Yes, it's been a year since I last posted.
I won't bore you with too many details, but so much has changed!
I am due any day now with #2, a boy! We are so excited to meet him and are anxiously awaiting his arrival. Similar to S, we haven't 100% committed to a name but the major contenders are Carter, Miles and Reid.
Samantha is amazing. She has so many incredible characteristics and truly amazes me each and every day. She is 15 months old and each day is learning and doing something new. It has been amazing to be able to witness it.
Work has changed significantly. My office that was once 3 miles away moved. Now my commute would go from around 10 minutes to 1.5-2 hours each way. Thankfully, they offered severance packages to those who decided the commute was too much. I was very fortunate in that my end date coincided well with my maternity leave, and am drawing a generous severance package. I have really enjoyed my work and this company, but knew the commute would be difficult with one child and impossible with two.
Those are my major updates for now. I hope to get back into the swing of writing, so I will post again soon!
Friday, March 28, 2014
Monday, April 1, 2013
MSPI - Milk/Soy Protein Intolerance
Samantha is growing fabulously; perfectly following the
growth curve and remaining in the 60 percentile for weight. In the last week,
we found out that she has blood in her stool which is indicative of a cow’s
milk protein allergy. Because of this, I need to completely alter my diet to
avoid all things dairy so that the protein isn’t passing to her through my breast
milk.
At first I was pretty bummed about it because I LOVE cheese.
And ice cream. And sour cream. Heck, I love all dairy. I was even more upset
when I realized that there is hidden dairy in what seems like everything. Mr.A
asked me if I would prefer to transition her to formula, but I am committed to
making breastfeeding work. Plus, we couldn’t do the normal formula that I have
tons and tons of samples and coupons for, we would need a specialized formula
to meet her needs while also avoiding cow’s milk.
I’ve done a fair bit of research on MSPI (the formal name
for her allergy/intolerance) and am finding that many children have much more
severe symptoms than S is exhibiting. Therefore,
we are hopeful that she has only a mild intolerance. The doctor has said that I
can start to reintroduce some hard cheeses into my diet in a couple of months.
If she does well with that, I will be able to slowly incorporate dairy back
into my diet.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Breastfeeding
Just like birth, I’ve heard stories from many seasoned moms
about how difficult breastfeeding can be. I knew I wanted to try my best to
make it work for us, but also that in the end feeding my child was the most
important thing.
It took S a little more than 2 weeks to regain her birth
weight and it was stressful not knowing if I was producing enough for her
needs. It was always incredibly difficult at night when she would cluster feed
every 45 minutes to an hour, which wouldn’t give my body the time it needed to
produce more milk. Eventually, Mr.A and I devised a plan where he would give
her a bottle of pumped milk at night just before bed which would give her
enough milk to last her a couple of hours. Once we began doing this, she would
seem much more content, go to sleep easier and earlier, and sleep more than
just a couple of hours. This gave him time to bond with his daughter in the
evenings, as well as giving me a much needed respite.
Thankfully our pediatrician was incredibly supportive and
encouraged me to be more confident with breastfeeding. Also, a friend is an LC
and was also very helpful and supportive in those early weeks. Once we got over
the 2 week hump, everything began to come more naturally and also became much
less painful.
Once she passed her initial growth spurts and my milk supply
seemed to stabilize, her evening cluster feeding decreased substantially
allowing me to keep up with her needs plus more.
She has begun to sleep for 4-6 hour stretches in the night
which is wonderful since I get more than a couple of hours of sleep at a time,
but also painful because I become incredibly engorged. I’ve been fortunate in
that I can feed her in the middle of the night and still pump and additional 4
or so ounces. This has allowed me to build up a freezer stash of milk which can
be used for while I am at work, away for an evening or even potentially a
couple of days.
While at work, I have also been pumping but am pumping more
than double what she consumes in the same time period. For now, I’ve just been
saving what she needs for the following day, and freezing the remainder.
Fortunately, I have not had many issues with breastfeeding
and even credit it with my rapid postpartum weight loss. I am guessing that she
is getting more than enough, because she is growing so quickly already. Her
length was nearly off the chart the last time we were at the pediatrician, and
her weight is following the appropriate curve at around the 60th percentile.
I am so thankful that things have worked out up until now, and am hopeful that
we will make it to at least 6 months, if not a year.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Cloth Diapers
We have been exclusively using cloth diapers since S was 5
weeks old, and I am really happy that it has worked out as well as it has. Mr.A
was never completely sold on the idea, but reluctantly agreed once I told him
that I wouldn’t expect his help with the washing/drying/stuffing, and the
change from disposables should be nearly transparent.
The majority of our CD stash are one size Bum Genius 4.0s
(pockets), with a handful of sized 3.0s in small and medium. I also have a
couple of Alva one size pockets which I use regularly and really like
considering how cheap they were.
The majority of my CD stash are “Seconds” with minor
cosmetic flaws, so I was able to buy the new diapers for about 50% off. I’ve
come to learn that I love bamboo inserts, and have purchased both bamboo and
microfiber/bamboo hybrid inserts from Alva for a very reasonable price. Some
other items I’ve purchased are small, medium and large wetbags, a diaper sprayer
(unused currently, will likely need to begin using when we start S on solid
foods), as well as the diapers and inserts. I am unsure of the exact cost of
all of my diapers and supplies, but am guessing that I’ve spent roughly $400 on
everything.
Considering that a large box of Pamper diapers is around
$45, and would last us approximately 2-3 weeks, we should break even with the
cost of CDing when S is around 6 months old. I am hopeful that these diapers
will last her through potty training, and that we will also use them for
subsequent children therefore saving money and helping preserve the environment
by not producing extra waste.
