32 weeks

My mantra this week is "turn, baby, turn!" After meeting with my midwife on Friday, it was confirmed that this baby is still in the breech position. She gave me a few "exercises," which are really just strange positions to get in and hold a couple times a day, to encourage baby to turn head-down. And if that doesn't work, then I may schedule an appointment with a doctor (in the hospital in case an emergency c-section is needed) at 36 weeks to perform something called External Cephalic Version, where they try to go in and manually flip the baby around. (Here's a link to more info on ECV, in case you're interested.) It doesn't sound very pleasant, so I'm hoping that in the next few weeks, I can coax this baby into position myself. I tried it last night and thought that it actually worked, but now this morning, I'm not so sure. It's hard to distinguish the baby's exact position - I'm constantly guessing, "is that a head, or a butt?" Obviously, though, we want the baby to turn into the proper, vertex position so that I can deliver him normally and avoid a c-section, if possible.

On a completely unrelated, and happier note, we finally finished painting the baby's room. Attached is a picture of the "wall o' squares" that came together quite nicely. (All too often my creative attempts fail to live up to the vision in my head, but this one actually did!) I'll be sure to take another picture once all the furniture is set up and the room is ready to welcome baby home.

It's an absolutely GORGEOUS weekend here in the pacific northwest, so I'm off to go enjoy it!

Baby Shower in Iowa

Whew! We are just back from one of the best weekends ever! My Mom and sissies, Rachel and Jackie threw Ryan and I a simply lovely baby shower on Saturday - it was absolutely darling and perfect! And the rest of the weekend was spent with our dearest loved ones. It couldn't have been more perfect!

There are lots more pictures shared by friends on facebook, but this one is my favorite (courtesy of Janan).

This baby is so loved and supported by such a wonderful family - he or she is truly blessed. (As are we!) Thank you, thank, thank you (100 times) to Rachel and Jackie for all the hard work they put into the shower - down to the smallest detail. And to my Mom for being so generous and considerate of my needs this weekend. And to everyone who made it (some from very far away) - thanks SO much being there!

The rest of the weekend was a blast as well. Got to spend time with my aunt and cousins and Grandma whom I haven't seen in so long. And all the meals and good family time was absolutely refreshing!

We flew back late last night and I had my first experience with swollen feet and ankles. By the time we finally got off the plane, I could barely walk. I have never seen the bottom half of my legs look that way before. It was crazy! And kind of scary. But Ryan gave me a nice foot rub before bed and by the time I got up this morning, everything was back to it's normal size. I am glad that I will not be traveling by air again during this pregnancy.

And finally, I'm considering changing the name of this blog, although I haven't come up with what yet. When I originally created it, it was for an entirely different purpose, but now I think that the name needs to fit the direction of the blog a little better. I'll keep thinking about that one and let you know what I come up with. But watch for an email with the new web site address sometime soon...

Testing out the new stroller

So, we're not sure who we got our awesome stroller from (there was no name on the delivery slip), but whoever you are - thank you!  (I'm sure we'll find out next week at the shower.)  In the meantime, we are having fun giving it a test run using Kinnick as the baby.  You can see for yourself just how happy he is about that.  : )

30 weeks

Most everyone who's following this blog already knows the news, but for those few that don't, I found out early this week that I do, in fact, have gestational diabetes.  (Only now am I able to write that sentence without breaking into tears.)  This news was absolutely devastating at first; I was so disappointed in myself, even though everyone kept telling me that this is not my fault and there's nothing I could have done to prevent it.  And I was shocked – I do not meet any of the risk factors, except possibly being "old," although I beg to differ.  (Actually, that criteria is simply "women over 25," but doesn't that include just about all moms-to-be these days?)  Here's a link to some more information about GD, including the specific risk factors, in case you're interested.

I really never expected this and was very down about it initially.  I allowed myself one day to grieve and just be mad, but the next day, I knew I just needed to suck it up and deal with it.  I became determined to not just manage this condition, but to kick it's butt.

I meet with a dietician next week, but in the meantime, I'm on a special diet (specifically one that limits carbohydrates) and I'm checking my blood sugar levels four times a day.  The diet is not so bad.  Of course I have to pretty much completely eliminate the candy and other junk food that I've admittedly overindulged in the past 30 weeks.  But for this lifetime dieter, planning meals, reading labels, and measuring out food is nothing new.  In fact, only since I've been pregnant have I not "watched" what I eat - that's pretty much been my MO up until last November.  The sad part is that I was rather enjoying my little reprieve from dieting.  I guess the party's just over a bit sooner than I would have liked.  : (

As far as checking my blood sugar goes, it's obviously not fun, but I can deal with it.  At least it will only be for another 10 weeks.  (GD typically goes away as soon as you have the baby.)  The worst part, though, is that both me and the baby run a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life (some statistics say my chances increase as much as 90%, some more like 40-60%).  That's the one fact that I am struggling with the most.  I guess it means that not only do I need to be vigilant about keeping my weight down and exercising for the remainder of my life (to hopefully reduce that risk a bit), but unfortunately, so does our child.  I feel really bad for passing this on to him.

