Friday, July 30, 2010

Vacancy

I've built a crib, bassinet and now a swing bed thingy. Natali is going to have more places to rest than me!

I love Amazon.com. Kelli likes Amazon.com. We are "Prime" members meaning we get unlimited free 2 day shipping and $3.99 per item NEXT DAY shipping. We get deliveries weekly. I order everything from Gilette Fusion 5 razors on sale for $3 (Free shipping!) to computer cases to headphones (cheap $2 per pair so when I break them I don't cry) to socks. Yes socks.

We ventured into Babies R' Us the other day to look at a few items and get an idea on everything else we needed. I brought along my Ipad and loaded up Amazon.com. One great perk of Amazon.com is that many items have several user reviews. I'm HUGE on researching products prior to buying. Amazon makes it easy. We walked up and down the aisle with cradle swings. We found one we liked that was $159.99 at in store while just $111 on Amazon. Free shipping. The unit had good reviews so we bought it. On Amazon.

Amazon has really good "subscribe and save" deals. Once we get an idea on diaper use, we can set diapers up on a subscription. As long as they are cheaper than our local store....it's a no brainer. Diapers delivered as we use them.

I think I am done building stuff. I think. Less than 2 weeks. It's getting real. Looking forward to filling this vacancy!

Monday, July 26, 2010

36 weeks

I don't have anything new to post really.  It's all just a waiting game now.  The countdown is on.  I have 15 days until I got into the hospital and (hopefully) 16 days until our baby arrives!  I am uncomfortable and ready for it to be over, but I can wait out the 15 days.  It will all go really quickly.

I had my group B strep test at my appointment last week, so I will get those results this Thursday.  If it's positive I will just have to have antibiotics during delivery.  Apparently it's pretty common, so nothing to be concerned about.  My appointment this week is just a check up, so I'm sure there will be nothing eventful to report about that either.  I know this is a pretty boring post, but I already put a lot in my last post and I don't really have anything to add this week.  There will be several posts when we go into the hospital I'm sure.  There won't be much else going on while we are sitting in the hospital room and waiting for a very long time.  Maybe Darren will let me play some Words with Friends?  I can only hope. :)

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Delivery day is set!

The appointment on Thursday morning went well.  Everything still looks great.  We discussed at length my switch from Lovenox, the blood thinner I take once a day, to Heparin, the blood thinner I will have to take twice a day.  I am switching on Monday.  The reason for the switch is that Lovenox lasts for 24 hours, and Heparin leaves my system after 12 hours.  Plus, the Heparin is actually reversible, so if I go into labor and its still in my system they can give me something to reverse its effect before getting an epidural or having a c-section.  I can't do either if the blood thinner is still effective.  Besides how often I take it, the big difference between Lovenox and Heparin is how it comes.  The Lovenox comes in pre-filled syringes, and is extremely easy to just open and inject.  Heparin doesn't come that way.  It is a liquid in a bottle.  I have to actually buy separate syringes and fill them myself.  I am pretty familiar with how to properly fill a syringe from my years of laboratory experience, but I've never had to actually fill a syringe to inject myself.  I wanted to make sure I was doing it correctly, so I discussed it with the pharmacist.  He explained it pretty well, so I am sure it will be fine.  The actual injection process is the same as I have been doing, so that won't be a problem.  I'm really looking forward to ending the injections for good though.  They definitely aren't my favorite thing to do.  The simple injection has allowed me to have a healthy, normal baby though, so for that I am extremely happy to take them.  I am still amazed at how simple the solution to my problem is.  On the forum for people with my condition I read all the time about doctors who won't prescribe anything because they don't believe it really is a problem.  It doesn't really make sense to me.  Why wouldn't you want to just put these poor women on the blood thinners and see what happens?  It has no adverse side effects, so it shouldn't be a big deal.  I'm so glad my doctor has been on board with this.  She is great!

Anyway, so the big news is delivery day.  We didn't actually find out that morning at the appointment.  The nurse actually called me late in the afternoon to tell me they had set a day for me.  We go in the evening of August 10th to start a medication to help thin and dilate my cervix.  Then they will start the pitocin the next morning to get the contractions going.  If everything works out well I will have a baby sometime on August 11th.  My sister went through the same induction process I am going through, and she didn't actually have her baby until 2 days after they started it all.  Hopefully that won't be me.  I have a feeling that if I go too long my doctor will just want to do a c-section anyway, but we'll see.  Either way I will end up with a healthy baby, so that's ok.

