iamhealthiernow

How far along : 34 weeks. Looking like 3-4 weeks to go (21-28 days). How big is baby : Butternut Squash. Ovia app:  Weight Gain :  +15 lbs  Stretch Marks : Nothing new.  Symptoms : The fatigue continues to be present. The peeing is getting hard and I have to go more often. Also constipation really sucks. I also am very gassy. The reflux hasn't lightened up any. I'm getting some weird pains here and there. It's really hard to get up from a sitting position. My feet are still pretty swollen. It's still hard to breathe.  Sleeping : It's so hard to fall asleep. Then it's hard to stay asleep. I'm still getting soreness on my legs when I sleep on my sides and I can't figure out any way to reduce it. Charlie horses have been trying to sneak up on me, but I've been pretty good about flexing my foot to try and avoid them. Peeing in the night about 2-3x's. Sometimes baby wakes up and is doing ninja kicks in there -- makes it hard to go back to sleep.  Food...

The OB appointment went relatively well. I always feel like I'm forgetting something though, like I should be asking more questions or having more discussion about something . My stats:  Weight : +15 lbs  Blood Pressure : 102/72 The NST is interesting because it's not always easy to get it on "right." Baby boy will sometimes move and then they lose the signal, then they have to readjust things, and then that makes me stay on for longer.  Good news, all looks well on the NST. No signs of contractions or anything.  I brought in my FMLA paperwork for them to complete. They said they'll complete it in the week and give me a copy next appointment. I also had to fill out some paperwork for them. This is my first time doing anything related to FMLA / Leaves of Absence / Short Term disability stuff. I just hope I'm doing everything right. I received paperwork from my company and it has a checklist. But to be honest, the checklist isn't very clear or succinct on wh...

My MFM appointments have been going relatively quickly! Which is a big change, they normally take FOREVER. Stats: Weight : +15 lbs Blood Pressure : 110/66 The BPP went relatively quickly. They were able to see everything they needed to see and I think we were done within 15 minutes or so. Baby boy is still head-down and looks perfect! No pictures or anything, he was facing my back and we couldn't see his face. The diabetes consults are getting so difficult. Work and life just feel extremely busy and I just haven't been able to log and eat well. I just wish there was a way to hit the pause button or something. Insulin changes: Morning : Humulin N 40 iu, Humulin 18 iu Evening (before dinner): Humulin R 20 or 22 iu Evening (before bed): Humulin N 64 iu I'm still having major needle aversions when doing my shots... It's such a stressor. My MFM did say she was OK with me scheduling induction at 38 weeks vs 37 weeks, which is good news! She doesn't see any issues with b...

I decided to take a newborn care class. Believe it or not, I never took one before and I've had how many babies? It's always funny to think that I've been able to manage and all my babies have actually done really well. I wanted to take the class as a "refresher" since it's been so long since I've parented a newborn. I also was hoping to get some new / useful information that maybe I missed since I never took a class on newborn care. Here is the book and the "baby" on display:  I will say that if you are a NEW parent and have not been around infants very much, this class is great and wonderful. Covers a lot of stuff: diapering, bathing,  But since I have so much experience with babies, I didn't learn anything new.  A lot of the "new" stuff I wasn't that familiar with was covered in birthing class and/or lactation class. There is a bit overlap in all three classes. Technically, I could've gone without it!  Also, the room was ...

How far along : 33 weeks. Countdown : 4-5 weeks (28-35 days) to go until possible delivery the week of May 20th (between 37-38 weeks). How big is baby : Celery. Ovia app:  Weight Gain :  +14 lbs  Stretch Marks : No new ones, but the ones I have area getting a bit darker.  Symptoms : Where to begin? Here are some of the joys of pregnancy that people don't talk about much :)  Swollen Feet . My work flats are TIGHT! My feet are so swollen. I even had my house cleaner comment on it and tell me to lay off the salt. Ugh.  Pregnancy Brain : Another silly example of pregnancy brain in the works. I gave my son his pajamas and he was taking so long to get dressed. I try not to 'crowd' him and let him take his time. Once he came in my room I figured out why it took him so long. I gave him two SHIRTS! He ended up putting one of the shirts on as pants. Poor guy :(   Pains and aches in neck . I've been getting a bunch of aches and pains. Most noticeably I've been ge...

Today I had my weekly OB visit and my very first  NST. My stats: Weight : +14 Blood Pressure: 122/80 I think I'm gaining too much at this point. I need to talk to my MFM about it next week in more detail. I'm not sure if it's because I've been eating RIGHT before my appointments or not? But I don't think I'm supposed to gain that much since I started out overweight. Baby boy is supposed to gain 1/2 a pound a week, but I don't think I'm supposed to gain. Argh. I'll have to remind myself to talk to my MFM about it. Non-Stress Test (NST)  On the SMC board there were some tips on the NST. I didn't really "realize" what they would be looking for, so it's nice to have had others that have been through it before me. I decided to eat right before my NST and I think that helped. Within 5 minutes of getting hooked up, baby boy started moving around a bunch. The NST is interesting. You go into this small room and sit in a recliner. They then ...

