Well, here I was hoping to deliver a positive inspiring blog post completely contradicting last post's whinge with news of how great our family was feeling... and I can't do it. I have thought of other numerous blog topics...
How to really HELP a Pregnant Woman
What No One Will Tell You About Pregnancy
What No One Will Tell You About Raising A Child
But I think I'll save those for a slow week. For now, I think there is no way to do this post than to start with the present and work back to when I left you last. So here goes...
Today, November 23, 2010 I am officially 36 weeks pregnant. Here is what I look like.
Huge. Gigormous. Like I will be birthing Shamoo. Whenever he decides to put me out of my pregnant misery. Oh don't worry... I realize this is all an illusion. At the end of pregnancy, all you want is the baby to come out. When the baby starts waking you up every two hours and crying for no particular reason around the time you wish to eat dinner, all you want is him back in. At least for a few hours. I am in the get him out stage.
I am so convinced that Inside Baby has dropped. After all, I can't walk two feet without feeling the potty urge. He feels like he might fall out constantly. And I can breath. Easily. With extremities no longer trying to rip apart my ribcage. I even dream last night that I am in labor and this baby is coming Friday instead of indulging in my Mother's fantastic Thanksgiving feast. So I wake up this morning with a sore throat, gunk in my eye, Braxton Hicks contractions, and incredibly nauseous to an Outside Baby who is STILL sick (throwing up all over me before 8:30am, diarrhea, so much snot on his face I have trouble finding his face...), but still incredibly optimistic that this morning's doctor's appointment will end with news like "you're 3 cm dilated and the baby is in the birth canal...let's do this". So I clean off myself and my sick child, throw in a load of wash, and pack us up in the van to head off to see the magnificent Dr Howell. After an hour and 15 minutes of waiting, we finally see the doc. I tell him my symptoms and hop on the table. "Nope," he says. "You are dilated .5cm and the baby isn't far down enough." What?! The baby hasn't dropped far enough? You mean he still has to drop farther? If he drops any farther he will be birthed! Seriously! So I redress myself, repack up my sick child, and leave with an "I'll see you next week". Boo. Of course, I'd like my husband to be here for the arrival of our child...so I suppose next week will have to do. The next appointment is on the day he is due to arrive in Indianapolis so fingers crossed for some better progress then.
Tell Dada Hi, Jackson! (This is what Jackson looks like today - sick little guy).
***UPDATE*** I'm now on outfit number two...vomitous maximus. And I am tired. Having a sick toddler is tiring. Being 36 weeks pregnant with anemia is tiring. Double whammy. I didn't get big bucks. Stop.
***ANOTHER UPDATE*** I have decided to stop giving Jackson his antibiotic (which happens to be penicillin) in hopes that that will help stop his diarrhea which in turn will help his red raw butt. At the mention of the word "diaper" Jackson starts whimpering. Poor little guy.
Monday, November 22, 2010 No daycare today. Jackson has a temperature of 100.6 though he seems to be in good spirits. He plays for a couple of hours in the morning before sleeping for 4.5 hours and then plays for another 4 in the afternoon before passing out. His appetite is so-so. He seems to be liking cheerios. But the poor guy has diarrhea due to the antibiotic which in turn is giving him a nasty case of diaper rash. I miss work this morning, but Dad rearranges his schedule so I can work in the afternoon. Jackson and I spend a bit of early evening time taking self portraits - he seems to like this. See how happy he is?
No wait...he can get even happier...
Surely a happy baby like this will be well enough to go to daycare tomorrow, right?
Oh yeh, and I get a phone call from the Doctor's office regarding the results from my bloodwork. I am anemic. And I don't even crave the crushed ice anymore! Not fair!
Sunday, November 21, 2010 I am meant to go to work today. But upon waking, Jackson is running a temp and just isn't right. I take him to Urgent Care instead of going to work. He is such a good little guy for the doctor (I like Urgent Care better because it isn't his crazy pediatrician). He is diagnosed with a sinus infection and given antibiotics. He sleeps most of the day.
And he takes his own temperature.
Saturday, November 20, 2010 Happy Birthday, Aunt Holly! And Happy 19 Months, Jackson Wayne!
We are all looking forward to going to dinner and celebrating her 27th birthday tonight!
All seems normal. Jackson and I spend the morning playing together. We dance with Elmo:
We play Connect 4 (he is very good at putting the pieces in the board thing):
But come nap time, things take a bit of a turn for the worse. First sign, falling asleep prematurely on Bapa's lap:
Upon waking, Jackson starts throwing up mucus. He throws up no less than 5 times causing me 3 outfit changes. Despite this, we still make the trip to Olive Garden to eat with Holly. Jackson scarfs down some mac & cheese and garlic breadsticks. All good? Nope. Home. Bath. THROW EVERYTHING UP. EVERYTHING. EVERYWHERE. And then immediately to sleep. He sleeps in my room on this night - and not very well.
So not only have I been covered in puke more times than I'd like, my ankles and calves are so swollen I feel like I am walking on marshmallows, Inside Baby decides to drop, and the Braxton Hicks contractions will not leave me alone.
Like I said, Happy Birthday Aunt Holly!
Friday, November 19, 2010 Jackson goes to daycare. I go get some bloodwork done and then go to work. Upon picking Jackson up from daycare, Miss Brandy issues a warning: "I've sent two home today with a new virus - high fever and cough." Emma (her daughter) has been sent home from school with it, too. Great. I'll expect to get that one - we get everything else... That evening, Dad watches Myles and Jackson while we go play Bingo (for the second week in a row). Fun. Didn't win. While there, Jackson throws up some mucus - nothing too bad and he doesn't look sick when we get home. I assume it's residual milk crud.
