Catching Up

I finally started getting caught up in my Google Reader. For the last month or so I've just been skimming titles and marking all as read. But last week I decided it was time to start returning to the land of the living and I actually starting reading all your posts again.

As many of you will have noticed, I also started commenting again. Since I had, oh, I don't know, about 5000 unread posts, I didn't comment on ALL your posts, just the ones I felt I had something to contribute to. I'm hoping to keep on top of it now that I'm all caught up (and believe me, that was a serious undertaking).

I also decided to start posting at the Mom Blog Casee and I started last year, Not Dead Yet. When I went back to work earlier this year we kind of let it fall to the wayside. Then, with me being sick over the summer and Casee being busy with life, we just let it slide. I'm hoping to start posting on a more regular basis both here and there.

In an effort to get things started, I've already posted a new entry. Go forth and check it out if you're so inclined:

Letters on the White Board

ETA: I wanted to add a link to this video for Ames. We constantly look at TFLN together and when I emailed her this one...

(515): Last night you told her she was rocking the beer gut. Still wondering why you have that black eye?

...she didn't get the joke...So Ames, this is for you:



Rockin' the Beer Gut by Trailer Choir

Stuff

My Cup Runneth Over

Before I go forward, I want to say thank you to all of you who've been here to support me and MM. The last couple of months have been kind of crazy, and knowing you all were here really helped. Thank you so much for the comments, emails and cards I received. It really meant the world to me.

Vegas, Baby

October was an interesting month. Looking back, it's hard to believe so much happened such a short time ago. Already it feels like a lifetime ago, not a few short weeks. The weekend of the 24th MM and I went to Vegas for a wedding. We debated about going, but in the end decided we probably needed to get out of town. A change of scenery can work wonders, you know. In the end I'm glad we went, but MM drank a little too much at the reception and we ended up having an..interesting evening. Let's just say I'm not sure we'll be welcome back at Harrah's any time soon.

Halloween

For the last several years we've hosted a Halloween party. When MM was growing up his mom (or maybe grandma, I'm not positive) did "chili night" on Halloween. Basically they had chili going on the stove and throughout the night people would stop in to eat between bouts of trick-or-treating. So we've taken over doing this (his mom and grand parents live several hours away from us). The neighborhood we live in is great for trick-or-treating. One of the main churches in town is right next door to our housing development, so many people come here to trick-or-treat after visiting "harvest night" at the church. Cars line up for blocks.

The first year we did this we used our house as the base for trick-or-treating. I made chili and we invited several of our friends/family members over to join us. We ate, then walked with the kids around the neighborhood. Last year it turned more "party-like". We invited more friends, and though we still used our house as a base and did chili, we also decorated more and put together some games (that we never actually played, now that I think about it). This year we went even farther with the decorations and I made chili and chicken tortilla soup.

The neighborhood kids were really impressed with the house. MM really gets into it and goes all out. We even replaced our interior lights with black and red bulbs, so the inside looked just as creepy as the outside. Some kids were afraid to come to the door. Heh.

It looks like this has become a yearly tradition. I don't know how much fun other people have when they come, but we enjoy hosting it and we'll probably keep doing it as long as we have friends with kids who want to trick-or-treat (or have kids ourselves who want to).

Physical Recovery

Last week I had my post-op checkup. Maybe someday when I'm bored - or in the mood - I'll tell you all about my experiences with my crappy OBGYN. For now I'll just say I'm glad last Monday was the last time I have to see them. Normally after childbirth you have to wait 6 weeks for your checkup, but in my case - I guess because I wasn't very far along - I only had to wait 2-3 weeks. I saw the doctor and everything is fine, so I'm cleared for normal activity.

To be honest I was completely relieved. Now that I don't feel sick anymore, I've been anxious to get my life back in order. I haven't really cleaned my house in about 5 months. The kids and MM tried to help, but well...it's the kids and MM. I'm sure you can imagine the size of the dust bunnies threatening to take over our house. I've been wanting to dive in and get things organized, but I was restricted from doing a lot of things - like lifting heavy stuff and vacuuming.

I was also ready to get back into a regular exercise routine. Doing nothing but throwing up for 5 months really took a lot out of me. I'm anxious to get back into shape. I picked up the Wii Fit Plus the other day, and I started it yesterday morning. I'm the type of person who gets bored easily. Several months before I got pregnant I got bored with the Wii Fit. I'd already mastered all the balance games, and doing the same old exercises time and again just wasn't fun.

