38 Weeks

I'm now 38 weeks and SOOOO done being pregnant.
I was never this uncomfortable with the girls pregnancies.
I'm not sure what it is about this one, but the last week has been miserable and just keeps getting worse.
I feel constant pressure and tightness across my lower abdomen,
and my lower back is really achy.
I heat up my rice bags several times a day to help, but it never goes away.
I keep getting shooting pains down the left side of my back/butt.
And pains along my lower abdomen if I so much as twitch the wrong way.
And sleeping is a complete joke.
I can only lay on each side for about 20-30 min before it starts to horribly ache and I have to roll over, which is a huge task these days.
I end up tossing all night and trying to sleep in my bed, then on the chaise, then my bed, etc.
I am so tired and can't make it through the day without taking a nap in the afternoon.
My stomach is being pushed on so much that I hardly feel like eating.
Nothing sounds good and then if I do eat, I'm full after 5 bites and just feel bloated for the next hour.

I'm just so so uncomfortable.
Way worse than I ever remember being with my other 2.
Sorry, just had to vent a little.

My contractions are still coming all throughout the day.
They are getting stronger, but not closer.

Thankfully, I'm starting to feel more prepared.
I've accepted that I won't get everything done on my list since I lost so much time being sick.
I prioritized what needs to be done and I'm working on that.
His clothes have all been washed and put away.
I've caught up/prepaid all our bills.
I'm taking care of other paperwork things that need to be ddealt with.
I've done as much for Colby's birthday as I can for right now.
I really have a feeling that I may be in the hospital for his bday and I don't want him feeling forgotten about.
The house is clean (for a minute anyways)
I've packed my hospital bag and bags for the girls.
I've cleaned out the girls closets and put stuff away.
Colby & I also cleaned out our closets and gave away a lot.
I packed away a lot of my maternity clothes.
I've made arrangements, and back-up arrangements for the girls.
I've made some freezer meals and done other various cleaning/cooking projects.

We were gonna do a major stock-up trip to Costco on Saturday, but it didn't happen so we'll have to go this week sometime.
We did go and pick up a mamaRoo off craigslist so now we have a swing for him.
Colby is working hard on the yard and getting up our new swing set which the girls will be so happy with.
We'll set up his little bed in our room this week and go pull everything out from under the stairs that we need.

My Dr. Appt. is tomorrow morning and I hope to get some answers out of her.
I want to see how far I'm dilated and if she'll schedule me to be induced.
Both girls have their check-ups right after my appt.
It will be nice to get them all done in one trip, but its gonna be a long morning.
I just hope all will go well.

Thats my update for 38 weeks.

Update

Its been a couple days since my stint in the ER
My angle mother kept the girls all day Tues, so I was able to just rest all day.
I still had a headache all day, but it was at least manageable.
She brought them back Wed morning and then stayed and helped me teach preschool.
It went ok.
I had to lay down frequently.
I find that I'm pretty weak, due to lack of eating and just trying to recuperate.
And Colby was home early this day to help me.
The headache was still bad this day, but not horrible.

I didn't sleep well at all Wednesday night.
Sometimes the Vicodin doesn't bother me, and other times it makes me really jittery.
That night, it bothered me.

Thursday was a long day.
Colby didn't get home until 9:30pm or so.
My headache was starting to go away, but still bothered me.
I still was getting lightheaded and weak often and been trying to eat and drink.
It was the first day I hadn't had help in several days and since I really started going downhill.
We played downstairs and outside a lot, but by the end of the day we were all pretty worn.
I had to listen to both girls cry themselves to sleep.
Peyton, because she wasn't listening to me, so she got no books and was mad at me.
Maddie, because we've been trying to train her to go to sleep without being rocked to sleep.
It wasn't a great end to the day and now All I want to do is go to bed,
but the sink is piled with dishes and I have lots of things to get ready for our Easter party at preschool tomorrow.
Can you tell I'm procrastinating?

But I did wash up baby brothers clothes today as I was doing the rest of the laundry.
So at least that is done.
I need to pack hospital bags and then I will feel at least like the necessities are ready to go.
I'm not ready for him to come yet, but at the same time, I can't wait to not to pregnant anymore.
The last 2.5 weeks have been so grueling.
But I do see a light at the end of the tunnel at least. :)

36 Week Appt.

I had my 36 week check up today.
But let me back up a bit.
Woke up and told Colby to go ahead and go to work.
But within half hour, I had gone from bad to worse.
I called him and told him to come home.
My migraine had gotten worse and I couldn't even get out of bed.
I was in horrible pain.
He hurried home and took care of the girls.

