OK. I am breathing normally again after a draining week. Mark had the entire weekend off (yeah!) and we spent it eating tasty foods, watcing many movies (good and bad), and relaxing with some friends who just moved back to the area after a year in Thailand. It was nice. Especially the venting part. Maya and I got to swap stories about how ridiculous it is that doctors scare he crap out of you for evidently no reason sometimes!
Mark and I are pretty convinced that my problems came about because I over do it. End of story. We all know how I am. Did I hike for 4 1/2 hours over Memorial Day Weekend? Yes. Do I tend to save the bulk of the housework for 1 day of the week (including all of the laundry, grocery shopping, etc)? Yes. Did the doctor tell me to stop walking our 2 ginormous dogs during my 1st trimester? Yes. Did I listen? No.
I will admit I have had a tendency to keep going and going until my legs froze up or swelled up until I couldn't stand. The fact that I was totally out of shaped when I got pregnant doesn't help I don't think. My concern has been inactivity. I have worried that I'll be that lady who just can't push anymore because I'm out of shape and spent too much time laying around during pregnancy. Unfortunately, it got the best of me.
At least I'm not so worried about going into labor early anymore. Mark had been wonderful and has settled in to a routine of laundry, dishes, vaccuuming, etc before he goes to work. Admittedly, the house looks better these days. :) My parents stop by to take the dogs now and then so they can run to exhaustion on the farm (it's nice).
I have had plenty of time to read and plan. Well, I'm actually planning to plan right now, if that makes any sense. We're trying to decide on how we're going to have the baby, get to the hospital, take care of the doggies, deal with daily activities the first few weeks after baby arrives, etc in a) the ideal circumstances, b) if something goes somewhat awry, and c) if things go terribly wrong. So far the plan is looking something like this: 1. Hypnobirthing, epidural, c-section. 2. Mark, my mom, an ambulance. 3. Mark, my parents, my parents. 4. Pre-made meals Mark can thaw and throw in the oven and all else falls on his shoulders; the generosity of friends and family; Papa Johns is on speed dial, the dishes can wait, dogs will have to walk themselves (hehe).
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Healthy Mommy? Update
I'm trying to keep this updated as often as I can (this is especially for you Jen).
My 3 hour glucose test was today. I had to stop all food and beverage (including water, which is the only thing I'm allowed to drink anyway) at midnight. Of course, I was dying of thirst AND had horrible heartburn all night long. Who takes away the tums and agua from the pregnant lady? Meany doctors thats who.
I got up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am to get ready to head in to the doctors office. Mark was very sweet and said he wouldn't eat if I couldn't, but I forced him to. There was no need for 2 cranky people. I arrived on time. They explained what they would be doing throughout the day and then the games began.
It started with a fasting glucose test, which of course meant they had to draw blood yet again from excessively punctured veins. Initially I thought they would put in a catheter so they could just draw blood from it, but no. After the blood draw I got to drink an entire bottle of syrupy stuff that tasted like exrememly sweet flat Fanta. It wasn't bad at first, but about 1/4 of the way through the bottle I heard the tummy rumble...uh oh. I got it down in 3 minutes and headed to the waiting room to wait for my next blood draw. The first hour was rough. I was feverish, started sweating, was nauseaus and was extremely spacey! At the second blood draw the nurse told me to get her immediately if I needed to lay down, etc. Fortunately, the feeling passed and I felt quite well through the rest of the testing. Aside from being hungry and tired, I managed the rest of the testing pretty well. I was literally waiting at on the edge of my seat ready to leap at the nurse when she came to get me for the 4th blood draw (all of 4 of which had to be taken from the same vein since the others were wrecked from that stupid hospital nurse).
I drove very speedily to the new Dunkin' Donuts, probably not the best food choice, but it was the only thing on my mind. I scarfed a bagel sandwich so fast I could have probably beat our record-breaking food gobbler, Winnie, if she were given the same opportunity. I then proceeded to eat a donut. And then persuaded Mark to go buy another 6 donuts (though I only had 1 more). I was jittery and soo uncomfortable when I sat down to eat and then felt the sudden urge to pass out. Fortunately about an hour later I felt back to normal.
Despite the scarffing incident, I think the test went quite well. I didn't respond the way I would have anticipated had I been diabetic. Of course, I have to wait until next week for the results, but I have a good feeling all is well.
My 3 hour glucose test was today. I had to stop all food and beverage (including water, which is the only thing I'm allowed to drink anyway) at midnight. Of course, I was dying of thirst AND had horrible heartburn all night long. Who takes away the tums and agua from the pregnant lady? Meany doctors thats who.
