Doctor Appointment for 35

Yesterday I had my OBGYN appointment for week 35. I figure I’d start putting the week number in the blog title since I will now be seeing Doc. S once a week since Tadpole’s due date is just over a month away. WOW!!! That’s still sinking in for me. I’m gonna be a mommy really soon! And I’m gonna have a lil girl to hold in my arms!

Doc S told me that if Tadpole decided to come this very minute, there wouldn’t be anything to worry about. I’m close enough to full term that I would not have to be administered any drugs to slow down the process of labor, but to just go with it. Hmm, I should really finish packing my stuff for the hospital in case Tadpole does decided to come early. And thank you everyone who either left a comment on the 50 Day blog, or on my Facebook status recently that gave ideas about what to pack. There were a lot of great insights that I really appreciate. So far I have written a list of things that need to be packed, and I started a list of things that need to be bought for either Tadpole or myself to have at home prior to us coming home from the hospital.

Tadpole is still doing great. She hasn’t engaged yet (dropped), but she is still head down. I think it’s amazing that Doc S can just feel around my baby bump a little and be like “that’s the top of her head, that’s her arm, that’s her behind, and her legs.” He can identify her body parts a lot faster and easier than I can. Of course he has a LOT more experience in doing that than I do. 

Everything for Tadpole is still measuring in the average range. Her heart rate was recorded at 145bpm, and my uterus was measured at 35.5 cm. And I finally gained some weight again. I believe I mentioned that I hadn’t really gained weight for about a month, mostly due to losing my appetite when I got sick. I finally went up a bit, so that’s good. Anyway! Doc S said she's running out of space to get out of the head-down position, but that she still has some space to turn left and right.

I asked Doc S when he would want me to call him for labor beginning. I have a folder with all the important information in it, and I knew I had read the answer to that before, but I am much better at remembering things that are said compared to something I have read. He said he likes his patients to call when contractions are 511 (5 minute apart contractions that last a minute or more each, in an hour period), but really said to call at 512 (5 minutes apart contractions that last a minute or more each, in a two hour period –total of 10 contractions-). Or of course if my water breaks before 511 or 512, or if there is a sign something is wrong. For any of these signs he would have me come in to get checked to see if dilation has begun (the opening of the cervix).

During my appointment Doc S also asked how my ear was doing. So I updated him that I had taken the two rounds of antibiotics, that my balance finally returned about a week ago, but that sound is still kind of muffled in my right ear, but that it’s doing a lot better than it was. I told him I had an appointment with Doc Y the following day (today). Both Doc S and Doc Y, the ear doctor, said that I am probably clearing up so slowly because when you’re pregnant, due to all the extra hormones in your body, your body produces more of basically every type of liquid substance in your body. Many pregnant women during their 3^rd trimester become very stuffy and just can’t clear up until after their baby is born.

Doc Y did say my right ear looks a lot better. Yay! She said there was a bit of crusty stuff over part of my eardrum that is due to my ear popping two weeks ago. Basically the crusty stuff is acting like a scab and covering the little whole that was created when my ear popped to make sure it doesn’t get infected. Doc Y also said the crusty stuff could be making it so that my hearing seems muffled in my right ear, but that it will come off naturally and looks like it’s healing up very nicely.

So I get to deal with my body healing in its own time and wait patiently for my hearing to come back to 100%. I can continue to help clear up my ear/nasal passage (the Eustachian tube) by the continued use of my neti pot, and using a nasal spray if I ever get really stuffy. So here’s praying my ear will heal up fast and finish clearing up soon! 

*** Don't forget to vote on when you think Tadpole will be born! Poll is located near the top of my blog on the right. So far it looks like most people think she will come either a few days early, or a few days late.***

Return to Pooh Corner

Last night I had a horrible time trying to go to sleep. And what do you know? As soon as I was starting to drift off to Wonderland, little Miss Tadpole started a little dance. Well, actually, she started a very active dance. Maybe she was doing a jazz dance or something. I tried rubbing my belly to sooth her, since this has worked at times before. But sadly this did nothing to quiet our little girl down.

So I tried one of the other things that sometimes works to calm her down, or at least slow her motion a bit; I hummed a song to her while rubbing my belly. Usually I sing to her and rub my belly, but Andrew was already asleep and I figured humming had less of a chance waking him up. I hummed one of my favorite quiet songs to her: “All the Pretty Little Ponies” (Kenny Loggins’ version). And it worked! ^_^ Whohoo! Success!

