Bad Day

I happen to know that not too many people read this blog and I’m betting most of you are family. So I’ve decided to write about my Tuesday here. Some of this information wont go public till next week so if you wouldn’t mind keeping it on the down low that would be great. Work has been interesting these past few days, it was recently announced to the employees (and went public this week) that the company I work for if undergoing financial restructuring (ie Chapter 11.) Honestly this didn’t faze me to much, while I know it isn’t ‘common’ I also understand that it’s not the end of the world and once it all works through we should in theory be more financially stable. Then yesterday just before I left work we got another doozy of an e-mail from HQ. More than that the reason I was leaving work 30 min early was no fun. You see as of today I AM 13 weeks pregnant. Yesterday however we had a scare. The last 2 times I’ve run I’ve bleed, nothing major but more the 2nd time then the 1st and enough to worry me this round. So I called the midwife and they got me in. Mac and Apple met me there and after what seemed like an eternity (but was probably 1 min) she found the babies heartbeat loud and strong, and I thought Apple’s heart sounded amazing. So now I’m taking it easy until next Thursday then I’m taking a short and slow run before seeing the midwife for my normal 14 week appointment on Friday. If it happens again we will have to do some investigation to see whats up. Here is the picture we will be sharing online next week after my follow-up appointment.  So here is the hard part, hormones are crazy and while I normally pride myself for keeping a calm head in medical situations…I had a hard time yesterday. I found myself working to convince myself that it would be ok if we lost the baby, that we weren’t ready for #2 so soon anyway. That it would mean I could complete the races I wanted to this season and then have a baby next year.  I could have a ‘real party’ for my birthday, I could get the house ready. However all it really did was prove how much I and Mac were attached to little GummiBear. Please pray for Gods will and our acceptance, while I feel pretty certain that GummiBear isn’t going anywhere, at least for the next few months, there is that 1% you know?  Pray for peace and selfishly pray that I can run again, this is honestly a big fear of mine. Its a stress reliever and part of what made labor and delivery go so well the first time.  

38 Week Check-Up {Closer Everyday}

Physical Check-up:

• All the numbers look great (my weight/blood pressure, Babies heartbeat)
• Midwife says she is about 6 pounds now.
• Still in the same position head down back to the left.

My Questions/information from the midwife.

• I didn’t honestly have any questions this week.
• Midwife is still saying 41 weeks and 3 days for her arrival date guess. I’m still not sure if she is serious or if that is her way to prep me for baby being ‘late’ since statisticly with 1st births they are.
• If I do make it to 41 weeks there will be another ultrasound to check fluid levels and make sure the baby is doing ok. This will help us come up with a plan on the next step.

What this means in real life:

Well the car seat is in and the arms reach is set up and has a sheet on it ready for her arrival so I guess that is about it. Now its all about what other random things we can get done till she arrives. Nothing we can really do at this point but pray for her and the delivery! I sure can’t wait to meet her though.

PS we did a ‘test run’ with the car seat and the puppy in the back of the Prius, he approved.

 

36 Week Check-Up

Yesterdays check-up went well

I asked more questions this appointment than I think I ever have  but still it was a pretty chill appointment. 

Physical Check-Up:

• The midwife said she is going to be tall and that she is pretty relaxed in there (ie good heart rate.) But I didn’t get the BPM this time. 
• We also had to run a bunch of standard tests, some for any labor and delivery (Strep B and HIV) and some that are just because we are doing a water birth/labor (other STD’s.)
• I’m not going to do internal checks every week but since she was there for the strep B test I’m 1 cm dilated and babies head is WAY down in my pelvis.

My Questions/information from the midwife:

• vitamin K shot I asked if she thought this was a good idea. I thought I was leaning one way (against it unless trauma warranted) but the problem is I couldn’t find ANY un-biased articles/posts to truly do my research. It’s really hard to make an intelligent decision without proper information. After talking with her however it was pretty simple. We are going to have her get the Vit K shot but we are going to delay it a few hours till after the first feeding and then do it DURING the 2nd feeding.
• Eye Gel stuff There are a few variations of this but basically its to protect the eyes from an infection that can cause blindness from gonorrhea or chlamydia. So I asked the Midwife if there was any point since I don’t…she said no.
• The PKU Test, we will do (although it’s probably silly since Ryan is 1/2 Korean and it has to be passed down by both parents.) We will do this one during a feeding also, not immediately.
• Hepatitis  B immunization We will not be doing this at birth, if it happens it will be in office.

