Pregnancy Update- 25 weeks

This week the baby is the size of a rutabaga.  I don’t think I have ever seen one of those in person, nor eaten one.  My pregnancy app told me that my uterus is the size of a soccer ball now.  Of course I read that fact while I was at my niece and nephew’s soccer games over the weekend.  Cute…

I had my regular OB appointment last week.  My weight was down two pounds from the previous month (fyi, my scale tells me I am down 9 lbs total since pre-preg weight), my blood pressure was 108/68, and the baby was measuring just fine.  The heartbeat was good and the baby kicked the doppler as the doctor was listening to it.

I think I am officially starting to waddle.

Even my maternity shirts are starting to creep up in front.  By the time I have this baby, half my tummy will be showing.  =( 

My blood sugar has been creeping up this past week. My levels were higher than they should have been 8 different times.  I was pretty close to what I should have been for 6 of those, but 2 were up at like 150.  I can’t remember if I ever explained it or not, but I have to test my blood sugar 4 times a day.  I take it once when I wake up (my fasting rate) and then 2 hours after every meal.  My fasting rate should be 90 or less and the rate after meals should be 120 or less. 

I have to fax in my blood sugar chart to my doctor’s office weekly, so I also wrote a few paragraphs about how I was feeling and my concerns this week.  My OB’s nurse is great.  She called me a little while later and we talked it out.  She said the placenta causes extra hormones and such and so even if I wasn’t insulin resistant, my sugar counts are going to naturally be higher starting around weeks 24-28, which is why they give all preggos the gestational diabetes test during that time period.  She is happy that she doesn’t have to track me down and make me send in my charts like she does with some patients.  How do some people not take this seriously?

The nurse said that they will continue to monitor my numbers and if need be, I can be placed on medication to help.  I hope to avoid that, but I will do whatever I need to do to keep healthy for the baby.  She was happy with the time I spend walking and my amount of water intake.  I am going to have to go back to the books and revise what my breakfasts and lunches are and make sure that my carbs are correct.  It’s hard to be so restrictive, though, especially when I want to be a typical pregnant woman and sit down in front of the tv with a big bowl of

Rocky Road

ice cream.  Do you know how hard it is for me to go eat at a Mexican restaurant and not eat a single chip with salsa?  But 6 chips would equal half the carbs I can have in an entire meal….  NOT WORTH IT!!!

Not to end things on a downer, but I just wanted to go over some of the risks of uncontrolled blood sugar during pregnancy due to gestational diabetes.  I am sure a lot of people don’t realize that it can be a really big deal.  I am getting most of my information for this entry from Web MD, but I have also used lot of web resources, as well as info from my doctor.

• Diabetes in early pregnancy can lead to birth defects in baby’s major organs like brain and heart, as well as an increased risk of miscarriage
• Uncontrolled diabetes (gestational or otherwise) causes the baby to put on extra weight and be larger than normal.  This means it could be too large to enter the birth canal, or cause shoulder trauma in a normal delivery.  There is a higher rate of C sections needed for these babies.
• The baby’s blood sugar can drop right after delivery, which may just mean he needs to feed quickly after birth, or he might need a glucose IV.
• Sometimes it causes the baby to have too many red blood cells, low calcium, or have decreased heart functions.
• Baby can have respiratory distress after birth and have a higher risk of jaundice.
• Can cause higher blood pressure and a higher likelihood of UTIs during pregnancy for mom.

I know the chances of the severe things happening are slim, but so is the risk of listeria and toxoplasmosis, and I follow the rules about those things, too.  I heat all my lunch meat thoroughly and I don’t change the litter box without gloves.  I want to do everything I can to make sure I give my babies the best start possible.  That’s my job.

