Progress!

I was at my parent's house yesterday when my sister decided that she wanted to do a little photo shoot. I didn't really have any pictures of me and my growing belly so I was grateful that she wanted to do that. So, here I am at 37 weeks, 2 days along!

I have continued to have lots of doctor appointments. My non-stress tests have been great and have showed that my fluid levels are perfect and baby is doing fantastic. I saw my OBGYN on Thursday and I found out that I am now 50% effaced and 1cm dilated. I wasn't dilated at all at my last appointment, so we were really pleased about the progress! Hopefully everything will continue to develop naturally. At my appointment, my doctor went through my chart and pulled up the report with Logan's growth assessment. It's always reassuring when the doctor exclaims, "Wow! Your baby's head is off the charts!" We all had a little laugh about it, yet I have a feeling I'm not going to be the one laughing when I need to push that big noggin out when the time comes. Oh well!

Other than that, there really isn't much more to report on right now. I'm still having braxton hicks contractions, but none that would signal active labor. I'm having a little bit of back labor, as my lower back has been sore off and on for a few days now and I have a little bit of ligament pain when I stand to walk. I'm also feeling more pressure *down there*, but all of this is perfectly normal for where I am in the pregnancy right now. I've actually tried to take some video of him moving in my belly, but of course, whenever I hit the record button, he stops moving. He's either going to be shy or stubborn just like his daddy. Oops...did I just say that???

Speaking of Lance...I just want to take this opportunity to say how lucky I feel to have him as my partner. He has been absolutely wonderful taking care of me, the pets and the house. I don't think I tell him enough how grateful I am for him and all he does. I LOVE YOU, SWEETIE!!!!

A typical day? Not so much...

This last Saturday, I dealt with a headache that was much bigger than I'm used to. It didn't turn into any kind of migraine, but it was big enough to be quite annoying. It lasted for a few hours and then went away. The next day, Lance and I met one of his former students for lunch and afterward, I came home and took a nap. I woke up from my nap feeling absolutely awful....nausea, lightheaded, hot flashes and another headache. I took my blood pressure and it was higher than what my "normal" is, so I decided to call the on-call doctor. I had some pretty major symptoms of preeclampsia, so I didn't want to risk it. Even after I told her my history of having hypertension, she told me that she just thought I had food poisoning and told me that my blood pressure would have to stay elevated for them to be concerned. I got off the phone with her and rested on the couch for a while. I took my blood pressure again and it had gone down significantly and my nausea, hot flashes and feelings of being lightheaded went away. No more Mexican food for me for a while!

Monday was a much better day. I didn't have any headaches or other symptoms for the entire day. Lance and I went to the perinatologist for another non-stress test and ultrasound. I had been looking forward to this ultrasound because they were going to do a growth assessment on Logan. As it turns out, we have an extremely active child on our hands. So much, in fact, that I had to sit in the chair and be monitored for much longer than usual because he wouldn't stop moving. They look for a baseline on the monitor and compare his heart rate when he's at rest and when he moves, but if he continues to move, they can't get a good reading on him. It's all good news, though, because he's active. It would be scary to have a baby that didn't move much. The ultrasound showed that all of his fluids are fantastic. After doing the growth assessment, they determined that he is in the 71st percentile for growth and is currently weighing in at around 6 pounds, 14 ounces. They also told me that his head....his big, "perfectly round" (as they called it), noggin is in the 98th percentile for size. Holy moly!!!! I told the doctor that I didn't want to push out a 10 pound baby with a head that big. Nope. Not me! I'll keep my legs closed until they cut him out thankyouverymuch. Not happening. I think she felt my pain because she placed her hand on my arm and said, "We don't want that for you, either." I told her that my OBGYN wants to induce at 39 weeks and my perinatologist told me that she actually hopes that he comes on his own in the next two weeks. I couldn't hope for a better scenario! Fingers crossed!

