A Baby Story (Part 2)

It was brought to my attention that I still owe you guys another pregnancy post.  Ahhhhhh.....where to start?  If you missed the first one, you can find it here.

Sooooooo, I'm not going to lie to you, when we first discovered that I was pregnant neither one of us could wipe the shock off of our faces.  There was no jumping up and down.  There was no tears of joy (or tears of sadness either for that matter).  We were just in complete and utter shock.  We told my parents and his parents.  They were excited (I was a little nervous about how they would take the news considering they are our daycare childcare).  We made them swear not to tell anyone.  Not my brother.  Not their best friends or Brandon's grandmother.  No one.  We did this for several reasons: 1 - we were told Brandon couldn't have children.  He had just finished a very strong chemo regimen this summer and we were concerned about the possible effects of that treatment and/or his condition on a baby.  The 2nd reason we didn't want them to tell was simple - we needed time to wrap our minds around becoming a family of five and honestly, to get excited about the news ourselves.  You may think that sounds terrible of me.  When you tell someone that you're expecting, they expect you to be beaming with excitement.  We couldn't beam with excitement because all we could muster was shock.  When you've been told you would never have any more children and you stop dreaming about holding newborns and you begin day dreaming about taking your kids to tee ball practice and finally getting over the terrible twos and even-worse-than-terrible threes, it's hard to go back to that place.   

I felt terrible.  I was nauseous all day.  I was even sicker at night.  My favorite food - Mexican food - was a complete disaster zone.  And ooohhhhhh the exhaustion.  I would be sooooo tired at work that I had a hard time even holding my head up on its own, much less dealing with customers and co-workers.  I would literally be in the bed asleep by 8:30 every night.   I was 5-6 weeks along when we found out.  We trudged along and at 8 weeks, we went in to see the doctor (who has delivered both of my boys) and boy were they shocked and delighted by our story.  Everyone had a good laugh at our expense and we decided to do an early ultrasound to check for those concerns I mentioned earlier in my post.  Everything looked great that day and we heard Bean 3's galloping little heart beat.  At that point, we broke the news to our extended family and friends and made it "Facebook Official."

Since that time, my symptoms come and go.  I'll have several really good days and then I'll have a couple of bad days.  I've been able to eat Mexican sporadically (which is good since that makes up 1/2 of the restaurants in our town).  The tiredness is still my worst enemy, considering there are two little boys with an abundance of energy who live under the same roof.  I'm still in bed before 9:00 at least four nights a week.  My appetite is in full force though.  I've always said that pregnancy is the only time in your life when you want to eat and throw up at the same time.  I don't have any constant cravings yet, but I'll crave something really sweet like chocolate brownies or fruit loops one minute and then I want chips and salsa or spicy hot wings before bed.  I don't always give into these cravings, but I'll usually have that craving until I finally give in and eat it.  It may go on for days, depending on the level of groceries in the house.

And if I'm still being honest, I'm still adjusting my vision of our little family.  I recently gave away all things baby related.  Everything from maternity clothes to car seats to strollers, swings, clothes and burp cloths.  I now get to reinvest in all of this baby-related gear, but I just can't pull the trigger.  Our monitor bit the dust a few months ago, and although I found a really great deal on one this past week, I couldn't do it just yet.  Because the older boys will now be sharing a room, we need two twin beds + mattresses, sheets, comforters, etc...  I found some pretty decent matching antique twin beds in a local antique store last week and walked away from them.  I don't know why.  It just doesn't seem real yet.  We find out the gender of Bean 3 in less than two weeks and Brandon and I still haven't seriously thrown around any names.

Don't take this the wrong way - we're not upset about our little miracle.  We know how blessed we are and we're getting more and more excited every day.  It's just something that we had thought was impossible and now here we are preparing for that impossible little bean to have a room in our home.  We told the boys this past weekend that we're getting a new baby.  Brooks was oblivious of course, but Will seemed excited (not bouncing off the walls excited - he never gets too excited after all).  This spawned a LOT of questions I wasn't ready for - "How did the baby get in your belly?"  "How will the baby get out?" etc....  He also refers to it as a "she" even though we've explained that God may give us a boy OR a girl.  When asked what we should name it, we get crazy answers like "Baby Butt Butt" or "Minnie Mouse".

