No pictures this time. No time!! We've been in sheer survival mode. Thank goodness I got over bronchitis...because Jason's flu hung around a lot longer than any of us anticipated! He ended up running 102.5 that Thursday evening, then he'd have a low grade fever each evening. He also developed a cough. Normally, I'd have been okay with being around him having the low grade fever, but since I have pretty low immunity due to the new little life in my belly, I wasn't taking any chances. So we only saw Daddy from afar for over an entire week. I do NOT see how single working parents do it, especially with more than one kid. Reid was actually really good about Daddy being in the house and not getting to see him. I tried to explain it was so Daddy didn't get us sick and so we didn't give him any more germs. He would rather not see Daddy than wear the masks I'd gotten us (even with me drawing mustaches on them :) One day, Jason came downstairs with his mask to get dinner to take back upstairs and eat in his room...Reid promptly said, "I told Daddy to go upstairs. He needs to go back to his room!" Poor Daddy. Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled when Monday was a normal day...Jason went to work and was able to be around us and help out that evening. Reid's bath time is pretty awful for me because it hurts so bad to lean over, but especially for the tub. Jason had pretty much taken that over for me, especially when he realized there'd be no way for me to do bath time after the c-section.
Tuesday was a normal day, too, until a rude awakening at about midnight. We were all tired and had gone to bed early, but Reid began screaming bloody murder. Upon entering his room, he was vomiting all over his bed. Just great. I stripped him and swept him to the bathtub while Jason took all the nasty bedding downstairs to rinse it before chunking it into the washing machine. This scene repeated three more times, albeit it was pretty much just bile coming out of my poor little guy. Reid hates throwing up more than anyone I know (even me!), and I think he's only had one vomiting illness episode in his little life so far. I pretty much didn't get back to sleep until 4am...when I was pretty sure I wouldn't be awakened once again. But teachers don't have the luxury of simply calling in sick. We have to figure out someone to come teach our class, a way to get lesson plans to school (not an easy feat when kinder plans must be minute by minute!), and convey that message to both our team and administrators. I will usually notify my parent list, too, just so they know why little Johnny didn't have the note taken out of his binder or anything written about the day (even though I instructed the sub what to do). You end up paying for it for several days afterward, attempting to catch up on whatever the clueless sub didn't do or re-establishing classroom rules and procedures. I couldn't get a hold of my long term sub--she would have been fantastic and I could've just emailed her general stuff since she knows how my classroom runs. I also couldn't find her in the sub system, so I figured it's because she recently got married and has been slowly changing her name on everything. So I tried entering several more of our usual, great subs into the system...but they were unavailable. I cringed as the system began calling random people, for this was a day where we had to flip our entire schedule for a group of visiting administrators to be able to see math and science/social studies being taught at certain times. (Yeah...because THAT's real authentic) Sure enough, my sub ended up being awful. But I didn't care at that point. I just wanted Reid to feel better. He was quiet, snuggly, and kind of pitiful in the morning. We watched Planes (twice!) and he was able to keep down crackers and little sips of lemonade and water spread out through the morning. He wanted a bagel ("with cream cheese!" um, no!) and kept that down, so I thought we were on the right track. He took a wonderful nap, which actually allowed me to do a lot of nesting around the house to prepare for the baby. When he woke up, though, he was a little bit "punk" again and didn't want to eat or drink. As soon as Jason got home, I ran up to school before my badge wouldn't let me in the building and left plans. Thankfully, my long term sub could come in for the next day. I am down to about 16 days of leave (contrary to popular belief, teachers get ZERO paid maternity leave...you are just able to take up to 12 weeks off due to FMLA, so we must save up our sick and personal days over the years to prepare for babies. But when you already have a kid and you work in a germ factory, many of those days are spent for your illness and/or your child's.) and obviously trying to conserve them, so I opted for a 1/2 day of leave, thinking I could have my sub stay all day if Reid ended up being sick again. In the meantime, Jason's cough was getting worse, so as soon as I got home from school, he went to Urgent Care. The doctor even seemed a bit surprised...pneumonia, a complication of the flu. Fortunately, Jason hasn't felt just horrible, but he sounds pretty rotten and the coughing had gotten to be a problem--he had to leave his meetings a few times on Thursday due to the cough. The doctor gave him something to quiet the cough and a nice, strong antibiotic.
