All I Want For Christmas Is a Healthy Child

Carder was sick at Christmas last year.  He was refusing fluids and we ended up having to take him to the ER for an IV of fluids.  Christmas plans had to be changed last minute.  It was a very stressful holiday.

Although I wasn't happy when we woke up on Monday morning (12/17/12) with a fever of 99.9, I wasn't overly concerned about it ruining Christmas.  After all, we had over a week until the big day.

Although he played happily that morning, by the afternoon his fever had shot up to 104 and I had a feeling it was going to be ugly.

My MIL came up to take care of him so I could go to work.  The next thing you know, it is Thursday.  He is still running a fever of 104.  A visit to the doctor yesterday ruled out Strep and he does not currently have an ear infection.  However, we were given a prescription for antibiotics to start just in case the fever had not broken by Saturday.

We were supposed to be leaving this morning to head down to the In-Laws for Christmas festivities there.  But, a winter storm yesterday and today has made the roads a bit tricky (my MIL left last night to go home only to turn around and come back because the roads were too bad).  Plus, Carder still had a fever.  Even though the Doctor said to start the antibiotic on Saturday, we moved it up to today as he wasn't better and we wanted to see if he would respond to the antibiotics before exposing Derek's 93 year old grandfather to whatever germs Carder was sharing.

Whether it is coincidence or whether it was actually the antibiotics, his fever is finally lower tonight.  I hope our sweet boy is feeling better by tomorrow and that he will be 100% himself by Christmas.  I would really hate for both his 1st and 2nd Christmases to be spent sick and miserable.

Sleep Training is NOT for Sissies

As I have mentioned SEVERAL times in the past on my blog, long stretches sleep at our house is often like a warm sunny spring day – it doesn’t happen often and when it does, you had damned well better enjoy it.

A few weeks ago, I was exhausted and desperate for more sleep.  Therefore, I naturally began looking into sleep training options.  After a quick synopsis of the two basic methods of Cry It Out (CIO) or No Cry (NC), I quickly determined that I was of the kinder, gentler sleep training mindset.  The reasons for this are plentiful:

·         Although I have many friends who sing the praises of CIO, I can’t fathom sitting in the next room while I listen to my baby cry and wail and plea for me.  I am just cut out that way.  I can’t stand to hear my baby cry when I know I could comfort him.  So a week of doing that night after night?  I think I would rather be tortured (bamboo shoots under my fingernails?  Bring it on.  Make me listen to my baby cry for me and not let me comfort him?  What deep, dark secret do you want to know???)  This wouldn’t work for me unless I am drugged with some good earplugs in and Daddy is handling it.

·         Daddy can’t handle the baby crying either.  And has less willpower than me. 

·         Many people who have tried CIO report that repeat training sessions are often necessary after bouts of illness or teething.  Um, have you READ my blog???  If I can’t imagine stomaching a week of listening to a week of crying, just imagine how nuts I would be to have to rinse, lather, and repeat after the next cold/ear infection/teething session.

So, there you have it.

I have scoured the Internet for tips on improving infant sleep.  And, as I mentioned in my last post, I picked up a copy of the No Cry Sleep Solution (NCSS) because it sounded like perhaps it would do the trick for us.  I have been reading it every time I get the chance and have enough brain power to retain more than a sentence.  And even though I haven’t read the book cover to cover yet, I have tried to implement a few of the ideas.  It hasn’t been the easiest thing I have ever done…

What I have learned so far?

Sleep training is tough stuff.  It takes willpower - and lots of it - to attempt to break an old habit and break in a new one.  Especially when you are running on little sleep.  Because it is a TON easier to do what is easier and takes less energy at 3:30 in the morning when you have been up with the baby for the last hour and a half and you have to work the next day.   And sometimes you just have to put him in your bed for the last hour and a half so that you can get a little rest and vow to do better the next day.