Some people argue that CDs aren’t any better for the
environment because of the extra water and energy needed to wash them every 2-3
days. I completely disagree with this since we have a high efficiency washer
which only uses a couple of gallons of water per load and we line dry.
Everyone thought I was crazy when I told them I wanted to do
cloth diapers. I will admit that it has been a little more difficult keeping up
with everything now that I am back to work, but I intend to keep it up and am
thrilled so far with them.
Back to Reality
Maternity leave is officially over, and I am back to work
and the real world.
Samantha is growing like a weed! She is 10 weeks old, and
already in 6m sleepers! She is in the 90th percentile for height,
and 60th in weight, so even though 3m clothes are big around, her
little toes curl up in the feet because she is so tall.
We are so fortunate that my mom was able to come stay with
us and will be watching S during the day while I work until May. This will
allow me to ease into being away from S, and help me get more comfortable with the
idea of a nanny, in-home day care, or day care center. Thinking about putting
her into day care makes me extremely anxious, but I know it is a necessary evil
at this point in our lives.
I’ve said over the last couple of months that I would have
to wait and see how the work transition went and then decide if I would want to
stay at home. Well, I returned to work yesterday on a great day where the
company announced their 2012 earnings and their plans for growth. I’ve been
offered a promotion, raise and bonus structure; as well as an incredibly
generous 401k match. In addition, while I was on leave, they sent a “new mom”
package with baby clothes, blankets, towels and let me know that they had
opened up a 529 account for my daughter and deposited the first contribution.
I’ve realized that I would be a fool to give up this career
or this company. They provide a fantastic work/life balance, they challenge me,
give me opportunity for growth, reward me and encourage me. They also have a
positive impact on the community around us and give employees paid time off to
work with charities around the metro area.
This company is aligned with my morals, values and beliefs,
unlike anyone I had ever worked with before. I have decided that I am staying,
now if I could convince them to allow me to bring S with me to work…..
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Parenthood
Goodness! I am not sure what I expected, but this is pretty difficult.
Right after S was born, we had family in town. Our families stair stepped but we had company constantly for more than 2 weeks, save a couple of hours between outgoing and incoming flights. With all the company, we had some difficulty establishing a routine; well that and the fact that we have a newborn and she is resistant to routines. With all of this it took me almost two weeks to finish her birth story. Needless to say, I haven't really had time to write blog entries, heck I haven't hardly had time to shower!
The little angel is sleeping at the moment, so I wanted to take a minute to write.
First, as a first time mom, I had quite a few "rules" that I absolutely-positively would not break. Surprise, surprise. I broke them.
A lot of people buy Rock-n-Plays with the intention of their newborn sleeping overnight in their room. I didn't because RnPs are only approved for "supervised sleep" (aka naps) and are not recommended for overnight sleep. So when the Pack N Play bassinet didn't work out for S, we moved her directly to her crib. We were able to keep her in her crib for about a week or so, but then she would wake up immediately as soon as we would lay her in it.
Every night, I've continued to try to put her down in her crib, but she won't stay asleep in it longer than 30 minutes to an hour. So every night, Mr.A will bring her swing upstairs, put it next to my side of the bed and S will sleep there. Talk about a device that is not approved for overnight sleep. Sigh. Oh well, it works and allows us all to get at least a few hours of sleep during the night.
Another rule I made was that I would never nurse S in the side laying position in bed and absolutely would not bring S into our bed. Broken x2 and simultaneously. I did this out of desperation and surprise, surprise, I feel asleep while she was nursing. Thankfully Mr.A was awake and put her back into her swing, but then panic ensued when I awoke and couldn't find her. Double sigh.
This whole being a mom thing is not easy, and anyone who says it is, is a lying liar who lies. S is a pretty good baby. She isn't incredibly fussy, but does often turn into a werewolf at night and usually has one or two meltdowns before finally falling asleep. We've really had to adjust our schedule around her this last month changing our bedtime from around 9:30 every night to around 11:30 or midnight. I am just hoping that in the next month or two we can establish a better nighttime routine so that I am able to function when I return to work.
Right after S was born, we had family in town. Our families stair stepped but we had company constantly for more than 2 weeks, save a couple of hours between outgoing and incoming flights. With all the company, we had some difficulty establishing a routine; well that and the fact that we have a newborn and she is resistant to routines. With all of this it took me almost two weeks to finish her birth story. Needless to say, I haven't really had time to write blog entries, heck I haven't hardly had time to shower!
The little angel is sleeping at the moment, so I wanted to take a minute to write.
First, as a first time mom, I had quite a few "rules" that I absolutely-positively would not break. Surprise, surprise. I broke them.
A lot of people buy Rock-n-Plays with the intention of their newborn sleeping overnight in their room. I didn't because RnPs are only approved for "supervised sleep" (aka naps) and are not recommended for overnight sleep. So when the Pack N Play bassinet didn't work out for S, we moved her directly to her crib. We were able to keep her in her crib for about a week or so, but then she would wake up immediately as soon as we would lay her in it.
Every night, I've continued to try to put her down in her crib, but she won't stay asleep in it longer than 30 minutes to an hour. So every night, Mr.A will bring her swing upstairs, put it next to my side of the bed and S will sleep there. Talk about a device that is not approved for overnight sleep. Sigh. Oh well, it works and allows us all to get at least a few hours of sleep during the night.