He woke up all smiles, wanting breakfast, and went potty all by himself. So I went ahead and took him to Holli's and let him go to his school so he wouldn't miss his Valentine's party. He was his normal self at both places and begged for his normal dinner favorites that night. I gave in and let him have one spinach nugget because I was pretty sure he was sick of carbs and applesauce. Sure enough, at 10:30, just after Jason and I had gotten to sleep, Reid began screaming and he vomited once again. Just my (lack of!) luck. Since Jason had pneumonia anyways and needed rest, he found a way to stay home on Friday and allow me to go for the Valentine's party day...which I would never, ever wish on any sub!! Between a different schedule, hyped up kids, Valentine's festivities, and a rude parent note (I swear that nearly sent me into labor in itself!!), I was done!! Awful day. Jason took Reid to the doctor and he (thankfully!) tested negative for strep, which has been manifesting itself as a stomach bug at my school lately), and the pediatrician didn't think there was any way it was the flu since he hasn't run any fever. We've only been letting him have small, bland meals since then and the doc gave him a prescription for an anti-nausea/vomiting medication. Apparently a lot of folks have a similar virus because we had to go to three pharmacies yesterday to fill it! We are hopeful that they are both feeling better soon and that baby Carter and I manage to stay well. I don't want to be in the O.R. by myself!!
I am soooo ready to meet this little guy. I would be completely okay for him to come ANYtime. I'm sick of the stress of school, and quite honestly I am so exhausted and hurt so badly most of the day and night that I'm not really "me" anyway. My sub would be much better at this point!! She's wonderful! The rib pain/back pain is pretty unbearable, but there's nothing I can do. I think this is going to be a l-o-n-g kid...and the doctor I saw on Tuesday estimated that he was already 7.5 lbs then! Please pray for us all to hang in there. Reid asks me first thing every morning, "How long until baby brother comes out?!" so I think he's ready, too. Thankfully, tomorrow is a staff development day, meaning I can sit, which is still not remotely comfortable, but I can kind of mentally check out and hopefully be fine, lol, rather than having to be "on" every second of the day...plus I can take a tinkle break whenever I need to!! I am thankful Carter will be evicted one week from tomorrow--a definite date has been nice to have this time. But if he decides to come earlier, I am totally fine with that, especially given how big he is already supposed to be and he's officially full term. I'm thankful we had a relatively normal weekend as a family of three, were all able to go to church this morning, and that we finally have nice weather. Maybe that will kill some of these nasty germs!
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Thursday, February 6, 2014
9 Months...and Miserable
Don't get me wrong...I'm beyond thankful for this little guy, but wow. What a change a couple of weeks can make!! I went from feeling good (big, but good) to being pretty darn miserable every day. I battled a cold/allergies/virus/? for a week and a half and finally gave in. When I headed to the doctor, sure enough, I had the "beginnings of bronchitis." Oh, joy. It took pretty much the entire round of augmentin before I felt human again. I've had intermittent rib pain for awhile, but beginning last Thursday the pain has been unbearable. Of course, Wednesday I'd been to the doctor for my regular weekly checkup...then Thursday the severe pain hit. I have one localized spot on my right ribs, toward the middle, and one localized spot in the middle back just to the right of my spine. The only way I could describe the pain would be like a migraine in those two spots...white hot lightening. I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting, but much to my surprise, the doctor diagnosed me with severe muscle spasms and prescribed a muscle relaxer. It has helped some, but pretty much every single day I am in pretty bad pain. Sitting, standing, doesn't matter. I've tried prenatal yoga, stretching, certain positions... And even nighttime doesn't bring much relief these days. I sleep for a couple of hours and then wake up in bad pain. Roll over, repeat...all night long. I shudder to think what I'd have felt like if we didn't get our new mattress!
Most days, I don't feel as big as I did with Reid, but I have gained every bit as much weight with this little guy. I have worked out the entire pregnancy (until the bronchitis) and only had a handful of days where I was ravenously hungry, unlike with Reid. I remember eating a normal lunch, running to McDonald's for an after school snack of French fries, which turned into an entire Happy Meal, then eating a full dinner! None of that this go 'round. Thankfully, I have been able to eat very healthily. For a couple of weeks last month, I even craved Fuji apples for the crunch and sweetness. But of course, that chocolate craving still stands. It's usually sometime in the afternoon and I just HAVE to have chocolate ;) And lately, I've totally been craving the Sweetheart Chocolate Cherry Shake from Sonic. I had one last year and it was absolutely fantastic, so I've been all pumped about waiting for it to come out since it's a seasonal thing. But just my luck, they're not offering it (or anything remotely like it) this year. I might just boycott Sonic :( Jason found me some chocolate covered cherry Blue Bell, and it's delicious, but it's still not satisfying the craving. Darn Sonic.
