Tuesday, August 25, 2009

W18D2.Tuesday.August 25th - The One with the Gender

It's a girl! Woo Hoo! My baby will be a baby girl! And she will have a big borther to protect her. And two older sisters to help her along the way. Lucky little girl!!! Jaime was the only one to speak after the Technician told us what she thought the gender to be....Jaime said Yeah! I am pretty sure, Sabrina, their middle sister (that seems so odd to say) will say the exact same thing. They both made it known that they did not want another boy - they absolutely wanted a girl - and it appears they are gonna get it!

As for double and triple check for any chromosonal defects, the technician said everything looked normal and healthy to her.

So there were have it...a healthy beautiful baby girl....I can hardly wait to meet her...not that I rushing anything :-)

W18D2.Tuesday.August 25th

I felt the baby! I felt the baby! WOOHOO! I felt the baby! I was just sitting at my desk and BAM (well not BAM, maybe bam) I felt it move or kick or something on my lower left side. I had thought I had felt the baby a couple other times but looking back I really don't think it was...just flukes - with the exception of the other night when Junior tickled me and I jumped, startled and immediately felt something inside me jump too. I am sure that was the baby - not a round ligament pull that seem to be starting to be an issue for me

Now I keep catching myself sitting very still trying to feel the baby again. Better go try and potty - off to the ultrasound here shortly!

Monday, August 24, 2009

W18D1.Monday.August 24th

Joe had symptoms of Couvade yesterday - thankfully for him - as well - it didn't get "so bad" that he requested my assistance - no pun intended!

I weighed 144.5 this morning and took some pics - will work to create a page to update with each passing weeks photos. I am taking the pics in the same place and same position so hopefully it will seem to grow before your eyes. And fair warning...there's no glow. In fact - I'm pretty close to hideous, but I'm so happy to be pregnant :-). I swear I smile in each picture, though it doesn't appear that way. Oh well!

I was also snotty this morning - not stuck up! Just mucousy. Nose, eyes, chest/throat. I guess it could be a cold coming on or something else kept it at bay last week. It could be alot worse.

Crazy. long, vivid, dare I say realistic dreams on Saturday night - I'll try to come back and expand on them later but the first one (lasted from 2am-4am) we lived in a very haunted house and in the second one (lasted from 5am-730am) we were held hostage in our house by a fugitive from a military exercise gone wrong.

I am getting excited AND A LITTLE NERVOUS - this time tomorrow I'll be arriving at the Radiology Office for the Level II Sonogram. I will also have to go REAL BAD, since I can't go potty for one hour prior to the appointment. And since I honestly can't decide which I'd rather have more...boy or girl...think TWINS - so long as they are one of each :-). It's my last pregnancy, and my last chance to wish for twins....so I shall!

Friday, August 21, 2009

W17D5.Friday.August 21st

The hormone demon is beating down my door - and has been since Tuesday. I have been strong and kept him at bay, but I am weakening as days pass. I almost lost it just now at work and tried to call on my support crew - yet no one was available - proudly I was able to help myself - by deverting my attention to decorating for Halloween. Like everything else in my world --- my expectations of what I can do are way beyond what will actually get accomplished but what fun is life without dreams?!?!?

I have felt great for the past week. I was able to accomplish a lot over the past weekend and got some rest during the week, just in case that was the reason for the increase in hormonal presence -obviously NOT. But it has helped me keep my wits about me.

I have had strange dreams and a couple evenings of uncomfortable sleep, but nothing major. I did notice Baby Dalbo when I went to ride the boogie board in the pool. Most of the week I had times where I actually forgot I was pregnant.

I think I have been feeling the baby - I know...THINK? Having birthed two children I feel like I should know. But the feelings aren't as I remember them. The butterfly movements, like I've been told I should be feeling. I don't. What I believe I am feeling is uterine contractions. Nothing painful, just a tightening and radial-like movement.

I haven't checked my weight this week, nor did I take any pictures. Heartburn has not bothered me hardly at all, and when it did it wasn't enough or went away quickly enough to not worry with taking any meds.

