Tomorrow I have to go back to the friendly vampires at Kaiser's lab for my 3 hour glucose test. Although I plan to make some dietary improvements regardless of the results, I really don't want to fail this test. I've always been the student who would tear up a bit and be mad all day if I got an A- on a test instead of the A I should have. So suffice it to say that I do not fail tests.
In preparation for this test I am trying to eat high protein and low carb and sugar today. It's harder than you might think for this pregnant lady who is still just trying to find food that sounds edible. Avoiding the sugar won't be a problem, but those carbs are definitely a challenge. Especially since today is Pizza with the President at work.
Hopefully though tomorrow the test will be over and done with, and the results will be good enough that I can stop worrying.
Besides that- we find out the gender in only 3 days!!!!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Furniture and Sugar
I was reminded today by a friend that I have not written in awhile. (Sorry Ulrike!) It is so easy to think no one actually reads this that when I get sick of thinking about the same things myself, I don't bother putting them in writing. =)
We are in full countdown mode until the big ultrasound (6 days my friends!) so the "is it a boy or a girl" debate rages on. We discussed it last night at dinner and had a 50/50 split decision. So hopefully the big reveal will happen soon and we can announce if it is a Karey jr or Nick jr (oh didn't you know that's what we'll be naming our kids!?!). =) Or perhaps it will be a Gertrude or Vader. =)
This weekend was quite a big baby weekend actually. On Saturday I started the morning off with the dreaded one hour glucose tolerance test. For those that don't know, for the glucose test you drink this awful sugary drink (mine was lemon lime flavored so it tasted like an extra sweet, flat Sprite) and then have to have blood drawn exactly one hour later. I thought for sure I would feel terrible after drinking this awful syrup since I have been very sensitive to sugar during pregnancy. I was surprised that I actually felt pretty good after the whole ordeal, and was acutally believing that I would pass considering how I felt.
The bad news? I failed. Essentially if you get over 140 but below 200 you are in the grey zone. Over 200 you officially have Gestational Diabetes. Under 140 you are golden. I fell into the grey zone. This means that I will have to do the even more dreaded 3 hour glucose test. How this one works is that I have to drink the same drink, only it is doubly sweet. They draw blood before you drink it, and then once per hour for three hours. Yes, that means 4 blood draws in three hours. Plus you have to fast for 8-10 hours before. Suffice it to say I am not thrilled about the prospect. But I asked about the test early because I know my body and can tell that I am not processing sugar well, so better safe than sorry and figure out how to manage my diet better now.
After the glucose test Nick and I decided it was time to begin our baby registry. We headed down to Babies R Us and got busy shopping. It was really just about getting some of the essentials nailed down and the process started. I'm sure we'll be updating and changing along the way, but at least I feel like we've started making some concrete progress. Then Sunday we took Nick's mom to Hellers for Children and made even more progress! We actually purchased our crib and dresser.
It is the Munire Urban collection. This is the actual crib that we purchased. The dresser is a long low 6 drawer dresser, that will also serve as the changing table. You can get the idea of the look of it from the tall dresser in this picture. Same design for the drawers, just 3 tall, 2 wide. Nick's mom was very generous to help us out with this purchase, and now our baby will have furniture for life. This crib converts first to a toddler bed by removing the front panel and adding a toddler rail, and then converts to a full size bed using the front and back of the crib as head and foot boards! I think this is nicer furniture than I have! =)
The furniture is delivered in 8-12 weeks, so that should be just enough time for us to clear out the nursery, and get it ready. We plan to paint the walls, put in carpet (it is hard wood floors right now), and put in new baseboards. I will also need to get new window treatments, but that doesn't have to happen before the furniture arrives. So now all that is left for the actual room will be to purchase a glider/rocker and a bookshelf (which we might already have one in the house to use). Then the room will be complete! At least as far as furniture goes.
We even got busy on Sunday night clearing out the nursery. It is a big project since the boxes currently residing in that room are all of the ones that we just didn't want to deal with right away when we moved. It is all of the random stuff that we have to decide if we want to store it, and if so, how and where! But we at least have a sense of what is in there now and I have a plan of attack for the next few steps in there.
So there is my update for now. Not sure that anything more exciting will happen this week but I'll try to keep you posted! The big news will certainly be coming on Monday so count down until then!
