HDBD: 28 Weeks

Sorry, a day late in my usual fashion. But, that is me in all my glory. And I realized in this photo that our mirror really needs cleaning. It is all I can look at when I see it. I am sure you are all staring at my gorgeous baby bump. But, I don't. Probably cause I stare at the bump every day thinking about my baby girl inside.

Anyway... bending down and getting things from the floor is now a definite chore. And I am having a rather interesting day dropping many things. I broke a plate putting the dishes away. I dropped some butter when making macNcheese. It just keeps going and going... I think I will spend the rest of the day in bed. Good choice before I burn the house down.

I finally got the call from the hospital about the class dates. But, I have already forgotten them. I will ask again - though I am 90% sure it is January 29th. I can't wait! It seems like so far away... but I know it will be here in no time. Just like the holidays creeping up. Crazy!

Craving: Nothing really. Amazing, I know. But, I am just not a big fan of food right now. And it has nothing to do with nausea or being sick... I just stare at the cupboards and fridge and can never find something to eat. It is frustrating.

Best: Feeling the movement all the time! It is so awesome. Sometimes feels really weird like she is trying to escape... but I still love it.

Worst: The heartburn. Still awful. I am combating with Milk, Tums, and Zantac. But, some days it feels like the stomach acid has completely eroded my esophagus and it HURTS LIKE A BITCH.

By the Numbers and Diet - GD

GD. No, it doesn't stand for God-Damned... but it should. I am a little late with this post and should have done it on Tuesday when I had my doctor's appointment, but as you could probably tell from my other posts I tend to do this a lot. It has nothing to do with not having the time, mostly I sometimes can't find the words. Or the words don't get my fingers. However... here are the numbers from my one week of taking blood sugar.

Tuesday: B - 82, S - 97
Wednesday: F - 71, S - 96
Thursday: F - 79, S - forgot...
Friday: F - 75, S - 94
Saturday: F - 85, S - 86
Sunday: F - 77....then I ran out of test strips.

(F = Fasting, B = 1 hour after Breakfast, S = 1 hour after Supper)
I am using the Bayer Contour and it only came with ten strips. So, I had to wait until my doctor finally called in the prescription (cause those things are super expensive to be buying on their own). But, these were enough numbers to show my doctor that I am doing well with the diet!!! Yay!

New Testing Goals: Must test 2 full days a week. That means F, B, L, and S.

New Diet Goals: None really, I have been sticking to it with minor mistakes. Like the cheesecake I ate last week in two days. Woops. I also am still craving donuts.

Weight Update: 208 lbs. WOOOO!!! That means I only gained 1 lb in two weeks. My goal is gain 1/2 - 1 lb a week during the pregnancy. All is 100% going wonderful.

**Hope all the other ladies on the March 2011 board with GD can manage as well as me, I know there are many levels of GD and I know we can all do it. March is just around the corner!**

Another Ultrasound!

So, because of my bad experience I decided to get an elective ultrasound through Stork Vision in Madison, Wisconsin. Sure, it was an hour drive away and there was a snow storm coming... I didn't care. I went and I had a blast. Ricky's mother and sister came with me to the hour long appointment where I was able to watch my little girl on the screen for 43 minutes. She is so beautiful... and so perfect. I just can't wait until March when she is in my arms!



Today is also my ticker change day! I am 27 weeks along and officially into the Third Trimester. That is the home stretch. It is hard to believe that in just 10 weeks I will be full term. Course... it is still 13 weeks until being 40 weeks. But, a healthy baby can be born anywhere after 37 weeks. She moves all of the time and I love her so much already. Ricky and I watched the DVD from the session last night and it was so much fun talking about our little girl.

Heartburn is worse than ever. I am craving cookies and chocolate so bad.

Alina Joy is coming soon!!

Hump Day Bump Day - 26 Weeks

So, I know I have been slacking at this. Sorry. I don't always look presentable to the public. Okay, wait. I never look presentable - however, today I am in a careless mood... so here you are. You get a bump photo. And it is even Wednesday!!

The whole GD thing has been going okay. My numbers have been well beyond perfect and I only have to test my blood sugar twice a day. So, I am incredibly thankful for that. This Friday I have an elective ultrasound scheduled and this person I am paying to find out the gender - so I shouldn't have the same awful experience I had with the the big anatomy scan. I am extremely excited... even if I do have to drive an hour to get there.

Getting the Meal Plan

So, since I have GD (Gestational Diabetes), I needed to go to the dietitian today. I spent an hour and a half listening to what the rest of my pregnancy is going to be. Originally, I was okay with it. But, I saw my numbers... they aren't that bad. Why am I going to need to go through this nonsense? Not that getting on a good diet and forcing myself to be healthier is a bad thing. I just don't know why I will have to test my blood sugar. I am trying really hard to see the bright side of all of this.

