29 weeks
Our class this week was one that I thought was a "must do." You know, that whole infant safety thing SHOULD be pretty important. Ehhhhh....
We walk into the room at exactly 6:30 to find 1 spot left in the class....right in the very front. Suh-weet! As luck would also have it, I had to bust out my glucose monitor and take my blood as soon as the class started. We should have just left there and counted our blessing but alas....we continued.
After the much needed introductions, we got into the first part of the class...car seat safety. Thankfully, this section of the class was beneficial. We went over how to install the seat properly, what type of chair you want to buy, the weight and height requirements and so on. Most of it was review but it was still good to hear. (Did you know IL requires kids to be in a seat until the age of 8? Sheesh!) Stephanie, our instructor, went over how to adjust the straps, how exactly you want the base installed, how to use LATCH, and where to place the seat in your car. Unfortunately, most of the information is specific to the type of seat that is purchased and the car itself. It is preferred that the seat is in the center (to be far from the side air bags) but not all car seats can be properly installed in the center so we will have to reference our manual before installation happens. Luckily, my father-in-law is certified in this stuff so we'll have expert help.
The second half of the class was the not so exciting part. This was on general safety and honestly, a 10 year old could have taught the class. We went over things like light sockets needing covers, stairs need gates, not to leave chemicals or fireplace doors open to attract young kids. Uh, duh.... The kicker was when the instructor brought up poisonous plants that might be found throughout the house. Seriously? The PowerPoint presentation also had pictures that were easily from the 80s. Wouldn't you think current pictures would at least be relevant? Well, I guess not.
All in all though, I'm glad we still went. Even though it was pretty pointless, it doesn't hurt to review the information. We did walk away with CHAD cards to add to the carseat so that's a bonus as well.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
GD appointments
28 weeks, 5 days
For what it's worth, GD means gestational diabetes....Not the OTHER GD. Get it together, readers.
I had the pleasure of another doctor appointment today! I, honestly, don't know how people who are sick all the time and have to visit the doctor deal with it. It's like a full time job! My first visit was scheduled with the endocrinologist. The nurse called me back and we did a quick check up. She took my weight (2 lbs down from Thursday's appt...huh?) and then it was onto the finger pricks. She measured my glucose as well as my A1C. The A1C is a reading of my average blood glucose from the past 2-3 months. Why is this relevant? Well, now that I've been diagnosed with GD, I'm more susceptible to getting diabetes down the road. (I'm more likely to have it in subsequent pregnancies, but I'm also more prone to getting it permanently.) My A1C level reading was a 5.6. The highest number considered "normal" is 5.8 which means I'm wavering towards that high number. Not a huge deal but a 5.6 could be better so it's something to be aware of. They will test my A1C again after I deliver so hopefully I see an improvement.
Next up, I was sent to the nurse practitioner and it was, honestly, a waste of time. She was really nice and friendly but we spent 30 minutes basically discussing what gestational diabetes is. I can understand that some patients are not as "research" obsessive like I am, but we could have had a phone conference or something. I did learn all that A1C business from her though so I guess it wasn't a complete bust.
After a quick stop at the waiting room, I was called back into a seminar room with three other mother's to be. First, we had Allison who was 25 weeks along and after spending 2 hours with her, she was the normal one. We, also, had Tonya, who was a mother of 2 and already diabetic. She was also 400 pounds. (I wish I were exaggerating.) She was unfortunate to deal with pre-eclampsia in both previous pregnancies and had a severe case of hypothyroidism. Why do I know this? Because she felt the need to tell us all. No one asked. Lastly, we have Tiffany. I wish I had made up that name for her but it is her real name. Nothing against Tiffany's but she was SO a Tiffany. Long blond hair that she obviously curled and fussed with for hours. She had on a turquoise strapless MINI dress and 4 inch stilettos. SERIOUSLY?!? She dressed up for a consult with the doctor. I don't want to know what she looks like when she goes to an event that actually calls for dressing up.
(Gosh, I'm such a judgmental B.)
Moving on to the important stuff, we met with dietitian, Diane. Our first assignment was to fill out a survey of an average day in meals. Luckily, I eat about the same thing every week day so I was able to fill this out pretty easily. This survey also asked for our height and pre-pregnancy weight. From this information, Diane gave us each our individual carbohydrate count. She assigned us to eat 6 meals a day. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. My goal carbohydrates are as follows...
Breakfast
40-50g
Snack
10-20g
Lunch
55-65g
Snack
10-20g
Dinner
55-65g
Snack
10-20g
It's pretty simple to follow. I just read the label and eat what is within those parameters for each meal. I went grocery shopping tonight for our weeks worth of meals and it was very different to look at every label before placing it in my cart. I'm not used to that. Breakfast will be the biggest challenge for me because I'm usually running late and just grab something quick. My normal carb count for breakfast is within the snack range so I need to make it more of a priority. The biggest eye opening part with this whole segment of treatment is the serving sizes. I do not eat one serving. I thought I ate pretty close to the recommended size. Uh, yeah, no. Let's take 1 can of corn for example. That 1 can is 3.5 servings. I figured it was probably 2 servings. ::gulp:: I think if anything is to help me, reading the labels will be the most.
After that interesting segment with the dietitian, we met with the diabetes specialist, Kathy, to learn how to actually take our blood glucose. She, first, explained that we would be getting a blood sample 4 times a day for the remainder of the pregnancy. Before breakfast, 1 hour after breakfast, 1 hour after lunch, and 1 hour after dinner. My goal readings are....
Before breakfast
less than 90
After breakfast
less than 130
After lunch
less than 130
After dinner
less than 130
Each time I test on the monitor, I need to have readings that are under these goals. If they are over for a significant number of times, I will have to then be put on insulin. At this point, my GD will be monitored strictly through diet.
Now, here's where my competitive, compulsive side comes out. I'm one day in to this whole data processing thing and I have already found myself obsessing over these numbers. We aren't supposed to test after each snack but I'm very curious as to what the number is that I almost want to poke myself even more with a needle. Obviously, I won't waste the lancets and test strips if I don't have to (cheesy peets, they are expensive!) but it has crossed my mind.
