March 2008 - Posts
Since I've had a nice sore throat since Thursday and I have started to experience some congestion, I decided last night that rather than lay on the couch...where I'd probably just fall asleep...I'd go up and get into bed. This was at about 9:15pm.
Although I would have enjoyed cuddling on the couch with my husband, he was busy at work watching basketball, keeping track of his stats, and trying to find a new (used) car online. I decided that if I got some sleep (and maybe sped up the recovery process) it would be in both of our best interests. Plus, he'd had a long, hard week with several late nights (2am, anyone?), so I thought after an hour or so, he'd be up to join me.
I was wrong on all accounts.
I crawled into bed after taking my prenatal vitamins (I've been taking my Plaquenil around 7pm on the nights I need to take it to try and avoid those crazy dreams). I put on some tv show and tried to relax. Usually if I lay on my side, I'm asleep in a few minutes. Not last night. I tossed, turned, twisted, got up to go to the bathroom, check on my son, get a drink. Nothing seemed to settle me down. I think I dozed in and out from around 1:20 to 2:15, when I finally realized my husband was still downstairs.
I got up and went downstairs to try and rouse my husband. We've been together long enough that sometimes I can't fall asleep without him by my side. Figured if I brought him up to bed, I'd be out like a light. He wouldn't budge. He's a VERY sound sleeper. He could sleep through our son's screams when he was first born. I was shocked when during our first year married he actually slept through the smoke alarm...which is right outside of our bedroom door.
I tried three times, and when he rolled over talking in his sleep, I gave up and went back upstairs. I continued to toss and turn...he finally came upstairs just after 3:15am...and I think I fell asleep sometime just before 4am.
So much for trying to go to bed early rather than stay up late hooked on reality tv.
I was very quickly awakened by the phone this morning...at 7am. My wonderful sister was so excited to chat, and since we have a nearly 2 year old, she figured we'd be up by then. So I've been awake since 7...that's about 3 hour's sleep. Fun is.
Today instead of laying low because I still feel like crap, I opted to drag myself out to watch my son find his numbered egg at our town's Easter egg hunt (it was FREEZING!), then swung through the tile store to return our samples and get a few prices on some other stones we've been considering. My husband made some lunch when we got home, then I set to work on a mad dash to do laundry for tomorrow, a few loads of dishes, make some banana muffins for tomorrow's brunch, a lemon cake for tomorrow's dinner/dessert, and now I'm about to make up some home made bread for dinner tomorrow (a special request from my sister). I LOVE to bake. Would be in the kitchen 24/7 if I could be. I also made meatball grinders with cooked onions and peppers for dinner tonight.
In between everything, I folded 6 loads of laundry, put new sheets on my bed, vacuumed the entire upstairs (2 baths, 3 bedrooms, and a hallway...our master bedroom is still populated by dust bunnies). I also packed up three boxes of clothes that no longer fit my son, cleaned up some of my craft "mess," and ironed a dozen work shirts for my husband, a pair of pants, and my son's seersucker suite and shirt for tomorrow. Honestly, I'm hoping by wearing myself out today, when I finally sit down (and maybe get my husband to do the dishes since my hands are so dry two of my knuckles split open and are bleeding), I'll just collapse. Here's where a nice glass of wine would come in handy. As I'm pregnant, maybe I'll settle for some hot chocolate.
Yes, my son is on antibiotics. His rattling cough and green, icky nose this morning was an unexpected surprise when I carried him downstairs. Glad my Mother's instinct kicked in and I called the doctor...even though we were there on Monday (bad diaper rash) and the doctor checked out the runny nose and gave us the "all clear."
My household has had ENOUGH with the cold. Can I write someone and request that it doesn't come back again...like the do not call list? My son has had a runny nose since Saturday, so we're nearing a week. I was hoping this morning he would have woken up on the mend today, but no such luck. Not only is he heading back down the sick road, but as I sit here typing I'm hoping that the Tylenol I took a few hours ago will dent the sore throat that I've just developed.
I'm hopeful that I'll feel much better after a good nights' sleep (which I didn't get last night...need to go to bed earlier and start cutting back on my addictive reality television!). We've canceled all of our activities for this week, including the play group I was supposed to host for my son's buddies tomorrow (moved from Tuesday as I thought he'd be better by now). Good to get the down time, but I've had enough down time...feeling sick, that is. How about some plain old rest now requiring Kleenex, medication, and sore throats?
We're slowly closing in on the 26th week mark. Just a few more appointments with the high risk group before we get the final nod that the little guy's heart is just fine.
