My gigantic "oh my gosh that woman is ready to pop!" tummy

My tummy has been garnering quite a bit of attention lately.

When I was pregnant with Nora, people constantly commented on how small my tummy was...even going so far as to ask me if I was sure the baby was growing correctly.  I brought up each of these comments with my doctor, and we spent a number of my appointments with some discussion of my fundal height (and the fact that I was measuring perfectly).

This time around, my fundal height is still measuring perfectly, but it is clear from the comments that I am getting that my appearance is not the same as it was last time.

31 weeks and 5 days

A few examples:

- Our next door neighbor thoroughly embarassed himself two weeks ago when he yelled "Any day now, huh?" from his driveway as I was walking down to get the mail.  I giggled and then corrected him..." No, actually I've got about 2 1/2 months left."  He blushed horrifically and then said, "Oh.  Well.  I must...I must...hmmm...we...ah....we know a lot of pregnant women right now...I must be thinking about someone else."  Yeah.  Ok.

- My boss at work commented on how I "must be getting close" last week...then turned bright red when I told him how long I had left to go.  He had a bit less tact than my neighbor...his reply was, "Wow.  You'll be huge by then."

- As I was walking out of the grocery store Sunday afternoon, some lady leaned over to her daughter and said, "Look honey, that lady is going to have a baby any day now!"  I just let them go.  No need to correct everyone I see, right?

As if the comments weren't enough, my poor belly button has completely given up.  Completely.  It never actually popped out with Nora, although it did flatten out to become flush with the rest of my stomach.  This time, however, the top half has popped out and the bottom half is flush...making my belly button look like "an old man wearing a cap" according to Dan (who is always perfectly sensitive to my pregnancy appearance concerns...ha ha).

See the top part "popped out"?  Beautiful.

Despite all of this, I'm on pace to gain the same amount of weight that I did with Nora (25 lbs), possibly even a little bit less (I'm at 17 lbs with 8 weeks possibly left to go).  Maggie also seems to be in a pretty similar position to Nora (she is head down for now)...so who knows?  For now, I'll just keep letting people think what they want to think...and I'll keep letting them allow me to cut to the front of the line in public rest rooms.  ;)

Nora's 3-year old well check

Nora's three-year old well check went considerably better than her two-year old well check (here is the link to that post for those of you who are interested).

The basics:

Height - 39.5 inches - off the charts again (98th? percentile)
Weight - 32 lbs - 70th percentile (good, particularly since she is so tall)
Blood pressure - great
Hemoglobin - great

Accomplishments and details:

- Nora actually stood on the scale by herself this time, meaning that Dan and I were saved the embarrassment of having to be weighed at the pediatrician's office while holding Nora and then not holding Nora so they could calculate her weight.
- On the other hand, it took three people (Dan, the nurse, and myself) to hold Nora up against the wall in order to measure her height.  I'm not sure what that was about...but ok.
- Nora mostly cooperated calmly with the doctor and the nurse this time.  I don't know if it is just because she is getting older, or because we had talked and talked and talked about what was going to happen, OR if it was because they waited until the very end to prick her finger this time, but apart from some small whimpering, she did a great job.  Whew!
- Speaking of the finger prick - Nora hardly let out a sound during that entire procedure.  I'm not sure if it was because she has been watching me prick my finger multiple times a day (she loves to help hold the monitor, etc while I test) or what, but she stood there like a big girl and let them do everything they needed to do.  Amazing.  Kiddo handled blood better than I do.

Recommendations/Answers from the doctor:

- Nora should continue drinking at least 16 oz (up to 32 oz) of skim milk per day.  I think she regularly gets in about 24 oz, and we only drink skim in our house...so that is not a problem.
- Nora needs to go to the dentist.  Oops.  Gotta schedule that appointment.
- If Nora is not waking up when she pees in the bed at night, then she is simply too young to potty train at night time right now.  Fair enough.  Nora is NOT even beginning to wake up when she goes at nighttime.  We've let her try sleeping in underwear once (because some days, she REALLY wants to), but she soaked her sheets, her pillow, her blankets, and herself before Dan and I woke her up.  Nora ran the experiment again all by herself last week (when she sneakily took off her diaper after Dan and I put her to bed) - we discovered the diaper hidden under her pillow and sheets that were soaked enough for the...ahem..."liquid" to be dripping off of the water-proof mattress onto the floor when we went to check on her before we went to bed...and of course, Nora was fast asleep.
- It is perfectly normal for Nora to be getting moles at this point.  Some people have more moles than others (ahem..me), so she will probably just get multiple ones over the next few years.

That's about it.  I'm so glad that Nora is a healthy girl and that this visit went better than last year's visit.  Whew!

