Whew! It has been difficult to find the time to sit down at the computer to do anything but sort through a half dozen of the several hundred emails waiting for me each week since baby was born.
This is just a brief message to let you know that baby and I are alive and doing well. You'll have to tune in (yes, I'll date myself with such language!) over the next few days, as I hope to post a real entry. In the meantime, however, here is the pertinent info:
Our daughter, Clara, was born at 1:18 am on Thursday, August 13, 2009 via c-section. She weighed in at 8 pounds 4 ounces and measured 21 inches long. We had a luxurious 5 day stay at the local hospital, with wonderful food and great service, I might add!
Life with baby has been wonderfully busy and she is adjusting to our family like a pro. Thankfully, she has even gotten down the we-like-to-sleep-at-night routine and grants me a solid 6 hours now! Wahoo! What a difference a good night's sleep makes...especially at 40!
Lil' Pumpkin should be rousing soon for her last feeding for the night, so I better attempt to squeeze in loading the dishwasher before she truly wakes up!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
D-Day Discount
Whether a first time mom or an old pro, it seems that most expectant mothers these days do a baby registry. I too partook of this opportunity and registered at the local Babies R Us.
At first I just put a half dozen or so items on the list. Just some bigger things that we would need that had long since left our home or dry rotted after years in the garage.
Then I became enlightened! I found out that at Babies R Us you can purchase anything left on your registry around your due date at 10% off . . . score!
So back to the store with hubby this time. However, being the simplistic man that he is, and not too fond of shopping anyway, we only added a few more thing to the list.
The next time I returned to the store I brought with me someone who was a bit more interested in shopping, babies and the prospect of scanning bar codes . . . my teenage daughter. We had a blast going through the store and picking out all sorts of stuff that I knew we would need (crib sheets, bottles, wipes, formula, diapers, stroller/car seat system, pack and play, mattress, etc.)
From small to large and cheap to expensive every conceivable item I could recall needing, as well as some new things I figured could be quite helpful this time round, made the list. Mostly, I figured we would just come back around our due date to pick up the essentials at that 10% discount. As it was our third child I didn't necessarily expect a baby shower, but figured that some family and friends might also want some suggestions for baby gifts. (To my surprise, they actually ended up throwing me two showers!)
This week we received our highly anticipated 10% discount coupon in the mail. I was disappointed to read the fine print that excluded diapers and formula. My spirits were only temporarily dampened, however, because we found out that were able to use the registry discount in conjunction with other coupons. Wahooo! We still needed to get the stroller system and by adding another 15% coupon we would be able to do so at 25% off! Saving money can be so exciting sometimes.
Today we made the d-day discount visit to acquire all the essentials still remaining on our registry. With all the gift cards and money we had received between the two showers, we were able to have a relatively full shopping spree for FREE! Yes, free!
We were able to get the stroller system, booster seat, baby gate as well as lots of little things like a bunch of wipes! It was quite a blessing to finish stocking the nursery and have a sense of complete preparedness should baby arrive tonight.
So if you were feeling like it wasn't worthwhile to take the time to register . . . think again! Sign up for things you know you'll need, like wipes, receiving blankets, bottles, bibs, burp cloths, etc. They give you a couple months to take advantage of the registry discount, so you can even wait until after baby arrives.
Thanks Babies R Us for my due date discount shopping spree!
At first I just put a half dozen or so items on the list. Just some bigger things that we would need that had long since left our home or dry rotted after years in the garage.
Then I became enlightened! I found out that at Babies R Us you can purchase anything left on your registry around your due date at 10% off . . . score!
So back to the store with hubby this time. However, being the simplistic man that he is, and not too fond of shopping anyway, we only added a few more thing to the list.
The next time I returned to the store I brought with me someone who was a bit more interested in shopping, babies and the prospect of scanning bar codes . . . my teenage daughter. We had a blast going through the store and picking out all sorts of stuff that I knew we would need (crib sheets, bottles, wipes, formula, diapers, stroller/car seat system, pack and play, mattress, etc.)
From small to large and cheap to expensive every conceivable item I could recall needing, as well as some new things I figured could be quite helpful this time round, made the list. Mostly, I figured we would just come back around our due date to pick up the essentials at that 10% discount. As it was our third child I didn't necessarily expect a baby shower, but figured that some family and friends might also want some suggestions for baby gifts. (To my surprise, they actually ended up throwing me two showers!)
This week we received our highly anticipated 10% discount coupon in the mail. I was disappointed to read the fine print that excluded diapers and formula. My spirits were only temporarily dampened, however, because we found out that were able to use the registry discount in conjunction with other coupons. Wahooo! We still needed to get the stroller system and by adding another 15% coupon we would be able to do so at 25% off! Saving money can be so exciting sometimes.
Today we made the d-day discount visit to acquire all the essentials still remaining on our registry. With all the gift cards and money we had received between the two showers, we were able to have a relatively full shopping spree for FREE! Yes, free!
We were able to get the stroller system, booster seat, baby gate as well as lots of little things like a bunch of wipes! It was quite a blessing to finish stocking the nursery and have a sense of complete preparedness should baby arrive tonight.
