Getting Close!

This was originally written on Monday, April 07, 2008:

A lot has happened since my blog last Tuesday! I'll just go in order.

On Wednesday I said goodbye to Melissa :-( It didn't seem real. I went over there during the 11 am hour and ran some errands with her until 12:45 when we met her neighbors (Jim & Marcy) and their two friends (Jade & Melinda--who I'd never met) at TGIFridays for lunch. Jade has a 16-month-old and is due with her second daughter the end of this month, so we talked briefly about being pregnant. She said it sounded like I have started having Braxton-Hicks (I'd had the contraction-like-thingies again on Tuesday and Wednesday). It's just weird that mine don't release like most peoples'. My stomach remains tight all day.

After lunch Melissa and I went over to Marcy's office next door for me to get her business card. I've hung out with her a few times through Melissa over the past few years but didn't have her contact info to ever see her again now that Melissa's moving. While I was there, I used the restroom. . .and noticed I was spotting!!!!! It was VERY LIGHT--like, on a regular day I wouldn't have thought twice about it, but because it was the first color (brown) I'd seen since before I got pregnant, I noticed! My reaction was very happy! I was hoping this meant I was going to go into labor. I haven't yet, but I am getting close. (More on that in a minute.)

After we left Marcy's office, Melissa and I ran some more errands together until nearly 5 pm. Then she had an appt. so we hugged and tried not to cry. I did in my car on my way home, though. I don't think before then I'd allowed it to sink in that our friendship as we've known it in Omaha is over, because I've already been through similar stuff with so many other friends throughout my life and I HATE IT! But, I talked to her on the phone on Sunday so I know we'll keep in touch.

Not much happened on Thursday--just more contraction-like-thingies for me. On Friday I had my doctor's appointment. I was worried they would yell at me for missing one, but no one ever mentioned it. It turned out this was a pretty uneventful appointment, so I obviously didn't miss anything!

She said she wouldn't be checking me for dilation and effacement until the following week. She was not concerned about the spotting or the tightening (she also guessed they were Braxton-Hicks--practice labor contractions--because I was having them that day as well and she could tell my stomach was changing shape/size which is a sign). Both things I'd had that week are perfectly normal at this stage of pregnancy (almost thirty-six weeks), so she wasn't concerned. She said that if I was to go into labor now she would not stop it, and L.J. would be able to go home with me when I left the hospital. :-)

She checked his heartbeat as usual and it was lower than it's ever been before--only 130 beats per minute--but she said that was good for this stage. He's been sleeping more and is less active (with less room to move around and more fat on him) so maybe this will be the L.J. that I meet, rather than the hyperactive kid!

Speaking of more weight on him--she said that he was measuring two weeks farther along! (Like a baby that is due the end of April!) My mouth dropped open. "How did that happen?" She laughed and said, "It's nothing you did, you can't control it." But now I'm worried he's going to be huge if he goes full-term! On the other hand, this could mean that he'll be ready to come out by April 18th, which is what I hope because my doctor is going to be gone the following week (what Logan is now measuring to arrive at)! I don't know where she's going since she just got back from a two-week vacation. . .but I've always been afraid of this (having to use a different doctor for my delivery)--I really, really want my doctor!

Part of me wants to ask to be induced if I haven't had him by then, but the other part doesn't want to because of the pitocin. I didn't really go into detail in my HypnoBirthing blog (aside from mentioning the connection it has to pain), but according to childbirth.org:

Pitocin can present hazards. For the mother these include: tumultuous labor and tetanic contractions, which may cause premature separation of the placenta, rupture of the uterus, laceration of the cervix or postbirth hemorrhage. Fetal hazards include: fetal asphyxia and neonatal hypoxia from too frequent and prolonged uterine contractions, physical injury and prematurity if the due date is not accurate.

With pitocin, the induced force of the contraction may decrease uterine blood flow (This is also done during a natural contraction, but not for as long of a period and not as close together.). Therefore, reducing the oxygen to the baby.

