For those of you who have not heard, kidney stones have made their way back into my life, disrupting our little routine.
Sunday night, Cody went to bed shortly after the kids, however I have a lot of paperwork to get done yet before I'm done with school, so I stayed up a while and worked on that. I wasn't in bed long before waking up with excruciating back pain. I wasn't sure if I had just been laying wrong, or if I needed to go to the bathroom, or if I was in labor? I walked around the living room a while, drank some water, and tried to sit in some different positions, hoping something would make the pain less intense. Well, nothing was seeming like it was helping. When I started paying more attention to my pain, I was noticing that it was only on my right side, in my lower back. It wrapped itself around my side and down into my groin area (this is exactly like the pain I had the first time with kidney stones, only it was on the opposite side).
I called the on-call doctor, just to make sure ... or to at least make myself feel better :) She had said it didn't sound like labor or contractions, but I should take some Tylenol and try to get some rest. And if the pain didn't go away in an hour or so to come in and they would check things out. So I woke Cody up and gave him an update. I took some Tylenol, crawled back into bed and "tried" to get some rest. I don't think I laid there for more than 3 minutes when I was up again telling him we needed to go. Fortunately I had just packed our hospital bags the day before, so I threw a few last minute things in for the kids, Cody took a shower, we loaded the kids up, and away we went at 12:35am. I didn't know how I was going to last the hour drive over to Sioux Falls!
Cody had to pull over on the side of the interstate several times so I could throw-up, slowing down our process, but I think he made up for it with a little speeding in between times :) My parents met us at the emergency room. We switched vehicles so they could take the kids home and get them back to bed.
After getting hooked up to the monitors and doing a little checking, it looked like I was not in labor and the baby was doing just fine! They wheeled me down do get a renal ultrasound and look for anything going on with my kidneys and bladder. They actually found quite a large stone this time around, sitting in my kidney. So they started an IV to give me some fluids and some pain medication while they ran some more tests. My urine came back showing some blood, but everything else was looking normal.
Once again, they were going to send me home with some oral pain meds, but I was hesitant. Because of what happened last time with not being able to keep anything down and because I was throwing up again this time, I didn't know if this was going to work or not. I didn't really want to go home and not be able to tolerate the pain and have to come back in and start everything over. So they decided to keep me and just see how things went through the following day. The oral pain meds weren't cutting the pain nearly enough, so they decided to switch up the medication and gave me a pump that I could give them to myself...now this, I liked :) Although I didn't feel like it ever took my pain completely away, I felt more in control knowing that I could push my button every 10 minutes rather than waiting every 4 hours before being able to take something orally again. They also placed a catheter to help empty my bladder completely. I kept having this horrible urge to go to the bathroom all the time!! They thought some of my pain would go away if my bladder was emptied completely.
So anyway, I have a 9mm sized stone in my kidney and the urologist says it's something that's too big to pass on my own. The pain is more than likely coming from it moving around within my kidney. So basically I will have to just manage the pain until after the baby is born and then they will have to go in and remove the stone surgically (more on that when the time comes).
I was able to come home Tuesday afternoon with oral pain meds in hopes of just managing my pain. Because the meds have some pretty significant side effects, my doctor recommended I remain out of work the remainder of the week. We've been staying in Brandon in order for my parents to help out with the kids.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
35 Weeks
Earlier this week I had my 35 week appointment. No ultrasound this time, just a Non Stress Test and a visit with my OB. During my NST, little man was a rockstar! He moves almost constantly so they were able to track some awesome accelerations and decelerations in his heartrate within the first few minutes. They wanted to get a good 30 minute strip though for the dr. to see, so I sat there, reclined in my chair, drinking a sprite, and reading a magazine...in peace and quiet! (Other than the little guy's heartbeat, which I don't at all mind listening to).
I'm experiencing a lot more contractions/tightenings, cramping, and just "uncomfortable-ness" (is that a word?). Baby is growing and my dr. guesses he will probably be in the 9 pound range when he comes. She's not nervous about me going into labor early, but she said we will schedule an induction at 39 weeks if he doesn't come before then. I was all for it!!! So, now, it's crunch time!
I can't even begin to tell you how much I have to get done at work before I'll be ready, but hings at home are coming along. We were able to finish the baby's room last weekend, thanks to a ton of help from my parents! I feel like things are finally falling into place. I sorted through all of the baby clothes and separated the boys from the girls and then resorted into age groups. (that was a little emotional!!) In my mind, everything from Kaden and Kenley come as a "pair." It felt weird packing away Kenley's stuff, but leaving out Kaden's :( We need to get some kind of organizational unit for the closet, so in the meantime clothes are laying all over the floor. But that's about the last thing we need to get done. (other than some final touches). I'll try to post some pictures of the room when I have a free minute, ha!