So if you were feeling like it wasn't worthwhile to take the time to register . . . think again! Sign up for things you know you'll need, like wipes, receiving blankets, bottles, bibs, burp cloths, etc. They give you a couple months to take advantage of the registry discount, so you can even wait until after baby arrives.
Thanks Babies R Us for my due date discount shopping spree!
Friday, August 7, 2009
To Be Or Not To Be...Surprised?!
To be or not to be surprised? Every expectant couple has to decide these days if they want to know ahead of time about the baby's gender. Do you or don't you want to know? Inquiring minds always ask.
For our first I did not want to know ahead of time. I wanted it to be a complete surprise. With the plethora of boys on both sides of mine and my husband's families, I was convinced that in the future I'd be on boy number five trying and hoping for a girl.
Just the other week I turned to my daughter and told her that she was the best surprise of my life! I could not have been more thrilled to have a girl the first time round, especially since I figured it was inevitable that all the rest would be boys.
For our second child I wanted to know ahead of time. I had my surprise with my daughter and this time I wanted to be prepared. Did I need to pull the pink stuff out of storage or restock with blue? I had at least three different ultrasounds, with three different techs, who all confirmed that indeed we were going to have a . . . boy! It couldn't get much better than that. One of each and the first grandson on my side of the family.
Now, 11 years later we could have gone either way. We had done the surprise route and the prepared ahead of time route. However, this time we had two other people to consider: our daughter and son. They certainly were not going to be content waiting for a big surprise when each desired to have a sibling like themselves. In fact, with my slightly drama queen teen, I was convinced that tears would definitely be involved and I wanted them over and done with before bringing baby home!
So at our 28 week routine Level 2 ultrasound (remember I'm considered "elderly" on the maternity ward) we told them to let us know if they could determine the gender. Naturally, this child did not want to cooperate. If there is one thing to tell you about a Level 2 ultrasound it is that they are LONG! After an hour or so they had not been able to see anything since the baby was completely curled up. Before finishing up, the baby stretched out so the technician did one last check and we got a glimpse of that all important region.
The tech declared that she saw three lines. My immediate thought was that three of anything surely meant that it was a boy. Apparently, not the case - rather it indicates a girl!
We told our children that we were 90% sure that it would be a girl (we figure they can still be wrong!) My son declared that he would prefer to have a puppy rather than another sister (I did confirm for him that we were 100% sure it was not a puppy!) Our daughter has been elated ever since the big news. I must admit, so have I. I mean, c'mon, girl clothes are soooo much cuter!
The kids have been so eager to know for certain that I eventually had to tell them that we can't be certain til the baby is in our arms. Our son continues to pray for a boy and our daughter asks daily what percentage chance it is that it will be a girl (can you tell she's got a mathematical mind?)
Over the last few weeks, with all the craziness this pregnancy has brought, I've almost convinced myself that it can't possibly be a girl. It would be completely consistent for this baby to throw one last curve ball and surprise us in the end!
For our first I did not want to know ahead of time. I wanted it to be a complete surprise. With the plethora of boys on both sides of mine and my husband's families, I was convinced that in the future I'd be on boy number five trying and hoping for a girl.
Just the other week I turned to my daughter and told her that she was the best surprise of my life! I could not have been more thrilled to have a girl the first time round, especially since I figured it was inevitable that all the rest would be boys.
For our second child I wanted to know ahead of time. I had my surprise with my daughter and this time I wanted to be prepared. Did I need to pull the pink stuff out of storage or restock with blue? I had at least three different ultrasounds, with three different techs, who all confirmed that indeed we were going to have a . . . boy! It couldn't get much better than that. One of each and the first grandson on my side of the family.
Now, 11 years later we could have gone either way. We had done the surprise route and the prepared ahead of time route. However, this time we had two other people to consider: our daughter and son. They certainly were not going to be content waiting for a big surprise when each desired to have a sibling like themselves. In fact, with my slightly drama queen teen, I was convinced that tears would definitely be involved and I wanted them over and done with before bringing baby home!
So at our 28 week routine Level 2 ultrasound (remember I'm considered "elderly" on the maternity ward) we told them to let us know if they could determine the gender. Naturally, this child did not want to cooperate. If there is one thing to tell you about a Level 2 ultrasound it is that they are LONG! After an hour or so they had not been able to see anything since the baby was completely curled up. Before finishing up, the baby stretched out so the technician did one last check and we got a glimpse of that all important region.
The tech declared that she saw three lines. My immediate thought was that three of anything surely meant that it was a boy. Apparently, not the case - rather it indicates a girl!
We told our children that we were 90% sure that it would be a girl (we figure they can still be wrong!) My son declared that he would prefer to have a puppy rather than another sister (I did confirm for him that we were 100% sure it was not a puppy!) Our daughter has been elated ever since the big news. I must admit, so have I. I mean, c'mon, girl clothes are soooo much cuter!
The kids have been so eager to know for certain that I eventually had to tell them that we can't be certain til the baby is in our arms. Our son continues to pray for a boy and our daughter asks daily what percentage chance it is that it will be a girl (can you tell she's got a mathematical mind?)