Another rule I made was that I would never nurse S in the side laying position in bed and absolutely would not bring S into our bed. Broken x2 and simultaneously. I did this out of desperation and surprise, surprise, I feel asleep while she was nursing. Thankfully Mr.A was awake and put her back into her swing, but then panic ensued when I awoke and couldn't find her. Double sigh.
This whole being a mom thing is not easy, and anyone who says it is, is a lying liar who lies. S is a pretty good baby. She isn't incredibly fussy, but does often turn into a werewolf at night and usually has one or two meltdowns before finally falling asleep. We've really had to adjust our schedule around her this last month changing our bedtime from around 9:30 every night to around 11:30 or midnight. I am just hoping that in the next month or two we can establish a better nighttime routine so that I am able to function when I return to work.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Birth Story
Mr. A and I went to our 39w appointment on Monday, December 17th and met with Dr.R. Since baby girl had been measuring 2-3 weeks ahead throughout the majority of my pregnancy, and her movement had slowed significantly in a short period of time, he was uncomfortable waiting too much longer for her arrival. He checked her heartbeat on the Doppler which was perfect. He was happy with my progress, being at 3cm and 80% effaced and stripped my membranes.
We scheduled baby girl’s induction for Tuesday morning, December 18th at 5am.
Tuesday morning, Mr.A and I arrived at the hospital, checked in, completed some paperwork and prepared to get the show on the road. I was hooked up to the monitor right away, which showed sporadic contractions. They hooked me up to the IV to begin fluids and started Pitocin around 6:15.
The Pitocin worked pretty quickly, and I began to have more consistent contractions around 7-8 minutes apart. At first they were more of a tightening feeling with little pain. I could talk and laugh through them without issue.
0700: The nurses switched and I met my new nurse, Edwij (ed-weej – it is French). I was a little apprehensive at first since I adored my first nurse, but Edwij was such a sweetheart it didn’t take long to realize that she was pretty awesome.
0745: My contractions were 3 minutes apart, but still not very painful. At this point, Mr.A and I thought that the height of the “mountain” on the monitor signified the intensity of the contractions. Since some of my “mountains” were fairly high, I was pretty sure that I was a rock star with a high pain tolerance, handling difficult contractions with ease.
Edwij came in to show me some instruments that they may use at some point throughout the day and explained the IUPC. The IUPC is a monitor about the diameter of a pipe cleaner that could be inserted into my uterus and measure the intensity of my contractions. This is when I realized that the external monitor couldn’t and wasn’t accurately showing intensity.
0900: My contractions were beginning to get stronger and I was starting to have back pain. Dr.R came in to check me and break my water. At this point, I had been having contractions of some variety for about 3 hours and was hopeful when he checked that I would have made at least a little progress. Nope. Still at 3cm. Edwij increased my Pitocin and the doctor stated that he wanted it increased every 20 minutes.
After my water was broken and the Pitocin increased, contractions became significantly more painful and were coming around 2 minutes apart. I really wanted to wait until I progressed a bit further to ask for the epidural since I had heard that it can sometimes stall labor.
1023: My contractions were becoming more and more painful, and were only about 1 minute apart. It was becoming more difficult to breathe through them since they were so close together and I wasn’t getting much rest between them. I decided to give in and ask for an epidural.
Edwij explained that they would need to push 1000ccs of IV fluids before the anesthesiologist could place the epidural so it would likely be 40 minutes to an hour before the anesthesiologist would come in.
Edwij offered me a pain medication in the interim called Phentanol but said that it would make me and baby sleepy. I didn’t like the thought of baby being affected by the medicine, so I declined.
1045: After several very painful and some overlapping contractions, I gave in and asked for the Phentanol. Edwij administered it through my IV and it took affect pretty quickly. It helped take the edge off the contractions while I waited, but unfortunately the relief only lasted 20-30 minutes before it wore off completely. Even more unfortunate than that, shortly after it was administered I began vomiting.
1130: Anesthesiologist came in and epidural was placed.
More vomiting.
1200: Epidural is a success and I feel very little pain from the contractions! Edwij came back in to insert my catheter and check my progress. I was happy to hear that I was 5cm; finally some progress!
12:15: Both legs felt like they were 500 lb tree trunks and I needed help from Mr.A and my mom to change positions at all. I was vomiting again and also realize that my left leg is completely lame and numb.
1230: Dr. R came in and stated that he wanted to insert the IUPC to measure the significance of the contractions and would also check my progress. Dr. R was happy to see my progress, now at 6cm. He said he estimated that she wouldn’t arrive until late evening based on how I had progressed thus far.
From 12:30 until 2:45, I just hung out with my mom and Mr.A. I was comfortable and would occasionally ask if I was having a contraction because I could feel the tightening feeling in my belly. I continued to get sick intermittently.
3:00: I started getting a little uncomfortable and began having some back pain. I wondered if things were progressing since I was feeling different.
3:15: I am going to quote Mr.A’s notes directly. “Dr. came in and checked, apparently baby is ready to go! All the barfing helped push baby down. The team is being assembled.” I am officially 10cm and ready to push!
3:20: Edwij wants to try to practice pushing while we wait for the “team”. Mr.A (who said he would never look) sees the head, she is crowning! Edwij calls the nurses’ station to assemble everyone while we waited for the Dr. to return. Edwij makes me stop pushing and wait.
3:49: During the second push, Dr. R had to stop me because he wasn’t prepared for her to come so quickly and needed to reach for something.
3:50: Healthy baby girl born with lots and lots of hair! She is 8lbs even, and 20.5 inches long.
The nursery nurse was wonderful and gave me my slimy, perfect baby girl immediately just as I had wanted. I began crying instantly. I couldn’t believe that this beautiful baby girl was mine. They let Mr.A and I meet our baby girl for the first time, and evaluated her while she was on me skin to skin.
