Monday, September 30, 2013

Playing Catch-Up and 28 Week Appointment

I apologize for no blog post last week. The hubby went out to Colorado on an unguided Elk hunt, which meant no communication with him for 10 days. Needless to say, I wasn't crazy about being alone for most of the week and stayed as busy in my to-do list as possible. Then toward the end of the week my in-laws came to stay with me while Andrew was still away. So for the last half of last week I was busy having fun with them...To make it up to you, this week will have three posts:
-Today's Playing Catch-Up and 28 Week Appointment
-Wednesday's Belly By the Week: Round 5
-Friday's Life with PCOS

As I said, I stayed very busy over the several days that Andrew was away. I was very productive in completing many projects that have been on my to-do list for quite some time. However, toward the middle of the week, I started experiencing a new pregnancy symptom that opened my eyes and has made me realize I need to slow it down a few notches...
09/24/13
Last Tuesday was a busy day. I was up bright and early and was the finish up day on several projects I had started or pushed off toward he beginning of the week (finishing off the guest bathroom ceiling, painting the last coat on my farmer's table project, mow the front and back lawns, complete my fall arrangement on the front porch, work on homemade Christmas gifts, etc, etc, etc.) I finally sat down for the first time at 8:30pm for dinner. The in-laws would begin making their way down Wednesday and arrive Thursday afternoon. I finished dinner and went to stand up and found that I was in pain. Very sharp pain in my pelvis. I hadn't experienced anything like this before and told myself that it was probably because I overdid myself that day. I sat on the couch and watched a  movie, but was still experiencing the same type of pain, while sitting on the couch. When I got up to go to bed, the pain had intensified so much that I was concerned. I had a hard time getting into my bedroom because each step had to be assisted by something to support myself on. I made it to my bed and positioned myself to my left side. 5 minutes later, and no results of searching on the IPad, I decided to call the emergency after-hours line at my doctors office to speak with the Dr. on-call. I spoke with a labor and delivery nurse for almost 20 minutes after discussing and answering several questions. It was decided that it could be one of two things (without me coming in), "Lightening" or PRE-TERM LABOR. I did not have any additional symptoms to make her assume pre-term labor,so she assumed it to be "lightening," but she wanted me to monitor my symptoms and baby movements throughout the night and go into the hospital immediately if anything was out of normal. I was scared sh*t-less (especially with the mention of pre-term labor and having no way of getting in contact with Andrew until Monday the 30th). 
Lightening: The best way I understood from the nurse was what feels like sharp bolts of lightning (pain) into your pelvis which is caused by your pelvis beginning to separate and the baby dropping. This seemed to match what I was experiencing and gave me a little relief, however most women don't experience this (if ever) until later in their third trimester when the baby drops--and I was at the end of my second trimester.
9/25/13
I got up the next morning and felt great. I told myself again that last nights symptoms were a sign to tell me to slow it down. I was also relieved to know that the in-laws would be making their way down this evening. I stayed busy, but with homework and little tasks throughout the day. My last task of the night was vacuuming before my in-laws got here and then had plans of going to bed early, as they had decided to drive straight through the night and would arrive early Thursday morning. I experienced more "lightening" after vacuuming and decided I would call my Dr. the next day if this continued (I had a scheduled appointment with her on Friday, so I was trying to make it until then to talk to her face to face, instead of going through her nurse).
9/26/13
In-Laws arrived early Thursday morning. I went to class on Thursday and came home experiencing more lightening than the day before. I got home and decided to lay down for a nap and found when I was changing into pajama pants, I had great difficulty in raising my left leg more than a few inches off the ground to get my leg in and out of the pant leg. I couldn't fall asleep. I called my Dr and she told me as long as I had no signs of pre-term labor, to take some Tylenol and we would discuss additional tests when I came in the next day. Tylenol helped, and the in-laws and I went out to dinner that night. 

28 Week Appointment 9/27/13
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had to have two glucose tests done. Friday was my second of the two. I also was scheduled to receive my Rh Immunoglobulin Shot (or Rhogam Shot). My mother-in-law went with me to this appointment. Glucose test was a breeze, as it was the first time. Dr. Carr wanted to see me before we did the Rhogam Shot to discuss my new symptoms and so she could answer any new questions I had...Obviously I explained my "lightening" experience over the last few days. She explained "lightening" to me as the time in which the baby drops and the mother feels a "lightening" of her lungs to breathe from the absence of the baby putting constant pressure on them. She said the pain I was experiencing was strain on my tendons and ligaments in my pelvis and could also be because of my pelvis beginning to separate. Her guess was that the baby was using this new extra space and applying additional pressure to my pelvis. She ordered an ultrasound of my cervix to rule out preterm labor and also get a better look at baby's position. She said it was unusual for a woman at 28 weeks to be experiencing this, but was not concerned if this was indeed what I was experiencing. She prescribed me Prenatal Yoga and additional walking 30 minutes every day. If it does not get better or at any point gets worse, we are going to have to look into me doing some physical therapy to help relieve the pain. Ultrasound results came back perfectly normal and also confirmed baby is in the head-down position already. I definitely felt much better after my appointment and relieved to rule out pre-term labor. She wants to see me back in 3 weeks for a routine check-up and to get my Whooping Cough vaccine. The Rhogam Shot that I received at this appointment was because I am what is considered RH-Negative Blood Type (I have A- blood). Since Andrew didn't know what his blood-type was, it is just a precautioary step to prevent sensitization in future pregnancies if the baby has (+) bloodtype. Me becoming sensitized can lead to complications in future pregnancies. The Rhogam shot is given to me to prevent this.

