32 week appointment and a shocking comparison

I had an appointment at the doctor's office. It was the first of my weekly appointments with biophysical profiles and non stress tests. So, here are the stats:





On me:





I gained 4 lbs in one week - wow, that's more than I've gained total. But now that it's been a few days, my home scale is showing that as a fluke - I'm still up only 2 lbs total. I'll gladly take that knowing it means the weightloss after this baby is born is already jump started.





My blood pressure was good - much better this week - 100/55, I think? I can't remember, now.





No protein or sugar in my urine, so that's all good.





Next we did the ultrasound and non stress tests on the baby. Here's some info on what they're looking for in the baby by doing these tests. He did everything he was supposed to do - fluid looked good, his heart rate was great and we got to see him practice his respiration. He ended up scoring a 10/10. So that's great - means he's doing well in there.





Brooke estimated his weight (and she's really good, so I know she's pretty much right on) at 4 lbs 8 oz. So he's growing well - up to the 68% for fetal weight at 32 weeks.





My parents came to the ultrasound with me since they were in town and Will was at school. My mom is completely incapable of seeing anything on an ultrasound. She reminds me of Rachel on Friends when she has her first ultrasound.





But, it worked out to our advantage. Brooke switched the ultrasound machine to 4D so that mom could see the baby and identify him. He is SO cute and chubby. He looks so much like his big brother. I really think he's going to look just like Will when he's born.


Here's the best news of all - he's HEAD DOWN!! Woo hoo!! Now I can stop stressing about needing a c-section. Brooke assured me that the chances he'll turn again are slim to none.

He's such an active little baby. He's moving all the time - kicking, punching, squirming. Just having a 24/7 party in there. Yesterday morning Todd and I were laying in bed and he had his hands on my belly. He started laughing and said "I swear that kid is trying to play the bongos in there". It sure felt like it.

Up top there are pictures of the baby this week and Will at a day old - you tell me if they look alike.

Accident free

WOOT!

5 hours at school, a trip to the hospital to pick me up from the doctor, a trip out for take out for dinner and not a single accident - all day long. I love this boy!!

I have a public potty boy now

Well, we had good luck at preschool on Tuesday. He used the potty every time they were taken, while wearing a pull up.

Yesterday, we went out for 3 hours. He said he promised not to have an accident in his underwear. And he didn't. We went to Cutie Tooties (the local cloth diapering and natural parenting store) and he used their bathroom (without my help at all) twice. Then we went to lunch. He used that bathroom, too.

So, we're driving home in the pouring rain and he announces in the car "mommy, hurry up and get home, my poop is coming!!" Oh please, please, please don't poop in your pants in the car. "Don't worry, mommy, my won't". And he didn't. He held it until we got home.

Same scenario last night - we went out to dinner with Grammy and Pop - we drove around for about 30 minutes before heading to Ruby Tuesdays. Half way there Will announces "mommy, my feel my pee pee coming, I need to potty". Please, please, please don't wet yourself in your carseat. We'll be there in 10 minutes. He held it and went as soon as we got to Rubys.

Today he went to school in his underwear, we'll see how he does. I'm hopeful that he'll be accident free, but I'll still be thrilled with 1-2 accidents.

Five days of potty training

Dare I say, he's "at home potty trained"?? Yes, I'll say it. As long as we're at home, he's potty trained. In the last three days, we've only had 2 accidents - total. He's in underwear all day long.

Now, if we leave the house, it's another story. He won't use the potty at school or church. I told him yesterday that if he used the potty at church, he'd get a prize when we got home. Eh, not so much. They told me he got upset when they tried to take him to the potty. One step at a time, though, right?? I'm not really sure how to cross that next bridge, but we'll work it out.

This morning was another bit of a milestone. He woke up completely dry. He slept from 7:30 last night until 8:00 this morning. He came downstairs (I was already awake and on the laptop) when he came down. He gave me a bit hug and said "mommy, my need to peepee in my potty". So I helped him get his pj pants down and I removed his dipe. He ran to the potty and peed. And peed. And peed. He's got his daddy's bladder, that's for sure. He didn't get that from me.

