Archive for January, 2010

Craziness

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

Minnie joins in the Nesting Craze

Pregnancy can make you do crazy things.  I spent the entire day obsessively cleaning EVERYTHING.  From the baseboards, to shampooing carpets, to door casings.  Everything must be pristine for Bella!

Now that I am full term there is this new sense of – what if she comes right now, in five minutes, today?  I know most first time moms go past their due date, so there is no logical reason I should think she would come before our set delivery date.  Yet there is the “what if” factor.  It’s difficult to deal with.  For the next 2 weeks I feel like I have to be completely ready in every way at the drop of a hat for Isabella to be here.

The thank you notes have to be finished and mailed, there can be no dishes in the sink, laundry must be folded, everything in order exactly where it should be – all ready for the guest of honor.  It’s like having royalty visitors on their way, but you don’t know when they will arrive.  And it’s beginning to wear on my mental state.

Just up the street from my house the city is putting in new culverts in a canal.  We live on a dead end street.  The other day while they were working on this canal they tore up the entire street.  I pulled up and saw the gapping hole across both lanes of my little road and proceeded to freak out.  I called my husband crying because “how can they block off an entire road, I’m pregnant and I could be in labor right now!”  I wasn’t in labor.  But the fact remains that I COULD have been.  Turns out they were directing traffic to drive straight through someone’s front yard to get around.  So I wasn’t trapped.  Whew.  It was a close call.  If those workers only knew they were about 5 seconds away from having a crazy pregnant woman yelling in their face.

I don’t think I can take 2 more weeks of this craziness.  Maybe it will calm down once I get every possible duck in it’s row.

37 Weeks

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

Total Weight Gain: 28 lbs. (lost another pound, not sure how)

Pregnancy Woes this week: contractions, heartburn, her movements are now somewhat painful – there’s just no room to be doing cartwheels in there now Isabella!

Happy times this week: She’s full term!  My husband had a surprise shower thrown for him at work this week.  It was fun, but he is IMPOSSIBLE to surprise.

Belly Button Status:  the same.

Food Cravings:  I’ve been loving my pasteurized goat cheese lately.

Dr. Visits:  OB appointment Monday.  She checked me and said I was 1 cm dilated and she’s still breech, so it will be a c-section.  At the hematologist on Wednesday I found out that I needed another transfusion, so Thursday was transfusion day.

Labor Signs: Well I was 1cm dilated on Monday and on Tuesday I had the “bloody show” and lost my mucous plug.  Since then it’s been lots of contractions.  But they aren’t following a regular pattern yet.

Projects I worked on this week:  Nesting kicked into high gear.  I cleaned just about every square inch of the house, including the garage.  You can’t bring a baby home to a cluttered garage you know.

Looking Forward to: Now I’m just looking forward to Isabella being here.

2 weeks until delivery!

She has Eyes!

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

and likes to suck her thumb.

My Favorite Baby Books

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

Over the course of pregnancy (and before) I have read a LOT of books.  Some of them I loved and some were just okay.  Here is a list of my favorites.  These are the ones I’ve re-read time and time again.   The ones I will be going back to when I need help.

Baby Bargains

The best at helping you figure out what baby stuff you really need.  There is a TON of baby stuff out there.  Stores want you to buy it all.  But Baby Bargains helps you keep the budget under control by getting only what you need and by helping you find the good quality items so you don’t have to re-purchase the same thing in 3 months.

Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy

If I could have only one pregnancy book, this would be it.  It has a week to week guide, an extensive look at testing, labor, newborns.  Basically everything you need in one book.  I also love the chapter on different pregnancy symptoms.  You can look up a symptom you are having and it tells you if it’s normal, what you can do to help alleviate the symptom, and when to call the doctor.  Each month also has a chart telling you what things you should call the doctor about and what things are totally normal- don’t worry.  This helped keep my freaking out to a minimum.

Pregnancy To-Dos

My favorite pregnancy organizer.  Helps you make lists and more lists.  Keep track of Dr appointments, gifts received, day care interviews, pediatricians, registry lists, and more.

What’s Going on in There
whatsgoingon

My favorite book on baby’s brain development. It goes into great detail about all the ways the brain develops and what you can do to help it along the way. I love all the clinical case studies and examples. If you only wanted to read one book on development, this would be my recommendation.

36 Weeks

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

Total Weight Gain: 29 lbs.  (I lost a pound this week)

Pregnancy Woes this week:  Cramps, funny vision anomalies, and the usual…

Happy times this week: The 3-D ultrasound was really cool this week (my cousin is in training to be an ultrasound tech, so I get them for free!)

Belly Button Status:  the same.

Food Cravings:  I’ve been loving my pasteurized goat cheese lately.

Dr. Visits:  OB appointment Monday where we set the date of February 15th.  Everything looking good.

