Pregnancy News

There isn't a whole lot to update everyone on, but I thought it was time to post again. I'm now 31 weeks along and getting to the "I want to have this baby NOW!!!" stage, although being responsible for a newborn still scares me to death. I have been having leg cramps and shin splints and of course some lower back pain. Unfortunately I've now started to experience really bad acid reflux, the kind that makes your throat ache, burns your chest and keeps you up at night. I'm tired, but not as bad as I thought I'd be at this point, especially considering how little sleep I am able to get (Last night was about 3 1/2 hrs of sleep, 2 hrs of rolling around, peeing, coughing, walking, staring at the ceiling, 1 hr asleep in the recliner, 2 more hrs of not sleeping then the alarm clock going off...fun). At this particular moment I am deliriously tired. I'm amazed everyday that God allows me to function at an almost normal capacity considering my sleep deprivation. I do think that my little baby is going to be smart as a whip because she sure is taking away a lot of my brain cells. I do and say so many things that make no sense what-so-ever and I know people are wondering about my sanity at times (example: I was doing one of those stupid quiz things and I had to think of an animal that started with a "d" and this took me a good 2 minutes. HELLO?!?.....DOG!! Wow). And I blame everything on pregnancy.

We went to the Doctor's office on Thursday for another checkup and for our 3D/4D ultrasound. We had an excellent ultrasound technician who was very sweet and gave us way more pictures than we were supposed to get (we were only supposed to get 4. I think we got 25). Doctor said everything looked great and I measured right on target (nearly 31 centimeters, for nearly 31 weeks). I've gained 27 pounds now, and haven't had too much more trouble with swelling (a little but nothing like that one time...).

I can't finish this post without a shout-out to my great husband. He has been very supportive and will listen to me when I need to vent about current ailments. We learned massage techniques in our last birth and beginnings class and Jordan has been using some of them a little bit at random. It's really sweet. He also is so great about doing things around the house without complaints. I so appreciate him putting up with me and all of my pregnancy crazyness. I love you, Baby!!!!

Randomness

Random Thoughts for today:
* I saw a license tag today on the interstate. It read: A42NUT1. I kept looking at it as I was driving trying my hardest to figure out what it said. I HATE it when I don't figure out what they mean, so I was determined to know the meaning of this stupid license plate. (It's never a good thing to think that hard before 9:00 in the morning.) Then it hit me...

A Fortunate One.

* The baby had the hiccups for the first time on Wednesday night. Jordan put his head on my belly to feel her move and to talk to her (he does this often and I find it very sweet!) and she kept twitching at about 15 second intervals. This went on for a good 30 minutes and Jordan was getting very concerned that she was having a seizure or something. I had to reassure him that this was completely normal and that it was in no way hurting her. It was sweet to see what Jordan will be like in the roll of concerned daddy. He is going to be amazing with her!!

* I found some old lotion that I had from my high school days in an old dresser of mine the other day. I remembered really liking this lotion and smelled it and found that I still really liked the scent. So I put the lotion in my bathroom, thinking I might use it again. This morning I decided to put some on my arms and neck and shoulders after my shower and it smelled so good!! So I was loving the lotion and very glad I found it! As I was leaving to go to work Jordan came over to hug me goodbye and looked at my neck.

"Why do you have glitter all over you??"

"What? I don't have glitter on me..."

So I looked down, and what do you know, I had a layer of little tiny glitter all over my neck and arms. and it dawned on me...I remembered why my 15 year-old self liked the lotion so much. It was GLITTER lotion. Thankfully it was very small glitter and mostly pretty subtle since I didn't have the time it takes to scrub away glitter before work. So today I am channeling my teenage years and smelling darn good doing it!!

