Just want to let our few. . .I mean elite. . .blog followers know that I went to the ob/gyn again yesterday. As of today, I am 37 weeks 6 days EDD or 39 weeks 2 days LMP, depending on who you believe. . . The appointment was pretty much identical to last week's. Still at 1.5 cm, still not sure what antibiotics to give me, still no sign of the baby girl coming just yet. But we didn't take this as bad news. I had prepared myself ahead of time to expect that I had made no progress toward labor; that way, if I had, I would be pleasantly surprised. Plus, I didn't have to argue with anyone about anything while there, so I considered it a really good visit. And as usual, the baby's heart rate was high and she was doing great! So it was great news! And even though she is not here yet, each day that goes by is one day closer to the day when we will finally get to meet her!
Also. . .another good (and kind of funny) thing that happened at the doctor: Last week, Cy was really trying to stress to my doctor just how *not well* he does with hospitals and how he is concerned about being in the delivery room with me (passing out, etc.). I noticed this week that they had put a note on my chart that said something like "Husband Cy is very nervous about being in delivery room and does not do well. . ." So that was kind of funny, but also good that they are aware and taking it seriously. And my doctor has already warned him that if he passes out on the ground, she will just step over him and keep working on me, because as she said, he's not her patient, and he'll "come back around eventually." :)
Ethan and Gemma
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
A Bit of Landscaping
Because we obviously don't have enough to do right now while waiting for our baby to arrive at any time, we decided this past week to plant some flowers and do a bit of landscaping. We have been wanting to replace our shrubs with some azaleas, and when we saw some small azaleas at Lowe's, we decided to go ahead and replace the shrubs in the front of the house. (They looked much better before the giant windstorm we had all day yesterday.)
The old shrubs got moved to the back of the house.
Cy decided to plant our rose trees outside the screened porch. They are blooming and look great!
While he was planting the rose trees, I planted some pots of petunias, marigolds, and some sort of African daisies.
Our hydrangeas are doing much better this year than last year and are starting to bloom, too! Everything at our house is looking colorful and fantastic!
The old shrubs got moved to the back of the house.
Cy decided to plant our rose trees outside the screened porch. They are blooming and look great!
While he was planting the rose trees, I planted some pots of petunias, marigolds, and some sort of African daisies.
Our hydrangeas are doing much better this year than last year and are starting to bloom, too! Everything at our house is looking colorful and fantastic!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
A P. S. (Because I Am Paranoid)
A P. S. to the previous post - The 6 lb. 11 oz. estimate made me think (again) that the original due date of May 3 is probably more accurate. I find it really hard to believe that our baby (a Shealy, and a product of me and Cy, neither of whom are terribly large) is that big at just shy of 37 weeks. And my fake diabetes has been completely controlled. Using the May 3 due date, the baby is expected to be up to 7 lbs this week (38). So I personally am leaning toward the original LMP due date of May 3, which would put me at 38 weeks, 2 days today. And we are just praying that she will come out when she needs to, because if we are right about the due date, we don't want to have any complications from being overdue if the doctors let me go all the way until May 13 or longer and the May 3 date is actually the right one.
37 Weeks
TMI alert: I am going to share all the details of my appointment yesterday, so if you don't want to hear about fluid, dilation, effacement, etc., read no further!
Yesterday I went to the ob for my 37 week checkup (I will officially be 37 weeks tomorrow, according to them). I was pleasantly surprised when I did not have to argue with them about anything! Overall, it was a really good visit. We started with an ultrasound to measure the baby's growth. The baby measured perfect size for 37 weeks. The doctor finally concluded yesterday that the reason I have been measuring a little small with the tape measure is because the baby wedges herself so far over in one side of my tummy that she never gets the baby's full body in the measurement. Like yesterday, the doctor got out the tape measure, put it on my stomach, and said, "Wow, the entire right side of your uterus is empty." She had to move over to the left side, where the entire bulk of the baby was stuffed against my left hip.
They estimated the baby's weight at 6 pounds, 11 ounces. While in the ultrasound, we actually got to see the baby practicing her breathing reflex, so they said she is definitely going to be a strong breather. They also pointed out her hair again on the ultrasound.
