Grounded

Well here I am, 14 weeks, 3 days pregnant and 1 week 1 day into my bed rest and yet, another scare. I swear, I am so neurotic this pregnancy (obviously for good reason) however, I think this kid just has attitude. I wonder where he/she gets it from...

Anyway, last night I suffered one of my imfamous constipation episodes (sorry, TMI), and swore I lost my mucus plug. It happened again this morning so I called my doctor's office and set an appointment, to which they could not see me until 3:30am (I called at 8:00am). So during the agonizing 7 and a 1/2 hour wait, what did I do? What any psycho prego person does--consult Google for my diagnosis.

By the time I arrived at the doctor's office a freakish 45 minutes early, I had determined I had lost my mucus plug, was going into preterm labor at any moment and had an incompetent cervix. Dr. Dave had a lot to say about this: "GET OFF GOOGLE"....as my poor friend Anna who has to hear my whining via text 24/7 told me, "STOP the madness!" lol!! The Doctor checked my cervix to which he determined all was fine, although he did mention my cervix gets irritated quite easily. He then did an ultrasound and gave me a couple cute pictures of our sweet little blessing who constantly scares mommy half to death (I know, I know, this is only the beginning). All was well and the doctor even said the baby was smiling and opening it's mouth! Super cute!!


After all was decided that baby and I were just fine, I got a lecture. I am now grounded from going around and running errands like I confessed to doing while on bed rest, and I am grounded from googling anything. Dr. Dave said that if I have a concern to just come in and that I do NOT have the credentials to be diagnosing myself...tee hee....but I thought everything on the internet was true!! LOL...


Anyway. I am just glad all is well and happy with the little munchkin. Here is the latest update:

Weeks: 14w 3d

Symptoms: Lots of round ligament pain and constipation

Movement: Lots at night time, the little goldfish is swimming around! Only a matter of time before I get socked right in the gut!

Cravings: Cookies and Yogurt (Those were Jeff's determinations lol)

Days until Gender determination: 17, yippee!!

Here's a little snap shot of this little turkey!

Bed Rest & Blessings

Though it may sound like it, I am truly not "complaining" about having to be on bed rest during my pregnancy. In fact, it's turned out to be somewhat of a blessing after I have begun to look at it differently. You see, I would do anything for this child and those of you who know me, know what I must do to give this baby a chance at coming home to live with us. You know that I give myself a shot every day in my stomach which is covered in bruises,  and that I inserted 6 pills 'down stairs' every night for 9 weeks to hopefully not miscarry early, and that I take an entire palm-full of pills every day for this little one. And to be honest, I feel blessed. I feel blessed that those medications and doctors have the knowledge and answers to help me have a family. It truly is a blessing, inconvenient or not. I have no problem doing everything in my power to get this baby here and cannot wait to hold my precious gift in my arms.

However, this whole bed rest bit has been extremely difficult. If I wasn't 'ordered' to be on bed rest, it truthfully sounded great to be able to lounge around all day. But now that I am here and it's happening, it is really, really difficult. I am pretty lonely and yesterday found myself in a bit of depression. Jeff works a lot so he isn't going to be able to be with me 24/7 and I don't expect him to just sit around rather than do something fun with his friends once in a while. It would just be kinda nice to be able to go run my own errands, go out to lunch, etc. After a really good talk with Jeff last night, I feel much better about the whole thing. We got Jeff a book called "Dude, You're Going to Be a Dad!" and we started reading it together last night. He agreed that he could take more part in trying to be 'involved' with the pregnancy, so I do feel much better and blessed to have gotten it all off my chest. I also feel blessed knowing that my groceries will be delivered tomorrow to my doorstep without having to lift a finger. Not only that, it's free for my first time! I am also blessed because I will have tons of time to truly soak in and absorb my Advent Bible study. I think this is a perfect time to get in tune with God and thank him for all He has given me. So, that being said, bed rest has been a lesson for me, and it's only day 4! I am hoping that I don't have to be on this regimen for long period of time, but if that is what is in the plans then so be it. I will get through it with the help, guidance, and blessings from above!! :)

Already with an Attitude!

