It is absolutely crazy how fast time is flying! Not that there is anything wrong with that, but man....this year has been the fastest year of my life! I blinked and suddenly here I am - 4 weeks shy from delivery!! That's even if they have me go to the full 40 weeks! Chances are it might only be 2 weeks left due to my age and whatnot. Yeah, I'm 38, aka old and high risk. We shall see!
Last friday we toured the hospital. It was very informative actually and I am really glad we went, even though an hour of pretty much walking around, standing and yearning to sit really did it's toll on my poor feet. Some advice: schedule that in your second trimester!! lol! But touring the hospital kinda made everything seem so real. Like, I am going to be in one of those rooms soon. It's crazy.
We also returned to see our MFM (maternal fetal medicine) doctor on Monday. I will have an appt with her every week from here on out. Baby is measuring perfect and is weighing in at a whopping 6lbs 4oz!! She is in the 60th percentile and they are expecting her to be close to 8lbs by delivery! She did beautifully when they checked her diaphragm for practice breathing. On a score from 1-8 she got an 8! Go Ava! We unfortunately didn't get any pics of her face this time because her hands were covering it pretty much the entire time! There was one moment when she had her hand grabbing her toes and pulled her toes to her face - so we couldn't get a pic then either!! lol. It was really sweet to see nonetheless! Hopefully this monday we can get a better glimpse of her beautiful little face.
The doctor ran a typical CBC test as well as tests to check up on that protein in my urine. Just to make sure I didn't have any developing signs of Preeclampsia or Hellp syndrome. All seems to have come back normal. I got the results before talking with my doctor since Quest Diagnostics sends them to my email as well. So I got online and researched everything and all seems to be great with that. But I will confirm it all with the doctor on Monday to be sure. My protein, glucose, albumin, and creatnine levels came back just under normal - however - they have this site that references what levels should be in pregnancy - and everything was in range for third trimester pregnancy except the glucose. That was still low.
Anyway, all in all - things are still coasting along. I am trying to get as much done at work and around the house as I can before baby gets here since I know I will have no time afterwards. Even though I have zero energy to do it now. LOL. I long for an uninterrupted good night sleep. I think I have a better chance at winning the lottery these days!
Well, that's all for now!
xo
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Thursday, June 29, 2017
35 Weeks!
5 more weeks to go!! And boy am I ready!! Between the swollen hands and feet, constant peeing, the lack of sleep, heartburn and just overall being uncomfortable - I am r-e-a-d-y!! We had our baby shower last sunday and had such an awesome time! I will post pics below in a minute. We got so many great gifts and had lots of fun playing cute baby shower games. My sister really outdid herself! It was very special.
I had a dr. appt on Tuesday and they stated I have a little bit of protein in my urine. But my blood pressure is normal so she wasn't too concerned. I just hope it's not an onset beginning stage of Preeclampsia. Everything else went fine - baby sounds great and I am measuring 37 weeks!! Insane. I always felt my belly was pretty big for my date - but the dr. thinks it's just extra fluid in there. I wish I was 37 weeks! haha! Let's get this show on the road!
Anyway, we have a few things coming up. Tomorrow we are doing a hospital tour of the Labor and Delivery dept. Just to learn where to go and what to expect once we are there. Then on Monday I will have my 35 week Maternal Fetal Medicine scan. I will start having those weekly after Monday since I am "high risk" aka old. Whatever - it's comforting to constantly keep tabs on her.
Speaking of her - girlfriend is kicking and moving up a storm lately. I feel her little butt and feet press hard against my belly all of the time. It's very reassuring that she is growing as she should. She also get's hiccups frequently. Another good sign if you listen to the dr.s and not google. Google will scare you saying that the cord could be strangling her. Doctors will tell you that's a great sign her lungs are developing and that her diaphram is working as it should. See the difference. Stay off google!! haha
In other exciting news, my job is allowing me to do my work from home after the baby is born!! It will only be part - time, but hey, better than nothing!! I am excited because that is a huge stress lifted off of my shoulders. Now I can still bring in some income and stay home with baby girl. Perfect. The only downfall - another stress - is that we have to move out of our adorable townhome. We simply cannot afford it with baby expenses on top of me going part time. So now on top of handling a newborn - we have to pack the entire house up and move. Our lease is up in Sept. What a nightmare that will be. But it is what it is. Gotta cut corners and save where you can, ya know?
