The Countdown Has Begun

Where do I begin? So much has been going on!

I'll start with December 20th. David and I drove to Waco (actually Lorena) for the Rainer family Christmas- my exes' family. Emma had gone up Saturday morning with her grandparents as it is a two-day deal. The afternoon went well, but on our way home I was so uncomfortable. I couldn't lay or sit or sleep, nothing was helping. My back was hurting, but my legs also felt funky. We got home and I just tried to take it easy that evening. Without getting too graphic, I lost my mucous plug over the course of that evening and the next morning. That doesn't account for the discomfort but was definitely eye-opening for me since I didn't notice it with my first pregnancy.

All day Monday and Tuesday the back pain continued- way more intense than previously during the pregnancy. I just thought it was due to the many things I was trying to get done before Christmas. Sitting on the floor wrapping presents, working all day, last minute shopping trips, etc. Since I had a Dr's appointment on Wednesday I was trying to hold out until then. I've had back pain sporadically throughout the pregnancy, but not like this, this was painful. Wednesday morning I decided to call my Dr's office and tell them about the mucous plug and the back pain. My fear was pre-term labor. The nurse suggested I come in ASAP instead of waiting for my 4PM appointment. I called David in tears, scared and overwhelmed (he was home with Emma since RLS was closed for the holidays) and told him they needed to come pick me up, that we were going to the Dr. right then. My ex MIL works directly behind MPT so we dropped Emma off at her office since the Dr. was going to 'check me' and that might freak Emma out.

My Dr. was off for the holidays but we already knew this. We saw Dr. Bushart. My weight was the same and blood pressure was excellent. Though he was intrigued by the fact that I had lost my mucous plug, I wasn't dilated yet. It sounds like that's just around the corner though. My back pain is in direct correlation with how I'm carrying Cody- very low. He showed David some tricks to help relieve the pain and suggested I take it easy as much as possible. I really appreciated the fact that he took the time to look up my history- he said that since Emma was full term, it's very unlikely Cody would come too early. But, he also pointed out that anytime after I'm 34 weeks, if labor begins they wouldn't try to stop it. At this point it is more dangerous for the baby to try to stop labor than just having him come early. What an eye-opener.

We don't have the nursery done yet. It's making me crazy, but seriously we haven't had the time. It's cleaned up, but we have to get rid of my computer, computer desk and move the double bed into the garage before we can paint. I'm very excited and proud of the plan we've come up with. It'll be so cute!

Sunday night David and I watched Kendra's Baby Story. David actually watched with me and was in awe that that will be us in just a few weeks! We have a lot to do, but know it will all get done. After the first of the year, I'll start packing the hospital bag. This weekend we're painting and who knows after that. I've got to get the carseat ready, clothes washed, not to mention mentally prepare. I'm really anxious to see his sweet face and hold him, but I'm also still pretty overwhelmed by the thought of being a mother of two, family of four. Ahhh! Things are definitely going to change and I know we'll find our way, just so much to think about. David is absolutely beside himself- he seriously cannot wait. I love, love, LOVE sharing this with him. He's been so awesome. I know people who don't know what true love is or haven't gotten to experience it- David's love for me, Emma and our family is true love and I hope he feels as loved as I do! Sacrifice, emotional connections, great communication- and I'm so thankful for our closeness. It's cliche', but he's my best friend. The last few months have just seemed like our relationship and marriage are complete, like our family will be complete. I don't think we could be any happier.

I have a Dr's appointment next week and the final ultrasound the week after that so staytuned for updates!

Emma's Birth Story

My ex and I were living in our apartment off of 620 near 2222 and for some reason, he was actually home with me the night I went into labor. It was Sunday night, I couldn't sleep and I knew I had a fever. I called the late night phone nurses and they scheduled me to come into my OB's office at 8:30AM. My in-laws lived the closest to us so my MIL picked us up (I think she was already assuming I was going into labor) and we headed for the Dr's office. I had a mild fever and over the course of the weekend (I had just been to the Dr. that Thursday) I had gone from 3cm to 5+. They monitored my contractions which I couldn't even feel and decided that I was too dilated to send home. It was technically two weeks before my due date, but they wheeled me through the breezeway connecting Medical Park Tower and Seton Medical Center.