I ended up with a second degree tear from the birth, maybe from my quick transition and delivery. Dr. R continued to work on me while Mr.A and I met our beautiful, teeny, tiny daughter for the first time. It was so emotional seeing our perfect little girl. It is an incredible feeling knowing that we somehow created something, someone, so perfect and also that she somehow fit inside of me.
Baby girl still didn’t have a name until late that night when Mr.A wanted to send his official “she’s been born” picture/text to our family and friends and needed to know her name. We had discussed a few possibilities leading up to her birth, but I had not wanted to decide until I saw her.
Our beautiful, perfect daughter's name is Samantha Grace.
Our beautiful, perfect daughter's name is Samantha Grace.
My birth experience and recovery were/have been much better than I anticipated. The contractions are seriously no joke, but once I got the epidural I was good to go.
The only negative things about my experience were the vomiting and the fact that my left leg went completely numb from the epi and it took quite a few hours to wear off. Because of this I needed a lot of assistance shifting in bed, moving at all and going to the bathroom. Mr.A saw and learned a lot more about human anatomy, birth and pads than he ever wanted to know, but took it all in stride.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Progression of d'Bump (3.0)
I've officially made it to 9 months pregnant!
It is so funny looking at my old clothes and pictures of myself throughout this journey. It is hard to believe I was ever as small as I was, and even harder to believe I will ever be that size again.
For reference, here are the First Trimester and Second Trimester pictures.
Without further ado, the THIRD TRIMESTER photos of my baby bump:
It is so funny looking at my old clothes and pictures of myself throughout this journey. It is hard to believe I was ever as small as I was, and even harder to believe I will ever be that size again.
For reference, here are the First Trimester and Second Trimester pictures.
Without further ado, the THIRD TRIMESTER photos of my baby bump:
7 Months:
8 Months:
9 Months:
Monday, November 26, 2012
36w Appt
Yes, we are in weekly appointments now. This shiz is getting real, fast!
I had my 36w appointment today. I am happy to report that I am only up 1 pound from my last appointment and being that Thanksgiving was during that 10 days in between, I am pretty darn proud of that! That brings me to a total weight gain of 32 pounds.
My GBS swab from last week was negative, meaning I won't need to worry about having IV antibiotics during labor, which is nice.
Belly is measuring at 39 weeks, BP was down to normal at 112/60, baby is still head down and her heartrate is at 140.
I had another internal check and have progressed slightly from last week. The only thing is, baby is still at -3 station, meaning she is extremely high up. I am planning to sit/bounce on my exercise ball quite a bit over the next couple of weeks to encourage her to come down on her own.
I did have a lot of questions for the doctor this appointment.
- I asked about the protocol if my water breaks. I would really like to labor a little while at home and shower etc before going in, she said I should call immediately, but that I would likely have the ability to stay home a little while before coming in.
- I also asked about the epidural and whether or not I would be allowed to move around after getting it. She said no. I guess this means that I really should labor a good while before having it placed, so I have the ability move about.
- C-sections: How long can I labor before they would push me for a C? She said it depends. If I stall for more than 4 hours and they do not see any progress, they would likely move for a C. Also, obviously if baby is in distress and they need to get her out. Also, I asked if my hands/arms would be strapped down. She said no.
- I asked about immediate skin-to-skin. She said as long as baby is crying/healthy they will give her to me immediately.
- Also we discussed post-baby birth control. I let her know that I did not want to go back on BCP, and know that with breastfeeding it will limit my options greatly. I told her that since it took us such a long while to get pregnant, and we aren't opposed to another pregnancy we would likely just see what happens. She agreed, thankfully.
Overall, a great appointment. Everything looks perfect, baby girl is healthy and I am getting ready for D-day.
I had my 36w appointment today. I am happy to report that I am only up 1 pound from my last appointment and being that Thanksgiving was during that 10 days in between, I am pretty darn proud of that! That brings me to a total weight gain of 32 pounds.
My GBS swab from last week was negative, meaning I won't need to worry about having IV antibiotics during labor, which is nice.
Belly is measuring at 39 weeks, BP was down to normal at 112/60, baby is still head down and her heartrate is at 140.
I had another internal check and have progressed slightly from last week. The only thing is, baby is still at -3 station, meaning she is extremely high up. I am planning to sit/bounce on my exercise ball quite a bit over the next couple of weeks to encourage her to come down on her own.
I did have a lot of questions for the doctor this appointment.
- I asked about the protocol if my water breaks. I would really like to labor a little while at home and shower etc before going in, she said I should call immediately, but that I would likely have the ability to stay home a little while before coming in.
- I also asked about the epidural and whether or not I would be allowed to move around after getting it. She said no. I guess this means that I really should labor a good while before having it placed, so I have the ability move about.
- C-sections: How long can I labor before they would push me for a C? She said it depends. If I stall for more than 4 hours and they do not see any progress, they would likely move for a C. Also, obviously if baby is in distress and they need to get her out. Also, I asked if my hands/arms would be strapped down. She said no.
- I asked about immediate skin-to-skin. She said as long as baby is crying/healthy they will give her to me immediately.
- Also we discussed post-baby birth control. I let her know that I did not want to go back on BCP, and know that with breastfeeding it will limit my options greatly. I told her that since it took us such a long while to get pregnant, and we aren't opposed to another pregnancy we would likely just see what happens. She agreed, thankfully.
Overall, a great appointment. Everything looks perfect, baby girl is healthy and I am getting ready for D-day.
