Random Post-Pregnancy Thoughts

I had a couple random thoughts I wanted to mention before this latest birth becomes a blur.  Here they are, in no particular order.

1.  I forgot to mention in my birth story post some of the other oddities about this labor.  One was that the doctor made me wear those ted hose that prevent blood clots while I was laboring.  That is the first time anyone has ever even suggested them before!  Back at one of my first OB appointments, the nurse-practitioner I saw made a big deal about the blood clot I had in my arm back in 1993.  How weird that in this pregnancy, people have focused on the blood clot from almost 20 years ago, when I haven't had any clotting problems whatsoever during the first 8 pregnancies!  Anyhow, the hose were annoying but not too bad.  When I was in bed, however, I had to have them hooked up to this pump thing that inflated them every so many seconds!  Now THAT was annoying, especially during those really bad double-peaked contractions, where I was really trying hard to concentrate and relax.

2.  I have used calcium pills before in other labors, but I have never tried liquid calcium, which is what Kim, a mother of 11 recommends.  This time I found a bottle at Walmart.  I drank some maybe at 3:00 AM or so.  I waited because Kim says wait until a good labor pattern is established, and the contractions just weren't that painful for most of the labor--I could hardly feel them.  So I waited.  I don't think the calcium really did anything to mitigate the pain of the really hard pit-induced contractions, but really, how could it compete, LOL?  Where I noticed a HUGE difference was in afterpains.  I have had very intense afterpains the past several births--these tend to get more and more intense the more births you had.  Well, I was expecting earth-shattering ones this time, but I hardly felt any.  Any at all!  It was amazing!  So if there is a next time for me, I definitely plan on taking the liquid calcium again.  It is worth it, even if all it does is help with the afterpains!

3.  I have never worked harder during a labor, trying many different positions, making sure to change positions every half hour or so, trying many asymmetrical positions, and so on.  I don't know what you should do when there's so much fluid that the baby just doesn't move down though.  Maybe I'll email the spinningbabies lady and ask her what she would recommend.  I do think everything helped though--once Drew did decide to move down, he was obviously in a good position.  I didn't stall during transition, like I did with Grace, and Drew didn't get stuck, like Grace did, even though he was bigger than she was.  I really felt like I learned so much during this labor.  Has any doula ever had so much chance to practice stuff on herself, LOL?!

4. Another thing that was different was that after I delivered Drew, while they were worrying about getting all the clots out of my uterus, they inserted a Foley catheter, because, as they said, a full bladder can prevent the uterus from clamping down as well. Okay. I've never had one of those either! I didn't like it, and I had to have it in for 12 hours after delivery. I was literally counting down the hours, and I frequently reminded the corpsman, when he came in to check on me, how much time was left, LOL. I still felt like I needed to pee, the tube got caught on stuff, and blood dripped down the tube whenever I stood up. Blech.

5.  Speaking of corpsmen, I had 2 take care of me, one on Friday, and one on Saturday.  They both were 19 or 20, but really nice and competant.  I have always liked the people I've had take care of me at Bethesda, even if I thought they were making weird decisions (ted hose *cough*), LOL.  Anyhow, it was weird to think that these guys were only a few years older than Nathan!  It's hard to imagine Nathan working a post-partum ward in 4 years, taking out Foley catheters, giving moms fundal massages, etc!  They also took vitals on the babies, and I am sure Nathan has had more newborn baby experience than either of them had before they did their training and started working up there on the ward!

6.  I always try to bring a good book to read during my hospital stay, and this time I was really looking forward to my book, especially since I have basically had no time for any leisure reading since the end of July.  I read The Midwife, by Jennifer Worth.  It's the book that the PBS show "Call the Midwife" is based on, and in fact, when I looked up the book on Amazon, I found that it was republished in August under the new title of Call the Midwife.   It was an excellent book--very well-written and gripping.  I could hardly put it down!  Her description of a breech delivery was riveting and enlightening!  She also wrote a lot about stuff other than pure midwifery--the culture of the poor Docklands area, along with a lot of the problems that the people dealt with, like abuse, prostitution, the workhouse (that was quite a draining story).  Definitely a book that left me with a lot to think about.  I highly recommend it!  She wrote 2 other books, but they were not so directly about her midwife experience.  The second one is called In the Shadows of the Workhouse, and I just don't know that I can read that one.  The institution of the workhouse in England seems like such an incredibly horrible and cruel "solution" to poverty, and I just don't know that I can read any more stories about it! 

Finally Here!

 At long last, Andrew James was born at 4:47 AM Friday, Nov. 30.  He was 9 pounds, 2 ounces, and 22 1/2 inches long.  Observant folk may point out that we already have an "A" name, which violates our naming rules.  Not to worry!  We're calling him Drew!  Bob has been reading God's Smuggler, the biography of Brother Andrew, who has been instrumental in smuggling in so many Bibles to restricted areas of the world for so many years, and he was inspired by the man. 

 Now, for the rest of the birth story . . . I spent forever on hold Thursday afternoon with L&D, but eventually someone told me to come in at 5:30.  Bob and I left at 4:30, and we stopped by the Bethesda McDonalds where I ate a double hamburger plus some fries before we actually went into the hospital.  Of course, not long after I was admitted, they decided to do a blood sugar stick on me . . . whoops!  My numbers were 160, LOL.  Fortunately I confessed up to what I had eaten right before going upstairs, and they decided to wait a little bit and test again.  My numbers were fine then.

They finally actually got the pitocin started around 8:00, so I knew it was going to be a long night.  When the doctor examined me, before they started the pit, I was 4 cm dilated, but still just 50% effaced.  The baby was still moving around a ton, so clearly he wasn't engaged.  The doctor said she wouldn't break my water until he was further down, since she didn't want to risk cord prolapse.  Because the baby was so active, it was hard to keep him on the monitor, but they insisted he be on it, since I was having pit.  So I spent my time trying all these different things and various positions, but I was limited by having to chase the baby around with the monitor thing on my tummy. 

They started the pit at 2 and kept upping it, but I was hardly even feeling the contractions, so I knew they weren't doing a darn thing.  And sure enough, at 10:00 when the doctor checked me, I was still at 4 cm, 50% effaced.  Bob took a nap, and I finished reading a murder mystery, plus a Reader's Digest while changing positions regularly, rocking on the birthing ball, etc.  But the contractions continued to not be painful at all, the baby continued to not move down, and I just got tired!

