6.6 pounds

We had an ultrasound today and baby is weighing 6.6 pounds. He is in the 80th percentile so he is not too big or too small. I feel a lot better knowing that if he was born right now that he would be just fine and probably wouldn't have to go to the NICU. His head is way down which I can feel a little pain sometimes in my pelvis and his butt is all the way up by my ribs. I guess you can tell that he is getting uncomfortable. I am crossing my fingers that he comes the week of July 12th which is when I am 37 weeks. I was totally expecting to have a Leo but I am reading up on Cancers. Who knows though he could wait to come on his due date.

No more dessert

By recommendation of the doctor I had to take the glucose 1 hour test again which I passed with flying colors at 28 weeks. At 34 weeks they wanted me to test again just to try and rule out that high glucose could be the reason for more fluid. Unfortunately for me the 1 hour test came back positive which doesn't actually confirm anything but my doctor gave me two options...come back for the 3 hour test and wait a week for the results or change my diet and monitor my sugar levels on my own. Since this baby could come any day and I have no desire to sit in my doc's office for 3 hours I decided to just monitor on my own. So what does that mean? It means that right now I could potentially have gestational diabetes and need to modify my diet and start tracking my blood sugar levels with this kit that is being sent to me. For me this really means no more candy, ice cream, less fruit and mac & cheese which are some of my favorites right now. My doctor doesn't think that I have GD but better to be safe than sorry and eat better. It will only make it easier to start the weight loss once baby comes.

I have been feeling lately that my eating has gotten a little ridiculous so this actually is going to be good for me even though I hate the feeling of restriction. It bums me out that I can't eat whatever I want but I think I owe it to myself and the baby to be much healthier than I have been. I have only gained 20 pounds so I have been taking that "I am pregnant and can eat what I want" literally so this will get me back on track. It will be interesting to prick my finger every day and check my blood sugar levels since I have grown up with Hypoglycemia which is just the opposite. I have always had low blood sugar level vs. high so this will be good to see how food reacts in my body. It is like a medical experiment for me. Wish me luck!

Hanging in there...35 weeks

Well baby still hasn't come yet thank god. He is as active as ever but has decided to stay put for now. I am still on "bed rest" which is very hard since I hate laying around but I am making the most of it. I got the okay to go to my grandma's 80th suprise b-day so I was able to get some decent shots below. It felt so good to get dressed up and put a full face of make-up on. I am in that I feel fat and ugly stage because I lay around in sweats all day. I am feeling pretty good otherwise with my pregnancy. I would not say that I am super uncomfortable yet and my body hasn't started swelling yet so that is nice. I don't sleep that great because I get up to pee about every 2 hours. The hardest part is getting comfortable on the couch with pillows and having everything I need around me. Then when you get comfortable you have to get up to pee or do something and it is hard to get up off the couch. A frustrating cycle. I go to the doctor on Tuesday so we will see what he has to say with how things are going. The last appt. I had they made me run over to the Maternal Fetal Medicine place for an ultrasound because my stress test wasn't 100% good so I am hoping to have a drama free appt. I will write another update then. But for now gotta go catch up on some Baby Story.

My Baby Shower

My best friend Susy and her mom Carol hosted my baby shower at Willows Lodge on Saturday, June 12th. It was the most beautiful day of the year and an event I will always remember. Susy is the most creative person I know and she went with a vintage theme and the venue was absolutely stunning. Brunch and mimosas were served as we mingled and open presents in the 70 degree weather. It was one of the best 3 hours of my year. I was so happy that my friends and family were able to come and celebrate baby boy.

The venue- patio in the herb garden

Game Table

My favorite table-game w/family baby photos

Cupcakes w/baby boy

The mom's and me

The hosts- Susy and Carol

Gifts- the monkey seat that my mom could not find and was so happy I got

Opening gifts

Friends!

Friends!