Birth and Beginnings - Week 1

Last night was the first of our Birthing Classes, "Birth and Beginnings", offered by Forsyth Medical Center. I really (and I mean REALLY) didn't want to take a class in the beginning of my pregnancy, hated the thought of it (all the stupid breathing techniques and how epidurals are the from the devil) but it grew on me and by my second trimester I had convinced myself that taking a birthing class was a good idea and that it would be fun. I probably would not have come to this conclusion by myself but my good friend LeeAnn (who is pregnant and due a week after I am) took the initiative that I lack to find the class, schedule and how to sign up for it; all the necessities. We decided to take the same class, which was a relief to Jordan because he would have another guy (Chuck) in the class to goof off with. If you knew them both, then you would know how scary this thought is. They tend to distract each other and get each other in trouble. Putting two boys with ADHD together is always an iffy thing. Also in the class is LeeAnn's Coworker Anna and her husband James, who are very sweet and fun people.

So last night was the first of the 5 week classes. We parked across from the hospital at LeeAnn's work and walked over so that we wouldn't have to pay for parking (we would have been more inclined to pay for parking with the impending rain clouds overhead if we had had some cash, but we didn't...). We got into the room where the class takes place and went over to the information table to take care all of the necessities (sign-in form, name tags, information packets, etc.). I was picking up one of each form and got to the one labeled "Prenatal Yoga." Hmmm.... As you all very well know, I am NOT an exercising girl. My exercise regiment includes walking from my teller window to the bathroom and back again one million times a day. So I quietly put the paper back down on the stack, I mean let's be realistic.

We went over to the tables and sat down and talked until the teacher came into the room. I kept trying to look at her (Jordan's big head was in the way) and when I finally got a good look, I quickly turned away. I was thinking the very worst. See, I know this lady. She is one of my members at work and I was thinking that there is no way I was going to learn anything with her. She is very spacey and I really can't see her in this profession. I looked at LeeAnn with a slightly pathetic face as I explained that I thought I knew the teacher (I probably completely freaked her out about how horrible this class was going to be). But I knew that I had to face the facts, so I slowed turned around to face her again, knowing she would recognize me. This time she spotted me and grinned really big and waved. I feel bad now for thinking such horrible things because she is a really nice lady, but I really didn't think she had the capability to teach a class of any kind.

The class started and teacher lady is really not a bad teacher. Her voice is slightly annoying to me but I was able to overlook that for the most part. We went over the 3 stages of labor, certain breathing techniques, what to remember to tell the doctor if our water breaks, certain hospital procedures (like the fact that if we were to have parked in the hospital parking lot, she could have just stamped our receipt and we wouldn't have had to pay for it...would've been nice to know before we got to the class...), and a lot of stuff that I know I am forgetting (baby brain). Then we watched a video on the three stages of labor which thoroughly scared most of the people in the room (most of all Jordan) even though it was very tame compared to the horrific labor and delivery scenes I was conjuring up in my head. It was still enough to remind why I should be scared of this process. Maybe this class was a bad idea...ignorance is bliss right? I wasn't nearly as scared before the class as I am now, but that could be because I wouldn't let myself think about it. But even now with all of my fretting over giving birth and the horror delivery stories floating around in my head, I can still look at a tiny, little baby and feel peaceful and smile (this is obviously not a screaming, tiny, little baby, because that triggers a whole new round of terrors in my mind.) I just have to remember what this journey will result in and my whole world is fine. I cannot wait to hold this little girl in my arms and sing lullabies to her and stare into her beautiful eyes and hold her tiny little hands and feet.

ANYWAY, the class went well and I'm looking forward to the rest of our meetings, especially class #4 where the partners learn massage techniques!! There were (of course) lots of laughs provided by Chuck and Jordan (whom we definitely had to separate). When we were walking out of the hospital we saw that it was raining a good steady rain. This was not good since our cars were parked several blocks away. So the boys were sent to get the cars in the rain while Anna, LeeAnn and I talked about pregnancy things and maternity clothes. It was a fun night, but a late one. I wish the class was a little eariler but it's only for a few more weeks.