Monday, November 19, 2012
35 Weeks + Growth Scan
On Friday, Mr.A and I went to the OB for my 35w appointment and growth ultrasound. We had not seen baby girl since 28 weeks, so I was excited to be able to see her again.
Goodness how things have changed!
Earlier in the pregnancy, they could just put the wand on my belly and *BAM* there was an entire baby. Now, she is so big, and so crammed that the tech really had to move the wand around to determine which parts were which. She was very fast with her measurements of the head, femur, belly circumference, and fluid levels. So fast in fact, we really didn't get to see much of anything at all and didn't get any pictures.
Baby is measuring around 6.5 pounds (estimated, so give or take a pound), is head down, fluids look good and she is still ninja kicking away.
We then met with the OB that I love to review everything and have my first internal check. She was happy with baby's measurements, and is measuring around 2 weeks ahead which matches my belly measurements.
Then Dr.C did my first internal exam. Before she did, she warned me and said, "Try to relax, it isn't going to be pleasant. It may feel like I am trying to pull your tonsils out." She wasn't kidding. That was not fun at all!
Before telling me anything about my dilation or effacement, she said, "You need to make sure baby's car seat is in the car and your and her hospital bags are packed and ready for D-day".
Cue momentary freakout! It was almost as though she were insinuating that baby was coming very VERY soon.
As it turns out, my internal exam showed that my body is preparing for the "big show". She said that my progress is good and she wouldn't be surprised if baby were here a bit ahead of schedule in 2-3 weeks.
Holy moly, it is really happening. We are going to have a baby!
Goodness how things have changed!
Earlier in the pregnancy, they could just put the wand on my belly and *BAM* there was an entire baby. Now, she is so big, and so crammed that the tech really had to move the wand around to determine which parts were which. She was very fast with her measurements of the head, femur, belly circumference, and fluid levels. So fast in fact, we really didn't get to see much of anything at all and didn't get any pictures.
Baby is measuring around 6.5 pounds (estimated, so give or take a pound), is head down, fluids look good and she is still ninja kicking away.
We then met with the OB that I love to review everything and have my first internal check. She was happy with baby's measurements, and is measuring around 2 weeks ahead which matches my belly measurements.
Then Dr.C did my first internal exam. Before she did, she warned me and said, "Try to relax, it isn't going to be pleasant. It may feel like I am trying to pull your tonsils out." She wasn't kidding. That was not fun at all!
Before telling me anything about my dilation or effacement, she said, "You need to make sure baby's car seat is in the car and your and her hospital bags are packed and ready for D-day".
Cue momentary freakout! It was almost as though she were insinuating that baby was coming very VERY soon.
As it turns out, my internal exam showed that my body is preparing for the "big show". She said that my progress is good and she wouldn't be surprised if baby were here a bit ahead of schedule in 2-3 weeks.
Holy moly, it is really happening. We are going to have a baby!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
The Nursery is FINISHED!
Today, I am 35 weeks along meaning we only have 35 days to go until our estimated due date.
Thankfully, we've been blessed with the most wonderful family and friends who have been so incredibly generous and we now have everything we could possibly need.
As I posted a while back, I made the crib skirt, covered a small pillow and reupholstered my Grandmother's glider. Mr.A worked very hard painting the nursery (against his will of course!) a couple of months ago. I am so happy he took the time to do it early, since it took a while to get the fumey smell to dissipate.
Though it was slightly boy-ish, we re-used Mr.A's childhood furniture in the nursery. The only minor change I made to his desk and dresser was spray painting the dingy brass handles a deep chocolate brown. We were incredibly thankful that everything is so solid that it could withstand years of abuse and still look perfect.
The only furniture we were left to purchase was the crib and mattress. My mother-in-law surprised us and purchased the crib, mattress and bedding accessories. She came to visit and helped us put everything together as well as putting up the wall decal we ordered to complete our owl theme.
Without further ado, baby girl's nursery:
Thankfully, we've been blessed with the most wonderful family and friends who have been so incredibly generous and we now have everything we could possibly need.
As I posted a while back, I made the crib skirt, covered a small pillow and reupholstered my Grandmother's glider. Mr.A worked very hard painting the nursery (against his will of course!) a couple of months ago. I am so happy he took the time to do it early, since it took a while to get the fumey smell to dissipate.
Though it was slightly boy-ish, we re-used Mr.A's childhood furniture in the nursery. The only minor change I made to his desk and dresser was spray painting the dingy brass handles a deep chocolate brown. We were incredibly thankful that everything is so solid that it could withstand years of abuse and still look perfect.
The only furniture we were left to purchase was the crib and mattress. My mother-in-law surprised us and purchased the crib, mattress and bedding accessories. She came to visit and helped us put everything together as well as putting up the wall decal we ordered to complete our owl theme.
Without further ado, baby girl's nursery:
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
34 week update
I had my 34 week appointment last week. Unfortunately my BP is creeping up and although it isn’t textbook high, it is high for me. Generally I am in the 100/60 range, and am sitting in the 110/80s right now. Again, nothing to be alarmed about, but they do want to make sure it doesn’t go too much higher.
I am officially up 30 pounds which is hard to grasp. The doctors are happy with that since I was small to begin with, but want me to gain no more than a pound a week from here on out. I will admit my sweet tooth has gotten the better of me throughout my entire pregnancy and I really need to watch that in the coming weeks.
My fundal height (aka belly measurement) was measuring at 36-37 weeks last week. Since I have been consistently 2-3 weeks ahead, they want me to come in for a growth u/s this coming Friday. Mr.A was around 6lbs and I was around 7 when we were born, so I am hoping that maybe I just have a lot of fluid in there and my baby girl isn’t going to be a 10+ pounder. That is a little scary to think about.