Labor Signs: BH are getting more frequent.  I started timing them the other day and sometimes they were less than 5 minutes apart, but it didn’t last. Sometimes they are crampy and hurt, other times just tightening.   She’s “dropped,” so maybe that’s a good labor sign.  Some days this week I’ve had cervical pain so I’m hoping that I’ll find out I’m a little dilated at next Monday’s appointment.  Who knows.  I think interpreting labor signs is about like reading tea leaves…

Projects I worked on this week:  Got the car seat installed!  After nearly an hour and a half with a state police trooper I am now officially a car seat installation expert.  Put together pack and play, which was NOT meant for a 36 week pregnant person to do.

Looking Forward to: Next week’s OB appointment.  Next week she’ll be full term!

3 weeks until delivery!  23 days!  (Deja vu)

2 steps forward, 1 step back

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Monday we went to the doctor to get a date.  It was supposed to be the week of the 8th, so that I can get a transfusion before going into spontaneous labor.  Well aparently something changed because the date is now February 15th!  The OB said that the MFM recommended waiting until the 39th week and because of that she couldn’t legally induce sooner.  I understand that the longer she bakes, the better things are for her health.  And the pregnancy hasn’t gotten so bad that I’m dying for her to come out yet.  It’s just that I like my planning…and when anything changes with my plans it freaks me out.  If the week of the 15th had been the date all along, I would have no problem.  But I don’t like things changing this late in the game.

In other news I have “dropped”.  Saturday she actually turned head down for a few hours, but then turned back around.  I thought it looked like she had dropped, but I wasn’t sure if it was possible to drop with a head up baby.  The doctor confirmed that I had indeed dropped.  And today I have cramping and lower pelvic pain that feels like she is going to fall out when I stand up or walk.  I had always thought Bella was going to stay snuggled in the uterus until we induced, but now I am starting to wonder if she’ll come sooner than the 39 weeks.  And that has me worried about what happens with the transfusion if I go into labor before the 15th.  I should have asked the doctor this last week, but I was too shocked by the news of “another week” to ask questions.

I’ve also started this crazy over the top nesting thing.  At night after work I feel like I’m on speed and have to get EVERYTHING done right now this second, can’t wait.  I must wash everything and clean everything and organize everything.  And did I already wash that?  I think it should be re-washed.  I was so excited for the 24 season premier.  But I could not enjoy any of it.  I was running around washing and folding and sewing and trying to watch Jack.  Even a nuclear threat couldn’t keep me interested long enough to sit still.

And don’t get me started on the hospital bag.  Every night I go through the list of necessities and take things out of the bag, put them back in to make sure I have it all.  I go over the list again to be sure nothing was forgotten.  And I find myself going over the list at night thinking I am forgetting something.  I am fully expecting that when it is time to go to the hospital we forgot the entire perfectly packed hospital bag.

I feel like I am so ready for her, yet she is a world away.  In my mind these 4 weeks that seperate us feel like 4 years.  Isabella, I am just so excited to meet you!

35 Weeks

Monday, January 18th, 2010

Total Weight Gain: 30 lbs.  (what happened this week?!?  It must have been the picadilly)

Pregnancy Woes this week: Headache from hell that laughs at tylenol.  “Mwah-ha-ha” it says.

Happy times this week: Seeing Bella on the ultrasound and hearing that she is doing great.  Shopping for her final necessities.

Belly Button Status:  sensitive.  Don’t touch!

Food Cravings: nothing particular.

Dr. Visits:  So I had a headache the entire week.  It was a never-ending headache.  Wednesday I started to get concerned about it and called the nurse.  She told me to call the Hematologist since it could be my anemia.  The hematologist moved up my appointment to this Thursday.  I went in and had my usual blood test.  My hemoglobin was still pretty good, so it was unlikely that it was anemia.  The hematologist called the OB so they could talk about what could be causing the headache.  But while she waited on hold we talked and she figured out that the medicine I was on has a side effect of headaches.  Doh.  I’m stupid.  She also noticed that my white blood cells were increasing and wanted me to get checked for a UTI.  I love her.  Most doctors don’t care about anything outside of their specialty, but she really cares. When I went to the Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor that afternoon and I also left a urine specimen with the OB.  Turns out I had a bad UTI with blood in my urine.  This explains why my kidneys are hurting.  Doh again.  So I guess it’s a good thing I went in for the headache.  At the MFM everything was great.  She is on the same growth curve, 30th percentile, and is weighing 4 lbs 10 oz.  She had hair!  Also still head up.  No more MFM appointments so we can scratch one doctor off the list!

Labor Signs: More BH.  They are getting more frequent.  One night my husband touched my belly button and it threw my stomach into a crazy BH frenzy all night.  But then it went back to normal around 2am.

Projects I worked on this week:  No more crafts, just getting the nursery organized and everything washed.  There is so much to wash!

Looking Forward to: Setting a delivery date at my Monday OB appointment!

Only 3 weeks until delivery!  21 days!

