Filed under Sickness and Health …

May 24 2010
3 Comments
For better or for worse, Parenthood, Pregnancy, Sickness and Health

Sick of being sick

I have been dealing with a host of illnesses this past winter and spring.  On top of the morning sickness I had all through my first trimester and into the beginning of my second, I’ve had a stomach virus (during that first trimester … how did I know the difference?  pretty sure morning sickness excludes diarrhea …), a sinus infection and now TWO bouts of bronchitis.  It’s getting ridiculous.  To the point where, I’m not sure I even know what it feels like to be well.

To make things just a tad bit more difficult, DH has been traveling for work a lot this year.  And timing on my illnesses has been uncanny to say the least.  Usually on the week he’s gone or about to leave.  Wah. Wah. Wah.  I know.  But it’s been difficult to deal with a toddler (whose behavior has been challenging to say the least) and be sick and basically have no real time to rest and get better.

Today I went to see the doctor yet again who confirmed the second bout of bronchitis.  She prescribed another round of antibiotics plus the tylenol with codeine she prescribed last time.  “WHAT?!”, you may be asking yourself right now.  Apparently, it’s common to prescribe tylenol with codeine for pregnant woman who have bronchitis because believe it or not, it’s actually safer for the baby than taking cough syrup.  I found this hard to believe since it’s a Category C drug but the  doctor assured me that’s it okay for me to take a weeks worth until my throat finally feels better.  She said that if I took it a lot during the pregnancy, like months, then it might be an issue.

But she also said something else which really eased my mind and I didn’t even mention this symptom to her because it’s well, kinda embarrassing.  You see, I’ve been coughing so hard that each time I pee myself a little.  And without me even saying it, she said, “You must be feeling terrible, you poor thing.  Coughing and probably peeing yourself.”

I said, “I’m glad you said something about that because I wasn’t going to mention it.”

She said, “We’ve all been there, honey.  It will go away.”

WHEW!  I’ve been worried about this being a permanent thing and having to buy adult undergarments at this age!  So needless to say, I’m looking forward to not being sick for not just the obvious reasons but for this reason too!

Apr 28 2010
6 Comments
Happy Thoughts, Pregnancy, Sickness and Health

Number two on the way

The cat’s out of the bag.  I’m pregnant.

I’ve been wanting to tell the world for a while but DH and I decided that it would be best to go through with an amniocentesis and make sure everything was okay this time.  Why?  Because I’m an old buzzard with a greater likelihood of having issues.  A few friends had asked and I denied at first because of this agreement that DH and I had about letting the world know.  So I was “taking the fifth” as one of my old high school friends put it.

After getting the glowing results, I can now say that not only are we having another healthy child but that child is a GIRL!  But I knew the sex prior to even having the amniocentesis.  “How?” you may ask.  Wives’ tales and a little bit of science.

For one, I was REALLY sick this time around in the first trimester, going into a good bit of the second as well (I lost 6 pounds in one week which the doctor didn’t like too much).  Starting about my third week I was getting queasy and by the fifth week I was throwing up not just in the morning but pretty much feeling sick or getting sick until early evening.  (Then there was the week I had not only morning sickness but a stomach virus — but that’s another post maybe.)  So why did this make me feel it was a girl?  Wives’ tales have long said this but in fact, there’s a bit of science behind it.  Apparently, the hormone levels within a woman’s body when she is carrying a girl will indeed make her more sick than if she were carrying a boy.

Second, my cravings.  I didn’t have much cravings in the first trimester but when the morning sickness eased up, when I did want something it was clear I did have a preference.  I’ve been told by several people that women crave sweets when carrying a girl and proteins when carrying a boy.  With Monkey, I craved sausage and eggs constantly.  With this one, I’ve been craving chocolate and watermelons or cantaloupe.

Third, the day of conception.  I’ve heard that male sperm swim faster and die off quicker.  Female sperm swim slower but last longer.  DH was leaving for Vegas a few days prior to my ovulation the month we conceived.  So we made sure to “do the deed” prior him leaving and voila!  Preggers with a girl.

So this is why I knew.  I wish I could have been so certain about the healthy part but honestly, the amniocentesis wasn’t that bad.  I had built it up in my mind as this horrific event and it truly wasn’t.   Some cramping afterward but I was able to attend a meeting two hours after the event and didn’t have a problem.

Number two on the way.  Still scary to think about.  Don’t think I would have ever been ready.  Will be an interesting road at least.

Oct 18 2009
2 Comments
For better or for worse, Sickness and Health

Alternative Methods

Lately, I’ve complained about my weight, my energy levels, etc.  I started down a path of trying to not work at night, trying to go to bed earlier, trying to eat better and get more exercise. I’ve started this path twice this year.  And, per my usual, all of that went down the tubes, twice.

I can’t tell if it’s because I’m a pushover about work or if it’s because I’m lazy about taking care of myself, but I always revert to these bad habits. Why is it so much easier to fall into bad eating and exercising and sleep habits and so darn hard to correct them?

So for the first time in my life, I’m considering some extreme methods. I’ve started researching vitamin b12 shots. Apparently, they give you energy. Is this the solution to why I never feel rested enough? I’ve also visited the Alli site several times wondering if a weight-loss pill is my next step in losing my belly.  I’m still apprehensive about both of these.  They seem slightly dangerous to me.

