27 weeks and another doctors visit

So I had my next appointment this week and things were mixed.

First off the good news. Baby Dot is doing great. My doctor was happy with her measurements and her heart rate was right at 140bpm.

My wieght is climbing, but no big worries. I'm up to 146lbs and my blood pressure was 120/70 which is all good. For once this past month I didn't weigh myself at all. I actually just knew that I was maintaining a healthy diet, walking about a mile and a half 4 to 5 days a week, and generally staying active. So when I saw the weight gain I wasn't worried at all for once.

So here's the news that wasn't great.

For the past month I have been having some problems. At my last doctors visit I mentioned that I had felt some pretty uncomfortable contractions and Dot seemed to be very low. At the time no one thought it was a big deal but over the past month things have stayed the same. I've had on average 5 contractions a day with a lot of braxton hicks and the low pressure has gotten worse. I havent said much about this because I didn't want to worry or scare anyone but W and I have been dealing with things day to day as they happen.

So when I went into the office today I mentioned the contractions to the nurse and then to my doctor. Luckily my doctor is great and took my concerns seriously. He immediately said he wanted to check and make sure I wasn't progressing and that the contractions while real were hopefully having no affect. He did check and I have started to dialate already. Not even a centimeter yet, but as he put it finger tip. Luckily other than that everything else is fine and I am no where near ready to have this baby (cervix high and thick which is good). He also prescribed a drug called Terbutaline. Basically its a drug normally used to treat asthma but is also common in treating preterm labor contractions. The plan is to take it only as needed to stop the contractions. The side effects are tolerable so far in that the main things that happen are my heart racing and feeling flushed. I think I can deal with these as long as the contractions ease up for a while.

The odd thing about all this is I wasn't told to stop any of my daily activities. Since the contractions come if I rest or active he said there was no reason for me to stop walking everyday or staying as active with Butters as I can. Also now we are offically going to every 2 week visits. He originally said a month, but reconsidered after what we talked about. He is starting to want to keep a closer eye on me for a while just incase these contractions don't get any better.

Also now there is more talk of me making it to 36 weeks rather than full term. With all the contractions and what not the goal is now more than ever to just make it to 36 weeks. For me that means 9 more weeks of being pregnant and I will have reached a goal. This also means that after my baby shower in Moody on the 9^th I am not traveling out of Huntsville at all. With everything going on its just not in my best interest to go very far.

The news today was shocking for both W and I. I hated calling him on the phone after it all and having to tell him. I hated going back to work and trying not to think about it. Right now we are doing our best to stay positive about it all. We are doing our best to take things one day at a time and not think about the possibilities of having another NICU experience.

So while this was news that I debated sharing here I think its for the best. I'm not asking for anything but understanding that I had to get this off my chest and talk about it in some way, shape or form. I'm sure both baby Dot and I are going to be fine and in some way she is just trying to beat her older brother in how many grey hairs she can give daddy early on! :0)

Swim For Melissa

As I have talked about on many occasions when Butters was born W and I were introduced to a world that we never thought we would experience. The Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Ever since that day I have wanted to give back in some small way. Most of you know that every Christmas we go to the tree lighting in front of the Women and Children's Center. For the past 2 years Butters has gotten a commemorative ornament where all the proceeds go the help the NICU. I feel that getting him this kind of ornament as his for the year is a small way to give back to a unit that we never thought we would see and for the wonderful doctors and nurses that helped us in a very rough time.

This year Butters will be participating in a fund raiser called Swim For Melissa. You can read more about the basics of the program here. Butters isn't old enough to actually swim this year but he is participating as what is called a paddler. He will be there getting to play with other kids his age and just helping out with any money we raise. A link to his page can be found here.

I am still working on getting everything up and running on his page so please bear with me.
While I am not doing this post to ask for donations, I am doing it more to get the word out about the event in general. It should be a fun day for everyone involved and I know we are really looking forward to it.

Wordless Wednesday

Since I have babies on the brain:

Butters in the NICU one day old.

First hockey game

Now at 2 years old

Thinking about the upcoming UAH hockey season

Let me first note that from now until she makes her debut our little girl will be known as “Dot”. We are waiting to reveal the name until after she makes her arrival in late September or October sometime. I just hate saying “little girl” or baby girl all the time in my posts and had to use some kind of name.

It should come as no surprise that when I say we are a hockey family that it comes to our kids as well. Some may remember that Butters was inadvertently planned around an entire hockey season and born right after UAH lost to Notre Dame . Butters went to his first Blue/White game at 6 months as well as his first UAH home game. While I was pregnant with him he was very active during the game, but during intermissions he sat quietly. Sometimes the movements were so strong that I had to leave my seat and stand up in the stair well below.

When we found out Dot’s due date we had to laugh. The timing of her is right around the time of UAH’s first hockey games of the season. While the official schedule hasn’t been released yet the one that USCHO has posted puts our first home game on October 23. This was just a little too amusing for us when we first heard. Now with her due date coming anytime at the end of September or first of October it looks like I might possibly not have to worry about going into labor during a game.

So one night this past week after Butters went to bed W and I got to talking about hockey once again. With the season approaching the topic comes up more often than not about what to expect with the season, our chances of getting into the CCHA and the last year in the CHA and of course trying to teach Butters to say “Bemidji sucks!”

But this time the conversation was more around Dot. W asked me if I was ready to take a 2 week old to her first hockey game and that stirred some conversation and worry on my end. Granted thanks to Stephanie's generosity I have the perfect ring sling to keep her in during the game and for when she gets bigger I have a mei tai that I’ve used with Butters for a long time and love. I figure that I’ll be able to dress her in a couple of layers to keep her warm as well as have a blanket if needed. My worry is learning to nurse in the sling. I’ve heard many people say that it is very easy but I need to get it down first hand. Also if I need a backup I have a good nursing cover I can use. So as long as I can keep her with dry diapers and fed I think she will be ok. Its Butters I’m more worried about. Last year it was a full time job during the game keeping him occupied. I am really hopeful that Alvin will be a little easier to control during games this year.

I’m just not sure how I am going to handle it all. I hate to say it, but I have even thought about not going to all the games this year depending on how Butters acts. Basically if anyone has advice on how to control a toddler with an infant please let me know.