We're almost there!
Thursday, May 7th, around 11:30am my c-section is scheduled at Abbott NorthWestern Hospital.
My amniotic fluid has been up and down again. I had an office visit last week where I was having contractions every 6-8 minutes. Yep, I was excited! I thought for sure that it wouldn't be too much longer before I drove to the hospital in labor. Yeah, right. So much for another "April baby" like Alli and myself were - as well as my best friend Kathleen and her daughter Evie.
I swore that towards the end of pregnancy I wouldn't bitch and moan like every woman seems wont to do. But I have to say a few words:
I am tired. My back hurts. My belly muscles ache. I'm tired of heartburn. I'm peeing every 15 minutes.
I'm just ready to meet my other daughter and get my body back. I'm sure Dave feels the same way but for an entirely different reason. He was ready for the hormone levels in the house to return to normal about 6 months ago.
Still, we have come a long way and are very excited. I just pray to the Gods that everything goes better than we expected and I am not completely laid up for the following 6 weeks. It's been 8 years since I had Allison, and I don't remember much about the c-section but that it burned when I peed after they took out the catheter. lol
Anyways, we have plans to take the laptop with us to the hospital to make sure we can upload photos and email updates to everyone. Thanks so much for your blessings and well wishes!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Speaking To Soon
I went to my normal Tuesday doc appointment yesterday.
My amniotic fluid had decreased to 5.8, from the 7.X that it's been holding steady at for the last couple visits. My wonderful nurse advised me that anything at 5 and under, since I was 37 weeks, was an indication of an earlier c-section than May 7th that they planned for. Since I'm thankfully so far along, they just wouldn't want to mess around with trying to wait longer and me and the Melon getting into a distress situation.
I spoke with Dr. Wothe after the non-stress test, and luckily the Melon was doing great with a steady heartbeat - no signs of distress. The only thing he did caution me about is if decreased movement - less than 10 movements in 2 hours - to come right in after calling the MAC (Maternal Assessment Center).
She's been kinda lazy with her movements the last day or two, and it was explained to me that as long as she is still moving normally, even if her movements aren't as vigorous, it's due to the decrease in room because of the lower fluid level. So, me, being the paranoid person that I am, will be doing kick counts today every few hours just to make myself feel better.
I've also decided to drink strictly water until my Friday appointment instead of counting any Juicey Juice or milk as fluid. My own experiment to see if that makes a difference in the fluid levels.
Also, we started the Heparin injections last night.
Wow, it makes me miss the Lovenox. Dosing myself 1.3 ccs every 12 hours (6am and 6pm), out of these itty bitty teeny tiny vials of 20,000 units per 1 ml....it's annoying because I have to use two of them each time I dose. And DUDE, you should SEE the length of the needle on the 3 cc tuberculine syringes they gave me. Crap on a stick are they ever long! It's seriously like a 2 and a half inch long needle for the 3 cc syringes.
It just amazes me when I think of how little I personally have gone through... knowing that it may be a lot of medical issues - Factor X/Lupus Anticoagulant, constant blood thinner injections, lab draws, doctor visits - for me, but that there are other women out there who have gone through so much more in order to carry their babies to term. That's what keeps me going.
We're close now. Whether they tell me this Friday we're rescheduling for a sooner c-section, or we can safely wait until May 7th...we are definitely looking forward to our new addition.
My amniotic fluid had decreased to 5.8, from the 7.X that it's been holding steady at for the last couple visits. My wonderful nurse advised me that anything at 5 and under, since I was 37 weeks, was an indication of an earlier c-section than May 7th that they planned for. Since I'm thankfully so far along, they just wouldn't want to mess around with trying to wait longer and me and the Melon getting into a distress situation.
I spoke with Dr. Wothe after the non-stress test, and luckily the Melon was doing great with a steady heartbeat - no signs of distress. The only thing he did caution me about is if decreased movement - less than 10 movements in 2 hours - to come right in after calling the MAC (Maternal Assessment Center).
She's been kinda lazy with her movements the last day or two, and it was explained to me that as long as she is still moving normally, even if her movements aren't as vigorous, it's due to the decrease in room because of the lower fluid level. So, me, being the paranoid person that I am, will be doing kick counts today every few hours just to make myself feel better.
I've also decided to drink strictly water until my Friday appointment instead of counting any Juicey Juice or milk as fluid. My own experiment to see if that makes a difference in the fluid levels.
