Baby & Mama Health Updates

I am now almost 38.5 weeks pregnant! I had my last and final doctor's appointment this morning...the thought of that is still exhilarating - it's hard to believe we're gonna have tiny little Noah in our arms so soon! I am still dilated to somewhere between 2-3, and I'm feeling like we might make it to next Saturday (wasn't feeling like this so much at this time last week!).

Now as for Lincoln...I think I mentioned that two previous doctors that have seen him through this pneumonia stuff have been alarmed at the "mass" (one called it a thymus) on the outside of his lungs. When we made the switch of pediatricians at the beginning of the week, he didn't seem as concerned and said it's actually quite normal in kids under the age of 2. Nonetheless, since we had been referred to a lung specialist by previous doctor, this new one said he would send off the x-rays to their specialist (thus saving us a trip) to see if it was necessary to see a specialist (he didn't think it was). But in the same breath, i heard the words "mass" and "tumors" come out of his mouth and was thus VERY MUCH wanting him to send the film to be reviewed!
HE said they would call later in the week and let me know what they found and if an appointment with a specialist was necessary.

Well, the other day a lady called from some medical facility (can't remember the name) and said that she was calling to schedule an appointment for Lincoln McMahan to come in a see a lung specialist.
Oh.Dear.Lord.
My heart literally sank in my chest and I stuttered around for words...I think I asked a really stupid question in there trying to compose myself and then it all of a sudden hit me.
This was our old doctor's referral calling to schedule the appointment. This lady had no x-rays but was just making an appointment based on our previous doctor's referral! I cannot emphasize ENOUGH the sigh that came out of my chest and the feeling of my heart rising to its appropriate position. :) I kindly told her we had since seen another doctor and no appointment was necessary (at this time).

So fast forward to today, and the specialist who did look at his x-rays called with the news: complete clean bill of health. Thymus completely normal. No pneumonia. No tumor.

And on top of it all, Lincoln slept through the entire night without coughing or waking up crying for the first time in about a week and a half. Glorious. So praise the Lord our little guy is on his way to health again. This afternoon has been filled with dance parties in the living room and toys strewn all over the house. It's good to have him back and energized!

And We Have a Foater

Lincoln slept most of the day (due to post #1 earlier this morning - yes, this is 2 in one day!), but in between his naps, I gave the little booger a bath. He LOVES baths, so we get them often - they're like playtime. "Bath" (without perfection of the "th" sound, of course) is one of his 9 words in his vocabulary. He has had a lot of "firsts" while in the bathtub...place where he first dipped his head under the water (on his own, and thought it was funny), first successfully drank water from a cup (water came from running facet, not dirty bathwater), first demonstrated that, "yes mom - i KNOW who Mickey Mouse is" as he fished him out from his sea of toys when prompted...and then today, another first...his first floater.
Yes. Lincoln was playing happily in his tub, stood up, squatted, smiled at me, grunted, and then resumed his play. Only I noticed the floater turd he left behind drifting beneath him. His first poop in the tub. Oh my. Needless to say, bathtime was forced to an immediate halt. :)

Health Update

In my last post I talked about how we were referred to see a lung specialist to make sure things were okay with the little man's lungs. The specialist still hasn't called and the anti-biotic he's been on only seems to be working slightly (his cough has gotten better, but he still sounds terrible). So we've been frustrated because things still don't seem to be working. Then yesterday, he woke up from a 3-hour afternoon nap with 103.2 temp! He's NEVER had a fever that high and has only had a fever one other time in his short little life. We thought something was wrong with the thermometer because he sure wasn't acting sick (in fact, he was running laps around our kitchen/living room - laughing hysterically). I even had Jason go by a new thermometer to make sure - they all read true: our little baby was SICK. The mind boggling thing was that he had been on an antibiotic for the past week...? Didn't make much sense.
We've been taking him to a family practitioner here in town and have been toying with the idea of driving switching him to NWA Pediatrics since they deal solely with kids (just more convenient to take him here). But last night, we finally decided it was time to switch to a straight pediatrician (don't get us wrong - we LOVE our family doctor!)
So today we had an appointment with Dr. Simmons at NWA Pediatrics (they got us in SO quick - first great sign!) and he was FABULOUS. Conclusion: Lincoln doesn't and never had pneumonia. The family docs (since we have now seen 2 of them) were seeing an enlarged thymus that is only present in children (and totally harmless). Dr. Simmons said family docs might be alarmed by it because they don't see it - but pediatricians see it all the time. He said it will go away by the time Lincoln is 2 years old. So need for a lung specialist. :) So why the fever? Double ear infection. His first. Poor guy. And the antibiotic he was taking wasn't geared toward that nor strong enough. I asked the doctor, though, why he has not been fully well for the past month. He laughed and said "Because it's winter in Northwest Arkansas and he probably likes to play with other kids and put things in his mouth - it's not abnormal for him to be like this." He was so kind and so re-assuring. He suggested Lincoln take OTC liquid Zyrtec to help with the flem and congestion (just bought some). And he scheduled a follow-up appointment in 3 weeks to check his ears and make sure things were okay.
SOOOO long post and not much needed news to most of you (I know you family out there wanna know what's going on though!), but we feel very much at peace now and are excited to see the little man start to finally get better. Oh - and the doc sees no signs or reasons to believe he is asthmatic - praise the Lord!!!!!

As for my health??? I have been EXHAUSTED and extremely more sore in all parts than I was with Lincoln! Having irregular contractions, still, but this one could come early. We'll see!! My sweet husband let me basically be on bed rest this whole weekend, and that has helped me feel much better than I was. But back to the grind today, so we'll see how long the good feelings hold up. But if they don't, maybe that means we're that much closer to holding Noah Jackson!!!