With pitocin you will receive continuous electronic fetal monitoring. This is because fetal distress is more common with pitocin use and needs to be detected if it occurs.

Also, pitocin can be the beginning domino in the domino effect. The IV, the infusion pump, and the continuous monitoring will confine most mothers to bed, decreasing her ability to deal with the contractions naturally. With the more painful contractions a mother is more likely to need pain medication, such as an epidural anesthesia.

About 80% of women who have had pitocin say that there is more pain with pitocin than without. Unlike natural contractions, you do not get the slow build up with pitocin induced contractions. Most women surveyed stated that they would rather try alternatives to pitocin with their next labor.
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With that said, most women I know have had to have pitocin even when delivering on their due date. My friend who first introduced me to HypnoBirthing even had to have it with her second baby, although she hadn't wanted it, either. This is probably the least controllable part of my birth plan (although there are natural ways that work for some people: nipple stimulation, walking, sex, castor oil, spicy foods, blue and black cohosh, or stripping the membranes), so I won't make any decisions for two more weeks.

On a brighter note, my weight and blood pressure were still fine--although I am only allowed to gain one or two more pounds (I'm up 32 now) and I could be at risk for developing high blood pressure sometime during these last four weeks so I have to keep an eye on that as well. Good news is that Logan is head down and in a good birthing position (he's not facing front like I was worried about, but rather to the side. . .so hopefully it will be easy to turn him to the back if necessary during labor). At my next appointment they are doing the B strep test. Here is what the internet says about that:

Group B streptococcus, or group B strep, is a bacterium that causes life-threatening infections in newborns. Many people carry group B strep bacteria in their bodies without developing infection or illness. Pregnant women can transmit group B strep to their newborns at birth. Group B strep is the most common cause of blood infections and meningitis in newborns. Most cases of group B strep disease in newborns can be prevented by giving certain pregnant women antibiotics during labor.

Group B strep bacteria are different from many other types of bacteria that can cause disease. People can be "colonized" with group B strep. This means that they carry the bacteria in their bodies but are not infected and do not become sick. Adults can carry the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, genital tract, or urinary tract.

Colonization with group B strep is usually harmless. The bacteria can become deadly, though, if something happens that allows them to invade the bloodstream. Pregnant women who carry the bacteria can unknowingly transmit group B strep to their newborns at birth. Newborns can acquire early-onset group B strep disease either before or during delivery. The cause of late-onset disease in babies is not well understood.

Group B strep infection is fatal in about 20% of infected men and non-pregnant women and about 5% to 15% of infected newborns. Babies who survive can be left with speech, hearing, and vision problems as well as mental retardation.

Group B strep infections in both newborns and adults are usually treated with antibiotics given intravenously (through a vein).

Group B strep causes disease in about 18,000 people in the United States each year. Of these, about 8,000 are newborns. Group B strep is the most common cause of blood infections and meningitis in newborns and is a frequent cause of newborn pneumonia.

Since 1970, group B strep infection has become the leading bacterial infection causing illness and death in newborns in the United States. Cases in adults are also on the rise. The number of adult infections nearly doubled during the 1980s and continues to increase.

Most cases of group B strep infection in newborns can be prevented by giving certain pregnant women antibiotics during labor. Antibiotic treatment before labor does not prevent group B strep infection in newborns.

Any pregnant woman who has already had a baby with group B strep infection or who has a urinary tract infection caused by group B strep should be given antibiotics during labor. Pregnant women who are colonized with group B strep should be offered antibiotics at the time of labor or rupture of the membranes. Colonization with group B strep can be detected late in pregnancy (around 37 weeks) by a special test of secretions from the vagina and rectum.
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So, hopefully my results will come back negative!