So there you have it, my truthful rendition of how I've been feeling.  I'll be sure and keep you guys posted along the way.  I also have a couple of funny posts coming up, courtesy of the Willster himself ;)

Will Update

Today, 9 days after Will's first episode of sickness last weekend, I took him to see my chiropractor.  Why, you ask?  Well, first of all, Will did a LOT of vomiting.  And if you've ever been sick like that, you know the havoc it causes for your body.  So I wanted him to get his first adjustment (by the way - a child's adjustment is NOT quite the same as an adults.  No worries.  There was no cracka-lackin').

And now for the second reason I wanted Will to go.... I'm not sure what you know about chiropractic care today, but many of them, including this one, practice holistic care.  In a short and not complete definition, this means a natural, "let your body heal itself", wholeness kind of care.  I know this may sound quacky for most people.  My husband is quite the skeptic and while I may not know it all, or practice each aspect of this belief, I DO believe that it can work.  I can assure you that I would never take my child to a chiropractor if I didn't believe it could help him.... so let's move on....

For MONTHS - and yes I mean MONTHS, Will has complained about his tummy every.single.day.  Several times per day sometimes.  And just when you think he's going to go a day without complaining, bam - he complains as he's brushing his teeth before bed.  Now at first it worried me to death.  And we talked to his pediatrician who thought that his infant reflux may have relapsed.  Then it became old.  Will started complaining to get out of doing things he didn't want to do - eat lunch, ride in the car for long periods of time, or go to bed.  He knew he was receiving special attention about it and he started abusing it.  So I would simply reply "Your tummy will be better soon." and move on.  Or maybe I would say "Mine hurts too - look at that airplane!"  I made no attention out of the matter.  I thought he was telling "stories".  I've asked him if he's telling the truth or a story, and he constantly demands he's telling the truth.  But make no mistake about it, I knew in my heart of hearts that something was off.  It's simply NOT normal for a three year old to complain about his tummy every.single.freakin'.day.  By this point, I knew when he was telling fibs and when he was truly not feeling well and it was about 50/50.

So along came last weekend - what we think is a stomach virus.  No big deal.  We dealt with it.  Sunday was a dairy-free day (as I generally do for a couple of days after a stomach virus).  Monday was a dairy-free day until about 4:00 (48 hours later) when my mom gave Will a glass of milk.  Milk is his favorite thing in the whole world.  We don't do soda.  We do a very limited amount of diluted juice (not even once a day) and water.  And milk.  He will drink chocolate milk if it's offered (at Grandma's) but he just loves plain ol' whole milk.  So you guys know the rest of the story - he was up at 1:30 that morning, screaming, vomiting, and doubled over in pain.  Now at that time I didn't realize he had drank milk that day.  My mother told me a couple of days later, as we were brainstorming his issues that he had drank milk.  My mom suggested he was lactose intolerant, but that would be hard to believe considering just how much milk and dairy he drinks every single day without vomiting and/or diarrhea every day.  The people I know with lactose intolerance say that it's VERY obvious (diarrhea or vomiting) after each consumption of dairy.  So I started thinking that maybe he was just having a hard time digesting it, or maybe a mild allergy and I made him an appointment with the chiropractor.

An allergy test at a doctor's office requires LOTS of needles being stuck into your back for several minutes of what I can only imagine would be torture for a small child.  An allergy test at a chiropractor's office is completely non-invasive and involves a muscle-reflex test.  Yep.  Sign me up for that any day over the allergy test at a doctor's office.  So we went today, and sure enough, without much detail from me except that he just generally complains of feeling unwell each day, the chiro immediately told me that Will was having digestive issues, as well as allergies and a weakened immune system.  She did the adjustment and then told me he was allergic (after the muscle test) to dairy (moderately), MSG (lunch meat which he won't eat anyway), tuna, halibut, pepper (strongly) and paprika (strongly).  Will fell right in love with the chiropractor and talked his way through the entire exam and even told her "this don't hurt one bit."

