I guess it is a good thing that I feel good enough to blog today, instead of just lay in bed.
I had two doctor's appointments yesterday. The first was actually for Elsie (who is 10 lbs now and looks great - doc said) at our family physician. I saw him as well since the pain in my infected area had increased and I had very strange temperature fluctuations. He didn't know what else to do for me, so he suggested that I go to see my OB/Midwives.
So after driving down to Finneytown to the doctor, I drove up to Vandalia to the other doctor - with baby in tow the whole time. Anyway, the midwife I saw prescribed a new antibiotic (that was $70!!!! - wowzers!), hot compresses, cabbage leaves, and lots of rest. She told me yesterday that if it hadn't improved by this morning, I was to take myself to the ER in Dayton (where they would treat me).
I didn't ask what they would do for me in the ER but I'm assuming some sort of surgical draining will occur.
This morning rolls around and my temperature has been consistently lower (between normal and 100) so I called the office to see if I could hold off a while. I got the okay from the midwife to not make a trip to the ER for another 24 hours - IF my temperature did not spike above 100 - or if they breast area did not get worse. However, if the breast area has not significantly improved in 24 hours, we're supposed to go to the ER - on Thanksgiving Day. A major bummer. I'm not sure how this will work with my breastfeeding baby.
This thing is like wearing a knife stabbed into my chest 24/7. It is difficult to do things like hold my children and get out of bed. Makes for one guilty feeling mama. I'm so tired of feeling bad at this point. There is no real comfortable position to sleep in. Sleeping on my back is probably the best, but still quite painful.
Well, I'm hoping for significant improvement in the next 24 hours.
We'll see.
P.S. What a HUGE blessing it has been to have my mom here. I have no idea how I would have managed without her here. She has taken care of Abigail constantly from the time she got here (which is when I started feeling bad) and has done lots of cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. I am so incredibly blessed to have a mom like her and to have her here at this time!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
I'm still here!
I'm still here . . . barely.
On Friday, I started getting a sore spot on one of my breasts and then a cough along with it. It has progressively gotten worse and today my temp hit 102. I finally called the doctor and was prescribed an antibiotic for mastitis.
I may also have a cold, although I'm not sure.
I have to admit though, today I felt absolutely terrible. I haven't felt this sick in years. I remember having the flu right after we were married and I think that's the last time I have had a fever like this.
I'm spending much of my waking hours hoping and praying that I am not passing any bug on to any of my family members, although particularly the two girls. I have been very careful not to touch Abigail without clean hands (and Elsie too) but with breastfeeding, it is hard to keep my distance.
Ugh!
On Friday, I started getting a sore spot on one of my breasts and then a cough along with it. It has progressively gotten worse and today my temp hit 102. I finally called the doctor and was prescribed an antibiotic for mastitis.
I may also have a cold, although I'm not sure.
I have to admit though, today I felt absolutely terrible. I haven't felt this sick in years. I remember having the flu right after we were married and I think that's the last time I have had a fever like this.
I'm spending much of my waking hours hoping and praying that I am not passing any bug on to any of my family members, although particularly the two girls. I have been very careful not to touch Abigail without clean hands (and Elsie too) but with breastfeeding, it is hard to keep my distance.
Ugh!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
This week!
This week has had its share of moments that were so much easier than I expected and moments that were way more challenging than I expected. Today is my second full day home alone with both girls. It really isn't going too bad. Here are the challenges that I had not expected ahead of time:
- How whiny Abigail would be! This is probably my biggest challenge. She is getting to the place where her verbal skills are good enough to be able to communicate what she wants. However, she still resorts to whining a lot of the time. I know this is just a phase but it is tiring. She doesn't do it in response to the baby really, just when she wants something. I'm not talking about when she was sick either. Whining while that sick is understandable!
- How hard it would be to have Abigail so sick. I hate it when my kid (now kids) are sick but it is even worse when you have a very new baby you are trying to keep healthy. Today is Abigail's second fever free day (I think - she was a little warm last night still) and so I think we're in the clear as far as contagiousness goes.
Here are the things that have gone better than expected:
- Even though I feel like I'm having a slow recovery, with a lot of pain and achy"ness" leftover from the birth, I'm still able to do lots around the house. Laundry doesn't take long and as long as I'm sitting down to do the folding, it doesn't increase my pain. I was also able to make dinner last night (heated up a frozen meal, actually) but that felt good.
- How much I love being home with my girls! I enjoy interacting with both of them and managing the business of the home. I'm looking forward to doing more and more of this when I am able to physically.
Since Andrew has gone back to work, it feels like my "materity leave" is over. Days of staying in bed, not cooking, not cleaning, etc. However, yesterday my mother-in-law took Abigail all day (she spent the night actually) and the day was quite restful and productive. I got a nap in, got to take a bath, did laundry, and cleaned out the dishwasher. All are big accomplishments!
I also keep forgetting that . . .
My mom is still coming to help!!! :) She is coming on Friday and I am so looking forward to her visit! I can't wait for someone else to help entertain Abigail and hold Elsie (I would say "when she is fussy" but that is a pretty rare occurance at this point). Hopefully with her here to help, I can continue to get some sleep during the day.
