Christmas is one of my favorite times of year because its always an awesome excuse to hang out extra with friends and family! Besides that, there's always tons of good food to enjoy. But for once, I've had something else on my mind during this holiday season. Bet you can't guess what that is...HA HA! It's Jude of course. He isn't an outside part of the family yet, but he sure loves to make his presence known to mommy.
Since 26 weeks or so, I've been getting a lot more aches and pains. In particular, I've been feeling those pesky Braxton Hicks. With Bella, I always thought they were really cool to have because it was just a sign of how close I was getting to having a baby. That was not the case this time. My contractions with Jude are far more uncomfortable and they started 9-10 weeks earlier than they did with Bella. My oh my does it make for an interesting day. I can't imagine what people think when they look over at me and see my face contort while I brace myself to get through a BH.
Well, that went on until a couple weeks ago, then all of a sudden it slowed down. For a week. Now, and since last Sunday or so, I am getting a ton of these contractions and they are becoming really uncomfortable. I think it may have to do with my size as well. The contractions seem to pair with a decent amount of back pain. I am surprised though at how easily I'm able to cope with them. I suppose its the season and all the warm fuzzies that come with it. I am by no means silent about the discomfort, but its easy for me to remember that its all a part of the process and it just means I'm getting closer and closer to having a baby again!
Besides, I can always remind myself that when it comes to having a baby, the phrase "No pain, no gain" is extremely accurate :).
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
December brings colds (every stinking year)
I can safely say that having a cold while pregnant sucks. You're very limited in the meds you can take, and the ones you can take, you can only use for a certain amount of time. I've reached my limit for Affrin, which was the only thing keeping my nasal passage clear over night. BOO. I also have been having trouble breathing in the mornings. Usually, for me, that means this is going into an infection. This usually happens when I get a cold because I normally don't drug up much when I get sick unless I absolutely have to. Not because I hate taking meds, but more because I'm lazy and forget.
I've called my OB's nurses for advice and am waiting for a call back. Although, the more I think about it, I have no idea what they're going to tell me. I've tried everything I can try and its working somewhat. I just worry that if I let this go for too long (it has been 4 days so far), then its going to be more harmful that I can't breathe and have allowed myself to get an infection. So, I need to be told what other secret measures I can take to make this go away. It also doesn't help that I'm loosing energy and Bella just won't have that. She may be sick right now as well, but I think that she'll be able to kick this bug soon, then I'm in for a world of hurt!
I've called my OB's nurses for advice and am waiting for a call back. Although, the more I think about it, I have no idea what they're going to tell me. I've tried everything I can try and its working somewhat. I just worry that if I let this go for too long (it has been 4 days so far), then its going to be more harmful that I can't breathe and have allowed myself to get an infection. So, I need to be told what other secret measures I can take to make this go away. It also doesn't help that I'm loosing energy and Bella just won't have that. She may be sick right now as well, but I think that she'll be able to kick this bug soon, then I'm in for a world of hurt!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
In case of Emergency
Well, I was fairly successful taking care of my niece and daughter Monday night and Tuesday morning. The trick was getting Natalie to sleep. Of course, its difficult when you aren't really sure of her sleeping patterns or can't meet her every whim. Natalie almost always sleeps with Lynsie and I simply wasn't going to do that. But by rubbing her tummy after laying her in bed, she fell asleep and I could walk away. Nap time was a different story, but the cry it out method worked wonders! She whined for less than 5 minutes then fell asleep. BOO-YAH!
Unfortunately, this adventure came to an abrupt end shortly after Steve got home. He came home early to work from home in case I got overwhelmed. Such a nice guy! Anyway, my mom called to tell us Lynsie was being rushed into an emergency C-section due to bleeding. Luckily, once the birth was over, the bleeding had been stopped and the baby had come out screaming and kicking. I don't think we were worried about the baby quite as much as we were worried about Lynsie. We already knew the baby was going to be small but she was technically at term now and her doctors saw no problems prior to the induction.
Being induced is obviously hard, seeing as Lynsie wasn't making much progress to begin with, but then the emergency on top of that was just scary. Unfortunately, the placenta had started to rip from her uterus and well, that causes bleeding. I suppose the induction was a blessing in disguise, because if she hadn't been there for it, this same thing could have happened anyway later on. Lynsie was simply prone to placenta issues due to some choices of hers, which I will not go into. The thing that really matters is that both mother and baby are alright.