Then, we got to the good stuff and busted out the glucose monitors. She went over how to insert the tester strips and how to take on and off the lancets (needles) and how to get the gun ready to inject. It seems like a daunting task to get it all together but it really takes like 30 seconds and is very easy. Once we were all familiar, she asks us to do a tester. Now, by this time it's about 11:30am and I hadn't ate since breakfast at about 7:30. I was huuungry. I'm sure you can guess, but my blood glucose was measured at 65. This is LOW. Kathy had just finished explaining that if we ever felt shakey or sick that we need to take our blood glucose and anything under 70 meant we were having a hypoglycemic attack. So, yeah. I'm one prick into this process and I'm already having issues. I really felt fine but Diane (the dietitian) was insistent on getting me some juice. It was a good real-life example of what to do in that situation though, I guess!
Lastly, Diane busted out the insulin guns so we could practice preparing those if we were to need them. She didn't give us any samples because we will only be using those on an as-needed basis. My goal is to avoid them anyway so we'll see. Ironically, pricking my finger 4 times a day is way more appealing than stabbing my thigh or stomach every so often.
All in all a pretty simple process. The readings are the easy part. Now, I just need to work on the diet aspect. In the end, I think it will be a great learning experience and help me to improve my eating habits in general.
And you guessed it, the first thing I did after getting finished with my appointment was create a spreadsheet so that I can take even extra data for my endo to see when we meet. (I was so giddy to run to Walgreens and get a binder and some dividers to organize it all!) You will now catch me tracking my meals, times of each meal, carb grams, and also the required data, my glucose readings. It's like I'm back in school again!
You thought I was done, didn't you? I can't finish this without a picture montage of my new equipment. If you eat meals with me, expect to see this stuff quite often.
My container case which holds all my testing supplies.
The gun with the lancets is on the far left, my glucose monitor in the middle, and the testing strip on the right.
After you insert the paper test strip into the meter, you click the gun and squeeze out a little blood. (Hope no one needed warning about the blood ;) )
Then check the meter number and record. (This was my after dinner reading and very good! Remember I want to be under 130.)
So, there you have it. 1 day down, about 336 finger pricks to go!
For what it's worth, GD means gestational diabetes....Not the OTHER GD. Get it together, readers.
I had the pleasure of another doctor appointment today! I, honestly, don't know how people who are sick all the time and have to visit the doctor deal with it. It's like a full time job! My first visit was scheduled with the endocrinologist. The nurse called me back and we did a quick check up. She took my weight (2 lbs down from Thursday's appt...huh?) and then it was onto the finger pricks. She measured my glucose as well as my A1C. The A1C is a reading of my average blood glucose from the past 2-3 months. Why is this relevant? Well, now that I've been diagnosed with GD, I'm more susceptible to getting diabetes down the road. (I'm more likely to have it in subsequent pregnancies, but I'm also more prone to getting it permanently.) My A1C level reading was a 5.6. The highest number considered "normal" is 5.8 which means I'm wavering towards that high number. Not a huge deal but a 5.6 could be better so it's something to be aware of. They will test my A1C again after I deliver so hopefully I see an improvement.
Next up, I was sent to the nurse practitioner and it was, honestly, a waste of time. She was really nice and friendly but we spent 30 minutes basically discussing what gestational diabetes is. I can understand that some patients are not as "research" obsessive like I am, but we could have had a phone conference or something. I did learn all that A1C business from her though so I guess it wasn't a complete bust.
After a quick stop at the waiting room, I was called back into a seminar room with three other mother's to be. First, we had Allison who was 25 weeks along and after spending 2 hours with her, she was the normal one. We, also, had Tonya, who was a mother of 2 and already diabetic. She was also 400 pounds. (I wish I were exaggerating.) She was unfortunate to deal with pre-eclampsia in both previous pregnancies and had a severe case of hypothyroidism. Why do I know this? Because she felt the need to tell us all. No one asked. Lastly, we have Tiffany. I wish I had made up that name for her but it is her real name. Nothing against Tiffany's but she was SO a Tiffany. Long blond hair that she obviously curled and fussed with for hours. She had on a turquoise strapless MINI dress and 4 inch stilettos. SERIOUSLY?!? She dressed up for a consult with the doctor. I don't want to know what she looks like when she goes to an event that actually calls for dressing up.
(Gosh, I'm such a judgmental B.)
Moving on to the important stuff, we met with dietitian, Diane. Our first assignment was to fill out a survey of an average day in meals. Luckily, I eat about the same thing every week day so I was able to fill this out pretty easily. This survey also asked for our height and pre-pregnancy weight. From this information, Diane gave us each our individual carbohydrate count. She assigned us to eat 6 meals a day. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. My goal carbohydrates are as follows...
Breakfast
40-50g
Snack
10-20g
Lunch
55-65g
Snack
10-20g
Dinner
55-65g
Snack
10-20g
It's pretty simple to follow. I just read the label and eat what is within those parameters for each meal. I went grocery shopping tonight for our weeks worth of meals and it was very different to look at every label before placing it in my cart. I'm not used to that. Breakfast will be the biggest challenge for me because I'm usually running late and just grab something quick. My normal carb count for breakfast is within the snack range so I need to make it more of a priority. The biggest eye opening part with this whole segment of treatment is the serving sizes. I do not eat one serving. I thought I ate pretty close to the recommended size. Uh, yeah, no. Let's take 1 can of corn for example. That 1 can is 3.5 servings. I figured it was probably 2 servings. ::gulp:: I think if anything is to help me, reading the labels will be the most.
After that interesting segment with the dietitian, we met with the diabetes specialist, Kathy, to learn how to actually take our blood glucose. She, first, explained that we would be getting a blood sample 4 times a day for the remainder of the pregnancy. Before breakfast, 1 hour after breakfast, 1 hour after lunch, and 1 hour after dinner. My goal readings are....
Before breakfast
less than 90
After breakfast
less than 130
After lunch
less than 130
After dinner
less than 130
Each time I test on the monitor, I need to have readings that are under these goals. If they are over for a significant number of times, I will have to then be put on insulin. At this point, my GD will be monitored strictly through diet.