31 weeks: Gestational diabetes - Frustrated

Ugh.  The last week has not been great in terms of the gestational diabetes diagnosis (?) and treatment plan.

I prick my finger at least five times a day (for those of you who don't know me that well, I have pretty bad circulation in my hands for some reason, so there have been multiple times that I've had to prick my finger 2 to 3 times just to get enough blood for the nanodrop that is required.  Fabulous....fingers that I haven't pricked in days still have sympathy pains for the others).

This means that since my "diagnosis" (i.e. - let's test for a while and see what happens since I can't take the actual diagnostic test), I have tested my blood sugar a minimum of 67 times in 13 1/2 days.

My guidelines for the required "normal" readings:
Fasting blood sugar - less than 100
Two hours after a meal blood sugar - less than 120

Want to guess how many of the readings have been over the guidelines?

None.  0/67.

The averages are as follows:
Fasting: 77
After breakfast: 79
After lunch: 94
After supper: 89
Before bed: 85

The doctor I saw two weeks ago (who set up the testing) assured me that IF my numbers were below the cut-off, I would be allowed to cut back on testing at my next appointment.

The nutritionist I saw on Monday of this week assured me that IF my numbers stayed below the cut-off, I would be allowed to cut back on testing at my next appointment.

The doctor I saw for my 31 week visit this morning?  Absolutely not.  Am I crazy?  Continue testing five times a day.  No negotiations.  Don't I understand that these numbers could get of control at any point in time?

Yes.  Yes, I do.  That's why I was fine with continuing to test for the remainder of my pregnancy...just with cutting back a little bit.  A little bit. 

The stupid diet that the nutritionist put me on as of Monday (which was not drastically different from my normal diet, with the exception of cutting out a number of carbs in the mornings) has resulted in me actually getting hypoglycemic readings after breakfast (low enough to have to do an "intervention" - eat candy)...despite the fact that I am still eating more carbs for breakfast than she "allows."  I'm all for treatment when it is necessary, but at this point, portions of this treatment "plan" seem a bit extreme to me.

So I'm frustrated.  Really frustrated.  My expectations for the last two weeks vs what happened at my appointment this morning were entirely different.  I cried afterwards...super sobbing, ugly, out-of-control pregnant woman crying...and then I sucked it up and took my after breakfast reading...64 mg/dL (should be less than 120)....after eating cereal for breakfast (a no-no according to the dietician; it will raise your blood sugar too much) and having almost 40 g of carbs for breakfast (I'm not allowed to have more than 23 g for breakfast).  Fabulous.  Just fabulous.

On a positive note:
- Maggie's heart rate was great.
- My fundal height was right on track.
- My blood pressure is still good - 122/64.

And one of the retired Microbiology professors who still comes in to the department each day brought me a flower this morning.  :)

31 weeks today.  :)  Maggie will be here most likely in 9 weeks or less.  I can do anything for 9 weeks.  I can.  I can.  I can. 

Happy Birthday Nora!

Three years ago today (just barely - at 11:58 pm), Nora was born!  We never could have imagined how much our lives would change that day, but we also couldn't be happier than we are now!

This past year has been quite eventful for Nora.  I'd like to mention just a few key things (the pictures below are in no particular order; they are just examples of each category).

First of all, can you believe how much she has changed?  This is Nora at her second birthday party last year:

Not long after Nora's second birthday, we had a very scary evening where we figured out that Nora is one of the children who will have a febrile seizure if her fever spikes quickly enough.  That was a really scary evening, and it included a trip to the ER.  Now we know that we can't let fevers go with Nora (as most pediatricians will tell you not to treat until they are at 101 or higher or the child is acting sick).  We have to give Nora medication to bring the fever down anytime it goes over 99.5, regardless of how she is acting.

We took several trips this year, including a trip to Atlanta, two trips to the beach (one with Dan's family and one by ourselves), and several trips home to visit our families.

Nora enjoys a wide variety of activities at this stage also.  Her favorites right now include helping in the kitchen (everything from peeling carrots, to cutting up strawberries [with a plastic knife], to baking - including measuring dry ingredients, stirring, whisking, decorating cookies, etc), doing various arts and crafts at home and at school, and sewing (YES.  Sewing.  The child can sew better than I can right now).  Despite baking lots of different types of cookies, gingerbread cookies seem to remain Nora's favorite.  We made gingerbread cookies for Christmas, Valentine's day, and Easter this year.  :)

In terms of eating habits, Nora generally does really well.  She will try any food (sometimes with a little bit of bargaining), and she does a great job of telling us when she has had enough.  The only food that Nora consistently seems to hate is shrimp.  The poor kid gags every time she takes a bite.  Other than that, some of her favorite foods seem to be peanut butter and honey sandwiches on wheat bread, strawberries, rice, broccoli, and milk.  Nora would drink a quart of skim milk a day if we would let her.  I think she normally still manages to get in about 24 oz per day.  She loves to eat out at restaurants, and she most frequently requests Mexican food (beef enchilada, rice, and beans) or Chick-fil-a (nuggets, fruit cup, and milk or unsweet tea).  She also loves Thai food.  When we eat at home, she often requests to eat "al fresco" (Thank you, Fancy Nancy books).  We try to do that as often as possible when she asks.

