♪♫ All Levi wants for Christmas are his two front teeth! ♪♪♫

Levi officially has his first tooth! The bottom left front tooth just started poking through the gums a couple days ago and I think the right will be following shortly. Maybe we'll have a little toothy grin for Christmas photos?!?

In other news, our silly little monkey is crawling and climbing everywhere! He can crawl, pull up to a stand, climb the stairs, all sorts of things. He is fast too. And in the last couple of days he has been attempting to stand without holding on to anything. This has led to a lot of bumps on the head and startled cries!

We have been slowly introducing more & more foods, this week he had a teething biscuit for the first time, and he LOVED it! Should I expect to have a little cookie monster on my hands? He also managed to get a couple puffs into his mouth too, but he is not so great at that coordination. Much better at the large motor skills!

I was worried that with him eating foods and being in motion constantly, Levi wouldn't keep up with an adequate weight gain (he's small to begin with and pureed veggies don't exactly have alot of calories!), but he gained over a pound and a half in the last month. He is now 17 lbs, 5 oz and 28" long.

6 months!

My little boy is getting soooo big!

Well, not literally, but he is learning really fast :)

He is actually only at the 16% for his weight(15lb, 10oz), but 69% for his height(27"). He is long and lean!!!

He is crawling all over the place, and pulling up on everything!
Only problem is, he doesn't know how to get back down! The poor little boy has had more spills than I can count!

Now, you'd think with how active he is, he would be tired at the end of the day... not so much. After sleeping throuh the night all of October, last month was a disaster! I hope December brings more silent nights!

Crawling & Croup!

Those are the two big things going on in our household these days.

Levi has finally figured out how to lift his hands and move forward! The baby safety gate for the top of the stairs has been ordered! It sure wasn't easy finding one that fit our obscurely sized stairway. I hope it works! We really didn't expect him to crawl this early! Over-acheiver! He is going to keep me on my toes, this little boy is!

We also found out croup is going around the daycare, and unfortunately, Levi is one of the lucky ones who have caught it. It has made for some sleepless nights, poor baby.

My breastfeeding vent...

I think it is so tough. When you are pregnant everyone tells you their horror stories about l&d and asks if you are nervous about that, but nobody talks about how hard bf is! Labor wasn't fun, but at least once it was over, it was over, and I had my little boy. Bf just keeps going and going...

It is getting better slowly, but I can't say I enjoy it at all. I had some major latching issues on one side (apparently that nipple is just a little flatter?) and that has gotten better, but now even tho the lactation consultant says he's got a great latch, my poor nipples hurt ALL THE TIME.

And I hate that I can't sleep for more than about a 2 hour stretch :( I can't wait to start pumping so dh can help with a feeding at night, and so I can get out of the house without worrying that I will have to bf while we are out.

Levi is Here! (My Birth Story)

It has been a long time since my last post, I know, shame on me! But I have exciting news! Levi Carter has finally arrived! It has been quite the journey, but on May 12, my little 8lb, 6 oz miracle was born :)

I know I have really enjoyed reading other people's birth stories, so I thought I'd share mine:

After being dialated to 4cm for at least four or five days, I went back into the clinic on Monday, May 11th for another check-up. My doctor couldn't believe I hadn't had my baby over the weekend! She told me she had delivered another baby at the hospital the previous Thursday and told the nurses to expect a call from me!

The internal exam didn't show much progress, about a 1/2 cm, so my doctor stripped my membranes and again gave me the option to go get hooked up to some pitocin. I really wanted to have a natural birth, so I declined. Then we went over her schedule for the week. Turns out she would be out of town that Thursday through Sunday, so if I went into labor while she was gone, I would get the on-call OB, and if the baby wasn't here by the time she came back, she wanted me to go to the hospital and get induced - neither was something that I wanted.

So, I left the clinic and went and sat in my car and called dh. Given our choices and how miserably uncomfortable I was, we decided to go ahead wth the pitocin. Back into the clinic I went and scheduled an induction for 7:30 the following morning.