Now, here's where my competitive, compulsive side comes out. I'm one day in to this whole data processing thing and I have already found myself obsessing over these numbers. We aren't supposed to test after each snack but I'm very curious as to what the number is that I almost want to poke myself even more with a needle. Obviously, I won't waste the lancets and test strips if I don't have to (cheesy peets, they are expensive!) but it has crossed my mind.
Then, we got to the good stuff and busted out the glucose monitors. She went over how to insert the tester strips and how to take on and off the lancets (needles) and how to get the gun ready to inject. It seems like a daunting task to get it all together but it really takes like 30 seconds and is very easy. Once we were all familiar, she asks us to do a tester. Now, by this time it's about 11:30am and I hadn't ate since breakfast at about 7:30. I was huuungry. I'm sure you can guess, but my blood glucose was measured at 65. This is LOW. Kathy had just finished explaining that if we ever felt shakey or sick that we need to take our blood glucose and anything under 70 meant we were having a hypoglycemic attack. So, yeah. I'm one prick into this process and I'm already having issues. I really felt fine but Diane (the dietitian) was insistent on getting me some juice. It was a good real-life example of what to do in that situation though, I guess!
Lastly, Diane busted out the insulin guns so we could practice preparing those if we were to need them. She didn't give us any samples because we will only be using those on an as-needed basis. My goal is to avoid them anyway so we'll see. Ironically, pricking my finger 4 times a day is way more appealing than stabbing my thigh or stomach every so often.
All in all a pretty simple process. The readings are the easy part. Now, I just need to work on the diet aspect. In the end, I think it will be a great learning experience and help me to improve my eating habits in general.
And you guessed it, the first thing I did after getting finished with my appointment was create a spreadsheet so that I can take even extra data for my endo to see when we meet. (I was so giddy to run to Walgreens and get a binder and some dividers to organize it all!) You will now catch me tracking my meals, times of each meal, carb grams, and also the required data, my glucose readings. It's like I'm back in school again!
You thought I was done, didn't you? I can't finish this without a picture montage of my new equipment. If you eat meals with me, expect to see this stuff quite often.
My container case which holds all my testing supplies.
The gun with the lancets is on the far left, my glucose monitor in the middle, and the testing strip on the right.
After you insert the paper test strip into the meter, you click the gun and squeeze out a little blood. (Hope no one needed warning about the blood ;) )
Then check the meter number and record. (This was my after dinner reading and very good! Remember I want to be under 130.)
So, there you have it. 1 day down, about 336 finger pricks to go!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
28 weeks
28 weeks, 2 days
We have now reached the infamous Third Trimester! I'm a little bit sad because my second trimester was so great but it was inevitable, I guess. These last 12 weeks are going to fly by even more than the rest of the pregnancy has and before I know it, I'll be writing about his birth. After this weekend, we have only 1 weekend left, until I'm 37 weeks, that we don't have something going on. We'll be doing a bunch of traveling for weddings and showers and holidays but I really wouldn't have it any other way. Baby better get used to all these road trips!
This week, Joe and I actually sat down to discuss baby names. We still have a major front runner that we can't seem to top with any of our other suggestions. We don't have a list of options, mostly just the one name. I'd say we are at an 85% chance of using it because nothing seems to jump out at us as much as this name. But, we'll keep researching. It's a pretty hilarious process really. Joe got out all his architecture books to see if anything triggered something that we liked and it was more comical than anything else.
But like I mentioned previously, when we decide on the name officially, you won't be hearing it until he has arrived. (Yes, I am a tease.)
I'm not sure what it is about this week but I've started to reach that uncomfortable stage. I've really gotten used to it and it's not super annoying but it's there. I've certainly noticed a difference in the way I carry myself as well. Staying in one position for long periods of time is not pleasant which is difficult when you sit at a desk all day.
Sleeping is a bit of a challenge as well. I'm getting a good night sleep but I find myself waking up every hour. No big deal since I can just change positions and be back to sleep as if I never woke up. It's just another side effect of growing a person, I guess! I find it almost humorous that at 5:50am on the dot every morning, I wake up to check the clock. I guess it could be worse (like Joe who wakes up at 4:45). Last night, he woke up at 11:45 and shut off his alarm like it was time to be up. I was awake, of course, and laughed when he realized it was not at all time to be up for the day.
My belly button is still going strong as an innie. It's definitely getting flatter though so I'm just waiting for it to pop out. I think I have at least a few more weeks.
Anyone else getting sick of Mr. Eggplant? Fortunately (or maybe not?), this is his last week up in this business. Baby is growing like a weed in there and should be 2 lbs by now. If he were to be born, his lungs are developed enough that they will be able to breathe air, albeit not easily, but nonetheless. Sucking and swallowing skills have improved and he should be able to see light. I think that means we need to get out the flashlight! (Yes, we are those people who like to torture their children. :) )
We have now reached the infamous Third Trimester! I'm a little bit sad because my second trimester was so great but it was inevitable, I guess. These last 12 weeks are going to fly by even more than the rest of the pregnancy has and before I know it, I'll be writing about his birth. After this weekend, we have only 1 weekend left, until I'm 37 weeks, that we don't have something going on. We'll be doing a bunch of traveling for weddings and showers and holidays but I really wouldn't have it any other way. Baby better get used to all these road trips!
This week, Joe and I actually sat down to discuss baby names. We still have a major front runner that we can't seem to top with any of our other suggestions. We don't have a list of options, mostly just the one name. I'd say we are at an 85% chance of using it because nothing seems to jump out at us as much as this name. But, we'll keep researching. It's a pretty hilarious process really. Joe got out all his architecture books to see if anything triggered something that we liked and it was more comical than anything else.
But like I mentioned previously, when we decide on the name officially, you won't be hearing it until he has arrived. (Yes, I am a tease.)
I'm not sure what it is about this week but I've started to reach that uncomfortable stage. I've really gotten used to it and it's not super annoying but it's there. I've certainly noticed a difference in the way I carry myself as well. Staying in one position for long periods of time is not pleasant which is difficult when you sit at a desk all day.