Lynsie is now in quite a bit of pain, which is no surprise, but she's doing just fine and will have a great helper in my mom to help her recover. The baby, Audrey Diana, is doing better than Lynsie, honestly. Even at 4 lbs, 12 oz, she's a healthy little girl and she stayed in the regular nursery from the start. Lynsie's also up and moving now, so she can have Audrey with her whenever she likes. Lynsie has to stay a little longer than Audrey in the hospital, so they'll both be there until the weekend. Other than that, things have gotten back to "normal", or at least the new normal now that Lynsie has 2 kids.
:) I get the old normal for another month and a half or so. Until then, I'm gonna relax as much as possible. It looks like I'll need to.
Unfortunately, this adventure came to an abrupt end shortly after Steve got home. He came home early to work from home in case I got overwhelmed. Such a nice guy! Anyway, my mom called to tell us Lynsie was being rushed into an emergency C-section due to bleeding. Luckily, once the birth was over, the bleeding had been stopped and the baby had come out screaming and kicking. I don't think we were worried about the baby quite as much as we were worried about Lynsie. We already knew the baby was going to be small but she was technically at term now and her doctors saw no problems prior to the induction.
Being induced is obviously hard, seeing as Lynsie wasn't making much progress to begin with, but then the emergency on top of that was just scary. Unfortunately, the placenta had started to rip from her uterus and well, that causes bleeding. I suppose the induction was a blessing in disguise, because if she hadn't been there for it, this same thing could have happened anyway later on. Lynsie was simply prone to placenta issues due to some choices of hers, which I will not go into. The thing that really matters is that both mother and baby are alright.
Lynsie is now in quite a bit of pain, which is no surprise, but she's doing just fine and will have a great helper in my mom to help her recover. The baby, Audrey Diana, is doing better than Lynsie, honestly. Even at 4 lbs, 12 oz, she's a healthy little girl and she stayed in the regular nursery from the start. Lynsie's also up and moving now, so she can have Audrey with her whenever she likes. Lynsie has to stay a little longer than Audrey in the hospital, so they'll both be there until the weekend. Other than that, things have gotten back to "normal", or at least the new normal now that Lynsie has 2 kids.
:) I get the old normal for another month and a half or so. Until then, I'm gonna relax as much as possible. It looks like I'll need to.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Now we need to focus!
December is generally a busy month for many people. You have to wrap up things at work before the new year. Its time again to think about holiday presents for your family and close friends. You have to get the decorations up inside and outside the house. Then there are usually some parties to be had.
On top of all that, sometimes, you get a lot of extra tasks put before you. For instance, Steve and I have a lot of baby related tasks to finish this month. We have to get a crib, the mattress, and bedding for Jude. My sister is planned to have her second girl December 7th and I get to take care of Natalie for her. I expect that to be one hell of an adventure. Two toddlers while 32 weeks pregnant.....its certainly going to be interesting. We also have a nursery to paint. We've got out colors! Its just a matter of tapping the room, moving the furniture out, and getting down to the task at hand. Bella will get to sleep in our room for a couple of days. That's always exciting!
With all of this going on, in addition to 4 birthdays and Christmas, its time that Steve and I focus on getting each bullet point completed. At the moment, this is what I've got planned:
Tuesday: double toddler day
Thursday: Bella's bone doctor
Sometime this week: buy for Lynsie, Bella, and Dad; buy baby furniture
Next weekend: Angela's birthday, Michelle's birthday (even though I sadly won't be where she is for that one), paint the baby room (so I've been promised...)
Dec. 15: make sure that Evelyn has gotten her birthday present!
Dec 17: go see Dr Potter and beg her to induce me in early January :) (I think I'll do some baking for the office to help my case, and ya know, cause they've been so wonderful the past 2 years)
Dec 19: Christmas/Baby party at Heidi's
Dec 23: make sure Natalie has an awesome birthday party
From there, its cake. We just have to make it there and make sure things are done on time. With me, there's no guarantee anymore, but I try my hardest! I hate not getting things done on time or having things that need to be done looming over my head, so this month is certainly keeping me on my toes. But its all worth it. I get to do good things for some great people and celebrate the holidays with family, including a new little member here in a couple of days! So, Happy Holidays! May your holiday to-do list be as easy to complete as I am hoping mine is :).
