Well it looks like I'm going to be seeing my baby after all, and DD15. After I last posted I fell asleep and woke up and threw up twice. I picked up a thermometer and some soup and went to the hotel to rest. My temp was 100.7 so they don't want me in the room with DH. I fell asleep until 6pm and my breasts were engorged...no way I could pump them now. My dad is going to bring the baby and my oldest daughter to me, since I won't be able to go to the hospital to visit him for awhile now. I guess the baby was throwing up last night too, so I definitely want her nursing. Going to get a mask for older DD and she will be getting a flu shot at the hospital. She was with me and the baby most of the week so I assumed she's already been exposed but better safe than sorry. Ugh not the way I wanted to see them but so looking forward to it. Apparently DH's attending dr was throwing up today too.i guess we don't actually know if it's the flu or some other bug, but poor DH feels terrible about us all being exposed to it. I wish he could stop worrying about that. His electrolytes are back down again so they are going to back off on the Lactulose (a laxative they use to treat his confusion). I wish the poor guy could have one day without something bad happening. :(

Thanks everyone. I did have the nurse bring me a pump, but it's just a hand one so I haven't been able to get a lot of milk but I'll keep trying. DH called and for me a hotel room so I think I'll try there. They do have a lactation room but I've been just sitting in the corner pumping. I will try to contact a social worker. It's difficult because I don't really want to say any of this in front of DH. He's been very emotional (understandably) and he says that feels like he's ruining everyone's lives. I keep reminding him that this is short term, that he needs to concentrate on getting well. Both of our families live in our town and they helped a lot after his last hospital visit...cleaning, babysitting, and staying with us. But they have to go home eventually and we have to learn to deal with this disease as a family. The problem is that there is no "normal." He'll be ok one day (no pain, able to walk to the bathroom) and one little thing like eating the wrong food (we figured out salad does a number on him) and he'll be in serious pain or have to be hospitalized. It's just really hard being away from the kids and everyone right now. I'm hoping that the university hospital (where he would be getting a transplant) has better lodging for kids. Joanne thank you ::hugs:: ::hugs:: ::hugs:: I know you're going through the same thing. How do you do it working several jobs?? This is such a horrendous disease. So many ups and downs. I will pm you soon.

(Please don't quote me as I may delete this later). I posted awhile back about DH being in the hospital. He now has end-stage liver disease and needs a transplant but is not on the list (they are working on getting him on there). He's been hospitalized 3 times since the beginning of the year. He's getting steadily worse. In between hospitalization I'm caring for him at home. He was using a walker at home to get to and from the bathroom, but that's all he can do. Right now he's in a larger hospital an hour away from our home. He's too weak to get out of bed at all. I've stayed every night with him in the hospital, while my parents have watched the kids. My mom was staying at s hotrl nearby with DD15 so they could bring me our 10mth old so I can nurse her because she won't take a bottle. They drove back home yesterday and I pumped a little milk but not much and they have formula for her they'll probably have to try, which really hurts as I nursed all of my kids exclusively and I just like having that closeness with her, especially now with all that's going on. I'm exhausted. I want them to come back here not only do I can nurse my baby and see my other kids, but for moral support. DH's mom works so she's only here a few nights a week. These are all petty annoyances I know, because we're dealing with the very real possibility that he won't get a transplant. I don't know how much time he'd have if he doesn't; I'm scared to ask. I'm also scared to take him back home when they release him. I don't know if I can take care of him again. It was so hard caring for him last time he came home, not only physically, but emotionally too, as he has bouts of confusion due to hepatic encephalopathy. We've had so many ups and downs since January...two 911 calls, one of which landed him in the ICU, intubated, in septic shock. Then he got better, but his belly fluid got worse. Then his legs. Then his breathing. They fix one thing and another thing gets worse. I just don't know what to do. People keep asking how I'm doing all this with a baby, and I don't know. I'm not doing it well. I feel like I'm going to die of stress and emotional exhaustion. If you read this far, thanks for listening. I feel a bit better getting that off my chest.

Thank you so much everyone. :grouphug: I can't tell you how much I appreciate the support. DH was finally moved to a regular room today, which is great because now our youngest two kids can come visit. He was really missing them (and is so sad because the baby started crawling this week and he missed it :( ). He's still pretty weak and I'm not sure how long he'll be in the hospital. I don't post very often, but I really feel like I know everyone on the board. I'll be honest, I don't have a lot of friends IRL....I'm an introvert, and with DH being chronically ill, I don't get out much, lol. My parents have been a great support and have helped so much by taking the kids so I can stay with DH, but it's nice to have a place where I can just let my feelings out every once in awhile!