Sleeping is a bit of a challenge as well. I'm getting a good night sleep but I find myself waking up every hour. No big deal since I can just change positions and be back to sleep as if I never woke up. It's just another side effect of growing a person, I guess! I find it almost humorous that at 5:50am on the dot every morning, I wake up to check the clock. I guess it could be worse (like Joe who wakes up at 4:45). Last night, he woke up at 11:45 and shut off his alarm like it was time to be up. I was awake, of course, and laughed when he realized it was not at all time to be up for the day.
My belly button is still going strong as an innie. It's definitely getting flatter though so I'm just waiting for it to pop out. I think I have at least a few more weeks.
Anyone else getting sick of Mr. Eggplant? Fortunately (or maybe not?), this is his last week up in this business. Baby is growing like a weed in there and should be 2 lbs by now. If he were to be born, his lungs are developed enough that they will be able to breathe air, albeit not easily, but nonetheless. Sucking and swallowing skills have improved and he should be able to see light. I think that means we need to get out the flashlight! (Yes, we are those people who like to torture their children. :) )
Friday, July 22, 2011
28 week doctor appointment
28 weeks, 1 day
This installment is really going to be about two different doctor appointments that I had this week. My regular 28 week appointment was scheduled for Thursday afternoon (yesterday) but I also had to spend 3+ hours there on Tuesday morning for Round 2 of the glucose test.
I checked in just before 8:30am after a full 12 hours of no food. That part wasn't so difficult since I usually go that long during the night without eating anyways. The hard part was not eating any breakfast and having to wait until noon that day to eat. They also restricted my water intake, as it can skew results. I head straight back to labs to find a new women. The quirky lady who normally does my labs is not there and it seems that all her pictures and posters are off the walls. (I think to myself that she got the ax and wonder if there is any drama involved.) My first task was to take a sample of my blood in a fasting state. I've gotten really used to all these blood draws so now I watch as she pokes me in my "rockstar" vein (I named it that since it seems to be the same one they use every time.) I, then, had 5 minutes to drink the lemon flavored, pure sugar drink. It was about double the amount as last time so it was harder to finish but still not too bad, taste wise. I was then dismissed to the waiting room and she would call me back at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 for another round of blood.
That first hour was a killer. Since I hadn't ate anything, my stomach got pretty upset with all that sugar. Thankfully, I had my phone and a book, plus lots of people watching to keep me entertained for 3 hours while I sat there. I was sent on my merry way with promise that the results would be in after a few days. Easy peasy and a half day at work never hurts.
Thursday rolled around and I had a quick checkup with Dr. Bennett. I ended up sitting in the waiting room for what felt like days (usually I get called pretty quickly). It wasn't such a big deal except I had to pee and I knew as soon as they called me back, they would send me to the bathroom to give a sample, so I had to hold it. I got back to the room and Brittany, the nurse, hands me a paper. It took me a second to register what it was and I started reading. The words "You did not pass you're glucose test" stuck out like a sore thumb.....wah, wah. Bummer! I didn't really have any indication that I was going to fail. Looking back, I've noticed a bit of fatigue but I thought that was just normal pregnancy progression. The crazy part to me is that I have a fairly balanced diet. I don't drink soda or coffee. Heck, I don't drink anything but water and the occasional lemonade. I eat 6-7 smaller meals every day. Granted, I eat whatever I want for dinner but otherwise, it's pretty strict the rest of the time.
Ironically, I've not been really too concerned with the diagnosis. I can handle this especially since it's only for 3 months. I figure it will force me to be conscious of my decisions. The only bummer of the whole thing is that I'm going to be monitored a heck of a lot more. I will get more ultrasounds and if he isn't here by my due date (Oct 13), induction will be ASAP. I'm sure you've gathered that I don't want to touch induction with a 10 foot pole so let's just hope he comes on his own before then. If I'm not really strict about this, he will be on the larger size which also increases chances for a c-section. I don't want to touch that with a 100 ft pole so this is where I get serious. Weekends are going to be very hard on me though. Brittany told me I would be meeting with an endocrinologist and dietitian on Tuesday morning so I will have more information after that.
::Back to the appointment::
My blood pressure was checked. Still great at 110/70. I kinda thought it would be a bit elevated since I was still soaking in the shock of failure. She busted out the sono and we got a very quick strong heartbeat at 154 bpm. He is holding strong with heartbeats in the 150s. Next up, the dreaded weight which resulted in a 6 pound gain. That makes 10 pounds for the total pregnancy which is fine. My goal is to stay with an average of about a pound a week or less. 20-25lbs would be a perfect scenario but I'm not sure I'll get so lucky. Brittany also tested my urine which had no protein or sugars which was great to hear after my diagnosis.
Dr. Bennett was in shortly where we discussed what the next 12 weeks will entail. Like I mentioned, I should have a few more ultrasounds just to keep an extra eye on the babies growth. I knew I was getting a bonus one at 32 weeks so we'll see if I get another one after that. Since I've reached my third trimester, my appointments will now be every 2 weeks instead of every 4. I can't believe it's already time for that! I am less than 9 weeks from being considered full term! Good grief!
This installment is really going to be about two different doctor appointments that I had this week. My regular 28 week appointment was scheduled for Thursday afternoon (yesterday) but I also had to spend 3+ hours there on Tuesday morning for Round 2 of the glucose test.
I checked in just before 8:30am after a full 12 hours of no food. That part wasn't so difficult since I usually go that long during the night without eating anyways. The hard part was not eating any breakfast and having to wait until noon that day to eat. They also restricted my water intake, as it can skew results. I head straight back to labs to find a new women. The quirky lady who normally does my labs is not there and it seems that all her pictures and posters are off the walls. (I think to myself that she got the ax and wonder if there is any drama involved.) My first task was to take a sample of my blood in a fasting state. I've gotten really used to all these blood draws so now I watch as she pokes me in my "rockstar" vein (I named it that since it seems to be the same one they use every time.) I, then, had 5 minutes to drink the lemon flavored, pure sugar drink. It was about double the amount as last time so it was harder to finish but still not too bad, taste wise. I was then dismissed to the waiting room and she would call me back at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 for another round of blood.
That first hour was a killer. Since I hadn't ate anything, my stomach got pretty upset with all that sugar. Thankfully, I had my phone and a book, plus lots of people watching to keep me entertained for 3 hours while I sat there. I was sent on my merry way with promise that the results would be in after a few days. Easy peasy and a half day at work never hurts.