After my appointment, Joe and I met for lunch at the China Buffet. That night I went over to Lisa's house with Heather, Sarah, Sara (Lisa's sister), and Courtney (Lisa's friend who is 5 months pregnant). Lisa announced that she is pregnant, too! How exciting--her baby (which will be her second) is due just two weeks after Sarah's in November. It was funny to have two pregnancies in the beginning, one in the middle, and one (me) at the end. (Plus, Heather's going to start trying next month and Sara isn't ready yet--so we had every category, haha.)

We ate yummy snacks and watched the movie Enchanted, which I enjoyed. I didn't fall asleep until 2 am, so Joe & I slept in Sat. morning and didn't make it to the car seat safety check. I really don't think it's going to be a problem, though. Joe is 100% sure it's installed correctly.

Instead, Joe and I went out for lunch at Jimmy John's (we just got one here, I hadn't been since college and I loved it). Guess what? I had TWO subs. These are 8 inchers, people. I bought one and then the guy behind the counter asked if I wanted another one for free. I was like, why not, I'll just put it in the fridge for later. Instead, I gobbled mine down while Joe was still eating and I kept eyeing the extra one. . .and before I knew it I was eating that one, too. Joe had been talking and then suddenly stopped and was like, "You're eating both now?" SHHHHH!

It was a beautiful weekend--upper 60s for the first time since last year. Joe and I took the dogs to the dog park and had a fun time.

The only other thing Joe & I did was go to church. One of Joe's old co-workers was there, so we sat with him and talked a little bit. He has two boys (every guy that Joe used to work with only had sons! Can there be something in the air?!) and said that the last month of pregnancy is the longest. I can buy that--I continued to have the contraction-thingies over the weekend, however they were more tolerable--until last night. I was very uncomfortable, as it felt like L.J. was growing and stretching my abdomen all night long. I was also nauseated this morning and noticed a little pink in my underwear. I'm still pretty uncomfortable right now.

Of course I've been researching non-stop to find out what all of this means but I'm not coming up with definite answers. Basically, last week's spotting and this morning's pink discharge are signaling that I'll probably be losing my mucus plug soon. But "soon" can be an entire month before actually giving birth--or it can happen immediately before or during labor. Some women lose it gradually, some women lose it all at once. Same thing for the Braxon-Hicks--some women have them throughout most of their pregnancy, some women don't get them until the last week (or at all). So, for me, my discomfort could just mean that I'm going to give birth within the next month (which we already know). However, it COULD also mean it will occur any day now, which is what I'm hoping!

When I went to the restroom after church, a lady looked at me excitedly and said, "When are you due?!" I told Joe later that I still think it's crazy that strangers know this so confidently, how do they know I'm not just fat, lol? Joe was like, "You definitely look pregnant, it's very obvious."

A similar situation as to what happened with the woman when we shopped for recliners happened last Wed. when I was at Wal-mart with Melissa. A woman walked by and said, "Ohmygosh are you having a boy?" I said, "Yes, I am!" She said, "You're carrying so well." I don't think that after I'm pregnant I'm going to be able to tell what people are having like strangers can tell with me!

Anyway, the woman at church told me that she has four children and she was happy for me and wished me luck. She said all of hers came 3 weeks before their due date so to keep that in mind. I said that was fine with me. Hopefully I can get on to blogspot that day, as I will need something to do to pass the time while I'm in the early stages of labor!

Guess the Gender

The following was originally written on Saturday, November 3, 2007

This past Thursday (November 1st) I went to the doctor for the fourth time since I've been pregnant. This appt. was for her to feel the size of my abdomen and to hear the heartbeat!!! (I had seen it on the ultrasound at 7 weeks, but this was the first time for hearing it.) It was incredible. It was like when I saw the ultrasound for the first time--so miraculous and amazing. I think I needed another special moment like that after my bad seven weeks with sickness, as well as my cousin's baby's death. [My cousin gave birth to a son four months premature on October 25, 2007; he passed away three days later.]