So I'm on a new journey here with my little boy.  I want him to feel better.  And while I do know that a lot of his complaints are unwarranted, many of them are not.  Many times he doubles over.  Sometimes he cries, sometimes he just looks green.  So here we go.  I'm willing to try it, and I feel like you would too if it were your child.  He looooovvvveeees milk and has already tasted vanilla and chocolate flavored almond milk and loves it too.  We went with almond because it's easier to digest than soy and we need to give his digestive system a chance to get the kinks out.  I've got to find soy cheese.  Our ONE single grocery in town doesn't sell it, but I know one that does.  I wish there were a Whole Foods or Trader's closer to home, because I know they offer lots of dairy-free options such as dairy-free yogurt (the kid loves yogurt) and ice cream (which our little grocery does not sell).  I will probably end up making the drive out of desperation anyway. We're also staying away from the spicy peppers and paprikas, as well as supplementing with a digestive enzyme supplement (it's like a natural TUMS). At first I wasn't too concerned about the spices because he won't really eat spicy foods, but once you start looking, it's in a lot of his favorite foods like barbecue chips or cheese puffs.  He also likes Lawry's season salt on his fries, which may have it.  And most foods just list their nutrition facts as "spices and spice extracts".  Well what the heck is that??  Pepper?  Paprika??  Come on now!

So there you are.  You may think I'm crazy, but I'm just a mom who had a gut-feeling about her kid and went with it.  I'm sure we have a HUGE learning curve ahead of us and I'm sure there will be dairy items slip through the cracks and into his tummy.  And I'm sure we won't blow up when that happens, but I think the almond milk alone will help.  With him drinking 25-30oz of milk a day, that's bound to make a dent in his issues.  So do any of you have any dairy-free stories or recipes to try??  We're all learning here :)

Cartersville Medical Continued...

So I'm sitting in my office today when I get a call from a strange number.  I tentatively answer (Ugh - is this going to be a tele-marketer??) and was surprised to be speaking with the new Director of Cartersville Medical Center.  Other than my previous blog post, I have not made any more attempts to reach out to them.  I completely planned on it, but it was something I was hoping to do this weekend.  He said that someone had sent him a link to my blog ;)  and he was calling in reference to my latest post.

He was very polite and admitted that he only began his job on Monday. (Poor guy!)  He addressed each complaint made in my post and also admitted that he had no idea there was a room in the ER with a rolling door.  He said that he went on a hunt for the room with the door and when he finally found it, realized that it was the psych holding room (ha! - no jokes here please!)  He explained that the room was bare due to the possibilities of a psych patient hurting themselves and told me that the rolling door actually houses medical supplies, and a rolling door prevents break-ins and such from those patients.  I get that.  That's fine.  But that doesn't explain the dirty, used styrofoam coffee cup in the corner of the room, or some random patient's hospital bracelet lying in the floor.  He agreed and apologized.

He acknowledged the doctor who sat on her rump for 90% of our time there and admitted that she may need some "coaching".  He did make his case for her though - that doctors need to spend time on the computer to order labs, check on tests, etc.   I get that too, except that the amount of time she spent there was NOT warranted, given the 3 or 4 non-critical patients in the ER (I know they were non-critical because I saw their clipboards positioned in the "non-critical" side of the chart holder.  The "critical" side was empty.)

He revealed that he himself is a father of four, as well as a medical physician, and he understands the difference in treating a child and an adult.  He agreed that Will should not have been placed in the psych room, and that the nurses and doctors should have treated him (and myself) more politely, and with more urgency.  He promised to address each of my areas of complaint.

Apparently Cartersville Medical Center has been given a multi-million dollar grant to be used specifically for Emergency Room renovations.  He assured me that their intentions are to have a state-of-the-art Emergency Center, ALONG WITH the quality of care one would expect from the doctors and nurses in such a facility.  All in all, I was happy to speak with him.  I appreciate that he contacted me (versus me having to contact him) and I believe that he was earnest and sincere in his explanations and apologies.  I don't however, know that this gentleman understands what he's gotten himself into at Cartersville Medical Center as their new director.  I can only hope that he came from a hospital that gave a much higher quality of care and attention, and that knows the work he has ahead of him regardless of the millions of dollars spent on a new facility.

I'm not sure this call won me back as a potential patient.  In fact, I'll need to see it AND hear it before we make a trip back there.  But I did appreciate his call, and more importantly, I thought it important to share this info with you :)

Our (Terrible) Experience at Cartersville Medical Center ER

Saturday evening, after complaining about his tummy all day, Will started vomiting.   Not a huge deal.  Anyone on Facebook will tell you that it's going around like crazy right now.  We gathered the tummy bug essentials - trash can, wash cloths, pillow and blanket and camped on the couch.  We watched the new Winnie the Pooh movie (which I thought was weird) and hunkered down. Will vomited every 15 mins for several hours.  

