Baby Has A Doctor

This morning Jason and I went to meet our pediatrician. Her name is Meganne Walsh. We both really like her and her staff a lot. We didn't wait very long and there weren't many other people there waiting either. They have 2 waiting rooms, a well one and a sick one. We were taken back to her office to wait on her. When she came in and asked when I was due, she did have some "bad news." She has been accepted to do a study for Harvard and is supposed to be in Italy for a few weeks in November and would probably not be able to come to the hospital. She has a doctor filling in that will see the baby in the hospital and at her 1 week weight check. Dr. Walsh should be back for her 2 week check up. Jason and I had the chance to ask her any questions we had. She said her office will return calls within an hour and if we call after business hours, she has told her answering service that her patients do not leave messages on answering machines and they will talk to a person and the doctor should call them back within an hour. She said it was ok to email her with non-emergency questions anytime. I told her I was planning on trying to breastfeed. I was happy to hear that she would get me all the help I needed if I wanted. The only bad thing is that her office is all the way downtown in Amarillo. We drove through the ghetto to get to it, but Jason and I were happy with our visit and feel confident having her as the baby's doctor.

It's Starting!

The part of the pregnancy when you start to get uncomfortable...well I have 11 more weeks of it. I haven't been feeling good at all this week. Completely exhausted, nauseous, Braxton Hicks contractions, and this tingling/burning on the left side of my rib cage that my doctor has explained as the nerves stretching and my body "widening." Lovely, my body is getting wide. Might want to consider putting wide load across butt to warn other pedestrians.

The iron pills my doctor prescribed are making nauseous and constipated. So, now instead of taking 2 vitamins every night before bed I am taking 2 prescription vitamins, 1 calcium, and 2 Fibercon followed my the 8 oz. of liquid the FiberCon box says to drink. The nice ladies at my pharmacy were kind enough to give me one of those 'Monday through Friday' pill boxes that old people and hypochondriacs use. So now every Sunday I can sit at my coffee table and sort through all my meds!

As for the BH contractions, they are slightly more uncomfortable than I would have expected. I went to bed at 8 o'clock the other night because I was feeling so much pressure. This was of course after the dietary Nazi, Jason approved my meal choice of oatmeal for dinner. If he thinks this baby needs such healthy meals he can get home and cook them for her! I rolled around in bed and moaned and groaned all night and could not get comfortable. I am also getting tired of tasting all my meals 3 times. All this indigestion and burping up the fajitas I ate three days ago is getting really old and disgusting.

Jason and I have an appointment to interview our potential pediatrician in the morning. I need to work on a list of questions for her. I will update my blog tomorrow after we meet her.

My Other Babies

Everything these days has been baby related but I can't forget about the first loves of my life. They are really living rough lives! Oh yeah, and of course I can't leave out my hubby, Jason!

Jason and the dogs getting in their afternoon naps

You wouldn't guess they are spoiled at all!

The Results are In

I got a letter in the mail today from my doctor's office. My glucose tolerance test came back normal, but my blood work showed that my iron levels are below normal, and I am anemic. So, my doctor mailed me a prescription for an iron supplement to take every day. It also said the low iron levels cause fatigue, so maybe after a few days of taking the supplement I won't feel as tired as I have been. Jason said I need to eat better things besides Mac & Cheese, etc. But I'm too tired to make a 4 course meal when I get home from work. Hopefully I'll start feeling less tired and will want to do more things and make us better meals. I'm sure Jason is hoping that too!

28 Week Pictures

28 Weeks 1 Day

It takes a lot of effort to get in and out of that chair!

