Feet are fascinating!

Charlie is 4 months old now! Can't believe how fast time flies by.

STATS:

	2 month	4 month
Weight	11.34	16.34
Percentile	29.34%	59.39%
Height	23.5	25
Percentile	73.31%	32.54%
Head Circu.	15.7	16.7
Percentile	76.53%	65.46%

Glad to see that he is just shy of doubling his birth weight by 0.4lbs. Its kind of torture taking him to those appointments that have shots given. You take them in and strip the baby down to his diaper and they weigh and measure everything and the doctor checks over the babe. Then the nurse will come back in with her arsenal of shots and bandaids. Boom, bang and the baby is hollerin' from the pain fo the shots, so of course you pick him up to comfort him. Well the nurse tells you you're all set to leave but then you have to put the baby back down to put his clothes back on and that tends to start the water works all over again. Its a vicious cycle.

The latest development with Charlie is that he has realized that he has feet he can grab. He hasn't realized yet that they are chewable but I'm sure that will be coming soon enough, :o)
Charlie has definitely found his voice now. While riding in the car, he will alternate between babbling incoherently and blowing raspberries. Its the cutest thing now but probably won't appreciate it as much when he does it in the middle of church or something.

At 3 months                                                At 4 months

July 2013 - 3 Months

Aug 2013 - 4 Months

Musings

The week of July 28th, Charlie has started to squeal just because. It's like he's realized that he has a voice and has started to use it.

Charlie - 3 month pics

We hit the three month milestone in July and as such I got his picture taken. When I told my husband the plan he asked me "is this a you thing or a normal thing to do?" I assured him that it is normal to take pics of a baby's first year, typically 3, 6, 9 and one year.

So I have to say I loved our photographer she was great and was able to get in two outfits and several poses. See the great results below:

 

 

His Laugh has been found!

Over the weekend we went to a family reunion in NE Iowa (hubby's side).  It was great to see everyone and meet alot of extend family. There were several great-grandchildren there, Charlie was the youngest. All the little ones were in different stages; one just a month older than mine, another just learning to walk and the last was walking but still that tipsy topsy kind of walk!  It made me excited for all these upcoming milestones for our little guy.

While at the reunion my husbands step-sister watched Charlie while I had to step away. When I came back she had Charlie laughing! It wasn't just the sleepy chuckle we've heard in the past. This was a full on belly laugh, it was so great!


Our trip also had a more mellow side to it. When I was growing up my paternal grandmother had a miniature toy poodle named Gidget. Due to extenuating circumstances Gidget came to live with our family. My father and I became her favorites in the family. So when Gidget passed away my grandmother had her cremated. About a year before my grandmother passed away she gave me Gidget's ashes, which has been stored up in my closet.  Since my grandmother passed away 7 years ago, I've always meant to go back to the cemetery and spread Gidget's ashes at her grave site. 

Well my paternal grandparents are buried in Nashua which is another 50 miles north of the reunion. Since we were so close my husband agreed to make the extra trek to the cemetery. I was finally able to lay Gidget's ashes to rest with her original favorite!

3 Month -stories of cute-ness

Milestone - 3 Months old

Looking back over the last three months, I'm just amazed. Our little boy has started to become such a little person.  He smiles all the time and tends to stick his tongue out while smiling.  We still swaddle him at night and I love when he first wakes in the morning and I undo the swaddle and he stretches like crazy and then will smile at you. It's just awesome!

He has definitely packed on the pounds (in a good way). His first month I would stand him up on my lap and lovingly call him chicken legs because his legs were so skinny. Now his legs are becoming chunky, the way that only babies can get away with and still be adorable. My husband always says that the breastmilk is going straight to his thighs. He measures it by wrapping his thumb and forefinger around his thigh and now his fingers don't touch anymore.

I call this the superman pose. Charlie will hold onto his outfit with his right hand and then hold his left arm in the air. And he'll just lay there like that, you'd think that his left arm would get tired. When this photo was taken I changed him and obviously he didn't have any clothes on to grab with that right hand so he grabbed his chest!

Another thing that I'm amazed by is how our 14 year old son, Johnny, has become such a great big brother. We recently visited with my cousin over the 4th of July holiday and she hadn't met Charlie yet. She was surprised at how at ease John was picking up and carrying around Charlie.  I hadn't really noticed since its something he does almost everyday. But he has become pretty comfortable holding, comforting and (occasionally) changing the diaper. Although he'll put Charlie in his bouncy seat and proceed to bounce the chair pretty vigorously. Never to the detriment of the baby and he doesn't complain but probably is thinking this is one wild ride.

He has learned now to coordinate kicking both legs at the same time, not just one at a time like when weeks old. Actually that's how he shows his excitement, he'll start kicking both legs vigorously and be all smiley.

Charlie has really good head control. Even Dad has gotten over trying to carry him horizontal to support his head. Although you have to be careful of the occasional head butt, from over correcting his head.

