Where Have I Been?

Oh my goodness.

So much has happened since the last time I was on here. I don’t even know where to begin… I'm going to break this post up because if I don't, it'll be pages long!

On January 26^th, I had my 37 week appointment in the morning. I was feeling great because I had just finished my long-term substitute plans for my maternity leave and had my classroom ready to go just in case I went into labor during the school week. I had even prepped my students on what to do just in case my water broke during class or if I needed to leave because of contractions.

I got my kids ready, dropped them off with the other third grade teachers and headed out to my appointment. Of course my blood pressure was high (again.) and the protein levels in my urine were slightly elevated (again.). So my doctor sent me across the street to the hospital for an NST test to check on Baby and I (again!).

Long story short, everything was okay with the both of us, but since my BP and protein levels were high and had been for the last four visits, my doctor decided to put be on bed rest until the baby came. She told me that if my levels were elevated at my next appointment on Feb. 02^nd, she would induce me, but she was positive Baby would come on his own before then.

I drove back to school to let my leadership team know that I would be starting my Maternity Leave immediately and went to my classroom to get my stuff and make sure everything was in order. I was planning on bringing my kids back to the room to tell them that I was going to be leaving and that they would have a substitute for the next couple of months and that I would miss them, how to act when the sub was in the room, etc. As I was walking to my room, I ran into one of my teammates and when I went to tell her I was being placed on bed rest, I totally lost it. I was so upset that I was going to be leaving my students earlier than I had expected. I knew at that point there was no way I could see my kids and be a calm adult and not scare them. So I left without saying good-bye :(.

I started my bed rest that day thinking that it would be a long two weeks to wait until my due date. Little did I know that the next week would change my life forever…

Full Term!

I've made it to 37 weeks, yay! I know the baby will come when he's ready, but I really want him to come now! It doesn't help that at my last appointment my doctor told me I was 3cm dilated and at -1 station. I know that doesn't mean anything, and I could be 3cm dilated for three weeks, but it did get my hopes up a little =].

I've also been having contractions since Thursday night, a few intense, uncomfortable ones. That makes me scared AND nervous, haha! Also, at my doctor's appointment, I had +2 protein levels in my urine. So I had to go to the Hospital and get an NST test. Baby and I passed with flying colors, but I did have to get lab work done. I'm assuming since my doctor hasn't called, everything is ok? She did say if my levels were high I would be induced soon! So I had to get my butt in gear and wash baby clothes and get last minute things ready =]

How far along?: 37 weeks
Total weight gain: Holding steady at 16 pounds. Doctor isn’t concerned though, the baby is growing just fine =]
How big is baby?: according to my app, 19 - 22 in. and 6.5 lbs. The size of a watermelon (!)
Stretch marks?: Yes, same ones as last week.
Sleep?: I’m still sleeping really well, but waking up a lot to go pee!

Best moment this week?: Honestly? Having “real” contractions made everything seem so real and made me realize my son is coming soon.

Movement?: Yep.

Food cravings?: McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets, a Whopper, and a margarita.
Labor signs?: Yes! I *think* I’m starting to lose my mucus plug, but I’m a first time mom, what do I know? We also learned in Bradley classes that a few days before birth you might have loose bowels because your body is starting to cleanse itself out… yeah, that’s totally been going on for a couple of days.
Belly button in or out?: It’s starting to get flat! I hope it doesn’t pop, I think that’s so gross!
What I miss: Not feeling so tired and icky. I know I’ll be tired when the baby is here, but that’s different. He’ll be here!
What I'm looking forward to: Hearing about my test results and next weekend already, haha!
Milestone: Making it to 37 weeks =]

Baby Shower and 36 Weeks

Whoo-hoo! I've made it to 36 weeks! One more week until this baby is full-term! Can you tell I'm excited?

We had our baby shower yesterday, it was so much fun! My mom, sister, and aunts did so much to make the day perfect. The decorations were cute, the food was delicious, and everyone had a great time. We got so much stuff, I couldn't believe it! Especially clothes! I don't know why I thought people didn't buy a lot of clothes for baby boys, but I was totally wrong! He got so much clothes!!! It's all super cute, I can't wait to put it on him. I'm not looking forward to doing all the laundry, haha!

Vince and I made a list of items that we still need to buy for the baby and it's not super long, which is awesome. Thankfully our parents bought us a lot of big stuff as a gift, so we just have to get little things.

I went to the doctor on Friday, which quickly turned into the WORST DAY EVER. Ok, I'm being a little dramatic, but it sucked. To make a long story short, my BP was high, my protein levels were a teeny bit higher than she would have liked, and when I told her I was having constant headaches, she got really concerned that it was preeclampsia (again). So I had to do a 24 hour urine collection, get blood work done, and go on bed rest, AGAIN.

