My Trip to the ER

Last Tuesday night, I took Charlie to Gram & Pop's house for a sleepover. I came home and went to bed. Little did I know how good it would be that our little one was with his grandparents that night. Around 1AM, I woke up with an upset stomach. I dealt with that "fun" for a bit and then fell asleep on the couch. I woke up again around 3am, with a terrible itch on my right foot. Within 5 minutes, my hands and feet were very swollen and I was shaking with chills. I immediately thought that it was pregnancy related and called my OB. She listened to my woes and proceeded to tell me that she had no clue what had occurred and that I should go to the ER. Mike helped me get dressed. I went to the ER in hot pink slippers that are 3 sizes to big, Mike's checkered pajama pants, a Notre Dame hoodie, and no glasses (I forgot). While I was at the ER, I developed hives all over my body. The doctor wanted to give me an IV of fluids since I had recently had the upset stomach. Next, he gave me Benadryl through the IV and let us know that it would make me very sleepy and that if it did not take care of the hives, he wanted to give me a steroid. I told him that he must call my OB and get her permission for what to do next. He did so, and she said to give me the steroid. I was rather loopy from the Benadryl. I remember realizing that my almost 8 months pregnant belly was sticking out from my shirt, but I did not care. Mike must have thought I was a hoot, laying there saying all sorts of things. The Benadryl did not work and the steroid was needed. The worst part is that we had no idea what caused the allergic reaction. I had recently gotten an H1N1 vaccination, but there was too much time in between getting the shot and having a reaction. My OB wanted me to be cautious though, telling me to avoid eggs for awhile and get with my allergist. The next night, my foot started itching again in that same spot prior to the swelling. I started looking more closely and realized I had a "bite" on the bottom of my foot. It all began to make sense. I had a moderate reaction a few months back to some "bites" on my body. The allergist explained that when you have a reaction the first time, you can expect a more severe reaction the next time. So, we are trying to rid the house of any of those pesky spiders. I am carrying my Epi-pen with me all of the time, in case of another allergic reaction (only to be used if I have trouble breathing). I am allowed to eat eggs again. The Prenn-cess and I are doing fine. She is due in around 9 weeks. I am thanking God for taking care of us through this ordeal. It was not a fun experience and I don't really like to think about the fact that it could happen again, but we have much to be thankful for. I must make special mention of Mike. He was such a blessing to me. He watched over me at the hospital, helped me go to the bathroom (I couldn't even pull down my pants with my swollen hands!), and made me feel comforted right when I needed him. Thank you God for my husband.

Charlie Has a Revelation

Charlie and I were reading a book about all of the things that God has blessed us with. In this book are pictures of people, houses, animals, and more. For quite some time, Charlie has known what sounds certain animals make and what they like to do. For example, a bird says 'tweet tweet' and likes to fly. While asking Charlie what the bird likes to do, he got a real concerned look on his face. He closed the book, stood up on the couch, and looked down at the floor. Then, he looked over at me and said, "Mom, I can't fly." I proceeded to explain that birds have wings and we have arms, so we cannot fly. He said, "what about legs?" I said, "No, legs won't let us fly either." He then repeated several times, "I can't fly. I can't fly." Despite Charlie's dissapointing revelation that he cannot fly, I do pray that I can teach him to fly in other ways despite the limitations that gravity has put on us. I pray that my Charlie can soar in ways he cannot yet imagine.

Charles Robert - Concerning Baby Sister

Most recently, my Charlie has really come up with some stuff regarding his baby sister that is due to arrive January 4, 2010. Let me recap a few for your enjoyment:

Baby Sister Gets a Name
Well, really I have not decided on a name for sure. I have a couple at the top of my list. However, if it were up to Charlie, her name would be Camp. From day one, he has said that this is her name and has not wavered. I don't think I can comply with this request, but I guess he can call her whatever he wants.


Baby Sister is Thirsty
A few nights back, Charlie was clutching his sippy cup full of milk and I craved a big drink. So I said, "Charlie, baby sister is thirsty. Can she have a drink?" He excitedly said "yes" and proceeded to raise my shirt, inserting the mouth of the sippy cup into my ever-shrinking belly button.

When Baby Sister Comes Out
Last night, Charlie wanted to ride on my shoulders. I tried to explain to him that he would not be able to do this until baby sister came out of Mommy's belly. For the next few minutes, he explored my stomach, trying to figure out a what to get her out of my belly right now!

Why I Can Never Leave My Husband

My darling husband might feel left out if he doesn't become the topic of at least a few blogs here and there. So here goes:

I knew that I would be home later that night and that my husband and son would be scrounging for food, so I put some hamburger in the fridge to thaw and buns on the counter. I instructed my husband as to where he could find these items and explained that he could determine what side dishes they had with their hamburgers.

On my way home, I called my darling husband to find out how they were doing and what they had eaten for dinner. He said, "Well, we had the hamburger you left for us." I said, "And, what else did you have?" He said, "Well, Charlie ate some yogurt." I said, "Oh, I didn't mean to buy that yogurt, it has artificial sweetener in it. Why didn't you fix a vegetable?"

That conversation faded and about an hour later my husband said, "So, I figure, you can never leave us." My curiousity was up. Dare I ask what prompted this statement. He proceeded by saying, "I don't think I can feed our son properly. I didn't think of a vegetable and apparently the yogurt I gave him was wrong."

At this point, I am cracking up. Glad to know I am needed.