Rent a Fetal Doppler

When I was pregnant, we had to wait for doctor appointments to hear our baby's heartbeat.  Now I hear that you can rent your own fetal doppler!  You can set your mind at ease or share with anybody and everybody as you wish of your little's one beating heart, especially the first few months when assurances seem more necessary (and appreciated) than after that worrisome three-month point.  How cool is that? 

I always loved hearing the heartbeat and then seeing the ultrasounds for a little preview of the little one.  Plus, I always wanted to know whether we were having a boy or girl so we always found out. 

Things have advanced so much in the five years since I gave birth to our youngest child.  I wish losing that extra baby weight naturally or with a weight loss dietary supplement would advance just as quickly!  They say nursing helps you lose weight and I nursed for two years.  Because of my thyroid, all that weight that was supposed to drop off...let's just say I'm still carrying too much of it five years later.

Am I Infertile?

I am contemplating whether I should make an appointment now with my gynecologist to see if my illness made me infertile or just wait until my normal appointment in August.  Part of me thinks it would be ok if I was but there is a part of me that doesn't like the fact that the choice may have been taken away from me.  I guess I'm a control freak that way. 

We talked about being done having children but to make it "permanently" done with no chance whatsoever (because, let's face it, there's always a chance with two fertile people), I didn't plan for my choice to be taken from me like that.  We have six children total (two "his" and four "ours") and that is a lot of kids!  Our youngest is getting ready to start kindergarten and if ever there was a time when I'd start feeling the urge for another baby, it'd be when I put my last baby on the bus the first time.  Was I really done with diapers, breastfeeding, personalized baby gifts, and soft baby skin and smells? 

I won't know until I have more tests done.  The question is do I get my answer now no matter what it is or wait so I don't have to know yet?  I am not sure if I am ready to hear the answer to that yet.

Might Be Infertile Now

I was looking for one of my posts about car insurance (should just go to carinsurancelist.com instead of wandering through one of my dozen blogs looking for my notes) when I realized I was posting about my illness on here, and my stay at the hospital, and yet I never wrote what I was in the hospital for. Big duh!

I was hospitalized with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease due to bacterial vaginosis.  Usually it is STD related but in our case, as all the hospital tests proved to the disbelieving doctors, that was not the case for us.  I can't believe how unbelieveable people (doctors in our case) find it that married couples are actually faithful to each other!  They were seriously irritating to both myself and my husband for the entire time I was in the hospital.

Doctor to me:  "Are you married?"

Me:  "Yes."

Doctor:  "Do you have multiple partners?"

Me (thinking didn't I just answer that when I said I was married):  "Of course not, I'm married."

Doctor:  "Does your husband have multiple partners?"

Me:  "Not if he knows what is good for him.  No, he wouldn't do that to me or to us."

I received these questions throughought my 2-1/2 day stay at the hospital.  I was horribly sick from the antibiotics and even hallucinating (those were seriously freaky) from them and then to have irritating doctors asking these repeated questions...ugh!  The test results, which took a few days, shut those questions up thankfully.

So I was hospitalized for several days and given major antibiotics through the IV.  I was so bad, they were worried about abcesses and the need for surgerty.  I may be infertile now but I won't know more until I see my gynecologist for further testing to see if there is scarring and how bad. 

Pictures of Burned Little Boy So Sad

I saw a picture of the little boy I posted about yesterday who fell into a campfire while with his grandparents.  It is so very sad.  He's so little and wrapped up like a mummy.  I feel so bad for him. 

I'm not sure what those picture were doing posted on somebody's facebook - I can't imagine doing that!  That's just too horrific and too private.

If this happened to one of my kids while my kids were in the care of one of their grandparents, I'm not sure what I'd do, or not do.  I'd have to walk away or have them wishing they had a good life insurance rate because I'd want to strike out at them.

I know accidents happen but what business does a three-year-old child have around a campfire without an adult hanging onto him dearly?  It's like leaving a child on the edge of a pool unattended.  You just don't do it!

Best Blackhead Removal

Can somebody tell me what is the best way to get rid of a blackhead?  I've had this little bugger forever and no matter what I use on it, it stays underneath the skin.  I've tried over-the-counter acne treatments and different types of cleansers.  I've read that pronexin is supposed to be good but I don't have major acne problems so I'm not sure if this would be overkill for one tiny blemish. I have the occasional acne problem and one stubborn blackhead.

Anybody have any suggestions?

Always Ask for copies of Medical Reports and Labs

I found out after going back to the hospital to ask for copies of my lab results that the CT scan they'd done to check my appendix showed diverticulosis AND gallstones.  The bad thing is (like that's not bad enough), neither the ER doctor or my floor doctor while I was in the hospital mentioned those findings to me.  I would never have known about it had I not gone and asked for those records! 

I think it was sorta important for them to tell me.  There are things I can to do (diet, medical care) to try to ward off a gallstone attack, forming more gallstones for blockage, or my diverticulosis turning into diverticulitis.  I see a little bit of pain in my future and some changes in my diet.  Another benefit to that would probably be weight loss.  Hey, some people use ephedra diet pills and I use illnesses to lose weight. *sigh* Not really...just trying to find humor in a situation I don't see much humor in.

My Stay at the Hospital

Today has been the first time in awhile that I've been able to post.  I was really sick and hospitalized for awhile.  I missed my kids while in the hospital, even though my husband brought up our littlest one in the morning and then all of them in the evenings to see me.  It's not the same - being away from them and missing things.

Even though I felt horrible, I was ecstatic when they discharged me from the hospital.  I took a good look in the mirror the morning I was to be discharged and was shocked to see the zits I'd accumulated around my nose.  I looked like I needed the best acne products instead of antibiotics for my infection. Ha ha. Plus, when you can smell yourself, you know the desperate need of a shower! 

My "private" room wasn't so private in terms of bathroom needs.  It was more like a prison cell.  The toilet was IN the room across from my bed with just a curtain to pull around for privacy.  I am a very private person (married 14.5 years and still have never gone to the bathroom in front of my husband before) so having the toilet IN my room was just plain weird.

Be Cautious with Fire This Summer

With summer here, many people are enjoying the outdoors with campfires.  We have a fire pit in our yard as well, which my husband enjoys (me, not so much).  It makes me nervous even though my kids are starting to get old enough to know better.  Accidents can still happen.  We just heard of a friend of a friend whose three-year-old fell INTO a campfire over the weekend.  How horribly sad for the little child who had to be airlifted out.  Was the three-year-old not holding an adult's hand around that fire?  It's scary!  Avoidable accidents where young children are hurt like this make me very sad.

I'd probably be nervous to even use a fireplace around younger children that age.  I'd be more apt to try an electric fireplace insert instead.  I am overly cautious when it comes to safety with my kids, even though I know it drives them crazy.  Whether it is a fireplace, campfire, or enclosed fire pit, please watch young children.  They have no business close enough to fire to risk being hurt!