Ed/Bump Update - Week 20

Things are great! Life is chugging along. Ed is doing fantastic, and is actually being released early! Early as in, tomorrow! As always, I have to add in the caveat that he still has a long road in front of him, but it's amazing to see him do something as simple as put his ankle on top of his opposite knee while seated. I'm sure you wouldn't think anything of doing that as you're reading this, but it's huge for Ed. For him it means being able to merely put on his socks and shoes. He will be continuing treatment and rehab via an outpatient set up. I can't wait to have him home. He hasn't been home since August 7th. He hasn't had a haircut or a good night's sleep in his own bed or a cuddle with the cats or simply unsupervised time since August 7th. Blows my mind when I think about it. His birthday is this Saturday and we are attempting to plan an evening out to celebrate. Haven't had one of those since... July? Before he left for China? So, goes without saying, we're both very excited.

I've started packing up the apartment and I allllllmost forgot how unfun packing can be. Especially now, I can hardly lift anything. I don't necessarily believe I can't lift because I'm pregnant, but I am suffering from some terrible hang up in my spine that makes it really difficult to do much. I'm fantasizing about decorating our new place, conveniently ignoring the whole having to actually move-in part that comes first. The therapists asked Ed what I was up to a couple days ago and he said I was, 'probably visualizing packing.' He may or may not have been correct... :)

Life is appointment after appointment lately! I can't complain too much because they are mostly for lovely things like prenatal yoga, prenatal massages, seeing the Dr. to check on the baby, etc. But it is a little overwhelming how everything is so scheduled all of a sudden. Maybe it's training for future school days and playing taxi for the kids? Today I'm checking out a chiropractor, and after Ed comes home tomorrow we'll be adding in his schedule of treatments and rehab. We're also meeting with some doulas and a midwife and looking into childbirth prep classes. Life is really picking up and I am completely ready for a new routine that involves Ed feeling better and no more hospitals or in-patient rehabs!

So to recap, things are really good and there will be more and more to talk about from this point on - hopefully continuing on this whole 'good' streak!

How far along? 20 Weeks... halfway already?! Where did the first half of this adventure go? 

How Big Is Baby? A banana

Sleep: Been very nice lately. I've been 'back of my mind' worrying about the move, and mostly focused on the excitement of Ed coming home. That definitely helps me sleep easier. Plus the evenings are getting colder and everyone knows how I love the cold. I even broke out my flannel sheets!

Best moment this week:  Finding out Ed would be coming home early. 

Movement: Fluttering? Maybe? It's pretty hard to tell. Nothing that makes me feel comforted so I'm still being a worrywart in this area. 

Symptoms: My body is liking nothing I eat. At all. It all tastes good and then it all goes to hell. I won't go into specifics but it runs the gamut and it's REALLY annoying. I wouldn't say I had a stomach of steel before, in fact, Ed would probably say I've always been a sensitive eater... but this is ridiculous. 

Food cravings/aversions: Sweets. But also, craving food that makes my body happy. I don't know what that is yet, but I'm looking. Weight wise, I think I'm finally on track so I can start to eat like a normal human again. Adding in some fish again. I can't believe I was eating it once a week before the baby and now I haven't had much of anything in months.

Gender: tbd

Belly Button in or out? In and maintaining it's state of flatness. It's kinda weird, this is the flattest that part of my stomach has ever been!

What I miss: Being able to just 'do' things. Whether it's lifting boxes, running, eating whatever the hell I want, etc. Lately, I've missed lacing up and going for a run. I'm trying to find the motivation to go walk, but it's so much less exhilarating than running... even if my pace is about equal for both :-P

What I am looking forward to: Looking more and more pregnant and hopefully feeling this little alien punch and kick it's way into my awareness. I know everyone ends up complaining about it at the end of the pregnancy but, I'm pretty excited to get there.