Clothing-wise, Nora has always been extremely opinionated, particularly when it comes to shoes.  Capris are ok; shorts are not.  Leggings are ok; jeans are not.  Lately, we have had a hard time getting Nora to wear anything other than dresses.  She particularly likes dresses that are good for twirling.

In terms of her favorite books, I would have to guess that her favorites are Fancy Nancy books, fairy tales (The Three Little Pigs, Billy Goats Gruff, The Three Bears, and Little Red Riding Hood), and various Dr. Seuss books.  We read anywhere from one to ten books a night before bedtime (depending on how early we start, how cooperative Nora is with the bedtime routine, and how long the books are).  Regardless of the number, Nora always asks for more.

Nora's verbal communication is great; there are times that I can't believe what comes out of her mouth.  She easily speaks in complete sentences, she uses tenses and pronouns correctly most of the time, and I'm always amazed at her vocabulary ("Mommy, these cookies are delectable!"). 

In terms of her personality, Nora generally is very happy and imaginative.  She makes up stories and songs about things, she seems to be pretty good at sharing and expressing herself when she wants to, etc.  She is a delightful child most of the time.  Of course, Nora is also extremely determined and perhaps...stubborn.  She HATES to hear the word "No", and when her emotions get the better of her, she will draw a line in the sand that no one wants to cross.  She occasionally gets time-outs these days, but most of them are still for physical things like kicking or throwing objects when she gets angry.  Nora is also extremely opinionated and strong-willed.  She will do what SHE wants to do WHEN she wants to do it...and that is about it.  No amount of scolding, time-outs, confiscation of objects, prizes, praise, etc will motivate her.  The best tool we have found is to truthfully explain to Nora why she needs to do something; oddly enough, logic wins out with her the most often.  A few specific examples of this:

1) Nora came home from day care early this past year and declared that she was going to wear underwear to day care from now on.  I explained that that was not possible unless she stopped going potty in her diapers.  Several weeks later, Nora was completely potty trained and indeed wearing underwear to day care.

2) As I'm sure any regular followers of the blog remember, Nora had quite the pacifier addiction.  When we took her to her two-year well check, the doctor told us that we needed to have her off of it by the time she was three, but he assured us that most kids give them up on their own by then.  We started talking to Nora a lot about giving up her pacis, and we were met with A LOT of resistance (temper tantrums at the very mention of the topic, for example).  We started explaining that pacifiers were not good for her teeth and that only little kids use pacifiers.  Then, one day on the way home, Nora declares that she is ready to give up her pacis.  She goes home, gathers them all up, throws them in the trash, and that was it.  I think she has asked for them maybe three times in the last six months, and each time when we have reminded her that she decided to give them up, she drops the subject.

3) Of course, this determination and strong will can work against us also.  Nora is currently refusing to be potty trained at night AND she is refusing to sleep in a big girl bed.  She has declared that she will wear diapers at night in her crib for a long time.  We are trying not to push her on either topic, but it is becoming difficult (as I really don't want to have to buy a second crib for Maggie).

It has been a great year full of many changes and developments.  Nora knows that she is going to become a big sister soon, and she is so far excited about the idea.  She tells a lot people that Maggie is in my tummy, that she will be "nekked" when she is born, and that she will cry, eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom (IN HER DIAPER!!!) a lot after she is born.  She asks to feel Maggie move sometimes, and she occasionally talks to Maggie.  I think she will be a phenomenal big sister.

Happy Birthday to my sweet Nora!

30 weeks!

30 week picture from Nora:

30 week picture from Maggie:

I would like to say I'm not much bigger at this point with Maggie than I was with Nora, but I was going to try to wear the same shirt for both pictures, and alas, it is already too short this time around...So.  Hmm.

Overall, there isn't too much to update since last week.

- My blood glucose levels have been great so far.  (And I have to say, I like this glucometer much better than the one I had last time...smaller needles, less blood, faster results.  I'm particularly grateful for the smaller needles since I'm having to test five times a day (rather than four).  Last time, my fingers hurt and were covered in small bruises...this time, I can barely tell where I've tested even earlier that same day.  Yay for small victories!).