It is my fault my baby can’t sleep.  That’s right.  You read that correctly.  My fault.  Because his eating was so important (as a preemie), if he fell asleep taking the bottle but kept drinking, I didn’t wake him up.  I let him pass out while feeding, finish the bottle, and then I would hold him (and cuddle and stare at him in awe) until I laid him in his bed sound asleep.  And even if he didn’t fall asleep during the bottle, I would hold him after he finished and we would cuddle until he drifted off to sleep.  After all, I waited 6 EXCRUCIATINGLY LONG YEARS to have a baby.  What harm could it do to snuggle???  But according to the experts, I created this sleep association for him and now I have to break that association.  (But I love to rock him to sleep…so a catch 22 here…)  I should have started putting him down drowsy (but not asleep) to teach him how to fall asleep on his own.  Before he learned to sit and stand and call out “mama” to me from his crib.  Yeah, a baby who doesn’t know how to stand up would probably go for that trick a little better than my little guy.  If you lie him down drowsy, his eyelids pop wide open, he rolls over, sits up, stands up, and reaches for me.  And if I don’t grab him?  Cries and calls for Mama. And I turn to gooey mush.

Put him to bed earlier.  Sources recommend anywhere from 6 – 7:30 as an appropriate bedtime.  What about working moms, you might ask?  Well, these sources recommend that you go to bed earlier and wake up earlier to spend some quality morning time with your baby.  Well that advice can suck it.  I rush from work to day care to home.  This gets me there somewhere around 5:30 or 6.  I am lucky if Derek makes it in the door before 6 on most nights.  To accomplish a 6pm bedtime, I would have to give him a bath and put him to bed as soon as I walk in the door from work.  And I am NOT a morning person (just ask my husband) so getting up at 4am to start my day isn’t going to happen.  And where in there do they suggest that you cook/eat dinner and spend some time with your husband or getting chores done around the house???  However, I did take this advice to heart and we have pushed his bedtime back to somewhere between 7:15 and 7:45 depending on how his naps were during the day and his general attitude.  That does seem to be helping some.

Set a bedtime routine and stick to it.  Every night.  We had a “general” routine.  Bath, Lotion & massage, PJs, Bottle, Books, Rock to Sleep.  But we don’t do everything in the same order every night – sometimes it was books before the bath, sometimes after the PJs.  Sometimes after the bottle.  And we don’t bathe every night.  So, I have been working on setting a more stable routine.  The bottle refusal of late has really made that difficult though.  If he refuses the bottle and has only had 4 meals that day, we do one more solid meal before bedtime.  But, if he has done really well on his sippy and had 5 meals or 4 really big ones, we may go straight to bedtime.  Hopefully we can hammer a new routine out shortly and see if that makes a difference.

If a bath doesn’t soothe your baby, don’t do it right before bedtime.  In addition, if you don’t want to bathe you baby every night, don’t make it part of your bedtime routine.  That one was a biggie for me.  Carder LOVES his bath.  But he often comes out of his bath all riled up – even if he was rubbing his eyes and yawning right before the bath.  In the last week, we have made bath time one of our first activities when Derek walks in the door so that we have time for quiet playtime and calming down before bed.  So far, that does seem to be helping a bit.

“Sleeping Through The Night” is considered a 5-6 hour stretch.  Not 12 hours.  OK, so this point makes me wonder if we even NEED sleep training.  When he isn’t sick or teething or overtired, he goes to bed and will sleep for a 5-6 hour stretch.  I can HANDLE those nights, no problems.  I don’t mind getting up once in the middle of the night to soothe him. 

Actually, I am afraid to put this out onto the blogosphere because it will jinx us - but the last few nights he has slept pretty well.  I got at least 3-4 hour stretches of sleep (one mid night waking at most) and I woke up feeling drugged because I actually slept.  So this leaves me to question - maybe we don’t need sleep training after all???

Trifecta

So - A quick update after the Doctor's appointment.