Thursday rolled around and I had a quick checkup with Dr. Bennett. I ended up sitting in the waiting room for what felt like days (usually I get called pretty quickly). It wasn't such a big deal except I had to pee and I knew as soon as they called me back, they would send me to the bathroom to give a sample, so I had to hold it. I got back to the room and Brittany, the nurse, hands me a paper. It took me a second to register what it was and I started reading. The words "You did not pass you're glucose test" stuck out like a sore thumb.....wah, wah. Bummer! I didn't really have any indication that I was going to fail. Looking back, I've noticed a bit of fatigue but I thought that was just normal pregnancy progression. The crazy part to me is that I have a fairly balanced diet. I don't drink soda or coffee. Heck, I don't drink anything but water and the occasional lemonade. I eat 6-7 smaller meals every day. Granted, I eat whatever I want for dinner but otherwise, it's pretty strict the rest of the time.
Ironically, I've not been really too concerned with the diagnosis. I can handle this especially since it's only for 3 months. I figure it will force me to be conscious of my decisions. The only bummer of the whole thing is that I'm going to be monitored a heck of a lot more. I will get more ultrasounds and if he isn't here by my due date (Oct 13), induction will be ASAP. I'm sure you've gathered that I don't want to touch induction with a 10 foot pole so let's just hope he comes on his own before then. If I'm not really strict about this, he will be on the larger size which also increases chances for a c-section. I don't want to touch that with a 100 ft pole so this is where I get serious. Weekends are going to be very hard on me though. Brittany told me I would be meeting with an endocrinologist and dietitian on Tuesday morning so I will have more information after that.
::Back to the appointment::
My blood pressure was checked. Still great at 110/70. I kinda thought it would be a bit elevated since I was still soaking in the shock of failure. She busted out the sono and we got a very quick strong heartbeat at 154 bpm. He is holding strong with heartbeats in the 150s. Next up, the dreaded weight which resulted in a 6 pound gain. That makes 10 pounds for the total pregnancy which is fine. My goal is to stay with an average of about a pound a week or less. 20-25lbs would be a perfect scenario but I'm not sure I'll get so lucky. Brittany also tested my urine which had no protein or sugars which was great to hear after my diagnosis.
Dr. Bennett was in shortly where we discussed what the next 12 weeks will entail. Like I mentioned, I should have a few more ultrasounds just to keep an extra eye on the babies growth. I knew I was getting a bonus one at 32 weeks so we'll see if I get another one after that. Since I've reached my third trimester, my appointments will now be every 2 weeks instead of every 4. I can't believe it's already time for that! I am less than 9 weeks from being considered full term! Good grief!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Nursery Progress
27 weeks, 5 days
Saturday night, we accomplished quite a bit of work on the nursery. Our crib has been here a few weeks now, laying on the floor of our guest room still in the box. We didn't need to set it up yet so that whole room has been a disaster area. I knew we would eventually be purging and organizing its contents so it hasn't been touched for a while.
Well, this week I had pretty much had enough and decided we might as well get started. It was a rare weekend that was spent not traveling so I felt like we needed to take advantage of that and get a head start. Plus, I'm a planner (I feel like I say that every week.) so these projects are fuel to my fire.
This is what the room looked like before.
Random paperwork and receipts everywhere. Probably 20 bucks in change in Joe's caddy. Crib box taking up all the room on the floor. Junk.
Joe's shotgun also hanging out on the floor. A bunch of casings and other hunting crap. You can't really see it but there is a big IKEA bag in the corner with stuff we bought probably a year ago that is being saved for the house. More junk.
A bunch of my sweaters from winter that I emptied from my drawers to make room for more maternity clothes. Our new parent booklet for all our childbirth classes. An almost empty plastic drawer bin that was just taking up space. Even more junk.
The tall bookshelf that you see in picture #2 has been relocated to the living room. It matches all our other furniture and there is enough room for it, thankfully. Unfortunately, we had to figure out what to do with the rest of the stuff. All our files were consolidated into one closed filing system that we had sitting empty in the closet. The plastic drawer system was stored as well as all the gun supplies and an extra queen bed frame we had hidden under the futon. The phone caddy and printer was transferred to the dresser in our bedroom. All the other smaller items were also put in storage or tossed. That was the easy part.
The rest of the furniture was not so easy. The desk had to go. If you know me well, you can guess that my preference would be to just pitch it. We have a nice big dumpster a few feet away from our door that it would fit in nicely.
See, the problem is we don't have any space for it. Our storage is filled to the brim so it couldn't go in there and otherwise, there is no extra space to hold it. There is a pretty slim chance that we will use it in the new house and to be honest, I think one of us has sat in it a total of 5 times since we got it 3 years ago. BUT, Joe doesn't like to just get rid of stuff that is still useful. I totally understand but not if it makes more work for us. I gave him a deadline of Aug 7th, when our dresser comes in, to decide what he wants to do with it.
That left the futon.
This was something that I would like to keep. It can be used easily in the basement at the new place but our only option was then to keep it in the nursery. This is where it got even trickier. The room is tiny. We needed to fit a crib, dresser and this huge futon. We're not even sure if the space planning we have chosen with work until the dresser comes in but hopefully it does. Did I mention this week yet that we need a new place to live?
The futon has been moved to under the windows where the desk was originally. (Side note: this room is so tiny I could hardly take pictures. I mentioned this to Joe and his first reaction was "no, I am not getting you a fisheye lens." Ha! I wasn't even hinting at that but he knows me so well!)
Crib is almost complete!
The baby is not short on sleeping arrangements in this place though, that's for sure.
In other sorta nursery news, our glider has been ordered. Unfortunately, we were given a 10-12 week process period until it comes in so it's gonna take a while. As you can probably assume, we won't have room for it in the nursery, so it will go in the living room downstairs. I'm due in 12 weeks & 2 days, so fingers crossed that it comes within the 12 week margin they gave us so we don't have to deal with that and a newborn at the same time.
It's a glider and recliner combo.
Stay tuned as progress continues....
Saturday night, we accomplished quite a bit of work on the nursery. Our crib has been here a few weeks now, laying on the floor of our guest room still in the box. We didn't need to set it up yet so that whole room has been a disaster area. I knew we would eventually be purging and organizing its contents so it hasn't been touched for a while.
