Mom suggested yesterday or the day before that I pack my hospital bag. And my immediate reaction was, "Already?" And yes, already. I was 35 weeks yesterday (I'm technically writing this Monday but in my head it's still Sunday). So that means 4-5 weeks left. Although David's leave has been a complete mess. We still have no idea when he'll make it home, and his chain of command up through brigade level is working on getting him home at the right time. We'll just have to see how it goes. But Mom and Dad are going out of town for over a week at the beginning of October, and Mom thinks it would be a good idea to be prepared in the event that I go into labor while they're out of town. Which would certainly be early, but it happens. So since I'm in the process of getting my room clean and organized I will work on that when I find the papers I got during my birthing class.
Great news today is that I got a wardrobe! I can finally put all of my clothes away! It was impossible for me to get everything put away before because my clothes simply did not fit in my dresser. I kept having to move my pile of coats around because there was certainly nowhere to put them. But Mom bought me the wardrobe today, and we're still working on moving boxes and making more room. She also bought me a Diaper Genie Elite II, because it was $10 off. She does a lot of stuff like that for me when we're out shopping. I'd gladly split our purchases, but she just takes care of it. She's done that with little random things, but also with things like my car seat. I just hope I thank her enough.
I'm so grateful for the extra time I've gotten with my parents. I should try to spend more time with my dad, but my mom has become my best friend. I talk to her about everything and do so much with her. I love doing the puzzles in the paper with her, that's become somewhat of a tradition on the weekends now. And going to church. And going to the zoo. And doing just about everything else. I feel like I've been given the chance to develop a better relationship with her than I ever had before, because when I was a teen we butted heads a lot and then I moved away when I got married. When I lived here during David's last deployment I spent the majority of my time out with other friends. This time I'm much more of a homebody. And I really do thank God for the opportunity that David's deployment and my illness have given to spend with my parents. Especially my mom. My dad and I have always been close, but my mom and I really needed this time together, I think. We've been able to grow a lot closer. I'm going to really miss them when I have to move back to Colorado. At least that's five months from now. And she's going to come out with me for a couple of weeks to help me with the house before David gets home. After that we'll just have to visit a lot.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Fun Times
Today I spent a good chunk of the morning solving the crossword puzzle in the paper with my mom. I went through and did everything I could, then she went through and got what she could, and then we did the rest together. We had a blast. I hope to do it again sometime, and I'll miss these opportunities when I move back to Colorado.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Childbirth Education Classes
This Tuesday was my third childbirth education class. I've been taking them with my mother, and while a lot of the information isn't new to me at all, it's still a good experience. I've been learning about pregnancy, labor, and baby care for so many years now that it's hard to find anything I haven't already read about, which just comes with the territory of having been trying to have a successful pregnancy for so long. But I find value in different styles of learning, not only is it helpful to have information presented in more than one way, but going through it with my mother, who is my birth coach, is also very helpful. Things like breathing exercises and the interaction with other moms-to-be is also worthwhile.
Nothing about the classes is extremely remarkable, really, so I haven't been bothering to blog anything about them, however at the beginning of each one of our classes we start by playing a game. There will be four classes total, and as I said before, we've so far been to three. And my mom and I have so far won every single game, to the point now of being comical. The first class we played bingo, and were given sheets with things like, "Having a boy," "Having a girl," "Is nervous about birth," "Isn't finding out the gender," "Has already bought baby clothes," etc. and was meant as a get to know you exercise because we had to talk to everyone in the class and put their names down to get bingo, and each person could only be used once in your bingo row. Well that was easy. So I won a book.
At the second class we played a word find, with ten words that were all signs of labor, such as contractions, nausea, show (for bloody show), and rupture of membranes. We were not given a list of words, we had to both think of them and find them. Well, my vocabulary skills, especially when it comes to stuff like this (like I said, I've been reading way too much about it for way too long), are very good, so we won that game easily as well.