Doctor Appointment & Sonogram

I am 28 weeks along now. Jason and I went to my doctor appointment yesterday morning at 11:30. I have gained 2 lbs. since my last appointment giving me a grand total of 11 lbs gained. My doctor said that's great. I was surprised I hadn't gained more because this baby constantly wants me to feed her pizza and that occasional piece of carrot cake! My blood pressure was 104/64 and baby's heart rate was around 154 bpm. My doctor and I both agreed that the time seemed to fly by. I will start seeing her every two weeks now. Unfortunately Jason will be in Dallas at the time of my next one, so he will miss that one. I asked her about the pressure I was feeling occasionally, and she said it's Braxton Hicks contractions and it's to be expected as long as I don't have more than 6-8 in one hour. I told her about how active the baby is and made sure she was supposed to be moving around so much. I wanted to make sure she wasn't having seizures or something. Dr. Appel assured me that at this point she wants the baby to be active, so that made me feel better.

After seeing my doctor we went to the sonogram appointment. At the first sonogram I had the baby was moving around so much they weren't able to clearly see her face and heart. This time she was taking a little nap, but had her arm and hand up blocking her face most of the time. Fortunately, the tech was able to get what she needed this time anyway. She said her nose and lips are complete, we saw her little eye sockets, all 4 chambers of her heart, and kidneys. She has some hair but the lady said it's not quite long enough to shake in the water because she tried. Evidently her feet are a little on the larger side and she's already got some muscle in her arms and thighs. I could have assumed that on my own based on all the kicks and punches I get in a day. When the tech told us she already has some nice legs Jason's response was "that's going to be a problem." Already an over-protective Daddy! The lady said she could tell neither one of us smoked because the placenta looked "beautiful" whatever that means. Her weight is perfect, 2 lbs 8 oz. She is measuring around 29 weeks. I wish she would have moved her arm out of the way, but she was being onery. The lady told us that everything looks really good, but that our baby is difficult. The lady that did the sono last time wrote at the end of her report "Very Active Baby!!!" The other night while Jason and I were laying in bed watching TV I put the remote control on my belly and we watched it bounce and jiggle from her moving it around. It's cheap entertainment.

After my sono, we went to the lab so I could do my gestational diabetes screening. I had a bottle of orange syrupy stuff to drink in 2 minutes, then they were going to draw my blood an hour later. Jason and I decided to go to Lowes to burn the hour. That orange drink made my stomach upset, and the lady said "Come back if it makes you sick." Umm..yeah I'll do that! Anyway, they took my blood and we went to grab something to eat. I needed something to counteract that orange syrup. We had other errands to do and then had to take our dogs to the vet for their shots. I was exhausted by the time we got home. I'm off tomorrow, so hopefully I can get a lot of rest this weekend.

Baby Makes the Belly Go Round...

that's what Jason likes to tell me all the time while he's rubbing it and laughing. It has been hard for him to feel her moving lately because she stops as soon as he puts his hand in the spot that she's moving in. But, last night we were laying in bed and I rolled over on my side and put his hand on the side of my belly to feel her. He felt her moving around for almost 10 minutes. He said "it's about time she do something when I put my hand there!" I said "this is what she does from about lunch time until 3pm everyday!"

About 2:30 this morning loud thunder woke me, the dogs, and the baby up. Riley must have been scared because she jumped up in the bed and laid horizontal between me and Jason. She put her head on his hip and her feet on me. Every time a really loud one would hit, the baby would squirm inside my belly, and the dog would jump. I guess that means the baby probably won't sleep through thunder storms. Possum followed Riley's idea and got up in the bed and curled around Jason's head.

I talked to the nurse at my doctor's office today. Next Wednesday I have my appointment with Dr. Appel at 11:30am, a sonogram at 12:15, and then I have to go to the lab to do my gestational diabetes test. So, it's going to be a full afternoon at the doctor. There is a spa inside the Women's Healthcare Building, so Jason informed me today that I could just schedule him an appointment at the spa while I'm going to all my appointments. I don't think that's going to happen!

I got the paperwork in the mail today for our childbirth classes. I had mentioned in a previous post that Jason was oddly excited about going to the breastfeeding class. Well, I was reading through the paperwork today and it turns out that when I spoke with the lady on the phone and had told her my husband would be attending all the classes with me, she put him in the "Daddy Bootcamp" class. I was laughing so hard today when I was telling him he would be attending "Bootcamp" while I was in the breastfeeding class. Looks like he'll be missing out on any "demonstations." Haha!! I don't think he's too excited about that one, but hopefully he will still be willing to go. He's pretty open minded and laid back so I'm sure he'll just grin and bear it.