In addition to the double ear infection (which is looking better, thank GOD) and teething, my poor baby has Thrush.  And apparently thrush is pretty painful and can cause feeding issues as well.*

First of all, I feel like a terrible mother because I didn't see it.  I thought I noticed a white film in his mouth a couple of days ago, but seeing in his mouth is so freaking hard.  He doesn't understand when you tell him that you want to look in his mouth just yet so instead he just fights you.

Hopefully the tooth will break through soon.  And the thrush will get better.  And my poor baby will feel better.

The in-laws headed home tonight and he will be going to day care tomorrow.  We need to see how he will do so that we can determine if I will need to adjust my working schedule from 3 days a week to 4 shorter days if he won't take his sippy at day care.

On a positive note - he went to bed easier tonight.  That isn't to say that he didn't fight it.  But, he actually fell asleep by 8:05.  He woke up 2 times about an hour later, but has been sleeping for the last couple of hours quite soundly.  Here's to hoping, anyway.  **

I hope he sleeps better tonight.  He has to be tired.  I know I am and I don't require nearly the amount of sleep per night that he does...

*Perhaps our bottle feeding days are not over???
**I am reading the No-Cry Sleep Solution.  Hopefully I can report to you all soon that the tactics in this book have afforded me a much better night's sleep.  If I can only stay awake to read it...

Our House, the Infirmary

So, after my last post about sickness, the drama has continued.

Saturday, January 20, Carder got Pink Eye.  Two days later, he spiked a fever of over 104.  A trip to the Pediatrician later, we found out that he had another double ear infection.  He started an Amoxicillin.  The fever responded, but he still wasn't eating normally.  So, we went back for a quick check of his ears and found out they were even worse.  So, he was switched to Augmentin.  All of the antibiotics gave him terrible diarrhea.  As if that wasn't bad enough, by Saturday the 27th, he had a fever of over 104 again.  And then he refused to drink - period.  He wouldn't take a bottle for anything.  We ended up taking him to the ER - probably over-reacting - but worried that he would get dehydrated.  Poor little guy got an IV with fluids and ended up getting his antibiotic through his IV.  Since he wasn't drinking and still had diarrhea, the doctors decided to finish up his antibiotics through injection.  And then he got a terrible cough.  We found out that a baby in his day care class had RSV.  So, yeah.  That is what the second 104 fever was.

During this bout with RSV, we have struggled to get any fluids in that little one.  We were feeding him with a straw (dropping fluids in his mouth) and a syringe.  It was a very worrisome couple of weeks.  And when he did start taking fluids, it wasn't full bottles and the smallest distraction can cause him to refuse to drink any more.  We went back to middle of the night feedings and we are now weaning him off of them.

Here we are - almost a full month after the beginning - and he is finally eating normally again.  Sleep still isn't optimal as he is still coughing like crazy and waking himself up - but it seems to be getting slightly better each day.

And now - Derek and I both have a cold (RSV no doubt) and we KNOW why Carder wouldn't eat - we have terrible sore throats.

Hopefully we are on the road to recovery.

Is Sickness Just My New State of Being???

Or How My Son is a Cesspool of Germs...

I haven't really posted a ton about this (other than just mentioning several times that I was sick AGAIN).

But, just so you know why I haven't really been blogging much - or why Carder's 7 month post still isn't posted...or why I sound all nasally if you talk to me...or why the bags under my eyes have their own bags...

Shortly after Carder started Day Care, he came home with his first cold.  And, as I am sure you can imagine, he so graciously shared his germs with us.  Derek caught his cold.  I caught his cold as well - but I struggled with getting better.  After about 3 weeks of funk, I took Carder and myself to the Doctor.  Carder was fine, but I had a sinus infection.  The Dr. told me to take a stronger decongestant and prescribed antibiotics.  He also told me I have a deviated septum.