Also, we started the Heparin injections last night.
Wow, it makes me miss the Lovenox. Dosing myself 1.3 ccs every 12 hours (6am and 6pm), out of these itty bitty teeny tiny vials of 20,000 units per 1 ml....it's annoying because I have to use two of them each time I dose. And DUDE, you should SEE the length of the needle on the 3 cc tuberculine syringes they gave me. Crap on a stick are they ever long! It's seriously like a 2 and a half inch long needle for the 3 cc syringes.
It just amazes me when I think of how little I personally have gone through... knowing that it may be a lot of medical issues - Factor X/Lupus Anticoagulant, constant blood thinner injections, lab draws, doctor visits - for me, but that there are other women out there who have gone through so much more in order to carry their babies to term. That's what keeps me going.
We're close now. Whether they tell me this Friday we're rescheduling for a sooner c-section, or we can safely wait until May 7th...we are definitely looking forward to our new addition.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Overwhelmed much?
No further updates on my Tuesday and Friday doc appointments due to the fact that things haven't changed all that much. My amniotic fluid level has swung from 10 to 7, and is holding steady at 7, with bed rest still prescribed.
Some news as of last Friday's appointment: MN Perinatal has tentatively scheduled my c-section for May 7th at 11:30am. I say 'tentatively' because it could be May 8th - dependent on my labs.
They are switching me from Lovenox injections to Heparin injections. I had to jump through a few hoops to get that all squared away - including a PA (prior authorization) that we had not anticipated. The PA was approved, but Walgreens doesn't carry the necessary dosage that I needed. They'll have it in tomorrow afternoon they said - so I'll start it beginning Wednesday, and have a lab draw on Thursday to see if they need to adjust dose.
Again, being switched from Lovenox to Heparin is due to the fact that Heparin has a shorter life in the body than Lovenox does. It ought to be fun... I have to draw up my own Heparin and inject as normal. Lovenox apparently, is the lazy persons' blood thinner injectable. lol Yes, I find it humorous. :)
So.... we've started making lists and checking them several times. Not like we need to bring much to the hospital, but with my memory the way it is right now, always best to rely on the written word.
Also... we've started going through stuff. I keep offering things to friends and asking them to come over and figure out if there's something they could possibly NEED. We have less than 3 weeks before the Melon makes her appearance, and less than 8 weeks before we move to our single family home in Roseville.
And please don't take this as bitching, but even though I've gained about 14 pounds total the entire pregnancy so far (which is good and fine and dandy) I feel like I've gained about 40 pounds and everything is stretched out and uncomfortable and ... and ... while I feel blessed to have made it happy and healthy to this far point of nearly 37 weeks with this baby, it's just really hard to get comfortable. Daytime naps are becoming more common.
In fact, time for one now.
Some news as of last Friday's appointment: MN Perinatal has tentatively scheduled my c-section for May 7th at 11:30am. I say 'tentatively' because it could be May 8th - dependent on my labs.
They are switching me from Lovenox injections to Heparin injections. I had to jump through a few hoops to get that all squared away - including a PA (prior authorization) that we had not anticipated. The PA was approved, but Walgreens doesn't carry the necessary dosage that I needed. They'll have it in tomorrow afternoon they said - so I'll start it beginning Wednesday, and have a lab draw on Thursday to see if they need to adjust dose.
Again, being switched from Lovenox to Heparin is due to the fact that Heparin has a shorter life in the body than Lovenox does. It ought to be fun... I have to draw up my own Heparin and inject as normal. Lovenox apparently, is the lazy persons' blood thinner injectable. lol Yes, I find it humorous. :)
So.... we've started making lists and checking them several times. Not like we need to bring much to the hospital, but with my memory the way it is right now, always best to rely on the written word.
Also... we've started going through stuff. I keep offering things to friends and asking them to come over and figure out if there's something they could possibly NEED. We have less than 3 weeks before the Melon makes her appearance, and less than 8 weeks before we move to our single family home in Roseville.
And please don't take this as bitching, but even though I've gained about 14 pounds total the entire pregnancy so far (which is good and fine and dandy) I feel like I've gained about 40 pounds and everything is stretched out and uncomfortable and ... and ... while I feel blessed to have made it happy and healthy to this far point of nearly 37 weeks with this baby, it's just really hard to get comfortable. Daytime naps are becoming more common.