Eventually they upped the pitocin all the way to 18, where they felt like I was in a good, albeit non-painful, labor pattern.  Eventually the baby moved down enough where the doctor felt he was "well-applied" to my cervix, so she broke my water around 2:00 AM.  I am sure if she had broken my water earlier, things would have happened more quickly.  That is what I remember about Jonathan's labor--he was also high, but the doctor broke my water after just a few hours, so the total labor was not too long.  Anyhow, things became a little more painful after that, but really the contractions weren't too bad until 4:00 or so.  But although the contractions hurt, and I was having these double-peaking contractions that just never seemed to end, I still wasn't feeling much pressure or anything, so I was worried that I still had a long ways to go.  I started thinking that maybe I would get an epidural this time--I was so tired, these contractions were so intense, and I felt like I still had a long ways to go.  I was feeling like I was heading into transition because I was feeling shaky and hot, then cold, but when the doctor examined me at about 4:15, I was only 6 cm dilated . . . and still just 50% effaced.  So then I really started thinking seriously about the epidural.  I've never had one, and I was quite curious as to whether it would really ease these intense, double-peaked contractions.  The only way I was getting through them was intense concentration and relaxation on my part, and intense counter-pressure in the small of my back and against my top hip by Bob (I was on my right side at that point).  I didn't know how much longer Bob would be able to keep up the pressure either!  But then the baby's heartrate started decelerating.  They decided it was because of the massive dose of pit I was getting, which was making my contractions so strong, so they cut the pit off and gave me an oxygen mask.  They also said an epidural would be good for me, so they called the anesthesiologist, but before he got there, they put a fetal heart monitor on the baby's head, so they could better track his heartrate.  So I had several very uncomfortable contractions on my back while they got all that hooked up, and then the wire didn't work, so they had to replace it.  It was a little after 4:30, and the doctor confirmed that I was still just at 6 cm, 50% effaced.  Finally they finished up all the fetal monitor stuff, and I rolled onto my left side . . . where I promptly had another contraction and felt a strong urge to push.

"Ummm, I don't know why, but I'm pushing!!" I cried out, so the doctor rushed over to examine me again, and what do you know--I was complete!  I pushed for about 5 minutes, and Drew was born at 4:47!  I could tell he was big, as in over 9 pounds, but I could also tell he was nowhere as big as Micah, LOL.  I had to push about 15 minutes to get Micah out!  It is still not easy to push out a 9 pound baby though.  Hard work, even if not a long time of pushing 

So all of a sudden it was over, which was stunning to me.  I know people like my friend Christine dilate really quickly, but that has never been my experience in the slightest, and this labor was just so slow that I never in a million years expected such a speedy end!  I thought it would all drag on for hours more!  I was so relieved though.  I was really running out of energy, motivation, and everything. 

The bad thing was that the long labor, plus all the pitocin, combined to make my uterus not clamp up very effectively, which was something I worried about, since that had happened with Grace as well.  If you have had a baby, you probably know all about fundal massage, which is very uncomfortable.  Well, this time I had not one, not two, but 3 doctors reach their entires hands inside me and scoop out clots and junk from my uterus--an internal uterine sweep--and each of the 3 did it at least twice--all while pressing down on the fundus from the outside as well.  Let me tell you, THAT was so painful.  By the time the 2nd doctor had done it once, I actually had to have some fentanyl in my IV to take the edge off.  I don't know if it really helped though--just made me a bit woozy.  Oh my goodness, it was painful!  I also was the lucky recipient of cytotec rectal suppositories, plus a shot in the thigh of methergen, all to help my uterus clamp up better.  All that took until about 7:00, and it really wiped me out.  My uterus and pelvis are still sorer than usual from all the manipulation.  It was rough! 

Finally we were able to go to our room, and I was able to eat breakfast.  Then we dozed around all morning until my parents brought all the kids to visit at lunch.  They were all so excited to meet their new baby brother!  Micah was carried in by Luke, and as soon as he saw me, he burst into tears and clung to Luke!  LOL, my face was all puffy from all the IV stuff, plus I don't think he really expected to find me in this strange place, so he was quite suspicious of this imposter!  He eventually got over it and got on the bed to snuggle with me.  He was also very fascinated by this new baby!

Drew and I are both doing fine.  He's gotten the hang of nursing, and my milk is coming in.  We got to come home this afternoon, much to the delight of Drew's siblings, who all clamor to hold him at every opportunity.  I'm hoping Drew will cooperate and let me get a little bit of sleep tonight, but I am not holding my breath, LOL.  If there has been one thing true about Drew so far, it is that he has not been cooperative with my plans!  But I am still so tired.  Luke and Caleb were our only other night births.  It seems so much harder to recover from night births, after a full, busy day, than day births (esp. when you aren't in labor the night before).  Tomorrow Bob and I have to make the trek back to Bethesa to get Drew weighed, since he went home before 48 hours.  They would have let us come back Monday, but then traffic and parking are worse, so Sunday is actually a better day! 

I'm so thankful my parents are here to help with all the other kids and their running around.  Today they got Jonathan to basketball practice and Luke to a basketball scrimmage, and tomorrow they are taking all the kids to church, then getting Nathan to a scrimmage and Caleb to a practice!

So that's the story--different from all the others!  I'm off to nurse again, and then hopefully go to bed to get some rest!

No Room at the Inn

I called L&D this morning at 7:30, and what do you know--they don't have any room for me.  Sigh.  Bethesda doesn't technically start inductions until 7:00 PM, but the doctor was hoping I could get in earlier since I don't need my cervix softened and all that stuff, just a bit of pit to get things going.  I'll call back around lunchtime, but the nurse this morning was not hopeful and encouraging, so it looks more likely that this baby will be born tomorrow, a day I totally wanted to avoid.  Although there is the very real chance that they won't have room for me tonight either, and then they'll just move the induction to some other day.  Whee!

I am trying to be encouraged by Day 29 of the Thirty-One Days of Praise book I pray through in the mornings.  "Thank you that I can give myself up to be led by you . . . that I can go forth praising and at rest, letting you manage me and my day . . . that I can joyfully depend on You throughout the day, expecting You to guide, to enlighten, to reprove, to teach, to use, and to do in me and with me what You desire . . . that I can count upon Your working in me and through me as a fact, totally apart from sight and feeling . . . that I can go forth praising and at rest, believing You and obeying You and ceasing from the burden of trying to manage myself without Your wisdom and power.  Thank you that I can throw the whole weight of my anxieties on You, for I am Your personal concern."

And now I must decide if I want to take yet another walk, or do my "Perfect Pregnancy Workout" DVD one more time.  Then school, a quick trip to Sam's for more soy milk . . . life goes on.

Big Day Tomorrow

I went on what is hopefully my last forced march around the neighborhood this pregnancy, and I ate my last (small) bowl of chocolate ice cream.  I'll call labor and delivery tomorrow around 7:30 to see when they want me to come in.  This will be my 3rd induction where I haven't been already 5 cm dilated.  I will definitely admit to being nervous.  The thing about having had a lot of babies is that, well, I pretty much know how this is going to feel!  The baby could be very uncooperative, as he has been so far, and refuse to move down, making this induction take a long time, and that is what I really dread.  That, and pushing.  I hate pushing!  And just the thought that he might be 10 pounds or more like Micah is certainly reason to dread the whole thing! 