Now - just so you remember - when I had Carder and was getting the IV antibiotics, I developed an allergy to an antibiotic in the penicillin family.  So now, instead of taking an antibiotic that I have taken before and know has worked in the past, we are experimenting with new ones.


Fast forward about a week or so.  The decongestant was helping with the drainage, but it did cause some restless nights.  But that wasn't the worst part.  One morning, Carder started crying and I got out of bed to check on him.  The next thing I knew, I came to with my face firmly planted in the doorjamb saying "I fell down".  After a couple more dizzy spells at work, I called the Dr's office and they wanted me to come in.  The Dr. had a nurse take my blood pressure standing, sitting, and lying.  She attempted to take my blood pressure about 30 times before she gave up and got another nurse.  She was only able to determine the pressure 2 times - both of which she stated it had to be wrong because with a blood pressure that low, I should be stroking out and in the hospital.  The second nurse was finally able to get a pressure in all 3 positions.  But, just so you know how low it was - it was 80 over 50 while I was lying.  Dr. said that it was probably the decongestant, but that I could be dehydrated, and I still had the sinus infection.  I got a prescription for another antibiotic, drinking Gatorade, and stopping the decongestant.

Almost 2 weeks later, I was finally feeling better.  Just in time for the next cold to come rolling in. 

Rinse, Lather, Repeat.

But, since the decongestant possibly made me faint, I have been avoiding them like the plague and have just been suffering through the runny nose, sneezing, stuffy nose, terrible post-nasal drip, and sinus pressure.  With each round, it takes me FOREVER to feel better.  I feel better for a few days and then I get sick again.

And, just for good measure: let's throw in some really bad coughing from the drainage in one round, followed by a couple of days that I felt somewhat better, followed by a 24 hour stomach flu, followed immediately by repeated coughing that sounded terrible and was diagnosed as bronchitis. (Steroids + inhaler).

And keep in mind that during all of this time, while Carder was sick, he wasn't sleeping the best (READ:  Mommy got very little sleep and what little she got was very light and abbreviated with trips to the nursery).  And while I was sick, I wasn't sleeping either.  I honestly don't remember the last dream I had.

And now, after the latest round of cold, I have another sinus infection.  This one was so bad that my sinus pressure has been making my upper teeth and jaws ache.  And with this one, I spiked a fever of over 101 for a couple of days.

I AM EXHAUSTED. SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE...

The doctor, in his infinite wisdom, has told me to begin taking a daily antihistamine (just in case it is an allergy), use a Neti pot (sounds really gross but works fairly well to help with the stuffiness since I can't take a decongestant), get some rest (ummm, yeah...), and to begin an exercise program (excuse me, but WHERE do you think I will fit that one in??? I am sorry, but I am not getting up at 5 in the morning to walk on the treadmill).  Also, another antibiotic and round of steroids. 

With the exception of the exercise program, I am following the doctor's orders.  I have finished the steroids and I am almost done with the antibiotic.  Thankfully, the stuffiness and drainage have subsided.  However, I still have terrible sinus pressure (or god forbid all of my top teeth are rotting out and need to be pulled).

I really hope I am feeling better soon.  I am so done with being sick...

And I have so many other thoughts to put out there.  But right now it is all I can do to make it through the days.  And until I feel better, I guess I will just keep faking it until I make it...

Ringing Out 2011

2011 was a very interesting year for us.  We quit our jobs, packed our bags, and moved to a new state.  We lived in condo in an old Mental Hospital.  We found out we were having a little boy.  We bought and moved into a new house.  We welcomed our little boy into this world 6 weeks early and life has never been and will never be the same.  These last 6 1/2 months have flown by and our little boy is growing up so fast.  He has been working so hard on attempting to sit independently and will be doing that before you know it!