Funny moment of the week: This is two part... 
1. Realizing I'm already making grunting noises when I try to move myself around. I've had some rough back pain so that makes my movements much slower and stiffer even though I'm not all that big yet. I sound much further along than I am... poor Ed, little does he know how hard sleeping will be with my laborious turning from side to side. 
2. Most of the nurses know I'm expecting and have started calling the baby 'their little rehab baby.' This past weekend one of them came by with extra cartons of milk to 'feed the baby.' It's very sweet. One nurse missed the memo though and after a recent overnight stay with Ed at rehab (they set up a cot next to his bed), she went up and asked him if I was pregnant. He said, 'yes.' She seemed surprised and asked, 'But she stayed here last night?' And Ed replied, 'Well, it didn't happen last night I swear!' She laughed and said 'well, I know that!' :) They're all very lovely people and have made for some very interesting times.

Labor Signs: Ha.

Weekly Wisdom: Take the good things when they come, even when it may be a lot or quick or what have you... just enjoy the good things.  

Milestones: This surreal halfway point and Ed coming home!!!! So exciting :)

Ed/Bump Update - Week 19

(Forgive spelling or typing errors, I'm writing this up via mobile)

Things are moving right along. It was a really nice week. Ed's brother Rob is in town and has been helping me and lifting Ed's spirits. Joe Lamour also came to town for a work retreat so he stopped by at the tail end to see how we are all holding up here. It's so nice to see friendly faces. Like I've said before we're in this 'new normal' of baby stuff and hospital/rehab stuff and it's nice to take a break from that for a moment and talk about other things. Donuts. TV shows. Books.  

Discussing and then consuming donuts.

Ed's doing really well. No miracles or anything, but he's holding steady and his strength is coming back a little everyday. He's under less supervision, more mobile, and using more modes of transportation to get from A to B. These new treatments seem to be a really good thing. They're a pain time wise but if that's the only sacrifice, we'll take it. Keep on checking in with him and sending jokes and well wishes. We may be out of the worst of it but he's still got quite the road in front of him. He certainly won't tire of hearing from people. :) 

Also we found a new apartment! Thank GOODNESS. I was getting myself all worked up over it and worrying about the move. It all fell into place and I feel really good about it. One of the best perks is a community garden. I cannot wait to get my hands on that plot and do something fun. I know it's silly but I like imagining having a little toddler playing in the dirt out there, having some connection to nature. Practicing for future hard labor on our farm :)  

I see you tomato plants! And that's a BASIL bush on the right closest to the camera.

It's also a townhouse style place with one bedroom upstairs and one downstairs. Gives Ed a goal to work toward, getting up those stairs, but also a guest space that's a little removed from everything which is nice for visitors. The mini move will happen Oct 21st, the day before Ed is released, and the big move will happen the weekend after that. I'll be packing little by little until then. Fingers crossed it goes smoothly and quickly. 

How far along? 19 Weeks

How Big Is Baby? An heirloom tomato

Sleep: I've not been getting much of this lately. Thanks hot flashes and heartburn. 

Best moment this week:  Rob and Joe visiting, finding a new apartment, Ed doing some initial work with crutches... So many good things!

Movement: I had a dream last night that I could feel the baby moving all around, but I'm still waiting on the real life feeling. I think I have a sleepy baby in here. Must take after me! 

Symptoms: Heartburn has been rough but otherwise... Pretty low symptom week thank goodness. 

Food cravings/aversions: Cereal. Apparently honey bunches of oats and Cheerios are some of the only foods that don't give me grief. 

Gender: tbd

Belly Button in or out? In, but I'm surprised at how flattened out that area already looks... Pretty sure it'll be popping out at the end!

What I miss: After seeing Joe, I'm missing my friends something awful! Guess I'll just have to get my fix via some Facebook stalking :)

What I am looking forward to: Feeling the baby move and my next Dr.'s appt. It'll be the big 20 week check up to make sure everything is all good and we get to see the little alien again!
Funny moment of the week: Having two people exclaim 'you're showing!' And one laid her hands on my belly. I don't mind it at all but it's a strange adjustment. It's nice to finally show even just a little. Omi calls it my "little bubble."

Labor Signs: Ha.

Weekly Wisdom: Hm no great wisdom this week... Just more breathe in, breathe out and handle things as they come.  

Milestones: None this week other than finding a new apartment for us and what will be baby's first home :)

Ed/Bump Update - Week 18

Man, where the heck did the summer go? October already? Feels like there's been no breather at all since July. Ed's birthday is just around the corner and we're in the thick of my favorite part of the year. I love all the fall foods, Halloween, scary movies, Winchester Fright Nights, cider, and of course the cold, cold weather. 

