Thursday, June 28, 2012

The big 3-0!


Well, I think I am much more excited about turning 30 like this than the last time I turned thirty! So I had to put the birthday princess crown that Mandy made me to good use. I can't believe that I'm 30 weeks. Time moves in the absolute weirdest way sometimes. 

This week was a bit more eventful than last. I had a doctor's appointment Friday. My blood pressure was high, but not crazy high. The good news, however, is that I get another ultrasound out of all these blood pressure issues. I got SO spoiled at the beginning of this pregnancy with seeing the baby girl, and I haven't seen her since our anatomy scan, which was mid-April. We get another peek at her in 11 days (not that I'm counting or anything!). I can't wait to see how much she's grown and changed. 

Then, Saturday was our birthing class. For the most part, it went well. I really enjoyed the hospital tour, and a lot of the info was really good. I, however, have decided that I should have stayed in denial about her coming out. Seriously. Natural childbirth = not for me. But then they showed us all the equipment (and needles!) involved in getting an epidural. Yup, don't want that either. I need an option C. 

Monday I had my three hour glucose test. I was really nervous that I would be incredibly sick. The one hour messed me up for the rest of the day. I was pleasantly surprised that other than feeling a bit nauseous for the first hour, it was not a big deal at all. More boring than anything. Monday was also Truff's birthday, so we had a fun night celebrating with him. He's been THE BEST for us getting through all this. Definitely the cutest little bandaid ever!

Back to pregnancy related stuff...so, I was feeling great about my three hour and then BAM...I get a phone call from the doctor's office. Yeah. Not good news. So, I get to deal with gestational diabetes. On the bright side, I'm going to enjoy the extra monitoring. Yes, I am still a paranoid freak. On the bad side, those icees are certainly things of the past now. I'm not too sure about what this entails, as I have an appointment with an endocrinologist today to discuss all of this. I'll update when I know more.

How far along:  30 weeks! 70 days!
How big is baby: The length of a cucumber...15.7 inches. And right around 3 pounds. 
What I've done to prep for baby: Well, our birthing class, I guess is the big one this week. Other than that, nada. Must. get. going. 
Best moment of the week: E moving yesterday. She was swimming ALL over the place!
Food cravings: Looks like this will be a "not applicable" category now. :(
Symptoms: Nothing out of the ordinary, but I think if you asked Ryan, he'd add in "moodiness" as the symptom of the week. I blame hormones. Really. 
Movement: First, I love that now I can SEE where she is sometimes. Like, one side of my belly will be bulging out as she's hiding over there. I'm getting kicks and punches and such still, but I can also feel more subtle movements like turning and stretching, which makes my whole belly move in this wave-like motion and I LOVE it!
What I’m looking forward to: A fairly relaxing weekend! And the holiday. And of course that ultrasound!!!!
Next appt: Today with the endocrinologist, but the 9th with the OB. 



Thursday, June 21, 2012

29 weeks

Well, I'm happy to say that after a rather eventful Friday, the rest of this week has been pretty uneventful, just the way I like them!

I do think this week I had a major shift in my thinking. Before it gave me anxiety to do too much baby stuff. I didn't want to shop/plan, etc. Now the fact that I haven't done much is making me more anxious than actually doing it. So while it was an uneventful week it was also a very important week.


