Well I did not ovulate when I said I thought I was, last entry! It was very weird because I had all my classic ovulation signs, and even the very familiar ovulation pain at the end of it all. I started taking my temperature in the mornings right away and have managed to keep that up consistently, but all my temps since then have been my typical pre-ovulation temps, so I was pretty sure I hadn't ovulated.
I have somehow got myself a bit of a horrid urine infection at the moment. I woke up with blood in my urine on Saturday and became increasingly unwell-feeling and crampy with backache during the day, so by the evening I was worried enough about my kidneys (I have a history, and resulting scar tissue in my kidneys) to phone the out-of-hours doctor, who told me to go to the urgent care clinic at the hospital right away. My kidneys turned out to be okay (they are not painful when squished by a doctor, haha!) but they put me on a 3-day course of antibiotics. The doctor asked me when my last period was, and then asked if there was any chance I could be pregnant - I guess they ask just as a routine thing when it comes to prescribing medicine. So I said yes, as there was a teensy chance. He asked permission to do a pregnancy test so I said yes to that as well. I knew there was next to no chance of it being positive but ohhh, it's just inbuilt isn't it, lol! I had that slight adrenaliney joyful feeling sitting there waiting for the test to cook so he could tell me the result! :) He said the pregnancy test was negative, and added, "Which I guess is no bad thing!" given that I'd just told him I am breastfeeding a 6-month-old and have 4 other young children! ;) My grandparents saw us the next day and knew about my poor bladder, so asked worriedly about what the doctor had said and what tests he had done. I mentioned that he'd done a pregnancy test which was negative, and they made a big deal of it being wonderful news, and congratulations, etc! *sigh* Hey ho! I'm lately caring less and less what anyone else thinks, which is healthy and MUCH less stressful! :) Neil says if we have another baby, we are NOT telling my family until like the WEEK before the baby is born, hehe! They're not terribly bad about it, just not that happy at first, and we could do without that I guess.
Anyway, so the test was negative, of course. At the end when I was about to leave with the prescription, I hesitated and said, "And the pregnancy test was definitely negative, right?" Hehe! He gave me an amused smile and walked over to check it again, and held it up, saying, "Just one line!" I just said, "Right. Okay. Just checking!" :) Neil had been asking (pestering!) me to take a pregnancy test in the couple of days beforehand, because he thought I was giving off "pregnant vibes" - I was more irritable and moody in a hormonal way (apparently!), and felt a bit queasy and gaggy at things easily. I was crampy as well. I wonder now if that was just early signs of this UTI? Probably, as those are common symptoms (well, not the moodiness!).
So I am still waiting to ovulate. I think I am somewhere in the 30s in terms of my Cycle Day now. I have lately been having some EWCM again and so I think my body is gearing up for another "go" at ovulating. That seems to be common for me postpartum - I sometimes have a longer cycle where the first run-up to ovulation is fruitless, and then a bit later my body tries again and usually succeeds. Once it was 3 tries though, I think, before ovulation did occur - a VERY long cycle that time! Anyway, it's nice to be temping again, because I can know what my cycle is doing without wondering (and getting pestered to take pregnancy tests when I know I'm not pregnant yet!). I kept telling Neil that my temps were too low :) I think I should probably buy a cheapy pack of pregnancy tests though. Then I would have them ready for any time I really DO wonder in the future. I'll get around to that soon hopefully!
I still have my UTI, blah. STILL blood in my urine, and I hate that. It always bugs me to see blood where it shouldn't be! My sides ache like anything and that bothers me too, but I know how to squish my own kidneys and they aren't tender at all, so I guess it's bladder-related? I feel under the weather and tired and achy along with it. No fever though, thankfully. I finished my course of antibiotics yesterday, so when the symptoms were all still there today I went to the doctor. I had to take all the boys with me, and do a urine sample in one of those tiny 2cm diameter sample tubes (no funnel or anything useful like that!) in a public toilet at the doctor's surgery, with all 5 of my little ones around me! That was NOT fun! I did not have the pushchair with me and really had not thought it out well, as Samuel was in my arms! Thankfully the toilet had a fold-down baby changing mat in the wall next to the toilet, and I lay Samuel in that (it was sort of hammocky so he couldn't roll "up" and out), and had the boys stand around it and play peekaboo over the edge to keep Samuel amused. This kept Samuel more secure and their eyes busily on the baby instead of my antics, lol! I have never been more thankful to have been wearing an ankle-length skirt in my life, haha!
