28 weeks on the 28th

Today we are 28 weeks pregnant. Little Bean should weigh about 2.25 lbs (which is equivalent to a Chinese Cabbage) and measure about 15 inches long. LB should now have eye lashes and can blink his/her eyes. However, his/her eyesight is still developing. It is developed enough however that LB may be able to see light that filters through the womb. Brain development is continuing and the little baby body is starting to store more fat in preparation for the world outside the womb.

On my end of things, we are cruising in the third trimester and I can expect to gain about 11 lbs between now and delivery. I am hoping not to add too much to that total with the dreaded "Holiday weight." However, my scale at home has been stuck on 195.5 for the past three weeks (and no its not broken.) Good thing I have the doctor office weights to judge things by too. We took care of the normal 28 week markers (glucose screening and RhoGAM shot) so we are good to go. Pretty smooth sailing if you ask me.....

And of course, today its time for more pics ;o) I will update the slideshow later but here are the awaited 28 week pictures of Little Bean and Mommy.

And the comparison between 24 weeks (top) and 28 weeks (bottom)

The poll

People are starting to "Vote" about what they think we are having. Since we don't know, I thought it may be fun to do a poll. I added the poll to the right hand side. So, please vote if you have a feeling. Clay thinks we are having a little girl. He just sees a girl everytime he thinks about bringing home a baby. I am torn. Somedays I say boy and other days I lean towards a little girl. Only time will tell, but let's see what you all think.

28 week appt

Today we headed to the doctor over lunch for our 28 week appointment. Originally scheduled for Friday afternoon, it was moved up to today given the doctor wanted Friday afternoon off to do some Halloween stuff with her kids (I think she has 4). We did the normal routine.

I peed in my cup and stepped on the scale. The scale said 197lbs. (GEEZ, do I look that big?) Then blood pressure. It was 100/66. Nice and normal for me. Then the doctor came in. We talked about the hospital trip in MO for a minute and my hip pain. Then we got to hear the baby's heartbeat again ;o) The doctor put it at 162 beats per minute and I got measured again. She didn't say what the measurement was but she said I was right on track. I did have some tenderness when she was pushing on my abdomen and said it could be a sore diaphragm from the growth over the past few weeks and the pressure pushing everything up. We also talked about my labs I had last done last Friday. First she talked about the Glucose screening test. My result was 134mg/dL. The low cut off for retesting and potential gestational diabetes is 135mg/dL, so I snuck under the radar. She said even 135 is the low end so she considered me safe and didn't see the need for me to do the 3 hour test or go on the restrictive diet. WHEW!! Then we talked about my Hemoglobin test. This checked to make sure I wasn't anemic. My baseline level was 13.6g/dL. My level from last Friday's test was 12.86g/dL. So it had gone down a bit which she said was expected in pregnancy but still within the normal range of 12-18g/dL. More good news! And at the end, I got my RhoGAM shot. All set!

One of the biggest discussions at the doctor's office has carried itself home with us tonight. (It actually followed us back to work and frustrated us both). It is in regards to the H1N1 shot. I am leery to get it since it contains Thimerosal, a mercury derivative that is added for a preservative. After my doctor was so adamant that my REGULAR flu shot be preservative free specifically of Thimerosal, she is actually recommending that we get the H1N1 shot. Very confusing. Clay (who likes to follow the book) wants me to get one but I'm just not sure. Another factor, is that they are only available at public clinics so far and will require me to miss work and stand in line for HOURS (at least 2) to get the shot. Plus who is to say this isn't bad with all those people there and the potential they are already sick and going to be hacking.. ugh! So its still in discussion here for now.......

Oh we also discussed pediatricians, contraception options after birth while breastfeeding, and the on-call doctor rotation. There are 4 doctors in her rotation. She and the other doctor in the office and then 2 others. One of the others is a Dr. Emm. I went to school with a Dr. Emm but this is HIS wife and NOT him, which I feel better about just in case I have to deliver with the Dr. Emm.

Finally, we go back in 2 weeks for our 3o week appointment. We will be on the every 2 week schedule then. I know I have said this so many times but I can not believe how fast time is just FLYING BY!!! 8 more appointments and we will be at the 40 week mark if Little Bean stays in his/her comfortable home until then. (Side note: Christmas is 59 days away. Really? That's less than 9 weeks. By the time Christmas is here this pregnancy will be on the final lap. It's right around the corner.)

