Need to rant!!

I have been having issues with my preg and have found out my blood pressure is high, and I have gestational diabetes. I was also told at my last doc appointment (yesterday) that my baby is about 5 weeks larger than what it should be so have been booked for an ultrasound. This is driving me crazy!! I have been being a good girl and not eating much sugar at all, resting as much as possible, and not doing as much as I really should be doing with my horses and birds, but leaving more up to my children. (Luckily I have fairly responsible children that just require me to do a spot check once in a while). My house looks like a tornado has hit it as I am not doing the cleaning I should, my horses are feeling neglected as I have not been out there to work with them, they stand with thier heads hanging over the fence and when \i go outside they whinny at me like crazy, and my poor chickens are not going to know who I am soon. I was hoping to get my turkey pen built so I can pick up a few adult turkeys I have spoken for, but cannot even get working much on this. It is very frustrating for a person who is normally fairly active to have to sit on her but and do NOTHING and it could get even worse if my blood pressure does not come down. I am at least on partial bed rest right now, but that could turn to full bed rest within 2 weeks if my blood pressure has not come down. With 5 children how do you do bed rest????? I also have a cold and my 2 year old is sick with croop and an ear infection. Sorry for having this rant, but I needed to talk to someone as hubby is away at work right now so I am unable to rant at him.

sounds like you normally do a great deal and this pregnancy may be a bit of a call to slow down and rest your body so you can have another healthy child...
Don't be too hard on yourself, some stuff does still need to get done but you may need to just focus on your priorites right now and the work of growing a baby especially if there are some health concerns...
Hard to ask for help when you are normally able to do everything yourself but this is probably one time you need to ask..
hope you can find a way to rest without beating yourself up about it, lots of stuff can wait right now.. the way I see it. TAke care!

I am sorry to hear your rant. I know how hard it can be. I was on partial bedrest with my second daughter, had a terrible cold and a 2 year old to run after. It is not fun. I was fortunate that I didnt have a whole lot of animals back then and only 1 child to take care of.
I hope your blood pressue comes down and all is ok with baby.
When is baby due?

I think the hardest is my family is all 8 hours away so cannot ask them for help, and I hate to impose on the neighbors. My kids are starting to realize that mom really needs help right now, but it is still hard for them as they have not had to do too much housework. They always did a few dishes and did their own laundry, but never had to do the laundry for the household which is something they have to start doing as I am NOT to do stairs and my house is not set up for this. I have to go up 7 stairs to get into my house from outside, to go into the basement from outside is 6 stairs down, to go into the basement where my laundry room is it is 9 stairs so it makes if frustrating. I am thankful that my boys (13 and 11 years) both can help with cooking also. It is just to convince them they need to help with picking up in the house. I am still trying to get everything ready for baby. I am due April 9th, but if they decide she needs to come early who knows when she will be coming instead. I just find being the "single" mom with hubby gone away from home I get frustrated alot easier. I really am wondering if they may not find that there are actually 2 in this ultrasound as I am quite large, and twins do run in my family. They did not see the second one with my oldest sisters 4th baby, so they did not know about him until she ended up loosing one of the twins at 7 months, so I am kind of worried, although I know I should not be worrying! Just one of those things. I just thank my lucky stars for the internet right now as I spend alot of my "down time" on it to keep my mind occupied. I have also been sewing some, which helps, but again that is spending too much time on my feet for some of it. I just have to find things to do while laying down. I have read every book in my house 3 times already. I have asked my oldest son to bring some books home from the school/public library for me to read.

It sounds frustrating, worrying and difficult.

I have not had kids, but I was the oldest of 7, with 17 years spread between top and bottom. I helped rais not only my own siblings, but the kids of the neighbourhood. For a long time I was the only babysitter in the area. Now, as a teacher, I spend all day trying to motivate and facilitate young'ns.

The boys may feel a little lost an doverwhelmed. And kid of that age are usually not good at (dont want to) think up ways of helping. But they do respond really well to public praise/approval/reward. Reward does nto ahve to be money, treats or stickers. Recognition that other people can see works as well.

What about a chore chart. Tell them you need help. These are things they can do to help. You could either assign jobs (ask the boys if there were jobs they would like to take over) or list the jobs and let them pick what they want to do. If you post it, they would be able to write thier name under each chore they complete. That way the whole family will see how much they ahve done to help out. Everyone will know what responsible big boys they are.

This probably isnt the sort of thing you were looking for . SOmetimes a rant is just a rant and you want to share the rant, not get people telling you want to do, lol. But it is all I have to give/offer.

What kind of books do you like? I have a bunch of books that I have read and they are just sitting on a shelf gathering dust.

Ah smoky, I'm sorry this is happening. This is a good place to rant. It must be so challenging and frustrating. The fact is though, it is happening and letting go and accepting what is, I find, is one of the hardest things. You need to take care of yourself and the baby and trust that if nothing else, the basics will be taken care of and your children will get an earlier lesson on even more responsibility......which I'm sure is not easy to designate from one's bed either.

There is a saying or joke that goes like this (and you don't have to believe in God to appreciate the point - could be Universe, Higher Power, etc.)..........'How do you make God laugh? ...........Tell him your plans!'

My point is that what is happening in your life right now is not part of your plan but seems to be the plan for you this time round. Your feelings are valid but this is when you just got to lean into it and try not to resist and know that one day, you'll be looking back at all of this and not immersed in it.

I hope this doesn't sound insensitive cause I feel for you but it's what I've had to tell myself this at times like yours.

Is there any money in the budget to bring someone in once every couple of weeks to clean the house (outside of dishes, laundry and light vacuuming?) And keep ranting, we hear you.

