Thursday, September 26, 2013

"37 Week Appointment" - 36weeks 5days

Highlights

*BP was perfect. My 'normal' in office reading of 130/80. Talk about getting ones self worked up for nothing.

*Measuring perfect at 37weeks. Though baby is hanging out all on one side now. It is quite uncomfortable.

*Pelvic pressure - a good thing? Midwife said it is baby getting ready - so I guess I am supposed to be excited about feeling like there is a bowling ball between my legs LOL

*Took my blood again to see how my iron was. I was 'just' below normal range last time so I am hopeful that it is over that so we don't have to prick me anymore.

*Did GBS testing today. They have you do the GBS testing yourself - HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!?!? Should know the results next week at my appointment.

*Ketone's in my urine.... again.... It is this whole eating breakfast thing. Apparently a piece of toast was not enough this morning.... Whoops.

*I HAVE OFFICIALLY GAINED WEIGHT! It is a monumentous moment in the pregnancy when I can say I've officially put on some weight. It's been 3 weeks (?) since I've been weighed and I am up 5 pounds! I thought that was A LOT, but she didn't seem concerned at all and was excited to see me officially put on some weight LOL

My appointment was with Charlie again today. I absolutely adore her. She is so fun, full of life, and vibrant! She got her license a week (er two weeks?) ago and is officially a midwife herself!!! She is amazing and I am glad that I've gotten  a chance to meet with her a few times. I would be honored to have either, Marianne or Charlie, attend this little ones birth. Or heck, maybe I'll get lucky and get them both! Nikki is the only assistant I've met thus far and I adore her as well. She is so sweet and caring. It is just an office full of awesome woman and regardless of what happens with this little guys birth I will be bragging about them to anyone who will listen - for sure.

As for me I am feeling better. Trying my best to take this one day at a time. I need to not stress about every little thing. Keep doing what I am doing. Drink my nettle tea, my calm, walk everyday, just focus on healthy habits. That is all I can do at this point. I need to squeeze in some more mediation time on the exercise ball, I think that would be extremely beneficial to my mindset.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

36weeks 4days - Blood Pressure Update

My blood pressure revealed a crazy high reading last night. 140/96 (after walking mind you, but still). I went into total panic mode, which than resulted in me crying to my poor husband. I feel so bad about it now, but when I saw that reading I just lost it. All I saw was a transfer of care, OBs pressuring me, bed rest that we can't afford quite yet, etc.

After my mini break down my husband reassured me (bless his ever optimistic self) and made me lay down and relax for a little while. We re-took it and it had come down to 130/80. Not great, but definitely better. I had to be laying down in order to get that reading though - so not exactly sure what that means in the long run. Bedrest? OB Consult? Transfer of Care? It is definitely something Marianne and I will have to review tomorrow at my appointment.

I took it on lunch today and it was 140/91. I am hoping this increase is a result of skipping my nettle tea for three days (Saturday through Monday) and eating like crap as well (I was super bad this weekend) AND not walking because of all the rain. I'm hoping I can convince her (assumming no protein or anything in my urine) to give it another week to see if I can get it back down by picking up my exercise routine and being more concrete about drinking my tea.

Upside being there is no signs of anything else. Mild headache I noticed yesterday, but nothing unusual. Swelling is there, but no different than usual. Goes down once I elevate my feet for a bit (which I am also attemting to do at work here as well). No flashy lights or floaties or any of that fun stuff. So I am sure the BP is just that, BP.

I just don't know that I can emotionally handle going back to seeing the OBs again. I just don't think I can. It was so hard last time and I was such a wreck while I was there. Heck, the BP reading the nurse got was crazy (148/98!?!?) because I was just so distraught (and annoyed at the long drive/traffic).

Will update after my appointment tomorrow....

