So I turned 37 weeks, or full term, yesterday. I was undecided at first but now I am trying my best to get him to come out! They're only a bunch of old wives tales, nothing remotely guaranteed and since I haven't had an internal exam I have no idea if all the cramping and pressure I've been feeling is doing anything. But anyway, I figure it won't hurt to try and since he's full term everything should be fine. Better to try to help him along in the next week than have a c-section. If it weren't for the "threat" of c-section if I go longer than 38-38.5 weeks. Otherwise, while feeling uncomfortable, I wouldn't be so desperate to try to get him out.
Another blah appointment yesterday. He was moving tons but again they had a hard time getting his heartbeat. My blood pressure was high again. It was 148/100. And this time it was a very experienced nurse doing it and she was looking at the gage too so I don't really agree with what Dr. Aamodt said last week. So they had me lay down and it went down to 132/92 and then later 128/89. I wasn't even worried about it when I walked in, or even afterwards. I've basically come to terms with the fact that they are clueless about what they're doing with me and I need to be my own advocate and so if I feel like something is off I'm going to labor and delivery. I was given a prescription pain med for my migraine, which I've still had. Most of the time it's more in the background and I can get a few things done a day but if I do too much it flares up. It also seems to be related to hunger. My BSL numbers were getting crazy and I'd try snacking on "free" things or protein and I'd still be hungry. So I knew that I'd be put on insulin during the day. They upped my overnight insulin number again and now I'm taking insulin before dinner. It seemed to work pretty well last night. I felt full a little longer and my number wasn't too high and my fasting number this morning was lower. I didn't try eating on the higher end of my carb limit just because I was eating leftovers but I'll try it tonight. I've been told that it will give me more flexibility, which is nice.
Doug was with me this time so he got to witness all the things I've been griping about. Like when they had me go to my left side to try to get my BP even lower, they couldn't find the heartbeat then. They could feel and see him moving but after 10 minutes 2 different nurses couldn't get a heartbeat. The more experienced one said she'd check with the doctor but most likely I'd have to get in for an ultrasound because it's not good that they wouldn't be able to find it- even with all my swelling. I joked that he was full term today so just go ahead and induce me. It wasn't that much of a joke though. I'm just exhausted from all of this crap. 5 minutes later she comes in and the doctor (Dr. Visger who I don't like or trust) said that because he was so responsive before it should be fine. But he wasn't very responsive before. Yes, he had loads of movement but his heartrate barely went up, I've been told they're looking for pretty high spikes.
Also I had Dr. Visger look at those lumps on my belly that have migrated about 4 inches south, 2 inches per each dropping. He dropped again the other night. Now not only do I feel like he's just going to fall out between my knees but my belly is almost there! She said she thinks it's just "localized swelling." Below my belly button is really swollen due to all the extra fluid hanging out there. Since when I'm laying down and in the morning it's not as noticeable, hard or painful that's the best she could come up with. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't like his cord wrapped around a foot or something. She said definitely not, so I guess that's that. She did mention that "We've all been talking about your belly." What's that supposed to mean? Doug took it to mean that I'm some oddity they've never seen before and will be published in an article or something. Everyone who sees it is shocked. Every nurse and tech, every doctor. I feel like some awful science experiment gone wrong.
I forgot to bring up the pre-eclampsia thing. It's just this is my rationale: it's usually diagnosed after 37 weeks. Meaning just by turning 37 weeks my risk factor goes up to be diagnosed with it. They already said due to it being my first pregnancy and the GD I was higher risk for it. Ok, well is there anyway I could have it and not have the protein in my urine? Is there anyway the lab could be wrong? As in what's the precentage of error? I guess in the long run it doesn't mean much. My BP isn't horribly high and I'm not having seizures and the only "cure" is to deliver the baby, which they would have wanted to wait and do after 37 weeks anyway. But some studies shows bed rest helps. Which I can rest a lot during the day but there are times when I do run around and do a lot. I don't want to be hurting him! My grandmother and aunt are freaking out because when my grandmother was pregnant she had preeclampsia (called toxemia then) and had all the same symptoms as me. She delivered at like 28 weeks and some how in the 1960s the baby made it. But again, it's not the 1960s. But I just feel like the doctors aren't really talking to me about what's going on or trying to reassure me. It's almost as if I'm a hassle. Well, I know taking forever to find his heartbeat slows things down for the office, but it's not like I can do anything about it. Other than obvious medical concerns such as horrible swelling, a migraine for 2 weeks and high BP, I am not bothering them about every little thing. And even then I try to be relaxed and take what they say. But I'm trying to be firm about it too. I think next time we may try to get my mom to come because she'll bring up things I forget and hopefully won't be sidetracked by all the NST issues like Doug was. Basically, I won't be using them next time. I'll try Harrisonburg OB/GYN but if I develop GD again I may see if there is a high risk OB in town that specializes in that sort of thing. I suppose for the average noncomplicated pregnancy it's not so bad, but I wouldn't recommend this office for complicated pregnancies.
So I've finished my pineapple and I think I'll try to take a walk. I'm getting so much pressure when I stand and walk around, but it gets better when I sit or rest so it's not real labor. Then Doug is supposed to take me to El Charro, where hopefully I can stomach something spicy. He brought home Buffalo Wings last night, but I hate Buffalo sauce! It's just so sour and vinegary. I have a shower with his family on Sunday, which should be nice. Way smaller than the church one, but still nice. And later tonight, if I still have energy I plan on making and freezing some pasta and Chili- then my freezer stash for after pregnancy will be pretty much done. There's more I could make but his Dad still hasn't brought over the extra freezer from storage so I have limited space. And I know others will bring us food and once the GD veil is lifted I'll be jonesing for some high sugar and carb things anyway. So far I have: chicken pot pie, Chicken and mixed veggie chowder (way better than chicken soup!), 2 freezer skillet meals and 2 frozen pizzas. The first two should be enough to feed us for 2 nights. Lunches should just be simple sandwiches or leftovers. Then I'll add in the Chili (2 dinners) and the pasta (4 dinners) and that's 14 meals. I'm going to try to make some goodies to freeze too, like cookies and cinnamon rolls, pancakes. But I think I'll be hitting the cereal bowl pretty hard! I've only had cereal once since the GD diagnosis and that was for dinner. A bowl of Cheerios, 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 slice banana was 45g of carbs. I can't wait to eat things like lucky charms, or bagels, or muffins, or Ihop's Stuffed French Toast with hashbrowns for breakfast! Or really anytime. Breakfast is my favorite meal, even though I rarely eat a big breakfast (or before GD breakfast at all) in the morning. Seriously, even a fruit and yogurt parfait which is deliciously healthy is super high in carbs and I can't have.
Ok, now I feel like I have to go on that walk. Just thinking about all that sugar makes me feel guilty!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Drama, drama, drama
I feel like I need a vacation! Earlier in this pregnancy there was all sorts of drama with moving to VA, leaving AK, all of that. I posted about that a few months ago, no need to rehash it all. Then it's taken some time to readjust here and right around the time we kind of got our sea legs came the GD diagnosis and now every appointment brings something new!
At my appointment on Friday they did a non-stress test. Teddy wasn't moving and even after a lot of poking and prodding his heart rate wasn't going up like it should. The point of a NST is to make sure that his heartrate will increase during contractions. If you're not having contractions at the time of testing then they look at his movement. At my first NST on Tuesday he didn't move a lot. Sometimes he moves more after I eat so I made sure I had just eaten breakfast before this appointment. Also, cold drinks work well. So I had a diet coke and some ice water. Nada! They finally gave me some juice but he still didn't really move until 15 minutes later so they don't think that even worked. First it took forever to find his heartbeat. I'm so swollen it's just so hard! Then I was there for about 2 hours and they were getting very concerned. They finally said that if they didn't get good marked movement and an increase in a heartrate in the next 10 minutes they were going to have to send me to the hospital to get an ultrasound. Which freaked me out because they have ultrasound machines there- why would I specifically need to go to the hospital?! They extended that 10 minute scenario 2 times and that's when he finally cooperated. It was lunch time so they just kind of said "Well, that was close but he's fine so you can go." And as I was going out the door I asked for the results to my 24 hour urine collection, which they said was fine.
My instinct said to sit down and demand to talk to a doctor. It didn't make any sense. I was told that the decreased movement was fine, but yet they were getting scared today. I was already told that I'd be monitored for pre-eclampsia becasue I am at a higher risk with GD and after I told the doctor at the appointment on Tuesday about my headaches and seeing floaters (but not constant) she wanted to do a 24 hour urine collection. My blood pressure had been fine at all my appointments in October but in September they were generally borderline. My swelling has been crazy! Laying down and elevating my feet and increasing my water hardly reduces it at all. I'll wake up in the morning and they're still swollen. All the way up my legs now. That morning I noticed that the indentation of the seam to my nightgown was in a lot deeper than usual so I wondered if my thighs were swelling too. And my eyelids had been puffy. I should have asked for them to check my BP but I didn't. The only symptom I'm missing from the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia is high protein in the urine. And they didn't tell me a number so I don't know if it's one of those things where I was totally in the clear or I barely passed. Either way, I always get the feeling that they think I'm blowing everything out of proportion. So then I'll stop mentioning things and then 2 weeks later they'll be concerned about it. That happened with the swelling, my rash and now the movement.