Over the last few weeks, with all the craziness this pregnancy has brought, I've almost convinced myself that it can't possibly be a girl. It would be completely consistent for this baby to throw one last curve ball and surprise us in the end!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
What A Difference A Year Makes
It is hard to fathom that a year ago I was excited about the prospect of having another baby. Only that one was due April 1st. Exactly a year ago this week I had begun to suffer a miscarriage. Interestingly, the Lord has redeemed that time by choosing to bless me with a new baby almost a year to the day later. His timing couldn't be more perfect. The emotional and physical pain of last summer will soon be replaced by joy - along with a lot of worthwhile pain!
Miscarriages are actually more common than most people realize. With the onset of early pregnancy tests more and more women have been aware of pregnancy much earlier than previous generations. Prior to these over-the-counter tests, women had to wait later for the blood test confirmation or word about that poor old rabbit.
Personally, I have suffered through two, quite different, miscarriages exactly thirteen years apart (ironically both were due in April.) I'm not sure which was more devastating. The first that sent me to the ER in the middle of the night or the second which took weeks to complete. To be honest, neither one was fun at all. Yet in God's timing He saw fit to bless me with a daughter and son at just the right time in my life. Now I see His hand again as this next child will be making a debut very shortly.
What a difference the past year has made in my life!
Miscarriages are actually more common than most people realize. With the onset of early pregnancy tests more and more women have been aware of pregnancy much earlier than previous generations. Prior to these over-the-counter tests, women had to wait later for the blood test confirmation or word about that poor old rabbit.
Personally, I have suffered through two, quite different, miscarriages exactly thirteen years apart (ironically both were due in April.) I'm not sure which was more devastating. The first that sent me to the ER in the middle of the night or the second which took weeks to complete. To be honest, neither one was fun at all. Yet in God's timing He saw fit to bless me with a daughter and son at just the right time in my life. Now I see His hand again as this next child will be making a debut very shortly.
What a difference the past year has made in my life!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Third Trimester Trials
For the most part this has been the best pregnancy I have ever had. I have been more energetic, healthier, happier and amazingly relatively dizzy and pain free...praise the Lord!
Once the end of June arrived, and along with it the last trimester stretch, I hit a few bumps in the road. Considering that I haven't landed on bed rest or have any serious problems, I really can't complain. Just in case some of you out there may struggle with some of the same issues, I thought I would document these few third trimester trials.
Pregnancy Tachycardia:
This is a fancy medical word for your-heart-is-racing-s0-fast-you'd-think-you-were-running-a-marathon-but-all-you-did-was-walk-to-the-fridge! It hit me all of the sudden one day while I was at the gym. I had not even started to work out and yet I had the sensation that I had just done some high intensity aerobics (in reality all I had done was walk through the door!) Fortunately, I work out at my physical therapist's office, where you pay a small monthly fee if you have ever been a patient and can use all the fancy equipment - this comes in handy for some of the specialized exercises I do for my vertigo. They were able to check me out and recommended that I head home and call my doctor right away.
After consulting with my midwife, primary doctor, and eventually a cardiologist, I was officially diagnosed with pregnancy tachycardia (as well as some minute long Latin sounding thing that is benign and just means my heart adds a few beats here and there to make things interesting!) All this was determined via a 24 hour heart monitor and an echo cardiogram.
Since my heart rate only got up to 144 and did not top off at 190 or over 200, the cardiologist determined that I did not need to take any kind of beta blocker (meds typically prescribed for such a condition.) Apparently, the beta blockers can be bad for baby to be on for a prolonged period of time. All I need to do when I do go into labor is make sure that a cardiologist is aware of my situation and can administer meds if needed during labor.
The only glitch to the pregnancy tachycardia is that I had to abide by a few rules: resting when the heart raced, no more exercising, and no more caffeine! Originally, I thought that the resting restriction would be the hardest as it was taking me several hours to get my heart rate to calm down. I truly feared that I would be on self-imposed bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy.
Fortunately, due to my vertigo and fibromyalgia, I have seen a chiropractor for years and I have continued to see him once a week throughout my pregnancy. He noticed that my rib cage was twisted and sometimes that can aggravate rapid heart rate symptoms. After a few gentle adjustments my heart rate calmed down dramatically. Now, instead of taking hours to get my heart rate to come down from 144 to 120, it really hasn't bothered me much and it only takes a few minutes to get it from 120 to 100.
Since the heart rate has improved, I have been allowed to partake of small amounts of caffeine (decaf coffee, some chocolate and decaf iced tea). At first, it was quite difficult to go completely cold turkey on the caffeine - as I had previously been faithful to get my permitted daily 8 oz dose - but I have survived!
"Basketball Belly"
Stop now if you're trying to google this next bump (pun intended) on my pregnancy road. This is not an official medical term of any sort, just a way of describing the unfortunate event that occurred a week after the rapid heart rate onset.
I was intently watching my two older kids playing basketball for the first time with our church. My daughter had played on her school team this past year, but this was pretty much the first organized basketball game that my son had ever played (unless you count the YMCA class they took when they were really young...quite humorous I must admit!) Both of them were doing so well, making passes, taking shots, stealing balls and scoring points. I am quite proud of how well they have been doing, especially considering that neither hubby nor I have any athletic abilities whatsoever!