And this past class we had to do a word scramble. There were fifteen different labor soothing techniques scrambled, such as music, pressure, shower, and encouragement. Some of the boxes were numbered and you won the game by deciphering the phrase at the end using the letters from the boxes in order. Not only were the words themselves relatively easy, but Mom and I know how to play the game, and before we had finished unscrambling all of the words we started putting letters we knew into boxes, and technically had the winning phrase a good ten minutes before anyone else. But we spent another five unscrambling all the words to give the others a fair shot. And then we sat there exchanging amused glances and trying not to giggle too much as we waited another five minutes for someone else to declare that they had it, because quite frankly it just seemed wrong to win the game every week. What made it so amusing this week was that it wasn't even close. We had the answer a solid ten minutes before anyone else, tried to buy them time, and still wound up sitting there waiting on them. Apart from the insinuations of our giggles though, we didn't let on to anyone that we'd thrown the game. Apparently Mom and I are a good team though, who'd of thunk? Lol.
I really do love my mom. The older that I've gotten and the more time I've gotten to spend with my parents since I grew up and moved away, the more I've realized that I have absolutely amazing parents. Not everyone is so lucky as I am. I had a wonderful childhood and lacked for nothing. And while I was certainly given a fair share a material things, what I value the most are the experiences I was given, such as riding lessons, piano lessons, and trips to cool places, and even more so than that, the unconditional love I've been given every second of my life. Even now my parent are there for me, no matter what, no matter when. When I needed help in Colorado, they were there. And when I was too sick to take care of myself they welcomed me back into their home without a moments pause, even with my animals. Not only am I lucky to have parents willing to make those kinds of offers and sacrifices, I'm lucky to have parents that I want to be around. Not everyone has parents that they would be willing to live with again. Not everyone has the same kind of relationship with their parents as I do. And I really feel sorry for the people who don't. My parents have become some of my best friends. I can talk to either one of them about anything, rely on them for anything, and get honest opinions from when I need advice.
I'm proud of them, proud to call them my parents. Because I couldn't ask for better. I hope that I can make them proud too. Luckily for me, I know they would say that I already do. Because they love me, and I never have any doubts about that. My aspiration is to give my son as wonderful a life and love as my parents gave me.
Nothing about the classes is extremely remarkable, really, so I haven't been bothering to blog anything about them, however at the beginning of each one of our classes we start by playing a game. There will be four classes total, and as I said before, we've so far been to three. And my mom and I have so far won every single game, to the point now of being comical. The first class we played bingo, and were given sheets with things like, "Having a boy," "Having a girl," "Is nervous about birth," "Isn't finding out the gender," "Has already bought baby clothes," etc. and was meant as a get to know you exercise because we had to talk to everyone in the class and put their names down to get bingo, and each person could only be used once in your bingo row. Well that was easy. So I won a book.
At the second class we played a word find, with ten words that were all signs of labor, such as contractions, nausea, show (for bloody show), and rupture of membranes. We were not given a list of words, we had to both think of them and find them. Well, my vocabulary skills, especially when it comes to stuff like this (like I said, I've been reading way too much about it for way too long), are very good, so we won that game easily as well.
And this past class we had to do a word scramble. There were fifteen different labor soothing techniques scrambled, such as music, pressure, shower, and encouragement. Some of the boxes were numbered and you won the game by deciphering the phrase at the end using the letters from the boxes in order. Not only were the words themselves relatively easy, but Mom and I know how to play the game, and before we had finished unscrambling all of the words we started putting letters we knew into boxes, and technically had the winning phrase a good ten minutes before anyone else. But we spent another five unscrambling all the words to give the others a fair shot. And then we sat there exchanging amused glances and trying not to giggle too much as we waited another five minutes for someone else to declare that they had it, because quite frankly it just seemed wrong to win the game every week. What made it so amusing this week was that it wasn't even close. We had the answer a solid ten minutes before anyone else, tried to buy them time, and still wound up sitting there waiting on them. Apart from the insinuations of our giggles though, we didn't let on to anyone that we'd thrown the game. Apparently Mom and I are a good team though, who'd of thunk? Lol.
I really do love my mom. The older that I've gotten and the more time I've gotten to spend with my parents since I grew up and moved away, the more I've realized that I have absolutely amazing parents. Not everyone is so lucky as I am. I had a wonderful childhood and lacked for nothing. And while I was certainly given a fair share a material things, what I value the most are the experiences I was given, such as riding lessons, piano lessons, and trips to cool places, and even more so than that, the unconditional love I've been given every second of my life. Even now my parent are there for me, no matter what, no matter when. When I needed help in Colorado, they were there. And when I was too sick to take care of myself they welcomed me back into their home without a moments pause, even with my animals. Not only am I lucky to have parents willing to make those kinds of offers and sacrifices, I'm lucky to have parents that I want to be around. Not everyone has parents that they would be willing to live with again. Not everyone has the same kind of relationship with their parents as I do. And I really feel sorry for the people who don't. My parents have become some of my best friends. I can talk to either one of them about anything, rely on them for anything, and get honest opinions from when I need advice.