Little Mr. Carter is growing like crazy. My doctor measured him at 5.5 lbs...and that was two weeks ago!! So if he's really gaining a pound a week, like they say, then this will be one huge kid by 2/24. I took video on my phone (but Blogger doesn't ever like videos from my phone, so I'm attempting to upload it as a picture this time)--he had a couple of weeks last month where he was dancing around in there and cracking us up. As of last week, it's getting a bit crowded in there and I'll just see an arm or leg move across. I actually had to stop reading to my class one day because he was taking my breath away. They got to see some REAL big movement as my entire belly shifted from one side to the next. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure they didn't get much out of the Science lesson that day!
Reid surprised us because he doesn't really say much about baby brother. But he had two bad days in a row at preschool (went to the director's office the second day!!) and his teacher alluded to the fact that he senses the upcoming change. Come to find out, he talks about baby Carter quite a bit! We hadn't done too much in the prepping department, until I had a major "nesting" phase a few weeks ago and HAD to get everything out and ready. It also happened to be right after Reid had gotten in trouble at school, so I was quite worried (I'd tried to keep most everything as normal as possible so as to not upset him). But he was very intrigued and wanted to play with all the baby toys himself, lol.
In other prep work, I signed us up for a "big sibings" class at the hospital where I'll deliver. We weren't exactly sure how he'd do, and then we weren't sure we'd go because he ended up with bronchitis, too. And then I realized it was on Super Bowl Sunday. I'd signed us up for the 4-5:30 class since the other one was during nap time (and of course, he didn't nap that day) but then we weren't sure it'd really happen because we had sleet and ice. But we made it there, made a little craft, learned some things, and Reid was just in a funk. Finally, in his own jumbled little way, it came out that I think he thought he'd get to meet Carter on that trip to the hospital. Poor guy. And just the other day, he was asking me, "How many days?" repeatedly. I had no idea what he was talking about, so he got frustrated...and I got frustrated. But finally it came out that he was wanting to know how many days it would be until baby brother came out of my belly. So cute! So we've started a countdown to D-day (delivery day) since he enjoyed the countdown to Christmas so much. His two favorite books he picks at bedtime right now are both about being a big brother. I hope he'll make a great one! He already loves his baby brother a ton, so that's a great start.
I did make it past one of my panic points...being sure I made it until my long term substitute could shadow me at school on Monday and Tuesday. I really like her and she asked great questions, so I'm hoping it'll be a good fit for our little team (and we're already missing one because my team leader has been on maternity leave for three weeks now, too!) and my class. It's weird to prepare soooo much stuff for a sub, but my students are kind of like "my" kids, too, and I want them to have a great experience in my absence.
So our lives have been a little crazy lately...which would explain why I didn't even realize it'd been a month since my last post. And speaking of crazy, this crazy Texas weather is about to do me in. We've had one BIG ice storm, a small one, and then today it snowed!! In between, there have been nice days where it was warm enough to wear short sleeves. No wonder we're all sick!
I was more than a little disappointed on Monday when my doctor checked me and informed me I'm not dilated a bit. Really?! Crazy pain and what I thought were contractions over the weekend apparently did not affect anything. But then Tuesday rolled around and I got a phone call from Jason, "I have the flu." WHAT?!!!!! Yup. Quite suddenly, I was thankful to not have any signs of labor. I sure don't want to be the only French in the O.R. when Carter is being delivered! So long story short, he's been banished to the guest room ever since. I've been working full time, then being Mommy full time once we're home (I don't want Reid to get the flu, either!). Jason feels terrible about not helping (like he can help that...and if he needs to worry about anything, it's feeling better!) and it's been kind of lonely for us. I bought masks at Walgreens when I went to get my preventative Tamiflu the ob-gyn had called in for me, but Reid won't wear one (even with the mustache I drew for him) so he's only seen Daddy from afar since Sunday. Let's just say I'm the Lysol queen and I am completely exhausted. I think his fever broke last night, so we are ALL looking forward to a (hopefully!) normal weekend. Please pray for our well being as D-day approaches. Can't wait to meet this little guy, who will officially be "full term" (37 weeks) tomorrow, by my count anyway. I hope he will be a calmer, quieter baby. But if he's not, then we know what to do since Reid was so high strung and colicky.
Most days, I don't feel as big as I did with Reid, but I have gained every bit as much weight with this little guy. I have worked out the entire pregnancy (until the bronchitis) and only had a handful of days where I was ravenously hungry, unlike with Reid. I remember eating a normal lunch, running to McDonald's for an after school snack of French fries, which turned into an entire Happy Meal, then eating a full dinner! None of that this go 'round. Thankfully, I have been able to eat very healthily. For a couple of weeks last month, I even craved Fuji apples for the crunch and sweetness. But of course, that chocolate craving still stands. It's usually sometime in the afternoon and I just HAVE to have chocolate ;) And lately, I've totally been craving the Sweetheart Chocolate Cherry Shake from Sonic. I had one last year and it was absolutely fantastic, so I've been all pumped about waiting for it to come out since it's a seasonal thing. But just my luck, they're not offering it (or anything remotely like it) this year. I might just boycott Sonic :( Jason found me some chocolate covered cherry Blue Bell, and it's delicious, but it's still not satisfying the craving. Darn Sonic.