I had my next high risk appointment on Wednesday. Although I love the practice, I'm not always thrilled to have to drive into the city, park in the parking garage (usually at least on the 6th floor), and make my way through the hallways and buildings to get over to the office. I literally add about 15 minutes of parking and walking time to my schedule to ensure that I arrive at the appointment on time. The plus of being in the hospital (versus the new office they opened up near my husband's office) is that they don't charge me my specialty copay there. Go figure.
Well, my appointment was scheduled for 1pm on Wednesday. My son's been sniffling all week, so dropping him off at my Mother-in-Law's house I just wanted to get there, back, and get him home for a nap. My husband, the saint that he is, has made just about every appointment with both children. To my knowledge, he missed one regular in-and-out appointment with my primary group earlier on in this pregnancy. Otherwise, he's been there by side to hear everything (and see everything) first hand.
He had an unexpected meeting about 45 minutes away that morning, and he cut it pretty close to get to the hospital. He arrived around 1:15 to join me in the waiting room...where we stayed until 1:30. This is the first time I haven't been taken in within 5 minutes of arriving. We were just hoping it wasn't another marathon appointment this time. The doctor I saw two weeks ago indicated that they wouldn't need to do an ultrasound at every visit - rather every other - so this was the "off" week.
As we were being escorted down the hall, the woman confirmed that we were there for another ultrasound. I of course replied that I thought it was every other visit...so she went and checked. Sure enough, they wanted another ultrasound. No big deal, who doesn't love watching their child??
Luckily she didn't have to get 10,000 measurements this time around - she did get the heart rate, check out the leg and arm bone lengths, measured the tummy, took a look at the kidneys, bladder, and confirmed that it was in fact a boy. She made a comment that although the child was a "flasher," he wasn't cooperating when it came to getting the skull and brain measurements. That took nearly 10 minutes of her pressing hard with the ultrasound scanner on my stomach. I can usually tolerate the discomfort, but Wednesday I was having a nice bout of tummy trouble and wasn't up for any further disturbances.
Once she captured all of the measurements, she calculated the baby's due date (just at 20 weeks, so we're on track) and the baby's weight - 11oz. Hmm. Is that on track? As she left to get the doctor, I mentioned to my husband that I thought that it was heavy compared to what the week-by-week book was saying.
The doctor came in and introduced himself - there's just 3 high risk OBs in the practice, so I was bound to meet them all at some point. Each one is nicer than the next. He took about 5 minutes explaining to me what he had learned about Sjogren's and pregnancy at the conference he attended this week. Sounds like for those whose baby develops heart block (whether full or partial) aren't really helped by the steroids that they usually administer is a partial or complete heart block is detected. That's unfortunate, but it did sounds like they were trying some type of immunoglobulin for those expectant mothers whose babies have a high likelihood of heart block. We'll have to wait and see if that works any better. Lucky for me, I don't need either at this time.
The doctor checked out the baby's heart rate (over 150bpm) and did the usual measurements of the heart beat and basically told us what we've heard for several weeks - everything looks great, there's a very very slim chance anything will develop, and they think it will be smooth sailing from here on out.
I did ask the doctor whether all of the measurements were within the normal range, and he said yes. I pushed and asked specifically about the weight, as I recalled it being higher than the normal range dictated in the book I'm reading. He once again confirmed that it was normal, and inquired how big my first son was. When I replied 10lbs 7oz, his jaw literally dropped and he asked me if I was 50 weeks pregnant when I delivered. I said no, I was 11 days over due, to which he asked whether it was a vaginal delivery. I said no, it was a scheduled section and explained that they knew he was going to be big - most likely high 9lb range - and as he hadn't dropped, wasn't in position, and I was not dilating, that a c-section was the best option. He agreed, and commented that that was a HHUUUGGGEEEE baby.
On our way out, I commented to my husband that it was a big strange for an OB to be SO shocked about a baby's birth weight. I mean, he delivers babies...or at least oversees many pregnant women each day. He was REALLY shocked. However, upon thinking about it, perhaps most of his patients...being older, with multiples, or medical conditions, don't have high birth weight babies. I know multiples are generally lower birth weight (and are delivered a little early), and potentially given the nature of a high risk OB practice many of the other patients are lucky to go full term.
Let's start a pool to see how much this baby is going to weigh...
I've finally reached that stage of pregnancy when I can feel the fluttering. What a great feeling!! I began noticing it on Monday night, and the last two nights it has been pretty constant once I've sat down after dinner. As I sit here and type I can feel the little guy kicking away. Was strong enough the other night that my husband actually felt it as well. Not bad considering the little wonder is just about 5 1/2 inches long.