I felt so guilty, because I wanted my baby to come when he was ready and to pick his own birthday, plus I really wanted to go without the drugs, but I also knew I would be upset if my doctor wasn't around or if I waited another week just to get induced anyways.

Turns out I fretted for nothing! After having my mebranes stripped, I was crampy and had lower back pain all day, progressively getting stronger, just like it had after my appt the week before. Only this time, it didn't go away after I went to bed!

I had only been asleep for about an hour, when I woke up at exactly midnight with strong contactrions. I started timing them for the next hour since I couldn't sleep and they went from 5 minutes apart to about 4. So I woke up dh and told him I was going to get ready just incase. I wanted to wait it out as long as possible, so I took a super long hot shower (until we ran out of hot water!) which felt awesome and really helped with the pain. The I got dressed, did my make-up, packed last minute things, and just wasted time. Finally at almost 3 am I called the nurses station at the birth center and asked the nurse who answered if she thought I should come in. She mentioned a hot bath, which I thought sounded great, so I woke hubby up and told him I wanted to go!

He of course, took his time too, not wanting to be bored at the hospital all day, and was even packing some work and reading material! I was not thrilled with this, but didn't feel like arguing, so I just let it go. We finally got to the hospital about 4:15 am.

We checked in and I got hooked up to the monitoring equipment, we did paper work and just kinda hung out. I did get an internal check which showed I was at about 5cm. I was not impressed with that! After about a half hour they let me walk around the room and try bouncing on the birthing ball, but I couldn't go to far, because the nurse still wanted me hooked up to the fetal monitor - she thought Levi was being a little quiet.

That was very dissapointing to me, because I really wanted to soak in a warm bath. The shower I had taken earlier felt so good, I was sure a bath would help.

I tried a whole bunch of different standing and sitting positions and nothing was comfortable.The contrax sucked, but even worse was the fact that I had back labor that never went away, it was steady and consistent the whole time. I just kept whimpering to dh that it hurt. Poor guy, he wanted to help, but there wasn't anything he could do.

My doctor came in at about 7 am, she did another internal and I was at 6-7 cm, and she decided to break my water. There went any hope I had for a bath!

The water breaking was a shocker. There was just so much! It just kept coming! I am so glad it didn't break on its own, that would have been quite the mess! It was really warm feeling too, which I didn't expect.

The contactions got MUCH stronger after my water was broken. I guess all the fluid padded the pain? All I know was that I was squeezing dh's hand and the bar on the bed til my knuckles were completely white.

Before my doctor left the room she wanted to clarify that fact that I didn't want any pain meds. I was getting worried about the increasing intensity of everything so I asked her how long she thought it would be now that my water was broke, and she said it could go quick, or could be hours. I told her I definitely didn't want the epidural, but was worried that if it took too long I would be all worn out and wouldn't have the strength to push and deal with the pain, so I opted to have a shot of Fentanyl put into my IV. I had done my research and found that this narcotic was the one that had the least side effects and least effects on baby. So my doctor ordered the med and then gave me a rundown of her schedule; she said that she was going to go deliver another baby down the hall and that after that she would come check on me and then go to the clinic (in the next town) for her daily appts. The nurses were going to call her when she needed to come deliver my baby. This sounded reasonable to me, and I was glad she was keeping me informed.

So off my doctor went, and shortly thereafter (about 7:30) dh left too so he could go home and take care of our dog, before he was left home alone all day. He was going to wait until they gave me the pain med, but it was taking awhile so I told him just to leave.

When the nurse gave me the Fentanyl, it hit me right away. This narcotic doesn't take away the pain, but it makes you relax, so you can get some rest. It was so wierd, I could definitely still feel the pain, but I also felt like I was completely wasted and ready to pass out! The room started spinning and I could barely keep my eyes open. There was a nurse in my room setting things up and getting everything prepped and I wanted to watch, but ended up falling asleep. I woke up maybe 20-30 minutes later, it was just after 8am and the effects had mostly worn off. Perfect timing because right after I woke up, hubby came back :) I was so glad to see him! The pain after the narcotic wore off was so intense, it reminded me of how a migraine leaves you completely debilitated and unable to talk or think through it. There was still a nurse in my room so I told her I wanted more of that stuff, but she said I was only allowed one dose an hour so I had to wait about 20 more minutes until 8:30.


