A little mama drama too

Went to OB today for check up and 35 week GBS screen. He checked my cervix and I am dilated at 3cm and very soft. The head is engaged. He gave me his cell phone and said to call him and head to the hospital if I have any signs of labor. For now the recommendation is rest and fluids. Oh boy....dh and I both on rest. I am calling on my family and friend now...time to get some help!

Papa Drama

DH started feeling terrible after a picnic Sunday and has been miserable since then. I took him to the doctor yesterday and again today for visits and CT scan. Diverticulitis....terrible stuff. We both moaned and groaned today every time we had to get up/down, in/out of the car....what a pair we are. He is better tonight with my leftover pain pills and a colonscopy is scheduled for Friday. I am so tired....it has been a long day. IL's are back in town tomorrow so they will be around for help/ moral support.

Entering uncharted territory

Well, I am starting to get into the time where things started getting freaky the last pregnancy. Anxiety about whether this one is about to GO is increasing. I worry in the wee hours of the night whether my water will break as I get up to pee (that's how it happened last time) and whether the twinge of pain I feel is a contraction warming up or just being constipated. Wee one came at 34 weeks 5 days and that day is today according to my LMP; however my high risk OB thinks I am 1 week behind actually according to size. Part of me is hopeful that I'll make it to 36-37 weeks...my dh giggled at me last night when the commercial for the new James Bond movie came on and said the movie was opening Nov 14. I said that is the day the baby will be born and I'll name her "Bond!"

Please baby, hang on for 3-4 more weeks.

Holding steady

Saw Ob yesterday and not much going on (good!). I finally made it to the grocery store and did pretty good, but was tired after. I have less energy than 3 weeks ago when I started my modified leave. The low back area has been the most problematic as I get bigger.

I am continuing to check my sugars (4 times a day) and eating every vegetable I can find. Carbs are only for the morning and I am allowing myself nibbles of sugarish carbs in very, very small amounts. Blood sugar has improved with this approach. Halloween candy is approaching...I hope I can be strong!

Taking a day off at the movies

I decided to take a "day off" today. I know that sounds funny as I stopped my day job 2 weeks ago, but I decided that's what I would call this day. Wee one had the day off to from school and we had a little friend over to play. They played a little while, but her friend apparently is not much of a Monday person. Wee one and I baked apple turnovers and made hard boiled eggs and enjoyed our morning together. The nanny came at lunch and I went to get some lunch (low carb) and decided to see what was playing at the movies on a weekday afternoon. I ended up at the mall eating lots of veggies and a little protein at the cafeteria and catching "Fireproof" in the mall's cineplex (10!). For 1: 15 pm on a Monday, there were actually a lot of people in the theater. The $5 1st feature of the day ticket price probably didn't hurt either.

I knew it was a movie produced by a large Baptist church in Georgia about marriage and firefighting. I was actually quite impressed by the movie considering all the "amateurs" working on it. My favorite character in the movie, the lead's best friend is actually a full time Marine captain (Ken Bevel) who has never acted in a movie before. Considering a lot of crap that has been coming out of Hollywood lately, I really think it's time for more movies to be made by a larger variety of people like this one. I liked all the action scenes (wished actually there were more!) and cried a lot during the emotional scenes. It realistically portrays a lot of the emotions and trials as you work stuff out in a marriage/ difficult relationship as well as the temptations and distractions that can lead you away from your spouse. Some people might not be ready for the preachy parts, but I can say that there are a lot of things in a lot of other movies that I am often not ready for!

According to some web news on this movie, it cost $500,000 to make and it has already made $12.5 million at the box office. I think there is an audience out there for movies about family and marriage. I am waiting excitedly to see a movie that was previewed, "The Secret Life of Bees." I read the book but don't remember too much about it.

Pissed off

Blood sugars have been climbing these last few days. No change in eating habits....no sugary drinks, no juice, no dessert (except 1 time). I am tired and grouchy, especially today. I suppose it is just because everything is progressing and I am not as active but the is really scaring me and irritating me. I'll do my weekly check in on Monday with the doctor. I did get my teeth cleaned yesterday so I wonder if that could stress my body more right now. I love cooking and right now I am just not in the mood.

Moo

I put on a bigger pair of maternity pants I found yesterday and turned and saw myself in profile. Yes, it's moo time. I think I am a little melancholy as I am quite sure this will be the last time I am pregnant as I am going to hang it up after this one. I had lunch with a friend yesterday and she actually asked if I was going to get my tubes tied. That is just too wacky a concept for me after all the infertility stuff. Even though this one was not hard to begot, I had unprotected sex for 3.5 years after wee one without any signs of pregnancy. But, anything can happen. I know I don't want to have a baby in my 40s. Surgery just sucks for me. After my big surgery last year and my super crappy reactions to anesthetics, I am like "ICK!" These thoughts I must ponder...