I never really had any more measureable contractions last night or today, so I expect that I haven't progressed any more than the 2 cm I was yesterday.  I printed off a ton of stuff from the spinningbabies website so I have plenty of techniques to try once the pitocin starts that will hopefully help him move down and me progress.  I will let you know if anything actually works, LOL.  My hope is to eventually become a doula, after I'm done having kids an homeschooling no longer takes up so much of my time.  Reading so much about optimal fetal positioning this time around has really been incredibly worthwhile and educational--I really do think it will help me become a better doula.  Now let's see if I can doula myself into a good labor, LOL.

I definitely appreciate your prayers for a safe, smooth, uncomplicated labor and delivery!

(Small) Progress

I had another OB appointment this afternoon.  It was supposed to be at 1:20, but a guy from the front desk called and left a message yesterday saying they had to cancel my appointment, and I needed to call back to reschedule.  So I called back, and the man said they had a 2:40 slot for this afternoon, so he was putting me in there.  Okay, fine, whatever . . . that worked better for Bob anyway, who was metro-ing over from the Pentagon to meet me there. 

So I showed up at 2:40 this afternoon, and the lady at the desk looked quizzically at me.  "What time did you say your appointment was?"  Hmmm . . . this is not my fault, LOL!  Long story short, the guy had not actually entered my name in the slot, although I overheard a different lady at the front desk telling someone she was there when he was talking with me, so he must have just messed up.  Well, I was assured that I would indeed be seen, since I was due, and that was all I cared about! 

I saw the same doctor I saw 2 appointments ago.  This time I am all of 2 cm dilated, although still just 50% effaced.  She said the baby was lower, although still not totally pressing against my cervix.  But my cervix was low enough that she could at least strip my membranes, so that was good.  I had felt that my pelvis was achier this morning, and last night I actually had a few Braxton-Hicks contractions.  I've had a few contractions tonight as well, although they still don't seem like they are really meaning business, and I certainly haven't had anything like bloody show or anything.

She scheduled me for an induction Thursday.  I will call at 7:30 AM to see what time they want me to come in.  I really am praying that I will make some more progress by then, although clearly this baby is not one to cooperate with my plans and wishes!  I really, really do not want another long, drawn out induction, like the one I had with Grace.  So in the meantime, I will continue with all the exercise, plus the spinning babies techniques.  I will be QUITE happy to be done with all that in just a few more days!

Waiting . . .

Monday I ran a ton of little errands, and my parents arrived safely from Ohio.  Yesterday we spent the day doing our part of the cooking for the Thanksgiving dinner we're eating over at the L's house.  I got my bag sort of packed.  I washed a load of baby clothes.  I worked some on the biology syllabus for this next semester.  Things are pretty much ready around here.

Unfortunately, Baby #9 has not received that memo.  At my appointment this morning, I was basically unchanged from last week--still a (soft) 1 cm, cervix very high, about 50% effaced.  And the baby is still on that right side, not pressing down on the cervix, just floating around.  "He seems quite happy in there," said the doctor.  Yes, well . . . I am not happy for him to stay in there.  I don't think I have ever been this far along and been so little dilated!  What we are looking at is a December baby, which is incredibly disappointing to Caleb, who has been so looking forward to finally having a "birthday buddy" of his own.  All the rest of our birthdays are between February and June, while he hangs out all by himself in November.  Nothing like feeling like a huge disappointment to one of your other children, one who actually DID put me into labor on his own, right before his due date, with no issues or problems, no less.  Grrrrrr.  At least December avoids the anniversary of Jennifer's death. 

And of course, an overdue baby means an even bigger baby for me.  The doctors seem to think that is simply not going to be an issue, but you know what?  I have big babies--even when people don't think the babies are big.  As one of the small minority who has pushed out a 10 1/2 pound baby, as well as two over-9-pounders, all with no pain medicine at all, I would just like to say I do not want to do that again.  Sigh.  The doctor said he didn't recommend even thinking about an induction now, since it's so obvious the baby isn't ready, and I have to completely agree.  This reminds me (again) of Grace's birth story, where she wasn't ready and it was not my favorite birthing experience.  And with her I was at least 3 cm dilated!  But she was very high, took forever to move down, and wasn't in a good position when she did, such that she had shoulder dystocia. 

This is also reminding me of Jonathan.  He was due mid-May--around the 18th, I think.  His birthday is June 2--my first induction.  He was also "very comfortable" in there, way up high, not moving down.   I never dreamed I would have a June baby when I was due in mid-May!  Those last 2 weeks were some of the most discouraging of my life, as I chased around 3 other little kids (Nathan, the oldest, was 5).

I know a lot more about birthing, and about optimal fetal positioning now, though.  I've read up on Spinning Babies about "oblique lying babies" (where the head is off to the side, in the hip), and I've been doing their suggestions.  Unfortunately, however, nothing is working, obviously.  I have learned even more though--it is such a  fascinating website!  For example, when I had Nathan, I stalled out at 9 cm.  I had a lip on one side which just wouldn't dilate.  Eventually (after Pitocin), the AF midwife had me lay on my back and push while she held my cervix out of the way.  I never had any urge to push, and the whole thing was incredibly difficult, but Nathan was born after about 2 hours of pushing.  Looking back, I am amazed that I avoided a c-section, and I am sure that if a doctor had been attending me, I probably would have gotten one.  Wow--that would have changed things!  Anyhow, I was reading on the site last night, and one part was talking about how to do a "side-lying release".  It said this move was indicated in labor when the uterus is contracting strongly, but progress stalls at 6, 7, or even 8 or 9 cm.  The uterus just can't bring the baby down evenly.  Huh!  In another place it even talked about how lying on your back and pushing, while uncomfortable, can get the baby to tip into the pelvis in a better way and avoid a c-section!  Who knew?!  The sad thing is that no one had any suggestions for me, other than pitocin--no changes of position, no "side-lying release move" or anything. 

I would say that most causes of labor that is slow to progress or even slow to start  are badly-positioned babies.  But that doesn't answer the question of why, if I know this and am trying these techniques, they are not working for me?!  Frustrating!  So now I have added weird positioning exercises to my twice daily routine of pregnancy exercise DVDs and forced marches around the neighborhood.  Whee!  The fun just keeps coming!  But not the baby . . . and I can't even eat cookies or chocolate to distract myself.  My next appointment is Tuesday at 1:20.  Although the doctor said, "Well, I'm sure you'll start progressing any day now", I am not so hopeful.  Unless something changes with the baby (and there's no indication that is going to happen), I doubt anything will change, even in a week. 

Belly Shots

I have not actually taken any belly shots so far this pregnancy, so this afternoon, after church and before running off to our small group meeting, I asked Bob to document this pregnancy with a picture!

I'm carrying like all the others--a big basketball out in front.  Sometimes people tell me I look low, like I've dropped--but I've looked this way for awhile now, nothing new!  I just carry low.  And I look big, too.  The doctor was funny on Friday--I had told her I was expecting a 9 pound baby, since Caleb and Jonathan were both 9 pounds.  She felt around and said she didn't think this one was 9 pounds.  I'd be VERY surprised if he wasn't though (pleasantly surprised, LOL).  Maybe if I go into labor in the next day or 2--not if I wait another week and a half!