E-l-i-s-e

Jason and I have decided on a name for our little girl... Elise Danielle. I ordered letters to hang name on a wall in her room and they came in the mail today. The patterns are in pink, green, brown, and white.

26 Weeks 3 Days

It seems to me like these pictures are really starting to go downhill. I was much more fond of the ones where I only had a small baby bump to display. Now I can't see my feet and Jason told me my tattoo "used to not be that big." But then he said he was just kidding. Yeah right. I have no clothes that really fit comfortably so pardon my trashy wardrobe. My overactive baby is constantly on the move. Jason saw my stomach move the other night. She must know when her daddy puts his hand on my belly to feel her because she stops moving or kicks a different spot. She's going to be an ornery one.

Checking Off My To-Do List

It's been really hot here. When I get home from work everyday, I can't wait to get my clothes off and put one of Jason's big T-shirts on. I usually have cankles when I get my socks and shoes off from the swelling. I like to be nice and cool at night when I'm trying to sleep, which can be challenging when you share a bed with another person and 2 big dogs. I got up about 1am this morning to put a tank top on and crank the A/C down to 64 so I could finally get some rest. I think my dogs get a little chilly because they seem to be curled around either Jason's head or my legs when the alarm goes off.

I washed and hung up a bunch of baby clothes that we have been given as well as few little outfits we have picked up here and there. I told Jason to go into the laundry room and he went in looked and just shook his head. The bar above the washing machine and dryer was lined with little girl clothes. I told him to get ready because our house is fixing to be overwhelmed with baby stuff. I never thought it would be so much fun to wash her little clothes and organize the closet and dresser. I was carrying all her clothes to her room and Jason just laughed at all the little hangers I had on both of my arms.

I have my next doctor appointment on the 19th. After that appointment, I will start going every 2 weeks instead of just every 4. On the 27th we have an appointment with the pediatrician we are planning on using. We will meet the doctor and office staff and have the opportunity to ask any questions and fill out any paperwork. Her name is Dr. Meganne Walsh. She will come to the hospital to check the baby once she is here.

I have signed us up for pre-natal classes. We will go every Tuesday from 7pm-9pm for 3 weeks starting the first week in October. There are also 2 additional classes included that are offered on a Saturday that we are attending. One is a breast feeding class and the other one is called "The Happiest Baby." I think it teaches techniques to help the baby get to sleep and sleep longer if that is actually possible. Jason doesn't quite know what he's in for because he was oddly excited about the breast feeding class. I'm sure after we leave there he's going to be mentally disturbed. We have our name on the waiting list at the daycare down the street from us. They keep 9 infants and the next available spot for a baby is July 2010. However, we bought our house from the lady and her husband that own it, and she said she would highlight our name to try to get us in sooner. It's the best one in town I've heard and the closest to our house so I hope everything will work out.

More Pictures!

I have been diligently working on getting pictures up from the weekend in Tyler and from Leslie's baby shower. Also, when I got home yesterday afternoon Jason had finished the baby's room. He had worked so hard all weekend and it looks so good. The only few things we lack are a mattress (which we hope to get this week) and a few accessories. I ordered letters for her name so once they come in and I get them hung up, I'll post more pictures. I still need to get a few more things to accent the room, but I'll post pictures of what we have done so far.

Nursery Pictures

Stork Vision Pictures

I have lots of good stuff to share with everyone! Lori and I went to Tyler this past weekend for Leslie's baby shower. Saturday before the shower I had my appointment at Stork Vision. I was really excited to get to see the baby again since it had been a little over 5 weeks since my first sonogram. I was disappointed that Jason wasn't there to see it but I had lots of family come to watch. We got lots of good pictures of her face even though in the beginning she just wanted to keep her little hands up there blocking it. She was head down and had a heartbeat of 167 bpm, which is a little faster than it has been at my last few appointments with my doctor.

Baby at 25 Weeks 3 Days