Glucose Test

Took my glucose test yesterday to screen for diabetes, and I passed with flying colors. My level was at 87, which I guess is really good. Yea! Something went right with this pregnancy!!! Hopefully more good things to come!

Contractions

For two nights in a row I have had contractions. Just thought I would document it. I have never had an Braxton Hicks contractions with either girls, so of course, I get them with this pregnancy! The first night I was lying in bed and I thought it was my ligaments pulling, where it freezes you in your spot. But they were coming and going. I only had like three of them, so no big deal. Last night I had them from7-10 pm. I got nervous for a minute because I had some at 8:48, 8:53, 9:10, 9:20, 9:30, but then they stopped. I guess I better start taking it a little easier. We went to the gym yesterday as a family, and I ran a little bit on the treadmill, and lifted weights. Eric said no more for me, now only walking. Which is true, I am only about 26 weeks, WAY too early for me to be having contractions!

25 weeks

6 months

Weight: 173
Hearbeat: 150's

Had my Dr. appointment yesterday. All is well. Everything is right on track, I feel pretty good, have some energy. My blood pressure was awesome, 104/59, which made me feel good, this was the stage that my blood pressure rose with Elly. I hope it can stay that good. I have been disappointed, these last few weeks I have not been able to get in any real excercise. I take the girls for a walk every few days, but I have not been to the gym in awhile. And the future looks dim on working out - Eric leaves for DC in a couple of weeks, and he will be gone for three weeks! Hopefully, the weather will stay decent, and I can at least get the girls outside for a walk. Carley is moving around lik a maniac now, mostly right at 10:00pm, when I go to sleep, but I love it!

Is it time yet?

Time to give birth yet? Oh wait, I am only 22 weeks. But I am feeling pretty good, I had a great week of energy, felt cute, etc, but now I am starting get that look like I am really pregnant. It is starting to creep into my face, and pretty soon elsewhere! It is so weird to think that I have been pregnant since the day we moved to California. That sure seems long. But - only 18 weeks to go, I am pretty sure I can handle that. I have it broken down into 9 week increments, so only 2 more increments to go!! My heart palpatations have been getting A LOT worse, but I think I am so used to it, that it really doesn't bother me. But it sure keeps me up a lot at night. I really want to take a picture of my funny belly, but the camera does not do it justice. When I lay down on my back, it looks like someone just stuck a ball on my belly. Both of my other pregnancies, I was pregnant all over, and you could never see just this cute little bump, but this one is crazy, it looks so different. I love to look at it. Funny how each pregnancy has been so different on my body.

Special Moment

Last night Carley (yes that it was we decided!!!) was kicking like crazy, so I laid on my back and you could actually see it. The girls had just gotten out of the tub and I asked Payton to come over and feel the baby kick. As she always does, she lays her hand on my belly and says she feels it, even though the baby was not kicking. I told her to just wait and be quiet, and sure enough, the baby did a hard kick and the look in Payton's eyes was priceless. Her eyes got as big as quarters and said, "I did feel it Mom, I did!!". Then she just sat there and every time Carley would kick, Payton would giggle. After that, later that night, she would walk up and try and feel the baby. She said she is so excited for her to come out so she can teach her every thing and so the baby can watch movies with her. It was such a cute moment, it was the first time that I think she realized something is actually in there!

21 weeks

Here is a picture of me at 21 weeks. Look at that huge belly! Can't believe I still have 19 weeks to go....at least!!!

Feeling better!

So, 2 days later and I feel a ton better. Yesterday was a hard day. I felt like I was 100 years old, and I still had the chest pressure. I did nothing all day, ate nothing all day but bland things like applesauce and toast, and went to bed early. This morning I felt like a new women. I have been having heart palpatations today, so I guess I can trade one for the other!! I had palpatations with both of my other pregnancies, so I will take that over the chest pressure anyday! Poor Eric, I think has aged 10 years so far with this pregnancy. Me too!!!