Only 2 more months to go and I can feel her growing bigger inside me by the minute (not literally but it feels that way). I wonder what she will look like, since Jordan and I have such different features. Will she have my nose or his, blue eyes or brown, dark complexion or rosy pale with freckles, blond hair or dark brown or any at all for the first two years. And what about her personality? Will she be a take charge, outgoing, social butterfly or a shy, reserved, blushing little thing? So many questions! And if God allows, very soon (probably much too soon) I will have my answers. Please pray for the health of my little one. I don't have any weird intuitive feelings that anything is wrong with her health, but I think it's normal to worry. How can you not worry over something that you love so much? How can I love someone so much that I haven't even seen yet? As scared as I am of all of the millions of things that are going to happen/change in the next few months, I am way more excited. I just pray that she is healthy.

Lord, Please give us a healthy baby. In Jesus' name, Amen.

My Sonic Story

Jordan and I were in Mocksville the other night and we were hungry, so we ended up heading to Sonic for some burgers. Jordan was driving, so when we got to Sonic he had to order. He handled that with no big flaws. So we sat in the car and talked while our order was being made. Then Jordan saw the Sonic girl right as she was approaching the car with the tray of our food. He already had the window rolled down, but apparently decided to spas out a little and quickly get the window rolled up just enough for her to set the tray on. This would've been fine if she was leaving the tray instead of handing us the food in a bag through the window or if he realized that the automatic windows in my car roll all the way up when you press the button unless you stop them at the desired point.

So what I saw from the passenger seat was a hand with a bag of food coming through the the ever-narrowing, upward-moving window (I was trying to figure out what possessed him to roll up the window when our food was coming in it?!?!). The poor girl immediately snatches her hand back out to avoid it being chopped off by the crazy guy rolling up the window. Jordan hasn't the slightest clue what is going on and why the window continued to move although he had long since let go of the button. He was looking at me in horror as he tried to wrap his mind around what was happening. So the window shut completely before Jordan realized what had happened and was able to roll it back down for her. I was dying in quiet laughing fits having just witnessed this while Jordan tried to pull himself together enough to pay the poor girl. As she walked away, I could control my laughter no longer and just completely fell apart. We sat in the car and laughed so hard for about five minutes. As hungry as I was, I couldn't stop laughing long enough to eat. I wish I could write this in a way that conveys the hilarity of the situation, because it was so funny!! The look on the girl's face was completely priceless. I know she went back and told her coworkers to be careful if the guy in the silver car orders anything else because he might try to rip your arm off with the automatic window.

After all of this, we ordered ice cream so she ended up having to come back out to our car. Jordan managed not roll her hand up in the window this time, but did stumble over the joke he was trying to make about her first treacherous visit to our car. As soon as we had the ice cream safely in the car, Jordan decided that it was definitely time to leave. What great Friday night entertainment!!

Attack of the Swelling Monster!!!

Last Thursday, I came home from work and changed into capris and a tee shirt. As I was putting lotion on the lower half of my legs I noticed that my ankles (mostly the right ankle) were somehow replaced with those of a 300 pound woman. I stood there in the bathroom staring at my ankles and poking and prodding them to make sure that they were real. I then went as fast as possible down the stairs (waddling doesn't allow you to move too fast) to show Jordan, who was making dinner in the kitchen. I just stood there with fear in my eyes and pointed to the ground. Jordan took about half a second to process what I was pointing at and then smiled and said, "You have CANKLES!!" The fear drained from my eyes and turned into near hatred. We then debated what should be done and I referred to the only source I could think of (since my internet was not working), What to Expect When You're Expecting. Well, this horrible swelling is called edema and is normal in the third trimester and probably won't go away until after the baby is born (WHAT?!?) .

In the morning I woke up and immediately checked my ankles. They are still swollen. Not as badly, but still quite a bit puffy. By the time I got to work, they were nearly as bad as they were the night before. I went straight to the internet to see what I could do to reduce swelling. Then, after seeing 3 different sites with the same info (if one ankle is significantly more swollen than the other -mine was- and you are having leg pain -I was- you should contact your doctor immediately.) I was starting to get a little worried (especially since one of the sites says this may be a sign of a blood clot!!). I then called my doctor's office and told the nurse what was going on and she confirmed that, yes, they would need to see me right away. So I left work and went to the doctor to find out that the reason my right ankle was swollen so much more than the other was because the baby likes my right side, a lot, and doesn't move from that side!! And the swelling is normal; I should just drink a lot of water and keep my feet elevated and that I should sleep on my left side to help blood flow. Oh, and if none of that helps, then there isn't really anything I can do and I'll just have to deal with it until baby girl arrives.