One other interesting thing the ultrasound showed is that I apparently I have a ton of fluid. My doctor said that she needed to warn me that when my water broke, it was going to be a ton of fluid. I think her exact word was "impressive." She said that the normal amount is between 5-20 (not sure what measurement), and that mine was 18. So at least I will know for sure when/if it happens! (Just hoping it will not be while out in public, even though I know the odds of that are low.)
When my doctor did the internal, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that I am already 1.5 cm dilated and 80% effaced. (As a side note, my doctor is hilarious. She said: "I can feel your baby's head. Isn't that wild?") I know that this doesn't necessarily mean the baby will be here before her due date, but it was great to know that I am making progress toward labor. I was expecting nothing. So it could be three more weeks, or it could be today. We will see. . .
The only negative thing about my appointment yesterday was that I did test positive for carrying Group B Strep. They usually just treat this with penicillin via IV during labor. I am allergic to penicillin. I was very reassured to find out that my doctor was already on top of the situation. When she told me the test was positive, she also said that they were aware of my allergy and were already figuring out what antibiotic to give me instead and that they should have that sorted out in the next day or so. I was still a little freaked out, but this is just another one of those things that I have no control over. Cy and I prayed together about it last night, and we will continue praying that the baby will be protected from any sort of infection and that she will be perfectly healthy. It is out of our hands, and we felt confident that the doctor will handle it well.
Well, I think that is all the TMI I have for today. Hopefully we will be posting pictures of our new baby girl on this blog very soon. She is definitely on her way sometime in the next few weeks!
Yesterday I went to the ob for my 37 week checkup (I will officially be 37 weeks tomorrow, according to them). I was pleasantly surprised when I did not have to argue with them about anything! Overall, it was a really good visit. We started with an ultrasound to measure the baby's growth. The baby measured perfect size for 37 weeks. The doctor finally concluded yesterday that the reason I have been measuring a little small with the tape measure is because the baby wedges herself so far over in one side of my tummy that she never gets the baby's full body in the measurement. Like yesterday, the doctor got out the tape measure, put it on my stomach, and said, "Wow, the entire right side of your uterus is empty." She had to move over to the left side, where the entire bulk of the baby was stuffed against my left hip.
They estimated the baby's weight at 6 pounds, 11 ounces. While in the ultrasound, we actually got to see the baby practicing her breathing reflex, so they said she is definitely going to be a strong breather. They also pointed out her hair again on the ultrasound.
One other interesting thing the ultrasound showed is that I apparently I have a ton of fluid. My doctor said that she needed to warn me that when my water broke, it was going to be a ton of fluid. I think her exact word was "impressive." She said that the normal amount is between 5-20 (not sure what measurement), and that mine was 18. So at least I will know for sure when/if it happens! (Just hoping it will not be while out in public, even though I know the odds of that are low.)
When my doctor did the internal, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that I am already 1.5 cm dilated and 80% effaced. (As a side note, my doctor is hilarious. She said: "I can feel your baby's head. Isn't that wild?") I know that this doesn't necessarily mean the baby will be here before her due date, but it was great to know that I am making progress toward labor. I was expecting nothing. So it could be three more weeks, or it could be today. We will see. . .
The only negative thing about my appointment yesterday was that I did test positive for carrying Group B Strep. They usually just treat this with penicillin via IV during labor. I am allergic to penicillin. I was very reassured to find out that my doctor was already on top of the situation. When she told me the test was positive, she also said that they were aware of my allergy and were already figuring out what antibiotic to give me instead and that they should have that sorted out in the next day or so. I was still a little freaked out, but this is just another one of those things that I have no control over. Cy and I prayed together about it last night, and we will continue praying that the baby will be protected from any sort of infection and that she will be perfectly healthy. It is out of our hands, and we felt confident that the doctor will handle it well.
Well, I think that is all the TMI I have for today. Hopefully we will be posting pictures of our new baby girl on this blog very soon. She is definitely on her way sometime in the next few weeks!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Additional Sign - Top Ten Signs You Need a New Ob/Gyn
After reading Carissa's post I can help but make one addition that references the incident where we went to their office this past week and they said she was at 33 weeks and 4 days. Below is my account of said incident:
After waiting for a short little while they called Carissa's name and we headed back. As usual they needed her to make a stop in the restroom. She went into the bathroom and I waited just outside of the door. In an attempt to save lives I turned to the nurse.
