A hospital stay...

Well the past few weeks I have felt increasinly tired and have had headaches. The OBGYN has noted my blood pressure is high, but was waiting to speak with a physician. Then I started having palpitations. At first I tried to convince myself it was just anxiety, but it persisted and after 4 days I went to the GP who diagnosed ectopic beats and commented that my blood pressure was too high. Long story short... he spoke with the physician and I was admitted to hospital yesterday morning. I am now on 3 tablets a day for my BP which seems to be helping and at this stage there doesn't appear to be an evidence of pre-eclampsia (probably too early) and so I have what is termed essential hypertension. In addition my blood tests revealed gestational diabetes - so I am on a restricted diet and BSL monitoring until the baby is born.

I was coping well with all of this information until the doctor mentioned I would probably need to go to a large tertiary hospital for the birth of the baby so he can be admitted to NICU. Just those words were enough - so last night was not a restful one. All I can hope at this early stage is that my BP remains well controlled and that I am able to stabilise my BSLs.

I keep reminding myself this is a different pregnancy and that last time there were different complications. I suppose I had just hoped for a complication free pregnancy. So lots of appointments this week! BUT the best appointment will be on Monday when Kev and I get to see our baby on ultrasound again... I can't wait.

Lisa xx

My latest layout...

This is my layout for the S4L Sketch challenge. I love these photos of Mitch and his Grandpa.

17 weeks and 1 day...

Well another week has passed and another week closer to seeing our precious baby. It seems all the more real now that I can feel the baby kicking so often. So the bets are on for either an AFL player (who will be disowned if he plays for Port) or a tap dancer (who wouldn't want a son like Hugh Jackman... one second thoughts my dreams about Hugh are hardly maternal, so maybe not). The good news is that my blood pressure is down a little and while the doctor says it needs watching, it isn't an immediate concern. So it is just a matter of enjoying this pregnancy :-)

The boys are both doing well, although poor Mitch had a very rough weekend with high temps and some kind of viral illness. There isn't much of him to begin with, so when he doesn't eat for almost 2 days he looks like a little waif. They are both enjoying kindy and they also go to child care 2-3 afternoons a week - which gives me time to rest. I consider myself very fortunate that we can afford to do this and that we have easy access to child care in our area.

I must be feeling better (than I was in the first trimester) because I am back to my organising self and have tidied my craft room and almost catalogued all of our photo CDs. Kev laughs when Harry tries to organise me and I get frustrated - 'karma" is the term he uses!

The other good news is that we seem to have found a solution to Harry's distress in noisy venues. He tends to become quite distraught with any loud noise, particularly in a crowd setting, but I found some kid's hearing protection and when he wears them he has no difficulty at all. This meant he really enjoyed the last concert we went to and spent time dancing around and singing. As he gets older his Sensory Issues may improve, but it is also hoped that he will learn to manage them. So finding this simple technique has been a big step forward for our beautiful boy :-)

Well, not much else to tell... life is good. The boys are happy and all is well in our little corner of the world.

Hugs,
Lisa xx

16 weeks and one day!

So today I had another ultrasound. I was going to say "we" - but really it was just me... unless you count the baby... then it would be "we"...

As you can see my thought processes are truly muddled at the moment. For those smart alecs who wonder what has changed - I got lost twice today - once finding the RAAF base and once finding a major street in the city. And then at lunch time I completely upended my plate of food all over the table, even Pat was amazed at the flair with which I dumped the Chinese food so delicately. Nevertheless it was a newly cleaned table, so I shovelled it back onto the plate and ate it regardless (clearly I have lost none of my class!).

Anyway, what was I saying? Aaah that's right - the ultrasound. Why oh why do the radiology staff insist on a full bladder and then run late? I sat there doing St Vitus' dance for 35 mins, until I couldn't stand it anymore and I asked if I was going to be seen soon. The receptionist clearly noticed my distress (it could have been the jig I was doing) and told me I could empty my bladder "a little". Yeah right lady! You try and empty a pregnant bladder just a little! Anyway, eventually I was seen and the radiographer was apologetic for the wait, so it would have been churlish to be grumpy. And besides she was already doing the scan and showing me latest images of Baby Reid. Suddenly the wait and the rupturing bladder didn't matter a bit - there was our precious baby. And a bit of extra news, it appears (although it will have to be confirmed with the next scan) that Baby Reid is a little boy. It was wonderful to see him swimming about and I could have watched him for hours. But it was onto the task at hand, which was to check on my cyst which thankfully hasn't grown and just needs observing. I sang all the way home, much to amazement of a few motorists.

Apart from that life goes on as usual. The boys are maturing and while there is still a lot of work to do, they are little helpers and continually say that they love us - and that makes all of the work worthwhile. Tomorrow we are meeting with the kindy director to discuss schooling options, so hopefully soon we will have a firm plan in place for where the boys are heading school wise.

It is amazing to think that just over 5 years ago we had resigned ourselves to being childless and now here we are expecting no. 3. Life sure has an amazing way of surprising you.

Here's hoping your life is filled with delightful surprises,
Lisa xx