But I left. I was upset and posted on thebump and was encouraged by them and my mom to go ahead and call and see if there was any explanation for the things going on. I had never been told why all of it was going on, just told that after lab work everything was fine. I want to trust the labwork, but there have been other times when I've been sick with things and the labwork didn't seem to indicate it. Such as the kidney infection stuff. There is still no earthly reason why no antibiotic ever got rid of it and yet I never got worse. There were ultrasounds done and usually if you're sick like that for that long other things are going on, like kidney stones, bladder cancer etc. Nope, totally fine. And then inexplicably it disappeared. Even this last time with my UTI caused by Strep B, they didn't want to send out for a culture because the dipstick said it was fine, but I knew something was up. And I'm not a doctor. I don't know if there is a 1 in a million chance of having pre-eclampsia without high protein or not. I could be that one in a million. I know I sound paranoid and like a complainer but after some of the things I've gone through and the fact that it would be effecting my baby- I feel justified in asking those questions! I was 99% sure everything was fine and that it just meant I would be miserable but as long as everything was fine with Teddy I was ok with that.
So I called in, again not really thinking anything was wrong, just wanting that to be said to me. The nurse called back and said that swelling can be bad sometimes and to try xyz, all the things I've been doing since July. I spend hours everyday in bed. Just sitting right now on the computer my feet have started to swell and are in pain. She also suggested getting my BP checked at Wal-mart or something just to ease my mind. So not the answer I wanted to hear, but I accepted it. I had a bit of a headache but took a little nap. I still had the headache when I woke up and decided I'd get my BP checked before picking Doug up from work. I thought it was a fools errand though, because all my lab work for pre-eclampsia just came back fine and it had been fine for weeks. The Wal-Mart off of Rt. 33 is always crowded, especially on a Friday evening. I didn't think it really effected me but when I tested it was 157/87 with a pulse of 122!! At first I thought the machine was broken but the bottom number wasn't horribly off from where it usually is for me. So I tried again and thought about relaxing on a beach and it was still just as bad. The headache had really intensified, especially due to the lights and driving at night and I was feeling a little dizzy. So I left and picked Doug up. I told him I needed to eat something and wanted to relax for about an hour and to try the other Wal-Mart (much slower paced) and see what it said. He had been pushing for me to just go to the hospital since 3pm (but I think he mostly just wanted to leave work early and is hoping for Teddy come out every day). So he agreed to that. An hour later I tested and it went up to 162/97! Doug tested and his was fine, so definitely not a problem with the monitor. I knew enough about pre-eclampsia to know that even if that's what was going on it wouldn't be life threatening. The worst that can happen is the BP getting so high I have a seizure, which at this point wouldn't happen and there's medicine that would be given to prevent one. If they needed to delivery Teddy tonight he would be fine at 36 weeks. He might have to spend some time in the NICU but it's not the scary scenario it would have been at 34 or less weeks. So I don't think that I was overly anxious about it. I can surprisingly be calm in a crisis when needed.
So I called the office and they said to go on into to Labor and Delivery. The doctor thought it was probably a migraine but said that they'd go ahead and check my labs again. When I got there they made me use a wheelchair due to the high BP, I felt so ridiculous since I wasn't having contractions! Then they started checking my BP and it wasn't horribly high but not normal either. The headache was awful, at least an 8 on my headache pain scale. They had to do a catheter which really hurt! I had one done a few years ago but I'm so swollen and sensitive now! And having the headache didn't help. They kept having to turn the lights on and the noise from the heartrate monitor even seemed really loud to me. Every little tug and prick hurt 1,000 times worse. After the labwork came back clean it was clear that it had to be a migraine, which spiked my BP, and therefore also made the pain worse. So I was given some medication (Oxytocin or Oxycodon- I can't remember which). And that started to work really well. It didn't erase the pain but I was able to be discharged and sent home. For the rest of the weekend the pain was still there and would flare up sometimes, usually at night or after being around artificial light. I'm still suffering with it. So I missed church this weekend, felt like dying after my appointment yesterday and so far today have done nothing. This post is taking longer than I thought so it's not helping.
So my appointment yesterday wasn't the greatest either. I had my growth scan done first and he is still measuring really broad at 94%. His weight is estimated at 7.5 pounds but that could be off to start with plus the fact that I've got a lot more fluid this time. But last time he was 5.5 pounds and measuring 95% broad so there does seem to be a consistent pattern. My blood sugar levels have been crazy for the past few days. I'll eat the same thing and they'll be inexplicably high or low. I forgot my sheet yesterday but I have another appointment on Thursday and if they're not insanely better and more regular and I somehow remember a rhyme or reason to the other numbers I'll be put on insulin during the day as well. Well controlled GD patients can usually go 40 weeks. Since mine isn't and is getting worse, that alone would make them want to induce at 39 or 38 weeks. We'll have another scan at 38.5 weeks but right now it's looking like a c-section is needed. Not really because how much he weighs but because he's so broad and GD babies grow differently. The benefits of having a c-section, even if it ends up not being necessary, outweigh the risk of him getting stuck during labor. This is actually better news than I was expecting. I was preparing myself to hear a c-section at 38 weeks, so I have at least a few more days to get everything ready.
After the scan I was supposed to do my NST. Actually, I thought I would have time for lunch and they'd do the NST as part of my appointment (scheduled 2 hours later). But no. Glad I brought a snack! I had to wait to use the machine and then it took 15 minutes to get a good hold on the heartbeat again. I had the monitor on for about 3 minutes when the nurse came back in and said we don't need to do it since there was good movement on the ultrasound. Yes, I know that. She told me she would note that in there in case there was trouble like last time but the tech didn't say it was going to replace a NST. I even asked, "Are you sure? I thought the purpose of a NST was to monitor if his heart rate increases during a contraction or movement. He was moving just a little during the ultrasound and only one good jab and she wasn't really monitoring the heart rate." The nurse said she was sure and so then I had to do my regular appointment. She begins to test my BP and my bottom number is crazy high. I had a headache again, I assumed from the hunger and so much time in the weird light. But she took it 4 times before telling me to lay down and that she'd come back and check again. Same thing 10 minutes later. Finally they got the doctor to come and do it and he took it about 5 times. He finally rationalized that for some reason they couldn't hear it when it was lower than 100 but when he looked at the dial he could see it pulse at 70. Ok, but everyone could hear it just fine on Friday? And I don't remember it ever being in the 70s, it was always at least 80. Does that mean people have been wrong all along? Why can't you hear it? So then I totally forgot to try to get a real explanation about the swelling etc. and ask about the whole "one in a million" concept just to put my mind at ease and ask what on earth is going on with these knots I have in my upper abdomen. I asked the ultrasound tech if she could figure out what they were and she just ignored me and until last week I thought it was a foot! But they've gotten bigger, rounder and are painful. So basically that was the appointment. "Oh, here's this lame explanation for your bp being weird again, you know your labwork came back fine (yeah I do, but pre-e usually develops after 37 weeks so therefore the majority of women are fine at 36 weeks and suddenly not at 37 so I could have been fine on Wednesday and Friday but not now), looks like a c-section will be needed due to xyz but we'll decide for sure when after the next ultrasound, and so we don't need to do internal exams, ok, bye now."
GRRR!!!!!! Well, and I managed to get a note from him which will give me a nice extension on my classes. Ugh, I hate how short and dramatic each appointment is. One time I even wrote everything down and the doctor was sooo annoyed that I had a list and didn't let her go until I went over each one. I know they're the doctors but I'd like to be told what is going on. For all I know they could all be thinking "Ok, she's going to need insulin during the day, a c-section, probably at 38.5 weeks etc and given the swelling and BP she will likely develop pre-eclampsia at 37 or 38 weeks so maybe we'll take him earlier." GRRR! If in their experience that has been the case, just tell me. I swear I'm not one of those women who will freak out. I just want to be prepared so I won't freak out. So far every complication that has arisen they seem to have totally seen coming. Well, then why not share it with me? Do you think I like spending hours on google everyday and trying not to let my mind get ahead of itself, but when I'm not given answers what do you think I'm going to do?! Such as when my BP was high, I had done research on pre-eclampsia and so I knew that everything would be ok if I was indeed diagnosed. But now my fear is that they're not taking me seriously and so I could miss being diagnosed because not every woman has every symptom (again, I don't know but that seems to be the way every other illness under the sun works) or that they've had a plan all along but I don't get to know about. As in if there is a 1 in 6 chance of me giving birth at 37 weeks due to pre-e, tell me! If there is a 1 in 4 chance of me needing a c-section, tell me! If there is a 1 in 5 chance of it needing to be performed during the 38th week due to my sugar levels, tell me! I don't know about any of those numbers, I'm just making them up. But I am a statistic. I know that. I fit into an equation like that somewhere. Well, tell me then! Otherwise, most first time births have like a 95% chance of going late. See, most mothers are prepared to go past 40 weeks. I'd just like to know if I should be prepared to go even earlier or develop yet another complication.
I'm sure there's no perfect OB/GYN office out there, but I am not happy with how things are going at this place. And now, my mom's co-worker has told me not to let Dr. Visger do my c-section. She's the one who I've had bad experiences with. Ok, so when the time comes to schedule one do I just demand that it's not her? What if I go into labor early and she's the one on call? They all have days when they're the ones at the hospital doing procedures, and then also days and nights when they're on call. I have a 1 in 4 chance of getting her no matter what. I wish I had put more effort into researching which OB to have before scheduling with them after my GD test. I probably would have gone back to my original OB/GYN in Hburg (Harrisonburg OB/GYN) and now I kind of wish I had. I just wanted to hurry up and get it settled and we didn't have insurance yet so it didn't seem like it mattered very much.
Ok, I have to stop since my eyes and head are really hurting and my feet belong to an elephant now.