ER visit

Last night Eric and I went to see a movie. When it was over I stood up and got the sharpest pain/tightness in my chest and left shoulder area. It was not so painful that I could not function, it was just really uncomfortable. We got to the car, and it started going away in my upper collarbone area, but it stayed in my chest/diaphram part. The whole drive home, if I took a deep breath it felt like someone was crushing my chest. Eric insisted he take me to the ER, which I did not want to go. I knew that I would walk in, spend a few hours of tests, and tell me it was gas or heartburn. Sure enough, that is what happened. They took my blood to make sure it was not a blood clot, and normal range is 230, blood clot range is 1000, mine was 270. They offered to do and Ultrasound and CT scan, but we declined and just went home with a pamphlet on heartburn. It is now 15 hours since it happened and I still have the tigtness in my chest like a rubber band is squeeing it. Does heartbutn feel like that and last that long?????? Wanted to write this down to document so I can keep track of my issues. :)

20 week check-up

Weight: 165
Heartbeat: 140

I had my Dr. appointment this morning. The office could not find my chart, and they also had not gotten the results yet from my Ultrasound, so I didn't really find out much. My Dr. said to call on Tuesday, and she will go over everything with me. What I have is called Placenta Previa, however, the kind I have is the low-lying kind, which has the best chance of everything turning normal. The chance of it rising as the baby gets bigger is 90%, so it sounds pretty good to me. I am still totally stressed about it, but hopefully, on Tuesday she can actually have the results in front of her, and make me feel better about it.

It's a GIRL

We found out today it is a girl! We are so happy. We just keep giggling. For some reason, it just seems to fit for us. If we were done having kids, maybe I would be sad I never got a boy, but I am hoping we have a few more tries in store for us in the future!

The radiologist did tell me that I have a low-lying placenta. Again, told me nothing but that and sent me on my way. My Dr. will tell me about it on Thursday, I guess. But I did look it up and it basically means it sits lower than usual, and when the baby gets bigger, it ends up covering the cervix, therefore you need a C-section instead of delivering vaginally. It can also cause bleeding in the late stages of pregnancy, and if that is the case, you are hospilized until your due date. Nice. HOWEVER, it can rise as the baby gets bigger, and therefore cause no problems. I will get another Ultrasound at about 36 weeks, and they will determine from there what to do.

My feelings towards this are very anxious. From day 1 of my first pregnancy I have never wanted a C-section. I am actually terrified of it. Payton was breech, and I remember I did excercises every night to try and get her to turn. Thankfully at 32 weeks she turned. Unfortunately, there are no excercises I can do for this one. I will be so sad. My favorite part of having a baby is pushing! What a letdown to not experience that part. I also was excited to go into labor on my own with this one, since I have been induced with my other two, but obviously, if I have a C-section, I will not get to go into labor. Anyway, just feeling a little down, but really hoping that things will turn out the way I want them too.

Mmmmm

So, I have started to gain my appetite back, but not without bad consequences. I started to crave Taco Bell and Wendy's, and anything chewy like Baby Ruth's, Twix, and bubblegum balls. Last week I realized I was hardly eating any fruits and veggies, so I went on another health kick and started eating really good. That lasted about 3 days, then it was over before I needed a burrito, but I have incorporated both in my diet. I'll eat healthy, good food, then splurge on something bad, so I don't feel too bad about it. However, I have started getting the worst reflux. Even if I eat an apple, for the next few hours, I throw up in my mouth all the time, it is so gross. The good thing is no heartburn, just the reflux.

2 days and we find out what we are having!! We go back and forth on the names we thought we liked, but I am finding myself not too fond of them anymore. So, we can really buckle down this week and start debating what we like!!! So far in the runnings are:
GIRL -- Josie, Bella
BOY - Marek, Ryker
Ugh - as I wrote them down, the only one I really like anymore is Josie. Sigh.