It was such a love-bonding-connection! I mean, at this stage it is usually hard to "bond" with the baby because, aside from the sickness and five extra pounds, there is really no way of me knowing that I'm pregnant. I can't feel the baby or see it yet, so moments like Thursday are reinforcements that it is indeed real and everything is going well.

I think I always have a degree of skeptisim because whenever I go to the doctor, I'm expecting them to say "We're sorry, you've lost the baby" or "We've made a mistake, you've never been pregnant!" I'm always prepared for them to tell me there is a problem of some sort, but instead it's always encouraging. Like, my doctor said she was very confident I no longer need to worry about miscarriage. She said second trimester losses are extremely rare.

You might remember that I went on progesterone on September 7th since my mom had trouble with her levels, which caused her to have several miscarriages. She took progesterone with me, but stopped at six months pregnant and went into labor at almost seven, so she always wondered if I wouldn't have been early had she continued taking them. The only other person in my family to take them was my cousin who went into even earlier labor.

So, I told my doctor I wanted to stay on them as long as possible (my prescription has run out because they only put women on them for the first trimester). But my doctor said that they are not enough to prevent miscarriage in the second & third trimesters. For women like my mom, they now give them daily injections--but my doctor can't put me on them since I have never had a miscarriage before. Just because my mom had that problem, doesn't mean I will. Unfortunately, you have to lose a baby first before they give you the injections! That made me want to cry because I didn't know if that meant I'd lose this baby if I have that same problem, but then "oh no need to worry, now we know for the next time!"

But she actually promised me I wasn't going to lose this baby based on low progesterone. She said that she was willing to bet anything that my cousin's early labor had nothing to do with her progesterone levels. I can agree with that, as her baby did have a heart condition. But, I was hoping they could still monitor my levels like they did when they tested me at 7 weeks. Unfortunately, there isn't a "number" that it should be at by the second and third trimester. By this point everything should be strong enough to sustain the pregnancy on its own. Second trimester miscarriages are usually caused by uterus or cervical problems, or a dysfunction of the placenta. My doctor says says I've had no indicators of anything causing a second trimester labor.

I trust that she is right and that this baby is going to stay alive & healthy, and will not be born until the third trimester. In order to focus on the "fun" of being pregnant, Joe and I searched the internet trying to guess what gender we are having. :-) We had heard that based on the heartbeat, sometimes you can tell. But guess what? Ours was 140. . .and apparently if it's above 140 it's more likely to be a girl, and under 140 is more likely to be a boy. Right at 140 can go either way! (When a girl's sleeping or a boy is being active.)

I tried some online "tests," but found them to be undeterminable. Here they are:

You're more likely to be carrying a boy if...

• Your baby's heartbeat is lower than 140 beats per minute (I don't know, it was right at 140)

• You're carrying all out front (Can't tell yet)

• You're carrying low (Can't tell yet)

• You're blooming in pregnancy (I'm not exactly sure what this means??)

• You didn't suffer from morning sickness in your first trimester (Definitely no!)

• Your right breast is bigger than your left (Yes, and this is weird because when I wasn't pregnant it was the other way around)

• You look at yourself in the mirror for at least a minute and your pupils dilate (A little)

• You crave salty food or protein, such as cheese and meat (Yes)

• Your feet become cold more quickly than before you were pregnant (I'm not sure)

• You tie your wedding ring to some thread, hang it over your stomach and it moves in circles (Yes. . .but it also did the one for the girl)

• Your skin becomes dry (Some areas)

• You combine your age at the time of conception with the number of the month you conceived and the resulting number is even (Nope, it's odd)

• Your hair has become more full-bodied and shiny during pregnancy (NO! It's never looked so horrible)

• The hair on your legs has been growing faster during pregnancy (It's hard to tell, it's always grown fast, LOL.)