Meanwhile I had ther put some new pads underneath me (for the second time) because my water was still leaking out and I was sitting in a puddle.

Hubby held my hand through a couple more contractions (which were now coming like right on top of each other( and he told me later I was frantically squeezing it like I couldn't even find a comfortable way to squeeze his hand.

Well, I never got the other dose of fentanyl because all the sudden I turned to dh wide-eyed and said I feel like I have to push! When the feeling got stronger through the next contraction and I didn't think I could hold back from pushing, I told the nurse, who was still in our room and she said to go ahead and push, which I thought was the wierdest thing. I was worried I would push my baby out before my doctor got there. I was also worried that my doctor had gone back to the clinic already and wouldn't make it back in time.

Turns out my doctor was still down the hall with the other patient of hers, so she was in my room in a hurry! That was a relief! She took a peak down there and said that there was just a tiny bit of a lip of the cervix left and that I was ready to push my baby out! Terrifying to hear but I was so happy to hear that I didn't have to hold back from pushing because I really didn't think I could!

At first I tried pushing through each contraction, but I just knew that everytime I relaxed to breathe that his head was getting sucked back in (dh later confirmed my suspicion) so I ended up trying to push straight through, but then I wasn't getting as strong of pushes and wasn't breathing right, so I ended up sort of like panting. AT some point my doctor looked up and said "Rose! Stop! You need to breathe!" She was afraid I would hyperventalate. I was also still clinging to dh's hand and the bar of the bed, so she had me grab hold behind my things and try to push starting at the beginning of a contraxtion and just keep pushing through that breathe until I needed to breathe again, and then breath and start over with another push. I just kept doing this pattern and following my own breathing needs because the contractions didn't have any rest time in between so there was no point in trying to follow them.

Dh told me he could see the head crowning and was really encouraging, but I honestly don't remember much of this, I apologized to him later for not looking at him the whole time - I thought I had my eyes closed, but he told me I was looking into his eyes for part of the time! I didn't even know it!

The new push method felt like it was much more effective and soon my doctor was telling me to hold the next push as long as I could because his head was coming out! I did and it was so amazing feeling his little head slide out! I was so happy and thought I could stop to breathe for a minute, but apparently not, my doc wanted that baby out! The rest was easier to push out, I think it only took a few pushes, and then I remember listening for a cry. I just wanted to hear him cry and know he was okay.

I am sure it only took a second or two for them to suck the fluid out of his nose and mouth so he could breathe and cry, but it seemed like forever. I know DH cut the cord too. (He told me it squirted pretty forcefully when he cut it, and the doctor must have expected it because she leaned back before he did the snip)

Then they laid him up on my abdomen and I finally got to meet my little boy :D

All ten fingers and all ten toes, he was perfect.

I honestly don't know how long I pushed for but I think it must have seemed longer than it was, because he was born at 8:39 am.

It was really painful, but I am so glad I did it without the epidural. It was so amazing being able to feel him being born! And Dh said it was so cool to watch. He had to fight back tears and told me that it was the best day of his life.

Everything went better than I expected and I am so in love with my little boy! Being a mommy is great!

39 Week Appt Update

By the time I went in for my 39 week prenatal appointment (Thursday, May 7th), I was growing very weary of all the late term pregnancy symptoms. I hadn't had any signs of labor either. Hubby was pretty disappointed all those nesting instincts hadn't kicked in - he was looking forward to a clean house and baked goods, lol ;)

At a previous appt, my doctor and I had discussed how she doesn't believe in doing internal exams too early, because they don't really mean anything, but said she might do one at 39 weeks, and for sure at 40. So in I went to my appt, really hoping she would take a peek and let me know if anything was going on down there. While the nurse was taking my weight down, she let me know my OB was running late from a surgery she had that am. Then she took my blood pressure and checked out my swollen feet and decided that since the doctor was running late anyways, why not do an NST? So all hooked up I went, everything looked great and there was no sign of contractions anywhere - boo!