How far along:  29 weeks. 77 days. Breathe. 
How big is baby: The size of a squash. 15.2 inches and 2.5 pounds. Why does it seem like the baby's weight gain is SO slow at this point in pregnancy. It certainly doesn't feel like it!
What I've done to prep for baby: So I did a little bit of shopping. I ordered some Baby Legs. They were 75 percent off. It was inevitable. And I ordered a pillow with her name on it that matches the fabric from the nursery. The lady that makes them posted this pic of it, and it should be enroute to me now.
Oh, and I forgot probably the most important. We registered for some classes at the hospital. We're actually taking the first one on Sat. After visiting labor and delivery and being so lost, this became a priority. 
Sleep: Sleep is still pretty decent, when the pup cooperates. I have been waking up with some pretty bad soreness in my tummy, so I think this may be fading. 
Best moment of the week: I don't think that Ryan talking to my belly will EVER get old. I just melt every. single. time. 
Food cravings: Like I said previously, cravings this week have gone off the deep end. Still loving Carnation Instant breakfast. And Cantaloupe.  
Symptoms: Extra cramping this week, which is a pain (literally). And yesterday I was feeling generally icky. But other than that, I'm doing pretty well. 
Movement: She's been rocking out her kick counts! So far she has not taken more than 6 minutes to get those 10 kicks. Definitely a mover and shaker!
What I’m looking forward to: Non-baby related - Our Anniversary! Ryan and I will be married 10 years tomorrow! I couldn't imagine going through all this with anyone else. 
On the baby-related side of things, going to our birthing class on Saturday. I'm scared, but I think that it will ultimately make us feel more prepared. 
Next appt: Tomorrow. They want to check things out from last week. My blood pressure has been much better at home, though, so I'm not too nervous. Then Monday morning is my 3 hour glucose test, which I am SUPER nervous about. Ugh!

Monday, June 18, 2012

The point at which you become insane.

...is apparently 28 weeks 4 days. I really thought that cravings were made up. Then today happened. Zucchini, cantalope, and cinnamon, in that order. I feel like I have gone insane!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

And...first trip to Labor & Delivery

So Friday, we made our first trip to Labor & Delivery. But let me back up a little.

For the past week, I've been freaking out blood pressure again. On my monitor, it was up in the 130/80 range. Not crazy high, but too high for my liking. No big deal, I had an appointment Friday where I was going to discuss it with the doctor.

Then Thursday afternoon I got a phone call from the doctor's office. I failed my one hour glucose test. I honestly did NOT expect this. I get that I've always had the world's slowest metabolism, but I always associated gestational diabetes with gaining tons of weight. I'm not exactly packing it on with gaining about 5 pounds so far. So I have to do the three hour test. I know, I know...the false positive rate for the 1 hour is ridiculous. But breakdown number one came when I got that call and just felt so defeated. Here I was dealing with potential GD and blood pressure issues...can my body just not handle pregnancy at all?

And then, I started googling. Now, I've googled literally thousands of different pregnancy related things. And for the record, once it made me feel better. The other 999 times it has sent me into a sheer panic. So this is exactly what I should be doing, right?

Turns out gestational diabetes can cause pre-eclampsia to progress faster. Cue major meltdown. And to make it worse, the clinic can't get me in to get my 3 hour test done until the TWENTY-FIFTH. That is a week and a half away! I was convinced my self-diagnosed pre-eclampsia levels would be horrid by then.

So I go to my appointment Friday. I really, really love my doctor. He "gets" me. Blood pressure is still a bit elevated (140/80 or 90, depending on which reading you believe). Not really high for an office reading, actually. But I went over my concerns with him and he did such an awesome job of listening, but telling me that he is confident that all my googling is in vain once again. The high blood pressure he thinks may be just a spike as blood volume continues to adjust, and with no other pre-eclampsia signs, I DO NOT have it right now. And GD? Well, it is basically 50/50 that I have it, and he's confident that even if I do it can be easily controlled via diet. And those two things ONLY play into each other when GD is insulin-dependent.

I was feeling much better. But then he asked if I would still freak out about all of this during the week. Um, yes. Freaking out is what I do. So he told me to go to triage, get monitored, run some initial bloodwork, and that should put my mind at ease.