At my appointment on Friday they did a non-stress test. Teddy wasn't moving and even after a lot of poking and prodding his heart rate wasn't going up like it should. The point of a NST is to make sure that his heartrate will increase during contractions. If you're not having contractions at the time of testing then they look at his movement. At my first NST on Tuesday he didn't move a lot. Sometimes he moves more after I eat so I made sure I had just eaten breakfast before this appointment. Also, cold drinks work well. So I had a diet coke and some ice water. Nada! They finally gave me some juice but he still didn't really move until 15 minutes later so they don't think that even worked. First it took forever to find his heartbeat. I'm so swollen it's just so hard! Then I was there for about 2 hours and they were getting very concerned. They finally said that if they didn't get good marked movement and an increase in a heartrate in the next 10 minutes they were going to have to send me to the hospital to get an ultrasound. Which freaked me out because they have ultrasound machines there- why would I specifically need to go to the hospital?! They extended that 10 minute scenario 2 times and that's when he finally cooperated. It was lunch time so they just kind of said "Well, that was close but he's fine so you can go." And as I was going out the door I asked for the results to my 24 hour urine collection, which they said was fine.
My instinct said to sit down and demand to talk to a doctor. It didn't make any sense. I was told that the decreased movement was fine, but yet they were getting scared today. I was already told that I'd be monitored for pre-eclampsia becasue I am at a higher risk with GD and after I told the doctor at the appointment on Tuesday about my headaches and seeing floaters (but not constant) she wanted to do a 24 hour urine collection. My blood pressure had been fine at all my appointments in October but in September they were generally borderline. My swelling has been crazy! Laying down and elevating my feet and increasing my water hardly reduces it at all. I'll wake up in the morning and they're still swollen. All the way up my legs now. That morning I noticed that the indentation of the seam to my nightgown was in a lot deeper than usual so I wondered if my thighs were swelling too. And my eyelids had been puffy. I should have asked for them to check my BP but I didn't. The only symptom I'm missing from the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia is high protein in the urine. And they didn't tell me a number so I don't know if it's one of those things where I was totally in the clear or I barely passed. Either way, I always get the feeling that they think I'm blowing everything out of proportion. So then I'll stop mentioning things and then 2 weeks later they'll be concerned about it. That happened with the swelling, my rash and now the movement.
But I left. I was upset and posted on thebump and was encouraged by them and my mom to go ahead and call and see if there was any explanation for the things going on. I had never been told why all of it was going on, just told that after lab work everything was fine. I want to trust the labwork, but there have been other times when I've been sick with things and the labwork didn't seem to indicate it. Such as the kidney infection stuff. There is still no earthly reason why no antibiotic ever got rid of it and yet I never got worse. There were ultrasounds done and usually if you're sick like that for that long other things are going on, like kidney stones, bladder cancer etc. Nope, totally fine. And then inexplicably it disappeared. Even this last time with my UTI caused by Strep B, they didn't want to send out for a culture because the dipstick said it was fine, but I knew something was up. And I'm not a doctor. I don't know if there is a 1 in a million chance of having pre-eclampsia without high protein or not. I could be that one in a million. I know I sound paranoid and like a complainer but after some of the things I've gone through and the fact that it would be effecting my baby- I feel justified in asking those questions! I was 99% sure everything was fine and that it just meant I would be miserable but as long as everything was fine with Teddy I was ok with that.
So I called in, again not really thinking anything was wrong, just wanting that to be said to me. The nurse called back and said that swelling can be bad sometimes and to try xyz, all the things I've been doing since July. I spend hours everyday in bed. Just sitting right now on the computer my feet have started to swell and are in pain. She also suggested getting my BP checked at Wal-mart or something just to ease my mind. So not the answer I wanted to hear, but I accepted it. I had a bit of a headache but took a little nap. I still had the headache when I woke up and decided I'd get my BP checked before picking Doug up from work. I thought it was a fools errand though, because all my lab work for pre-eclampsia just came back fine and it had been fine for weeks. The Wal-Mart off of Rt. 33 is always crowded, especially on a Friday evening. I didn't think it really effected me but when I tested it was 157/87 with a pulse of 122!! At first I thought the machine was broken but the bottom number wasn't horribly off from where it usually is for me. So I tried again and thought about relaxing on a beach and it was still just as bad. The headache had really intensified, especially due to the lights and driving at night and I was feeling a little dizzy. So I left and picked Doug up. I told him I needed to eat something and wanted to relax for about an hour and to try the other Wal-Mart (much slower paced) and see what it said. He had been pushing for me to just go to the hospital since 3pm (but I think he mostly just wanted to leave work early and is hoping for Teddy come out every day). So he agreed to that. An hour later I tested and it went up to 162/97! Doug tested and his was fine, so definitely not a problem with the monitor. I knew enough about pre-eclampsia to know that even if that's what was going on it wouldn't be life threatening. The worst that can happen is the BP getting so high I have a seizure, which at this point wouldn't happen and there's medicine that would be given to prevent one. If they needed to delivery Teddy tonight he would be fine at 36 weeks. He might have to spend some time in the NICU but it's not the scary scenario it would have been at 34 or less weeks. So I don't think that I was overly anxious about it. I can surprisingly be calm in a crisis when needed.
So I called the office and they said to go on into to Labor and Delivery. The doctor thought it was probably a migraine but said that they'd go ahead and check my labs again. When I got there they made me use a wheelchair due to the high BP, I felt so ridiculous since I wasn't having contractions! Then they started checking my BP and it wasn't horribly high but not normal either. The headache was awful, at least an 8 on my headache pain scale. They had to do a catheter which really hurt! I had one done a few years ago but I'm so swollen and sensitive now! And having the headache didn't help. They kept having to turn the lights on and the noise from the heartrate monitor even seemed really loud to me. Every little tug and prick hurt 1,000 times worse. After the labwork came back clean it was clear that it had to be a migraine, which spiked my BP, and therefore also made the pain worse. So I was given some medication (Oxytocin or Oxycodon- I can't remember which). And that started to work really well. It didn't erase the pain but I was able to be discharged and sent home. For the rest of the weekend the pain was still there and would flare up sometimes, usually at night or after being around artificial light. I'm still suffering with it. So I missed church this weekend, felt like dying after my appointment yesterday and so far today have done nothing. This post is taking longer than I thought so it's not helping.
So my appointment yesterday wasn't the greatest either. I had my growth scan done first and he is still measuring really broad at 94%. His weight is estimated at 7.5 pounds but that could be off to start with plus the fact that I've got a lot more fluid this time. But last time he was 5.5 pounds and measuring 95% broad so there does seem to be a consistent pattern. My blood sugar levels have been crazy for the past few days. I'll eat the same thing and they'll be inexplicably high or low. I forgot my sheet yesterday but I have another appointment on Thursday and if they're not insanely better and more regular and I somehow remember a rhyme or reason to the other numbers I'll be put on insulin during the day as well. Well controlled GD patients can usually go 40 weeks. Since mine isn't and is getting worse, that alone would make them want to induce at 39 or 38 weeks. We'll have another scan at 38.5 weeks but right now it's looking like a c-section is needed. Not really because how much he weighs but because he's so broad and GD babies grow differently. The benefits of having a c-section, even if it ends up not being necessary, outweigh the risk of him getting stuck during labor. This is actually better news than I was expecting. I was preparing myself to hear a c-section at 38 weeks, so I have at least a few more days to get everything ready.
After the scan I was supposed to do my NST. Actually, I thought I would have time for lunch and they'd do the NST as part of my appointment (scheduled 2 hours later). But no. Glad I brought a snack! I had to wait to use the machine and then it took 15 minutes to get a good hold on the heartbeat again. I had the monitor on for about 3 minutes when the nurse came back in and said we don't need to do it since there was good movement on the ultrasound. Yes, I know that. She told me she would note that in there in case there was trouble like last time but the tech didn't say it was going to replace a NST. I even asked, "Are you sure? I thought the purpose of a NST was to monitor if his heart rate increases during a contraction or movement. He was moving just a little during the ultrasound and only one good jab and she wasn't really monitoring the heart rate." The nurse said she was sure and so then I had to do my regular appointment. She begins to test my BP and my bottom number is crazy high. I had a headache again, I assumed from the hunger and so much time in the weird light. But she took it 4 times before telling me to lay down and that she'd come back and check again. Same thing 10 minutes later. Finally they got the doctor to come and do it and he took it about 5 times. He finally rationalized that for some reason they couldn't hear it when it was lower than 100 but when he looked at the dial he could see it pulse at 70. Ok, but everyone could hear it just fine on Friday? And I don't remember it ever being in the 70s, it was always at least 80. Does that mean people have been wrong all along? Why can't you hear it? So then I totally forgot to try to get a real explanation about the swelling etc. and ask about the whole "one in a million" concept just to put my mind at ease and ask what on earth is going on with these knots I have in my upper abdomen. I asked the ultrasound tech if she could figure out what they were and she just ignored me and until last week I thought it was a foot! But they've gotten bigger, rounder and are painful. So basically that was the appointment. "Oh, here's this lame explanation for your bp being weird again, you know your labwork came back fine (yeah I do, but pre-e usually develops after 37 weeks so therefore the majority of women are fine at 36 weeks and suddenly not at 37 so I could have been fine on Wednesday and Friday but not now), looks like a c-section will be needed due to xyz but we'll decide for sure when after the next ultrasound, and so we don't need to do internal exams, ok, bye now."
