Tuesday, October 20, 2009

31 weeks: Single digit weeks left and counting...

It is almost impossible to believe that we are now counting down the weeks in single digits.  Although, when T and I look back at how long I have been pregnant, it still feels like it has been an entire lifetime!  We were talking about how I was battling with "all day hangover sickness" when we went to San Diego for our one year anniversary in May!  That seems like an eternity ago and I am STILL pregnant!  Cashew and I have been connected at the hip (or somewhere) for quite a while!

But here we are in October and time seems to be flying by!  It is probably due to the childbirth classes, the more frequent doctor appointments, the holiday planning, Halloween excitement, and Christmas shopping/crafting.  The days are flying by and the weeks are going even quicker.  Nine more weeks, give or take...

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday.  I am now on the every other week plan with them.  My appointment was at 1 PM and, since we were unusually early, we had to wait for them to unlock the doors from having lunch (it is a small office with no break room, I am assuming).  While we sat in the air conditioned car waiting for them to complete their PB&Js, I took a glance over to my doc's neighbor's door which is LabCorp...the vampires!!  I was instantly thrilled that I would NOT be walking in that door today.  And maybe not for many days (if ever).

We were the first ones called back once we were finally allowed in.  This is the advantage of an "after lunch appointment".  They aren't backed up and you get in quick!  Plus it helps us because we weren't rushed in the morning for our hour drive and we were able to stop for lunch on the way. 

So we went through the usual routine.  Blood pressure - 100 over 80 or something like that.  No signs of concern from the nurse.  Then the dreaded scale!  I have only gained one pound since my last appointment for a total of 20 lbs.  That made me feel a little better.  I couldn't believe it after remembering the brownies that T and I polished off within days.  But whatever!

Next was the pee stick.  I wore a skirt yesterday that was pretty "flowy" so I had a lot to wrangle in the potty.  And, as usual, the goal was to not pee on my hand.  At least not much.  I also had the challenge that I didn't feel like peeing (for once) since I had just peed at the restaurant after lunch.  But, my body and Cashew both helped me out to produce enough pee to fill the cup.  And I didn't get any on my hand!!  Well, until I used the other hand to move the cup to the back of the toilet.  There must have been a drop or two on the rim.  Oh well.  That's not too bad for someone who most certainly cannot see the cup, the toilet or my lap at this point!!  The verdict on the pee stick - all good and normal!

We headed to the last room on the left and waited for more direction.  The nurse came in and handed me a piece of paper.  All it had on it was "Swine Flu Vaccinations, TEP Ballpark, 10/20/09, 10 AM - 7 PM."  I was verbally informed of the vaccinations by the nurse, then asked if the baby was moving.  "A LOT" I told her.  She smiled and seemed happy with my answer.  I did tell her that I had been feeling dizzy and lightheaded a lot and was wondering if that was normal.  She said that it usually is and then asked me if I have been taking my vitamins.  Gulp.  Umm, no.  Not like I should be (I decided to NOT say 'not at all').  She said, TAKE YOUR VITAMINS!  I said ok. 

Hutch came in shortly after my visit with the nurse.  She is so sweet and gave us hugs like we were old friends visiting from out of town.  She talked to me a little about the dizziness and told me that this will happen as Cashew grows and puts more pressure on veins and internal organs.  Not to mention I am carrying more weight in a very specific area which will make me more fatigued as time goes on.  The experience of feeling winded so often is because my uterus (and Cashew) is pushing hard against my lungs and there isn't a lot of capacity for a good deep breath - of course this will get worse as I continue to grow.  She said to allow myself rest and be patient with myself.  If I need to sit down, sit.  There isn't anything wrong with that.  Of course, she hasn't seen how bad my chores have been slacking either!

I then asked her about timing things out for my parents' arrival.  My Mom had emailed me earlier in the day with a "feeling" that she has about when Cashew will be arriving.  She has been saying for about a month now that the 16th is etched in her mind for some reason.  She just has a feeling that this is THE day.  She doesn't know why and this isn't something that she does often (predicting things or having strange feelings, etc.).  When she first told me about this feeling, I told T that I bet she will change her flight to come in on the 16th!!  Sure enough, her email was tossing around the idea of coming out on the 16th instead of the 19th.  And, the other crazy part??  She has exactly 3 days left of vacation time (which would be the 16th through the 19th, if she decides to go that route). 

Anyway, although we ALL know that NO ONE can predict the timing of these things, I thought I would toss around the idea with Hutch.  Sure enough, she has NO WAY to predict when Cashew will make his/her grand entrance/exit.  She says that I should tell Mom to come on out anyway!!  I agreed and did pass that along.  But she did offer up the idea that she could always induce my labor for when my parents are in town.  Of course I would rather not go that route if possible so we just left it as "whatever happens, happens." 

She then told us about the Swine Flu.  She said that there is a young woman in the hospital where I will be delivering that just had had a C Section and is now in ICU because of contracting the H1N1 virus.  They don't know if she is going to make it or not.  She went on to highly recommend I get the H1N1 vaccination.  I was very apprehensive and asked a lot of questions about the safety of the vaccination, side effects and the statistics of adverse reactions.  She said that the statistic of 1 out of every 6 women who contract H1N1 dies from it was proof enough that prevention is important.  And that the injectable vaccine contains the dead virus and isn't any more dangerous than the normal influenza flu shot.  What I am not allowed to have while pregnant is the nasal mist.  It contains the live virus and is not suitable for pregnant women.

