So Sick

Had to take a trip to the ER last night.. I was having a really hard time breathing and my nebulizer albuterol treatments were not helping. And I was coughing so hard my abdomen was starting to cramp... so off i went.

My heart rate was 154. I just could not stop coughing, and I hadn't taken a breathing treatment since several hours before that so they were concerned about the heart rate being THAT high.

They did a chest X-Ray, an EKG, gave me fluids for dehydration, 3 highdose breathing treatments, steriods, antibiotics, a pap smear, a urine sample, did blood tests, an ultrasound, more steriods, more antibiotics, and more fluids. (All the while I'm still hacking).

They were afraid I was having an eptopic pregnancy (I'm not, baby is just fine and where he/she should be), and also afraid because they could not get my heart rate to come down.

Pneumonia and asthma do NOT mix. I was released 8 hours later with steriods and antibiotics. There's not really much they can do other than treat the symptoms.

I get exhausted just walking to the bathroom, My voice is pretty much gone because vocal cords have been traumatized from all the coughing. And the steriods are making me sick because I can't keep very much food down. It's just a mess. I need to get healthy. I'm only 5 1/2 weeks along and baby needs mama healthy so baby can be healthy.

I don't really know what I wanted from you guys when I posted this, I just need prayers and encouragement I guess, cause at this point I feel like my body is giving up on me. And maybe I'm giving up on it. Just want to be healthy and fast!

So much to do so little time

I have been avoiding writing lately because I have so much on my mind, but so little that it blog-worthy. Let the rambling begin!

Jeff was finally able to get me the Power of Attorney that I need to apply for on-post housing at Fort Lewis. We are looking forward to less of a commute for him and more room and a yard for our family. He emailed me the P.O.A., and now I've just got to start the long (and confusing I'm sure) process of applying for housing without him here. Only for it to be even more complicated by the fact that I'm currently in Ohio. Oh, how I love jumping through the Army's hoops!

Unsure if all of you have heard or not, I recently found out that the grant I was recieving to fund my schooling has been halted. They are taking two months to review the program and decide whether to continue it. I have been very unmotivated when it comes to my classes lately because of this. I'm just devestated. I'm thinking of taking next semester off. To see if they will continue the program and also because I will be very busy with moving.  We will see, but that's what's going on with that.

Jack and I are getting over the little bug that we had last week. We both went to the doctor and they determined it was just a routine cold, mine was just associated more with my asthma allergies. Jack weighed 14 pounds and 9 ounces at his appointment. Big thank you to my mama, Rick, Avery, and Mackie, for letting us stay at their house and taking care of us. I don't know what I would do without Jeff and I's wonderful families. They are such a big part of our life and such a great support system for us. We love you, all!

Lastly, I have some pictures to share! Here's our favorite American soldier during one of their recent missions:

Quick Update

Okay I've been a VERY busy woman lately, so here's whatcha get.

Kate:
-has been sick lately, but is feeling much better now. Went to the doctor and got some medicines for the dizzies that have continued since pregnancy. It seem to be working so far. An echocardiogram was run on Monday Dec. 21st and the results came back normal.
-is on winter break from college. Also I'm trying to decide what classes to take in Spring quarter. Any suggestions?
-is depressed because of her failing weight loss mission. All my fault. No one else's. I really need to buckle down.
-is exahausted. Six Christmas celebrations down. Two to go.

Jack:
-is smiling like you wouldn't believe. He is a very happy boy these days.
-laughed out loud for the first time on Christmas Eve. At grandpa Kevin!
-is officially spoiled rotten. The amount of toys this kid has is seriously ridiculous.

Jeff:
-is staying put at his FOB. As far as we know he is NOT moving anymore. So MAIL IS A GO! Send as much as you want and often.
-is absolutely loving all the boxes he has recieved. Thank you to everyone that has helped make this holiday season a little bit more bearable for him.
-has been told that he will have orders by February 5th at the latest. Everyone in the Brigade is supposed to have orders by then. This means that by this date, we will know if we are staying at Fort Lewis, Washington for the next 3 years or if we will be PCSing (moving) to a new post.
-is AMAZING. And his wife loves him very much :)



The end.

