Spinning Circles

On February 12th I woke up for work and when I tried to walk to the restroom I noticed I was extremely dizzy and off balance. I ran into the wall twice and the dresser on my way into the bathroom. I sat on the edge of the tub for quite a while thinking maybe I just got up to quick and that every thing would be ok in a matter of minutes. Well I was wrong, I called my boss and told her what was going on and that I would try to make it in to work a half day. I laid back in bed thinking if I slept for a few more hours then I might be able to get this awful feeling to go away. After resting for a few more hours I woke up to feel just about the same so I had Russell make me some oatmeal thinking maybe I needed to eat. Halfway though the Oatmeal I couldn't take it anymore so I had Russell dial my Dr's number since I couldn't read the digits on the phone. He sat in bed with me while I called the Dr. The had me come to their office to see one of the other Dr's on staff as my Dr was doing c-sections that day. Russell had to help me walk though the office as I was really unstable. I laid on the table while the Dr. asked numerous questions and told me that she could prescribe nausea medication and I told her I wasn't nauseated just dizzy and off balance. She said I needed to do blood work to check my appendix and sent me to the lab. After doing blood work they sent me home. I slept all day Thursday and felt well enough that evening to go to our childbirth class where we toured the Fort Collins Hospital. Friday morning I was determined to go to work until I woke up feeling light headed again. I called my boss and she said she was really worried about me and told me that she had been researching to see if she could figure out what was going on. I slept all day Friday and again felt much better by that evening.

Shower x 2

On January 31st one of my girl friends hosted a baby shower for me in Loveland. Our family that lives close by, a few girl friends of mine and some of the ladies I go to church with made it out to celebrate our little one. We played several fishing games during my shower entitled "One fish from two fish not a pink fish but a blue fish." We captured some pictures of the funny faces people made while trying to identify stage three baby food. We also had the pleasure of playing with lots of little ones ranging from 4 months to 4 years.

Russell and I have been very very blessed with the many gifts and words of advice and encouragement that everyone has shared with us. We are thankful for each of you and your kindness during this life changing experience.

Growing Baby Gets Showered With Gifts

Since our appt last week the baby has decided that he needs much more space than he previously needed. I used to still be able to bend over prior to this past week and now that is a thing of the past. He is kicking or punching me in the ribs now and it catches me off guard every time he does it. It is the most awkward semi-painful thing I have ever felt. He is also now pressing on my lungs and making me feel more and more out of shape. Bending over to pick up bags of groceries off the floor and put them in the fridge had me huffing and puffing as if I just tried to run. I find it hard to catch my breath and I am often breathing in irregular patterns.

This past weekend my boss hosted a shower for me for all of my co-workers to participate in. Only five of the 25 women were able to show up, as many of them were traveling for work but we had so much fun. The girls from work really had fun shopping for clothes for our little man, I think I walked away with about 30 new outfits in a variety of sizes. My boss had the neatest cake made and I hope to get pictures of it posted soon. We played a couple of games and then watched a short video on this woman's interpretation of pregnancy and birth and we were all in tears from laughing so hard.

I am having another shower next weekend for the ladies at church, our family that lives close and my girlfriends. I only wanted to do two showers and I had those set up already and then my boss came in and said I want to host a shower for you and I just couldn't tell her no so now there are three. The other shower will be an online shower for our family and friends who are long distance!

2 Appt's Down Several More To Go

I have seen the Dr. twice since my hospital visit. I had an appt schedule for the day I was in the hospital and they asked me to change my appt to later in the week so that my regular Dr. could follow up on the UTI. I went in on the 7th of January and they said that my urine looked much better. She also gave me five more days of antibiotics for the UTI as the hospital only gave me five days worth and she felt I needed to be treated for at least ten or the infection might come back and cause preterm labor. She said that my stretch marks looked terrible and that I needed to keep adding lotion and vitamin E to them, even though neither of them has help thus far. She measure my stomach and listened to the babies heartbeat and said that I was progressing nicely. I had come down with some severe sinus problems which lead to a cold in the days proceeding the hospital visit. My Dr. said I was just going to have to deal with it because she didn't want me taking any additional meds while I was finishing out the antibiotic. I was miserable for two weeks because I was so stuffy. I snored so loud each night it made it hard for Russell to get to sleep so he participated in my next appt in a way I thought was kinda funny.