So now I'm furiously working on finishing up my lesson plans for my leave because the doctor said that if at my next appointment (on Friday) my levels are still elevated, she is going to seriously consider inducing me =[.

I was talking to Vince yesterday and I was crying because the last thing I want to do is be induced because it can lead to long, painful labors, which can lead to an epidural or a c-section. Basically, it can lead to everything I've wanted to avoid during labor and delivery.

He asked me very calmly, "Daniella, what did we learn in class about birth? What is our ultimate goal?"

I responded, "To do it naturally!!!" (Wrong answer by the way)

"No", he said. "Healthy mom, healthy baby. No matter how you get there, our ultimate goal is to have YOU be healthy and the BABY be healthy when everything is over. It doesn't matter how it happens."

He is so right. I love him so much. He has kept me focused this entire pregnancy, I don't know what I would do without him. Now I'm just praying that the baby and I are healthy and we get good news next Friday!

How far along?: 36 weeks, I day
Total weight gain: Holding steady at 16 pounds. Doctor isn’t concerned though, the baby is growing just fine =]
How big is baby?: according to my app, 19 - 22 in. and 6.5 lbs. The size of a watermelon (!)
Stretch marks?: Yes, same ones as last week.
Sleep?: I’m waking up every three hours to pee and it’s still really uncomfortable.

Best moment this week?: Our baby shower!

Movement?: All the time, it’s uncomfortable though!

Food cravings?: A steak. A juicy, medium-rare steak with a loaded baked potato and a wedge salad with bleu cheese dressing. Can you tell I’ve thought about what I want to eat after having the baby?
Labor signs?: Still having Braxton-Hicks. I’ve had a couple of “real” contractions, but nothing that made me stop or take my breath away. Although yesterday I had two really strong contractions about ten minutes apart, but nothing after the second one. Wouldn’t it be my luck to have the baby RIGHT after the baby shower?
Belly button in or out?: still hanging in there, barely!
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach. I cannot stand sleeping on my side. I’m honestly surprised that I am able to even sleep while I’m on my side.
What I'm looking forward to: Having a doctors’ appointment where I don’t have to go to L&D right after and get a bunch of tests done.
Milestone: I’m not sure… Getting so much closer to D-Day!!!

35/35

I cannot believe I have made it to this point! Today I am 35 weeks along and we only have 35 DAYS until our baby is due!

The reality that he is coming has totally hit me today. BUT, instead of being scared like I usually am, I am really, really excited! I feel like we've wanted this for so long, and it is so close to becoming real. Now if only we could find a house and move out of my parents (who I am so thankful for, we've been here since June and it's been tight at times and they have never made us feel bad about moving back) this would be the perfect year!!!

How far along?: 35 weeks
Total weight gain: I’m going to go with the total from last week, 16 lbs. I have another doctor’s appointment on Friday, so I’ll have a more accurate total =]
How big is baby?: according to my app, 19 - 22 in. and 5.5 lbs. The size of a large cantaloupe.
Stretch marks?: Yes. No new ones, they’re just REALLY red and REALLY itchy. My whole belly is itchy now that I think about it.
Sleep?: I’m waking up every three hours to pee and it’s getting really uncomfortable. I guess I’m just preparing myself for when the baby comes!

Best moment this week?: Going to my cousin’s baby shower. She’s due a couple weeks after I am, which makes it all seem much more real!!! Plus, I was the flower girl in her wedding when I was five, so it’s super cool we’re going through this together. Also, my husband made his “play book” out of all the materials we received through our Bradley Classes. It is so cute to see him get into this.

Movement?: All the time. I love it though.

Food cravings?: My grandma’s fried chicken. It’s so yummy! Oh, kale salad from Whole Foods.
Labor signs?: Still having Braxton-Hicks. I’ve had a couple of “real” contractions, but nothing that made me stop or take my breath away.
Belly button in or out?: still hanging in there.
What I miss: Having “real” food. I’ve gotten used to the diet for my gall stones and have cut down on having bites of “bad” food which was super hard during the holidays! I’m totally convinced that’s why I had another episode last week :/
What I'm looking forward to: Seeing my team from school (I miss them so much!) tomorrow and my baby shower still, haha!
Milestone: Being TWO weeks away from making it to full term.

Where Has This Week Gone?!?!

Oh my goodness, this week has flown by SO FAST. Just the other day I mentioned on Facebook that the first week of Winter Break had gone by so slow, I couldn't believe it. I should have just kept my mouth shut because the second week is almost over!!!

My some miracle I've been bitten by the productive bug because I am getting stuff done for school! I am so happy to have gotten this burst of energy. So far I've gotten one week’s worth of emergency sub plans done for when I first go on leave (I'm planning on working until the day I go into labor as long as everything is okay with my doctor) and have made an outline of everything else I have to do for my time off. It looks like I'll have to stay later after school than I usually do, but that's ok! I want to get everything done and not worry about anything while I'm on leave but grading papers. 