Well, this week I had pretty much had enough and decided we might as well get started. It was a rare weekend that was spent not traveling so I felt like we needed to take advantage of that and get a head start. Plus, I'm a planner (I feel like I say that every week.) so these projects are fuel to my fire.
This is what the room looked like before.
Random paperwork and receipts everywhere. Probably 20 bucks in change in Joe's caddy. Crib box taking up all the room on the floor. Junk.
Joe's shotgun also hanging out on the floor. A bunch of casings and other hunting crap. You can't really see it but there is a big IKEA bag in the corner with stuff we bought probably a year ago that is being saved for the house. More junk.
A bunch of my sweaters from winter that I emptied from my drawers to make room for more maternity clothes. Our new parent booklet for all our childbirth classes. An almost empty plastic drawer bin that was just taking up space. Even more junk.
The tall bookshelf that you see in picture #2 has been relocated to the living room. It matches all our other furniture and there is enough room for it, thankfully. Unfortunately, we had to figure out what to do with the rest of the stuff. All our files were consolidated into one closed filing system that we had sitting empty in the closet. The plastic drawer system was stored as well as all the gun supplies and an extra queen bed frame we had hidden under the futon. The phone caddy and printer was transferred to the dresser in our bedroom. All the other smaller items were also put in storage or tossed. That was the easy part.
The rest of the furniture was not so easy. The desk had to go. If you know me well, you can guess that my preference would be to just pitch it. We have a nice big dumpster a few feet away from our door that it would fit in nicely.
See, the problem is we don't have any space for it. Our storage is filled to the brim so it couldn't go in there and otherwise, there is no extra space to hold it. There is a pretty slim chance that we will use it in the new house and to be honest, I think one of us has sat in it a total of 5 times since we got it 3 years ago. BUT, Joe doesn't like to just get rid of stuff that is still useful. I totally understand but not if it makes more work for us. I gave him a deadline of Aug 7th, when our dresser comes in, to decide what he wants to do with it.
That left the futon.
This was something that I would like to keep. It can be used easily in the basement at the new place but our only option was then to keep it in the nursery. This is where it got even trickier. The room is tiny. We needed to fit a crib, dresser and this huge futon. We're not even sure if the space planning we have chosen with work until the dresser comes in but hopefully it does. Did I mention this week yet that we need a new place to live?
The futon has been moved to under the windows where the desk was originally. (Side note: this room is so tiny I could hardly take pictures. I mentioned this to Joe and his first reaction was "no, I am not getting you a fisheye lens." Ha! I wasn't even hinting at that but he knows me so well!)
Crib is almost complete!
The baby is not short on sleeping arrangements in this place though, that's for sure.
In other sorta nursery news, our glider has been ordered. Unfortunately, we were given a 10-12 week process period until it comes in so it's gonna take a while. As you can probably assume, we won't have room for it in the nursery, so it will go in the living room downstairs. I'm due in 12 weeks & 2 days, so fingers crossed that it comes within the 12 week margin they gave us so we don't have to deal with that and a newborn at the same time.
It's a glider and recliner combo.
Stay tuned as progress continues....
Monday, July 18, 2011
Prepared Childbirth
27 weeks, 4 days
When going through the class options offered by Memorial, I knew one of classes I wanted to take was Prepared Childbirth aka Lamaze. The description for the class is "an in-depth explanation of pregnancy-related discomforts; comfort measures for both pregnancy and labor; the labor and delivery process; massage techniques; positioning; and relaxation and breathing techniques to better cope with the birth." Our option was to either do 4 separate classes during the weekday or get it all over in one shot with 1 Saturday class. Fortunately, one of the Saturday dates was on a weekend that we were free so I booked it.
That morning, I packed my snacks, jug of water, two pillows and a blanket and headed to the hospital. After quite the walk to get to our room, we sign in and were greeted by a video and only a few other couples. I chose one of the seats towards the back corner because I knew we would be getting on the floor to practice positions and techniques and I preferred to not be front and center. Shocking, I know.
Our teacher for this session was another nurse in Labor and Delivery, Karyn. Similar to the teacher in our last class, she is the mother to a 42 year old, 40 year old, 34 year old....and the oops, 29 year old. I find it ironic that both teachers had an oops kid. Karyn told all of us that she recommends the oops kid because they always add something the mix. I wasn't so shocked that she had 4 kids (all of which she had naturally BTW), I was shocked that she was old enough to have a 42 year old in the first place! She looked like she was maybe in her 50s.
We got off to a great start when she told the "coaches" that this class was for them...not the moms. Cool with me! She gave some really great analogy (which both Joe and I can't seem to remember) about when you are in a pressure situation, you don't always have your wits about you, so the coach is there to take over. The coach is the person who is supposed to know you the best and be able to handle tough situations when you are....indisposed. With that, she said all our "coaches" would be taking a test.
::Cue Joe moaning:: He was not prepared to be tested.
The test was to see how well Joe knew me by each of us answering the same question. My task was to answer for myself. His task was to answer with what he thought my answer would be.
Okay, I thought. We can handle this.
A few examples:
1. What's my favorite color? (We both answered blue.)
2. Who would I want in the delivery room with me if Joe was unavailable? (We both said Rachel.)
3. What does Joe do that annoys me? (Joe said "when he paces too much", I said "when he doesn't pick up after himself.")
4. Rank my pain tolerance. (I said a 5, he said a 7.)
5. Where do I relax? (We both answered in bed.)
We got 3/8 correct. That's less than 50%, people. MAJOR FAIL.
Next up, we were instructed to find a spot on the floor and spread out. This is when my hour long massage began! Karyn wanted to cover relaxation techniques first especially when dealing with pre-term/early labor. One of the questions on our test was "How do I relax?" and my answer was massage. If that doesn't take all the tension away, I don't know what does. We were introduced to massages with me sitting upward, massages laying on my side and massages for the hands, most specifically. The coaches were instructed to massage us moms while she went on with the class. Ah-mazing! While we were getting massaged, she went over other calming techniques and positions to help progression. She really emphasized changing positions as much as possible while in labor. This whole morning session of our class covered more of the natural possibilities for labor and delivery and was very exciting for me.
