Project: Diet Coke Abatement

We are now two weeks in to Project: Diet Coke Abatement. So far, so good! It hasn’t been too difficult, but maybe that’s because I’m allowing myself one a day instead of going cold turkey.

I think the key has been not to have my one allowed with breakfast. Because if I have it with breakfast, then I know I don’t get anymore the rest of the day and then I get all antsy about it. But if I wait, I feel much more relaxed knowing I can have it any time – and often I end up not having it at all!

Still not sure about giving it up altogether – I have a whole case out in the garage that needs drinkin’. But maybe once I run out of that I’ll wait and see how I do before I buy any more.

Plus, perhaps it’s a coincidence but I’ve lost two pounds since I started this. Not sure that I’ve really seen much difference in my health otherwise besides a general feeling-better. That could be all mental, but whatever works!

Baby is here!

Baby Grace Kathleen Farley is here! 

Born July 6, 2011 7:55 p.m.,19.5 inches long and 7 lbs 14 oz.

The last week my back and hip were hurting so bad...I was already sleeping in my big comfy chair (thank you Mr. Fantastic!) and I really didn't know if I was going to make a week past my due date like I did with Fletch. So at my last appointment, I discussed with Dr. Owens and we scheduled me for induction on the 6th, 1 day past my due date. 

I was really nervous about inducing because I'd heard so many awful things about it - ranging from the Pitocin causing massive painful contractions to labor stalling out and requiring a C-section if you don't progress fast enough. And I've heard stories that most unscheduled C-sections happen on days before holidays or after 4 p.m. because the doctor wants to get home. Thankfully Dr. O assured me that she was on call that night, so had nowhere to go and would be happy to wait however long it took.

We went in at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. Heidi was a godsend, because she came over at like 4:30 a.m. to wait for Fletch to get up, then took him to her house to hang out with Brody and wait for the baby to come. I am so glad I have her in my life. She does so much for me and my family.

We got me all checked in at Rose, and my friend Erin came to meet us a while later. She was awesome too - brought bagels & cream cheese for the nurses. After her long stay in the pre-natal ward when she was on bedrest before she had Flora, she wisely concluded that nurses are your best friend and it doesn't hurt to bring them a little bribe to be extra nice to you.

They got me settled and got the Pitocin going. I was worried about the Pit, but hardly even felt the contractions once I got it. In fact, a lot of the time the nurse would say, "ok, you're having a big one right now! Can you feel that?" and I'd feel like a mild menstrual cramp. I was really surprised by that after all the horror stories I'd heard about Pit making the contractions so much worse.

I was progressing very slowly so I agreed to have my water broken. I did the epidural beforehand because with Fletch, (who was not induced) the contractions were horrible after my water broke and I had to wait for the epidural. I SO didn't want to go through that again. 

The epidural was great. You can't get up and walk around, but for me both times I still had a lot of control over my legs and so was able to move around quite a bit in bed. You don't see the needle or anything they're doing, which for me makes it much less scary. They do a numbing cream on your back first so it doesn't hurt as much. It did hurt but it wasn't unbearable. Like a bad bee sting and sort of a really hard muscle cramp, and very brief.

So pretty much, I hung out in the bed all day with Jack and Erin. The nurses allowed me to have popsicles and water (thankfully I ate a nice breakfast!) so I kept hydrated. They give you a catheter with the epidural so I could drink as much as I wanted and not have to get up to pee every five minutes, which was awesome. Except I think I overdid on the water - later in the day a nurse told me I really wasn't supposed to have water, just ice chips and I think possibly having so much water made things go slower than they would have.

Progress was pretty slow all day and poor Jack was just sure it was going to be the middle of the night when the baby came, like Fletch did. But Dr. O wasn't worried, and every time I saw her, she was like, "no pressure, just relax, I don't have any place else to be," which really did put me at ease. Since nothing much was happening, I told Erin and Jack to go out and get something to eat so they left for a bit.