Since I was already on the table when my ob arrived, she decided to get right down to business with an internal. Immediately, she looked up at me eyes wide and says "Are you in labor?!?" I was just like, "Uh, I don't think so... there weren't any contractions on the nst." So she followed up by telling me that I was 4cm dialated and the bag of waters was bulging and felt ready to pop at any time!

I was so excited! She even said that if I wanted to, I could go on up to the hospital and get things jump started with some pitocin right then. I declined tho, because I really wanted to have this baby naturally. I did express my concern about working so far from the hospital tho (about an hour and a half away) and she told me no more work! Who-hoo! I left with instructions to go home and take a long walk and come back first thing Monday morning if I was still pregnant :)

I thought for sure I would go into labor that day/night sometime, since after my appt I was crampy and had a lower back ache, so I went and filled up the car with gas, went to the grocery store, went home and picked up somethings so the house looked somewhat presentable when visitors came. Then I went for a long walk, and nothing...

Then the next day I lost my plug and thought for sure something was going to happen. I called up my doctors nurse just to make sure that was it because my OB had told me I should have already lost my plug being so far dialated. I thought it was strange I never saw it! I didn't think it looked anything like other girls describe. To me it looked like a chunk of raw chicken. Gross, I know. The nurse told me I could come back in for another check, and I was curious to see if there was anymore progress, so back in I went. My Dr was surprised to see me since she had said Monday, but she went ahead and checked anyways, but no more progress. Ugh. So home for the weekend I went.

There was a full moon on Saturday, and Sunday was Mother's day, so I really thought baby would be here before the end of the weekend. But despite eating spicy food (Doritos jalepeno popper flavored chips) and taking a bumpy 4wheeler ride, baby decided he wanted to stay put!

And the countdown begins!

Well, as of yesterday, I am officially full term! 37 weeks.Or rather, Levi is.

Basically full term means that even though the average baby is born at about 40 weeks (due date) by 37 weeks, baby is fully developed, his lungs are mature, he's all ready to be born!

I am really hoping my little boy is ready to be born soon. I am definitely ready for this him to make his appearance. I even finished packing my hospital bag last night!

Unfortunately, I haven't had any real physical signs that its gonna happen soon. Everyone keeps telling me that I am still carrying so high, but I know he's gotten lower. The doctor said so and I keep getting pinched nerves in my hips. Plus, the pressure on my bladder has increased

I *think* I have had some braxton hix too, but am not really sure.



I really want him to come early, and have had the feeling all along that I wouldn't make it to 40 weeks. My intuition is usually pretty good, but I am starting to get worried that it's all just wishful thinking! I am so uncomfortable, that 3+ weeks just seems like an eternity away.

I guess all I can do it wait. I'll keep you posted!

37 Week Appt. Update

No real big news here. My doctor doesn't do internals, so I have no idea about progress. She did say she might do one at my 39 or 40 week appt if I haven't delivered by then.

Vitals all normal, baby's heartrate is good. I only gained 1 lb in the last week, which I am happy about since I had gained 5 in the previous 2 weeks - and he was already measuring ahead! I don't want a ginormous baby :)

I asked her about episiotomies and she said she doesn't do them or use any equipment (vacuum, forceps) unless there is fetal distress. So I was happy about that! I want to have as natural of a birth as possible.

And then I got the info to preregister at the hospital, so I am going to go online and get that done today.

Growing weary...

So this is my whine post. I try so hard not to complain, because I am so grateful for this pregnancy and am really super excited for my little boy, but I am growing so weary of all the discomforts the end of pregnancy has brought with it.

On one hand, I am not sure I am quite ready to end my last few weeks of alone time with my hubby. I like being able to cuddle up on the couch with him and watch a movie, and just plain spend uninterrupted time together.

On the other hand, even cuddling on the couch is not so comfy anymore. My belly sticks out over the edge, and I get restless and sore so quickly, and moving positions takes so much effort!

My feet and ankles are swollen and hurt, my ribs still hurt (and have since 22 weeks), my back just keeps getting more and more sore, the first tri acne has returned, so has the constipation. I've discovered the joys of heartburn, and I'm only sleeping for about 1-3 hours at a time during the night. Then I wake up having to pee and am always soooo thirsty. I try not to drink anything after about 8:30 pm, maybe just a couple ounces here and there, but its tough.

