Pregnancy Update

As of today, I am 26 weeks, 1 day. I officially have 97 days to go. I'll have a c-section sometime after the 38 week mark provided my GD continues to stay under control with diet only. I saw the OB today and he was happy with my efforts and knows that I've been "cheating" a little at night. HJ's heartbeat was between 150 and 155. He's butt up right now with his legs in my right side.

Stats:
Weight: 182 pounds
Gain so far: 15 pounds
Blood pressure: 116/68

Fasting level: 80-90 mg/dL
16 day averagetesting 4 times each day: 100

I can move to testing every other day rather than every day!!

"I yike Cismas tees"

I'll let you all decipher that one. Duck's been so very good about leaving the tree alone! Of course, I did not do the smart thing last year and buy a tree skirt at 75% off after Christmas, so I have to try and find a cheapie one now to get me through this year. I just don't like the cords and *gasp* plastic base showing. Yes, we have a fake tree, but it is so worth it. Sure I still have a few needles to vacuum, but at least I don't have to worry about anyone remembering to water it or any little hands playing in said water.

Just a veggie tray and I'm D-O-N-E DONE!

Yep, I got all the stuff I needed for Thanksgiving dinner over two days. I have 6 adults, 1 infant, 1 toddler and 1 pre-schooler for Thursday and 4 adults and 1 pre-schooler for Friday. For some reason, my wonderful husband doesn't think a 14-lb turkey is enough.

Considering we are also having:
baked mashed potatoes
gravy
sweet potatoes (at absolute insistence they stay in the kitchen out of reach of Duck)
green bean casserole
stuffing
homemade white wheat bread
crescent rolls
veggie tray
triple layer pumpkin pie
chocolate chip cookies
no bake cookies
salad
and a mystery dessert being brought by a guest :)

I'm also making a triple layer chocolate pie for Friday as a fresh dessert.

I was always taught figure a half pound of meat per person. I have 8 adults, so I really think 14 pounds is more than enough. Duck will likely not eat turkey, just mashed potatoes and bread. (no worries, I have chicken nuggets in the freezer for him.)

But I had to promise E that if we looked "low" on Friday morning, I would go out and buy a small turkey breast to make for our guests that day. I doubt that will happen though.

I'll stop off at Publix to get a medium veggie tray on my way home on Wednesday. and I'm all done! WAHOOOOOOO

Oh, and we're putting our Christmas tree up in a little bit, just had to wait til Duck got up from his nap.

OMG my belly is TIGHT

Little, little man must be going through a growth spurt faster than my skin can stretch. Not feeling comfortable at all right now. He's moving around, but everything hurts from the inside out.

I think I'm the only pg woman in the world that teh baby moving at night HELPS me fall asleep. It's peace of mind really. I mean, think about it. If he's moving around, I can fall asleep knowing he's okay and I can relax. It's when he stops moving around that I worry and can't watch the insides of my eyes.

I also don't get up to pee in the middle of hte night (yet). Probably because I've always been one to go long periods of time without going. Don't get me wrong, I go ALL.DAY.LONG. I go before I leave work and still have to go the minute I get home and it's only a 12-mile drive!

I'm sure that will all change in the next 13 weeks. YES, can you believe it? THIRTEEN weeks!! maybe less, maybe more (doubtful). The holidays are almost here and after that it will be all downhill as far as time left to go.

I'm really looking forward to my parents being here for HJ's birth. My mom was here for Duck. Sadly because he was an emergency c/s she wasn't in the delivery room....and this one will be a scheduled c/s, so again just me and E. But at least Duck will have someone he loves very much taking care of him while I'm in the hospital.

S, wha d- do?

in other words: "S, What did you do?" is the new fave phrase around here. I have a feeling it was picked up from school which is fine, it's just hilarious he's referring to himself in third person.

Although, he still is saying his name is "Owie". I have NO idea where that came from.

I do have an idea of where a few choice words came from that we're not happy about hearing. Duck's officially a myna bird now and everything said in front of him can and will be repeated at school or hte babysitter's house, so we REALLY have to watch it now. It was funny for a while, a very short while....I kept telling E that he would get more clear on his words and sure enough I got a note home from school on Tuesday stating he'd been PERFECTLY clear on his choice of words.

HJ is movin' and groovin'. My friend M at work got to feel him. She was so excited as that was the first time she'd ever felt a baby move like that. He popped her hard too.