I got some interesting news from my Mother last night...one of the OBs I've been seeing as part of my three OB rotation with my primary practice is retiring...in June! Arg. I REALLY like this doctor, and I've actually seen him quite a bit (including my visit this week), so it's bittersweet he won't be able to see me through the entire pregnancy. I was considering having him or the other male doctor I'm working with (who delivered my son) deliver this baby, so now I guess whatever day the remaining doctor is delivering that week is the day I'll select. Kind of narrows down my options on picking the baby's birthday!
I also had a strange and horrifying thought pop into my head yesterday...after spending the morning with three other Moms who have recently had a second child. If I'm that tired now, how will I function with a newborn and an active toddler? I know we all just "get through it," but I'm seriously wondering how I'll be able to stay alert enough to Mother properly if I barely have the energy some days to sit on the floor and play with my son. We will see...
Getting into the shower yesterday morning I noticed something I hadn't before...the tops of my feet are so dry that they've got scales. Cream to the rescue. I was pretty shocked getting out of the shower that I was that dry. I know my hands look like they've been exposed to below 0 temperatures for days, but my feet?
I've also noticed that the last two nights where I've taken the Plaquenil I've had some really traumatic dreams. Running away from killers, fighting for my child's life, etc. On the nights where I haven't taken the medication I haven't had nearly as vivid and frightening dreams, but I still can't tell if it's because I'm just in a deeper sleep. Something to keep monitoring.
Yes, the baby finally cooperated.
I had my fifth ultrasound at the high risk practice on Wednesday. We were escorted back to the sonogram room by a lovely technician named Jody. She introduced herself as a student once we in the room, and asked if it was okay if she did my initial exam - explaining that the true technician would come in afterwards and verify her work. I like to help people out, and what's better than more time looking at the baby, right?
If I had known the other technician would arrive nearly an hour later and it would take nearly an hour and a half of pushing on my abdomen to get all of the necessary views, I might have reconsidered. There were a few points where there just wasn't enough gel to allow the device to slide over my tummy...what a great feeling that is. Rug burn? Friction? In addition, when the second technician came in to verify the student's work she went very quickly...requiring her to press down extra hard to get the pictures she needed the first time. Ouch. Thought the baby was going to pop out of my back with it's eviction papers in hand.
Well, we did get a lovely 45 minute show courtesy of the student. She had some trouble finding certain shots, so it took some extra time. As she was moving around I caught a glimpse of what I thought was our little boy. As I know the cord is also close by, I figured I'd wait to see if she said anything (as she knew we were a little anxious to find out). Nothing. Another pass over that area made me once again think that this was a baby boy...even though this pregnancy has been completely different from my first (which led me to believe this was a girl).
The third time I saw an extra appendage I finally asked, "is this what I think it is?" She confirmed that it could be the cord, but upon looking at a different angle, she located the cord...and separately identified it was indeed a baby boy. She, of course, said her supervisor would confirm that the baby was a boy. And she did (even though she was traveling at the speed of light)...as did the doctor who saw me lastly to monitor the baby's heartbeat.
It's wonderful to finally know after three attempts. Although I was fairly sure it was a girl, we are very happy knowing that our son will have another boy close in age as a playmate. Nothing like two boys paling around...and hopefully not getting into trouble. Not to mention we don't need to change the nursery decor, that many of those cute outfits our son wore only once to twice will actually see some additional use, and there will be no need to augment our toys with dolls and strollers.
The baby looked great - I'm still on track at 18w1d (as of Wednesday). All of the measurements confirmed this, and it was adorable to see the baby with it's arms crossed over it's chest and it's feet crossed at the ankles. Again, we collected a few more "photos" for the album. The doctor once again reassured us that everything looks great - the heart beat is strong at around 160 bpm, and the other heart related measurements (they measure the length between certain intervals as well) were all on track. Just 8 more weeks to go until we get a clean bill of health for the baby's heart. Then there's just a few additional things I'll need to watch for (like swelling and gestational diabetes, as they are more common in Moms with Sjogren's).
I am beginning to think that all of those years "missing" out on the common cold have caught up with me. It all began just after Thanksgiving when my husband came down with a cold...then my son...then me. We worked through it (with my hard working husband actually taking days off from work so he could just rest...which is unheard of, we're both workaholics), and finally were better by the first weekend in December. Give us a few days.
Round 2 strikes...then round three...then I start to lose count. I know we were all well for Christmas, but pretty much miserable from New Years until the second week in January. Then we hit a spell where we were well for a while...and then I got laryngitis at the end of January...and we have all been "trading" off the cold and sore throat since then...with me sitting here tonight still congested after 4 days.