And one last comment about C sections.  I know they aren’t the end of the world, but I would personally prefer not to have one.  It’s not in my birth plan; however, like one of my mommy friends said today, a birth plan is more like a birth “wish list” of how you want things to go.  Unexpected things happen, so you have to plan for all scenarios.  For Rickybear, I was dead set against an induction.  I knew my OB induced two of my coworkers and that she might suggest it for me.  In the end, we decided that due to my son’s unstable heart rate, an induction was the best option for me.  Was it LONG and SUCKY?  Of course.  Did mom and baby both end up happy and healthy?  You bet.  Plus, I was assured that my OB who induced me would be responsible for me and would be the doctor who delivered the baby… and not just whoever ended up on duty when it came time to push. 

I think that’s about it for today,  Feel free to comment or message me if yall have any questions about anything I wrote about today……

15 month update

Rickybear had his 15 month checkup this week.  That child couldn’t even sit still in the waiting room.  As soon as I set him down he took off running down the hall.  I was happy when we got into a room simply because he couldn’t escape!  The visit went great.  The doctor thought he looked really good and loved his personality.  When we went down the checklist, the first thing I marked “no” that he couldn’t do was wave bye-bye.  She turned to me and asked incredulously, “He can’t wave bye-bye?!?!” and Ricky shot her the meanest face… like “What’s it to you, lady?!?!?” ….  It was hysterical!

My little boy grew!  He now weighs 20lb 4 oz (up ½ a pound in 3 months), is 30 inches tall (up 1 ¼ inches in 3 months!!) and his head circumference is 18 ½ (no change).

He is still in size 3 diapers.  He mainly sleeps through the night, except when he is teething.  He is a wild sleeper, tossing and flinging and sleeping in all corners of the crib before the night is over. 

He babbles constantly.

He still takes usually 2 naps during the week, but I can barely get him to take one when he is home with me on the weekends.

Eating out is impossible now.  He can’t sit still for more than 10 minutes at a time before he wants to get up and explore.

He tried to color for the first time over the weekend.  He ate part of the crayon, but he also seemed to really like trying to color.  I read an article about how great coloring is for his development just this morning, so I will start working on him with it more often.  One suggestion was to tape some paper onto his high chair and let him go at it.  That way he can’t color where he shouldn’t and the paper won’t get away from him.

He likes to put toys in boxes and take them back out.  He likes the stacking rings a lot, even if he can’t put them on in the correct orders.  He likes to flip the pages in books and will bring then to me to read.

He likes to use me as a step to crawl up onto the couch, only to wiggle back down and then crawl up again.

He can easily run FULL SPEED.

On Saturday we went to his cousin’s soccer games.  His little 4 year old cousin let him play with her soccer ball.  He loved it.  He wanted to play with the bigger kids, but he grabbed her ball and took off.  He looked so sporty- I loved it.  I wish it hadn’t been so hot, though.  The poor thing got so overheated, even while drinking tons of water.  I don’t know how those kids and play out there!

On Sunday we went over to Nana’s house to go swimming.  Although he still loves the pool, Ricky would much rather be splashing around himself and gets bored quickly in the floatie.  It was still a fun time.  We let him run around the backyard after that and he found a water hose.  Grandpa turned on the water and Ricky ran around with the hose for at least 20 minutes before I made him stop.  He turned the backyard into a muddy mess, lol. 

He napped when we got home, but afterwards daddy took him outside while he set up the sprinklers to water the yard.  I never should have let that child go outside.  As soon as daddy started the water, the kid made a bee line to the sprinkler.  He had a blast.  I am surprised that kid doesn’t have gills.  But yeah, this confirms that he is no longer scared of the sprinkler… at all!  Then of course I had to drag him inside and give him a bath.  *sigh*

Ricky has rediscovered Scout.  Scout is possessed.  He starts randomly without being touched and I think he has a short in him because he will play the same few notes over and over about 50 times and I can’t get him to stop.  I need to see if he needs new batteries or if I just need to hook him up to the computer and reprogram him.  Ever since Ricky found him in a tote in the spare room, they have been inseparable.  The good news is that when my baby woke up at 4am crying, he ended up playing with Scout for a few minutes and went right back to sleep.  Score! 