Even though 2011 was the year that our dream to become parents came true, we jokingly dubbed this year the year of "Next Year" because there were so many activities we wanted to participate in here in our new city but couldn't due to my being pregnant or the fact that we had an infant.  Today we decided that New Years Eve would continue in that tradition.  As I mentioned in my post about Christmas, Carder is recovering from an ear infection.  And I have a nasty cough.  I actually went to Urgent Care today because my chest started feeling tight and I was diagnosed with a case of bronchitis.  So, we will be ringing in the year in our home sitting on our couch instead of walking downtown to watch the Cherry Drop as we had originally planned.  Derek is having a glass or two of wine and I have taken my medicine that contains Codeine and I plan on sleeping the new year right on in (much like I did last year when I was so tired from 1st trimester pregnancy that I couldn't keep my eyes open!)

This holiday season has been so busy and I haven't taken the time to put it out here just how thankful I am that THIS was the year that I didn't have to spend the holidays wishing for a baby.  I am so thankful that 2011 was the year that we were blessed with Carder.  My heart is blissfully full and I am truly happy.  And grateful. 

And I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!  I have a feeling it is going to be a wonderfully fun year!

For those still waiting, I hope that 2012 is YOUR year.  You were all in my thoughts this holiday season.

Christmas 2011

For years, I have dreamed about our first Christmas with a baby.  There were so many things that I was looking forward to - the first Christmas card we would send with our little bundle of joy plastered on the front, the look of excitement in the baby's eyes as he/she looked at the sparkling lights on the Christmas tree, hanging the "Baby's First Christmas" Ornaments, the excitement of Christmas morning...I was so excited that after years of hoping, we would finally be getting to experience our first Christmas as a family.

As Christmas neared, things were looking great.  We had a photo shoot for our Christmas card where I got lots of wonderful pictures (I think I took about 150!).  You may notice that in the background of the pictures on the tree, there is a snowflake ornament.  Yes, I planned it this way.  Since I couldn't pick a favorite to use on the card, we used a collage of several of them.  The card turned out wonderfully and I got them mailed out on time.  Here are a few for your enjoyment:

Around the time that I printed the Christmas cards, I realized that there was actually 1 week less before Christmas than I thought there was.  YIKES!!!  So, I had to ramp things up a notch to get everything ready.

Our plan for Christmases in the future is to spend Christmas morning in our own home so that Carder can open his presents and will know that Santa will know just where to find him.  However, since he wouldn't remember this Christmas, I told Derek that we could go to his parents home to spend the holiday with them, his sister, and his grandfather.  So, we were going to open our presents at home on Christmas Eve morning and then would head down south a couple of hours to his parents home.

But, in keeping with the spirit of this year, nothing went according to plan.

About 2 weeks before Christmas, Carder caught another cold.  This, in itself, wasn't a problem.  He was a bit miserable but wasn't running a fever and seemed to be in fairly good spirits.  Derek caught the cold and had sinus issues and a sore throat for a few days.  I caught the cold and had a sore throat and a terrible cough.  But we were prepared to power through it.

On December 23, Carder took a turn for the worse and spiked a fever.  He gagged during a coughing fit and threw up.  I wasn't too concerned with the fever until it reached over 102 and then he threw up again - this time without the coughing.  Since the Pediatrician's office was already closed for the Holiday, I was told to take him to Urgent Care.  At Urgent Care, they checked his O2 levels and were concerned that it wasn't over 94%.  So, an X-ray ruled out pneumonia and a breathing treatment was given in an effort to increase his O2 level.  When it didn't work, they decided to send us to the ER.  I was pretty concerned at this point.

At the ER, his O2 stats were fine (which let me breathe a sigh of relief), but they were concerned that his fever wasn't responding.  An hour after giving the meds, it had risen to almost 103.  So, they gave him an IV and administered fluids and drew blood and got a nasal swab to rule out any really nasty viruses.  Everything checked out fine, so they gave us instructions for Tylenol and Motrin dosing for fever reduction (which is apparently higher than that for pain relief).  Almost 7 hours after the ordeal began, we returned home.  And Carder slept between us for the next several nights - this gave Derek and I both some peace of mind.