Thursday, November 18, 2010 We have a well check appointment at Jackson's pediatrician's office today. Not a big deal - I'd like for her to check out the disappearing gunk in his eyes anyway. Turns out she's not concerned about that - sinus infection that is almost gone. Her recommendation: massage his tear ducts. He has grown 3/4", but hasn't gained any weight. This is what she is concerned about. Weight gain. Her recommendation: feed him food high in calories like ice cream. Really? Ice Cream? You want me to give my child sugar so he can get out of the 10th percentile? So I put a call for help out on FaceBook...alternatives...and most people mention whole milk. We don't give Jackson milk. He mainly drinks water. I have a bad feeling about milk. I was allergic to milk.
So I am telling my dad all of this over lunch and the restaurant owners get all excited and grab Jackson a small cup of chocolate milk. What a great first experience with milk right? Against my better judgment, I give Jackson the milk. Yum yum yum! He loves it! Slurps it right up! We come home. I put him down for a nap. 2 hours later...screaming. This isn't like him. He is a dutiful 3 hour napper and wakes up with laughter and happiness. So I go up and he has thrown up EVERYWHERE. This isn't sick throwup...this is allergic throw up. And yes, there is a difference. I immediately wondered who gave him eggs (same thing happens when he has eggs). Upon realizing we hadn't even seen a chicken today, I come to the hard conclusion that it was indeed the milk. Milk intolerance. So I hose him off and clean the mess. The stench is horrible - permeates my nostrils and continues to do so for the rest of the night. He isn't the same after that.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010 For once, I am feeling great! Jackson's gunky eyes are nearly gone. What a perfect day! AND I get a new haircut (Katie Hafele at Phoenix Salon in Evansville...she's BRILLIANT!)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010 Jackson's gunky eyes are getting better. A rather uneventful day. I like it!
Monday, November 15, 2010 Jackson wakes up with gunk in both eyes, but it doesn't continue to gunk. Upon arriving at daycare, Brandy informs me that she sent a child home last week with pink eye. She'll keep an eye on it and call me if it gunks up. When I picked him up, she says there has been no drainage and the other child didn't have pink eye, but a sinus infection.
Sunday, November 14, 2010 Jackson finally gets to come to church with me and play with Miss Judy again. He is pretty excited! My choir sings very well - I am extremely happy. I feel 100 times better. We go home to watch the Colts game.
Inside Baby + Outside Baby = 1 Happy Mama
All is well with the world!
Saturday, November 13, 2010 I get up very early to judge a piano competition in Kentucky. After hearing 34 pianists, I am exhausted (and still feel a bit poorly from the residual sinus infection cough). Luckily, Jackson has been playing with Nana all morning and is happy, too! When Jackson wakes up from his nap, his eye is a bit pink...
Friday, November 12, 2010 This morning I took Prilosec for the first time. An hour after I took it I had one Rolaid. And I have not had ANY heartburn since. I take one Prilosec every morning... and I can't stop talking about this miracle drug. Seriously. NO heartburn. I have gone from taking a Tum or Rolaid every 5 minutes to taking one little Prilosec pill with a glass of water first thing in the morning and NO heartburn. NONE. ZIP. This mama is impressed.
Even though it took an extra 15 minutes to accomplish, Jackson ate his entire tub of yogurt by himself with his own spoon. I was so proud of my utensil mastering cutie pie!
Jackson and Bapa spend the evening watching Thomas the Tank Engine while us girls had a night out at the Henderson Bingo parlor.
Even though I wasn't feeling incredibly hot, it was SO much fun, and the good news? I bingo-ed!
It was a $200 jackpot, but I had to split it three ways. Still $67 was an awesome unexpected yet welcome surprise!
Thursday, November 11, 2010 What a horrible horrible day. There is no work or school because of Veteran's Day. So Mom and Myles are home. I feel miserable. I have two more days on this Z-Pack with no improvement thus far, have a cough that won't quit, and heartburn that won't leave me alone. I also have a Dr's appointment. How do I feel? Miserable. Dr Howell says he can fix me and for that I'm glad. He tells me to take Robitussin (for my cough) and Prilosec (for my heartburn) in addition to the Z-Pack that was prescribed on Monday and Tylenol for my sinus headache. I feel like I'm taking too much medicine, but figure I'm no good to anyone in the state I'm in. In addition, I start panicking about finances and raising two children and Christmas and whatever else a hormonal pregnant woman can find to freak out about. (Sorry...I ended that sentence with a preposition...) Luckily, I have supportive parents and a family after dinner dance makes me a bit happier.
Also, Holly made the mistake of leaving her frozen lemonade in reach of a frozen-lemonade-loving toddler. Hope you didn't want anymore of that, Aunt Holly!
And that pretty much brings you back to date. It seems that Jackson is constantly sick. But looking at the positive side, his little body is building up immunity which he needs to fight these niggly little cold and flu viruses for the rest of his life. Everyone warned me that daycare would be rough for the first few months, but I had no clue this is what they meant! In addition, this pregnant mama currently has a weak immune system, too... so whatever he gets, I am bound to get, too. This too shall pass.
Thanksgiving is in two short days. I am hoping Jackson is well enough to enjoy all the tasty food! There are lots of things for which to be thankful this year. And in the midst of food and football, I hope you take the time to remember yours and hug those that mean the world to you! I know I will!