 

Another OB Appointment

I'm over 37 weeks along now, and I had another appointment this morning.  Everything looks just fine, and the doctor was very happy with my blood sugar numbers.  She did surprise me, however, by saying that well-controlled gestational diabetes is the same as not having diabetes at all, so they aren't planning to induce me or anything before 40 weeks (my official due date is Nov. 28).  This was a surprise, because with Faith, they did not want me to go past 40 weeks at all, even though everything was well-controlled then too.

It wouldn't really matter, except for a couple of things.  First, I have big babies.  I did not have GD with Caleb and Jonathan, and they were 9# 5oz and 9# 6oz respectively.  So I am expecting at least a 9 pounder here.  Anna and Grace were not GD babies, and they were 8# 11oz and 8#13 oz, and Faith, who was a GD baby, was 8# 10oz--right in line with the other girls' weights.  Anyhow, all those numbers to say I am not interested in going much over 40 weeks!

Second, my due date is just terrible timing, really.  You may not remember what I was posting about last year at the end of November/beginning of December, but I have personal reasons for not wanting to deliver Nov. 26-30.  So in my mind, I have been thinking of my due date as more "right after Thanksgiving", and not that in last week of November.  But really, with Thanksgiving there is no way to schedule anything except that last week of November, and I really don't want to go into December, for fear of having another big baby.  Nine pounders are one thing, but Micah was 10# 8oz--and I definitely do not fancy pushing out another one his size again!!

I have another appointment next Friday.  The doctor today said they would do an exam and see what things were looking like at that point, although I'm not seeing her next week, so really who knows what this next person will do, LOL.  Then I am going to attempt to schedule another appointment like the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, although it is tricky to schedule one so soon, since I have to see a doctor, not a nurse-prationer or midwife, and appointments fill up quickly.  If I could, though, that woul give me one more exam (and hopefully a membrane-stripping), and if I was dilated, then maybe Bob and I would go into L&D sometime Thanksgiving weekend, like we did with Micah, and if they weren't busy, they would probably give me a little bit of pit and put me into active labor.  So we'll see how all that works out.

The thing is, I really don't have any hope of going into labor on my own, much less early.  I did go into labor on my own with Faith 2 days before the scheduled induction at 40 weeks (and we barely made it to the hospital), but otherwise, the last person I went into labor with on my own was Caleb, #3.  Jonathan, #4, was 2 weeks overdue before I was induced with him!   There are no tricks that put me into labor, LOL.  And my water NEVER breaks on its own!

So I am just continuing my routine and hoping for the best.  I'm still exercising twice a day most days, which takes a huge chunk of time and makes me really tired.  I do one of my pregnancy workout videos in the morning, and usually Bob and I take a 40 minute walk after dinner.  All the exercise does keep my blood sugar numbers low, I've only gained a pound of weight in the last 8 weeks since I was diagnosed, and I sleep well and don't struggle with constipation, LOL.  Silver lining . . .  I have a chiropractic appointment scheduled for next Wednesday--I want to be well-aligned so the baby can be in a good position.  I'm also taking my daily regimen of supplements.  I'm up to 4 evening primrose oil capsules a day (promotes cervical softening and dilation), 6 raspberry leaf extract capsules (uterine toning and effective contractions), 4 alfalfa pills (prevents hemorrhaging), and the usual prenatal vitamin and fish oil pills.  Hopefully the evening primrose oil in particular will be effective.

In general, I feel pretty good, although I am starting to feel these last few weeks of pregnancy.  But to be honest, I'm so busy with co-op and everything else, that it's not like I have time to sit and stew in my discomfort, LOL.  We have one more week of Rivendell before Thanksgiving break, so I just have to get through the  classes on Tuesday, plus lab on Thursday, and then I'll be home free!!  And this past weekend, we really picked up, in part because of the moms' meeting I hosted on Sunday, but also because Wednesday afternoon a lady from church, along with 2 helpers, thoroughly cleaned our house!  It looks sooo good--they did such a fantastic job!  Now I feel like I can really relax, since everything is so clean, although it will be a struggle to maintain it, with all these little (and big) messmakers around.  I also got out the baby boy clothes.  We're closer to being ready!

Ultrasound!

I had another ultrasound this morning.  I'm a little over 34 weeks now, and my other ultrasound was wa back in June, when I was only 17 weeks along.  Then the tech said my placenta was low-lying, and I needed another ultrasound at 32 weeks to make sure it had moved.  But the doctor said I had to have this ultrasound in the radiology department, and this was the soonest appointment.

Bob was able to take off work today, so he went with me, making the drive and the appointment so much more fun!  And it's always nice to see the baby!  I had to lay down pretty flat, which was amazingly uncomfortable.  Toward the end, the tech was trying to estimate his weight, and she needed to measure his femur, but the baby was really moving around.   I was just praying he would settle down long enough for her to measure him so I could get up!  Finally she got what she was looking for, and I could sit up.  I had a major round ligament cramp though.  I think one reason the baby was so wiggly and active was because he didn't like me being on my back!

Everything looked just fine though.  The lady asked me when they told me my placenta was low, because it was certainly out of the way now!  I think my theory about having such an early ultrasound (I've not had one that early that wasn't purely a dating ultrasound) was correct.  Whatever the cause, I am just rejoicing that I don't have to plan for a c-section now!  Thank you, Lord!

For what it's worth, the baby is measuring right on.  The weight she came up with is 5 pounds, 4 ounces, which could be exactly right, but I really don't put much stock in weight estimations from ultrasounds.  They are wildly off way too many times!    In fact, I had an ultrasound with Anna 2 weeks before she was born because the (civilian) doctor was worried about her being too big.  That ultrasound was a big waste of time, as far as I was concerned!  She was too big to really see anything, and they estimated her size as 7 pounds, 10 ounces, give or take 18 ounces.  What a huge margin of error, making the results meaningless!  Anna was 8 pounds 11 ounces at birth, 2 weeks later.

After our romantic date in the low-lit ultrasound room, Bob and I continued the fun by driving straight over to the Ft. Myer commissary--you can't say Bob doesn't ever take me anywhere expensive on dates!  We managed to keep the cost under $900 (barely!), and now we are stocked up for a good while.  I will have to go back again in November to get a turkey.  I didn't want a huge bird taking up all my freezer space for a month!  It was fun to have Bob be my "helper" instead of one of the boys this time, LOL.  And I know all the boys were relieved that they were off the hook for going!

Now I'm exhausted, so after I work on some biology, it will be off to bed for me!  Nathan is taking the PSAT tomorrow, so I know he would appreciate any prayers!  I can't believe it's time to start all this pre-college stuff . . . The weird thing is starting all this pre-college stuff AND thinking about delivering another baby in just a few short weeks!