I tried to move my appt. time up, but there was nothing available.
The pain subsided after a few hours, but I still felt horrible.
I had to cancel preschool and a friend came and got Peyton.

Colby, Maddie and I headed to the Dr. at 12:30pm.
My checkup was fine.
Only gained 1 lb.
She did a quick ultrasound to check baby's position.
He is head down.
She did group B strep test and checked my progress.
I'm 2 cm dilated, but not effaced at all.
I told her about my sickness and the headaches.
She got me an appt. across the hall with a primary care doc.

After meeting with him, he wanted me checked into the ER.
I had a very high pulse, and very low blood pressure, and symptoms that didn't match up to this just being a 'sinus headache.'
He told me they would prob do a spinal tap, at which point I kinda freaked out.
I did not want a spinal tap, nor did I even want to go to the ER.
I just totally broke down.
They took us over to the ER.
We called my mom who came and got Maddie, and then picked Peyton up from her friends house.
She kept them for the next 2 nights.

They took my blood, gave me an IV with fluids and Tylenol, and then we waited.
They found an elevated white blood count, and a UTI.
They gave me antibiotics and recommended the spinal tap.
But after talking about it, I didn't feel it was necessary with my symptoms.
So eventually they sent me home.
I was glad to come home to my bed and slept pretty good that night.
We still came home without any real answers, but I'm just praying that it gets better on its own. And fast.
It was a very.long.day.

Sick + pregnancy= BLAH

I've been sick again.
It started 2 weeks ago with a nasty cold and my allergies kicking in on top of that.
It lasted about 5 days, 2 of which were bad enough that my Mom had to come take the girls because I was so miserable.
I had a horrible cough that hurt so so much.
It then seemed like it was clearing up only to turn into a nasty sinus infection.
Its now been 2 weeks since it all began and I'm so done.
I've had a pounding headache for 6 days now that just won't go away.
And a couple days ago, my whole upper body just started to constantly ache.
My back, ribs, neck, and every inch of my head.
The worst part has just been that I can't take any strong meds.
I've been taking Tylenol, which hardly makes any difference at all.

I finally gave in and went to Urgent Care yesterday to see if I had something else going on.
I didn't, and there was not much they can do to treat me with the pregnancy.
He gave me a refill on my Flonase to help with my allergies, instructed me to start doing nasal rinses as many times as I can, and gave me a prescription for Vicodin to help with the immense pain I'm in.
But I can only take the Vicodin at night, which sucks because that it when I feel the best.
Its during the day when I'm up and about that I need medicine to help with the pain.
I don't think I've ever been in so much pain for so long.
He said all the achiness was just from the coughing and congestion/infection.
And now I just have to wait it out which could be up to another week.
I didn't really believe that they would be able to do much for me, but I'm so desperate for some relief.

We've never had a winter season with so much sickness before.
its been a rough year, especially having to fight it all being pregnant and not being able to use normal medications.
I'm just so exhausted.
I broke down in tears yesterday more times than I normally do over the course of an entire year.
I still have a long list of things to get done and haven't been able to accomplish hardly anything over the last 2 weeks.

And my next 2 weeks are so jam-packed with teaching preschool 6 days, weekly Dr. Appts, baby showers, tending kids, Easter, etc. that I'm not gonna have much time to do anything other than survive it all.
If this baby comes early, there is no way I will be ready.
I just need the pain to go away.
Its just so hard to function when I have this constant pounding in my head.
I now have so much sympathy for those poor souls who suffer from migraines.
I just want to feel normal again.
I'd happily deal with all the nasty pregnancy symptoms if I could just get rid of all this other crap.

Sorry to vent.
Its been a really hard 2 weeks.

32 week Appt

I was 32 weeks on Monday and had my appt. today.
I did the glucose test and guess what?
They have a new lemon-lime flavored drink and its WAY better than the orange one.
But I got a wicked bad bruise from where she drew my blood today.

Gained another 6 lbs.
Which means I've gained almost the recommended amount for my size.
I am still measuring a few days big.
And boy, can I feel it.

I talked with her a little bit about her policy on inducing me and gave her my history of the girls labors.
She said she would induce as early as 39 weeks if she thinks I'm ready.
But judging by how things went with Maddie, I should be ready by then if I haven't already gone on my own.
She is actually on vacation on my due date, so she would prefer that I go early anyways. :)
Other than that, not much has changed.
Just waiting it out at this point.