Cy: "When Carissa called this morning she mentioned that the nurse said she was at 33 weeks and 4 days. I just wanted to let you know that she is at 36 weeks. I would not tell her she is at 33 weeks and 4 days."
Nurse: "Let me check her chart." After glancing at the chart she looks up and says, "Sir...we have her listed at 33 weeks and 4 days."
Cy: "From the beginning there has been an issue with her due date. We were told four different dates spanning from May 3rd to May 13th. At her last appointment they officially picked May 13th so she is at 36 weeks."
Nurse: "How do you figure 36 weeks?"
Cy: "Well it's April 13th."
Nurse: "What of it?"
Cy: "May 13th is a month from today."
Nurse: "So?"
Cy: "Well there are four weeks in a month."
Nurse: "Oh! Let me see what is going on."
Carissa: "I am NOT at 33 weeks and 4 days."
Cy: "Try not to let this bother you I am working on it."
Much later it turns out that the computer was to blame. Being a computer programmer I was dying to see what computer program they use that can't get dates correct. I pretty much figured that there wasn't a single computer program around that still couldn't get date functionality right...but alas they wouldn't let me look at their program. Perhaps they were scared I would write something better while we were waiting in their office. Perhaps I would have if it could not add up the dates. OR perhaps there was no computer glitch and since a computer can't speak for itself they just blamed it on the poor computer. I am coming to this conclusion based on the lack of calculations done by the nurse during our conversation. Don't get me wrong I am all for computers doing any sort of mathematical grunt work but I still believe in basic math skills for people.
Anyhow...just thought I would share.
After waiting for a short little while they called Carissa's name and we headed back. As usual they needed her to make a stop in the restroom. She went into the bathroom and I waited just outside of the door. In an attempt to save lives I turned to the nurse.
Cy: "When Carissa called this morning she mentioned that the nurse said she was at 33 weeks and 4 days. I just wanted to let you know that she is at 36 weeks. I would not tell her she is at 33 weeks and 4 days."
Nurse: "Let me check her chart." After glancing at the chart she looks up and says, "Sir...we have her listed at 33 weeks and 4 days."
Cy: "From the beginning there has been an issue with her due date. We were told four different dates spanning from May 3rd to May 13th. At her last appointment they officially picked May 13th so she is at 36 weeks."
Nurse: "How do you figure 36 weeks?"
Cy: "Well it's April 13th."
Nurse: "What of it?"
Cy:
Nurse: "So?"
Cy: "Well there are four weeks in a month."
Nurse:
Carissa:
Cy:
Much later it turns out that the computer was to blame. Being a computer programmer I was dying to see what computer program they use that can't get dates correct. I pretty much figured that there wasn't a single computer program around that still couldn't get date functionality right...but alas they wouldn't let me look at their program. Perhaps they were scared I would write something better while we were waiting in their office. Perhaps I would have if it could not add up the dates. OR perhaps there was no computer glitch and since a computer can't speak for itself they just blamed it on the poor computer. I am coming to this conclusion based on the lack of calculations done by the nurse during our conversation. Don't get me wrong I am all for computers doing any sort of mathematical grunt work but I still believe in basic math skills for people.
Anyhow...just thought I would share.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Top Ten Signs You Need a New Ob/Gyn
These are not in any particular order, because they are all equally bad and I couldn't even figure out how to rank them.
1. They have 4 different due dates for you in their system and they eventually decide in the third trimester when you are feeling large and ready to have the baby to go with the due date that is farthest out.
2. According to this latest due date, it would have been physically impossible for you to have had a positive pregnancy test yet when you did, but they still insist they are right.
3. You go in at 33 weeks (according to them) and they do an ultrasound and decide they were wrong and you are are really only 31 weeks.
4. In the same breath that they are telling you that the ultrasound clearly shows you are only 31 weeks, they also tell you how ultrasounds get less and less accurate the further along you are. Um. . .
5. You go in at 36 weeks and they are randomly insisting that you are only 33 weeks.
6. In regard to #5, they have lost the ultrasound mentioned in #3 and have to go hunting around the office a good ten minutes to get the due date sorted out. . .again. (And I'm doubtful that it has actually been sorted out for good, since we spend about 20 minutes every visit arguing about my due date.)