OB Appointment

Yesterday I had an OB appointment, the first one since I started checking my blood sugar numbers 3 weeks ago.  Things have been going fairly well, as far as the gestational diabetes goes.  I've settled into a routine.  It's definitely easier the second time around!  I always eat the same thing for breakfast (1/2 c. bran flakes, milk, and a hard-boiled egg), and I eat similar things each day for lunch (usually a turkey/cheese/spinach sandwich, or a spinach salad with chicken and walnuts, or occasionally chicken salad with spinach and a few crackers--I usually eat a piece of fruit too).  I don't have any problems with these meals.  Dinner is a little bit harder, just because there's more variety.  A lot of the quick meals I have are carb-heavy, and I have had a few high readings after dinner, but not too many.  They want me to keep my after-mealtime numbers under 120, and I've had a few over--my highest was 136 once. 

Surprisingly, the number I've been having the most trouble with has been my fasting number, which I take first thing in the morning, before I have eaten anything.  They want it to be under 95, and usually my number is between 95 and 99--so not terribly high, but still . . . I went back and checked my numbers from when I was pregnant with Faith (because I am just that anal, and amazingly I could still find where all that stuff was), and I never had any trouble with my fasting number, no matter what I ate at night for my snack before bed.  The numbers were always around 89.  I was pregnant with Faith 4 years ago, and I guess I am just that much more insulin-resistant now.  Anyhow, I have been experimenting with what snack gives me the best fasting numbers.  I know what doesn't work--any sort of cookie or anything, even if I have some protein with it!  I've tried a bunch of different things, but what seems to work best, interestingly enough, is a 1/2 cup of a good (high fat) chocolate ice cream, and then I also eat a slice of turkey for protein.  When I do that, my numbers are usually around 93--still higher than with Faith, but better than with any other "healthier" snack I have tried.  Hey--I'm just reporting on the results of the experiment here--but I'm willing to eat a little bit of ice cream each night if that is what I have to do!

But back to the appointment--I was wondering what the doctor would say about my higher fasting levels (since I didn't start trying the ice cream until a few nights ago--although that is what I usually had as my snack/reward for getting through the day when I was pregnant with Faith as well), but she wasn't concerned at all.  She said everything was going well, I'm measuring right on, and she was happy to hear about all my exercising (twice a day most days--over an hour a day!).  She said she hopes she doesn't have to put me on any sort of medicine, because that automatically puts me into a different category of GD mom--"category 2"--and that means they monitor more closely (non-stress tests and so on), and they induce a week early.  I'd be happy to go into labor a week early, but I'd rather not be induced that early, and I definitely don't want to have to make the drive to Bethesda any more often than I already have to, so I also hope I can control this GD again with just diet and exercise!

Next Friday is my follow-up ultrasound to see if my placenta has moved away from my cervix.  I have been praying it has!!  This ultrasound will be done in radiology, instead of in the prenatal assessment center.  Then I will have my next OB appointment the following Friday.  Fridays are a good day for me to make the trek, so I'm glad it's working out to have all these appointments on Fridays!

So everything is going well.  I am still really loving the maternity belt I bought from Amazon.  I don't think I could do all the walking and exercising I've been doing without it.  I have definitely had a lot less round ligament pain this time than I did with Micah.  Today I worked at a kids' consignment sale, and I was on my feet, running around for 3 1/2 hours.  I was so thankful for the extra support of the belt!  This baby is so active at night--I think it will be a challenge to get his days and nights straightened out once he is born!  But I'm so busy during the day.  It's not until I lay down to sleep at night that he starts really moving around in there!  We've made a little progress on possible names, but honestly, there hasn't been that much time to talk about it!  The kids have all voiced their opinions.  This is where I remind them that this is not a democracy, LOL. 

Just a little over 6 weeks to go!

Pregnancy Update

Now I'm 29 weeks and a few days. This morning I took my 3-hour glucose test bright and early at Bethesda.  I left at 6:40 and was able to start the test at 7:45, so I made good time.  One thing that really frustrated me when I took the test with Faith was that I had to have my blood drawn first for a fasting number, then wait until those results got back, and THEN I could drink the nasty glucola stuff and start the test.  That took like an extra 40 minutes!  But this time they still drew for a fasting number, but I could drink the stuff right away, so that was much nicer.  I was back home around 11:40. At least I got some biology done!

They should call Monday, I expect.  I have an old glucose monitor, plus some old test strips, and I have been monitoring my levels occasionally after meals.  They have been either on the high side of normal (after breakfast and lunch), or just higher than they should be (dinner), even with exercising, so I am sure I have gestational diabetes again.  The only thing that could potentially be off is that the monitor/test strips are several years old, and I can't make sure the monitor is calibrated, because the testing solution was way old and gave wayyyyy wonky readings when I tried test strips with it.  But still, I'm expecting a call on Monday.  And I'm okay with it, I guess.  What I really don't want to do is sit through the 3 hour nutritional orientation thing again!!  Oh well.  I just hope those aren't offered only on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons or something.

I also called and scheduled my follow-up ultrasound today.  It's going to be at 10:30 on Oct. 19.  I'll be over 34 weeks then, and the doctors wanted it to be around 32 weeks, but oh well.  They were actually the ones who messed things up!  You may not remember, but when I had my regular ultrasound (which was early--I was only 17 weeks), my placenta was over my cervix some, so the tech told me I need to have a follow-up ultrasound to see if it moved.  She told me to call at 26 weeks to schedule the ultrasound for 32 weeks.  So I called a few times.  They never answered, but the message said to leave your name, sponser's last 4, etc. and they would call right back.  But they never did.  So I went to my appointment on Monday, where the nurse practitioner I was seeing told me I needed to schedule this ultrasound!  I told her I'd been trying, but no one ever called me back. She said that was because there wasn't actually an order in the system.  Someone thought they would just do a quick ultrasound in the exam room, instead of an ultrasound over at prenatal assessment, but when they ran that by the head doc, he said, no, she needs to have a formal ultrasound done, down in the regular radiology department!  So the lady put in the order after my appointment, but it had to go through Tricare (?), and I couldn't call until now.  And Oct. 19 is the first available slot.  Originally I was really not terribly concerned--I assumed the placenta would move--but when the doctor said I needed a formal scan, I will admit to being a trifle more concerned now!  We'll see what happens, I guess.  No sense worrying about what you can't do anything about!

As far as physical symptoms go, I have already started having the pubic pain that is always so bad for me at the end of pregnancy.  I just carry so low, and my abdominal muscles are shot after all these pregnancies (and big babies, LOL)!  I found this maternity belt on Amazon.  It got good reviews and wasn't too expensive, so I ordered it, and it arrived Wednesday.  I love it!  It's not too big, so it's comfortable to wear.  I especially have been wearing it when I stand up a lot, and when I exercise, and it really has been helping suppport my poor low belly.  The pubic pain is much less, which gives me hope for the remaining 10 or 11 weeks! 

Pregnancy Update

I'm 7 weeks along now.  I actually found out pretty early this time.  My cycles have been astonishingly regular since they came back in November, so I knew when it didn't start.  As always, the big clue for me was what DID start--having to pee in the middle of the night.  As soon as that starts, I know what that means, LOL.  So I had a positive pregnancy test on March 25, about 4 1/2 weeks along.