My niece Meggie and I

34 weeks...hopefully 2 + more to go

I went to the doctor today and looks like things are going well. I am still on bed rest which means that I have to lay low at home and really just veg out but I am not pushing myself into early labor quite yet which is great. My cervix is not dialated and I am only 40% effaced. The baby and I am doing well and my fluid level has even lowered. I am measuring only 1 week ahead of schedule vs. 6. Yeah! I do go in again for another glucose test on Thursday and a non-stress test so we will see how things look at that point. From here on out I have to see my doctor every week and we will evaluate how things are moving along from there. He did say that he will want to stop my labor if I go before 36 weeks so the ulimate goal is to get to July 5th. After that he will take me off meds and let me live a more normal lifestyle. Laying around sounds so fun but when you have to do it every day it gets soooooo boring.

I am very excited that the furniture will finally be delivered tomorrow and can start getting the room in order. So far the closet looks awesome but the room is so empty. Can't wait to get things put together and decorated but not sure how I can get it done without leaving the house. Will have to send mom and grandma out to work their magic. Totally rethinking the bedding now and might want to go with browns, greens, and blues instead of what I have but we will see.

New Family Room

For the last 6 years Brian and I have wanted to make some improvements on our house and we have finally completed them. We painted our bedroom and bathrooms and decided to make the family room a move livable space. We added a much needed mantle, two side cabinets and crown molded the ceiling. The room is so much more cozy and we finally have storage. Look below for the before and after photos. Thanks to SRC for making all of this happen. They did a great job!

BEFORE- No mantle, ceiling molding or cabinets

AFTER- Crown molding on ceiling, two side cabinets, and mantle

Better look at the ceiling

Close up of the mantle

Close up of the cabinets

Chubby Cheekers

I had to post this ultrasound picture of my chubby baby boy. We can't tell from if it is the lighting or if his cheeks really are that round but I just think he looks so cute and peaceful in this picture. The doctor even came in and said "wow your baby has got some cheeks on him" and then he looked at us both and said I guess it runs in the family. I know that my face looks pretty bloated right now but I really hope that my cheeks go down once baby is born. Thanks doc. :)

I really can't wait to meet him now that I can see him and want to give those big cheeks a big smack-a-roo. We think he looks like Brian already.

Sleep well Johnny Boy and try and stay in there a little longer....

Bed Rest

The appointment yesterday went well until we got our test results backs that showed that the Fetal Fibronectin was positive again. We were sure it was a false positive but apparently it is not. This test is taken to see how the "glue" is doing that keeps everything together in the cervix area. If the test is positive than that means that the "glue" is slowing dripping which may lead to labor. The chances of going into labor within 1-2 weeks is about a 20% higher however these results are fairly inconclusive. I could still go all the way to 40 weeks you just don't know however at this point many precautions are made. The first one being Beta shots to my thigh so that baby's lungs can get a steriod to help mature them faster.

At this point we have had many ultrasounds, NST's, and exams and everything looks to be going good. Baby is very healthy and strong from what they can tell and he should be weighing about 5lbs. now. My cervix is pretty much closed but thinning a little and softening. I see my doctor next Tuesday and so I should know more how things are going at that point. It is funny how much I look forward to doctor's appointments now since it gets me out of the house and I get to find out more about my baby. From what we can see from the 4D ultrasound he has chubby cheeks and looks like Brian. He is sooooo cute and a little wild. At today's NST he was moving all around and kicking the contraction monitor. The technician was like "whoa active and healthy baby". That made me feel good as my worst fear is something happening to him this late in the pregnancy.

So I am at home now on bed rest for a couple of weeks which I don't entirely understand what that means but I feel like I should be laying low for the most part. I am finishing transitioning my job via email and phone so that I can feel like I has passed along everything I need to to those who are filling in for me when I am out. For the most part I am more tired and I would say bored because I don't do well laying around and being mellow. I could do that really well back in the days of partying but when you have this nesting instinct in you it is really hard to do nothing. I think I am going to read some books and catch up some shows until I can move around more. The baby's room still needs to be done since I don't have his furniture yet so hopefully I can be involved in that project instead of sending my mom off to shop for me.

Well I am off to take a nap and watch some recorded shows of Army Wives.