It was a wonderful visit to Colorado. Everyone is doing so well. Emilia is wonderful and Carolyne and Joe are doing an amazing job. I know I keep saying that, but it's really true. And I'm sure parents never hear that enough from people. I can only imagine the self-doubt that creeps in when it comes to raising a good human, and I just want them to know how great they're doing. It's beautiful out there. The mountains, huge open spaces, and I had no idea how adorable all the houses were in the downtown area. It was a great visit and I can't believe it ended so quickly. I know Ed would have loved to be there.

Speaking of Ed, let's do our little update. He is still at rehab - which is a big 'little victory.' At this point in the past we've been forced to send him back to the hospital for relapse treatments so we're hoping we've turned a corner here. He's learning how to manage in his new state. Rehab is not necessarily a place where he's going to 'recover' his abilities, it's more a place for him to figure out how to function as he is now, while his body takes it's time coming back. He did spend a cumulative 10 mins on his feet yesterday, so, little victories! He's on a new weekly treatment and we're hoping that this change of plan is what he needs to start stabilizing instead of the roller coaster he's been on. According to my little baby tracker app, the baby is forming it's myelin sheaths over it's nerves, which is exactly what Ed is doing these days. I think it's kinda funny that Ed and the baby are working on something together. My pregnancy brain thinks it's sweet they're connected.

Now for baby news...

(I'll post a picture once I get something together for the day, probably around noon PST)

How far along? 18 Weeks

How Big Is Baby? A bell pepper

Sleep: So nice now that I've built myself a full body pillow fort. 6 regular pillows and a big body pillow really do the trick. Wonder where Ed will squeeze in when he comes home.... :)

Best moment this week: Sitting around having dinner with the family, watching movies and just hanging around. I miss the big family gatherings we had on the east coast and doing so in Colorado really felt so wonderfully familiar and comforting. 

Movement: Still poking around to feel for anything. I thought I felt something when I was laying on my belly for a moment but I haven't felt anything since. 

Symptoms: Battling the dragon, but this week seems to be more of a weepy dragon than a fire breathing dragon. 

Food cravings/aversions: Savory food. Ck pointed out I seemed to be mentioning pizza a lot lately. Aversions? Heavily sugared things.

Gender: tbd

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Certainty about the future, about day to day activities... At least, the semblance of certainty. 

What I am looking forward to: I keep sayin' it, but, I'm still looking forward to looking pregnant. I'm only up 7 lbs so far. Gotta eat more baconators like Lolo Jones!  

Funny moment of the week: Witnessing my first poop explosion. It was much more hilarious and much less disgusting than I thought it would be. Carolyne and I were laughing so hard we cried. Thanks Emilia! :)

Labor Signs: Ha.

Weekly Wisdom: Having a mentor, someone going through something first, really helps to soothe the nerves. Thanks for volunteering to be that Ck. I really feel like we can do this whole 'raising a good human' thing after seeing how great she and Joe were with Emilia. 

Milestones: Hitting a new weight range. Protein shakes are my friend! Makes me feel like the baby is finally hitting it's stride growth wise.

P.S. This is making my DAY right now:

I've got a cute, goofy little niece huh? :) 

Ed/Bump Update - Week 17

Hey all, quick updates this week because I'm not near a computer and I find writing on an iPad or iPhone enraging. 

I'm in Colorado visiting my sister, brother in law and absolutely wonderful new niece, Emilia Mae! 

I'll give more details later but I can say with absolute certainty that she is a sweetie pie. I held her for the first time today and I didn't break her or make her cry so, I felt like a real champion! Ck and Joe are amazing parents and are just so good with her. I've been taking pictures like crazy so expect a couple cute shots in later posts. 

Ed is ok. He's been moved from Stanford Hospital back to rehab. We're still working out this new weirdness that we're living in, waiting for things to change. Ed is holding up the best he can. He appreciates all the jokes and love sent his way, it does help a great deal.

Ok now for a quick bump update:

Wearing one of ck's maternity dresses!

How far along? 17 Weeks

How Big Is Baby? An onion

Sleep: Once again a rarity that is not enjoyable even when it does happen.

Best moment this week: Holding Emilia! Was just such a comforting experience. A teeny, tiny, warm, burrito of cuteness.