I can't remember what we had for dinner the other night, but it must have knocked the poor kid out because he didn't move for nearly two hours even WITH me drinking juice. Scared the crap out of me. Seriously thought I was going to have to call the OB, but he finally got the hiccups and I felt a bit better.

My GD numbers are good. Had the best day yet today when I didn't have a single reading over 100. Got close....but didn't go over. (88, 97, 90, 98) I think I finally have the portions down of what I need to eat.

Now I just need to get those snacks in somehow.

Still going around

Well, we're all still a bit sick, but on the mend.

Duck and I still have a wet cough, I'm still blowing my nose like crazy. E feels like he's finally getting out of his system more today since he spent the day puking. Gotta love that sensitive gag reflex my boys have! I couldn't make myself puke if I wanted to. In two pregnancies, I have only puked once each time. I think.....I really don't think I've puked with this one. I know I did with Sam but that was more food related than pregnancy related.

I've been puking sick ONCE in 10 years. That was the year I actually got a flu shot. Not since!

In other news, Duck continues to put 3-4 words together. Such as:

Whew, that was close
S, what do? (S, what did you do?)
I three (I'm three)
My name owie (My name is Owie...we're not sure where Owie came from, but we're working hard on getting him to say S instead)

Being a sick mom just plain SUCKS

It's bad enough that I've been sick all week. But to be pregnant, sick and unable to take much is horrible. Add in a puking sick pre-schooler and a puking sick husband and you have a slight glimpse into my first week of a gestational diabetes diagnosis.

I missed a day and a half of work because I could not stop blowing my nose or stop coughing. Did I get rest? Nope, the first day, Duck was off school for Veteran's Day. (why couldn't he have had Columbus Day like I had it from work? or why couldn't I have had VD off?) The second day? That involved a trip to the pediatrician.

He'd come home from school on Friday covered in yuck. Threw up on himself on the bus to the sitter's. While I was at work Saturday afternoon.......he threw up on himself again. I kept him home on Monday because he still wasn't 100%. Tuesday he started with sniffles and green snot and another fever. Wednesday we went to the pedi's office. Wednesday night, he puked again after taking the antibiotic. Thursday morning, he puked again......the pedi's office gave us another excuse to keep him out all week. Said he likely picked up another stomach bug on top of the sinus infection he had going on.

E's been sick through all this too. (and we all know how men are when they get sick, so I don't have to explain how I wound up being sick and still taking care of the general household.)

I went back to work Thursday, trying ot meet a deadline. Unfortunately, I went back and it seems my entire team is now sick. (sorry ladies)

this morning my internal alarm had me up at 6:30. I forced myself to lay in bed another 30 minutes or so and then I got up. Before I could actually get E upright, I had loaded the dishwasher and ran it, cleaned the kitchen floor (old style-hands and knees), picked up the living room. Once Duck was up, I got his room completely picked up, his bedding off and into the washer. I made cinnamon raisin bread this morning.

My house is clean. 100% clean.

both my boys are napping. E in bed and Duck on the couch. Because of course Duck wouldn't go down, he'd been bored all morning. While I was cleaning up, he just watched tv and trashed his room some more. So I had to lay with him to get him to sleep. He loves Lord of the Rings and it's something about the music in it that he falls asleep to. But I can't nap like that on the couch, he's a hot-body like his daddy.

so, I get time to myself to update my blog for hte first time in a week.

GD is not going well. okay, it is, but I hate it. My numbers, from the research I've done are fairly consistently IN NORMAL RANGES. Why am I testing all the time? My after breakfast check was actually LOWER than my fasting check this morning.

A peek into my sugar.

Okay, so I went to learn how to use my Ultra Touch 2 at the OB's office. The charge nurse took hers first as an example.....126. Then she had me take mine. 90. And yes, I had lunch. Cheese quesadilla with salsa and sour cream with a Ginger Ale. Time lapse between lunch and test? 3 hours.

We had chicken, peas and mashed potatoes for dinner, I had a big glass of chocolate milk with it. Two hours later, my sugar was 113.

I didn't have to test until today....and I figure it might as well track my sugar and food somewhere. Don't worry, my focus will still be Duck and HJ.

So, here's today's results so far:
fasting (7:30 a.m.): 88

breakfast: 12 bite-size frosted mini wheats (serv size = 24), 4 oz milk, 4 oz pear juice

2 hours after breakfast (11 a.m.): 75

morning snack: 1 piece bread with peanut butter, 8 oz milk

lunch: 2 oz grilled chicken breast, 1/4 cup no salt added peas, 1 pear, 1 piece of bread with peanut butter

2 hours after lunch (5:00): 94

snack: NONE

dinner: 3 squares of Domino's thin crust cheese pizza, three pieces of Domino's cheesy bread, 16 oz of Canada Dry Ginger Ale

2 hours after dinner (8:30): 122

snack: 11 almonds

Obviously an all carb dinner was a bad idea.

