Doctors and Confusion

This has been a week full of doctors appointments and lots of confusion! It started on Monday with my 1st regular NST of the week. On Monday's I see a doctor afterwards to get checked out and have an ultrasound to check my fluid, which thankfully is staying normal still, and check Hannah's position since she is in breech. Well as my previous blog states last Monday we discussed trying to move Hannah or doing a c-section. We decided to try and move her first. So Dwayne decided to join me this past Monday so we could figure out the next step. Well I saw a different doctor and he said they wouldn't do the external version until I was 39 weeks, the previous doctor said at 36 weeks. He pretty much said I was lying or had misunderstood what my regular doctor had said. So before I left that day I made sure to make an appointment to discuss it with my regular doctor, to find out what the heck was going on and have her put it in writing or something since she was going on leave while I was at 36 weeks. So needless to say we left the office VERY confused when we expected to leave with some answers, lol.

On Tuesday Katie had a doctors appointment because for forever now, meaning years, she hasn't been able to breath right out of her nose. We thought it was something she would maybe outgrow which is why we waited to take her to the doctor. Well we finally decided at 6 she must not be able to outgrow it. With us living in VA and right at the beginning of spring they automatically started assuming it was allergies, even though it is a year round 24/7 type of thing for her. The doctor was a bit shocked when she looked up Katies nose and saw her whole nasal cavity is swollen shut. Just to rule out allergies they have started her on nasonex and zyrtec, we go back in 3 weeks and if it isn't any better then we will go on to ENT to get it checked out. I am hopeful it is just allergies but I have a feeling there is more to it than that. We also have to watch her sleep because she suspects she might have sleep apnea too. We also found out Katie now weighs 73lbs!!!! She is one big girl, lol.

Wednesday, yesterday, I got to meet with my regular OB doctor to discuss moving Hannah. Like I told the other doctor she confirmed that I wasn't lying or mistaken. She wanted it done at 36 weeks NOT 39 weeks. The baby is smaller and easier to move but big enough that if there are complications she would be able to survive the emergency c-section. Thankfully she went ahead and scheduled it so that way I don't have to go through all this again while she is on leave, she also discussed it with the doctor that will be doing it. So on April 4th at 7am I will be admitted to the hospital,have an NST done, hopefully given a spinal, it is up to the doctor if they do that or not, and then they will try to move her. Hopefully she will move and I won't end up in an emergency c-section. I will have to stay for a couple hours for them to monitor Hannah then get to head home. If it doesn't work we have the option of at 39 weeks coming back in and trying again. If it works they will go ahead and deliver her regularly at that point and if it doesn't work go ahead and a c-sec at that point. I truthfully don't think we will make it to that point though since in the past I usually go naturally into labor during the 38 week mark.

Our plan right now though is that she will be moved on the 4th, it will work and we will leave. Then on the 25th of April, when I am 39 weeks, go in and be induced and have her naturally. Again though I put money on me going into labor before the 25th. It feels so nice though to have a "plan" set. I hate the unknown and even though I know we could easily falter off that plan it still feels good to have something somewhat planned, lol. So yesterday we left with answers and less confusion, which was so nice, lol.

Today I go in for my 2nd NST of the week, every week I go every Monday and Thursday. Hopefully it is a normal NST where the doctor looks over it says everything is good and I go home, lol. I don't think I can handle any more confusion or surprises this week!

Miss Hannah

Been awhile since I have written on here, figured I would come update on how things are with Miss Hannah. I am now 33 weeks along. The past couple months we have had the complication of extra fluid, now two weeks in a row of ultrasounds it looks like the fluid is back to normal. My tummy measurement is still a week ahead but that isn't that abnormal. She looks to be growing great on the ultrasounds, right around where she should be. For awhile her tummy was measuring really big but they think that is normal now too since the radiologist didn't mention it in his report. I am going twice a week now for stress tests and so far everything is looking good. My blood pressure is great, my oxygen level is perfect and Hannah's heartbeat is good. Once a week the doctors are doing ultrasounds and we learned last week Hannah is in an odd position, today it was confirmed she still is. They are calling it breech but she is more crooked, lol. Her head is under my ribcage and then she goes diagonally down to where her feet are by my opposite hip. They think what happened is when I had all the extra fluid she was moving around a lot, which is normal with the extra fluid, they don't usually get into a position and stay lol. But now that the fluid is gone she doesn't have the room to move down into position.