Have also been feeling the little worm squirm a ton! Finally. The last few nights it has kept me up, only because it is such a cool feeling and you forget how cool it is. And it is much more fun this size, than when they start elbowing you!

4 months

Had my 16 week appointment yesterday
Heartbeat 150's (hmmmm, boy??)
Weight 159 (+16 ouch)
All is well so far with the baby. The Dr. did mention on my ultrasound that I had a subchorionic hemorrhage. Basically some blood is trapped between some walls or something like that. Not anything to be concerned about, it can cause miscarriage, but usually if you are in the early stages. If I can make it to 4 months, it usually means it has disappeared, or gotten smaller. They will check it on my next Ultrasound and make sure it is not causing any issues. Makes me a little nervous, and I am having thoughts between wishing the Dr. did not tell me, but also being mad that they have known for 6 weeks and did not tell me. I guess it is a blessing that I did not know. The Dr. also said most Dr.'s will not tell you because it is a non-issue. Now wondering if I had them with my other pregnancies. Hmmmm.

Still not feeling 100%. Which is so annoying. I am thinking back with fondness how I played tennis, went hiking, cleaned house daily, etc with my other pregnancies, and I still have to be dragged out of bed with this one. I am still running (or trotting more like it) but only about 2 miles, 3x a week. And it is getting more and more difficult, not sure how much longer I will do it. I can not wait to have energy again, I keep thinking it will be tomorrow. That will get me through.

NOV.17 we have our Ultrasound scheduled to find out what it is - I still have no clue, no inclinations, no anything. I am baffled with this one. But if it does turn out to be a boy, the way this pregnancy has gone, no more boys for me!!! :)

No longer the fat lady

I had my first stranger acknowledge that I was pregnant! That is always the best feeling when you know you have gone from "she looks like she just had a baby" or "she ate too many cookies" to "she is pregnant". We were at Target last night, and the checker asked me if we were having a boy or a girl. I could have hugged her.

14 weeks

Me and my baby at 14 weeks. And a picture of me and my other baby. :)

Definitely feeling baby move

as we speak! I was lying down as the girls were getting ready for bed, and I could totally feel him/her. I love it!

12 weeks

As I was typing 12 weeks, I just realized I have felt great today and yesterday. Isn't is amazing how horrible you feel, and then you get better without even realizing it? I cleaned the entire upstairs today and now have blocked it off so no one can go up and ruin it. I feel good and think I am going to pack away my "regular" clothes tonight. Sigh. Thought I could make it to 15 weeks, but the belly is hanging over my pants a few too many inches and it looks horrible. But I have not gained anymore weight, which is good. Maternity stuff is still a little big (and so uncomfortable!!!!), but I think it is time. Since I cleaned today, I have not done my hair or makeup, so no 12 week picture this time. Maybe next week!

11 weeks - felt baby move!!!!

Just got back from my Dr. appointment. Sigh. This is my first experience with Air Force health care and let's just say I am not impressed. To all of you out there wanting government health care to pass, let me just say, it is not a good idea. No one knows what anyone else is doing. No one cares because there is no money or incentives involved. So, whether the Dr. does one test or 50 tests, or you go every week, or once a year, he gets paid the same. For example, in the "real world" you go to the doctor at least 12 times during your pregnancy. Air Force is 8 times. They see me the minimal amount they need to. I feel like low income, white trash going to the Doctor. I like to be able to have choices, and here I do not. Anyway, enough of my rant, here is what happened at the Dr.

*The doctor made a nice note about the 10 lbs I have gained. He said, "You must be feeling great and not had any sickness and be eating very, very good from what I can see." Thanks. I warned him that I have gained 50 lbs with both of my other children, so most likely that will happen again. He was, of course, overweight himself. Note - I weighed in at 153. (keeping track for myself)

*Could not find the baby's heartbeat, but since I am 11 weeks, said it is normal. However, totally felt the baby! He even felt the baby kick him! He was trying to listen for the heartbeat and the baby was running away from the machine. Then there was a loud noise from the machine and my belly totally jumped. The Dr. was laughing, and said, it must be alive and kicking! Pretty good for something the size of a fig.