It's so weird to have a delivery date set.  I only have 2 weeks left of work!  This whole pregnancy seemed to take a long time, but now that the end is in sight I can't believe its already here.  I'm not panicked at the moment, but panic may set in at any time.  I think we're ready.  We have most of the stuff we really need, and we've taken some classes, so I think we're as ready as we're going to be.  The only other major thing I want to get done is a car seat safety check.  They do them free at the hospital, but you have to make an appointment and the only time I could get in is actually the morning of the day I'm supposed to be admitted to the hospital.  That's ok though.  At least it will be done before the baby arrives. :)

The countdown is on!

Monday, July 19, 2010

35 weeks

I only have about 3 weeks left.  We will find out officially on Thursday morning.  I can't wait!  It will be an interesting appointment.

Tomorrow night we are taking a "babycare basics" class.  Darren is definitely coming to this one.  I hope he survives it.  I have a feeling there may be pictures of poopy diapers and other possibly unpleasant things that Darren may not be able to handle.  Oh well, he has to get used to it some time. :)

Darren mentioned in his post that I have been obsessively watching baby shows.  Its true, I have developed a baby show obsession.  I watch "Babies:Special Delivery", "Birth Day", "A Baby Story", and "Deliver Me: Home Edition".  I record several of these every day.  It's all a part of my need to be informed about what is going to happen to me.  After watching hours and hours of labor and delivery shows I feel like I am mostly prepared for whatever might happen during the birth, including induction, epidurals, episiotomies, c-sections, all technical terms relating to labor and delivery, and just about everything that could happen to me or the baby and how they fix it.  Being this well informed about it all makes me completely confident about the whole process.  I've been asked if I'm nervous for delivery, and I have to say that I am not at all nervous about it.  I feel totally prepared for whatever might happen.  It's the baby raising after delivery that makes me nervous.  As much as I can prepare for that part, it is still a mystery as to how our baby will behave.  Every single parenting experience is different because every baby is different, and I feel like there isn't much I can do to prepare in advance for that.  We will just have to learn that as we go for the most part.  If I were to guess based on our personalities I think our baby will probably be easier than a lot of babies are.  Darren and I are both pretty laid back people.  He is a bit more high maintenance than I am, but we are both pretty relaxed and go with the flow easily.  I'm hoping our baby will have a personality like that, but she could surprise us.  There's just no telling how she will be until she arrives.  I'm just glad I am able to take a full 12 weeks off to get used to it all.

I've been feeling ok this past week, but I'm still battling a bit of swelling.  Its really only bad when I get home from work every day.  I didn't notice swelling at all over the weekend.  I am extremely uncomfortable with all of the movement inside of me though.  I have a very strong child apparently.  She is constantly kicking and pushing on the inside of my ribs.   It's absolutely unbearable at times, and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it but just deal and count down the days until it stops.  Every time it happens I am reminded  of that part in "Breaking Dawn" when Bella gets her ribs broken.  If you've read the Twilight series you know what I'm talking about. :)

Back to my baby shows, I heard a doctor on one of them say something very interesting the other day.  I have heard so much talk about how it's so good to have a "natural" labor and delivery, and it really can make a person feel bad if they opt for an epidural or even a c-section.  This doctor was talking about epidurals and said he couldn't understand why people were so adamant about not getting one.  He said a person would never go get a tooth pulled and opt for no pain medication because its more "natural" without it.  We have this modern medicine and technology that allows us to go through this relatively pain free and without a lot of risks or side effects, so why not get it?  It makes sense to me!  If I had to go through this all with no pain medication I obviously would, but if relief is easy and readily available I will absolutely take it! :)

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Almost there

The males role in the journey to parenthood is more delayed than the female. I'm there for the beginning....then take the bench while she does all the work. Not a whole lot for me to do beyond build the baby furniture, move heavy stuff and be there to get things that are out of reach. Beyond that...I'm just sitting on the bench.

I'm pretty sure Kelli is only going to be up for one kiddo. That's all I want. Yeah, yeah , yeah a few years ago we said ZERO kids. Bleh. I am 100% willing to get snipped the same day the baby comes out. Previously I was against me getting snipped. Nah. Kids cost money. Kelli makes a lot. I make a little. Together we make enough for one. Kelli isn't so keen on me getting cut right away. Hmmm.

