Quarantined

So, I've been coughing quite a bit over the last two days and decided to see my doctor today. Based on the knowledge that I was exposed to whooping cough, I thought it would be wise to get tested.

I went to my family doctor who asked me some questions and listened to me breathe. She seemed stuck on the idea that I have bronchitis (I strongly doubt it) so she gave me a breathing treatment. That didn't change anything so she agreed to write a lab order to test me for whooping cough.

After seeing the doctor I went straight to the lab and had a nasal swab done (OUCH!). They told me I can expect results in about a week. Because I have a life to live, I didn't feel like waiting a week was acceptable. I asked my doctor if she could go ahead and treat me for whooping cough but she said no because she did not want to expose the baby to the antibiotics unless absolutely necessary.

So, here I sit at home on day 1 of waiting for my results. Thankfully I have an awesome boss who agreed to let me work from home until I find out for sure if I'm contagious or not.

We're going camping...

...for the last time without a baby!

I was thinking this morning that we are going to have to rent a trailer when we go camping next year. We already fill the Explorer to the ceiling with stuff. I can't imagine what it will be like when we are taking baby accessories, too.

I'm not one of those people who really enjoys camping. I don't understand why people choose to sleep on the hard floor of the forest when they have a perfectly good bed at home. I am not a fan of cold showers, eating food with ashes in it, having to walk down the road to the bath house, etc. But, I do love my husband and I enjoy spending time with my friends so once again I will go on a camping adventure and try to have a good time!

And now for the REAL reason I agree to go camping every year: THE S'MORES!


I promise to post some camping pictures next week. Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Fetal Echo Cardiogram Update

So, I spent basically my entire morning on the telephone with doctors, NICU units, my insurance company, etc. It was quite a pain but I'll try to make this short.

I spoke to my doctor and she said that she agrees with the doctor I saw yesterday and would like me to get the test done. However, she said that she fully understands why I don't want to do the echo cardiogram at the same time as the ultrasound. She recognized that the ultrasound should be a fun occasion and that the echo cardiogram experience may not be as positive.

Her office was helpful about trying to find another location where I could do the test (besides going to downtown Baltimore). We were not able to find another location due to the limitations of my insurance. So, I will go to Johns Hopkins on November 10 for the fetal echo cardiogram.

The happy news is that we will get to (hopefully) learn the baby's gender on October 31 at 11AM!

Doctor's Visit

I went to the OB's office for my scheduled appointment today. It was fun to hear the baby's heartbeat again! I also learned that I've gained 20 lbs. Maybe I'm blind, but I don't think I look like I've gained that much. Perhaps I should look in a mirror. ;)

Anyway, back to the appointment. Because I was born with a hole in my heart, the doctor I saw today (not my regular doctor) said I need to get an echo cardiogram done on the baby. I'm not too thrilled with the idea of having to go to Baltimore to get this test done. Besides the trauma of going to Johns Hopkins, I am sad because they said I cannot have a separate ultrasound done. That is particularly disappointing because I was SO looking forward to the special experience of getting to find out the baby's gender. Rod and I were going to take the day off to go to the appointment and then we were going to have lunch and go shopping for pink or blue!

Tomorrow I am going to talk to my primary OB to get her opinion on whether or not this test is necessary. If she feels it is necessary I will beg her to let me have the regular ultrasound at a separate time. I do not want the joy of finding out the baby's sex to be overshadowed by the stress of the echo cardiogram. At this point I'm going to try not to worry about it and just plan to talk to Dr. Ginter tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Hello in there...

I tried desperately to hear or feel movement. I held my breath while pressing my ear close to the mother's rounded mound of a belly. I tried speaking into the belly button, hoping that the sound waves just might awaken the creature within. My efforts went unrewarded. No ripples, no kicks, no bumps. What we have here is a shy little baby. This little baby is turning out to be more and more like her/his mother each day.

Hmmm.... Well I am certain that once it gets out of that dark place, the silence will be broken forever. I was thinking the other day that I have my next 21 years scheduled. Yikes! Diapers, Soccer, PTA, bake sales, and band-aids for the next 7665 days. That all should be kinda fun, right?

Until next time, "Keep your stick on the ice. We're all in this together." -Red Green

I'm fresh outta witty...

So yesterday I promised you a fun and witty post. The bad news is that I thought about this all night and all day and still haven't thought of anything that fits that definition. Instead, I will bore you with the details of my work life. Does that sound good?

I'm having so much fun making some of my colleagues wonder if I am pregnant or not. I keep seeing people look at me funny, but they're too afraid to ask why my stomach has gotten bigger over the past few weeks. Most of my coworkers know that I'm pregnant, but I don't want to go around announcing it to every single person that I know through work. My job has me working with a variety of people in the community every day. I feel weird walking up to each person and saying, "did you know I'm going to have a baby?" Causing them confusion is much more fun!

So, today I was at a training and sitting next to a colleague. I probably see this guy at least 1-2 times a week. He clearly is wondering about my growing mid-section but has never asked. This man is one of those people who jokes constantly so I am getting quite a kick out of making him guess! Anyway, I was drinking some coffee at the training and another friend/colleague of mine walked by and said, "that better be decaf" (of course it was!). My male coworker quickly turned and looked at me with a curious look on his face. But, he still didn't say anything. I'm interested to see how long I can keep him in the dark!

Sorry for the delay

Rod said he wants to update the blog every Sunday. He didn't have time over the weekend and I think he forgot about it once his busy week started.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that we haven't fallen off the blogging wagon. I will be thinking of something witty and fun to post tomorrow. :)