Charlie likes to be held against your chest and he tends to fall asleep that way. While laying against you he typically will reach a hand up and grab & hold your shirt. Which is cute except when Dad is holding him, Charlie will inevitably grab ahold of his chest hair. :o)

Stories of Nephews and Nieces

We have three nephews and two nieces.

In June my husbands family had a family reunion. We were all sitting around and I was talking to my sister in law, Andrea and her 2 year old daughter, Devon was sitting on her lap. The kids had been having a good time getting dirty running around without shoes on. So I was teasing my niece about her dirty feet and hands. Well she proceeds to spit into her hand and wipe it on her mom's pants. It was the funniest thing especially because she had such a straight face. And it wasn't just a quick spit in her hand, she worked up a glob! It was hard not to laugh.

Charlie and I went to the Blank Park Zoo with my sister-in-law Carrie and my two nephews while I was still on maternity leave. There was a little petting area and they had a duck, the worker picked up the duck and told the boys they could pet it with two fingers. Well Tanner was trying to get his fingers right but ended up making the spock hand gesture. At least he got his fingers paired off! :o)

We visited our newest niece at the hospital when Charlie was about a month old. While visiting our niece, Brooklyn would all of a sudden just give a high pitched holler and then be fine. Well my husband was holding Brooklyn and I was holding Charlie. My brother in law, Wade was standing talking to us and Brooklyn let out a holler and Wade thought it came from Charlie. He said that at the exact time Brooklyn hollered Charlie gave a big yawn, so it looked like it came out of Charlie's mouth.  We all laughed and joked the the kids already were starting their own ventriloquism act!

My two nephews were over last week and we watched the movie Iron Giant. It's about a metal robot that comes to earth (and eats metal to survive) and a little boy helps him hide from the gov't guy. Well afterwards we were sitting outside eating ice cream. Tanner was sitting next to me, messing with my multi hoop earring. He then asked me if he could have it and I said no and then he asked if he could bite it. I laughed and of course said no. It then dawned on me that he was trying to be like the robot in the movie that eats metal!

Three shots later...

2 month milestone

Charlie survived his two month appointment. He got three shots and an oral vaccination. I have to say that I was pretty impressed by the nurse, she came in all ready for war. She had bandaids half open and attached to her badge and she lined up the shots. Then in a blink of an eye she'd grab a syringe bite off the lid and stab his thigh; in two blinks she had finished all three and added the bandaids. Then I was able to comfort him.

So the growth results:

Length - 23.5 inches, 74th percentile
Weight - 11.34 lbs, 30th percentile
Head Circumference- 15.7 inches, 77th percentile

The doc said that he was doing well. We didn't really have any concerns for him. It was a nice uneventful (except for the shots) appointment.

Turning 8 weeks old

I'm not sure where the time goes, its crazy but my baby is 8 weeks old today.

Hand meet Mouth
He has also found his hand about two weeks ago and started sucking on not the fingers but the side of his hand. So hubby and I have been debating the finer points of pacifier might be easier habit to break since you can actually take it away but the discovery of the hand can lead to self soothing. So far it hasn't been much of an issue since he doesn't seek out his hand all the time and we still will give him the pacifier.
Sleep
CJ has been sleeping 6-7 hours at a stretch! Which for me is fantastic! I typically put him to bed around 9pm(ish) and he will sleep until 3am(ish). But then after that he tends to wake up again in 2-3 hours so around 5-6am. Still better than in the beginning with every 3-4 hours like clockwork!
Mr. Smiles
This past week he has started to smile spontaneously and in response to being talked to.  It has been so much fun for everyone in the house to watch and it's still new that we'll call over the others when he does smile.

Baby - 6 weeks old

Baby Charlie and I just got back today from a trip to my parents house.  It was really nice to get away and also to get away from our dog!  I know it sounds strange but I'm home all the time and she tends to follow me around the house all the time.  Which can drive a person crazy and I know that she in part wants attention and also its unusual for me to be home so it disrupts her normal schedule too.

Charlie is smiling these days and getting stronger holding his head up. He definitely fixates on objects farther away, like ceiling fans!  He tends to get cranky right before bed or nap time. 

Big brother has finally taken the plunge and has changed a dirty diaper. I did slightly coerce him into it. It started out innocently by having him lay the baby on the changing table and unbuttoning the onesie. And then asking him "oh go ahead and do this part" and then this part, etc and before he knew it it was done. Tada!

My Baby Story

I saw the midwife on my due date and I was 1cm dilated and effaced. So after discussing with the midwife, we decided that I would come in the morning of April 13th for induction, if nothing happened on its own between now and then.

So I went in Saturday morning at 7am for the induction. After getting checked in, etc and finally seeing the midwife everything started it wasn't until about 8:30am. I was checked and was at 2cm dilated, Dawn inserted the foley balloon and we waited. It took about 3 hours for the foley to work and "fall" out.  By late morning my contractions weren't increasing, so the midwife gave me the options of either breaking my water or starting pitocin. I opted to try breaking my water first to see if that would help.

Well it didn't and by about 2pm in the afternoon we had a pow wow with the midwife and I told her I felt fine although I was dilated to 5cm. So it was basically that I had stalled! So we decided that it was time for the pitocin.  That definitely helped to get things going.