And to top it off, since baby's head has gotten lower, it seems to pinch a nerve in my hip sometimes, causing this terrible charlie-horse like pain to go shooting through the backside of my left hip.

Ugh.

I am tired and sore. I wake up in the morning and groan because I am still exhausted, and my body hurts! A full night in bed isn't really restful anymore.



And I potentially have 5 more weeks until this baby arrives! I really hope its more like 2! I don't know how I am going to be able to cope with everything much longer! I think I am going to turn into a sobbing emotional wreck. My poor, poor hubby. He has to listen to me complain, and I hope he doesn't get tired of being there for me! He has been so great this whole pregnancy...

I just wish I could take a nice, long, restful nap and wake up feeling physically good.

But now I've vented enough, and I need to get back to work. Thanks for listening to me whine!

36 Week Appt Update!

Good news - doctor said baby's head has gotten lower! She didn't specifically say he "dropped" or anything, but I am still happy to hear that its lower than it was - that counts for something, right? I am really hoping this little boy decides to arrive in the beginning of May rather than wait all the way until his due date (or later)

I also gained 5lbs in the last 2 weeks, which I am not thrilled about, but considering my feet and ankles look like marshmallows, I think its mostly water retention.Or at least that's what I am going to keep telling myself ;)

I found out my doctor doesn't check for dialation/effacement at all. She says she doesn't believe in it and it doesn't mean anything anyways since you could be dialated to a 3 for weeks, or not be dialated at all and go into labor the next day. So I am getting left in the dark!

I also got the GBS swab, quick and easy, but I didn't expect her to swab the back door too! At least it was on the outside and she didn't have to poke it in there - that would have definitely taken me off guard!

Baby Shower Fun!!!

On Saturday I had my second (and final) baby shower. My sister, hosted it, and my mom was the co-hostess ;)

It was so much fun! Mom did lots of research to find new, unique games that no-one had ever played before, and my sister made an AMAZING make-your-own taco buffet, snicker salad and other fruit, a banana cream cake, and margaritas (non-alcoholic for me!).

We had great attendance, almost every single person we invited came, and most of those who didn't sent a card instead! Levi officially is spoiled! We have almost everything we need, and we got a few gift cards and a little bit of cash to cover most the rest. I am so happy about that!

It's great to know how many people are looking forward to meeting Levi and just how loved this baby is going to be!

Just for fun!

I did a pregnancy prediction from this web site: http://pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnancy/baby/Madame-Zaritska-predicts-your-birth-experience-1.php


The day you deliver, outside will be foggy. Your baby will arrive in the late afternoon. After a labor lasting approximately 11 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 6 pounds, 12 ounces, and will be 22 inches long. This child will have dark gray eyes and a lot of blonde hair.

She's got the boy part down anyways! We'll see about the rest :)

34 Week Appointment & Ultrasound Update

Dh and I have been looking forward to this appointment for the last month, and are super happy we got to see our little guy again, but the appt was pretty uneventful for the most part.

He is still head down, he's practicing his breathing, has chubby cheeks and a big nose, and long legs! His legs are measuring 36 weeks! Not sure where he got that from, maybe my dad, he has pretty long legs.

Also, the thing I was excited to find out was a guess at his weight: Levi is estimated at 5lbs, 5 oz, in the 59 percentile, so he is right on target!

We did get some pictures, but they weren't that great. He is getting pretty squished in there, so it's hard to see anything at the right angle for good images. But it was fun to watch!

Baby shower at MIL's house

Yesterday I had a shower, hosted by Dh's mom. It went very well, much better than I anticipated based on all the drama caused trying to schedule it! Lots of people showed, including many who didn't rsvp, and MIL decided she was going to feed people more than just cake and coffee, so there was a lot of good food too :)

And of course, so many gifts! Levi is going to be one well loved (and spoiled) baby with all his new clothes and blankets and toys and such!

Everything is falling into place!