So far I've been feeling pretty good, which is normal for me.  I have noticed more heartburn though.  I haven't really felt much if any nausea, and I haven't been affected by any odors (boy?!).  I'm tired, but you know what--I'm tired when I'm not pregnant.  Tired is pretty much the state of my life right now.  I have so far taken exactly one nap.  I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other!

What I am having a hard time fitting in is exercise.  With Micah, I got pregnant in the summer, and those months are always very active, healthy months for me, where exercise takes a big priority.  I kept exercising last school year until he was born, but I was never able to do as much as I did when I was pregnant with Faith and had gestational diabetes.  Then I was exercising after almost every meal.  Yeah--I really don't see that fitting in at all next year.  With Faith and Micah, I would take a break in the middle of the morning of school to exercise, but that has not been happening this year.  School is just taking so much longer, now that Anna and Grace are added in there.  And I had been letting Caleb and Jonathan work more independently on math and English, but that was not bearing good fruit, especialy with Jonathan, so I am back to pretty much having to sit right next to him and work with him on each math problem.  Getting up earlier than everyone hasn't worked either, mainly because I can't go to bed really early, since that is my time to work on science stuff without anyone else needing me.  So I'm still working on this time conundrum.  I did exercise today, at noon while everyone else was eating lunch.  That will work some days, but not all.  Oh well--I will do my best. 

I remembered to call Bethesda to register for my "OB orientation", which will be next Wednesday from 9:00-1:00.  I'm sure it will be full of new interesting tidbits about pregnancy and military OB units that I have never heard before--ha!  At least I have babysitting at home!  I'll blend in with all the other newly pregnant moms, except I already look 5 months pregnant, and they won't actually show until they are about 5 months pregnant, LOL.

Micah Edward is Here!

Now, for all the details . . . Nothing happened after I exercised Saturday morning. Once again, I only felt contractions if i sat down, and they weren't regular or strong or anything. But Bob was really getting antsy about having another crazy drive down the beltway, like we had with Faith, so he wanted me to just go in and get checked. I called the labor unit, and they said to come right on in. So we got to Bethesda around 3:00. They put me on a monitor, and it seemed like the baby's heartbeat was going up and down, although later they decided it was actually just the monitor being wacky, and not the baby. But that made me a bit alarmed and more likely to want to want to stay. When the doctor examined me, she said I was at 5 cm. I was hoping to be at least 6 cm, but oh well. So they admitted me, with a plan to let me walk around a little bit, and then start some pitocin to regulate my very irregular contractions and also to break my water. Now I don't like interventions, and I would much rather go into labor all natural. But it wasn't happening, and I was just a little bit concerned about the baby being healthy. Two of my other kids (Luke and Anna) passed meconium before birth, and I knew that was a possibility here too. I just had this weird feeling.

I walked around for about 30 minutes, although I knew that wasn't going to do anything, if all my treadmill walking didn't ever start anything! I was happy to find a birthing ball in the room for me to use (an improvement over 2 years ago when I had Faith), and well as wi-fi (another improvement!). My nurse was great about letting me sit on the ball, so I rocked on there for awhile. Eventually the pitocin got started at around 4:45, and the contractions did get regular, although still not too strong. Finally the doctor came in at 6:15 to check me and break my water. I was still at 5 cm! That was discouraging! And there was indeed meconium in the water. Another thing to pray about. So they kept ramping up the pit, and eventually when I was checked at 8:00 or so, I was all of . . . 6 cm. What?! I was not happy! I was sure I was moving into transition because I was geting sweaty and a bit shaky. I was starting to doubt this one doctor's ability to measure me, LOL.

The contractions were getting quite strong by this point, and Bob was doing a great job of pressing his fist into my lower back to put counterpressure there. I was lying on my left side by that point, which is my "favorite" position for transition. I will say, though, that the thought of having hours more of these strong contractions was making me seriously be tempted by an epidural. In fact, the doctor (same one who kept measuring me) told me, "I know this labor isn't progressing as fast as you would like, so you can always just have some other drugs, if not the epidural . . ." I was actually tempted, but I just tried to take it one contraction at a time. I could tell the baby was moving down, and I was definitely feeling more pressure.

Around 9:00 I told Bob I was getting close, although I knew I wasn't complete yet. He went ahead and pressed the call button, since you never know how long it will actually take the doctor to get there! To our surprise, 3 of them (2 regular docs I had been seeing all afternoon plus one student) came right away. They checked me and said I was at 9. Then the one who usually measured me said they would check back in an hour! Ha! I let them leave because I wanted to be on my side for a little longer, but I told Bob I was already feeling pushy, and it definitely was not going to take an hour for me to go the last cm! Sure enough, by 9:15 I was definitely pushing, so we called the doctors back, and they officially declared me complete at 9:20. It was nice to push on my own for a contraction or 2. I hate the whole "breaking down the bed" uncomfortableness, right as you are ready to push!

So there I was, pushing away, and I could tell this baby was going to be big because he wasn't just popping out, LOL. I could feel him moving down and start to crown, so you would think that the next push would just pop him out. But it didn't. So with the next contraction, I pushed really hard. And kept pushing. Took a breath and pushed some more. And a bit more. Why wasn't he out yet?! The doctors and Bob were all saying, "Keep pushing! Don't stop!" and they were moving my legs all around. But the head was not coming out!! I was pushing so hard I saw stars! I was really starting to doubt if this I was going to be able to push this baby out. It was a little scary, but it wasn't like I could really dwell on it, LOL. Finally the head came out, but there was no relief, because there were the shoulders. Another hard bit of pushing, and then FINALLY I felt the body slither out. Relief--at last!

Micah Edward was born at 9:38 PM, April 9. Because of the meconium, the baby had to go directly over to the pediatrician there in the room for suctioning. I could not have cared less, LOL. I was just so relieved to have him out of me! I took a look and could tell he was a big baby--like I had any doubt about that after all that pushing! The peds docs got him all suctioned out, and then I started nursing. He fussed around for awhile, but remembering Faith and her low blood glucose adventures, I really worked to get him to latch on. Finally he did and nursed for awhile. I talked to my mom at this point, but we didn't have any details about any statistics because no one had weighed or measured him! Finally the corpsman came in with the scale about 11:00. Micah was 10 pounds, 8.5 ounces, and 22 inches long, with a head circumference of 38 cm (15 inches!). Yeah--that's big. Micah did have a low blood glucose reading the first time they took it, so we had to get it checked a few more times. But thankfully it was never low again, and he's been nursing like a champ.

I was so sore last night. I had to laugh about how much I had been complaing about my aching pelvis. HA! I didn't even KNOW what an aching pelvis was! I thought my pelvis was going to crumple up and fall out. I could hardly walk! Thankfully, that is another benefit of Micah being my 8th, and not my 1st--today I feel much, much better, and not so sore at all. My bleeding has really tapered off too, which is nice. The doctors and nurses kept remarking about how amazing it was that I had a pitocin-induced delivery with no epidural and no tearing. It was definitely a gift from God. Micah's name means "Who is like the Lord?", and I could feel the Lord strengthing me during the whole labor.