Thursday, September 19, 2013

"Home Visit" Completed! - 35weeks 5days

Our 'home visit' went beautifully! The midwife was late, she left her cell phone at the office sos he was late, but other than that everything is great. We made sure that where we had planned to set up the birthing tub would offer plenty of room for it and for her (to be able to manuver around it). She did suggest setting up a path and being sure to have extra plastic so that we can set me up on the couch afterwards and not have to worry about getting all the way to the bedroom.

*No scale this time, so no weight update.

*BP was 140/80 - usual office reading for me. My at home readings are beautiful (this week they've been a perfect 120/80 - very happy about that).

*I did have leukocytes in my urine, which apparently means I am fighting a minor infection/cold of some sort - she said it wasn't anything to worry about.

*The right foot swelling more than the left is apparently normal. Just has to do with babies position and apparently he prefers my right side to my left - LOL

I love that when she started talking about labor and delivery she focused on getting me there, healthy, sans BP issues - and going into labor on my own. Those she focused on, not the fact that I couldn't dilate after my induction or that he was posterior, etc. It showed me that she has faith in *me* to deliver this baby vaginally and that meant so much. Now if only my BP continues to behave itself. Only a little over a week til we are full term, about the same time my BP went up with Nolan.

One day at a time. Right?

We, mom and I, have been walking every day this week. Having someone else to walk with makes it so much easier. We haven't got to walk much each day either it rans or Nolan gets bored, so maybe 15-20 minutes, but its something!

Friday, September 13, 2013

A Moment of Real - 34wks 6days

I try not to let too much emotion roll into the Blog. I prefer to keep it a place of pure information. So in order to keep precendent of that, current update includes......

*Right side of me (foot mainly) is still swelling quite a bit more than the left side. The left side will appear semi puffy by the end of the day whereas my right ankle looks like there is a golf ball shoved inside of it. It is quite interesting.

*I've had a couple days this past week of waking up with numb hands. I think it is mostly my own fault. I've been slacking on my eating habits and exercise, so the swelling is definitely worse. It only happens in the morning after I wake up and goes away quickly. I plan on getting back to my routine after the baby shower and hopefully we will see some improvement.

*At home BP has been floating in the mid 120's over low 80's. So pretty much the same there. I have been experiencing moments of high anxiety where I can feel my blood pressure go up dramatically. I've been working on it and that is part of the reason for this post.

Now for the real stuff......

Might as well call this 35wks. In Nolan's pregnancy, in 2 weeks time I would've been put on bedrest for high BP and in 3 weeks time I was being induced and subsequently told that I couldn't deliver my baby naturally. That time line is hard for me to accept and I know it is going to just get harder as it gets closer.

I remember this same gut wrenching feeling as 19-20wks approached. That was when my BP went high and they threw me on medications for it. After that date came, everything was normal, and it passed - I felt much better. I am hoping the same is true for this as well.

Than of course... the "what ifs" creep in and toy with my emotions. "What if my BP goes up again" "What if I have to transfer care" "What if they want to induce me" "What if, What if, What if"

My last appointment Charlie talked briefly about other clients they've had with similar BP issues while pregnant, even when they've sent them for consults, they were sent right back again because of no other signs of Pre-E or anything more serious. That, in a sense, is comforting to know. My BP will not be something that I agree to an induction (or a C/S for). Unless there are signs of something more serious, I refuse.

So.... Anyway.... My mind has been rolling these things around and is having a hard time letting them go. The anxiety is building up and comes bursting through at times when I can feel my chest and breathing tighten and my heart rate accelerate. I need to get back to walking which I think will help to release some anxiety. I was hoping getting it out here would help to releave some of that anxiety that I've been experiencing.

My goal - keep taking it one day at a time.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

The 'we cut off my babies hair' and 'the new babys cloth diaper stash' PICTURE Update!!

After 2.5 years, hubs finally wore me down and we chopped off Nolan's gorgeous blonde (long) hair :( He looks quite handsome, but so much older, it makes this pregnant mama a bit teary eyed!




He was such a good boy, not a single complaint the whole time! I was so proud of him and the hair stylist doted on how fantastic he was being <3 p="">

















Why do they have to grow up!?!?!?!









