First Virus Of This Pregnancy

Is there always something? Last week I was just about to enjoy the fact that I passed 8 days (what had previously been my longest time of going without nausea since it began in this pregnancy) and that Baby has been moving around non-stop (I think Joe might be able to feel soon!!!), only to come down with my first virus of this pregnancy!!! Somehow I managed not to catch Logan's bronchitis in November that turned into pneumonia but now have something similar, despite not being around anyone sick :p

It began Friday morning -- I woke up feeling like someone had lit a match to my throat and it didn't get better for even a second all day! I ate a can of chicken noodle soup for breakfast and another for supper, I gargled with salt water throughout the day, drank orange juice, and had throat lozengers that are safe for pregnancy. . .nothing helped.

By the end of the day my nose was full as well, and on Saturday my sore throat had turned into a cough which has continued through today. At least each day I've gotten better -- my nose has been dry the past 24 hrs and, aside from my voice sounding abnormal, I'm feeling more normal now (aside from a headache I've had all day). I think by Friday (a week after I came down with it) I should be 100% recovered.

But, Logan hasn't been "normal" this week, either, for the first time since his pneumonia in November/December. At first I thought we'd both caught the same thing but it didn't take long for me to realize that wasn't the case. He didn't go to his babysitter's (Gail) house on Friday because the night before he complained of his first stomachache of his life. Not even a minute later he vomited for the first real time (I say real because the other time in his life he wasn't sick -- he'd just started laughing while he was hiccuping after eating one day). So that caught Joe and I by surprise, and then shortly after Logan laid down on the floor like he was going to sleep. It was 6 pm! He had no interest in supper (very unlike him) and was asleep in his bed by 6:30.

On Friday he woke up with a runny nose but it was gone by the end of the day.  I thought maybe it was all tied together in a quick 24 hour bug. He'd been happy and acting normal all day, I was much sicker than he was. However, that evening he began walking around the house bent over, clutching his stomach, and crying "My tummy! Owie, owie owie!" This went on for a couple of hours and so we debated whether we should take him to the ER! He didn't have a fever or any other signs of being sick by that point, so we were hoping it was just the end of a 24 hour bug. When he began playing again that night, Joe & I made a plan that if he was still complaining by Monday we would take him to the doctor.

Well, on Saturday after he woke up from his nap he did the whole scary routine again of walking around with a hunched back, holding his abdomen, and saying that his tummy hurt! My mom and stepdad had come over to see Logan for the first time since Christmas and to watch him while Joe and I went to the Broadway production of Mary Poppins, thanks to a Christmas gift from Joe's mom!

This went on for a couple of hours again and Logan was in so much pain when we were getting ready to leave (and sobbed while clutching on to me for dear life which he normally doesn't do when we leave him); under any other circumstance we wouldn't have gone (especially with me being sick, too) but these were $150 non-refundable tickets! Thankfully, my parents said that he improved after we left just as he had the night before!

So, Joe and I were able to enjoy our Valentine's Day celebration one week early. We went to Anthony's Steakhouse, a yummy restaurant we had eaten at in 2004 but for some odd reason hadn't gone since, and then to The Orpheum Theater for the play. It was excellent!!!!!

On Sunday (my first day of week 16!) my parents left. . .and Logan began complaining of his stomach again the rest of the day. (So, no Superbowl parties for us, although I did make little piggies in a blanket and buffalo chicken cheese dip for Tostitos chips!) So we said "that's it, he's going to the doc tomorrow." I was dreading it, not only because of crappy insurance this year, but also because I knew Logan would have to have another x-ray (his third in three months) which makes me nervous when knowing that the more a person has the more likely to get cancer. But we were worried there was some organ-issue like apendicitis.

We got in at the end of the day yesterday (Monday) so we had to wait until today (Tuesday) for the results. Dr. Arispe checked him out thoroughly and said he was in perfect health (no virus') so that was good to know (his PA even said Logan has an "excellent" heart which Joe and I thought was funny, usually they don't say anything unless it's bad so my guess is that the guy/intern is specializing in hearts)!

We were relieved when they called today with the best case scenario diagnosis for his stomachaches. The moral of the story: don't get pneumonia. Apparently as it was leaving his system last December, it settled into his intestines. Since his pneumonia was a bacteria rather than a virus, this is super common/happens in a large majority of children. So, for the past month-and-a-half that he's been recovered, the pneumonia bacteria has been living off of his poop! Needless to say, even though he's continued to be regular/pooping normally every day, his body has also been storing poop, so now when his body makes new poop it causes severe pain (so it's a good thing we went to the doctor because this isn't something we could have gotten rid of on our own by eating fiber or prunes or anything like that). They told me to buy over-the-counter Miralex which will completely clean out his digestive track and get rid of the bacteria, and he should be "back to normal" in a week. I had to call them after I bought it because this is adult stuff and the amount they told me to give is double the adult amount! But they said that is correct. . .so this may be an interesting night (as of now he hasn't pooped yet).

Joe's been working overtime again so I am having a hard time not going stir-crazy. In my January 17th post, Good Weekend, I said that I had begun making plans and was ready to return to the land of the living for the first time since I found out I was pregnant on November 16. Well, due to unexpected things happening every week since then, I have STILL yet to return to my normal activities. All of my plans for this week have been canceled again! I just want enough time of feeling good to get myself rejuvinated so that when "the next thing" happens I don't feel so weak! These past 3 months have really felt like a test of my physical strength! Every time there are two steps forward there are two steps back. I can't wait for spring!!!!

On the bright side, since it's now been 12 days, I think I can say that my nausea is officially over!!! That means that although it started two weeks later than when I was pregnant with Logan, it stopped two weeks earlier! With him I threw up a total of 13 times, this time it was 7. . .so if I reach two weeks then I'm putting away my ginger pills and wristbands :-) I haven't had any pain or discomforts, either, the past couple of weeks, so am trying to focus on that! I just hope that once I recover from this virus and Logan passes the bacteria THEN we can have fun again.

In the meantime, there were some things I forgot to add to last week's update post so I'll be back again this week with another post.