Is this Hell?

I have been bed ridden for the last five days due to a viral infection that I picked up from Evan.  And as if that wasn't bad enough, my body is also trying to fight off a severe case of strep throat.  Talk about pure misery.

Massive headaches, 103+ fevers, body aches, vomiting, coughing, and congestion - that about sums up the viral infection.

Swollen glands/lymph nodes, inflamed tonsils with puss pockets, neck pain and the I wanna die right right now feeling every time I swollow - that would be strep throat.

I made a visit to the doctor on Friday because I knew I had either tonsilitis or strep throat on top of all these other symptoms.  Unfortunately, me and tonsil related ailments go way back.  So far back I should've had them removed to save myself some grief over the years.  Oh well.  Here we are again.

I knew the viral infection would just have to run its course, but strep throat would have to be treated unless I wanted it to continue to worsen.  No, thank you.  I got a prescription (Amoxicillin) from the doctor on Friday and began taking it immediately.

Saturday morning - no improvement
Sunday morning - no improvement, in fact, condition may have worsened

I cried a lot Sunday morning.  I had been in bed for five days and all I wanted to do was feel better.  The medicine wasn't working - nothing was helping.  Robert was home all day on Sunday so I stayed doped up on Nyquil so I could at least sleep.

Here it is Monday.  I made a call to the doctor's office and left a message with the nurse's station to let them know I needed a stronger antibiotic.  That was at 8:05 am.  It is now 10:40 am and I have not heard anything from them yet.  Do efficient doctor's offices exist?  I didn't even mention the two hours I waited at my initial visit just to confirm what I already knew and to get a prescription.

I need serious help. 

Memorial Day Weekend

We planned a trip back to Tennessee over the holiday weekend to visit with Robert's family.  We had four full days to cram in a lot of people and a lot of activity and, as usual, we felt like we needed more time.  One of our four days was lost due to a sick little boy that needed to stay home and rest.

Evan was fighting a fever all day Wednesday and we had planned to leave Thursday morning.  When he woke up on Thursday morning he seemed to be doing a little bit better until the throwing up began.  We almost made the decision not to leave, but the vomiting subsided after an hour or two.  So we piled in the car and headed west, but it was very clear that Evan was miserable.

To allow for more rest, we spent Friday hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa Bopps.  Evan was intrigued by the mama dove who made a nest in a ceramic bowl on Grandma's patio.  The mama and daddy doves would take turns sitting on the baby birds and feeding them.  I was blown away by how close they allowed us to get to the nest.

We also played the backyard and enjoyed the summer evening.  I marveled at all the vegetables Dixie and Phil had growing in their garden and Evan was thrilled to be hanging out on the "farm" (he thought the shed was a barn therefore he was on a farm).

Evan still wasn't 100% on Saturday, but we met Robert's dad at Fort Loudon Lake where he keeps his boat.  We spent a few hours boating around the lake and stopped off to swim for a little bit too.  The water was freezing so that "little bit" was shortlived, not to mention the lake was starting to get crowded as more boaters made their way out to enjoy the holiday weekend.

Every visit to Knoxville means a visit to the Knoxville Zoo.  Sunday was dedicated to the animals.  Evan and his cousin, Kaylin, enjoyed seeing all the animals.  They both joined me on a camel ride which, by the way, is the most uncomfortable animal to ride.  We were all pooped after our three hour excursion - and I'm sure the 90 degree weather had a lot to do with that too.

To celebrate Memorial Day, we met my dad for lunch at Calhoun's on the River.  We then made our way over to Sharon and Rob's for a cook out.  Don and Kathy, Dennis and Melissa + kids and Matthew and Heather were also there.  The kids spent the entire afternoon/evening in the pool as well as some of the adults.  Everybody cut loose and had a good time.

We gathered our things on Tuesday morning and packed up the car to head back to SC.  We said our sad goodbyes to Granny, Grandma and Grandpa Bopp.  I always think I have my emotions in check until I look at Dixie.  It never fails, she always makes me cry.  As she watched us pack up the car this was what she was holding on to...

 
It would be hard not to cry knowing you had to let this sweet baby go.

We look forward to another visit soon!

Beyond Adorable

I decided to try another sewing project to make use of the left over fabric I had from MJ's nursery.  Because I am one of those mothers who is totally guilty of letting their child run around in only a diaper at home, I thought I could at least make a cute diaper cover that could pass as being partly dressed.