In fact, time for one now.
Monday, March 23, 2009
DIY Breast Pump?
So Dave and I were lying in bed Friday around 11:30 at night and we started talking about some of my fears of breast-pumping/feeding and how, while I would love to just breast feed, it's always good to have a milk supply in the freezer instead of having to use formula like I had to with Alli.
Then, we got around for some reason to talking about the FoodSaver vacuum sealer that we have. And Dave started talking about how we should work on retro-fitting it to make the motor into a working breast pump.
WHA??????????????
I think the first words out of my mouth were "Uhhh NO. Let's stick your manhood in the vacuum and see how you like it. I don't need my nipples ripped off!"
We'll be buying my breast pump, thank you very much.
Then, we got around for some reason to talking about the FoodSaver vacuum sealer that we have. And Dave started talking about how we should work on retro-fitting it to make the motor into a working breast pump.
WHA??????????????
I think the first words out of my mouth were "Uhhh NO. Let's stick your manhood in the vacuum and see how you like it. I don't need my nipples ripped off!"
We'll be buying my breast pump, thank you very much.
Friday, March 20, 2009
MN Perinatal - Friday Appointment
The ladies in the Edina office are WONDERFUL. Let me just say that. And have I told you how I love, love, LOVE the doctors there?
Anyways, I went in for my 2pm appointment today. We did the BPP and non-stress test. "The Cabbage" as Dave calls her, did great. My amniotic fluid is a bit lower, but steady, and not alarming to the staff. So we are essentially still in a holding pattern.
Dr. Ney - who I admit, is of my favorites next to Dr. Gazianno - was even telling me that if I wanted to, I could set up appointments into May as I already have April appointments scheduled. All I could think of was "Ummm sure." While in my head I'm screaming out "OH GODS PLEASE LET ME HAVE THE BABY BEFORE THEN!!!!!!!"
Let's face it: For those of you who truly know me, you know I'm not a patient person. I completely LACK patience. Christmas is not one of my better times of the year, nor my birthday.
I am not the typical pregnant woman. I don't just assume that everything has been great up to this point and we will end up with a happy healthy baby and I should just run out and buy the rest of the baby's things. No.
I am the type of woman who's been pregnant before... and lost. Being this far into the 3rd trimester makes me feel EXTREMELY blessed, and NERVOUS. I just feel like the sooner I deliver, the sooner our baby will be safe from my body. The sooner we can hold her and count her fingers and toes... see if she has hair... attempt pumping and breastfeeding. Again.
When the OB visit was nearly over I asked Dr. Ney a question that I've been forgetting to: Can I/Will I be able to pump and/or attempt to breastfeed while I'm on blood thinners? This question has no definitive answers online - in fact, there's much that's misunderstood about anti-coagulants.
Dr. Ney looked me right in the eye and said "Yes. Your body is ready this time; you aren't sick. You are healthy, and healed." She went on to give me greater confidence by telling me that the dosage of blood thinner I am on is considered "prophylactic" - meaning a preventive dosage.
On one hand, I thought I would never want to give the whole breastfeeding and pumping thing a try, but on the other hand, I never had the chance to breastfeed Alli because my milk ran out before she came home. It made me feel like a failure to some extent. However, years later, I am an older, wiser mom. I know that if I give it my all, I'll be fine. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. I'm not going to beat myself up over it. Or let someone else make me feel guilty because they think that I didn't try hard enough.
We are moving along though with the accumulation of baby things. I'm thinking about ordering some things from Amazon in a week or so. Don't want to crowd the house up too much now, do I.
Anyways, I went in for my 2pm appointment today. We did the BPP and non-stress test. "The Cabbage" as Dave calls her, did great. My amniotic fluid is a bit lower, but steady, and not alarming to the staff. So we are essentially still in a holding pattern.
Dr. Ney - who I admit, is of my favorites next to Dr. Gazianno - was even telling me that if I wanted to, I could set up appointments into May as I already have April appointments scheduled. All I could think of was "Ummm sure." While in my head I'm screaming out "OH GODS PLEASE LET ME HAVE THE BABY BEFORE THEN!!!!!!!"
Let's face it: For those of you who truly know me, you know I'm not a patient person. I completely LACK patience. Christmas is not one of my better times of the year, nor my birthday.