Movement: Nothing yet, but I am spending more time feeling around for him/her in there. 

Symptoms: I'm a complete dragon lady. Joe gave me the diagnosis and I'm in complete agreement. Mom said I could control my emotions but, I truly cannot. I'm a fire breathing, weepy dragon lady thanks to my dragon egg. So my sincere apologies to everyone who crosses my path. I'm aware of it and totally helpless to stop it. 

Food cravings/aversions: I was really into sweets, cheesecake and hot chocolate and ice cream. But I'm coming back around to food sounding pretty bad in general, unfortunately. Hopefully it's just the emotions and when they calm along with the stress, I'll enjoy eating again.

Gender: tbd

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Being relatively level headed. Being in a rage spiral or having unexpected cases of the sads is exhausting.

What I am looking forward to: My next OB visit. We get to see the baby again and maybe find out the gender. I just can't wait to see the little alien. 

Funny moment of the week: Holding Emilia. She was passed out but had a big full body sleep jerk. It scared her and me equally. I think we both jumped a foot :)

Labor Signs: Ha.

Weekly Wisdom: Be forgiving and cut some slack for people going through things - babies, illness, or just a plain ole bad day. If you're friends with me on Facebook I recommend that article on the 'comfort in, dump out' theory of communicating with people in times of crisis. ( http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/07/opinion/la-oe-0407-silk-ring-theory-20130407 )

Milestones: Becoming an aunt to a wonderful, healthy, strong niece that I cannot get enough of. I love imagining her and my baby growing up together all goofy and brilliant. :)

Ed/Bump Update Week 16

Whoops, sorry for the delay. I had most of this written and then forgot to post it. Yesterday kind of got away from me...

So, not great news this week. Ed had another set back and is back at Stanford Hospital receiving IVIG treatments. We still don't know why he has these waxing and waning symptoms, and the doctors don't seem to have a great idea either. All he can do as the patient is get through the treatments and hope that one of these times they stick. They may set up a schedule of treatments that gets Ed through so he can recover. There's a lot of speculation about what is going on. Ed is doing his best to keep up good spirits about it but he's pretty frustrated as you can imagine. He's ready to be better and able again.

Symptom wise, he's lost a lot of the gains he made with the plasmapheresis and we've also lost function of both sides of his face now so his speech is a little garbled. All in the course of maybe 3 days. He's pretty skinny. One of the tie ins with GBS is an increased metabolism apparently.

The IVIG really helped his face before, unlike the plasmapheresis, so fingers crossed that comes about again.

I want to reiterate to everyone that Ed will be ok. We're in the weeds now, but the prognosis is still really good and he will come around. He will walk, climb stairs, regain his facial expressions... That's what all the Dr's say, all the websites, and all the papers... Right now it's just about having faith in his body, the treatments, and waiting out this roller coaster ride. Please keep reaching out and remember, you don't have to talk about his health, just hearing about what you are up to helps to take his mind off things. Being back in the hospital is no fun and he doesn't have physical therapy to break up the day. So if you have a moment during your day and, a random thought pops into your head, reach out to him. :)

On my end, I'm holding up ok aside from a killer cold that crept in right as my mom left to see my sister on Monday. Nothing dire, normal cold stuff (nose, head, throat) and low grade fever, just supremely inconvenient and uncomfortable as you can imagine. I'm glad my favorite shows are finally starting up. I've been needing some laughter and distraction in TV and good music - thank goodness for Spotify.

My 16 week appt at the Dr's went well. Baby's heartbeat is strong and I'm on the right track. Still have homework to eat more and try to get and stay well, but truly, all is ok. All is good in babyland. I'll try to get a picture inserted here later, but odds are I won't have a good one until I go visit Ck in CO this weekend and she or mom can snap one. I'm pretty excited for my niece to get here so I can start teaching her to sing asap :)

I'm longing desperately for the holidays. Maybe it's all the pumpkin-food talk or just missing friends and family, but I just wish it were holiday season.

Now for the bump update figures....

How far along? 16 Weeks

How Big Is Baby? An avocado

Sleep: Amazingly, it's the one thing that soothes my occasional back pain so I'm getting as much of this as I can.

Best moment this week: Bustin' out the maternity jeans I bought and having the Dr. say that I gained a little weight. Finally!