OH MY GOODNESS - I cannot believe I almost closed the post without recalling the horror I endured last night! I guess you call it constipation but I call it "I would rather give birth". It was terrible - I was on the pot for an hour and I would push and I would relax and I would stand up and I would move side to side - nothing helped - it just finally was "delivered" once it was ready. It was so much smaller than I imagined when it was in there - so not worth the agony and resulting tenderness. I told Joe when I got upstairs that I had been very close to calling him and having him do his best just to yank it out. He was thankful that I didn't make that request. Everything worked and went fine this morning, so I should be back on track. Thank God!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

W16D2.Tuesday.August 11th

I am embarrassed and ashamed and honest…and I said it…through hormonal tears I said “I don’t want to be pregnant anymore”

Today was a rough day….in reality it was more like a cake walk but with the hormonal surges I am having it was close to unbearable

I got myself down trying to work out the transportation schedules of the girls once school starts – it seemed too hard, too much so I put it to the back of my mind knowing I could deal with it later. I wanted to focus my excitement on my doctor visit. I borrowed 75 cents to buy a nice fresh very cold coke (heat index was close to 100 at 1030am). I took 3 sips and set it on the floor so it didn’t boil in the Jeep while I had my appointment. The appointment went well – Baby Dalbo’s heart rate was 150 so my vote is in for a boy. I was told not to have a home birth and that if the girls wanted to be there when it (still holding out for a girl )was born that they would bring me in a little earlier in labor than for 1st or 2nd time moms. The doctor said unless something is out of the ordinary – this one will likely come fast – but of course we will know more in 5 months or so. I got my orders to get the level II sonogram – which among other things tells the gender. I got into the Jeep, forgot about the soda, and drove back to work. Pulling into the parking spot I remembered the soda. What a mess! There was only 3 sips left. My eyes moistened for a moment, then excitement grew for the ultrasound. I called to make the appointment, latest I could get was 315pm, but I calculated in my head that we could get Sabrina out for 20 minute early dismissal and still make it on time. I wanted to extend the invitation to Joe’s parents to come with us and find out the gender, so I verified with the lady…how many people can I have in the room during my u/s? She takes like 5 minutes to check, even noting what room I’m scheduled in, and comes back with two. TWO? What? All these rules that doctors have REALLY get on my nerves! I have more than two children who would like to be there. She suggests that family members rotate so that only two are in there at a time. WHAT? So I gotta fake knowing the gender 2 or 3 times? WHAT? That’s just stupid. We sorta went through this crap at the Genetics u/s – they were afraid that the kids were gonna bother them – I guess – I’m like WHAT??? What kind of children do you think I have? It’s not like I was trying to bring George and Simon in there. And anyways if you need total quiet and concentration in your job maybe you need a new job. WHATEVER. Obviously having a lot on my mind, I get out of the Jeep and shut the door and remember that I forgot the keys in the ignition with it still turned on. LOVELY! Eyes moisten quickly and a couple tears fall. I try to call Joe – no answer – I go into work. I open my computer to find a message from HR “Why has my resume been updated on Monster?” It hasn’t really – I just changed the email on the account but I guess it brought me front and center on their search. Good to know where they stand on the subject, though. I call Joe a couple more times and then he calls me back. His dad offers to come unlock the Jeep. Things seem to be improving. I even solved the school transport issue but it’s just too late and I enter basket case territory. I go to call three different “friends” to complain and none can take my call at the time – THE NERVE – just joking – so I start typing this post and I’m doing great, feeling great, the post is great and then the phone rings – it’s Joe and I love to talk to Joe so I take the call – nothing special just a regular call – hang up and go back to the post – it’s gone. I muddle through the rest of the afternoon, drive home soaking wet from sweat, I go inside and go straight to my bed. When Joe realizes I’m home he comes upstairs and I start crying and explaining it’s because of the coke spilling and getting locked out of the car and then I’m laughing while I’m crying – odd sight – like the sun shining while it’s raining. We try to decide on dinner plans – I cry some more – we go get the food and come home. After we have all eaten, Jaime says something that irritates me and I want to say a lot of things I’ll regret so I go to sleep. By the way, I had made the “bad statement” during the crying spell while deciding on dinner.