So hectic!

No I didn't die! I know everyone was worried since it's been... what four days? since I blogged last.

Anyways, I've just been living the life of a gypsy pretty much. Avery woke up Thursday morning with a temperature of 103, indicating that her flu (h1n1) had relapsed. Great. At this time, I pulled the mommy card and decided that Jack and I would make the trip to Londonderry to stay with my dad for a couple days until Avery was better a.k.a. fever free for 24 hours. Well, we're still waiting. Last I have heard, she is still running a fever. So here we are. And to top it off, my brother Maxwell started running a fever Friday! Just not nearly as high as Avery's. His hovers around 100-101. So Jack and I are staying put here at Grandpa Kevin's and just making sure to keep our distance from Max.

I've also made a big decision over the past 4 days. Yesterday I put in an application at North River Place Apartments for Jack and I. I'm so excited. My decesion is not influenced by any unhappiness at my mom's house. I'm just ready to be back in my own place. It's very hard to move out of your parents house and then go back later, especially with an infant. If everything works out right we will be living in unit d-9 very soon. I'm supposed to get a call sometime Monday or Tuesday. You all will be the first to know! Besides Jeff of course, I think he has a right to know first where his family is living. hehe.

BREAKING NEWS:

Jack just put his pacifier back in his mouth all by himself!!!!!

.........

TWICE!

Now I must go love on my little future honor student! :)

Deployment = Completely Normal

I haven't heard from Jeff since Wednesday night. I'm assuming he is back in Afghanistan. The last time we spoke he had a flight scheduled from Kuwait to Kandahar, so he should be back in theater by now. I'm actually glad he's finally back there, because he has missed his guys so much. I miss him too, but I know that he needs to be there with them right now. For the health of his soldiers, and for the emotional needs of himself. As you can probably tell I am doing okay with the re-deployment. I've done a lot of self-finding in the past couple days. With the help of my son, I've found that I really do have a great life. Everyone says "I can't imagine what you're going through, I couldn't do it." Well, actually yes you COULD do it.. if you had to. You never know what you're fully capable of until you're forced to find out. What kind of life would I have if I walked around moping constantly about how I miss my husband? Of course I miss him, I miss him and worry about him more than you can imagine (like you said). But I refuse to stop my life just because he's not here, I refuse to stop OUR life. He's living his doing his job and I've got to keep things going back here at home. Having Jack has assisted in making me realize just how important completing this task is. Jack needs to know that when his daddy leaves, it doesn't mean anything bad. It just means that Jeff has to work away from home for a while helping other people who really need him. Deployment is going to be a regular part of our lives with a career in the military, so it needs to seem exactly that to our chilren... regular, and normal. I know that I will still have breakdowns, and our kids will too. But thats normal too. As long as 90 percent of the time our life is still our life.

In other discussions for today... Jack slept from 11pm-5am last night. No, you're not seeing things! You read that sentence right, my wonderful baby boy slept 6 hours straight through the night! Gosh, I love him so much. Jack- you are the most considerate little 22 day year old boy that I know :) hehe.

Before his amazing sleeping skills last night, we enjoyed dinner at Papaw John and Grandma Laura's house. Steak, mac&cheese, salad, and chocolate pudding! Yummy. It felt so good to be at their house just hanging out and relaxing. I have gotten a lot closer with my in-laws over the 15 days of R&R Jeff was given, and I'm glad I did. I love them, and I know they would/will do anything for me and Jack that they can. Justin and Lauren are great company as well. Lauren is so very sweet and I'm hoping she and I can enjoy some good girl time within the next 9 months. Justin is always wanting to help with Jack, doing anything and getting me everything I need. Its evident how much he loves his "baby Jack" as he calls him. I'm so very lucky to have such a great ... family-in-law? Is that the correct term?

