Getting My Body Back GIVEAWAY!

This Giveaway is now Closed  :)

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I'm excited to be hosting my first blog giveaway!  In honor of my quest to get my body back, I want to give one lucky reader something to help get her (or his) body movin'.  It's the Dancin' Abs by Jazzercise DVD (a $16.99 value)! 

"Dance your way to a slimmer, sexier waistline! You'll feel like you're in the club in this high intensity 60 minute dance workout. DVD includes a targeted ab-burning section and a 30 minute workout. " 

per the Jazzercise website 

With the baby's schedule, I sometimes find it difficult to squeeze in workouts, so I've started doing some DVDs at home while Naomi naps.  I happen to have an extra copy of this one, so I'm giving it away.  Having done it, I can tell you that it is a much more fun way to work abs than doing crunches.  The 30 minute workout is an abbreviated version of the 60 minute routine which works out perfect if I'm in a hurry, have stuff to do around the house or know that baby girl is only going to nap a short time.

Here's how you can enter to win......

{You have 3 chances to win. So make sure you leave 3 separate comments!}

1. Follow my blog, and leave me a comment telling me that you do!


{You have to be an "official follower" through Google Friend Connect. All you have to do is click Follow on the left hand side of my blog and log in! You will not be eligible to win if I don't see you as one of my followers.}


2. Leave a comment telling me why you want to win this giveaway. 

3. If you currently attend Jazzercise, tell me what you think about it (obviously I love it, since I teach it).  If you don't currently go, tell me if you'd be willing to try a class and why or why not. 

I'll be announcing the winner of the giveaway on

Tuesday, June 21st !!

(the first official day of summer)

Good luck!!

Memorial Day - Thinking Back to a Year Ago

This weekend is Memorial Day and it got me thinking about what we were doing a year ago.  One year ago we were telling all of our family that we were going to have a baby. Click here to read that post.  It's so funny to think how much has changed in a year.  We now have a 4.5 month old baby girl who we love dearly.  We went to the bagel store this morning before church just like last year, but with our little baby in her cute little lady bug outfit instead of in my tummy.  This morning's church routine included a trip to Joyland (in fact our first time to go to church both hours) with time out for breastfeeding (definitely different than last year).  In fact, almost all of our plans revolve around baby girl right now - when she eats, when she sleeps, how she's doing.  So different.  This year's big weekend news is that we started rice cereal with Naomi.  Her first try of solid foods.  It's been going pretty well.  Last year I was thinking about the timing of my maternity leave with my work busy time.  This year, I've been laid off from that job and have embraced being a stay at home mom, which I never envisioned.  We are so blessed to have such a beautiful, healthy, smiley baby.  What a difference a year makes!  Makes you wonder what next year will look like...

:)

Postpartum Depression / Baby Blues

I feel like I can finally blog a bit more about this, since I'm pretty much through it at this point.  I had a bit of postpartum depression and I want to share that experience so that if you or someone you know experiences it, you may have a little better perspective. 

I was a little worried that I would experience this for a number of reasons that I won't go into, but I had no idea what it's like.  Suffice to say, hormones are sometimes evil!  I wasn't sad all the time; it wasn't like that.  But, I wasn't gushing with new mommy joy either.  People would say things like, "Aren't you just over the moon?" or "Don't you just love being a mom?" or "Isn't it the greatest thing in the world?".  In my head, I'm just thinking, "No, not really."  Here's a small sampling of the thoughts that ran through my head during down times: "What did I do?", "I hate my life now", "I'm exhausted", "I can't do this", "I know I should be happy, but I'm miserable", etc.  They're awful thoughts and you just don't feel you can say those things aloud.  But you have to say it aloud; you have to get the thoughts out of your head so they don't just fester there.  So, I talked to my husband, prayed, and sometimes just sat in the shower crying.  I'm so blessed to have such a supportive husband.  I couldn't have made it through these hormonally charged times without him. 