While they were gone, I had an awesome nurse who was determined to get me to dilate. She worked with me doing some hip rotations, stretches, and turning me on my side. During the hour Jack and Erin were out getting dinner, I went fully dilated  - like from 5 cm to 10 cm in no time at all. When Jack and Erin walked in to the room, the doctor was there and they were setting up for the delivery - good timing! 

They set up the big mirror so I could see, which I'm glad I did, since I didn't with Fletch. It was absolutely amazing to see the baby being born. The delivery was pretty painless and quick, and it took maybe three pushes to get her out. Much less drama than we had with Fletch! And also not the middle of the night - Jack was thankful for the respectable hour.

Heidi brought Fletch to the hospital at like 9:30 or 10 and he got to meet his brand new baby sister Grace. Grace was thoughtful enough to bring Fletch a gift of a big semi & trailer stocked full of Hot Wheels. He loved it and I think it will help pave the way.

They all stuck around to get me settled into my room and then headed home. Erin - what a trooper! She stayed with us all day, and took pictures and did my hair and entertained us and in general was just a totally awesome support for me and Jack both. She is one of my oldest and dearest friends and I am truly thankful to have her in my life too, and to have been able to share this experience with her.

We stayed two nights in the hospital - I think if you deliver after a certain time of day, you get an extra night. Jack and Fletch came to visit, along with most of the rest of the family - except Nana and Auntie Sheila, who were on a little holiday and didn't get to see her until we got home.

Thankfully, this was a much easier time than I had with Fletch. No baby heart rate dropping and getting "stuck" face up, no kidney stone, no dehydration, no extra nights in the hospital. Breastfeeding got off to an easy start and has been trouble-free so far. And we of course are so very, very happy to bring home our darling baby girl!

 

Week 28 of the JellyBean Progression

Week 28

Well. Just after last time I got super sick – horrible chest cold that Fletch got also. We are both finally better but now Mr. Fantastic has it, so we are all still living in plagueville. Blecch.

Aside from some lingering stuffy nose, I feel pretty good. Have noticed a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions when I am on my feet too long or doing too much around the house. When I feel it I say, “JellyBean says it’s time to sit down!” and I put my feet up and have a glass of water. Of course, with Mr. F sick, that means not a whole lot is getting done around the house – seems like we constantly have dishes and laundry piled up.

Saw Dr. O this week. Visit went fine – for all of last week I did the self blood checks 4x a day and gave her the numbers. She was very pleased to see I had done it proactively and all my numbers looked great so she doesn’t feel like I need to do anything else. Yay! I was getting tired of the finger sticks and it was only a week. I had to do it for so much longer with Fletch.

Haven’t had an ultrasound since the 20 week, which is different from Fletch too. With him, I was measuring a little big – maybe 3cm, but that combined with Dr. O’s unfounded concern that I might have had gestational diabetes led them to do more ultrasounds than usual to check for baby’s size. One of the things with GD is that the baby grows too big too fast, so they wanted to keep an eye on his size.

Of course, Fletch ended up weighing less than 8 pounds at birth so they really were worried about nothing – but it did mean I got to see him on ultrasound all the time. So at my appointment this week, I just told her I was sort of concerned since I had been sick and taking cough medicine and everything and she was like, no problem! We’ll take a look!

So that was nice and I got to see little JellyBean moving around. I haven’t been feeling her nearly as much as I did with Fletch – he was a raging rock star by this time. JellyBean hasn’t seemed as active, but it turns out that’s because she’s been sitting breech. Her head is up to my right and her butt is at the bottom and she’s kinda tilted but facing forward. So that’s why it’s been hard for anyone else to feel her from the outside, because of where the feet and hands are, I mostly just feel it way low on the inside.

So now I am just hoping she flips herself around before b-day because I would like ONE of my children to cooperate during birth and do it like they’re supposed to. I don’t think doctors will even attempt to deliver a breech baby vaginally anymore and I really don’t want a c-section.