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Elsie is still doing fairly well at sleeping. She had several 2 to 3 hour stretches last night, which isn't bad. The thing that makes the nights go so much better is when she goes back to sleep easily. When she cries for food, it takes me about 1/2 hour to do the feedings (both sides) diaper change, and swaddling. If she goes back to sleep right away, then I have only lost a little sleep and can head right back to bed. It's when, after that 1/2 hour, and I'm back in bed, if I hear her crying, I know it will take me a while to get her back to sleep.
Okay, sorry for writing a book. Most of this is just for my memories sake. I wish I had written more after Abigail was born so I'm trying to do better this time. I'll hopefully have more interesting things (like pictures) and well written things to post later!
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Oh, and P.S. For some reason I'm having a very difficult time keeping up with all the old blogs I used to read. I may have to go through them and only keep the people I know and the ones that are really interesting. I think I have 1000 unread blogs by this point. Yikes!
- How whiny Abigail would be! This is probably my biggest challenge. She is getting to the place where her verbal skills are good enough to be able to communicate what she wants. However, she still resorts to whining a lot of the time. I know this is just a phase but it is tiring. She doesn't do it in response to the baby really, just when she wants something. I'm not talking about when she was sick either. Whining while that sick is understandable!
- How hard it would be to have Abigail so sick. I hate it when my kid (now kids) are sick but it is even worse when you have a very new baby you are trying to keep healthy. Today is Abigail's second fever free day (I think - she was a little warm last night still) and so I think we're in the clear as far as contagiousness goes.
Here are the things that have gone better than expected:
- Even though I feel like I'm having a slow recovery, with a lot of pain and achy"ness" leftover from the birth, I'm still able to do lots around the house. Laundry doesn't take long and as long as I'm sitting down to do the folding, it doesn't increase my pain. I was also able to make dinner last night (heated up a frozen meal, actually) but that felt good.
- How much I love being home with my girls! I enjoy interacting with both of them and managing the business of the home. I'm looking forward to doing more and more of this when I am able to physically.
Since Andrew has gone back to work, it feels like my "materity leave" is over. Days of staying in bed, not cooking, not cleaning, etc. However, yesterday my mother-in-law took Abigail all day (she spent the night actually) and the day was quite restful and productive. I got a nap in, got to take a bath, did laundry, and cleaned out the dishwasher. All are big accomplishments!
I also keep forgetting that . . .
My mom is still coming to help!!! :) She is coming on Friday and I am so looking forward to her visit! I can't wait for someone else to help entertain Abigail and hold Elsie (I would say "when she is fussy" but that is a pretty rare occurance at this point). Hopefully with her here to help, I can continue to get some sleep during the day.
-----------------------
Elsie is still doing fairly well at sleeping. She had several 2 to 3 hour stretches last night, which isn't bad. The thing that makes the nights go so much better is when she goes back to sleep easily. When she cries for food, it takes me about 1/2 hour to do the feedings (both sides) diaper change, and swaddling. If she goes back to sleep right away, then I have only lost a little sleep and can head right back to bed. It's when, after that 1/2 hour, and I'm back in bed, if I hear her crying, I know it will take me a while to get her back to sleep.
Okay, sorry for writing a book. Most of this is just for my memories sake. I wish I had written more after Abigail was born so I'm trying to do better this time. I'll hopefully have more interesting things (like pictures) and well written things to post later!
----------------------
Oh, and P.S. For some reason I'm having a very difficult time keeping up with all the old blogs I used to read. I may have to go through them and only keep the people I know and the ones that are really interesting. I think I have 1000 unread blogs by this point. Yikes!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Fresh Baby
I thought I'd share the video of Elsie's first few minutes of life. Obviously we didn't film the birth (if we did, I would NEVER share that in a million years - you all wouldn't want to hear me yelling) but Andrew went with Elsie after she was born and getting cleaned up and checked out, while I made my way out of the birthing tub.
Enjoy!
Monday, November 16, 2009
I'm still here!
We've had kind of a rough weekend with Abigail. Her fever broke on Saturday but returned on Sunday and is still lingering today. I called her doctor this morning and he recommended an antibiotic. This will be her first antibiotic ever. I'm kind of sad. I wanted her to never have to have one, unless an extreme situation, but she is pretty uncomfortable and I really do trust her doctor, so I'll be picking that up later.
Today is our first full day home without Andrew. It is 12:20 and so far things have been great. I have really enjoyed spending time with my girls so far. Abigail was a bit of a stinker during lunch but the nap factor (and having a fever) was coming into play.
She has been so sick lately, so I am starting to suspect that her food allergies are playing a bigger role in her health than we previously thought. I have read some about how eating foods that are allergens can suppress the immune system, which would be one reason why she seems to catch every cold that comes along. I decided to try to eliminate one at a time and see if it made any difference. So, I'm starting with wheat.
She had oatmeal and pears for breakfast, a spelt muffin for a snack, and rice, carrots, and peas for lunch. I hope I can keep this up. It will definitely be a challenge! It will be easier once I am physically able to do more (like shopping trips). I'm still a little slow getting around.