Samuel is now scooting, and scooting pretty fast! He started last week, and ramped up the speed this week. He fell off my bed the other evening and landed on his head, just before bedtime! :( I felt sooooooooo awful. I remember Matthew doing that and I felt terrible then too. He moved so much faster than I expected him to, and suddenly shows an interest in getting to the edge of the bed FORWARDS rather than rolling at it sideways, so that he can look down, and GET down. His interest in things is getting further and further afield from where he is positioned. He spends a lot of time roaming around the living room floor now, never mind the large number of boys around the place, lol! I always put him in the bouncy chair (which he has largely outgrown) or take him with me if I leave the room though. He is keen on paper and card, tissues, BABY WIPES (bleurgh!!), and fluff to chew on, hehe! Funny boy. He seeks all these things out and is coming on leaps and bounds with his fine motor skills practising pincering little bits of tissue or fluff off the laminate floor! He's like a royal at the moment, making his way around while his humble servant (me!) scuttles in front of him, bent over, sweeping his path clear the whole while, hehehe! Laminate floor is fabulous but boy does it need sweeping, especially if it has a wool rug on top of it which sheds as much as a sheep does on a daily basis! Tsk!
Samuel loves the laminate floor! He always starts on the rug where I put him, but he's off it as fast as he can go. He gets a lot further with each little scoot once he's on the laminate, and can swivel on his tummy ever so fast. His eyes get all big and bug out a bit with excitement at the speed sometimes, lol! He's such a sweet funny baby, and the boys spend so much time watching him and giggling! I have a video clip of him the day he started scooting, which I posted at Facebook. I will try to get it on OneTrueMedia.com so I can post it here:
There you go! :) It's a little snippet of an example of how the boys are SO involved with him at all times, constantly amused and excited by his activities and developments. They actually ARGUE about who is spending time with him sometimes, especially about who goes to see him when he wakes from his naps! They find all his expressions, noises, movements, etc, etc, so sweet and funny, even when they're not THAT sweet or funny! ;) Lovely boys!
They are hard work at the moment. I haven't written my other blog for AGES, and when I last did (as Jemma mentioned in her comment last entry), it was a not-too-descriptive brief entry about being in OVER MY HEAD with these children right now, and having no idea what to do about it! I felt a bit hopeless at the time! Things are a little better now that we're FINALLY not ill any more (although we're on Chicken Pox watch starting today for about 10 days! :) ) - it seemed like we were unwell in one way or another for EVER, and it really pulled me down energy-wise. I couldn't keep up with behaviour and school and housework and so on, and ugh. The boys' behaviour is difficult to manage but MUCH more so when they've been ill for an age themselves, OR better but still not doing much because siblings and parents are STILL unwell. Okay so I'm not feeling well right now because I have a UTI, BUT things are much better. We're doing school again consistently and the routine is helping a LOT. I still don't really know what to do about much, but that is okay because I was reminded recently that His grace is sufficient for me, and His strength is made perfect through weakness. BOY did that verse lift me up! I want to put it on the wall - I need to see it so often these days, because I am so very weak at this, and it's refreshing to be reminded where my strength comes from! And grace! Where would I be without it?! In the poo, that's where. Thank you Lord for GRACE! :)
I should be writing this at my other blog! I meant to follow-up, but never found time to do it. Anyway the reason I mentioned it here was to just say, even when things are feeling overwhelming, it really doesn't alter a thing when it comes to babies and getting pregnant. That is all in the Lord's hands. He knows what is best for our family much better than we do, and it is He who provides for our needs and enables us to even DO this job in first place. He will never give us more than we can bear, and it's His desire for us to be fruitful and have babies and babies and babies - I am so thankful! Even when it's hard, I am so thankful and joyfully expectant as I look forward to more! I hope He will bless us with more!