Wordless Wednesday

No matter if it's a spatula, flyswatter, or branch,

Rickybear can often be found walking with his scepter.

Pregnancy Update- 24 weeks

This week my baby is the size of an ear of corn.

This baby is still very active in there.  If this fetus had been my first, I would have been freaking out when I had Ricky.  My placenta was I guess anterior with Ricky and I NEVER felt him move.  The doctor said that any movement would be buffered like the baby was hitting a pillow first.  I felt him once every few days or when he had the hiccups.  I feel this baby squirming around several times a day.  It’s so reassuring.  Of course, I still worry when it’s been a few hours since I have felt him/her, but that’s just normal anxiety about it’s safety.  It’s hard to know that I can do as much as I can to be healthy and safe, but there is still so much that is out of our control as a mom.

The swelling I was having in my legs has gone down a bit- maybe because I am chugging insane amounts of water and fluids.  My blood sugar has been higher this week even though my eating habits haven’t really changed for the worse, so I really need to buckle down and eat mainly protein and as few carbs as possible.  I really want to sit and eat a whole pineapple, but as it is, I can only have a piece or two when giving it to Ricky or else my sugars will skyrocket.  This is normally the time (24-28 weeks) when they send preggos to have their gestational diabetes testing.  I guess I won’t have to go again since they already know I have it.  This time last pregnancy I had to have the 1 hour glucose test and I passed with flying colors.  *sigh*

I finally cleared out the guest bedroom, which will eventually be the playroom.  I think this is also where the toddler bed will go.  I don’t think this is nesting.  I think it’s just trying to make sure I am not completely unprepared when the new baby comes.  We also need to buckle down and buy a changing table, which we didn’t have with Ricky.  Two babies in diapers means more diapers and more supplies to be stored… somewhere.

I am more tired this week, but that could be because of Ricky not sleeping so well for a little over a week now.  Also, baby # 2 wants to make sure that my bladder is functioning properly… so EVERY HOUR at night I am waking up to make a trip to the bathroom.  I don’t remember starting this routine so early last time, but maybe I did.  Super fun.

I have a regular OB appointment this afternoon.  It’ll pretty much just be a step on the scale, take my blood pressure, and listen to the heartbeat appointment.  I don’t really have any questions right now.  In another 4 weeks I will go back for another anatomy scan, so that’ll be more exciting.

I think that’s it for this week.  I need to go fax my weekly glucose chart to my doctor now!

I hate teething

Baby life has been busy lately.  We had tooth number 8 cut through last Saturday 5/13.  Nights have been nightmarish.  My STTN baby is now a wake up all night baby, so my days have been sluggish.  Teething sucks.  Tylenol wasn’t cutting it, so we have moved onto Motrin.  I feel so bad for him because he is still sleeping but he is wailing at the top of his lungs.  I have done everything you “shouldn’t” do in response- giving him a sippy cup to get him back to sleep, rocking him back to sleep, and letting him cuddle up next to me in bed.  But I know that once this next tooth cuts (perhaps a molar?) that he will be back to my sweet peaceful baby. 

Rickybear has become a constant babbler.  He is a very clever mimic, as well.  I finally caught him on video saying “booga booga booga” which I assume is because I call him Boogie, “light” (which he will say when a light comes on or turns off or simply catches his attention, and “bye bye”.  I am not sure he understands the concept of bye bye and he doesn’t wave yet, but at least he can say the words.  He says “E-I-E-I” but can’t get the O yet.  =)  When I woke up Sunday he was sitting up next to me and I swear he said “Wa play” since I always ask does he “wanna play?”  Finally, he woke daddy up on Sunday and we both thought he asked daddy if he “sweep good”… as in “sleep good”.  It’s crazy how he was so slow to start talking at all (which the pedi said was normal for boys), but now he is picking things up left and right.  It’s so fun to carry on conversation with him nowadays!