On top of all that, sometimes, you get a lot of extra tasks put before you. For instance, Steve and I have a lot of baby related tasks to finish this month. We have to get a crib, the mattress, and bedding for Jude. My sister is planned to have her second girl December 7th and I get to take care of Natalie for her. I expect that to be one hell of an adventure. Two toddlers while 32 weeks pregnant.....its certainly going to be interesting. We also have a nursery to paint. We've got out colors! Its just a matter of tapping the room, moving the furniture out, and getting down to the task at hand. Bella will get to sleep in our room for a couple of days. That's always exciting!
With all of this going on, in addition to 4 birthdays and Christmas, its time that Steve and I focus on getting each bullet point completed. At the moment, this is what I've got planned:
Tuesday: double toddler day
Thursday: Bella's bone doctor
Sometime this week: buy for Lynsie, Bella, and Dad; buy baby furniture
Next weekend: Angela's birthday, Michelle's birthday (even though I sadly won't be where she is for that one), paint the baby room (so I've been promised...)
Dec. 15: make sure that Evelyn has gotten her birthday present!
Dec 17: go see Dr Potter and beg her to induce me in early January :) (I think I'll do some baking for the office to help my case, and ya know, cause they've been so wonderful the past 2 years)
Dec 19: Christmas/Baby party at Heidi's
Dec 23: make sure Natalie has an awesome birthday party
From there, its cake. We just have to make it there and make sure things are done on time. With me, there's no guarantee anymore, but I try my hardest! I hate not getting things done on time or having things that need to be done looming over my head, so this month is certainly keeping me on my toes. But its all worth it. I get to do good things for some great people and celebrate the holidays with family, including a new little member here in a couple of days! So, Happy Holidays! May your holiday to-do list be as easy to complete as I am hoping mine is :).
Thursday, December 2, 2010
95th Percentile
So, its decided. This kid is huge. His measurements from the ultrasound put him in the 95th percentile of fetal growth for his gestational age. That's HUGE, especially compared to Bella. Now, I get to spend the next 9 weeks freaking out over having a c-section due to Jude not being able to make it out.
Of course, my doctor will continue to monitor my growth and it sounds like I'll have another sonogram in 4-5 weeks to see if Jude is still growing at this accelerated rate. The beauty of this situation is that Jude may have just had a freakish growth spurt and will level off in growth in the coming weeks. However, in most normal pregnancies, the baby grows about half a pound each week in the eighth month and a pound a week the last 4-5 weeks of the pregnancy.
There's also talk of inducing towards the very end if he's measuring 9-10 lbs and I don't go into labor on my own. As much as I would LOVE that, I'm not keeping my hopes up on that one. The word is that I need to get as close to 39 weeks as possible. There's nothing wrong with that. After all, its for the health of the baby. But again, since Bella was 2 weeks early, I highly doubt that this baby is waiting any longer than that to come into this world.
Still, I'll have to wait at least another 2 weeks to find anymore out. Every week, something could change, so I'll just have to wait for each doctor appointment to find out her latest thoughts on what will happen.
Of course, my doctor will continue to monitor my growth and it sounds like I'll have another sonogram in 4-5 weeks to see if Jude is still growing at this accelerated rate. The beauty of this situation is that Jude may have just had a freakish growth spurt and will level off in growth in the coming weeks. However, in most normal pregnancies, the baby grows about half a pound each week in the eighth month and a pound a week the last 4-5 weeks of the pregnancy.
There's also talk of inducing towards the very end if he's measuring 9-10 lbs and I don't go into labor on my own. As much as I would LOVE that, I'm not keeping my hopes up on that one. The word is that I need to get as close to 39 weeks as possible. There's nothing wrong with that. After all, its for the health of the baby. But again, since Bella was 2 weeks early, I highly doubt that this baby is waiting any longer than that to come into this world.
Still, I'll have to wait at least another 2 weeks to find anymore out. Every week, something could change, so I'll just have to wait for each doctor appointment to find out her latest thoughts on what will happen.