I woke up this morning feeling as good as I did yesterday, which was quite the relief. I had a dentist appointment that went really well in the morning. They told me that I've taken fantastic care of my teeth and they were especially impressed with how well my gums looked for being so far along in my pregnancy. I had very little pregnancy related gingivitis and very little plaque. Lance and I headed to a scheduled appointment at my OBGYN's office in the early afternoon. The medical assistant took my blood pressure and told me it was slightly elevated, but didn't seem too concerned. Then she asked me if I would be okay with a nurse practitioner student doing my exam today instead of the NP that was supposed to see me. I figured that it wouldn't hurt, and besides, students need to practice on someone, right? The student came in and she instantly seemed like a nervous, hot mess. I could tell that she was trying really hard to ask every question imaginable and do everything by the book but she seemed really nervous and was kind of fumbling around. I think this made me nervous, because when she took my blood pressure (both standing and sitting), it was very, very high. She did my exam and then took my blood pressure for a 3rd time. It was still high, but lower than it was the previous two times. After asking another billion questions, she headed out to consult with the NP I was originally supposed to see. They both came back into the room a few minutes later and told me that they contacted the on-call doctor at the hospital and it was her recommendation that I come to the hospital to be monitored for a while to check my blood pressure and how the baby was doing. With absolutely no hesitation, Lance and I left and headed the 1/2 mile or so up to the hospital.

I have to say...I feel really lucky to be in such good hands. I love my doctors and I really love the hospital where I'm going to be delivering. I was a patient there for a week back in 2001 and the care I received was stellar. It was no different this time. Lance and I arrived and they already had a room ready and waiting for me. I laid in the bed for about two hours while they had me hooked up to a fetal monitor, another monitor that measures and records your contractions and a blood pressure machine that would take my blood pressure every 15 minutes. They also had a lady come in from the lab to draw some blood. After two hours, the nurse told me that I was free to go. My blood pressure had gone down and stabilized and the baby looked great. I have to go back to the OBGYN office on Friday for a follow-up appointment and call to get my urine culture results on Thursday. I signed some paperwork and I was discharged. Everything is good!

I also found out today a bit more information about being induced. Unless Logan decides to come earlier, they are going to admit me to the hospital the evening of August 17 and I will be induced the following morning. I don't have any times yet, but I will be sure to let people know once I find out. I'm still hoping that he comes a bit earlier than this, but I'm really happy about the fact that they're not letting me get to 40 weeks.

Stay tuned!

My Full-Time Summer Job

I have made no secret of the fact that this summer my full-time job has included doctor appointments, baby classes, organizing the baby room, appointments at the diabetes center and managing my diabetes and blood pressure. I am so incredibly glad that I decided not to work at the school district this summer. I really don't know how I would have managed to do everything I not only wanted to do, but NEEDED to do.

Today happened to be a pretty busy day for us. I had two doctor appointments. My first one was with my OB-GYN. She informed me that because of my gestational diabetes, she will not let me get to 40 weeks gestation, so unless he decides to come earlier, she will induce labor at 39 weeks. This means that I will be induced on either August 17th or 18th. Of course, if he decides to come before 39 weeks, that would be okay, too. I will be 35 weeks on Wednesday and I'm far enough along now that there isn't a whole lot that we would need to worry about as far as his development is concerned. With gestational diabetes, the biggest risk is that the baby will become too large for delivery, which is why they won't let me get that far along. Lance and I were absolutely thrilled to hear that we'll get to meet our little guy at least a week before his actual due date! For many reasons, this will definitely work out to everyone's advantage.

We also talked to my doctor about getting vaccinated for Whooping Cough (Pertussis). This has started to become a real problem and cases of it have really increased in California. She said that I will be vaccinated before I am discharged from the hospital and the baby will be vaccinated when he is a few months old. Lance is going to get vaccinated this week and I have already sent information to my parents and sister about clinics in our area that are offering free vaccinations. I would really encourage everyone to please get vaccinated. There are many clinics that offer it free of charge and it is good for 10 years. Getting poked in the arm is so worth not spreading this horrible disease to a little one. Okay...enough of my lecturing...

