Labor and Delivery...trip 2.

Ugh. So the appointment yesterday was less then stellar. Same old...high blood pressure. So...I got sent over to labor and delivery to be monitored. Well, of course as soon as I get there, my blood pressure is down into a respectable range (130-ish over 80-ish) but they keep me for an hour and a half or so, and monitor baby E (who is sounding great and still kicking the heck out of the monitors) and take my blood pressure a couple more times (stayed down. Yay!).

The interesting thing...I was having pretty regular contractions and had NO IDEA. They did not feel anything like I had imagined. Luckily, now I know what they feel like, and with some extra water, we got them to slow down. Looks like I need to hydrate better, though. I want E to keep cooking for another month, preferably!

I've got to say though, the L& D nurses are a special breed. And I don't mean that sarcastically in the least. They are really really awesome people. So calming, and so supportive. Both times I have had to go in there, I have gotten the most awesome nurses.

But what I am MOST excited about...nursery progress from last night! Here are a ton of pics:

Baby T "helping" by chewing on a paint-covered paper towel. Lovely, huh?

Ryan painting the stripe. He were both holding our breath that the new kind of tape we got would work better than what we've used in the past. 

The finished product! I could not be happier with the way this turned out! I am SO, SO obsessed with it. I could just sit in that room all day and stare at the prettiness. 

34 weeks!

Wow, wow, wow. I know I sound like a broken record, but it is so hard to believe that I am 34 weeks already!

How far along: 34 weeks.

How big is baby: The size of a butternut squash. That seems big, but honestly, I am feeling every inch of that these days. Up until 33 weeks, I was feeling good. Now I'm feeling very whale-ish. 17.6 inches and 5 pounds! 

What I've done to prep for baby: Nursery, nursery, and more nursery! The wall color is done and the trim has a first coat on it. 

No worries, that last picture was taken after the first coat. Two more coats and the dark pink doesn't show through. Tonight we'll be hopefully finishing the trim and painting the stripe in the room. So excited about that!

Best moment of the week: So many! Starting to paint the nursery I definitely teared up, but in a good way. Then I totally enjoy how reactive she is now with the outside world, like I wrote about previously. And mostly, just how Ryan and I keep walking around looking at each other and saying "We're so excited to meet her!" 

Food cravings: It was a great food week. Got my fasting numbers down (just by drinking water...who knew?) and Ryan made me carrot cake cupcakes. But the best food moment...we found PIZZA that I can have! Papa Murphy's has a low carb pizza and I can have three slices of it. Finding that felt like Christmas!

Symptoms:That stinking shooting pain is still here. Heat packs help. And I am so much more tired than I was even a week ago. 

Movement: She's a rockstar with this still. Meeting all her kick counts.

What I’m looking forward to: My first shower is this weekend and I am SO excited about that. Also, I super excited about finishing the nursery. 

Next appt: Doctor's visits have been the only thing not going well. I had my first NST on Monday and almost passed out during it, because of how they made me lay. E passed with flying colors, but I was sweaty and dizzy and nauseous Oh, and my blood pressure stunk on Monday, so I go back in today. I'm ready for a fight. I am NOT increasing my blood pressure meds. It is FINE at home (117/70 this morning). I had blood work after my appointment on Monday and that was FINE. Yes, I have severe anxiety. But that is it. Sigh. Hoping this goes well today. . 

Nursery started and my jumping bean...

Okay, so I have to say, E has been SO much fun the past two days. Yes, the nerve pain is driving me insane but it is like overnight I have an active little person in there. For awhile now, she's been kicking back when I will poke her...well at least sometimes. But last night, I was sitting on the floor and Truff was in my lap. All of a sudden he barked, and she immediately just jumped! That was SO cool. And then, this morning at church, we were singing a soft song, when all of a sudden it got loud (drums, etc.) and she jumped again. These kinds of things make it so much more real when she actually interacts with the outside world a bit. You always read that they can hear things like that, but what a cool experience.

We also started painting the nursery today! Truff was not so sure about that. This is all making him very nervous. He's going to need some puppy therapy for sure.

The good news is we got almost everything cut in, so now it should go pretty fast. I'm hoping to have the main color done tomorrow night. And yes, I teared up a couple times while painting today. I still can't believe that I am helping to paint a nursery for OUR little one. 

33 weeks!

Ho. Lee. Crap. Really? 33?

Today did not start out in a celebratory manner, however. I was in a LOT of pain last night and this morning on one side of my lower back. So, I went in to get checked out. Turns out, it is just a nerve. No big deal. But another joy that I get to tolerate.

I did, however, almost come unglued at the nurse on the phone when I was setting up the appointment. She asked how far along I was, and I told her. She made a big deal that she couldn't believe I was that far along already (ooooookay...) and she "remembered when I was just in the trying phase." Ya don't say? Like the years I flat out told people about the incompetence in that office, as you guys couldn't even do simple things like call me back with lab results? Moving on, though...