The highlight of my weekend was playing outside with Rickybear on Sunday afternoon.  We set up the sprinkler in the backyard, but he was actually more leery of it than anything and just kept running away from it.  We kept the sprinkler on, but I pulled out the baby pool and started filling it up with the hose.  Has he never seen a hose before?  He was so excited!  And every time he splashed himself in the face with it or was hit by the sprinkler, he would scrunch up his eyes and throw both hands up by his head.  EVERY SINGLE TIME.  It was so funny.  I let him play for an hour and he was still mad at me when I made him dry off and go inside.  He definitely loves the water.

I am too tired to think of anything else to write for now, so I will let this be it for now. 

Hope everyone has a good week!

Wordless Wednesday

Pregnancy Update- 23 weeks

Now that I am blogging about my pregnancy progress, it seems like the weeks are flying by.  With that being said, why is it that I still feel like I have been pregnant forever??  I guess it’s harder this time around because I already know what to expect, so I am not as patient, plus the added dietary restrictions this time around.  Along with the normal restrictions with soft cheese, fish, deli meat, alcohol, sodium, caffeine, etc- I have to watch all the carbohydrates that I eat or else I could harm myself and the baby.  Um, what pregnant woman doesn’t want to sit down and consume a whole carton of ice cream????  =)

Not too much new to report this week.  I am still feeling pretty good.  My scale said I lost two pounds- maybe because I have been more active this week?  My BabyBump app said I might start gaining a pound a week from here on out.  I would assume that's for a skinny girl, lol.

The baby is the size of a large mango this week.

That’s pretty much it for week 23!

I just had a typical mommy morning.  The baby was fussy all night long, so I alternated sleeping in the nursery with sleeping on the couch.  Three minutes before my alarm went off, he woke up screaming and shaking.  It’s a good thing daddy was still home, because he was able to hold him and sing to him while I made a warm cup of milk.  After he drank all the milk, little boy proceeded to projectile spit-up a good bit of what he drank, so I got him all cleaned up… but then he had a stinky diaper, so I had to clean that up, too.  =)  I had to work for my “mommy” title this morning.

Of course this means that I was running late for work.  On the drive to drop Rickybear off with his Nana, I drove thru blinding rain, but once I hit the exit ramp for the exchange point, the skies cleared up and I was able to drop him off with no problem.  I think his rocky morning was completely forgotten when I hugged him goodbye because he was all smiles and giggles.  That made my morning all worthwhile…

Plus, I still made it to work early and was able to have a big cup of (decaf!) coffee. 

(And yes, mom, I realize you have your glasses on and you don't like pics with your glasses on, but you look great and it's a super cute pic!!)

Wordless Wednesday

A flashback to our Orange Beach vacation- 2010

(Ricky was 4 months old)

Beach Vacation

So it’s been a little over a week since we had our family vacation in Orange Beach.  We went up Thursday and did some shopping at the outlets in Foley and then we were able to check in.  We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, which was right on the beach.  We stayed there last year, too, so we knew it was clean and had a great view.  We have never gone there as a family in peak season, so it was a lot more crowded than normal, but we still had a good time.

We headed right out to the beach.  Boogie didn’t seem too impressed.  The big ocean can be a scary thing and the flags were red the whole time we were there, meaning the waves were very high.  That didn’t stop anyone from playing in them, though!  Daddy held him most of the time, but at one point we set him down so the waves could wash over his feet and he ended up getting splashed in the face a little.  Poor thing was scared!  From then on, Rickybear was daddy’s baby for the whole trip.  Never left his side.

This was the only night made the mistake of eating out late.  We headed out too late and Rickybear was so very tired.  He is used to his 9:30 pm bedtime and once 9:30 pm hit he wanted to be in bed!  He cried until we picked him up and rocked him to sleep.  That child never sleeps on me!  It was so sweet, but I felt so bad for him.  Daddy and I had to alternate eating, but the baby was happy, so we were as well. 