We took our childbirth class last Saturday, and I am so glad we did! I think we both feel much more prepared and ready to go!

It was different than I expected. We didn't really learn the breathing technique stuff. A little bit, but not much - maybe spent 10-15 minutes out of a 6 hour class on breathing. We learned alot about natural ways to cope with labor pains, learned about medical pain relief options offered at that hospital, a little more about the general procedure, and what happens if there are complications, learned about c-sections, and got to tour the birthplace. It was taught by a labor and delivery nurse and there was a delivery doctor there for a 45 min q&a, so we really got alot of questions answered.

Since I was a preemie, I wanted to know more about preterm labor, and did find out that they will try to stop labor if you go into it before 36 weeks, but at that 36 week mark, they'll deliver. That is less than 4 weeks away!!!

I also asked if my delivery can be related at all to my mother's labor history. The doctor said that the 2 things you can take from your mother is the ability to have a vaginal birth (your hips are typically similar) and that your baby's birth weight will most likely be similar to your own birth wieght. Well, I don't count, since I was 8 weeks early, but I asked about siblings and he said if they were all about the same, then yes. Well, I asked Mom and she said all the other 4 kids were about 5 lbs! Granted she was a smoker, so I can expect a little higher, but I was happy to hear everyone was on the smaller side. I do not want to push out a 10 pound baby!

Mom also said she had very short labors, and not terribly painful - she slept through the beginning stages of 2 of them! I really hope my labor is like that! It probably won't be though, since I have had a relatively easy pregnancy, and hers were full of terrible morning sickness and heartburn. Oh well! We'll just have to wait and see!

Thank goodness the upcoming weeks are going to be busy ones, otherwise Dh and I would go stir crazy, we are both just so anxious and excited!

Next on the calendar is the baby shower MIL is hosting! It has been quite the crazy ordeal trying to plan this shower, and MIL has NOT been very accomodating or gracious about the whole thing, which has been pretty stressful, but I am trying to be grateful and just think about it this way - no matter how it happens, just the fact that I get a shower means we are more prepared for Levi and he will have some things to help welcome him into this world.

Well, that's it for now!

32 WEEKS!

Yay! I am so excited this day finally came! I have been anxiously waiting for this milestone, and feel so relieved now that it is finally here! The reason, is because I was born at approximately 32 weeks. Yep, a preemie baby, weighing 3lbs, 13oz. My parents had to leave the hospital without me and were able to bring me home a month later, still covered in wires and hooked up to a heart monitor. BUT, I made it! With no long term complications!

I feel like I am really going to be able to meet this little boy now, and everything is going to be alright.

My baby has a big nose :)

I had my 32 week appt yesterday, and all is good. I did mention that he hadn't been moving as much the last couple days, and wondered if he was running out of room in there, so my doctor did a quick little ultrasound to check on the amniotic fluid levels and make sure everything else looked okay.

That was a fun surprise! But I felt bad Dh wasn't there to see his son again. I didn't really get to see much on the u/s, but one of the first things my doctor checked was his positioning in my pelvis, he is head down and facing my back - perfect position for delivery :) She also said he has a big nose!!!



I laughed, and told her "Well, so does his daddy!" lol. Dh's nose isn't really big, but he does have a chubby german nose and it looks like Levi will probably have his nose :)

Levi was also practicing his breathing and she said he had his eyes open and was sticking out his tongue. And he DEFINITELY still a boy!!!

Our next appt is in 2 weeks, on April 1st, and Dh will be coming to that one, because we have a growth ultrasound and the doctor is going to measure everything, find an approximate weight and make sure he is growing on schedule.

30 Week Appt. Update

Last night our electricity just randomly went out. DH went downstairs and flipped the breaker, but no luck there. We just couldn't figure it out! All the neighbors still had lights on, and we definitely paid our bill! So we called the electric company and they said they would send someone out, but the truck wouldn't be there for over an hour. So DH and Bailey and I sat on the couch in the flashlight lit living room reading baby books and magazines until Bailey started barking to let us know the truck had arrived.

