Peter's Place - Stories

It was the strangest thing. After dinner, my family turned out the lights, then they sang a song, and everyone was looking at me. Then Mom held out this yummy cake with something bright and shiny on top, but she wouldn't let me touch it. Then they made the shiny thing disappear. I don't know where it went. Finally Mom gave me the cake and let me eat it. It was delicious!

When the cake was gone, Mom put a colorful box in front of me. It had pictures of monkeys on it. I wasn't sure what to do with it at first, and I guess I took too long trying to figure it out because suddenly all my siblings were grabbing the box and pulling all the monkeys off it. Inside was something that looked fun, but before I got to play with it, they took it away from me and gave me another box, then another... Finally they ran out of boxes and I was able to play. It was strange, but really fun!

I've had a rough month. I decided I didn't like sucking on a plug. I won't let anyone put one in my mouth any more. It's hard to get to sleep without something to suck on though, so nap time has been hard. I also decided I don't like to be spoon fed. Spoons are fun to play with, but I don't want them in my mouth unless I put them there. Also this month my ear hurt, but mom didn't know. She thought I was just cranky because I wouldn't take the plug. Then my eye started getting gunk in it so when I woke up from naps I could hardly open it. That's when Mom took me to the doctor again. The doctor looked at my eye, and at my ear, and she figured out that I had another ear infection. Mom got me two kinds of medicine. The pink stuff that I drink is OK. Sometimes I can spit it out at Mom, but she's getting pretty good at making it go down. I hate the eye drops though. They sting a little. At least my eye doesn't have all that gunk in it any more. And I'm sleeping better at night now. Last night I didn't wake up once!

Yesterday I went to the doctor for my six month check up. I know I'm almost seven months old, but I turned six months just before Christmas and Mom was busy and decided to wait until the new year to do it. The first part was fun. I got to lie on the bed and watch the funny chimes hanging from the ceiling while they stretched out my leg and tried to see how long I am. I'm 28 inches long! Then they weighed me. I weighed 18 pounds, 3 ounces. They also measured how big my head is, checked my back and legs and other things while the doctor asked Mom funny questions like how much I eat and if I can sit yet. Then the doctor left, and another lady came in. Mom held my arms while the other lady poked me! It hurt and I cried for a few minutes until Mom found my plug. What I still don't understand is why my brothers and sister get the stickers after I get poked! Shouldn't I get one too?

This morning I rolled from my back to my stomach for the very first time! Mom had left me on the floor in the living room when she went to wake the others. I saw some toys next to me and I tried to get them, but I couldn't quite reach. Then suddenly I was on my belly and after wiggling and squirming a little I was finally able to reach! Mom was sure surprised when she came back.

I've been sick a lot lately. It seems like I've had this cold forever, and it's been a really long time since I've been able to breathe freely through my nose. (I'm getting good at blowing bubbles out my nose.) I think it started about November 3rd. I woke up that morning feeling awful, and it took Mom five days (and five sleepless nights) before she finally took me to the doctor. I had an ear infection. So then she gave me this pink medicine stuff twice a day for ten days. It was cold, and I don't like cold things very much, but Mom was pretty good at getting me to swallow it all. My ear felt better pretty quickly, but I still had the cold. Two weeks later, I think it was on Daddy's birthday, Mom took me back to the doctor for a recheck. The doctor looked in my ears and said that the infection was gone, but I had another little cold (Another? I didn't realize when the first one ended and the second one began!), but that my lungs were clear and she gave me a clean bill of health. Of course that's when the cold started to get worse... This last week I've slept in my car seat almost every night with the humidifier running in my room. I cry when Mom gets out the snot sniffer and cloth and I hate the nose drops she puts in my nose. I can't wait until I'm all better again.

This morning after we took big sister to school, we went to the store and bought a box of something and some spoons. When we got home, Mom set up this funny chair and put me in it. It was kind of fun to sit up there, but I wasn't sure what was going on. Mom put some water in a cup, and then poured some powder out of the box into the bowl and stirred it.

I thought she was just having fun playing with it, until she tied something around my neck. Then she scooped some of her concoction up with a spoon and put it in my mouth. At first it was just tasted kind of weird. It didn't taste like anything I was used to, but it wasn't bad. I swished it around my mouth, then let it drip out. Then she put more in. I did the same thing, and it still tasted OK, but after a few more spoonfuls, I was tired of that game. I was getting hungry, and the stuff she kept putting in my mouth wasn't what I wanted. I cried and let her know, so she got me out of the seat and gave me my regular milk instead. Maybe she'll try the other weird stuff again tomorrow.

Today Mom went to play volleyball with some friends. My big sister Hannah was at school, but she had to bring the three of us boys with her. John and Josh were playing with toys and I wanted to play too. Mom took me out of my car seat and laid me on my belly on a blanket. Just as soon as I was on the floor, I rolled over onto my back! Mom was surprised, and put me on my belly again, but I rolled over the other way. She put me on my belly again, but I didn't feel like rolling any more. Maybe I'll try again in a few days.

Once upon a time, the week before Halloween, actually, I was feeling absolutely exhausted. Wiped out! I had no energy to do anything, and was even trying to take naps during the day and go to bed early at night, and I mean earlier than my normal bed-time of 10pm! That weekend my stomach started to feel unsettled - not really queasy, but not comfortable either. By that time I suspected that I just might be pregnant again.

Usually, one of the first signs of pregnancy is a skipped period. I haven't had one since I became pregnant with Joshua. I was taking a nursing pill, but when my prescription ran out in August, I never went back to the doctor to have it renewed or changed. I did continue nursing Joshua a couple times each day, and I hoped that would delay future pregnancy a little bit. But after a couple late night activities and busy mornings, I skipped some of Joshua's nursings.

Tuesday, November 2nd, was election day. Even though I was utterly exhausted, I pushed Joshua in the stroller and had Hannah and John walk with me to a nearby church where I was assigned to vote. That evening I had to go to a meeting for my new calling on the enrichment committee, and on the way there, I stopped by a store to buy toothbrushes and a pregnancy test. After my meeting, I returned home, watched some of the election results on TV for a little while, and then when I prepared for bed I took the test, and sure enough, I am pregnant.

Since I don't have a period to go by as far as getting a due date, and I have no idea when I ovulate, I don't know for sure when this baby's due date will be. My guess right now is June 22nd. This is how I came up with this date: When I first became pregnant with John, it was much the same situation; I had just stopped nursing Hannah, and hadn't had a period yet. I found out I was pregnant after being hit by sudden, total exhaustion, the week of Thanksgiving 2000. So I counted the weeks between when the exhaustion hit and John's due date, which was a week after his birth date. Then I counted that many weeks ahead from when I felt the exhaustion with this pregnancy, and June 22nd, 2005 is where I ended up. I realize, however, that each pregnancy is different, and so I could be way off.

Just knowing for sure that I am pregnant hasn't given me back any energy though. I am still tired, and I have to force myself to walk with the kids to the park twice a week. I've temporarily given up the Yoga stretches I had been doing every evening for over a month. I'm too tired in the evenings! I tried doing the stretches in the morning, but discovered it to be too difficult to do them with children sitting on top of me.

My stomach still hasn't settled either. I haven't thrown up yet (knock on wood). Smells are already becoming more powerful, I salivate more than normal, and peppers and onions are becoming a trial to cook with. My stomach isn't usually much more than a mild, but constant, annoyance, unless I haven't eaten in a while: then it gets really uncomfortable.

I'm happy about being pregnant. I had been looking at my children and realizing how old they are all getting. Joshua, my baby, is walking and will be talking, too, before long. Hannah is home schooling this year, but next year she will be a big first grader going to school. And John will start kindergarten the year after that. I have begun looking at my friends' tiny babies and contemplating having another one of my own. Steven never seems to be troubled by much. He seems just as happy knowing I'm pregnant as he would be if I weren't yet. But he had been teasing me for a month about being pregnant, even before he realized that I might actually be!

Time for another pregnancy update? Prepare for discouragement and frustration... Once again, we are facing pregnancy without maternity coverage in our health insurance. Last time, it was because we got pregnant too soon. This time, we just didn't have it. So, December 15th I went to Mountain View Nurse Midwives, took a free pregnancy test there, then talked to their Financial Adviser person about applying for Medicaid. From the information I had with me, she determined that I didn't qualify. Granted, I didn't have one of the pay stubs I was supposed to have, but in general, from what Steven usually makes, we don't qualify. She sent me to Clinica Campesina, where they do general health care, but will work with their patients and a sliding pay scale, to determine what they can afford to pay.
I got an appointment there about a week later, on December 21st. I was supposed to meet with the Financial Technician that morning, then meet with the doctor that afternoon. I went in that morning, and their Financial Technician looked at the information I had brought, and thought that we probably would qualify for Medicaid, but I needed to come back with the other pay stub (which I still hadn't thought to bring with me. Duh.) So, I had to come back that afternoon, and sure enough, I did qualify for Medicaid, and so I applied. However, since I had to meet with the F.T. that afternoon, my appointment with the doctor was postponed until today. 9am.
Today, I went to the office, and was taken in by the nurse assistant person, got weighed, left a urine sample, had my height measured, and my blood pressure taken, answered a ton of questions about my medical history, had three vials of blood taken out of me, and then was given yet another appointment to come back for a pap smear and maybe, possibly, an ultrasound to determine a due date. I have yet to see the actual doctor person. Plus, they asked me today which hospital I want to deliver at... My choices being one in downtown Denver, and another one somewhere halfway to Lafayette! Right now my chances of having this baby born in the car on the way to the hospital seem pretty high, and ridiculous considering there is a hospital five minutes away from my home!!!
So, today I'm trying to contact the Nurse Midwives to see if I can transfer back there. To see if some day, eventually, preferably before this baby is born, I can see a real doctor who can determine a real due date, and deliver at a hospital within a twenty mile radius of my home. Or if I have to continue going to the doctor's office every single week, without actually seeing a doctor, and eventually have a baby in my car, on the way to some distant hospital I don't even know for sure exists.

Other than my frustrations trying to find a good and affordable doctor, I'm feeling pretty good. I've thrown up three times so far in this pregnancy--one of those times being this morning, probably since I was so stressed out about my appointment this morning. The nausea and upset stomach have pretty much passed though, except for brief moments here and there when I catch a whiff of some powerful, unpleasant odor. I'm still tired a lot, and I find that exhaustion tends to come on suddenly.

   I feel great today. I had an appointment with The Women's Health Group this morning. The Nurse Midwives had told me that they (the W.H.G.) would take pending Medicaid patients, and when called them to make an appointment, they said all they needed was my dated Medicaid application, but if I didn't qualify by sixty days after the application was submitted, they would start billing $600 for the first visit, and whatever other charges as they accrued.
   I was able to get Kendra to pick up a copy of my Medicaid application from Clinica Campesina (I REALLY didn't want to have to go back there!) and then this morning she came over to watch the kids for me and lend me her car to drive to my appointment. She is so wonderful!
   So I went to my appointment, and filled in the paperwork. Then I watched the huge fish in the aquarium in the lobby until they called me. They got a urine sample, weighed me, (126 pounds) then asked some questions about my medical history, took my blood pressure, and listened to baby's heart beat. Then they had me undress for the Certified Nurse Midwife, Jeanne. She came in and asked a few more questions about my medical history, then did the pap smear and internal exam. She then sent me to the ultrasound tech to get a due date. That was fun. They actually have a monitor mounted to the ceiling so the woman can see what's on the screen without having to crane her neck. There is actually a baby in there! A baby BOY to be a little more specific, and she said I was 17 weeks, 3 days, which puts my due date at June 22nd!!! How amazing is that? After the ultrasound, I had to go back to the other room and wait for a little while because I had blood taken at Clinica Campesina. They didn't want to have to take my blood again, so they were trying to get the information from the C.C. They called, and were told to fax over a release form, which they did, but after getting no response, they called back and sat on hold for 15 minutes! (When I tried calling C. C. to find out how to get a copy of my Medicaid application I was on hold 20 minutes, and when they did pick up the phone, it was just to say, "Thank you for calling Clinica Campesina, please hold!") So they ended up taking more of my blood today, but they won't send it to the lab until they find out from the C.C. what they did with the blood they already took. But after that I was able to come home. I like this office. Everyone is friendly, they explain to me what they are doing, they are very professional and appear to know what they are doing. And a person answers the phone; not a machine. After all the nervousness and stress I felt every time I had to go to the CC, it is a great relief to have a good place to go, where I feel comfortable. I have an appointment to go back in four weeks, and that visit will include the 20 week extensive ultrasound.
   I'm feeling good. I have more energy, the nausea is gone, and I finally have a doctor I'm comfortable with. I found out Sunday that Kristy is pregnant too, due August 22nd (I think that's the date) So I have a sibling pregnant at the same time. And that's cool. Life is good.