*My due date was moved back to April 10th. He said they never change due dates, and the lady that told me that was mistaken. He also said if there were fibroids, or thick uterine lining, it should not be concerning, and this lady must not have known what she was talking about. Thank goodness.

Go back in 4 weeks!

Inconclusive

Wasted $29. The test is supposed to turn dark smokey green if it is a boy, or be yellow/dark yellow/orange if it is a girl. It was kind of a light pea green color, right in between. At first we said boy, than Eric said girl since it was closer to my original pee color and than we just realized it was right in between both colors. Oh well. :)

Gender Predicter

I fell for it! I saw in Parenting magazine about a new gender predictor test you can take at home and the results are 82-90% accurate. I went down to Walgreen's this morning and got it. I will take it tomorrow morning and see! I know it can be wrong, but I am totally curious what it will say - if I am having a boy or a girl. And in 8 weeks I can compare it with what the Dr says. I think it will be fun. Don't worry, I will not be going and buying any clothes or anything based on this test. :)

Ultrasound

Had my Ultrasound today. It was an anxiety driven experience for sure. My old Dr. used to do it herself and would walk me through it all. But here, it is a technician and she didn't say a word for like 10 minutes. Then she asked me, "Have you ever had uterine fibroids?". Nope. A few more moments of silence and she asks me, "Have you had cramping or bleeding?". Nope. A few more minutes and then, "Do you have both of your ovaries?". WHAT?? By that time, I just said, "Do you see a baby?", and she said, "Oh, yes, but I have to get all these other measurements first". She said my uterine lining was really thick so she thought maybe I had fibroids. And she could only find one ovary, so she was worried about an ectopic pregnancy. But the radiologist looked at everything and said it all looks great. Phew. The technician scared me to death. Than she finally showed me the baby. Heartbeat was 171 and the baby measured big. Which was not a surprise to me! But they changed my due date to April 4th instead of the 10th. So, I jumped a week ahead and am now 11 weeks. Woo Hoo. I feel a little bit better now seeing the baby and the heartbeat. I go to the Dr. on Friday and I might ask her about the other stuff, just to make sure.

WHAT??

So, I woke up today and had no belly. (Not really no belly, but a small one) I showed Eric and he was kind of confused too. It is gone! I am even in regular jeans (with room to spare) and I lost 4 pounds????? Was I that bloated?? I have had major gastrointestinal problems this pregnancy, maybe that was it? I feel more like I should look at 10 weeks, but it still feels weird to be smaller than I was last week. I am hoping all is ok. This pregnancy has been so weird!!!!!!

Yeah!

I ran a little over 2 miles today! Since I have been pregnant I have been trying to keep up with my running, but the most I could ever do was around 1 mile. Pretty pathetic, but I had no energy to keep going. I think it was because I was not eating enough. I have felt good yesterday and today (cross my fingers for tomorrow), so we went for a run after dinner and I breezed through it. It felt so nice to be able to just run like a normal person, aside from my belly hanging over my shorts. I hope I can keep it up for awhile, I feel so good after. I will be 10 weeks on Friday and I go for my Ultrasound on Monday the 14th.

9 weeks

I think I stopped growing. My belly seems like it is the same size since 5 weeks. Which probably just means it popped out fast, and now is growing normally. But I have put on 7 lbs. Which is exactly the same weight I had put on by 8 weeks with both girls, so my body is on track probably to gain another 50 lbs just like before. The only good news is I started out weighing less, so maybe I won't hit as a big as number at the end. I can only hope. I have about 2 good days and then a really bad day, that is how all week has been. The weekends always seem to be the worst, maybe because Eric is home and I take advantage?? :) I think it is because we run a bunch of errands and I am exausted. But hopefully a few more weeks and I will feel like a new woman!