This week JellyBean weighs around 2 ¼ pounds and is 14-15 inches long. (Just like a Chinese cabbage, which I had no idea what one was until I Googled and it turns out to be something I have seen before! It’s also called bok choi which is funny that that’s the name I know.) She is practicing blinking, growing neurons, adding fat and already has her eyelashes. I hope they look like Fletch’s.

I’ve gained 18 pounds so far – sure hoping I don’t gain a pound a week from here out like they suggest. It was easy to lose the weight after Fletch – breastfeeding really helped with that – but I’m still nervous about any weight gain at all. I’m sure it will be fine. I’m still 10 pounds behind what I weighed this week with Fletch so Dr. O says to quit worrying about it.

We switch now to visits every two weeks instead of once a month – that means the end is nearing. Can’t believe we’re going to have another little one so soon.

Week 24 of the JellyBean Progression

Week 24

Six month checkup today! Saw Dr. Mahoney since Dr. Owens is on vacation this week. Everything is great; although she did freak me out a little bit by telling me that starting this week, if the baby were to be born, she’d be viable. Whoa. So I am supposed to start paying extra attention to movement – I should be feeling more and more, so if I start feeling less, I’m supposed to call right away. Also am supposed to pay attention for signs of preterm labor and call if there’s anything weird.

Little Baby Josie Duggar was born at 25 weeks and has done okay so far - she celebrated her 1^st birthday in December 2010. Of course, her mom was 40+ years old and had previously delivered 18 other children and had to deliver so early due to severe preeclampsia that was endangering the health of both mom and baby. Though our circumstances are different, I am still crossing all my fingers, hoping that everything continues to go smoothly and that JellyBean goes all the way to 40 weeks. And not 41 like her brother.

I have been worried about my weight gain the last two months because it seems like I’ve gotten really huge really quick. I’m not seeing changes anywhere but my belly, so it’s not that I think I’m in general just eating too much or anything, but have a little concern that the baby is getting too big too fast or ahead of schedule or whatever. Dr. M said although I am measuring a little bit big, my weight gain is fine and that at this point with Fletch I weighed 172 - ten pounds more than I do now. She told me not to worry about it at all and that right about now what she calls “mushrooming” happens – that basically you really start popping out. Looking back, by week 25 with Fletch, I was measuring 3 cm big and felt the same way – all belly. So probably just me worrying about nothing, especially since Fletch ended up weighing less than 8 lbs at birth.

Next month I’ll see Dr. O again and am supposed to have my glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. I have a call in to my bariatric doctor to see what the alternatives to the normal glucose test are because there is no way in heck I am doing that again after the disaster it was last time.

Last week JellyBean’s hearing started to get better, so now she can hear sounds from outside. Guess we need to start singing! This week she should be just over a pound and just about a foot long. We are supposed to picture her as an ear of corn. (Apparently, long and skinny?) She is growing more brain and developing taste buds and lungs this week as well.

I can’t believe we are over halfway now! It’s gone by so fast. It’s been relatively easy too – maybe that’s because it’s the second time and I know more. (Like that Fiber is Your Friend and Breathe Right Strips are Awesome.) Really the only lasting complaint I’ve had is the Rhinitis of Pregnancy (aka, Stuffy Nose) that you get when you’re pregnant due to all your mucous membranes swelling up. And while I learned last time that Breathe Right Strips are AWESOME, I have learned this time that supermarket brand nose strips SUCK and give you pimples across the bridge of your nose as well as a red stripe that won’t go away. (Note to self: Shell out the extra clams for name brand next time!)

"Do you think he knows about second breakfast?"

THIRD breakfast is ok when you're pregnant, right? It's not even 11 yet and I've already eaten breakfast twice. STILL HUNGRY NOM NOM.