So, it was quickly decided that we wouldn't be heading to Derek's parents.  They decided to come to our house.  We have a 3 bedroom home (meaning we only have 1 extra bed) and we had enough company coming that we needed 3 sleeping spaces.  They arrived on Christmas Eve with all of the fixings for Christmas dinner and lots of presents and love for little Carder.  Carder helped us open some of his gifts and was generally the cutest little boy in the world - just with really tired eyes and the tendency to cry and cling to Mommy.

Here are a few pictures of Christmas.

They stayed less than 24 hours and it was nice to have his family there for Christmas, but I swear the place was like National Lampoons Christmas Vacation - down to the huge dog (Sarah has a Great Dane/Black Lab mix) that our little Murfy was bound and determined to out-bark.  So, as nice as it was to see them arrive, it was nice to have the house quiet again as well.  And Carder - even though he felt terrible and kept a fever pretty much the whole time - was a trouper through it all.  Although he ate like absolute shit (I was really concerned that we would have to take him back to the hospital for another IV of fluids.)

By the Monday after Christmas, Carder was still running a fever of over 102, so we took him back to his Ped's office.  By now, he has acquired 2 nasty ears - one that is irritated and the other that is "really angry".  I am not sure if you would consider this a double ear infection, but he is now on an antibiotic and has to follow up with the Ped again on the 16th.

Carder's fever seems to be gone now and he seems to finally be on the mend.  I am so glad that my little man is starting to feel better.

As if this wasn't enough Holiday drama, Christmas evening I gained some new symptoms.  I began running a fever and began to have stomach issues.  Within 24 hours, the worst had passed but I still felt pretty rough through Tuesday evening.  And by Tuesday - Derek had the stomach bug.

As if this saga wasn't long enough, my cold symptoms that had eased up have now returned with a vengeance.  I have a terrible dry, barky cough and I am so tired of being sick...

I am hoping for a healthy New Year...

I'm Back from...

A great vacation in the tropics?  The Mall for a shopping spree? A visit to our new house?  No, I wish.

The brink of death was more like it.  Last Tuesday, I came down with the stomach flu.  It was HORRIBLE.  If you skip the TMI portion, I don't blame you.  Regardless, know that I did call the OBGYN and that I was following all of their instructions even if they aren't all spelled out here.

**********Beginning of TMI portion of Post**********
Seriously.  Don't read this if you don't want to be grossed out.  It wasn't a pretty sight.
Monday, I began experiencing diarrhea.  This isn't unusual for me as I have IBS.  Tuesday afternoon I was exhausted.  I wanted to take a nap so badly.  By Tuesday night, I was feeling pretty rough.  Diarrhea was in full force and was no longer even remotely similar to "normal".  When Derek went to take the dogs out at bedtime, I decided it was time to visit the facilities again.  While taking care of #2, I began to feel as if I was going to fall off the toilet and hit my head on the sink corner leaving myself with my pants around my ankles and in quite a messy situation very faint.  I finished up as quickly as possible and carefully made my way to the floor so that I could elevate my feet in an attempt not to pass out.  The time on the floor assisted me in successfully avoiding passing out.  However, it also was apparently the cue for the beginning of the vomit.  Up came EVERYTHING I had eaten since 11 that morning.  I know because I could recognize distinct items - I will spare you the list of what was recognizable.  De-licious.
Since Derek is working and I am still not, I decided to spend the night on the couch instead of in the bed with him.  This way, he could avoid my germs AND I would not disturb him lest I need the restroom again.  GOOD PLAN.
Each of the 100 trips to the bathroom was joined with a few minutes on the floor with my feet elevated to keep from passing out.  Thankfully, the vomiting was not a recurring event all night. 
I was 10 feet away from the bathroom.  And yet it was not close enough.  I can say with 100% conviction that having my husband witness the "not close enough" moments was absolutely positively embarrassing and I wish the ground could have swallowed me whole a humbling experience.
By Thursday, the worst of the death illness seemed to have left.  My fever had broken and I was no longer tied to the bathroom.  I still felt as if my body were made of lead and I was exhausted.  I ate light food and it all stayed down.
Friday, I decided that I was well enough to venture further than 10 feet from the toilet out of the house.  A trip to the local super grocery store necessitated a rest on a bench in the middle of the store with sweat beading on my forehead and a prayer that I wouldn't pass out in the middle of the store.  I tried to take the rest of the day pretty easy.  That night, Derek was very concerned about my strength level and the fact that I hadn't had any protein (that stayed down) since Monday night and encouraged me to eat a peanut butter sandwich. I believe it was still too heavy for my sensitive stomach.  Why?  Well, after feeling terrible all night, vomit visited me again.
This time, I was brushing my teeth when the feelings started rolling.  I waited patiently at the sink in the hopes that it would subside.  It did not.  As I lurched for the toilet with my hand partially covering my mouth, everything came up.  ALL. OVER.  EVERYTHING.  My towel.  The toilet.  The floor.  The shower curtain.  All over the wall and BEHIND the toilet tank.  Derek said it resembled a scene from "The Exorcist".  And thanks to all the sports drink I had been drinking to stay hydrated, it was RED.  Gross.  Clean up was NOT FUN.  And since we live in a furnished rental, I was doing the laundry to clean the shower curtain and towel at 1 in the morning.
*********Ending of TMI Portion of Post**********