Remembering

I was just thinking about my two past pregnancies and realized this one is a combo of both + worse. When I was pregnant with Payton I was not sick at all, but I remember my skin broke out so bad. I remembering flying to Toronto for work at about 9 weeks and being nervous about being sick, but I never was, I was more nervous about my horrible skin. With Elly, my skin was clear, but I was sick for a few weeks. Well, this pregnancy is both - and a worse degree. I just read the other day that each pregnancy should get easier. huh? Mine have been the opposite!!

8 WEEKS

Yeah! I finally can eat! Yesterday was the first day where I actually had an appetite. And energy. I even took the girls to get haircuts and swimming. Major energy there. It felt so good to feel almost halfway normal. I stayed up until 11:30pm last night because I did not want the day to end for fear that I would feel bad again. But I feel pretty good today too.

If anyone knows me they know I have always loved pickles. When I got pregnant with Payton everyone joked on how could I possibly eat any more pickles than I already did. But I hated pickles pregnant. Same with Elly, I could not stand them. But this pregnancy, I started craving them a few days ago. And not just any. The really sour kind like at the state fair or at baseball games. That make your lips burn. Just writing about it is killing me! I also think someone is playing a sick joke. When I was pregnant in Nebraska I always craved Jack in the Box and Jamba Juice, which we didn't have. Here, we have both of those, but no, I want Jimmy Johns and Paradise. Which is 4 hours away. Oh well. Maybe I will make the drive one of these days!

The Last 5 weeks

WEEK OF JULY 26th
I was not feeling very good this week, but my period wasn't due for 6 days. I had a feeling I was pregnant, but I was trying not to get my hopes up. I needed to schedule my Wisdom teeth to be removed, which I couldn't do pregnant, so I decided to take one of those 5 day early tests just to see. It was POSITIVE. I could not believe it was positive this early - I am only three weeks pregnant. No wisdom teeth removed for now.

4 WEEKS PREGNANT
Missed my period, so I am pretty sure I am pregnant. Feeling a lot better, just have a huge appetite. I can not get enough food in my belly. It is starting to show already. THIS EARLY???? Maybe because it is my 5th pregnancy????

5 WEEKS PREGNANT
Here is me at 5 weeks - crazy! Granted I am bloated and it is the end of the day, but still. I swear there is more than one in there. Ha! I have been craving meat. Steak, bacon, ham, etc. I made some kind of steak for dinner 4 nights in a row. Went to the hospital for blood work, and the pregnancy is confirmed. They don't have you go to the Dr until 10 weeks here, so I have a ways to go until I even see the Doctor. Finding out early sucks, it makes it seem so long. These next few weeks I am going to be very nervous since both of my miscarriages were around 6 weeks.
















6 WEEKS
Bleh. That's all I can say. I am starting to feel so sick. Nauseous all day long. Nothing sounds good, I have been forcing myself to eat what I can. Making dinner, makes me so sick, but I feel bad for the girls and Eric because I don't want to make anything. The only thing I can handle eating is kiwi, rasberries, limes, and limeade. Nice healthy diet, huh.

7 WEEKS
Sick as a dog. No throwing up, but I want to soooooo bad. I feel like I have the flu. Achy all over, dizzy, nauseous, cold, hot, irritated. You name it. The nights are the worst. Come 3:00pm it just gets worse until around bedtime when it peaks. Went to bed last night in tears because I was so sick, but feeling guilty. Feel like I should LOVE this pregnancy since I had a miscarriage before it. But it is hard this time around. The girls are fine and pretty much leave me alone in my misery. :) Thankfully, they play together well. And I passed my six week worry point. I know something could still happen, but hopefully, I am in the clear. They say 90% of pregnancies will continue after 8 weeks along, so I am crossing my fingers. Picture of me at 7 weeks. Don't look too big, but if you can definitely see my belly in the front mirror. Nice.