I have played Kenny Loggins’ CD “Return to Pooh Corner” for her so many times in hopes that it would become something that soothes her as it does me. Seems like it worked. I’ve already planned that this CD will be one of the things that is coming to the hospital with us. This just makes it an even better item to be on the packing list.

You can listen to “All the Pretty Little Ponies” in this YouTube video.

Lil Foot

This weekend Andrew was able to feel Tadpole’s little foot! It’s the first time that Tadpole was moving around with Andrew’s hand on my baby bump when he or I were able to tell exactly what part of her body he was feeling. Since she’s been head down I’ve been able to feel where the top of her head is and then have Andrew feel it, but besides that, this lil foot was the first body part that we could identify together while she moved around. She seems to basically wiggle and giggle her whole body when she’s moving around, so it makes it hard to guess exactly what part is making the little “waves” in my baby bump.

I believe Tadpole has been contemplating dropping the last couple days. This means Tadpole has been contemplating settling deeper in my pelvic area, which makes it so my diaphragm has more space so breathing is easier (a baby dropping is also called lightening since the pressure on your diaphragm is lifted – though you get more pressure on your pelvic area obviously and your bladder too). She hasn’t fully dropped. I believe Tadpole has been doing what is referred to as “floating.” This means she goes into position and then back up out of the pelvic area. Or at least this is what I think it feels like. I’m sure Doc. S can give me a good answer as to what Tadpole is doing when I see him for my appointment on Thursday. Who knows, maybe by then she’ll have dropped. Oh, and this usually happens anywhere from a few weeks to only a couple days before labor begins.And right now, we're about 5 weeks away from her due date.

Other on goings this weekend is Andrew and I went apartment hunting again. As I mentioned in my previous blog about our crib, Andrew announced that we need to look for a two bedroom apartment. We were looking at one and two bedroom apartments. Sadly this weekend’s hunt wasn’t that fruitful, but we did get a lot done. Even though that means we crossed a lot of places off our list. Heck, we didn’t even go into half the places we planned to look at this weekend. We drove past many of them and decided to continue on our merry way. We only really kept one on our list from this weekend’s hunt. So right now, out of the places we have looked at, three have been labeled as “favorites,” and it is clear which one we like the most. But we still have many places to check out, and it’s too early to know if there will be openings when we need there to be openings. So! We’ll keep praying about it, and keep our options open!

Don't forget to vote on when you think Tadpole will be born! The poll is located on your right near the top of the blog. Happy voting!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Happy St. Patty’s Day everyone! Hope you all wore a bit of green yesterday to avoid being pinched. And for those of you who celebrate St. Patty’s Day, I hope you had fun. We had a bit of fun around here. Tadpole was very active yesterday, including a case of hiccups. She’s getting a bit too big now to really kick or punch hard, but she has been nudging me like crazy. It’s as if she’s rocking herself back and forth to get comfortable in the womb. Sometimes I think she’s rubbing her feet together; something I do to either warm them up, calm myself down, or make myself more comfortable. I wonder if she’s doing it for any of the same reasons. The feeling of her having the hiccups is odd, interesting, and entertaining all in one. I don’t think I can describe the sensation to you. Tadpole, to my knowledge, has only had hiccups twice, causing her to bounce rhythmically inside the womb. But they’ve been short lived, so I haven’t been able to figure out how to describe the sensation.

I look forward to St. Patty’s Day next year when lil Tadpole will be out the womb to celebrate with us. Of course I’ll make sure she’s decked out in green, and gets tons of kisses since she is ¼ Irish (she’s also 3/8 Swedish and 3/8 German). It will be even more fun when she’s able to eat the Irish meal I always make on St. Patty’s Day: Corned beef, cabbage, carrots, and red potatoes. Check out our yummy dinner! I actually just ate some more of it for lunch. It’s just so tasty!

One thing I want to be able to do for Tadpole, and any other child who might be in our future, is to be able to make yummy and cute cakes for them on their birthday and for special occasions. Nothing spectacular or over the top, but simple and cute. So to practice I made dessert for Andrew and I to share! I made a yellow cake, and then turned it green for St. Patty’s Day. We only had chocolate frosting at home, so I used that, and then used a small tube of green frosting and some mint chips to decorate. It is a very delicious cake.