We are in full countdown mode until the big ultrasound (6 days my friends!) so the "is it a boy or a girl" debate rages on. We discussed it last night at dinner and had a 50/50 split decision. So hopefully the big reveal will happen soon and we can announce if it is a Karey jr or Nick jr (oh didn't you know that's what we'll be naming our kids!?!). =) Or perhaps it will be a Gertrude or Vader. =)
This weekend was quite a big baby weekend actually. On Saturday I started the morning off with the dreaded one hour glucose tolerance test. For those that don't know, for the glucose test you drink this awful sugary drink (mine was lemon lime flavored so it tasted like an extra sweet, flat Sprite) and then have to have blood drawn exactly one hour later. I thought for sure I would feel terrible after drinking this awful syrup since I have been very sensitive to sugar during pregnancy. I was surprised that I actually felt pretty good after the whole ordeal, and was acutally believing that I would pass considering how I felt.
The bad news? I failed. Essentially if you get over 140 but below 200 you are in the grey zone. Over 200 you officially have Gestational Diabetes. Under 140 you are golden. I fell into the grey zone. This means that I will have to do the even more dreaded 3 hour glucose test. How this one works is that I have to drink the same drink, only it is doubly sweet. They draw blood before you drink it, and then once per hour for three hours. Yes, that means 4 blood draws in three hours. Plus you have to fast for 8-10 hours before. Suffice it to say I am not thrilled about the prospect. But I asked about the test early because I know my body and can tell that I am not processing sugar well, so better safe than sorry and figure out how to manage my diet better now.
After the glucose test Nick and I decided it was time to begin our baby registry. We headed down to Babies R Us and got busy shopping. It was really just about getting some of the essentials nailed down and the process started. I'm sure we'll be updating and changing along the way, but at least I feel like we've started making some concrete progress. Then Sunday we took Nick's mom to Hellers for Children and made even more progress! We actually purchased our crib and dresser.It is the Munire Urban collection. This is the actual crib that we purchased. The dresser is a long low 6 drawer dresser, that will also serve as the changing table. You can get the idea of the look of it from the tall dresser in this picture. Same design for the drawers, just 3 tall, 2 wide. Nick's mom was very generous to help us out with this purchase, and now our baby will have furniture for life. This crib converts first to a toddler bed by removing the front panel and adding a toddler rail, and then converts to a full size bed using the front and back of the crib as head and foot boards! I think this is nicer furniture than I have! =)
The furniture is delivered in 8-12 weeks, so that should be just enough time for us to clear out the nursery, and get it ready. We plan to paint the walls, put in carpet (it is hard wood floors right now), and put in new baseboards. I will also need to get new window treatments, but that doesn't have to happen before the furniture arrives. So now all that is left for the actual room will be to purchase a glider/rocker and a bookshelf (which we might already have one in the house to use). Then the room will be complete! At least as far as furniture goes.
We even got busy on Sunday night clearing out the nursery. It is a big project since the boxes currently residing in that room are all of the ones that we just didn't want to deal with right away when we moved. It is all of the random stuff that we have to decide if we want to store it, and if so, how and where! But we at least have a sense of what is in there now and I have a plan of attack for the next few steps in there.
So there is my update for now. Not sure that anything more exciting will happen this week but I'll try to keep you posted! The big news will certainly be coming on Monday so count down until then!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Dreaming Baby
Last night I had a dream that I had the baby. Amazingly I skipped right over the labor part and it was so easy that we all went home right after. Ah, don't I wish! =)
Anyhow I dreamt that the baby was a boy. He had Nick's nose and coloring, and so much hair! Seriously down to its shoulders! But its hair was soft with a texture like mine.
I woke up laughing a little at how funny the dream was. Truth be told it was not a newborn in my dream, more like a 4 or 5 month old. But the things my brain was telling me were quite entertaining. It does make me excited to see the features of our little one to see if it gets my blue eyes, or Nick's brown, or something different altogether. Will it have Nick's nose (like we think it does) or my little ski slope? It's fun to imagine for now, and even more fun to see once the baby is here. I am getting very excited to get to know this little person growing so rapidly inside me.
Anyhow I dreamt that the baby was a boy. He had Nick's nose and coloring, and so much hair! Seriously down to its shoulders! But its hair was soft with a texture like mine.