We headed out to the beach on day two.  Daddy bought us a chair with an umbrella for the day.  He was out there all day long, which he loved!  Under the shade it wasn’t too hot at all.  I brought the baby back to the room for a meal and a nap, but as soon as that was over, we were back out in the sun.  Thank goodness, I was the only one who burned! 

We learned that Rickybear does not like the sand this year.  At all.  It also took him most of the day to enjoy standing in the waves with his daddy.  If we tried to set him down, though, he would cry.  As long as he was safe in someone’s arms, he was super happy.

After the beach, the baby hit the pool.  The pool is always a winner with this kid.  Dinner at Pizza Hut was also a winner.  That kid is definitely his daddy’s child- he loves pizza!  We decided over dinner that we were having too good of a time to go home the next day, so as soon as we got back to the hotel, I went to the front desk to book another night for us.  I couldn’t believe they actually had a room available, but they did!

Day three was more relaxing.  We went to Adventure Island for mini golf and arcade games.  I thought I was going to pass out from the heat.  It was so much more oppressive than the day before!!  Glad we weren’t at the beach all day on this day!!  Boogie and I hit the pool and we went to the beach for sunset.  We picked up takeout and also hit up Dairy Queen (which we don’t have near home!!) and got a delicious treat!

This is the third summer hubby and I have gone to Orange Beach and we have picked up some traditions.  It was fun when it was just the two of us, but even better now that we had an addition to the family.  Last year was easier since the baby wasn’t mobile and he was just along for the ride, but this year was more special because he had so much more awareness.

In summary, the trip was great.  I am super thankful that we brought the Pack-N-Play… it was a lifesaver!  I am also glad we brought a whole arsenal of toys (even bath toys!) to keep the baby occupied.  I wish we had planned Rickybear’s meals better and brought more food specifically for him.  It would have saved us some trouble.  I will know better for next time. 

I can’t wait for our next family vacation!

Pregnancy Update- 22 Weeks

The baby is the size of a spaghetti squash this week.  Last pregnancy, I wouldn’t have know what that was, but this go-around, I am super familiar with them.  When Rickybear was just learning to eat solids, he loved squash of all kinds!  I made my own baby food, so I can tell by taste the difference between butternut/acorn/summer/spaghetti squash! 

I have started to have some swelling in my legs at this point, so I really need to increase my water intake, seeing as I am only halfway there.  My wedding rings still fit (barely), though.

I fell down the stairs at work last week, though.  Never had an accident like that with baby #1.  I was walking down the stairs and slipped.  I grabbed the handrail and slid down about 7 steps on my shins.  I was just kind of stunned when it was all over and I burst into tears right then and there.  No one else saw my little meltdown.  I was already on my way to HR to drop off some paperwork, so I reported it while I was there.  I had a deep bruise (that turned dark purple within hours of the fall) on my right arm from grabbing the rail, a handful of bruises up and down my legs/ankles, and some brush burns, but I am otherwise ok.  I didn’t hit my stomach or anything like that.  I faxed a letter to my OB about it, but she didn’t ask me to come in.  The baby was still moving all around that night, so that eased my worries.

Still no weight gain, but I am wearing a lot more of my preggo clothes now.  Since the fall, no more high heels, either.

I just felt the baby kick me now!  I guess he/she wants me to say that I feel the baby daily, normally around lunch and when I am going to bed.



Quick update

I started my new job this week.  Both hubby and I received a promotion in the same week.  He just had to upstage me!  =)  That being said, I am super busy and don't have any more down time during the day.  I am getting home hours later than I used to, so when I do, it's all baby time and chore time, then I go to bed as early as possible.  No laptop time!  Hopefully this weekend I can do a big post with pictures from our vacation last week to Orange Beach!

In the meantime, I will post a picture that was taken at Adventure Island.  We are sitting in a mechanical hippo (which didn't work anyway) after playing mini golf.  The baby in my belly was waving hello!