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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Braxton Hicks

Contractions are here! They've been here for about two weeks, but today was the first day I was sure that's what they were. And now he's kicking the crap out of me, so I'm reclining in an attempt to not have to suffer through any more of it.

Not eating is strange. I could eat jello, and there's lots to drink, but it's not the same. I like food. And I still get hungry. This white stuff doesn't do anything for my empty stomach. But supposedly after a couple of days I won't feel hungry anymore.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Wowzers!

Less than a week until my seventh month and my third trimester! He moves all the time now, sometimes at inconvenient times. :-) I wish David was here to feel it. I'm hoping that my dad will catch it next. So far only Mom and Rachael have been able to feel him. And he's big enough now that I feel like I can't really empty my bladder. I just expect to feel less full after I'm done and there's a baby there so I always feel full now! I've really started showing now. My complaint of a week or two ago is almost irrelevant. I still don't look huge, but you would have to try really hard to miss my belly. He's also breech again. Figures. Still plenty of time to flip around, this is the time for acrobatics, after all.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

And another thing...

Hunter is no longer breech! Yay! Let's hope he stays that way. I'm guessing he flipped right around the time I started commenting that his movements felt different. So about a week ago.

Who knew being small sucked?

The next person who tells me how small I look is going to hear me scream. Because they don't mean a good small, they mean my belly is too small to be 24 weeks. I had a random woman in a waiting room tell me that today. And she's not the first. Today was the first day I haven't taken it in good humor though. Because it's none of this person's business that my child is measuring fine, above the 50th percentile, heavier than the online averages I've found, he moves like crazy, and my brother and I were both in the 7lb range. My hips are 15 inches apart people! Just how big do you think this baby is gonna get? I am not going to have a 90th percentile baby. It's also no one's business that I've lost twenty pounds and been coping with hyperemesis my entire pregnancy. Yes, thank you, I'm dealing with some weight management issues. Thank you for drawing attention to my small belly, because I haven't already stressed enough over whether I've been able to provide my baby with enough nourishment. I don't compare myself to my friends and worry over whether our size difference means anything is wrong enough already.

Am I worrying myself to death? No. Does the thought cross my mind? Absolutely. And I was very aware that it took me a lot longer to show than my pregnant friends, and I still don't look close to as pregnant as they do in the same weeks. It doesn't help that I am 10 times more likely to keep down pizza than I am a fruit or vegetable. Seriously. Fruits and vegetables make me sick. Figure that one out and I'll give you a prize. I'm serious about that too. But I have a LOT of pregnant friends. And as much as we can try to keep mommy competitiveness down, it creeps out. And I have a lot of big bellies to compare too. For once I would love for someone to comment on my pregnancy without commenting on how small my belly is. Of all the things that I want to be small, my belly is not it. Just because I know that Hunter is fine doesn't mean that I want to be reminded that I'm small. Maybe it's stupid, and like I said, I don't usually care, but it bothered me today. So there it is.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Antithesis

I don't even weigh 160 pounds now. Any other time of my life I would be thrilled to lose weight as often and as quickly as I lose it now, but it has never been a worse time not to be able to keep weight on. That means I lost at least 4 pounds since they weighed me in the hospital. Hunter continues to grow without concern, however, so nothing to do but eat. Darn.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Back in the Hospital

On Saturday morning, after suffering through the pain and vomiting all night, I went to the hospital again. I was admitted almost right away. They sent me to labor and delivery first, but now I'm somewhere more general. I've seen several different doctors, and I'm having lots of tests done, or at least the ones that can be done while I'm pregnant. The primary suspect, as I understand it, is sphincter of oddi dysfunction, which can not be tested for or treated until Hunter is born. And I don't know what the plan is to get me through until then. I was really frustrated about that earlier, because the doctors will come talk to me but not tell me everything that they have planned, so then a nurse comes in and says, "Oh, we need blood, " or "Oh, I'm taking you for an EEG," and I have no idea what's going on or why we're doing these test. Maybe it's not that important that I understand why we're doing the tests or what the might show us, but it's really disconcerting as a patient to not know what the plan of action is. I don't like not knowing what's going on.

At the very least, they are running tests and they aren't really thinking about discharging me yet. One doctor came in and mentioned it, but I corrected her very quickly. I'm not going to let them send me home until I'm ready. I won't sign discharge papers or anything until I'm sure I can be ok at home. I'm not going home just to get sick again, not willingly anyway.

I really wish I had more positive baby stuff to post. Unfortunately, this is what my life revolves around. So this is what I have to write about. And since I don't have much release except venting my feelings here, here it comes out. I really hope that when all this is over I can be a more positive person. It's really hard to be positive sometimes.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Ultrasound, Appointment, and Electrotherapy

I had an appointment with my new doctor's office yesterday. I knew I was having an ultrasound, but I didn't know that they would be taking 3D pictures yet. It was really cool. In the 2D pics we could see his brain hemispheres, his heart chambers, his leg bones, his spine, and a whole lot of other things I really couldn't see. We definitely saw scrotum (as the u/s tech put it). And then there are the 3D pictures, which are absolutely amazing.

Afterwards, in my appointment, the NP I saw prescribed me this electrotherapy thing that goes on my wrist and sends pulses from my brain to my stomach to make it work right. Or something like that. I'm still waiting for insurance approval on that, so for the weekend I'm trying to make a similar device that my dad has work the same way. It's hard to tell if it's working or coincidence yet.

Without further ado, here is Hunter. He's weighing 1lb, 3oz and is in the 50th percentile for weight at his gestational age, which she said is good considering how sick I've been. I'm only in my 22nd week though, and what I read online indicates that he's heavier than the average 22 week baby just by being over a pound. Babies aren't exact though.