It was around 9-10pm that my contractions were getting almost unbearable and I asked the midwife if there was something between nothing and an epidural that I could have.  So she gave me a shot of stadol (spelling?). Which helped me to be able to rest between contractions. I remember feeling like it took a great effort to even consider opening my eyes.  My hubby said I looked like I was sleeping and then I would start moaning when having contractions came.

Around 11pm either it wore off or my contractions were so close that I was more aware. I felt the pressure of needing to possibly push, so they had me lie on the bed on my side and the midwife told me to bend my knees might help.  So I gave birth on my side and the nurse was holding my leg up and I remember telling her not to let go because I knew I was soo tired and couldn't hold it up myself.  My husband said that at one point I screamed and he it was getting too much seeing me like that.

I pushed for 16 minutes (was told later by the nurse) and Charlie was born at 11:46pm. I remember the burning sensation as he was crowning and then the whoosh as the rest of his body came out.  Unfortunately I tore a little on the top near the clitoris. Didn't even know you could tear there, they don't mention that in the books!

I'm not sure if it was because of the tear or just regular stuff but I lost quite a bit of blood.

As a result, later I walked to the bathroom with the nurse for the first time and about passed out and had to sit suddenly on the floor of the bathroom and was wheeled back to bed.  We tried several times over the next several hours and had bad results. It sucked!   So it wasn't until late sunday evening before I was able to take a shower.  Turns out it was a combination of blood loss and low blood pressure and I was still on the increased dosage of my blood pressure meds which I didn't need anymore.

But other than that it all went pretty well and I was proud of myself for not having gotten an epidural but if it would have gone on any longer I would definitely have broken down and asked for one!

First REAL smile?!

So Charlie is officially 31 days old!  Today he was sitting in his swing and I was leaning in and talking to him. He was looking right at me and gave me a huge smile!

This week he has started to definitely let me know when he is tired. He'll be fed and changed but then be super fussy and I'll rock, bounce, etc. Then I look down and all of a sudden he'll be out.

Going stir crazy

So tomorrow is D-day and the strain is being felt.

Hubby-ism
Last night my 'oh so wonderful' hubby hit his wall.  I have to chuckle because in the beginning when discussing my birth plan, he was very supportive of my aversion to being induced. But last night he proceeded to rant about what difference does it make being induced or waiting for nature to take it's course.  To quote the hubby "there is pain either way so what does it matter".

The Back Pedal
This morning my wonderful husband apologized for his previous nights frustration. And that it truly was my decision/ my body and that I need to do what I feel comfortable with.  Basically he totally was wonderful and just was expressing his frustration

Damn BP

Today I was in the same bldg as my ob office getting a prenatal massage that my wonderful hubby bought me for my birthday. So I figured afterward I would stop in and have one of the nurses check the accuracy of my home blood pressure monitor. And I had forgotten to bring it yesterday at my regular appt.

The nurse had me check my BP with the monitor (159/94) and then she checked it (150/80 something). So good news was that the monitor is pretty accurate, bad news that my blood pressure was high yet again. She asked me about being done with work and I said that I had wrapped everything up that morning. Since it was high she was going to step out and talk to one of the midwives. Oh and to lay down on my left side in the mean time.  There went my quick stop in!

The midwife came in and checked my BP and it was better. She then said that she would talk with one of the docs about increasing my BP med dosage. She reminded me to be resting about 80% of the time.

So she called later and yep they were increasing my dosage from 200 to 300 for the time being. And to be sure to call them if I have any concerns.

Here's to not going stir crazy on the couch!!

Home Stretch - week 39

Growth Ultrasound
This week in conjunction with checking for amniotic fluid, the ultrasound tech also took measurements to see how big baby has gotten. The result is approx 8lbs 6oz!  I asked what the margin for error could be and she said a difference of ounces.  So regardless when the baby comes it'll be in the 8 pound range!

Blood Pressure is a *&)&^%
So up until this week my blood pressure has been ok. But for some reason this time it was high. So the nurse had me lie down on my left side while we waited for the midwife to see us. She came and checked my BP and it was normal. She did her exam and of course I was only a fingertip dilated, so basically nothing (shucks, does anyone say shucks anymore?).  So after that as we were talking and I was upright, she checked my BP again, and it was high! ugh!!

As a result she was going to consult with one of the doctors about but first she asked what I wanted in regards to my birth plan (gotta love midwives). I told her that ideally I would like to go into labor on my own. And I told her my concerns with being induced and when I was with my son feeling like I was strapped to a bed with all the additional monitoring etc.

She came back and said that they had decided to let me progress towards my due date but that I should be done with work since my BP is better when I'm resting then up and about. I asked if that meant I was on bedrest and she said no but that I should group my activities together more and that I should be resting/reclining more than up and about.

Work
So the next day was friday and I was supposed to work the morning so it was filled with phone calls to my HR lady. And to my manager letting them know that I was done done.  What a weird feeling though knowing that I was done with work until later this summer!