7. You technically pass your glucose test and they diagnose you with gestational diabetes anyway.
8. Your sugar levels are consistently well under 100 (they are supposed to be 120 or under) and they still insist you have gestational diabetes.
9. In the same breath that they tell you your baby is measuring slightly small, they schedule an ultrasound to check the baby's growth not because of the small measurement, but because gestational diabetes patients are at high risk for delivering large babies. (???)
10. You call the office at 36 weeks not sure if you are having contractions and wondering about preterm labor and they wait about 3 hours to call you back and another 2-3 hours to get you in to the office to check (even though they think you are only 33 weeks along), so that by the time they start monitoring you, the contractions have stopped and they say you were never having any at all.
A P. S. to #10 - Forgot to add that while I was being monitored, the nurse came in and said that I was definitely having contractions and then a few minutes later, the doctor came in and said I was having no contractions at all. Awesome.
1. They have 4 different due dates for you in their system and they eventually decide in the third trimester when you are feeling large and ready to have the baby to go with the due date that is farthest out.
2. According to this latest due date, it would have been physically impossible for you to have had a positive pregnancy test yet when you did, but they still insist they are right.
3. You go in at 33 weeks (according to them) and they do an ultrasound and decide they were wrong and you are are really only 31 weeks.
4. In the same breath that they are telling you that the ultrasound clearly shows you are only 31 weeks, they also tell you how ultrasounds get less and less accurate the further along you are. Um. . .
5. You go in at 36 weeks and they are randomly insisting that you are only 33 weeks.
6. In regard to #5, they have lost the ultrasound mentioned in #3 and have to go hunting around the office a good ten minutes to get the due date sorted out. . .again. (And I'm doubtful that it has actually been sorted out for good, since we spend about 20 minutes every visit arguing about my due date.)
7. You technically pass your glucose test and they diagnose you with gestational diabetes anyway.
8. Your sugar levels are consistently well under 100 (they are supposed to be 120 or under) and they still insist you have gestational diabetes.
9. In the same breath that they tell you your baby is measuring slightly small, they schedule an ultrasound to check the baby's growth not because of the small measurement, but because gestational diabetes patients are at high risk for delivering large babies. (???)
10. You call the office at 36 weeks not sure if you are having contractions and wondering about preterm labor and they wait about 3 hours to call you back and another 2-3 hours to get you in to the office to check (even though they think you are only 33 weeks along), so that by the time they start monitoring you, the contractions have stopped and they say you were never having any at all.
A P. S. to #10 - Forgot to add that while I was being monitored, the nurse came in and said that I was definitely having contractions and then a few minutes later, the doctor came in and said I was having no contractions at all. Awesome.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Baby Bling
For the past couple of months, Cy has been talking to me about a present to give me for having the baby. I kept telling him that I didn't need anything, but he really wanted to get me some sort of jewelry to commemorate the birth of our little girl. (Because he is the sweetest, most considerate, best husband ever!) He went ahead and talked to me about it because he wanted to make sure he got me something that I would really like and that I would wear all the time. I decided I wanted a ring - he has already bought me a cross necklace that I wear almost everyday, and a beautiful sapphire pendant that I wear a lot too, so I didn't want a necklace.
I originally wanted a diamond and sapphire eternity band to wear with my wedding rings, but we had some diamonds inherited from Cy's grandmother that we wanted to use and they wouldn't quite work with that type of setting. So a couple of ladies at Polly's Jewelry helped us design a gorgeous ring for me to wear on my right hand. In addition to the eternity band that I wanted, I had always kind of wanted a ring with a larger sapphire and some accent diamonds (if you can't tell, I'm a big fan of sapphires). So that is what we picked out. (Maybe I can still get my eternity band for the next baby! ;) They ordered a bunch of loose sapphires for us to look at, and we sorted through all of them and both really liked the same one - the cut of it was really beautiful.
When the store called last week to say that the ring was in, I told Cy to go pick it up by himself. I was initially planning to wait until the baby was born to even see the finished ring. Both Cy and I are not fans of the term "push present" (sounds kind of crude), so when he talked to a friend of his and learned the term "baby bling," we started using that instead. When he brought the ring home, he said "You're going to want to see it." So I did. I could not believe how gorgeous it was. He decided to go ahead and give it to me. He said that since it was "baby bling" I should go ahead and have it, since I have been doing lots of hard work already taking care of this baby for the past 9 months. I did not object. My ring is amazing, and my husband is definitely the best husband ever! Now we just can't wait to have the baby!