They don't think she is going to move into position so they told me my two options of what can be done if she doesn't move by 36 weeks, which again they don't think she will. I can either get an inversion done, aka they move her or do a c-section. Both of them have risks so we have to decide which risks we want to take. For the inversion there is the risk of placenta abruption, water breaking, her heartbeat dropping, or the cord being to short, which would be one of the reasons why she didn't get into the right position. If any of those things happen then they would do an emergency c-section. They didn't lie to me and told me that those risks do frequently happen. But with the position of my placenta and this being my 5th pregnancy I am a good candidate for the inversion. The c-section has all the normal surgery risks, which are increased with me being overweight and a family history of bloodclots.

After talking with Dwayne this afternoon I think we have decided to try the inversion first. I haven't had a c-section with any of the others and really don't want to have one if I don't have to. Surgery just scares me, lol. Not to mention the longer recovery time and the higher chance of infection with be me being overweight.
From what I understand I will go in on the 4th for my normal stress test then they will take me into the OR do an ultrasound to confirm she is still breech. Then I will get an epideral and they will try to move her. If there are no complications they will keep me for atleast 3 hours to monitor her heartbeat and make sure everything is okay. Then I will go on with the pregnancy until I go naturally into labor or if I make it to 39 weeks they will induce me. If there are any complications they will go ahead and to the c-section right there since I will already be in the OR and already have the epideral in. She will be considered a week early if that happens but that isn't that big of a deal, but could mean she has to stay for a few days longer than normal.

So as of right now I will continue with my stress tests twice a week until the 36 week mark, do the inversion and hopefully continue on with the pregnancy. We both just feel it is the best choice for our family, hopefully this way we can avoid a c-section.

Best Christmas Present Ever!

As I sit here and listen to Dwayne giving the kids a bath I am reminded of what I am most thankful for this Christmas. The best present I can be given for christmas this year isn't under the tree. It is upstairs in the bathroom. It is having my husband home safe and sound!

As a military family we have spent many holidays apart. Between ranges, field time and deployments Dwayne hasn't always been home to celebrate with us. Because of this you really learn to treasure the time you do have together as a family. You learn the best things in the world can't be wrapped in a box and put under the tree.

So while yes this will be a hard Christmas for us for other reasons I will be thankful we are able to spend it with him. We never know if he will be home for the next one, so we make sure to enjoy the times we do have him here.

So thank you Santa and the US Army for allowing us to spend this special time of year together! And I will be thinking about those of my friends who have to spend it apart. I pray for strength and peace for you and you family and for your spouse to come home safe and sound so next year you can enjoy this day with them as a family.

Decorating the Tree

This weekend we finally got around to decorating the tree. Since our fake tree broke last year and we don't have the money to replace it this year we decided to wait and get a real one from Trees for Troops. It is a great program that gives free Christmas trees to military families! I stupidly sent my husband alone to get a tree, lol. He comes back with a tree over 7ft tall and about 4ft wide, lol. He did trim it up and make it a bit shorter but it is still VERY wide, lol. But it is beautiful! Luckily we have the room for it, lol. All but two strands of our lights broke in the move, thankfully a wonderful friend gave us some lights she no longer needs. Two strands would not have been enough for this tree, lol. We also didn't have near enough ornaments for this big tree so Dwayne's mom gave us hers to use too.

Now of course since we let the kids do most of the ornaments it isn't the perfect looking tree but it is beautiful in other ways. I wouldn't have it any other way. Christmas for me is about the kids, about the joy and innocence they have and if they want more than half the ornaments on the bottom of the tree since that is all they can reach it is okay by me, lol.

They had so much fun doing it. I am so happy they are finally at the age where they are understanding Christmas and able to enjoy everything about it. Even though this year the holidays are hard for me their excitment is contagious and takes some of the saddness away. I can't wait to see their faces Christmas morning!