First stop- admissions. I had preregistered but they didn't have my paperwork, of course. So we had that to do once we got into our hospital room. I got into a gown and in bed so they could start poking on me, getting the IV set up and baby monitors. I would say it was 10AM before they came in to break my water. By Noon I was 7cm. One whammo contraction hit and a single tear went down my cheek. I said "OK, BRING IN THE ANESTHESIOLOGIST!" It's not that it was that bad, I just new that they could up the pitocin (oh yeah, they started pitocin as soon as they got the IV in that morning) and get me fully dilated more quickly.

The epidural was a crazy experience. The anesthesiologist was so amazing. He walked me through every step of what I would feel etc. I know it took at least 15 minutes, but it felt pretty fast. After that, I took a three hour nap. We played cards and I tried to stay comfortable. I don't really remember much but about 6PM it was time to start pushing. It took about 15 minutes for the Dr and nurses to get all set up. They asked me if I wanted them to count to ten during pushes. I suggested they let me push as long as possible, not necessarily just to ten. I couldn't feel much and mainly they prompted me as to when to push, but a few times I told them I was feeling pressure and wanting to push and sure enough those were during contractions. There was a lot of starting and stopping so in all it took over thirty minutes but I think I only pushed 6-8 times. My OB was on call that day so she was in the hospital but she had back to back cesareans scheduled. Occasionally she checked in on me and she actually ended up working late just to deliver for us. I thought that was awesome!

Emma was born at 6:57PM and weighed 7lbs, 7oz and was 20.5" long. Today she is the light of my life. My pregnancy with her was such a healthy one and we were so blessed! I'm so happy to have this down 'in writing'. The experience was just beautiful and I can't wait to share it with David and Cody very soon! Emma is so excited, we're all so excited!

Second Time Around

Sooooo many things have been different this time around. I remember having morning sickness with Emma. I think it started at about 6 weeks, because I found out I was pregnant on a Friday morning and started throwing up as soon as I woke up the next day. But I’m pretty sure it was over by the time I was 4 months pregnant. I only got sick in the morning- I’d throw up bright yellow stomach acid and then I’d feel completely fine, whereas this pregnancy I could throw up all throughout the day and feel nauseous 24/7. When I was pregnant with Emma I’d have a sip or two of coke and toast after my stomach began to settle in the morning- that was my routine. It’s retarded I know, but I never had heartburn and didn’t have to take any meds. This time I took Pepcid before bed and first thing in the morning as well as Zofran and Phenergan. Morning sickness also began at about 6 weeks this time. I was getting so violently ill and not able to even keep water down that we first tried Phenergan. It made me so sleepy that I couldn’t function and really didn’t knock out the nausea. The Dr. suggested we try Zofran- she said it’s so powerful that it’s what cancer patients use to control their nausea during chemotherapy. I felt silly at this point and guilty since I didn’t have to take anything for morning sickness five years ago. But, I had to function, take care of my family and work. We had finally found a combination that was effective! Into the sixth month I was taking Pepcid and Zofran in the morning and Pepcid and Phenergan before bed. I keep trying to wean off and stop taking all of it completely, but was unsuccessful until the 7^th month. In the 8^th month my heartburn has gotten uncomfortable to the point that I now take a Pepcid before bed.

With Emma I think I gained 30lbs. It may have had something to do with all the Taco Bell and vanilla blue bell/chocolate syrup/banana sundaes I was having. I remember back pain, bad headaches and when I got a cold that winter I thought I was going to die. Within days of being home from the hospital I had lost 27lbs! This time around I haven’t gained one pound and I think I’m about 3lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight. The Dr. told me that it’s perfectly fine since baby is growing so well. That’s just fine with me! Hopefully I’ll come out even less after the baby is born. Looking forward to making some healthy changes and taking better care of myself!

The blog that became my life story

*See the last paragraph for the point!*

I’ve been putting too much pressure on myself to write long blog entries- which is why none have gotten done in the last month; I’ve been a little busy. But I still want to chronicle this amazing time in my life!

I’m having good days and bad days. I guess I haven’t blogged since the Glucola screening, but the results were great! You should be less than a 140 and mine was 105. I gained 4-5 ounces from Oct-Nov and about the same from Nov-Dec. Overall I’m still under my pre-pregnancy weight which means even though baby is gaining I have been losing. I’m really thankful that Cody and I seem to be on track and healthy. I haven’t had any swelling and have been able to wear my wedding rings throughout the pregnancy, although I opted not to wear them for the majority of the six months that I was puking. I’ve only thrown up twice in the last month or so, so that has been nice.

