Friday, March 30, 2012

Fabulous Friday!

I woke up this morning after sleeping through the night last night (from 10pm-6:20am) which was GLORIOUS. It's been weeks (possibly months) since I've done that, and on top of that, no back pain. The couch is my new bff. I hate not getting to wake up next to the hubs, but I love not having the horrible back pain. I told hubby I was sure it was going to be a great day because of how awesome my night of sleep was.

Sure enough, guess what was FINALLY in stock and is now being shipped to my house? This baby...

Ahhh Target you pulled through for me after all! On top of this we're having dinner at some friends house tonight and my hubby is going to the grocery store for me today since he is now DONE with all his rotations. Talk about a great start to the weekend!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Childbirth Class Review

We finished up our last breastfeeding class, so I wanted to review the classes we've taken to prepare for E's arrival, to possibly help new mamas decide if it's worth the cost. First up, our childbirth class.

Our class was through our OB's office- Contemporary Women's Specialists, here in Tulsa. Our OB is Dr. Martin (who we LOVE) and her nurse is Kristin- we're also pretty big fans of hers:). We had initially signed up for a childbirth class through St. Francis, but when we found out Kristin offered a class we switched to hers. The class was $75, it was on a Saturday, and lasted from 9am to 2 pm, with lunch provided.

The first half of the class started with Kristin covering some exercises we could be doing to prepare for labor- squats, pelvic tilts, and Kegels. We watched several videos on ways to cope naturally with labor, breathing, massage, positions, etc, and different pain medications. Kristin explained the different stages of labor and when we should come in to the hospital. We watched videos on vaginal birth and c-section, and what circumstances would bring about a c-section.

Honestly most of what we covered the first half I already knew from researching online and reading pregnancy books. I do think it was helpful to have Blake there so he had an idea of what to expect, but I had shared a lot of the stuff I'd found with him. It was good to have someone to ask questions of though, and to make sure we were both on the same page. Also, I'm sure we'll refer back to the handout Kristin gave us when we're actually going through it all.

After lunch was when I would say we got the most out of the class. We had two pediatricians come in to talk with us and answer questions. They covered things like immunization schedules, what to look for in a pediatrician, tests performed in the hospital, and LOTS of other things. Neither of us had done as much research about AFTER the baby is here, or we had questions about things, so this was extremely helpful. You can read all you want and watch lots of videos on babycenter, but it doesn't compare to having a real, live, person to ask things. And I had lots of questions:)

Finally, we drove over and took a tour of the Labor and Delivery area and the Postpartum rooms. It was good to go over exactly how to get there, where we could park, and how to get to L & D since St. Francis is a bit of a maze. This knowledge came in really handy when I had to make the trip to get monitored. It was also good to find out what was offered in L & D at our particular hospital- ours has showers, but not tubs. They offer birthing balls, and wifi, but don't have dvd players.

Overall I was glad we took the class. I was expecting a little more hands on education- a wonderful blog friend of mine said in her class they actually had the hubs practice how to massage the pregnant wives, and they had her hubby wear a sympathy belly as well. I wish ours had done that, but alas, breathing was all we practiced. I would have also liked to pick up some new things about labor and delivery, but that may have just been my fault for researching so much beforehand.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

One Year Ago...

It's hard to believe I started this blog a year ago today! We were planning to start trying for a baby in a few months and I wanted to document all the thoughts and questions running through my head. This blog has definitely been an outlet for that, as well as a great place to keep track of my pregnancy and make a few friends along the way! I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

34 Weeks!

How big is the baby this week: Emersyn is the size of a durian! Just FYI, she's been measuring bigger than all of these for awhile now. She was measuring 4 lbs 10 oz (this week's weight) two weeks ago.

Due Date:
May 8, 2012, but I'm hoping she comes a little early:)

Weight Gain: Nothing this week. Running total: 20 lbs!

Symptoms: Big belly, aching ribs and back, charlie horses at 2am, frequent trips to the ladies room.

Cravings:
Milk. Brownies, ice cream, cake, but I'm careful to only indulge after eating something healthy. This sometimes means I make very quick meals for dinner so I can get to the good stuff.

Aversions: Nadda.

Sleep:
Could best be described as not very restful. Between the trips to the bathroom and waking up in PAIN every morning, it's just not great. I even find myself getting out of bed earlier than I normally would because there is no point in trying to fall back asleep when it hurts so much to even breathe. I still switch up my positions at night, but it's just not helping at this point.

I am loving: Warm showers and heating pads (not too hot)- seems to help my backaches.

I miss: Not having back pain, being able to shave my legs without contorting myself into odd positions.

I am looking forward to: Dr appointment tomorrow- I always love seeing her in our ultrasound and finding out how much she's grown!

I'm spazzing about: All the photography projects I need to finish in the next couple of weeks.

Best thing about this week: I switched chairs with a girl at my work and the one I'm in now has better lumbar support and leans back more, so my ribs don't take such a beating during the day.

Milestones: Emersyn definitely seems to respond to both Blake and I's voices, so we find ourselves talking to her more these days (it just felt weird before).


Movement: I've actually gotten a couple of pretty good videos of her moving, I need to upload them. Blake talked to my belly last night before bed to tell E to calm down in there so I could get some sleep and she kicked in response. A sign of things to come?

