Monday, August 24, 2015
Induction Date
Good news: I don't have preeclampsia! I'm relieved, because multiple miscarriages and gestational diabetes are enough complications for me. Better news: If Baby Girl doesn't come on her own by Thursday, I'm scheduled to be induced next Monday night. It looks like I'm just not meant to have the natural birth I've always wanted. As long as she arrives safe and healthy and I make it through safe and healthy, that's all that matters. We're all breathing a sigh of relief tonight and incredibly thankful to finally have a plan. That's all for now. By this time next week, we'll be preparing to have a baby!
Who's Timing?
1) Miscarriage
2) Stillbirth
3) Chromosomal disorder
4) Something going wrong during labor and delivery
5) The timing of her arrival (too early, too late, too whatever)
These are the top five things I've worried about this pregnancy. There are others (many others) but these are what have kept me panicking the most. Right now the hot button topic is when will she arrive? For a while we just wanted to make sure she stayed to full term. Now that we're within a week of that, we're all a little more eager for her to arrive. I'm counting kicks almost every waking hour. Her due date is on my weekend with my daughter, so I wasn't worried about her being there. Now it doesn't look like we'll make it that long, which brings up a slew of "what ifs". What if she comes between the 31st and the 4th? Hope will have to miss her first week of dance classes because there won't be anyone available to take her. While it may seem like a little thing and something that shouldn't bother anyone, it bothers me. I want this birth and the subsequent transitions to disrupt her life as little as possible. We all know having a baby changes everything, and there's going to be enough changes in her life in the coming years. Mama bear in me wants her to go to her first week of dance. What if she comes on the 28th? Who will take Hope to her dad's? My mom (her usual ride if I'm unavailable) will be with us at the hospital. Obviously Shaun won't be able to take her.
Something about yesterday's sermon hit me. I need to seek God's will, not man's. She will come when God's ready. Not when Shaun wants (yesterday), not when Hope wants (Christmas), not when I want (this week). God is still teaching me about his timing. He's still teaching me to fully trust Him. You'd think after everything we've been through I'd be there. Unfortunately, the sin of worry quickly creeps into my life. Often it's so fast I don't even realize it's happening. This week my prayer is that God will align my will with his. As I'm preparing for this appointment later today I keep praying for God's will. I'm praying to be content in all circumstances, even if it means a scheduled induction next week. As it is I'm not having the natural birth I wanted.
One last thing; I want to say thanks again to everyone who's helped through this pregnancy. Another sweet friend dropped off a swing and bunting for her car seat on Friday. A friend from church properly installed her seat yesterday. More friends have sent cards and gifts this week. We greatly appreciate each one. And I have a generous friend who has agreed to keep Hope overnight if the baby comes when she's with me. My family has helped organize and sent supplies we've asked for. Shaun's family is still sending clothes in various sizes. We're so thankful for all the help. I'm sure I've forgotten someone, but know that whatever you've done, no matter how trivial, we appreciate it. Thanks again for all the prayers, we wouldn't be here without them.
2) Stillbirth
3) Chromosomal disorder
4) Something going wrong during labor and delivery
5) The timing of her arrival (too early, too late, too whatever)
These are the top five things I've worried about this pregnancy. There are others (many others) but these are what have kept me panicking the most. Right now the hot button topic is when will she arrive? For a while we just wanted to make sure she stayed to full term. Now that we're within a week of that, we're all a little more eager for her to arrive. I'm counting kicks almost every waking hour. Her due date is on my weekend with my daughter, so I wasn't worried about her being there. Now it doesn't look like we'll make it that long, which brings up a slew of "what ifs". What if she comes between the 31st and the 4th? Hope will have to miss her first week of dance classes because there won't be anyone available to take her. While it may seem like a little thing and something that shouldn't bother anyone, it bothers me. I want this birth and the subsequent transitions to disrupt her life as little as possible. We all know having a baby changes everything, and there's going to be enough changes in her life in the coming years. Mama bear in me wants her to go to her first week of dance. What if she comes on the 28th? Who will take Hope to her dad's? My mom (her usual ride if I'm unavailable) will be with us at the hospital. Obviously Shaun won't be able to take her.