After dinner we went to the mall to walk around. Or at least that was our plan. Our little excursion turned into bra hunting. Guys, you might not want to read on, but ladies who either just got pregnant or hope to be some day, you might find this interesting. Guys, I’ll put some *** up when the topic changes.

So ladies, you might have heard that your breasts change size once you get pregnant. For some women they change a lot during pregnancy, and others they only go up a cup size. During my 2^nd trimester I had to go bra hunting because my cup size had changed. Now those bras are super tight and uncomfortable, so I knew I needed to go bra hunting again. I debated getting normal bras at this point or nursing bras, since I have no idea if my breasts will get larger these last couple weeks, or if they’ll grow a significant amount once milk comes in for Tadpole. I decided to go ahead and buy some nursing bras, thinking “hey, if they turn out to be the size I need once Tadpole’s here, great! If not, well they support me the way I need to be supported now, so they’ll work just fine.”

We first went to JC Penny’s to see what they carry. Sadly they only had one bra in the size I need to be wearing now. They have more in my size ordered, but they’re back ordered until April 20^th. This would be fine if I just needed them for nursing, but as I said, I need bras that fit now. So we went to the Motherhood Maternity store, which had a wider selection of bras. I was given great help and advice from one of the ladies working there. She helped me select some bras to try on and off I went to the changing room (Andrew was surprised at how many different bras I took back with me. I explained that each one is a different style or made of different material, so you kind of want to try them all on even though this takes a while).

Since I’m hoping I can use these as my actual nursing bras, though totally prepared to have to buy a different size after Tadpole is born if need be, I made sure when I tried them on that they’re comfortable, supportive, not too tight around (don’t wanna clog up your milk ducts!), and that a nursing pad would fit in (don’t want anything to leak through either!). I ended up picking a bra that is one cup size, and one rib size larger than what I was wearing (so from my pre-pregnancy size, I went up 2 cup sizes and one size around). Woot! I finally don’t feel smashed anymore! Such a relief!

One super helpful thing the worker told me is that because many women’s breasts become engorged with milk the first couple weeks after your baby is born, your bras might not fit. BUT to wait to buy a lot more, and suggested buying one or two in your engorged size if need be, and that after a few weeks, most women shrink down a bit once the amount of milk their breasts produce evens out. Then, once you’ve passed the engorgement stage (which hopefully won’t last longer than a few weeks), try your nursing bras on again to see how they fit. If they aren’t supportive or comfortable, then go and buy some more. I learned a lot from our little bra hunting outing. And they were having a sale! So I got one sleeping nursing bra for free! It’s suggested you buy a couple sleeping nursing bras since your breasts will become more full due to the milk, and thus heavy and in need of possible support even when laying down.

***Alright guys, you can read again! 

After shopping Andrew and I came home to eat our cake before heading off to bed. Last night turned out to be one of the most uncomfortable nights of sleep for me. First thing is that I’ve been super hot the last couple nights! This is due to being pregnant and Tadpole helping my body produces more heat. It is also because we think we have a new neighbor who lives under us who likes to have their heater turned on high. This is great for our bill since we haven’t had to turn our heater on in a while, but it makes our apartment hot at night, but not hot enough to really have to window open to the cold stormy wind.

Second, my hips had been hurting due to the extra weight from Tadpole when I sleep on my sides, and the fact that all my joints are loosening up to prepare for giving birth. Third, my back was hurting from the extra weight from Tadpole and because I was on my feet a lot the last two days. These three things made it very difficult to become comfortable enough to sleep soundly and I know it is most likely to just continue. This calls for more relaxing warm baths! And more relaxing massages from Andrew! Those two things are always an up.

Hope you all had a great St. Patty’s Day! 

Yesterday was also my mother-in-law’s birthday. So…

Happy Birthday, Karlyn!!!

The Crib and Stroller!

Andrew decided to boost my morale (from being sick for so long) this weekend by asking if I wanted us to put Tadpole’s crib and stroller together to see how it all looks. If you remember from a previous post, my friend Sarah gave us her crib for free about two month ago. It’s in great condition, and the style and color is what I really wanted for Tadpole’s crib. There was a bit of paint that had been worn off from use and being moved a few times, so my Aunt Janet graciously spruced it up and refinished it. It looks brand new! And we just got it back from Janet last weekend. We’ve had the pieces just kind of sitting around trying to figure out if we should put it together or wait until we know where we’ll be moving.