Well, the 13th week has definitely been...what I would refer to as eventful! With our large Thanksgiving extravaganza, which turned out to be 58 people big, underway and the First Trimester Screening Ultrasound which I almost missed by 4 days already being 13 weeks 2 days, the week was quite full!

Wednesday, my mom, Jeff and I headed to Dr. Helm's office for the NT scan at 7:30am. For those of you that know know, this is an ultrasound measuring the baby's various organs and body parts in search of any abnormalities. They do a series of these tests to help prepare parents in case there is something abnormal. In addition to the ultrasounds which they do in both the first and second trimesters, they also do blood work along with it both ultrasounds to compare. Anyway, everything looked good with the ultrasound and baby was super cute and active! By the looks of the ultrasound, I think it's a boy, but who knows! I say that because the baby looked so much like Hayden, but you never know! Anyway, so after the ultrasound, I headed to Costco to pick up some pies for Jeff's work but also snagged Dumbo and The Lion King on both DVD and Blu-Ray (for those of you who don't know I am trying to collect all the Disney classics for the baby!).

After that, I came home and scrubbed down the house to get it ready for my Aunt Angie and her boyfriend Sasha to come stay with us for Thanksgiving. That afternoon, around 4:00pm, I went to the bathroom and to my horror, saw that I was spotting. I was home alone and immediately freaked out and called the Doctor. Dr. Dave was out of the office, but his brother Dan was there and looked over the ultrasound I had that morning. I had to wait two hours for them to call me back with a verdict. In the meantime, I am so thankful I have a heartbeat monitor because baby's heartbeat was pumping away, nice and strong. When the nurse called me back, she said that the ultrasound looked normal and that I probably over did it and will need to be on bed rest the next two weeks and off work. The next day was Thanksgiving and I was so worried still about the baby. I am so thankful that Jeff was home because we were in charge of making two hams and 30lbs of Mashed Potatoes. Bless his heart, he followed by directions and did it all! So thankful for such an amazing husband. The day was good and the spotting became almost non-exisitant (and light brown). We had a wonderful time and I took it as easy as possible. It is hard to be on 'bed rest' at a family gathering like that, but I did okay. Today, there has been nothing, and I am staying down the rest of my bedrest time. So, lots of rest for me and no more scrubbing the floors! This kid is not even born yet and I am already getting attitude!

Something else exciting: Since we didn't get to find out the sex this week, we have an appointment on December 16th at 10:00am to find out the sex! SOOO excited that we will be able to reveal on Christmas!! :)

An update on me:

Weeks: 13 weeks 4 days

Cravings: "healthy" foods like salads and fruits

How I feel: A lot more energetic, and of course worrying every second!

In other news, here are some pictures of our little Turkey :)

Cute Little Face :)

Arms and Top of Head :)

Legs (I think I see a boy part!)

12 Weeks! Coming Up on a New Trimester

Well, I have to admit, I feel pretty awful. I don't feel like I blog nearly as much this time around as I did with Hayden...Maybe a part of me is scared to, or too lazy to, or I dunno, but I need to get on it!



Anyway, This week has been fun. Saturday evening, some friends of ours held a Thanksgiving Potluck-style dinner party at their home which was super fun. It was freezing outside but felt good by the fire. The little ones were all running around, playing and enjoying the night as well. It was a lot of fun, and obviously, the food was incredible. I would know, I am now a food connoisseur.