My second appointment was at the perinatology office. I've been going there twice a week for the last few weeks to do non-stress tests. Once a week they also do an ultrasound, which is always fun. Today, for the first time, the ultrasound tech actually got a pretty good shot of his face and we were able to see him sticking his tongue out and moving his mouth. We even got to watch him stick his fingers in his mouth and start sucking on them. I almost died! It was such a cool moment to see him do that. The non-stress test took longer than usual today because he was being a little bit hyperactive. They waited until his heart rate came down a bit before letting me out of the chair. At one of my appointments next week, they will measure his growth again. At my first appointment today, I learned that I am now right at my prepregnancy weight and after measuring my belly, he seemed to be right on track for growth. It was also confirmed today that he was still head down and in the exact position he's supposed to be in. He has been in that position for a while now. I am anxious to find out what his growth measures to be next week!

Anyway, we are really, really happy with the way everything is going right now. My glucose numbers have been excellent, my blood pressure has been pretty stable and he seems to be growing and developing exactly the way he is supposed to. Lets just hope that this continues for the next 4 weeks!

Baby Shower

On Saturday, June 26, my sister threw me a beautiful baby shower at my parent's house. I was so overwhelmed by how many of my family and friends came to celebrate this special day. We received some of the most adorable clothes I've ever seen along with some really beautiful handmade blankets, quilts and booties. I have some seriously talented friends and family!

I just want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who made this day so special. My sister put in countless hours making decorations, baking, shopping and everything else in between. My parents used their entire week of vacation leading up to the shower making sure that the house and property was set for a big party and making some delicious food for the shower. Thank you to the 30+ people who showed up to help celebrate from very near and VERY far! Two people drove for over 3 hours to get there and one person drove 5 hours each way to be there! All 3 of them also turned around and went home after the shower. I don't know how they did that! I also had 3 family members take a 12 hour train ride to be there. Thank you, also, to the friends and family who couldn't be there but sent your well wishes and gifts. We truly appreciate each and every one of you and are grateful to have you all in our lives!

I've created this slide show of the shower for those who wish to view it. It was a very special day and one that I will remember for a long time. Thank you everyone!!!

Logan's Mural

I have such an incredibly talented sister! Bre came over today and painted this super cute mural in Logan's room. It was so sad to see the old one go, as it has been up in the baby room for over 3 1/2 years now. We had lavender walls with cute little bugs on this wall and the surrounding ones, but it was a bit girly to keep for our little boy. I wanted a blue/brown/beige color scheme and Lance wanted a sailboat, so Bre was able to combine the two ideas and come up with this! It also matches a cute bedding set that I have on my registry. We really couldn't be happier with the results of the mural!

Thank you, Bre!!! You're going to make such a great Auntie. I'm so lucky to have a sister like you. I love you!!!!!!!!!!

Let Summer Begin!

There's our little guy! We had an ultrasound about a week and a half ago and Logan checked out great! At the appointment, they said he weighed about 2.14 pounds and was in the 66th percentile for size. We scheduled a bunch of non stress tests to be performed this summer starting on June 28th. As of now, everything looks to be right on track with him, so there's no need to worry about the tests. Again, it's just a precaution. It involves me going into the perinatology office twice a week for 4-5 weeks so they can monitor him.

I think this picture of him is so funny. He looks like a little monkey who is holding a stuffed ducky. It also kind of looks like he's smiling. I hope he's a happy little guy!