Also, for first breakfast I was a good girl and ate my grownup Fiber One cereal. But I mixed it with Crunch Berries.

Let's have some less interesting times this year, mmmkay?

I'm sitting here, listening to my husband snore and my baby cough as we all suffer from the same plaguey virus that's going around, and I feel…well, I suppose, not technically grateful for them as they are in their current state, but in general, I feel blessed. Enriched. My husband and son have made my life better, fulfilled, interesting.

As I contemplate the dawn of a new year, I am reminded of the Chinese 'curse,' "May you live in interesting times." As a general rule, I have always felt that living in interesting times was much preferable to living in uninteresting times – not a curse at all. What fun is living if your life's not interesting?

But 2009 was a pretty interesting year for me, with the birth and the death of two of the most important people that will ever be in my life. So for 2010, I'd like a year that's a little less interesting. Obviously, with a baby who'll turn one in February (!!!) I can't hope for anything like uneventful, but I'll take all the routine happy this year would like to throw at us. A bonus would be zero trips to any hospitals of any kind for any reason, either for myself or my loved ones. I spent far too much of 2009 in hospitals and doctor's offices for my tastes.

I know there will be plenty of interesting times this year – we will always have our ups and downs. I'm just hoping for a little more middle of the road ups and downs, like skinned knees and winning $2 on my lottery ticket. Let's save the big events for a few years down the road once we've had some time to enjoy some run-of-the-mill interestingness.

Bleargh. Feel crummy today.

Bleargh. Feel crummy today. Baby puked all over me this morning. Great...Looks like we both have the plague.

So I forgot to tell you that my brother is home from the hospital and doing great. We actually got to bring him home last Friday (the 17th) - can you imagine, having brain surgery on a Monday and going home by Friday? Last time he was in the hospital for almost two weeks and on the ventilator for like five days.

