31 Weeks!

We're at 31 weeks! Only 9 weeks left... finally... the single digits. :/

Yes. I'm a little worried. I'm trying to put on a brave face, but I think that will change. This week starts our birthing classes, so I'm sure I'll hear/see things I don't want to know about. I'm excited though. Makes it more real.

It's really hot out. Really hot. REALLY HOT. I thought I would do better than this. But my feet are swelling, I'm sweating, and I'm out of breath. Therefore, Brandon put in the window air conditioner for the bedroom. What a sweet, sweet man. I owe him.

Wait. HE did this to me. HE owes me. :)

Really, I haven't given Brandon enough credit. He's been really amazing through all of this. Yes, he spoiled me before. But he has never made me feel guilty about anything I've asked him to do for me. And a lot of things are even asked for before he does them. He has worked so hard on the house. He has brought in extra income to help level out our budget. And, most importantly, he has never made me feel like I am a nuisance. I am still the center of his world --- and I love it.

30 Weeks!

Well, 30 weeks is here! We are super excited to be getting closer to Lil's arrival!

Changes with me: majorly hormonal, intensely focused on getting this house in order (although you wouldn't know it by the looks of it), loving the feeling of Lillian's movements and hiccups, not so loving the bladder jumps, really hungry, annoyed easily, can't stand the feeling of hunger, occasionally vomiting...

but above all --- VERY excited to see this little person inside of me who keeps me uncomfortable and awake at night, who loves to kick Daddy when we are supposed to be sleeping, who always stays awake during church service, who never kicks people's hands after Momma has said she was moving (which makes Momma look like a total liar), who wakes up whenever the dogs bark,

but above all --- keeps Momma company when she is feeling nervous about being a mom.

29 Week Appointment

Ok, first of all, let me just say that we are going to skip over the fact that I waited 1 hour and 45 minutes PAST my appointment time to see the doctor. Next time, I'm stopping by McDonald's and getting McNuggets and a Sweet Tea.

So, we (finally) get back to the exam room. The nurse says my pee looks good. Lil's heartbeat was 141. Down from her average, but up from last week. ... Could it be because she was awake due to her mommy's stomach making awkward noises? The doctor then came in to explain my test results.

Results: my blood pressure is fine right now, but she thought it was odd how I was having symptoms of preeclampsia. She said she wanted me to be conscious of my body -- how I'm feeling (stressed, over-worked, etc.) and if the symptoms come back to call. Also, after my 24-hour urine sample, it showed that I was spilling some protein into my urine. This means that my kidneys are working a little harder than normal. I guess during pregnancies, they already do work harder, but mine was slightly above average. Nothing to worry about right now, just to keep an eye on. Then, my blood work for the glucose test came back fine. Nothing to worry about there. I don't remember the test, but whatever it was tested to see if I was anemic. I guess the regular level is about 11.7. Mine was 11.5. Again, she said she wasn't going to put me on iron yet, but ... something to keep an eye on.

So, basically, I'm doing well. She wasn't at all worried since my cervix is closed and my symptoms have gone away since I've been taking it easier. She said, "You are good and pregnant, and you'll stay good and pregnant." Good. That's what I want.

Well, not what I want for me... but for Lil.

We asked about Brandon being diabetic and if that effects her in any way. The doctor said when she's born, no. They won't do anything like check her blood sugar or anything since I am not. We also asked about birthing classes. Ok --and my feelings about this could be a whole other post -- but we're taking one. It starts in 2 weeks. I'm also looking into infant CPR classes. I took one when I was in high school and one when my cousins were born 3 years ago, but I would feel more comfortable with a refresher.

So, that was our Friday. Next appointment in 3 weeks .... I'll be 33 weeks then! Yikes!

29 Week Update

Well, I'm a little scared. This is the last of the 20's. Next week we'll be in the 30's. Nice, because it's reassuring knowing that we are getting closer and closer to 1. if something went wrong she'd be ok-ish, and 2. the actual due date.

I took my 24-hour supply of urine to the lab yesterday. Not really sure what they are testing, but said I'd know the results on Friday at my appointment. My contractions have gone down TREMENDOUSLY since I've been aware of my body and when it needs rest. I feel like I have more energy, but as soon as I start to do something, it's gone. Hopefully, I'll gain some of that back. It's kind of perfect timing seeing as how school is winding down and I'm getting called less. I feel guilty when I say no to schools, so this is a nice compromise. I haven't heard anything about my other tests. And since she said no news is good news, I'll take it.

Surprise!!

Last weekend, my mom, sister, friends, and I went to the Vera Bradley outlet. Awesome, by the way. We had to stand in line for 2 1/2 hours, shopped only for 45 minutes, then in line again for 1 hour. I know I should have been less tough and listened to my mom. She told me to sit down during the lines... I didn't. So, my feet were swollen the entire way home (about 4 hours). This isn't the first time I've swelled, but the only time I thought I deserved to swell.

We got back on Saturday afternoon, and I threw a baby shower for my sister-in-law on Sunday. Those who know me know that I stress over everything and stuff like a shower I am throwing really pushes me over the edge sometimes. So, I had a pretty big weekend. After the shower I took a 4 hour nap to recuperate. Apparently, that wasn't enough.

I worked all day Monday through Wednesday... was just plain WORN OUT every day. I started to never be able to deflate my feet. I was getting really bad headaches and then my left eye would go blurry for a couple of seconds. Add to that upper-adominal pain and dizziness and you have my mom telling me to call the doctor. So I did. Mid-work day on Thursday. She said she wanted me to come in, so I had to leave work early.

My sister came to the doctor's office with me. First, they thought it was my blood pressure, which turned out to be fine. Then, I was on a monitor for about an hour to monitor the baby's heartbeat/movements and to see if I was having any contractions. Turns out I was. I'm not sure how many. I only felt one. I guess that tightening feeling I was getting was a contraction. Who knew? And, even though I have an appointment in 1 week, since I just happened to be there, would I like to do my glucose screening at this time? Sure! So, I drank that nasty drink, got my blood drawn, came back to the exam room, and the doc checked me all out. She is running a lot of tests to see about different things. One of the main tests is to see if I am at risk for pre-term labor within the next two weeks. She said she'd call if I was... no call yet! I also have the joy of doing a 24-hour urine sample. Yay!! I start that on Sunday and take it in first thing Monday. Doc did say that my cervix is locked tight, so that's a really good sign.

Brandon and his mom started the paint job on Lil's room this week. It needs another coat or two before we can do the stripes I want. It' looks awesome. So much better than the skank it was before. Every time I step into it now I can vision her in there. I'm very excited!

She is moving A LOT more this past week. I love feeling her move. I think she is getting a little personality, too!