Little Mr. Carter is growing like crazy. My doctor measured him at 5.5 lbs...and that was two weeks ago!! So if he's really gaining a pound a week, like they say, then this will be one huge kid by 2/24. I took video on my phone (but Blogger doesn't ever like videos from my phone, so I'm attempting to upload it as a picture this time)--he had a couple of weeks last month where he was dancing around in there and cracking us up. As of last week, it's getting a bit crowded in there and I'll just see an arm or leg move across. I actually had to stop reading to my class one day because he was taking my breath away. They got to see some REAL big movement as my entire belly shifted from one side to the next. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure they didn't get much out of the Science lesson that day!
Reid surprised us because he doesn't really say much about baby brother. But he had two bad days in a row at preschool (went to the director's office the second day!!) and his teacher alluded to the fact that he senses the upcoming change. Come to find out, he talks about baby Carter quite a bit! We hadn't done too much in the prepping department, until I had a major "nesting" phase a few weeks ago and HAD to get everything out and ready. It also happened to be right after Reid had gotten in trouble at school, so I was quite worried (I'd tried to keep most everything as normal as possible so as to not upset him). But he was very intrigued and wanted to play with all the baby toys himself, lol.
In other prep work, I signed us up for a "big sibings" class at the hospital where I'll deliver. We weren't exactly sure how he'd do, and then we weren't sure we'd go because he ended up with bronchitis, too. And then I realized it was on Super Bowl Sunday. I'd signed us up for the 4-5:30 class since the other one was during nap time (and of course, he didn't nap that day) but then we weren't sure it'd really happen because we had sleet and ice. But we made it there, made a little craft, learned some things, and Reid was just in a funk. Finally, in his own jumbled little way, it came out that I think he thought he'd get to meet Carter on that trip to the hospital. Poor guy. And just the other day, he was asking me, "How many days?" repeatedly. I had no idea what he was talking about, so he got frustrated...and I got frustrated. But finally it came out that he was wanting to know how many days it would be until baby brother came out of my belly. So cute! So we've started a countdown to D-day (delivery day) since he enjoyed the countdown to Christmas so much. His two favorite books he picks at bedtime right now are both about being a big brother. I hope he'll make a great one! He already loves his baby brother a ton, so that's a great start.
I did make it past one of my panic points...being sure I made it until my long term substitute could shadow me at school on Monday and Tuesday. I really like her and she asked great questions, so I'm hoping it'll be a good fit for our little team (and we're already missing one because my team leader has been on maternity leave for three weeks now, too!) and my class. It's weird to prepare soooo much stuff for a sub, but my students are kind of like "my" kids, too, and I want them to have a great experience in my absence.
So our lives have been a little crazy lately...which would explain why I didn't even realize it'd been a month since my last post. And speaking of crazy, this crazy Texas weather is about to do me in. We've had one BIG ice storm, a small one, and then today it snowed!! In between, there have been nice days where it was warm enough to wear short sleeves. No wonder we're all sick!
I was more than a little disappointed on Monday when my doctor checked me and informed me I'm not dilated a bit. Really?! Crazy pain and what I thought were contractions over the weekend apparently did not affect anything. But then Tuesday rolled around and I got a phone call from Jason, "I have the flu." WHAT?!!!!! Yup. Quite suddenly, I was thankful to not have any signs of labor. I sure don't want to be the only French in the O.R. when Carter is being delivered! So long story short, he's been banished to the guest room ever since. I've been working full time, then being Mommy full time once we're home (I don't want Reid to get the flu, either!). Jason feels terrible about not helping (like he can help that...and if he needs to worry about anything, it's feeling better!) and it's been kind of lonely for us. I bought masks at Walgreens when I went to get my preventative Tamiflu the ob-gyn had called in for me, but Reid won't wear one (even with the mustache I drew for him) so he's only seen Daddy from afar since Sunday. Let's just say I'm the Lysol queen and I am completely exhausted. I think his fever broke last night, so we are ALL looking forward to a (hopefully!) normal weekend. Please pray for our well being as D-day approaches. Can't wait to meet this little guy, who will officially be "full term" (37 weeks) tomorrow, by my count anyway. I hope he will be a calmer, quieter baby. But if he's not, then we know what to do since Reid was so high strung and colicky.
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