Update on lil peanut #5

I am now a little over 18 weeks along and lil peanut seems to be doing great! All the bloodwork came back good and so far the sonograms look good!! Our next sonogram is on the 13th and that is the big one, the 20 week one. While yes I am looking forward to finding out if we are having a girl or boy I am also scared of what else they might see. After Isabella I know this sonogram isn't just about if I will be buying pink or blue things. When I was pregnant with Isabella I had a feeling something wasn't right, I don't have it with this pregnancy so I am not too worried about it, especially after the bloodwork looks okay. But of course there will be that little bit of worry that will stay until I am holding this baby in my arms and I see that everything is okay!

I did find out at my last regular OB appointment that the airforce does things a bit different with asthma patients. I will get regular ultrasounds measuring the baby, statistics show asthma patients have smaller babies. I wish someone would have told Jonathan, lol he was over 8lbs! Katie and Wesley were a little smaller but in the average baby weight at 7lbs and 6lbs and then Isabella if she would have been full term she would have been a big one like Jonathan, lol. So I am not really worried about how this baby grows, she/he is already measuring a little bigger on the ultrasounds. I also learned that if I haven't gone into labor by 39 weeks they will be inducing me. So my due date is no longer correct, lol. 39 weeks is April 24th so sometime in that last week of April they will induce if I haven't already had the baby. Now Wesley and Katie came at 38 weeks and Jonathan was at exactly 39 weeks so they might not have to induce me, lol. I am hoping they don't because it is much more painful, lol.

We also changed the name we picked if it is a girl, which I am 99% sure it is :) It will no longer be Shelby Marie but will now be Hannah Marie. I LOVE the name Shelby but it just wasn't feeling right, I guess she didn't like it, lol. We are still sticking with Dillion Russell for a boy.

I have started to feel the baby move :) I LOVE those little fluttering movements. I can't wait until Dwayne and the kids are also able to feel her/him moving and kicking away. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going by! I will be holding our rainbow baby in my arms before I know it!

Fun Filled Weekend!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE a fun filled weekend with the family. This past weekend was a great one. Friday night we honored and remembered Isabella and all the other babies gone to soon with a candle lighting and balloon release. We had family over to join in on this celebration of their lives. It was a great night and the kids loved doing the stuff for Isabella and the other angels.




Then on Saturday we went to one of the pumpkin patches around here called pumpkinville. Now we knew this one would be smaller than the others but it was the only one that didn't charge extra for the cornmaze and hayride. The kids had a blast though. I think at their age the smaller one was the better pick. They had so much fun taking the wagon out into the field and picking their pumpkins. They LOVED the cornmaze, would probably have done it a millions time if we let them. And the hayride was the most adventurous hayride I have ever been on. A lot of the ride went through some really muddy areas, had never gone hayride muddin' before, lol. The kids loved it, which is what was most important.




Then on Sunday the USO did a Military Appreciation day at the Zoo, we got in for free so we weren't turning that down, lol. One thing military families are good at is taking advantage of free things! Dwayne's mom Pat and his uncles girlfriends son Dougy joined us for the day. The kids had a blast seeing all the animals and the adults were going crazy with the crowds, lol. Seriously the line for food was about 30 minutes long! But all in all everyone had fun! I can't wait to take the kids back on a day when it isn't so crowded for them to enjoy the animals even more without having to be rushed so others could see.



And then Sunday evening we spent with Dwayne's family. Dwayne's cousin's fiance' cooked us a yummy dinner and we hung out talking and watching football games, even though some of us did get a little upset over the Cowboys game, lol. The kids played with Dougy until they were so tired the fell asleep on the ride home!

Was a great weekend for everyone. There is nothing better than enjoying a nice weekend with the family.

The truth about the Army

Over the years I have heard so much crap that isn't true about the Army that I get tired of saying the same things over and over, lol. So hopefully by posting it here it will stop me from having to say a few of these things to a few people, lol.

First off a soldier doesn't make loads of money. Infact their actual salary is usually less than what they would get in the civilian world for the same job. Now of course this depends on their rank and their job, but in most cases that is how it works out. Yes the higher ranking the better pay, so if you stay in long enough, get some college credits and move up the chain then yes you can live comfortably, but even then you aren't rich!