One of the worst things about PPD is the guilt that I felt.  I wondered why I wasn't like the other gushing mothers and I wondered if that meant that I didn't love my child or that I wouldn't be a good mom.  No, that wasn't it.  I know that I've always loved her.  I've always been fiercely protective of her and affectionate with her and I haven't wanted to be away from her much.  I also felt a large amount of guilt because I know what a blessing Naomi is and how many women I know are trying so hard for their own little miracle.  I hated the times when I felt that having a baby was more of a curse than a blessing and when I felt completely ungrateful for God's blessings and even mad at Him for leading me in this direction.  I mentioned above that I prayed, but sometimes it was more like yelling at God or crying out to Him in lament.  I remember taking a drive one night with Brian and the baby when I told him about how I was feeling and about my anger towards God.  Naomi wouldn't stop crying and both of us were at our wits end.  The drive was a last resort to quiet her and it worked.  She stopped crying and we started crying.  We were so grateful to have each other to lean on that night (and every night really). 

So, now things are much better.  I still have an occasional spell of baby blues or hormonal irritability (like PMS), but for the most part, I'm even-keeled again.  It's been at least a couple of months since I've cried in the shower.  I haven't yelled at God in quite a while.  I sometimes reminisce about simpler times pre-baby, when I had more freedom, when leaving the house or just running into a store quickly wasn't quite so involved, and I didn't have to factor feed times, nap times, and bed times into every day.  But this stage is a short one in the grand scheme of my little girl's life and there are lots of things to enjoy about this stage.  I'm starting to really enjoy being Naomi's mom.  I find myself so excited about taking Naomi to Tiny Tots and Tunes mini-camp at my church in June.  When people ask me those questions like they used to, I finally feel like I can honestly say yes.  I enjoyed my first Mother's Day.  I love my little girl and I really do love my life and feel very blessed. 

My Accidental SAHM Status

So, for those that don't know, I received notice of my impending lay-off during my third trimester and my official last day was February 25th, during my maternity leave.  Somehow, I have become an accidental SAHM (Stay-At-Home-Mom).  I have never envisioned this for my life.  In fact, I wasn't even too sure about the whole motherhood thing to begin with.  Becoming a mom was the single biggest act of faith in my whole life.  Once we decided to have a child, I pictured myself going back to work and planned for pumping, bottling, daycare, and all that stuff.  Clearly God had other plans for me. 


Once Brian and I learned of my pending unemployment, we began to start thinking about whether or not we wanted me to just go ahead and stay home with Naomi and if we could manage that financially.  Fortunately, it does look like this is possible, although it will be a bit of a lifestyle adjustment.  Brian kinda wants me to stay home with her, but is okay with whatever I decide to do.  I have no idea what I want to do.  Part of me misses working and part of me just can't imagine leaving her.  It may also be a good time for me to try to finally get my CPA, which at this point will probably take a couple of extra classes (as requirements have changed slightly since my graduation) and a serious review course.  It's a lot of time and money though.  Or, I could even go a completely different direction.  Maybe, I could even find something that I could do from home, who knows?  So, what to do? 


At this point, I have finally applied for unemployment.  This requires a certain number of job search activities a week.  So, I am meeting my requirements and have even applied for a couple of positions (half hoping that my resume gets lost in the shuffle).  Meanwhile I've been finally getting my house in order (something I meant to do before Naomi arrived) and just doing my best to enjoy my time with our baby.  Otherwise, I figure we are just waiting.  Waiting for God to make clear the path, to find out if He means for me to just have an extended maternity leave of sorts or for me to stay at home with little girl for a while.  This morning at church, a friend of ours asked who was taking care of the baby and I explained about my layoff and our current situation.  She immediately said, "Maybe it's a God thing!"  Maybe it is; I've had that thought a lot since all of these wheels got set in motion.  I stepped out on faith when I embarked on this journey and now I just have to keep faith in His plan and provision for our lives.  So, say a little prayer for us and if you know of any way that I can be both a stay at home mom and an accountant, let me know.  :)

Getting My Body Back Update

Okay, so here is my update as promised (it's been more than a month, but time flies these days).  Stats first and chatter second. 

Stats:

Top Pregnancy Weight - 214
Current Weight (almost 4 months post delivery) - 179
Pounds Lost So Far - 35
Pounds Lost Since Last Update - 6
Pre-Pregnancy Weight - 157
Pounds to go to Pre-Preg - 22
Goal Weight Range - 135 to 140
Pounds to go to Goal - 39

 
How's It Going?


It's going slowly and although I'm as impatient as anyone else, I know that is the best way for it to go. Slow and steady weight loss is far more likely to be long-term weight loss.  However, I'm a little under my goal of a pound a week and I know all the reasons why.  On the upside, I can definitely see my body starting to re-emerge.  My waist is slowly making a reappearance and I sometimes feel like a statue being carved out of the marble.  A nice curvaceous, Renaissance statue, of course! 

