor's at prompt care centers (who are not your regular family doctor/pediatrician) are taught not to over prescribe meds...They may even have lingering fears of law suits in the back of their mind for handing out a med a child didn't necasarily need (which I strongly believe N needs these meds for the reasons mentioned above)....How 'bout a law suit for a woman going into labor because she had to take her son to the doctor because you didn't give us meds we needed in the first place?? Ehem. That's what the really sinical little devil on my shoulder is saying, please excuse her.

Anyway... How am I doing, you ask? First of all, I'm really not so worked up over the lack of meds from the Prompt Care doctor (as mentioned above) that I'm having contractions. So please don't fret. I know we'll work something out, Nick will get meds and we will all get better. However, for some reason my body is getting more sensitive to physical activity especially at night. Walking and sitting are causing contractions and a couple other side effects that aren't happening as much when I lay down. Therefore, I am spending more time laying down these days. But, laying down has it's side effects too. It causes my back, neck and hips to ache. I also find that, the more I lay down, the more tired/fatigued I am. Weird. Laying down is proving to reduce the number of contractions I'm having so I guess that is what I must do to make it as far along in the pregnancy as I can. I find that if I lay down for, say 30-60 minutes, then I'm okay to sit up for 10-20 minutes as long as I lay down again after that.. Alternating between the two seems to alleviate some of my back pain while keeping my contractions controlled. I'll continue with this "method" as long as I can.

My next doctor's appointment is Thursday. My doctor is closed today due to Labor Day and her office is closed on Tuesdays for hosptial visits and surgeries. I'm making it a goal to lay down as much as I can until my next appointment or at least until Wednesday when the office is open again. We can always head to the hospital if my symptoms progress, of course. I would never wait too long to see a doctor. I would never jeopordize my health or the health of the baby just to meet a self imposed goal. If I need to go in, I need to go in. I just find that setting goals for myself helps me stay in bed and stay rested so I can make it as far along in the pregnancy as possible. A friend who was on bed rest said she and her doctor set daily and weekly goals to get her through the mental task of bed rest. She found it helpful and rewarding to achieve her goals and I am too.

So there you have it. We have both everything and nothing going on at our house at the same time. :)


Take care and stay well!
-C