Second, the Army isn't welfare you DO NOT get more money for each child you have or for being married. A married soldier will get something called BAS, it is for basic substance allowance. A single soldier doesn't get this because they eat at the DFAC, aka mess hall. If a married soldier goes to the DFAC to eat he has to pay out of pocket for it since he gets the BAS. And no it isn't that much money, no where near enough to cover every meal the soldier eats for a month. The married soldier also gets something called BAH, basic housing allowance. A single soldier does not get this because he lives in the barracks, most of the time married soldiers are not allowed to live in the barracks. BAH goes by rank, I think E1-E6 get the same BAH, it might be to E5, it goes up from there with rank. So anyone in the E1-E6(or E5) rank that is married gets the same amount of money for BAH as someone in that rank range with 10 kids. The BAH also goes by the area you are stationed in, it is the average rent of the area, from what I have figured out I think they take the average rent of a 2 bedroom because most of the time your BAH isn't enough for anything more than that.

So now onto our housing. If you live on post your housing is NOT free! You get that BAH and then you give it to the contracting company that owns the housing for rent. No different than if you lived off post and paid rent. Only difference is off post you can pick where you want to live and how much you want to pay, on post you pay all of your BAH. So some people with no kids or only 1 kid can save money by living off post where as we would be paying more than our BAH to live off post. So yes for some people living on post is cheaper but it is not free!

That leads me to the free utilites myth. Well yes it used to be free. When the army ran housing it was free and even a few years after it was contracted out to different companies it was free. But a few years ago the military passed a law trying to stop people from over using electricty and such. Now each post can decide how they want it done. We have lived on one where the first year you are there they take your average then when that year is up if you start going over your average you pay, if you are under it you get a credit. At Riley and here at Eustis they took an average every month of like homes. So all homes on the end of a row would be together, all homes in the middle would be together, and it would be by neighborhood. Also if you go over the average you pay, if you go under you get a credit. So while yes it is different than living off post, it isn't always free. A house full of kids and a husband who don't know how to turn off lights or like to keep the house freezing make it hard to get that credit, lol. Even though it isn't free anymore I do still consider it one of the benefits of the military, I would rather pay $40 a month than $240 a month.

Now onto another benefit of the Army. Free healthcare, but remember that saying you always hear "You get what you pay for". So since we don't pay for it, it isn't always the best. Go talk to anyone who has tricare and they will be able to tell you some horror stories. Now their is an option called standard where you can pay and see civilian doctors, an option I was about to take advantage of if we stayed at Fort Riley. You actually get to pick your doctors!!!! It is amazing how something so little as that can make such a difference. Some posts you can still pick your doctors, but when we were leaving Fort Riley they were changing things up and you could only see who they assigned you to, if you didn't like them for whatever reason, to bad you are stuck with them! That would be why I was going to go over to standard. Another thing is you have to get refferals for EVERYTHING! And more than 50% of the time they get denied. When Wesley was first diagnosed with Autism they would not cover his speech therapy, they said it was a lost cause, yes their actual words!!!! Luckily there are laws now for autistic kids to prevent that from happening. When I was pregnant with Isabella I had the NTD's blood work come back high, this was at 16 weeks. Thanks to the refferal process I didn't get in to see a specialist until I was 22 weeks. Speaking of that pregnancy, that 16 week blood work was also my 1st appointment with an OB because of how long it can take to see a doctor. I will say once you got into that OB clinic for your inital appointment it was easier to get appointments after, but seriously make someone wait until they are 16 weeks and into their 2nd trimester before seeing a doctor? I have waited 2 weeks to see a family care doctor for asthma issues, and in those 2 weeks I was out of my asthma meds, including my fast acting inhaler. And no they wouldn't call in the pharmacy and refill it for me without seeing me, as they suggested if I needed one I should go to the ER and wait 8 hours just for an inhaler. Anyways let me shut up because I could go on and on about the bad with the healthcare system, lol. I will say it is more the insurance than the actual doctors. I have met some wonderful doctors at all the posts we have been at, along with some bad ones but there are bad apples everywhere. My biggest complaint would be at most posts you never see the same doctor more than once, which sucks when you have conditions like asthma or other conditions that need to be monitored.