She instructed us to go to the clinic at the TEP Ballpark the next day (today) for the vaccination.  She warned us that the wait could be up to 3 hours so take some food, drinks and something to do.  But she also said that they would take pregnant women first over the others.

No, I don't like needles but shots don't bother me as bad as having my blood drawn.  Hard to explain, doesn't make sense, but that's the way it is.  And, with the statistics she gave along with her high recommendation, my plan was to head to TEP Park the next day (today) to get poked with the pig juice.

After that conversation, she laid me back and did a quick exam.  My uterus is RIGHT on growth target (she measures it from the outside) - 30 cm (which should correspond with the week of pregnancy, which it did).  Then the heartbeat.  High 130s.  Perfect (and, according to old wives tales, we are still hearing a boy heart rate!).  She finished up with bragging about how good I look and how I "make pregnancy look easy."  And then we were on our way.

T and I took a walk last night with Jackson.  The temp was great and the walk felt good.  We are planning on doing that every evening!  I am looking forward to it tonight!  We fell in love with our neighborhood once again as we were walking around.  Other couples and families with strollers, dogs, etc. walking around at dusk.  We love the family feel around here and all of the walking paths and parks.  It is very welcoming and makes us feel good about Cashew growing up here.

Last night was another tough night of sleeping.  I fell asleep quickly but woke up only a couple of hours later with my lower back aching and feeling that wide awake feeling that is always so frustrating.  So, after a lot of tossing and turning, I decided to head downstairs to a) allow T to sleep and b) watch TV so that maybe I could get back to sleep.  It took several hours before I was able to make it back to sleep.  But I woke up with a slight back ache and Cashew beating the crap out of me!  I am starting to feel it hitting bone and other internal pieces that I am pretty sure aren't made for kicking feet!  It was very uncomfortable so I decided to get up and just start my day.  Maybe if I am standing Cashew won't be near bones.  I told T I think Cashew is feeling like the space is getting a little tight.  Kinda like I am the Mitsubishi Eclipse and Cashew is T.  No leg room and tight on the head room!

So today was the day I was going to head down to TEP Park to get my H1N1 vaccine.  I decided to do a little bit more research on the vaccine, side effects, etc. as well as checking out any information about the specific clinic at TEP.  Glad I did.  I found an article about the vaccines at TEP.  It said that it was the nasal mist only and that no injectable vaccinations were available today or at this time.  I was confused and thought that maybe my doc knew something that this reporter didn't know.  Maybe TEP Park told OBs that they were going to have the injectable vaccine so that they could discreetly let their pregnant patients know about it.

Nope.  I called my OB office and talked with the front desk lady.  I said, "So, I read this article and it says that TEP park is only offering the nasal mist vaccination and that they do not have the injectable vaccination."  She said, "Oh really?  Well, we thought it was both.  (Then, to the lady who sits next to her) Wasn't TEP going to have the injectable vaccination?"  In the distance, the other lady said, "I thought so."  The main lady turned her attention back to me and said, "Call this number and ask them.  They will know.  It is the Pima County Health Department."  I said ok and called the number.  The lady I talked to at the Health Dpt confirmed that only the nasal mist is available and she was unsure as to when the injectable vaccination will be available in our area.  She advised me to watch the news because "they are all over this subject and you will be sure to hear about it through them."  Ummm...ok.

So I called my doc office back and informed them of what I found out by calling the number that THEY had to begin with!!  They were so appreciative that I called them back to let them know.  I told them that this information may be very helpful when they get a ton of calls today from other pregnant women that received their document about the vaccination!  Especially after they stood in line for 3 hours to find out! 

I must admit that I was highly frustrated!  Hutch is the best doc in town (according to her reputation and from what I can tell so far).  But her office staff...WOW!  Do your own research!  How do you distribute this information without confirming the details first??  You guys HAD the number to the Pima County Health Department and yet you didn't take that extra step to check the facts.  So now, thanks to the stories Hutch was telling me, I am scared of a virus that I wasn't scared of before and now I can't do anything about it!!  Other than what I have been doing up to this point...washing/sanitizing my hands and trying to stay away from sick people!

Enough about that.  On to the 31 week stats.  Here we go:
Babycenter.com
How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.


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Here we are:
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My stats:
Weight: No need to discuss the actual number but 20 lbs gained from pre-preg weight.
New developments:
**A LOT of movement, kicks in the ribs and hip bones, hiccups
**Cashew seems to be calmed by Daddy's hand on my belly - very sweet
**Cutting back on the sweets and trying for more fruits and veggies to quench my sweet tooth
**Walking every evening
**My belly button, previously an "innie" is now completely flat and the white ring is becoming even more evident (this white ring is from the part of my belly button that never saw the light of day!)
**Appetite is becoming suppressed.  Not as hungry at night for dinner.  Small snacks only.
**More round ligament pain, some dizziness (especially in the mornings)
**Took my vitamin last night and plan to do so from here on out.
**Oh and heartburn...becoming a very normal feeling everyday

Upcoming:
Oct 22: Childbirth class #2
Oct 24: Maternity pics
Oct 27: Ultrasound
Oct 31: Halloween
Nov 2: Next OB appointment

If you haven't voted to the right, please do!  It is so much fun for us to see what you think!!

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