Other than the baby...

OF COURSE I'm super excited to meet the occupant of my womb in several weeks! (According to the doctor, no later than February 21 for c-section.) I can't wait to find out that he's healthy, or to find out if he looks like his dad or what part of whose personality he inherits and what things are unique to him. That being said, this has been a very trying time for me. My faith has frayed, then strengthened, frayed and strengthened again. It has been a trial of what I am willing to do to keep this little guy healthy.

I think he has Daddy's mouth--hopefully only in looks! :)

Here are some of the goings-on:

• finally made it out of the high blood pressure! (BIG relief; the odds: 6-8 in 100)
• 2 chamber umbilical cord instead of the normal 3 chambers (the odds: 1 in 100)
• placenta previa (the odds: 1 in 250)
• gestational diabetes (the odds: 3-10 in 100)

The high blood pressure finally resolved itself. I don't know yet if it was anything I did by trying relaxing breathing, listening to music I enjoy (which apparently is different than just listening to any music), getting out of the house and stressful situations. Visiting with friends seemed to make a big difference. It has been a huge comfort visiting with moms who have had some of the same experiences as me, and moms who are able to tell me everything will fall into place and that following my instincts is one of the best things for me and baby.

The umbilical cord has 2 chambers (1 vein, 1 artery; also called "single umbilical artery") instead of 3 (1 vein, 2 arteries). The highest risk here is low birth-weight. It can also be a marker for some severe birth defects and conditions if other signs are found. Thankfully, when we saw the specialist he cleared all the other signs so we opted to not have an amniocentesis.

Placenta-previa means the placenta is lower than it should be. I will have to have a c-section since the placenta is blocking the exit route and during normal birth the placenta comes out last. If it comes out before the baby, he won't make it. It also means "complete pelvic rest." I don't want to explain that one because it's probably more than you want to know about me so if you're still curious about what that means, click here. 

The gestational diabetes was hard for me to handle. The four days led to a daily breakdown/crying jag. My constant prayer was that Heavenly Father would just hold my hand through this, I thought of the "Footprints" poem where the one set of footprints was Christ carrying the person through trials. On the fifth day I woke up and knew I would be alright. I have to follow a strict diet where I count my carbohydrate grams at every meal, I have 3 meals and 3 snacks at least two hours apart, I test my glucose first thing in the morning and two hours after each meal. My biggest frustration has come from the times when I have to use the lancet more than once to draw enough blood to do the testing. NOT a pleasant sensation. The other problem I have had is following the diet but still having occasional spikes in my sugar. The dietician and doctor seem pretty satisfied so for now I don't have to take medicines or insulin shots and although the biggest risk is a hefty baby, I think the diabetes is balancing the low-weight risk from the umbilical cord and he's measuring pretty much on target.

Here's a tip if you ever have to do daily glucose testing. When you test on your fingertip, test off to the side and not on the center of the pad of your finger. Feel the last bone in your finger and test where the bone dips down between the knuckle and finger tip. It feels more like a flick than a prick, almost always painless! Like this:

Here's hoping the rest of the pregnancy goes as well as can be expected. I hope I didn't gross anyone out, sorry if I did but pregnancy isn't pretty sometimes and changes your sense of modesty!

The Good News About the Bad News

I just came into week 24, the baby is measuring a good size which is a relief BECAUSE at the last ultrasound, they said the cord has 2 chambers instead of 3. The scary part was that this can be a "marker" for other birth defects and the most common risk is low birth-weight.

I had an appointment with a specialist. I had made the decision not to research that the 2-chamber cord meant as a way of keeping my sanity and not giving me something to dwell on. I am VERY GLAD I did so, at the specialist's we had a Skype call with a geneticist before going for the ultrasound and she went over the possibilities of what this could mean if there were other markers. It was scary enough that I was sick when we went in to see the doctor. 

Thankfully, everything looked great. The baby is measuring about a week further than he is and his heart looked healthy, as well as other things they looked at. We decided to not pursue and amniocentesis since there were no other issues found.