I still haven't buckled down too much on the diet and I'm starting to struggle with afternoon munchies at home.  My coping method is a cup of decaf coffee and a small piece of chocolate.  A little treat to scratch the itch.  I know I'll need to start being more responsible with my calorie budget soon, but I'm just not ready yet. 

I'm back to teaching my Jazzercise classes, but I've slacked the last couple of weeks in my workouts outside of my classes.  I need to step up my game, both for my weight loss and to get back to my old fitness level, so I can be the Instructor that I used to be.  It's tough with Naomi's feeding and nap schedule to really go somewhere to workout, so I'm really going to try to start doing some of my Jazzercise DVDs at home.  Plus, I need to learn some more routines anyway.  I always struggle with my lazy, couch potato ways.  Naomi's almost ready for the jogging stroller, but the question is are Brian and I ready to get off our duffs and hit the trail on Saturday mornings?  We'll see. 

Here's to never beating myself up and always improving!  Think more skinny thoughts for me!  :)

Getting My Body Back

So, if you've been reading my blog, you know that I gained way too much weight with this pregnancy and I was already up a bit when I got pregnant.  The bedrest and preeclampsia really didn't help, but regardless of the reasons, I exited this pregnancy heavier than I've ever been in my life (and I've always struggled with my weight).  So, I'm now on a campaign to get my body back and I'm going to put it on my blog periodically as a sort of public accountability.  I'll start with the stats and then follow up with some brief  "How's it Going" chatter. 

Stats:
Top Pregnancy Weight - 214
Current Weight (2 months post delivery) - 185
Pounds Lost So Far - 29
Pre-Pregnancy Weight - 157
Pounds to go to Pre-Preg - 28 (halfway there)
Ideal Weight Range - 135 to 140
Pounds to go to Goal - 45


How's It Going?
Of course it's going slowly.  At first i dropped a good amount of weight because I was losing all my water weight from my massive swelling, but now the hard work begins.  So far, I haven't been too hard core with my diet.  I'm breastfeeding, so I want to be sure I don't short change my little girl since it requires 500 calories per day.  So, I'll probably buckle down on the diet a little more in the future.  For about the past month I've been working my physical activity level back up.  It's been really difficult, since the bedrest killed my muscle tone and I'm carrying around so much extra weight.  Tomorrow I'll teach my first Jazzercise class since before the pregnancy and I'll be resuming a regular teaching schedule next week so that should help.  In a couple months, Naomi will be ready for the jogging stroller and hopefully hubs and I will hit the trail again.  Gotta get back to running.  Well, I think I'll probably update again in about a month, so think some skinny thoughts for me. 

P.S.  I glanced at some Spanx today.  I'm thinking I may need those to smooth out some baby bumps...mmm...anybody worn those before or have any recommendations on them?

Cord Blood Donation

This is just a quick note to tell everyone about cord blood donation.  I was planning on doing cord blood donation but, as mentioned, not much of the end of my pregnancy and delivery went as planned.  So, since I wasn't able to do it, I want to make up for it by trying to inform other women about it and encourage them to do it.  Whenever your pregnant you hear all about cord blood banking from all the private companies seeking to make money off of it, but you hear very little about cord blood donation. 


Why donate cord blood (particularly instead of banking it)?  Cord blood banking is very expensive (an initial investment of a couple thousand dollars and an annual storage fee).  Also when you bank cord blood for your own use it is pretty much a gamble since you may or may not ever use it and it may or may not even be able to help your child on the off chance that he/she gets sick.  However, when you donate cord blood it can be used as soon as it is needed by someone - frequently used for blood cancers like leukemia (from what I gather).  Cord blood donation is free.  Your donation is catalogued and if you ever do need it and it is still available, you will be able to use it. 


What happens if I don't bank or donate my cord blood?  It is thrown in the biohazard bin and disposed of.  Just think, something that is thrown in the trash could be used to save someone's life. 


Note - This is not stem cell research or anything like that.  It's like donating blood or bone marrow, only it's painless.  They send you a kit, your OB takes a little course on how to collect it to get certified, and you send it in.  (If you happen to go to a partnering hospital, it's even easier than that.)