So we will be coming home tomorrow, Lord willing! I wanted to get pictures posted from here, but the connection is really slow, so I'm not even going to bother trying. In the meantime, Bob and I are just enjoying this nice, quiet little vacation, snuggling with Micah and rubbing his sweet newborn head and cheeks! He's a doll! We're so thankful for him.

Update

Let me start by saying I have no idea why my posts are not publishing with paragraph breaks in them! I keep going back and adding them in, even manually into the html code, but they still are publishing in one big paragraph of type. Frustrating. So I apologize that they are hard to read! Okay--editing one more time to say I think I figured out a new way to make paragraph breaks that is working! Yay!

Now for the update. Obviously I am still around. Thursday night I had several contractions that woke me up during the night, although they never were in any sort of regular pattern or anything. I was nervous about Bob going in to work, but with no pattern or anything, it seemed like the best idea. And sure enough, once I got up and started the day, I had no more contractions. I felt uncomfortable throughout the day, though, and I did end up losing my mucus plug, so I guess things are still technically happening.

Last night, I didn't have any contractions at all that woke me up, but I just didn't feel good. My back was quite achy as well. But again, now that I am up, nothing is happening. Sigh. It would be very possible for me to make it to my appointment Tuesday afternoon with no contractions and not in active labor! I was 5 cm dilated and not in active labor when I went to my appointment on Anna's due date, and the doctor did not send me home because she was worried I would go into labor and have the baby immediately! So we will see what happens. I am going to go exercise here shortly. At least we made it to the weekend, where traffic shouldn't be the issue no matter what time it is!

Progress . . .

I had another OB appointment this afternoon, and I am pleased to report some progress! I am now between 3 and 4 cm dilated, with a "stretchy" cervix. I'm 75% effaced, and the baby is at -1 station. She did strip my membranes, although not all that thoroughly I didn't think, so hopefully it will be enough to move me into active labor sometime in the near future. I still haven't had too many contractions that I felt were actually doing anything, so I was glad to hear that some progress was indeed made, even without me feeling it really.

So now we just have to pray for the timing also--getting to Bethesda in rush hour is a dicey proposition. Ideally I would go into labor tonight or tomorrow night, or else during this weekend! Bethesda doesn't induce until 41 weeks, so I have an appointment scheduled for Tuesday at 3:00, which is about the worst possible time for an appointment, as far as rush hour goes. Hopefully I won't need it! If the government does indeed shut down, then Bob's conference will be cancelled, so maybe having the baby next week wouldn't be such a problem. We'll see. Like I said before, though, having him this weekend would be better! We are having some second thoughts on names, however, so maybe he is waiting until we are settled before making his debut?

I've been taking an ever-increasing number of herbs to help things along. I always take my prenatal multivitamin, as well a fish oil pill, which is supposed to help even out moods and promote brain development in the baby. Around 32 weeks I started taking the red raspberry leaf capsules, which promote uterine toning and effective contractions. At first I just took 2 pills a day, but now I am up to 4. At around 36 weeks I started the alfalfa pills. Those are supposed to help control bleeding after birth, and after the doctors I had with Grace were so paranoid about that, I did research and took them with Faith (no problems there!). I'm taking 4 of those a day now too. And starting Saturday I am taking 3 evening primrose oil pills a day as well, to help soften the cervix. Those appear to have worked! I should have started a few weeks ago with those too, but I didn't think of it until I read some things on the alldoulas message board I like to lurk on. So that is 13 pills a day if I remember everything, LOL.

As I wait, I am more and more uncomfortable. My poor aching pelvis! Plus, with each baby I have, I think I dread the actual delivery more. I hate pushing, even though it is so much shorter now than with the first 1 or even 2. The doctor did say that she thought this one looked like a big baby, since my belly is so big, and I would have to agree with her. Caleb and Jonathan were 9# 5 oz and 9# 6 oz, so I would say we are definitely looking at that size or bigger. And it IS harder to push out a 9 pound baby than an 8 pound one! Oh well--no turning back now, LOL. And I am definitely not willing to just continue being pregnant, just to avoid pushing! I will be glad when it's all over, though. I will try to keep everyone updated if anything does start happening, although I don't think Bethesda has wi-fi. We'll see!

OB Appointment

So I had an appointment this afternoon. She checked me, and frankly, not too much is happening! I am only a fingertip dilated, and not too effaced either. I was pretty surprised, because usually by this point in pregnancy (38 1/2 weeks), I am around 3 cm dilated and about 50% effaced. So that was quite discouraging. I go back again next Thursday. I've been having more and more Braxton-Hicks contractions in the afternoons and evenings, and it is always sad to realize they have been accomplishing nothing at all! I know people who rocket from 0 to 10 in a few hours--but I am not one of them, LOL. And you would think if it hasn't happened like that in 7 births, it's probably not going to happen with this one either! I had posted on Facebook that I hoped this baby wasn't going to take after Jonathan, who is #4. He was 2 weeks overdue and had to be induced--except that I really think my dates weren't that accurate with him. I was nursing when I got pregnant, and I never had an early ultrasound. He was the last baby I did the triple-screen, or any of the bloodwork for possible problems, because his numbers came back really low. Obviously he didn't have any problems, and if we were off a bit on his due date, that could cause the low numbers. I am not uncertain about this baby's due date, however--in fact, the doctor moved his due date back to Ap. 11 after an early dating ultrasound! So maybe he just doesn't want to come out. Sigh. I am ready for him to be born! My pelvis is aching, my pubic bone is so sore from his head being on it--I'm done! Jonathan was my biggest baby, at 9 pounds, 6 ounces, and I really don't want to have one bigger than that. I like to lurk on this doula website, and one of the websites often mentioned there is Spinning Babies. The site tries to help women get their babies in the best position for birth. I'm going to try some of their exercises--maybe he's just not in a good position. We'll see. If you drop by in the next few days, and I am crawling everywhere on my hands and knees, you'll know what I am doing!

Birth Curiosity

Jonathan has been quite curious about birth with this pregnancy. He has suggested a few times that I just have the baby at home, so he could see the whole show, LOL. When I told him it was kind of messy, he suggested I just have the baby outside! That way the carpet wouldn't get dirty. Good thinking! I am sure our crabby neighbors would LOVE that! ("I'm sure there's a covenant about that, 'David'--keep looking!!") Ha!

Anyhow, when I was at the library last weekend, I picked up a video called From Conception to Birth, put out by Discovery Channel, thinking that might answer some questions. I watched it that night, and tonight all the kids and I watched it together. It wasn't bad, as far as the actual pregnancy part went. They were very tasteful about conception, never really mentioning how the sperm and egg got together, so that made it nice for a multiple age range viewing. And they had lots of nice computer graphics to show how the baby develops during the 9 months in the womb.