GRRR!!!!!! Well, and I managed to get a note from him which will give me a nice extension on my classes. Ugh, I hate how short and dramatic each appointment is. One time I even wrote everything down and the doctor was sooo annoyed that I had a list and didn't let her go until I went over each one. I know they're the doctors but I'd like to be told what is going on. For all I know they could all be thinking "Ok, she's going to need insulin during the day, a c-section, probably at 38.5 weeks etc and given the swelling and BP she will likely develop pre-eclampsia at 37 or 38 weeks so maybe we'll take him earlier." GRRR! If in their experience that has been the case, just tell me. I swear I'm not one of those women who will freak out. I just want to be prepared so I won't freak out. So far every complication that has arisen they seem to have totally seen coming. Well, then why not share it with me? Do you think I like spending hours on google everyday and trying not to let my mind get ahead of itself, but when I'm not given answers what do you think I'm going to do?! Such as when my BP was high, I had done research on pre-eclampsia and so I knew that everything would be ok if I was indeed diagnosed. But now my fear is that they're not taking me seriously and so I could miss being diagnosed because not every woman has every symptom (again, I don't know but that seems to be the way every other illness under the sun works) or that they've had a plan all along but I don't get to know about. As in if there is a 1 in 6 chance of me giving birth at 37 weeks due to pre-e, tell me! If there is a 1 in 4 chance of me needing a c-section, tell me! If there is a 1 in 5 chance of it needing to be performed during the 38th week due to my sugar levels, tell me! I don't know about any of those numbers, I'm just making them up. But I am a statistic. I know that. I fit into an equation like that somewhere. Well, tell me then! Otherwise, most first time births have like a 95% chance of going late. See, most mothers are prepared to go past 40 weeks. I'd just like to know if I should be prepared to go even earlier or develop yet another complication.
I'm sure there's no perfect OB/GYN office out there, but I am not happy with how things are going at this place. And now, my mom's co-worker has told me not to let Dr. Visger do my c-section. She's the one who I've had bad experiences with. Ok, so when the time comes to schedule one do I just demand that it's not her? What if I go into labor early and she's the one on call? They all have days when they're the ones at the hospital doing procedures, and then also days and nights when they're on call. I have a 1 in 4 chance of getting her no matter what. I wish I had put more effort into researching which OB to have before scheduling with them after my GD test. I probably would have gone back to my original OB/GYN in Hburg (Harrisonburg OB/GYN) and now I kind of wish I had. I just wanted to hurry up and get it settled and we didn't have insurance yet so it didn't seem like it mattered very much.
Ok, I have to stop since my eyes and head are really hurting and my feet belong to an elephant now.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
36 weeks
So I'm 36 weeks pregnant today, meaning starting my 9th month! It's so crazy to think in just a few weeks (or less) Teddy will be here and our lives will never be the same. I think about it all the time now. When Doug and I are just lounging on the bed watching TV and the cat is curled up between us, I think about soon it will be our baby! Right now while Doug is on Xbox and I'm wasting time online and it's basically pretty quiet, I know we will not have too many more quiet moments to ourselves!
So my shower was Sunday and it was huge! Kind of overwhelming, but we got so many things. The night before I finished getting everything from my Mom's house and kind of got all that squared away. She bought so many outfits! We ended up only keeping the ones over 6 months that we got from the shower, aside from one or two that were just too cute. It's hard shopping for that age group right now because it will be Spring/Summer and all the stores have Fall/Winter clothes out. I told Doug's aunt, who is throwing me a shower on the 31st, that I don't mind thrift stores and yard sale items. So hopefully that will help. There isn't much left to buy and I think they're a little disapointed. But it's like I told Aunt Susie, I know what I have not necessarily what I need. I'm a first timer here! I know when I was a nanny that I had to change the 6 month old a few times a day. She would get things all over her, but then I just got to leave and not worry about the laundry. I think he has enough clothes, but who knows for sure? So since there was a grandbaby born just last year on that side of the family maybe they can come up with some ideas of things that we'll need.
Even though we plan on cloth diapering we have enough disposables to do a few weeks on and enough wipes for probably the first 6 months! So that's nice. Mom and I are going to work on sewing a stash for him since there are patterns online for free and we have extra fabric which is just as absorbent as the kind I could buy already in cloth form. I'm really kind of excited about breastfeeding. I know it's going to be difficult at first but I love knowing how much money it's going to save, how convenient it is and the bonding of it all. Even though I've heard a few downers try to talk me out of it.
So last time I mentioned that I'd do a breakdown of our costs.
Paint: $80. We started with black walls so we had to prime and then paint.
Ceiling: $50 for paneling and $30 for fabric
Door: $30 gift from father in law
Curtains for closet: $30 but used a gift card
Carpet: room started with concrete floor, free! We pulled up carpet from a room upstairs that has gorgeous hardwood.
Border: $40. I'm not proud of this price. But I couldn't find a Pooh border that I liked and it was going to cost that much anyway. So I went with a solid brown ribbon from Michael's.
Dresser: free, from old one used by Doug's aunts.
Light fixtures: $30
Crib: $99. We were going to get a 4in1 that could convert to a toddler bed, day bed and full size but we found Doug's old twin size and it's still in good condition. And this way we won't have to buy a new crib for number 2 etc. And so that saved us $60
Changing table: $35. Originally it was supposed to be free, with the crib order but then we still had to pay shipping for it. When we cancelled the crib order they never made us pay full price for the table (should be $75). So don't tell Target! We definitely could have gotten it for cheaper via Craigslist (not that exact one) but at the time it wasn't going to be cheaper than free. Oh well, not the worst price.
Car seat: Doug's aunt just told me she has a brand new carseat bought last year that they decided not to use for her granddaughter. I just need to confirm that it hasn't been recalled and make sure it fits fine (and isn't pink hopefully) and that will save us $115.
Stroller: We're going to see how it goes without one. We won't be using it until the spring, unless I want to take him shopping with me, which I never shop and could always use the car seat carrier or sling instead. So when we do buy one it can just be an umbrella stroller and much cheaper than the infant kind. Roughly $50 new versus $150+ and I will definitely be trying to find it used instead.
Bassinet/Play yard/Pack n Play: Mom bought it for $30 I think? So $0 for us.
Rocking chair: So it's not a rocker. But we have a giant oversized chair from Doug's former step-mother that we've had for about 5 years now. It's very comfy and will be great for late night feedings. I'm still considering using the rocker from upstairs if it seems needed. But either way: FREE!
Bouncy chair: not one but 2 for free! (one stays at Mom's)
Swing: we'll borrow from Doug's cousin
Bookcase: Mom is buying this. So I'll just have to buy some of the fabric cubes that I want. Maybe $30.
Clothes: so far I have spent $10. I bought a "Future MVP" onesie at a thrift store before I was pregnant and then 2 gender neutral ones on clerance at Wal-Mart before we knew his sex. All other ones have come from my Mom and as other gifts. And boy is a lot!
Bathroom/Health/Saftey: free. So far everything has been a gift.
Diapering: We have enough disposables for a few weeks and then cloth diapering for close to free. Same with wipes. Total cost maybe $50 until he is potty trained, and then they can be reused for another child.
Feeding: Mom bought a used breast pump, which I have read online may be a closed system and therefore considered fine to use. I need to call the manufacturer to confirm though. It was $10. If not, I have a new one as a gift. We have a few bottles and breast milk storage bags as gifts because I do want the option to bottle feed breast milk. So far we haven't bought anything. Doug's aunt said that his side would buy things for solid food eating. I plan to make my own baby food, by the way, but we still need child approved plates etc. But I bet they'll buy more than enough.
Um...I think that's it. Really, we didn't have to get that much. I don't know if people were really generous because they knew we had moved and didn't have a lot and not a lot of money or if they're always that generous (haven't been able to make it to a baby shower at church in years). But it's a good thing that we were moving or I probably would have bought a lot more and wasted a lot of money! To anyone planning on kids soon definitely remember that people LOVE babies and will go overboad on gifts for you. As hard as it is, try to wait before buying anything. If you feel you must contribute to the baby's belongings, learn a craft. Crochet or knit some hats. They take longer than just buying one at the store and you'll still feel satisfied about contributing. It will cost you less and you won't be picking up "a little something" every trip to the store you make. In fact, I'd suggest budgeting money for yourself during the pregnancy! Reviewing our finances you can definitely tell which month I got pregnant in. A lot more eating out since I was exhausted and had a lot of food aversions to things at the house. It would have been nice to factor in some prenatal massages or general pampering. This is kind of your last chance to put you first. Not that you can entirely do that while pregnant, but seriously, make it easy on yourself while you can!
Ok, so about my appointment this week. I had to do my first non-stress test where they monitor the baby's heartbeat during contractions or other movement. But I wasn't having any real contractions and he was sleeping so it took awhile. We tried ice water, we tried turning on my left side, nothing would wake him up! I kept poking at him and finally got a few good kicks out of him. He was all crazy before the appointment, and afterwards when I had a snack. I have another one tomorrow and I'll be sure to eat just before going in! It turns out that I have PUPPs a very painful rash on my belly and I've been given a prescription strength antihistimine. I took one before bed on Tuesday and I felt its effects all day yesterday. So I only had half of one last night and that seemed to work better. It was so nice to sleep since I had been waking up itching for the last several nights. And during the day it itches a lot less too. But the rash itself is normal, and just something that some women get (though evidence shows most of them are pregnant with boys). They mentioned my swelling again. I gained 6 pounds this week and it's not just a fluke on their scale, it says so on mine too. Since August I had only gained like 2 pounds, depending on which time of day you weighed me. So this really, really stuck out! My blood pressure was ok, but there have been times when it has been high. I mentioned that at my shower on Sunday I was seeing stars for part of it (didn't tell anyone though because I didn't want my mom freaking out) and I've seen some floaters and that most of Monday and Tuesday I had a lot of sensitivity to light (still do) so they wanted me to do a 24 hour urine collection to check for pre eclampsia. Usually they go by protein in the urine (usually noticable with just a dipstick test at the office) and high blood pressure but it can be tricky to catch some times. So I did that yesterday and today, it was sooo pleasant (note the sarcasm).
It's not that I want to have pre-eclampsia. It would be difficult. I'd probably be put on bed rest (which the boys would probably die during) and then I'd probably definitely be induced at 38 weeks. But I would really like an answer as to what's up with my swelling. I'm swollen past my knees, no matter how much water I drink and how long or high I elevate my feet. It will go down some but not all the way. The worst is my belly. I look huge and a lot of that is actual swelling. One OB told me it was because he hangs so low and so I bought this special harness thing to push it up. A) that thing hurts and B) so far has not worked. And it doesn't make sense because the swelling is spreading. It started out just the very bottom part but now 2 weeks later it's all the way up at my belly button, has spread farther out and pits more (when you can push in with your finger and leave an indentation). Nothing normal about that. The skin doesn't even feel like skin anymore. I'd post a pic but I don't want to scare people! It's kind of hard getting around when I'm so swollen!