The whole time they were playing I had my eyes on that ball like a hawk. I wasn't taking any chances of getting hit with a basketball at 32 weeks. Baby was enjoying the game, moving around a lot and sticking her own little round ball out the top of my belly - head or rump I wasn't sure.
During one of the breaks my husband came in to the gym. Naturally, I looked up adoringly for a split second (as no one was playing at the moment) and WHAM! Out of nowhere a basketball whacked me right on the belly, just at the spot where baby had been protruding.
I tried to remain calm until the end of the game, but it really smarted. I was also greatly concerned that it could have been the baby's head that got hit and in my panic was not feeling as much movement as before. Fortunately, my parents had come up to pick up the kids for the weekend after the game, so I sent them on their way and promptly called my midwife.
After consulting with her on the phone she determined that because I'm RH Negative I needed to get to the hospital right away. Hmmm, not the reaction I had been hoping for - a little more panic welled within me. Apparently, if there was any kind of blood transfer from me to baby it could be quite harmful to the baby.
Hubby and I hopped into the van and took our first test run to the maternity ward. Not exactly the tour I had planned! We were admitted right away and placed on a monitor. I cannot tell you how relieved I was to hear the heart beat and movements of the baby. In fact, she was so wiggly that they had an extremely hard time monitoring her for a straight 20 minutes. It was pretty humorous to hear her heartbeat start out strong and then actually fade into the distance. C'mon, where in the world could she go in there?!
Due to her elusive heart beat, they eventually had to do an ultrasound to determine her position. Sure enough her head was up - she had indeed been knocked in the noggin! However, after hours of monitoring and blood tests we finished our late night "tour" of the maternity ward and headed home, having been reassured of baby's well being.
High Blood Pressure
Believe it or not, just a few days after my encounter with the wayward basketball my blood pressure was registering on the high side. Nothing to be alarmed at, but the midwife performs a routine test when the numbers get to 130 over 80 or higher. Mine fluctuated between 130 and 140 over a few visits.
So for 24 hours it was necessary to relieve oneself in a huge jug (and yes it would be so much easier to be a boy during tests like these!) It is still a mystery to me what high blood pressure has to do with kidney trouble, but the test was to determine if the kidneys were spilling protein. This would be a sign of pre-eclampsia, which can be very dangerous for mother and baby. Again, slight panic at the thought of bed rest and a high risk delivery. Fortunately, all the tests came back fine and the slightly elevated blood pressure was attributed to my run in with the basketball and the tachycardia.
Breech Baby
Of course the fun did not stop there. Remember when they did the ultrasound and found that baby had been head up when she got whacked with the basketball? She stubbornly decided to stay in that position instead of assuming the head down stance in preparation for delivery.
We were told that if she didn't turn down on her own by week 37 then the doctor would have to turn her manually (ouch!) The procedure is called external version. I must admit, of all the ups and downs of the previous weeks this was the one that had me most panicked.
If she didn't turn on her own then I was faced with what sounded like a really painful procedure. If the external version was not successful then it would be an automatic c-section. If I have a c-section then I'm more likely to have a much tougher recovery due to the fact that fibromyalgia usually doubles recovery time for any injury. None of these options suited my fancy.
Over the weeks that followed I tried ever conceivable tip to try and encourage baby to turn before necessitating medical intervention. First and foremost was prayer followed by various and sundry methods gleaned from friends and the internet.
I tried lying head down with my feet up, but that made me feel quite ill because of the annoying acid reflux and the rapid heart rate thumping ever louder in my head. I did the cat and dog stretch, Kegels and pelvic tilts. I tried to coax baby down by shining a flash light on the belly hoping she would follow the light. However, the oddest thing I did was sit on a cd player every evening for roughly a week with Beethoven blaring at full volume!
Yes, I felt silly and yes, my bum got numb, but it may have been worth it. Every time I sat on the cd player she would definitely react to the music - only I had the sensation that she was trying to get away from it. This theory seemed consistent with how she responded in general to outside stimulus. When people try to catch her moving, she usually stops until they remove their hand and then she promptly starts up the acrobatic routine again. At the hospital she had constantly tried to get away from the heart monitor. This behavior made me take a step back and rethink my tactics. So I put the cd player on top of the belly in the hope that she might try to run away from it. She definitely kicked and attempted to wriggle down, but not head down.
Two days before we were scheduled for the external version I went for an additional visit to the chiropractor for him to do a particular adjustment that is supposed to encourage breech babies to turn. He had already done this several times and my pelvis was becoming looser each time - which should allow the baby a bit more room to maneuver.
The evening before our appointment I decided to try some soothing harp music to sit on, supposing that Beethoven might just be a tad to erratic. Or it just could be that baby had inherited my music preferences, which have never included classical music. (Don't worry, my kids still benefit from Mozart and others as they've done Suzuki piano for 7 years. Still, I'm not a fan of classical music. I just put up with it because I know it's good for their brain development! Kinda like spinach.)
That night I went to bed a bit apprehensive about the upcoming procedure in the morning. I had a really hard time getting to sleep, but finally succumbed around 1 am. I awoke around 2:30 am feeling quite uncomfortable and had the strange sensation that baby was lying sideways. My first thought was that God had listened to the prayers of His people and baby had begun to turn on her own.
