Bought a house

It's me again...the woman who pops in here every several months or so to say hi and then disappears mostly into lurkerdom. My dh did most of a surgical residency before deciding it wasn't for him and then we moved to Philly to do a nuclear medicine fellowship. Well, now we are heading to Michigan to start a radiology residency this July. Hopefully, he will complete it and then be prepared to actually practice medicine and earn a good living as a nuclear radiologist.

A few weeks ago we hired a trusted young adult babysitter to stay 3 nights with our 3 children and the two of us went on our househunting mission to the suburbs of Detroit. I had been in touch with a great realtor and had been researching the area (went out twice over the Summer) since around match day last year when we learned the news. My time and energy definitely paid off!!!! We hope to close on our house in May and move as soon as school is out here in June. Oh.......and we (ha-ha, I, am) are having baby #4 in April, if all goes as planned. We had our first 3 children during the surgical residency and moved here with a 2 month old. Again we will be moving with a 2 month old.

I feel much more confident and hopeful at this point though-------not nearly as scared about all the changes and responsibilities that go along with this lifestyle. I feel that surviving almost 4 years as the wife of a surgerical resident---much of it while I was enduring high risk pregnancies and on bedrest--------------what we are dealing with now will be a piece of cake.....and if it's not----Oh well, I'll cope.

I am psyched about starting anew and meeting friends and learning more about the area and unpacking boxes in between nursing sessions. It almost feels like we are experts at moving and dealing with transitioning the kids------but when we have to handle a "normal, stable" life, we wont know what to do. We are both sort of in "Go" mode now.....making plans, hiring the movers, finishing up the mortgage stuff, etc. We already pre-enrolled the 3 bigger kids in daycamp which starts within a few days of our arrival. This is the first time we have actually owned a home together, so that is very exciting......and filled with its own set of new risks and concerns.

For now we are thinking that I will drive up with our 4 kids and the same trusted babysitter without him---so that he can work an extra week or two as an attending here before dropping his salary to be a resident. I will be handling the moving company details on both ends of the move and he will pack and then unpack boxes when he can. That will put a lot of work on me......but will probably be best overall. We plan to keep our sitter employed for the first week after the move (and then fly her home)to help me with pretty much anything I ask---mostly playing with kids and holding the baby so I can get stuff done that needs doing. Anyway, I just felt like popping in here again and sharing. I expect that when we are settled in Michigan for a bit, I will get back involved here.

[SuzySunshine]

Laurel, it does sound like you've been busy. Congrats on the house and the new baby - welcome back.

Wow, you have a lot going on! Congratulations on the baby and the house. How is your pregnancy going?

Sounds like you have a wonderful babysitter to help you out. You might not want to send her home!

[fluffhead]

Congratulations! What neighbourhood are you buying in?

[Meenah]

Hi,
Sounds like a really busy time!!!!!!!! Congrats on the move and especially on the baby.
Luanne

You are a brave, brave woman - and I'm sure you will handle it all beautifully. Traveling with the sitter is probably the best choice in the world. I did something similar when we made this move, and I got SO much more done than I would have if it were dh and I.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement and support. To answer a few questions.......My babysitter was a 12 year old girl when we met her in Buffalo during the surgical residency. She lived down the street from us and we befriended her whole family. She was very interested in becoming a babysitter then and loved babies and came to my house as soon as we brought our first baby home, asking if she could help in anyway. From there, our relationship with this girl blossomed and she became a mother's helper......shortly after I had each new baby and a regular babysitter whenever we needed one. She was very competent for her young age and knew us, our home, and our children well and we saw her family frequently, too. When we moved from Buffalo to Philly, she was about 16 then and her parents agreed to let us take her with us and fly her home afterwards. She was an amazing help......as dh and I had to drive separately for that move. Since then, as she finished high school and has gone to community college while living at her parent's home and working at a couple of part-time jobs, she has offered to come visit at least once if not twice yearly, when she was able to get the time off. She really has become like a part of our family. When DH and I had to go for this househunting trip, she was the very first person we thought to call as we have no family nearby. She said she would love to come along with us for the trip in the Summer if we needed her, too. She is about to turn 21 years old now and it has been a joy to watch her grow up, almost like watching my own kids in the process. She will be attending a state college next year, studying early childhood education. The thing about it all is that my kids simply adore her.........and we completely trust her.

I will have to answer more questions later........the moving estimate guys are coming over in a few minutes and I lost track of time.

Nellie also asked about the pregnancy and I never addressed that one. All of my pregnancies have been difficult in the past and this one has continued the trend. This is my 6th pregnancy, but we are hoping to get our 4th baby out of the deal. Our first child that was born was a 33 weeker who spent 30 days in the ICU and we discovered a genetic birth defect called vesicouretal reflux.....that my other three had too......and this problem resolved for all 3 of them without surgery after two years of daily antibiotics to protect their kidneys. With my 2nd child that was born, I was in preterm labor at 32 weeks and placed on bedrest and kept her in until 38 weeks. With the last baby that was born, I went into preterm labor at 28 weeks, was in the hospital for a day and put on Terbutaline which was awful stuff...and bedrest and kept him cooking until 39 weeks. He was born with a very rare birth defect that required 2 surgeries as a newborn and one more at age 4----to correct his bizarre case of congenital anterior nasal pyriform aperture stenosis. I lost my first and my 5th pregnancies at the end of the first trimester.

