Updates....

Well this past weekend, Dreycin did not get any better and we took a trip to the emergency room. Tylenol alone would not control a 101/102 temp so off we went. Derek and I were both prepared to be there all night, and much to our surprise when we arrive at Kosair's we were in and out in 1hr at the most. Keflex, the new antibiotic wasnt working and the infection got worse so they put Dreycin on Omnicef. Seems to be working, he did have a few days of temps after that ER visit but the doc told us to rotate tylenol and motrin every 3hrs to keep his temps down. Before we went I called my aunt Deborah who is a PA and she was like, he needs omnicef and you need to rotate motrin tylenol every 3-4hrs......and she is AWESOME because I walked right into that ER to get what Dreycin needed and they said exactly what she had already told us. Thank god I didnt have to fight with anyone. But poor Dreycin probably cried the whole time we were there, he had to wear one of the baby gowns and have his a oxygen sticky on his foot and he was not a happy camper. they even offered him a popsicle but he didnt want it, which was weird for him! So needless to say these last 3wks have been a living, sleepless nightmare! What they think happened was he got sick the first time, got an ear infection, then somehow got another little virus which disrupted his path to getting better!
I'll be taking Dreycin for a checkup probably next Wednesday to get his ears looked at again.

This week has been a little rough, Derek has been working out in the field so sometimes that means he doesnt come home, and if he does it isnt early its usually like around 630 or 7, but keep in mind he works at 6am sometimes earlier. Well Tuesday night he got to come home and was like, I probably shouldnt tell you this but everyone else has gotten orders but us and another Marine.....I was po'd? I mean how hard is it to just give someone orders. My dad says this a ploy for the monitor to get Derek to re-enlist, but we dont know for sure. My worst fear is that they will send us to a unit that is being deployed, and off Derek goes to the war. For sure then, i'll be moving back home. There is no way I can raise two kids, without some kind of support, mostly from my parents. I guess we have no choice, in whether we play the Marine Corps little game.

This last week I have started to feel Baby A's subtle movements, more so when im laying down. And I bought our ticket to come home at the end of April. Im very excited to go see my parents, family, and friends. Only 2more weeks (april 13th) until we find out pink or blue! Ive been doing alot of window shopping lately, so im anxious to start planning the nursery and a baby shower!!! The cutest thing right now is when I ask Dreycin where the baby is, he lifts up my shirt! ITs so stinkin cute, and sometimes especially lately that he has been sick he will come over and lay his head on my growing belly. We have also come up with some new activities here at home.....jumbo crayon coloring, mommy made water table, and we tried finger paints but, well ill leave you with a few pics!

16 weeks 3/23/11

Not a fan....

Much happier

Yes mommy helped!

cooking smashed goldfish and raisins......

Sweet lil boy!

Sun protection

So Ive been looking all over the internet where to get the best UV clothing, hats, sun blocks, etc because I LOVE the sun and no lupus is going to stop me from taking my son to the zoo, parks, and hopefully beaches later this summer.....when its not snowing (yes it snowed here last night). Ive found a couple of good websites, one being UV skinz. I figure I may as well go ahead and invest in all this stuff, because I will have lupus the rest of my life. I guess prior to being a mom, and since being diagnosed I tried to avoid the sun but now I have a little boy that loves the outdoors and cries to just go outside! On colder days he will just sit at his picnic table and stare outside! And while im at this, its a reason to SHOP for lots of beautiful fun hats! I went ahead and bought the sunblock called Fallene Total block tinted 60spf, that is recommended for patients with lupus or other skin/autoimmude diseases to use on their face/neck. I do notice that my face and hands are exposed alot more to the sun, while driving or just everyday activity running errands in and out of the car. So im still on a mission to find a sunscreen for my body. Im currently using Neutrogena Sunblock Ultra sheer 85 SPF, which i'll use until I run out of. Did ya'll know sunblock expires after 3years? Yea just found that one out today! Anyways, Dreycin and I are planning a trip home at the end of April to San Antonio to visit my parents, of course im sure we'll stay in Dallas for a few days but I have lots on our agenda.....San Antonio Zoo, Sea World, and maybe a water park....and definitely going to Austin to see some of our DeLaVega family and go to the children's museum there! Spend some time with my besties Juanita and Jennifer! Derek thinks it will be easier for him to pack up some of our house if Dreycin and I are not there! which is probably true.....but we still dont know where we are going. Our garage has been taken over by all the boxes I have already packed, plus all of Dreycin's baby stuff. One thing is for sure, Derek's current Instructor course ends April 28th, so we are thinking May after all there will be no more Marines at Fort Knox, Ky after May 26th. I wish they would just tell us.....