I'm proud of them, proud to call them my parents. Because I couldn't ask for better. I hope that I can make them proud too. Luckily for me, I know they would say that I already do. Because they love me, and I never have any doubts about that. My aspiration is to give my son as wonderful a life and love as my parents gave me.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Big baby belly
Well, for starters morning sickness bites. But at least it goes away now and I'm not spending the entire day vomiting, culminating in a hospital visit. So vast improvement. Still sucks though.
I need to take some new pictures, but my belly feels huge! I doubt it looks as big as it feels, but especially with his head pushing against my ribs....oh....big baby. He needs to start pushing out instead of into me! Sometimes it just hurts. My chiropractor has to keep adjusting the ribs on my right side because Hunter has apparently decided I don't need the one that came from Adam. And his butt and feet...he loves to stick those out down near my left hip bones, and let me tell you, that can be extremely uncomfortable (i.e. painful) too. He's probably about four pounds now and the idea of him adding an extra two or three is almost miserable.
His movements are entirely unpredictable. I had several days when he would not stop moving. It was a pushing, bumping, rolling experience all the time. Then came a day or two of just about nothing. Now he's started with more moderate movement again. My hypothesis is that he was cramped, slowed down so he could have a growth spurt, and any day now I'm going to pop out some more. But maybe I already have, that belly in the mirror sure looks bigger, even though at this point I feel about the same size. I feel big, certainly, but my basketball hasn't turned into a watermelon or anything.
I bought a rocking chair and ottoman a couple of months ago, now I'm itching to put it together, but there's not room in my room yet, and adding it just for the sake of adding it will just take up valuable floor space at this point. Time to get moving on moving these boxes out! If only they had a place to go. But you know how it goes, to move item 1 you have to move item 2 out of the way, but item 3 is in the way of item 2, and item 4 is in the way of item 5...
David is supposed to be home at an undisclosed date in October. I say undisclosed because the Army keeps moving it so that the "enemy" can't predict their flights. However, the date keeps getting moved up. A boon in any other situation, NOT when you're trying to have a baby induced around leave dates. We went from things most likely being able to progress on their own, to needing to induce late in my 39th week, to needing to induce late in my 38th week, to needing to induce in the middle of my 38th week. Could the military PLEASE stop while it's ahead? My doctors are understanding of my predicament, but geez guys. I'm not willing to have this baby with less than a week before he has to go back, and I am certainly not willing to be in the hospital again when he leaves. So thus the date gets moved up. So I guess we're currently at (according to my approximations) 44 days till the little guy arrives. Let's just hope the doctors are agreeable to that too. I might have more bargaining power if he refuses to turn. I know that everyone says he still has plenty of time, but so far he's been in one position and seems to enjoy it very much. We'll see how stubborn he is.
Last but not least, I have an ultrasound next Tuesday! Yay!
I've been doing my best not to comment on what I've come to think of as mother-put-down syndrome. Today I succeeded. Next time I might not. Just warning ya!
I need to take some new pictures, but my belly feels huge! I doubt it looks as big as it feels, but especially with his head pushing against my ribs....oh....big baby. He needs to start pushing out instead of into me! Sometimes it just hurts. My chiropractor has to keep adjusting the ribs on my right side because Hunter has apparently decided I don't need the one that came from Adam. And his butt and feet...he loves to stick those out down near my left hip bones, and let me tell you, that can be extremely uncomfortable (i.e. painful) too. He's probably about four pounds now and the idea of him adding an extra two or three is almost miserable.
His movements are entirely unpredictable. I had several days when he would not stop moving. It was a pushing, bumping, rolling experience all the time. Then came a day or two of just about nothing. Now he's started with more moderate movement again. My hypothesis is that he was cramped, slowed down so he could have a growth spurt, and any day now I'm going to pop out some more. But maybe I already have, that belly in the mirror sure looks bigger, even though at this point I feel about the same size. I feel big, certainly, but my basketball hasn't turned into a watermelon or anything.