Movement: Still too tiny. 

Symptoms: Back pain right around my hips.

Food cravings/aversions: Apparently, for the first time ever in my life, stress makes me not want to eat. So my aversion? All food - when I'm stressed out. Of course I'm still eating, Dr's orders, but boy is it hard when nothing sounds good. 

Gender: tbd

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Beer I suppose! And wine. The other night was filet mignon for dinner - cooked 'well' which breaks my heart (normally I like it mooing). Had that with a nice glass of orange juice. Travesty.

What I am looking forward to: Looking pregnant. Right now I just feel silly telling people I'm expecting and they immediately look at my 'beer belly.'

Funny moment of the week: Mom going to BuyBuyBaby with me and after walking around for a moment, deciding she could just leave the job of picking things out to Carolyne. I completely agree. Ck you have your marching orders :)

Labor Signs: Ha.

Weekly Wisdom: Be grateful for what you have because it can all change so quickly. And when they do, try to just roll with the change. No expectations, just be present. 

Milestones: Breaking in the maternity jeans and stepping into a Buy Buy Baby for the first time. Talk about overwhelming and a reality check. 700 dollar strollers? No thank you, I'm not insane. I miss my doing my wedding registry, when it was a question of what pan makes the crispiest loaf of bread - not car seats, you know, things that directly decide the life or death of a tiny human.

Ed/Bump Update - Week 15

It was an exciting week! Mom flew in again and is here supporting the troop. Ed was moved up to Stanford for a second opinion. He's feeling so much stronger and looking happier, fidgeting around as much as he can. This last round of treatments have had a big impact. We're really looking forward to the next steps: moving back to rehab for a few weeks and then moving him back to home and continuing on the path to recovery. Please keep reaching out to him, it really helps keep him connected to life outside of the hospital. The best thing this week? Ed stood up! Without assistance or holding on to a walker or wheelchair! So wonderful. It's the first time he's stood on his own since August 7th. This process is slow, but it is thrilling when we get to those milestone moments. 

Now for a bump update!

How far along? 15 Weeks

How Big Is Baby? A navel orange

Sleep: Crazy. Crazy. Dreams. Living in the Great Depression. Plagues. Being in high school again. Aliens. Winter in Russia. Though I did have one featuring Alexander Skarsgard that is welcome to return!

Best moment this week: Mom coming in for a second visit :) 

Movement: Still too tiny. 

Symptoms: Increased hunger and fatigue. Everything else seems about normal.

Food cravings/aversions: Still feelin' the orange situation. Aversions? Chinese food... namely stir fry. Everytime I hear the word it makes me a little queasy. 

Gender: tbd

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Sushi. Namely saba. I could really go for about 20 pieces of that right now.

What I am looking forward to: Feeling the baby and starting to look like a pregnant lady. I'm ready for that belly!

Funny moment of the week: Mom and I were riding in the elevator in Stanford's hospital and I noticed the permit had one section circled in red. It read: "Expiration Date: 4/15/12" or something close. I laughed and told mom. Immediately, the elevator started to shake violently. We stopped laughing and haven't taken the elevator there since. Best not to tempt fate. 

Labor Signs: Ha.

Weekly Wisdom: Once again, try to release expectation. Things will happen as they are meant to happen, worrying about it doesn't help anything.

Milestones: Ed standing :) That is enormous. Also, while I do not look or feel pregnant, I can no longer wear my 'skinny Carly' jeans without the assistance of a rubber band. :)

And now for some pictures of mom's visit so y'all can be envious of her new retired life. (Some of these are from her previous visit that I've just recently yoinked from her phone):

Sad pregnant lady sitting out the fun at the beer garden.

Mom 'enjoying' our brisk salt water pool

A little preview of how I'm styling the nursery.... Swedish explosion! (EDIT: This is not the nursery, this is the Ikea display room with a crib in it that inspired my nursery)

What is a trip to Ikea without some meatballs!

Visiting Half Moon Bay. Had to get mom some beach time!

Notice all the fog rolling in... really took over!

Fog dancer :)

Celebrating the first official day of Mom's retired life! Champagne was absolutely necessary.

Visiting Ed at Stanford, playing in the trees!