Well, both girls are sleeping so I should be too. (What am I thinking. . . blogging during the naps?!)
Today is our first full day home without Andrew. It is 12:20 and so far things have been great. I have really enjoyed spending time with my girls so far. Abigail was a bit of a stinker during lunch but the nap factor (and having a fever) was coming into play.
She has been so sick lately, so I am starting to suspect that her food allergies are playing a bigger role in her health than we previously thought. I have read some about how eating foods that are allergens can suppress the immune system, which would be one reason why she seems to catch every cold that comes along. I decided to try to eliminate one at a time and see if it made any difference. So, I'm starting with wheat.
She had oatmeal and pears for breakfast, a spelt muffin for a snack, and rice, carrots, and peas for lunch. I hope I can keep this up. It will definitely be a challenge! It will be easier once I am physically able to do more (like shopping trips). I'm still a little slow getting around.
Well, both girls are sleeping so I should be too. (What am I thinking. . . blogging during the naps?!)
Friday, November 13, 2009
Daily Update
Boy, my titles are original. Ha! Oh well.
We survived the morning without Andrew. Actually, it went quite well. Abigail is feeling a bit better (more on this later) and so she played most of the morning. Instead of asking to go down for a nap like yesterday, she fought it with all her might today. I got a few loads of laundry done and emptied some trash cans.
Abigail's temp was around 100.6 all morning. The main thing is that she acted WAY better than yesterday. Her appetite is still pretty small but she played and enjoyed watching videos with me this morning. She didn't want to lay on the couch or take a nap. In fact when she laid down for a nap she kept crying and saying "play". Hopefully her body will continue to fight of whatever this nastiness is.
Elsie is still a great baby - except for sleep! I have been tracking her sleep since we've been home and the longest stretch was last night from 5:30 am until 8 am. Of course, I got up at 7:30 am because Andrew had to leave. Most of the time she wakes about every hour or 45 minutes to nurse. Lately she has been difficult to get back to sleep too. I will get her settled in her bouncy seat or crib and go back to bed and 5 minutes later she will be crying. She definitely has her days and nights turned around so I hope they right themselves soon! Last night was the first time that I really felt very overwhelmed and weary during the night. It didn't help that Abigail was up some too. Andrew was with her but I was still awake through it all. Thankfully I have done this before and know it will pass. I just hope it is sooner rather than later.
Okay, I'm off to nap!
We survived the morning without Andrew. Actually, it went quite well. Abigail is feeling a bit better (more on this later) and so she played most of the morning. Instead of asking to go down for a nap like yesterday, she fought it with all her might today. I got a few loads of laundry done and emptied some trash cans.
Abigail's temp was around 100.6 all morning. The main thing is that she acted WAY better than yesterday. Her appetite is still pretty small but she played and enjoyed watching videos with me this morning. She didn't want to lay on the couch or take a nap. In fact when she laid down for a nap she kept crying and saying "play". Hopefully her body will continue to fight of whatever this nastiness is.
Elsie is still a great baby - except for sleep! I have been tracking her sleep since we've been home and the longest stretch was last night from 5:30 am until 8 am. Of course, I got up at 7:30 am because Andrew had to leave. Most of the time she wakes about every hour or 45 minutes to nurse. Lately she has been difficult to get back to sleep too. I will get her settled in her bouncy seat or crib and go back to bed and 5 minutes later she will be crying. She definitely has her days and nights turned around so I hope they right themselves soon! Last night was the first time that I really felt very overwhelmed and weary during the night. It didn't help that Abigail was up some too. Andrew was with her but I was still awake through it all. Thankfully I have done this before and know it will pass. I just hope it is sooner rather than later.
Okay, I'm off to nap!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Oh my! Part 2
Well, we are dealing with a pretty sick toddler at our place. She had a 100 degree temp when she got up and then proceeded to take a 2 hour nap (from 8 to 10 am). It was at 102.9 when she woke up. The main problem is that her doctor is not in on Thursdays and said they are also very busy tomorrow. Yikes! They suggested we get her checked at an Urgent Care, so we may be heading to one after lunch.
She feels miserable and has just been sleeping, not eating, and watching cartoons (which she rarely does) with Daddy this morning.
We are keeping the girls apart as much as possible. Elsie is staying upstairs today and if I have contact with Abigail, I'm trying to wash as thoroughly as possible before touching her.
My heart is hurting because I want to take care of both my girls but that's hard to do without spreading the germs. I'm so thankful that Andrew is home. Maybe we'll figure out what is up with Abigail later today.
She feels miserable and has just been sleeping, not eating, and watching cartoons (which she rarely does) with Daddy this morning.
We are keeping the girls apart as much as possible. Elsie is staying upstairs today and if I have contact with Abigail, I'm trying to wash as thoroughly as possible before touching her.
My heart is hurting because I want to take care of both my girls but that's hard to do without spreading the germs. I'm so thankful that Andrew is home. Maybe we'll figure out what is up with Abigail later today.
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