So off to the hospital we went. Except we really had no idea where we were going. Yup, total newbies right here. So once we figured out we were supposed to be in Labor & Delivery Triage and not just general Triage, things went smoothly. We were put in a room and I was hooked up to the monitors. Baby E was NOT happy at all about the monitors. She was kicking them like a crazy woman. My abdomen is so sore today because of her antics. Loved the nurses we had there, they were so nice and knowledgeable. My blood pressure was not great when we got there 140/90 but dropped dramatically shortly afterwards (like 100/60...whoa). They ran some bloodwork and everything looks great. Liver and kidneys still functioning within normal levels. Phew! One less thing to worry about.

No wonder my blood pressure is doing WAY better today. And other than the instructions to take it easy until my next appointment on Friday, I'm good to go.

Hopefully I won't have to be back to L&D for a couple months, but overall not a bad first visit.


Thursday, June 14, 2012

28 weeks

So this week, in baby stuff...well, not much happened. We were away all weekend for a competition, so baby stuff got put on the backburner. I did learn some seriously important stuff for dealing with competition days while pregnant though. I did great on keeping hydrated and resting when I could but I totally stunk at eating. So I felt like crap most of the time. So for Nationals, I will have an eating plan that I will stick to whether I feel like it or not.

Speaking of eating, Monday was ROUGH. Competition hangover is always bad, but competition hangover 27.5 weeks pregnant is terrible! Headache, no appetite, got sick, etc. My blood pressure had been slightly elevated all weekend, so I called the nurse, as those signs were concerning. Luckily, getting sick seemed to be a one-time thing and the headache migrated to one side confirming what I had suspected: my sinuses are acting up.

I also got the the pleasure of doing the glucose screening test yesterday. I was really worried I was not going to be able to keep that stuff down. Luckily, it wasn't too bad. It just tasted like sweet fruit punch, and I took the advice that I read online and chugged water like a madwoman afterwards to get the taste out of my mouth. Worked like a charm. E did not like it one bit, though, as it gave her hiccups. I was not prepared for how terrible I felt afterwards. Yuck! I felt like I had downed about 5 energy drinks in a row. It took getting 2 full meals in me before I felt human again.

And E is a rockstar. Really. I started kick counts this weekend, and she is just rocking them out. It hasn't taken her more than 6 minutes to get the requisite 10 kicks.I absolutely love that she is so wiggly. Definitely calms me down. Although I am not so happy to report that she has found my ribs, and thought it was a really fun game to wedge her foot in them on the car ride up to Lansing this weekend. Ouch! And Ryan got to feel hiccups yesterday morning, which was really cool for him.


How far along:  28 weeks! 84 days to go!
How big is baby: The size of Chinese cabbage. 14.8 inches and about 2.2lbs.
What I've done to prep for baby: Well, the fabric I ordered last week came in and I LOVE it. Oh, and I had a panic attack at 2am this morning about how unprepared we are. Seriously. Other than crib pieces leaned against a living room wall (still shaking my head that the crib wouldn't fit, in the box, in the back of the avaiator!) nothing in our house would even clue you in that we are having a baby. It is time to buckle down and start getting some stuff, I think. 
Sleep: I really appreciate the fact that sleep has been GREAT. Seriously GREAT. This is probably ust the calm before the storm, but still, I'll take it!
Best moment of the week: Last night Ryan made the funniest comment. We were talking about how unprepared we feel for all this, and he said "Yeah, we should probably read some books or something on all this!" Ugh, maybe. But it made me smile knowing it is all becoming real to him too!
Food cravings: So a new one this week, and I blame the nurse I talked to Monday. She suggested a more liquid diet while I wasn't feeling well. Now I cannot get enough Carnation Instant Breakfast. I have multiple glasses a day. Yeah. 
Symptoms: Feeling great for the most part. Of course I'm getting swelling when I am up and around, but that is to be expected in June!
Movement: For the first time this week she started poking back when poked. Love that!
What I’m looking forward to: Potentially picking out some paint colors for her room. Now that I have the fabric, I feel like I can really get that started! Oh, and having the weekend off! 
Next appt: Tomorrow. Not sure how it is going to go, since I have had slightly elevated blood pressure, and I think it might be time to start talking about meds. It is with my doctor though, so I feel a little better about that. 