Boy am I hungry! I think a large role in my weight loss (besides the six months of said puking) has been the necessity for me to eat small meals 4-5 times a day. I would feel so gross if I ate a large meal or if I tried to skip breakfast. I was getting weak and lightheaded when I tried to go four hours without eating so I had to change up my routine. I eat a little something about 8:30AM, usually fruit, and then a bowl of cereal about 11-11:30 and am not hungry for lunch until about 1:30 or 2PM. I have another small snack in the afternoon and then dinner between 6:30-7:30.

I had a really bad day last week and had to stay home from work. I woke up feeling extremely weak; my arms felt like spaghetti noodles that weighed 100lbs. I couldn’t lift my arms, it took effort to walk and I knew there was no way I could get dressed and drive in to work and/or take Emma to school. David was off and agreed I needed to take it easy. It makes him very jumpy when I’m not feeling well. I called the nurse and of course my Dr. was off that day. The nurse and I decided that I should rest and eat and hydrate and in the meantime she would speak to one of the other OB’s about what was going on and then call me back. About 1 or 2 in the afternoon she did call me and asked how I was feeling. By this time I had eaten a few times and felt noticeably better, not great, definitely not 100% but better. She said if I there hadn’t been any improvement, the Dr. wanted me to come in. I felt similar to how I felt when I was so sick earlier in the pregnancy and had to go in for IV fluids. David said I wasn’t pale though. Who knows, joys of pregnancy. David was off that day and I was thankful to have him there.

I’m going to the Dr. every two weeks now. My next appointment is on Dec 23^rd and then one in two weeks and then I’ll be going weekly. I doubt we get very many of those weekly appointments. David is saying January 24^th and my guess is January 29^th. The “official” due date February 8^th but I’ve never thought that was right.

I stopped taking BC pills in September of 2008 because at the time we thought we would start “trying” after the first of the year and I knew it would take my body a few months to come down from the hormones. As it turns out we decided to wait to start trying until later in the year, eventually we decided on October 2009 because nine months after that time I knew Emma would be in Kindergarten and we wouldn’t have two in daycare at the same time.

During this time that I was not taking BC pills I began having all sorts of hormone-related issues. I gained weight, my periods were irregular (which was a first) etc. etc. And so began my adventures with the Endocrinologist. LOTS of blood work, labs over the course of a few months and everything pointed to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)- all except showing signs of pre-diabetes, that part was great news! My Dr. knew that we wanted to be able to get pregnant sometime in the next year so I began taking Metformin. I didn’t quite agree with the diagnosis, but knew something just wasn’t right. My glucose tests (Diabetes and PCOS generally go together it seems) were all normal, as they are now. I’m looking up info. as I’m writing this and some of the complications of pregnancy that PCOS patients endure, are not happening to me. Good!

Anyway, I began the Metformin in March/April and became pregnant sometime in late April or early May. My Dr. was concerned that we'd have trouble getting pregnant and that it would take a considerable amount of time if PCOS was the issue. But, SURPRISE!

I'm hardly ever late or irregular but when I am, I spare no time in taking a test. I told David I was going to take one but it was hard to read. I saw the shadows of both images. At this point David thought it was negative but I immediately decided that I would wait a couple more days and then try the digitals tests. Sure enough, two positive tests. Remembering that the pregnancy hormones are stronger in your urine in the morning, I took both of them while getting ready for work. I didn’t say anything to Emma and went about my day as usual, but in a general daze. We were pregnant.

Since my pregnancy, labor and everything since has been so healthy and natural with Emma, I have long worried about a second pregnancy. It seems like everyone has at least one miscarriage and I was scared out of my mind (for months). On my lunch break on the day I got the positive results, I ran over to Babies R Us and got a Houston Astro’s onesie and a new copy of What to Expect While You’re Expecting. For years I’ve known exactly how I wanted to surprise David with the news! No phone call etc. He got home from work and I was lying on the couch. I told him to go see what was on the kitchen table- where I had the two tests and onesie. He just said something like “REALLY?!” Then he came back to the couch and knelt next to me (he was in his uniform- so handsome), “You’re pregnant?” I said yes and we hugged. I was still in shock myself. I think we just sat there for a few minutes and then I began to tell him that I’d made a Dr’s appointment etc.

The whole point to all this background information was to point out that because of the possibility of PCOS or other issues, the Dr. had me keeping a strict record of my cycle, intercourse etc. Since I know these things I don’t see how the due date that the OB office came up with is possible. And that is why I’ve felt so strongly about the end of January. Also, Emma came two weeks early and I feel like I know my body best, but only time will tell!