- I meet with a diabetes instructor on Monday, then I have my 31 week appointment on Thursday of next week.

- I had a bit of a worry this week where I had a headache for two days that would NOT go away.  It felt like a migraine, but Tylenol didn't work, caffeine didn't work, sleeping didn't work...NOTHING worked.  I took my blood pressure to make sure that was not the problem....it was perfect (Whew!).

- Maggie is moving around a lot, and she's now had the hiccups several times.  I had forgotten what those feel like!  (I forgot to mention it in the last post, but the ultrasound last week confirmed that Maggie is still head down...I could have told them that from the location of the hiccups...and the random kicks to the ribs that can be quite painful).

70 days or less (most likely) to go!  If Maggie is on the same schedule that Nora was, 56 days!

29 weeks. Bring on the glucometer....AGAIN.

So.  I had my 29 week appointment today, and here is what we learned:

1. My blood pressure is still good!  (116/80.  Yay!)

2. Maggie definitely has a two vessel umbilical cord, but since she is growing fine and there are no other indications of problems, as of right now, this is "just a curiosity."

3. Maggie is a bit above average in size at this point...the 87% to be exact...with an estimated weight of 3 lbs 8 oz.  Again, just an observation at this point.

4. Maggie's heart rate is 152 bpm.

5. I failed the one hour glucose test AGAIN.  Fabulous.

Since I had such a lovely unusual reaction to the 3 hour test last time (see here if you don't know the story), no one, including me, thinks I should even attempt the 3 hour test this time.  (To give you an idea of how unusual my reaction last time was, when the doctor walked in and looked at my chart today, he said "Oh!  I know about you.  You passed out with the 3 hour test with your first pregnancy.  We've been talking about you in our monthly meetings."  Again...Fabulous.).  That means a few things:
- I already have a prescription for a glucometer and all of the necessary supplies.  I have to pick those things up this afternoon.
- I have to start testing my blood sugar FIVE times a day beginning tomorrow morning (fasting, after breakfast, after lunch, after dinner, and at bedtime).
- I get to follow a diabetic diet again.
- I'm a bit grumpy.

All in all, if it helps Maggie and me stay healthy, I'll do whatever I have to do.  At the same time though, being a pregnant woman in the third trimester and having to refuse any and all desserts just makes me cranky.  Ick.

My appointments shift to every two weeks now.  We are getting close! 

25 weeks! (well, 24 weeks and 6 days)

So...I apparently dropped off the the Blogging map after my last post...but rest assured that everything is fine.

Right after the last post, we found out that Beanie is definitely....ANOTHER girl.  :)

We are all excited (although Dan is taking some time to adjust to the thought of being outnumbered 3 to 1).  :)

We've decided on calling Beanie, Margaret Lynn (with "Maggie" being what we will actually call her most of the time).  Both Margaret and Lynn are family names.

Maggie was pretty cooperative during the entire ultrasound (unlike Nora during her 20 week ultrasound).  :)  The only question they have is whether or not there are only two, instead of three, vessels in the cord.  In most cases, this doesn't cause any problems, but they usually track the baby's growth more carefully when this is confirmed just to make sure there are no problems...so I will get another ultrasound at my 29 week appointment just to try to confirm whether there are two or three blood vessels in the cord.

Maggie did surprise the ultrasound tech during the whole process.  The technician started by asking me if I had felt the baby move yet.  I responded that I had, and that the movements seemed much stronger than they had with Nora.  The tech laughed and assured me that that was just because I knew what to look for this time....I was just better at noticing the movements.  Of course, the moment the technician actually started moving the wand across my tummy to do the ultrasound, Maggie got her two cents in by kicking the tech's hand so hard that she bobbled the wand...multiple times throughout the 20 minute procedure.  :)

I had another normal check-up yesterday at 24 weeks and 5 days.

Everything is measuring correctly, and my blood pressure is holding steady so far (120/64).
Maggie's heart rate was 155 bpm, and of course, the nurse had a hard time getting a reading because Maggie was wiggling around like a tiny wiggle worm the entire time.  :)

The next check up will be right at 29 weeks.  I'll have to do the one hour glucose test, and I'll have another ultrasound to try to resolve the two or three vessel cord issue.

I honestly cannot believe how quickly this pregnancy is flying by now that we have gotten out of the stressful first trimester.  We have done NOTHING to prepare for Maggie's arrival yet.  We need to move Nora to her big girl room, clean out the nursery, get baby things down from the attic...EEP!  15 weeks or less to go!