That said, I'm not feeling sorry for myself over this.  I am constantly reminding myself, instead, that things could be much worse and that I have been, and continue to be, very truly blessed.  This is nothing that I can't handle...and maybe I'll even be a better, healthier mommy because of it.

On a happier note, we are working on painting the baby's room this weekend.  Even as I type this, we are waiting for the first coat to dry so we can go in and do some touching up.  I do have one more design element that I'm hoping to incorporate onto one of the walls in a couple of weeks (I didn't want to attempt to do it all in one weekend), but it feels good to have this mostly behind us now.  The nursery is starting to look good, but I can't wait to see it all put together with the crib and the linens, etc.  I'll have to wait another month and a half or so for that, though.

(Check out Kinnick in the baby sling that we got from Eric and Jenny this week.  Much to his dismay, we've decided that Kinnick will be testing out all of the baby equipment from here on out!)

And, it's probably completely imperceptible, but I may look a wee bit smaller in my photo this week.  I have actually lost a couple of pounds since going on this diabetic diet.  I'm planning to ask the dietician if that is normal next week.  I think so long as the baby is still growing (which I won't know for sure until my next doctor's appointment in two weeks), it should be fine.  I'm guessing it just has to do with my body adjusting to LOTS fewer sweets and treats than it had grown accustomed to and will probably level out again next week.

And finally, I am soooooo looking forward to the shower in Iowa next weekend.  This has been a long time coming and I can't even express how excited I am.  Yay!  : )

29 weeks

What a week this has been! I found out on Monday that I did not "pass" my initial glucose screen (I came in at 150 and apparently "normal" is 70-135.) So, this Friday, I had to go back for the big, 3-hour (4 blood draw) test. Initially, I was extremely upset and kind of disappointed in myself - I really hoped I would pass the first one and not have to do the second. But then I realized that there's not a whole lot I could have done about it and that lots of women don't pass the first, but do go on to pass the second, so I stopped being so hard on myself. 

Instead, I channeled all my energy into freaking out about the next test. I had to fast from midnight the night before the test (which is harder than normal, given my extreme hunger lately!) and I had to have blood drawn four times in 3 hours. That is a serious ordeal for me. But I kept telling myself that if I couldn't get through this, there's no way I could get through labor, and that is something I am determined to do well (despite Ryan's doubts). Anyway, to make a long story short, the test went surprisingly well. Ever since discovering that I MUST request a "butterfly" needle (the size they use on infants), I've had very little problems giving blood. All four sticks went just fine and I handled them pretty well. I even downloaded a movie on iTunes and brought my laptop in with me to help pass the time. I won't know the results until Monday, and am hoping for the best, but at least I've got the test behind me now.

One other thing to note - I was woken to my first "oh my gosh," crying out in pain leg cramp the other day. I keep hearing how common those are, but so far, have managed to avoid them. It happened about an hour before my alarm went off on Friday morning and my calf is still very stiff and sore today. Those are no fun!

And Ryan's back (he's been gone for the past week), so that makes life so much better! It's good to have him home. We're planning to paint the baby's room next weekend, so this weekend we are trying to get it all cleared and cleaned out. It's been hard to stay focused, though - it's absolutely gorgeous outside today! So, on that note, I'm off...to do something (hopefully productive).

28 weeks

In lieu of a photo of me this week (Ryan is out of town, so I don't have anyone to take my picture!), here are the latest photos of Baby P. I was not expecting to get another glimpse of him after our 20-week ultrasound, but because I had to have another one to follow-up on the two cysts they found on my ovaries back in January, I was lucky enough to get another peek!

Apparently baby is in breech position, but it's still too early to worry about that. The tech made me close my eyes when she viewed the baby's sex organs, so the gender is still unknown. We did catch him making little sucking or chewing motions, which was kinda cute.

The images are all essentially face shots, but in case you need help deciphering what you're looking at (I did!):

• Photo 1 shows baby's head on the left, eyes closed - isn't he cute?
• Photo 2 shows baby's head on the right (facing the opposite direction) and is a nice view of his chin, lips, and nose
• Photo 3 is another face shot, but in this one you can see his pointy little chin a bit better (I think he'll have Ryan's chin)
  

As far as the rest of my 3-hour appointment yesterday went, one of the two cysts seems to have disappeared, and the other has gotten a bit smaller, but is still there (though no one seems to be very concerned about it, so I'm trying not to be either). I also had to take the glucose tolerance test, which I am really, really hoping I pass, but won't know until Monday. (Please pray I don't have gestational diabetes...I can't handle having to give myself injections! Needles??? Eek!) And I received the RhoGAM shot (in my bottom!) during my appointment, because I am Rh-negative. (If you don't know about this, here's a good article that explains it all pretty well.) The midwife measured me at about 27.5 centimeters, which is right on track, as is my weight gain (about 20 pounds to date).

In other news, the baby's kicks are consistently getting stronger and more frequent. When he's feeling particularly rambunctious, it's fun to just sit and watch my belly thump around. But to sum it all up, things are simply grand...I am SO full of joy and anticipation for this baby! Thanks for sharing this excitement with me!!!