ER

Well last night I went into work as usual, only to become a patient 5 minutes later...
Here's the full story starting last week. (I apologize for TMI and the long post)

Last week Thursday I had my usual check up at the OB. That morning I had noticed possible blood in my urine, but didn't think too much about it. When I got to the Dr's office I did the usual pee in the cup thing and there was definite blood. I told the medical assistant that was helping me and she said oh you're probably just dehydrated and it's darker. I wasn't sold on that and told her I'm pretty sure it's blood. (I'm a nurse, I know what blood in the urine looks like)! Sure enough she tested it and it was. I told my Dr. about it and he didn't seem too concerned and just thought maybe a little bacteria was irritating my bladder. He gave me a prescription for Macro-Bid and sent me on my way. I've had bladder infections before, and I wasn't having the usual symptoms. But what do I know right?!

I finished my course of antibiotics yesterday (Thurs.) morning and figured whatever I had was better now. Besides last Thursday, I didn't have any more blood in my urine.

I worked Wednesday night. Sleep all day Thursday, to go back to work Thursday night. I slept downstairs on the couch Thursday because of the heat and how hot it gets upstairs. So when I woke up with excruciating pain in my back, I thought it was from the couch. I took Tylenol and used the back massager with heat to try and help. Nothing phased it. The pain was so bad! I had pain only in my right lower back, right groin area and down my right leg was radiating pain. Ugh! I just associated it all with pregnancy and sleeping on the couch. Well I went to the bathroom (sorry TMI) and there was blood and now clots in my urine! Thankfully I knew it was in my urine and not anywhere else.

I immediately went to Google and tried to figure out what the heck was going on! I knew it probably wasn't an infection because I just finished antibiotics and didn't have urgency or fever etc. I then stumbled upon kidney stones in my search. Ugh! Now what?!

Well I sat there in pain and crying because of it. Nick comes home and finds me a mess. lol. He is so amazing and was so sweet. He reassured me everything was okay. I got myself together the best I could and headed into work, painfully. I have been training a new hire and didn't want to disappoint and not be able to work. I'm stubborn. I got to work and didn't last a couple minutes before I had to tell my charge nurse what was happening. She was really awesome and sent me straight to ER where they were expecting me and got me in quick. I guess its one perk of working at a hospital. I must say everyone was little panicked because they heard "ICU nurse.....5 months pregnant.....bleeding..." We don't have L&D at our hospital. Well I reassured them it's blood in urine not anywhere else!

I got set up in the room. Refused the gown at first...thought I'd be in and out quick. Got 2 male nurses. ha. Lovely. They were great though. The Dr. came and talked to me and he was thinking maybe a kidney infection. I brought up..."what about kidney stones??" and he said "well maybe but I don't think so, but we'll do a renal ultrasound and see." Being pregnant, there's not much they can do, no CT and no x-ray. Then he also said, I'd need a Foley catheter to irrigate all the blood out of my bladder. BOOOOO! Big time boooo!!! Thankfully Nick came down to be with me when I knew I wouldn't be in and out of there.

I finally put the gown on, got an IV, had blood drawn and got the lovely foley. Thankfully done by one of the female nurses. That was sooooo uncomfortable and made the pain worst! Got the renal ultrasound and got to see the baby!!! Oh that made me forget about my pain!!! That was the best part to see him happy and moving. Knowing he was alright, I knew I'd be okay and any pain was worth it.

Well Dr. said it was in fact kidney stones. MULTIPLE kidney stones. Aww it reminds of the Friends episode....love it!



They are small enough that they will pass on their own, but there are a lot of them. He said basically there is an avalanche of stones. There are some high up in my kidney and others in my bladder. They just need to all come down. Ouch!!!!! An avalanche of kidney stones. Sounds like torture! Then there's the fact that there isn't much you can do for them. They well come out when they are ready. Just flush with fluids and pain control. He said I could be admitted for pain control and I definitely didn't want to stay overnight. I'd rather be home. So I got a prescription for Tylenol #3, bladder irrigated and urologist referral.

My co-workers were so great! They came and said hi. My shift was covered and I had nothing to worry about. All in all we were there for 4 hours. Not too bad. I was happy to be home and so thankful to have an awesome husband alongside.