I would like to clear up what has been going on with Avery. She indeed contracted the H1N1 virus. Doctors diagnosed her without a test and with no offering of any kind of treatment. They said to keep everyone away from her, take tylenol for the fever, and wait it out. I'm happy to report that she is doing much better and will probably be heading back to school Monday. She hasn't run a fever for over 24 hours and is playing and bouncing around like normal Avery today. Jack and I are looking to be in the clear. We've strictly confined ourself to the basement for the past few days as a preventive measure. Both he and I are at a pretty high risk for contracting the virus even without it being in our home. Jack, because he is a newborn, and me because my immune system is low and I have chronic asthma. Mom has played a big part in keeping the two of us healthy, keeping Avery upstairs and cleaning and washing everything she's touched.

In closing, I would like to say how very excited I am for 2pm tomorrow. I will be enjoying an afternoon massage at Looks Unlimited. I chose an hour of a relaxation massage, figuring it was well overdue and will be beneficial to my emotional side to relax a little. Look for results tomorrow! Love to all!

3 weeks and counting

Our baby boy is three weeks old! NO WAY! He is growing extremely too fast. Seems like just yesterday I was heading to the hospital to have him. His face has changed so much since just 21 days ago. He looks less like a newborn and more like a chubby-cheeked baby every single day. Also, to me at least, I see his daddy in him more and more each day as well. (Which I'm completely okay with!). I think that I'm falling into my role as a mother pretty well, and a single mother at that. Avery has been sick since Monday and mom has been caring for her. Since I have such a low immune system and because Jack is so little, we've been strictly confining ourselves to our basement apartment. Only climbing the stairs to the next floor when we have to. As a result, I have been thrown into the single-mothering lifestyle fairly quickly. I went from having a daddy to help and lots of visitors to help to it just being me 24/7. But really, it hasn't been all that bad. Jack is definitely cooperative in the effort. I wouldn't be half as happy with our routine if he wasn't such a good little boy. He sleeps mostly through the night (11pm-8am), only waking up once around 3-4am to eat. He sits peaceful in his swing (which I set in the bathroom) and allows me to shower and dry my hair, do my makeup, etc. Most time he is just content as long as he's close to me. He even does well on our outings, just chilling out and looking around from his stroller. I'm so appreciative of all these things. I think daddy must have maybe had a talk with him before he left about being good for mommy ;) So here's to you Jack, mommy's little man!

Zzzzz, Zzzzz, and more Zzzzz

Today has exhausted me. However, I did nothing! I've slept most of today away in this poofy, comfy contraption called a bed. I have no idea why this fatigue is owning me lately, but today I finally gave in and just crashed. Well, I guess it started last night. I fell asleep for what I thought would be a short, one hour nap and woke up 4 hours later at 11pm! I was awake for about 2 hours before falling into a deep slumber again. I slept until 1:30pm today. Again, awake for about two hours and then back to sleep and did not finally get up until around 7:30pm. Thats a total of about 20 hours! Wheewww, I must have been sleepier than I thought.

So now, I must figure out what I want to talk about in this blog, because obviously nothing exciting happened on the inside of my eyelids. Lets see, my doctor's appointment went very well. I met Dr. Vanvoorhis and really enjoyed his personality. He listened to my concerns and is sending me for bloodwork and testing to see whats going on with my breathing. One of the tests is to see if I can qualify for a new injection for those suffering from severe asthma. I think I will go on Tuesday to the lab to get the tests done. We also talked about this dreaded swine flu re-appearance thats happening this fall. I told him that Dr. Parks (my OB doctor) had expressed deep concerns for my health with this epidemic. Confirmed by both doctors, I am at a pretty high risk for contracting the illness because 1) I'm pregnant. 2) I am within the target age range. 3) I have severe asthma/respitory problems. Because of this Dr. Vanvoorhis recommended that I take extra precaution throught the upcoming fall and winter.This means all the usual "avoid the flu" precautions and then some. He asked that I wear a mask when I go out into places where lots of people congregrate indoors (malls, gymnasiums, schools, hospitals, airports). If someone is visibly sick in the place where I am, I need to immediately excuse myself. I also need to pay very close attention to the signs my body is giving me, and not hesitate to notify him if I feel flu-ish. All and all I am okay with taking these precautions if it means I stay healthy. I cannot afford to be sick, I have a baby boy that needs me! Oh, and these steps will be taken in his case as well. He will be covered up when we go out. Also, no offense to anyone at all, but I will not be allowing people to hold/touch him out in public. Its just not worth the risk. I hope that everyone can understand it is best for him. When we are out of the water with this swine flu and his immune system has had time to build, he will be open to playfulness of all kinds!