1 year blogiversary

Yesterday was my one year blogiversary on this blog. I started this blog on a very early Friday morning last October when I couldn't sleep. I had too many thoughts, feelings, and confusions swimming around in my head and needed some sort of medium to let it all out. I had been struggling for 10 months to figure out what was going on with my body knowing that I couldn't get pregnant on my own (at that time) and just biding my time waiting and wondering what was wrong with me.

I found just what I needed with the blog. It has been therapeutic in so many ways! I made the decision very early to keep it as a private blog for the most part (like an online diary or journal).

When we found out we were pregnant in May, it was unbelievable!!! I had never expected it to happen the way it did, but God had his own plans. It was also time to open the blog up and make it more public letting anyone interested read it. I didn't expect many readers to go back and start at the beginning. I'm sure some of the past posts were negative or hard to read. However, I have heard from several readers that they did just that. They started at the beginning and read ALL the way through. Thank you! It means a lot that you read the history that brought me to where I am now.

This "blogiversary" date got me to thinking about how things change. How one year ago, I was in a MUCH different place than I am today as I sit here typing feeling my little bean wiggle and kick around (it's almost dinner time). How all those tears and frustrations that filled most of 2008 and the spring of 2009 are just distant memories that seem to have been ages ago.

I have gone back on multiple occasions and re-read my own posts. One night I even started at the beginning and re-read it all the way through. I cried, I laughed, and I cried some more. It seems so weird to say but I'm not sure I would change a thing. All of that "experience" has brought me to this exact moment in time and I am thankful.

Now I sit hear thinking about what the next year ahead will bring and excited to see what time will bring.

Blogging Backlog

It's been almost a week since my last post. I can hardly believe it. I have wanted to sit and post a few things this past week but never found made the time, so I'm going to throw a few updates in this very post. Are you ready?

• Monday at work, we found out some news that made for a few stressful days. We were told that our company would be dropping the HMO health insurance option effective Jan 1st. Of course, we are insured on the HMO so we had many many questions. Being due Jan 20th and having an OB covered by the HMO but NOT by the other health insurance options offered by our company, I was a bit upset. I didn't want to face changing doctors at 37 weeks pregnant. Clay and I both work for the same company so our options are limited. In addition, we weren't getting very straightforward answers from the HR dept. We felt like we kept getting pawned off to call the new coverage company. Although they said that the HMO doctors used (including mine) INTENDED to become part of the new network prior to conversion at the end of the year, it was very stressful. In addition to that, the change throws a wrench in our budgeted plans. In addition, on the HMO, the birth of our child would have been a total of $300 cut and dry. Now with the new PPO plan, we are looking at at least $1,000 to meet the deductibles for me and the baby plus an extra 10% of the remaining bill. This gives us about 2 months to revise our budget and resave for this extra expense. Plus since we already had it budgeted for me to take an extra 4 weeks unpaid, we have to really pinch our pennies for now to make it work. On a good note, I did find out from my doctor that she HAS joined the network so if I can confirm this with our new insurance provider, I should be all set on the doctor front. Just need to revise a bit on the pediatrician side for Little Bean and work out a few more details. Still a bit stressful given IF I happen to deliver early, I may be facing both insurance carriers. Pray the little one comes on time and not early. (I know I may regret those words in late Dec/early Jan when I want nothing more than to have my little one.)
  
• This past Wednesday marked the 27th week of pregnancy. This also marks the START of the 3rd Trimester. OH MY! 2/3rds of the way there and in the final leg. I can hardly believe it. According to BabyCenter, Little Bean weighs about 2lbs now, same weight as a head of cauliflower. Little Bean should also be sleeping and waking at regular intervals. I think I can attest to that ;o) I have the schedule down pat knowing when I can expect my kicks and wiggles. I look forward to those moments everyday. My favorite ones are at night when you can just see my stomach bounce wildly. Seems I should also be able to feel the baby's hiccups soon. I think that will be something fun and cute to look forward to. On my side of things, my hips are still bugging me but mostly only at night. The leg cramps come and go. When they strike, I hop out of bed as fast as I can to stand on them. Usually that works.
  
• I am enjoying FitMommy on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I seem to be the only one that consistently shows up. Last week and Tuesday of this week, Lora and I were both there so there were two of us, but on Thursday I ended up being the only one at class again. We did step and it was so much fun. It did aggravate my hip at times but it was a great workout. Plus this past week, they were taping the instructor to use clips in a promotional video for they gym. I think I was caught on few times so I hope I didn't look too stupid. However, we were told if our faces showed, they would be blurred out like on COPS. HA! I thought that was funny. Mostly I think he just taped my feet, glad I was coordinated enough for the step. Can't wait to see the video. I think its going to be on their facebook page so I'll try to watch for it and see if I (or should I say my feet) make a cameo.