Midwives
I have to say that I really love that I'm seeing the midwives. I feel like they are really open to what I want and not what they always do with their patients.

We talked about what will happen next week when I get to my due date. And the midwife will check and see if my cervix is 'favorable', meaning dilated. If so then they would do things to help it along. I asked her about other methods than just pitocin/drugs.  She was very ameanable to the idea and mentioned that she has had good success with the foley balloon. Which is a way to promote cervical ripening and labor induction.
"Foley Balloon," a balloon that is inserted through the cervix and then inflated so it puts pressure on the cervix from the inside. 

And then she talked about how if they did use pitocin that they could control the dosage and make it progress gradually and take me off of it once contractions were started. Or that if while on it I wanted to get in the whirlpool that they could unhook me and see how I do.

I have to say that the whole conversation was such a relief and that she really listened to my concerns and took them to heart!  Whereas (& probably just my personal bias) I feel that a doc would have pushed for induction no matter at 39 weeks.

38 weeks - Birthday/Easter Weekend

SLEEP where'd ya go?
Sleep is such a wonderful word but has continued to thwart me at every turn!  About two-three weeks ago while on our mini babymoon, I tried sleeping with a pillow between my knees and oh my gosh it was wonderful! I slept great after that, even though it meant sleeping with three pillows; one for knees, belly and head.  For the last 4-5 days, no matter the pillow combo, I cannot sleep through the night. Before I would wake up and have to go to the bathroom at least once which is pretty normal. But now its not even that just waking up and having to re-adjust, just not able to get comfortable, several times a night. Which I know that with only 10 days to go I really shouldn't be complaining, it could always be worse. But I feel that as this pregnancy has progressed I complain more and more.

My Birthday
Last saturday was my birthday and yes I'm still 25! haha  My wonderful hubby made me breakfast in bed! He made cheese & onion omelets, toast with peanut butter and jam. He came in and sat with me eating his breakfast and mentioned oh the onions aren't very cooked are they!?  I had discreetly scraped them out of my omelet and off to the side on my plate, determined not to even mention it. But once he said something then we both had a good chuckle over the fact that the onions were still raw. Its' always the thought that counts!
I also got a two 30 min prenatal massages. I'm really looking forward to that which reminds me I should make an appointment to get in this week.  My son also got me a book that I had been wanting.
After breakfast I went to the drop in time at the therapy pool where I go for the prenatal swim class. The instructor always offers to anyone to come and relax and up until now I have always had plans on saturday mornings. So it was really nice to go and just hang out. I was really surprised at how busy it was there. As I was leaving another gal from the T/TH class was coming in, I didn't get a chance to talk to her but she was due the previous saturday so obviously was going on a week late!

That evening we went out to eat at Aunt Maude's which I had never been to before but had always heard good things about and that it was pricey. Hence why on a normal evening out didn't pick it. My dinner was really good the husband didn't really like his steak sandwich but overall was good.

Easter Sunday
I remember when I was younger that I actually had easter fall on my birthday. This year was the day after so who knows when it will happen again. I should google it.
So we went to my husband's grandmothers house for easter. Our 14 year old drove us there, its about 20 minutes away, we survived. But he still hasn't completely grasped the whole yes you have to stop completely at stop signs and no you don't have to come to a complete stop when turning (and no stop signs around). It's definitely a learning process!
Almost all the family was there, 18 and counting that day.  We have 3 nephews and a niece, all under the age of 4. So needless to say at times mass chaos! in the nicest way possible to be sure. At one point my husband and I walked outside, it was a little chilly but quiet!  We are well aware that we are going to be contributing to the little kid chaos soon.

Nesting in full force

Friday night I originally had plans with my sis-in-law but she had to cancel because almost everyone at her house had coughs and colds really bad and didn't want to (understandably) spread it to me.

My son was spending the night at a friends house so it was just the hubby and myself, quiet night in or so I thought.  My husband and son went out b-day shopping for me, well I had asked that they pick up a couple totes or organizer to put in the basement for baby clothes that are to big at this point.  Well they came back with a large multi-drawer storage, which since I now didn't have anything planned for the evening was a great motivator to get to organizing.

When I was ready for my husband to help me carry the thing down to the basement. I wasn't sure yet exactly where I wanted it, well my husband was like how about right here. And of course I hemmed and hawed about it, he started to get that annoyed look on his face. So I just gave him an out and said I'd holler for him if I needed him otherwise I would handle it. I swear that's the key to a happy marriage ;o)

Afterwards I had swept our kitchen and hallways and then ventured into our bedroom. We have hardwood floors throughout most of the house including our bedroom which are nice when looked at from afar. But in reality I find are a pain in the a**! We have a large rug in our room so that means having to vacuum and sweep. Sweeping is a big pain in the a** because you have to sweep around and along the edge of everything.  Once that was done I decided that it would a good time to bring up the co-sleeper that I saw earlier in the basement sitting in the same spot when I bought it off of craigslist 6 months ago. I decided that I should bring it upstairs and figure out how to fit it into our bedroom. That started a whole other ball rolling!

