I had another doctor's appointment today... The appointment was originally scheduled for Thursday, but I was having some concerns so I got in one day early.After looking things over my doctor decided to let me off bed rest. She said the baby and I both look good so I can resume my normal acitivity. If I go into labor she will deliver the baby. I was totally shocked! I thought for sure she was going to put me in the hospital on bed rest there until Monday (when I hit 37 weeks gestation), but she didin't!! I'm excited at the thought of being able to have the baby, but I'd personally prefer to wait until at least 37 weeks or a little longer to give him some more time to gain weight (he's approx 5lbs now) and fully develop.

After being out and about today (for my dr's appointment and lunch) I realize that my tolerance for noise and commotion is much lower. I haven't been out of the house as much this past month, so the world just seems to be moving really fast and I not moving that fast. Ha. As I was telling D, I still feel the same. Just because bed rest has been lifted doesn't mean my symptoms have magically gone away. My plan is to gradually get back into my normal activity...as "normal" as I can be this pregnant. If I find that I can't do something I just won't do it. Like I told D, I'm not going to go out and jump on a trampoline to get things to progress!!

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

Date Day

Bed Rest: Day 21
D took the day off today. We've had SUCH gorgeous weather lately that I think he's getting spring...err...fall fever. It occured to me the other day that this could be one of our last weekends to go on a date before "Baby" is born, so I proposed a date day. Grammy was coming to help out around the house today anyway, so we asked her if she could pick N up from school while D and I ran a couple errands and went to lunch. She said she'd be glad to. (Thanks, Grammy!) The errand at the top of our list was to head to Best Buy to look at cameras. My camera pooped out and D's is on the fritz...perfect timing, right? D and I found the manual wheel chair at Best Buy and he pushed me through the store. What a sweetie! Oh, and he dropped me off and picked me up at the door, too. He's a keeper. :) We looked at cameras for a bit and learned which one(s) we like knowing that we are going to buy one online using our credit card rewards points. Now we just need to get it ordered so it will be here in time to snapshots of "Baby."

D also pushed me in wheelchairs through Target and Kohls to make some quick returns. (I think that is a new record for me spending the least amount of time in Kohls! That place is usually a black hole for me.) We found that the manual wheel chairs are MUCH faster than the electric wheel chairs!! We ran into my sister and brother in law's neighbors at Target. Never fails..I don't leave the house that often, but when I do I always run into someone I know. They must wonder how I can possibly be on bed rest if I'm out of the house... but after 21 days of being at home a girl could lose her mind! I was thinking about it this morning and counted that I've been to five stores in the last 21 days. I could do five stores in one day...okay, maybe two days when I'm in good health (and not toting a toddler with me!). All of these trips involved a motorized or manual wheel chair, so I'd say I am doing pretty good at abiding by my bed rest rules. I know my body's limits by now and I know when enough is enough. (I did opt to sit in the car while D ran into Toys R Us to look for something.)

We were hungry after running our errands, so we went to Olive Garden for lunch. We chose that restaurant because we like it but don't get to eat there too often and because I have a gift card to use up.....However, I completely forget to get the gift card out when it was time to pay. oops!! i guess we'll have to go back sometime before it expires.

Today was sooo nice but I was tired when we got home. I laid down for three solid hours to get recharged and rested. I sat around quite a bit tonight. I've been propping myself up with pillows on our front porch wicker furniture so I can watch D and N play and so I can enjoy the weather comfortably.

I hope your enjoying this weather too!
-C

Funny Things Friday: September 4th

Children say the funniest things! I started jotting down the funny things N said throughout the week and posted them to the blog for the first time last Friday. I'm calling it "Funny Things Friday." Here are N's "Funnies" for this week.

The other day N woke up from his nap and was VERY chatty! I laid down in bed with him and we had an extensive conversation about "when Santa comes." Don't let me confuse you, this is September. We have many, many weeks before Santa's arrival, but apparently my child is already excited for Christmas!! What happened to Halloween and Thanksgiving I do not know..Anyway... Our conversation went like this.

N: "Mommy, Santa comes when there's snow outside and it's very cold and he brings us somethin." (Somethin is a new word he uses a lot, but he leaves off the "g" at the end)
Me: "Yes, Santa brings us presents doesn't he? Do you think we should leave him somethin to eat when he visits?
N: "Ya. We should leave him cookies"
Me: "Do you think the reindeer will be hungry? What should we leave them?"
N: "Popcorn... But I need to eat some first and they can have the rest."
Me: "Should we leave them something to drink?
N:" Ya. I'll leave Diet Coke for Santa and very, very, very (this is a new fav word too) cold water with snow in it." Then he said without taking a breathe as toddlers seem to do.. "Maybe Santa would play in the snow with us and make sand balls.'
Me: Sandballs or snowballs?
N: "Oh Man!!! (Said like Swiper on Dora if you are familiar) Snowballs!! Teeny tiny snowballs."
Me: "Maybe Aunt Jenny could come to our house this winter and play in the snow with us!"
N's face lit up and he exclaimed, "Holy Smokes, Ya!!!"


Another discussion happened a few nights later and it went like this...
Me: What do you want to be for Halloween?
N: Dora
Me: Well, Dora's a girl. Diego's a boy. Do you want to be Diego?
N: Nope
Me: Hmm..What should Daddy be for Halloween?
N: Dora
Me: How about the baby? What should he be for Halloween?
N: Pause....a Teeeeenny tinnnny dora.
Me: Laugh..What should Mommy be?
N: Without hesitation. Boots! (Dora's pet male monkey who wears over sized rain boots)