And finally...

• I went in for my glucose screening test yesterday. I showed up at the lab a little before 7am and it was packed! However, the lady at the front gave me my sugary drink and told me I had 5 minutes to chug it on down. I had been dreading the flavor from past stories I have heard, but I cracked it open and let it hit the hatch. Really it wasn't bad. It was nice and cold and actually tasted exactly what it looks like, ORANGE SODA. Not too shabby. I quickly drank it (prob less than 1 or 2 minutes) and went back to the front desk. Then I had an hour to wait before they would take my blood. I had taken my book so I had some good reading material and the time passed quickly. Then back for 4 vials of blood and I was outta there. We SHOULD find out the results on Tuesday at our dr appointment. Hopefully it will be the result we want and I won't be facing gestational diabetes but we will find out.
  

Looking ahead this next week:

• We have our 28 week (7 month) appointment on Tuesday at lunch. I will also get my RhoGAM shot. This is given since my blood type is A neg (meaning I am negative for the Rh factor. Given Clay is O positive and has the Rh antibodies, the baby could too. This means that the baby and I may conflict when and if our blood mixes. To protect us both, so I don't attack any foreign antibodies, I get the shot at 28 weeks and then again at delivery. I will have to do this for every pregnancy. Then of course, we will also have updates on my weight, blood pressure, size, and the baby's heartrate.
  


• Wednesday is our 28 week mark so it will again be picture time. Stay tuned for more belly pics.


• I want to line up Little Bean's pediatrician this week and start working on lining up a babysitter. I have all of my questions printed out and the list of people to call. Just need to MAKE time to call and start asking.
  

Well, I think that is all I have for now... guess it was more than I thought. I do have some additional blogs bouncing around in my head but I want to get pictures or videos for them. One requires me to borrow a phone cord from my good friend Liz so that I can get the wonderful video off of my cell phone and on to the computer, so stay tuned.

For peace of mind...

We spent this last weekend in MO visiting my godparents. We enjoyed the company and the time away. However, we did not enjoy the fender bender we were involved in on Saturday.

Given I was a bit shaken up, we decided we should call the nurse's hotline just to see if we needed to do anything. Being 6 1/2 months pregnant and in a rear-end collision, I wanted to make sure Little Bean was okay. The nurse gave me a quick call back and indicated she wanted to double check with the Dr. on call. The Dr. on call that weekend was actually Dr. Dutta (my doctor) so it was great. However, Dr. Dutta did want me to go the hospital to get checked. When the nurse called back, she expressed the Dr. was concerned given this is our first and even if only mild trauma, she wanted to monitor the little one.

So, our group headed to Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Festus and checked in at the emergency room. They asked if we wanted the baby checked or me. Clearly I was only interested in the baby, so we were escorted up to the labor and delivery ward to be monitored.

The nurse on call hooked me up to the monitor. They were checking for good fetal movement. They were also monitoring to make sure I wasn't having any contractions. The machine monitored the baby's heartbeat, movement, and then my uterus. She also checked my cervix and made sure it was still closed and there was no bleeding. We were monitored for an hour and sat listening to the baby's heartbeat just gallop away. It seemed a little erratic to us and would be slower (like 150) and then faster (like 180) but it all seemed normal to the medical staff. We had great fetal movement and I had to multi-task and hit a button whenever I felt the baby move. The machine shown behind me gave the readouts and showed the movement as little "glitches" in the line and if I hit the button it marked it too. I did pretty good marking all my little ninja baby's kicks. Little Bean didn't like the monitor much and kept kicking the top one so it just jumped sporadically. They were also monitoring my blood pressure. When we first got there it was definitely high for me. It was over 140/80 something. Usually my blood pressure is really low so you can definitely tell I was stressed a bit. That also explains the headache I had. However, as we laid there for the hour and calmed down listening to the heartbeat, it slowly approached normal. By the time we left it was 122/77, which is more normal but still high for me.

We were released and given a clean bill of health. Now we have to wait for the bill and hope that its covered by the auto insurance claim. If anything, we really did it for peace of mind and I'm glad we did. It made a long afternoon but our family waited in the waiting room below entertaining themselves with facemasks and the large TV.