I really appreciate everyone here! I am in the midst of a chore list so that the two oldest dont feel like it is all placed on their shoulders I also have a 9 and 8 year old that wil be given extra chores to help out with. I am placing everything in the good Lords hands as it is all his plan anyways. I have resigned myself to do what i need to do to keep everyone healthy. I made the realization it isnt just the baby and my health at risk here. My children need a healthy mom so we need to all pull together.
As for funds to bring in help right now that is not possible but the ladies from church have all offered to make meals for the family. I am hoping to be able to find some more books to read. A neighbor brought me a couple books so i do have a couple days reading again. I also have another friend who is looking into some of the amish based books, and watching out for the crime novels. I read just about anything so am pretty open to whatever is thrown my way!

Hubby is hoping to be able to come home for the weekend so hopefully he can spend a little time with the horses. I may even take a careful walk out to talk to them once the kids are home from school. I need my sanity time with the critters around here.

I can't relate and I have absolutely no idea what to tell you. However, I wanted to say:

I wish you all the best and good health. Talk to your doctor -- you should be able to take ginger without any issue. It's good for the baby, good for morning sickness and great for your bodies immune system.

ALl the best -- please keep us posted?

I can sure hear your frustration Smoky but you're right, it's the whole fam-damly involved. Although family is 8 hrs away, is it possible for someone to come stay for a few days? Anyone from the church able to come by? Even to brush the horses or move some things around for you? I bet someone has a kid that would love to give some attention to the horses.

I had my complications after delivery of my son so your high blood pressure worries me. I really had no idea how serious that could get. Not saying it will, just do what you're doing and REST.

Even with your experience of having kids, each one changes things I bet, and a household like yours IS complicated when you're on your own. I feel like I'm on my own with 1 toddler, 2 horses, 2 dogs and a few ducks (hubby works afternoon/nights and now I'm back at work).

So rant away, deep breath and follow docs orders...hugs!

Smokey, hang in there dear. I had high blood pressure too and gestational diabetes. We also had 31 sows and 400 fat pigs and a hubby away at work all day. You do what you can, and accept whatever help is offered. Naps on the couch help, at least you feel part of the household while getting your rest. Bored, oh yah....but hang in there. Right now, it's just getting through each day, an hour at a time if that's what you can manage. Each day that you hang on makes it so much better for the baby or babies. I was born at 28 weeks gestation, so your little one is probably OK now, but each day is a gift if they can stay where they are. So, you have "barn", "shoveling up the house" and "making meals"....and we will all do the "rant" part.....rant as much as you like. Is there a good big teen at your church who will muck out stalls once a week or as needed?

I am fortunate enough that all our horses are out in the pasture so no stalls to muck and we just cleaned out the chicken house two weeks ago so they will be okay for a while. I came up with a list of chores and each of the four older kids picked jobs to do. We decided they would do these for a week and then change to new choices. I was pretty impressed because my 8 year old chose to do the bathroom and the household laundry. I am thinking of asking a couple of the pastors children if they would mind coming to lend a hand for a day. They originally moved to our area from a dairy farm so would not worry about boots that may end up with extra matter on them! LOL.

My 2 year old is finally on the mend (i think) and i am starting to get over my cold I have my emerg ultrasound booked for the 10th and then will know more on the 14th when i will see the doc again. I also have people on the lookout for a infant carseat as i just found out the one i have is recalled but only 4 months from expiry so they wont do anything about it as i cannot provide proof of purchase

Here, PEI, the hospital rents out car seats, and I think the Red Cross does too. When I had Beckie, 28 years ago, grin, it was 35 bucks for the car seat, then you got all but 5 bucks back when you returned it. How about checking by phone if any of those options are open for you too? Suppose your family might chip in to help you buy one, if you can't get a good used one? The church might too, and then use it for all new parishoners as they come along. Babies grow so fast, you'll only need it for a year or so.
Glad the little one with the croop is better and you can get some more sleep to get over your cold. Sleep makes everything SOOOO much better.

I can identify with you. I had high blood pressure with my 1st child and went on "house arrest" as I called it. Had to stop working and just rest. My outings consisted of twice weekly dr visits. He was born 2 weeks early and had some complications that went hand in hand with the blood pressure so I ended up having an emergency csection. Luckly with my daughter my BP only went up during the last 2 weeks. But it was enough where they said get some rest or they would hospitalize me to rest. I went on medication with both of them and it kept the BP under control.

My family was also 4 hours away and nobody to come help as they were lined up to come after babies were here. But my hubby does not travel for work so he ended up covering everything. It was hard for me too not to be outside. With both of them I was back cleaning the barn 4 weeks post cesction even though I was not supposed to lift anything more then baby for at least 6!

Just to make you feel better the gestitational diabetes is totally hormonaly driven and does not really have anything to do with your diet. It also makes the babies larger as they are laying down more fat which is why your baby might be measuring big.

Hang in there. It will all be worth it when your sweet baby arrives healthy and happy!

Anne

darn! i wish you would have posted this a couple weeks ago i gave my car seat from jenna to salvation army, it wasnt expired or anyhitng we just bought it last year! walmart has super cheap ones as well,

Hugs smoky, I know things are a little overwhelming at the moment, but the good news is you can’t stay pregnant forever. And most things can wait, really they can…and what cannot wait (like critter care, food prep, etc) can be delegated to the oldest kiddies. Which sounds like what you’ve got happening now. Good to hear it. Also glad you’re feeling a bit better now too. Keep taking care of that baby and family by taking care of yourself. Good luck with your upcoming ultrasound.