Another big transition (which didn't turn out to be a big deal at all) was taking away the night-time bottles. Both kids had still gotten a bottle of milk before bedtime. Well it was definitely time to break that habit and I certainly wanted to get it done before the new baby comes. So one night, after baths, we offered them their milk in their cups. Kenley threw a fit and wouldn't take it...only whining and pointing to the cupboard, crying "ba". It only took a few minutes of convincing though, before she sat down with her cup and finished her milk. Kaden didn't bat an eye :) So now we are "paci-free" and "bottle-free"... it's a great feeling! Of course a little sad at the same time. My babies aren't babies anymore :(
I'm experiencing a lot more contractions/tightenings, cramping, and just "uncomfortable-ness" (is that a word?). Baby is growing and my dr. guesses he will probably be in the 9 pound range when he comes. She's not nervous about me going into labor early, but she said we will schedule an induction at 39 weeks if he doesn't come before then. I was all for it!!! So, now, it's crunch time!
I can't even begin to tell you how much I have to get done at work before I'll be ready, but hings at home are coming along. We were able to finish the baby's room last weekend, thanks to a ton of help from my parents! I feel like things are finally falling into place. I sorted through all of the baby clothes and separated the boys from the girls and then resorted into age groups. (that was a little emotional!!) In my mind, everything from Kaden and Kenley come as a "pair." It felt weird packing away Kenley's stuff, but leaving out Kaden's :( We need to get some kind of organizational unit for the closet, so in the meantime clothes are laying all over the floor. But that's about the last thing we need to get done. (other than some final touches). I'll try to post some pictures of the room when I have a free minute, ha!
Another big transition (which didn't turn out to be a big deal at all) was taking away the night-time bottles. Both kids had still gotten a bottle of milk before bedtime. Well it was definitely time to break that habit and I certainly wanted to get it done before the new baby comes. So one night, after baths, we offered them their milk in their cups. Kenley threw a fit and wouldn't take it...only whining and pointing to the cupboard, crying "ba". It only took a few minutes of convincing though, before she sat down with her cup and finished her milk. Kaden didn't bat an eye :) So now we are "paci-free" and "bottle-free"... it's a great feeling! Of course a little sad at the same time. My babies aren't babies anymore :(
Monday, April 9, 2012
34 weeks and updates
At 34 weeks, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs. In fact, baby will recognize frequently sung tunes after birth and probably find them soothing. Less cute news: he now urinates about one pint per day.
His fat layers – which he'll need to regulate his body temperature once he's born – are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.
My current pregnancy symptoms:
*Swelling: my feet, ankles, and hands are starting to swell some by the end of the day. I've reached the point where I've had to take off my wedding ring.
*Frequent urination: this baby is sitting right on my bladder. When I'm sitting down, I usually don't notice it, but once I stand up, that's when it hits me...and it hits me hard...I must get to the bathroom immediately!
*Nerve pain: the last couple of weeks I've started having this sharp, shooting pain, just off the bottom of my tail bone at the top of my butt. It's uncomfortable for the most part during the day, but when I move a certain way it's that take-your-breath-away type pain. Any pressure by standing on that leg makes the pain worse. I'm just hoping it's something that goes away when baby comes :)
*Contractions: I'm still having quite a few contractions throughout the day, which can get rather uncomfortable at times.
*Baby is continuing to move like crazy! He remains head down and his butt is right in the middle of my right side. It's making my belly look a little distorted because I always feel like he's pushing that little butt right out, making my stomach bulge on that side. I'm not really sure when he sleeps. The twins always slept with me at night, but this little guy seems to move almost all the time. I'm hoping all this moving around now will wear him out once he gets here and he'll sleep really well :) But, I'm guessing that's not going to be the case :)
*Acid Reflux: I'm continuing to take Zantac twice a day around the clock just to keep it under control.
*last week, at 33 weeks, I had another ultrasound and dr. visit. Everything on the ultrasound looked good, baby is continuing to grow! Which is a good thing, however it's starting to worry me just a bit. He's moved up into the 90th percentile and is measuring 3 weeks ahead of schedule. He was weighing 5lbs. 14oz. already! I asked if she though I might go early with his size or just have a huge baby?!? Of course it's hard to tell, but she really feels confident that my uterus will not go into labor early, given my past history... because I was able to hold 2 good sized babies in for 37 weeks, she really thinks my uterus will hold this guy in too and he'll stay comfortable for a while.
*I now will be starting appts. every two weeks. No ultrasound this next time, but I will be starting my Non-Stress Tests as well as visiting with the dr. Apparently Sanford is very "over the top" with how they monitor their IVF patients. From this point on I am supposed to be doing NSTs twice weekly to measure baby's growth and movement. However, since we know baby is growing so well and given the fact that I live an hour from Sioux Falls, my dr. is comfortable with once weekly NSTs.
*The baby's room is STILL no where near being done and it's sending me into panic mode. Finding storage for everything that is in that room has been a bit challenging. The closet is still full. The huge desk is in there and we have a rather large gun cabinet in there that still needs a home. (Cody keeps asking if there'll be enough room in there to be able to just keep the gun cabinet where it's at...umm yeah, NO!) We are hopefully going to get the room painted next weekend and then start putting together the furniture.
*I took Kenley back into the dr. to see if we couldn't figure something else out that's going on with her butt-rash. I'm telling you, this isn't your typical diaper rash and she's had it now for 3 months. The dr. finally did a culture of it and sent it to the lab. The lab results came back showing several types of bacterial overgrowth as well as some yeast growth. We have since been trying an antibacterial topical cream, an anti-fungal cream, as well as an oral antibiotic. I would like to say we're seeing some improvement .