This is how it works:

  • Father (+ Blood Type) + Mother (- Blood Type)= Potential (+) Blood type Fetus
  • Mother is considered RH-Negative. 
  • Rh-Negative Mother with Rh-Positive Fetus.
  • Cells from Rh-positive fetus enter Mother's bloodstream (blood mixes)
  • Mother becomes sensitized--antibodies (+) form to fight Rh-Positive blood cells.
  • In the next Rh-Positive Pregnancy, antibodies attack fetal blood cells (miscarriage).

Overall, Baby, Mama, and Pregnancy are right on track and doing fine!
Baby's heart-rate last appointment: 145
Baby's heart-rate this appointment: 155 (could have been result of glucose test.)
Mama's total pregnancy weight gain: 13 lbs.

Also, just received a phone call with results of my blood work from Friday ruling out gestational diabetes and anemia! (YAY!)

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

A View into Dad's Pregnancy Experience

I asked Andrew if he would be interested in writing something for the blog...to my great surprise, he sent me this today. Let me take two seconds to brag before I give you his post. Besides being the greatest husband, best friend, and life partner a girl could ask for, Andrew has bent over backwards to accommodate me in this pregnancy. Not saying that I have been very difficult, but he has been so patient for the days I don't finish the dishes because they make me nauseous (for me to find that he finished them for me later). And the days that I am a little extra needy; he takes a break from whatever he is doing to give me a hug, kiss on the forehead, or just come cuddle me for a bit (sometimes turning into the rest of the night.) Some days my back is killing me, my stomach aches, or my leg cramps are beyond a simple comforting...Andrew has offered or agreed to rub my back, get up for Tums in the middle of the night (without hesitation), and rub lotion on my cramped legs. He has even gone as far as getting up out of bed in the camper to walk me to the restroom because I thought I was going to be sick. I appreciate and notice each and everything he does for me and know these little acts of love, patience, and kindness are going to make him World's Greatest Dad. Okay, more than a few seconds and a box of Kleenex later, here is Andrew's Post:

The pregnancy for me up to this point has been nothing but joy and excitement. As the father to be, I cannot share in many of the same things that Mama is experiencing, however, it brings me happiness just to see the changes in her and how she lights up over things like when the baby moves. After weeks of anticipation, I remember the first time feeling the baby kick, that is something I will never forget.
 As many of you already know, as I do, Sadie is going to be an excellent mother. You can just tell by the way that she has prepared and the way she is with our little nieces and nephew. As more time goes by, I tend to concern myself with the practical “fatherly concerns” such as number of seats in our vehicles, finances, and how old before a child can ride a mini-bike, all of the important things. Overall, this has been a great experience for Dad! 
Andrew and I (& the bump) at a wedding this summer.

Monday, September 9, 2013

DIY Dresser Project

Week: 26
My final project for the nursery was redoing a $40 dresser I purchased off Craigslist into a dresser/changing table combo. I chose to remove the three top drawers  because two were damaged beyond repair. Overall, it ended up being more expensive that I thought, but all fit in budget. I am very happy with it and can't find anything that I wished I had done differently. Currently, I am experimenting with the top middle opening. I can't decide whether to put books, a basket, or (currently shown) I have an antique Fisher Price block wagon on wheels in there to store misc. items in.....
**I didn't really set a budget specifically for this project, but here is my $ breakdown.
Dresser- $40
Paint- $7
Knobs Total-$24 
Baskets- $42
Wallpaper/Drawer Liner- $1
TOTAL: $114

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

I achieved the "antique" look by using sandpaper.

I lined inside each drawer with this wallpaper.

Close-up of liner. Grey background with orange,
 dark grey, and white paisley print.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Belly by the Week: Round 4

Last Sunday, we made it to 24 weeks! (I am still taking belly pictures every Wednesday to keep them as consistent as possible.) Enjoy!

21 weeks

22 weeks

23 weeks

24 weeks


Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Nursery Progress

I hope everyone had a nice long weekend. We went to a BBQ on Saturday and then stuck around home the rest of the weekend. It was kinda nice to not have a million plans for once! Because of our lack of Labor Day activities, we had a lot of down time to be productive (and lazy)! I used my time to work on the Nursery. I stained all the pieces for the Nursery last week and was able to put them in their place this weekend (filled the bookshelf with books, hung the frame and shelf). I also found time to start on the dresser project. I have it completely painted and decided after I was done that I wanted to "distress" it to give it that antique look that the nursery is going with. All I have left to do is install the liner in the drawers and attach the handles/knobs. Then I will do my complete Dresser DIY Project reveal post (be looking for it in the next few weeks!) 
Here is a picture after completing the paint portion.

Here is a picture of the "Map Wall" art. 
The map frame is the one I stained last week and Andrew made...
The two dark frames to the right of the map are framed, vintage MI and TN postcards!
Then, I figured it wasn't complete, so I put my Norman Rockwell metal sign,
"What a Wonderful World" art on the same wall...I'm extremely happy with it all!

I also had my 6 month appointment this morning! I was told for the 3rd time that the baby is stubborn...(which only confirms with me that it must be a boy, like his daddy!) This came about because Dr. Carr was having a difficult time finding the heartbeat, but baby had no problem locating the instrument and kicking/punching to send an ear-piercing screech through the monitor. We eventually got baby to stay still for a few seconds to tell us that the heartbeat is 140 bpm. (Last visit was the same, visit previous was 140-145). My blood pressure was great and have no issues to date! Also, I gained 6 lbs, for a total pregnancy weight gain of 7lbs! YAY! Next appointment (in 4 weeks) will have me repeat the glucose test and I will receive a special shot because of my blood-type (sounds like a good mini post to explain it!) This will also be the last 4-week check up, starting with next appointment, I will go in every 2 weeks!
...And Grandma M (Andrew's Mom) will be joining me at the visit! Can't wait! xo