Something about yesterday's sermon hit me. I need to seek God's will, not man's. She will come when God's ready. Not when Shaun wants (yesterday), not when Hope wants (Christmas), not when I want (this week). God is still teaching me about his timing. He's still teaching me to fully trust Him. You'd think after everything we've been through I'd be there. Unfortunately, the sin of worry quickly creeps into my life. Often it's so fast I don't even realize it's happening. This week my prayer is that God will align my will with his. As I'm preparing for this appointment later today I keep praying for God's will. I'm praying to be content in all circumstances, even if it means a scheduled induction next week. As it is I'm not having the natural birth I wanted.
One last thing; I want to say thanks again to everyone who's helped through this pregnancy. Another sweet friend dropped off a swing and bunting for her car seat on Friday. A friend from church properly installed her seat yesterday. More friends have sent cards and gifts this week. We greatly appreciate each one. And I have a generous friend who has agreed to keep Hope overnight if the baby comes when she's with me. My family has helped organize and sent supplies we've asked for. Shaun's family is still sending clothes in various sizes. We're so thankful for all the help. I'm sure I've forgotten someone, but know that whatever you've done, no matter how trivial, we appreciate it. Thanks again for all the prayers, we wouldn't be here without them.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
More News
My sweet aunt drove me to my appointment today. Everything went surprisingly well! Baby Girl cooperated for the NST and we finished the BPP in record time! She even moved her hands and feet from her face long enough for us to get multiple pictures. It looks like she's smiling in one! We can't wait to hold her and squeeze those chubby little cheeks.
Then I saw the doctor...
My blood pressure is normal. I don't have any other symptoms of preeclampsia except there was protein in my urine. So I have to do a 24 hour urine collection from Sunday to Monday. If that comes back high, I'm sure we'll induce on Monday. At this point, I don't really mind either way. It would bother me to carry another pregnancy risk, but as long as she's born healthy and I make it through, that's all that matters. If we meet her a little early, so be it. Otherwise we'll meet her sometime in the next week and a half or so. Continued prayers are appreciated.
BIG BLESSING!!!!
We had a baby sprinkle today from Shaun's work. They gave us a brand new crib and mattress! We're so thankful for friends who would come together and help us. Now Baby Girl has almost everything she needs. If you want to help at this point, Target or Babies R Us gift cards are the way to go. There's a few things we registered for we'd like to pick up, and with Babies R Us we continue to earn rewards after she's born.
Once again, thank you for all the prayers and support. We're anxious to bring home our newest princess!
Then I saw the doctor...
My blood pressure is normal. I don't have any other symptoms of preeclampsia except there was protein in my urine. So I have to do a 24 hour urine collection from Sunday to Monday. If that comes back high, I'm sure we'll induce on Monday. At this point, I don't really mind either way. It would bother me to carry another pregnancy risk, but as long as she's born healthy and I make it through, that's all that matters. If we meet her a little early, so be it. Otherwise we'll meet her sometime in the next week and a half or so. Continued prayers are appreciated.
BIG BLESSING!!!!
We had a baby sprinkle today from Shaun's work. They gave us a brand new crib and mattress! We're so thankful for friends who would come together and help us. Now Baby Girl has almost everything she needs. If you want to help at this point, Target or Babies R Us gift cards are the way to go. There's a few things we registered for we'd like to pick up, and with Babies R Us we continue to earn rewards after she's born.
Once again, thank you for all the prayers and support. We're anxious to bring home our newest princess!
Monday, August 17, 2015
New Due Date of Sorts
I finally talked with my doctor! I feel so much more comfortable with the situation. The NST and BPP went beautifully today. Of course, since she cooperated so well she covered her face with her hand, so we didn't get any new pictures. That's okay, in about two weeks she won't have a choice!