For more information on how to donate your cord blood, check out this website:


http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/index.html

Last Weekend of Bedrest

I"m trying to get caught up on my blogging, but now that I have a newborn I find it difficult to do much of anything besides take care of her.  So, I've got her snuggled up in the Moby wrap as I type.  We'll see how much I get done. 

I'll start with the last weekend of bedrest before my induction date.  It was set to be a great weekend as my family shower was scheduled for that Saturday.  The shower was wonderful.  They wheeled me in my wheelchair down to one of the hospital classrooms.  The cake was gorgeous and yummy - it was decorated to match Naomi's bedroom set and was fab.  I loved all my gifts and getting to spend the time with family and some close family friends. 

Unfortunately the fun of the weekend ended shortly after the shower.  I hadn't really felt that great before the shower but I brushed it off so that I could enjoy myself.  It came back with a vengence that afternoon as I started vomiting.  In fact, in the first of what I would later know to be a long series of embarrasing moments, I had to excuse myself to throw up while some family had stopped by to visit and drop off a gift.  Brian and I figured that we better tell my nurse.  I ended up getting an IV for fluids since I couldn't keep much of anything down.  (Kudos to the nurses for even being able to start an IV on my dehydrated, hidey veins.)  When they put me on the monitors, they discovered that I was having some contractions, so I ended up getting a drug for that.  I thought that was odd since I was being induced on Monday anyway and asked the nurse about it.  She said that it wouldn't stop my labor if it was real - not sure about all that but had to trust her. 

By Sunday, I was feeling better and able to hold down food.  Brian and I slept a lot since we didn't get much sleep the night before.  They left the IV in since I would need it for the induction the next day anyway, but stopped giving me anything.  Of course I only got to eat until midnight anyway.  Brian ended up staying the whole weekend as the vomiting/contraction thing was very scary and Sunday night was the start of the induction process.  This all ended up being very weird as we had all my shower gifts still up there and he had no bag packed for the hospital, etc.  Some family went to our house and got Brian some underwear, etc and we prepared to have a baby the next day.  :) 

End of Week 4 and A Happy New Year

Happy New Year!  I can't believe I'm checking off my 4th week in the hospital and passed the 36 week mark.  I love that it was a short work week for Brian because then I get extra time with my hubby and he can get some stuff done around the house to help prep for Naomi's homecoming.  I hate that he's having to take on so much extra but that's just the way this has worked out.  With some family help, he was able to tidy up Naomi's room, set up the pack n' play as a bassinet in our bedroom, install the car seat, and get some other cleaning done.  Another thanks to family for bringing up some home cooked food for us to eat tonight (it's a real treat since we've been eating so much hospital and restaurant food). 

Medically, my status is somewhat unchanged with the pre-eclampsia only worsening slightly.  Over last weekend and the beginning of the week, my swelling increased a bit (not to the level that it was before I was admitted, but nevertheless), so I had a feeling that something was going on.  My doctor ran another set of labs and another 24 hour urine test around Tuesday just to check it out.  My labs were all good (platelets, liver enzymes, etc were good); my urine test did show an increase in spilled protein to the 600s (it was in the 300s, but isn't really "actionable" until it exceeds at least 5000).  So, basically, we just keep monitoring things.  I'll likely have another set of labs and urine test around Tuesday just to be safe.  I had another ultrasound on Thursday and they estimate that she is about 5 lbs 13 oz (give or take a pound) and should be between 6.5 and 7 pounds by delivery.  She also has a full head of hair.  The plan is still to induce around 38 weeks, so I have about another week and a half here before I start working my way down to the active L&D section, the post-partum section, and then home.  All in all, I'll likely be heading home in about 2 weeks.  At this point, it's most likely that Naomi shouldn't have any issues and should be able to go home with us, so that is good news. 

Guess that's about it for now.  We're in the home stretch and are getting excited to meet our little girl and take her home (and take me home).  Thanks to everyone for all your prayers during this time - definitely feeling the love.  :) 

End of Week 3 and A Merry Christmas

We've made it to the end of week 3 and have had a Merry Christmas in the hospital.  This week went by really fast.  On Tuesday night, we had the last of our baby prep classes, breast-pumping and returning to work.  Although I won't have a job to return to, I am still currently planning on going back to work.  We'll see what God has in store for us on that front.  Wednesday, I had a visitor from church and Brian won a pass to get off work early, so that day flew by. 

