Ultrasound pictures and Sunny days pictures

I am feeling so much better these last two days. I'm crossing my fingers hoping that it stays this way. I am posting some pictures of the latest ultrasound on Wed. The baby measured at 14 weeks, but this may be off? We have also had some beautiful days her in the Carolinas. I am posting some photos of Keely outside enjoying the day.

The Flu

Today was difficult. I started out this morning feeling sick. Missing clinical is frowned upon, so I decided to just go and tough it out. When I got home it was all that I could do to get myself into bed. I had been using my inhaler all day, but by 5:00 p.m. my inhaler was providing me with little relief. I started to feel "loopy" and the "sense of impending doom" that accompanies the start of oxygen deprivation. Just then Dad called and said that he had been thinking of me. I told him what was going on, and he prayed with me then called Rachel. I called Bob and told him that I really needed to go to urgent care or the ER right away. Bob got home and convinced me not to drive myself. I was pretty out of it, and looking back I'm glad I didn't drive. We decided on urgent care, because the wait is considerably less than the dreaded ER. Also, in my state I didn't really realize how sick I was getting. The staff at urgent care saw me immediately with no wait. They must have a triage system because I wasn't the only patient. The doctor was wonderful ordering IV steroids, a nebulizer treatment, and a swab for the flu IMMEDIATELY. No time was wasted, and I received most of the treatments simultaneously. After the treatments, and a diagnosis of influenza I felt much better. The doctor gave me a prescription for oral steroids (for 1 week), and albuterol to be taken via nebulizer (every 4 hours until I get better). He then remarked that my name means grace in Greek. I said yes it does, and asked how he knew. He said he took some Greek and Hebrew in seminary. For a while he had been burned out in the ER and wondered if the Lord was calling him to be a minister. He started working in urgent care just to pay the bills and go to seminary at RTS. He found he really liked urgent care, and decided that his calling was in medicine after all. I told him my dad is a minister, and we had a good conversation. Afterwards he asked if he could pray for me and the baby. I told him that I would appreciate that very much. He prayed then gave me his card and told me to get a lot of rest and fluids and call if there is any problem or sign of infection. With all the frustration that I have had with prenatal care, I still see every day the ways the Lord provides and watches over me and this baby. I really feel that the Lord had his hand in all that transpired tonight. He got me to not only a very skilled doctor, but a fellow Christian too. I am humbled, grateful, and embarrassed by all of my worrying.

Girl Names

We know what the baby's name will be if we have a boy- Robert Joseph Klein IV. We don't know yet what we will name a girl. We have a few names that we are considering, and we would like your input.

For a girl:
Kaia
Rowena
Zara
Esther
Eliana
Ryanne

I am really leaning towards Kaia, but this may change. We would love to hear what you think of these names and any other name suggestions.

Home birth or Birthing Center?

Friday we got a letter from Medicaid, and our chances of qualifying are looking increasingly grim. Also, this week all potential new graduates were informed that there is a hiring freeze at BOTH CMC and Presbyterian. With all of this information it is looking less and less likely that we will have any kind of insurance coverage for the birth of this child. I realize that home births are not as safe as hospital births, and this would be my last option. Home births are also not particularly legal in NC. However, I did locate a birthing center in South Carolina that is 1 hour and 50 minutes away. They have a certified midwifes, and all necessary medications and skills needed to make labor and delivery fairly safe. They are also 3 minutes from a hospital. I know that 3 minutes is a lot of time when it comes to an emergency situation. However, I think that the odds are in my favor. Keely could have been born at a birthing center, and she would have been fine. This is also a good compromise between very-cheap-unsafe-illegal-home birth, and uber-safe-family-impoverishing hospital birth. Sigh.

Update

The Doctor's office was able to work me in today. Apparently, it is not uncommon for them to have cancellations. The nurse that saw me was wonderful, as was the Doctor. I got prescriptions for both zofran and phenergan. Whew.. that is a load off my mind knowing that clinical next week will be alright. In other news I had and EXTREMELY challenging patient today. For a while I was wondering if I had chosen the wrong career path. I'm feeling about it now.

