Crazy Days

This week has been a whirlwind....read all about it...

The Freaks Come Out at Night

Willis AKA Rocky

Willis AKA Rocky

On Tuesday of this week, I awoke around 4:30am with severe pain in my back and stomach. So I called the after hours nurse and spoke with a nurse that told me to take some tylenol and lay on a heating pad. Ok, I thought, I'll do it. I did it and nothing changed. Around 7am I still had no relief so I called both of my sisters. Dana told me to call back the nurse and tell her she was an idiot because I could be having back labor. She was MAD....I think more mad than I was! So, I called back the nurse (thankfully a different nurse) and she told me to go to the hospital. David and I quickly grabbed my bag, took the girls to his sister Michelle's house and made the trek down to the hospital. Once we arrived at the hospital, it took almost 25 minutes to get checked in while I sat there pain. It didn't make me feel very confident in the hospital that I was about to put my faith into to cure me of my pain or to deliver our baby. Once we finally got up to the room, a nurse came in and asked me about my problems and proceeded to call my OB doctor. From that point, they drew some blood (the first out of 5 times) and I sat and waited to hear the results. That's when things get sketchy for me. I can't rememeber the exact events of the day, but I do remember starting to get sick. The pain and sickness continued all day. However, at this point in the day, I think the nurse gave me some vicodin. That worked for about 40 minutes and then I was back in pain. After that, she gave me a shot of demerol and phenergren. And that never worked. Soon I was being wheeled down to another room to get an ultrasound. This was pure torture for me. I kept getting sick and then this woman (not her fault at all) was pushing down on where my pain was. It was a miserable hour. It was now about 5pm and I still had no pain relief and not a clear idea of what was wrong with me. The docs thought it was something to do with my kidneys and since they knew I had had kidney stones before, they were pretty certain that was the case now. However, they wanted to do an MRI to be sure that was the problem. Before I was carted down to the MRI room, they gave me some Dilauded in my own "Billy" pump. If you remember, David had Diluaded in a pump for his surgery and he named it "Billy." So Billy and I got to know each other very well. Anyway, I went and had the MRI which was very difficult because I had to hold my breath while the machine took pictures. That's not an easy task when you have a giant kid in your belly. The MRI didn't show much except for my giant kid. Several of the technicians told me that "Willis" was large. That was not the obvious thing I needed to hear at the moment. It was now 7pm and "Billy" was giving me some relief, thankfully. One of the OB doctors came in and told me that he thought we should induce and that would give me the relief I needed. Because "Willis" was putting pressure on my kidneys, the stones didn't have the ability to pass because the kidney was fully blocked by our son. The doc thought if we induced, then the pressure would be relieved and the stones could pass. Neither David and I thought this was a very good plan. We both knew that the longer "Willis" stayed cookin', the better off he'd be. I also knew that there was no way I was in any kind of shape to deliver a baby. I was absolutely worn out! So, my other doctor made a call to a urologist and came up with the plan to have a stent put in so that the stones could have a way to pass. Then, "Willis" could come when he's ready and I could rest up and wait for that to happen. So that's the plan we went with.

Around midnight, I was wheeled down to the OR, given a spinal block (good practice for the epidural) and had the stent placed. The entire procedure took around 15 to 30 minutes. I was awake for the entire thing and found it quite interesting to hear the surgeon and nurses talking about the procedure. I also got to monitor "Willis'" heartrate along with the nurses. He made it through the procedure without any problems. The weird thing about this surgery was that I was numb from the chest down. I couldn't feel anything. And the next thing I knew, I was back in my room and off to sleep. (On a sidenote, I spent the day on some pretty potent medicines. This was and is conflicting to me because when you're pregnant, the doctors give you a list of things you can and can't do. I trust that the doctors know what they're doing and would never do anything to jeopardize the health of our baby. But, I just feel a little guilty taking those meds when they could potentially harm our little guy. I guess this could be considered as one of my first dilemmas as a parent.)