Ed/Bump Update - Week 14

Ed is doing better. The new treatment seems to be having a bigger, positive impact on his strength. The other symptoms are in a holding pattern. He has been moved out of the ICU which is fantastic, and is now in a regular room. Hopefully, he won't be in that room for long and he'll be on his way back to the rehab facility. I was telling my mom today, it's so frustrating because unlike so many other issues that require rehab, Ed truly cannot "work" through it. It's not a matter of his determination or will or strength - it's just time. You see so many people go to rehab and through 'hard work' they get better or get released quicker. In our case, 'hard work' would probably have the reverse outcome. Ed just needs the support to make it through these long, waiting days. He will get better, he will regain a normal, productive life, just not on a schedule of his choosing. All of us that know him, know how much he likes to give things his all, so I ask you to just keep cheering for him as he waits this out. Texts, emails, phone calls, visits... it all helps so much. :)

(I'll try to add a picture when I'm with someone with a camera, but I'm not looking much different)

How far along? 14 Weeks - hellllloooo second trimester!

How Big Is Baby? Lemon

Sleep: I cannot get enough of this. I'm suddenly beset by unending fatigue.

Best moment this week: Celebrating our anniversary! Time has just flown by... I can't believe it. A year ago we were on our way to Palm Island for our honeymoon. 

Movement: Too, too early. 

Symptoms: Along with the new bout of fatigue, my dizziness is back. It makes me want to lay down all the time, so that coupled with the fatigue, equals a very lazy Carly.

Food cravings/aversions: Cravings - oranges. I plowed through a big bottle of juice and followed it up with three whole oranges. I'm an animal for oranges! No real aversions currently. 

Gender: tbd

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Red wine. Dad and Debbie were just here and every time they poured a glass I looked at it longingly. I'd love to go tour wine country right about now!

What I am looking forward to: This continuing resurgence of my appetite, with it hopefully expanding to things other than oranges.

Funny moment of the week: This may sound terrible, but when Ed was in the ICU we kept hearing them announce "Code: Brain Attack!" Without looking it up, we decided it was more light hearted to imagine these cartoon-y brains invading the suite, stomping around to attack people at ankle height. 

Labor Signs: Ha.

Weekly Wisdom: Try not to have too many expectations, it just leads to a lot of unnecessary worry. Re - when Ed will get out, lack of weight gain/whether I'm eating enough, what the future holds.

Milestones: Our anniversary, Ed moving out of the ICU, the second trimester? It's been a big week apparently!

Ed/Bump Update - Week 13

First things first, Ed update. We've had a little bit of a setback, but nothing is tragic. He is no longer at rehab and has been re admitted to the hospital for another round of treatments because it looks like the first didn't take completely. Ed noticed this weekend he was feeling weaker again so they moved him back last night. We're at a new hospital with new doctors, Good Samaritan, and in a new type of room in their Neuro ICU. It's a little... intimidating. So far they're estimating at least a week, and if all goes well we should see some results quickly. Ed's pretty disheartened but tries to remember that in the long run the prognosis is still really good. Full recovery. It just takes so much time and is so very slow. So, if you get a chance, reach out to him with a joke or a word about your normal, non-hospital life. It makes a world of difference.

Now for a little Bump Update:

How far along? 13 Weeks, super early I know but I think I'm finally starting to show... mostly looks like I'm slouching and have a beer belly.

How Big Is Baby? A 3 inch peach. Little alien!

Sleep: Pretty normal but now with endless hours with the Dr and the ER, it can make it hard to keep on top of eating and sleeping. I'm looking forward to having a new schedule set again.

Best moment this week: It wasn't my moment, but my mom had her retirement party with her students and it looked like a huge blast. I'm so glad she got to see how appreciated and valued she is! 

Movement: The sites say the baby is movin' around but it is tooooo tiny to feel.

Symptoms: Nausea, fatigue, and a new one! Ridiculously emotional. "I'm not really crying, it's just the baby" is a common refrain.

Food cravings/aversions: Cravings - fried chicken. Aversions - pretty much everything else until I'm starving and then I'll probably eat some of it. 

Gender: I really feel like it will have a gender... I've got a strong feeling about that :)

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Enjoying food and not struggling with finding something to eat every 2 hrs.