The closer we get to 'B' day (birth day) the more Kelli is watching pregnancy shows. A ton of them. We have a 52 inch HDTV. Seeing a goo covered baby (and associated woman parts) in 1080P is...yuck. I have zero desire to see this. I don't want the first sight of my daughter to be one covered in goo. I don't do goo. I don't handle other peoples' blood well. I can handle my own blood...as I have bonded with it. Maybe I will handle blood from my daughter as it's part of me. Maybe. Anyways I can't wait for B day as hopefully the preggo shows will stop. Of course soon I will be cursing Dora.

Looking forward I see the following to get done:

- Keep the dogs from barking when the garage door is opened

- Some kind of carpet/rug for the living room

- Seat covers for our cars...I've seen what my nieces of done to my in laws cars

- Camera system for baby room

- Gas mask and hazmat gloves.

- Puke bags

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

What a difference a day makes...

Yesterday I was very achy in my back and legs.  Today, not so much.  However, yesterday my feet and legs were totally fine.  This morning I tried to put my shoes on and they wouldn't fit!  My feet and legs have suddenly become very swollen.  I ended up wearing my Birkenstocks to work instead.  Of course, they were really tight too.  I have the ability to adjust the buckles on my Birkenstocks, but they are molded so well to my normal size feet and I just didn't want to change them.  I just dealt with it.  Luckily I tend to sit at my desk most of the day so I was able to keep my shoes off while sitting.  I was really uncomfortable with the swelling though.  I need to find something to prop my feet up under my desk.  That might help.  The main problem is that I can't go into the lab with sandals.  I need close toed shoes to go in there.  It wasn't a problem today, but it is on most days.  So, I had to break down and buy some new shoes after work.  They are just some $5 close toed slip ons that I bought at Walmart on the way home.  They are a size bigger than my normal size though, and much more comfortable.

I was a bit concerned about this swelling because it seemed to happen suddenly.  Maybe I was slightly swollen yesterday and just didn't notice?  It's possible.  I read up on it a bit and found out that sudden swelling of the hands and face may be a sign of preeclampsia, but leg swelling is just normal.  I don't have any noticeable swelling anywhere other than my feet and legs, and my blood pressure is always extremely low, so I'm not concerned about that.  I did double check my pressure today just to make sure, and it's still really low.  I guess it's just normal and another thing I have to deal with.  It really sucks though.  I was hoping I wouldn't have this problem.

Monday, July 12, 2010

34 weeks (and looking forward to the end!)

I am 34 weeks pregnant today, and I feel terrible.  More on that later.  First of all, we had a doctor's appointment and an ultrasound last week.  Everything looked fine, but we learned that our little girl is HUGE.  She was measuring at about 5 pounds 12 ounces, which put her in the 90th percentile for size.  I'm carrying a baby that is already about the size of a full term baby.  Thank goodness I am delivering early!  I think I would be completely miserable if I had another 6 weeks left.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to deliver about 4 weeks from today (give or take a few days).  The appointment to make the delivery day schedule is next Thursday, and I can't wait!  I'm really looking forward to having something set.

On Saturday afternoon Darren and I had a hospital tour.  I really like our hospital.  They have a lovely women's center, and they are a certified "baby-friendly" hospital.  Only about 100 hospitals in the entire nation and 5 in Texas have that designation.  Its kind of nice to have the hospital down the street be such a good place for delivery and babies.  Its a smaller hospital, but they even have a level 3 NICU.  I was surprised.  The tour guide said the only reason they would ever need to transfer a baby to another hospital is if it is born before 27 weeks gestation.  They can handle any other situation right on site.  I'm sure we won't need the NICU, but its nice to know we would be so close if our baby did need to stay for some reason.  Anyway, the delivery and recovery rooms are all very nice, and they all have wireless access, so Darren should survive the stay. :)

On Sunday I had that breastfeeding class.  I went by myself, which was totally fine.  There were several husbands there, but I didn't think they really needed to be.  It was all very helpful information though, and makes me feel a bit more comfortable about the whole thing.  I think I will be able to breastfeed without a problem.  The hospital is very helpful with breastfeeding support and a lactation consultant visits your room within the first hour after birth.  They also have a breastfeeding support center I can visit anytime to get extra help.  Hopefully I can do it.  I don't look forward to paying for formula, so if I can avoid it for a while I will be happy.