Ugh, I had to go to the hospital TWICE in the last week! Last Thursday I had a doctor’s appointment and I had really high blood pressure and high levels of protein in my urnine. So my OB sent me to L&D where Baby and I were monitored for a couple of hours. I also had to go on bed rest until yesterday and do a 24 hour urine collection (gross!).

I also got a little freaked out because my doctor mistakenly ordered a steroid shot for the baby’s lung development and the nurse in triage asked what day that week I was supposed to deliver. Since my doctor never mentioned delivering early, I understandably became upset. The nurse called the doctor who realized her mistake and everything was okay after that. I’m sure that caused my bp to spike though, haha. As much as I want to have this baby soon, I was NOT prepared for that!

At my appointment yesterday everything went well. All the tests came back negative for preeclampsia, which is what the doctor worried was wrong with me. Thank goodeness!!!! When she mentioned going on bed rest until the baby came I thought I was going to FREAK OUT.

On Sunday I had to go to L&D again because I was in a minor car accident. I was in my parents Suburban and we were rear ended! I called the nurse on-call and she said I needed to come in and get checked because I’m past 30 weeks. I did have a couple of really strong,  painful contractions that made me a little nervous. After being monitored for a few hours we were sent home because everything was a-ok.

I’m so sick of going to the hospital. The next time I go better be because I’m about to deliver my little boy, I’m not kidding. But on the plus side, I’ve met a lot of nurses in L&D and they’re all super nice =]

How far along?: 34 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain: 16 lbs according to the doctor’s scale yesterday. I’m kinda confused about exactly how much weight I’ve exactly gained because I got my numbers confused one week, haha! Whatever =]
How big is baby?: according to my app, 19 - 22 in. and 5.5 lbs. The size of a large cantaloupe.
Stretch marks?: Yes. No new ones, they’re just REALLY red and REALLY itchy.
Sleep?: Ugh, I jinxed myself last week. It’s so uncomfortable now. I keep waking up and moving around. I feel bad for Vince.

Best moment this week?: Finding out that I didn’t have preeclampsia and that the baby won’t be delivered early.

Movement?: All the time. I love it though.

Food cravings?: Chick-fil-a fries. And McDonalds chicken nuggets. Which of course I can’t have because they’re too fatty!!!!
Labor signs?: I’ve had some Braxton-Hicks contractions, but nothing to be excited about.
Belly button in or out?: In, barely!
What I miss: My students =]
What I'm looking forward to: My baby shower next weekend!
Milestone: Being so close to 35 weeks! That number seems big for some reason.

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas! Mine was awesome, we spent time with all of our family and got everything we wanted. I got some cash (yay!), make-up, and a new ornament. My parents have bought my siblings and I a new ornament every year for Christmas since we've been born and I'm so happy they have continued the tradition. Even Vince gets a new ornament every year too!

We had to take a picture in front of the tree with my belly! Especially since next year we'll have baby!!!

How far along?: 33 weeks, 2 days
Total weight gain: I think 19 lbs? I’m going to the doctor on Thursday so I’ll get a more accurate total :)
How big is baby?: according to my app, 19 - 22 in. and 5 lbs. The size of a pineapple.
Stretch marks?: Yes. I’m over worrying about them now. They’re here, they’re not going anywhere. I just keep my belly moisturized so they don’t itch so much!
Sleep?: I’m actually sleeping really well! I do have to get up often to pee. I’ve also noticed that if I don’t have my body pillow directly supporting my belly, I’ll wake up with a sharp pain on whatever side I was sleeping on.

Best moment this week?: Talking about next Christmas with the baby. He’ll be ten months old next Christmas, it’s crazy!!

Movement?: Oh yeah, he’s a little mover and shaker.

Food cravings?: Everything I can’t have because of my stupid low-fat/non-fat diet. Thanks gallstones.
Labor signs?: I’ve had some Braxton-Hicks contractions, but nothing to be excited about.
Belly button in or out?: In, barely!
What I miss: Eating as many tamales as I want during Christmas :(
What I'm looking forward to: Surprisingly, going back to school. After that, I’ll only have five more weeks until the baby’s EDD.
Milestone: Making it to the single digits week wise; only 6 weeks and 5 days to go!

30 weeks and a visit to L&D

I know, I said I would start posting more! I knew it wouldn't happen, but oh well. Lots has happened the last few weeks.