My blood pressure was back to normal, so I'm not being induced before Thursday. I say before Thursday because if it spikes at any point for the rest of the pregnancy, I'll be induced. If all continues to go well I'll be induced sometime in the 39th week. That's August 28th--September 3rd. I'm still on modified bed rest. I can go about normal activities, but I can't work or do any heavy lifting, and I have to lay on my left side for an hour each morning, afternoon and evening. Our bags are finally packed and ready to go whenever she decides to show up. My mom and Shaun would like someone to go with me to the remainder of my appointments, just in case they decide to induce. They're August 20th (10:30), 24th (10:00) and 27th (10:30), if anyone's available. I'm typically gone three hours or so. If you're interested, pm me. Thanks for all the prayers and support! A big shout out to Stacey for finishing the nursery today and Andrea for keeping my doctor in the loop with all my weekend problems. I can't say it enough, I have the best friends in the world!
My blood pressure was back to normal, so I'm not being induced before Thursday. I say before Thursday because if it spikes at any point for the rest of the pregnancy, I'll be induced. If all continues to go well I'll be induced sometime in the 39th week. That's August 28th--September 3rd. I'm still on modified bed rest. I can go about normal activities, but I can't work or do any heavy lifting, and I have to lay on my left side for an hour each morning, afternoon and evening. Our bags are finally packed and ready to go whenever she decides to show up. My mom and Shaun would like someone to go with me to the remainder of my appointments, just in case they decide to induce. They're August 20th (10:30), 24th (10:00) and 27th (10:30), if anyone's available. I'm typically gone three hours or so. If you're interested, pm me. Thanks for all the prayers and support! A big shout out to Stacey for finishing the nursery today and Andrea for keeping my doctor in the loop with all my weekend problems. I can't say it enough, I have the best friends in the world!
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Why We Raced Out of Church This Morning
My feet were swollen Friday and Saturday night. After seeing my Facebook posts about it, one of my friends (who works with my doctor) offered to take my blood pressure at church. When she finished, she looked at me and said "You're going to the hospital". She got Shaun and I took care of some last minute details in the church nursery.
At the hospital, I was admitted and they ran a series of blood tests and an NST. Baby girl was maneuvering away from the heart monitor and unhappy with the change in routine. I drank some ice water and used a small fan to try to cool down. I've felt excessively hot all day, and I'm normally cold natured. I was diagnosed with pregnancy induced hypertension and sent home on modified bed rest until Baby Girl arrives. I'm allowed to get up and cook meals, and I can sit on the couch or with my feet propped up in a recliner, but I'm not to do any work. So whatever isn't done now, isn't getting done before she's born. I'll see my doctor tomorrow, and he may order something different, but I doubt it. My plan is to continue doing what I've been doing since late last week; sleep when I feel tired and relax as much as possible. I can still drive, so I can continue taking Hope to and from school. Baby Girl will definitely be born sooner than later. With two complications I'm absolutely not going over 40 weeks. Continued prayers are definitely appreciated.
At the hospital, I was admitted and they ran a series of blood tests and an NST. Baby girl was maneuvering away from the heart monitor and unhappy with the change in routine. I drank some ice water and used a small fan to try to cool down. I've felt excessively hot all day, and I'm normally cold natured. I was diagnosed with pregnancy induced hypertension and sent home on modified bed rest until Baby Girl arrives. I'm allowed to get up and cook meals, and I can sit on the couch or with my feet propped up in a recliner, but I'm not to do any work. So whatever isn't done now, isn't getting done before she's born. I'll see my doctor tomorrow, and he may order something different, but I doubt it. My plan is to continue doing what I've been doing since late last week; sleep when I feel tired and relax as much as possible. I can still drive, so I can continue taking Hope to and from school. Baby Girl will definitely be born sooner than later. With two complications I'm absolutely not going over 40 weeks. Continued prayers are definitely appreciated.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Baby Will Come By.....
Woohoo!!! This week has been AMAZING!!!! I've gotten a ton of work done around the house (just general upkeep, but still...), and I now know Baby Girl will arrive sometime between September 4th and September 10th (if she doesn't come on her own before then). My doctor said yesterday with my blood sugars the way they are he won't let me go over. YAY!!!!!!!!! My sugars are still excellent for GD, but I think it's a standard if there's any complications they won't let you go over.