I tried to get some sleep, but to no avail. Around 3:30 am the contractions started. After about an hour and a half I finally called the midwife and woke up hubby. I figured that since she was still breech I probably shouldn't wait too much longer - especially since my labor with my son was only an hour and twenty minutes start to finish!
We rushed around a bit and finished packing bags just in case the contractions led to a baby. (And why wouldn't they? That's always what happened previously.) We arrived at the hospital around 6 am and I was placed on the monitor. It did show contractions, but nothing significant. An ultrasound revealed that the baby had tried to turn on her own and was transverse with her head down slightly to the right - praise God!
The doctor came in around 8 am to perform the external version to get baby all the way down. Just before he grabbed the belly he warned me that he would not stop if I yelled, only if I told him "stop!" Uh, oh. I really didn't like the sound of that. Well, he grabbed and pushed and I concentrated on my breathing. It was over in a matter of a minute with only a push or two to get her into place. Considering I was sore for days, I am so thankful that she turned most of the way on her own - I really don't think I could have handled the doctor turning her an entire 180 degrees!
So now baby is still in the correct position, my belly looks and feels different since she turned. I had forgotten what the pregnancy waddle in the last few weeks felt like! The pressure is on, literally, and I'm anxious to have the baby in my arms. All things considered, the Lord has really blessed me with a great pregnancy and I have learned a lot about trusting Him during these few bumps in the road.
Baby is scheduled to be induced a week from today. Full moon tonight. Hmm, wonder what the chances are...?
Once the end of June arrived, and along with it the last trimester stretch, I hit a few bumps in the road. Considering that I haven't landed on bed rest or have any serious problems, I really can't complain. Just in case some of you out there may struggle with some of the same issues, I thought I would document these few third trimester trials.
Pregnancy Tachycardia:
This is a fancy medical word for your-heart-is-racing-s0-fast-you'd-think-you-were-running-a-marathon-but-all-you-did-was-walk-to-the-fridge! It hit me all of the sudden one day while I was at the gym. I had not even started to work out and yet I had the sensation that I had just done some high intensity aerobics (in reality all I had done was walk through the door!) Fortunately, I work out at my physical therapist's office, where you pay a small monthly fee if you have ever been a patient and can use all the fancy equipment - this comes in handy for some of the specialized exercises I do for my vertigo. They were able to check me out and recommended that I head home and call my doctor right away.
After consulting with my midwife, primary doctor, and eventually a cardiologist, I was officially diagnosed with pregnancy tachycardia (as well as some minute long Latin sounding thing that is benign and just means my heart adds a few beats here and there to make things interesting!) All this was determined via a 24 hour heart monitor and an echo cardiogram.
Since my heart rate only got up to 144 and did not top off at 190 or over 200, the cardiologist determined that I did not need to take any kind of beta blocker (meds typically prescribed for such a condition.) Apparently, the beta blockers can be bad for baby to be on for a prolonged period of time. All I need to do when I do go into labor is make sure that a cardiologist is aware of my situation and can administer meds if needed during labor.
The only glitch to the pregnancy tachycardia is that I had to abide by a few rules: resting when the heart raced, no more exercising, and no more caffeine! Originally, I thought that the resting restriction would be the hardest as it was taking me several hours to get my heart rate to calm down. I truly feared that I would be on self-imposed bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy.
Fortunately, due to my vertigo and fibromyalgia, I have seen a chiropractor for years and I have continued to see him once a week throughout my pregnancy. He noticed that my rib cage was twisted and sometimes that can aggravate rapid heart rate symptoms. After a few gentle adjustments my heart rate calmed down dramatically. Now, instead of taking hours to get my heart rate to come down from 144 to 120, it really hasn't bothered me much and it only takes a few minutes to get it from 120 to 100.
Since the heart rate has improved, I have been allowed to partake of small amounts of caffeine (decaf coffee, some chocolate and decaf iced tea). At first, it was quite difficult to go completely cold turkey on the caffeine - as I had previously been faithful to get my permitted daily 8 oz dose - but I have survived!
"Basketball Belly"
Stop now if you're trying to google this next bump (pun intended) on my pregnancy road. This is not an official medical term of any sort, just a way of describing the unfortunate event that occurred a week after the rapid heart rate onset.
I was intently watching my two older kids playing basketball for the first time with our church. My daughter had played on her school team this past year, but this was pretty much the first organized basketball game that my son had ever played (unless you count the YMCA class they took when they were really young...quite humorous I must admit!) Both of them were doing so well, making passes, taking shots, stealing balls and scoring points. I am quite proud of how well they have been doing, especially considering that neither hubby nor I have any athletic abilities whatsoever!
The whole time they were playing I had my eyes on that ball like a hawk. I wasn't taking any chances of getting hit with a basketball at 32 weeks. Baby was enjoying the game, moving around a lot and sticking her own little round ball out the top of my belly - head or rump I wasn't sure.
During one of the breaks my husband came in to the gym. Naturally, I looked up adoringly for a split second (as no one was playing at the moment) and WHAM! Out of nowhere a basketball whacked me right on the belly, just at the spot where baby had been protruding.