For me I can't just add something and let it be. So that one extra piece of furniture turned into my moving and vacuuming & sweeping under everything!!  When I was dusting I noticed little cobwebs on the ends of the curtain rods, so I decided to take down the curtains and washing them, which hasn't been done in probably 6 years. We had to get rid of one of the bedside tables to make room for the co-sleeper so that meant condensing and then also to put it along oneside of the bed meant having to pull the bed out enough for it to fit, etc.  And again my husband came in to help when I need to move & lift the furniture. Then he would start looking around and be like where are you putting this and this and then he would start moving things. Well I had to gently shoo (kick) him out because it was driving me nuts, and I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to arranging things plus add pregnancy hormones and I'm a hot mess!  :o)  So he beat a hasty retreat.

Once the room was finally done it felt soo good, to have everything clean and arranged.

My Crafting Baby Shower

So yesterday my two best friends threw a baby shower for me. It was wonderful and there was a good turn out of people in spite of the snowy weather.

I wanted to have a non-traditional shower and thankfully my girlfriends were up for the change. So instead of the typical games like; guessing the baby food or the chocolate poop in the diaper type games, it was a crafty shower.

We had 5 stations:

1. Baby Prediction cards
2. Onesie decorating
3. Guess the number of toys in a large jar
4. Wooden block decorating
5. Guess the price of baby products

So after eating lunch guests were given a number and told to start at that station and then move to the next one. That way everyone didn't bottle neck at the first station, etc.

 Also instead of sitting around watching me open presents we put a comment on the invite

                                "The adorable baby gifts will be put on display – 

       So no need to wrap in any way- 

           a ribbon or twine will do just fine, 

         leaving us free to visit and dine!"

 I have found in the past that while I love to see what someone has been given, I think that its boring watching them open gifts whether it be a baby or bridal shower.  I was a little worried that people might be offended or put off by the suggestion. But from the few I talked to it seemed to go over well, or at least no one told me directly that it was stupid. :o)  So we had a table set up for the gifts and then large 'from' tags to attach to the gifts with the name of the giver. I'll have to add a picture of the table, etc.

week 37; the count down begins

So I went in for the usual this week.

• Non stress test - everything looked good, no parlor trick needed baby was moving like crazy on its own.
• Ultrasound - Fluid level was 17 (needs to be between 5-25) but uncooperative in the picture taking area, only pics of the body in general.
• Appt with Midwife - quick and short; she did tell me that I had tested positive for Group B Strep.
• Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a type of bacterial infection that can be found in a pregnant woman’s vagina or rectum. This bacteria is normally found in the vagina and/or rectum of about 25 % of all healthy, adult women.
• Those women who test positive for GBS are said to be colonized. A mother can pass GBS to her baby during delivery.
• If you test positive for GBS this simply means that you are a carrier. Not every baby who is born to a mother who tests positive for GBS will become ill. 
• If you test positive then your physician will recommend giving you antibiotics through IV during your delivery to prevent your baby from becoming ill. 
• My midwife did say that a positive result can come and go, so that is why they wait until you are 36 weeks to test and that the test results are good for 5 weeks. So it covers the labor.

Per all the websites and books when you get to 37 weeks the baby is considered full-term. So you could potentially go into labor at anytime. Which is something that my hubby & coworkers and strangers keep telling me but I don't even want to think that way cuz my luck is that I'll go to my due date if not over.
So we'll just a wait and see.

Symptoms & Complaints

I have to say that I have been very lucky this pregnancy (so far).  That being said here are my complaints:

Morning Sickness - none
I didn't have any morning sickness which I expected not to since I didn't with my son.

Tired all the time - in 1st trimester
I was really tired during my first trimester and now that I'm well into my third I have noticed that I get worn out pretty easily. I have to make myself sit down and rest for a little bit.

Swelling - nope
I haven't had any major swelling. Which I hadn't really noticed until one of the women in my prenatal swim class commented to me that she was jealous I could still wear my wedding ring.

Heartburn - all the time!
I get heartburn at least every couple days. I broke down and bought a pack of three small travel Tums bottles that cost just as much as one large bottle. But I put one in my purse, I have another at work and a third in my bed side table. Needless to say best buy ever, I've had to refill them several times. I just bought my third bottle but the first would have been one we had at the house to begin with so probably not a full bottle. I've become picky about the type of Tums, smoothies only.

Leg Cramps - less than a dozen times
I've always called these 'Charlie Horses' that annoyingly painful cramp in your calf. I remember having these almost nightly when pregnant with my son. Thankfully it's only happened a handful of times.

Round Ligament pain - in 1st trimester
A short jabbing sensation in your lower abdomen. I never experienced this with my other pregnancy and it sucks. Especially in the beginning I noticed it more if I had been sitting for awhile and then stood up. Its like the muscle or tendons in your abdomen are being stretched that aren't suppose to stretch.  Occasionally I'll still experience it but not as often as in my first few months.

