Tuesday, June 30, 2009

23 weeks and an answer

This week marked another visit to my doctor. It was for a basic checkup and the infamous scan to hopefully determine if this was a little boy or girl.

First let me say this. I really like my doctor. He is pretty non interventional. He believes to a certain degree to just monitor things and not use medical intervention unless needed. His staff though at times is different. This time the nurse the brought me back weighed me (up 5lbs) then got the heartbeat and measurement as well as my blood pressure. She never did tell us what the heartrate, bloodpressure or measurement was. She went about it and just ignored that I was trying to ask her. Oh well. I can put up with a mediocre staff for a doctor I like.

The only real problem I had to address at this appointment were the bad cramps that I started getting last week. At first I thought it was just all in my head but 2 afternoons and nights of it convinced me otherwise. I called the office and the nurses were great on the phone and told me to take it easy this past weekend, drink plenty of water and fluids and stay out of the sun. So this weekend that's what I did. It mostly worked but it was still happening a little. So today I asked my actual doctor. I gave him all the symptoms that I've been experiencing and he agreed that it sounded like I've been having contractions. He said to just watch it but didn't put me on any restrictions (besides reminding me not to climb on helos). So right now I still have them when I'm up for too long, but I also know that I did the right thing by calling in the first place and he encouraged me to call again if it gets bad.

So for the big news. We had the ultrasound. He checked the head, spine, feet, hands and face and everything looked good. Of course he also checked the parts. And lets just say that my gut feeling was right.



The big news is Butters and Mac will have a little sister.

Yes to my absolute shock it really is a girl. Even though my gut was telling me one thing its been wrong before so I was doubting what I really thought. So right now it looks like we will have a little girl due right around the time our beloved UAH Chargers should start home games.

Poor W is outnumbered and I am trying to get it through my head that we are actually going to have a baby girl around here!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

cloth diapering bug

So a while back I posted about the new hair brained idea that I had about cloth diapering the next one and Butters as well. Its not that I'm out to save the planet, but more to save money.

Since then some things have happened. While I like the BumGenius 3.0 diapers we have, Butters is at the top of the weight limit for them and they really don't fit as well for an active toddler as I would like. So I took a gamble and got a pack of prefold diapers and 2 thirsties covers as well as some Imse Vimse flushable liners. I don't use pins or a snappi with them, but just fold them into what I've seen called the newspaper fold and the cover holds the inside in place and on top of the pre-fold I put one of the liners. So far this has become a favorite way of diapering Butters during the day. The large thirsties cover fits him really well and the flush able liners are amazingly sturdy. I had heard that you could actually throw them into the washer if they weren't dirty and was skeptical but shocked at the result. I've washed liners through both the pre-wash and hot cycles every time and they hold up really well. Most of the time I can get 4 to 5 washes out of each liner if its not dirty.

Right now I actually like the system we have. I use primarily the thirsties covers and pre folds at home. I really love being able to just swap out the liners and only have to use one cover for the day unless it get dirty. The BumGenius are still good for at night. They generally work well even though he is a little big for them. Also I tend to keep one extra insert as well as one BumGenius when we go out in my purse or diaper bag. The system works well for us and right now I am only doing diaper laundry ever 2 days which to me is very reasonable.

Also I've read a lot about wet bags and such. Right now we aren't using one. I find that the plastic bags we have left over from grocery shopping work well and when they get dirty or just nasty then they get thrown out. I know its not the most environmentally friendly thing, but it works for us.

So I'm 23 weeks pregnant and lately I've been giving a lot of thought to what to use for the new baby. Right now I think a version of the system we use with Butters will work well. Recently Thirsties came out with a new cover called the Duo Wrap. I love this idea and they are very affordable. I am planning on combining them with pre folds like I do now. Since an infant tends to need more diaper changes I think this will work well with changing just the prefold when needed. Also I would like to get about 4 more one size diapers. The question is if I am going to get the BumGenius or another brand. Right now I am looking at the FuzziBunz and Smartipants as well as the BumGenius. I of course want to get the best most durable and have been slowly doing my research on everything.

So these are my thoughts on everything so far. If anyone has any recommendations or advice I would appreciate it.

Monday, June 8, 2009

An emotional check up

So last week marked my 19 week check up and things got a little emotional as they can during pregnancy. I didn’t have W by my side this time to stop the on-flux of tears that soon came but I got through and when I met him at the airport the tears started to flow and flowed more once we go home.

So first the good news. I of course had a list of questions and luckily was able to manage Butters and my niece long enough to get them all answered. First thing are the results of the quad screen all came back negative. So what does this mean in normal terms? Basically that the indicators that they can check for in my blood that would show possible downs syndrome, spinal defects and other chromosomal abnormalities. All the results for me were negative so no worries on that end. Also I need to add that my ob operates on a no news is good news philosophy. So if something had of come up positive I would have known before yesterday but I wanted to ask anyway.

There was the first question regarding if I was feeling any movement and that was a definite yes. Some days it more like a ball pushing out on the right side of my abdomen more than anything, but there is defiantly movement there! Also this kid is pretty low so many times the movement is centered on my sciatic nerve in my back or bladder! But either way I and W have been able to feel quite a bit of movement which is reassuring many days!

The next question was regarding the much more prevalent cramping and pressure I’ve been experiencing with this one. He assured me it was a normal thing to happen with the second and not to be alarmed unless they turn into contractions.

The final question that I had was about scheduling my next appointment. He won’t do the gender screen until 22 weeks exactly so I wanted to schedule the appointment for that week so that Mac could still be here to see for herself. He said that was fine and we will hopefully be finding out the gender on June 30th. I am very excited to finally have a day set!

The last thing that actually happened at the first of my visit was my weight gain. When I went back I stepped on the scale and it said 134lbs. This is up 9 total pounds in 19.5 weeks and the nurse said something along the lines of wow you’ve gained a lot of weight. Now most people know that my weight is a fairly sensitive issue so when she said this it killed me. We went back to the room and took my blood pressure (didn’t get the exact reading but it was around what it normally is) and the heartbeat which was in the upper 140’s to 150’s which was fine. She measured me and for about 19.5 weeks I was measuring 22 weeks so that should say something right there. The nurse asked about my diet and I assured her that I wasn’t eating huge portions and nothing out of the normal. I exercise as much as I can and stay active. I actually only have small cravings for junk food (and only eat a small amount when I do crave it) which is nice and normally stick to dried fruit as my major craving. She said something along the lines of well maybe you just hit a growth spurt and it will even out. By this time though the damage was already done and all I wanted to do was crawl into a ball and cry.

So next my doctor came in and after we discussed everything else I asked about the weight gain. He told me that I was doing everything right and that every pregnancy is different. As long as I’m not eating junk food every day and just maintain a healthy lifestyle I will gain the weight that I am supposed to. So as reassured as this makes me I can’t help but still wonder if I’m doing the right things. Then after W got back I collapsed in tears. I just completely had a melt down and cried for a good 5 or 10 minutes. I know its hard for him to see me that upset about something but he understands that my weight is a sensitive issue and being told by a nurse that I gained too much really hit me hard. He tried his best to let me completely soak his the shoulder of his shirt with tears and calm me down. The truth of it was I just needed to cry and get it out and I think he of all people understands that.

So now I have a month to look forward to with 2 kids. W went out to get Mac from Sacramento for a month and after a long travel ordeal that I’m sure he will be blogging about later.