I've had to cancel play dates (both those we were attending and at least one we hosted), a BUNCO night with a group of Moms I know, now two dinners that I had planned to drop off for families with new additions, not to mention my son's educational playgroup and his music class. Add on get togethers with family and friends (including post-poning my family birthday party because I was not well), a date night with my husband, and most housework. Just about the only things I haven't put on hold are my doctors appointments (as there's at least one each week) and being a Mom. Moms just don't get to be sick.
I tried laying on the couch for a little while this evening as I feel like crap, worked a good part of the day getting a room ready for my son to make the transition to a big bed (which my husband is upstairs battling right now), and just felt like 30 minutes of shut eye would greatly help. No such luck. If it wasn't my son popping up onto the couch to check out sleeping Mom, it was my husband wondering when we were going to feed my son...who has been a bit of a whiner today. I know they can't help it, but unless I go up to my room and shut the door, they think I'm fair game. Guess I should take the clue.
I did have a nice conversation with the nurse from my insurance company last night - just a check in call to see how I was doing. Everything remains positive...except the sickness. The nurse even said I should probably mention something to my physician so they know that I've had a cold on and off since Thanksgiving. I have to wonder if there is anything that they can actually DO about it...or if I'll just sound like a complainer. I know that they're not going to toss me some antibiotics (nor would I want them to), and they're probably going to tell me to drink plenty of fluids and get some rest. I'm trying desperately to do both...and it's challenging on both fronts.
Once again I had another vivid birth dream last night...and it was a boy again. This time I delivered at my parent's house...like 5 months early (which would be about now)...but the baby was still 9lbs 4oz. I took the Plaquenil last night, so I'm wondering if the dreams are tied to the medication, or just the pregnancy. I'm going to watch and see how it goes this week and if I have these types of dreams on the nights I don't take the medication. I'd settle for a good nights' sleep and waking up not congested. It's hard enough to breathe when you're pregnant, so add on the congestion and blocked nose and it's a fight. That's what is making it tough to drink. Feel like every time I swallow I'm short of breath. The fun never ends. I just keep thinking about all of the people in the world who have it worse than I do. Those with terminal illnesses, in hospitals, and even those who aren't able to conceive. I'm not sitting here whining (or hopefully it doesn't come across that way), just trying to document how I'm feeling and what I'm going through...as it's part of my life.
Yes, it's that time of the pregnancy...those wacky, mind-altering, make you wake-up-and-cry dreams have become a regular part of my nighttime routine. Nothing like waking up on the verge of tears because your dreamed your husband cheated on you, or you were being tracked down by a killer, or how about that wonderful dream where you save all of your holiday shopping until the last minute? I had that one too...and I only had 30 minutes to shop in one sold-out store...but at least I got the employee discount. I can even tell you who I was shopping for and what they got. Yes, that vivid.
The best are those dreams where you dream you have to go to the bathroom...and you wake up and actually have to pee. Amazing how the mind works. However, in my last dream involving bathrooms, I became the member of some strange cult while on a business trip with my husband. I was even pregnant in the dream. And I not only found the bathrooms in my dreams...but woke up, went to the bathroom, returned to bed...and yes, kept dreaming the same dream.
I've had two different dreams about the baby specifically...the first one included the ultrasound technician pronouncing with joy, "it's a girl!" The one I had last night I was pregnant, but for some reason was able to become a substitute field hockey player for the local high school team. Yes, pregnant. I haven't played field hockey since 1994...in college. I left the hockey field and on my way home, went into labor. Given I had a scheduled c-section with my son, how would I even know what "going into labor" felt like? Well, I did in my dream, and rushed to the hospital with my husband...where a doctor I've never met helped deliver my son...yes...son...I saw very clearly he was a boy. I say "helped deliver" as my husband actually dove in to get the baby...and my section wasn't a bikini section, but up under my chest right under my ribs.
It gets better. They let me off the operating table before they deliver the placenta because we had to move our car. Yes, move the car. So I come back from the garage with my husband to check back in, and I pass out at the emergency room door...and they rush me back in to surgery. That's where I wake up.
Talk about confusing. I try and figure out the meaning behind the dreams, or at least try and rationalize them. I know that the whole rush for holiday presents probably means I'm stressed and trying to do more than I should. I get the bathroom part...I have to go to the bathroom. But the rest, what should I make of that? I know part of the most recent dream is that I'm fearful of going into labor before my scheduled c-section...but that's months away. Now I know why I'm so tired all of the time, my mind is racing a million miles a minute while I'm sleeping!
More Posts