22 weeks!

 If I look extremely tired in this picture- it's because I am. It was taken at 6:30 in the morning before I left for work.

Welcome to what has been the most difficult week so far in my pregnancy. Here is how the past week has looked:

While at school on Thursday, I started getting some side pain. I thought it was just some pain that I was getting like the back pain I was experiencing last week, and I am so busy throughout the day, that I just decided to ignore it. When I got home, the pain was getting more intense and constant. I was pretty miserable. Justin tried to convince me to call off school the next day, but being the dedicated teacher I am, I thought that a good nights rest was all I needed. I was wrong. I was not able to sleep at all that night. There was no position that was comfortable for me and the pain was getting worse. At 4:00 in the morning, Justin made the call to take me to the ER. At around 10:30, the decision was made that I was being admitted to the Maternal-Fetal floor with a kidney infection.

I spent the entire weekend hooked up to an IV with fluids and antibiotics being pumped into me, rolling my IV around with me everywhere I went, not being able to sleep more than an hour at a time because nurses were either checking on me or my IV was beeping, eating hospital food and not having the comforts of home. But, as much as I did not like being at the hospital, this past week has really shown me how blessed I am and I am thankful.

I am first thankful to the Lord for protecting me and the baby. The doctor said that the infection was caught early enough (due to the fact that I did not have a fever). Normally they monitor the infection by your fever reducing, but since I never had one, they monitored my pain. I am thankful that I am healing and that the baby is healthy. Our little baby boy's heartbeat was taken several times throughout the day. He had a strong heartbeat and sometimes it was even hard for the nurses to get it for the whole minute because he was moving around on them. I think we have one active babe in there.

I am thankful for my husband. Despite having work commitments, and tons of school work to do, Justin stayed by my side every moment he could. He even slept both nights at the hospital with me. I was very comforted to know that he was with me the entire time.

I am thankful to our families. While in the ER, both Justin's sister and mom came in to check on us. When I was first admitted to the floor, they stayed with me so that Justin could go home, take a shower and pack a bag for me. I was also spoiled with gifts to make my time at the hospital more comfortable. My own family was also very supportive and loving. My mom came to visit several times, and even brightened my hospital room with some Christmas cheer since I was not going to be able to do all my fun Christmas activities I had planned for the weekend. My sisters came and entertained me and spoiled me with gifts for myself and for the little babe. My own dad was even willing to bring his birthday celebration to the hospital, since I was not able to celebrate with them at home. It was quite a sight to see my mom assemble a German Chocolate cake in the hospital :) We are very blessed with such loving and supportive families and I am so grateful for them.

I am thankful for my co-workers who were able to look after my class, make lesson plans for me and allow to me to just relax and not think about school. I am also thankful to Justin's co-workers who were so supportive and covered his shift all day Friday so that he could stay with me.

I am thankful that the doctor who was on call over the weekend was my doctor and he was able to put my mind at ease. I feel comfortable with him and I am happy that he was the one to talk me through what was going on. I am also thankful for kind nurses. I felt comfortable on the floor and they treated me very well.

I am thankful for all of our families and friends who were praying for us. I received so many texts over the weekend that Justin had to inform me that I was close to going over my text limit. So if I did not text you back, I'm sorry. I was on text restrictions.

I was discharged from the hospital on Sunday afternoon. I now have to take antibiotics every day for the rest of my pregnancy as a precaution that the infection does not come back or another one does not develop. At first, this really scared me. Fear has been a struggle of mine and I tend to think of the worst possible scenario that could happen. I was afraid that I would get another infection and go into pre-term labor or lose the baby. I was afraid that essentially being on antibiotics my entire pregnancy would have adverse side effects on both my body and the baby. But during my reading a prayer over the past couple of days, I have decided to continue to say yes to the Lord. He is in control. He has made this baby and He can protect us. Even if it may be a more difficult pregnancy that what I was hoping for, God is in control. Please continue to pray for us. Pray for healing for my body and protection for both me and the baby. Even though we have not met our little babe, and still have several months until we will, we already love him so much and want to meet him in April.

Onto the stats:

How far along: 22 weeks!
Baby is the size of a: Papaya and Length of a Spaghetti Squash. He also weighs approximately one whole pound!
Maternity clothes: My sister got me a really cute dress that I wore to school today :)
Food cravings: Nope.
Anything make you queasy or sick: My vomit count went up over the weekend- but that was due to being in so much pain. Nothing is making me sick now.  
Weight Gain: Well I don't have a scale and never weigh myself. However, since they had to weigh me in the hospital I believe I have gained 7 pounds.

Miss anything: Sleeping in. I cannot seem to sleep in past 7:30 :(  

Have you started to show yet: Oh yes. 

Boy or Girl: Boy! Before we found out if he was a boy or a girl, I would try to picture what our life would be like with both. Now that we know, and I feel like I am starting to know him, I could not imagine my life with anything but a boy right now. He is our little man :)

Movement: I think I am able to distinguish between kicks/punches and when he is actually changing position. Aunt Jen was also able to feel him this weekend :)

Best moment this week: Feeling all the love and support from our families and friends. I also didn't mind hearing the babe's heartbeat several times a day- it never gets old to me!
Worst moment this week: I think you can answer this question without me telling you.
Best kid comment about the baby this week: Since I missed 3 days of school, I haven't been around my kiddos too much. However one of my students told me today that I was getting fat.
Other tidbits: The clothing collection has officially started for baby boy, thanks to a massive spoiling by Aunt Jen!
How have I been feeling: Still recovering from being in the hospital. I still feel very tired and worn out.
Looking forward to: Getting our Christmas tree and decorating on Saturday!