Hip Pain - around 31-33 weeks
I noticed that sitting at work my left hip started to ache on the outside of my hip.  Well of course I sit alot for my job but also have had this same job for almost 7 years.  But my midwife said that hormones cause your ligaments start to loosen more as your body prepares for childbirth. And she suggested putting an ice pack on it. Which does seem to help and the last week or two it hasn't been that achy.  I'm not sure if its going away or I have gotten better about getting up and walking around.

Pelvic Pain aka Pubic Symphysis Diastasis- 34 weeks and counting
One day I went to leave a clients and felt like I could hardly walk.  My pelvic area ached soo bad. The next day I had an appointment with the midwife and she said that (darn) hormones causes the pelvis, particularly at the pubic bone, to loosen.  But that it is exaggerated because the baby's head is down and probably pressing on the area. So luckily I haven't felt that bad since but have had occasional achy-ness. Kinda like someone kicked you between the legs!

Hormonal Reactions - all the time
I think my husband put it best when he said that there is the my normal reaction and my pregnant reaction to the same thing. Which some things will just make me upset and I cry. Like the time I was doing my laundry and had some tops that I wanted to line dry which he didn't know about. Thinking he was being helpful he put my laundry in the dryer for me. When I realized I was upset and worried that the shirts would be ruined, etc and had a mini melt down crying. I knew that it wasn't his fault he was trying to be nice but I still cried, ugh hormones!  Bless his heart hubby is still putting up with me and my slight craziness.

36 weeks - finally

Ok so I have to say that in the beginning everything seemed so far off.  The hubby and I talked vaguely about doing certain things after the new year; for daycare searches, childbirth classes, etc.  And here we are with a little less than 30 days to go!  You don't notice that time flies until it has already flown away! haha

Typically when you hit 36 weeks you start coming to the doctors office on a weekly basis. Well I've been coming to see the midwife weekly since I was 32 weeks. Due to blood pressure, they've been monitoring for the amniotic fluid levels and a non-stress test. Everything has been just fine with both of those and my blood pressure each time they've checked.  They also test your urine for protein which can be a sign of pre-eclampsia or blood pressure problems.  Well at today's appointment my protein level was slightly elevated. But then the nurse mentioned that if I hadn't drank much water that morning which I woke up late (which was wonderful :o) and hadn't drank much that morning. So hopefully that will go back to normal.


During the ultrasound the baby's face was in clear view for a change. The tech all of a sudden said she had to switch to a different probe and started making changes to the screen. Well turns out she changed the regular ultrasound to 3D! She told me that for the 3D aspect to work well there needs to be alot of fluid in front of the baby's face and nothing else. So the first couple of pics the baby cooperated and then moved and had the umbilical cord and its arm in front of its face.  I think the pictures still turned out great.  The nose looks a little funny in the second picture but the tech said that was because of the umbilical cord going across the nose.

Naughty word = Influenza B

So the flu hit our house with a vengeance this week. My husband was diagnosed on monday with Influenza B and was off work recovering. Then on Wednesday we had the big snow storm blow through and school was delayed 2 hours. Well my son called me worried about what time to catch the bus and during the conversation he mentioned that he thought he had the same thing as hubby. Well me being that overly concerned mom told him (in not exact words) that you're fine, you still have to go to school.

Well low and behold a couple hours later I get a call from the school nurse that he was running a 103 degree fever, etc. Told her that yep is going around our house, well she was going to quarantine him until someone picked him up.  Of course this was a week that I was commuting to a job location 45 minutes away. I called the house with no answer and I kinda panicked thinking that the hubby although home was probably sleeping, and wouldn't wake up forever. So I called my mother-in-law (MIL) who works in town and asked if she could possibly pick him up from school and take him to our house. I have to say that my MIL is absolutely awesome, doesn't bat an eye and says she's on it.

I get a call later from my hubby saying he missed my call because he was in the shower and could have picked him up. But like I said I panicked with the thought of the nurse wanting the kid out of the school asap, and not having the ability to just go and get him. I hate having to ask people for favors, even when it was a single mom, hated having to rely on other people. It becomes a necessary thing but didn't want someone to think I was taking advantage of them.

Well I was able to leave work early that afternoon to take my son to the doctors office. Hubby being super nice offered to take him but I figured that a sick person taking another sick person to the doctor's office probably should be avoided.  So the doc didn't actually test him for influenza B since it was already in our house and had the same symptoms. And the doctor suggested I contact my midwife to see if they wanted me to take some meds also as a precautionary measure.
So it was Tamiflu for all!

Word of the Week

Oh baby!

Ok so its more of a phrase than a word but phrase of the week didn't sound as catchy.
I've found myself saying 'oh baby' alot this week as a result of the baby moving around alot and being uncomfortable for me. So it was definitely said with different inflictions depending on the movement and my mood!
Last weeks ultrasound tech said that the baby was very squished in there. And I can believe it which one would think would lead to a little less movement but no. And I keep telling myself to appreciate the time I have left because it now seems to be going by quickly (51 days and counting!).

After last weeks ultrasound I know that the baby turned vertically, the prior week its back was on my right side and last week its back was on my left side but still with the head down.  There are times that I wish I had an x-ray machine or even better x-ray vision, so that I could see what exactly is pushing against me. Last night I felt movement low on my side and at the top near my belly button. Which just makes me wonder was it a hand and foot combo or head butt and knee jab, etc.

