21 Weeks - Listeria scare, and our little family reunited.

What a long week it has been!

21 weeks! Yep. Bump.

Last week I started feeling pretty ill, with several flu-like symptoms. I thought it was a stomach bug, and tried to get some extra rest and drink more fluids. Luckily my parents and brother were staying with me, so having extra help with Zoie was great. They left on Easter Sunday though, and I still wasn't feeling well. That night around 9pm, I got a call from my Dillon's grocery store informing me that the Blue Bell ice cream I purchased had been recalled due to a Listeria bacteria outbreak at the manufacturing plant in Oklahoma! I checked the serial number on my carton, and it indeed came from Oklahoma. I had been eating this ice cream for the last week! And now I was feeling flu-like symptoms! AHHH!!!

If I wasn't pregnant, it wouldn't be as big of a deal. People can suffer flu-like symptoms from Listeria (listeriosis), but healthy adults usually recover in a few days. But a listeriosis infection while pregnant is a huge deal, because the bacteria crosses through the placenta and can cause miscarriage, premature delivery, stillbirth, infection to the baby... many awful things!

I immediately called the emergency line through my women's health clinic, and spoke with the on-call doctor about what to do. My gut was telling me that we needed to take precautions, because we had a real chance of a listeriosis infection. Whatever stomach bug I was experiencing had the same symptoms as listeriosis!

The doctor recommended that we do a blood culture for the Listeria bacteria, and start antibiotics while we wait for test results. He arranged for my visit to the hospital the next morning.

So I went in around 9am for a blood draw and to begin an IV drip of antibiotics. Little did I know... I would be returning to the hospital 3 times a day (6am, 2pm, and 10pm) for an IV of antibiotics! Each IV took 60 minutes to drip. Talk about a huge time commitment. I am so thankful that James' parents live nearby and could take care of Zoie while I made 7 trips to the hospital (and spent over 13 hours there!) before we got results from my blood culture 48 hours later. It was the best negative news I'd ever seen! Can you imagine completing treatment for several weeks if the results were positive??

Luckily, my stomach bug cleared up a few days later and I'm back to normal now. I'm still a teeny bit concerned about the high dose of meropenem (I'm allergic to penicillin, so this was the alternative antibiotic the doctor ordered) I received, because there aren't any human studies during pregnancy. It's assumed safe with no risk to the fetus, but besides animal studies, we just don't know. However, the risk of listeriosis outweighed the risk of the drug, so I'm confident we made the right decision.

What an emotional roller coaster. And of course, James was still away on his training mission while this happened... but at least I was able to talk to him on the phone. He finally arrived home late Friday night! What a relief to have our little family back together. Zoie is so happy her "dada" is home! She loves flying around the room in his arms and wrestling him with tickle sessions. It's been a long month, but hopefully the last month we'll ever have to spend apart! I can't wait for the next phase in our Army career.

How far along are you? 21 weeks as of Friday.
 
How big is Baby? Our little baby now weighs around 12.7 ounces, and measures 10.5 inches from head to heel. Getting closer to a whole pound! He/she is about the length of a carrot.

Weight Gain? I keep forgetting to weigh myself in the morning, but my afternoon weight was about 135. That seems high, but it fluctuates so much. So that's... 9lb total.

Gender? We find out on TUESDAY at 12:45pm CST!

Maternity Clothes? Yep, rocking the maternity pants and a couple maternity tops. I still have a lot of regular clothes that fit though.

Sleep? It's all over the place. Since my allergies have eased up, sleep is WAY better. I still have to sleep with my head propped up to avoid sinus congestion though.

Movement? Yep, lots of little kicks! Once in a while I can feel it from the outside with my hand, and soon it'll get even stronger!

Food Cravings? Now that I have my appetite back, I'm enjoying lots of things! Lately, coffee has been a big craving. Not the caffeine, just the taste. I've been weary of decaffeinated coffee since the chemical process it goes through is pretty questionable, but I just ordered some high quality decaf beans that use a chemical-free process.

Labor Signs? Nah.

Symptoms? I've mentioned varicose veins and spider veins on my right side, but now I'm also embarrassed to discover another swollen vein in an unfortunate spot...  a hemorrhoid! Ugh. I also have a hernia on my groin leftover from my first pregnancy that is aching more as this new baby grows and adds pressure. Pregnancy isn't the most fun thing in the world...

What I miss? I miss not worrying about food containing Listeria bacteria! It seems like suddenly there are news stories popping up about Listeria outbreaks in packaged foods. Yikes.

Best moment(s) of the week? Watching Zoie discover that "dada" is home! She climbed into our bed in the morning when she woke up on Saturday, and did a double-take when she saw James next to me. She climbed onto him laughing with big hugs and cuddles - she was so happy he was back!

What I am looking forward to? Tuesday can't come soon enough! I can't wait to find out the gender of our baby and see more details during our anatomy sonogram!

Cheers,

Martha