I will begin having two non stress tests a week and I have a growth ultrasound on Monday. After this one is when they'll be deciding if he's too big to try a vaginal birth. At the last one his belly measured in the 95th percentile and was really broad, so they're afraid he could get stuck after getting his head out. We'll see how this one goes. After a few more non stress tests is when they'll decide as to how early he should be born. As far as I know, no chance of giving me until 40 weeks and definitely not going later. So right now it's looking like sometime between November 4th and November 11th, probably closer to the 11th. But I'll know more later. I've done some research on c-section recovery and at first I was really freaked out. It means I'd need A LOT of help. Probably more than Doug and my Mom and even my sister can give. So we'll just have to leave that in God's hands. In the end I'm going to go with whatever they suggest. I'm not just a simple case anymore and I'm not just asking for one so I won't be fighting them on the issue. It's a real concern if he would get stuck, very life threatening and would require an immediate c-section. Even if they'd schedule one and then afterwards say "Well, he probably would have been ok coming out normally" just the fact that they thought there was a high risk would make it worth it to me. I've done research to make sure I get the safest car seat, crib mattress, crib, feeding him, diapering him etc. Why would I gamble when it came to delivery? Hopefully they won't be thinking that, but if they do then I will listen.
So, I guess that's it. Here's some nursery pics. It's not quite finished and we've put away more things, but it's definitely coming together!
Me at 35weeks3days and after dropping
So my shower was Sunday and it was huge! Kind of overwhelming, but we got so many things. The night before I finished getting everything from my Mom's house and kind of got all that squared away. She bought so many outfits! We ended up only keeping the ones over 6 months that we got from the shower, aside from one or two that were just too cute. It's hard shopping for that age group right now because it will be Spring/Summer and all the stores have Fall/Winter clothes out. I told Doug's aunt, who is throwing me a shower on the 31st, that I don't mind thrift stores and yard sale items. So hopefully that will help. There isn't much left to buy and I think they're a little disapointed. But it's like I told Aunt Susie, I know what I have not necessarily what I need. I'm a first timer here! I know when I was a nanny that I had to change the 6 month old a few times a day. She would get things all over her, but then I just got to leave and not worry about the laundry. I think he has enough clothes, but who knows for sure? So since there was a grandbaby born just last year on that side of the family maybe they can come up with some ideas of things that we'll need.
Even though we plan on cloth diapering we have enough disposables to do a few weeks on and enough wipes for probably the first 6 months! So that's nice. Mom and I are going to work on sewing a stash for him since there are patterns online for free and we have extra fabric which is just as absorbent as the kind I could buy already in cloth form. I'm really kind of excited about breastfeeding. I know it's going to be difficult at first but I love knowing how much money it's going to save, how convenient it is and the bonding of it all. Even though I've heard a few downers try to talk me out of it.
So last time I mentioned that I'd do a breakdown of our costs.
Paint: $80. We started with black walls so we had to prime and then paint.
Ceiling: $50 for paneling and $30 for fabric
Door: $30 gift from father in law
Curtains for closet: $30 but used a gift card
Carpet: room started with concrete floor, free! We pulled up carpet from a room upstairs that has gorgeous hardwood.
Border: $40. I'm not proud of this price. But I couldn't find a Pooh border that I liked and it was going to cost that much anyway. So I went with a solid brown ribbon from Michael's.
Dresser: free, from old one used by Doug's aunts.
Light fixtures: $30
Crib: $99. We were going to get a 4in1 that could convert to a toddler bed, day bed and full size but we found Doug's old twin size and it's still in good condition. And this way we won't have to buy a new crib for number 2 etc. And so that saved us $60
Changing table: $35. Originally it was supposed to be free, with the crib order but then we still had to pay shipping for it. When we cancelled the crib order they never made us pay full price for the table (should be $75). So don't tell Target! We definitely could have gotten it for cheaper via Craigslist (not that exact one) but at the time it wasn't going to be cheaper than free. Oh well, not the worst price.
Car seat: Doug's aunt just told me she has a brand new carseat bought last year that they decided not to use for her granddaughter. I just need to confirm that it hasn't been recalled and make sure it fits fine (and isn't pink hopefully) and that will save us $115.
Stroller: We're going to see how it goes without one. We won't be using it until the spring, unless I want to take him shopping with me, which I never shop and could always use the car seat carrier or sling instead. So when we do buy one it can just be an umbrella stroller and much cheaper than the infant kind. Roughly $50 new versus $150+ and I will definitely be trying to find it used instead.
Bassinet/Play yard/Pack n Play: Mom bought it for $30 I think? So $0 for us.
Rocking chair: So it's not a rocker. But we have a giant oversized chair from Doug's former step-mother that we've had for about 5 years now. It's very comfy and will be great for late night feedings. I'm still considering using the rocker from upstairs if it seems needed. But either way: FREE!
Bouncy chair: not one but 2 for free! (one stays at Mom's)
Swing: we'll borrow from Doug's cousin
Bookcase: Mom is buying this. So I'll just have to buy some of the fabric cubes that I want. Maybe $30.
Clothes: so far I have spent $10. I bought a "Future MVP" onesie at a thrift store before I was pregnant and then 2 gender neutral ones on clerance at Wal-Mart before we knew his sex. All other ones have come from my Mom and as other gifts. And boy is a lot!
Bathroom/Health/Saftey: free. So far everything has been a gift.
Diapering: We have enough disposables for a few weeks and then cloth diapering for close to free. Same with wipes. Total cost maybe $50 until he is potty trained, and then they can be reused for another child.
Feeding: Mom bought a used breast pump, which I have read online may be a closed system and therefore considered fine to use. I need to call the manufacturer to confirm though. It was $10. If not, I have a new one as a gift. We have a few bottles and breast milk storage bags as gifts because I do want the option to bottle feed breast milk. So far we haven't bought anything. Doug's aunt said that his side would buy things for solid food eating. I plan to make my own baby food, by the way, but we still need child approved plates etc. But I bet they'll buy more than enough.
Um...I think that's it. Really, we didn't have to get that much. I don't know if people were really generous because they knew we had moved and didn't have a lot and not a lot of money or if they're always that generous (haven't been able to make it to a baby shower at church in years). But it's a good thing that we were moving or I probably would have bought a lot more and wasted a lot of money! To anyone planning on kids soon definitely remember that people LOVE babies and will go overboad on gifts for you. As hard as it is, try to wait before buying anything. If you feel you must contribute to the baby's belongings, learn a craft. Crochet or knit some hats. They take longer than just buying one at the store and you'll still feel satisfied about contributing. It will cost you less and you won't be picking up "a little something" every trip to the store you make. In fact, I'd suggest budgeting money for yourself during the pregnancy! Reviewing our finances you can definitely tell which month I got pregnant in. A lot more eating out since I was exhausted and had a lot of food aversions to things at the house. It would have been nice to factor in some prenatal massages or general pampering. This is kind of your last chance to put you first. Not that you can entirely do that while pregnant, but seriously, make it easy on yourself while you can!
Ok, so about my appointment this week. I had to do my first non-stress test where they monitor the baby's heartbeat during contractions or other movement. But I wasn't having any real contractions and he was sleeping so it took awhile. We tried ice water, we tried turning on my left side, nothing would wake him up! I kept poking at him and finally got a few good kicks out of him. He was all crazy before the appointment, and afterwards when I had a snack. I have another one tomorrow and I'll be sure to eat just before going in! It turns out that I have PUPPs a very painful rash on my belly and I've been given a prescription strength antihistimine. I took one before bed on Tuesday and I felt its effects all day yesterday. So I only had half of one last night and that seemed to work better. It was so nice to sleep since I had been waking up itching for the last several nights. And during the day it itches a lot less too. But the rash itself is normal, and just something that some women get (though evidence shows most of them are pregnant with boys). They mentioned my swelling again. I gained 6 pounds this week and it's not just a fluke on their scale, it says so on mine too. Since August I had only gained like 2 pounds, depending on which time of day you weighed me. So this really, really stuck out! My blood pressure was ok, but there have been times when it has been high. I mentioned that at my shower on Sunday I was seeing stars for part of it (didn't tell anyone though because I didn't want my mom freaking out) and I've seen some floaters and that most of Monday and Tuesday I had a lot of sensitivity to light (still do) so they wanted me to do a 24 hour urine collection to check for pre eclampsia. Usually they go by protein in the urine (usually noticable with just a dipstick test at the office) and high blood pressure but it can be tricky to catch some times. So I did that yesterday and today, it was sooo pleasant (note the sarcasm).
It's not that I want to have pre-eclampsia. It would be difficult. I'd probably be put on bed rest (which the boys would probably die during) and then I'd probably definitely be induced at 38 weeks. But I would really like an answer as to what's up with my swelling. I'm swollen past my knees, no matter how much water I drink and how long or high I elevate my feet. It will go down some but not all the way. The worst is my belly. I look huge and a lot of that is actual swelling. One OB told me it was because he hangs so low and so I bought this special harness thing to push it up. A) that thing hurts and B) so far has not worked. And it doesn't make sense because the swelling is spreading. It started out just the very bottom part but now 2 weeks later it's all the way up at my belly button, has spread farther out and pits more (when you can push in with your finger and leave an indentation). Nothing normal about that. The skin doesn't even feel like skin anymore. I'd post a pic but I don't want to scare people! It's kind of hard getting around when I'm so swollen!