Another one that drives me crazy is everyone thinking all their uniforms and supplies get issued. Um..NO. Yes when they first join they get issued a few uniforms but after that you have to buy them. Yes they get a clothing allowence. My husbands is about $530 a year. Wow you say, um again no, let's add up how much the basics at the cheapest prices are.
Class A's aka dress uniform runs you:
Jacket is $71.21
Pants are 16.23
Long Sleeve shirt $15.61
Short Sleeve shirt $13.50
Tie $5.50
Patches, badges, medals etc. ATLEAST $100.00
Bowtie $2.15
Socks $3.75
Belt $3.25
Belt Buckle $6.50
Shoes $39.50
Equals = $277.20 And this is much less than it would have cost a couple years ago because they have dropped the prices of the Class A items because they are moving over to the dress blues, which will NOT be issued and yes cost a lot more than this. Back in 2006 my husband needed a new Class A uniform, $500 didnt' even cover the pants, jacket and shirt, and the new class blues are running more than that! Also keep in mind the cost of getting everything pressed and sewn and altered.

Now on to PT items.They are required to have at least 3 short sleeve, 3 shorts, 1 long sleeve shirt, 1 pair of pants and 1 jacket and one pair of running shoes. Now if you live somewhere that gets cold you know you are going to need more than 1 of each of those but since that is what is required that is what we will price, along with the accessories needed.
PT short sleeve shirt : $6.65x3=$19.95
PT shorts: $10.95X3=$32.85
PT Pants: $29.20
PT Jacket: $58.11
PT reflector belt: $9.60
Pack of 3 socks:$6.15
Fleece Cap: $4.80
Pair of decent running shoes $100.00 last about 6 months so $200.00
Total is: $360.66

Now on to the ACU's. They are required to have 4 pairs at all times, and a pair lasts about 6 months so I will be doing a price of 8 pairs.
Fleece Jacket (1): $63.49
ACU Coat $38.50x8= $308.00
ACU Pants:$37.55x8=$300.40
3pk t-shirt: 15.95x3=47.85
Beret $13.75x2=$27.50
Boonie Hat $12.95
Patrol Cap $6.50
Brown Briefs 3pk $5.70x3=$17.10
Green Boot Socks 3pk: $6.60x3= $19.80
Velcro Flag(1) $1.20
Belt $3.45
Velcro Rank(1) $2.00
Velcro Service tag (1) $2.50
Name tape (1) $2.50
Unit Patch $4.00
Long sleeve shirt $14.95 x4= $59.80
Desert boots : $74.00x2= $148.00
Combat Boots: 103.85x2=207.70
Total: $1234.74 and that is with the cheapest boots and only one set of velcro items and no unit crest for beret, and no combat patch which you have to wear if you have been in combat. Also doesn't include a few other things, it is just the basics. Also doesn't include items necessary for their MOS, like Dwayne being a medic he needs and aid bag and other items just for medics.

The total for everything is: $1872.60 and again this is including the cheapest of everything and the basics, not all the extras you are required to have at any given notice. So yeah while that $530 is nice it doesn't come near to what we spend, especially when you have a husband like mine who misplaces a lot of things :)

Now there is one thing I have heard from people when they hear my husband is a medic that gets on my nerves. When he was deployed I would hear how lucky I was that he was a medic so I didn't have to worry about him getting hurt or killed. UM A BIG BIG BIG NO! During my husbands deployments he was NEVER in a clinic or hospital. He is a LINE medic, meaning he is out on the line with the other soldiers. For him to earn his combat medic badge he had to actually see combat. Not sit in some nice clinic,TMC hospital or whatever you want to call it on some FOB. Most of the time he was going on missions daily. He has deployed with a CAV unit and an Infantry unit. He would be raiding the houses right along side them, so doing their job along with his. So please if you ever come across a medics wife please don't assume stupid stuff like this and never say anything like that to her, you just might get slapped :)

The last thing is don't believe everything you see on the news. Despite the news saying we are leaving Iraq I know a whole brigade of soldiers at Fort Riley are leaving for Iraq in the next couple months, for a one year deployment. And even though they don't show it on the news the Iraqis are thankful for our help, they are thankful to be rid of Saddam, my husband was thanked on a daily basis during his deployments. The news doesn't show any of the good we are doing over there, building schools, setting up sewer sytems, giving them running water and electricity and lots of other things.

That about wraps up the things people assume about the Army that get on my nerves, lol. I didn't realize this would be so long but once I started typing I just couldn't stop, guess it is kinda like if you get me talking :)