I am a control freak

I realized how difficult I can be today. Today is my 2nd official day of not working. I did go into the office and do some paperwork. My substitute was there and I noted some things he did that he took care of that I would have done differently. Not that anything was seriously wrong but not up to my standards. Probably also didn't help as my assistant has been out sick x2 days. Anyhow, I have to be out and I have to live with that.

On a happier note, saw my high risk ob doc today and everyone there was in a good mood. The baby was all squashed up on my right side (ouch) but everything measured fine. He didn't frown at my sugars and told me we'd see each other in 4 weeks and then after that, every week for the biophysical profile.

Stuck in the moment

Approaching week 30 and my hormones are revving up. I was at lunch today staring at a piping hot pepperoni pizza in front of me while wee one and dh were feeding tokens into the video machines at our local chain kids restaurant. I had already had my healthy salad and diet lemonade. I figured I'd eat 1-2 pieces. Dh sat down to join me after having settled wee one in the churning school bus ride and in a few moments the pizza pan was left with one piece (and another on wee one's plate). 2 hours later I checked my blood sugar and it was above normal and I whined to dh that I shouldn't have had 3 pieces of pizza. He said, No, you had 4, you ate the last piece before they cleared the pan away. OH MAN...I don't normally even eat that much. I must really be hungry. At my last OB visit I actually lost 2 pounds.

It's a goofy situation. I have gestational diabetes and am following a regimented carb counting kind of diet. I could counteract the times I slip up with exercise, but I have been limited in exercise due to a soft cervical exam and instructions for more rest and time spent "horizontal." Well, I'll just have to keep trying. Sigh.

Home today

5:45 am - "Milk daddy" dh gets up and gets her some milk in a sippy cup.
5:50 am - "Mommy...mommy...my tummy hurts." "OK - why don't you go take a poo" "OK, mommy" "Snore...." "Mommy, I done." (sound of farting). I feel a little warm body climb over me and lay next to me. "Mommy, my tummy - rub lotion" I get up and put underwear back on her and rub some lotion on. She cries a bit and then falls asleep.
6:15 am - "Mommy, I need my baby doll" "OK" I wander around the house and then find it under her bed. She cries and then falls asleep
7:00am - alarm goes off, everyone wakes up. "I happy Mommy" Get her ready for school.
7:40 am - load wee one into car with dh "Mommy my tummy hurts" "OK, do you want to go to school?" "yes mommy"
8:15 am - car pulls in and dh and wee one returns "Honey, she vomited in the car" Clean child, check for fever (none). Try to figure out how to take cover off car seat
8:45 am - give up on car seat and take out to patio to hose down.
9:00 am - child happily watching Peep and eating a popsicle.

Gestational Diabetes Beverages

Happy mood at the moment, just ate my treat...ice cream! I was googling about what kinds of beverages a diabetic can enjoy. I must be thirsty. So here's what I want to drink:

What I want to drink: Coke (yes the real thing) over a big glass of ice, grapefruit juice over a big glass of ice, Orange box - juicy juice (I think its called orange tangerine), orange juice in the morning - straight up, grape juice, V8 juice (gives me heart burn right now...doesn't really affect my sugar I think), IBC root beer from a icy bottle, sweet ice tea over a big glass of ice, lemonade

What I can drink: water, club soda, club soda with lemon/ lime/ splash of juice, crystal light (I make it with club soda to make it like a soda), milk, chai tea (with a splash of half and half and 1 tsp of sugar), warm water, ice water, ice tea - unsweet

Sigh...well at least I have some choices...

Horizontal

Went to the doctor's again this week and after a quick check down below, it was suggested I try to spend more time in a horizontal position. Sigh. I am having flashbacks to last time. He didn't actually say bedrest totally, but I know where this is headed. I am going to try and work about 3 more weeks and then give up my money making job. I suspect the non-money making job is actually the more stressful one. My dh and I went off to the mountains for the weekend and wee one was with her grandparents. My blood sugar was totally normal in spite of me enjoying the cuisine of the small mountain town (I did not COOK at ALL!). I fell pretty good, a bit tired sometimes, but overall not too bad. So any good book recommendations for my horizontal time?

Spoiled

I never realized how spoiled I was until today. I usually toodle off to work somewhere around 8:30-8:45 and it takes me about 10 minutes to get from door to door. The babysitter comes and I only have to concern myself with getting my own body fed, dressed, and to work.

Today, I woke up 1/2 hour early (after an anxious night of sleep) and got Wee one dressed, combed, watered, and out the door with a granola bar into the car. We drove 20 minutes to school in heavier than usual traffic and I dropped her off. I (wisely) chose to take a day off from work today and met a fellow mom friend for breakfast. I was a bit emotional watching Wee One being led into school by a bigger girl and a teacher. I mean she has been going to mothers day out and I was coming to get her in 3.5 hours, but still the same, I got teary as she smiled and waved at me. Starting tomorrow, my dh and babysitter will be mostly doing the driving duties so it probably won't be as hard.