By late Saturday night, the smoke had cleared and Will drifted off to sleep.  He woke up several times, asking to use the bathroom (pee) and for a drink.  He kept down his fluids all night.  By Sunday morning, Will was thirsty, a little hungry and tired.  He drank gatorade, ate saltines and played pretty normally.  The only clue of his ailment was the 3 hour nap he took.  Monday, I went to work and sent the kids to grandma's.  Will did fine.  He ate a small blueberry muffin, a few bites of a banana and lots of gatorade again.  For dinner, all Will wanted was blueberries for supper.  I made him a piece of toast and gave him about 7 blueberries.  He left the toast and ate the blueberries.  

Brandon and I stayed up to watch the BCS Championship game and finally got in the bed around midnight Monday night.  At 1:30AM, Will wakes up and goes straight to the potty.  He pees and on his way back to the bed, he starts holding his belly, folds into the fetal position and SCREAMING like someone is ripping off his toenails.  We try everything - maybe he needs to poop?  Nope.  We give sips of water.  I had read that a heating pad may help stomach pains, so we dig out the ol' heating pad.  Will won't even let me lay it on his stomach.  He says it hurts too bad.  I ask him to jump up and down (for appendicitis) and he refuses to try.  He literally starts running through the house screaming.  I start crying and changing clothes.  He needs to be seen by the doctor.  (For the record - no, I didn't take him or even call his pediatrician Sat.  In my experience, stomach bugs are not very treatable, and not a huge concern, so I didn't feel the need to report his symptoms.)  At this point, Will starts gagging and dry heaving.  I put a jacket on him and load him into the car with the trash can in his lap.  Brandon can't go, he has to stay with Brooks (who somehow slept through all of this).  

The weather was foggy and rainy and it was 2:20AM.  I had to do this alone, so I chose Cartersville Medical Center because of it's proximity and the fact that my parents live 2 minutes from there.  My dad agreed to meet me there.  I literally drove the 20 miles at 80 mph with one hand on the wheel and one hand holding the trash can for my now vomiting child in the backseat.  Will continued to scream "It hurts soooo bad!" All the way there.  By the time we reach the hospital, he has stopped vomiting and I get him cleaned up and in the ER.  We check in to an EMPTY waiting room and wait about 20 mins before getting called back.  

When we get called back, they put me, Will and my dad in a storage closet.  I'm not exaggerating.  The room had a rolling loading dock door like this one -

The room is so gross and dirty.  Every exam room is dark with the door shut except the one next to us, where a rough looking crowd is hovered around one girl with a puke pan.  The only good thing about where they stashed us is that it gave me a direct view of the nurses station.  I held Will and watched as the only doctor at the ER sat at a computer without so much as even getting up for 50 mins.  

By 4:30, NO ONE had been in our room.  I picked up Will and my purse and started out the door.  We can see his pediatrician in 3 hours.  I told the nurse how ridiculous this was.  He's freaking THREE YEARS OLD, it's the middle of the night and he's scared.  She gave me the third degree about how there are critical patients to look after first and a vomiting child is not critical.  I sarcastically looked around at the quiet ER and looked back at her.  By this point, the supervising nurse comes over.  She asks me to get back in the room and she will see after Will herself.  She comes in and examines Will.  She looks at his belly.  He tells her it hurts all over.  She pushes and he says it hurts, but doesn't scream out.  He's still complaining about his tummy and she offers him a Zofran to stop the stomachache.  He takes the Zofran and immediately starts acting better.  She offers him a popsicle.  All of this to keep me from taking my kid and leaving.

At 5:45, the doctor FINALLY gets off her tail and comes in.  In our time there, she sat in the chair at the computer 95% of her time and visited Will's room and the crack heads next door ONCE for about 5-10mins each.  She says she doesn't think its appendicitis because he didn't scream when the nurse pushed on his belly.  She wants to do a strep test and an abdominal X-ray to check for a blockage.  The hold him down to do the strep test and 30 mins later, they come in to do the X-ray.  I, of course, have to leave for that so I was thankful to have my dad there with me to stay with Will.  An hour later, I have to walk out to the doctor, who is still sitting at the computer, and ask for the results of the strep culture.  She says the lab hasn't given her the results yet.  We've had enough strep tests for me to know that the results take 5 mins.  That's why they call it the rapid strep culture.  10 minutes later, she comes in and tells me that the strep test was negative, the X-ray was fine and he needs to go home and I need to call the pediatrician.  He has a stomach bug.  