• You are more prone to headaches (Not really)

• Your pillow faces north when you sleep (Nope, south at both houses)

• You're asked to show your hands and you present them palms down (No, but that's just something I've done my entire life)

• You lie on your left side when sleeping (I'm all over the place)

• Your urine is bright yellow (Sometimes, depends on the day)

• You were the more aggressive partner during love-making when you conceived (Haha, I don't remember)

• You eat a clove of garlic and the smell seeps out of your pores (I haven't tried this one)


You're more likely to be having a girl if...

• Your baby's heartbeat is faster than 140 beats per minute (It was right at 140)

• You're carrying all round (Can't tell yet)

• You're carrying high (Can't tell yet)

• You've missed the "blooming" period altogether (I don't understand)

• You suffered morning sickness during your first twelve weeks (Yes!)

• Your left breast is bigger than your right (No)

• You look at yourself in the mirror for at least a minute, but your pupils don't dilate (They did just a little)

• You crave sweet things, such as juice, fruit and sweets (fruit, yes, other sweets, no)

• You tie your wedding ring to some thread, hang it over your stomach and it swings from side to side (It did both)

• Your skin is soft (Some places)

• You are more moody than usual (Possibly, haha)

• You're asked to show your hands and you present them palms up (As I said before, this is what I've done my entire life)

• You were the less aggressive partner during love-making when you conceived (Still can't remember)

• You eat a clove of garlic, but you don't smell of it (I guess I could try this)

• You combine your age at the time of conception with the number of the month you conceived and the resulting number is odd (Yes)

• Your hair has become thinner and dull during pregnancy (Yes)

• You lie on your right side when sleeping (I'm all over the place)

• Your pillow faces south when you sleep (Yes)

• Your urine is dull yellow (Sometimes)

See what I mean? Hard to tell! Although I did answer "yes" for a girl more than a boy. But then I did the most popular test, Chinese Calendar, and that predicted a boy (based on the moon the day I was born and the day I conceived). So who knows!!! (By the way, I would try that yourself just for fun. Go to http://www.thelaboroflove.com/chart/pred.html if you know the exact day you conceived your child, and see if it's accurate. If you haven't had a baby yet, try it for your mom. For example, I asked my mom for her info and it predicted I was a girl, as well as Joe's mom's predicted a boy!)

I am now entering "week 13" and my doctor said she's confident I won't be one of the women who have the sickness all nine months because it has been tapering off. I threw up on Thursday morning but it was weird 'cuz I felt great afterward! Usually on days like that I am miserable all day. But she said it's not something that turns off like a switch, so the fact that I've been feeling better is a sign that it is ending. So I won't have to go on medication--yeay!

I am also starting to regain my energy. I've stopped needing naps and actually woke up at 5 am almost every day this week. By last night it had caught up with me, though. I had a nice dinner with Melissa at Panera Bread; I've decided that's the best place for me to eat right now since I seem to be on an all-carb diet, LOL. No other food has appealed to me for the past month, so I tend to mainly eat just bread, pasta, cereal, etc. Hopefully that will change any day now and I can eat healthy from each food group again. Thankfully, I've read & heard that the first trimester is more important as far as avoiding stress, relaxing, taking vitamins, avoiding the "bad" things, etc. because that is when birth defects occur which is not due to food (as long as you're not eating seafood, cold lunchmeat, caffeine, alcohol--the "don'ts" during pregnancy). This is good news for women who have sickness, because apparently it's extra hard then to eat nutritionally--but the baby isn't really eating a lot of food until the second trimester when the sickness is usually over. Anyway, I was soooo exhausted after just two hours out. Today I got up at 7 am. . .hopefully tomorrow I'll go back to sleeping in at least until 8 am. I want to sleep well while I can!

My doctor said the "surge of energy" usually happens around week 16, and then it starts the "best time" of pregnancy. I can already tell my mood is better. I've been much happier (although that might just be because the nausea is improving)!

Anyway, rather than analyze the above gender tests, Joe and I are going with our gut instinct. My prediction (from the minute I found out I was pregnant) has always been a boy, and Joe feels the same way. We will see. . .!