2nd Fetal Diagnostics Appointment

Same routine as on Monday.

While I was laying there with the monitors on me, I was alternating between looking out the window (ocean view) and watching the monitor. While I had my eye on the monitor, there was this period of time where the lines about jumped off the chart! I guess that's good because when the nurse came back in, she said that's what they want to see. The heartrate varied from the mid 130's all the way up to the high 180's!

Things are starting to look better for the amniotic fluid. I was up from 8.6 on Monday to 9.6 today. I was glad, because I had really upped my water intake. I was probably drinking 3 1/2 to 4 liters each day! The nurse said I really need to be in double digits so I will be going back on Monday. I plan to drink tons of water over the weekend! I'm tired of going back to that place!

Glucose Tolerance results

I passed! I didn't think to ask for the numbers, but I guess they don't matter as long as I passed, right?

The other thing they said though was that my iron level is low, so I will be starting an iron supplement now.

We have a crib on the way!

We ordered our crib today. I think it is so pretty and our bedding will look great with it.



It's convertible and the back side will be the headboard on a full bed. I like the look of it and it's gotten good reviews so I think we will be very happy with it. Delivery should be in less than 2 weeks.

Glucose Tolerance Test - yuck!

Ick! The first sip wasn't too bad, but it was hard getting the rest of it down. he actual blood draw went quick so that was good. I should have the results in a day or so.

The worst part of it was how I felt for the next couple of hours. I still had that yucky taste in the back of my throat and just felt yucky all over until after lunch.

Appointment with Fetal Diagnostics

I was able to get an appointment this morning at 11:00 am.
What they did at this appointment was pretty much the same thing as they did when I was in the hospital yesterday. Two monitors were strapped around my belly, sat like this for 30 or 45 minutes, then an ultrasound.

Results of the monitoring were good - she's moving around like she should be.

The ultrasound still showed that the amniotic fluid is on the low side. I was at an 8.6. They said anything below 8.5 is too low, so since I was right on the cusp, they wanted me back on Thursday. In the meantime, I need to drink lots of water - 3 liters is what she suggested! That's a lot of water, but I will do my best. I want my little one to have lots of fluid to swim around in!

Tomorrow is the glucose tolerance test. I'll fast this evening and then in the morning drink the Glucola an hour before I go to the lab to have my blood drawn. I'll update you on that.

28 Week Belly!

Jeremy took this before work and we were in a huge rush. I guess that's why I had that crazy look.

Hospital Visit

Most of Saturday and through the night I noticed that I wasn't feeling the baby move hardly at all. The movement I did feel was very weak compared to what it had been just a few days earlier when Jeremy and I watched my tummy move all evening on Wednesday.

Sunday morning I called my doctor and explained what was going on and she told me to head to Labor and Delivery. So we quickly got dressed and headed for the hospital. We checked in at L&D and they put me in a room. Two straps went around my belly - one to monitor the baby's heartbeat and movement, the other to monitor contractions. The heartbeat and movement were good and there were no contractions which is also good since it's so early. I stayed like this for about 45 minutes or so and then they wheeled me to the ultrasound placed downstairs. I didn't know exactly what they were looking for on the ultrasound, but they said everything was good, but the amniotic fluid was a little on the low side.

When I got back up to the room, I told the nurse that I still wasn't feeling much of the movement and it still felt weak. Before discharging me, she checked in with the doctor who said I needed to stay on bed rest for the remainder of the day and drink lots of water. Then, on Monday, she wanted me to go to Fetal Diagnostics.

So, the rest of the day I spent with my feet up, trying to drink lots of water. Jeremy had the pleasure of doing all the errands and grocery shopping that I had planned to do.

I was very relieved that the baby is okay, but a little nervous about the next day's appointment. Still, glad everything was safe, rather than sorry.

Attended our first class today

Jeremy and I attended our first baby class. It was "Baby Care Basics" and we both actually enjoyed it. The class was fairly short - only 2 1/2 hours - so it went by fast. They covered all sort of things related to the time just after delivery and caring for our newborn. One of the most helpful things they covered was a method for comforting our new baby. We watched part of a video of Dr. Harvey Karp which covered his 5 S's for Soothing Your New Baby. They are:
1. Swaddling
2. Side/Stomach
3. Swinging
4. Shhhh
5. Sucking
These are all covered in his book "The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Baby Sleep Longer," by Harvey Karp, MD (this program won't let me underline, so excuse the quotes around the title)

This method seems like it will really work and it's fairly easy. At the end of the class we got to practice swaddling a doll and Jeremy had the opportunity to put a diaper on the doll - he says this is his first time working with a diaper!