A painful experience made excruciating

So the morning sickness has really set in. I tried to call the practice that is seeing me as a "sliding scale" patient to see if some Zofran or Phenergan could be called in for me. I have another clinical tomorrow, and it's hard to concentrate whilst dry heaving every half hour. Here is how the conversation went with Nurse Ratchet in triage.

Nurse Ratchet: Hi Chereese, what's the problem?

Me: I am in my last semester of nursing school and I'm in my first trimester of my pregnancy. I'm trowing up a lot and I have clinical from 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. tomorrow. I was wondering if I could have some Zofran or any other anti- emetic called in?

Nurse Ratchet: Well, I see here that you have only done an intake with one of our nurses, so we can't do that for you. Can you come in tomorrow?

Me: I could if you have anything open after 3:30...

Nurse Ratchet: No we don't. We have some morning appointments.

Me: I'm at the hospital by 6:45 a.m. I really don't think that's possible. I really just need to have something help me through tomorrow.

Nurse Ratchet: Well since you don't WANT to come in tomorrow we can't do anything for you. Maybe we can try to see you Wednesday.

Me: So, I may not get any relief for days?

Nurse Ratchet: Maybe you can call tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. and be seen in the morning.

Me: I have clinical tomorrow.. ahh! never mind.

Snow Day and Accident

So we've had an eventful week here. Monday was the sonogram. Tuesday it snowed, which was wonderful! We told Keely the night before that it might snow. She was very excited. We heard Keely awake at first light. Next we heard her get out of bed and peak through her blinds. She saw the snow immediately, although I don't know how (it was still pretty dark). Keely yelled while running through the house- "it SNOWED!" "Mommy, Daddy, it snowed!" She ran into our room and looked out our windows, her eyes were HUGE with excitement. She wanted to go outside right away, but we built a fire with her and had breakfast until it was light enough to go outside. Bob took her out for over and hour. They came in for hot cocoa, rest, and lunch. I had been throwing up that night, so I was resting. In the afternoon I took Keely out to enjoy the snow one last time before it melted away. Keely realized in the evening that most of the snow had melted, and began to cry. We consoled her, and she got over it quickly.
Today I had a doctors appointment and got into a car accident. The other driver (a man) rear ended me. The mini cooper held up well, and I am fine. The other car ( a new Lexus) sustained quite a bit of damage. At first the guy tried to convince me not to call the police and file a report. I insisted upon it, seeing his Florida tags and licence, and called. He layed a guilt trip on me. He started telling about how his insurance would go up. He told me that he would get a ticket for not updating his licence or plates/tags. ON and ON he went.. Finally he stated that he had been relieved after discovering that there was no child in the my car seat. Bob picked up Keely today- thank God. It was then that I told him, NO my daughter isn't with me, but I AM PREGNANT. He quit his complaining and manipulating.

Below are some pictures of the snow day:

Pregnancy Resource Center

I just wanted to take time to praise the Pregnancy Resource Center of Charlotte. I am beyond grateful to them. This center was started by a group of Christians that wanted to help women choose life by giving them access to prenatal care that would otherwise be unaffordable. For a long time I have heard people say that they are pro-life, but seen very little done to support and lift up the women that are dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. Everyone at the center was kind, compassionate, and understanding. I am in awe of what they do. They have doctors, nurses, counselors, and ultrasound technicians that give their time and services. Their actions do more to help unborn children than any protester outside a clinic. They made it possible for Bob and I to gain piece of mind without shelling out hundreds of dollars. The ultrasound technician let us have extra time to see the baby, and put my mind at ease. I am eternally grateful. I thank God for all of these men and women and their incredible witness to the Christian faith. When Bob and I are better off financially I plan to donate FREQUENTLY to them.
If anyone needs more information about them their phone number is: 704-372-5981
The web address is www.prccharlotte.com

Sonogram

Bob and I had our first ultrasound today! We learned that I am 6 weeks and 3 days into the pregnancy. We were able to see the heart beat, which immediately brought me to tears. Everything looks very good. The pregnancy is in my uterus, not ectopic or anything else abnormal. Our due date is September 11th, 2009- I know.. not the best date! Here are some pictures of the new addition. The baby is the little grain of rice in the middle of the black area.

Our little bean!