I tried to remain calm until the end of the game, but it really smarted. I was also greatly concerned that it could have been the baby's head that got hit and in my panic was not feeling as much movement as before. Fortunately, my parents had come up to pick up the kids for the weekend after the game, so I sent them on their way and promptly called my midwife.
After consulting with her on the phone she determined that because I'm RH Negative I needed to get to the hospital right away. Hmmm, not the reaction I had been hoping for - a little more panic welled within me. Apparently, if there was any kind of blood transfer from me to baby it could be quite harmful to the baby.
Hubby and I hopped into the van and took our first test run to the maternity ward. Not exactly the tour I had planned! We were admitted right away and placed on a monitor. I cannot tell you how relieved I was to hear the heart beat and movements of the baby. In fact, she was so wiggly that they had an extremely hard time monitoring her for a straight 20 minutes. It was pretty humorous to hear her heartbeat start out strong and then actually fade into the distance. C'mon, where in the world could she go in there?!
Due to her elusive heart beat, they eventually had to do an ultrasound to determine her position. Sure enough her head was up - she had indeed been knocked in the noggin! However, after hours of monitoring and blood tests we finished our late night "tour" of the maternity ward and headed home, having been reassured of baby's well being.
High Blood Pressure
Believe it or not, just a few days after my encounter with the wayward basketball my blood pressure was registering on the high side. Nothing to be alarmed at, but the midwife performs a routine test when the numbers get to 130 over 80 or higher. Mine fluctuated between 130 and 140 over a few visits.
So for 24 hours it was necessary to relieve oneself in a huge jug (and yes it would be so much easier to be a boy during tests like these!) It is still a mystery to me what high blood pressure has to do with kidney trouble, but the test was to determine if the kidneys were spilling protein. This would be a sign of pre-eclampsia, which can be very dangerous for mother and baby. Again, slight panic at the thought of bed rest and a high risk delivery. Fortunately, all the tests came back fine and the slightly elevated blood pressure was attributed to my run in with the basketball and the tachycardia.
Breech Baby
Of course the fun did not stop there. Remember when they did the ultrasound and found that baby had been head up when she got whacked with the basketball? She stubbornly decided to stay in that position instead of assuming the head down stance in preparation for delivery.
We were told that if she didn't turn down on her own by week 37 then the doctor would have to turn her manually (ouch!) The procedure is called external version. I must admit, of all the ups and downs of the previous weeks this was the one that had me most panicked.
If she didn't turn on her own then I was faced with what sounded like a really painful procedure. If the external version was not successful then it would be an automatic c-section. If I have a c-section then I'm more likely to have a much tougher recovery due to the fact that fibromyalgia usually doubles recovery time for any injury. None of these options suited my fancy.
Over the weeks that followed I tried ever conceivable tip to try and encourage baby to turn before necessitating medical intervention. First and foremost was prayer followed by various and sundry methods gleaned from friends and the internet.
I tried lying head down with my feet up, but that made me feel quite ill because of the annoying acid reflux and the rapid heart rate thumping ever louder in my head. I did the cat and dog stretch, Kegels and pelvic tilts. I tried to coax baby down by shining a flash light on the belly hoping she would follow the light. However, the oddest thing I did was sit on a cd player every evening for roughly a week with Beethoven blaring at full volume!
Yes, I felt silly and yes, my bum got numb, but it may have been worth it. Every time I sat on the cd player she would definitely react to the music - only I had the sensation that she was trying to get away from it. This theory seemed consistent with how she responded in general to outside stimulus. When people try to catch her moving, she usually stops until they remove their hand and then she promptly starts up the acrobatic routine again. At the hospital she had constantly tried to get away from the heart monitor. This behavior made me take a step back and rethink my tactics. So I put the cd player on top of the belly in the hope that she might try to run away from it. She definitely kicked and attempted to wriggle down, but not head down.
Two days before we were scheduled for the external version I went for an additional visit to the chiropractor for him to do a particular adjustment that is supposed to encourage breech babies to turn. He had already done this several times and my pelvis was becoming looser each time - which should allow the baby a bit more room to maneuver.
The evening before our appointment I decided to try some soothing harp music to sit on, supposing that Beethoven might just be a tad to erratic. Or it just could be that baby had inherited my music preferences, which have never included classical music. (Don't worry, my kids still benefit from Mozart and others as they've done Suzuki piano for 7 years. Still, I'm not a fan of classical music. I just put up with it because I know it's good for their brain development! Kinda like spinach.)
That night I went to bed a bit apprehensive about the upcoming procedure in the morning. I had a really hard time getting to sleep, but finally succumbed around 1 am. I awoke around 2:30 am feeling quite uncomfortable and had the strange sensation that baby was lying sideways. My first thought was that God had listened to the prayers of His people and baby had begun to turn on her own.
I tried to get some sleep, but to no avail. Around 3:30 am the contractions started. After about an hour and a half I finally called the midwife and woke up hubby. I figured that since she was still breech I probably shouldn't wait too much longer - especially since my labor with my son was only an hour and twenty minutes start to finish!
We rushed around a bit and finished packing bags just in case the contractions led to a baby. (And why wouldn't they? That's always what happened previously.) We arrived at the hospital around 6 am and I was placed on the monitor. It did show contractions, but nothing significant. An ultrasound revealed that the baby had tried to turn on her own and was transverse with her head down slightly to the right - praise God!