Thursday, I had lots of visitors.  My wonderful work peeps surprised me around lunch time with a sort of impromptu baby shower/gift.  I'm normally not big on surprises but this one was a great one and very much appreciated!  After that, I had some family from Houston stop by and drop off some candy and some cute stuff for Naomi.  Then I had a Jazzercise student and my parents visit right after Brian got here (he got off work early again since his office closed early for the holiday).  Then, later in the evening, we were skyped into some family Christmas festivities.  It was certainly unique and it was nice to be included and get to be apart of things. 

Christmas Eve, Brian's family (Emily, Alex, and Terah) brought dinner up to us (yummy!  great smoked turkey and sides) and we visited and opened up gifts.  Naomi got spoiled a bit again (yay!).  Everytime we get something for Naomi, we feel just a little more ready for her arrival.  Christmas Day, some of my family brought lunch up and we also visited and opened up gifts.  I actually took a wheelchair ride down to some tables and chairs in the atrium for us to munch.  It was a fun visit.  The day after Christmas brought the last of our celebrations as some more of my family came up to visit and exchange gifts.  Another nice visit and a good close to our holiday festivities. 

Otherwise feeling pretty good.  I've pulled a couple bad bp numbers here and there, my swelling is up a bit the last couple days and I'm having some warm-up contractions but nothing abnormal.  I'll be getting another round of labs and urine test starting tomorrow morning, just to monitor things and make sure that I'm staying steady.  I'll be 36 weeks on Wednesday - just a couple more weeks to go!  We're getting close to scheduling the induction according to the doctor (still planning for 38 weeks); we're doing my Group B test tomorrow (a standard test for some infection that could hurt the baby if I have it).  I'm cheered to think that I'm over halfway through my stay here.  Well, finishing watching Elf and some football.  Will keep you posted!

End of Week 2

Well, it's the end of my second week of bed rest in the hospital.  I've gotten into a routine and have gotten to know some of the nurses as I've had a couple of them more than multiple times.  So far they've pretty much all been really nice.  My room is all decorated for Christmas and has pictures and flowers in it so it's very homey (all the nurses love my room).  As of this afternoon, I also have wrapped gifts under my mini Christmas tree.  At this point, if you overlook the medical equipment, hospital bed, and bio hazard bins, my room looks like a tiny efficiency apartment. 

In addition to pastoral visits from the church, they also sent over some carolers on Wednesday night.  I love singing Christmas carols and have been sad that I'm missing all the singing at church, so it was a great treat.  Of course somewhere between the hormones and the Christmas spirit, I started crying during the second carol (Brian got something in his eye around the same time, wink wink).  Glad I got to do some singing along! 

Thursday night, we went to our infant safety & CPR class (it's in the hospital and I got permission to go via wheel chair).  It was very useful although I was very ready to go after a couple hours, especially with the one lady who had a million "what if" questions (there's always one in every class).  The part that amuses me is that they give you all these instructions on "child-proofing" your home and then reiterate the fact that all of those efforts really just slow your kid down and that they'll still manage to get into stuff no matter how high up you put it or what child safety locks you install.  Cracks me up a little bit, especially since it's pretty much true.  I guess the goal is to slow 'em down enough that you can catch 'em.  One more class on Tuesday and we will have completed all of our childbirth and childcare classes. 

Anyway, medically not too much has changed for me.  My blood pressures have mostly come back in the 130s and 140s with a few higher, but one bad day with more 150s and 160s earned me a blood draw and 24 hour urine test.  Yippee, who doesn't love being awoken at 7 am by a lady with a needle?  :)  Blood draw came back good and the urine test showed only a slight, negligible increase in the amount of protein I'm spilling.  My weight has actually come down a little since I've been here.  I'm certain this is due to a decrease in swelling and fluid retention because my feet/ankles look a lot better (though still quite swollen, at least they are distinguishable from my calves) and the carpal tunnel in my hands is significantly better.  Sonogram on Friday was good - Naomi is still doing great. 

Otherwise, I'm feeling pretty good and I'm not bored yet.  Merry Christmas to everyone! 