I woke up laughing a little at how funny the dream was. Truth be told it was not a newborn in my dream, more like a 4 or 5 month old. But the things my brain was telling me were quite entertaining. It does make me excited to see the features of our little one to see if it gets my blue eyes, or Nick's brown, or something different altogether. Will it have Nick's nose (like we think it does) or my little ski slope? It's fun to imagine for now, and even more fun to see once the baby is here. I am getting very excited to get to know this little person growing so rapidly inside me.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
4 month check up
Yesterday was my 4 month pre-natal check up. Pretty straight forward appointment to check my health (and therefore baby's health). This was the first time that they used the doppler to listen to the baby's heartbeat though. Since we weren't sure of the position (other than that the baby is still sitting pretty low in my abdomen) it took a minute to find the heartbeat. In the process of locating the heartbeat, we heard no less than 3 kicks straight to the doppler "microphone". It was pretty entertaining. The baby has been consistently pretty active on each of our ultrasounds so I knew it was pretty active, but to have it so obvious externally was fun.
Anyhow the heartbeat was 156. Anyone want to guess the gender based on that old wives tale? ;) We should know for sure in a little over a week!
Anyhow the heartbeat was 156. Anyone want to guess the gender based on that old wives tale? ;) We should know for sure in a little over a week!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Challenges Continue
I am finding certain aspects of pregnancy particularly challenging. Having been raised in a household where homeopathic medicine was the first course of action, I was taught to listen to my body. It has taken me many years but I finally feel like I am in tune with my body and what is going on most of the time. I know how to treat many issues that I face regularly relatively quickly and easily.
Since becoming pregnant, or in reality since morning sickness kicked in (around 6 weeks), I feel like I have lost that connection to my body. I feel crummy and just don't know what to do to make myself feel better. First it was the challenge of finding ways to help the nausea- sometimes that meant eating frequent small meals, other times it just meant eating whatever I could get in my mouth without gagging. Every single day it was different. Once the nausea improved, I was still fighting severe food aversions. If nothing sounds remotely edible, it is difficult to avoid making yourself feel ill. Now in the last few days it has been easier to find foods that sound edible, but I still haven't quite been able to find healthful choices to keep my diet in balance. Protein and vegetables have been the toughest to find, and fruit seems to spike my blood sugar so I have to be careful how much or how often I eat it.
I trust that each day I am closer to the point in my pregnancy where eating will be something I have to limit, more than something I have to force. I believe that the baby and my body are dictating what they need, and am working on trusting that if I need something, my body will allow me to get it into my system.
The challenge is not knowing how to manage these things. Yesterday I ended up with the worst migraine headache that I have had in a very long time. This is my fourth migraine since becoming pregnant. The previous migraines have been quickly dealt with by drinking a cup of coffee. The caffeine is introduced quickly through the hot liquid and takes the edge of the pain off by constricting the capillaries (as I understand it). Well last night, it wasn't working. If you've ever experienced a migraine, you know it is an awful feeling to begin with. To add to that the inability to take anything that will ease your pain, and the only item you are able to take, to not work, it leaves you feeling completely helpless, and suffering with the pain.
I ultimately called my doctor and had a prescription for vicodan called in for me that my dad picked up and brought to me. For those of you thinking "vicodan, is that okay!?!"- yes it is fine during pregnancy. It doesn't cross the blood barrier or something like that, so it is safe for baby, just like tylenol. All the same, not something I am thrilled about putting in my system at any time, let alone when I am working so hard to grow a human. =) At any rate it worked, and fortunately with relative quickness.
The whole experience left me feeling a little out of control. I deal with migraines on a semi-regular basis, but usually am able to take Excedrin Migraine, or my prescription migraine medicine. I just hope that as my body continues to change and adapt for this tiny person inside of me, I am able to reconnect with what it needs. If not, well I suppose it is good practice for how out of control I'll probably feel when caring for my brand new infant. =)
Since becoming pregnant, or in reality since morning sickness kicked in (around 6 weeks), I feel like I have lost that connection to my body. I feel crummy and just don't know what to do to make myself feel better. First it was the challenge of finding ways to help the nausea- sometimes that meant eating frequent small meals, other times it just meant eating whatever I could get in my mouth without gagging. Every single day it was different. Once the nausea improved, I was still fighting severe food aversions. If nothing sounds remotely edible, it is difficult to avoid making yourself feel ill. Now in the last few days it has been easier to find foods that sound edible, but I still haven't quite been able to find healthful choices to keep my diet in balance. Protein and vegetables have been the toughest to find, and fruit seems to spike my blood sugar so I have to be careful how much or how often I eat it.