Now back to how I feel.  I am 34 weeks pregnant today, and this has been the worst day yet!  I have lower back pain, leg pain, hip pain, and increasingly uncomfortable and painful jabs in my stomach.  Plus, I'm completely exhausted!  This really sucks.  I feel like my uterus is stretched to the limit and can't possibly get any bigger.  It doesn't help that my baby is so large already.  I've been trying to exercise this past week.  Darren keeps telling me it will help me feel better, but it doesn't.  I exercised last night and today was worse than any other.  I will try to keep up with the exercise, but I am convinced it hasn't helped me a bit.  At least it will keep Darren quiet. :)

Only 4 weeks left!  I hope all of this pain and exhaustion doesn't get worse.

Monday, July 5, 2010

33 weeks

I know I missed a week.  I am reminded every day by my dear husband.  He can be really annoying about it.  I wish he would stop bugging me and make a post himself rather than just update his stupid "names" post every week.  Surely he has something to say.  He never seems to be at a loss for words in any other situation.  I am not really the blogger in the family anyway.  I haven't updated my own personal site in a year.

Anyway, the baby shower was a lot of fun!  Thanks so much to Jami, Kelly, Jessi, and mom for doing so much for me while you were all here!  I got a lot of wonderful things.  Mom and Jessi helped me open everything and put it all together and organize the baby room.  They even washed and put away all of the clothes I received.  Of course, now that its all put away I realize how much stuff we still need to get in the next few weeks.  I'm kind of holding off on getting the rest of the stuff in case I get anymore random presents.  I'm absolutely not soliciting for free stuff or anything.  I am just going to wait and see if there are any last minute gifts that come in.  We are pretty prepared with what we have already.  Of course, I don't have bottles, or any newborn clothes or diapers.  We aren't sure if we will need the newborn stuff, so I didn't expect anyone to get me things in that size.  I guess that will be a last minute decision once we see how big she is.  If we have to do newborn sizes I  think we won't be in them very long.

We are scheduled for a sonogram on Wednesday afternoon, just to check on her growth again.  I'm sure she will be at least 5.5 pounds by now since its been a month since the last one and she was about 3.5 pounds then. We'll see.  Coming up this Saturday we have a labor and delivery tour.  I'm looking forward to it.  My hospital has a really nice women's center and all the rooms and really big and private.  Of course, we have been there twice before under not good conditions (2 D&Cs).  We didn't really enjoy those experiences, so I'm looking forward to visiting under happy conditions.  Then, on Sunday I have that really long breastfeeding class.  I'm honestly not looking forward to that.  It will be very helpful and beneficial information, but it just seems so long.  Hopefully it holds my attention.  I'm hoping they will touch on pumping and using bottles too.  I know for a fact I will be doing some pumping and bottle feeding just because its more convenient at certain times and I'd really like some advice on bottles.  I have bottles on my registry that my sister suggested, but I never really asked her why she likes those.  There seem to be so many out there and I'm not sure of the differences.  Its just another thing I will need to figure out this month.

In 2 weeks I have a big meeting scheduled with my doctor to schedule a delivery day.  We are going to do the induction and see what happens.  I'm hopeful it will work, but I'm expecting to end up with a c-section in the end.  I figure if I expect that then I won't be disappointed when it does happen and I will be pleasantly surprised if I don't need one.  Either way I will end up with a baby, so it doesn't matter.  I only have 5 weeks left of work before delivery day!  I'm looking forward to my extended time off.  Of course, We still haven't found a daycare, so that's on the agenda to get figured out soon as well.  I will be calling a few more this week.

In other good news, I have been a bit worried thinking I would need to stress over picking a pediatrician too.  I have a friend who said she interviewed about 8 different doctors before picking one.  I had no idea people did that!  Its not something I wanted to do and I had no clue where to start.  I figured you just pick one and if you don't like them you try someone else.  Well, it turns out I don't really need to do that anyway.  My doctor asked me about it and when I told her I have no clue she gave me a list of 3 doctors that she recommends for us.  She said she likes to recommend pediatricians based on the personality of her patients.  She knows us well and I trust her completely, so I will go with her recommendation.  Have I mentioned I love my doctor? :)