Visiting

A quick note on visiting me in the hospital if you'd like to. 
I'm at Medical Center of Plano in the ante-partum area of Labor & Delivery, room LD20. 
You'll want to park by the emergency entrance as it's closest. 
No kids under 12 are allowed in L&D unless they are siblings, so any sweet little ones either have to wait in the waiting room with someone or stay at home. 
Afternoons are best as a lot of my monitoring, testing, cleaning up, etc is done in the morning. 
I definitely welcome visitors - at this point, I feel pretty much normal, just confined.  :) 

The End of an Eventful Week

So Friday was the conclusion of a very eventful and somewhat stressful week.  At some point earlier in the week (I've lost track), Terah kindly came up here and then dropped off some paperwork at my office that I had to turn in by a certain deadline.  When she came back she brought a miniature Christmas tree with ornaments and some Reese's minis.  Yum!  Friday brought more paperwork as Brian had to drop off some more paperwork that was due and pick up some additional forms that I now need to file for my leave.  While he was at my office he went ahead and packed up my desk.  It's really sad - I never really got a chance to say bye to people and my leaving was so unplanned.  I knew that once I went on leave, I wouldn't be coming back since my layoff date would be during my leave time, but I was planning on working pretty close to the end of the pregnancy and having time to say bye.  That night, my parents came and set-up the tree Terah got me and also drove my car home since it had been sitting in the parking lot at the hospital since Monday. 

Medically, my numbers have gotten better the past couple days.  The doctor attributes it to the bed rest and I'm sure she's right.  My swelling seems to have gone down some as well. 

The past few days have been more settled.  We now have my room decorated for Christmas and with some personal photos and flowers.  I've had some great visitors.  Our church, Heights Baptist, has someone call or visit every week day so I got a visit on Thursday and a call on Friday.  Also, the prayer shawl ministry at church brought me a prayer shawl yesterday.  We've had a couple of people from our ABF at church stop by this weekend with flowers, food or books so it's been nice to see some friends.  One of my bosses from work and his wife came to visit today and brought me a couple magazines.  I've had family in and out for the last few days.  It really makes me realize how blessed we are.  I'm also super thankful for this little HP mini netbook that I'm typing on and Facebook - my little windows to the outside world.  Well, I guess that's it for now.  Time to do something else... hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Thursday - It's Official

Brian went ahead and went into work since we had a feeling that I wasn't going to get released.  The doctor came in around 9 in the morning and confirmed what we suspected.  I would remain in the hospital until Naomi is born.  My doctor's goal is to get me to 38 weeks and then to induce labor so that the pregnancy doesn't put any more strain on my body.  Here is a link to the mayo clinic article on preeclampsia http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/preeclampsia/DS00583 - you can step through the different sections and get an idea of what it is.  One of the questions that I've already gotten from friends/family is about blood pressure medication.  My doctor doesn't currently have me on anything because she doesn't want to mask this symptom as she can use it to gauge if my situation is getting worse or holding steady.  Makes sense.  Anyway, we did get permission to roll me over to our breastfeeding class that night in another building of the hospital, so that was nice. 

Brian had his final for his stat class Thursday afternoon and then came over and that night he loaded me up into a wheelchair and I got to get out of my room for the first time since I'd walked into it Monday afternoon.  It was lovely.  Just some notes about the parameters of my bed rest for those curious: I do get to get up to take showers, go to the bathroom, etc.  I get to wear my own pjs and clothes.  Otherwise, I pretty much just sit or lay in bed all day and keep myself busy on the computer, tv, books, etc.  I feel pretty much normal other than just tiring out easily (some of which is typical 3rd trimester stuff and some of which may be attributed to the blood pressure).  I get sad when I think about the muscle atrophy and about how hard it will be to get back to Jazzercise and, at some point, running.  Well, more tomorrow. 

Wednesday - Will I Stay or Will I Go

So since Wednesday was the day that I was supposed to find out if I would be released for home bed rest or not, Brian came to the hospital and worked from here while we waited to get word.  The doctor came in early in the day to let us know that she wanted to consult with the perinatologist before making a decision.  My 24 hour urine test did show that I was spilling protein but at fairly low levels, so I was diagnosed with mild pre-eclampsia.  However, with my blood pressure readings coming in all over the place and some of them coming in really rather high, she wasn't sure how comfortable she was sending me home.  So, she said she would be back later in the day after she talked to the other doc. 