*UPDATE in post #48* DH has been in the ICU since Saturday. We're hoping he gets moved to a regular room tomorrow. Only our family knows that he's in the hospital....DH won't let me tell any of our friends (he's been very private about his illness). We're not believers, but I'm really feeling the need to have others out there thinking about him and praying for him, even if they don't know him.

I don't think I've seen Boardwalk Empire mentioned...we love that show! (We watch Homeland, Dexter, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Sherlock and Walking Dead too).

This reminds me of Christmas last year, right after DH got diagnosed with liver disease. He had to start a very low sodium diet right before the holidays, which was very hard for him, considering we were surrounded by the usual holiday food. So what did MIL get him for Christmas? A giant bottle of seasoning salt!

Uh oh...I've been hitting the check mark on my phone on replies I like. I hope I haven't been reporting anybody! When I click on it it just turns into a red x. Anybody know what that means?

It's the cheapest and the best IME. We buy them for DS, and he is really tough on glasses (think 3 pair a year for the past 5 yrs). The Costco ones we bought broke immediately. So did the ones from our Dr's office. We took the lenses from that pair to Walmart and the optometrist there was able to fit them in a $15 frame for us (at no extra charge). Those frames lasted my son over a year...WAY longer than any other we've bought. They were so nice to us there, we go straight to Walmart every time now. My son's rx is very strong, and it has to be sent out to get filled. Because it's so strong we have to get all of the extras, anti-glare coating, thinner lenses (I forget what it's called, but it makes his very thick lenses thin enough to fit in the frames). If we bought at the dr's office, it would be $600+ out of pocket, which is impossible for us right now. At Walmart here it's $35 for the lenses + whatever frames we want.

Fargo Star Wars trilogy Indiana Jones trilogy Groundhog Day Beverly Hills Cop Big Lebowski Snatch Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Monty Python (Holy Grail or Life of Brian)

It's our baby girl's first Christmas too. She's 8 mths old, just starting to pull up on furniture, not quite crawling (she can crawl backwards, not forward). She's having a ball! She loves all of the activity and attention. :)

It has to be fake. I've had 2 waterbirths and the water looked nothing like that. Not even close. I love Awkward Family Photos, but this is just going to perpetuate the myth that waterbirth is unsanitary. That said, my kids weren't even in the room during my births, let alone the tub. Whatever floats your boat though (pun intended).

:I agree: and :hugs: :hugs: :hugs: I think printing out a picture of the doll is a great idea! Or maybe you could sit at the computer with her and she could pick one out?

Um, I am now!! Anybody know how many rolls it makes? I'm assuming at least 10? ;)

Waaaah!!! Not my favorite pencils! I'm just now hearing about the Microban thing. I still have about 25 Ticonderogas left from an Amazon order from 2 years ago..I don't remember seeing Microban advertised on the packaging. I'm hoping that they're safe. I'll have to try the Black Warriors on my next order. :(

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll have to look for that one. I have TWTM, I don't know why I didn't think of looking there for suggestions! :lol:

Yeah, that's the problem with shopping for books online...you can only see a few pages!

DS is using the K12 Human Odyssey for history, and some of the map work requires an atlas. We have several, but I guess they are mostly for beginners because we need one that shows the latitude and longitude lines. For instance, one of the activities showed coordinates, and he was supposed to find the city. Our atlas only shows latitude and longitude on a world map, so he was only able to narrow it down to the country. Any atlas suggestions? He's in 7th grade.

A new 5 bedroom house with an office and a schoolroom, on 10 acres of land. (Hey, why not dream big? ;) A family trip to New Zealand. A family trip to Europe (UK, Italy, Greece...anything else is a bonus :) Some new clothes, especially a nice pair of walking shoes. A new bed (Tempurpedic?) Heck, while we're at it, let's throw in an iPad! One for everyone in the family!

I remember the old boards...I didn't post that much, but I started following the boards in 2001. And I bought and sold a ton of curriculum on VS!

Thank you! I've only used the mobile version so far, but it's great! I'm looking forward to trying the full site once my computer is up and running again.

I've had 2 home waterbirths (before that I had 2 drug-free hospital births). I definitely preferred the waterbirths. I didn't notice a difference in the pain really, but it is so much easier to change positions in the water. I also liked having my own "space" (nobody got in the water with me). I like a lot of privacy during childbirth, and I think the water helped.