On a much lighter note, the afternoon provided a great souvenir cup and my dad came up with the funniest line of the weekend (what Clay says is the funniest thing he has ever heard my father say.) When I told the family about everything and the word "cervix" came up, it became a "hot topic" of the night and produced some light hearted laughter thus producing the classic remark "That sh*t right there will put a hair on your cervix."

I think we all had tears in our eyes with that one. Thanks dad!

26 weeks: The wiggles and the waddle

I am 26 weeks pregnant today. We can hardly believe it, but we have less than 100 days left. Actually around 97 days according to our ticker. Seems to be flying by. As of now(according to BabyCenter) the baby weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches from head to heel. That's about the length of an English hothouse cucumber shown in the picture. Pretty long which explains the kicks and punches all around my stomach almost simultaneously at times. BabyCenter also said the network of nerves in our baby's ears are more developed and more sensitive than before. He/she may now be able to hear both my voice and Clay's as we chat with each other. He/she is inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his/her lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when they take that first gulp of air. I also like the other illustration on the site showing how this long "little bean" is curled up safely and comfortably in my womb.
Definitely another illustration supporting how those kicks come from almost everywhere. The new movement I have been feeling I will call wiggles and you can see from this picture how possible they are too. Its a weird almost "rolling" sensation of something kind of "wiggling" around in there. I just love it!!! I also think you can tell form this picture why it feels like I have to pee everytime I stand up and the bottom part of my belly feels "heavy." Little bean is smushing my bladder at times, I think. Also on my front, I am still fighting the hip pain in my right hip at times. I really pissed my hip off at class yesterday and it hurt almost all night and all day today. I've been trying to stretch it out and stay limber. My teacher works with me in class for it and my doctor knows about it so we are just monitoring it for now. All in all its not too bad as long as I keep moving. It's worse when I am stationary for too long (like when asleep...maybe I sleep too much). In other rambling news, I got some maternity clothes off of our trading post at work. (It's like an online garage sale.) I got 2 pair of pants and 6 shirts for $20 so I must say it was quite a steal. I did get my flu shot the other day at work so I can check that off the list and my next doctor's appt for 28 weeks is now set for 10/27. (It just got rescheduled today) I guess the only other thing new with me addresses the last part of the title with the "waddle" At times when I walk (usually if I have to pee) I feel like I'm starting to waddle a bit. Liz even noticed it the other day. I don't think its all the time or overly noticeable but I'm sure by Christmas I'll be waddling like an Emperor Penguin ;o) Oh I can't wait!! All in all though, I have no complaints. Being pregnant is great and I am enjoying each and every day!

Automatic headlights

**WARNING: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN TMI FOR SOME READERS. CONTINUE WITH EXTREME CAUTION AND A SENSE OF HUMOR**

I seem to have a new "situation" developing on the pregnancy front. Well it may not be really related to pregnancy but it is much more noticeable with the enlarged size of the "girls." I seem to have an "automatic headlight" problem and I can't seem to turn them off. It's making me a bit self conscious even more than I was in high school with the situation.
I first noticed it last night at Fit Mommy. I wear the same outfit each class which includes an ever shrinking white t-shirt. Last night I was the only one that showed up so it was like a one on one training session but I noticed the whole time the "lights" were on. Then today the situation has persisted. At times they are dim and at other times they are on bright but they are always on. Hmm....
I got to talking to a good friend today. (One of my friends that I have no boundaries with.) We were talking of ways to address the situation. I don't really want or NEED any more padding in that region so I don't want to get a padded bra (although I'm not sure they should be putting padding in a 40DD anyways...) She mentioned the band-aid trick but I worry that would cause the sensitive skin to become irritated. I think I may have to pull out the thinned cotton ball trick or the single ply kleenex trick I perfected in high school. Oh memories! Oh and it's not cause I'm cold either. If you know me my temps run warm consistently... in fact I was sweating like crazy at Fit Mommy and they wouldn't go away. Let's pray for dimmer days ahead.

Super Cute Shower Invites: Part 2

As promised here is a picture of the super cute invitations Liz made for my baby shower here in town that her and Mel are having for me. My mom said she got hers today so that means that many of the others on the list should have also gotten theirs today (or will be getting them tomorrow). And well, I'm impatient and wanted to share how cute they are. I just love them (I should since the pattern matches my nursery and Liz did such a great job.)
While the shower feels so far away right now, I'm sure it will be here before I know it. I do have an additional shower a few weeks later in Decatur being hosted by my Aunt Rachel. Both will be so much fun and it will be great to see everyone. I may be waddling by then but if there is cake involved, I will be happy ;o) So let's party!!!