The nurses told him that it was not being on the vent that made such a difference. Apparently, the ventilator really takes a toll on your body and you get really weak. The difference in him between last time and this time is astounding. He felt so good when he got home, in fact, that he decided to start his next round of chemo right away, so he went in on the 21st for that. I couldn't be more thrilled with his progress, and he is in such better spirits this time around as well, which I think can only do good things for his recovery. So keep your fingers crossed that things keep going well!

~~~

Sadly, it has already been two months and my maternity leave is over. I started back to work today, but luckily I have sneakily been checking my inbox during my leave and deleting stuff that I don't need to take care of. So the potentially scary inbox situation was luckily under control. Plus, the cool thing my company does is give you a "transition week" your first week back, where you only work half time but get paid for the full week. Peanut and I have somewhat settled into a routine and I am sad to have to chage it. Hopefully we'll be able to fit work into our busy schedule of eating, sleeping and pooing.

Speaking of eating, sleeping and pooing...I haven't been doing much of any of them lately. This unfortunately landed me in the ER again last night with that same stomach pain/gallbladder thing that I had back in August. Since we are now getting it down to an art form, some pain meds and a couple hours of IV fluids to rehydrate me, and I was good as new. I think what we are learning from this is that I really have got to look after my diet better. And apparently, since I'm breastfeeding, I need to drink sixteen glasses of water a day as opposed to the usually recommended eight. Unfortunately, it hit me at about 1 a.m. and so we didn't get home until almost 5. And Peanut, while he was so good at the hospital, was fussy as soon as we got home and didn't really let us get much in the way of sleep. Very glad I didn't have to do a lot at work today because I was pretty useless until after noon.

That's pretty much it for me...Peanut is two months old now - where did the time go? I'll post more about his second month later, but in the mean time, let me leave you with this picture.

You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster... Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride! I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it.

We found out yesterday that my brother's surgery is being postponed. The doctors have agreed they want to give the chemotherapy more time to work on the lung tumor, so instead of going ahead with the brain surgery, they are going to do at least one more round of the chemo instead. The next round is scheduled for the first week of March - they were originally scheduled to be every three weeks.

Steve is feeling much better physically and is in much better spirits with this news. I, of course, am having mixed feelings. On the one hand, I worry that we're not moving fast enough on the brain, or what exactly this means about the lung tumor. I have to keep reminding myself that they don't want to go in surgically to take care of the lung tumor because it can and usually will leave lots of bad cells roaming around in there. It's actually better and more effective to try and kill it all with the chemo instead.

But I'm also glad because putting off the surgery gives me some time to have this baby. Apart from hoping that Steve will not actually be in the hospital when I deliver, it's crossed both our minds that there's a possibility that he might not come out of the surgery okay or at all. He said to me last night that he's glad they're putting off the surgery so he'll have a chance to at least meet my baby. They've given us no reason right now to expect the worst, and it breaks my heart to even think about it, but I can't help it. I do worry about how much longer we'll have Steve with us. I want him to have as much time as possible with his nephew.

I'm doing my best not to stress and focus instead on Peanut. Of course, being 39 weeks and 4 days pregnant, this is its own source of stress. I am so ready to have this baby and he seems to be perfectly content to keep percolating. I'm due in 3 days, but it's average for first-time moms to go over past their due date by 7-10 days. So even though Mr. Fantastic is convinced that I'm having the baby ON Sunday, I am not expecting that to happen.

I had my checkup with Dr. O on Tuesday and there was no change from last time. She asked if I wanted her to sweep my membranes, which I didn't want to do yet, and also about getting an induction scheduled for once I hit 41 weeks, which I REALLY don't want to do. So I told her I'd consider doing the sweep for next appointment and we could talk about the induction then too. I'm actually scheduled for two appointments next week - Monday for my usual checkup and then Friday they'll do an ultrasound, another NST and a biophysical profile. All this is just to make sure things are still going okay in there.