My Test Results:

Fasting = 76 (must be less than 95)
1 Hour = 180 (must be less than 180)
2 Hour = 157 (must be less than 155)
3 Hour = 64 (must be less than 140)

My Meal Plan:
1800 calories (might get boosted if I lose any weight)

Breakfast (30 carbs)
- Suggested meal is 2 pieces of whole grain toast, 2 eggs, and one bottle diet coke.

Lunch (55 carbs)
- Suggested meal is sandwich w/ meat of some kind & cheese, baby carrots, 12 oz whole milk

Snack (45 carbs)
- Suggested meal is one apple, cheese stick, 12 oz glass of milk

Supper (60 carbs)
- Suggested meal is 3 oz meat choice, starchy vegetable, free vegetable, cup of rice with butter, and one bottle of diet coke.

Ricky and I will have to go shopping for some of the choices, but overall I think it isn't so bad. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Mainly I just have to watch the carbs and I will be good.

Pregnancy: Gestational Diabetes

So at 25 weeks it is normal to get the one hour glucose test. Yesterday, I had that appointment and had to drink the sugary solution. It wasn't so bad. However, I did get a call this morning that I didn't pass. Boo me.

Today, I went in for my three hour glucose test. Now, this wouldn't be so bad if they didn't have to prod me with a needle four times... and because the first needle was too big for my veins they had to do the first one twice. I had fasted, so I guess it was good that I checked my phone messages before eating breakfast - otherwise I might have had to wait a day. The first blood draw was taken (it was excellent). And then I had to drink the 100mg glucose solution and wait...

12:20, 1:20, and 2:20 - I had my blood drawn every hour. Have I ever mentioned that I hate needles. They are awful. They hurt. And when only one arm has a good vein so they repeatedly go into that arm... it hurts even more. The last one they had the courtesy to go into my hand for blood. But, it still hurts.

Anyway. I failed and have met the requirements for Gestational Diabetes. Tomorrow I get to go to the hospital... again. I will see a dietitian to help me with diet, guidelines, and how to take my blood sugar.

Other than that... my pregnancy is going well and I am thinking about going to have an elective ultrasound done because I just can't wait til the birth to find out what the baby is. I don't think I am a Team Green kind of person. I am just too much of a planner. I want to shop. I want to know.

Hump Day Bump Day - 23 Weeks

Ricky took the day off yesterday... so I didn't get anything done that I wanted to. I will do a post about what we did all day later. Every Wednesday I plan on getting bump pictures up. This one is a day late, but I am sure you will enjoy it either way.

This week in pregnancy I had an appointment on Monday and found out that that bitch who did the ultrasound is just that way. She doesn't believe that people deserve to know or should want to know the gender of the baby. Well, shit - I think she needs to get a new job. My weight is right on schedule... but it is a bit scary to be over 200 pounds for the first time in my life. I know that I am pregnant. But, I just worry about having the focus to take the weight off once the baby comes. I wasn't able to stick to a plan before pregnancy... how will I stick to one after?

Other than that... nothing too interesting. Current craving is donuts. I run to the gas station every day for a donut. I can't get enough. Ugh.

Still a Papaya!

Alright, it is week 23 and I have given up on trying to write about the past and catching up. It is just easier to live right now and write about it. I guess that is the point of the blog anyway.

On The Bump ticker I realized that I have hit the weeks when one fruit continues to represent the baby for more than one week. 22 and 23 weeks is the Papaya. The baby is now about 8 inches long and just over a pound in weight. That is right! A whole pound of my weight is the baby. This is the start of the Sixth Month. Woo hoo! I am so excited and I figure that with all the holidays coming up that it will go quickly.

My favorite thing about being pregnant right now is when the baby is kicking and moving around. It is amazing to think that the little one is in there.

Right now, I am annoyed with looking over baby names all over again. I thought we had it all set and all picked out, but Ricky is unsure - which has made me unsure. I am having second thoughts about the girl's first name and Ricky has second thoughts about the boy's name. What are we going to do?

Name choices right now: Boy - Vance Dean, Girl - Alina Joy

The Big Anatomy Scan!

This is a little late, but I have been busy and apparently not in the writing mood. However, on October 21st I woke up at 6 in the morning to make sure to pee and then refill my bladder as directed. I never get up that early. I never drink that much water in one sitting. The morning was pleasant, but I was too excited to see my baby to care. I woke up Ricky at quarter to seven and we were out the door and to the hospital in time to wait for our 7 AM appointment.