I will begin having two non stress tests a week and I have a growth ultrasound on Monday. After this one is when they'll be deciding if he's too big to try a vaginal birth. At the last one his belly measured in the 95th percentile and was really broad, so they're afraid he could get stuck after getting his head out. We'll see how this one goes. After a few more non stress tests is when they'll decide as to how early he should be born. As far as I know, no chance of giving me until 40 weeks and definitely not going later. So right now it's looking like sometime between November 4th and November 11th, probably closer to the 11th. But I'll know more later. I've done some research on c-section recovery and at first I was really freaked out. It means I'd need A LOT of help. Probably more than Doug and my Mom and even my sister can give. So we'll just have to leave that in God's hands. In the end I'm going to go with whatever they suggest. I'm not just a simple case anymore and I'm not just asking for one so I won't be fighting them on the issue. It's a real concern if he would get stuck, very life threatening and would require an immediate c-section. Even if they'd schedule one and then afterwards say "Well, he probably would have been ok coming out normally" just the fact that they thought there was a high risk would make it worth it to me. I've done research to make sure I get the safest car seat, crib mattress, crib, feeding him, diapering him etc. Why would I gamble when it came to delivery? Hopefully they won't be thinking that, but if they do then I will listen.
So, I guess that's it. Here's some nursery pics. It's not quite finished and we've put away more things, but it's definitely coming together!
Me at 35weeks3days and after dropping
Before pics of the nursery
After:
It's not perfect but I think it's amazing compared to the before pics! I think most people would never have even bothered using this room!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Trip to Labor and Delivery and 35 weeks!
So on my appointment on Monday my OB noted that I have a good deal of swelling and piting in my lower abdomen. Um, yes, I'm aware. It comes from the fact that it hangs so low that's where most of the fluid gathers (sort of the same reason feet swell). By then it had turned red and itchy, he said that was normal and some women even ooze the fluid! So he suggested a prenatal cradle maternity belt thingy. It should arrive on Monday or Tuesday. I meant to ask him about the come and go pain that I have below my rib cage on the right hand side, but forgot. And I got my flu shot. My evening blood sugar levels have been looking good (I told you it was just a fluke!) so he said no need for more insulin during the day. He upped my insulin at night again though. My numbers for fasting are now steady in the 90s, so here's hoping we'll find the magic number soon!
On Wednesday I was sent to Labor and Delivery. I had noticed the last few nights when I did my insulin shot that there was just a smidgen of blood and that when I did my finger pricks the blood was coming out a lot faster than normal. On Wednesday it was even worse. I ususally have to squeeze the skin around it to help it make a nice bead. At my "afternoon" check it was really runny. So I tried another finger and it did the same thing. Thinking that I had just used those too much I tired my pinky and turned the dial down a notch (so it wouldn't be as deep) and it wouldn't stop bleeding for 5 minutes! It was after 5 so I called the OB on call (the one that I don't like by the way). At first she was saying it was just normal and then she asked me if I had a few other symptoms and then she wanted me to come in for some blood testing on Friday (um, why not Thursday?) and then she asked if I was having heartburn and was that a new thing (yes, yes!) so she told me to go to Labor and Delivery. I had done some research about what that mystery pain below my rib cage could be, possibly HELLP syndrome, but wasn't worried about it since I didn't have any other symptoms. One of the other symptoms is a low platelet count (which makes your blood clot and would therefore be runny) so I was pretty scared when I called her. By the time we got to L&D I was feeling a little better. We were hoping to not have to tell anyone unless it was a big deal but Doug's dad noticed us leaving.
So we get there and my blood pressure is fine (wasn't worried about that) but they were concerned about my swelling. Not only in my abdomen (I was just told it was normal!) but also my ankles and legs (all the way up above my knee!) Then we just had to wait for the lab work, which they didn't take for the first hour and then took an hour to return. My platelet count was good and so was my liver function (which would have been the mystery pain and part of HELLP syndrome). So right now, a clean bill of health but I'm supposedto watch the symptoms. The blood is still coming out a little faster than usual, but it hasn't taken that long to clot so I guess I'm ok. And I haven't had that pain in awhile. I think part of it is that Teddy dropped the other day. So maybe he was just pressing against it (not kicking though).
Though, all day yesterday he was jabbing his little foot really hard against me! Like constant pressure but coming from something definitely shaped like a foot. You could even see it through my shirt. I can still kind of feel the foot but it's not pressing as hard and you can't see it anymore. The funniest thing was that with the rash my belly itches from time to time and so I was gently scratching (more like stroking) and it was close to the foot area and he was jumping all over the place! I guess it was tickling him! Sooo cute!
I've got so much done since Thursday! I dusted and did the floors in the living room and dining room on Thursday. It took about 6-8 hours (I had a few breaks) since I can't move as fast and it was soooo bad. Seriously, it was either done about a year ago when my sister in law would have done it, or much more likely 3 years ago, the last time we lived with his dad! Doug rented a rug doctor so all the rugs and carpets in the house are nice and clean. Then yesterday I cleaned the kitchen really good. I didn't really rearrange as I would have liked but that's because I couldn't reach a lot of things. I did re do the countertop area, we have so much more space now! I hope I have a chance to pull everything out of the cabinets before Teddy is born, but I'm ok if I don't. It would be easier without the big belly in the way and then I wouldn't need someone's help.
So now I just have homework to do. A lot of homework to do. I might need another extension. But I'm not going to beat myself up about it. The GD thing took a lot more time and effort to get it right then I expected and I've been ordered to monitor my swelling. When I'm moving it's not so bad, but sitting up right on the computer does it the worst. And I've tried a million different ways and it's just not comfortable to have it on my lap or next to me in bed. But it may take less time than I think/I'm ok with getting a B instead of an A. But all next week really needs to be devoted to it.
On Wednesday I was sent to Labor and Delivery. I had noticed the last few nights when I did my insulin shot that there was just a smidgen of blood and that when I did my finger pricks the blood was coming out a lot faster than normal. On Wednesday it was even worse. I ususally have to squeeze the skin around it to help it make a nice bead. At my "afternoon" check it was really runny. So I tried another finger and it did the same thing. Thinking that I had just used those too much I tired my pinky and turned the dial down a notch (so it wouldn't be as deep) and it wouldn't stop bleeding for 5 minutes! It was after 5 so I called the OB on call (the one that I don't like by the way). At first she was saying it was just normal and then she asked me if I had a few other symptoms and then she wanted me to come in for some blood testing on Friday (um, why not Thursday?) and then she asked if I was having heartburn and was that a new thing (yes, yes!) so she told me to go to Labor and Delivery. I had done some research about what that mystery pain below my rib cage could be, possibly HELLP syndrome, but wasn't worried about it since I didn't have any other symptoms. One of the other symptoms is a low platelet count (which makes your blood clot and would therefore be runny) so I was pretty scared when I called her. By the time we got to L&D I was feeling a little better. We were hoping to not have to tell anyone unless it was a big deal but Doug's dad noticed us leaving.
So we get there and my blood pressure is fine (wasn't worried about that) but they were concerned about my swelling. Not only in my abdomen (I was just told it was normal!) but also my ankles and legs (all the way up above my knee!) Then we just had to wait for the lab work, which they didn't take for the first hour and then took an hour to return. My platelet count was good and so was my liver function (which would have been the mystery pain and part of HELLP syndrome). So right now, a clean bill of health but I'm supposedto watch the symptoms. The blood is still coming out a little faster than usual, but it hasn't taken that long to clot so I guess I'm ok. And I haven't had that pain in awhile. I think part of it is that Teddy dropped the other day. So maybe he was just pressing against it (not kicking though).
Though, all day yesterday he was jabbing his little foot really hard against me! Like constant pressure but coming from something definitely shaped like a foot. You could even see it through my shirt. I can still kind of feel the foot but it's not pressing as hard and you can't see it anymore. The funniest thing was that with the rash my belly itches from time to time and so I was gently scratching (more like stroking) and it was close to the foot area and he was jumping all over the place! I guess it was tickling him! Sooo cute!
I've got so much done since Thursday! I dusted and did the floors in the living room and dining room on Thursday. It took about 6-8 hours (I had a few breaks) since I can't move as fast and it was soooo bad. Seriously, it was either done about a year ago when my sister in law would have done it, or much more likely 3 years ago, the last time we lived with his dad! Doug rented a rug doctor so all the rugs and carpets in the house are nice and clean. Then yesterday I cleaned the kitchen really good. I didn't really rearrange as I would have liked but that's because I couldn't reach a lot of things. I did re do the countertop area, we have so much more space now! I hope I have a chance to pull everything out of the cabinets before Teddy is born, but I'm ok if I don't. It would be easier without the big belly in the way and then I wouldn't need someone's help.
So now I just have homework to do. A lot of homework to do. I might need another extension. But I'm not going to beat myself up about it. The GD thing took a lot more time and effort to get it right then I expected and I've been ordered to monitor my swelling. When I'm moving it's not so bad, but sitting up right on the computer does it the worst. And I've tried a million different ways and it's just not comfortable to have it on my lap or next to me in bed. But it may take less time than I think/I'm ok with getting a B instead of an A. But all next week really needs to be devoted to it.