Anyway...here are some pics from the shower! I will keep in touch soon! xo
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
32 Weeks!
Another milestone down! At this point of the pregnancy, she will do extremely well if she were to be born from now til here on out! Very relieving to have made it this far! I am getting bigger by the day it seems, and more and more tired. All normal pregnancy stuff. But everything still seems to be moving along as they should. I have been feeling a lot of pelvic pressure and get a lot of braxton hicks, which is always somewhat unsettling. But from what I read, all normal things.
I am officially going off prednisone today and hydroxychloroquine. I have dwindled down to 2mg of prednisone over the past week and I feel I am ready to completely be off of it now. The hydroxy stays in your system for like 50 days after going off and I would like it to be out of my system by the time she is here so there are no issues with it being in my breastmilk. Even though they say that it doesn't cause harm - still would like to be off of it. Less drugs, the better. Still a little apprehensive coming off of them since I have been used to being on them for so long, but I am also excited to NOT be on steroids anymore!! I just hope I keep thriving without them. But at this point - I am comfortable enough to do without.
We are starting to receive gifts from the registry and we are going to be officially setting up the nursery this weekend. Crazy to even think about! I keep having to pinch myself that this is all really happening! These 8 weeks are going to fly, but will still be the longest 8 weeks of my life all at once. I am anxious to meet her. She is so active in there, kicks away and even has the hiccups on occasion.
Here is the latest 32 week bump pic! I think I might topple over if I get any bigger! haha!
32 Weeks
So that's about it! Til next time! xo
I am officially going off prednisone today and hydroxychloroquine. I have dwindled down to 2mg of prednisone over the past week and I feel I am ready to completely be off of it now. The hydroxy stays in your system for like 50 days after going off and I would like it to be out of my system by the time she is here so there are no issues with it being in my breastmilk. Even though they say that it doesn't cause harm - still would like to be off of it. Less drugs, the better. Still a little apprehensive coming off of them since I have been used to being on them for so long, but I am also excited to NOT be on steroids anymore!! I just hope I keep thriving without them. But at this point - I am comfortable enough to do without.
We are starting to receive gifts from the registry and we are going to be officially setting up the nursery this weekend. Crazy to even think about! I keep having to pinch myself that this is all really happening! These 8 weeks are going to fly, but will still be the longest 8 weeks of my life all at once. I am anxious to meet her. She is so active in there, kicks away and even has the hiccups on occasion.
Here is the latest 32 week bump pic! I think I might topple over if I get any bigger! haha!
So that's about it! Til next time! xo
Friday, May 26, 2017
Horror Stories
I am a researcher by nature. I just want to learn every single thing about a topic I am interested in. So naturally when I began this journey - along with my hardships through this journey - I researched every single aspect of pregnancy. I swear I could write a damn book! But sometimes that research is not such a good thing.
The internet is an amazing source of information. Type in anything and everything is at your fingertips! But type in a simple symptom, experience, question - and you get the worst of the worst stories. They make you paranoid. They legit turn you into a hypochondriac! Lately, I have stumbled upon some terrible stories and statistics regarding stillbirth or death of the mother after birth. It's just horrible and has been a cause of many disturbing, sleepless nights for me.
I can't imagine coming all of this way, getting to the finish line - only to leave empty handed. My heart absolutely gets torn in half for those women, or men for that matter, who have dealt with that. It's so awful and there are no words. It has turned me into such a nervous wreck about labor and delivery! I want everything to go perfect, I mean who doesn't? But it's just so unsettling to know that it could all change in an instant! You can just never be comfortable at any point.
Anyway, moral of this post is - I have got to stop reading this stuff. I have got to keep my internet research to the bare minimum these days or I am going to drive myself crazy! I have to hang in there for another 8-10 weeks. I can do this! I just have to keep my mind in a positive place and stop feeding into the horror stories that circulate the web.
I advise everyone to do the same. It does nothing but make you stressed and worry. There is nothing wrong with being informed and prepared - but it's quite another to let that knowledge get the best of you - as I am doing. So from here on out - only positive stuff!!
