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Heather's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 9/12/00 -------------------- 4/6/00 1/5/00 12/21/99 12/14/99 12/1/99 11/22/99 11/8/99 10/19/99 -------------------- Heather's Introduction

January 5, 2000

Hi Everyone!

I hope that you all had wonderful holidays! I wish that I could say mine was, but unfortunately, it was more like a bad dream than anything else!

Christmas Day itself was pretty hectic; I had so many last-minute things to do to get ready for our week-long trip to NY. I was up until 1:30 a.m., and managed to crash for a few hours until 5 a.m. Then it was time to get up, load the van, wake up our drowsy children, and hit the road.

Half an hour into the trip, my youngest son, Braden, threw up. We thought that it was motion sickness, because my husband had it as a child. That made the trip difficult, to say the least, but things got worse when we got just outside of Buffalo, NY...we drove right into a blizzard! Thankfully, we got through it okay, but the rest of the ride was much slower. We finally reached my in-laws' house at 12:45 p.m., and Braden seemed a lot better. We brushed it off as motion sickness, but we weren't too concerned...everyone in my in-laws' house (my SIL and her boys live with them) was getting over a stomach bug. And so we thought that was the end of that. We were so, so wrong. The next night, my daughter Julia threw up, then me, and then my son Austin. Talk about hell on earth! My MIL helped my husband take care of the kids for a few hours, but he took over from there. Poor thing, I really appreciated what a great daddy and husband he is that night. I felt so guilty for not being there for my kids, but I also had a renewed empathy for all of you who suffer from really bad morning sickness!

Braden got sick the next morning, and it pretty much went on like that the rest of the week. Except for New Year's Eve day, someone was always sick: my husband, me or one of the boys. The night before we left I ended up with a bad case of "the other end of things," and wondered how on earth we would ever make it home! I talked to a pharmacist who told me that I could take Pepto Bismal, as long as I didn't overdo it. I'm glad I know that now; there are so few things that we pregnant women can take when we are suffering! We made it home just fine, and everyone has been healthy ever since, thank goodness. But I can truly say that I could never have imagined a worse vacation. I had been looking forward to a week of rest and fun...how ironic! My husband was never able to take me out on our long awaited date, and I think that might have been the worst part of the whole vacation. I was SO looking forward to that!

As far as the pregnancy goes, things have been a little rocky. I did feel the baby move last week (Dec. 27!) for the first time, and several times after that. But I haven't felt anything since, so I'm getting worried. I also had some spotting today; nothing heavy or bright red, so I'm holding off on calling the midwife just yet. I'm trying to take it easy today and not do too much, but it's my thoughts that are bothering me more than anything. My mother miscarried a baby at five months, so I know that is a very real possibility. I have never spotted with any of my children, so this is something entirely new for me. Being so sick last week, I lost five pounds, and wonder if that might have anything to do with it. Could my being dehydrated have caused something? I guess I'll just wait this out and see.

I do have my first visit with the midwife Tuesday, January 11. I'm looking forward to it, prayerfully everything will be just fine. I need to hear this baby's heartbeat to really put me at ease. I'm also looking forward to seeing what she has to say, how her approach to pregnancy differs from my last doctor. Also, we will be getting medical coverage in March; my husband found out that the company plans to hire him then, and can't do it any sooner due to the agreement it made with the consulting firm. But that's still good news. The insurance will be covering 70 percent of the cost, so that makes it easier on us!

On a better note, I did do some maternity shopping while I was in NY. My SIL took me to JC Penney's, and I bought two pairs of jeans, two short-sleeved shirts, a long-sleeved shirt, and a spring dress that was on clearance. Everything fits so well, and looks so stylish...finally! I don't feel like a frumpy mama!

Have a great week everyone, and I'll be sure to keep you posted on all fronts!

Heather and the babykins