Otherwise baby is happy and healthy, ninja kicking away. She is still sitting very high up, though I feel as though she has shifted enough to give me a little relief from the pain in my upper abdomen.
Sleep is becoming harder and harder for both me and Mr.A. I apparently snore like a banshee these days and he is too nice to wake me. I am also getting up to use the restroom 3-5 times per night and always have a difficult time falling back asleep. I am considering banishing myself to the guest room in the coming weeks so that at least one of us is getting a full night’s sleep, but I haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Baby Shower!
This post is severely delayed.
Mr.A and I traveled home a few weeks ago to see my wonderful friends and family. My mom, mother-in-law and best friend did a phenomenal job coordinating an incredible baby shower for my little one.
We had both sides of our families there, and even some guys! Mr.A wanted to be apart of the fun, so he came as well. We ate wonderful food that my mom had spent days preparing, had wonderful company seeing people I haven't seen in quite a long time, and played some really fun games.
We did a trivia type testing our knowledge of popular baby names in various years and random baby questions, we had people cut a string to the length they thought would be the closest to the circumfrence of my belly, and played "potty pong" with a kiddy potty. The string one was funny because most everyone was much too long, but my Godmother was 100% accurate and won. Potty Pong was a lot of fun, and my friend's little sister ended up winning.
Everyone was so incredibly generous, and we now have so many of the necessities we need for baby.
I am so excited to get to play with all of our new gadgets and toys with our little girl in the coming months. I am so thankful for all of the wonderful people in our lives, and am grateful for their love and support throughout our journey towards parenthood.
My Week
I went in for my 31w appointment and spoke to the doctor about my increasingly painful tearing sensation. She chalked it up to normal 3rd tri pain. I also asked her about my Braxton Hicks (BHs) contractions that I had been experiencing for a few weeks. She said they were normal, and as long as they weren’t consistent, I was fine.
Over that weekend, I began having BHs that were approximately 5 minutes apart. This lasted overnight and into the next morning. I decided to take a warm shower and see if it would stop them. It didn’t. So I called the on-call OB to let them know. These contractions weren’t painful in the least, just an overall tightening feeling encompassing my entire stomach, but the consistency was very concerning.
The on-call OB sent me into Labor and Delivery (L&D) for a non-stress test (NST) to check my contractions and the baby. Baby looked wonderful on the monitors, and the BHs were hardly even showing up on the contraction monitor. They decided against doing an internal check, and sent me home to rest, but asked that I follow up with my OB on Monday.
Monday:
I made an appointment early in the morning to discuss the BHs and also my ever increasing pain. The pain level in my upper right quadrant of my abdomen had gone from a constant 3 or 4, to a 6 with the occasional pain when shifting reaching an 8 out of 10. It was becoming so painful that I would literally scream out in pain when I would move.
The OB said that some pain is normal since baby’s feet or butt are often lodged in the ribs, but that what I am describing doesn’t sound typical. She was concerned about two possibilities. One, gall stones or two, partial placental abruption. She let me know that she would order an ultrasound in the radiology department for that day. As usual, I never heard back from her or the office regarding the ultrasound.
Tuesday:
I waited until Tuesday morning to call the radiology’s scheduling department to see if I had been put on the schedule. I had not. I asked the scheduling person if I could make the appointment myself since I had not heard back from my doctor’s office. She said that she couldn’t do anything until she had the order from the doctor. I asked her to look at my file and see if there was an order. Lo and behold, there was. ::rolls eyes::
She told me that for this particular u/s I would need to fast (no food or water) from midnight until my appointment. She then said they had an opening at 3pm. I laughed. Really, you’ve going to make a woman who is nearly 32weeks pregnant not eat or drink even water for 15 hours? I don’t think so. I asked if I could get in earlier in the morning since the worst pain is generally either early morning or late evening. Amazingly, she had an opening at 9am ::rolls eyes again::
Wednesday:
I went for my appointment in the radiology department. I had to check in, get a wrist band and everything. The tech told me from the beginning that she wouldn’t be able to tell me the results of anything and that the radiologist would have to review and report to my doctor. I knew that that meant I likely wouldn’t have the results for at least a week. She did say that of all of the pregnant women she scans, she has never seen a baby so high up. She had a lot of trouble getting clear pictures of my organs since baby and my ribs were in the way. She had me holding my breath, rolling on my sides, twisting my body, and pushing my belly out trying to get a clearer picture. I did catch a glimpse of a little foot once on the ultrasound, but was disappointed that she wouldn’t look at the baby at all. At the end I asked her about it and she said, “well that isn’t really why you’re here”. ::sigh::
Thursday:
I called to see if my doctor’s office had the results yet and they didn’t. I left work early yet again because of the excruciating pain.
Friday:
I woke up from sleeping three times in the early morning screaming in pain. Today was Mr.A's "weekend" and I feel terrible that he likely got no sleep because of me.
I called to see if the office had the results. The nurse returned my call and said that yes they had the results, however the doctor who ordered the test was out of the office and wouldn’t return until Monday. Since all OB patients are rotating OBs, I asked if another doctor could please review the results and let me know today. I am still waiting on an answer. ::sigh::
The "Wall"
I have been so happy and thankful throughout my pregnancy.
People have asked me every day how I am, and I always replied “great!”, because I truly had no complaints. I’ve experienced only the slight discomfort of heartburn, and occasionally some nausea during the first trimester, but otherwise, I have been great. Truly.