Well, my aunt Lisa blessed us with Tadpole’s crib bed set at the family baby shower two Sundays ago. So that made it so we had all the rest of the necessities to deck Tadpole’s crib out with. Plus, in the past month, my mom bought us the infant car seat we wanted, and Andrew’s folks bought the stroller frame that goes with it!

Basically we’ve had all the parts of a wonderful recipe to put together, and I think Andrew knows I wanted to see them all pieced together. So since I’ve been feeling crummy and down for the past couple weeks he decided to lift my spirits by putting it all together.

I didn’t have enough energy to help him piece the crib together, but Hoshi and I sat and watched as Andrew figured out what little screw went where and what order to put the whole thing together in. Hoshi decided to really check out what Andrew was up to. She was very curious and we were curious as to how she’d react to the crib.

Andrew putting the crib together

Hoshi started to get interested and wanted to check it out

Hoshi under the crib

After the crib was all put together, we took out the crib bedding (yes it still needs to be washed and tags need to be removed – I’m doing that today) and together made Tadpole’s bed. For making the photos more interesting, we added one of Tadpole’s quilts, her monkey key-chewer, her rattle frog, and of course Blueberry the puppy decked out in Tadpole’s frog hat, sunglasses, and wrist rattles. We also put the Baby sign from the family baby shower up on the wall. 

Tadpole's crib!!!

Blueberry decked out in Tadpole's things, sitting next to Tadpole's rattle frog

Then, Andrew got out Tadpole’s car seat and stroller frame. He put it all together and then we put Minnie Mouse in the car seat and put on a few dangle toys for authenticity. And of course we put her diaper bag in the bottom carrier too. 

Tadpole's stroller and car seat!

Ta-da! It’s all put together! It was so exciting to put it all together for our little girl; to see where she’ll be sleeping and what she’ll be getting around in. Putting it all together was definitely a morale booster for me. Andrew and I were grinning after the project was complete, talking about Tadpole and getting her in and out of her crib, and pushing her around in her stroller. It was really fun! And I think we both can’t wait for Tadpole to use her crib and stroller. ^_^

Ta-Da!!!

At the moment, Hoshi has decided she does not care for the stroller since it has wheels and moves. The crib however doesn’t seem to bother her much. So far she has only show interest in sniffing it and going under it. We’re keeping an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t try to nibble the bumper ties, or try to get into the crib. Although Hoshi has never liked jumping into high places, especially when she can’t really see where she’ll be landing, so I don’t think she will try to get into the crib. We’re fine with her checking it out and going under it as much as she wants though. 

*sniff sniff sniff*

And under she goes!

Hoshi happy and content under the crib

Also, once the crib and stroller were put together, Andrew officially declared that we need to find a two bedroom apartment to move into! Whoohoo! We’ve been looking at two bedroom apartments, and looking at our budget to see how we can get it to work with their price ranges. We know God will guide us to the perfect place to live with little Tadpole that will provide for our needs. We’ll just have to wait and see what that place is, and pray it’s a two bedroom apartment. For these last two and a half months before our lease is up, we shall enjoy the one bedroom apartment God has provided for us that is bursting with baby things! We’re getting very creative with where to put things now, and I’ve been debating starting to pack up our apartment. 


*** Don't forget to take a quick moment to make your best guess on when you think Tadpole will be born. The poll is located on your right near the top of the blog***

Doctors. Doctors. Doctors!

I believe I mentioned in a previous post that I have been fighting a cold. It started as a sore throat two Sundays ago, and then turned into a cough. That cough turned into a horrible cough that was bringing up mucus… And then this last Tuesday, the Tuesday that marked our 50 day count, my right ear plugged up and didn’t clear. In a four hour period it went from being clogged up, to being clogged up and painful! I called Doc S (my OBGYN) and Doc T (my primary doctor) to let them know what was going on and ask what I should do. I have never had an ear infection before. Or if I did I was very young and don’t remember it at all. But to my recollection, this is my first ear infection.

I called Andrew in tears from the pain letting him know what was going on and asking if he could come home. Thankfully within about 15 minutes of me calling, he was able to leave the office and head home. We were hoping we’d be able to get in to see a doctor. At this point in time my balance was starting to be off and my head was starting to feel really foggy, so I didn’t trust myself to drive. Thus I was extremely happy Andrew could make it home, and that Doc T stayed late in his office so he could check out my ear.

