Welcome to week 15, my little one!
When I look in the mirror I feel like I look very pregnant. Although, having been through this before, I know that this is nothing compared to how I will look and feel come August!
My maternity clothes are starting to fit properly, or at least not completely hang off of my body like I am a little girl playing dress up with her mommy’s clothes. I like to feel put together and am just starting to feel like I may have outfits and clothes that a) fit and b) match.
Our family friend, Jess, let me borrow her home doppler fetal ultrasound machine and we used it for the first time this week. Matthew thought that it was really cool to hear the baby and wanted me to use it to hear the baby that he thinks he has inside his belly. 😉 When I would ask him what the baby sounded like he would make a “whoosh whoosh” noise – so adorable!
What Baby Peters is up to this week
“She’s about the size of an orange this week, her ears have migrated to the sides of her head, and her eyes are moving to the front of her face. Plus, your little smarty-pants can now wiggle her fingers and toes and make breathing movements in preparation for life outside the womb.” (Source)
Energy Level and Mood
It was a rough week. Allan and I have been staying up too late at night and I have been getting up too early this week. We had lots of stuff going on this week! I have been experiencing a second bout of evening nausea and fatigue. There were a few nights that I simply sat down on the upstairs couch at 8 PM and couldn’t tear myself off until 11 PM… mostly because I had fallen asleep!
Exercise
In addition to our walks, which we are doing as often as we can, I added a few days of structured exercise into my routine this week. I strength trained on Monday, had Zumba on Tuesday and did yoga on Thursday. In case you missed it, last week I posted an overview of my favorite Prenatal Fitness DVDs.
All Things Food
I had one of my first second trimester cravings this week. On Thursday night I didn’t have anything very exciting planned for supper and Allan offered to take Matthew and I out. I instantly knew that I wanted Pad Thai from Noodles & Co, which I craved on a regular basis while pregnant with Matthew. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as good as I remembered and left me lethargic with a bit of a dull headache.
Nesting
Our new fridge arrived on Saturday and we put a down payment on our new glass countertops and stainless steel sink! I am so excited. Although, the installers called to make their appointments today and we won’t have countertops installed until the first week of May… boo!
We also purchased a few more pieces of camping equipment including a sleeping bag for Matthew (half off at REI), sleeping pads for Allan and I (half off at Campmor) and camping chairs for Allan and I (on sale at Target).
Matthew
On Saturday night Matthew woke up at 2:30 AM with a terrible barking cough. He was having such a bad coughing fit that he couldn’t catch his breath. I was scarred to death and thought that he was going to stop breathing.
We called our physician’s office and spoke with a nurse who told us to place Matthew in our bathroom with the hot shower running for 10-15 minutes. After steaming our son like a lobster to no avail, I decided to call the Children’s Hospital to speak with a nurse. She listened to Matthew’s cough and breathing and determined that he had Croup and the barking sound that he was making while breathing in was called strider.
She then explained to Allan that Matthew would need to be seen immediately in the ER. She asked how far we lived on the hospital. Thankfully we only live two miles from the local Children’s hospital and did not need to call an ambulance.
At the hospital Matthew’s blood oxygen levels were found to be in the normal range and he was given a nebulizer for immediate relief and a long acting steroid to help with his breathing until the virus had run its course.
When we were informed Matthew would be medicated, my heart sunk and my eyes welled with tears. As you know, we strive to fill our bodies with clean, pure substances and I would not classify steroids as such. However, we obviously knew that the steroids were essential in Matthew’s severe case of Croup.
Matthew was a trooper throughout the entire process. He obliged the doctors and nurses and took his medicine like a champ. We were very impressed with the hospital staff and would not hesitate to bring Matthew back, if the need ever arises.
Matthew is doing better now, but definitely not feeling 100%. He is tired, cranky and uninterested in food. I try my best to keep him hydrated and fed, but am having a difficult time enticing him to even eat his favorite foods. I really hope that with a lot of rest and love he will be feeling better in a couple days.
What great news! Congrats! Matthew has grown so big now, he will love a little sibling!
My DD had “croup” when she was little. It’s awful, I know.. Hopefully he will get better soon!
One time I thought she would..die. She turned blue, and could hardly breathe. The doctor said on the phone “put her in the car, sitting up, leave the air conditioner on cold air, and drive towards the hospital. When you are halfway there, she’ll be fine.” He was right.
She had to get meds ever after, once it started I had to give her “Ephedrine” to make sure she could breathe. Girls do get “croup” more rarely than boys. The attacks was more seldom as the years went by, she’s over it now (13) but she had the last attack at the age of 11-12.