That is until I hit the third trimester, and I hit the metaphorical wall. Starting around week 28, I began having this annoying popping sensation just to the right of my sternum whenever I would shift positions or stand up. I asked my doctor about it at my last appointment, and he said that it was my ribs separating to make room for my organs that are being smashed upwards by growing baby girl. He said that it could get painful, but that it was normal.
The next week was excruciating. My ribs were dislocating from my cartilage in front and in back making it impossible to sit for more than 20 minutes at a time, hard to sleep, and unbearable to stand for more than 10 minutes.
During the peak of this pain, Mr.A and I made the 8.5 hour trek driving home for my wonderful baby shower. We made it up there and I worked as much as I could to help my mom with food preparations, but was nearly useless in my pained state. After a short weekend with family and friends, we made our way back home.
Thankfully, the pain subsided for a couple of days and I hoped and prayed that I was through the worst of it. Unfortunately, it came back full force concentrated mostly in my sternum and upper back. Oh, and that slightly annoying popping from a week and a half before, had turned into full on tearing.
Every time I sit from laying, stand from sitting, or move or shift in any way, I feel an excruciating tearing pain in my upper abdomen. There have been several times where I have shifted in my sleep and have woke up screaming in pain. It is obviously affecting my sleep and overall productivity not to mention my work.
Baby girl is active as ever, so I am reassured that she is safe and sound, I am just concerned that this isn’t normal. If it is normal, I am not sure that I will be able to work up until my due date like I had originally hoped. After sitting for 10-20 minutes, I have to get up and move around. I wish so badly that I had a cot in my office and could just lie down to decompress my spine occasionally.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
We're under contract!!!!!
I haven't mentioned it in a long while, but if you remember back to early 2011 when I was selling our house and buying our new one, I was also trying to sell Mr.A's condo that he bought while in college.
We have rented the place out since 2009, but soon realized that the long distance rental business wasn't really for us, and put it on the market to sell in 2010. We had continued to rent it while trying to sell, up until earlier this year.
We decided to bite the bullet and fix the place up to perfect, move in ready condition and cease renting it all together. We ripped out the carpets, water damaged laminate, and put in all new flooring throughout. We painted the entire place a neutral pallet, updated the kitchen counters and appliances, updated the lighting and fixtures throughout.
Then we waited.
And waited.
And waited.
We were patient, and were fortunately getting several showings and good feedback. Unfortunately, though our unit showed very well and was well priced, the poor feedback we received from nearly ever potential buyer is that the community felt "old" or "run down"; something that was entirely out of our control.
On Sunday my realtor called to tell me that we had our first SECOND showing that evening and Monday morning she called to tell me that we had an offer.
HOORAY!!!!!!!
The bad news, the offer was more than 12% under asking and we were already taking a substantial loss. But, what can you expect in this market, with a place that has been for sale for a long, long time.
With the other buyer's incentives we had offered in the MLS, it was far below our bottom dollar. I worked out the figures, and after everything was said and done, we will have lost more than $30,000 on a property that was valued under $100K to begin with.
Generally there is always negotiation room when buying/selling, so I fully intended to counter at 6% below asking leaving all concessions in place. That is, until my realtor emailed me to tell me that this was her best and final.
For hours, I emailed back and forth with Mr.A while he was flying, consulted my parents, realtor, and friends and tried to come up with the best possible solution. We needed to sell this place, and how wonderful would it be to have it sold before baby girl comes. Since this is a rental property the losses we incur are tax deductible which would help lighten the burden slightly.
In the end, we conceded to her price but removed the other concessions from the offer. This only saved us around $1500, but at least it was something.
So, as of last night we are officially under contract to sell. Thank goodness. We are scheduled to close in 30 to 45 days and I cannot wait!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Busy, busy, busy!
Life has been a whirlwind these past few weeks. So much is going on and I am having trouble keeping up with everything.
We had a terrible storm in the beginning of August and were fortunate that our home owners insurance covered the damage to our house. After dealing with adjustors, contractors and middlemen for weeks, we finally had a new roof put on this week and it has really given the house a face-lift. We ended up upgrading the shingles to the three dimensional 30 year shingles and went with a charcoal black color. With our black door and shutters, it really looks amazing, see….
Before:
After:
The only downfall to this story is that our deductible is very, VERY high to help keep our premiums low so that part wasn’t fun but is a necessary evil I suppose.
Work is in its busiest season right now. I’ve been working 12+ hour days, weekends, and even while on vacation. I’ve come to realize that the work doesn’t stop and wait for me to return, so I’ve had to make myself available almost always. With everything else going on, it has been trying but I am confident that if I can make it work now while I have competing priorities and so much else on my mind, I can do anything.
Mr.A and I slipped away for the weekend and went to our place in the Florida Keys. We spent a few days doing absolutely nothing but relaxing in the pool and walking on the beach. It was a much needed retreat from reality and I am feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of our to-do list.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Commence Third Trimester: 27 weeks
I had my 27w appointment yesterday with my OB practice. I did the GTT (1 hour) for the third time and really hope I pass. The thought of sitting here for the 3 hour is not appealing with how busy work has been as of late.
I am up 2 pounds from 4 weeks ago, which brings me to a total weight gain of 18 pounds at 27 weeks. I am very happy with this and right on track.
With my swollen ankles I was a little worried about my BP, but BP was 110 over 60. This is back into my normal (low) range.
I tried my doppler last week when I was concerned because I had felt almost no movement throughout the day one day. I had a very difficult time finding her heartbeat because she was moving constantly. The movement was reassurance by itself, so it did put me at ease, though I was only able to find her heartbeat for a couple of seconds at a time here and there. I mentioned this to the doctor, and he was disappointed that I didn't call. He said they would have had me come in immediately for monitoring. Thankfully she had likely just switched positions and/or was tired that day and now everything is good. I know in case it happens again.