My 3-hour glucose test experience, results included

Knowing the lab only does one 3-hour test each Saturday, I had to sign up three weeks in advance to make sure they would have my results back by my appointment today. I get there right at appt time, they get me started.

Thankfully, I got to drink ORANGE syrup. You know that stuff McDonald's used to serve way back when? That's what it tasted like. But because I was already very hungry and bordering dehydrated (for me)......it tasted incredible. Hell, anything was better than that fruit punch stuff I had to drink at the OB's office.

Anyway, they had me drink it, took my blood and sent me back out to the waiting room. 55 minutes later, I walked back to the testing area and let my tech know I was ready. then it hit me. 100mL of pure sugar hit me and HJ like a ton of bricks. HJ starts spazzing out, flipping and turning. I'd swear he'd give Paul or Morgan Hamm a run for their medals. Then the tunnel vision and cold sweats. I turn to another patient and ask him to get someone.

Of course, he didn't quite hear me at first, then he looked at me. The head guy from the lab walked into my field of vision and it was all I could to reach up and touch his arm. I said, "I don't feel so good"

"You're a glucose test aren't you?"

At that point, he picks me up......well, not like a groom carries a bride, but close enough. He had my entire weight on him. (me at 5'3 and him at over 6'......yeah, it was a sight)

they get me back to the one room they have an exam table and get me laid down. And they go ahead and take my blood.

I lay there, fading in and out......not sure if I was passing out or just sleeping, but it was 10-15 minute increments. They took my blood an hour later, from the same vein and it hurt A LOT.

Another hour of fading in and out and they hit the same vein a third time. Thsi time, I actually screamed a little.

It's now 4 days post-test and yes, I have lovely bruise. But at least the bruise is covering up the needle marks. Sunday it looked like I had track marks......

Today I learned, I failed. I failed my 3-hour test.

Remember I said that I "barely failed" my 1-hour? She was right......it was 130. According to WebMD, the upper cut off is 140. The lower cut off? 130. So I failed by ONE FREAKING POINT!

The really odd thing? My 1-hour with Duck was 135 and I supposedly passed. Might have something to do with my 8lb, 2oz baby who had low blood sugar at birth.

Official scores:
fasting: 86 (pass)
1-hour: 191 (fail)
2-hour: 119 (pass)
3-hour: 174 (fail)

This site gives the scores for each hour......National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse

So, now I sit back and wait to hear from my OB's charge nurse as to how he wants to handle it. I'll either wind up with daily pricks to my fingers or on medications.

And for your viewing pleasure today, Duck's first listen at HJ's heartbeat. I will say that it's not til 44 seconds that you can really tell it's a heartbeat clearly. He was incredibly active.....I had just had a full lunch to include pudding and Sunny D. (guess that stops now, huh?)

Rest in peace Jack

At 11:00 this morning EST, sweet toddler Jack will be laid to rest. Please pray for his family.

Putting things in perspective.

Life is so short............even for those that live to be over 100. But J's death has really had an impact on me the past two days. He didn't ask for a heart defect. He didn't live a life of drinking, smoking, womanizing, or general bad decisions. He was a child. A perfectly innocent child whose life was way too short. He will be missed by those who knew and loved him. And by people who have never, ever met him in person.

See, I belong to several online mommy groups. I met J's mom through one of them. Oddly, they lived in MI, so when she would talk about places they'd been or hospitals J had to go to, I knew right where they were.

I came here to post about my 3-hour glucose test yesterday.....but I just can't bring myself to do it. It's not worth complaining about.

I have so very much to be thankful for. Duck, E, HJ on the way.......a roof over my head, a job I love. Sure, there's stress in my life, but not like J had. And certainly nothing like J's parents went through. So, I'm taking a break from my blog for a while. Not sure how long, but I need to do this for myself. To really put things into perspective.

Thankfulness

Last night my friend's little boy lost his battle with a severe congenital heart defect. Not much younger than Duck, he suffered more in the past few months than most people endure their entire life.

When I read what happened, I went in and hugged Duck as he slept, then as I went to bed, I rubbed my belly, thankful for both my little boys.

I really don't know what else to say other than I'm so sad for A/B/N's loss.

J-you will be missed dearly!