All in all, it was terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day! However, we are thankful for God's providence in keeping our son safe and his mom healthy. I am thankful for a patient husband that spent the day praying while I went through a number of tests. And now I get to rest up for the real deal....the day that "Willis" AKA "Rocky" will make his appearance (My Dad said we should change his name to "Rocky" since he is the reason I got the kidney stones.") Until then, thanks for your prayers and support. Also, here's a VERY unlovely picture of me from the hospital! I can't believe I'm going to post it, but hey, it's real life people. I can't be glamourous all the time! :)

I think this was right after the surgery. I couldn't feel anything from the chest down so the nurse had to position me like a rag doll. Dana, I got to play rag doll in real life! :)

Day after surgery, there's somewhat of a smile there. Like my hair??

The Freaks Come Out at Night

This past Saturday, some friends of ours hosted a fantastic Halloween Party. Let me tell you, there are some creative people out there. I don't think words are really necessary for this post...the pictures can explain themselves!

David and Curt as Lloyd and Harry from Dumb and Dumber

Tami and I as Little Buddha and a Whoopie Cushion


Jonathan (David's brother) didn't come dressed. However, the host gave him a hat and a beard and wallah....Abe Lincoln


Jeremy (David's other brother) as Joe the Plumber

Hal and Becca as Mary and her Little Lamb. Hal used over 20 bags of cotton balls to create his costume.....very creative!

Countdown

How did Willis get in that last box already?? It's hard to believe that I'm in my last month. And praise the Lord for that!! It couldn't come soon enough. The end means so many things....the end of feeling miserable, the end of getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom 8 times, the end of heartburn and so much more. But, the end also means the beginning of our new life with our little guy. And that, we can't wait for! However, it looks like I'm going to have to wait and wait and wait. Today, I went to the doctor and it seems that Willis has no desire to make an appearance anytime soon. I know it's best that he stays cookin' as long as possible and I'm thankful that God is keeping both of us healthy. I just pray that I can make it another month without driving my family and myself nuts! Let the countdown begin!!

Calling All Creative Peeps

I need a Halloween costume. I know you all are creative and have great/funny ideas. Please comment and leave me fantastic idea for Halloween. David has an awesome costume. I can't wait for you to see it. You'll have to wait a little bit though...I cannot reveal it to you just yet!

Baby Shower & Family

On October 4th, my sisters and Tami threw me a fabulous baby shower. The theme was blue and brown, just like Willis' room. The girls slaved away (including my Grandma and Mom) by cooking the day before. They made all my favorites including my Mom's famous chicken salad....DELICIOUS! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!! It was a great day and I got a lot of great stuff for Willis. Let me just say that he is going to be one stylin' dude!

The best part of this day was that my family, both Coleman's and Drenth's, were there. Dana flew in from Texas and tried to surprise me by bringing all 3 of her kids. However, Cole spoiled the surprise the week before and told me on the phone that he was coming to Chicago. It didn't ruin the surprise....it only made me more anxious for their arrival. Also, my Grandma from Chicago came. It's always good to have Grandma around. She has the best laugh and I think she enjoyed spending time with her grandkids and great grandkids. The Coleman women (minus Joanna and Jen) made an appearance and its always nice to see them. I love that David has so many wonderful sisters. They truly are the nicest people on the planet!!

Anyway, it was a great shower and I couldn't have asked for better friends and family! Saying goodbye to my Mom, Grandma, Dana, Cole, Katelyn and Lauren was very difficult. As Kerri and I dropped them off at the airport, we all were crying of course, Cole hugged me and my belly and said, "Willis smells like a donut." It made for some comic relief and apparently I smell like a donut! (Sidenote: A treat to the first person who can name what movie this comes from..."Laughter through tears, my favorite emotion!") I know I say this all the time, but I can't tell you how much I miss them!!

So, enjoy the following pics...I'm not loving the way I look in these, but there's nothing I can do about it at this point....the little giant is taking over my body!! :)

The lovely hostesses, Tami, Dana, Large Marge and Kerri

The deliciously cute cake

The grub....mmmmmm

The loot

Soon to be big sisters, Anna and SaraThe Grammy's

Great Grandma DrenthCole takin' his sister for a drag....don't worry, she loved it!Grandma Drenth with her new Great Granddaughter, Lauren
Hadley's morning hair

Cousin bath time

Wondering how she got pizza up her nose??? See below.

This Texas Tornado likes to eat her pizza hands free