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Pregnancy Scares & Halloween Scares

I've got to get used to crafting with boy stuff and colors haha! I'm officially a Boy Mom, and for once my husband isn't outnumbered by girls in his family!

This will be Baby A's quilt! I'm so excited to make it when I have more stamina. 



Also, I cannot get over how much Baby A looks like Baby R. I know it's rough and alien-esque, but wow Austin's genes take over! I mean the cheeks, the lips, the nose... all Mr. R and Austin! 


This picture has a story behind it. I got my big "anatomy scan" via the Fourth of July because I had a bad bleeding episode. These photos were unbelievably comforting. I was 19 weeks here. I woke up at 0500 one morning in a pool of blood. I thought I had maybe voided in my bed, but then looked down to my horror- blood and lots of it. I quickly ran out of bed and blood just kept coming. It wouldn't stop. By this time I was screaming and woke up Austin. I remember crying and saying, "We need to go to the Emergency Room!!" He shot up awake and saw the trouble and quickly grabbed Baby R. I sat on the toilet (because I have no idea why) and it would not stop... I remember saying over and over "Please, No!!" I thought I was losing Baby A. I was just in an oversized PJ shirt and underwear and didn't even care... I grabbed a handful of OR towels I keep under the kitchen sink to sit on the ride over, and call 911. I told the operator that we were headed to the ER, and I thought I might be losing a baby at 19 weeks. I was gonna call and give anyone a heads up if it meant seconds. 

At the ER, they were amazing. I felt sick to my stomach when they brought in dopplers and ultrasounds, just straight out of fear of the unknown. They immediately grabbed a heartbeat and rough ultrasound and oh my goodness there was nothing better in this world than hearing that little heart beat just fine. Just to taunt us, Baby A was sucking his thumb of all things! The nurse did warn me, so as not to get a false premise, that it didn't mean everything was 100% out of the woods and other tests etc. would need to be done. He was "fine for right now." They called in the radiology tech on call (being a holiday) and soon we were back looking at every little inch of the baby, uterus, cervix, placenta. 

All in all, a complete mystery. Everyone/everything was just fine. 

It absolutely blows my mind that things like this can happen. 

Anyway, I was admitted for obvious reasons and for monitoring. The bleeding had finally slowed after turning into some large clots and turning into spotting by the end of the week.


My terrible selfie.... the why the hell am I here again face. Enough with hospitalizations and ER visits this year. 

Then, three weeks later.... 23 weeks-ish

I worked a 19 hour shift (regular 10 hour and then call 9 hours). Started contractions Saturday and figured probably just Braxton Hicks and working too hard. I went to work Monday, and oh my goodness freaking knock-the-wind-out of you contractions. I threw up twice from the onset and immediately called the clinic. Luckily the midwife was able to get me in within 15 min, and hooked me up to monitoring. Sure enough frequent contractions though no absolute pattern. Cervix was fine. She put me on antibiotics as UTIs (urinary tract infections) can cause issues like this during pregnancy. I had very trace amounts of bacteria in my urine. Basically inconclusive. After 24 hours of the antibiotic kicking in, feet up, and if the contractions didn't stop or worsened, I was told to head in to the hospital. 

And I was hospitalized AGAIN. 

Seriously am so sick of the place LOL. 

Can you put Hospitals on your allergy list? 

I was closely monitored again, given some fluid boluses to see if it was dehydration or if it would help, and then the obgyn ordered turbutaline or tocolytics. Basically those meds stop uterine spasms. 

But wait! Pharmacy calls about a conflict of management with my medications and allergies. I cannot have dopamine/anything that acts on dopamine/ anything parkinson's patients can't have. They become unsure about the turbutaline or tocolytics. Basically Reglan, or Metaclopramide (acts on dopamine) sent me to the ER in Laramie when I was pregnant with R because it caused my Dystonia to freak out and overpower my DBS units. I had severe chest/abdominal muscle cramps that clamped down to the point where I thought I was having a pulmonary embolism because I had been traveling for an extended period of time pregnant. Turns out in red in most major medication guides you aren't supposed to give those to patients with neuromuscular disease/disorders. 

SO, no stopping the uterus from doing it's thing. Rest, antibiotics, fluid bolus, etc. all having no effect on me led my primary obgyn to diagnose me with Irritable Uterus which means you have terrible-more-than-Braxton-Hicks contractions frequently, but THANKFULLY the cervix stays closed. She thinks my body never healed from the bleeding episode. And we definitely do not want that again. 
The nature of the work I do as an OR nurse is very physically demanding, and she said I should've picked a "normal" job, haha! I work with her though and we both have a love for the OR. It's just what life picked for us. 

I had to be a blob for that week, and could return to work with restrictions (4 hour days for now, no call so I don't send myself overboard...) My amazing Mother in Law came to help with housework and to help Austin not be so overwhelmed. Thank you SO much.  Austin (of course) is superman too. They kept Baby R entertained! Below is a pic of Susan (MIL) letting R pot my plants, and doing what boys do best! Dirt! 



After Susan left, Austin and I definitely had to let things go. My house is a toddler tornado! But happy healthy toddler tornado! R has been an entirely hyper/excited new kid since getting his ear tubes, and talking up a storm! (We found out that an ear infection was the likely culprit for his 10 minute febrile seizure in May.... I'm telling you our insurance company hates us right now haha!)



Trying to keep myself on the down-low and productive has meant doing things like going through family photos my mom digitized and gifted us for Christmas, planning a quilt (though not executing just yet... stamina I tell you!), and planning for fall festivities!

Aka lots of Pinterest pinning and dreaming about my favorite season all day.

You wonder why I love Halloween so stinking much?? I mean look at these family photos! It's in my blood I think!





That's my Grandpa on Halloween ^


That's my Aunt on Halloween and my Mom had many pictures with her black cat too^


My brother and cousin doing a Halloween activity ^


This isn't at all the magazine issue my mom did, but back in the 90s and early 00s, she did Family Fun Halloween crafts! We always had a super fun craft-filled Halloween as a result! ^




My brother and I in 1996 getting ready! Note my brother's epic spider hat, haha! And also note how much R looks like my brother! 



And lastly, because I seem to have Fall-Babies, we make a huge deal of Halloween and Fall. This one is Mr. R at the Koltiska Pumpkin Patch 2017! Cannot wait to get started with festivities this year, and also for the safe arrival of Baby A. 



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