Holy Hip Pain Batman!

How old do you need to be to have a hip replaced? I'd like to sign up for a new right hip. Mine is on the fritz. It does really well during the day and on our walks and even at Fit Mommy class it co-operates for the most part. Occasionally at class it will cramp if we are doing a specific hip stretch or exercise but for the most part during the waking hours there is no pain. However, during the cover of darkness the evil hip pain makes an appearance. It usually doesn't rear until about 4am (my second bathroom trip each night.) Last night it showed up earlier (around 1:30am which is my first trip to the bathroom). I have a new sleeping position to account for this occurrence and to stretch it out while I sleep but it makes me even more of a bed hog than I already am with my 3 regular pillows and body pillow. HA! Maybe it's from sleeping too long? I do get about 8 hours of sleep a night and it's usually after like 6 hours in bed that I notice it. I mean I sit at work for 6 hours but I'm regularly up to walk to a meeting or the bathroom or the printer or..well you get the idea. Maybe I'm too stationary in my sleep (especially on my side).

I have started stretching it out a bit at 4am before I go back to bed so we will see if that helps and the Fit Mommy instructor Jill always includes hip stuff in class for me. Now I just have to make myself do the hip stuff outside of class or I'll end up like my father with two super hero (or villian) titanium hips.

Super Cute Shower Invites ;o)

Today Liz mailed my super cute shower invitations that she made for my shower that her and Mel are hosting for me next month. She said I couldn't post a picture until everyone gets theirs so you will have to stay tuned to see how SUPER CUTE they are. However I will be posting it by the end of the week for sure. Two or three days of mailing time should be plenty for the United States Post Office and if not then tough, I'm posting the pic anyway.

More shopping

Selection when shopping for maternity clothes can be a bit limited. I went out for another pair of jeans tonight so that I would have 2 pair. I need "large" and they only had 1 style (in fact only 1 pair) for me to try on that weren't like the ones I already had (which by the way lost a button off the pocket today... ugh!) I was almost tempted to get a pair of the "XL" ones since I liked that style better but they just looked so big. Of course while there I had to look at the other clothes. I ended up spending about $60 and getting the jeans, a shirt, a pair of lounge pants (which I plan to wear to Fit Mommy) and a black tank to wear under low cut shirts. I have no idea why they make some maternity shirts lowcut.. don't they know we have larger boobs that need to be contained? I also had to laugh because one of the tanks I tried on was a "One size fits all." HA!! No flipping way!! It barely fit me now and I can only imaging when I'm 39 weeks pregnant and ready to pop.. good lord! Anyways, thanks go to Shauna for letting me borrow the 30% OFF coupon for Kohl's and sneak away with my good deals.

24 week Doctor appt

We headed to the doctor again today for our check-up. Everything is looking good. I weighed 192.4 which is creeping right up there. Hopefully Fit Mommy can help me control the weight as we keep chugging toward the end. I'd like to stay under 40lbs gained so keep your fingers crossed.
My blood pressure was 120/77 which seems great but is a bit high for me. My blood pressure is usually a little lower but the Dr. was unconcerned. The baby's heart rate was approximately 152bpm and sounded great and my belly measured 25cm from belly button down. It's supposed to be approximately 1cm per week of gestation so I am right on track. I'm at 24w2d gestation and at 25cm. Pretty close. We also talked to her about the glucose screening test which I will have done before my next appt on Oct 30th. I will also be getting my shot of rhogam to protect me and the baby should we have conflicting Rh factors. I am Rh negative (I have A neg bloodtype) and Clay is positive which means the baby could too, so I get a shot at 28 weeks and again at delivery. Speaking of shots, we do have a small debate in our family regarding the flu shot. My Dr recommends FluZone which is a preservative free flu shot given to pregnant women. Our work offers free flu shots but they use Afluria. Afluria is ALSO preservative free. Clay wants me to just get the one the Dr gives even though it may be $30. I just want to get the free one from work. Still being discussed so we will see what happens.
I did also check to see when I can call and set the baby's pediatrician. That also seems to be around the 28 week mark so I have the rest of the month.
As mentioned we go back on Oct 30th for our 28 week appt. Then we will go every two weeks starting at 30 weeks and then every week at 36 weeks. The time is just flying by.