By the time the electricity was back up and running, it was definitely time for bed! And of course we had to reset the alarm clock. Must not have gotten it right, because somehow I lost 10-15 minutes of time walking fro the house to my car :) So, I was late to the doctor's office today.

When I got there my nurse and doctor were both very relieved! I am always the first appt on the days I go in, and they were worried when the next appt. was checked in before me! My doctor said it was not like me at all, and that I am usually so meticulous about details, she couldn't believe I would have forgotten.

I thought this was so funny, considering how punctual I am at everything else in life... If only they knew!

At any rate, I had a pretty basic appt. today, all my vitals were normal, Baby's heartbeat sounds good and he is still head down.

I only gained about 1 1/2 lbs during the last week, which I was happy about, since I put on 6 in the the previous 3 weeks. Between that and the somewhat elevated blood sugar, I figure I better watch the sweets a little closer!!!

My doctor did comment that Levi feels pretty big for 30 weeks, which has me somewhat concerned. But I decided there is no use fretting until I am closer to my due date.

My appointments are now going to be only 2 weeks apart, until 36 weeks and then every week there after. I went ahead and scheduled the rest so I could just give work the list and tell them what days I would be in late all at once.

Also, I get to have another ultrasound at my 34 week appointment, so that is very exciting! I can't wait to see our little boy again!

Our Nursery!

Dh and I are pretty much finished with Levi's bedroom!!!

It was quite the collaborative project. He really did most of the work! I am so impressed :)

For the pictures on the wall, I printed off images online that I liked, and loosely traced some of them, dh took my sketches and free-hand drew them on the wall or on graph paper, then I came home and tweaked the lines until we were both happy. He did all of the painting, except the leaves on the tree, which I made sponge cut-outs of, and we both sponge-painted on.

Oh, and of course Bailey was there to supervise!

No GD for me!

The short of the story: My blood sugar level was on the high side of normal, I passed!

The results of my 1-hr were just posted online: 131mg/dL

I wanted to know what this meant so I googled it and found that most sources say something along these lines:

"A blood glucose of 140mg/dL will identify 80% of women with gestational diabetes. When that cutoff is lowered to 130mg/dL the yield increases to 90%. If your blood glucose level was greater than 130 mg/dL, your provider will likely recommend you take another diabetes screening test..." (http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/pregnancy-diabetes).

So I emailed my doctor and she responded that she uses the 140mg/dL cut off. So I don't have to take the 3-hr test, and I can still eat carbs and sugar!

My only concern is that because my result was kinda borderline, that I might have or still develop GD. How would I know if this happened? Could something bad happen if I had it and continued to eat my normal diet?

3rd Trimester!

Things are moving along. I am now 27 weeks pregnant, and officially in the 3rd trimester! 13 more weeks to go!

Things are still going well for the most part. My ribs still hurt, but I don't think anything I do will be able to stop that. I tried going to the chiropractor, but it was pretty useless. All he really did was crack my back. I don't think I will be returning. I also took my OB's recommendation and bought a bra with a larger band size and started taking Calcium/vitamin D supplements. Nothing helps. But, it could be worse right? And this little boy is so worth it!

I had another ob appointment this morning, and everything is going well. Baby Levi is head down now, with a nice strong heartbeat. Even though I have a bad cough, she said my lungs sounded good. My total weight gain is at 12 lbs, 6 of which have been in the last 3 1/2 weeks (I think I ate too many cookies last weekend!) And the doctor said when she completes the paperwork for my short-term disability (STD) leave, she is going to recommend the full 12 weeks off work :)

I also asked her about her vacation schedule. I wanted to make sure she wasn't going to be gone in mid-May! She said she is at a conference starting on May 26th, but if Levi doesn't come on his own before May 21st, he will be born that day! (Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad! You get to be grandparents!)

While I was at the clinic, I had to drink this cup of thick, syrupy, fruit punch flavored glucose drink too. After waiting for an hour, the lab took some blood and they are going to test for gestational diabetes. I should find out the results today or Monday at the latest.

Hopefully I pass! It's almost Shamrock Shake season, and I look forward to those all year!