Here are some pictures of my "baby bling" ring. It is a 1 carat sapphire with 6 small diamonds in a white gold setting.
I originally wanted a diamond and sapphire eternity band to wear with my wedding rings, but we had some diamonds inherited from Cy's grandmother that we wanted to use and they wouldn't quite work with that type of setting. So a couple of ladies at Polly's Jewelry helped us design a gorgeous ring for me to wear on my right hand. In addition to the eternity band that I wanted, I had always kind of wanted a ring with a larger sapphire and some accent diamonds (if you can't tell, I'm a big fan of sapphires). So that is what we picked out. (Maybe I can still get my eternity band for the next baby! ;) They ordered a bunch of loose sapphires for us to look at, and we sorted through all of them and both really liked the same one - the cut of it was really beautiful.
When the store called last week to say that the ring was in, I told Cy to go pick it up by himself. I was initially planning to wait until the baby was born to even see the finished ring. Both Cy and I are not fans of the term "push present" (sounds kind of crude), so when he talked to a friend of his and learned the term "baby bling," we started using that instead. When he brought the ring home, he said "You're going to want to see it." So I did. I could not believe how gorgeous it was. He decided to go ahead and give it to me. He said that since it was "baby bling" I should go ahead and have it, since I have been doing lots of hard work already taking care of this baby for the past 9 months. I did not object. My ring is amazing, and my husband is definitely the best husband ever! Now we just can't wait to have the baby!
Here are some pictures of my "baby bling" ring. It is a 1 carat sapphire with 6 small diamonds in a white gold setting.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Cy and Carissa's Day! Of! Fun!
The other day Cy and I decided to spend the whole day together doing fun things. We keep saying we are going to do this before the baby comes, and then every time we try to take a Saturday just for fun, we end up finding a million things we need to get done. Having a spontaneous fun day worked a lot better. We slept in, cooked some breakfast, and played our favorite new game, Winner's Circle, while we ate. Then we drove over to Sullivan's Island to go for a morning walk on the beach. (On the way, we stopped at Target so I could use their bathroom and while in there, I scored a sweet new purse, a couple of tank tops, and Sherlock Holmes on blu-ray.)
The beach was nice - it was in the upper 70's with a nice breeze, and not too crowded yet. We strolled around for a while, then headed back home to get some lunch. We watched a couple of episodes of season 2 of Charmed (the old TV show we are currently catching up on), played a few more rounds of Winner's Circle, then made some smoothies and drank them while going on a long walk through our neighborhood. After that, we chilled until dinner and then watched Sherlock Holmes and went to bed early (something we are quite fond of these days). We had a great day - it was incredibly relaxing, and really nice to get a break from how hectic things have been preparing for the baby. Hopefully we are re-energized and ready to welcome her now!
The beach was nice - it was in the upper 70's with a nice breeze, and not too crowded yet. We strolled around for a while, then headed back home to get some lunch. We watched a couple of episodes of season 2 of Charmed (the old TV show we are currently catching up on), played a few more rounds of Winner's Circle, then made some smoothies and drank them while going on a long walk through our neighborhood. After that, we chilled until dinner and then watched Sherlock Holmes and went to bed early (something we are quite fond of these days). We had a great day - it was incredibly relaxing, and really nice to get a break from how hectic things have been preparing for the baby. Hopefully we are re-energized and ready to welcome her now!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Happy Easter
We enjoyed a wonderful Easter today with nice Charleston weather. We went to church this morning, then lunch with the Shealy family, and then went on a nice long walk - it was sunny and about 85 degrees with a nice breeze. I'm including a belly shot picture in addition to our Easter photo - it can count as my 35 week picture. I am feeling so huge, but the good news is that it seems to be all baby. I haven't gained all that much weight and what I have gained is just right out there in front - she is definitely high and out front still. I am feeling pretty good, but I know I will be glad in a few weeks when she is ready to come out! I wish she could have been here already to enjoy Easter with us!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)