On January 19th I went back in to the Dr. for my new every two week appts. I have gained a couple more pounds and my stomach is growing so my Dr. is pleased. It was a quick appt we were only in there for about ten minutes. The Dr. pushed around on my stomach and said that she couldn't yet determine which direction he was facing. He kicked her when she was pushing on my stomach and Russell was kinda irritated because he still hasn't felt the baby kick. At the end of the appt she asked me if I had any questions and I said I think I'm good. Russell quickly chimed in and said ask her about being so stuffy and if you can take anything. I guess he was tired of my snoring!

Early Hospital Visit

On Sunday January 4th, I was rudely awakened by some terrible contractions around 11:00. At the time I thought that I had just been sleeping in a bad position. I got out of bed drank some water and used the bathroom thinking these were all things that would help lessen the pain. I laid back down and fell asleep only to wake up again shortly after one o' clock still in pain. I took some deep breaths and drank some more water and used the bathroom again hoping this would again relieve some pain. I was able to get back to sleep until 4 in the morning when I had to race to the bathroom as I was in so much pain it made me sick. My lower back had a sharp stabbing pain and my abdomen was cramping so much it had me doubled over. I woke Russell up and had him drive me to the hospital because I knew something wasn't right. The hospital staff hooked me up to a million monitors only to see that I was having contractions. They took a urine sample from me and determined that I had a Urinary Tract Infection. I had no idea because I hadn't experience any symptoms until I woke up that morning. They flushed my system with IV fluids because I was dehydrated and then they game me an heavy dose of antibiotics through my IV. As soon as the antibiotics started to get in my system the contractions stopped. My nurses adopted my Dr's name for the baby (little turkey) because every time they would put the fetal monitor on him he would move or kick it. I ended up getting released a little after eight and I went home and slept for the rest of the day.

Sugar and Babies Don't Mix

On December 5th I went in for my glucose test appointment. They let me choose what kind of nasty sugar water I wanted to drink. I choose Fruit Punch instead of Lemon Lime or Orange. I don't really even like sodas because they are so sweet, so my glucose mixture was a lot to choke down. I then went to see my Dr. and it took her a good fifteen minutes to find the babies heart beat. She would find it it would beat about twice and then he would move. She finally told me that my baby was rambunctious. I followed that by saying you just made me drink sugar water what do you expect. After finding the heartbeat she read my chart and exclaimed that I had gained 5 pounds and that I was 2 pounds short of my pre-pregnancy weight. She also noted that she wanted to do an ultrasound on the baby a little later on to check his growth and progress since I was so small. She put me on some prescription heartburn meds and I was so relieved because I was eating tums like candy. I had my blood drawn an hour after I drank the glucose mix and thankfully I passed so I don't have to do the three hour test. The morning sickness still comes and goes and the stretch marks are slowly increasing. Even though this has not been an easy pregnancy I know the end result will be a true blessing.

Milk Cow in the Making

On Wednesday we had our 20 week appointment, which was really exciting. We are having a little boy! When the Technician first started looking at the baby with the Ultrasound he was sitting Indian Style and was not showing us a thing. After a few minutes he grabbed his feet with his hands and pulled his legs up to his face, as if he were saying Peek-A-Boo. The technician examined all the babies organs and took his measurements. We got a kick out of watching the positions he would get in like putting his elbows on his knees and his feet in his face. The Dr said the baby looks wonderful but she also warned that she still saw some of the blood clot that caused the big scare a month an a half ago. She said I might still bleed so she said don't be too alarmed. Russell finally got to hear the babies heart beat and I was very entertained by him during the ultrasound. Instead of sitting in the chair and watching the screen I was watching Russell stood directly behind the technician and watched on her computer screen while pointing to different things asking what is that and is that normal? I have never in my life felt so relieved to go to the restroom since they make you have a completely full bladder for the ultrasound and then they push pretty hard. I have already started lactating and the Dr said while that is not common it is normal. She said that I shouldn't have any trouble with my milk coming in since I will get twenty weeks of practice lactation. Russ and I have agreed that I am a milk cow in the making!