I bought a rocking chair and ottoman a couple of months ago, now I'm itching to put it together, but there's not room in my room yet, and adding it just for the sake of adding it will just take up valuable floor space at this point. Time to get moving on moving these boxes out! If only they had a place to go. But you know how it goes, to move item 1 you have to move item 2 out of the way, but item 3 is in the way of item 2, and item 4 is in the way of item 5...
David is supposed to be home at an undisclosed date in October. I say undisclosed because the Army keeps moving it so that the "enemy" can't predict their flights. However, the date keeps getting moved up. A boon in any other situation, NOT when you're trying to have a baby induced around leave dates. We went from things most likely being able to progress on their own, to needing to induce late in my 39th week, to needing to induce late in my 38th week, to needing to induce in the middle of my 38th week. Could the military PLEASE stop while it's ahead? My doctors are understanding of my predicament, but geez guys. I'm not willing to have this baby with less than a week before he has to go back, and I am certainly not willing to be in the hospital again when he leaves. So thus the date gets moved up. So I guess we're currently at (according to my approximations) 44 days till the little guy arrives. Let's just hope the doctors are agreeable to that too. I might have more bargaining power if he refuses to turn. I know that everyone says he still has plenty of time, but so far he's been in one position and seems to enjoy it very much. We'll see how stubborn he is.
Last but not least, I have an ultrasound next Tuesday! Yay!
I've been doing my best not to comment on what I've come to think of as mother-put-down syndrome. Today I succeeded. Next time I might not. Just warning ya!
Monday, August 30, 2010
First bit of nesting
Yesterday I spent a good chunk of time going through all the baby clothes I've been given and sorting them into boxes by size. I got a bunch of stuff from my grandmother when we went to visit and all of that needed to be put away instead of staying the the big plastic bag we brought it all home in. There's definitely more on my project list, but these things have to be taken step by step, and I'm not quite at the steps I would like to be (i.e. the ones that are fun or involve buying new things). I was able to get my books on a shelf (which involved emptying a shelf) and got all of my clothes put away, which means, of course, I did laundry the next day and now have even more to put away. I don't have a closet, so I'm considering getting one of those clothing racks. I need to get the desk emptied (at least the top) and moved so that I can put the changing table and a set of drawers for Hunter's clothes on top. It's hard to believe I'm entering my eighth month. Time is going to fly by before I know it.
In health news, I threw up for the first time in ages today. I was feeling a little queasy before breakfast, but it stayed down. However, as soon as I took the one swallow of water it took to take my pills everything went bad. All of the pills came up and I had to retake them. And my side pain has made its own resurgence. Which is why I'm updating my blog - I'm giving the pain medication time to kick in so that *hopefully* I can go outside and mow. Which happens to be one of my favorite chores. Yep, that's right. I love mowing the lawn. Riding mower, push mower, weed whacker, trimming, doesn't matter. I love the instant gratification of cutting grass. Somehow mentioning that made me remember I need to get some pictures printed and vacuum my room. Crazy how the brain makes connections sometimes.
One thing that has definitely changed with pregnancy is my bedtime. I was always a night owl, and could push past the sleepy feeling into a sleep-deprived high that kept me going without a lot of trouble. Now, anytime between 8:30 and midnight I'm off to bed. And I rarely drag it out. I decide I'm tired, I change clothes, brush my teeth, and then I'm in bed with the lights out dozing off within ten minutes of deciding it was bedtime. And staying up until midnight is pushing it. The only reason I was up that late last night is because I was pushing myself to stay awake to finish True Grit with my parents. On a side note, John Wayne rocks. And I considered turning in halfway through the movie, but I stuck it out. It took effort though. And even though I budget time for a healthy amount of sleep (usually nine hours), when my alarm went off this morning I ignored it and slept for another two hours. Mostly because I didn't have anything to do until noon and when my body wants to sleep I'm usually more than happy to oblige. If it says it needs extra sleep I believe it. And I figure that, not only is it good to get as much rest and enjoyment out of sleeping as I can before the baby comes, it will also be good to be on an earlier schedule before then too.
Well, the meds seem to have worked some magic, so I'm going to try to get up and do something (like mowing). And this post is now plenty long and I've managed to talk about what is mostly a whole lot of nothing. I'm good at that. Just ask my nail tech.