The doctor came in around 8 am to perform the external version to get baby all the way down. Just before he grabbed the belly he warned me that he would not stop if I yelled, only if I told him "stop!" Uh, oh. I really didn't like the sound of that. Well, he grabbed and pushed and I concentrated on my breathing. It was over in a matter of a minute with only a push or two to get her into place. Considering I was sore for days, I am so thankful that she turned most of the way on her own - I really don't think I could have handled the doctor turning her an entire 180 degrees!
So now baby is still in the correct position, my belly looks and feels different since she turned. I had forgotten what the pregnancy waddle in the last few weeks felt like! The pressure is on, literally, and I'm anxious to have the baby in my arms. All things considered, the Lord has really blessed me with a great pregnancy and I have learned a lot about trusting Him during these few bumps in the road.
Baby is scheduled to be induced a week from today. Full moon tonight. Hmm, wonder what the chances are...?
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Maternity Maturity
"Maternity Maturity" sounds much better to me than the typical Advanced Maternal Age which is really just a nice way of putting what a friend of mine had written on her medical papers..."elderly!" Since when is 40 elderly in the maternity ward?! Just check out Hollywood and the standard they've been setting over the last few years: Halle Berry, 41;
Madonna, 42; Nicole Kidman, 41; Marcia Cross, 44 - just to name a few.
Now I must admit, 40 was definitely my limit. I wasn't about to consider giving birth at age 41 for myself, despite the rise of older moms in our society. I had always wanted to be a young mom and have all my children before I turned 30. That worked for the first two - they were right on track - the first at age 27 and the second at age 29.
However, the desire I had for always wanting 4 kids stuck with me. So after years of pleading, as 40 loomed on my horizon, the deal was struck and the compromise was made - we would at least try for a third child before I hit my self-imposed age limit.
My personal struggle over the past 17 years with various health conditions was a major concern for my husband and I as we considered having more children. It is one of the main reasons why we had not added to the family before this and our biggest hesitation in making the decision to see if God would bless us with another child. (Of course, I was praying for twins to fulfill my desire for four kids, but now that the big day approaches I'm quite thankful to the Lord for only having one...what was I thinking?!)
Fortunately, being pregnant at 40 has been the best and healthiest pregnancy for me yet! My chronic vertigo and fibromyalgia symptoms have been almost non-existent over the past nine months. This is attributed to hormones...yeah! Usually pregnancy hormones get blamed for all the yucky stuff, but for me I'm quite grateful to the surge of hormones that has kept me feeling great for most of the pregnancy. I did have to take extra hormones in the beginning, due to a previous miscarriage as well as my "maternity maturity", and I must admit that they made me pretty queasy in the first trimester. However, considering I never experienced morning sickness in any of my pregnancies (a blessing I'm well aware of after comparing notes with several friends who suffered much misery), I can hardly complain over a few weeks of queasiness.
Up until late June I was able to work out on a regular basis (something I only did half-heartily with the first child and I can't even remember much of the second pregnancy as I was chasing a 2 year old the whole time!) With the first two kids I gained 40 lbs and 38 lbs respectively, but with this one I'm only at a 25 lb gain...yeah! Previously, I suffered from sciatica, irritable bowel, horrible leg cramps, severe mood swings, depression and cravings - all of which have not reared their ugly heads at all during this pregnancy (although my family might question the cravings as I've had a deep desire to serve them green peas for many meals... they just happen to be my favorite veggie!)
I can only assume that it was a combination of factors (plus a lot of prayer!) that lead to a relatively easy pregnancy for me, despite my "maternity maturity." Since the cravings did not really hit hard I think I managed to eat healthier, in addition to the fact that I had just been doing Weight Watchers for the previous year and was able to switch to a nutritionist for a few pregnancy visits. This, plus, making it to the gym on a consistent basis helped to keep the weight gain down and the energy level up. I believe these things, combined with my weekly chiropractor visits and doctor administered vitamins and supplements, have all helped to keep many of my previous pregnancy ailments at bay and make this the healthiest pregnancy yet.
Now, before you think it's all been a dream, the baby has been keeping me on my toes during the third trimester. You'll just have to tune in tomorrow to hear the saga...as long as I don't go into labor tonight!
Madonna, 42; Nicole Kidman, 41; Marcia Cross, 44 - just to name a few.
Now I must admit, 40 was definitely my limit. I wasn't about to consider giving birth at age 41 for myself, despite the rise of older moms in our society. I had always wanted to be a young mom and have all my children before I turned 30. That worked for the first two - they were right on track - the first at age 27 and the second at age 29.
However, the desire I had for always wanting 4 kids stuck with me. So after years of pleading, as 40 loomed on my horizon, the deal was struck and the compromise was made - we would at least try for a third child before I hit my self-imposed age limit.
My personal struggle over the past 17 years with various health conditions was a major concern for my husband and I as we considered having more children. It is one of the main reasons why we had not added to the family before this and our biggest hesitation in making the decision to see if God would bless us with another child. (Of course, I was praying for twins to fulfill my desire for four kids, but now that the big day approaches I'm quite thankful to the Lord for only having one...what was I thinking?!)