What I am looking forward to: Ed getting settled and my Dad visiting this weekend!

Funny moment of the week: There weren't really any funny moments aside from watching Too Cute episodes on Animal Planet. That show makes my night every Saturday. Talk about a little ray of sunshine on tv.

Labor Signs: Ages away from now.

Weekly Wisdom: Buy a mom bag. Pack snacks. Copious amounts of snacks.

Milestones: Getting to tell everyone in the last post. I was so excited to announce and I knew it would be good to have some happy news out. Hard news can suck the life out of you, but nothing is more rejuvenating than loving, celebratory messages. 

Checking in again

Hi all. Just wanted to give you a quick update on where things are....

Ed is currently in a nearby rehab facility. Yay for finally being out of the hospital! (Don't get me wrong, the hospital was really nice and attentive and there are no complaints there, it's just, it's a hospital). He will be there for an extended stay, we're hoping he will be home by early September, but it's not something we can rush. He works multiple hours a day with several therapists on getting back to walking. It's tiring and hard, but he's been a real fighter about all of this.

My mom actually came out! It was a huge surprise. She texted me a few hours before her flight and next thing I knew she was there in the morning.  Ed was afraid Mom was going to be 'mean to him' with all of her exercises and equipment. For those who don't know, my mom is a fitness guru, with her own business that she is just now winding down after 20+ years. So she is certainly an expert on helping people rehab and better their physical state. Ed was right to be nervous - but it's all out of love! :) We've been very lucky to have both Debbie and Mom come out and help so much. We've had many, many offers of help from family, friends and co-workers, and it has just been so wonderful. I can't tell you how much we appreciate all the well wishes and positive energy. His co-workers and boss visit often and that couldn't be nicer.

Mom and I have been rearranging the apartment to make it easier for Ed to move around when he comes home. Walker/Wheelchair friendly. Just have to get him prepared for that first flight of stairs to the apartment.

I am well - tired and missing having Ed here at home, but I know he's making progress and that in time he will be here again. I get a little down, but thankfully, with so many people checking in, it's hard to stay down for long.

The updates with be infrequent - with him now in rehab it will be more of the same for awhile. Please reach out to him if you would like to cheer him on or send him jokes or harass him. The days in the rehab facility can be long, tiring and repetitive, so anything to break up the monotony is hugely appreciated. If you need information about how to reach him, please contact me privately.

What's Going On With Us.

Hey everyone. My apologies for not updating more. This time I have a pretty good reason for being so AWOL. So, I'll give you a very brief rundown of what is going on. I know there are a lot of friends who would like to know what's happening.

Ed was recently diagnosed with Guillian-Barre Syndrome. So. He's in the hospital but, he is OK. The prognosis is good. There is nothing wrong with his mind, it's just his body not doing what it should be doing. Like walking and smiling and sending correct sensory information. He's been in the hospital since Wednesday the 7th and we are waiting to see how much longer he will be there. Without treatment, the disease can progress to a complete paralysis - including the respiratory functions, leading to death. Like the article in the link says, there is no cure, you just have to wait for it to run it's course while getting treatments, and then you can recover fully afterwards. He is being treated and so far, everything is in a holding pattern. His breathing is just fine.

I spend the nights at the hospital with him and usually only go home midday for lunch time and some chores. Unfortunately, I haven't trained the cats to do all the housework yet... I'm working on it. :) We're both trying to be light-hearted and to remember that this just has to do whatever it's going to do and then things can start moving back to normalcy.

Debbie came out and provided invaluable support so I want to make sure she knows how grateful we are for the help! We really appreciate all the offers of help we've received, from family, friends and co-workers - and there have been many. We're touched, truly.

If you would like more information, you're welcome to reach out to me with questions. Ed does have his phone and does text and email if you'd like to send him encouragement or any words of kindness or jokes. The treatments and noisy nights at the hospital make him quite tired so if you reach out to him I implore you to keep it upbeat.

Forgive us both if we are forgetful or negligent about responding in a quick manner, or if our responses are brief. This schedule has both of us a little sleep deprived and out of it so sometimes it takes a bit to get all the ducks in a row.

So to summarize. Ed is in the hospital for now. We are both as ok as possible. He will recover it's just a matter of time.

Here's hoping you are all well out there in the world