Week 32 - even tempered to slightly whiny

So let me start this by saying that I love feeling the baby move inside but... oh my gosh at times it can be soo annoying.  I sit at a desk at work and there are times when I'm sitting up right and typing and the baby decides it doesn't like being squished and proceeds to move like crazy. Which my only cure is to sit back and stretch out a little. Then if I need to keep typing I do so with my chair turned to the side.  I'm sure my coworkers probably think I'm crazy when they walk by my cube.

My new symptom this week is that my left hip started hurting last Friday while at work. When at home all weekend I was fine, no aches. Then Monday back at work sure enough after sitting a spell, I got up and my hip ached.  I've tried: changing the chair I was sitting in, getting up and walking around more often, putting heat on it. The heat helps provide temporary relief but makes me hot. I go to a prenatal water class two nights a week and that gives me relief afterwards but only for the evening. When I saw the midwife this week she suggested putting ice on it and possibly going back and forth between heat/cold. And that if it gets worse or unbearable she could send me to a physical therapist. So only time will tell!

As I mentioned earlier I saw the midwife again this week. Last week was the start of weekly visits. At this point it would normally be bi-weekly appointments. But since I have high blood pressure (normally) they want to do weekly non-stress tests and ultrasounds (to check amniotic fluid levels). This weeks appointments were originally scheduled as:
11am - Ultrasound
1pm - Non Stress Test
2:30pm - See Midwife for results

Needless to say I was extremely annoyed thinking I'm going to use up all my sick leave on appts before I even give birth!  Thankfully shortly after my ultrasound was complete a nurse called me back to do the non-stress test right away. And then one of the midwife's saw me right after. So instead of taking potentially 4 hours, the appointments only took an hour and a half.

The ultrasound showed that everything was fine and that the baby is head down. The midwife said that if the baby is head down at this point, its unlikely the baby will turn back around (yeah no breech).  I almost forgot the most exciting part of yesterday's appointments. At the ultrasound the tech showed me that the baby has hair!! She said that the strands were not quite 1cm long. It still counts and baby has time to grow more.  Of course when I told the hubby about it he asked if the tech was sure it wasn't the baby's eyebrows. He has thick dark eyebrows and thinks that they baby will come out looking like a Groucho Marx.
Here's to hoping that the blonde gene will dominate!

Glucose Results....

Its official, I do not have Gestational Diabetes!!

My test results said the normal range was 70-140mg and my result was a 71mg.  I'm still not sure if that was the average out of the three blood draws or the lowest, etc. I will be sure to ask at my appointment with the midwife next week.

I'm so relieved..

Hema-tala Update

So I heard from the hematologist's office this week. Turns out that I am negative for Factor V Leiden. And tested positive for MTHFR but my homocysteine levels were really low. 

Per Doctor Google:
Elevated homocysteine levels may cause irritation of the blood vessels. Elevated levels of homocysteine show an increased risk for (1) hardening of the arteries, which could eventually result in a heart attack and/or stroke, and (2) blood clots in the veins.

Given the low levels and my history of healthy pregnancies ( no miscarriages) they said that it wasn't something to worry about for me.  I guess it is something that I will continue to keep in the back of my mind though. I think I will still talk to my midwife about whether to continue taking the baby aspirin and extra folic acid just for good measure.

3 hours & 4 stabs

So today was the day of my 3 hour glucose tolerance test and of course it snowed, schools were cancelled. Thankfully I live in town and the hospital lab wasn't very far, so by golly I wasn't going to reschedule again.

I originally took the 1 hour glucose test about 2-3 weeks ago and the passing range is a 140. Don't ask in what quantity that is, no clue. If your test comes back higher than 200 you are automatically considered to have gestational diabetes. But I of course got a score of 151, just 11 stinking points over. So frustrating and hence why I had to take the 3 hour version to make sure that I didn't have gestational diabetes. Which I haven't had in the past but I was also alot younger/thinner back then :o)

My doctor requires you to fast 12 hours before, so no food (only water) since 8pm last night. My morning started out with a slow & hungry drive through the snow.  Thankfully the lab was still staffed even with the storm that blew through the area. They took my blood to start with for a fasting baseline. And then you have to drink (twice as much as the 1 hour test) this orange flavored beverage.  Its like a very really sugary non-carbonated pop. Once that was down the timer began, then every hour they draw your blood.

I was really thankful for the phlebotomist that I worked with. I told her from the get go that the last year seems like anyone always has problems getting blood from my veins. And she was able to get a draw every time she poked me. Probably helps that that is all she does everyday, practice makes perfect!

She had mentioned after I finished the drink that I may feel tired later and I was thinking why since I should be all hyped up on the sugar I just drank. Which I could tell from the baby cuz it started moving around like crazy the first hour. But boy as I sat and watched some tv and read my book, by the end of the first hour I was feeling the crash.