Thankfully he is a pro with the doppler and found her beating heart right away. BBs heart rate was around 150bpm and she was squirming around the whole time thanks to the high-glucose fruit drink. My belly is measuring at 30 weeks so still a little ahead, but good nonetheless.
I have my final appointment with my MFM on Monday and will get to see little BB once again. If all is well at this appointment, she will be releasing me back to my OB for the duration of my pregnancy and consider me "normal". While being a higher-risk patient thus far has meant more appointments and more doctors, it has really helped give me the reassurance I needed to know little BB was growing happy and healthy. I was fortunate in that my insurance covered a multitude of ultrasounds and follow-ups which has meant that I have many ultrasound pictures of my little girl growing from the blob stages, to the gummy bear stages, all the way through to the "holy-moly, that is a baby" stage.
I am past the terrifying first trimester, past Viability Day and now into the third trimester. I am hoping the duration of my pregnancy remains uneventful and I will have smooth sailing throughout until the day I get to finally meet my baby girl.
I am up 2 pounds from 4 weeks ago, which brings me to a total weight gain of 18 pounds at 27 weeks. I am very happy with this and right on track.
With my swollen ankles I was a little worried about my BP, but BP was 110 over 60. This is back into my normal (low) range.
I tried my doppler last week when I was concerned because I had felt almost no movement throughout the day one day. I had a very difficult time finding her heartbeat because she was moving constantly. The movement was reassurance by itself, so it did put me at ease, though I was only able to find her heartbeat for a couple of seconds at a time here and there. I mentioned this to the doctor, and he was disappointed that I didn't call. He said they would have had me come in immediately for monitoring. Thankfully she had likely just switched positions and/or was tired that day and now everything is good. I know in case it happens again.
Thankfully he is a pro with the doppler and found her beating heart right away. BBs heart rate was around 150bpm and she was squirming around the whole time thanks to the high-glucose fruit drink. My belly is measuring at 30 weeks so still a little ahead, but good nonetheless.
I have my final appointment with my MFM on Monday and will get to see little BB once again. If all is well at this appointment, she will be releasing me back to my OB for the duration of my pregnancy and consider me "normal". While being a higher-risk patient thus far has meant more appointments and more doctors, it has really helped give me the reassurance I needed to know little BB was growing happy and healthy. I was fortunate in that my insurance covered a multitude of ultrasounds and follow-ups which has meant that I have many ultrasound pictures of my little girl growing from the blob stages, to the gummy bear stages, all the way through to the "holy-moly, that is a baby" stage.
I am past the terrifying first trimester, past Viability Day and now into the third trimester. I am hoping the duration of my pregnancy remains uneventful and I will have smooth sailing throughout until the day I get to finally meet my baby girl.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Progression of d'Bump (2.0)
If you would like to go back for reference, here are my photos from month's 1, 2 and 3.
I've heard that most of the changes in your body happen during the second trimester; that is surely evident below.
I haven't really noticed the changes because they have been so subtle over time but when I look at these pictures, my goodness! I cannot believe just how much I have changed in such a short period of time.
I've heard that most of the changes in your body happen during the second trimester; that is surely evident below.
I haven't really noticed the changes because they have been so subtle over time but when I look at these pictures, my goodness! I cannot believe just how much I have changed in such a short period of time.
4 Months
5 Months (Halfway there!)
6 Months (VDay!)
There is no hiding it now. I am undoubtedly pregnant, with a squirmy ninja girl reminding me each and every day that she is growing stronger every day.
Six Months
I cannot believe that I've made it this far. I am truly in shock, but so utterly thankful. 24 weeks is sometimes referred to as "Viability Day" or "VDay" for short. This means simply that if God forbid something happen and I go into labor, after 24weeks the baby will have more than a 50% chance of survival. More than its true meaning, my MFM's goal from day one was to get me to and beyond VDay; we've made it.
I know there are so many mothers who haven't made it this far. Some had early losses. Some had to have emergency surgeries to remove the baby they so deeply loved, because that baby had snuggled into one of the mom's fallopian tubes and would kill the mother if left to grow. Some women found out late in their first trimester that their placenta was failing and their baby may not survive. Whereas others have gone into pre-term labor naturally and have lost the one thing they have strived to attain for years, their beloved baby Boy. My heart breaks for each one of them. I've only experienced early losses, and as hard as those have been, I am thankful that I have not had to endure the pain and suffering each one of you are feeling.
I am sending many thoughts and prayers out to all of the women I know who have struggled to attain their dreams. You are all amazingly strong women, and caring mothers. You will survive this, you will triumph over IF and pregnancy/infant loss, and you will win.
I know there are so many mothers who haven't made it this far. Some had early losses. Some had to have emergency surgeries to remove the baby they so deeply loved, because that baby had snuggled into one of the mom's fallopian tubes and would kill the mother if left to grow. Some women found out late in their first trimester that their placenta was failing and their baby may not survive. Whereas others have gone into pre-term labor naturally and have lost the one thing they have strived to attain for years, their beloved baby Boy. My heart breaks for each one of them. I've only experienced early losses, and as hard as those have been, I am thankful that I have not had to endure the pain and suffering each one of you are feeling.
I am sending many thoughts and prayers out to all of the women I know who have struggled to attain their dreams. You are all amazingly strong women, and caring mothers. You will survive this, you will triumph over IF and pregnancy/infant loss, and you will win.
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