How am I feeling these days?
I think he is sitting much lower than my girls.
I carried both of them up really high in my ribs.
With him, I just have this constant feeling of intense pressure on my lower belly and back.
It was getting bad, so a few days ago I went and bought a maternity support belt.
It helps a lot but has its cons.
Like I have to take it on and off every time I go to the bathroom....which is a lot.
It also makes it hard to bend, but it does help a lot when I'm doing a lot of
walking/standing/cleaning, etc.
It just lifts him up taking the pressure off a bit and helping my back.
My back still constantly hurts but I feel good other than that.
I keep hitting a wall around 1pm every afternoon and get super tired.
It definitely takes much more energy than normal to do anything.
I'm trying not to carry/lift Maddie around so much, but she is just so cuddly. :)
Colby started picking up all the vacuuming and mopping chores for me.
I just get everything cleaned up and ready and he does that part because it kills my back.
Thanks honey.

Only 8 weeks till my due date, though I'm still predicting that I won't make it that long. :)

30 WEEKS!!

I got my email this morning telling me I'm 30 weeks today.
That means 10 weeks left. 70 days.

As Penny might say,
"Holy crap on a cracker"

And if he is anything like Maddie, he will be coming early.
And I think he will be.
So really, I prob have more like 8 to 9 weeks left.
Double gasp.

I've said it before, but this pregnancy has seriously flown by.
Its had its ups and downs and times where I thought it was going slowly, but overall, its gone by so.freakin.fast.

I'm now in the 3rd and final trimester, and I'm starting to feel it.
I'm starting to get really tired in the afternoons again and I really have to pull through the rest of the day.
Plus, I'm not sleeping at night nearly as well anymore.
Guess its just preparation for all those late night feedings ;)

As sweet and adorable and fun as Maddie has been lately,
she is still really little and its exhausting taking care of her.
Peyton is such a great helper and so independent, that I don't have too much other than interact with her.
She can take care of herself.
But Maddie is still just a baby herself.
I think it will sadly force her to grow up faster than normal.
The last week I've been doing some serious reorganization of my life to make things easier.
It will create more time for me to have with the kids, less time hauling them around places, more family time, more mommy time, and hopefully less stress for everyone.
Not that things have been bad. They haven't.
I just want to make this transition as easy as possible on everyone.

I just can't believe that he will be arriving in such a short time....

28 Week Appt.

28 week appt. today.
Gained another 4 lbs. (122)
Baby's heart rate around 130.
Measuring right on track.

So each appt is switched back and forth between the Dr. and Nurse Practitioner.
This time was with the Dr. who wasn't happy that I had chosen to forego the glucose test.
So they did the blood draw for anemia and she wants me to come back next week sometime and do the glucose.
Boo. I don't have time! Argh. Oh well
Guess its all worth it in the end, right?!!

Other than that, things are pretty much the same.
I've been doing lots of stretches to help with my back pain.
I would feel so awesome if it weren't for that sciatic nerve.
I can't believe I'm only 12 weeks away!!

We have lots to get done!

24 week appt.

I had my 24 week appt. today.
Not very exciting once again.
Still have low blood pressure.
Weighed in at 119, so the weight gain has finally begun. (+13lbs in approx. 8 wks)

Baby's heartbeat was goofy today. The Dr. said he had the hiccups.
And he kept moving away from the doppler and kicking hard against it.
Awesome.

Next appt. would be the horrible disgusting glucose test.
I asked if I really need to take it.
She said that due to my age, weight, and history, that I am at a very low risk of gestational diabetes, and that it would be fine if I wanted to fore-go it.
I whole-heartedly agreed.

So yeah! I don't have to drink that awful drink.
She said they'd still draw my blood and check for anemia though.
That I can deal with. :)

So everything is still going just fine.

Gosh, I don't know where the last month went!

I'm 24 weeks now.
Its going by SOOO fast!

I'm feeling good still.
Getting big and dealing with a lot more of that lovely sciatic nerve pain.
Its quite tiring taking care of 2 kids, especially Maddie who is still very dependent.
Or on the days after she has been up all night due to illness and/or teething is always rough.
I've started my list of projects now that we know its a boy and I'm not focusing on the holidays anymore.
I've even given Colby a few special things that he needs to buy/do for his first son. :)

I'm excited for these 2 to be so close in age, but realizing how much work it will be.
And little things like we will need to have 2 high chairs/boosters.
We'll be able to survive with just one crib, but its cutting it close.
My friend has been bringing me bags of her old boy clothing which is awesome!
And I've found some awesome clearance deals at the Target near us that is closing down.
We have a list of names we're working on, but won't decide until we meet him.
We are getting ready and excited for baby brother!