Nausea

I'm starting this post with some pictures that Keely took. She has really taken an interest in photography! In the picture with the horses she has them lined up according to size. I am also a favorite subject for her to photograph.

In other news, the nausea kicked in on Friday. I guess I won't be avoiding morning sickness this time around. Sigh. It is true that every pregnancy is different. With this one I actually feel worse in the evenings. Anyway, we have our first ultrasound on Monday January 19. We will be posting on that tomorrow! The Pregnancy Resource Center was VERY helpful. However, it seems when one problem is solved another rears it's head. I just looked up information on the Family Medical Leave Act to see when I would be eligible for maternity leave. I have discovered that one must work full time for a year to be eligible for this. This means that if I get a job as a new graduate, I could be fired when I take time off to have the baby and recover. Keep in mind that this maternity leave is not paid, FMLA only gives you the right to retain your job.

This is a picture of Keely and Maira under my desk around Christmas time. I thought it was cute, so I included it.

Pictures

Pictures from 2008.....

I started my first post with the picture on the left. Bob took it the summer of 2007, right before I started nursing school. It seems like yesterday. However, Keely still has a very baby-ish look to her face and very little hair.
It is now January 2009, and so much has changed. Keely had a lot more hair. I am almost done with school. Also, Bob and I discovered on new year's day that we are expecting again. This was shocking for several reasons. Last September I was diagnosed with poly cystic ovarian syndrome(PCOS) after about a year of VERY irregular cycles. This irregularity caused me to immediately suspect that I had cancer. (Those of you that know me will laugh at the previous statement because I ALWAYS think I have cancer) PCOS is usually treated with birth control pills, so I immediately began taking them. Fast Forward to December 2008. I told Rachel (my sister) that I was going to stop taking the pills because they were not regulating my cycle. Rachel told me I needed to take a pregnancy test. I must admit that I dragged my feet in doing so, because I thought a test would be a waste of money. In my mind there was NO WAY that I could be pregnant. On New Years Day I went for a 3 mile run. The track I run around is near a CVS, so I decided to pick up a pack of pregnancy tests. They're always good to have around, right? I took one when I got home, and it was positive almost immediately. Loud yelling for my mother (she was visiting at the time) immediately followed.
Now, I know that eventually I will be very excited about the pregnancy. At the moment it is difficult for me to accept God's plan for me. I am graduating in May, and I have begun to interview for jobs. I had my OWN plans. I thought that I would get a job with great benefits, and then get pregnant. By the time the baby was born, I would have at the very least one year of experience under my belt. Instead, I may not be able to start working until January 2010. Unless some nurse manager wants a new hire that will immediately go on maternity leave after starting work. Oh, and did I mention that the health insurance that Bob and I have doesn't cover maternity. I have since discovered that if you buy your own health insurance it is impossible to get maternity coverage without paying more than it would cost to just have a baby with no insurance at all. So, in a severe recession/almost depression I am having a baby with zero coverage.
Several things are happening at the moment to remedy the health care problem:

• 1. Rachel called her friend (an MD in Charlotte) and inquired about services for the under served. Rachel's friend is awesome and has set me up with Family Practice clinic. There have been a few snags in this process, but this may pan out. In this scenario Bob and I would pay on a sliding scale for my prenatal care and the the delivery. It is excellent care, with the bonus of having the same doctor the whole time. The only negative is the hospital bill. There is no help with that, but we may be able to work out a payment plan. Still, no one likes having a $15,000 to $20,000 bill hanging over them. Depressing....
• 2. I am applying for pregnancy medicaid. I must say this a pride swallowing thing to do. My current obstetrician urged me to do this. Bob and I know that it is a long shot, because we are married and he works. We might get approved because the state tends to try to cover pregnant women to ensure good prenatal care. I won't know for 45 days if we are approved.
• 3. Because I have no real idea how far along I am, it is vital that I get an ultrasound to date the pregnancy. Ultrasounds are EXPENSIVE if you are a "self pay". There is a Pregnancy Resource Center in Charlotte that could possibly do an ultrasound for FREE to date my pregnancy.

I will keep everyone updated with the pregnancy and my quest for prenatal care, which is as time consuming as a part time job.