Shortly thereafter, she dismissed us for our lunch break so Joe and I decided to head downtown. There was a festival going on at the visitors center so we were able to do quite a bit of people watching while we ate outside. But soon, it was back to the freezing cold room at the hospital.
Our afternoon session was a bit more of review to our other childbirth class. She did, however, discuss more in-depth the different stages of labor. Early stage, active stage, transition state, and pushing stage. One of the other couples in our class had 4 year old twins (no epidural!) so after each stage, Karyn would ask the mother to explain her experience. It was very interesting to hear. The best phase, according to the mothers who already had outside kids, was the pushing phase. They said it was more relief than anything else which I can understand. It seems like it would be the light at the end of the tunnel. I know that transition is gut-wrenching so my main goal has always been to get past that.
Our last topic of discussion was breathing techniques. When you hear the word Lamaze, I can imagine that you think of breathing. That whole "Hee, Hee, Who" thing.
My favorite (and the technique I see myself using the most) is cleansing breathes. Slow, big, deep breathes. Karyn had the coaches simulate a contraction and we had to practice said techniques. Joe's form of simulating a contraction was squeezing the skin on the side of my arm and I found that if I closed my eyes and just did deep, cleansing breathes, the pinching didn't bother me, let alone hurt. Next up, are what are called the "e hee's." (Both Joe and I think about DMB when we think of these.) This is more staccato type breathes. The "E" sound is when you inhale, while the "Hee" sound is when you exhale. She had us practice these and I was laughing more than concentrating so I don't forsee this being a calming breathing technique for myself. The last type of technique is the "Hee Hee, Who." It's basically another type of staccato breathes but with a strong exhale at the word, Who. This type was, again, not for me. It will be interesting though to see what really helps when we are in that situation.
Obviously, it's hard to focus 6+ hours of information into one blog post so I've barely scratched the surface of everything. This has been my favorite class though. It was jam packed with information that I plan to take advantage of. If I had to do over, and could only choose one class, I would take this one over all the others. I think it has really prepared both of us for what is to come.
When going through the class options offered by Memorial, I knew one of classes I wanted to take was Prepared Childbirth aka Lamaze. The description for the class is "an in-depth explanation of pregnancy-related discomforts; comfort measures for both pregnancy and labor; the labor and delivery process; massage techniques; positioning; and relaxation and breathing techniques to better cope with the birth." Our option was to either do 4 separate classes during the weekday or get it all over in one shot with 1 Saturday class. Fortunately, one of the Saturday dates was on a weekend that we were free so I booked it.
That morning, I packed my snacks, jug of water, two pillows and a blanket and headed to the hospital. After quite the walk to get to our room, we sign in and were greeted by a video and only a few other couples. I chose one of the seats towards the back corner because I knew we would be getting on the floor to practice positions and techniques and I preferred to not be front and center. Shocking, I know.
Our teacher for this session was another nurse in Labor and Delivery, Karyn. Similar to the teacher in our last class, she is the mother to a 42 year old, 40 year old, 34 year old....and the oops, 29 year old. I find it ironic that both teachers had an oops kid. Karyn told all of us that she recommends the oops kid because they always add something the mix. I wasn't so shocked that she had 4 kids (all of which she had naturally BTW), I was shocked that she was old enough to have a 42 year old in the first place! She looked like she was maybe in her 50s.
We got off to a great start when she told the "coaches" that this class was for them...not the moms. Cool with me! She gave some really great analogy (which both Joe and I can't seem to remember) about when you are in a pressure situation, you don't always have your wits about you, so the coach is there to take over. The coach is the person who is supposed to know you the best and be able to handle tough situations when you are....indisposed. With that, she said all our "coaches" would be taking a test.
::Cue Joe moaning:: He was not prepared to be tested.
The test was to see how well Joe knew me by each of us answering the same question. My task was to answer for myself. His task was to answer with what he thought my answer would be.
Okay, I thought. We can handle this.
A few examples:
1. What's my favorite color? (We both answered blue.)
2. Who would I want in the delivery room with me if Joe was unavailable? (We both said Rachel.)
3. What does Joe do that annoys me? (Joe said "when he paces too much", I said "when he doesn't pick up after himself.")
4. Rank my pain tolerance. (I said a 5, he said a 7.)
5. Where do I relax? (We both answered in bed.)
We got 3/8 correct. That's less than 50%, people. MAJOR FAIL.
Next up, we were instructed to find a spot on the floor and spread out. This is when my hour long massage began! Karyn wanted to cover relaxation techniques first especially when dealing with pre-term/early labor. One of the questions on our test was "How do I relax?" and my answer was massage. If that doesn't take all the tension away, I don't know what does. We were introduced to massages with me sitting upward, massages laying on my side and massages for the hands, most specifically. The coaches were instructed to massage us moms while she went on with the class. Ah-mazing! While we were getting massaged, she went over other calming techniques and positions to help progression. She really emphasized changing positions as much as possible while in labor. This whole morning session of our class covered more of the natural possibilities for labor and delivery and was very exciting for me.
Shortly thereafter, she dismissed us for our lunch break so Joe and I decided to head downtown. There was a festival going on at the visitors center so we were able to do quite a bit of people watching while we ate outside. But soon, it was back to the freezing cold room at the hospital.
Our afternoon session was a bit more of review to our other childbirth class. She did, however, discuss more in-depth the different stages of labor. Early stage, active stage, transition state, and pushing stage. One of the other couples in our class had 4 year old twins (no epidural!) so after each stage, Karyn would ask the mother to explain her experience. It was very interesting to hear. The best phase, according to the mothers who already had outside kids, was the pushing phase. They said it was more relief than anything else which I can understand. It seems like it would be the light at the end of the tunnel. I know that transition is gut-wrenching so my main goal has always been to get past that.
Our last topic of discussion was breathing techniques. When you hear the word Lamaze, I can imagine that you think of breathing. That whole "Hee, Hee, Who" thing.