This is the point at which the whole situation hit me.  I realized that I was definitely on bedrest (i.e. little freedom, no working, etc.) and that I was possibly going to be in the hospital over the holidays.  I cried.  A lot.  I tried to stop and cried some more.  My nurse that day tried to help by saying that it could be worse which didn't help at all.  Yes, I know it could be much worse.  I've had friends and family who have endured much more and I know that I'm blessed to only have this small burden.  However, that doesn't mean that I don't need a time to be sad about my situation and to reconcile myself to my new reality.  It was tough on Brian to see me break down and to be strong for me, but he did.  By the afternoon, I'd "put my big girl panties on" and was in a much better place. 


Now, we waited...and waited...my doc must have been slammed that day because she kept intending to come by and never did.  It got late enough that Brian and I figured that she must not be planning to release me and we all but knew she was keeping me in the hospital for the bed rest.  Brian went home alone, again, and seemed much sadder this time.  I think this was the hardest night for him to leave me, particularly after hoping to take me home.  So, we figured we would hear the official word from the doc the next day. 

My First Day in the Hospital

So, after my first night in the hospital, I discovered that I'm not any different than anyone else - I barely slept.  I was up almost every hour.  I couldn't get comfortable, had to go to the bathroom, wasn't used to the noises or setting, etc.  Brian came by in the morning before work, but since we knew I would be there all day finishing my testing, he went ahead and went to work.  At this point, we really hadn't told too many people since we didn't really know much and so far it wasn't that big of a deal.  Obviously I had to tell my work since I was going to be out for the day (horrible timing too - dead middle of our acquisition closing which is similar to a quarter-end close, so a busy time).  Anyway, doctor came by at some point and let me know that she probably wouldn't get the results back from the lab in time to release me that night (she didn't want to release me and then have to re-admit me) so I would be staying another night.  My blood pressure readings had come back all over the place, but all elevated, some really badly and some not as bad (systolic ranging from 130s to 160s and dystolic pretty stable).  At this point she pretty much told me that I would be on bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy but she wanted to wait to see the protein results before deciding whether I could do my bed rest at home or if I'd have to do it in the hospital.  Of course I had to let my office know as I would be out yet again and they should probably know that I was most likely not going to be able to come back at all (I was actually laid off due to the acquisition last week effective 2/25/11 - good times, so it was looking like I would spend the reminder of my employed time on short-term disability).  At this point we also let a couple of other family and friends know so they could be praying especially for the home bed rest rather than hospital.  So I settled in for another night, this time with an Ambien (allelujah) and Brian headed home alone again (no sense in both of us not sleeping well). 

Week 32 Appointment

So, here begins the story of how I ended up writing all of this from a hospital bed.  There will be a lot of medical stuff at first and then more of my thoughts.  I went in for my routine OB appointment on Monday, December 6th after work at which point I was technically 32 weeks 5 days.  I did all my usual weigh/measure stuff and my first blood pressure reading came back quite high, so they waited until the end of the appointment and re-took it and it was a little lower but still very high and I had gained almost 10 pounds since my last appointment 2 weeks prior (most likely in fluid).  I've had a lot of swelling from about the middle of the pregnancy on but since my blood pressure had always been good and I wasn't spilling any protein in my urine, the doctor hadn't been concerned yet.  However, with this spike in blood pressure the doctor indicated that she wanted to do a 24 hour urine test and hourly blood pressure monitoring to see if it was pre-eclampsia.  At some point, she mentioned the possibility of bed rest, but I don't think that really sunk in as an actual outcome of this at the time.  So, she showed me to the back door of her office to go down to labor and delivery where I was admitted to stay overnight for the testing.  This would be my first night in a hospital (um, since birth, so pretty much ever) - I've been very fortunate to not have had to stay in a hospital before.  So, I get all checked in and get to start my science experiment which I've happily dubbed "playing with your pee".  I'm sad that Brian and I will have to spend the night apart, but I'm still in pretty good spirits since I figure it's just a night...

Belly Pics

When I first got pregnant and started writing in this blog, I planned to take regular belly pics to document the growth and post on here.  That didn't actually end up happening.  Time seems to be just flying by.  As I've mentioned, I started showing pretty early and generally I look farther along than I really am.  I'm blaming the 5 foot thing.  Although I measure on track for my gestation, I get some comments from strangers sometimes. 

True Story:  Woman asks me when I'm due, I reply January, and she says, "Wow, that's gonna be a big baby!".  She then asks me boy or girl, I reply girl, and she says, "Oh, too big for a girl!".  Really!?!?!  It's sometimes shocking the things people actually say to pregnant women.  Hello!  We're hormonal and already insecure about our changing bodies which we seem to have little control over these days! 

