Late Posting...

Well there have been so many thing that have happened in the last month. I hope I can explain it all correctly. I would like to divide this post into a few different sections. There are 3 main headings, Tiffany's sickness, Titus, and Holidays. So just bear with me or skip to the heading you want to hear about first!

Tiffany's Sickness




First off, we are doing well now. On Tuesday November 17th, I was having some pain, and just thought it was normal last trimester pains. The pains didn't go away, and they finally peaked at midnight Wednesday morning. I was in so much pain, I had to wake Jordan and tell him we needed to go to the hospital. I was in tears from the pain, and my broken pride that I couldn't handle this pain. (I know silly) We arrived at the ER and they sent us immediately to Labor & Delivery. I was wheel-chaired up! The Nurse wheel-chairing me told us Titus was not allowed in the hospital. A big sign told us "Visitors under 14 years of age are not allowed in the Hospital." When we checked in we were reminded, then the nurse caring for me reminded us. Okay we get it. We told them, we don't have any family here, and we just got here and we needed a minute to get arrangements for him. After we got semi settled, we called a wonderful 'grandmother' from church. She came to the hospital at 1:30am to pick Titus up for us and kept him till the next late morning. Thank you JH! You are such a blessing to our lives.

After getting him taken care of, I was next. They gave me a shot of pain medicine, and put in an IV. (ouch) I was taken to radiology to get a look at my kidneys. Turns out I have 4 stones in my kidneys. Two in each side. But what the pain I felt was that a stone from my left kidney had 'dropped' into the ureter. The ureter is only a 1/2 cm in diameter and these stones range in size, and there is one looming that is 1cm. I could feel the pain of the stone moving through the tube raking its jagged self along my smooth tube. (ouch)

The diagnosis was good and bad. Good, because this wasn't a wasted trip to the hospital, but bad, because there isn't anything they can do for the stones while I am pregnant. 'Pain Management' was the phrase repeated so often. The biggest problem is that I am pregnant and for the dr.'s to accuratley see where the stones are, they need to do an X-Ray. Which is too much radiation for the little one in my belly. My ob/gyn was in charge of my care, and he was okay with me being on pain meds till the end of this pregnancy! That was 7 weeks! The pain meds really took care of the pain, but it also took care of my mental and physical sharpness. Jordan and I were a bit aprehensive at this prospect. I was gonna need help with taking care of Titus. The length of time prohibited Jordan from staying at home, so my dear mother offered and flew out to help us. Such a blessing.

After 2 1/2 weeks of pain management, I finally passed a stone! Oh the relief that I did pass one! It was not painful to pass, supposedly when the stone gets to the bladder it does not hurt anymore, and they can float around for a while. Then a few days later I passed another one! Oy, how many of these things are in there? But, the good thing was that I didn't have much pain and could wean off the medicine. And then since I was more myself, my mom could finally go home.
We still have to wait till this baby is born to take care of the other stones floating in my kidneys. I could 'drop' one at anytime, and go back in the hospital. With this in mind, my ob/gyn has told us, that if I am still pregnant at week 38, he will talk about inducing labor. For those who need a refresher on pregnancy, 40 weeks is full term, but most Dr.'s will not stop any labor that starts after 36 weeks. And to reassure other folks, Titus was born 38 1/2weeks. So, not really that big of a deal.

So now, here we are about a month later, no pain meds, no pain, and mom back home. Okay so I lied, I do still have pain, but it is typical third trimester pains. Back pain, fatigue, headaches and such. I have been sleeping in a recliner at night, comfortable enough, but so much more comfy than the pillow mound on the bed. I am back to taking the two naps with Titus, which makes housework a bit harder, but Jordan is helping me and is okay with the housework not getting done. Speaking of him, He was a champion through this whole ordeal. He has kept family informed of the situation along the way. He keeps assuring me that it will all be okay, and loves me. He has made some sacrifices for my well being. I Love and Thank him for being my perfect helpmate!




Titus

Titus has been attempting steps on his own! Finally he might want to walk :) He has been puttering around on his walking toys, and making other toys walking toys. He has taken 3-4 steps on his own between people. (this is also a thankful point for having Mom out here. She could bend down to help Titus when I couldn't) I am so excited, I would love to have Titus walking when the new baby arrives. Can you imagine me carrying a carseat and Titus? No way! but it is a possibility.



He has cut two molars, cutting two more, and then getting four more bottom teeth! (again thanks to mom for dealing with a fussy teething baby and a sick daughter) I am almost out of teething tablets, and we have been giving him Tylenol at times to help his pain. Poor kid. So many teeth at one time.




Holidays

Thanksgiving was just a week after the hospital stay, so we were not too sure about it. But we made it, with double the topping and all! We have a few friends who are also out here with out family and we all have Thanksgiving dinner together. I got to bring sweet potato casserole, and pumpkin pie cake. yummy! I was at this point still on pain meds, but I was so happy to get to cook, and my mom helped so much. We had dinner while Titus napped and then we played and enjoyed each others company. Mom joined us and had a good time too. Titus explored the stairs and climbed up and down like a pro! so much fun.

We have a tree! We told most people that we would get a tree as soon as we have kids to enjoy it, and now we do. It is prelit, but no ornaments yet. Sorry, I kinda have been busy. But I do have other decorations up. It does feel like Christmas around here! We are excited to be a part of the Christmas Eve choir at church. We really enjoy the festivities around here for the holidays.