I don't want to be pressured into interventions that I don't want to do, such as an induction or the membrane sweep. I am willing to wait until 42 weeks before we start interfering, whereas the doctors don't like to wait past 41 weeks. But Dr. O just happens to be on vacation again next week, so I am seeing two of her colleagues on Mon and Fri, which I think will make it easier for me to put off scheduling the induction. I may agree to the sweep, though. It only works about half the time and carries a risk of breaking your water (something I want to avoid as long as possible), but Mr. F and I have discussed and he thinks I should consider it. I'm still thinking about it. I am anxious to get the ball rolling, and the sweep, if it works, could help avoid induction, so it's worth considering.

In the mean time, I am doing all the "natural" things I can to help get things started - eating pineapple, drinking red raspberry leaf tea and some other things. None of it may actually work, but if it does, yay! Of course, will keep everyone posted as things progress on both the baby and the brother fronts.

State of the Me

Well. Lots going on, so it's about time for another state of the union.

Peanut
Not a lot to report...Peanut is cooking away and doing his best to bust his way out any way but the one way he's supposed to. Had a dr visit on Tuesday and saw the last OB in the practice I hadn't met yet, Dr. Mahoney. She was great, and now they will all be familiar faces, no matter who shows up for the delivery. The appointment was quick, just a chat and listened to the heart beat. I had assumed she would do another cervical check - I thought they would be doing that every week until the end - but she didn't, which was a pleasant surprise. The fewer of those I have, the better. I really like this practice - they have two midwives on staff and really seem to be in tune with the things I want as far as my prenatal care and also for my labor and delivery. Although most of them are OBs, they seem less inclined toward all the interventions my books and Dr. Internet have scared me into thinking all OBs are determined to do.

So, this is week 38 - I have 17 days until my due date. OMG. It's coming so fast! We are mostly ready, although the one thing we haven't bought is the co-sleeper that we want from our registry. Not to worry - we have a pack n' play as well as several laundry baskets and drawers, so Peanut has someplace to sleep until we do get it. I had my second baby shower last Saturday and we got tons more clothes - this is going to be the best dressed baby ever, as long as we can get all his laundry done! And Mr. Fantastic took me to the baby store this week so we could get some necessities - diapers and wipes and whatnot. We've got pretty much everything assembled and now we're just trying to find the optimal arrangement in our little place for all this stuff.

I feel great, although I am really not getting much sleep. Partly just being uncomfortable, partly my brain racing a million miles an hour, and partly just not being able to stay asleep for very long at once. Am having lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions, which are not exactly painful per se, but which are really uncomfortable because they make my entire belly tighten up. And I think the baby has dropped, or at least he's Searching for the Great Egress lower than he used to be. Next appointment is on Tuesday again, will keep you all posted on the Peanut front.

Dad
Took Dad on the 28th to get sentenced for his DUI from back in April 08. As expected, they gave him the minimum 10 days mandatory in jail, plus fines, community service and probation. The good news is they gave him the option to join the Weekender Program, meaning he's allowed to go in on just the weekends. He got credit for time served, so he actually only has to do 4 consecutive weekends, from about 8 am on Saturday to 5 pm on Sunday, starting March 21. It sounds like it will be fairly easy - he won't even be "locked up" at night (the building itself will be locked, but not his particular room/cell), is allowed to wear what he wants as long as it's plain, and he may be required to do some chores as needed.

The best part is that Dad has asked my oldest brother JT to drive him to and from the facility on all four weekends, meaning I don't have to do it. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to help out my family as much as I can, but with a new baby, I was worried about being on point for that. And it was nice of Dad to just take care of it and not even ask me, because you know I wouldn't have said no.

Not a lot of news otherwise - he is supposed to be deciding on a course of treatment for the prostate cancer, either surgery to have it removed or doing radiation treatments along with the seed implants. Both would be preceded by a hormone shot that basically halts production of testosterone, which is what feeds the cancer. Nobody seems to be too worried about handling this too aggressively, so I am attempting not to worry about it and concentrate on other things, like Peanut and Steve.

Steve
Why am I worrying about Steve again? Well. Here's the tough part. The cancer is back. He started having a cough before Christmas, went in for a scan and they've found new tumors both in his brain and his lung, the same spots where they were before. We basically don't know a whole lot at this point - he has an appointment with the brain surgeon next Thursday to formulate a plan.