The thought of getting back into the Wii Fit didn't hold much appeal, but I figured with the Fit Plus I might be more inclined. So far it seems to be working. Some of the new Training Plus exercises they came up with are awesome (I say some because I've only tired a few up to this point). I can't wait to get back into a solid workout routine. Not only do I want to get rid of the excess weight, but I'd like to get my strength back, too.

I'm also thinking about getting back on the treadmill. I don't want to overwhelm myself right off the bat, but I think I'll probably add in some treadmill time starting next week. I figure I'll start off slow and work my way up.

Emotional Recovery

I'm doing surprisingly well emotionally. As I mentioned above, losing Baby Peanut seems like something that happened a long time ago. There are odd moments when it'll hit me hard, but mostly I'm just ready to move forward. I think MM and I were able to make peace with things in the hospital for the most part. Since our doctor was so good to us and we knew ahead of time what was going to happen, the blow wasn't as sharp as it could have been.

Sometimes I wonder if there's something wrong with me because I'm not completely grief stricken. I'm still sorry, very sorry, that things didn't work out. But mostly I'm just...well, ok, really.

I forget that this isn't old news for some. Just today I saw a friend had left a note on my mom's Facebook page asking when I was due. I didn't really know what to say. I'm comfortable talking about it, but I don't always know how other people will react.

Surprisingly, the one who's taken it the hardest is The Girl. MM and I were talking about Baby Peanut at the dinner table the other night and she got very upset. She finally asked us to please stop talking about it. Although I knew she and Little Man were sad, I didn't realize it had touched her so deeply.

I do want to take a minute to wallow in self-pity though. I just want to say it sucks big fat hairy donkey balls that I had to go through what I did but didn't get the payoff for it. 5 months of non-stop puking, excess weight gain and swelling, labor and delivery and for what? I told MM, normally you know you're doing it because the payoff will be huge. It sucks wind that there was no payoff for me.

/pity party

The Future

People keep asking if MM and I plan to try again. At some point I think we probably will, but neither of us is in a giant hurry. MM keeps saying maybe sometime next year, but we'll just have to play it by ear and see what happens. I'm certainly not in any hurry to start throwing up again any time soon, that's for sure.

In the meantime, I'll try to start blogging again on a more regular basis, but I'm not making any promises. Sometimes I just don't have anything to say. Other times I have plenty to say but no gumption to actually type it out.

If you're interested, you can find me on Facebook, or Twitter, or at Book Binge. I tend to spend the better part of my days hanging out in those places (stupid time-sucks!).

Thank You

As this is something near and dear to my heart, I want to take a moment to say thank you to all who serve. Without you it means nothing.


In case you can't read it, the caption says: Courage - Bravery doesn't mean you aren't scared. It means you go anyway.

Thank you to all who went anyway.

Untitled

This is a hard post for me to write. Despite what you might think by reading my blog, I tend to be a very private person. There are things I just don't feel comfortable putting out there for all the world to see, or sharing with people outside my family. But sometimes when you share the good, you have to share the bad as well.

At 12 weeks MM and I opted to have the state testing done for down syndrome. It's a blood test along with an ultrasound. The testing is completely optional, but I had it with both the other kids, so we decided to go forward with it this time, too.

We received the results about a week later and they indicated we were at a high risk for down syndrome; our chances were about 1 in 17. The ultrasound also showed Baby Peanut had a cystic hygroma, which is basically an excess amount of fluid at the back of her neck. All babies have this, but the normal range was 3mm or less, and she had 6.5.

The doctor said he thought the risk was high enough to recommend an amniocentesis, which is basically where they take amniotic fluid through your stomach and test it. He also indicated we were at higher risk for miscarriage.

On September 22 we had the amnio done and about 10 days later we received the results. Baby Peanut had down syndrome. Our doctor had prepared us and we weren't too surprised by that. Although down syndrome is hard, MM and I weren't bothered about having a child with it. We just wanted her to be born healthy and we didn't care about the rest.

Unfortunately, during that appointment, the doctor did another ultrasound and gave us more bad news. The fluid she had at the back of her neck also spread to her chest and abdominal cavities, her heart was asymmetrical in shape and she had water on the brain. At that time he told us it wouldn't be a case of "if" we miscarried, but "when".