How far along: 33 weeks. 49 days until my due date. Wow.

How big is baby: The size of a durian fruit. What? 17.2 inches and 4.5 pounds! Although my little chunker is bigger than that since she measured 4 pounds 10 ounces on Monday. 

What I've done to prep for baby: This week, nada. I've been WAY too bust with Nationals. Now that it is over, I've got to start getting things done. Not too much time left and starting to feel the heat!

Best moment of the week: Having that surprise BPP ultrasound on Monday! Also making it through Nationals and being told about one million times how cute I look. It might have been hard to get to this point, and my body might not be tolerating it the best even now, but darn it, the fact that I am a cute pregnant lady takes some of the sting off of that. Although Black, of course, just chalked it up to me being a pregnant lasy who "knows how to dress" ;)

Food cravings: I did really well eating, even being away. I did discover that I MAY be able to eat a small bowl of cheerios at breakfast. That about made my week! I also figured out that there is stuff I can eat at both Applebees and Panera. Yay! And I would just about kill someone for carrot cake. I have been googling low-carb carrot cake recipes for the last two days. That may be a project for this weekend. 

Symptoms: Other than the horrible shooting pains in the left side of my back, I'm good. I did swell up like a balloon this weekend, but that is to be expected with all the walking and probably not being adequately hydrated. 

Movement: She was pretty quiet a couple days this week, but then it has picked back up and she's been as active as ever. 

What I’m looking forward to: Nursery work this weekend. And we have a baby prep class tonight. Oh, and I got the invite for shower number one yesterday. Squee!

Next appt: Monday. I either get a non-stress test or biophysical profile. Just to check on the bean. 

So spoiled!

So today was my weekly appointment at the doctors' for my non-stress test. I had read up on them, but not had one, so I was familiar with how they worked. Basically you are hooked up to monitors and they watch the baby's heart rate and how it accelerates with movement to determine the well-being of the baby.

I was ready for mine today, so it was kind of a surprise when the nurse asked me if I knew where the ultrasound room is. Why yes, I am well acquainted with that. Laurie gets in there and tells me that the doctor I am seeing (my normal one) prefers to just do biophysical profiles rather than NSTs. So I got another peek at E. She is as cute as ever, cheeks are as chubby as ever, and she's doing great. It is estimated that she weighs 4 pounds 10 ounces already and she had a much better heart rate today of 137. BUT, it turns out, she was sleepy. So they had to wake her up by putting this buzzer to my belly. Um yeah, that did NOT make this little princess very happy.

I did decide with the doctor that I should go on a low dose of blood pressure meds just as a preventative. So that will mean for sure no going over 39 weeks for me, and weekly monitoring for a couple weeks, with biweekly monitoring coming up in my future too. He, for some reason (did he forget me?) thought I would be adverse to this. Nope, I reminded him that my full time job at this point is this little one, and that I love the extra monitoring.

32 weeks!

So, this is definitely going to be an interesting week. I'm trying desperately to keep my anxiety at bay, but so far it is not working well. My blood pressure is up a bit. And then, of course I get worried that I'm hurting E and my blood pressure soars even more. Vicious cycle. Onto happy things...

How far along: 32 weeks. Seems like a big milestone. 56 days until my due date...which means she'll be here in under 50! Wow...

How big is baby: The size of a squash. 16.7 inches and 4 pounds!

What I've done to prep for baby: Totally bragging here! We finished cleaning out what will become the nursery! Check it out: 

Now it is just time to get painting. The goal is to have it done by July 28th, which is my first shower. I'm crossing my fingers and toes we can get it done my then so I can start organizing and such.

Best moment of the week: Two big ones for me. Of course, seeing Baby E again and her rocking out her biophysical profile is one. The other one is Ryan made a comment while holding Truff (who was zonked in his arms that "maybe he really can be a Dad." I totally tear up thinking about how amazing he's going to be with Baby E. She is a lucky, lucky girl to have such an awesome Dad. 

Food cravings: Again, this is a hard one. My numbers have been pretty good for the most part, though, which makes me very happy! I did find some awesome nut and dark chocolate bars which have low carbs and a ton of protein that satisfy my sweet tooth and don't make my numbers go too crazy.

Symptoms: Not too much here. Feeling a little more sick with meals. I think my poor stomach is running out of room. 

Movement: Still moving like crazy. I'll never stop getting freaked out by slow movement days though. I like it much better when she is bouncing away. 

What I’m looking forward to: Nationals this weekend, then being done with Nationals this weekend and being able to focus more time and attention on getting ready for E. And not having the stress!

Next appt: I go in Monday morning for my first non-stress test. I'll be having those weekly for the remainder of the time. 

Chubby cheeks!