Waiting in the waiting room was awful. I was so tired and they were so slow. We must have been the first people to come to the damn hospital for the day. I will never make another appointment that early. But, I thought it would be easier than waiting half a day for the appointment to come to me. Finally, it was our turn. It was time to go into the dark room with a big ultrasound machine.

She started looking at everything and taking pictures. The technician didn't really have that much to say. She just kind of gave an overview of what she needed to take measurements of. This took about twenty minutes. She left and then we waited. The doctor came in and looked over some of the pictures and then started at the head and explained what all the organs were, showed the beating heart with four chambers, showed the umbilical cord, and the spine and other bones. It was amazing. We have a healthy baby. This also took about twenty minutes.

At the end of the appointment when she made it to the feet... I asked about the gender and the doctor said "I didn't see anything dangling, but I don't pay to redecorate people's homes." How unprofessional! I was so angry... but it was too early in the morning to protest. Or to tell her to try again. I guess for now we are Team Green. I am coming to terms with it... but I am still complaining about her at my next doctor's appointment.

Pregnancy: the First Trimester

Still catching up with the story that is Ricky and I having a baby. And I am truly sorry that there are no pictures to go along with this post, but I decided not to do belly pictures. Okay, that is a lie. I really wanted to do belly pictures, but the one's with my phone just didn't seem to turn out right and my camera never managed to get charged until like a week ago. I was probably postponing it all on purpose.

I think that only because in June 2009 I was 140 pounds... and in June 2010 at the time of the BFP (Big Fat Positive) I had managed to make it all the way to 192 pounds. I don't want pictures of myself right now. It isn't the way I want to be. I should have never gained this weight and now I knew that it wasn't going to be coming off any time soon... I was depressed to say the least. I wasn't going to take bump photos because my first trimester bloat just made me look fatter.

Beyond that problem of how I feel that I look, I had other symptoms. I was tired. I wanted to sleep all day and all night. I only wanted to eat what was appetizing. And that was okay because I never threw up from morning sickness. I was just majorly picky. Through this I ended up losing about 10 pounds in the first trimester. Which, my mother and grandmother both managed to do. And it felt good to me because I had started out over weight.

I was also trying to decide what I was going to do about the birth. I have always been a sucker for pain, although I love the feeling of getting a tattoo, I am a baby. Basically, I figured that medication was going to be the route for me. Epidural all the way. But, Ricky has other ideas. He insists that I am strong enough to go natural. I also have the backing and strength from my family and his family that I can do it. Therefore, it was also in the 10th or 11th week of pregnancy where I declared that I am going to be a Natural Birth Momma.

Cravings: Sour Cream & Onion Chips, Salami Sandwiches, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Ups/Downs: Our number one choice of name, Vincent, was taken by Ricky's cousin. We had to go back to square one... and choosing names has been hard, that was sad. I lost weight, that was exciting. Seeing our baby in the ultrasound was amazing and I can't wait until October 21st when I can see it again.

Pregnancy: the BFP!!!

Let's play some catch up and I will start with the story of how I told my boyfriend, Ricky, that we were having a baby.

July 2nd, 2010 I had just gotten home from work (at the time I was working at Wal-Mart) and had picked up a pregnancy test from Wal-Mart. I was about 4 days late on my period and had been late a few times since we started trying in January. Mostly, I figured that it would be negative. Therefore, I was talking to one of my best friends, Nicole, on the phone when I decided to pee on the stick (she had no idea and was telling me a story - important story)... when I saw the second line and interrupted her. "I'm pregnant." She was caught by surprise and I apologized and told her I didn't know what to do. I really wanted to cry, happy tears of course.

So, this was before I marched Ricky into Verizon and got him a cell phone and he told me he was going to be at his parents helping them cut some hay. My mind was going a hundred miles an hour and I didn't even think about calling the MIL's cell phone or house phone to find out if he was there. Nope, I hopped in my car and drove the 15 minutes into the country to their farm. Ricky wasn't there. No, he was somewhere getting a car part to fix a car. Woops. I acted awkward, but didn't want to tell his parents why I was looking for him. They must have thought I was insane. Anyway, I left and decided to go back home and wait.

However, while I was driving back home Ricky called from our house number. He asked where I was and I said that I was driving back home from his parents and I cursed him for not letting me know where he was going to be and finally a was home and walking through the door. He was standing there waiting for me and staring at me. I said that I had something to tell him... he nodded and gave me a hug and said, "No kidding."

Well... in my franticness I left the positive pregnancy test on the bathroom sink and he saw it before I could get the chance to tell him. Either way we were and still are super excited! We told his mom the next day (which was her birthday) and I called my mom that day too.