This week I start my 2x's a week appointments on Tuesdays and Fridays, rotating between the MFM+BPP and OB+NST. Today was the MFM visit and BPP. My stats: Weight : +13 Blood Pressure : 112/70 Hmph. I went up +3 lbs from last week. Not sure if it was a fluke of clothing or if it's because I ate right before my appointment. Hopefully it doesn't really mean anything. My blood pressure is awesome though, which is really nice. Bio Physical Profile (BPP) Ultrasound This is the fastest ultrasound I've ever had, less than 20 minutes. It's nice because that means that they were able to see everything they needed to see. According to WebMd :  The BPP measures your baby's heart rate, muscle tone, movement, breathing, and the amount of amniotic fluid around your baby . The ultrasound tech showed me baby boy practicing his breathing. I'm still amazed that he's in there! I mean, I see him on the ultrasound and everything -- I feel him moving -- but there are still tim...

How far along : 32 weeks. I have 5-6 weeks (35-42 days) until possible delivery between 37-38 weeks. 32 weeks seems like a pretty big deal to me. When I had my last bleed at 20 weeks, I learned there were restrictions on which hospital I could deliver at depending on how far along I was. At 32 weeks, I can officially deliver at my preferred hospital. So yay for that! How big is baby : a Squash. Ovia app:  Weight Gain :  +10 lbs    Stretch Marks : Nothing new. Symptoms : Same stuff. Fatigue . I can't function for more than 1 event a day it seems. Pregnancy brain is a scary but real thing. I've also been having issues eating. Just not hungry for certain foods. Also, can't eat as much in one sitting. Sleeping : The never ending "I can't sleep" saga continues. Insomnia is kicking my bottom. Food cravings : Chocolate... ice cream... cookie dough... Food aversions : None. Maternity Clothes : I refuse to buy more maternity clothes! I am however "growing" ...

I had my growth ultrasound and diabetes appointment with my MFM today. My Stats:  Weight: +10 lbs  Blood Pressure: 128/60 Baby Stats:  Overall Percentile: 65 Head Percentile: 97 Torso: 85 Projected Weight: 4 lbs 4 oz  Adjusted due date: 6/3 - measuring 1 week ahead at 32w+3d  Baby boy looks really good! Some cool things about the ultrasound: watching him practice breathing, watching him suck on his hand, and seeing him stretch. He's still head down, but not as far down as he was before. Didn't get any good pictures of him because he kept burying his face in my placenta. It's so cute watching him suck his hand :) Hoping that means that he'll take to breastfeeding! He's measuring one week ahead, which is what he was measuring before. So, he's on track. The only issue is his torso has gotten a lot bigger, measuring in the 85th percentile. Which is totally my fault since my eating habits have been so horrid. My baby is probably floating around in sugar fluid :(...

I've been really into researching breastfeeding and being "ready" for breastfeeding. I really want breastfeeding to work. Before I was pregnant, I wasn't sure I would want to breastfeed. I know formula and I know how to make formula feeding work. Breastfeeding was a bit of a mystery and very intimidating as well. I really enjoyed the breastfeeding class! A lactation consultant ran it and I really liked her. I took her card, just in case I want to use her in the future. She was very knowledgeable and you can tell that she loves what she does. Most of what was covered in the class, I had already read about on forums or blogs. Nothing terribly new. The one thing that I didn't really know about was when and why new babies cluster feed. This is really good information. Also, I liked that we went over the "signs" to watch out for if baby isn't getting enough breast milk. Going over the latch was also very useful. Here is the booklet that we went over:  I a...

How far along : 31 weeks, officially entering my 8th month! I have 6-7 weeks (42-49 days) to go for potential delivery between 37-38 weeks. How big is baby : Asparagus or cabbage. Ovia app:  Weight Gain :  +8 lbs  Stretch Marks : Nothing new.  Symptoms : I experienced some reflux this week --- so, so gross!!! Very gassy. Also, I got this really weird "twitch" on my left thumb for one day. It just kept twitching uncontrollably. Can be related to pregnancy carpal tunnel or it could be that the baby was sitting on a nerve? Who knows. It hasn't come back since that day.  Sleeping : Insomnia galore...!! Ugh. Naps are my friend though, when I manage to actually fall asleep.  Food cravings : Coffee and chocolate. My baby boy is going to have funny taste buds.  Food aversions : None.  Maternity Clothes : Some of my regular clothes that were working in the pregnancy aren't working that well anymore. Also, my maternity pants aren't feeling that comfortable ...

