Monday, January 30, 2012

Thursday, January 26, 2012

31 Weeks: Feelin' the Burn

29 weeks

30 weeks

31 weeks

Ok, now that we're all caught up with the bump, let's talk other stuff.  I had a doctor's appointment a couple of weeks ago.  Everything looked and sounded great.  I've gained about 20 pounds so far and my fundal measurement has finally caught up.  While we were there, Drew asked them about doing a 3D ultrasound and they were going to get us right in, but the tech had an appointment, so we scheduled the ultrasound for the next week.

So, we went back the next week (which was last week) and had the 3D ultrasound done.  Unfortunately, the little lady is quite stubborn and feisty, just like her mama.  She refused to get into a good position for pictures.  The tech even sent us out to get lunch and come back with the hopes that she would move into a good position.  No such luck.  We did get a couple of pictures that were decent.  We go for our growth scan ultrasound next week, and the tech said that she would try to get some better pictures then.  Fingers crossed!

Our childbirth class has been so informative.  Last week, we learned all about the different stages of labor.  This week, we learned about pain meds.  I think that I'm slightly more terrified now that I have all of that knowledge.  We discussed narcotics, epidurals, and Cesarean sections.  She also showed us some different tools that the doctor may have to use such as the vacuum and the forceps.  I think that I may be scarred for life after seeing those forceps.  ::Shiver::

Physically, I'm starting to feel very big.  It takes me a little bit to get up from a sitting or laying position, and I usually have some groans that go along with me getting up.  I'm sure that I'll look back on this week when I'm further along and think that I was hardly big at all.  Ha!  I mentioned earlier that I've gained about 20 pounds, and I can feel it.  I think that the fact that my body has packed on so much weight in such a short amount of time is shocking it.  It's starting to be difficult to walk for any length of time because I'm not used to all the extra weight.  I can tell that Drew gets a little irritated when I have to sit down, but he's really understanding because he can tell that it's a lot for me to adjust to.

It's so adorable to catch him looking at my belly.  He really wasn't too attached to the pregnancy in the beginning, but since I've sprouted this lump in the front, he's really opened up to it.  He still gets freaked out when he feels her move.  I'll lay in bed at night and point to a spot where she has a body part sticking out and he'll push there a little bit and then get freaked out when she moves it away.  It's so funny!

Speaking of those body parts, I swear that she is trying to bust out of my belly sometimes.  I'm constantly putting my hands on my belly and telling her to keep her arms and legs inside the ride at all times.  Her movements have gotten strong!  I find myself wincing or gasping sometimes because it hurts.  I still love feeling her move, but I'm convinced that my insides are black and blue from her movements.

The heartburn!  Oh the heartburn!  This started with a vengeance a couple of weeks ago.  Milk didn't touch it and it made me extremely nauseous.  I actually called up Drew, crying, and begged him to come home.  I don't know why; it's not like there was anything he could have done to help me.  The next night, I made a trip to go get some Tums after I got heartburn, but it must have been too late because the Tums did nothing for it.  It's been better lately, and I know to take some Tums if I feel like I'm starting to get heartburn.  Maybe this means our little lady will be born with some hair after all?

I feel like I may be having some Braxton Hicks, but I'm not certain.  The nurse said that my belly would get rock hard, and while it definitely feels hard, I don't know if it's rock hard.  I feel like my belly gets tight, but it's never really painful, just uncomfortable.  It's hard to tell if it's a contraction or if it's little body parts.  I really wish I knew.

According to the app on my phone, the little lady is about 16 inches in length and weighs about 3.3 pounds.  I'm curious to see about what she actually is when we go for our ultrasound next week.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

It's Never Too Late

I had grand plans of doing a blog post at the first of year, like everyone does, and talking about what happened last year and what I want to achieve this year.  However, that post didn't happen when I wanted it to.  Better late than never, right.

Last year was filled with lots of ups and downs.  Infertility treatments dominated a lot of our thoughts.  Just when we thought that we had won over the IF devil, reality smacked me in the face and we were left to pick up the pieces of our broken hearts and mourn the loss of a baby.  However, I'm not one to stay down for long, and we quickly tried again.  Thankfully, that baby has proven to be our sticky baby and she is currently kicking away.  (She has a tendency to do that when I sit scrunched up, as if to tell me that I'm cramping her space.)

I also launched my photography business, Tania Beth Photography.  My website is in desperate need of updating, and that is definitely part of my goals.

