Tuesday, November 16, 2010

29 Week Doctor Visits/Updates

How Far Am I: 29 weeks, 1 day. Approximately 11 weeks to go, hopefully a little less rather than a little more. I told Jose that any day after 37 weeks (Jan 10th), we are game to start trying every home remedy there is. I will be drinking my black cohosh tea, taking my evening primrose oil, and rearranging all the furniture. As well as some other home remedies that are a little more fun for Jose :)

Baby's Gender: All the equipment is there...it's a boy

How Much Weight Have I Gained:
2 pounds since my last visit, which is right on target. That brings my total weight gain for the pregnancy to2 pounds. I am on track to gain about 10-15 pounds total.

Baby Movement:
Kicking away! Right now he is head down, and has stayed that way for 2 weeks. I had a horrible dream where he stayed head down until the last minute, and then flipped breech, and I had to have a C-section, ruining all my plans of natural birth. Praying that does not happen!

Body Changes:
Itchy, itchy skin! I am rubbing on the lotion like crazy. I should write a section about emotional changes. I haven't really been a bear this pregnancy, but the last week I have been insanely emotional about everything. I am on a roller coaster! As far as the doctor appointments go, I saw the endocrinologist on Monday in Lake Worth (the doc for my thyroid and my hypocalcemia). She said everything is going well so far with my thyroid. My calcium has been  a little low, but is getting better. My albumin was also low, which is a protein in your blood. This can usually be a little low during pregnancy, especially with low calcium levels. I have to increase my protein intake, which is hard because I have had such an aversion to eating it lately. As far as my OGTT/gestational diabetes screening, I PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS!!! I was so excited to hear that today. Praise God! My legs have been fairly swollen, but I am trying to keep them up. I wore heeled boots this week for about 6 hours, and totally regretted it. I won't be doing that again any time soon! 

Sleep Habits: Practically none, but that is more because of Jose working night shift than because of the baby in my belly. It's so hard to sleep in an empty bed! I tried to put Micah in with me earlier this week when Jose was working, but I ended up being "snuggled", or kicked, all night :)


Labor Cues: None so far other than Braxton Hicks...let's keep it that way.

What Micah Thinks of the Baby: This week, every time he gets in trouble, it's immediate crying, and "I won't be a big brother now!" A little bit of an emotional week for him. Jose and I have been trying to have a fun outing once a week or so and squeeze in family time before Levi gets here to make sure he knows that we haven't forgotten about him. I can tell he is starting to regress a little bit and be curious about baby things. He wants to know what Levi will eat, and how he will eat, and if he can drink mommy's milk like the baby. He wants to know if he can sleep in the crib. I have caught him going through the baby toys from when he was a baby, and playing with rattles and such. I am trying to just take it all in stride, and let him get it out. He has his moments, but I know he will make a great big brother.

Baby Prep So Far:  Nothing done since last week. I plan on buying my cloth diapering supplies on the day after Thanksgiving or Cyber Monday, because many diaper companies are having 20% off sales. With cloth being expensive, it's definitely the way to do it! I put our odds n ends baby supplies up on craigslist, hoping to get some bits so we can have a little extra to spend on the baby gear that we need. 

Plus Sized and Pregnant:
Now that I have started showing more, it's nice because I don't feel like such a cow, I feel pregnant. I am trying to relish every day, eat somewhat decently, and put my nursing knowledge aside so I quit thinking I have pre-eclampsia or some crazy pregnancy related disease. Right now, I am loving life :)

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The OGTT Kiss of Death


The OGTT.
It elicits so much fear in me.
And most of you probably have never heard of it, had to take it, or care what it is.

The Oral Glucose Tolerance Test, or OGTT, is a hellish one hour test that almost all pregnant women are put through between 24-28 weeks to screen for gestational diabetes. The basics are as follows: go the the lab, drink one of the bottles shown, wait exactly one hour, and have your blood drawn.

It truly is, for me, one of the most nerve wracking, stress inducing, worst parts about pregnancy. There are only three things I loathe about being pregnant, and they are, in order: vomiting repeatedly, having stitches after delivery, and the OGTT.

See, I am already predisposed to diabetes. It runs in my family- 3 of 4 grandparents have it. My mother could end up having it. I am overweight. It is something that I have always been afraid of. Type II Diabetes, to me, is a great disease to have if you have to pick one, because you can control it. But it's also a stupid one to have, because for the most part, it's completely preventable with they way you treat your body. My last pregnancy, my OGTT was within normal range by 5 points. It needs to be less than 130 to be okay, or they make you take a challenge test and drink twice as much,

This time around, I was prepared to do my own reading. Tuesday morning, armed with my own pocket glucometer (blood sugar checker), I tested my fasting glucose. 79. Not to shabby, The lemon lime drink can't touch me.

I go to Quest, lab sheet in hand, at 8:30. No breakfast, no water, the way-too-chipper gal hands me a 50 gram glucose drink, and I have to stand there in front of her and chug it. It is like drinking a flat Sprite, but WAY sweeter. A Sprite, I found out, has 38 grams of sugar. This is like drinking 1.3 Sprites in 10 seconds, but making it flat and warm. And for someone who doesn't buy soda, and drinks her tea in the south UNSWEET, it is enough to make me start getting nauseated before I even get back to the waiting room. "See you at 9:35!" she says. I don't even turn around.

I pace for a while, start reading my book, and decide to head to the car and read. At the half hour marker, I can't take it any more and whip out my glucometer to see how high I am. I can FEEL that it's high- nauseated, hands shaking from the sugar high (or nerves??), and I psych my self out to poke my finger. 166.