The sad news: I might have to have a c-section because of where the placenta is located. He said it is lower than they like and it puts me at a risk for bleeding if it doesn't move out of the way--a TINY 2cm. I really had my heart set on natural birth but I trust there is a reason for it all, even if the only reason is that it would make me face the fear I have of the surgery. The thought of it freaks me out. BIG TIME.

Meanwhile, Peanut is break-dancing and having a great time knocking against my bladder and stomach! I tell Hubby that whenever I get kicked, he should get kicked too!

Weeks 12 & 13: It All Falls Down...

WEEK 12: I was able to feel Baby move! It felt like little bubbly nudges below my belly button! I have probably felt the baby before and told myself it was digestion. The fatigue started to lift a little more, which was refreshing!

Hubby went out of town this weekend for a job interview. I stayed behind to get the apartment packed and ready for our move. While I was busy stalking and stockpiling an insane amount of boxes I totally forgot a visit to my brother's place! He lives 3 hours away and I still haven't met my 7 month old niece! My mom asked me about the visit several days later and I felt like a HEEL!


WEEK 13: Lots of worry this week. We're in the middle of moving. The jobs fell through so we had to figure out what we were doing FAST and without a backup plan. The move was VERY hard. I wasn't able to prepare as much as I wanted and I think Barry was over confident about how much stuff we packed. We stayed up all night packing and cleaning and if not for the help of a good friend, we would not have finished. As it was, we finished at about 8 a.m. the day after we were supposed to move out. I had to lay down and sleep a couple of hours in the night/early morning (not something I would do if not pregnant). It took about a week to recover.

Our stuff is piled up high in one room of his parents house and even more stuff is in their garage. I want to go through it and purge and move it into a storage unit until we figure out what we're doing. We'll see if that ever gets done but it would make life--and our next move--much easier if we could get rid of enough to make room for all the stuff the baby will be needing.

Week 11 Retrospective: How can a week be scary AND boring?

I'm very glad it's sandal season, I don't think I could stuff my feet in anything else! There was a day that when I looked down I saw my feet as hams with vienna sausages sticking out! hehehe

Heartburn continues to visit. I notice if I'm careful about not eating a couple hours before bed, I'm USUALLY fine or at least tolerable! It makes me wonder if gummy-bear will be born with a head of hair if it's a wives tale.

There was a bit of a scare early this week. I took it easy for a couple days doing NOTHING! Hubby was out of town so I spent my time with a Korean comedy series and The Cosby Show. I'm not sure what I would have done without Netflix! I can't wait to start doing things again because I haven't exercised and it is wreaking havoc on my back. I spent about 3 hours in bleachers and could hardly walk afterward. That was yesterday and I'm still sore today.

This was a very long week. All at once, between today and yesterday, my belly popped out! I feel like the muscles are stretching like bungee cords and gets VERY firm after meals. It's really exciting how fast these things are happening and also quite bewildering.  I'm amazed at how the body does what it does to get ready for a baby. 

Oh, and GOODBYE FIRST TRIMESTER!

Week 10 Retrospective: Starting to Learn!

This week's adventure included lab work. You wouldn't think that anything as mundane as blood-work would be much of a story, but I guess that's part of learning who pregnant Kora is. They took 4 vials. I had a headache, exhaustion and occasional nausea for two days! I was so woozy after leaving the office that we sat in the car awhile and I had apple juice. I didn't know that 4 little vials would knock me out!

I also had a weird experience where my fingernails and occasionally my toes were tingling. It eventually went away but was very strange and annoying when the sensation was strong. You can't really itch underneath a fingernail!

I CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT ANYMORE! Much of my outdoor activities are stopped for now, no yardsales or walking until this heatwave of 110+ temps are done! I feel like a vampire! We did make a short visit to Dealey Plaza where Kennedy was assassinated, thankfully it was evening and we had a good time!