Today we're finally arranging the nursery and I'm washing a bunch of baby clothes. Fortunately Mom hasn't bought anything in awhile but my goodness she was in a buying frenzy a few months ago! Soooo many things, mostly clothes. And tomorrow is my first baby shower! I just got told yesterday that Doug's family is doing one for me on Sunday, October 31st. We're so blessed to be loved by so many people. Except for the money we've put into doing the nursery (most of which went to things like putting in a ceiling, a door and paint) we haven't had to buy much for him. We bought a crib, but Mom had bought a used one I could have used if I wanted to. We'll have to get a car seat and probably the monitor. Then we'll do the cloth diapers but I've just found a bunch of websites that have free patterns so we're going to try to convert a bunch of extra fabric we have (between Mom and I) and see how that goes. We can essentially start for free (might buy the detergent and special diaper rash ointment). The only other thing I need to buy for the nursery will be the rest of the ribbon for the border and some curtains for the closet (though that's ok if we don't have right away). Eventually I'd like a rocker, or to cover the big red chair we'll have in there, a bookcase and a stroller. We'll have to see how the money situation looks. Right now I know that he won't remember if his nursery isn't perfect when he arrives, he'll be in our room for a few weeks to months. And if I have to chose between buying a stroller and being naive enough to think I'll get loads of use out of it during the winter (when I could just wear him in a sling or excercise without him or at home) and the photography session we've got planned I'm definitely picking photography. The bookcase and other organizers really won't matter until he's more mobile. Until then it should be pretty easy for me to put away the books we read to him.
I'll do a break down of how we're saving money on planning for him later. I'm kind of proud of the creativity we have and of course want to pass it on to others!
Ok, banana bread is done, time to start on pumpkin spice cookies and then chocolate chip. Favors for my many shower hostesses!
Me on Monday at 34w4d
Nursery pics coming soon!
Friday, October 8, 2010
34 week appointment
This was a disappointing appointment to say the least. First of all the day before Teddy hadn't moved at all from 9 am until after my nap at 2:30 pm. I didn't really realize it until I was about to fall asleep. They say they have a normal schedule but I haven't really noticed that. My OBs have said not to worry about it since I don't have a normal schedule either. It's not like I work 9am-5pm or something. I get up when Doug goes to work, which varies, most of the time. Sometimes, like when he's scheduled for 5 am, I'm still asleep. It didn't help that Tuesday night I slept really good and only woke up 2 times compared to the 5 times just for peeing and the other 3-6 times for tossing and turning/random insomnia. But I felt like I hadn't slept at all! Maybe Teddy was up all night. Anyway, after I woke up from my nap he was very active and so I wasn't concerned at all.
Well, I wasn't concerned until the OB took forever finding his heartbeat! How on earth can he "hide" at this point?!! I had just felt him like 5 minutes before, but you never know how quickly something bad can happen! Not the best start to the appointment.
Also, she talked to me more about my ultrasound last week. Turns out that other OB (who I haven't liked any of the times I've seen her) didn't tell me anything. The biggest concern is that Teddy's belly is measuring large, which means his shoulders probably are too. That can happen with GD babies, they grow differently. So even if I can get his head out, he could get stuck half way which is life threatening. They'll do another ultrasound at 36 or 37 weeks and see if he's continued to grow at an above average rate but right now it's looking like I'm a good candidate for a c-section. While the weight estimates can be off by 2-3 pounds on these late ultrasounds, the measurments of body parts are pretty accurate. So the concern is much more that he just can't fit out rather than the fact that he may be heavy! That's something you never hear people talk about. It's always height, weight and time of birth. Not, oh and his shoulders were in the 95% percentile etc. It makes sense that those numbers are more relavent to delivery, just astonished that I had never really thought about it before.
She said that I'll start doing twice weekly non stress tests at 36 weeks and between that and looking at my insulin levels they will decide when to induce/schedule a section. Right now my numbers are ok so it would probably be 39 weeks. BUT, my post dinner numbers have been higher the last few days so she thinks I might need some before dinner (or maybe lunch) before it's over. I was hoping that I was just eating bad since it's difficult to work everything out over the weekends with church thrown in there. They're giving me until Monday to see if that's the case or not. If I do need to be put on insulin for other times of day then I'll probably be induced at 38 weeks. And of course they had to up my insulin overnight again. Last night was my first night on the new dosage but it was still just as high as ever. I'm beginning to think we'll never get them under control and that really bums me out. Again, they'll probably induce me at 38 weeks.
All along I've handled the "guilt" of GD pretty well. I knew it wasn't my fault and my post eating numbers have been good so I'm doing all I can. And while even the idea of a c-section for medical reasons has its upside (no labor and pushing) I'm saddened by how much I feel everything has changed in one week. I started out this pregnancy seeing midwives and wanting to give birth in a birth center or at home. I thought of birth as a very natural event and no need for medical intervention in normal, healthy women. I still think that, it's just I don't qualify in that group! It's all becoming very medical! A scheduled induction instead of naturally progressing labor is a big step from that, a c-section even more, non-stress tests, extra ultrasounds, more insulin. My pregnancy has a lot more medical things involved now than women who don't share my thoughts on birth and have an OB the whole time and have always planned on an epidural. Just an odd twist of events. Not that I was ever judgemental to those that wanted an OB and hospital birth etc. Surprisingly, it's not the loss of control that is getting to me. I guess in the last few years I've learned that lesson well. But it's the pins and needles waiting thing. It's the doing everything I can and it still not turning out well. I feel like just setting a date and saying definitively (unless some emergency changes the situation) about an induction or c-section would help. It takes so much effort and work to plan out my eating just right it's practically a full time job. I feel like I can't get anything done. I have to eat every 2 hours. I have to make sure I'm having just the right amount of everything. It's not like "ooh, I'm hungry I'll have a candy bar or some cereal." Even something easy like crackers and peanut butter I have to make sure that I'm eating enough but not too much of the peanut butter to get the right protein but not too many carbs. Just knowing that I only have until November 4th or 11th (or whichever date in between) would be helpful. I guess just one less thing to be anxious about! It doesn't help that in real life, no one I know has gone through this. I know it probably doesn't make sense to anyone reading this, whether they've given birth or not, but it just feels like it would help. It would give me something happy to focus on.
I was so distracted about the possibility of needing more insulin and a c-section that I totally forgot to ask for a flu shot and mention my abdominal swelling and pain. Below my belly button is really swollen. It's been slightly swollen for weeks but it's getting worse and is spreading upwards. My ankles are swollen all the time now, sometimes quite badly and it's spreading up my legs. Above my belly button just hurts most of the time. At first I thought it was just when things were rubbing against it all day but that's not really the case. I don't have any other symptoms of pre-eclampsia so it's probably no big deal, just general pregnancy woes, but I'd like to hear an OB say that! And women with GD are more prone to pre-eclampsia so that is in the back of my mind. And the official diagnosis is high blood pressure and protein in urine (though there are often other symptoms) but it's usually not diagnosed until after 37 weeks. So I know it could still happen even if I don't have the high BP and protein in my urine now. I'm not stressing about it, since that doesn't help, just trying not to be stupid about it either.
Well, I'm supposed to be doing homework and cleaning today but I'm exhausted and I've only been up 3 hours. And of course all I want to do is be lazy or work on baby things! On the upside, my shower is next weekend! Of course the downside is that I'll have to be careful of what I eat. Sigh, I just want Teddy to be out now. I feel like staying in me at this point with my GD slightly out of control and now the fact that pre-eclampsia could be a problem is bad for him. I know his lungs aren't really mature yet so it would be better for him to stay in but it hurts because I feel like I'm hurting him and putting him in danger, even though there's nothing I can do to change the situation!
Well, I wasn't concerned until the OB took forever finding his heartbeat! How on earth can he "hide" at this point?!! I had just felt him like 5 minutes before, but you never know how quickly something bad can happen! Not the best start to the appointment.
Also, she talked to me more about my ultrasound last week. Turns out that other OB (who I haven't liked any of the times I've seen her) didn't tell me anything. The biggest concern is that Teddy's belly is measuring large, which means his shoulders probably are too. That can happen with GD babies, they grow differently. So even if I can get his head out, he could get stuck half way which is life threatening. They'll do another ultrasound at 36 or 37 weeks and see if he's continued to grow at an above average rate but right now it's looking like I'm a good candidate for a c-section. While the weight estimates can be off by 2-3 pounds on these late ultrasounds, the measurments of body parts are pretty accurate. So the concern is much more that he just can't fit out rather than the fact that he may be heavy! That's something you never hear people talk about. It's always height, weight and time of birth. Not, oh and his shoulders were in the 95% percentile etc. It makes sense that those numbers are more relavent to delivery, just astonished that I had never really thought about it before.
She said that I'll start doing twice weekly non stress tests at 36 weeks and between that and looking at my insulin levels they will decide when to induce/schedule a section. Right now my numbers are ok so it would probably be 39 weeks. BUT, my post dinner numbers have been higher the last few days so she thinks I might need some before dinner (or maybe lunch) before it's over. I was hoping that I was just eating bad since it's difficult to work everything out over the weekends with church thrown in there. They're giving me until Monday to see if that's the case or not. If I do need to be put on insulin for other times of day then I'll probably be induced at 38 weeks. And of course they had to up my insulin overnight again. Last night was my first night on the new dosage but it was still just as high as ever. I'm beginning to think we'll never get them under control and that really bums me out. Again, they'll probably induce me at 38 weeks.
All along I've handled the "guilt" of GD pretty well. I knew it wasn't my fault and my post eating numbers have been good so I'm doing all I can. And while even the idea of a c-section for medical reasons has its upside (no labor and pushing) I'm saddened by how much I feel everything has changed in one week. I started out this pregnancy seeing midwives and wanting to give birth in a birth center or at home. I thought of birth as a very natural event and no need for medical intervention in normal, healthy women. I still think that, it's just I don't qualify in that group! It's all becoming very medical! A scheduled induction instead of naturally progressing labor is a big step from that, a c-section even more, non-stress tests, extra ultrasounds, more insulin. My pregnancy has a lot more medical things involved now than women who don't share my thoughts on birth and have an OB the whole time and have always planned on an epidural. Just an odd twist of events. Not that I was ever judgemental to those that wanted an OB and hospital birth etc. Surprisingly, it's not the loss of control that is getting to me. I guess in the last few years I've learned that lesson well. But it's the pins and needles waiting thing. It's the doing everything I can and it still not turning out well. I feel like just setting a date and saying definitively (unless some emergency changes the situation) about an induction or c-section would help. It takes so much effort and work to plan out my eating just right it's practically a full time job. I feel like I can't get anything done. I have to eat every 2 hours. I have to make sure I'm having just the right amount of everything. It's not like "ooh, I'm hungry I'll have a candy bar or some cereal." Even something easy like crackers and peanut butter I have to make sure that I'm eating enough but not too much of the peanut butter to get the right protein but not too many carbs. Just knowing that I only have until November 4th or 11th (or whichever date in between) would be helpful. I guess just one less thing to be anxious about! It doesn't help that in real life, no one I know has gone through this. I know it probably doesn't make sense to anyone reading this, whether they've given birth or not, but it just feels like it would help. It would give me something happy to focus on.