I AM DOOMED. Here I go. I am a raging diabetic. I knew it. Now I am having to give my self insulin every day. And have a grotesquely huge, 11 pound baby. And probably have a C Section. And my life is over as I know it. (This is where being a nurse and knowing the complications make me crazy)

I sit in the car for the next 30 minutes, and hover between crying, praying, trying to read, singing to the radio. I know things could be worse, it's not like I am waiting for a cancer biopsy, but to me, this is a big deal. I walk back in at 9:35 promptly. This little blonde brings me back to draw my blood, and I know she is new there. As in, totally inexperienced, and is in NO WAY hitting my troublesome veins. After digging around in my arm with a needle, she goes to find someone else more experienced to do the same. This lady gets me on the first try, I fake a smile, and waddle back to the car, mid-Braxton-Hick from all the stress. Levi is wiggling around in my belly, turbo charged from the sugar rush, and it's making me want to ralph.

I whip out my glucometer, and see the reading for my 1 hour marker: 122. Somewhat relieved, I am counting down the days to this Tuesday's appointment for my results.

Please, God, let it be less than 130!

Monday, November 8, 2010

28 Week Update- We made it to the 3rd Trimester!

How Far Am I: Starting the 3rd trimester today! 28 weeks down, roughly 10-14 to go depending on when God decides our bun is done baking.

Baby's Gender:
Totally boy. So excited to have a rowdy house :)

How Much Weight Have I Gained:
0 POUNDS! I am finally back to pre-pregnancy weight! I lost a bunch in the beginning from so much vomiting, and it took me until last week to break even. So from now on it's going to be gaining time.

Baby Movement:
Our little Levi Mateo is constantly moving, it seems. He is a very active baby- which means he will probably be a very active boy, just like his older brother. At night it takes a good hour of me laying down and being still before he will be still and I can sleep, sometimes longer. And it's not the graceful kind of movement either. It's the jabby, "let-me-outta-here" kind. Sorry, Levi, you have to stay in there!

Body Changes:
I have horrible, non-elastic skin, so last pregnancy, I got a million stretch marks even though I only gained about 15 pounds. They started around my belly button, then my breasts, then hips, and then by my bikini line. And you would think that since none of my skin really unstretched back, there would be plenty of room for my belly to expand. In theory, this is all good and well, but in real life, my belly is itching like crazy, and I know this is the precursor to having my belly look like a watermelon again with big ol' stripes on it. I am rubbing on the lotion like crazy, especially after the shower. It's amazing how your body changes being pregnant. I never lost my belly button last time, and I don't think I will this time either. That's a skinny mom thing :) My hands have been swelling a little, but nothing like last time. My legs are another story- especially if I work. I have to put them up at night. And I know if I have overdone it, because my normally cute toes expand to little vienna sausages that have no space in between them. I am going to start wearing support stockings on days that I work to keep the swelling down. It should prevent getting so many spider veins too.

Sleep Habits: Lately, with Jose starting night shift, it's hard to sleep by my self in a big lonely bed. I get in bed around 10:30-11, and my belly stops doing the disco around midnight. Usually I have to wake up at least twice to empty my bladder (Levi seems to think it's a stool to sit on in there) and then I can sleep until about 7ish, depending on when Micah gets up or Jose gets off. So I am averaging about 6 hours a night when all is said and done. I think the last trimester, God slowly starts shaving off the time you sleep at night to prepare you for being up with a little one every few hours.

Labor Cues: Braxton-Hicks have started becoming a little more frequent. Not every day, but when I am at work running my butt off, or moving stuff around in the house, I get them. Usually 2 or 3 in a row, and then they settle down. Last Tuesday and Wednesday I completely overdid it, and had them off and on all night.

What Micah Thinks of the Baby:
So far he is taking things really well, but I can tell there is a little jealousy starting to pop up. We have been trying to do things around the house for him and keep in included. Like setting up his bunk beds before putting the crib up. Or having a Mommy-Micah date. And talking about going to Disney after the baby is born, so he and Daddy can ride the big boy rides together. Almost every night, he kisses my belly good night. Lately, he is wanting to put his hands up my shirt and "snuggle Levi", which is fine at home, but at the football field this weekend, not so much :)

Baby Prep So Far:  We finally got all the junk cleaned out of the baby's room, and got things set up after a trip to IKEA that unloaded our bank account. We now have a crib set up, the changing table in the room, a dresser, and a few other little things. I went through all Micah's baby clothes (thank God I kept some), washed the 0-3 month ones, and got them into the dresser. We also got our diaper sprayers set up in the bathroom. They are kind of like the sprayer attachment on your sink to spray dishes with-- except they attach to the toilet. Itcan be used to spray diaper waste into the toilet, instead of having to swirl them around and get your hands dirty, or worse, have that end up in your washing machine. What we need to do so far is buy our cloth diapers, get our baby toiletries, breast feeding supplies, and a few other big items that we gave away, like a stroller, play pen, etc. Little by little! I feel like we are finally becoming a little more prepared, and the earlier it's done, the earlier I can relax and  move on to other house projects, like putting in floors!

Plus Sized and Pregnant:
People are so funny when it comes to what I look like pregnant. I have gotten everything under the sun...
"You're pregnant?! I thought you just put on a little weight, how far are you?!"
"When are you going to start showing? Are you sure you are eating enough?"
"Are you sure there is just one in there? Because you look huge already!"

I know that my body is changing, and has changed from last pregnancy, but I am proud to say that 4 years later, I am wearing the same maternity jeans as I did with Micah. And I know I will probably get more stretch marks, but it's an awesome price to pay for being a mom. Besides, I know after I deliver and start breast feeding, the weight will fly off and I will be back to normal quick. Maybe better than normal...