37 Week Appointment

This morning was #1 of the final 3 appointments I will have with Dr. Hill before he hands us precious Noah! Here's the conclusions:
- Blood pressure still good at 110/? (who knows cause all I ever hear is the top number on these readings for some reason)
- Weight gain stepping up at 27lbs. total (my goal is under 30, so pretty much on target there)
- Slight UTI possibly found in urine but I have no other symptoms so not really sure what that means...?
- Dilated at a 2 (this was surprising being that I never made it passed a "1" with Lincoln before being induced - and I'm 20 days away from due date!)
- Noah is measuring at 36.5 weeks
- Heartbeat = 136 beats/minute

Dr. Hill also told me he can feel the head and that my cervix is very favorable and thin. He seems to think that if they were to induce me today, that I would have the baby by NOON (sooooo....what are you're plans today, Dr. Hill? Got any??).
He went to schedule our induction for the 6th and seems to think it will be a very fast labor/delivery (I hope he's right!). Now let's just see if we make it to the 6th. :)

As a note - he smiled sheepishly after checking movements and heartbeat and after reviewing our visits since we first came in and said, "Just to warn you - I really think you're going to have one active boy on your hands when he arrives!" I remember he told us this at our very first appointment back in June, that Noah had the most activity that he sees at that stage of pregnancy. See previous post about my Energize Iron Supplement purchase yesterday. :)

So all is looking well...and now the wait begins!!!

My Attempt at Turning into a Cow

I've got the weight gain part down. Attempt at becoming cow-like part 1 = accomplished. Part 2? The milk supply. Something I didn't master with the last one and am making a valiant effort at it this time around. I took a trip to the health food store today to stock up on some recommended items and I'm gonna share my finds. I would love extra opinions from those who have tried these products...a nice little review would be nice (because I can return them!).
First one the list? It's a tea! I can drink tea everyday! :)


Then there's the two natural supplements (I was told it was completely safe to take all three at the same time!)

Then a new friend gave me this recommendation:
She said that everyday she got a Route 44 iced tea during happy hour and SWEARS by the increased milk supply! Again - bring on the tea! And I really am going to try this one :)
Then while at the health food store, I picked up something recommended to me months ago. I am always slightly anemic, but have never been able to successfully take iron supplements without being sick. Thus enter this new recommendation that not only has minimal side effects from the iron, but also increases the energy levels (which again, I WILL NEED POST NEW BABY). I can't take it till I have Noah, but I am excited to see it's effects on my iron levels!

Frustrated

Most of you know Lincoln had pneumonia around Christmas time. Well, ever since then, he has gotten better but has not been well. He still coughs from time to time, will have a rattle in chest, and recently has had a constantly dripping nose and more of a nasty cough the past 6-7 days. A few of these days in the past month he has acted puny and sick, but for the most part, he still plays hard, laughs, dances, smiles, sleeps, eats, and doesn't seem much bothered by the cough and snot. But after listening to him still hacking in the night, I decided I couldn't take it anymore and took him to the doctor first thing (again) this morning. I say "again" because I took him about 10 days ago to follow up with pneumonia and make sure he was okay.
The doctor agreed he didn't sound good and took more x-rays that still showed "hazy areas" in his lungs indicating pneumonia. Now when he got it at Christmas, that doc (different one since we were at Jason's parent's house when that all happened) told us the pneumonia could still show up on x-rays for another month. But our doctor seemed concerned about this and wanted a second opinion to make sure his lungs were okay. So he referred us to a pediatric lung specialist in Rogers to check him and make sure things are okay. He also prescribed another antibiotic which he started today. So of course I leave worried and in tears (also due with a baby in the next 2-3 weeks!) freaking out about all the worst case scenarios and upset that he has to go to a specialist. I call my husband who gently reminds me that God's in control of everything and that I shouldn't worry. Okay. I'll try. So I prayed and gave my best attempt to turn the situation over to God (not always easy), and did come out the other side with a sense of peace. I just want the little guy to be better!
My hope is that he never fully got over the pneumonia and this antibiotic will knock it out once and for all and all will be well. But it could be possible beginning stages of asthma or allergies (my mom had asthma as a kid but outgrew it...?). So say a pray for the little man that we can nail down what this is and that he can get better!

Saving the Ta-Ta's

Last week was Team Cancer Challenge week for 7-A West Basketball. Bentonville chose to highlight breast cancer awarness and thus explosions of pink (we're talking pepto-bismal pink) spewed all through Tiger arena Friday night. Jason was able to get pink uniforms donated for all the players and the guy who makes the uniforms (a personal friend who's also a missionary in the Phillipines) threw in some extras: pink uni's for all the coaches kids and their wives. :) So yes - we were exploding with pink, too (I, being 9 months pregnant was "exploding" a tad more than the other moms!).
It was a fantastic, fun night, and we defeated Harbor for our first conference win in the final seconds (which, almost sent me into labor).
Here are some pictures of the cute kids in their uniforms. BTW, between the varsity coaches alone, there are 7 kids under the age of seven, with 2 in the womb - meaning during next years season there will be NINE tinies running around. Lord help us. :) A bystander made the comment at a recent game "Gee - it looks like a freaking daycare over there!". Yes. And daycare workers are welcome to apply. :)

Here are us Siloam folks that can't seem to sell our houses and move. (AKA, the varsity staff minus the Stadels and their 3 girls).

After games Lincoln just wants to be with his daddy - precious.
Lincoln and his buddy Mikaiah...they're the current youngest of the bunch.