Preschool open house

Yesterday was preschool open house where we got to visit and meet the teacher. We walked into the small classroom and it was packed with parents and tiny children. The girls and boys were self segregating! Everyone seemed anxious...including us! We did seem some friends and familar faces in the crowd so that helped me relax a bit. I still had dreams last night about her new school and me forgetting to take her out of the car seat to let her go to school. Of course, wee one made herself right at home...playing, eating the snacks the teacher had given her and checking out the potty facilities.

My little rebellion

OK today is one of those check my blood sugar days. Everything was pretty good until the after lunch one. I hardly ate anything!!! A lean cuisine, a 1/2 cup of hot and sour soup and a handful of trail mix. Then I got a post prandial sugar (2h) of 140!!! In rebellion and hunger, I ate a banana with a dollop of hot fudge and a scoop of Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream for my afternoon snack. Then I got a sugar that was perfectly fine. So, I am going to blame the lean cuisine...

I haven't really been hungry this pregnancy except at the very, very beginning. I remember being at a hotel and just mooning over the breakfast buffet and eating every dollar's worth of food. Then the 1st trimester barfing ensued so I lost all my appetite. That calmed down but I wasn't really that hungry. The last week I've had a few days where I am hungry but have been a bit limited by my room available in my belly. I have gained about 5 pounds so far so I have more to go. It is just freaking hard to eat enough calories without going over my carb limits. There is only so much cheese I can eat without being really, really grumpy / constipated.

Bopping along

Parents are here again to visit/ help take care of us. It is great. I have been able to sneak an afternoon nap or two the last few days. Wee one has been enjoying their company but has just been resistant (for the past few weeks actually) to napping. If she skips her nap, she passed out at 7pm. That is nice because it gives us some free time in the evening, but it means there is no break during the day and she is crabby and tired in the late afternoon.

Here's my tip for constipated pregnant ladies (or anyone else who is stuck): raw pineapple twice a day. Much more gentle (and yummier) than prune juice.

Escape

I find myself reading a lot lately. All my beloved books and then some. I have always been a bookworm and as a child of librarians, something that was just a way of life. However, sometimes in my life I notice I use it to escape as well as unwind. Why escape now?

1. Being pregnant and scared that anything could happen
2. Getting warned by both Ob doc and high risk OB doc to work less, eat differently (Gestational diabetes in last pregnancy), and watch my thyroid (getting blood drawn frequently)
3. Crazy hormones causing weird dreams, thoughts, and odd moments of awkwardness and feelings of teenage rebellion
4. No massages (I usually try for every 2 weeks) due to them making me feel more nauseated
5. Lack of regular exercise (not allowed to do anything strenuous) and also I am just winded from climbing a flight of stairs
6. Avoiding most activity that could cause preterm labor, like last time (yes, that includes sex, but it is getting more difficult anyway...hard, I love and am horny for my dh)

So of course, I am escaping into books since I can't escape into world travel, massage, sex, drugs, alcohol, (ha,ha,ha...I don't drink anyway or have every even taken anything remotely illegal), shopping for hours at the mall (too tiring, nothing fits...did get a new purse the other day), and other fun stuff.

Well, here I am

I was commenting to my dh yesterday that I was so happy to be feeling so much better than the previous 2 months. I had a pretty busy day at work yesterday and went to Bunco last night too. I was trying to ignore those tight sensations in my belly that started late in the afternoon. The baby was moving around too. I was trying to to think about them, trying not to think about how similar they were to contraction type discomforts. I felt fine, had eaten a ton of food at the party and was not very tired. No spotting, discharge, and not really any pain, just tightness.

Finally, I told my dh and his worried glance told me to call the doctor. He told me to hydrate and "get my hips up." I went to bed and slept pretty well, no more tightening. I saw him this morning and everything is fine. He wants me to cut work in 1/2 (I was waiting/ wanting to hear that) and then come back in 2 weeks. My sono is tomorrow too, so there will be more examination. Whew. A scare, but sure sign that my body is screaming at me to slow down.

We're 3!!!

The last 2 weeks have been pretty fun. Wee one turned 3 and we had relatives visiting so I am now catching up. Her B-day was actually a whole week of gift giving and loving from grandparents and cousins. Such fun and excitement. As for me, the belly is stretching and I felt a definite KICK 2 nights ago. Sono is scheduled in 2 weeks...there was a mix up about the appointment and I had to figure that one out. Anyway, life is pretty good.

Still here

Well, I am still pregnant and still struggling somewhat. I just got over a stomach virus (yuk) that I was blaming on the baby, but the arrival of diarrhea changed that thought. But yesterday (better) and today (much better) I am seeing some hope. I went to get a pedicure today and got petted and fretted over by the ladies there (my friend owns the day spa/ salon). It was nice to primp a bit. Makes me feel almost normal again. Mom is coming and I hope just her presence will help perk me up (Dad too). I am very lucky that I still have healthy parents that will come and visit me anytime.