It's a...: Girl!!! Emersyn Grace:)

Monday, March 26, 2012

Funny story

I was making a dip Saturday night (this one, nom nom nom, so good), and I pulled out a container of sour cream from our fridge . It said it expired May 15, and because I have baby brain, I asked the hubs what day of the month it was, and then proceeded to express my disappointment that it expired on May 15, and I have to throw an unopened tub in the trash, which I did. Hubs then kindly reminded me that it's MARCH, and that by the time that sour cream expires, Emersyn will be here.

Eeeek, I have perishables in my fridge that don't expire until after baby girl should be here!!!!


And yes, I totally got that sour cream out of the trash (I had just put in a new bag, so don't judge too much).

Friday, March 23, 2012

Low blood pressure= monitoring at L & D

I have been feeling a little off this week, periods of nausea, headaches, etc, and I just chalked it up to the change in weather and more gloriousness of the 3rd trimester, but Wednesday I was just feeling like crap in the afternoon. We have a blood pressure machine at my work, so I went ahead and checked what mine was- 85/53. Pretty dang low, but I always have low bp and I didn't really have anything to compare it to because I don't pay attention when they take it at my appointments- they just tell me it looks good and I go on my merry way. However, coupled with the way I was feeling, I went ahead and called my dr. The nurse asked me to eat more protein, continue drinking lots of water, and monitor it the next day, which I did. The next morning it was 109/72- totally normal. Mid morning it went down to 96/63- still pretty normal for me, and I was getting ready to go eat some lunch, so I was sure it would shoot back up. Well, after lunch it was down to 85/57. Called my dr again, and the nurse told me to head to Labor and Delivery for monitoring, since it appeared to be dropping, despite my having just ate, and drinking water all morning.

Now, the logical side of my brain KNEW that this didn't mean E would be coming anytime soon, but at the same time, it freaked me out. I'm only 33 weeks, my bags aren't packed, the carseat is not installed, and I was on day 3 hair (I only wash my hair every 3 days on average, and my hope is to wash it the day we go in to deliver so I don't have to wash it again while we're at the hospital. Yes, it's dumb, but that's what was running through my mind.

A friend of mine from work took me in and kept me company, which I was so thankful for, because I ended up on the monitor for 3.5 hours.
I don't know if that's the normal time you spend being monitored, but once we figured out everything seemed to be fine it felt like time was dragging. I think it took so long because they were waiting for the on call dr to come check me out, but she never did, and eventually they just had my dr check my blood pressure readings from her office and dismissed me, with instructions to continue eating more protein, more frequently, and drinking lots of water.

I guess during my time of being monitored they had picked up on some contractions (which I haven't even been feeling) and so while I was there they had me guzzle down a bunch of water. At this point we were pretty bored, hence the mini photoshoot...
Moral of the story- I have low bp. It's normal for it to fluctuate throughout the day, and if you have low bp, when it fluctuates to the low side, it's going to make you feel cruddy. Standing up too quickly could make me pass out, etc. Other than making me feel like crap, it's not doing Emersyn any harm, as she was still having a dance party in my uterus the whole time we were at the hospital, and her heartrate was a-ok. So, to try to bring it up during the day (mid afternoon seems to be when mine drops), I have a jar of peanut butter standing by, but the nurse said it may not be anything I'm doing or not doing (since I was doing everything right to keep it level and it was still bouncing around), and that's just my normal. There's a lot of info out there on high blood pressure and pregnancy, but not much about low, as I discovered with my bff Google, so I thought I'd fill you all in on what my experience was.

And here's hoping I still get to go in to the hospital to actually deliver on day 1 hair haha:)

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

33 Weeks!

How big is the baby this week: Emersyn is the size of a honeydew!

Due Date:
May 8, 2012, but I'm hoping she comes a little early:)

Weight Gain: Up 2 lbs this week. Running total: 20 lbs! Making up for the slow gain in my first and second trimesters.

Symptoms: Big belly, aching ribs and back. Found out the strange feelings in my hands and arms was carpel tunnel syndrome. Heartburn, and hunger.

Cravings: Milk and sweets.

Aversions: Nadda.

Sleep:I rotate through 3 or 4 positions at night, which include various setups with pillows and blankets, and also get up to go to the bathroom about twice a night. I'm thinking about starting to sleep on the couch.

I am loving: Warm showers and heating pads (not too hot)- seems to help my backaches.

I miss: Being able to take deep breaths. Not hurting all the time.

I am looking forward to: Seeing her finished bedding- I'm so in LOVE with her quilt and can't wait to see the whole thing put together!

I'm spazzing about: My to do list, and that stupid bookcase. I love Target, probably to an unhealthy degree, especially since they are now my hubby's employer, but gosh darnit, if they don't get that bookcase in, in white, soon, I might lose my last bit of sanity. You're thwarting my NESTING Target!!!!!

Best thing about this week: Hubby's bday dinner. I loved celebrating him, and I loved my steak and crab legs.

Milestones: I'm outgrowing some of my maternity clothes. BIG belly.


Movement: I think I misspoke about the slowdown of movements because she is still uber active. Usually in the evenings is when she gives the best show- her daddy loves to watch her dance!

It's a...: Girl!!! Emersyn Grace:)