34 Week Check-Up This is getting real

Physical Check-up:

• Babies heart rate is still great 130s!
• I measured right in between 33-34 weeks
• As far as we can tell she is head down and facing the back which is just where we want her.
• Blood pressure was still great 112/74 not bad for just jumping off my bike 20 min before the appointment.

My Questions/information from the midwife.

• What to do with my ‘birth plan?’ What I really wanted to know was if it was a formal thing that I turned in to the hospital or if it was something just for us and the midwife. She let me know that it’s really for us, and that most of this stuff people want different from the ‘norm’ is automatic for them. Hence why I went with a Midwife and not a OBGYN.
• During the next checkup its time for my strep B check and the normal STD check you have to get if you want to use a birthing tub.

What this means in real life:

The same as last time  really, the baby is doing great, and we need to get ready for her. There are a few things that are really important to get done in the next few weeks (car seat, pack the ‘go bag’ and  make sure we have the arms reach bed ready.) But other than that everything looks great and I’m just trying to let it go. Lets face it there isn’t much about her arrival that really will be in my control so why stress?

32 Week Check-up

Physical Check-up:

• Babies heart rate is still great 135!
• I measured perfectly for 32 weeks.
• She is head down!
• Blood pressure was still great 104/something I can’t remember. I was the TINYIST bit nervous for this appointment because of my fall a week ago,  so that was good.

My Questions for the midwife.

1. I asked if they followed the 37 weeks is full term rule (yes) and then followed up with “when would you not stop labor? 37 weeks is the date they would not stop labor ( unless there was a complication or known problem.) However at 34 weeks they would no longer automatically stop labor. From 34-37 weeks they would discuss the possibility of allowing labor depending on progress, babies sizes and many other factors I’m sure.
2. I also asked when they started internal exams, she said it was up to me! Most people (who wanted them) start around 36 weeks when they do the strep B test. Humm sounds like I need to do some more research on the point of internal exams and if I want to do them and when.  (Thoughts anyone?)
3. What is the plan if I go over 40 weeks? Pretty much what I though at 41 weeks they would monitor her heartbeat for a while and then do an ultrasound to check amniotic fluid levels. If those 2 things check out ok then they wont discuss induction till 41 weeks 5 days…I’m sure I’ll think differently then but at this point that sounds fine with me. I don’t want to induce if we don’t have to.

What this means in real life:

The baby is doing great, and we need to get ready for her. Lol I want to have our car seats in and checked by 35 weeks along with having our ‘go bag’ ready. Other than those 2 things I think we are ok if she decided to make an early appearance. Of course there are a few things I would like to have around but none of them are vital.

Happiness During Tragedy {27 Week Check Up}

The Tragedy

I’m still in shock about Boston yesterday….I found out about it after a mid afternoon nap and it dominated my thoughts for the rest of the night. Here is part of my post from my other blog Life, Love, Green:

I blog about a lot of things, Faith, Marriage, Living Green and running. Running has become such a large part of my life I can’t even express the good it has done for me. Today the sport that I love was hit by a bomb, literally. I just went for a 2 mile run without music just praying to God for those who are affected.

On that blog I felt the need to take  a 1 day posting break to support my running blogger friends. However on this blog I’m physically reminded that the world still turns that a new life is growing inside of me. I can’t allow this awful event pull me away from the amazing miracle that is this little girl.

The Check -Up

Yesterday I met with the Midwives again, this time with a new one. I’m glad to have met her in a clinic setting (I’ve met her once before on the hospital tour) and see how she works. It was a very quick check-up with weight and blood pressure being right on par and my measurements being dead on (27 inches for 27 weeks.) We also got to hear her strong little heart beating 135 bpm…..Oh how I love that sound.

It was an extra special check-up because my Mom got to attend, my parents live out-of-town and therefore haven’t seen the week to week changes. I’m so glad that she got to do this with us yesterday!

Right at the end of the appointment we talked a little bit about my appointments for the 3rd trimester.  Oh wow….I can’t believe we are at this point already. I was simply in aww as I scheduled my 32, 34 and 36 week appointments, after that I’ll be going every week until this little one arrives…wow.

The 1st and 2nd trimester have gone fast honestly, and with all of the things I have planned in the next few months (bridal showers, baby showers, a friend’s wedding and some photography sessions) I expect the next 13 weeks to go pretty quick as well. I know some days/weeks might be longer than others but over all I’m sure she will be here before we know it.

21 Week Check-Up

So last week I had my 20 week ultra-sound last week and Monday I did my follow-up check up.