But also, I haven’t really given myself the chance to get “back in the groove” of eating and sleeping well, exercising and exercising my right to say “No” at work. But I am going to … that is when I get over this flu.  If I can accomplish and maintain these things without the aforementioned alternative methods, then why bother?  A little voice in my head though says, “They might help you do this quicker.”

There in lies one of the major reasons I tend to fail.  I’m impatient.  When I go walk or run on the treadmill or go to yoga, I want my pooch belly to deflate as if in a cartoon.  And when after a few attempts, I don’t see results, I get discouraged and figure why bother?

I know many people go through this and I know I’m not alone.

Sep 18 2009
3 Comments
For better or for worse, Parenthood, Sickness and Health

Medical Receptionists and I don’t mix

I don’t know what it is about medical receptionists but for some reason I rarely get along with or like many of them.  Today I had to take Monkey to get allergy tested because he had a reaction to the yellow jacket that stung him on Sunday.

First, when I made the appointment the receptionist was very curt and the only reason I decided to keep on with making the appointment was the fact that her office was the only one who seemed able to take a new patient within reasonable time (not a month or two).

Today we arrived and albeit, Monkey was being a bit of a pain.  Taking every magazine they had in the bin at the front and moving them somewhere else in the office.  Pushing chairs out of place.  You know, toddler behavior.

Then he decided to grab the sign-in clipboard from the front of the receptionist’s station and throw it on the ground.  This, of course, is unacceptable, destructive behavior but before I had the chance to correct him, the stupid little receptionist stood up and said in a very stern, cold, slightly loud voice, “You don’t touch that!”

I was dumbfounded for a second and then quickly debated what to do next.  I wanted to yell at her, “He’s MY kid and I’ll do the parenting!”  or “How dare you talk to my kid that way?”  But since this was our first time to the office and since he hadn’t been pricked, prodded or tested yet, I figured it best to just be catty by picking the clipboard up and slamming it down on the counter while giving her a dirty look.

So Monkey and I are finally called back and they have lollipops in a jar right in view of the scale where he needed to be weighed.  Hence, I spent the next hour and half of the appointment telling him that he could have one at the END of the appointment which eventually led to a temper tantrum because as a 2 year old, he doesn’t understand the concept of time or eventual ending of things quite yet.

DH had his own doctor’s appointment this morning but was able to meet us just before the doctor came into the room.  When he arrived, he said, “I can’t believe you forgot the medical card!  I left it on the buffet so you could bring it?”

I said, “What do you mean?  I took it.”

“Oh, the receptionist said she didn’t have it and I tried to give her the picture of it on my phone but she said she couldn’t use that,” he responded in a way that I knew she had already rubbed him the wrong way as well.

“She took a COPY of it! What the hell!” and then we decided that I should go to the front to straighten things out.

I stuck my hand with the card in it through her little glass case barrier and gruffly said, “Do you still need to make a copy of this?”  With the expected rudeness, she said, “Oh sorry,”  (not a hint of sorry in her tone mind you) “I must have mixed you up with someone else.”  So help me, if we get a bill saying we didn’t have insurance or that we need to submit this to insurance.

By the end of the appointment, it was decided that Monkey really didn’t the need testing right now and COULDN’T have the test for 6 weeks anyway because his body would still be reacting to the sting from Sunday.  Mind you, I made special arrangements with work and daycare to take off today AND I could have taken him to see the allergist our daycare provider recommended but who didn’t have an appointment until October.  Frustrating!  Although, the actual doctor was pleasant did give us another prescription for an EpiPen Jr. so we could keep one at the house and one at daycare should he have some sort of reaction the next time he is stung.

Overall, I was glad when we were through, Monkey had his cherished lollipop in hand and we were armed with the necessary medical prevention and knowledge for the next time.  But I hope I don’t have to see that receptionist anytime soon.

Tagged ,
Aug 12 2009
2 Comments
For better or for worse, Sickness and Health

Battle of my Bulge

So, I’ve had a lot of posts and Facebook status updates about my weight.  It’s really all my fault.  I got used to those 500 calories burned by breastfeeding and when I stopped I kept eating the same.  Well, eating sleeves of Oreos and having an “afternoon shake” eventually caught up with me.  BIG TIME.  We’re talking I’ve had to buy new pants a size larger to accommodate the new parts of ME.  Specifically, my mid-section and thighs.

I downloaded an app for my iPhone which tracks your weight and lets you know how many calories you need to eat per day to reach your goal.  Well, this little app has awakened me to the disturbing difference between the calories in what tastes good (to me anyway) and what I don’t usually crave.

For instance, Chick-Fil-A?  Yeah, pretty much everything there is 400 calories+.  Bread?  Like 200 calories a slice in some cases.  Especially if it tastes really good apparently.  And surprisingly, Bananas?  140 calories for a medium one.  Who knew?

Yet, broccoli, cucumbers, carrots … pretty much any fresh veggie is like 60 calories.  Now I don’t hate these things.  But they aren’t something I generally crave at 3:00 pm when hitting that afternoon “wall” at the office.

But it’s been an eye opener and I’m slowly (and begrudgingly) starting to realize what I need to avoid and what I need to eat more of in general.  Reminds me of Ted Alexandro’s bit … as much as you want.   Watch it and you’ll get it.  As much as you want.

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