We got to see our little princess again today. What a nice thing, considering it had been SO long since we got a peek at her. This was for sure the most entertaining ultrasound yet. She is SUCH a ham. Not only was she a wiggle worm, like normal, she stuck her tongue out and was practicing breathing. It was SO cool to see her little lungs pump away. 

Everything looked absolutely perfect. She got an 8/8 on her biophysical profile, indicating she's in great shape in there. Heart rate was 173 (still fast, Mommy was nervous!) and she's measuring a week ahead.

The pics don't do this little girl justice. She has the chubbiest little cheeks already. I absolutely cannot wait to cover those adorable little cheeks in all kinds of kisses. 

We did get to talk to the doctor for the first time since my gestational diabetes diagnosis. I feel like we have a really good plan. From here on out, I'll be doing weekly non-stress tests to make sure E is doing well in there. I'll have biophysical profile every 3 weeks from here on out to check on her also. And then I won't be going past 39 weeks, due to the complications that can arise at the end of the pregnancy.

But now the big shocker...Baby E is breech! I'm hoping she turns, and realize that there is still a lot of time, but I feel like SUCH a newbie now. All the hiccups I felt were so close to my pelvic bone, that I was sure she was head down. I guess not. Obviously, if she stays breech, that makes some of the labor and delivery options easy. I'm trying to think of the positives for either scenario...but of course the biggest positive whichever way she comes out is being able to cuddle and love on her. 

31 Weeks!

Well, when we last left off, I was on my way to the endocrinologist after I had been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. That appointment went well, and he potentially found some thyroid issues that I have suspected all along (please note, I feel VERY vindicated by this!). As far as the diabetes, no major complications, and I now have a lovely monitor so that I can test my blood sugar four times a day to make sure it is in control.

Friday I also met with a nutritionist to lay out a plan to try to control this via diet. I'm extremely committed to doing everything I possibly can diet-wise to hopefully prevent going on insulin. Anyways, not a lot of new information in the meeting, as I already know how to read food labels, but she did give me a plan for how many carbs at each meal. It didn't sound too bad at all, honestly. What drives me nuts about this whole thing, though, is that so much of it is experimentation. I'd love for someone to just give me a full plan of exactly what I can eat to make my numbers go where they should. Unfortunately, the body just doesn't work like that. For example, last Saturday I had a meal that fit into the plan perfectly, and included a banana. Yeah, no more bananas for me. That spiked my sugar like crazy, even though I was still well within my carb range. So it is just a lot of playing around and learning.

What I have learned, is that I can't even go near the carbs the nutritionist wanted me to eat. Like the 30g of carbs for breakfast? No way...10 max. And I have to walk after every meal, or my numbers will be over, regardless. All very interesting information, and this has certainly helped me to become a million times healthier. Got to go with the positive!

I have an OB appointment on Monday, so I am looking forward to hearing about the OB side of things. I have a ton of questions about how they handle GD patients, ie. what monitoring will we be doing, extra testing, possible induction, etc.

Okay, on to the fun stuff:

How far along: 31 weeks, only 63 more days to go. Crazy!

How big is baby: I've got a pineapple in there! 16.2 inches and about 3.3 pounds.

What I've done to prep for baby: Being off for the holiday, we actually spent a lot of time in Baby E's room yesterday. We're still in clean-out mode. I'm hoping to have it all cleaned out mid-next week, and then after the chaos of Nationals, we can really go to it. I really want to have it done by the 28th, since that is my first shower, and I think I'll want somewhere to store stuff at that point. The good news about the clean out is that our taxes are going to ROCK this year. With as much crap as we're donating to Goodwill, we'll have one heck of a write off!

Best moment of the week: This is a hard one! I had an awesome time with Ryan and Truff at the lake yesterday. We got new floating chairs and Truff was floating on Ryan's lap.

Food cravings: Cravings definitely don't "matter" anymore, but I feel like this is just one more way I have been prepared by going through so much to get here with this little one. It is pretty easy to have some amazing willpower when all that matters to you is keeping this little one safe. Ryan has been instructed that I will be needing Mexican coke for immediately after delivery! One diet change this week though, is that I've started drinking more Crystal light. I wasn't really drinking any, in order to avoid artificial sweeteners, but I figured out that I can tolerate protein better (both chicken and eggs had been making me sick!) if I have some with meals, so I have been drinking that. It is a fair trade off, I suppose. 

Symptoms: Been a little more crampy the last couple days. That usually means a growth spurt for Baby E. Not sure how much further out this tummy can go!

Movement: It still freaks me out a bit to see her little rump sticking out to one side. I made Ryan feel it the other day, and I think he was weirded out too. She's back to wedging a little foot in my rips, and yesterday as I was trying to coax her out, I could actually feel her little leg. 

What I’m looking forward to: Monday's OB appointment. I can't wait to see her again, I feel like it has been forever!!! And then, officially making it to 32 weeks. I feel like that is a big milestone. 

Next appt: Monday! 4 days! Yay!