Well, needless to say, I was MORE than thankful to leave that hellhole.  As we were walking out, the dumb doctor asks another doctor (who had just arrived for shift change) a question and he replies "I don't know.  I usually just google it."  So there you have it.  Cville ER doctor was SITTING at that computer GOOGLING her patients symptoms for 40-50 mins before visiting with them for 10 minutes.  I know that doctors have a hard job.  I know that the ER is unpredictable and I shouldn't expect fast results.  But I do expect respect for my time, respect for my little child who is crying the whole time you have us stationed in the storage room, and a thorough examination.  

We got home around 7:30AM - just in time for Brandon's alarm clock to go off for his work day.  Will has acted okay today.  He only complained about his tummy around lunch time - when the zofran wore off.  He got another Zofran and then he cried because he was hungry.  The poor child hasn't had anything real to eat since Saturday at lunch.  He's a picky eater.  He won't do toast.  He won't do soup.  He won't do a sandwich.  He wanted a corn dog.  I thought "what the heck, worst case scenario he throws it up."  He kept it down, and never complained about his tummy again.  Unfortunately his doctor called right after I gave him the zofran and told me not to give it to him any more.  He wants to see where this is going to go - more vomiting, more pain or gradual improvement.  So there you have it - we're waiting.  The zofran should be wearing off at any moment.  

It's worth noting that he is constipated now, which is a side effect of the zofran.  I'm sure that isn't helping the stomachache, but I'm not sure if it would cause more vomiting.  I'm so tired.  I'm so confused.  If this really is just a stomach bug, it's the craziest thing I've seen and so far none of the other members of the household have had any symptoms.  (We will probably all be up puking tonight since I said that).

Anyway - just pray we get better or we get answers.  This is exhausting and unfortunately, we both have jobs with limited time off :/

And Baby Makes.... Five?

Well there you have it folks.  The reason I've been so blah lately.  My STERILE husband and I are having a baby.  SURPRISE! Let's back up...

Two weeks before Christmas, I was working a short work week.  Tuesday was my last day, as I was taking the rest of the week off to do a little Christmas shopping.  I had lunch with a friend at our fave Mexican joint across the street from my office.  About two hours after lunch, I felt awful. I mean really gross.  It stayed with me all day and I ate chicken noodle soup for supper.

The next day I woke up feeling better and met my mom to do a little Christmas shopping.  We ate cheap food-court Chinese food and a few minutes later in the juniors department of Macys, BAMMMM!  I was sick.  (Don't worry folks, we weren't shopping for myself.  I have actually no idea what we were doing in the juniors dept. because I spent the next 30 mins in the bathroom.)  We left the mall and came home.  I just knew I had a stomach buggie goin' on.  More chicken soup for supper.

Thursday I felt better and I tried to take the kids to see Santa.  We ate lunch before we left and just two exits before the Mall exit on the Interstate, it hit me again. CRAP!  I whipped the car off the road and pulled into the closest place (A Babies R US no less!).  The kiddos saw Santa and we came home.

Friday was an easy day.  I was having the house cleaned, so the boys and I needed to get out of the house for a while.  We dabbled a little and then ended up at my in-laws where the boys could run off some steam.  I was exhausted.  I simply could not get off the couch.  It was so bad in fact that my mother-in-law offered to let me take a nap and I took her up on it.  I went to lay down.  I don't think I've ever done that.  I seriously felt like I had the flu (without the fever and chills).  So exhausted and nauseous all the time.

By Friday night, my husband and I were having a conversation about why I felt so bad and he ask jokingly if I was pregnant.  That couldn't be!  My husband is sterile!  Then I started thinking when WAS my last period? Has it really been that long? hmmmm......  The last time I could remember having a period was Halloween weekend.  (YES, I realize that's a long time but I wasn't keeping up with it because I thought my husband was STERILE!)

So just to eliminate the possibility of pregnancy, I take a trip to the drug store and buy a test.  On the way home, I contemplated the possibilities and assured myself that there was no possible way I was pregnant.  I came home and took the test right away.  The digital test took about 15 seconds to think about it and blinked PREGNANT.

PREGNANT.

More to come...... ;)