I trust that each day I am closer to the point in my pregnancy where eating will be something I have to limit, more than something I have to force. I believe that the baby and my body are dictating what they need, and am working on trusting that if I need something, my body will allow me to get it into my system.
The challenge is not knowing how to manage these things. Yesterday I ended up with the worst migraine headache that I have had in a very long time. This is my fourth migraine since becoming pregnant. The previous migraines have been quickly dealt with by drinking a cup of coffee. The caffeine is introduced quickly through the hot liquid and takes the edge of the pain off by constricting the capillaries (as I understand it). Well last night, it wasn't working. If you've ever experienced a migraine, you know it is an awful feeling to begin with. To add to that the inability to take anything that will ease your pain, and the only item you are able to take, to not work, it leaves you feeling completely helpless, and suffering with the pain.
I ultimately called my doctor and had a prescription for vicodan called in for me that my dad picked up and brought to me. For those of you thinking "vicodan, is that okay!?!"- yes it is fine during pregnancy. It doesn't cross the blood barrier or something like that, so it is safe for baby, just like tylenol. All the same, not something I am thrilled about putting in my system at any time, let alone when I am working so hard to grow a human. =) At any rate it worked, and fortunately with relative quickness.
The whole experience left me feeling a little out of control. I deal with migraines on a semi-regular basis, but usually am able to take Excedrin Migraine, or my prescription migraine medicine. I just hope that as my body continues to change and adapt for this tiny person inside of me, I am able to reconnect with what it needs. If not, well I suppose it is good practice for how out of control I'll probably feel when caring for my brand new infant. =)
Thursday, February 4, 2010
No news is... =)
So I really have nothing new to report. I've had some good days and some bad days, but feel like I'm on an upward trend. I do believe I'm starting to feel flutters, though it is so early it is still hard to tell it apart from other digestive movement. It is hard to believe that I am nearly 4 months along! That is nearly half way! Crazy how quickly time flies. Thank goodness I really still have about 6 months left because we haven't even begun to clean out the nursery, let alone prepare it!
I have my monthly check up next week. Not sure what to expect, but I don't expect very much. I do have a long list of questions to ask though. Otherwise I figure we'll probably check my weight and blood pressure and talk a little. I'm hoping at some point that they'll start listening for the baby's heartbeat, since they haven't used the doppler at all yet, only ultrasound to confirm the heart rate. Of course if they wanted to do another ultrasound I wouldn't cry about it. It is always fun to see baby bean. Well bigger than a bean now- we are already the size of an Avocado! (That must be a really big avocado! 4-5 inches???) All I know is that it would fit in my palm quite snugly.
Two more weeks until we find out the gender! Counting down...
I have my monthly check up next week. Not sure what to expect, but I don't expect very much. I do have a long list of questions to ask though. Otherwise I figure we'll probably check my weight and blood pressure and talk a little. I'm hoping at some point that they'll start listening for the baby's heartbeat, since they haven't used the doppler at all yet, only ultrasound to confirm the heart rate. Of course if they wanted to do another ultrasound I wouldn't cry about it. It is always fun to see baby bean. Well bigger than a bean now- we are already the size of an Avocado! (That must be a really big avocado! 4-5 inches???) All I know is that it would fit in my palm quite snugly.
Two more weeks until we find out the gender! Counting down...
Monday, February 1, 2010
A little excitement
I decided to provide a little bit of excitement for Nick and I late on Saturday evening. We spent the early part of Saturday running errands, nothing special or terribly strenuous, but out and about all the same. I kept commenting how ridiculously tired I was feeling and I didn't understand. I have been fighting a head cold though so I figured it was just part of that running its course. Then Saturday afternoon we celebrated Mia's first birthday, and her Papa Alex's birthday at a soup party at their home. I was certainly using up energy visiting with various friends and family, but again, it wasn't exactly a strenuous day.
Finally we were home and relaxed watching a movie (The Invention of Lying- pretty entertaining if you want a good rental). I went to the bathroom and discovered that I was spotting a very small amount. Now, I didn't have any of the "dangerous" symptoms that they have you look for (no cramping, it was a very small amount of blood, etc) but all the same, having experience no spotting whatsoever to date, I freaked out a little bit.
Intellectually I knew that everything was fine, but emotionally I knew that I would be up all night worrying if I didn't make sure that the baby was okay. So I woke Nick up (who had been napping on the couch) and explained through my hormonal tears that I needed to go to the emergency room but I thought everything was okay. He very calmly got up, reassured me that it was okay and that I was doing the right thing.