I am not the typical pregnant woman. I don't just assume that everything has been great up to this point and we will end up with a happy healthy baby and I should just run out and buy the rest of the baby's things. No.
I am the type of woman who's been pregnant before... and lost. Being this far into the 3rd trimester makes me feel EXTREMELY blessed, and NERVOUS. I just feel like the sooner I deliver, the sooner our baby will be safe from my body. The sooner we can hold her and count her fingers and toes... see if she has hair... attempt pumping and breastfeeding. Again.
When the OB visit was nearly over I asked Dr. Ney a question that I've been forgetting to: Can I/Will I be able to pump and/or attempt to breastfeed while I'm on blood thinners? This question has no definitive answers online - in fact, there's much that's misunderstood about anti-coagulants.
Dr. Ney looked me right in the eye and said "Yes. Your body is ready this time; you aren't sick. You are healthy, and healed." She went on to give me greater confidence by telling me that the dosage of blood thinner I am on is considered "prophylactic" - meaning a preventive dosage.
On one hand, I thought I would never want to give the whole breastfeeding and pumping thing a try, but on the other hand, I never had the chance to breastfeed Alli because my milk ran out before she came home. It made me feel like a failure to some extent. However, years later, I am an older, wiser mom. I know that if I give it my all, I'll be fine. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. I'm not going to beat myself up over it. Or let someone else make me feel guilty because they think that I didn't try hard enough.
We are moving along though with the accumulation of baby things. I'm thinking about ordering some things from Amazon in a week or so. Don't want to crowd the house up too much now, do I.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Surprise!
One thing that Dave and I kept under close wraps until just recently really is the fact that I'm 32 weeks pregnant today. Yes, this means that I was finishing up my first trimester when we were getting married in November. :)
Because of previous disappointments/losses and not wanting to get our hopes up, we decided to tell only a few select people who were encouraging and happy for us, but also cautious.
I have a previous history of pre-eclampsia with my daughter Alli. She was delivered at 27 weeks by emergency c-section, weighing in at 1 pound, 11 1/2 ounces. Yes, I know I've probably related this information before, but it bears repeating to bring you up to date on the current pregnancy.
So from day 1 that I was aware I was pregnant this time, I have been seen by Perinatologists through MN Perinatal Physicians. I have been lucky enough this time to not have any major issues - no signs or symptoms of pre-eclampsia, no gestational diabetes, etc.
My luck has held.... until last Thursday (3/12/09). I went in expecting a regular OB check and Bio Physical Profile and came out with a letter from my Perinatologist putting me on bedrest.
Good grief.
Apparently after my second BPP, they noticed that I had the same low levels of amniotic fluid when they did the amniotic fluid index sampling. They find this concerning - as I do - enough to put me on bedrest indefinitely.
Then, after being told I'm on bedrest, we still needed to meet the next day (Friday 3/13/09) with the anesthesiologist at Abbott Northwestern, where my MN Perinatal Physicians are going to be delivering me by c-section.
And so, Dave came with me to meet with Dr. Abbott for the consult at the hospital. Two things became immediately clear:
1.) I could be knocked out for the birth - again - like I was with Alli.
2.) Or, I could be awake for the birth - which scared me more.
(Back story: Because of my blood disorder that causes clots (Lupus Anticoagulant), I have been on Lovenox blood thinner since the day I found out I was pregnant, as well as 1 81mg tablet of Aspirin daily, per my perinatologists. This has been monitored closely to make sure that there are no clots that present, as they could potentially cut off blood flow to the placenta and kill the fetus.
We've been blessed this pregnancy in that my Hematologist and Perinatologists do communicate quite well most of the time.)
So anyways...Dr. Abbott was saying that if I need to be delivered prior to 36 weeks, I will likely be under general anesthesia with a breathing tube and all that fun stuff that I had with Alli. Honestly, I'm not worried if that happens - Been there, done that.
If, however, we can make it past 36 weeks with everything working out well, then the docs will switch me over from Lovenox (which has a 12 hour life span) to actual Heparin (which has a life span of 6 hours or less) so that if they need to do some quick work and get the baby delivered they don't have to worry too much about excessive blood loss. Always a nice thing.
As of right now, things are progressing. I'm eating and sleeping. Dave is calling the baby "the cabbage" because that's the size it was compared to on my babycenter.com weekly email update. Alli is VERY excited about being a big sister to a little sister.