Baby Girl is definitely her father's daughter. She was up and moving during the NST. She moved away from the heart rate monitor several times, but she was definitely active. By the time I went in for the BPP, she decided to take a little nap. She did everything they wanted her to do, except move. They spent about fifteen minutes poking and prodding my belly, pushing on her head, stomach, anything they could reach to wake her up. She wasn't having it. She was out COLD. Definitely Shaun's kid. With 30 seconds on the clock before we had to stop, she finally moved. I was relieved, because I don't know what my doctor would do if she slept through the whole test. Of course she was kicking away the whole way home. She took so long the nurses called down to see what was going on, because the doctor was waiting on me! How often does that happen?
She has a doctor! This has been a big issue, because Hope's doctor and the doctor I preferred both no longer take patients on the medical card. I desperately wanted to get insurance when she's born, but there's no way it's financially feasible for us. The cost would drop Shaun's take home pay to what he made as an assistant manager. There's no way we could survive. With ObamaCare I no longer feel any guilt or shame in being on state insurance, because pretty much everyone is on government healthcare. Baby Girl will see Dr. Morra with Right From the Start Pediatrics in Shiloh. It's in the same direction as Hope's dance studio, and we go there every other Friday to take her to her dad anyway. Hopefully we can work appointments around her schedule so we're not driving too much. There's only one pediatrician in our town, and no one's heard of her. There is a general practice, but no one I know who use it like it for kids. Everyone agrees to stay away from the pediatricians in Mt. Vernon.
A little update on what supplies she still needs. Please, before you buy or send anything that's not on the registry, ask Shaun or me if we need it. We've received several items from well meaning family and friends in the past few months that aren't practical for our family. Honestly if you want to buy her something the best thing right now is headbands we can attach bows to or gift cards. I know gift cards aren't fun to buy, but they're what we'll need when she's born. We do still have registries at Babies R Us and Target, so you can check there if you want to get an actual gift. There are several things there that we chose because of their functionality and ease of use. If you comparison shop and find a better deal on the same item elsewhere, go for it! We appreciate every effort, but want to make sure the things coming into our home work for our family. We are very limited on space, and we took that into consideration for every item we registered for. I don't want to sound picky or ungrateful, but I've worked so hard the past several years to declutter and downsize our 'stuff' and I don't want to be bogged down with baby items we can't use. She has the smallest room in the house, and we don't have a basement we can store things in. Thank you for all your help and support and understanding our predicament.
I think that sums it up for now. She'll be here sometime in the next three weeks. WOW! I better go pack our hospital bags...
Baby Girl is definitely her father's daughter. She was up and moving during the NST. She moved away from the heart rate monitor several times, but she was definitely active. By the time I went in for the BPP, she decided to take a little nap. She did everything they wanted her to do, except move. They spent about fifteen minutes poking and prodding my belly, pushing on her head, stomach, anything they could reach to wake her up. She wasn't having it. She was out COLD. Definitely Shaun's kid. With 30 seconds on the clock before we had to stop, she finally moved. I was relieved, because I don't know what my doctor would do if she slept through the whole test. Of course she was kicking away the whole way home. She took so long the nurses called down to see what was going on, because the doctor was waiting on me! How often does that happen?
She has a doctor! This has been a big issue, because Hope's doctor and the doctor I preferred both no longer take patients on the medical card. I desperately wanted to get insurance when she's born, but there's no way it's financially feasible for us. The cost would drop Shaun's take home pay to what he made as an assistant manager. There's no way we could survive. With ObamaCare I no longer feel any guilt or shame in being on state insurance, because pretty much everyone is on government healthcare. Baby Girl will see Dr. Morra with Right From the Start Pediatrics in Shiloh. It's in the same direction as Hope's dance studio, and we go there every other Friday to take her to her dad anyway. Hopefully we can work appointments around her schedule so we're not driving too much. There's only one pediatrician in our town, and no one's heard of her. There is a general practice, but no one I know who use it like it for kids. Everyone agrees to stay away from the pediatricians in Mt. Vernon.