Learning to deal with things that you cannot control

Where to even begin with my whirlwind of a week. It is currently Thursday and I feel like it has been one of the longest weeks of my life. I needed to take a break from laying around and the computer is definetely my first choice to catch up with the world as long as I don't do anything work related or something that stresses me out. After having 4 ultrasounds in the past 48 hours and leaving work urgently I felt the need to share what has been going on since now I have some relief that baby and me will be okay.

My week started at 3:45pm on Tuesday when I went in for my normal 32 week doc appt. I had to see a new doctor because we are supposed to meet everyone in case our doctor is not on call the day that we deliver. The nurse walked in and was all chirpy and took the heartbeat doppler to check the heart rate and minutes later I see the doctor walking in with an ultrasound machine. Apparently they couldn't get a good read of the baby's heartbeat so the doctor wanted to check and see what was going on. Turns out his heart rate was showing normal but there were still concerns and we talked about some symptoms I had been having like cramping, leaking, back pain, etc. Long story short I was examined, given a Fetal Fibronectin test and taken to a room to have a stress test. Baby's heart rate wasn't consistent enough and so they ordered me to go and eat some food and come back for a ultrasound. While I was at Whole Foods to grab the best fruit salad ever I found that I was bleeding and went right back to the doc's office. They said it was probably from the exam so I was reassured that it wasn't a labor sign or anything.

The ultrasound showed that everything looked good with baby and his breathing patterns were really strong. My cervix was also closed shut however it was thinning a little bit. After I left the ultrasound my doctor called me to chat about what had happened and told me that he wanted me to have another ultrasound in a week since my fluid levels were high as they have been to get another opinion. He said I could live life normally and that everything should be fine. He also told me that he would call me the next day to let me know the results of the Fetal Fibronectin test. I felt relieved that baby was doing well and figured things would be just fine.

Unfortunately the doctor called me at work on Wednesday to inform me that my test results came back positive and that he needed to get me into the specialist for an ultrasound this week. I asked him what everything meant and he said that the test results showed that I would most likely go into labor within a couple of weeks but typically these tests are inconclusive so it was really hard to tell. We didn't talk that long and I was completely confused as he told me that he would have the Eastside Fraternal Maternal Medicine office call me to set up the consultation and ultrasound. The only thing that I really did get from our conversation was his answer to when I asked if I could plan on working until July and he said "you probably won't make it that long" and I just starting crying there in my office.

I felt like I was left with no real explanation as to why I took this test in the first place and now what the heck was I going to do? Was I going to have a baby in a week or two? I didn't have anything for this baby not even a diaper in my house or a blanket. Thoughts and anxiety were rushing through my head and the only reassurance I had was that I would know more on Thursday at 11am. I didn't sleep well last night and I could feel my whole body just tense with worry about delivering a pre-term baby. I even had a freak out this morning when I found more brownish fluid and thought I was in labor and broke down that I wasn't ready. Little did I know that this is normal and my body is just cleaning itself out from my exam on Tuesday.

How the story now ends is that we had our appt. this morning which included a very uncomfortable ultrasound but we did get to see our baby's face in 3D which was pretty cool. The doctor came in and said the baby is doing great and weighing about 4.9 pounds however it is my body that is not being very cooperative. It is so stressed from the amount of fluid that I am carrying and how big the baby is that my cervix is thinning and my blood pressure has started to rise. I personally think my blood pressure is from the anxiety that I was feeling and nothing more but we will see next Tuesday. I was given some meds to settle my uterus and blood pressure activity down and have been ordered to lay low, relax, and de-stress. That means no working, working out or doing anything with high intensity. I also have to modify my diet to eat really healthy and treat my body well. The doctor might want to re-check me for gestational diabetes to see if I have developed a later case of it and that is why I have so much more fluid but we will see. He also tested me for preclampsia to see if that is why my blood pressure is high but I doubt we will see anything with that.

I should know more on Tuesday which is when they will do another ultrasound, Fetal Fibronectin and stress test to see if I am still showing some signs of pre-term labor and if my cervix is thinning. At that point I will know if I can go back to living life normally and not on the couch or if we will be meeting baby boy sooner than expected. All I know is that I am learning to accept that what I have been planning and been envisioning for the last 8 months might not be how things end up and that is okay.