By Sunday, I was finally feeling up to eating some normal food again.  And today, I feel almost back to normal.  ALMOST.

Just in time for Derek to come home (to the lovely Valentines Dinner I had cooked for him) with a fever and complaining that he doesn't feel right.  In a way, I hope that he doesn't have what I did (as I wouldn't wish this illness on my worst enemy).  But in another way, I am afraid that if he has something different, I will catch that too and I am not looking forward to being sick any time again soon.  I guess we just wait and see.

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I know that I was nominated for some awards that I need to accept.  I promise I have not forgotten.  I just haven't gotten to those posts yet.  Hopefully soon (now that I don't resemble a zombie any more).

I also have a few other things that I have been wanting to blog about that I haven't gotten a chance.  I had the best intentions of writing these posts this past week when said illness took over my plans.

Well, time to take the dogs out and see if I can nap a little bit.  I have a feeling this might be a long night.

Feelin' HOT HOT HOT

HOT #1
Last week, Derek was out of town and I didn't sleep very well.  By Wednesday evening, I was feeling quite run down.  On Thursday, I realized it wasn't just the fact that my husband wasn't sleeping in our bed with me...I was running a low grade fever.  I typically run about a 97.4, so 99.3 is pretty high for me.  I ended up coming home from work early on Thursday and resting.  Friday - still had a fever (went to work anyway), Saturday - still fever (didn't slow me down), Sunday - still fever (realized perhaps I should rest, spent the day napping on the couch and in my PJ's), Monday - still fever (stayed home from work), Tuesday - still fever (went to work because I felt like a wuss for staying out longer), Wednesday - still fever but slightly lower.  Typically it was higher at night than in the mornings, and tonight it was finally less than 99...I am not going to say anything for fear that it would jinx any progress I am making.

I did this last year around this time of year as well.  That time, the unexplained fever lasted for a month.  When I went to the GP, he drew some blood and came to the conclusion that I was fighting off a virus.  Since I just finished my required round of antibiotics for the FET, I determined that whatever I am fighting off must be viral.  (Similar to a Dr Google diagnosis, just in case you were wondering).

I think I will ask the IVF nurse on Friday to make sure that a low grade fever isn't anything to worry about in regards to the FET.  I wouldn't want to have to move out our transfer even further, but I want for us to have the best chance possible.

