Hypno-birthing

Pantagraph.com has an interesting article about natural childbirth.

Speaking Spanish

Today during one of my rest times, the girls decided to play dress up. Smartie put on the yellow dress, but Sweetie got the matching ring and necklace, which of course Smartie had to try to steal. I suggested that Smartie find a different ring and offer to trade with Sweetie.

A few minutes later they came back, this time with Smartie wearing the yellow ring and Sweetie sporting a pink ring.

"Oh," I said, "I see you traded. Good job."

"Yes, Mommy," said Smartie, "I asked Sweetie if she wanted to trade, and she said 'yes' in Spanish."

"In Spanish? Really? What did she say?"

"Well, she said no. But 'no' means 'yes' in Spanish, so I just took it."

Ah, the logic of preschoolers.

Just a few more days...

...and we'll be out of the second trimester. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it.

Fourteen more weeks until my due date, 11 weeks until term, and 2 weeks until we reach a point where I'll feel better about possible delivery. Anything after the 28-week mark will be bonus.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

I feel like every post lately is full of how stressed and worried I am about something or other, but the worries just keep coming.

I don't know how far the word has travelled yet, but my MIL was diagnosed with breast cancer on Monday. She will be facing more surgery next week on Tuesday or Wednesday. We don't know much yet. They're still trying to figure out what's what.

In other news, I've passed 25 weeks! Yay! Survival rates at this gestational age are above 60%. I'm really looking forward to getting out of the second trimester and into the home stretch.

No parasites!

Just got the lab results, and there were no signs of parasites. Now we have to wait until Smartie's next appointment to see what the next step is.

Update on Smartie and me

I'm 24 weeks today! Yay! I had another check-up today because my BPs have been spiking almost every evening the last few days. I always get great readings at midday, but by evening they're high again. So I go in, and the nurse gets a reading of 118/76 and says, "Wait, I thought you were here for BP issues!"

My MW got called out AGAIN just before I got there, so I saw the NP again. She went over my BP log and agreed that I was fine at midday but too high at night. So I'm starting BP meds, a single dose in the afternoon to help in the evening but (hopefully) not make it too low during the day. The good news is still no swelling or protein, just an occasional problem with shortness of breath and the evening pressures.

As for Smartie, we've gotten some results back and had more tests run. I haven't spoken to the doctor yet, so I'm not completely sure what the results mean. She shows signs of being allergic to something and/or asthmatic, but all of the specific tests for allergens came back negative. She also had an unusual spike (not sure of what) that they said could be several things but the top of the list is intestinal parasites. So we got a stool sample and are waiting for those results. It certainly would explain her slow growth, though I'm not sure how she would have gotten them.

He Finished!

Papa Runner finished the Illinois Marathon with a time of 5:21:18. He struggled a bit in the second half and ended up slower than he had hoped, but he finished. Coach Paul and Coach Terry both worked with him to keep him going. Here is Papa and Coach Paul crossing the finish line on the scoreboard screen.

Race Day

Tomorrow is Papa Runner's marathon. The race starts at 8:00, and he's hoping to be done in under 5 hours. Tonight at the Team in Training Pasta Party, we think Papa will be named as the top fundraiser for the race. We raised just over $6000, which brings our 2-race total to $15771.44!

I must admit, I'm jealous. I can't wait to do another race. It'll probably be a while before I'm up to training, though.

We survived another week!

23 weeks! I had my check-up today. My BP has been fluctuating and is averaging higher than before, but it hasn't hit the "magic numbers" of 140/90. So no diagnosis or meds yet, just continued close monitoring. Besides the BP issue, my only symptom is shortness of breath with dizziness if I try to do too much. I don't have any swelling, not even the normal pregnancy stuff, which along with the breathing problems were my first symptoms with the girls. So that's really good news. I'm feeling a lot more hopeful about our prospects.

Is This Normal? What would you do?

Update: I weighed Smartie this morning, and everything she had gained in the last 6 months has been lost in the last two weeks. Granted, she's been sick and refuses to eat much, but still this was the last straw. I took her to my doctor instead of the ped--I like him better and will probably switch the kiddos over to him.

He agreed that her growth pattern seems like more than just genetics. He ordered a number of tests. If they all come back normal, at least we'll know what it's not.

All the running around today raised my BP, though, so I have to take it very easy again. My next OB appt. is tomorrow.

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Most of the time, I think Smartie is fine. She's average-to-above mentally, emotionally, socially, motor skills. Yes, she's small for her age, but so was I and so was Papa Runner.

Every once in a while something will happen that will send me into panic mode thinking maybe there is something wrong with her. Besides her growth issues (31 pounds at 5.5 years), she seems very susceptible to illness. She catches every bug that comes along, gets sicker and stays sick longer than anyone I know. It doesn't matter if it's stomach, lungs, ears, skin, viral, bacterial, fungal, whatever. She gets hit hard and will feel the effects long after the illness has run its course.

Currently it's the flu (influenza.) She had a coughing fit this afternoon that lasted non-stop for 71 minutes! I checked her lungs with a stethoscope and can't hear any wheezing, so I don't think it's an asthma attack, just the effects of the flu. When it finally ended, she passed out cold and has been sleeping since. Her left ear also started draining this morning--ear infection number 14.

I'm not sure if I should have her checked out or even what tests I should ask about. Could it be a metabolic problem? Or the immune system? Maybe I should see a naturopath instead of a traditional pediatrician. Of course, a week from now when she's back to normal other than a lingering cough (which will last for about a month), I'll probably decide it's just the way she is or due to her slight prematurity and ignore it until the next crisis. What would you do?

Hard Week

This has been such a hard week, starting with last Saturday. Sweeite got bronchitis while Papa Runner and I were out of town, so my mom had to take her into Prompt Care. Then Smartie came down with it on Sunday, so I stayed home from church with both girls. Monday night was my blood pressure scare and ER visit. Today, Smartie spiked a fever again and is complaining of a headache. This usually means an ear infection, but her tubes are still in her ears as far as I can tell, and I don't see any drainage. Either they have come out of the ear drum but are still in the ear canal or they're blocked. Or it isn't an ear infection.

Today is the 2nd anniversary of my best friend's death. I miss her a lot, especially this week when I know she'd be showing up at my door to clean my house and keep me company.

On the bright side, the modified bedrest seems to be helping. I've had only two systolic readings over 140 and NO diastolic readings over 90, usually running 130s/80s with some dips into 120s/70s. As long as that keeps up, I'm not in danger of delivering yet. At this point, my babies would have a chance of survival--a very small chance, but still. And with each day that goes by their chances improve.