Weight – 144 at home 146 at the docs
BP – 117/70

UPDATED @ 120pm & 3pm * W16D4.Thursday.August 13th

ADDITIONAL UPDATE - - - Talked to Shelby at the Genetics Institute (where we went for genetics testing) and found out this is all my fault - the test that came back slightly elevated is a low tech way of checking - I had already passed the high tech test with flying colors (was told chances of chromosonal defect was the same as a 23 year old - yea baby! Down's 1:1,000 and Trisonomy 18 1:4,500) Shelby told me I hadn't needed to take the test at all - not the quad marker part - and she had probably told me that before and I plum forgot - I do that a lot you know. Anyways, I went ahead and bumped up my ultrasound to 8.25.09 at her suggestion (sort of) basically the u/s will be double and triple checked for signs of defects especially knowing that the blood levels were higher than average. And worst case scenario, if baby doesn't cooperate and they don't get to see every thing they want to check because it's only 18 weeks big - I get to have another one 2 weeks later - woohoo - love them ultrasounds!!! it's like my little window to peek in and see what the baby is doing - so I am better now - no more tears or fears :-)

UPDATE - - - Dr. Hodges called me at 1250pm - I was only to be called if something came back not normal - my heart sank when he told me who he was - 22 minutes later it still hasn't risen and my eyes are moist - I am sure everything is fine - I just need to do some research and talk to some people - he was calling to say that my blood test for AFP came back with "slightly elevated" levels for chromosonal defects. At 38 - normal would have calculated out to be 1 in 100 chance - my elevated level changed the odds to 1 in 58. He reassured me by saying instead of 99% healthy child - I have a 98% chance of a healthy child - he basically said with those odds in Vegas it's a sure bet. It did make me feel better yet at the same time I don't bet - I research and prepare. And truthfully, I cry.

ORIGINAL POST
weight - 144pp (pre poop)
mental state - a little tired
hormonal scale (10 being high) - 3 or 4 maybe?
forgetfullness (again, 10 being high) - 5? it's only 11am so i have a ways to go but so far i've remembered to put the dog in his kennel ( I did leave my keys on the table when I went back into the house this morning) and I remembered to take the keys out of the ignition when I got to work - I still can't remember where my work keys and badge are though

issue - i threw up last night - not projectile like the one time with Junior in the middle of the night - it was just enough that i could hold it in and unfortunately reswallow it - which was disGUSTing - it was mostly milk - yuck what a horrible taste

issue - I am allergic to mosquitos and it is horrible!!! If I step outside they swarm to me almost trying to eat me alive and the bites leave gigantic welts that itch terribly for hours (well, minutes) but still I have NEVER dealt with this before - They've always left me alone or if rarely bitten - I made a criss-cross on the bite using my fingernail and the itching went away immediately. I need to research when they will die so that I can go in my yard again.

Friday, August 7, 2009

W15D5.Friday.August 7th

weight - 142
mental state - exhausted
hormonal scale (10 being high) - now a 2 or 3 (just too tired to cry), this morning a 5 (cried over song on radio - but was able to stop)
forgetfullness (again, 10 being high) - 9 meaning I remember where I live but may accidentally get off on the wrong exit

issue - white tongue, no matter how hard a brush it, it won't go away, and it's difficult to brush your tongue without gagging or worse

issue - dreams, reality-like dreams, all week they have been about people at work, nothing major, just like I am at work, yet I am sleeping, nothing's strange or disfigured just normal, until last night. In my dream last night I had the baby. She was a healthy beautiful baby girl. Weird part? I gave birth to her through a vein in my right leg. It was painful at all either. Other than that it seemed realistic. The bloody show came out of a zit of some sort, then my water broke and then out slid baby girl Dalbo. Then it got weird. She held her head up immediately. She told me that she could sing songs and play games. She was not a new born infant. She seemed body-wise to be about 6 months old. Ohh and because she had stayed in there so long she had eaten her umbilical cord. Still no one believed me when I told them she was older than a newborn. Now that I think about it, she had a cute flowery outfit on when she came out. Strange as it seems I was a little sad that it wasn't true when I woke up. Did you read the part about it being painless????