My favorite (and the technique I see myself using the most) is cleansing breathes. Slow, big, deep breathes. Karyn had the coaches simulate a contraction and we had to practice said techniques. Joe's form of simulating a contraction was squeezing the skin on the side of my arm and I found that if I closed my eyes and just did deep, cleansing breathes, the pinching didn't bother me, let alone hurt. Next up, are what are called the "e hee's." (Both Joe and I think about DMB when we think of these.) This is more staccato type breathes. The "E" sound is when you inhale, while the "Hee" sound is when you exhale. She had us practice these and I was laughing more than concentrating so I don't forsee this being a calming breathing technique for myself. The last type of technique is the "Hee Hee, Who." It's basically another type of staccato breathes but with a strong exhale at the word, Who. This type was, again, not for me. It will be interesting though to see what really helps when we are in that situation.
Obviously, it's hard to focus 6+ hours of information into one blog post so I've barely scratched the surface of everything. This has been my favorite class though. It was jam packed with information that I plan to take advantage of. If I had to do over, and could only choose one class, I would take this one over all the others. I think it has really prepared both of us for what is to come.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
27 weeks
27 weeks, 3 days
This week, Baby T has seemed to find a liking to my bladder. Before I write these entries, I always start a draft and type in little notes so that I don't forget things that happened throughout the week. One of the first things I wrote for this week was "He's on my bladder." To give you an idea, this what a normal cross section would look like on a woman. Notice the large bladder with the smallish uterus on top.
This is what I'm dealing with now.
The babies head is jamming itself into a severely scrunched bladder. It takes almost nothing for it to feel full. Thankfully, I'm usually only a few steps away from the nearest bathroom.
(As you can see, I also got a haircut this week.)
Another milestone from this week is that I've started sleeping in Joe's tshirts. I can't really wear mine any longer unless I want them to be super tight and scrunch up into belly shirts. I have a bunch of new tanks that are maternity and very comfy but I try to save those for during the daytime. Luckily, Joe has 39,845 tshirts so there is no problem with running out before I get a chance to do laundry.
I also succumbed to buying a new ring and retiring my current wedding set. I actually stopped wearing my rings a few weeks ago, just in case, but I was self conscious that people were noticing my ring less ring finger, so Claire's to the rescue. $3.99 later, I have a plain "silver" band that practically slips off so I know it will last me till I'm okay with wearing my real set again. I don't think that my hands have been swelling too much because of pregnancy but moreso because of the heat. I've always had a pretty snug set of rings so I didn't want to test it and get them stuck.
Also, I did get a chance to order all of our nursery art this week. I had most of it picked out and just decided to bite the bullet. No sense in waiting. These are all 11X14 in size. I haven't decided if they will go above the crib or above the changing table.
I really want to get a fourth picture in navy but I didn't like any of the other sayings that the seller was offering so I'm gonna keep an eye out and hopefully she adds a few more in the near future.
I also had a seller on Etsy do a custom print for me. This one will only be 5X7 and will rest on one of the shelves on the wall. I also plan to create another custom piece for the shelves with his name, birth date and size but that will obviously need to wait until after he's here.
(Stay tuned for a separate post on nursery progress later this week!)
This week, his lungs should be getting the biggest workout. He's still practicing his breathing (granted he's not breathing in air, but amniotic fluid) so that he is ready to go once delivery is here. His nostrils have now opened so he has an even easier time practicing! Also, he should be sleeping and waking in regular intervals by now. I've heard that most babies will be pretty active at night and sleep during the day but it seems that he likes to play more in the afternoon. Please, oh please, let that mean we will have a baby who sleeps at night rather than the more common sleeps during the day and is wide awake at night. We shall see. He may be experiencing hiccups but so far I haven't noticed anything that feels like them.
Third Trimester, here we come!
This week, Baby T has seemed to find a liking to my bladder. Before I write these entries, I always start a draft and type in little notes so that I don't forget things that happened throughout the week. One of the first things I wrote for this week was "He's on my bladder." To give you an idea, this what a normal cross section would look like on a woman. Notice the large bladder with the smallish uterus on top.
This is what I'm dealing with now.
The babies head is jamming itself into a severely scrunched bladder. It takes almost nothing for it to feel full. Thankfully, I'm usually only a few steps away from the nearest bathroom.
(As you can see, I also got a haircut this week.)
Another milestone from this week is that I've started sleeping in Joe's tshirts. I can't really wear mine any longer unless I want them to be super tight and scrunch up into belly shirts. I have a bunch of new tanks that are maternity and very comfy but I try to save those for during the daytime. Luckily, Joe has 39,845 tshirts so there is no problem with running out before I get a chance to do laundry.
I also succumbed to buying a new ring and retiring my current wedding set. I actually stopped wearing my rings a few weeks ago, just in case, but I was self conscious that people were noticing my ring less ring finger, so Claire's to the rescue. $3.99 later, I have a plain "silver" band that practically slips off so I know it will last me till I'm okay with wearing my real set again. I don't think that my hands have been swelling too much because of pregnancy but moreso because of the heat. I've always had a pretty snug set of rings so I didn't want to test it and get them stuck.
Also, I did get a chance to order all of our nursery art this week. I had most of it picked out and just decided to bite the bullet. No sense in waiting. These are all 11X14 in size. I haven't decided if they will go above the crib or above the changing table.
I really want to get a fourth picture in navy but I didn't like any of the other sayings that the seller was offering so I'm gonna keep an eye out and hopefully she adds a few more in the near future.
I also had a seller on Etsy do a custom print for me. This one will only be 5X7 and will rest on one of the shelves on the wall. I also plan to create another custom piece for the shelves with his name, birth date and size but that will obviously need to wait until after he's here.
(Stay tuned for a separate post on nursery progress later this week!)
This week, his lungs should be getting the biggest workout. He's still practicing his breathing (granted he's not breathing in air, but amniotic fluid) so that he is ready to go once delivery is here. His nostrils have now opened so he has an even easier time practicing! Also, he should be sleeping and waking in regular intervals by now. I've heard that most babies will be pretty active at night and sleep during the day but it seems that he likes to play more in the afternoon. Please, oh please, let that mean we will have a baby who sleeps at night rather than the more common sleeps during the day and is wide awake at night. We shall see. He may be experiencing hiccups but so far I haven't noticed anything that feels like them.
Third Trimester, here we come!
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