How cute will MJ look in this?

You can see that my stitching is still far from perfect and it took me way longer to make this than the average person - but seriously, so cute, right?  I have found so many adorable sewing projects that I will hopefully get around to trying. But being a newbie time is a must.  I was able to get this finished today because I am taking care of my sick little boy (again) who only has the energy to lay in the bed and watch tv.  He has an ear infection and a fever and is not at all happy about it.  But how sweet does he look?

 

That Didn't Take Long

It only took three days in the presence of germy kids for Evan to be sent home with a fever.  I picked up an extremely snotty, congested boy on Thursday who never led on for a second that he wasn't feeling well.  He had a fever of 102 degrees and was apparently breathing heavy and slobbering during nap time which prompted his teacher to take his temperature.  He was not allowed to return to school on Friday.

It's been a couple of days and it seems Evan is beginning to feel better.  No more fever, reduction of snot, but still congested and coughing.  I'm assuming he'll be okay to return to school on Tuesday.  I was so happy to have my mom visiting on Thursday because I was a complete newbie to dealing with a sick child.  This was the first fever Evan has ever had and he did not handle it well on Thursday night and Friday.  Nothing seemed to make him happy and he fought me tooth and nail on every little thing.  Mom helped me keep my cool which I appreciated very much.

I have a feeling these early dismissals from school will be more frequent than not.  Evan's immune system better be ready for a beating because that's exactly what it's gonna get these next few months.  It's a good thing I have a few months before I go back to work.  Evan may be spending more time at home with me after all.

Now Showing

It definitely appears as though there's a baby growing in my belly or else I've really done some damage on all my Easter candy.

I have graduated to the belly band this week simply because it's way more comfortable to just let it all hang out.  I'm still able to button my pants, but sitting down is less than cozy and after eating a full meal I can just forget about it.  I always think about that commercial where the slender, sexy woman slinks into the elevator and as soon as the elevator door shuts she lets her gut bust out of those tight fitting pants.  That's pretty much how I feel in my jeans, so the belly band is my savior.

I'm actually almost 13 weeks - Thursday is my turn day.  I believe I began using the belly band around 13 weeks with Evan as well.  But the difference is that I gained more weight in my first trimester with him than I have this time.  I can't say that I've been making extremely healthy food choices this time, but running after a toddler all day has its impact.

I thought I was pretty much out of the woods as far as nausea goes, but I had a pretty vicious episode this morning for whatever reason.  The past couple of weeks I have felt a lot better, but I guess my hormones aren't done with me yet.  Hurry up second trimester!!!

And because I can't contain my excitement I need to note that my brother, Tim, and his wife will find out the sex of their new baby tomorrow!!!  I can't wait to hear the news.  I'd love for them to have a boy.

Germ Invasion

After almost 21 months the inevitable finally happened. Evan has come down with his very first cold.  Pretty unbelievable, huh?  Other than some wheezing issues a few months ago, this goes down in the books as his first sickness.  And I'm not really enjoying the change.

Due to his inability to breathe, Evan only managed a half hour nap yesterday and woke up twice last night crying.  I felt so bad for the little guy because, no matter how old you are, not being able to breathe just plain sucks.  He also picked up a pretty bad cough which of course worsens when you're lying down.  Evan's love for sleep is being messed with in the worst way - and he's clearly very frustrated.

I'm hoping in a few days we'll all be back to normal - we just have to figure out a way for Robert to leave all those germs back at the restaurant.

Sensory Overload

Almost 10 weeks - this is supposedly what my baby should look like or at least resemble.  The little nugget is said to be the size of a fig.  I've always wondered why the comparison is always to a fruit or vegetable.  But then again, I can't think of a better alternative.

The nausea is still hanging around.  It's not nearly as bad now that I'm not taking the prenatal pills.  What seems to be most bothersome at this stage are the various smells that make me sick to my stomach.  And they're not the obvious smells such as Evan's dirty diapers or Robert's morning breath - they are smells that I actually normally enjoy.  For instance, the laundry.  Not right out of the dryer laundry, but laundry that has been folded and put away and then taken out to wear - yep, turns my stomach.  The smell of our house ranks up there in the top three.  Every time I walk in the door I have to exhale really hard to prevent from gagging.  Pre-preggo I never even recognized a specific smell from our house.  But the worst of all, and by far the most shameful, is Evan.  I have to breathe out of my mouth when I'm holding him.  His smell which I normally LOVE makes me so queasy.  This could go hand-in -hand with the laundry, but it's the combination of baby wash and lotion too that just puts it over the top for me.  Strange, I know.  And I'm ready for it to go away!