Also while at the doctor's office I asked if I could go ahead and get the shot of RhoGam (required for me since I have a negative blood type therefore missing the Rh factor) that they give at 28 weeks. I was one day shy of being 28 weeks and really didn't want to go back in only 4 days, so since I was so pitiful with my HUGE ankles they graciously decided to give it to me. The nurse came into the room with all the shot stuff and I go to sit back up on the table and she says, "Whoa, wait a minute this is no shot in the arm! This sucker goes in the hip..." At this point I was kind of wishing I hadn't asked to get it early when I could have put this pain off for another 4 days, but I bravely stood at the table and looked at Jordan, who was getting VERY squirmy (he has a huge fear of needles). I asked him if he needed to leave but he said he'd be okay. So I pulled down the left side of my pants and the nurse felt around for my hip bone then stuck me. It hurt. Jordan had huge eyes and told me later that is was a very big needle. I preferred not to look. So much for sleeping on my left side, not with all the soreness going on. So I survived the shot experience.

That night I got home and immediately inspected my ankles to discover that the 300 pound-woman's ankles have been replaced with a 400 pound-woman's ankles. AAHH! Not only was this extremely annoying but it was quite painful. But after drinking tons of water and sleeping (or more accurately not sleeping) all night with my feet propped up on 3 pillows I am thankful to report that most of the swelling was gone by Saturday morning!! It's still hanging around slightly, but not too bad. Hopefully my ankles will stay with me and the fat woman's will stay away!!

Pregnancy Happenings

Here are a few of my pregnancy happenings that I find to be interesting (for you, for me they are mainly annoying, but I deal with them and love them because its all for a great outcome). So a brief synopsis of my pregnancy.

*I found out I was 4 weeks pregnant on Sept 21, 08
*2 days, 2 at-home pregnancy tests and a blood test later, Jordan was finally convinced that, yes, I was actually pregnant (men!)
*at 5 weeks the morning (all day) sickness begins! (tried everything that was safe to remedy, but NOTHING worked)
*Oct 9-first Doctors Apt. 6 weeks
*Nov 19- we heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time at 12 weeks (sigh of relief)
*Sometime around 14/15 weeks I start feeling the baby move
*around 17 weeks, I'm finally over the morning sickness!!
*Dec 31 - We had our first ultrasound and found out that it's a girl!! (18 weeks)
*Sometime in January (20 weeks?) Jordan feels baby girl move
*Glucose Tolerance test on Feb 24 (26 weeks) - No Gestational Diabetes for me!! Baby girl is now dancing around all the time in my stomach.
*28 weeks, edema (ankle swelling) begins (very, very bad edema, but more on this to come)

I am now 29 weeks and baby girl is very very active. I can feel her moving all the time and love every bump and roll! I've had a few cravings for crab legs and cold stone ice cream (no, not at the same time). I've gained 25 pounds so far. I've been unable to sleep for about two months, with lots of hip and lower back pain. Other than that and just being uncomfortable a lot of the time, I feel good, although the third trimester exhaustion is starting to kick in. We have our 3D/4D ultrasound scheduled for March 26 and I am so excited to see her again!

Starting off...

OK, so I have been sucked into blogdom. I have decided that this is a great way to stay updated with people who I rarely see (or the ones that I see all the time that are just bored) and to keep up with insignificant daily happenings that I wouldn't remember otherwise. I also think it will be neat to have all of my pregnancy rantings stored somewhere much more reliable than my always forgetful mind (especially right now, what is up with the baby brain?!?!). I know, I'm already nearly done with being pregnant and I should have done this months ago if I really wanted to keep up with all my pregnancy memories, but I figure late is better than never, right? So here I am, a brand new little blogger. Now I just have to come up with something to blog about...