In other news at our home - DH has made great progress on the nursery! He has all the walls painted and has started sketching the tree and woodland animal silohettes that he is going to paint. We picked up the crib on Monday and set that up, and I do believe BIL is going to be helping hubby move the fold-out couch downstairs tonight (he doesn't know it yet though)! I will post some photos when we get it more complete!

I think that is all for now, I will try to post more often now that work has slowed down some!

Life has been crazy!

I haven't had time to do any of my normal time-consuming projects the last month or so. Work has been soooo busy. I have even worked the last few weekends. Our annual national convention is occuring as I write. I am working behind the scenes, so I actually have a little bit of time to breathe!

And time to type :) My blog is lonely and I feel like I don't know anyone when I log onto the SAL board these days. So many new girls! I am super happy they are all there, but I feel bad that I am so out of touch with everyone!

At anyrate, things have been going very well. I really enjoy being pregnant, and I try not to complain because I think I am lucky to have avoided most of the negative symptoms being pregnant usually comes with.

That being said - my back and ribs are still killing me. And I am learning that normal, everyday activities take so much more energy than I ever realized. I kindof feel like when I had mono in high school. I just kept going and going, and then when I actually rested, it hit me how beat I really was. Even walking down stairs here at the event center is wierd, because I can tell that my center of gravity is off, and I balance differently when walking down them.

I am not unhappy because of these things, but life sure is different!

My little boy has been pretty active the last couple days, and I absolutely LOVE feeling him and watching my belly move! We also got the 1st round of painting done in the nursery, and my crib came in yesterday, so hopefully we'll be able to put it together on Monday!

Things are progressing and coming together, it's just all so exciting :)

but, now back to work I go!

24 week appt update

Well, I have found out why my ribs are killing me. I asked the doctor how far up baby was, and she said that at 20 weeks, he would be right at my belly button and moves up from there. She was checking the baby's heartbeat at the time, so she just touched where he should be.

I was a bit puzzled by that and told her I could have sworn I felt movement way up by my ribs and that they have been pretty sore the last couple weeks, so she felt around and sure enough, he's all the way up there already. Doctor was very surprised he was so far up. If he is that high at 24 weeks, I don't know where else he can go, or how he is going to fit! Darn me and my short torso!

Aside from that, everything is going great. My vitals are all normal, I have gained a total of about 7lbs so far and baby has a good strong heartbeat.

Next appt I am going to take the gestational diabetes test, so hopefully that turns out okay! I made the appt for Friday, Feb 13th. After how horrible the last Friday the 13th was, I am hoping it will relieve some of my stress to have an appt that day. I just hope I didn't jinx my gd test!

Reflections

So today is a strange day for me. It is January 16th. The estimated due date for the baby I could have had...

I am surprisingly not as shaken as I thought I would be, but still feeling a little blue. I am so unbelievably grateful for my little boy, Levi, who is growing away inside me now. I love him so much and can't wait to meet him :)

I wouldn't go back and change things, even if I could. Yet, at the same time I cannot help but wonder what things might have been like.

So I am going through this day, putting my faith in Him, and knowing that my little Levi is the reason everything happened the way it did. Appreciating the knowledge that I know I will never take this pregnancy foregranted and that I am thankful for my growing family every passing day.

To my angel baby - You will always be remembered and cherished. Even though you never had the chance to grow, there was plenty of time for my love for you to blossom.

Levi - Mommy & Daddy love you sooooo much and can not wait to see you. To find out who's eyes you have, and if you will get Daddy's curly hair. We are very excited for this May and we just know you are going to steal our hearts away!

Hubby SAW baby kick!!!

I saw my belly twicthing for the first time Sunday, but hubby wasn't home at the time, and the little guy hasn't kicked at an opportune time since.

Until last night that is! I was laying in bed light out, ready to fall asleep when all the sudden I got a couple really good mid-belly kicks. Right at the same time I heard dh come down the stairs and head towards the shower, so I called him into the bedroom, and told him to turn on the light and come watch his son kick!

He saw the little twitches right away. His eyes lit up and he pointed to the spot on my belly that moved and was all excited saying "Right here? It looked like your belly was having a spasm!" lol

So much fun! I just love all this 2nd tri excitement!