Hope everyone has a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!!
xo
The internet is an amazing source of information. Type in anything and everything is at your fingertips! But type in a simple symptom, experience, question - and you get the worst of the worst stories. They make you paranoid. They legit turn you into a hypochondriac! Lately, I have stumbled upon some terrible stories and statistics regarding stillbirth or death of the mother after birth. It's just horrible and has been a cause of many disturbing, sleepless nights for me.
I can't imagine coming all of this way, getting to the finish line - only to leave empty handed. My heart absolutely gets torn in half for those women, or men for that matter, who have dealt with that. It's so awful and there are no words. It has turned me into such a nervous wreck about labor and delivery! I want everything to go perfect, I mean who doesn't? But it's just so unsettling to know that it could all change in an instant! You can just never be comfortable at any point.
Anyway, moral of this post is - I have got to stop reading this stuff. I have got to keep my internet research to the bare minimum these days or I am going to drive myself crazy! I have to hang in there for another 8-10 weeks. I can do this! I just have to keep my mind in a positive place and stop feeding into the horror stories that circulate the web.
I advise everyone to do the same. It does nothing but make you stressed and worry. There is nothing wrong with being informed and prepared - but it's quite another to let that knowledge get the best of you - as I am doing. So from here on out - only positive stuff!!
Hope everyone has a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!!
xo
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
30 Weeks!
I am officially in the 30's!! Crazy how time is flying! I have about 10 weeks left if she decides to stick in there until the bitter end! I hope so, but they can be unpredictable at this stage. My friends water broke at 37 weeks! So who knows...but so far things are still progressing nicely. I am starting to feel her roll around and poke her little feet/hands out. It's such a weird feeling. I gently poke back and she seems to like that game.
My next Dr. appt is on Tues after memorial day. It's just a routine appt, blood pressure, pee in a cup, monitor heart beat deal. My next fetal medicine ultrasound isn't until 35 weeks, so we have a little wait for that. I am planning on weaning off the prednisone here soon. I will finish this week out with the 5mg and then next will taper down to 2.5. At this stage, I just really feel I don't really need it anymore. I am also going to go off hydroxychloroquine soon. Probably after 32 weeks. I just want to start minimizing as much as I can so when I breast feed - there won't be much flowing between me and her directly. Hydroxy stays in your system for like 50 days - but they say it isn't harmful for breastfeeding. So I am not too worried. It will definitely be nice to be off the steroids though!
Other than that - pretty standard pregnancy symptoms going on. My fatigue is back with a bang. I have no energy anymore. I'm sure that is partially due to the fact that I barely sleep at night as well. When I am not pee'ing every hour - I am tossing and turning. So needless to say, I'm tired. Acid reflux is my enemy. It's brutttalll. I am trying not to OD on Zantec or Tums but man, it's hard! I can't eat anything anymore without it coming back and burning my throat. Ready for that to be over with. My feet...my poor, poor feet. They are taking the brunt of it all - along with my knees. It hurts to walk. But I just bought some new Toms so I am hoping that will help a bit. They are very comfortable.
But I am embracing everything the best I can as I reach the final stretch with this pregnancy. I admire all women that have gone through this multiple times. I can honestly say, one time is plenty for me! haha! We have decided after all of this that if we were to have one...it would just be a singleton. Yeah I am not doing this again. haha! As I am further along though, it's become so much more real. Especially when I feel her little feet, and her moving around. It's very surreal. It's very weird. And it's very, very emotional for me. Because I cannot believe in just 10 short weeks or less, I will finally be able to hold her in my arms and my journey will finally be over as a new one begins. But every day is still a day by day mentality. I am optimistic to think that way, but I remain grounded. Pregnancy is a tricky beast and can throw you curve balls at any given time. So I am counting my blessings that I have made it this far, and I am hopeful we will reach the finish line without hiccups. Fingers crossed!
xo
My next Dr. appt is on Tues after memorial day. It's just a routine appt, blood pressure, pee in a cup, monitor heart beat deal. My next fetal medicine ultrasound isn't until 35 weeks, so we have a little wait for that. I am planning on weaning off the prednisone here soon. I will finish this week out with the 5mg and then next will taper down to 2.5. At this stage, I just really feel I don't really need it anymore. I am also going to go off hydroxychloroquine soon. Probably after 32 weeks. I just want to start minimizing as much as I can so when I breast feed - there won't be much flowing between me and her directly. Hydroxy stays in your system for like 50 days - but they say it isn't harmful for breastfeeding. So I am not too worried. It will definitely be nice to be off the steroids though!