Ultrasound:

• Baby Girl (see here for that announcement) is in the 50th percentile for weight so that is good, right smack in the middle. I think the midwife said 312 grams which by my math is 11 oz…wow approching 1 lb and fast! 
• I’ve got lots of fluid and room for her and the umbilical cord so no one is going to be scrunched.
• My placenta is in the front so I might not feel definite movements for a while.
• Heart rate was good.

Physical Check-up:

• Babies heart rate is still good and if you believe the old wives tale says it will be a boy…humm better not buy too much pink 😉
• I measured perfectly for 21 weeks (hey I had a big enough ‘bump’ to measure!)
• Blood pressure was great (this is a small miracle for me I tend to freak out in doctors offices.)
• I have to do my blood glucose screening in 5 weeks, blah I hear that one is awful, something about making you drink a large amount and then not being able to go to the bathroom?

My Questions for the midwife.

1. I asked about birthing classes, I’m not sure if I’m going to take one yet but I wanted to know if I did when should I?  My midwife said somewhere around 35 weeks should be good, since I’m leaning towards a 1 day class (not a 6-8 week course, more on that later.)
2. I also wanted to know what her opinion on placenta pills were. She said it depended on why I wanted to take them. If I was going to for nutritional reasons, there was no point. If I was going to take them to try to help ward off postpartum depression, go for it! I’ll talk more about this at another time as well.
3. Hubby asked about my running, she said I could keep going as long as it wasn’t hurting me physically! Yea! I’m going to keep up on the yoga and light weights so that hopefully my muscles are strong enough to support those ligements as they loosen up.

Boy or Girl?

Here are the guesses from my friends, lets see what wins out from their guesses:

Sarah- Girl

Meagan- Boy (to even the playing field)

Hilary-Girl

Kami- Girl

Bec-Girl

Me- Boy

Just to name a few…. and the verdict is????

Just for fun here we are finding out:

The heartbeat of a runner {15 week Check-up}

So Monday we had our 15 week appointment, it was pretty basic. We reviewed my blood work from the last appt, starting with “well your pregnant.” LOL  The rest of my numbers were good, although she said I could be drinking more water….yeah as if I don’t go to the bathroom enough. Then I asked a few questions nothing major but just incase you were wondering:

• Yes keigles are important
• No you don’t have to sleep on your left side, although it might be the ‘best’ position it’s not the only one and if your circulation changes your body will wake you or make you uncomfortable enough to roll over.
• Having your arms (or other extremities) fall asleep often is normal…soemthing about your nerves and more fluid so they get compressed easier.
• When traveling make sure you move your legs a lot and stay extra hydrated.

Then it was time for the physical exam and heartbeat! Nothing major with the exam in fact she pushed on my stomach once and found my uterus right away so we moved on to the heart beat quickly.We  heard it right away no searching nesaccary, a crazy whooshing sound going about 160 BPM, then swish there was a pause and then it was back. After the second ‘pause’ the midwife let us know that was the baby either punching or kicking. After several more she said we had another runner on the way and ‘this one will keep you on your toes.” Yeah as if  Mac and I weren’t grinning already…

What a great day!

1st Midwife Appointment!

We love Her! I didn’t hate the doctor I saw before she was just to ‘doctorish’ lol. But Catherine is wonderful! Right away I knew this was going to be good. She asked how I was feeling and at the exact same time Hubby and I responded “pretty good.” She took that and rolled with it, She then directed a few questions to him, “How is your uterus?” Have you been feeling crampy?” That kind of thing it was hilarious. Then it was basics, blood draw, weight, blood pressure and a medical review, but this time when they were asking about grandparents it wasn’t my grandparents they were talking about it was MY PARENTS! For some reason that really jumped out to me, kinda made it more real. But Not as real as it was going to get.

She did an external exam, and informed me  I was pretty gassy (lol could have told her that.) Then since we didn’t know exactly how far along I was we decided to try and listen for the heart, we didn’t hear anything that day but she wasn’t worried which calmed me down a bit.  But she suggested we do an early ultrasound just to make sure of the date so we weren’t worrying ourselves if in the future measurements appeared ‘behind.’ I liked that idea and knew it would help with some possible future anxiety so we headed on over to the clinic.

I still don’t want to do too many ultrasounds but we plan on doing a gender one at 20ish weeks. If everything seems ok along the way then that will be the only other one…..not going to lie though it was awesome!!!! We got to see the baby and the heartbeat, it was pretty cool. But honestly even better for me, was seeing hubby smile, I tear up every time I think of it.

Well next visit at 14 weeks! More then!

Oh and my pics are in the mail so I’ll post them as soon as they arrive!