In health news, I threw up for the first time in ages today. I was feeling a little queasy before breakfast, but it stayed down. However, as soon as I took the one swallow of water it took to take my pills everything went bad. All of the pills came up and I had to retake them. And my side pain has made its own resurgence. Which is why I'm updating my blog - I'm giving the pain medication time to kick in so that *hopefully* I can go outside and mow. Which happens to be one of my favorite chores. Yep, that's right. I love mowing the lawn. Riding mower, push mower, weed whacker, trimming, doesn't matter. I love the instant gratification of cutting grass. Somehow mentioning that made me remember I need to get some pictures printed and vacuum my room. Crazy how the brain makes connections sometimes.
One thing that has definitely changed with pregnancy is my bedtime. I was always a night owl, and could push past the sleepy feeling into a sleep-deprived high that kept me going without a lot of trouble. Now, anytime between 8:30 and midnight I'm off to bed. And I rarely drag it out. I decide I'm tired, I change clothes, brush my teeth, and then I'm in bed with the lights out dozing off within ten minutes of deciding it was bedtime. And staying up until midnight is pushing it. The only reason I was up that late last night is because I was pushing myself to stay awake to finish True Grit with my parents. On a side note, John Wayne rocks. And I considered turning in halfway through the movie, but I stuck it out. It took effort though. And even though I budget time for a healthy amount of sleep (usually nine hours), when my alarm went off this morning I ignored it and slept for another two hours. Mostly because I didn't have anything to do until noon and when my body wants to sleep I'm usually more than happy to oblige. If it says it needs extra sleep I believe it. And I figure that, not only is it good to get as much rest and enjoyment out of sleeping as I can before the baby comes, it will also be good to be on an earlier schedule before then too.
Well, the meds seem to have worked some magic, so I'm going to try to get up and do something (like mowing). And this post is now plenty long and I've managed to talk about what is mostly a whole lot of nothing. I'm good at that. Just ask my nail tech.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Shannon's Post
I am in the hospital again! But this time not related to the chronic problems, I'd been having severe pain right beneath my sternum on and off with certain movements for a couple of weeks, and it started lasting longer, and because we thought it might be pancreatitis we went ahead to the hospital. They've speculated that I tore or strained an abdominal muscle, one of the ones that is supposed to stretch with the baby. I've been here for almost a week now, and just last night they took me off iv narcotics and gave me a lidocaine patch. I was skeptical at first, but while the pain wasn't eliminated completely, I felt so much better than on the pain meds. They are going to let me go home tomorrow so I can follow up with specialists as an out-patient.
Everyone here has been really great. All of nurses have been fantastic. Today was craft day, which one of the charge nurses hosts. I made a lovely pillow. It was actually really easy. And it turns out my mom knows a lot about sewing, so I might be able to convince her to pull out the sewing machine she hasn't used in twenty years and do some projects with me.
Everyone here has been really great. All of nurses have been fantastic. Today was craft day, which one of the charge nurses hosts. I made a lovely pillow. It was actually really easy. And it turns out my mom knows a lot about sewing, so I might be able to convince her to pull out the sewing machine she hasn't used in twenty years and do some projects with me.
Hunter is doing well, though I've been having a lot of contractions. I'm on non-official partial bed rest while I'm here. My nurse doesn't want me doing too much walking around so I don't stimulate more. I'm also on Procardia for the same reason. He is kicking up a storm! My dad got to feel him yesterday, and you can see him moving through my shirt for sure. He's going to be a wild one! I can't wait to meet him. He is so funny, he aims for the stethoscope or monitor whenever either is put on my belly. I'm pretty sure he's more breech now, but I can't really feel where he is through my belly yet to be sure. I wonder how much I'll have popped in another 8 weeks. I'm still pretty small now. He weighs over 3lbs though, so he's right on track, and so are my measurements. Only another two months! It feels like forever, but it will fly by. It's hard to believe that I'm having a baby of my very own. Maybe when he's in my arms it will feel real.
30 weeks!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Double Digits!
It took me completely by surprise today when David reminded me that we are officially into double digits on our baby countdown. And Hunter will probably arrive at least a week before that, possibly earlier. Instead of 89 days we're closer to 79. Wow. 79 days of being beaten from the inside. This boy is active! Except, of course, when I'm trying to let someone feel him.
Oooohhh....nausea attack. Time to get away from the computer.
Oooohhh....nausea attack. Time to get away from the computer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)