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

W15D2.Tuesday.August 4th

So I am know able to update the blog from my cell and still 3 days pass before a new post appears. Oh well, I was living life instead of typing about it. :-) Dare I say the pregnancy (thankfully so) has been a bit boring lately. Very small, if at all, queasy bouts. And yes I am still tired, but I don't think I'd have that much more energy if I wasn't lucky enough to be pregnant right now. I read about it all the time. This is my time to be pregnant and not really feel pregnant. I wear some maternity clothes for their comfort, but basically I just have a "thick" body, with no waistline. Full figured. I think that sums it up best. I really need to take some pics. I am leaving a legacy of the pregnancy through this blog in terms of what I'm experiencing, but to be able to see the changes in a body, is a journal in itself. I am so fearful of losing my ankles, and that's what actually prompts me, because I can see very subtle changes. I had just planned when I first learned of the pregnancy that I would use the same outfit in the same place in the house for the pictures so that the changes could be monitored easier - yet doing it that "exact" way is what's kept me from doing it at all. I am thankful for some poorly taken pictures of me a month or so ago by Junior and one right before the pregnancy by Sabrina so that I do have some reference of where I've been. There! I just put a reminder in my cell for each morning to take pictures! Maybe I'll get it done now! Fingers crossed!

Today's weight - 142 - And I get to blame this on my pregnancy brain, but I swear I thought I wasn't gaining anywhere near what I had gained with Junior this far into the pregnancy - but I must have been looking at the heartrate or something instead of weight because in comparison - by this time with his pregnancy (W5 - W16) I had gained 8.75 pounds. To compare with this pregnancy (W6 - W15) - ok - so a true comparison won't be for two more weeks - well so far to date I have gained 10 pounds :-) so we are doing pretty good.

I think part of the 10 pounds must be attributed to A LOT of stretchy mucous/snot, which I have EVERYWHERE! It's gotten a lot worse in my eyes the past couple weeks. AAHHhhhhhhh - I despise that feeling - Joe calls the ones in your nose, brain ticklers - but when it's on each of your eyeballs it's just horrible feeling. I know - eye boogers are horrible but birthing a child is a breeze. Strange pain tolerance going on here, I know.

I read through some older posts and realized that I never touched on the OB appointment with my favorite nurse last month. She DID let me record the heartbeat and it IS my new ringtone. I haven't quite picked up the ability to hear it if there's a lot of commotion going on - but Sabrina can hear it from a mile away. Must be nice to be young and still have your hearing...hahahhaha. Thank goodness she doesn't mind running it to me where ever I am too.

I had questions for Nurse Stone, and for the record, here's how everything was answered:
*cord under jaime's arm and around junior's neck at birth, anything I can do to prevent this baby from suffering with cord related issues - not a thing, they can adjust it once I'm in labor if it's obvious, but other than that, nothing
*tubes tied during hospital stay - no, six weeks later or when uterus returns to normal size, there are two options, they are both permanent
*how do I know if my cervix is weak or getting too weak - problems from a weak cervix can be seen and will be checked for at the 18-20 week ultrasound
*where is my placenta placed and will it separate - it's on top so no placenta previa, as for separartion, it's a fluke and uncontrollable
*feel like i may have a possible UTI or bladder infection - urine was checked (negative) need to mention on future appointments, as it's not ever going to be checked again, unless requested
*thoughts on homebirth/waterbirth - homebirth not suggested, check with doctor hodges on next visit for water birth thoughts
*was told 30# limit on dead weight pick up from the ground
*weight (their scale) 141
*blood pressure 115/74

My next appointment is with Doctor Hodges a week from today. I'll ask about the water birth but I don't have my hopes up. I will also get to hear the heartbeat and I will make an official gender prediction. I am expecting - if the insurance allows it - to also receive my referral to go to the 18-20 week ultrasound. Timing SUX though because Sabrina goes back to school when I turn 18 weeks pregnant and we've never had a major ultrasound and everyone not been there. Hopefully it will work out well though, and THEY can all learn the sex together. I have decided that I am going to close my eyes and ears and try not to find out - just for fun - I am sure it won't last long. :-) Anyways - my main concern, especially after calculating my weight gain is to have them check for a second or third baby in there ;-) You can never be too sure!!!