I got up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am to get ready to head in to the doctors office. Mark was very sweet and said he wouldn't eat if I couldn't, but I forced him to. There was no need for 2 cranky people. I arrived on time. They explained what they would be doing throughout the day and then the games began.
It started with a fasting glucose test, which of course meant they had to draw blood yet again from excessively punctured veins. Initially I thought they would put in a catheter so they could just draw blood from it, but no. After the blood draw I got to drink an entire bottle of syrupy stuff that tasted like exrememly sweet flat Fanta. It wasn't bad at first, but about 1/4 of the way through the bottle I heard the tummy rumble...uh oh. I got it down in 3 minutes and headed to the waiting room to wait for my next blood draw. The first hour was rough. I was feverish, started sweating, was nauseaus and was extremely spacey! At the second blood draw the nurse told me to get her immediately if I needed to lay down, etc. Fortunately, the feeling passed and I felt quite well through the rest of the testing. Aside from being hungry and tired, I managed the rest of the testing pretty well. I was literally waiting at on the edge of my seat ready to leap at the nurse when she came to get me for the 4th blood draw (all of 4 of which had to be taken from the same vein since the others were wrecked from that stupid hospital nurse).
I drove very speedily to the new Dunkin' Donuts, probably not the best food choice, but it was the only thing on my mind. I scarfed a bagel sandwich so fast I could have probably beat our record-breaking food gobbler, Winnie, if she were given the same opportunity. I then proceeded to eat a donut. And then persuaded Mark to go buy another 6 donuts (though I only had 1 more). I was jittery and soo uncomfortable when I sat down to eat and then felt the sudden urge to pass out. Fortunately about an hour later I felt back to normal.
Despite the scarffing incident, I think the test went quite well. I didn't respond the way I would have anticipated had I been diabetic. Of course, I have to wait until next week for the results, but I have a good feeling all is well.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Will I Have the Baby Early? Update
First I have to send out a hooray and congratulations to Amy and Rob who had a little boy eary Sunday morning. Baby, mom, and dad all looked unbelievable healthy and happy in the pictures. I can only hope I look half as good as she did after labor. Seriously Amy, it looks like you just took a walk in the park or something.
Our little peanut is still incubating (thank god!) and is doing well. We have narrowed down my CBC problem to seriously bad allergies and/or a common cold. Fearing the worst, I haven't been taking anything for my symptoms, but my doctor informed me that if my body is fighting it this hard, it could bring on pre-term labor. Grr! So I'm taking Alevert, which seems to be the safest option, drinking tons of water, and I'm sleeping lots and lots.
Unfortunately, my 1 hour glucose test also came out high. I return for a 3 hour testing session tomorrow morning and am keeping my fingers crossed that I don't have gestational diabetes. It does run in my family, but I'm still hoping I'm in the clear.
Other causes for concern have been my dramatic weight gain in months 4 and 5, severe swelling, cramping, and spotting. Not so good. I also had on occassion a high BP reading, which put pre-eclampsia on the table. However, the pre-eclampsia fears are starting to go by the wayside, which pleases me tremendously. My BP is elevated when I arrive at the hospital or doctors office, but levels out by the time I leave so it's probably just anxiety induced. It is also at a very healthly 120ish/80ish when we monitor it at home. My weight has taken an unusual turn in month 6 and I am now losing weight. This is very weird since I haven't changed my diet (I was primarily eating fruit anyway), and my activity level has decreased. I am blaming it on losing water weight.
Overall I still feel ok. I'm tired, but who isn't? For now I'm sticking with what I know works best, good food, plenty of water, and sleep, sleep, sleep. I also spend plenty of time instructing my son on the importance of staying inside! Hopefully he is listening. :)
Our little peanut is still incubating (thank god!) and is doing well. We have narrowed down my CBC problem to seriously bad allergies and/or a common cold. Fearing the worst, I haven't been taking anything for my symptoms, but my doctor informed me that if my body is fighting it this hard, it could bring on pre-term labor. Grr! So I'm taking Alevert, which seems to be the safest option, drinking tons of water, and I'm sleeping lots and lots.
Unfortunately, my 1 hour glucose test also came out high. I return for a 3 hour testing session tomorrow morning and am keeping my fingers crossed that I don't have gestational diabetes. It does run in my family, but I'm still hoping I'm in the clear.