Double take....

So the past 3 nights have been essentially no sleep or an hour here and there because Dreycin has been sick. yesterday was the 5th day and I decided to take him to the doc for some concern of his breathing and possible wheezing in his chest and when he coughed. Turns out he has a double ear infection, Im almost relieved that something was actually wrong but on the other hand my baby boy has never ever been sick. And now this mama is sick too, so we have all been really tired. I also got a zillion phone calls while we were trying to nap yesterday afternoon from my OB and lupus doc, both wanted to tell me that although it was unexplainable my labs looked like they had made an improvement. We will be drawing them again in April. Im really hoping Dreycin feels better tomorrow because it is his last day of gym class tomorrow! For now he is on amoxocillin, benadryl for runny nose, and tylenol for pain. Only last night did he start tugging on his ears like they were hurting :( I dont like when my baby is sick

Baby A from Feb sono

160 BPM

In the mother/baby world, the faster the heart rate the more likely it is of being a girl! And 160 beats per minute was what baby A's heartrate was today! Dreycin's heart rate never went above 145, and mainly stayed in 120's and 130's! We have our next OB appt and anatomy scan April 13th, and I am so excited to see our lil bundle of joy! My appointment went very well today, consensus is that we are going to remain conservative with the treatment of my lupus and not start to rely on steroids quiet yet. Taking steroids comes with risks too, almost too many to go into detail. Although I was told the main two risks that I and baby are facing due to my lupus flaring during pregnancy....1)preeclampsia (high blood pressure with protein in urine) and 2)Intrauterine growth restriction (baby not growing), and for now Ive been told to take it easy and stay with the exercise. My doc and I both believe that is the only thing that is keeping my joint pain at bay, well at least to a minimal. It was alot worse with Dreycin. My blood pressure was really good today 115/74, doesnt look like I had white coat syndrome today but Ive still gotta keep checking at home. We are still waiting on some of my labs to come back from my appt with my lupus doc, and in the meantime today I went back to the lab to give more blood to have alot of the same tests re-ran. Ive often thought about donating blood, but geez with as much lab work as I get done because of the lupus I probably wouldnt have any left to donate! So all in all, my appt went better than expected and for now we just wait. This pregnancy is flying by though, its almost impossible to think we are halfway there. Oh and I only gained 1lb, puts me at only gaining 3lbs so far which is good because I wasnt a skinny girl to begin with!

In other news since I was told to "take it easy, get more rest." I was recommended a mother's day out at a church that is nearby by a friend I use to work with. So Dreycin tried it, and sure enough Friday night came down with a cold. The rule of thumb is to think where you were 24-48hrs prior, and yep Dreycin was at that program. I doubt they wash their toys as often as they say, or even the kids hands. But that was enough of that, and he isnt going back. I would rather find a part time daycare in someone's home, that maybe incorporates an educational piece like singing, learning abc's, etc. All they did at this MOD program was play, eat snack, play in big room, eat lunch, go down for nap it was from 9-2:30. And I didnt get a good vibe, so on to the next. The day he got home I even stripped him down to his diaper in the laundry room when we walked in from the garage, took him straight to the sink and washed his hands. And right now he has this awful little congested cough, and snotty nose nonstop, its so sad. Ive been pushing fluids all day on him and havent even given him any milk, actually we are staying totally away from dairy. As for me well Ive been doing sinus rinses everyday and tonight got a sore throat but im drinking lots of fluids and cough drops.
I find that with pregnancy I pretty much stay congested. I also read on the internet that these symptoms can also mimic toddler's molars coming in, which Dreycin did have one pop through this week but the cough....he had to have gotten something from all those dirty little kids! The only good thing out of this is that he has been without a pacifier since friday night because he has had to breath through his mouth, so I think we are DONE with the paci after 16months!

I knew this day would come......