Other than that - pretty standard pregnancy symptoms going on. My fatigue is back with a bang. I have no energy anymore. I'm sure that is partially due to the fact that I barely sleep at night as well. When I am not pee'ing every hour - I am tossing and turning. So needless to say, I'm tired. Acid reflux is my enemy. It's brutttalll. I am trying not to OD on Zantec or Tums but man, it's hard! I can't eat anything anymore without it coming back and burning my throat. Ready for that to be over with. My feet...my poor, poor feet. They are taking the brunt of it all - along with my knees. It hurts to walk. But I just bought some new Toms so I am hoping that will help a bit. They are very comfortable.
But I am embracing everything the best I can as I reach the final stretch with this pregnancy. I admire all women that have gone through this multiple times. I can honestly say, one time is plenty for me! haha! We have decided after all of this that if we were to have one...it would just be a singleton. Yeah I am not doing this again. haha! As I am further along though, it's become so much more real. Especially when I feel her little feet, and her moving around. It's very surreal. It's very weird. And it's very, very emotional for me. Because I cannot believe in just 10 short weeks or less, I will finally be able to hold her in my arms and my journey will finally be over as a new one begins. But every day is still a day by day mentality. I am optimistic to think that way, but I remain grounded. Pregnancy is a tricky beast and can throw you curve balls at any given time. So I am counting my blessings that I have made it this far, and I am hopeful we will reach the finish line without hiccups. Fingers crossed!
xo
Monday, May 8, 2017
Hello Third Trimester and 28 Week Scan!
Well technically 28 weeks in 2 days...but close enough. So today is the day we had our scan! We hadn't seen her in 2 months and I was VERY nervous going in. Obviously I want everything to be perfect and know she is growing well! Well, we went in and.............everything is perfect! She is 2.8lbs and in the 46th percentile! Everything looks great and measuring right on time! She was in a very awkward position to get really good photos - so we didn't walk away with the best pics! But she did move her hand away from her face long enough to snap a few decent shots!
Nice butt shot! haha!
So she is going to look a lot like her father!! I can already tell! I cannot wait to meet her! <3
As for myself, I have been getting bigger. Here is the latest bump pic:
Yeah - definitely a lot bigger than last time I posted! I am having tons of acid reflux, backache, knee and joint aches, and have gained almost 20lbs. I still am having sleepless nights filled with uncomfortable positions, pee breaks and insomnia. I am also insanely emotional lately as well. I cry at anything it seems!! SOOOO not me. I have been getting a lot of Braxton Hicks Contractions as well. One time was concerning at 26 weeks because they were pretty regular at every 10 mins. I had a total of 5. 1 every 10 minutes. I finally called my doctor and she didn't seem too concerned. I went in the next day for a checkup and again - they didn't seem concerned and told me to just call again if I get 6+. It hasn't happened like that since then - although I still get at least 5 a day. Very sporadically though. I talked to my fetal medicine dr. about it and she seemed a little more concerned about them and even measured my cervix. My cervix is still at almost 4mm so it looks great. After that she just said that some women's uterus just get more irritable than others and contract more. So she thinks that's probably what's going on with me. But it's something I definitely need to monitor for any changes in patterns with them.
Other than that, I am doing good. We got the crib and changing table in over the weekend and I will start on her nursery in a few weeks. I am also starting to plan my baby shower. I never thought I would actually be comfortable with doing any of that stuff - and don't get me wrong - I am still a huge ball of nerves! But now that I have reached a milestone again, I am settling down a little bit. I have over 2 months to go. Just need to relax and try to just enjoy this time.
Oh....we are also officially going to announce the pregnancy tonight. I will upload our picture once we do so. (We still have to take it when we get home from work today). haha! It will be nice to finally let the cat out of the bag to the rest of the world!
Thanks for reading and Hope all is well out there!
xo
***update***
Here is the announcement picture! We didn't do anything super creative...but cute nonetheless! Cats officially out of the bag now and everyone is very excited!!