THE CLOTH DIAPER STASH!! This is about 99% of it - I have a couple straggles that may or may not make it in the next month or so, but thats OK I think we will survive :)



This is a mix of Goodmama NB Fitteds, RnR (Rockin Rumps on Hyenacart) Minis, Gorvia NB, Fuzzbunz XS, and Swaddlebees NB. This doesn't include my stack of prefolds or covers (RaR NB Snap Covers).

I think I have another RnR Mini and GM NB on the way at some point.

Hopefully I will have time to update with reviews of each once this LO gets here. It is so hard to find cloth diaper reviews an I would LOVE to be able to help another mama out!


........................and just for fun!!!







My RnR OS/Mini sets!! Have another set OTW too, so I'll need to take an updated picture ;-)















My Goodmama OS/NB Matching Sets. I love matching sets. (not obvious is it??)



Our Co-Ed Rubber Ducky Baby Shower - Almost Time!!

Next weekend (Saturday) is the baby shower! We've been really in gear getting things together. It is so much more work when you decide to do these things at your home (we can thank hubs for that one). We are about 95% ready after grabbing most everything this weekend and just a few spare items to grab towards the end of the week (veggies and bread, plus the cake) - things we didn't want just sitting here for a week.





We are doing a "Guess How Many Candy's" raffle. It will be set up on the same table with the onesies for everyone to "sign in" ON the onesies. Adorable Pinterest idea that we happily stole. I can't take much credit for this, it was mostly the hubs craftiness. He did a great job!!









Another idea stole from Pinterest! Cut out ties and clip them as closures for the gift bags for the winners of the games. Another one I can't take much credit for - other than the idea LOL!







We are trying to keep this as simple as possible. We have four games lined up
1 - Clothespin Game - No Saying Baby
2 - Baby Babble - Word Scramble Game
3 - How Big Is Mommy (Seriously dislike this game, but mom insisted)
4 - Memory Game - Items On Tray, How Many Can You Remember

We also were sure to buy gifts for both the ladies and the men. We have about 6 'female' gifts and 3 'male' gifts. It is unlikely the guys will participate too much, but we wanted to be prepared. I had hubs pick out the guys gifts. Things like a tire gauge, cleaning stuff for a vehicle, etc. The girls gifts are various forms of lotion, body wash, stationary, candles, etc. The gifts portion is always so hard - you want to buy something neat - but not spend a TON on it. We got most of the stuff from either the Dollar Tree or Big Lots - both of which gave us a fun variety of stuff and hopefully everyone likes it!!

Thursday, September 5, 2013

34weeks 5days

I keep getting so lost, thinking I've updated about something, but than reviewing my posts realize that I hadn't.

The OB from my consult finally sent over the 'informed consent' report. It was just as dry and uninteresting as she was (not nice I know - but true). Low transverse incision, double closure, and no extensions/nics to be noted from my surgeons report. Despite her negativity regarding my 'failure to progress' diagnose with Nolan, my scar makes me a perfect VBAC candidate. So, there is a positive I suppose - LOL!

I ran out of my Nettle Tea and my CALM this past Thursday and O.M.G. can  I notice a difference. My feet are soooo swollen and my BP crept up to 130/85ish over the past few days. Started back to the CALM on Monday and the Nettle Tea yesterday so hopefully I'll see some improvement again and SOON. My feet (i.e. tootsies in Nolan world) are getting to the "so swollen I wish they would fall off" point.

I am loving hubbys reactions to the videos we have been watching in our homebirth class. He finds birth to be so beautiful and I can not wait to share that experience (different from Nolan obviously) with him. I think he will do amazingly.

Planning the baby shower is going well. We are at about 85% ready. Maybe a little more, but they keep coming up with more things we need. I need to go pick up a few more duckies to give the lady at the cake shop to put on the cake. I can't wait to see how it turns out! I'm ready for it. After that I can get to doing some of the *big* shopping! Soooo exciting.

I will one day update with pictures, but no promises as to when - obviously.