I had the re-do of my Elective 3D/4D Ultrasound. Unfortunately, it didn't go any differently than the first time ! Baby boy likes to bury his face in my placenta, so it's hard to get any face pictures. He moved his body around, but refused to move his face out of the placenta. Maybe that means he'll be a cuddle bear once he's born? :) He's also pretty far down in my pelvis, maybe making it harder for him to move around? Not sure. So, no cool amazing pictures of his little face. We were able to get some left-side pictures of his face, but nothing on the right. The video was pretty cool though, since you could see him moving a bit. I got to see him yawn and stretch and see him punch me! Got to see his cute cheek, which looks like it'll be very pinch-able :) In hindsight, doing the elective U/S was not really worth it for me! I guess if I got the face pictures I hoped for, I would've thought it was worth it. Oh well, not what I expected - but still glad I got t...

I had my official first therapy appointment for antenatal depression. I didn't really have time to think about the appointment prior to going and had no expectations going in. I'm basically getting treated for Anxiety and for Depression related to pre-natal depression. I'm not sure how open I'll be about my therapy sessions on this blog... I'll have to see what my comfort level is as I go along. For this first session, it was mostly discussing my situation with my mother. Since there are a lot of complications with our relationship and her interest in my life is really new to me since we reconnected in December. Plus, she's coming to help with the baby -- and I have major worries about how that's going to go, especially considering our history. The therapy session went ok for the most part. I'm glad I'm getting the help now vs. waiting until postpartum. I'm hoping that it'll give me the tools and resources to deal with PPD if I end up experi...

I was really looking forward to my hospital tour. But sometimes things don't always turn out as expected. The actual tour was great. We were able to tour the delivery room and the postpartum room. Each person starts in the triage room to monitor contractions and to wait for a room to become available. Only one person can stay in triage with you. No need to tour that room since I became intimately familiar with it the first time I went to L&D in January . The delivery room is huge! Some rooms have a labor tub, if it doesn't have one -- they can bring a portable tub in. You basically labor and delivery in this room & stay in there for about 2 hours after baby is delivered. My hospital is a "baby friendly" hospital, meaning they really emphasize mother - baby bonding, immediate skin-to-skin, and breastfeeding. You can have as many people as you want in the delivery room, but only one person can stay the night. We also toured the postpartum room. It's a lot sm...

I had my bi-weekly OB appointment today. Was a pretty quick appointment. My stats: Weight : +8 lbs Blood Pressure: 122/72 Fetal Heart Rate : 140 bpm Fundal Height : measuring at 32 weeks This was the first time I remember the OB measuring my fundal height. Here is a description of it: I did talk to my OB about the possibility of me having a vaginal birth. She said that the reason they normally will induce diabetic pregnancies between 37-38 weeks is so that there is a chance for the baby to come out vaginally and not need a C-Section. After 38 weeks, it becomes more likely for a C-Section because the babies are normally bigger than the average.  I asked her what the chances of the induction working vs. not working. I think that was my biggest concern when I was taking birthing class -- is that an induction won't work and lead to a C-Section. My OB said that most of the time the inductions work. Which is good news, so maybe I have a shot at a vaginal birth after all?! She did s...

I had my all-day Express Birthing class yesterday. It was easier for me to do a one-day course vs. doing a 4-week course during the work week. I was extremely anxious for the birthing class! I was a little concerned about going by myself and doing the "partner" exercises solo. But I needn't have worried as they skipped all partner exercises since we were short on time. Yay for small concessions. There were 10 couples, 1 lady who attended alone (her husband was sick), and me. It's interesting because they had a dentist hygienist come and visit the class. Also, they had someone from the library come and talk to us about the importance of reading to your child. The Good : I really liked that experienced nurses taught the course. They shared a lot of their own personal experiences which was nice to hear.  I liked that they provided what will happen at the hospital I was delivering at.  I feel like I understand the medical interventions better.  I feel like I understand ho...

How far along : 30 weeks, 8 weeks (56 days) until possible delivery at 38 weeks. I might have "waddled" for the first time this week... My stomach has definitely grown! But it still doesn't have that pretty D shape, which I'm not sure I will ever get.  How big is baby : a Zucchini. Ovia app:  Weight Gain : +7 lbs  Stretch Marks : Nothing new.  Symptoms : Nothing new.  Sleeping : Nothing new.  Food cravings : Chocolate is THE thing... and so are Lucky Charms! Oh man... so tempting and bad for me.  Food aversions : Nope.   Maternity Clothes : My maternity pants are feeling not so comfy lately... I'm hoping I can manage to make it through the rest of the pregnancy without wasting money buying new ones as I've worn these ones into the ground. I might just have to switch to skirts/dresses full time really soon.  Movement : Baby boy's movements have been pretty strong this week. They are so strong, that sometimes they wake me up in the middle ...