As I was carrying his dipe to the foyer to toss on the stairs ( to make the trip up to the laundry room), I pulled the insert out of it. And felt it - I didn't notice any wetness, so I smelled it. Yep, clean and dry. I am SO impressed with him. He slept 12 1/2 hours and then even held it 3-4 minutes before peeing. What a big boy.

32 weeks pregnant - thoughts on a breech baby and our hospital stay

I'm officially 8 months pregnant. Holy cow! As far as I can tell, this little man still has his head jammed into my lungs. It's funny how when you're pregnant, you pick certain things to dwell on and worry about. Having a breech baby and ending up with a c-section has never crossed my mind - not even once. I think about things like premature labor, placenta previa and placental abruptions. I always worry about those sorts of things. But the baby being breech and not even laboring on my own? Never occurred to me. Of course, being diabetic and on insulin never entered my mind with Will's pregnancy.

I've been doing some reading on baby spinning and on external versions by the OB. I'm trying not to panic. Must not freak out, right?

I maintain that I will not freak out about this baby not turning until the little digital baby on the right side of the page turns and the real baby doesn't. As long as the spinning baby on the screen is head up, I'm okay. But when he turns, I'll officially flip out.

I'm working on my list of questions for the doctor for this week's appt - the first ones will obviously center around the baby being breech, a version and the possibility of a c-section. After that, I've got lots more questions.

I need to get pre-registered at the hospital. Supposedly they'll still have us on file, but I'll likely have to reregister, since my insurance isn't the same. Must get this done - I don't want to go to the ER if/when I go into labor. I want to go to labor and delivery.

I need to look into a sibling class for Will - I'd really like to get him a tour of the hospital and learn a bit about what to expect when his brother is born. I hope they offer this.

I would like to sit down with the lactation consultants before this baby is born. I'm filled with questions. I worry that with my diabetes, this baby will need to be supplemented in the hospital, like Will was. I really want to maximize my chances of nursing this baby without having to supplement with formula. And I don't want him to get a bottle to be supplemented. I've already found out that the hospital has a syringe feeder we can use to feed the baby in addition to nursing. I just need to find out what my options are as far as what we can put in the syringe My goal is no bottles whatsoever for the first month. Will did great going between bottle and breast, but I don't want to risk any confusion this time.

I called our nearest milk bank regarding becoming a donor breast milk recipient. And unfortunately, that's just cost prohibitive. The consultant at the milk bank said they'd ship milk, but the minimum number of ounces is 40 ounces. Way more than I'd need. And the cost is $4.50 per ounce. Holy cow! That's over $150 per quart.

Lets hope this baby doesn't have low blood sugar and need to be supplemented. I would really, really like to preserve his virgin gut. Here's hoping we'll be able to achieve this.

31 week appointment

I went to the OB on Thursday for my last "regular" appointment. That's almost scary - we're down to the final weeks here.

Weight - up 2.5 lbs in the last 2 weeks

BP - low - 80/44 - which explains why I feel like crap lately

Urine - a little protein, but not a lot (Never had that before)

Heartrate - low 150's - he was active while she was listening

Measuring - 32 weeks

I go back next Thursday for the first of my weekly appointments and monitoring. I'll have a biophysical profile taken - which is an ultrasound to check that everything is a-okay with the little guy. And a non-stress test, where they'll measure his heartrate and activity level via fetal monitors. I'm anxious to see how he's measuring and how much he weighs. Not to mention finding out if he's turned. At 32 weeks, there's still not enough cause for alarm that he's breech (and since his head is still jabbed into my left lung, I'd say he hasn't moved), but it's time to really start paying attention.

I've started researching a few options for "baby spinning" or "baby turning" to get him to turn on his own to avoid an external version. Or worse, a c-section. EEP!

Three days down

I cannot even begin to explain how excited I am. Will is doing great with the potty training business - as long as we're at home. When I took him to school on Thursday and church on Friday, he didn't do as well - doesn't want to use the potty there. But at home, man he's on it. I don't even have to remind him or ask him to sit on the potty. He just does.