In other news, my little pooch has definitely popped out.  I'm not in need for the belly band or maternity clothes yet - I basically look like I have a beer gut.  This stage of pregnancy is always so flattering.  People just assume you're fat.  Nothing a few blousy shirts won't fix.  I'm thinking in about 3 weeks I may have to do a little shopping.

Next stop on the preggo train - first ultrasound on Monday.  Stay tuned.

Yabba Dabba Doo

Just as my friend, Kylie, suggested - I have started my double dose of Flinstones vitamins.  I called my nurse this morning to inform her that I couldn't keep the prenatal pills down.  She advised me to take two Flinstones vitamins per day until my next appointment.  At that point I could talk with my doctor to see where to go from there.

Hopefully I'll be having a gay old time soon!

What To Do

So I've discovered that my prenatal pills are partly responsible for my morning sessions of toilet diving.  I absolutely despise throwing up so I'm one of those who will fight it off until the bitter end.  The last few days have literally been so horrifying because all I've done is fight it off, fight it off, fight it off.  I actually started eating more because at least while I'm eating I feel a tad bit better and it puts something in my stomach that can come up later.

Well, yesterday morning I just couldn't take it anymore and I walked into the bathroom and just let it all go.  I had the absolute worst taste in my mouth in the midst of all this and realized I had just thrown up my prenatal pills.  Call it a coincidence, but I felt better yesterday than I have thus far.  My mom advised taking the pills after I had eaten a square meal and see if that helped at all.

This morning I made myself an english muffin with peanut butter and ate a few pieces of Evan's watermelon.  I washed it all down with a big glass of milk.    Finally I reached for my pills, popped them in my mouth, swallowed and waited.  It only took about 20 -30 minutes before I had to make a dash for the bathroom.  It was a lot more pleasant having something substantial come up rather than bile and medication.  That was probably too much information, but it's true.  I'm still really nauseous 4 hours later, but I'm not sure if the pills made it out this time.  I'm still pretty certain these particular pills are not agreeing with me.

What to do?  Keep buying different brands until I find one not so bothersome?  That seems like a lot of trial and error, not to mention wasted money - but I will literally do anything at this point to be able to keep my breakfast.

The Smell is Everywhere

Let me just recap my last couple of hours:

After Evan woke up from his nap we made our much loved trip to Target. I didn't have anything important to pick up and thank the lord for that. As I was pulling into the parking lot I hear Evan coughing and it didn't sound like the congested cough he's had the last few days. It sounded more like a I have something in my throat that needs to come out kind of cough. And if that wasn't the truth - I turn around to make sure he's ok and as I do he starts throwing up all over himself, the car seat, the floor board, you name it - it was covered. I literally panicked for a bit because he's never thrown up before and he wasn't acting sick so I had a brief moment of not knowing what to do. Mommy mode definitely kicked in as I parked my reeking vehicle in a spot.

I opened the back door and assessed the very nauseating situation. I unbuckled Evan and carefully pulled him out making sure his lunch fell from his lap to the pavement. I stripped him down in the parking lot to his diaper. You gotta love Florida when you can do that in mid -November. I looked around in my car for anything I could use to clean out the pile - yes, I said pile - of putrid smelling mess that took up the entire car seat. I'm not even gonna mention the straps of the harness. It makes me want to gag thinking about it. So I take the only thing I can find - a blanket - that I can cover the car seat with so I can get Evan home. I had to use the seat belt in the car to strap him in and we were on our way.

He dry heaved a few times on the way home, but smiled and laughed in between. I wasn't too sure what to make of it. Once we were home I got him inside and secure and then tackled the whole car seat issue. I wasn't about to step-by-step clean out each and every crevice of that seat. Instead, I took the whole thing out, ripped off the covering and hosed down the interior of the seat. I washed the covering, his clothes and shoes in the washing machine. Everything is currently hung to dry.

Evan has been running around ever since we got back. I'm assuming it was something he ate? He doesn't have a fever and didn't turn down dinner either. What I do know is that ordeal was the closest I've come to throwing up in a long time. And I still can't get that smell out of my nostrils! Ahhh!