I was so distracted about the possibility of needing more insulin and a c-section that I totally forgot to ask for a flu shot and mention my abdominal swelling and pain. Below my belly button is really swollen. It's been slightly swollen for weeks but it's getting worse and is spreading upwards. My ankles are swollen all the time now, sometimes quite badly and it's spreading up my legs. Above my belly button just hurts most of the time. At first I thought it was just when things were rubbing against it all day but that's not really the case. I don't have any other symptoms of pre-eclampsia so it's probably no big deal, just general pregnancy woes, but I'd like to hear an OB say that! And women with GD are more prone to pre-eclampsia so that is in the back of my mind. And the official diagnosis is high blood pressure and protein in urine (though there are often other symptoms) but it's usually not diagnosed until after 37 weeks. So I know it could still happen even if I don't have the high BP and protein in my urine now. I'm not stressing about it, since that doesn't help, just trying not to be stupid about it either.
Well, I'm supposed to be doing homework and cleaning today but I'm exhausted and I've only been up 3 hours. And of course all I want to do is be lazy or work on baby things! On the upside, my shower is next weekend! Of course the downside is that I'll have to be careful of what I eat. Sigh, I just want Teddy to be out now. I feel like staying in me at this point with my GD slightly out of control and now the fact that pre-eclampsia could be a problem is bad for him. I know his lungs aren't really mature yet so it would be better for him to stay in but it hurts because I feel like I'm hurting him and putting him in danger, even though there's nothing I can do to change the situation!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Hello, October!
I'm so excited that it's October and that we'll be meeting Teddy next month!!
I had an ultrasound on Thursday and he's measuring about 2 weeks ahead. His estimated weight is 5 pounds, 4 ounces and his head is in the 95% percentile. But of course, these late ultrasounds when using weight estimates can be 2-3 pounds off. So most likely he's measuring closer to average, which is about 4.5 pounds. My fluid level is looking good. It's just slightly above average and that's only due to the GD. Everything is looking great with Teddy!
They reviewed my blood sugar levels and upped my insulin a little, but it's still high. They said that they would continue to need to up it as the pregnancy went on but I hoped that meant in between each adjustment we'd be able to get it right. They haven't said anything about inducing me early yet, but it's typical to induce women on inuslin 2 weeks early. I'm definitely going to talk to them about it this week. I feel a little behind. Like I just got thrown into this practice and everyone else has been able to get to know these people over the last 20 weeks but I haven't. The first doctor I met with said that usually early in pregnancy a nurse will meet with the patient and tell them all sorts of things about their processes (when they start internal exams, hospital routine etc. and the lending library) and that he'd schedule someone to do the "reader's digets" version for me and it still hasn't happened. I definitely feel like I need that still. Every appointment is so fast! I really miss my hour long appointments with my midwives!
And that brings us to yet another complication. I have a history of urinary tract infections. When I was 19 (in 2004) I had my first one with all the normal symptoms. I DEFINITELY knew I had it! Then from September 2007-June 2008 I had recurrent ones that were usually in the kidneys. The only symptoms I had were nausea and diarrhea. I finally went in after a few weeks and got told that I had a horrible UTI. I was put on antibiotics and it never helped. It interferred with my classes. I missed A LOT! It interferred with work, I usually missed at least one day a week (thank goodness for a campus job!) It was my senior year in college and I was just trying to muddle through and get done. I had ultrasounds done because it didn't make any sense that I wasn't getting better, but not worse either. Blood work done, my kidneys were functioning fine still. At one point I had a shot of antibiotics after getting much worse. Then to graduate from stupid EMU I had to complete a cross-cultural experience. That sounded great when I was 17, not so much when I was 22, married with a mortgage and suffering from kidney infections. A professor talked me into going to China (I would have chosen Germany) since it was such a once in a life time experience. By March we had no hope that we could really get the infections under control before leaving at the beginning of May. My doctor didn't want me to go, but the school wouldn't let me out of the trip. They wouldn't let me graduate and they wouldn't give me my refund. So off to China I went. We arrived the day after the big Sichuan earthquake and we were actually supposed to be in the very city that was closest to the epicenter. Nothing went as planned. I got sick, and the leaders did not beleive me. I finally was allowed to go to the hospital and I was put on IV antibiotics (they still use glass bottles), and the doctor there wanted me to fly home. My doctor wanted me to fly home. I wanted to fly home. EMU was the only one who didn't and said it would cost me $1,000. In the end the nurse at EMU got to decide my healthcare. It really pisses me off that women can have abortions under the "it's my body, my right" thing but I couldn't decide on my healthcare for a kidney infection! I stayed for the rest of the trip and finally was referrenced to a specialist. They didn't send all my records and at the first appointment he said "well, so far I haven't seen a positive culture so I don't think you've even been having them." Yes, I was just being dramatic for nothing. I wanted to punch that old man! We didn't go back to our follow up appointment (it was in Winchester by the way) but inexplicably the infection finally went away.
So, anyway, I know a lot about UTIs. I noticed that I had some foul smelling urine. That had never really happened before, but I knew it was a symptom. I took an over the counter test and it came back high for white blood cells (signs of fighting an infection) but only trace for nitrites (which definitely indicate a UTI). The white blood cells are common during pregnancy and I was getting over a cold. But I didn't want to take any chances, so I asked them to do a culture. They were hesitant since the dipstick looked fine to them too. It came back 2 days later positive for Group B Strep, which is pretty dangerous during pregnancy! The standard is to do testing at 35 weeks, so they would have found it, but we got it early. Even with antibiotics now it won't completely kill it. And I'll have to be on IV antibitoics during the birth. What makes me most upset is that typically UTIs are caused by Staph or E Coli and so that's all my regular office tested my urine cultures on. Strep B is generally only tested by OB practices because of the complications it can pose with infecting a newborn during birth. So, this was probably the problem all along but they just didn't test for the right thing. Anyway, glad I followed my instinct and made them test.
So, it's going to be a busy month. We've got breastfeeding classes, birth preparation, family care and the CPR class got pushed back to November 4th. If they induce me at 38 weeks, it will be November 4th. Maybe they can just come by my room, haha. To save money we're pulling up carpet from a bedroom upstairs and putting it in the nursery. Someone covered up beautiful hardwood with carpet! Why???! And the dimensions are almost equal (makes sense as the rooms are on top of each other). We've still got to put the border up and finish the ceiling. Our crib should arrive next week. It's not the one I originally wanted. They put it on back order and it wasn't going to get here until after Teddy, so we found something nice but cheaper on Amazon. It's not a 4 in 1 either, but Doug still has his old twin bed and it looks really nice. So that will work when we get that far.
My symptoms: my feet are swelling more and faster from sitting and standing. Basically anything but laying! My back's been hurting. My SPD pain hasn't really gotten worse, and I'm so thankful for that. I'm having insomnia and am exhausted all at the same time. My mind will be very willing and active. I'll put all sorts of things on my to do list but never get through it. My belly HURTS!!! After about 9 pm it just hurts! I can't have anything touching it, which includes laying on my side at night. I've learned to try to really tire myself out and then I can fall asleep even though it's uncomfortable. It's so stretched out, I don't think it can go another 7 weeks. It just can't stretch that far! Someone said that it looked like I dropped this week. Honestly, unless I feel him practically between my legs I don't think I'll be able to know on my own. He's been on my bladder forever now but I'm so short and he's so long that he's already low and high at the same time! But it's all worth it for Teddy and it totally helps knowing that an end is in sight! I told a friend the other day that I'm really going to ask God how he decided that they had to get to 40 weeks to be fully developed. I think motherhood is a blessing and not a curse but I see why people think that, because it is hard. 10 months is a long time. To have to just lend your body out to someone else that you haven't even met yet. So much goes on at once. I have been angry, sad and happy literally all within 10 seconds of each other before (more during the first trimester). It's such an odd time and nothing can prepare you for it except for going through it! But it seems to me that God really brings women to the point that they just can't take it anymore. The only thing that probably helps is knowing that billions of other women have done it. And right now since it's my first I'm totally delusional about how things will be back to "normal" after he's out! Haha, I know it's not instant but I'm so glad pregnancy has an end date. And it's a little freaky to feel something that is 18 inches long and 5 pounds in me already and know that it has to come out of me! And worse, that it will continue to grow in me! The birth I'm actually looking forward too. But as I said before about my belly growing, I just don't know how it's going to continue to fit him for 7 more weeks! The cute little kicks are now big and can be painful. Imagine just walking along and then all of a sudden a punch. To any different part of your body. Head butts to the bladder, kicks in the kidney or even "lightning crotch." Yeah, that's a fun one! And then there's times when he just likes to stick his butt up in the air around my belly button. It's funny to watch my belly change shape and move all around most of the time. But there are times when owee!! As far as I know I still haven't felt Braxton Hicks contractions. There are times when I'll touch my belly and it will be hard, but it's not that I feel discomfort or pain from them. The belly pain is jsut from it being overtired I guess and things rubbing against it. I don't think I can really drive on my own anymore because of it!
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