Thanksgiving went really well! All of the food turned out super yummy. My sister and I did a fantastic job, if I do say so myself! We also went Black Friday shopping where I picked up the baby's crib, changing table, glider/ottoman, and mattress for $436. He went from having nothing to having his whole nursery in three days. We had to start somewhere, right? :)

The last few days have been very eventful to say the least. We (finally!) went on our hospital tour last Friday night. It was nice. I was really nervous at first as there was at least 15 couples on the tour and I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to ask all the questions we wanted to, and we had a LOT. Luckily we all seemed to have the same questions, so they mostly got answered. The nurse who led the tour seemed really natural birth friendly and was really comforting, so that made us feel good. The rooms are nice too. It made everything seem so real! I can't believe we're 10ish weeks away from meeting our baby!!!

After the tour we went out to dinner with my family for my 24th birthday. I decided on Oregano's Pizza Bistro which is my favorite restaurant EVER. It was my parent's first time there and they really liked it so I'm glad. Now we can always go there, haha!!

Saturday I went out to lunch with some of my friends from school which was awesome. It's so nice to get out of the classroom and talk about other stuff than school. I got some new nail polish and a couple of gift cards to my all-time favorite store Ulta. Which I already used, haha! I'm not very good at saving gift cards, I always have to use them right away!

Sunday we had lunch with my dad's side of the family which is always nice. Sunday night is when the problems started :(. I was ready to go to bed when I started to have really bad back and abdominal pains. I thought they were just Braxton-Hicks contractions because I'm a first time mom and I know nothing, right? Oh man, was I totally wrong. The pain kept getting worse and nothing helped. We tried relaxation, massaging, showering and it was not getting better.

I had just gotten out of the shower when I felt like I had to throw up. I did. A LOT. I have never thrown up that much in my life before. It scared the crap out of Vince so he called the on-call nurse who had us come in right away when I threw up. AGAIN.

She told us to go to the ER and once we got there they would transfer us to the OB triage. We finally got into OB triage after being in the regular ER for what seemed like forever. As soon as I got in there, I threw up again. I felt so terrible, I was all by myself (they made Vince wait outside for awhile) and I threw up everywhere. I couldn't help it :(.

Long story short, after throwing up a million times more, becoming severely dehydrated, and a transfer to L&D, I was informed that I have really bad gall stones. Bad enough that I have to go on a strict low-fat/non-fat diet for the remainder of my pregnancy and I will have to have my gall bladder removed after giving birth. Other than that, the Baby and I are totally fine. It was just a really scary experience. I also feel a little guilty because since I want to have a natural, med-free birth, I have really tried to avoid drugs of any kind while being pregnant. I only take my pre-natal and the meds I've been taking for years to control my blood disorder. I think I've taken Advil twice the entire time. But Sunday night, I couldn't take it anymore. I was offered pain meds and after declining them five times, I finally consented to taking some Percocet. They had offered Morphine and Demerol at first, but I told them I felt really uncomfortable taking that when I was pregnant.

Like I said, I felt REALLY guilty for saying yes, but honestly, the pain was unbearable. I could not breath with out feeling like someone was stabbing me. But Vince was such a rock for me. When we were alone I had mentioned a couple of times wanting the drugs and he gently reminded me that taking pain medication wasn't what I wanted for my body and for our baby. We tried some more relaxation and massage, but the longer time went on, the more it hurt. When I finally told him I couldn't take it anymore, crying because it hurt so much, I could see that he knew I meant it, I wasn't just trying to take the "easy way" out. (I do NOT think that people who take pain medication for anything are taking the "easy way" out, that is how I feel about pain medication and solely my own opinion). I think this little trip to the ER in a way prepared us for our labor and delivery in February.

I want to give a shout out to my awesome husband, my mom for stopping at the hospital to offer Vince a break every now and then, my dad for coming to see how the baby and "his" baby were doing, and last but certainly not least, the awesome staff at Banner Thunderbird's L&D department: Judy, Paulette, and Kitty. You ladies were FANTASTIC and so helpful!!!

Now a quick update:

How far along?: 30 weeks, 2 days

Total weight gain: 15 pounds, right on track according to my doctor.

How big is baby?: according to my app, 18 inches long and weighs 3.2 pounds. About the size of a head of lettuce.

Stretch marks?: Yes, the circle of stretch marks is getting bigger! They’re not as red anymore, which I am telling myself is due to the Burt’s Bee’s belly butter I put on every morning and night.

Best moment this week?: Getting over my fear to buy the baby items. My family is really big on not buying the baby anything until right before the due date. I’ve started buying things slowly and putting them out of sight so I can’t see them.

Movement?: Oh yeah. My little man is so active! I can see him moving from the outside which is cool
Food cravings?: Now that I was put on a restrictive diet, everything they told me I can’t eat, haha!
Labor signs?: Nope.
Belly button in or out?: In, and it’s getting really weird and flat looking.

What I miss: My feet not tingling at the end of the day, closing my legs, being comfortable while I drive.

What I'm looking forward to: Our two class field trips in the next week and Winter Break.

Milestone: Finally getting over my fear of giving birth. I CAN do this!!!