I went and checked out a Mother's Day out program today, I just know that with my next appointment on Monday the doctor is going to be asking me if I am resting! With Dreycin they asked me to go down to part time work, so here we are 14wks and I know whats coming. The sad part is that I know Dreycin loves to be around other kids, and he is so social waving hi, bye talking to complete strangers.....but I love being at home and it breaks my heart to have to take him somewhere else. But again, I knew this day would come but not when he is 16months! So for now he will go to a church MOD program Tues & Thursdays from 9-2:30. Im really happy that I get to still make his lunch, and he will get to play with other kids. He was quite upset today when we left, he wanted to keep playing! On the way home we stopped for a very short visit at the library, and we found out that they have toddler storytime on wednesdays at 1015am, so we will definitely be doing that! For the next two weeks we still have gym, but thats about to end and im also thankful because its a workout for this prego mama chasing, lifting a 26lb toddler for 45min! Just a short update, have a great week! Im looking very forward to this weekend, IM OFF to rest, hopefully!

First Kiss(es)

I forgot to mention that the last two weeks in Gym class, Dreycin has had his first kiss(es). Last week it was a little girl(who has identical twin) that saw him coming up behind her and planted one on his mouth....which he had his paci in because he has been teething so bad (blue bruised, swollen gums). Later on he was giving her twin sisters lots of hugs! And the second kiss was during team photos, the little girl to the left of him came at him mouth open and planted his first real kiss! OMG, i couldnt believe what I saw, she tried to do it again and he kind of backed away, but then decided to give her a hug. Kids are so sweet at this age ;)

What a week????!!!!

So this last week has been the most hectic week. Dreycin and I went to buy a new stroller on tuesday,  because obviously with me only becoming BIGGER I felt like I needed something lightweight easy for me to get in and out of the car, not mention also to take Dreycin to my doc appts. I had been researching for a while, and finally decided on the chicco liteway in black. After that we went to PotteryBarn Kids storytime. On wednesday and thursday morning we spent it at my lupus doc's office. I had originally gone for my 6month checkup, everything went well and then......later that night due to morning sickness I was throwing up so hard I developed Petechiae all over my face and neck. Normally I wouldnt freak out, but having petechiae for a Lupus patient is sometimes an indicator for low platelet count. So on thursday we went back to my lupus doc, his PA was wonderful worked me up drew some labs. Most of my labs came back ok, but my liver enzymes were elevated,and my lupus complement levels C3 and C4 that were EXTREMELY low. It was a huge drop since my labs were drawn at the end of October. They are actually the lowest they have ever been ever since I was diagnosed wth lupus in feb 2006. The only test we are waiting on now to come back is my bleeding time tests, which will include if I need to be put on additional blood thinners other than the baby aspirin im taking.  To me this was devestating news, I thought everything was going great. I have had some joint pain in my hands,wrists and hips and been VERY tired.....but mainly would attribute all that to 1st trimester of pregnancy. Today I got my haircut and my stylist (who has been cutting my hair for 3yrs) noticed that above each of my temples I had a "thinning" of hair in that area. Hair loss is another symptom of a flare. All my tests were conclusive that my lupus is active and I am having a flare :( I have my next OB appt on March 14th, and they are going to redraw my complement levels on that visit and the next in April.  I feel like maybe I was in denial, ignoring the symptoms. Now looking back, I just thought that this pregnancy was going so much better than my last? Or maybe I wanted it to. I have alot of questions.....like at what point do my levels get so low we start prednisone? What harm if any is this causing our baby?  What risk does this pose for me post-delivery, will i have a flare-up? Will I have to take immunosuppressants, like chemo drugs or even chemotherapy. Ughhhhh, so many questions that will have to wait until my next appointment on March 14th. Im sad, when I should be happy :(
The week ended with me taking Dreycin to gym on Friday morning, we had a great time! He had his first team photo with all his fellow gymnasts! He also got some individual pics, cant wait to get them in 3-4wks!
Im hoping for a uneventful week, this next week. Unless its news on where the HELL we are going come May, and can take our 10days to go look for housing and DOCS for me and Dreycin.
Today has been mostly relaxing, I stayed in bed until noon, got up and did my YOGA MAMA dvd, which is so relaxing! and then got my haircut and worked from 6-10pm(I only had to do 2 psych assessments). And I have to mention that my hubby made the best potato and sweet potato fries tonight! my food selection is still very uhhh.... limited!