Talked to Jeff once again today. He was very tired. After being awake and working for nearly 24 hours, he was getting ready for bed as it was about 10pm his time. He is so very excited to be coming home for leave soon. I asked him if he wanted me to pick up anything special to have here at the house when he gets here and he responded with his normal "Uhm, I don't know babe." I expected nothing less, he is so difficult sometimes. :P I think I will pick up his shower stuff this week and his loofa of course. I'll wait to get his favorite food items until right before though, they wouldn't last long in this house! We talked about Jack a lot, Jeff says he can't wait to see all his stuff (crib, swing, bouncer, clothes, etc). And of course we both can't wait to put him in these things and try them out. Oh goodness, our little boy is going to be so spoiled. We obviously will try to avoid it, but I have a feeling its inevitable and that the grandmas and grandpas and everyone else in the family will totally help with the spoiling. At least he'll never have any doubt that he's loved! I am so thankful that communication is as good as it is with deployment right now. We are very blessed to have the ability to talk often. They are even expected to be able to have internet on their personal laptops by Christmas. Which means that daddy will be able to use internet at his conveinence. Special thanks to our Lord and savior for blessing us with these many amenities. You are so great!

After a bonfire with aunt Kathy, Hannah, Brady, and Mel and Kyle Hutton, the Hartshorn/Krebs/Davis household is quiet. Even Titan is sleeping, and I'm not far behind. God bless!

Love to all!!

Still Sick, but Hubby makes it all better.

Its been 6 days since I had to make a trip to the ER because of an asthma attack. Honestly, I feel better than I did that day obviously, but not as well as I should be feeling. I know it takes a while to get healthy again after bronchitis. I know this from much experience. I just feel that I should be making further progress by now. This morning I started coughing while still laying in bed. I could not stop. I was still getting air, but I could not stop coughing. I took my albuterol inhaler, and it subsided a little but still I could not stop. Eventually, the coughing made me vomit. (Sorry for the graphic image in your head right now). I just don't feel this is normal. I've been on a steriod and an antibiotic for nearly a week now. Shouldn't I be feeling close to normal? Luckily, I have an appointment in a couple hours with my primary care provider here in Ohio. I have yet to meet him, today will be the first time. But I have heard good things about him, and I plan on discussing my concerns thouroughly with him. Hopefully, he will listen and be considerate. Sometimes doctors think I am over-reacting when I tell them of issues I've had/am having and how severe they are. But I know myself and I know my body and something is not kosher within me. Fingers crossed, he will tell me that its just because of pregnancy that I'm having a hard time recovering. We will see.

Still feeling sickly, I was in need of some major cheering up yesterday and boy did God listen to my needs! I was able to talk to Jeff for close to 35 minutes yesterday afternoon. And then again on yahoo messenger last night for 20 more minutes! Hearing his voice instantly brightens my day. We talked about silly little things mostly. Just like he was on his way home from work or something. It felt so right to me, talking to him like that. The conversation made me realize that we are handling this deployment really well. Of course it is very difficult, some days more than others, and of course we miss each other but we really are doing the best that can be expected in my opinion! I'm so very proud of us for this. As r&r gets closer and closer, our excitment is building on both sides of the world. We know, first off, that seeing each other after any amount of time apart still gives us both butterflies, and secondly, that soon after that we will finally get to meet our little unexpected blessing! My mission now is to get everything ready for Jack and daddy. I have mostly everything taken care of for Jack. I need to get all daddy's things. His shampoo, his body wash, razors, a new loofa for him (yes he uses a loofa! haha). I need to wash his clothes so they smell fresh. And probably get out some of his wintery clothing. He will think its freezing here compared to Afghanistan I'm sure.