Sunday to Monday my mom, Nana, and I went to Solvang for a Dr. Appointment my mom had. We laughed, talked, ate, shopped, and had a blast. It was so fun! The room we stayed in was like a little cottage with two bedrooms, a full kitchen and dining area, and a fireplace. It was adorable. We also visited a Lavender Farm where my mom treated me to some freshly made Lavender body butter and some Lavender hand sanitizer which both smell AMAZING! Here are some photos of our trip:

I announced the pregnancy on Facebook on Sunday as well (woo, big step, LOL!), and lots of people seemed to be excited with me, as I am obviously ecstatic I have made it this far into the pregnancy. It was fun and felt good to finally be able to share our exciting news with everyone.

Next week, on the 21st, I have the first Trimester 'screening' where they do the neural translucency check etc. Praying the results come back good and I am just looking forward to seeing our precious baby on the big screen again.


Dr. Dave did an ultrasound yesterday and all was looking good! We saw the little heartbeat and the baby squirming all around, ugh, I am so in LOVE! The picture he wasn't great because my bladder was empty, but it was great to be able to check in on the baby and see that everything was okay, especially after the little bit of spotting from last week (which disappeared by the way). I can also totally feel the baby starting a couple nights ago. It's the softest tap, tap, but I totally feel it! Usually it's when I lay on my side at night. I LOVE it!!!

I also got to stop the progesterone this week since the placenta has fully taken over :) Hooray for that! Still on the Lovenox though and will be until they induce me at 37-38 weeks. Other than that severe low back pain thingy I got with Hayden too, I am feeling really great. My stomach is awfully sensitive to anything I eat though and my sense of smell is so keen that at times it makes me gag. But ultimately, I am feeling good! Here is a belly shot from this week!

Weeks: 12 Weeks

Symptoms: Low back pain, round ligament pain

Medications: Lovenox, Baby Aspirin

Cravings: Biscuits and Gravy and Cheesecake

Movement: Little thuds here and there when I lay on my side :)

Until next time, xoxo

Gummy Bear

I am just really enjoying being pregnant this time around. Despite the nausea, vomitting, back pain, sore boobs, and acne, I am just so super excited to be a mom. Of course with Hayden I was excited, but I truly think I took my pregnancy for granted. I am just enjoying every aspect of it this time around, not to exclude the fact that I am constantly worried unless I am currently looking at the baby squirming around on the ultrasound monitor.

Last week, my mom and I went to Destination Maternity in RiverPark....UM...HEAVEN! Any prego that hasn't been there NEEDS to go. I love that Destination Maternity, Pea in a Pod and Motherhood are all available so that everyone can afford it. Upon arriving, the very nice saleswoman offered my mom and I a complimentary juice or water and granola bar. There was an awesome play area for those who have toddlers and even a 'dads' area with sports on TV and guy magazines. It was awesome!! My mom bought me some new bras for these gigantic masses I have growing and I bought myself a new outfit. It was super fun!

I am having the hardest time figuring out how I want to announce to everyone. I don't want to just put it on Facebook and I don't want to just call people. I don't know, maybe a photo card with the ultrasound pictures or something. Speaking of ultrasounds, I went to visit Dr. Helm today. He explained what I will expect for the rest of this pregnancy: Lots of monitoring, ultrasounds, staying on Lovenox, stress tests twice a week after 26 weeks, and induction at 37 weeks. He did a super quick ultrasound, just to be sure the baby had a heartbeat, which it did, and then we were out of there. Luckily, one of my cheer moms works as a nurse literally next door to Dr. Helm and asked one of the techs, Jeff, to do an ultrasound for me...it was amazing!! I am so blessed that this happened. He gave me a disk with the pictures and I got to see the baby moving all around and opening and closing it's mouth and hands; it was amazing! I will post the pictures below. I go back in a couple weeks for the Neural Translucency test so we will see baby again, yay!!

**Currently having a little scare: I am spotting a tiny bit of brown blood....crossing my fingers that all is well.

Weeks: 11 weeks 3 days

Cravings: Hot Dogs, anything carb filled

Mood: sensitive

Symptoms: Sore boobs, exhausted

Here are the Ultrasound Pictures from today: