Landry: 17 week & shot update

Progesterone shots started on Monday. I was extremely nervous because of the unknown but it wasn't as bad as I thought. The progesterone is extremely thick! It took the nurse 10 minutes just to get the meds into the syringe. The needles were too thin and the medicine wouldn't enter the syringe so she had to keep trying a thicker one. Talk about making you nervous, I kept thinking to myself "if it's this hard to get it into the syringe how is it going to go in my hip!" Luckily, the shot didn't hurt at all and I hardly felt it. I left happy and relieved thinking this was going to be a breeze, ha! Haven't I learned nothing with my pregnancy is ever easy! Roughly 2 hours after my shot I became extremely sore and tender. From my lower back to the middle of my thigh ached, hurt to touch and it was almost impossible to sit down. I went to my parents that night to get some help with the boys and put ice on it but that didn't really help. I went to bed in pain and woke up Tuesday feeling better. Now the area is hard as a rock and tender to the touch. I don't feel it unless I sit on it wrong. I think I need to rub the area to get blood flowing or something, I'm not too sure why the area is so hard? I return every Monday for these shots until 36 weeks.

Landry Update:

I'm starting to feel little flutters, mainly at night when I'm still and trying to sleep but they are extremely soft and not frequent. This is my favorite part of pregnancy and I can't wait to feel him more often.

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

I go back to the doctor on Monday. I feel like a ticking time bomb with each visit. We are monitoring my cervix very closely. Anyone who has had problems in a pregnancy knows that your cervix is suppose to be 4 cm long. If at any point it begins to shorten then I will be placed on bed rest or worse put in the hospital. Once your cervix reaches close to 0 cm you begin to dilate. So at each appointment I hold my breath and pray I get to leave a free woman.

Love,

~The Macs~

I think this pic is better!

Brody-isms

Brody is becoming such a talker lately. I just love hearing him speak and interact with adults. Here are a few of my favorites right now:

He says "Yes my am" instead of "Yes I am" Pretty much anytime he should say I he says My. It sounds so cute.

Since Jax has had RSV/Walking Pnuemonia we've either stayed with him, my mom or B's mom. The other day we were in the car and he was having a conversation with himself. It went like this:

"My daddy is at work, OH NO! I must go get him. I have 3 houses: my mommy and daddy's, my papa's and grammy's and my poppy's and nana's. Which one should I go to today?"

He will also say "seriously", "oh wow" and "cool"

Love that kiddo!

*Progesterone Update*

I feel like I just won the lotto. So basically the insurance company was trying to make me/us go through a certain "contracted" pharmacy that was going to cost me $750 dollars for the meds plus $50 per week for injection cost. So my doctor called in a favor at her pharmacy supplier and they can get me my entire supply for $99.25!! Crazy. And also shows you how much insurance screws you! I cannot believe I pay them the amount of money I pay them only for them to charge me out the butt for meds I need. Sure wish it was regulated better!

16 weeks, dr appt update, frustration!

I had my 16 weeks appointment yesterday and I was suppose to start my progesterone shots. That didn't happen! But first I had an ultrasound to check on Landry's growth and my cervical length. He is doing great and measuring right on track. My cervical length is at 3.6cm, which anything over 3 cm is ideal. We will be watching this very closely. I am up 2 pounds from last month and up 1 pound overall. Blood pressure was great as well at 106/68.

We didn't start the progesterone shots today. Basically my insurance company is giving the round-about with my doc's office and they kinda dropped the ball by not pursuing their decline of drug. We have a plan in place but it's not one in which I'm comfortable with until it's all settled. Basically, dr's nurse is to deal with insurance company and figure out what's going on with the decline. Dr. B said regardless of what insurance company says I have to have the shot starting Monday so to go ahead and order the drug from her "dealer" and we will take care of insurance as we go. So right now I am to go back in on Monday to get my shot and then I will go in to her office every Monday for the shot.

I go back in 2 weeks for another ultrasound on Landry, cervical check and dr appointment. I basically feel like a ticking time bomb for preterm labor.

Looks like I will be growing here in the next few weeks!
Here's baby's development at 16 weeks: Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Happy Birthday Brody

Cannot believe my baby is 3! His party is Saturday so I will update then but here's a pic from our little celebration tonight.

Landry: 15 weeks - Migraine!

I'm a little late as last week was crazy with being off work and sick kiddo.