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Um, how did this happen? 27 weeks!

This entire pregnancy has really been about countdowns for me. I knew the entire 40 weeks would be such a hard hurdle to overcome emotionally that I needed to break it into smaller pieces. So I downloaded this countdown widget for my phone. It has since been set a number of different times for "milestones" that I considered successes. So I've seen it tick down to 0 before. Yet this morning when I woke up and it was at 0, it felt so, so, different.

Oh. My. Goodness. I am in the third trimester. I am just in utter disbelief. And overwhelmingly thankful that I have made it this far!

Now that being said, I got the opportunity this week to hang around with a number of ladies due a couple months before me. One thing I realized as they were talking about wanting those kiddos out is the fact that I have just wrapped my brain around the "I am pregnant" stage. And that I am not even KIND OF ready to mentally go to the fact that I will actually have a baby, God willing, in a couple months. And I am CERTAINLY NOT WILLING to think about the fact that she has to come out of me somehow. This, my friends, is what complete denial looks like.

I also got my first "Was it a surprise?" question this week. Not only is that pretty darn personal, I really struggle with that, because I don't know how to answer it honestly without giving the complete wrong impression. I think the best answer is yes, it was a surprise. But certainly not in the way that is most often interpreted. It was a complete surprise that it worked, and it was certainly an answer to many, many prayers. And I must think of a concise way to answer this question. Hmmmm...

Okay, on to the "normal" stuff:


How far along:  27 weeks!
How big is baby: The size of a head of cauliflower. 14.4 inches and about 2lbs.
What I've done to prep for baby: Got some stuff ordered for the nursery! I couldn't find any bedding "sets" I liked, but I found some awesome fabric I'm in LOVE with. My mother-in-law is like the sewing queen of the world, so I recruited her to make a crib skirt and curtains. Check out the fabrics:


I am so excited to get them. Then I can start picking paint colors!
I seriously have SO MUCH to do and get before she gets here. being in the 3rd Trimester now really is a wake up call. E is probably going to need more than the crib, 7 diapers, 3 bibs, and 4 outfits that she has. I see some serious shopping in my near future!
Sleep: I've actually slept better this week. Not really sure why that is...maybe because I feel like some of the exhaustion is back. Either way, I am very thankful to be sleeping more and having my hips feel better!
Best moment of the week: Last night, talking about Baby E with Black. They all want to be texted when I go into labor so that they can come to the hospital. When I pointed out that they would probably not let them all in, they came up with a plan that involved basket tosses and a camera. Love those kiddos, and it was really cool to see them all so excited about E. I definitely still feed off of others' excitement.
Food cravings: Last Friday I went to get my requisite icee to be told that they are running a promotion where icees are now only 74 cents. With tears of happiness in my eyes, I asked how long this would be going on, and was told it would be going on through August. I feel like I won the lottery.
Symptoms: I mentioned before the exhaustion is back a bit. And I have zero appetite. Other than that, I feel really good.
Movement: I'm shocked at how much stronger she's gotten just in a week. I'm not offically supposed to start kick counts until next week, but I had a scary stress out moment and did one this week. No problem, she passed with flying colors!
What I’m looking forward to: I'm looking forward to it starting to feel more and more "real." And checking things off my to-do list!
Next appt: I have to do the diabetes screening Monday or Tuesday. Fingers crossed I pass without any drama. Then I have a doctor's appointment on Friday. 

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Just about hyperventilating here...

Oh. my. goodness. Today is my LAST DAY of the second trimester. That is completely unreal to me! I simply cannot wrap my brain around it. Three months from TODAY baby E is due. What???

It has been an insanely crazy week around here, so I'll save additional updates for tomorrow, but I am simply floored by both how fast and how slow this pregnancy is going. Guess I better start wrapping my brain around having a baby. Yikes.