Platypus Diaries Part #4

This is the fourth entry in the diary of my pregnancy. Because it would amount to many pages of reading to cover September through to the present day in one post, I've broken this up into readable bits. Here is part four:

Platypus Diaries #4

September
Had my first OB appointment today. I’m feeling a bit better than last pregnancy and I attribute it to NOT taking the prenatal vitamins. My OB confirmed it…he said that they do indeed make pregnant women more nauseous but he doesn’t tell us that because he wants us to take them. I guess I just felt so lousy last time that I can’t bear the thought of taking them and feeling worse again. He asked if I could find it in my heart to take one every now and again. I’ll try.

Last pregnancy, Eric came to almost every (he missed just one) OB appointment with me. Naturally, the office staff asked where Eric was this time around. I was happy to report that he was home with our little girl. Then the OB expressed his disappointment in not seeing Eric. He wanted to know how he was, what he was doing, and if he would be at the next appointment. When I was leaving, he told me to make sure that I said hi to Eric for him. Then as I passed by the reception desk, the secretary asked me to bring Eric around next time.
Perhaps they wished that Eric was the pregnant one.
Eric. Eric. Eric.
Sheeesh.


P.S. Look who is ONE...



October 7
We went on the most beautiful and wonderful vacation with Madden and Eric’s parents.
The place was called Port Douglas and probably deserves an entry all on its own. The need for a vacation was SO GREAT. We haven’t had a real vacation in a long long time and it was so welcome. I thought a week would be long enough to get bored, but I could have swam in that pool and walked that beach for another week at least.

The only issue was a horrid rash that Madden developed over every square inch of her body. We first noticed it on the plane ride and then watched it get worse and worse over the next few days. When it covered her face and hands, we finally decided we should probably take her to the local doctor. She didn’t have any other symptoms…no complaining, no fever, and no restlessness. She isn’t much of a complainer anyway, but she wasn’t even attempting to scratch these bumps.

When we showed her to the doctor, his reaction was much bigger than we expected. It sort of made us feel like crap parents. We were just hoping he would ease our fears a bit. He said he couldn’t really do that, because it was a bad rash and he really had no idea what it was. He gave us an Rx for an antibiotic and told us to wash her with this antibacterial stuff 2 to 3 times a day.

That was it.

We washed and washed her. She had the rash the whole week and then some but she never complained. Although she looked terrible, she still acted like the happy baby that she is.


October 8

Eric’s folks babysat Madden and we were sent out on a mission to buy Prawns. Since we had seen people buying bags of them directly from the boats in the harbor, we headed down that way.

Standing on the dock of the marina in Port Douglas, we saw a family walking towards us. Well, the parents were walking and the kids were being dragged. One wanted to run and the other was having a meltdown.

We stood in silence and watched as they ambled down the dock, passed us by with kids getting louder and louder, and eventually could be heard screaming their way out into the parking lot.

After a long while, this was our conversation.

Me: “I’m scared.”
Eric: “Uh huh”
(long pause)
“Me too.”
Me: “We may have some challenging years ahead.”
Eric: (long silence)
Me: “Don’t leave me.”
Eric: (longer silence still)
“I’m in if you’re in.”


October 15, 2009
Received a disturbing email (again!) from daycare. This time, kids are coming down with Fifth’s Disease , otherwise known as Slapped Cheek Syndrome. That sounds like a joke and I seriously never knew there were so many illnesses kids can contract.
Daycare = Germ Factory
The illness causes a rash all over the body and doesn’t really have any other symptoms but can be very harmful to the fetus of pregnant women in the first trimester.

We looked it up on Wikipedia. The picture of the kid in the photo looked just like Madden did when she had her rash in Port Douglas. Without a doubt, she had that illness.

I tried to be calm. Eric tried to be calm.
But for the first time in this less emotional pregnancy, I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. I cried and cried.

I went off and got the appropriate blood tests straight away. We should know this week if I’m immune to this disease. If I am, it means my baby can’t be affected. If I don’t have immunity, I’ll need to go in for more tests and some extra ultrasounds to monitor the heart function of the baby.


November 2, 2009
I’m immune. I’m immune. RELIEF.