Baby's head and hand	Baby's spine

   Late in the month of May, I went to the doctor, and when she checked me, she discovered that I was just one cm dilated. I had been hoping this baby would come early, but it didn't look like that would be the case. My doctor was worried that the baby would come quickly, and that one or the other of us wouldn't get to the hospital in time, so she told me to call at the first sign of labor, and she would induce or speed it up at the hospital if necessary.
I returned to the doctor a week later, and there was still no change. The next week, again there was no change. I began to give up hope that baby would be early. Then, on Thursday June 16th, something had changed. I was four cm dilated and my doctor was sure I would come any time. She called the hospital to see if they had an opening to induce, but returned saying they didn't have an opening until Monday. She stripped the membranes and sent me home, telling me she was sure I would go before Monday, but setting up an appointment to return to the doctor a week later.
Since my mom wasn't planning on coming to Colorado until Monday, I put my backup babysitter on notice that I could go any time, and waited for labor to start. It didn't. Each night I went to bed expecting to wake up the next morning in labor, but it was not to be. Then, Monday morning, around 7am, I received a phone call from the hospital, telling me I'd had an inducing appointment that morning at 6:30, and asking why I had missed it! I guess my doctor had been so sure I would deliver before Monday, she hadn't told me she had actually set up an appointment for Monday! Being assured it wasn't too late, we hurriedly got the children dressed and to the babysitter, and Steven and I got to the hospital around 8:00.
   After changing into the hospital gown and getting set up, the doctor came in to break my bag, in the hopes that would start me into labor. An hour later, nothing much had changed, I'd only had about three contractions during the hour, and so they started the Pitocin. Then things picked up. By 11:00 I was begging for the epidural because the contractions were very strong. The anesthesiologist came in and gave me the epidural, but I don't think it really took effect because the contractions were still hurting, and I was feeling a lot of pressure. In fact, as the anesthesiologist was packing up to leave, I told the nurse I was feeling a lot of pressure down there, and sure enough, baby was ready to come out. Things moved really quickly after that. The doctor arrived, the instruments were brought out, and I was told to start pushing. It took a few good pushes, and an episiotomy to get Peter out, and as soon as he was out and laid on my chest, he peed on me. He was born at 12:37pm. At 8 pounds, 2 ounces, and 21 inches long, he was my biggest baby.
   A while later Steven left me to go get the kids from the babysitter and pick up my Mom from the airport. They all returned a couple hours later, just after I had been transferred to a recovery room. It was good to see my kids again. I recovered quickly from childbirth. I felt great, and couldn't wait to get out of the hospital. While I could have stayed two days, I was ready to go after the first night. I went to the discharge class, got the OK from my doctor and Peter's doctor to go, and as soon as Peter had been in this world for 24 hours, we cleared out of the hospital as fast as we could.
   Since we left the hospital so quickly, we had to take Peter to the doctor the next day to make sure he was doing well. His weight had dropped more than the doctor liked, so I was told to supplement his feedings with formula, and bring him back the next day for a weight check. Luckily he gained four ounces that night, so we were able to discontinue the supplements and didn't have to return for more weight checks.
   The last two weeks have been fun ones. I enjoyed having my Mom here to help, and when she left last Wednesday morning, I missed her. Taking care of four children is a challenge! The hardest part right now, besides the lack of sleep from night time feedings, is Joshua. He doesn't seem to like his little brother very much, and hits him whenever he gets a chance. I can't leave him and Peter together unless I'm watching him like a hawk. The other kids have adjusted pretty well, and Hannah and John can even be helpful at times.