HOT #2 
Get HOT before you get Pregnant Fat (aka Weight Loss Update).  Week #2 I lost 1.6 pounds.  That brings me up at a grand total of 3 AND back to my weight prior to our first FET and prior to IVF.  Anything above and beyond this is icing on the cake.  Week # 3 is almost halfway over and has been going pretty well.  I am still having a few bouts of hunger every now and then when I don't make wise choices.  But overall, I would say it is going great.  I actually put on a pair of pants that were quite tight 2 1/2 weeks ago and they were baggy in all the right places.  It really does feel great to see progress.

HOT #3
A break in the Heat.  If you haven't been to Georgia, this place is freakin' HOT in the summer.  Hot and Humid.  I am talking about heat where you walk outside and  you begin to sweat immediately.  Finally, as October is only a couple of days away, we have gotten our first taste of Fall.  It has been delightful.  Today it was almost chilly.  I really hope this cooler weather will stick around for a while.  I am so ready for long sleeved shirts and sweatshirts.

Back on the Sauce

Well, I am officially back on the sauce and shooting up again...I took my first 10 unit dose of Lupron tonight.  1 down and too many to count to go...Derek and I also started our mandatory antibiotics today.  As I typed that, I realized that I didn't give everyone an update on my timeline for the FET.

9/3 - Started Birth Control Pills  (And don't you just LOVE breakthrough bleeding???)
9/30 - Start Lupron @ 10 units per day and my first round of antibiotics.  Derek starts antibiotics, too.
10/4 - Last Birth Control Pill
10/9 - Baseline Ultrasound.  Drop Lupron to 5 units per day, add in 1 baby asprin per day.  Take IM (think hip shot) injection of Estrogen
10/12 - Another IM injection of Estrogen
10/16 - Bloodwork Draw.  Possible additional IM injection of Estrogen
10/19 - Possible additional IM injection of Estrogen
10/22 - Ultrasound and possible last Lupron injection
10/23 - Begin SECOND round of antibiotics.  Begin taking steriod (1 per day for 4 days).  Also add Endometrin Vaginal Inserts 2 times per day.
10/28 - Blastocyst Transfer
10/30 - Increase Endometrin Vaginal Insert to 3 times per day.
11/6 - POAS, Beta, world stops turning because I am either PG or our last chance at a biological child has failed, followed by either some private celebration with Derek OR it might include me being in a drunken stupor.

And, there you have it.  THE schedule.

I haven't really shared with many people IRL that we are moving forward with our FET or given them any information.  Since this attempt will require much less time away from work, I am hoping that I can get away with not sharing a whole lot of details with anyone at work.  My best friend knows and our parents know.  Other than that, I don't think anyone else knows and I am not planning on telling them.

And, since my hubby is not a fan of shots, I have arranged for my IM injections to be administered at my OB's office.  He said if there was anything they could do to let him know, so I called.  I am not sure if there will be a charge for this, but I guess even if there is it is worth it.  Especially considering the fact that having Derek passed out cold on the kitchen floor isn't included in THE schedule.

In Other News...
I called my PCP today about the lingering temperature.  They want to see me tomorrow.  I realized AFTER I agreed to the appointment that I failed to mention that I started antibiotics today.  Oh well.  Hopefully I can at least get a flu shot while I am there so the visit will not be a lost cause.

My day at work today was quite eventful.  One of my staff members - a very dear elderly lady -  had something funky going on with her lip yesterday afternoon.  I did't point it out to her because I thought it was just a cold sore.  When she arrived at work today, I got very concerned about her because not only were both of her lips swollen and not moving correctly, her eye was not blinking either.  I was afraid that she had suffered a mini-stroke and we finally convinced her to go to the ER.  After several hours in the ER, we found out that it was not a stroke - she is suffering from Bell's Palsy.  The damage to the facial nerve may or may not repair itself and she may or may not have lost the ability to move 1 side of her face permanantly.  The diagnosis was much better than that of a stroke, but still startling and disheartening nonetheless.  Please keep her in your thoughts.