A week later, this past Tuesday, we had a follow up appointment and Baby Peanut's heart had stopped beating. Because I was as far along as I was, just a few days shy of being 20 weeks (5 months), I had to go through labor and delivery. MM and I checked into the hospital Wednesday evening and they induced labor.

Baby Peanut was born at 8:58 a.m. on Thursday, October 15, 2009.

Because our doctor was so candid with us, we were able to prepare somewhat, though I don't think you can ever be fully prepared for something like this. We're very sad, of course, but we're glad she's in a better place and won't have to suffer, even for a minute. It's hard, but we believe there's a greater purpose in life and though we can't see how, Peanut was taken for a reason.

We came home from the hospital this morning. I think we're both glad to be home with the kids. We were as open and honest with them as we can be, and they're handling it pretty well. Especially now that we're home and they know I'm ok.

As of right now we both have up and down moments. I expect my online presence will be off and on for the next little while.

We want to thank everyone for their love and support during this difficult time.

ETA: My timeline was off, so I fixed it. This is mostly for myself, please disregard.

Love at 20 vs Love at 30

I remember visiting an author message board years and years ago (just after the RB and I separated, I think) and seeing a thread about love at 20 vs love at 30. The women were talking about their experiences and the differences in how they felt between now and then. Some women had been with the same man all along, but their feelings had matured and grown. Others had had different relationships along the way and felt there was a world of differences between those 10 years.

Their thoughts and comments struck me at the time because I was sort of in limbo then. I had just ended a relationship and had no plans to start another - but the way they talked about love at 20 reminded me so much of myself with the RB it was scary. So it struck a chord and stayed with me, even after all these years.

For some reason I've been thinking about that thread lately. Maybe because I've been feeling kind of homesick and it's bringing up memories from the past.

MM likes to make fun of me for being married to the RB. He just can't believe that I was married to a man who treated me so badly. To be honest, I really can't either. I guess I've always considered myself to be a strong person, but sometimes even strong people get scared. And that's what I was. Terrified, actually.

Sadly, that's pretty much the only reason I stayed with him as long as I did. Not because I was scared of him, but because I was afraid of being alone. Afraid of not being able to make it on my own with a child. Afraid no other man would have me because I had a child. About 6 months after The Girl was born a guy I'd gone to high school with developed a little crush on me. He was several years older than me and I was honestly flattered by the attention. But scared, too. Because I had a kid and I was sure he had no idea. Why would he flirt with me if he did?

The RB and I were off and on quite a bit during that time, though I still thought myself in love with him. I wasn't really looking to start a relationship with anyone else, but the attention was nice. Eventually I mentioned The Girl to him, saying something like, "You know I have a kid, right?" and his reply shocked me. Right down to my toes. He said, "Of course. Everyone does. What does that have to do with anything?" Up until that point, I truly thought no man would want me knowing I had someone else's kid.

I can't really say that was a life changing moment for me. Knowing I was wanted by another man - even with a kid - didn't make me leave the RB or think better of myself. Not then, anyway. Later I would think back and realize I was silly to be so afraid, but at the time I was still so wrapped up in my fears and anxieties I couldn't see anything else.

I know I've said it before, but I was totally content to be alone when MM came along. I wasn't lonely for a man, or feeling like something was missing from my life. I had my children and amazing friends and the support of my family. Sure there were times I missed the physical contact that comes with being in a relationship (and no I don't just mean sex) but mostly I was happy as I was.

Here's the thing - I love MM. A lot. But I could live without him if I had to. Do I want to? No. But I could. If our relationship ended tomorrow it would suck and I'd hurt, but I'd be able to move on with my life. I'd be able to go forward and not feel like my world had ended.

Obviously MM is a better man than the RB, but that isn't the reason. It's because I've grown and matured and I've found confidence in myself. I know I can survive without MM, but I choose not to. Which means our relationship is healthier. My love for him is stronger and more open than it would have been had I not realized the strength in myself.

Not that I didn't appreciate all that angsty love back when, but I think I'll take the love I feel for MM today, thanks.

*Photo credit: Wildflowerafternoons

Quick Update

I got a notice from my blog the other day that it was time to update. The thing is, I've been deliberately avoiding the blog because I don't want to become "that" girl. You know, the one who just whines and complains and says the same shit over and over again? Yeah, her.

I don't really have much of anything new to report. I'm still sick. Since the weather cooled down I don't throw up as often, but I still throw up. And I spend about 95% of my days in a nausea induced fog. Yes, it sucks to be me.

I'm hoping that with winter relief will come, but I'm not holding my breath. I was sick like this with both the other kids for the entire 9 months, so I imagine this time won't be any different. A girl can hope, though.

I don't really have much else to report. MM is fine. He's been doing a lot of training lately, so he hasn't been around much. Which is both a blessing and a curse. The kids are fine, too. They're both back into a normal routine now, so that's a bonus. I'm particularly proud of The Girl, because she's been getting herself up in the morning. That's huge for me, because mornings are the worst. Since she has to be up at 5:30, I'd really struggle if I had to get up with her every day. Instead I keep an eye on her from my bed. It's not the ideal situation, but it's better than the alternative.

We've been having our normal issues with them doing their homework. Little Man keeps fighting me about doing his reading log every day (he's required to read for 20 minutes a night), which breaks my bibliophile heart. He keeps starting books, reading a chapter or two, then setting it aside to start another. All those unread books make me want to cry!

The Girl has tried to pull her old tricks of not doing homework or classwork. Unfortunately for her (and fortunately for me) I now have online access to all her grades, and most of her teachers have email access in the classroom. Which means I stay pretty well informed. My not feeling well has worked to her advantage because I haven't been camped out at her school 5 days a week, but I'm still staying on top of everything via email and phone. That annoys her to no end.

We had an incident with her awhile back where she started sneaking out of the house early in the morning to get ready at a friend's house. Which means she was borrowing clothes and wearing makeup when she wasn't supposed to be. That all ended the day I showed up at the bus stop and made her come home and shower before school started. MM wanted me to go in a bathrobe w/ curlers in my hair, but I settled for pajamas and bedhead. Naturally she wasn't too thrilled to see me. She hasn't tried sneaking out since though, so I guess it did the trick.

Oh, on the good news front: we found out the sex of the baby....

It's a girl!!!

Poor MM was heartbroken, because he really wanted a boy, but he's adjusting. Little Man was in denial about it, but he's slowing beginning to accept. The Girl is, naturally, ecstatic. She wanted a girl right from the beginning. I knew it was a girl, so I wasn't surprised in the least. A mother knows these things (ok, not really, but I did have a feeling and I've been saying so right from the beginning).

I guess I don't have too much else to report. I'm still just plugging along. I'll be sure to let you know if that changes. ;0)

Pregnancy Woes

First, before I commence with some serious whining, let's get the good stuff out of the way:

MM and I decided to start trying for a baby around the middle of May. I had my birth control taken out and, as near as we can tell, about a week later I got pregnant. I tried telling MM this would happen - hello, I'm Italian - but he didn't believe me. At first it was, "Oh, it'll take at least 6 months." Uh, no MM, it will not. Then it was, "Ok, well it'll take at least a couple of months." Sorry to disappoint, babe, but it won't. In the end I turned out to be right.

When I first starting showing symptoms of being pregnant MM didn't believe that's what it really was. I kept trying to convince him and then finally just said, "let's pee on a stick and find out".

I peed, he read the stick, we were pregnant.

That happened on a Friday. Because I knew it was really early in the game and because we hadn't had it officially confirmed (not that I needed it to be, I knew), we agreed to keep it between us until I could get in to see the doctor. I made an appointment for the following Monday and MM went off to work.

Where he proceeded to tell everyone. Naturally.

We waited until after my doctor's appointment that following Monday and then told our families. I decided to wait a bit longer before telling the rest of the world, however, because it was so early. Once I started throwing up I knew - from experience - that it was pretty safe to tell, though.

We had an ultrasound done a couple of weeks ago (I was about 6 weeks along). MM got to see the heartbeat on the screen, which was fun. Since it was pretty early, you couldn't really make out too much. They printed a picture for us, but really, if they hadn't put little astericks on it to say, "Your baby is between here and here" we'd never know what it was. After we got home I looked up a picture of what the fetus looks like and MM said it looks like a peanut. Ever since he's been calling it Baby Peanut. He's such a dork. Ok, and kind of cute with it.

Anyway, I'm about 8 weeks along. My due date is March 4, 2010. MM really, really wants a boy. I, however, am convinced it's a girl. We have an appointment on the 20th of August to find out for sure, though. I'll keep you posted.
Please feel free to skip the next part if you aren't up to listening to me whine, bitch, moan and complain. And now on with the whining:

I tried to warn MM, way back when, that me + pregnancy = not good times. Unfortunately he couldn't grasp the full meaning of that until the time actually came.

Let's take last night for example:

Around 3 yesterday afternoon I started developing a headache. For those of you who know me, you understand that a "mild" headache for me is pretty certain to lead into a "full blown migraine" if not immediately treated. The unfortunate part there is that I can't take anything to treat a migraine right now. Around 8 last night the migraine went pretty much full blown.

It's been about, oh, I don't know, ten years since I've had a migraine I couldn't take anything for. I ended up getting in the shower, because the hot spray often relaxes the muscles in my neck, while MM went to the store to get me some Tylenol (the only pain reliever I'm allowed to take). But the shower thing didn't work like it should, because now that I'm pregnant I can't take hot showers. They make my nausea worse. So I basically sat - and vomited - in a lukewarm shower for 30 minutes until MM came home.

Not my idea of a good time.

Once MM got home I took some Tylenol and was able to find a comfortable enough to position to fall asleep. Which was good until about 1:30 this morning. That's what time I woke up feeling nauseous. I tossed and turned for awhile and finally got up about 15 minutes later and threw up. And threw up. And threw up. I can't remember ever throwing up that much before. It was awful.

Eventually I crawled back into bed....only to toss and turn until about 3. At which time I started throwing up again. And again. And again. This went on for quite some time until eventually, around 5 this morning, I had nothing left to throw up and was able to fall asleep.

That was the first time since I've gotten pregnant that I was that sick - I was vomiting pretty violently - but that isn't the first time I've woken in the middle of the night to be sick. I'm nauseous pretty much 24/7. I'd say I probably throw up about half of everything I eat. It's been pretty rough.

Several weeks ago I got a prescription for Reglan - an anti-nausea medication - and that worked really well for me. I took it 3x a day and while I was still nauseous, it wasn't as severe and I wasn't vomiting as much. Then I went to see my OBGYN for the first time.

I saw the midwife and she told me she didn't feel comfortable giving a prescription for Reglan because, "haven't you seen the ads on t.v.? There's a big class action lawsuit going on right now for people who have taken that." huh. Ok then.

Look, I certainly don't want to take something that might harm me or my unborn child. But I'd like some better reasoning than "ads on t.v.". What happened to saying, "Recent medical studies have shown" or "based on recent discoveries" or something! But, "Haven't you seen the ads on t.v.?" Really?

In the meantime she gave me a prescription I've tried before several times without success. I tried to tell her that it doesn't work for me but she basically said that's all there is, take it or leave it. So I tried it - to no avail - and finally called back a week later to tell her, if anything, it makes me worse. She called in another prescription for me and suggested I try it. I guess its one they give to cancer patients who are going through chemo. So you'd think it would work. But last night's episode? Yeah, that was on the new medication.

It's entirely possible that I have a 24 hour flu bug, or that the violent retching had absolutely nothing to do with the new prescription, but I'm not entirely convinced. My OBGYN has been out of the office, so I haven't been able to talk to him about the meds and find out if the Reglan is really harmful. According to research I've done online it says its fine for pregnant women to take it. But just b/c it's written online doesn't mean it's true. So...I'd like to talk to a doctor about it. As you can imagine, I have zero faith in my midwife.

In the meantime, MM's new BFF is a nutritionist and he's been offering suggestions. This morning I'm trying some ginger tea along with some ginger root capsules. I tried some dried toast earlier this morning and couldn't keep it down, but about an hour ago I had some oatmeal and so far it seems to be sticking.

I can't seem to focus very long on one thing, so I'm not really reading or watching t.v.. I check my email on my Blackberry, but that's about it. No bloghopping, no blogging, no old movies. You'd think now would be the perfect time to cut down my to-be-read pile or re-watch Gone with the Wind for the 500th time, but nope. I mostly just mope in bed or on the couch.

I know, I know..whine, whine whine.

I'll stop for now. I'm sure you get the idea anyway.

Tomorrow we're supposed to go to San Diego to visit my baby brother. He'll be in town from Northern Cali to visit a friend and the whole family is driving down to see him. MM and I talked about spending the night w/ his grandparents and taking my 13yo cousin (he's visiting from Ill) to the harbor to tour the old navy ship there on Sunday, but I'm not sure if I'll be up to it. I guess we'll play it by ear.


What have all of you been up to?? Come on, distract me...