We love our babies and our kids and always wanted more......so we decided to give it one more try as I am getting older and my risk factors are increasing and our history wasn't great...with all the complications. The first complication with this pregnancy was that my joints (which I already have trouble with normally) became extremely lax and hypermobile all over my body which caused me to fall when my ankles, knees, and hips would suddenly subluxate and sort of give out on me. I also suffered a rotator cuff injury on my shoulder when transferring groceries from the cart to my trunk one day...when my shoulder popped out for a second. The OB sent me to physical therapy to help stabilize my loose joints and develop strategies for moving without further injuring myself. I also have severe GERD and that always gets worse in pregnancy....no exception this time. I also have asthma and am prone to bronchitis and pneumonia--------and as predicted, had some breathing trouble for much of the 2nd trimester....and had to take lots of meds. Oh, I also have been anemic for much of this pregnancy and taking iron pills along (but not at the same time....because they don't work well then) with my prenatal vitamins.

To prevent a recurrence of preterm labor or premature rupture of membranes, my OB and perinatologist (who also keeps a close eye on my progress) very strongly recommended I begin a process of getting weekly progesterone shots starting at about 17 weeks and continuing until close to the end of the pregnancy. This is supposed to be the thing that gives a person the best chance of avoiding a preterm delivery and the need for bedrest. It is a pain in the butt....literally.....but so far, it's working. Twice though, I have developed very painful, hot, huge thick welts at the injection site and was put on antibiotics for the infection. Otherwise, it's going well and I am glad I decided to go this route.

At the end of the 2nd trimester I was shocked to learn of a new problem. I failed my 2 glucose tolerance tests and was diagnosed officially with gestational diabetes and the OB immediately sent both a nutritionist and a home health nurse to my house for weekly visits. She also arranged for diabetes testing equipment to be fed exed to my door. I was pretty much forced to make some cold turkey drastic changes to my diet and lifestyle-----and began keeping a VERY restrictive diabetes diet (moreso than regular diabetics actually). I began by completely cutting out ALL sources of sugar in everything I ate----not just sugar, but honey, all artificial sweeteners, and every type of "ose" found in ingredient lists. In addition I cut out ALL fruit and juices, all cereals and starches and grains, breads, etc. I ate solely high protein---meats and cheeses and also a number of mostly green vegetables for fiber. With time, as my sugars have become much more under control, I have been able to add some more carbs (only if combined with a protein) and even some fruits in the later part of the day, without my numbers spiking. I have to test my blood glucose levels 4 times a day and I need to eat 6 small high protein meals/snacks a day. Initially, I recorded everything in great detail and discussed it all thoroughly with my nuritionist and visiting nurse.....but now that several weeks have gone by, I pretty much know what I have to do and when and don't need to worry as much. The OB has also had me in to see her weekly since this started........so I am getting lots of extra care and spending wayyyyyy too much time as a patient at PT.....the OB.....and even with these people visiting me at home weekly to check on me and the baby. The good news is that with this diet I have lost about 8 pounds over the course of 5 weeks or so. They all told me that if I didn't keep this diet strictly that I may need to take insulin and the baby could grow very large, too. So I have tried my best to do whatever they have told me to do....and it's worked. Since I started this pregnancy a bit overweight and the baby is continuing to grow and develop well, the OB and perinatologist are not worried about the weight loss at this point...but do want to keep close tabs on me. I also have learned lots of new things like....the diabetes may or may not go away within 6 weeks of the birth. Also, I have a 60% chance of getting it again for real within 10 years, even though noone in my family has ever had it before and I have few of the risk factors other than being a bit overweight and an older mom (age 41 now).

So, tomorrow I will hit the 35 week mark and I have not been on bedrest once.......which is a new experience for me. The diabetes is holding steady (and I have really come to terms with all aspects of managing it)and the baby is perfect, as far as the docs can tell. I have tons of joint aches and pains everywhere...........but otherwise, things are pretty darn good for the moment.

Now are you sorry you asked how my pregnancy was going??

Fluffhead, we are moving to a suburb called Farmington Hills, MI. It's about 25 minutes away with good traffic from most of DH's hospitals.........and it is very close to everything that is most important to us both. We are thrilled with everything we have learned so far about this community and the schools and more.

I've heard great things about Farmington Hills. A good friend of ours grew up there and has fond memories of it.

Wow, you have had a lot to handle with your pregnancies! That is great news that you have been able to avoid bedrest and have the gestational diabetes under control. I was wondering since you alluded to having difficult pregnancies in the past. I hope that the next 5 weeks are uneventful for you.

[migirl]

From a fellow Michigander, Farmington Hills is a nice area. I'm sure you and your family will love it there. Congratulations on everything, and good luck with the move!

[Laker]

Fluffhead, we are moving to a suburb called Farmington Hills, MI. It's about 25 minutes away with good traffic from most of DH's hospitals.........and it is very close to everything that is most important to us both. We are thrilled with everything we have learned so far about this community and the schools and more.

I am related to an excellent OB/GYN at Beaumont. Great area and hospitals.

[BonBon]

Wow...here's to having an easy remainder of this pregnancy!

Congratulations on the baby and the house. I bet it feels great to finally have the radiology wheels in motion.