Mostly all we know is they want to treat the brain first - possibly using the gamma knife - then do some type of chemo for the lung. They are moving quickly, but they also keep saying we have options, so I am having mixed feelings about how hopeful I should be as far as the long-term prognosis, which they haven't said anything about. In the mean time, Steve's got this cough that won't go away and which is driving him crazy. He doesn't have a sore throat or anything, but there's fluid in the lung cavity, which makes it hard for him to breathe, so they've got him on oxygen again, and then the cough is because his body thinks there's something in there (the tumor) that it can get out by coughing. So he's got some cough medicine but it gives him nightmares, so either he doesn't sleep or he hardly sleeps. All in all, he's not feeling too hot these days. Just a short walk to the car wipes him out. He is adamant that I not do too much for him this time. With the baby coming, he doesn't want to depend on me so much. I know Dad will be a big help and Mr. Fantastic has offered to do whatever he can as well, but I can't help feeling in some way like I'm letting him down. I know that's silly, but it's in my nature; I can't help it.

So. More on that as we get news, but as always, we will gladly take any good karma you want to sling our way.

Things are looking up! Or, 69 days left.

Week 31

I am in a much better state of mind these days, thank goodness. There has been no crying and much, much less freaking out. Hooray!

Got two Christmas presents in the mail from friends recently - a handmade story cookbook and Clinton Kelly's (from What Not to Wear) book, Freakin' Fabulous. I'm excited to sit down and read them both, and was so thrilled to get unexpected presents in the mail - one from Bolton, England! Both were really nice surprises that made my day.

Mr. Fantastic and I got most of our Christmas shopping done and wrapped over the weekend, so not only is our tree all festive and happy looking, I am breathing a sigh of relief that we've got that off our plates. And, even more exciting, we got an offer on our condo! If all goes well, we could be out and into a new place by the middle of January and I can stop worrying about my poor Little Tiny Naked Baby sleeping in a drawer. (Which, truly, I am not doing so much anymore. I'm still itching to nest but I feel much less antsy about things right now.)

We had lunch with our friends Erin and Matt and their two baby girls today. It was lovely to see them, and Erin has promised to go with me this week to complete my baby registry and help me make sure I register for what I need and skip all the crap I don't. As a mother of a newborn and a less-than-two year old, she should know. She also wisely suggested that I finish registering before Christmas in case anyone wants to get us baby stuff. (In fact, every time anyone has asked Mr. F what he wants for Christmas, he says "Baby stuff!" so it's prolly a good idea.)

My cousins have planned my baby shower for January 24 and I am very much looking forward to it. Should we happen to still be living in the condo by then, we're going to call a halt to the whole moving house proceedings until after Peanut arrives so that we can set up and make a place for the baby and figure out what to do with all the baby things I'll hopefully be receiving at the shower. As a bonus, my brother has said if we run out of room, we can keep anything we need to at his place, which eases my mind a bit as well.

Ooh, and I'm going to be an (honorary) Aunt again soon! My cousin H3 is due on Christmas Eve but it looks like she'll probably be having her baby sometime this week. I can't believe it's already her time, and it makes it seem like Peanut's arrival is even more imminent. I can't wait to meet her little boy and see her become a mama.

And finally, in Official News of the Peanut: Had an OB visit this morning. It went well. I am measuring 30 cm, which is right on target. And I have been self-checking my glucose four times a day for almost a week now, with excellent results. Only two of the readings were high an hour after eating, both times after fast food, and both of which had returned to well below the threshold after two hours. Dr. O was pleased with the testing and sees no need for me to go on any medication or to do any further follow up with the gestational diabetes specialist.

The downside is that she wants me to continue the self-checks four times a day for the next two weeks because even though the majority of my tests were fine, sugar levels can only get worse as pregnancy and pregnancy hormones progress. It's like she just can't truly believe that I don't have or won't get gestational diabetes all because of the high score on the glucose test, regardless of the fact that it's biased against me AND routinely has a 60-70% false positive rate. But I can hack two more weeks of self checks. I can handle two more months of self checks if that's what it takes.

She also wants another growth ultrasound in two weeks, just to keep an eye on the baby's size. Which, yay, we get to see the baby again, but boo, because I really don't think it's necessary since I'm measuring on track and my glucose is fine. However, when I go back in two weeks, Dr. O will be on vacation, so perhaps I can sweet talk this Dr. Guggenheim I will be seeing (and by proxy Dr. O) into not worrying about all this so much. Much as the pricking my finger for the self-check doesn't really hurt, I'm already sick of doing it four times a day. I know that all of this hoopla is mostly a CYA for the doc but it's a giant PITA for me.

Oh, and she wants me to get a flu shot, even though I never get one because I seem to end up getting sick when I get them but I never get the flu when I don't get one. Weird, I know, but it was the same way with my mom. Anyway, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give it a try this year, because should I happen to get the flu, I will be a million times more miserable being flu-ridden and pregnant.