A couple of weeks ago, I was officially diagnosed with gestational diabetes. My numbers weren't drastically high but they were elevated enough to get the diagnosis. I've since been to two diabetes classes with other pregnant women. I found the classes to be very thorough and informative. We had to track everything we ate for a week and we were given a blood sugar monitor and told to measure our levels 4 times a day. During the second class, a nutritionist and dietitian looked over what we ate and where are blood sugar levels were for the week. My numbers were all fantastic except for a couple of fasting numbers in the morning. In the middle of the night, your body gives you a boost of sugar that can sometimes give you a high reading first thing in the morning when you check your blood sugar. That is what was happening to me. So, Monday morning I have to go back to the diabetes center where they will show me how to give myself an injection of insulin before I go to bed at night. This will allow my blood sugar to stay lower when I check it first thing in the morning. This will be the only shot I will have to give myself because all of my other numbers are great. They assured me that giving myself this shot at night is not a bad thing and that lots of women have a problem with that particular reading. They also told me that out of the 5 women that were in my class, 3 of us are being treated for the same thing. I definitely don't feel alone in this.

I have been doing really well at managing my sugar levels and my eating habits. I'm really happy about the fact that when I have control over what I eat during the day, my numbers are great. I have been walking with Lance and Freyja every night, except for a few nights, and on those nights I hop on my stationary bike to continue to get some exercise. The exercise and change in eating habits has actually caused me to lose some weight. In fact, I am 7 months along and I am at my prepregnancy weight. I had gained a total of 5 pounds when I checked in at my 24 week appointment but at week 29, I had lost all 5 of those pounds. The doctor, again, was not concerned about this and in fact, it was me who brought up the fact that I had lost weight. I'm eating healthy, I'm exercising and Logan is growing the way he is supposed to.

He's also kicking me like crazy as I write this. *smile*

Yesterday was my last day of the school year. I can't believe that I just finished my 10th year with the district. Boy, how time flies! Since I'm so far along in my pregnancy, I'm not working summer school. My wonderful, loving, sweet husband is doing it instead to bring us in a little extra cash. (I hope he reads this!) I know that working over the summer isn't his favorite thing to do, but I do appreciate that he offered to do it. If I wasn't so close to the end of my pregnancy, I would probably work it. The timing of me not working seems to be perfect, though, seeing that I'm going to have a ton of appointments from now until the end. He's due in only 10 1/2 more weeks....yikes!!! He's going to be here before we know it!

The hot weather has finally hit us and Lance is super happy about it...me, not so much. I don't tolerate heat well as it is, but when you're carrying around a person all day long, it's really not so much fun. I'm looking forward to us finding a pool that I can dunk myself in this summer. Summer has definitely started!

Second Time's A Charm?

I decided to take last Friday off of work to do my glucose test, which is what is done to check for gestational diabetes. My students were going on an outing to San Francisco, so there was no way I was going to be able to coordinate my test with being able to meet my students before they hopped on BART, so I took the day off. I got the call from my doctor's office yesterday afternoon informing me that I had failed my test.

Major bummer.

So, tomorrow morning, I get to go do it again. Only this time, instead of drinking the solution and waiting one hour for them to draw my blood, I get to have my blood drawn right away, drink the solution and then get my blood drawn every hour (on the hour) after that for 3 hours. That's 4 blood draws in 3 hours. Good thing I don't have a problem with needles! (Or blood, for that matter).

I really hope that I'm not diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I was told on the phone yesterday that they definitely weren't sure if I had it, which is why we're doing the 3 hour test. They look for your reading to be 140 or less. I read at 175. Apparently, if you reach a certain number, they stop testing you and you're automatically put on a special diet. I've already given up tuna and deli sandwiches...please don't take away milkshakes, too!

I'm not really complaining. I know this is important and I'm taking it seriously, but I'm not worried about it. If it turns out that I have it, I'll deal with it. I've been really lucky so far with my pregnancy and I have really enjoyed being pregnant. Up to this point, I have dodged so many things that other people have to deal with and for that I feel really lucky.

I have also started having some Braxton Hicks contractions. Boy, is that a reminder of what is coming soon! It just gets more and more real everyday. Love it!

Wish me luck tomorrow!