I'm just so excited that its time to do all this preparing. Hopefully I will be completely over this sickness by the time Jeff gets here and Jack gets here. As I'm sure I will need my energy, physically and emotionally. Well, its a lovely day outside. The sun is shining down, and its past time for me to get my day started.

Love you all!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Hi all, if you are reading this, you have been invited to keep up with our little family by reading these updates. After posting updates on facebook for a while, I realized that not everyone that is important to us, has a facebook profile. I was constantly trying to make sure I copied and pasted the updates and emailed them to everyone. Ah! too much!. So I've decided to just make a blog that everyone can see regardless of a facebook or myspace profile. So save this page in your favorites! Cause this is where all the info will be from now on. Also I will post pictures from time to time. Probably LOTS of pictures, as I take tons of them. Especially when baby Jack gets here. He's going to know how to smile on cue before he even knows what its for! :)

As far as baby Jack and I, we have exactly 2 weeks and 6 days left on this eventful journey we call pregnancy. Official due date still being September 23rd. We are both doing pretty good. I am having some issues with my asthma. I caught a cold that quickly turned into bronchitis and landed me in the ER for a night after an asthma attack. But my doctors have gotten that under control with some new meds and they seem to be doing the job. Jack is very obviously getting pretty squished in his home of 8 1/2 months. He seems to get so frustrated sometimes and tried to stretch in every direction he can. Heartburn has returned for me in the past couple weeks, on account of there being virtually no room for my stomach. But all this is managable and very well worth it! We will continue to take it easy until he decides to make his debut!

Jeff is doing very well. Its been a while since I've updated on him, so bear with me while I try to remember what you know and don't know. He is BORED! He says this every time I talk to him. Which of course I have no problem with, but of course he says its getting rather mundane. He is still doing 18 hour shift duties like he has been for quite a while now. He says it is a lot but it helps make the days go by faster. I recently recieved a general update from one of Jeff's higher ups. They send these to us pretty regularly if they can so that we have some idea of what its like there. He says that life is improving every day at the FOB where they are stationed. the MWR internet service was installed recently and is up and working. However, there are only 5 computers. And that is a major differnece in ratio to the number of people wanting to use them. But, at least they are availiable. The Armed Forces Network gear arrived recently as well, and the soldiers are all pretty excited to get some tv and (hopefully) get to catch some of this season's football games. The problem is, that none of them know how to install the equipment! So they are working on getting the right people there to do that soon, hopefully before the first week of the NFL season of course! They guys are all still living in tents currently, but are waiting and watching (very impatiently I presume) as the contractors get closer and to finishing the re-locatable billets. The DFAC (cafeteria) is also still under construction. Many of the soldiers are starting to wonder if it will ever be finished. From what I hear they recently have been serving lots of burritos and enchiladas. They've even started to count consecutive days. CPT I recieved the email from says his count is at 15 days in a row currently. The mail service is still slow but has improved greatly. So again, I REALLY encourage you to send letters! Its constant reminder for Jeff that we're thinking about him here. If you need the address again, don't hesitate to ask!

All and all, our family's life is pretty good right now. The thing we are most looking forward to is that Jeff SHOULD BE coming home for r&r (two weeks of leave) towards the end of this month. Obviously I cannot post exact dates, but things are looking up that Jack will get to meet his mommy AND daddy at the same time. Which is great! Now, this is all assuming that Jack waits til he's supposed to come, so we'll see. Regardless we could not be more thankful that the army is giving him this time to spend with us. I'm also looking forward to starting my college classes at the end of October. I'm taking classes through Coastline Community College online. In two years, if all goes as planned, I will have an AA in general studies emphasis in science and math. I chose to do this and get my generals out of the way first since I still don't have a clue what I want for a career. The best part is that I recieved a 6000 dollar grant through the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account Program, so I will be paying close to nothing for my first two years of school.

As you can see, things are looking really good for all three of us right now. We are so thankful to God for what he's blessed us with. I hope that everyone will follow this blog, and feel free to make comments as well!
We love you all!