We took the short drive down to the Kaiser emergency room in Terra Linda and checked in. I felt a little silly because I knew I was there purely to alleviate my fears, but fortunately it wasn't busy there so I wasn't taking up a needed bed. The nurse set us up, took my blood pressure, temp etc, and shortly the doctor came in. He calmly explained that everything was probably fine but that we would do an ultrasound to make sure the baby was okay, a brief pelvic exam to check for more bleeding and a urinalysis just in case there's an infection etc.
Of course everything is just fine. Baby was bigger and as usual pretty active on the ultrasound. We could see the baby's profile this time pretty clearly and think that the baby may have its daddy's nose. =) Nothing was wrong with me, and the bleeding had stopped. It was probably just a capillary that burst from the baby growing.
At the end of it all I was glad that I played it safe. Even the nurse made a comment when I said "I think everything is okay, I'm just scared" about how I would have been up all night anyway so it is better that I came in. I was so happy that she said that since that was exactly my reasoning for going in.
Aside from getting to see the baby (which is always nice) I was really happy for two reasons. The first was that Nick was able to see the baby again. He had to miss the last two ultrasounds and I think now that it really looks like a baby it was pretty exciting for him. The second was the realization of how incredibly grateful I am for my health insurance. I have always believed my coverage was pretty good through Kaiser. I pay minimal co-pays for visits and prescriptions, and pay for very little else. All pre-natal care is entirely covered though- so I don't even pay a co-pay for my visits! I had no concept if this applied to a visit to the ER and fully expected to pay my $75 fee, but when I went to check out, I paid nothing.
In this day and age, when health care is such a major topic, and the economy has so many people struggling just to keep a roof over their head and food in their fridges, I feel extremely privileged to be so well taken care of. So despite the scare, I got to walk away feeling not only relieved, but grateful.
Finally we were home and relaxed watching a movie (The Invention of Lying- pretty entertaining if you want a good rental). I went to the bathroom and discovered that I was spotting a very small amount. Now, I didn't have any of the "dangerous" symptoms that they have you look for (no cramping, it was a very small amount of blood, etc) but all the same, having experience no spotting whatsoever to date, I freaked out a little bit.
Intellectually I knew that everything was fine, but emotionally I knew that I would be up all night worrying if I didn't make sure that the baby was okay. So I woke Nick up (who had been napping on the couch) and explained through my hormonal tears that I needed to go to the emergency room but I thought everything was okay. He very calmly got up, reassured me that it was okay and that I was doing the right thing.
We took the short drive down to the Kaiser emergency room in Terra Linda and checked in. I felt a little silly because I knew I was there purely to alleviate my fears, but fortunately it wasn't busy there so I wasn't taking up a needed bed. The nurse set us up, took my blood pressure, temp etc, and shortly the doctor came in. He calmly explained that everything was probably fine but that we would do an ultrasound to make sure the baby was okay, a brief pelvic exam to check for more bleeding and a urinalysis just in case there's an infection etc.
Of course everything is just fine. Baby was bigger and as usual pretty active on the ultrasound. We could see the baby's profile this time pretty clearly and think that the baby may have its daddy's nose. =) Nothing was wrong with me, and the bleeding had stopped. It was probably just a capillary that burst from the baby growing.
At the end of it all I was glad that I played it safe. Even the nurse made a comment when I said "I think everything is okay, I'm just scared" about how I would have been up all night anyway so it is better that I came in. I was so happy that she said that since that was exactly my reasoning for going in.
Aside from getting to see the baby (which is always nice) I was really happy for two reasons. The first was that Nick was able to see the baby again. He had to miss the last two ultrasounds and I think now that it really looks like a baby it was pretty exciting for him. The second was the realization of how incredibly grateful I am for my health insurance. I have always believed my coverage was pretty good through Kaiser. I pay minimal co-pays for visits and prescriptions, and pay for very little else. All pre-natal care is entirely covered though- so I don't even pay a co-pay for my visits! I had no concept if this applied to a visit to the ER and fully expected to pay my $75 fee, but when I went to check out, I paid nothing.
In this day and age, when health care is such a major topic, and the economy has so many people struggling just to keep a roof over their head and food in their fridges, I feel extremely privileged to be so well taken care of. So despite the scare, I got to walk away feeling not only relieved, but grateful.
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