Yesterday I was in the office printing out something I need for a return on an item. He comes running into the office. "Mommy, I pooped!" Uh oh, I wasn't watching him - what'd he do? Where'd he do it? It was in his potty. He'd stopped playing, got up, went to his potty, pooped and pulled his pants back up. Granted, I still had to pull his drawers back down and help him wipe, but I'm not complaining.

Once we were home yesterday at noon - he was accident free all day. So far today he's been accident free for the 3 hours he's been up.

I can't believe how lucky we're getting with this. Maybe he WILL be potty trained by the time his brother arrives. woo hoo!

A pretty successful second day of potty training

Will woke up this morning running out of his room "Mommy, I need to peepee in my potty". Okay, don't have to tell me twice. LOL

Then it was off to school where I bragged to his teacher how well he'd been doing. And of course, in the 5 hours he was there, he sat on the potty and didn't go one time. And he managed to poop in his pull up.

Oh well, honestly, I figure we'll get using the potty at home mastered before we really expect too much at school.

We came home and changed back into underwear. He's been in underwear for 5 hours. He did poop in his underwear today - minor setback and he's a bit upset about it. But he managed to get to the potty for all of his peepee since we've been home.

Now it's time for bath and bed. Two days down and I'm feeling pretty good about this. :)

I can't say I was expecting that

Well, yesterday was potty training boot camp - Day 1. I stressed about how it was going to go. Heck, I've been putting it off for a while because I've been dreading it. I can't even begin to tell you how successful yesterday was. Seriously. I should have started on Monday - he'd probably be totally potty trained by now.

I got up before Will and was upstairs, waiting for him to wake up. We went straight to the potty to peepee. And he did. So we put on underwear instead of a diaper. This kid went 12 hours yesterday while wearing underwear. We had a few accidents, but after the first one, they were what I'd consider partial accidents. He'd start to pee, grab himself and run to the potty as quickly as possible.

The kid who refused to sit on the potty 2 days ago pooped in the potty. Not once, not twice, but THREE times yesterday.

We even made a trip to Walmart in underwear and didn't have an accident.

He did so well, I was just blown away.

Today he's at school - so I sent him in a pull-up style diaper. I know he's not ready to be at school for 5 hours and use the potty there.

We are on the right track, that is for sure.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day

We have worked on potty training off and on for a little while. Any time we'd put him on the potty, he'd pee pee on command. And we've even had several pooping successes. Will didn't get the whole "I shouldn't pee in my underwear between times mom puts me on the potty", but I think that was the last piece to the puzzle.

But ever since Todd left to go overseas at the end of October, Will has pretty much refused any and all efforts to use the potty. To the point where he won't even sit on the toilet anymore. Todd and I are both getting very, very frustrated.

So today I made a decision. Tomorrow is underwear day. No leaving the house, no diapers, no going back. He's 3 years and over a month. It's time to use the potty. We went to Babies R Us tonight and picked up a new potty chair. Since he's decided he won't sit on the toilet w/ the potty seat on it, we're trying the chair. I told him we were going to wear underwear from the minute we got up until it was bathtime. I don't care how many accidents it takes tomorrow, we're pressing forward.

Please, wish us luck. I suspect we're going to need it.

Holy uncomfortable pregnant woman, Batman!

Can I just complain for a second? Oh my goodness - I am SO uncomfortable. Sleep is misery, sitting is misery, getting up from sitting or laying down is misery. Let's not even talk about walking. I'm having a difficult time getting a decent breath and I'm having a bunch of braxton hicks contractions.

I took Will with me to Kroger and Ingles yesterday. I had no idea grocery shopping would wear me out so much.

I was kind of looking forward to Will going to school today so I could rest while he was gone. But alas, it's a snow day. He's at home all day and we'll have to go outside to play in a bit. No rest for me.

Perhaps I can convince him to take a nap with me this afternoon.

Alert the media

It's actually snowing in Knoxville!

This is, by far, the most snow I've seen since we left Omaha in 2002. Of course, it's still next to nothing, but it's a lot for here. I took Will and Dixie outside to play in it and Will loved it. He was disappointed to find out you can't build a snowman with 1/3 of an inch, but he was still excited.

Dixie acted younger than I've seen in years. She was running around like crazy. I think she still misses Nebraska.