So now I wait...Wait for these little tortures of stone to come out! I have read that women may have dormant kidney stones that become a problem while pregnant. Great. I'm just glad I don't need any invasive intervention. Well I'll keep you updated! Hoping to be pain free soon!!! I'm sorry for this long drawn out story. Here's a pic....Nick wanted to take it and said I better blog about it.

20 weeks

How far along: 20 weeks 5 days
Total Weight Gain: Gained now...not sharing the details :)
Stretchmarks: None...hoping it stays that way.
Sleep: Sleep has not been very fun. I can not get comfortable. I try not to sleep on my back, but I can't help it. I am going to get a body pillow very soon! I can't wait for summer to be over! Working nights and sleeping during the day is really making me miss much needed sleep with the heat keeping me up.
Best Moment This Week: Feeling stronger kicks!
Movement: I started to feel more noticeable kicks this week. Not going to lie, it's a weird feeling at first that takes me by surprise every time! I can't wait for them to be felt on the outside.
Gender: We are having a son....baby boy!!!
Labor Signs: Too early for that!
Belly Button: Still in. It's widening. Took the belly button ring out. It was time.
What I Miss: I miss wine and that will be a given for the remainder of the pregnancy. I also miss whitening my teeth. Fortunately I'm not drinking coffee or wine to really need to do it.
What I am Looking Forward to: Feeling the kicks from the outside so Nick can feel them.
Milestones: Baby is the size of a banana? Interesting. Baby is about 7 inches long and 10-12 ounces. I am starting to look more pregnant and not fat. Yay....finally.

Updated bump pic taken yesterday.



20 weeks down, 20 weeks to go!

This week marked a big one as we are now halfway there!!! I feel like we are over the hump. The first 20 weeks didn't go by as fast as I thought it would, so hopefully the next 20 do. With each day ahead we are further along then there are days left! Woot! So exciting! We have received a couple of adorable baby items from baby Stavy's Nonna (Nick's mom) and I can't stop looking at them. Anyone seen how cute and tiny newborn socks are?! Oh my goodness I can't get over it! He is so loved already!!

I also went on a mini shopping spree with my mom this week. We got a couple cute outfits and a super soft blanket! It was so fun to get things that our little man will be wearing etc. It is so addicting to shop for baby Stavy, but I know I must restrain myself as there will be showers to come.

This week I also started using Belly Buds. They are headphones that stick to your belly and hook up to anything with a headphone jack. I got them from my sister in law who loved using them. They are a great way to bond with your baby by playing music or reading stories to them. Classical music is supposed to be very soothing. Plus, your baby will remember the music after he is born and it might help calm them. The fact that they stick on your belly makes them very convenient to use. You can walk around with them on and forget they are there.

Reveal Time!

We found out Baby Stavy's gender at 17 weeks. It was so exciting to know and not have to wait until the 20 week ultrasound. We're having a baby BOY!!!

I wanted to do something special to reveal the gender to our families, so I decided to do a reveal cake! People have done these different ways. One way, no one knows the gender except the ultrasound tech who puts it in an envelope for you and you take it to a baker to make you a cake with either pink or blue inside. Then when you cut into the cake surrounded by your family, everyone is surprised! I love the idea but would have been hard to coordinate with our families. Plus, I wanted to find out just with Nick first, then share in the celebration with family.

So we found out, and we made the cakes. Yes cakes...plural...because we had to do both families! We kept it simple and did Funfetti....which is so yummy! We could have done either the cake part blue, or blue frosting inside. I went with blue frosting inside because I didn't want to risk trying to put white icing all over a blue cake! It was so much fun to get our families together and let them find out!

Pink or Blue???

They were excited to finally find out!

The second cake with Nick's family, just love their expressions!

Team Blue!!! First grandson/child for my family and another grandson for Nick's family!

So fun!!

Too funny!!!

So I have been stalking Pinterest the last couple months and finally decided to jump on the bandwagon and join! It's way too addicting! It definitely has some great inspirations and ideas to follow. So many cute things to try, words to live by or just things that make you say awww!! I found this picture and it is way too hilarious not to share!

Nick has grown out his beard and his curly hair for the summer and our camping trips. He loves it!! I do too but I also love his smooth face!! This picture just makes me think of our future son and say "Like father like son!" Where can I find this?!? lol

Quick pic

First bump pic...taken at 17 weeks 5 days. I didnt get one of just me, so I had to edit people out. It's starting to take form.