Other causes for concern have been my dramatic weight gain in months 4 and 5, severe swelling, cramping, and spotting. Not so good. I also had on occassion a high BP reading, which put pre-eclampsia on the table. However, the pre-eclampsia fears are starting to go by the wayside, which pleases me tremendously. My BP is elevated when I arrive at the hospital or doctors office, but levels out by the time I leave so it's probably just anxiety induced. It is also at a very healthly 120ish/80ish when we monitor it at home. My weight has taken an unusual turn in month 6 and I am now losing weight. This is very weird since I haven't changed my diet (I was primarily eating fruit anyway), and my activity level has decreased. I am blaming it on losing water weight.
Overall I still feel ok. I'm tired, but who isn't? For now I'm sticking with what I know works best, good food, plenty of water, and sleep, sleep, sleep. I also spend plenty of time instructing my son on the importance of staying inside! Hopefully he is listening. :)
Monday, June 23, 2008
Trying to Plan My Birth and It Has Not Gone As Planned
Well, I haven't been knitting or sewing or reading the books on my classics list lately. After reading "Birth" by Tina Cassidy, which I LOVED by the way, I became temporarily obsessed with researching midwives, natural childbirth, and homebirths. Thanks to one of my wonderfully informed friends, Mark and I also watched Ricki Lake's documentary, "The Business of Being Born." Between the book and the movie, we were becoming convinced that drug-free homebirth was the best option for us. I was still a little anxious about not delivering in a hospital, but then I read, "Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife" by Peggy Vincent. I also highly recommend this book to expecting mommies. It was filled with wonderful stories about sucessful (and a few scary) home births.
I started reading, "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin. She is evidently the midwifery guru, interviewed for the documentary I mentioned above as well as the historical book "Birth". This was also on the recommended reading list in the back of "Baby Catcher". The first portion of the book is filled with stories of women traveling short and long distances to a place in Tennesee called The Farm. It sounds like a very hippie, midwifery compound where single mothers can get a new start and where any woman who wants a drug-free birth can go. Their stats are very impressive with much lower cesearean and mortality rates than hospitals.
I put down the book to watch a mid-day movie with Mark. He is working 7 days a week lately, but on Sundays is working mornings instead of nights. I love this because we can at least have dinner together and do normal couple things like lounge in our PJs all afternoon. :) Unfortunately, I ran into some problems while watching the movie and had to call our doctor to see if it was anything I should worry about. Five minutes later I was on my way to Labor and Delivery...!
I am only 25 weeks so keep in mind this was quite scary. I had one nurse asking me my medical history while another brutalized both arms trying to find a vein to put an IV (I look like a junkie at present) and yet another was doing some not so pleasant things to me (can you say catheter?). I had people asking me to sign paper work and others asking me if I was excited to be having a baby today.
WHAT!!!! My only response was, "I'm not having a baby today!"
I immediately felt like I was living the terror that many of the women I had read about had described. Swooped into the hospital in a wheel chair, hearing scary things like, "Prepare the delivery room" and "did you think you would be having a baby today?" No one could say what or why they were doing these things to me... and no one seemed to notice that the nurse jabbing me with a needle hadn't a clue how to put in an IV. The irony was here was unbelievable.
Thankfully, my wonderful doctor showed up. A woman who I was previous to this moment considering firing. In a very calm straightforward way she explained everything. Weew. Protocol, yadda yadaa. Then the bad stuff. I was getting tested for placenta previa and placental abruption (both which would likely mean I would loose the baby). They monitored baby's heartbeat, my contractions (which I wasn't having by the way), took measurements by ultrasound, eventually took tons of blood for testing, etc, etc, etc.
The conclusion: You are not in labor (DUH! even I knew that). You don't have placenta previa or an abruption (YEAH!). Your baby is very active and healthy as far as we can tell (heee, my little trooper, he kept kicking the moniter and they kept loosing his heartbeat. This was not scary as it was quite obvious he was bustin' a move in there). What's wrong? No clue. I was definitely dehydrated for starters. I got tons of fluids and this morning I awoke to actually see my ankles! I have weird CBC counts (their high) but they can't find an infection anywhere. My doc is still trying to figure it out.
I have to go back if I have more symptoms at which point that will treat me for preterm labor despite the test showing otherwise. I also have a load of testing to get through tomorrow to see if they can uncover the mystery. Until then I am not on bedrest, but I can't clean the house, do laundry, vaccuum, drive, cook, lift anything, walk for any extended period of time, etc. It's essentially bedrest except I can go to the bathroom whenever I want and I can sit at the desk in my office. Oh joy! This also means no midwife for me. I am officially considered High Risk, which is a fancy way of saying they think you're going to have your baby way to early.