Baby Crafts!

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Now that I have completed my baby crafts for this pregnancy, here is a look at some of them.

This first one I cannot take credit for.  My mom sewed a bumper pad for Isabella’s crib.  The fabric is so cute- it’s like a pastel animal circus theme on the inside and a stripe on the outside.

Inside the Bumper Pad

Here is a view of the outside of the crib.  It’s kind of hard to see the bumper pad with the rails, but it is a lime green/pink stripe fabric that is echoed on the hem of the crib skirt.  My mom also made the crib skirt (and a window treatment not pictured).   Bella and I are so lucky that my mom made all this for her.  I really didn’t find a crib set in any store that I feel in love with, and my mom wanted it to be perfect- so she created the perfect crib set.

Outside the Bumper Pad + Crib Skirt

Next we have some of my embroidery projects.  I made her 2 onsies and 2 burp clothes. My favorites are the burp clothes.

Bella’s Onsies and Burp Clothes

I made Bella a headband by taking the bow off of an old one and putting a felt peony on instead.  I got the pattern for the peony here.

Peony Headband

Bella wasn’t the only one getting handmade baby crafts. Her new cousins also got some. Here is a onsie and burp clothes I made for Cooper. Cooper will be about a month younger than Bella.

Cooper’s Onsie and Burp Clothes

And Bella’s cousin Rhodes also got a onsie and burp clothes.  Rhodes will be just a few weeks older than Bella.

Rhodes’s Onsie and Burp Clothes

I’m excited that Bella will have cousins so close to her in age.  Even though they’re both boys, I think it’ll be good for her to grow up with them.  They will be in the same grade in school, their birthday parties will be one after the other, and most importantly I’ll have someone to talk to when they are going through trouble phases together.

34 Weeks

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

Total Weight Gain: 25 lbs.

Pregnancy Woes this week: just the usual.

Happy times this week: Baby Shower!  Prenatal Massage!

Belly Button Status:  same.  no longer interesting.

Food Cravings: nothing particular.

Dr. Visits:  Saw the Hematologist Tuesday, my Hb dropped by a point.  No need for transfusion at this point, but if continues to drop, might need one at next visit, or before delivery.  Wednesday I saw the OB.  Everything is still looking good.  She said that at the next visit she will check my cervix and check if Bella is head down or not.  We’ll probably also set a concrete date for induction at the next visit.  I scheduled out my 3 remaining OB visits for the pregnancy.  It feels so weird, now there is a definite end in sight.  She wanted to move up my next MFM appointment to next week.  She claims the belly is still measuring small…I think her tape measure needs calibrating.

Labor Signs: A quiet week.  Some BH, but nothing interesting.

Projects I worked on this week:  Finished the flannel blankets.  Now I’m done with all my crafting projects before she gets here.

Looking Forward to: Ultrasound at the MFM next week.  I wonder how much she’ll weigh???

Only 4 weeks until delivery!  28 days!

The State of the Belly

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Last night as I was making myself a breadstick I burnt my baby on the oven door…while she’s still inside me.  This is not looking good for my parenting skills.  I misjudged the size of my belly and leaned over to check on the breadstick a bit to close and my belly touched the inside of the oven door.  Then I lifted my shirt to check if it left a burn mark.  But I have no clue if it did, why?  Because the underside of my belly is as distant and remote to me as the other side of the moon.

When I look down at my belly it really doesn’t seem THAT big.  But when I catch a glance from the side in a mirror, I think “where the hell did THAT come from.”  At least now I can’t complain that random people tell me I look too small for how far along I am.  Lately random people at the gas station and such seem to think I’m going to go into labor any minute.  It’s so funny that maybe a month ago I was scared about a small belly and now I am expecting a phone call from the post office any day that my rotund midsection requires it’s own zip code.

I’m glad my belly only decided to pop out in it’s massive glory late in the pregnancy though.  Now I only have about a month of this belly.  And this belly is not fun.  It adds a layer of complexity to every day tasks.  Putting on tennis shoes now requires a good 10 minutes, a firm seat to sit on, lots of huffing and puffing, a few grunts, and patience.  I am trying to wear slip on flats every day for the rest of the pregnancy.  If only the weather would cooperate with me.  AND the weather…  It’s 30 degrees outside, everyone else is bundled up in sweaters and coats.  I walk outside in a long sleeve cotton shirt and a coat.  Immediately sweating, so I take off the coat.  Still sweating, so i push up the sleeves, and good god, who made 30 degrees feel like 80?  Someone is playing tricks on me!  AND the sweating…  No matter how much deodorant I put on and no matter how strong it is, I still sweat bullets every day.  I bought the super-strong deodorant that has like 40% of the antiperspirant active ingredient, and I slather it on daily.  Years from now my arm pits will grow eyeballs from all the Aluminum zirconium tricholorohydrex glycine I used during pregnancy.