Oh, didn't I tell you it's another girl? :)
Because of previous disappointments/losses and not wanting to get our hopes up, we decided to tell only a few select people who were encouraging and happy for us, but also cautious.
I have a previous history of pre-eclampsia with my daughter Alli. She was delivered at 27 weeks by emergency c-section, weighing in at 1 pound, 11 1/2 ounces. Yes, I know I've probably related this information before, but it bears repeating to bring you up to date on the current pregnancy.
So from day 1 that I was aware I was pregnant this time, I have been seen by Perinatologists through MN Perinatal Physicians. I have been lucky enough this time to not have any major issues - no signs or symptoms of pre-eclampsia, no gestational diabetes, etc.
My luck has held.... until last Thursday (3/12/09). I went in expecting a regular OB check and Bio Physical Profile and came out with a letter from my Perinatologist putting me on bedrest.
Good grief.
Apparently after my second BPP, they noticed that I had the same low levels of amniotic fluid when they did the amniotic fluid index sampling. They find this concerning - as I do - enough to put me on bedrest indefinitely.
Then, after being told I'm on bedrest, we still needed to meet the next day (Friday 3/13/09) with the anesthesiologist at Abbott Northwestern, where my MN Perinatal Physicians are going to be delivering me by c-section.
And so, Dave came with me to meet with Dr. Abbott for the consult at the hospital. Two things became immediately clear:
1.) I could be knocked out for the birth - again - like I was with Alli.
2.) Or, I could be awake for the birth - which scared me more.
(Back story: Because of my blood disorder that causes clots (Lupus Anticoagulant), I have been on Lovenox blood thinner since the day I found out I was pregnant, as well as 1 81mg tablet of Aspirin daily, per my perinatologists. This has been monitored closely to make sure that there are no clots that present, as they could potentially cut off blood flow to the placenta and kill the fetus.
We've been blessed this pregnancy in that my Hematologist and Perinatologists do communicate quite well most of the time.)
So anyways...Dr. Abbott was saying that if I need to be delivered prior to 36 weeks, I will likely be under general anesthesia with a breathing tube and all that fun stuff that I had with Alli. Honestly, I'm not worried if that happens - Been there, done that.
If, however, we can make it past 36 weeks with everything working out well, then the docs will switch me over from Lovenox (which has a 12 hour life span) to actual Heparin (which has a life span of 6 hours or less) so that if they need to do some quick work and get the baby delivered they don't have to worry too much about excessive blood loss. Always a nice thing.
As of right now, things are progressing. I'm eating and sleeping. Dave is calling the baby "the cabbage" because that's the size it was compared to on my babycenter.com weekly email update. Alli is VERY excited about being a big sister to a little sister.
Oh, didn't I tell you it's another girl? :)
O. M. G.
Dave and I got married November 1st, 2008.
Yes, it was beautiful - the tent was tremendously gorgeous. Our guests were fantastic - some of them even helping out prior to the ceremony.
We did start late - people kept coming upstairs to see ME of all people, who was trying to finish getting dressed - and people in the house kept TELLING the guests where I was getting ready, and they kept coming upstairs to visit! lol
The food, provided by my friend Josh and his lovely and patient wife Kim, was AWESOME!
Our menu:
Fruit Board :
Pears, Plums, Grapes, Apricots, Apples, Pineapple
Cheese & Nut Board:
Swiss, Pub cheese, Caramelized Onion, Truffle, Dubliner, Tomato Basil Gouda, Herb Gouda
Walnut, Almond, Pecans, Figs, Dates
Salad:
Apple & Pear Waldorf on Baby Greens
Soup 1:
Lentil (Vegetarian)
Soup 2:
Pumpkin
Entrees:
Roast Buffalo
Turkey
Smoked Turkey Legs
Vegetables:
Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Wild Rice & Mushroom sautee with Vidalia Onions
Roasted Butternut Squash
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Gravies:
Turkey
Dark Beef
Roquefort dressing
Bread:
Petite Baguettes, White Buns (made by Linda), Dark Rye Buns, Wild Rice Buns.
Oy. It was a lot of work for Josh and Kim, and my parents who helped out by letting them use their commercial kitchen for food prep because it was much closer than anything else in the area.
April, Dave, and Allison
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