I am happy to see that without all the puffiness I look like a normal pregnant lady again. Hopefully I'll get a picture before I blow up again. I'll post it soon. It is also wonderful to see how healthy our son is. Nothing wrong with him at all so I have no real complaints.
Wish me luck!
I started reading, "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin. She is evidently the midwifery guru, interviewed for the documentary I mentioned above as well as the historical book "Birth". This was also on the recommended reading list in the back of "Baby Catcher". The first portion of the book is filled with stories of women traveling short and long distances to a place in Tennesee called The Farm. It sounds like a very hippie, midwifery compound where single mothers can get a new start and where any woman who wants a drug-free birth can go. Their stats are very impressive with much lower cesearean and mortality rates than hospitals.
I put down the book to watch a mid-day movie with Mark. He is working 7 days a week lately, but on Sundays is working mornings instead of nights. I love this because we can at least have dinner together and do normal couple things like lounge in our PJs all afternoon. :) Unfortunately, I ran into some problems while watching the movie and had to call our doctor to see if it was anything I should worry about. Five minutes later I was on my way to Labor and Delivery...!
I am only 25 weeks so keep in mind this was quite scary. I had one nurse asking me my medical history while another brutalized both arms trying to find a vein to put an IV (I look like a junkie at present) and yet another was doing some not so pleasant things to me (can you say catheter?). I had people asking me to sign paper work and others asking me if I was excited to be having a baby today.
WHAT!!!! My only response was, "I'm not having a baby today!"
I immediately felt like I was living the terror that many of the women I had read about had described. Swooped into the hospital in a wheel chair, hearing scary things like, "Prepare the delivery room" and "did you think you would be having a baby today?" No one could say what or why they were doing these things to me... and no one seemed to notice that the nurse jabbing me with a needle hadn't a clue how to put in an IV. The irony was here was unbelievable.
Thankfully, my wonderful doctor showed up. A woman who I was previous to this moment considering firing. In a very calm straightforward way she explained everything. Weew. Protocol, yadda yadaa. Then the bad stuff. I was getting tested for placenta previa and placental abruption (both which would likely mean I would loose the baby). They monitored baby's heartbeat, my contractions (which I wasn't having by the way), took measurements by ultrasound, eventually took tons of blood for testing, etc, etc, etc.
The conclusion: You are not in labor (DUH! even I knew that). You don't have placenta previa or an abruption (YEAH!). Your baby is very active and healthy as far as we can tell (heee, my little trooper, he kept kicking the moniter and they kept loosing his heartbeat. This was not scary as it was quite obvious he was bustin' a move in there). What's wrong? No clue. I was definitely dehydrated for starters. I got tons of fluids and this morning I awoke to actually see my ankles! I have weird CBC counts (their high) but they can't find an infection anywhere. My doc is still trying to figure it out.
I have to go back if I have more symptoms at which point that will treat me for preterm labor despite the test showing otherwise. I also have a load of testing to get through tomorrow to see if they can uncover the mystery. Until then I am not on bedrest, but I can't clean the house, do laundry, vaccuum, drive, cook, lift anything, walk for any extended period of time, etc. It's essentially bedrest except I can go to the bathroom whenever I want and I can sit at the desk in my office. Oh joy! This also means no midwife for me. I am officially considered High Risk, which is a fancy way of saying they think you're going to have your baby way to early.
I am happy to see that without all the puffiness I look like a normal pregnant lady again. Hopefully I'll get a picture before I blow up again. I'll post it soon. It is also wonderful to see how healthy our son is. Nothing wrong with him at all so I have no real complaints.
Wish me luck!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Life on a Stool
I love days when I wake up feeling refreshed. Today has started as one of those days. I think it may have something to do with the new stools I have. Strange, but true. Pre-pregnancy I could jump, climb on counters, etc to reach whatever it was that I needed. These days that does not happen. In fact, even washing something in the kitchen sink, cooking at the stove, or cutting up veggies has started to become a chore because my baby gets in the way.
As of this week, I have an upstairs stool, which allows me to reach the things on the shelves in our closet and is a small blessing when it comes to reaching for laundry detergent or getting clothes out of the washing machine. I can actually reach those pesky socks that stick to the bottom of the wash tub now. Downstairs I have a super handy fold out stool with a handle so I can reach things in the cupboards and a mini platform that my dad made me so I can work at the kitchen counter and cook without harming baby. Thanks dad!