I'm feeling better overall though. My emotions are leveling out and I feel SO MUCH BETTER! The migraines are even letting up and some of my energy is coming back but  s l o w l y....  I felt amazing after an easy yoga workout. Here's looking forward to the LAST WEEK OF THE FIRST TRIMESTER!

Here's some honesty I found on a friend's blog:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/babyproject/2011/07/22/138555402/pregnancy-uncensored-youll-laugh-youll-cry-youll-wet-your-pants#more

And here's my friend's blog, she's due in November!
https://sweetpealundell.wordpress.com/

Week 9 Retrospect: Blessings of Paperware

We had the "full ultrasound" on Tuesday! Everything is fine. When I was finally able to see the baby (the nurse had to check a bunch of stuff before we could have fun) we were able to see it wiggle!!! Definitely Barry's baby if he/she is coordinated enough to dance already!

I am so thankful for the invention of PAPER PLATES AND CUPS! After having a kitchen full FULL of dishes, I took 3 days to wash everything (sheesh) and started using the paperware. I CAN'T RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH! There isn't much worse than being queasy and exhausted and having to wash dishes with food on them... ugh... Things are much better now that it's mostly silverware and pans.

There was a rough night where everything came down on me pretty hard. I was convinced I couldn't do this and that I was turning into a sausage. Realizing that I have to learn to be a completely different person proved to be a bigger challenge than I imagined. The hormones are incredibly overwhelming, as I was laying there crying I told Barry that I knew most of this was irrational but couldn't help it. He was very consoling and understanding about it.

On Sunday afternoon we went to a park with Barry's nephew. I found out that I now get motion sick from swinging so no more marathon-high-up-leg-pumping swinging for me! I'll just save the experience for when we have little nugget to take to the park.

PERSONAL STUFF (Gentlemen may not want to read):
I went up a bra size this week. The one I was wearing was getting VERY uncomfortable. I only purchased one to see if or how long I will stay this size. I still recommend SUPPORT and comfort. If I can find one that is supportive enough without the underwire, that's what I'll get next time since this one, although more comfortable, is still a bit too much at the end of the day.

Week 8 Retrospect: Getting Better!

I finally made it to a doctor last Thursday and we got to see a "quick ultrasound" of the baby's heartbeat! It was a little flicker of light in the middle of a gummy bear! And I think baby was about the size of a gummy bear...

My memory is still shot. The queasiness has mostly passed. The pre-natal vitamin is MUCH easier on my stomach. The new symptom I'm having going into week 9 is migraines and my face has become its own mountain range.

There's really no way to help with the memory. I write things down when I can and if I can set an alarm on my cell phone to remind me of events, I most definitely do. I've also been relying on Barry (husband) to help me along. When I was trying to figure out insurance plans, I put them on speaker phone and had him talk to them with me. I like to make lists but the down side is losing the list!

The queasiness has passed for the most part. On the suggestion of a friend at church I started paying closer attention to the frequency of the meals. I stay in pretty good shape if I alternate between snacking and small meals every 2 hours, 3 hours at most. The problem I was having before is feeling bad made me not want to eat but I felt worse because I wasn't eating. It was a vicious cycle. Now I get up in the morning and use the restroom and head straight for the kitchen before doing anything else. It seems to be working pretty well! The other thing is staying away from even mildly gross stuff including normal things that now gross me out... But all in all, that's not so bad!

As for the migraine, there's really not much one can do for that anyway. I think it's a reaction to the insane amount of hormones. The only thing I've found that takes the edge off is a little bit of caffeine in the form of Coca-Cola! I gave up caffeine completely earlier this year and I don't drink coffee or tea anymore so whatever I drink to help with the migraine is WELL within the allowed daily amount for pregnancy.

Cravings this week: Meaty spaghetti, Peanut Butter Captain Crunch. (Not together though!) One more fun thing I noticed--I can't suck in the lower part of my stomach anymore!