Doc T took one quick look at my ear and said “wow! You could take a picture of this and put it in a text book. It looks like it’s about to pop.” He went on to explain that my ear had a 50/50 chance of popping on its own from the pressure build up. He prescribed an antibiotic and also an ear drop that would basically help to numb my ear so I would have less pain. He told me if my ear did pop it would hurt probably about 10 times worse than what I was currently feeling for about a minute, and then I would feel relief. And to not use the ear drop after my ear popped. Wouldn’t want that to go into an opened wound!

It turns out pressure was continuing to build, and during the night my ear popped and released some of the gunk that was behind my ear drum. Unfortunately it did not all drain out. The pain is gone, but I still can’t hear out of my right ear, my balance is still off and it feels like I have a fish bowl over my ear.

So, today after my OBGYN appointment (don’t worry I’ll get to that!), we went to see Doc Y for my ear. She was really nice. I started off with a hearing test so they could tell if my ear drum was damaged at all. Sure I can’t hear out of my right ear that well right now, but my ear drum seems to not be effected and there shouldn’t be any long term effects. Yay!!!

Basically Doc Y told me that the tube that leads from my ear to my nose throat area (the Eustachian tube) is clogged up and needs to be unclogged. So I get to do another round of the antibiotic, plus a nasal spray, and to continue to use my neti pot. I have another appointment with her in two weeks to see how my ear is. Hopefully it will be unclogged, my balance will be back, and my hearing will be back way before then!

On top of those doctor visits, I had my regular OBGYN check-up with Doc S this morning as well. We’re making sure Doc S stays in the loop on what I’m taking for my cold and all that so we know that it’s safe to do while preggers and safe for Tadpole. He okayed it all and hopped I’d be feeling better soon.  His only concern was with my weight. I’ve been at the same mark for over a month now, and I’m supposed to be gaining a little weight each week. Of course being sick has made me loose my appetite, so he completely understands that. My weight staying the same isn’t horrible, but it would be nice to make sure I’m getting enough in me for both Tadpole and I.

As for Tadpole, she seems to be doing quite well. Her little heart was recorded at 144bpm, and this time she didn’t kick him while he was getting her heart rate. And my uterus growth is right where it should be for being at about the half way point of week 33. And if you remember from the little lesson I gave 2 weeks ago, this means my uterus is measuring at 33.5 centimeters. For those of you who guessed that, you get a gold star!

My blood sugar test came back, and it looks good. I don’t have to drink the nasty tasting sugar water! Whoohoo! I still think it’s funny that my blood sugar count is in the “low” range when I love cookies and sugar so much. I guess my body just processes it really well. ^_^Doc S also said that it feels like Tadpole is in a head down position still. And I hope she stays that way!

Doc S also asked if I was experiencing any contractions. I said yes, but that they don’t happen that often at all. Like maybe 1-3 a week for the past 3 weeks. And they only feel like very very very mild cramps. Just enough to notice them. For those of you who just grew concerned, don’t worry! It’s completely normal to experience Braxton hick’s contractions (not real labor contractions) during pregnancy. A woman’s uterus contracts so her body can “practice” and prepare for labor. If you’re interested, you can read more about them here.

I’ll be seeing Doc S again in another two weeks! Then I believe we change to having an appointment every week. 

Don't forget to vote in the poll when you think Tadpole will be born! It's all a matter of luck because none of us can truly know for sure when she'll enter the world. So have fun and make a guess. ^_~

Wow! 50 Already????

It’s hard to believe that today marks our 50 day countdown to Tadpole’s due date! I feel like I just wrote the entry for the 100 day mark.

I was trying to think of something special to do for this entry, and two things came to mind. The first thing is to create a poll. You see, I have found that people are already trying to guess if Tadpole is going to come early or late. If you look to the right of this blog, above the due date counter you will see a poll that asks “When do you think Tadpole will be born?” There are quite a few options, so read it carefully before making you decision. Have fun guessing!

My second idea is to ask all you lovely readers to give me a bit of advice on two things:

1) What should I make sure I bring to the hospital with me?

2) What should I make sure I have at home after delivery that people don’t typically think of (or aren’t told about or warned of for the first pregnancy)?

You can leave your message in a comment, or if you have my e-mail feel free to e-mail me your answers if you don’t wish to leave a comment for all to see. ^_^

Wow! 50 days and counting to Tadpole’s due date! I don’t think it has really sunk in yet.