I know these seem like trivial things. Before I was pregnant being too short to reach things was never a thought that crossed my mind much since I had developed ways to get to it anyway. With my big belly, I now have greater appreciation for a little thing like this. Without my stools, nothing would get accomplished. Now, if only I could find a way to reach those shelves at the grocery store...
As of this week, I have an upstairs stool, which allows me to reach the things on the shelves in our closet and is a small blessing when it comes to reaching for laundry detergent or getting clothes out of the washing machine. I can actually reach those pesky socks that stick to the bottom of the wash tub now. Downstairs I have a super handy fold out stool with a handle so I can reach things in the cupboards and a mini platform that my dad made me so I can work at the kitchen counter and cook without harming baby. Thanks dad!
I know these seem like trivial things. Before I was pregnant being too short to reach things was never a thought that crossed my mind much since I had developed ways to get to it anyway. With my big belly, I now have greater appreciation for a little thing like this. Without my stools, nothing would get accomplished. Now, if only I could find a way to reach those shelves at the grocery store...
Friday, June 13, 2008
I Am One Crafty Beotch
Early on we decided against anything pink for a girl or blue for a boy...at least as far as the nursery goes. These are colors that are difficult to avoid in baby world in general, so it seems. I found a super cute "neutral" jungle-babies border for the nursery before we discovered that the baby was a boy. It turned out to be a difficult theme to pair with paint color, but I think I made a good choice. I decided on 2 different shades of bright green. Luckily grandpa was a painter before he retired and spends his spare time building and refinishing furniture. So, he is painting and wallpapering the nursery for his grandson. He's also making me 4" platforms that I can use all over the house. Turns out I have a hard time doing dishes, cooking, etc because my big belly and short arms make me look like T-Rex in the kitchen. Gotta get that belly up and over them counter tops. This is also proving to be a problem when doing laundry. I'm currently using stacks of books. That old medical dictionary is finally getting some use. :)
Nursery so far.
Since I'm trying to be relatively frugal when it comes to the baby stuff, I decided to make the babies quilt for the nursery as well as the curtains. I haven't started the curtains yet, but finishined the quilt in 2 days! It was super easy, I basically stitched 6" blocks together to make an averaged sized baby quilt. The most time consuming thing was making the blocks look random, although I placed them rather methodically. All blocks compliment a bordering block and no 2 blocks of the same pattern border each other. It took me several hours of planning, but it was worth it. The back side of the quilt is the softest fabric ever made. I desperately want to cuddle with this blankie myself, but am resisting. It was also super cheap since I used a bunch of leftover fabric that I already had and hit up the fabric store during a 99 cent quarters sale. I also had leftover batting that I used. Total cost = $20.00. Cha-ching.
I also found a pattern for these cute little sleeper blankets (that retail for about $40). Here is the first one I made. I used snaps per the sewing instructions and also sewed little legs into it so we can use it in a car seat or stroller. I'm working on another one, but I'm modifying the pattern. I think that something like velcro will work better than snaps and I'm going to keep it more like a sleepsack without legs this time. The third time will probably the charm. Fortunately, fleece is very cheap during the summer months!
Nursery so far.
Since I'm trying to be relatively frugal when it comes to the baby stuff, I decided to make the babies quilt for the nursery as well as the curtains. I haven't started the curtains yet, but finishined the quilt in 2 days! It was super easy, I basically stitched 6" blocks together to make an averaged sized baby quilt. The most time consuming thing was making the blocks look random, although I placed them rather methodically. All blocks compliment a bordering block and no 2 blocks of the same pattern border each other. It took me several hours of planning, but it was worth it. The back side of the quilt is the softest fabric ever made. I desperately want to cuddle with this blankie myself, but am resisting. It was also super cheap since I used a bunch of leftover fabric that I already had and hit up the fabric store during a 99 cent quarters sale. I also had leftover batting that I used. Total cost = $20.00. Cha-ching.
I also found a pattern for these cute little sleeper blankets (that retail for about $40). Here is the first one I made. I used snaps per the sewing instructions and also sewed little legs into it so we can use it in a car seat or stroller. I'm working on another one, but I'm modifying the pattern. I think that something like velcro will work better than snaps and I'm going to keep it more like a sleepsack without legs this time. The third time will probably the charm. Fortunately, fleece is very cheap during the summer months!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Me No Understand Punctuation
So I was just reading over previous entries and am ashamed at the number of punctuation and grammatical errors. I will try to read my entries a little more carefully in the future. It makes me wonder, have you people understood a word I've written up to this point?
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