Fortunately, being pregnant at 40 has been the best and healthiest pregnancy for me yet! My chronic vertigo and fibromyalgia symptoms have been almost non-existent over the past nine months. This is attributed to hormones...yeah! Usually pregnancy hormones get blamed for all the yucky stuff, but for me I'm quite grateful to the surge of hormones that has kept me feeling great for most of the pregnancy. I did have to take extra hormones in the beginning, due to a previous miscarriage as well as my "maternity maturity", and I must admit that they made me pretty queasy in the first trimester. However, considering I never experienced morning sickness in any of my pregnancies (a blessing I'm well aware of after comparing notes with several friends who suffered much misery), I can hardly complain over a few weeks of queasiness.
Up until late June I was able to work out on a regular basis (something I only did half-heartily with the first child and I can't even remember much of the second pregnancy as I was chasing a 2 year old the whole time!) With the first two kids I gained 40 lbs and 38 lbs respectively, but with this one I'm only at a 25 lb gain...yeah! Previously, I suffered from sciatica, irritable bowel, horrible leg cramps, severe mood swings, depression and cravings - all of which have not reared their ugly heads at all during this pregnancy (although my family might question the cravings as I've had a deep desire to serve them green peas for many meals... they just happen to be my favorite veggie!)
I can only assume that it was a combination of factors (plus a lot of prayer!) that lead to a relatively easy pregnancy for me, despite my "maternity maturity." Since the cravings did not really hit hard I think I managed to eat healthier, in addition to the fact that I had just been doing Weight Watchers for the previous year and was able to switch to a nutritionist for a few pregnancy visits. This, plus, making it to the gym on a consistent basis helped to keep the weight gain down and the energy level up. I believe these things, combined with my weekly chiropractor visits and doctor administered vitamins and supplements, have all helped to keep many of my previous pregnancy ailments at bay and make this the healthiest pregnancy yet.
Now, before you think it's all been a dream, the baby has been keeping me on my toes during the third trimester. You'll just have to tune in tomorrow to hear the saga...as long as I don't go into labor tonight!
Monday, August 3, 2009
My Mid-Life...What?!
As many of my friends who are approaching, have already climbed the hill or have surpassed the 40 year old mark, are embarking on new adventures in their lives, I find myself on a different path. One friend seems to have a new adventure every week, whether it’s writing, teaching, political achievements or working on a commercial or movie, she is living it up! My kids and I enjoy immensely finding out what the next chapter in her life will bring because, as they say, “Aunt Sarah gets to do the coolest things!” I must admit she is having the best “mid-life crisis” I’ve ever seen, if one assumes that any major change of life at 40 is automatically categorized a “crisis”.
At middle age, most women find themselves with older, more self-sufficient children and perhaps start to seek the next chapter in their lives. Forty seems to be a good age to reassess what you’re doing and where you’re going. It doesn’t need to be a mid-life crisis, better phraseology may be “mid-life adventure” or “mid-life maturity”, but face it “adventure” sounds much more inviting!
As I approached my 40th birthday this past December, I too struggled with those typical mid-life crisis questions. What have I accomplished? Will I be able to do this, that, or the other of the various dreams I’ve held over the years? During most of the autumn months I feared that it would turn out to be the worst birthday ever. Fortunately, my husband surprised me with the most elegant birthday bash I could ever have imagined! The surprise came a month before my birthday and really helped me to face climbing that hill with more hope and joy than I could have expected. In fact, the best birthday gift of all was the one that put me on a different path over that infamous hill. Although, I wouldn’t categorize my change of life as my mid-life crisis, rather it is my mid-life motherhood!
I still find myself occasionally shocked at the fact that I’m expecting a baby at 40! Although, this was no surprise, it is still…well…surprising! Within the next 10 days, baby should be arriving and we are currently in major nesting mode. I hope that this blog might be of help and encouragement to other mothers of "advanced maternal age" as we tackle our mid-life motherhood together!
At middle age, most women find themselves with older, more self-sufficient children and perhaps start to seek the next chapter in their lives. Forty seems to be a good age to reassess what you’re doing and where you’re going. It doesn’t need to be a mid-life crisis, better phraseology may be “mid-life adventure” or “mid-life maturity”, but face it “adventure” sounds much more inviting!
As I approached my 40th birthday this past December, I too struggled with those typical mid-life crisis questions. What have I accomplished? Will I be able to do this, that, or the other of the various dreams I’ve held over the years? During most of the autumn months I feared that it would turn out to be the worst birthday ever. Fortunately, my husband surprised me with the most elegant birthday bash I could ever have imagined! The surprise came a month before my birthday and really helped me to face climbing that hill with more hope and joy than I could have expected. In fact, the best birthday gift of all was the one that put me on a different path over that infamous hill. Although, I wouldn’t categorize my change of life as my mid-life crisis, rather it is my mid-life motherhood!
I still find myself occasionally shocked at the fact that I’m expecting a baby at 40! Although, this was no surprise, it is still…well…surprising! Within the next 10 days, baby should be arriving and we are currently in major nesting mode. I hope that this blog might be of help and encouragement to other mothers of "advanced maternal age" as we tackle our mid-life motherhood together!
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