A little update on what supplies she still needs. Please, before you buy or send anything that's not on the registry, ask Shaun or me if we need it. We've received several items from well meaning family and friends in the past few months that aren't practical for our family. Honestly if you want to buy her something the best thing right now is headbands we can attach bows to or gift cards. I know gift cards aren't fun to buy, but they're what we'll need when she's born. We do still have registries at Babies R Us and Target, so you can check there if you want to get an actual gift. There are several things there that we chose because of their functionality and ease of use. If you comparison shop and find a better deal on the same item elsewhere, go for it! We appreciate every effort, but want to make sure the things coming into our home work for our family. We are very limited on space, and we took that into consideration for every item we registered for. I don't want to sound picky or ungrateful, but I've worked so hard the past several years to declutter and downsize our 'stuff' and I don't want to be bogged down with baby items we can't use. She has the smallest room in the house, and we don't have a basement we can store things in. Thank you for all your help and support and understanding our predicament.
I think that sums it up for now. She'll be here sometime in the next three weeks. WOW! I better go pack our hospital bags...
Monday, August 10, 2015
So Close and Yet, So Far
Yesterday was an AMAZING day! My church threw a wonderful book & bow party for Baby Girl. She received dozens of each, and we can't wait to enjoy them with her. She now has enough bows to match every outfit. Too bad she doesn't have hair to go with them.
Baby Girl was measured at my BPP today. She weighs a whopping 6.3 lbs! I'm trying not to panic, since Hope only weighed 6.4 when she was born. I still have almost a month to go. To say I'm ready for her to arrive is an understatement. I'm bound and determined to have a natural birth, but if she keeps growing at this rate I may have to use demerol again. I asked the tech to check for hair, and she could only see a layer of peach fuzz. It's all around her head, but probably not enough for the bows she has. It's probably a good thing she has headbands, too. I'm looking for some more plain elastic ones I can attach bows to, so if you know where to find them, please tell me. At least this time she let us get a few pictures. She has the cutest chubby little cheeks! I absolutely love them.
Last week she misbehaved for the NST. Today she was a little better, but the tech still had to hover over her for a while. I was contracting on my way to the office, but they stopped by the time the NST started.
My sugars were good enough to keep doing what I've been doing. I was checked and I'm not dilated. I can't tell you how disappointed I am. I KNOW it's better for her to stay as long as possible; but knowing her weight just makes me so nervous. I'm afraid she'll get too big for me to deliver. I'm afraid if she's too big I won't be able to have a natural birth. More than anything, I'm afraid I'll have to be induced again. I don't want that. I want to know what it feels like to go into labor naturally. Pray for peace for me in the coming weeks, because the closer we get, the more nervous I become.
Baby Girl was measured at my BPP today. She weighs a whopping 6.3 lbs! I'm trying not to panic, since Hope only weighed 6.4 when she was born. I still have almost a month to go. To say I'm ready for her to arrive is an understatement. I'm bound and determined to have a natural birth, but if she keeps growing at this rate I may have to use demerol again. I asked the tech to check for hair, and she could only see a layer of peach fuzz. It's all around her head, but probably not enough for the bows she has. It's probably a good thing she has headbands, too. I'm looking for some more plain elastic ones I can attach bows to, so if you know where to find them, please tell me. At least this time she let us get a few pictures. She has the cutest chubby little cheeks! I absolutely love them.
Last week she misbehaved for the NST. Today she was a little better, but the tech still had to hover over her for a while. I was contracting on my way to the office, but they stopped by the time the NST started.
My sugars were good enough to keep doing what I've been doing. I was checked and I'm not dilated. I can't tell you how disappointed I am. I KNOW it's better for her to stay as long as possible; but knowing her weight just makes me so nervous. I'm afraid she'll get too big for me to deliver. I'm afraid if she's too big I won't be able to have a natural birth. More than anything, I'm afraid I'll have to be induced again. I don't want that. I want to know what it feels like to go into labor naturally. Pray for peace for me in the coming weeks, because the closer we get, the more nervous I become.
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