*I believe we have finally ridden Kenley girl of her darn pacifier. My final straw was when our daycare provider told me that Kenley really hasn't been using her paci at her house during nap time anymore. So I thought to myself...well she really doesn't go to bed with it anymore at home either. So, the only times she's having it is when she's in the car or wanting it just around the house. She was playing me like a fiddle! If she didn't need it anymore to sleep with, then it was definitely time to go! So we just literally stopped giving it to her. We didn't make a big production out of it, we just removed any pacifiers from sight and it was never an issue! I couldn't believe it. As much as I felt she was addicted to it, she never seemed to have an issue with not having one anymore. Geez, I wish I would have known that sooner :) There are times however where it would still be easier to just pop that thing into her mouth. You know, the times where she just whines and moans and won't give it up. Or in the car when she's crying and I know it would make her quiet just to have that thing in her mouth. I think it's been more of a challenge for me than her :)
*Two weekends ago we headed down to Des Moines to celebrate my niece Khloe's 2nd birthday! We enjoyed: her birthday party..cake..presents..playtime..playing at the park..shopping..eating out..ordering pizza in..naptimes..late nights..laughter..warm weather..and good company! I love it there :)
*This last weekend we headed back to Des Moines to celebrate Easter down there. My sister attends an absolutely phenomenal church. It would be worth the drive just to attend church on Sundays and to be a part of their Easter service is like no other!! We also enjoyed an Easter egg hunt..lunch at Wakonda Country Club..a visit with the Easter bunny..more shopping..more eating out..more laughter..and one, year and a half old little girl, who has developed a new "not-so-precious-attitude", requiring the efforts of every adult just to get us all through the weekend. (We love you Kenley girl, but you sure are a tough one right now :)
His fat layers – which he'll need to regulate his body temperature once he's born – are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.
My current pregnancy symptoms:
*Swelling: my feet, ankles, and hands are starting to swell some by the end of the day. I've reached the point where I've had to take off my wedding ring.
*Frequent urination: this baby is sitting right on my bladder. When I'm sitting down, I usually don't notice it, but once I stand up, that's when it hits me...and it hits me hard...I must get to the bathroom immediately!
*Nerve pain: the last couple of weeks I've started having this sharp, shooting pain, just off the bottom of my tail bone at the top of my butt. It's uncomfortable for the most part during the day, but when I move a certain way it's that take-your-breath-away type pain. Any pressure by standing on that leg makes the pain worse. I'm just hoping it's something that goes away when baby comes :)
*Contractions: I'm still having quite a few contractions throughout the day, which can get rather uncomfortable at times.
*Baby is continuing to move like crazy! He remains head down and his butt is right in the middle of my right side. It's making my belly look a little distorted because I always feel like he's pushing that little butt right out, making my stomach bulge on that side. I'm not really sure when he sleeps. The twins always slept with me at night, but this little guy seems to move almost all the time. I'm hoping all this moving around now will wear him out once he gets here and he'll sleep really well :) But, I'm guessing that's not going to be the case :)
*Acid Reflux: I'm continuing to take Zantac twice a day around the clock just to keep it under control.
*last week, at 33 weeks, I had another ultrasound and dr. visit. Everything on the ultrasound looked good, baby is continuing to grow! Which is a good thing, however it's starting to worry me just a bit. He's moved up into the 90th percentile and is measuring 3 weeks ahead of schedule. He was weighing 5lbs. 14oz. already! I asked if she though I might go early with his size or just have a huge baby?!? Of course it's hard to tell, but she really feels confident that my uterus will not go into labor early, given my past history... because I was able to hold 2 good sized babies in for 37 weeks, she really thinks my uterus will hold this guy in too and he'll stay comfortable for a while.
*I now will be starting appts. every two weeks. No ultrasound this next time, but I will be starting my Non-Stress Tests as well as visiting with the dr. Apparently Sanford is very "over the top" with how they monitor their IVF patients. From this point on I am supposed to be doing NSTs twice weekly to measure baby's growth and movement. However, since we know baby is growing so well and given the fact that I live an hour from Sioux Falls, my dr. is comfortable with once weekly NSTs.
*The baby's room is STILL no where near being done and it's sending me into panic mode. Finding storage for everything that is in that room has been a bit challenging. The closet is still full. The huge desk is in there and we have a rather large gun cabinet in there that still needs a home. (Cody keeps asking if there'll be enough room in there to be able to just keep the gun cabinet where it's at...umm yeah, NO!) We are hopefully going to get the room painted next weekend and then start putting together the furniture.
*I took Kenley back into the dr. to see if we couldn't figure something else out that's going on with her butt-rash. I'm telling you, this isn't your typical diaper rash and she's had it now for 3 months. The dr. finally did a culture of it and sent it to the lab. The lab results came back showing several types of bacterial overgrowth as well as some yeast growth. We have since been trying an antibacterial topical cream, an anti-fungal cream, as well as an oral antibiotic. I would like to say we're seeing some improvement .
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