In the area where they draw blood they have a recliner which she offered to me. And it was nice to lay back and close my eyes. At the second blood draw I was feeling a little lightheaded and so the tech insisted that I sit and recline all the way back in the recliner just in case.

Well I survived after the last draw I was so glad to be done and could leave. And who am I kidding the last hour I kept thinking about what food I would get on my way home.

Today's realization

Today I am 28 weeks pregnant; according to bump.com the baby is the size of an eggplant.

I was standing up talking to a coworker and realized that my belly now sticks out slightly more than my boobs! Which if you knew me than you'd know that I'm well endowed in that area!

Hema-tala-who?

Today I had an appointment with a Hematologist. My understanding is that they deal with your blood.  When I met with my mid-wife last week we discussed the meds I was taking. Well I've been taking extra folic acid and a baby aspirin and it was because of the potential for MTHFR (and, no it's not a bad word!).

I explained to her that when we were going through fertility treatments I told my fertility doc that a couple of my cousins on my mom's side of the family with the condition. My female cousins have had problems miscarriages and/or unexplained pregnancy complications which (turns out) is a symptom of MTHFR or Factor V.  The fertility doc said that there are multiple variations and most time the preventive is folic acid and baby aspirin. So he put me on those instead of testing me.

Factor V according to Doctor Google:
Its an inherited blood clotting disorder. Both men and women can have factor V Leiden, but women may have an increased tendency to develop blood clots during pregnancy or when taking the hormone estrogen. 
Normally, factor V is a clotting protein. But, people with factor V Leiden have a genetic mutation that causes the factor V protein to respond more slowly to being deactivated by the anti-clotting factors. 


If you have factor V Leiden, you either inherited one copy of the defective gene (heterozygous), which slightly increases your risk of developing blood clots, or more rarely you inherited two copies, one from each parent (homozygous), which significantly increases your risk of developing blood clots. 

Well now the midwife has decided that I should be tested since I'm now pregnant. Which brings us back to present day the appointment today. So turns out that Factor V and MTHFR are two different things. The doctor thought with my family history and that I've had successful pregnancies that I might have the lesser version of MTHFR. Which is a relief and one less thing to worry about.

We'll know for sure in 7-10 days for sure. I'll update later when the results come back in.

Finally getting back on track

So I thought all along that this blog would be great since I've become pregnant since thinking back to my son (14 years later) you forget things.  I'm fully aware that this will probably happen to me and everyone else as time passes, its inevitable. Hence the importance of writing something down but of course life gets in the way. So I am making this pledge to keep up on this blog.

NOVEMBER 2012
Between 17-21 weeks pregnant. 
I went for an ultrasound Nov 14th and everything was ok. So that's always a relief! The ultrasound tech said the baby weighed about 9 ounces, so little less than a can of pop.  We told her we didn't want to know the gender and so the tech said when to look away. Well I looked over at my hubby and he was still staring at the screen the entire time. Afterwards he said that he couldn't tell what he was looking at anyway 90% of the time. It was crazy hearing the tech talk and point out things saying this is this, we definitely had to take her word for alot of it.

Towards the end of the month I was still out of town for work which means oh so exciting evenings in a hotel room watching TV. I was doing just that one evening and was leaning back against some pillows and actually saw my stomach move!!  I was so shocked and excited, my first thought was to call hubby and let him know but then realized that it was after 10pm and he would be fast asleep. So I told him the next day.


DECEMBER 2012
Between 21-25 weeks pregnant. 
I started attending a pre-natal water areobics class. I am currently the person with the latest due date. I've really enjoyed the class besides being able to float in a heated pool! It has been nice to be around other currently pregnant women. Alot of my friends/coworkers have had babies who I talk to about it but its different talking to someone thats currently going through the same as you. 




The weekend before Christmas (about 19 weeks along) my hubby finally felt the baby move. He said that he felt something move across his hand when we were laying down and he had his hand on my stomach.  That is one thing that has been interesting is since then we'll lay there with his hand on me and sometimes he can feel it when I do but other times I'll ask did you feel that and he hadn't.  I'll push on my belly trying to get the baby to move and the hubby will yell at me to stop cuz "you're going to poke it in the head". I've re-assured him that that is definitely not the case!

The saturday after Christmas my parents drove up and stayed for the day to help us take down the wallpaper in the spare bedroom aka office now aka nursery with an office corner.  Which it was good to have the deadline of them coming so it forced me into cleaning mode. The bedroom has nice wood floors and probably nice wood trim except that the previous owners had painted the wood trim a dark green color. ugh!  So we had to paint all the trim in the room and around the door and window, with 2 coats.  It probably could have used a third but by the time it dried hubby and I were sick of painting and said screw it.

There seems to be alot more space in the room now that it has been all cleaned out and painted. I mean its still a small room but at least now you can visualize that baby stuff will fit.  I also put together a storage cabinet that I had bought from Ikea awhile back. I'm one of those weird people that love putting together stuff like that. Our house was built in the 30's and so two of the bedrooms don't have closets inside the room. There is one out in the hallway but we use it more like a coat closet. We may have to rethink that later.