We have been blessed that Drew has the job that he does.  He brings home a great paycheck and enjoys the work.  He works long hours, which we both dislike at times, but we know that it's not forever.

So, what are our plans for the upcoming year?  Well, we are so excited that we will be adding a daughter to our family.  We are so anxiously awaiting her arrival, just not too soon!  Our lives are going to change more than we can even imagine at this point.  And, we're excited for it!

We also plan on really focusing and working on our finances.  We plan on paying off some bills and bulking up our savings account.  We have some good foundations laid, we just need to stick to the plan.

We also have a bunch of home improvement projects that we want to do this year, both inside and outside. We've sort of dubbed this year "The Year of the Outside" since we haven't done a whole lot of work to the outside of the house.  Our house has wood siding that is in desperate need of repair and painting.  That will probably be our big project for the year.  I can't tell you how excited I will be drive to drive up to a newly painted house.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Pregnancy Catch Up

I know, I know, I know!

I have been quite the slacker when it comes to my weekly check-in posts.  I'm not even going to go into the excuses.  Let's just get started, shall we.

25 weeks

26 weeks

27 weeks

Drew and I were slackers and didn't take a 28 week picture.

We've done a lot of work in the nursery.  The bedding arrived so we picked paint colors and painted the walls.  We decided to paint three walls a light yellow and the fourth wall is a light blue.  I plan on doing lots of accents in pink and sage green.  The bedding incorporates all of those colors and I think that everything will look so cute when it all comes together.  The crib has been assembled, the mattress is in there, the chair arrived and is in it's place, and we were also able to order the dresser and that has arrived and been put in it's spot.  All that is left to do now is small decorating stuff.

When we got the furniture arranged in the nursery, I sat in the chair and just rocked and daydreamed about what it will be like to hold the little lady in my arms and stare at her beautiful face.  It's so close, yet so far away!

At my last doctor's appointment, back in December, I was told that I would have to do the one hour glucose tolerance test (GTT) during my 28th week.  After talking with Drew, I called the doctor's office and asked if I could do it a week early, the last week of December, so that it would be covered by our insurance since we had met our deductible.  They said that was fine, and off to the hospital we went.  Once we got there, I peed in a cup, then drank the glucola.  It really wasn't too bad since I have a sweet tooth anyway.  But, it was a lot of liquid to drink at one time.  Drew and I went back out to the waiting area to wait for an hour.  After an hour, we went back, they drew blood, and sent us home.

Well, last Thursday, I received a call from my doctor's office that I had failed the one hour test.  I was bummed to say the least.  They told me that I would have to take the three hour test and that that was a fasting test.  Cue panic!

Since getting pregnant, I have to eat pretty quickly after I get up, otherwise I get sick.  I was terrified that I would have to go take this test, on an empty stomach, and not eat for quite a few hours.

We decided to go on Friday so that I could get the test done and over with.  It was A-W-F-U-L!!!!  The lab opened at 7 AM, and we showed up right around then.  Again, I peed in a cup and waited for the lab to call with the results from that.  Everything came back ok, so they drew blood and handed me the drink.  This one was the same amount of liquid, but double the sugary nastiness!  It was horrible and not pleasant to get down.  After choking it down, Drew and I went out to the waiting area.  It was all downhill from there.  I felt nauseous and jittery and just overall crappy.  I sipped on water, but it was a long hour waiting for my first blood draw.  Actually, it was a long hours two and three too!  I managed to not puke (thank God!) and made it home, where I promptly ate a little bit and took a nap.

The nurse who teaches our childbirth class (more on that in a minute) knew that I was going in that day to take the test, and very nicely looked up my results for me.  She called me before they left for the day to let me know that I had PASSED!!!  Yay!!!!!

Speaking of childbirth class, Drew and I had our first class last week.  We go once a week, for two hours, for five weeks.  I really enjoyed it, and I think Drew did too.  The nurse went over the different parts of a pregnancy, some diet stuff, and then we worked on a couple breathing exercises.  I'm mostly excited for the L&D tour, but that's not for a few weeks.

The little lady has grown so much in the past few weeks.  Her movements are crazy now!  She is getting so strong, and sometimes, she really hurts me when she stretches out.  I can only imagine how much stronger they are going to get.  According to the app on my phone, she should weigh about 2 1/4 pounds and measures almost 15 inches.  That blows my mind!