More Will-isms

Last night Will and I took a bath together in "mommy's big tub". Todd collected Will when he was finished and I stayed behind to soak for a few minutes. After he was in his pajamas, Will ran back into the bathroom.

I asked him if he'd brushed his teeth. "Yes, mommy. I did. But daddy said not very well." LOL At least he's honest.

Then this morning he was watchin Jack's Big Music Show on Noggin. He started talking about Jack's clubhouse. I reminded him that he has a clubhouse, too. His playhouse out in the backyard. I asked him if it was going to be his and his brother's playhouse.

"No mommy, baby brother can't come in the playhouse. It's mine. He's going to have to play in the grass."

This kid, I tell ya. ha

31 weeks

Okay, pardon me for freaking out - but holy cow! This baby boy is going to be here in 8 weeks or less. Yikes! I'd love to go into labor on my own the week of March 9th, but there will likely be a scheduled induction the week of March 26th. So yes, 2 months or so. EEK!!

We really, really, really need to figure out what to name this poor baby.

I'm much more miserable this time than last time. I don't know if it has to do with the way this baby is positioned, how much he weighs or what. But I am already lumbering and waddling along. Climbing the stairs is getting to be a huge effort and I don't even want to talk about picking up or carrying Will. I'm having a fair number of Braxton Hicks contactions - even some that take my breath away. I never had any like that with Will.

Pregnancy is just kicking my booty this time - makes me glad this is the last time we'll be doing this.

I must have jinxed myself with that last post

Today is the first day we've gotten above freezing in a few days. We've been seeing temps between 6 and 11 degrees for a couple of days. BRR. It really was cold.

I let Dixie out this morning and the temp had rocketed back up to 37 degrees and it actually felt warm outside. ha

BRR

I hate cold weather - it's in the 20's today. BRR! If it's going to be this cold, the least it could do is snow a bit.

Okay, never mind. I just checked the weather for Omaha. The air temp is 5 degrees today. Suddenly 27 doesn't seem so bad anymore.

Sweet relief

Can I just say how much I love the chiropractor? It's been a while since I've been (okay, not since I was pregnant with Will) and I forgot how much better I feel after I've been.

Ever since before Thanksgiving I've been dealing with a lot of hip and back pain thanks to this little guy throwing off my weight and balance. I was finally adjusted today and oh my goodness - I could literally feel the tension and pain melting from my body immediately. I feel so much better.

The doctor said he could tell that my pelvis was severely out of alignment and that one of my legs was over an inch longer than the other - I couldn't help but think of Rachel from "Friends" talking about Dr. Bobby, her chiro. ha ha ha

Anyway - I'm adjusted and feel like a million bucks again. Now, if this baby will just turn head down and I can breathe again, all will be perfect. :)

29 week appointment

Went back to the OB yesterday for an appointment. So far, everything is looking good. Here are the stats:



BP - 120/60

Weight - I gained my first official pound

Pee - no sugar

Brooke said he's got hair. What is it about that that just makes me smile so much?



He's weighing in at 3 lbs 4 oz - which is the 50% for this gestational age. Thank goodness!!! I've been sweating him being 10 lbs at birth, so I'm glad to know so far he's on track. Granted, he can still become a quite large baby, but as long as I keep my sugar closely controlled, we should be doing okay.



So far, he's still breech. Brooke said he's really crammed up underneith my ribs on my right hand side. That explains why I'm so miserable and can't breathe or get comfortable. It is still early, so no reason to be concerned that he's breech. They won't stress about it until about 36 weeks if he still hasn't turned. I'll probably decide to start freaking about it at about 33 weeks.



I go back in 2 weeks at 32 weeks for 1 last regular appt. Then I will start weekly appts with non-stress tests and biophysical profiles. At least there's an upside to diabetes - lots of extra monitoring and weekly ultrasounds to see my little guy.



I know I just posted a picture a few days ago, but I really love this new top I got, so I had to share another one. :)

Current Will-isms

I thought I'd add a few recent things Will's said that makes me laugh.

"My do it by all myself". He uses that one a lot and I always giggle.