Had a terrible round of migraine's this week or might have even been a migraine. I'm not sure if the darn thing ever went away. It started Tuesday night, lasted all day Wednesday and was really bad that night, came and went Thursday and finally left me Friday. Those things are awful! Just sitting in my bedroom with the tv on hurt. I remember I had a round of these with Brody, I think it was right around this time as well. Hopefully it won't return. I also think lack of sleep and stress played a role in my migraine.

I go to the doctor on Thursday to start my progestrone shots and I'm pretty anxious. I always get anxious when I start something new, like a shot or when I know they are going to do a growth/cervical check ultrasound. The boys always lagged behind towards the end of my pregnancy and IUGR was always a worry for me. I don't think it will be too bad this time as I'm still pretty early. Please pray for my anxiety this week.

My favorite foods right now are Dorito's (hardly ever eat them when I'm not prego) and anything sweet. I actually craved Nerd's a few weeks ago and probably haven't eaten those in 10 years. Weird!

Here's Landry's growth this week
Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds.

RSV, Walking Pneumonia, Ear Infection, oh my!

This has been a week from hell! It all started last Friday when daycare called and said Jaxson couldn't stop coughing. I assumed it was his asthma flaring up as it had been windy outside so I went over to give him some Motrin until we could get home to start his albuterol treatments. It went downhill from there and that night he started running fever and continued until Monday. His fever was anywhere from 100-103, a terrible cough and wheezing. So off to the dr we went and I can say that I knew it wasn't good bc of how terrible Jaxson looked, his sweet little eyes looked so bad. Dr. J said he had a lot of crackling in his lungs and ordered a chest X-ray, flu test and CBC. It showed he had walking pneumonia caused by the RSV which we later learned had spread throughout his classroom that weekend. I believe 7 out of 10 kids in his class all came down with it at the same time. We were given a steroid, antibiotic and breathing treatments every 3 hours.

It was touch and go and we weren't seeing any improvements until Wednesday night when his breathing finally became better. We spent restless nights with Jax having coughing spells, labored breathing and times where he couldn't clear the mucus and would choke! It was horrible. He's been slowly feeling better day by day until today when he came down with an ear infection! My poor baby just can't catch a break :( he cries out in pain for a hour until we can get some Motrin and ear drops on him, luckily I had some on hand.

I'm hoping in a few more days he will be 100%, fingers crossed!

Landry: 14 Weeks

I'm feeling much better this week. The sickness has seemed to be better unless I'm really tired. I've got some energy back but seem to be having a round of insomnia the past 2 nights. Haven't been able to fall asleep and when I wake up in the middle of the night I can't fall back asleep.

Cravings: still anything sweet and country fried steak (yum!).
I'm still down 2 lbs from initial weigh in thanks to morning sickness.

Had a doctor's appointment on Monday. Landry's heart rate was 165bpm an d is measuring right on track. I mentioned to Dr. B that I just felt "off" and that something was wrong. I thought/think it's my thyroid but she wanted to do an NT scan just to check on baby. The ultrasound looked fine and I should know the results of the blood work by the end of the week or early next week (I think).

I go back on the 23rd to start my progestrone shots and cervical length checks. I'm nervous about the shots and the Dr's office is working with insurance to see the best option for the shots. I will either have home health come to the house to give the shot, have to go into the dr's office or have a relative give it. We aren't sure yet what the best route is.

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.
In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Namesake

Well after sifting through 100's of names and none feeling just right we have a name for babe #3! I'm super excited. It always weighs heavy on my mind when I don't have a name for my sweet, precious children. I remember at the beginning of this pregnancy I really wanted this child to have sometime of me. I have 2 boys and they all have names that mean something to the mean in my life. So whether this was a boy or girl I wanted to have a little part of me in their name. The only way to do this with a little boy is initals. My initials are LKM and this little guy will have those initials as well :)

Landry Keith McCollough

Love, love, love you little guy.

Jaxson: 16 months

How is my sweet child 16 months old? I feel like he just turned 1 :( Jaxson is so tender-hearted and laid back. He gets his feeling hurt if brother yells at him or if he gets into trouble. He sure can work a bottom lip! But at the same time he's 2nd child tough. He doesn't mind getting pounded, tackled, sat on or pushed and he will do all those things back to you. He's into everything and can throw a fit like I've never seen when he doesn't get his way.

At 16 months he is:
-size 4 diapers
-18-24 month clothes
-eats anything and everything in site and then some of brothers
-sleeps great and puts himself to sleep (Huge blessing!)