So she is going to look a lot like her father!! I can already tell! I cannot wait to meet her! <3
As for myself, I have been getting bigger. Here is the latest bump pic:
Yeah - definitely a lot bigger than last time I posted! I am having tons of acid reflux, backache, knee and joint aches, and have gained almost 20lbs. I still am having sleepless nights filled with uncomfortable positions, pee breaks and insomnia. I am also insanely emotional lately as well. I cry at anything it seems!! SOOOO not me. I have been getting a lot of Braxton Hicks Contractions as well. One time was concerning at 26 weeks because they were pretty regular at every 10 mins. I had a total of 5. 1 every 10 minutes. I finally called my doctor and she didn't seem too concerned. I went in the next day for a checkup and again - they didn't seem concerned and told me to just call again if I get 6+. It hasn't happened like that since then - although I still get at least 5 a day. Very sporadically though. I talked to my fetal medicine dr. about it and she seemed a little more concerned about them and even measured my cervix. My cervix is still at almost 4mm so it looks great. After that she just said that some women's uterus just get more irritable than others and contract more. So she thinks that's probably what's going on with me. But it's something I definitely need to monitor for any changes in patterns with them.
Other than that, I am doing good. We got the crib and changing table in over the weekend and I will start on her nursery in a few weeks. I am also starting to plan my baby shower. I never thought I would actually be comfortable with doing any of that stuff - and don't get me wrong - I am still a huge ball of nerves! But now that I have reached a milestone again, I am settling down a little bit. I have over 2 months to go. Just need to relax and try to just enjoy this time.
Oh....we are also officially going to announce the pregnancy tonight. I will upload our picture once we do so. (We still have to take it when we get home from work today). haha! It will be nice to finally let the cat out of the bag to the rest of the world!
Thanks for reading and Hope all is well out there!
xo
***update***
Here is the announcement picture! We didn't do anything super creative...but cute nonetheless! Cats officially out of the bag now and everyone is very excited!!
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
24 weeks!
Today I reached a milestone, 24 weeks! If God forbid anything were to happen, she could have a 20% chance of surviving at this point! So naturally, I am finding myself slightly more at ease as the time progresses. Slightly. haha.
Yesterday I had my Glucose test. I should get those results in a couple of days. Hope that all is well with that and have it be one less thing to worry about. My next appointments are in 4 weeks. It will be the 28 week checkup with the Maternal Fetal Medicine to measure her growth and another standard checkup with my OBGYN. So I am hoping for a relaxing and easy 4 weeks leading up to the next appointments.
Things with me are going good as can be expected in pregnancy. I don't sleep well, my joints and knees ache, I get restless leg syndrome often before bed, the acid reflux sucks, and I wake up to pee every 2 hours at night. But other than that, I feel great! haha! I feel her moving around a lot more frequent now. She is now around my midsection and bounces from one end of my tummy to the other. She is going to definitely be a handful! haha!
Here is a 24 week bump shot:
So yeah, definitely rounding out there! (pardon the lovenox bruising). I hate those damn shots!
Anyway, that's the latest for now! I will keep you posted on the Glucose results when I learn more!
xo
***UPDATE*** Got the Glucose test results and I am in normal range. No Gestational Diabetes for me! Woohoo! One less thing to worry about! :)
Yesterday I had my Glucose test. I should get those results in a couple of days. Hope that all is well with that and have it be one less thing to worry about. My next appointments are in 4 weeks. It will be the 28 week checkup with the Maternal Fetal Medicine to measure her growth and another standard checkup with my OBGYN. So I am hoping for a relaxing and easy 4 weeks leading up to the next appointments.
Things with me are going good as can be expected in pregnancy. I don't sleep well, my joints and knees ache, I get restless leg syndrome often before bed, the acid reflux sucks, and I wake up to pee every 2 hours at night. But other than that, I feel great! haha! I feel her moving around a lot more frequent now. She is now around my midsection and bounces from one end of my tummy to the other. She is going to definitely be a handful! haha!
Here is a 24 week bump shot:
So yeah, definitely rounding out there! (pardon the lovenox bruising). I hate those damn shots!
Anyway, that's the latest for now! I will keep you posted on the Glucose results when I learn more!
xo
***UPDATE*** Got the Glucose test results and I am in normal range. No Gestational Diabetes for me! Woohoo! One less thing to worry about! :)
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