He was helping me put some cans of soup on the kitchen counter and he dropped one and said "Oh man, that wasn't supposed to happen". I almost busted a gut laughing.

Last night I told him he could have ice cream before bed since he'd eaten a great dinner. Then Todd went into the attic to get something down and Will wanted to stand on the ladder and watch him in the attic (it's very fascinating for him, for some reason). So I told him he had time for one thing and he could choose - ice cream or going in the attic. He opted for the attic. Until Todd was finished and then he was ready for ice cream.

This began quite the debate has he swore up and down "My chose ice cream, my didn't go in the attic" (he's quite the liar these days). So, he ended up going to bed after having a quick banana upon his insistance that his tummy was growling and he was "so hungry".

This morning he woke up at 8:00 and came crawling into bed with me. I opened my eyes and he smiled at me. The first words he said to me this morning were "now can I have some ice cream??"

Kid doesn't forget a thing.

A few mornings ago Will crawled into bed with me for snuggles when he woke up. This is my favorite 5 minutes of the whole day. He cuddled up to me under the covers and wrapped his little arms around my neck. He said "My love you so much, mommy". He stole my heart again with that one.

Then after a few minutes of snuggling or "nuggling" as he calls it, Will pushed the covers down off of us. He pulled up my shirt to expose my large belly. He wrapped his arms around my middle and kissed my stomach. He said "My love you, baby brother". Okay, I think I died at that moment. He can be so sweet sometimes and it just blows me away.

It's a shame he's not going to be that sweet to his brother after he's arrived. :)

Back into our routines

I have to say that I'm quite happy this week. We're settling back into our normal routines. Todd's back at his regular work schedule, Will's back at school and the holiday clutter is gone. The house is getting clean again and dinner's on the table every night at 6 as daddy walks in the door, just like it should be.

Now we can just concentrate on living our normal lives for the next 2 months before all hell breaks loose when this new baby arrives. Then hopefully we can establish a new "normal" after a few months of chaos.

29 weeks

Anyone want to freak out with me? This baby is going to be here in 8-10 weeks, give or take.

Here's a quick self portrait (check out the bathroom paint job) of me at 29 weeks even. I sure feel a lot larger than I actually look. In fact, I think I look pretty dang good for being this pregnant.

Insomnia is the devil

Sigh........I guess this is good practice for when the baby gets here.

I go to bed with few problems at night, but staying asleep is terrible. And of course, I have to pee by 1-2 am. And once I've gotten up to go to the bathroom, I'm in trouble.

It's 4 am and I've been up for nearly 2 hours. Wide awake.

This is the part of pregnancy that stinks. You'd think I'd be a sleep camel right now and I'd be storing up every second of sleep I can get, but no luck.

It is a New Year

It's the morning of January first. For the first time in my adult life, I didn't even stay up to ring in the New Year. Actually, I think I snored in the new year. Hey, I'm 7 months pregnant, what am I supposed to do? :)

It's funny how this time of year causes us to buckle down and get serious about goals. I try not to make actual resolutions - because if you call it a new year's resolution, you'll just fail at it or toss it to the wayside. So Todd and I have agreed to accomplish a few goals for the winter.

We've been slacking on our budget the last month or two (okay, it's mostly my fault), so it's time to get out our envelopes and put the cash back in them and take the check cards back out of our wallets. I'm actually looking forward to this. And since I have a love of spending money, you know that says something.

We've both been slacking on our diets - thanks to the holidays. Fortunately (or actually, unfortunately) for me, I still follow the diabetic portion of my diet - obviously. But neither one of us has been eating all that healthy. Even Will's been lacking veggies in his diet. So it's back to making sure we're eating much more healthy than we have been.

And this house......GAH! Got to, got to, got to get it in order before the baby arrives. There is just too much stuff in this house right now. I want to go on a rampage and throw a bunch of stuff away. The holidays always end up making me feel clausterphobic with so much stuff in the house. I'm always anxious to rip down the decorations, hide away the new gifts and purge things to make room for the new.

So there you have it. My lack of resolutions has boiled down to:

Eating healthy/exercising

Get organzied

Save money

So much for lack of resolutions. Yep, I'm just like everyone else. ha ha