But the birth scenes--oh, my goodness! They drove me crazy! The video follows 9 women who are expecting, and it shows the births of 3 of them. Two are having their 3rd babies, and one is having her first. They all have total hospital births. They never come out and say they were induced, but it seems like they all could have been. The two women having their 3rd babies get epidurals pretty much immediately, but the first-time mom wants to hold out. You can hear the nurse say something like, "Well, the contractions only get more intense, so be sure to tell me right away whenever you want your epidural." Shockingly, she gives in pretty soon after and gets an epidural as well. And all 3 of these women are just laying back, like huge beached whales, during the whole labor! No changing positions, no walking around, no comfort measures . . . NOTHING! I kept telling the boys, "They could be doing things so much differently, and maybe they would cope better with their contractions!" But no one was suggesting ANYTHING to them to do differently, or even to the husbands to help them.

And during the whole time, the narrator was intoning drivel basically about how impossible it was to give birth, how scary, how painful, etc. Gah. No encouragement for expecting mothers there! All 3 women pushed again pretty much laying flat on their backs. I seriously can not imagine a more uncomfortable position to be in to push, not to mention the bad physics of then having to push the baby UP over the pelvic bone from that position. And sure enough, the first-time mom had a really hard time. She pushed for while with no progress until the doc threatened her with a section ("I'll let you try for 15 more minutes . . ."). Then somehow she got a second wind and managed to push the baby down. Again, no one suggested anything that she might do differently!!! As if a c-section is the only other option out there! I kept telling the boys, "Laying flat is THE worst position to push in! Work WITH gravity, not against it!" Gah . . . so frustrating.

The actual births were filmed very nicely--all from above or from the shoulder. You could see the baby emerging, but not really anything else, so that was really nice. They did a great job with that. The boys couldn't believe all the tugging on the babies as they were being born! And the girls were a bit alarmed at the blood and goo all over the babies, LOL. I do think the video answered any questions about childbirth, so that was good, and I didn't hear Jonathan say anything about wanting to see this one, LOL. I think seeing all those precious newborn babies made us all very excited to have this little guy come soon, though! And hopefully everyone will have more sympathy and understanding for me!

Belly Shot!

Melinda asked for a belly shot, so here is one from this afternoon! I'm 35 weeks along. First, the view from the front:
Now, the side view. Oh my goodness!

I am at the stage where no clothes are really comfortable--my shirts ride up, and my pants ride down! Oh well--only 5 weeks to go!

Pregnancy Update

I'm now over 34 weeks along--less than 6 weeks to go! I am feeling big and uncomfortable, so yeah, everything is normal. I have definitely been mushy-brained lately--I made whole wheat biscuits a few nights ago and used baking soda (4 1/2 tsps!) instead of baking powder! Blech! I am even more foggy-headed because I have a cold and am all snuffly. I'm sure I could kick this thing if I could just lay around all day for a day or two! Ha, ha, I crack myself up!

I had an OB appointment yesterday, and everything looks fine. The little guy is a very active kicker! I lurk on this doula forum, and someone posted a link to a woman's blog, where she had a slideshow of her last birth, which was a homebirth. It was all lovely and quite natural, but she had an 11 pound baby and had to push for like 2 hours, even though it was her 5th baby!! Ack! So that is my latest nightmare and worry, LOL, especially since I already do have big babies (Caleb was 9#, 5 oz., and Jonathan was 9#, 6 oz.). Anyway, I asked the doctor if I should take another 1 hour glucose test, just to make sure I didn't have gestational diabetes. She was quite surprised at this request, LOL! She was really not that concerned. She said I passed the last 1 hour one with plenty to spare (my number was 102, and anything under 140 is passing), I haven't gained too much weight, and the baby is measuring right. She also said that the 1-hour test, which is just a screening anyhow, gets less and less accurate once you get more than 28 weeks along. So I didn't take another test. I guess I'll just keep up with the exercise, although I didn't exercise today. This cold is making it hard for me!

As I was walking up to the line to make my next appointment, 2 pregnant ladies were talking. I heard one of them say she was 35 weeks along, which surprised me because her belly was clearly larger than mine! I don't like to brag, but I usually win most belly contests at this point, LOL. I asked her if she was expecting twins, and she said yes, in a surprised voice. She looked really great--all belly! She called it a "torpedo belly", and that was what it looked like! She actually lives in Annapolis, but the Naval Academy doesn't have an OB department in their clinic, so all the ladies have to come to Bethesda. That's quite a drive, especially when you are pregnant with twins! So whenever I am tempted to complain, even about the drive to Walter Reed, I need to be glad I am not having to come from Annapolis!

Forced Slow Down

I have really been trying to accomplish a lot this past week, and I did make some progress. I got the basement storage room cleaned up, and I went through the first few tubs of baby boy clothes. We actually don't have that many things anymore, so I will definitely be shopping at some of the spring consignment sales! Sunday afternoon we were scheduled to have our church small group over in the afternoon, so Saturday we really cleaned the main floor and the basement (in between Upward basketball games!).

I think I was overdoing it, though. I had already commented to Bob that I could really feel a difference in how I was feeling between, say, 29 weeks pregnant and now 31 weeks pregnant. I stayed up late baking banana frosted cookies for growth group, but when I finally went to bed, I had a hard time falling asleep. I just felt so full, like nothing had digested. At 3:00 I woke up and knew I was going to vomit. Sure enough, I was right, and I was also right about nothing have digested, LOL. I did not really feel good all day Sunday, and I basically just laid around on the couch all day, interrupting that with naps in my own bed.

Now the whole thing didn't come as a total shock to me. After we got home from Bible study Friday night, Luke came back downstairs to say he wasn't feeling good. He threw up around 11:00, and then he went to bed. He wasn't quite as perky the next day, but he went ahead and played a great game of basketball in the afternoon and pretty much ate normal food. When we got Faith up Saturday morning, it was quite obvious that she too had vomited sometime during the night, although not too much. She also bounced right back and was eating normal food by the afternoon.

I had a harder time bouncing back! I was definitely not up for basketball the next day, and I just nibbled things like crackers, chicken noodle soup,and a banana all day. Even when I went to bed Sunday night, I was still thinking, "Boy, I hope that little bit of smoothie I just drank doesn't come back up, because it sure feels like it might . . ." But I went off to sleep, and when I was rudely awoken by cries from Anna and Grace's room at 3:00 AM, signifying that Grace had thrown up, I felt fine! It had totally passed! (Grace was fine the next day too, and so far no one else has gotten this bug.)

It was actually kind of nice to just lay around and rest on Sunday. I have noticed that I have basically not napped at all this entire pregnancy. I just haven't had time. So I guess it takes a mild stomach virus to get me to rest when I need it! I didn't exercise Monday either, continuing my "take it easy" theme. I think I am just going to have to let some of my "to do" list go by the wayside. It's hard to do that because I really want to be more organized, with less clutter, but things like laundry, cooking, school, and exercise are taking up most of my time and energy right now, and it looks like trying to force myself to do more is not a good strategy!