Otherwise, I feel pretty good except for my continued lament of feeling HUGE. I am actually sleeping pretty well - have figured out a good configuration of my nine million pillows and my brain has quieted down at night. Peanut seems to have taken up residence completely on the right side of my belly - I am visibly lopsided and very solid on the right side, while the left seems practically hollow. We are apparently not worried about this right now, although it's not the best position for delivery. Plenty of time for him to get situated better in the next 69 days, according to Dr. O.

Meanwhile, Peanut is not pulling any punches in making himself completely comfortable. As he gets bigger, the movements I feel are less kicks and punches and more wiggling and squirming, which seriously gives my lopsided belly the appearance of an alien trying to escape when he starts shuffling around in there. Every day makes it more and more real that it's a Little Tiny Naked Person making himself at home in my belly. And every day Mr. F and I talk to him more and fall more in love with him and look more and more forward to the day we get to meet him.

In other news, it was below 0 all day today and ridiculously cold last night. Still below 0 right now, so I am thanking goodness for our heated mattress pad, because it gets cold in our bedroom at night, even if we run the heater. Brr! I wish my long underwear fit over my belly because I would be wearing both pairs right now if I could. But at least it feels like Christmas time with the sparkly snow and freezing weather and my happy little tree full of gifts.

Only 93 days to go!

Week 27

Had a routine baby visit with Dr. Owens yesterday. All was basically fine, except for the unmitigated disaster of the glucose test, which I will tell you more about in a minute.

As far as Peanut goes, still going strong and growing like a weed. I'm still measuring 3 cm big, and according to last week's size ultrasound, that puts him in the 69th percentile. Dr. O says she's not worried unless he gets into the 90s. She also asked about movement and I told her he continues to be a lunatic rock star, rolling around in there. I asked if there was such a thing as too much activity. "Nope!" Dr. O told me cheerfully, "An Active Baby is a Happy Baby!" So apparently Disney's bought stock in my womb because if fetal activity is any indication, that joint is the Happiest Place On EarthTM.

This week Peanut's hearing is developing further, and so we are supposed to practice talking and singing to him because he'll recognize our voices. I just realized that I don't really know any lullabies, so either I learn some or Peanut will just have to start liking U2. Also, last week his eyes started opening and so the book says we may want to try shining a flashlight at my belly to see if he'll respond. I'm sure Mr. F will still not let me do it because "it's mean!" Maybe I'll secretly try when he's not around. *snerk*

I'm feeling good, except that I'm starting to feel more awkward all the time with this basketball in my belly. I've gained some weight - I'm up to 5 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. Luckily, I haven't experienced any of the swelling of hands or feet yet - thankfully my wedding ring still feels the same. Mostly I'm just starting to get tired all the time again and I have some low back pain, which Mr. F is excellent for helping with. My belly button is starting to flatten out. Still an innie - it was always a very deep innie before - but not nearly as deep. It seems I've got a little crop of freckles in there that I've never seen until now.

So, the glucose test. Complete disaster. It’s routine for all pregnant women around this time to check for gestational diabetes. They give you this super concentrated glucose drink – 50 grams of sugar in like 3 ounces of orange flavored kool-aid stuff, and then check your blood an hour later to see how you’ve reacted. Depending on how you do, they either say you’re fine or they have you come back to do a more advanced 4 hour test. Everyone says how awful tasting the stuff is, but it didn't taste that bad. It reminded me of a really intense orange drink from McDonald's.

Anyway, I drank the stuff and literally 5 minutes later I was ridiculously sick. Pouring buckets of sweat, dizzy, seeing spots, throwing up – it was awful. With my surgery, I have to be careful about how much sugar I have at any one time or it causes this reaction. But since I’m able to handle sweets like cookies or candy or whatever, it didn’t even occur to me that this might be too much all at once. Dr. O felt bad and said she should’ve realized that it might be too much for me too.

So basically, I felt seriously crappy and had to lay down in the Dr.'s office for an hour. They took my blood anyway but didn’t think the test would be valid since I barfed up the stuff. So now I have to go in on Monday morning to do a fasting test and hopefully they’ll be able to get a good result from that. I eat pretty well and I feel fine, so I'm really not concerned that I might have GD - if anything, my blood sugar tends to run low unless I eat on a regular schedule.

Next visit in two more weeks...I can tell this every two weeks thing is going to get old fast. Not looking forward to when I have to start going in every week!