My brother Derek also tells me I've gotten fat everytime I see him now, but if you know him at all, you know that's nothing to get frazzled about.  If he's not hassling you, he must not like you much, so I'll just consider myself loved. 

So, much ado about nothing, here is my first posted "belly" shot.  It's from a couple weeks ago (somewhere around the end of October), so I'll have to post another one over my Thanksgiving holiday. 

Week 26-27 Sonogram

So on Monday, October 25th we had what has turned out to be our monthly sonogram.  The main purpose is to follow up on Naomi's kidneys and make sure they're still functioning.  It was a good, albeit a little unusual, appointment. 

Naomi's kidneys had almost the same measurements as they did before so they are no more dilated than they were previously.  Her bladder is still full and she has the right level of amniotic fluid (or pool water as my doc sometimes calls it).  So, kidneys are still functioning and we'll go back in 4 weeks to check again.  Otherwise, got a great view of the heart pumping away and lots of other details.  Apparently this is one of the best sonogram times as the baby is big enough to see a lot clearly, but not so big that it's all squished together.  Her measurements were all good, on-schedule, and around the 50% mark for her gestation.  She weighed approximately 2 lbs 3 oz (no telling how much she's grown since then). 

Now for the unusual part: I had a high school student from Plano East observing my sonogram (with my permission of course).  She's in some sort of clinicals class/program to get her EMT cert - sounds pretty cool.  Sweet little girl, but she had no idea what she was in for when she walked into my doc's office.  Before I even went back I heard her talking to my doc about becoming a nurse practitioner and my doc challenging her to go to med school and be a doctor.  That should have been the girl's first clue for what she was in for.  In addition to observing my sono (with my doc moving at record speed), she got to have a rapid fire, pop anatomy quiz starting with the anatomy of the heart.    When she didn't know something or got something wrong, responses ranged from "Girl, are you kidding me?" to "You've got to know your heart!"  I hope the girl studied Monday night because I gathered that she was coming back on Tuesday and it was clear she was expected to have this down by then. 

So, we'll go back just before Thanksgiving to make sure everything is still in working order. 

How Are You Feeling

I've noticed that as a pregnant woman you frequently get asked "How are you feeling?"  It's easy small talk, people generally want to show their caring and support for you, and other women who've been pregnant before like to empathize.  For the most part I reply that I'm feeling pretty good or that I'm feeling pretty good other than the swelling.  And, for the most part, that's true.  However, it's not to say that I feel great or normal.  Really, any time a pregnant woman gives you this response there is an unspoken "for a pregnant gal" condition attached to this statement.  A new normal has been established and how you feel is based on this new pregnant version of normal. 

So, here's the lowdown and longer answer to how I feel most days:

The part about the swelling is true and it precipitates quite a bit of my other "symptoms" which is why I frequently just mention it.  My shoes and rings stopped fitting about a month ahead of schedule (I was prone to swelling before the pregnancy so I'm not surprised this is an issue).  I pretty much just wear flip flops right now.  I've bought a couple pairs of shoes (a half size to a size up and in a wide width) for when it gets colder and I'm crossing my swollen fingers that the little plump piggies still fit into them (and that the colder weather helps the swelling).  The swelling has also gone to my nose - I feel stuffed up most of the time particularly at night.  I have developed a completely hideous and unladylike snore that I've never had before.  Hubby bought me breath right strips and has taken to wearing ear plugs at night.  Bless his heart - he didn't marry this snore, but he's being super sweet about it.  The swelling has also caused what they call pregnancy carpel tunnel syndrome.  My right middle finger (and sometimes the two on either side of it) are essentially constantly numb.  It feels like someone injected them with novocaine.  Sometimes, when the swelling is particularly bad, this escalates to a painful numbness - the finger is numb except for the arthritic-like pain in my finger joints.  This is really not good when you're job is at a desk frequently involving typing, mousing, and ten-keying with your right hand.  This should all go away shortly after delivery, but for now, it is not fun. 

Otherwise, I have a host of other garden variety pregnancy feelings.  The horrible acid reflux kicked in over a month ago and there is no end in sight.  I'm generally burning up when everyone else thinks it's cool or comfortable in the room.  I tire much more easily and my body feels cumbersome.  Blah, blah, blah...

But other than that, I'm really feeling pretty good.  :)