Baby news

We wanted to do something different for Christmas this year. Well, actually we hadn't planned on this specific gift for Christmas, it just worked out timing wise to be a great Christmas gift. We found out in August that baby number three was on it's way. Pregnancy isn't kind to me, this one hasn't been different. Well, it wasn't as bad as the other two in the fact that I didn't have to have a feeding tube. I did have to get a P.I.C.C line. That wasn't put in until I had gone to the hospital everyday for three weeks to get fluids and medication. I went to the same place as Cancer patients who were getting their Chemo treatments. Seeing them there was a good reminder that it could be a whole lot worse.

The place was freezing! It didn't take the girl who asks if you want a pillow and a blanket very long to remember when she saw me that I needed at least two warm blankets to wrap around me in order not to freeze to death. The girls in our ward were amazing during this whole thing! B is busy and gone most of the time. So the girls in our ward took turns driving me to I.V. therapy. It took about three or four hours for me to get all done. So, these amazing women would find places to send their own children and take me to the hospital. M was at school during the week, which these amazing women also took care of. Her school is 20 minutes away each way. We drive her to school, so they had a sign up sheet so M could have rides to and from school. K went to different houses and would be gone all day. Once I was done with getting fluids, I came home, and slept. They basically raised our kids for six weeks. I will never be able to express how much their sacrifice and service helped our family. They also brought in meals so that B, M and K could eat things other than mac and cheese, frozen pizza, corn dogs and cereal. The reason I had to go to I.V therapy for three weeks is because it took forever to get insurance worked out. Our insurance would cover the supplies, but not for a nurse to come into our home. Thankfully, I'm married to a swell nurse and he said that he could do the P.I.C.C line stuff. The problem is that the fluids needed to be given in the morning and he had to leave our house at five or before. So, my dear friend M, came over every morning and hooked me up. Just thinking about how much time she sacrificed for my behalf makes my eyes fill with tears. Truly, these women will never know how much they are loved and appreciated for all the service they gave.

This is the P.I.C.C line. The one that I had with K got infected after five days, so it had to be taken out. Thankfully, this one didn't. It was able to stay in for five weeks. I'm sure that the fluids and the medication helped somehow, but I still felt totally awful. I will say that the really nice thing about being so sick is that I lose so much weight that my legs look awesome! (Just trying to be positive is all.)

I don't know why the lighting is so dark in this picture, sorry. I am so thankful that I was able to do this at home. Going to and from the hospital every day was not great. I fall in the small group of people that can taste the medicine that was put in the I.V. bag. It tastes awful and the taste was one of the big reasons I couldn't wait to get the line pulled.

The dressing of the P.I.C.C had to be changed once a week. So, every Wednesday night was dressing changing night. The only part I hated was when he had to clean right around the hole where the P.I.C.C line went in. That stung a whole lot.

For some reason I had gotten really light headed and almost passed out. B decided after that that the next time he changed it, I would just stay on the couch. I am so thankful for all the help we received and we are so blessed to live in such an amazing ward. We are all excited for baby to show it's cute little face. I don't know why time slows to a crawl when one is pregnant, but it feels like the next 11 1/2 weeks are never going to pass and I will be pregnant forever. I have a pretty firm no pictures whilst with child, so this is probably as good as it's gonna get. Just use your imagination if you really want to see a picture! Happy New Year! This should be an amazing year, First a baby and then graduation! Yipee! We can hardly wait!