Hospital Tour (another very late post)

We went on a tour of the hospital a few weeks ago. Well, actually just the floors where we'll be spending our time during the big event. I'll be having the baby at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. They have a brand new women's pavilion which is very nice. The labor and delivery rooms (5th floor) are big with all sorts of nice amenities. I'm hoping I won't have to spend too much time there though! lol

The mother and baby floor is the 7th floor which is the top floor. As long as I don't have a c-section, we will probably stay there about 2 days after the birth. It is set up so that the baby will stay with me in my room the whole time. Her doctor will even come visit her there so she will always be at my side. I like the idea of this, instead of having her down the hall in a nursery, which is how I remember it when my little brother was born.

One of my favorite things about the hospital is the view. There are huge windows and they have great views of the beach or the mountains, depending on which direction the room is facing.



Looking out over Lido Marina, Newport Beach and the Pacific Ocean. Beautiful! My camera and these pictures do not do the view justice!

We have our first baby class this weekend

We are signed up for a total of four different classes at the hospital. We thought we would ease into things with Baby Care Basics.

"Learn to care for your baby with confidence and ease. Class topics include recognizing your infant's behavior cues, holding and comforting techniques, bathing, diapering and dressing your newborn and knowing when to call the doctor. "

Yes, it sounds very basic, but I'm hoping it will just make things easier when she's here. Never hurts to be prepared, right?

The other classes that we are signed up for are breastfeeding, an infant CPR course and of course, Childbirth!

Travel system is here!

Jeremy found this awesome travel system and we decided to order it. It was a bit of a pain getting it assembled, but we love it! Jeremy did a great job. The car seat will hold the baby until 22 pounds. The stroller should last for much longer that that.

We hope to get our minds made up and get the crib in the next few weeks. Of course, that also means clearing out the "baby room" so that we have space for it. That's another project in itself.

(Jeremy made a comment about it being gender neutral enough for a boy if we have one later....so maybe another baby in a few years????)

Stocking up....

We've talked about buying some items that we know we'll be using a lot of...such as diapers! We had a coupon for Costco for diapers and wipes. They didn't have the size 1 diapers so we went ahead with the 2's. According to what I've heard, we have at least 2 1/2 weeks of diapers and no telling how long the wipes will last!

Big Milestone!

So I've been feeling the baby move for awhile now. Over the last couple of weeks whenever I feel her, I put my hand on my belly and I've been able to feel her with my hand. Unfortunately, Jeremy is never around at these times. Well, today I drank some juice and then just layed back on the couch. I could feel her moving around like crazy. I got Jeremy to come over and he felt her! He started a little "game" with her. Everytime he felt her, he would gently push back. It was like they had their own little communication going on. So cute!

I'm glad we were finally patient enough for him to feel her. It's such a cool feeling!

I have thoughtful neighbors

The couple across the hall from us had a baby at the end of January. This was also their first baby and they experienced what I assume is the typical first time parent challenges and frustrations. Because she wanted to help me out by sharing everything she learned those first few weeks, Adriana made up this basket for me and gave it to me last night. She's so sweet!

It has all sorts of goodies in there from diaper cream to cute little shoes and clothes to the thing that came in the most handy to her - some sort of drops that help colic. And it's in the cutest suede box. I haven't had a chance to check it all out yet. I can't wait to go through it all.

U/S update

Well, we had our fourth ultrasound today. Little Baby L wasn't very cooperative and didn't give any good photo ops. She was face down the whole time. We were hoping to get a confirmation that she is indeed a girl, but she wasn't sharing that information today.

During the ultrasound, measurements were taken. From these measurements, they determined that I am 27 weeks, 2 days, as opposed to the 26 weeks, 4 days that I should be based on the original ultrasound that was done back in November. Supposedly this isn't a significant enough difference for concern or anything else. I am not sure if this means that we can expect the baby any earlier. My doctor should be calling me in the next few days to go over this with me, so I have lots of questions like this for her.

Other than that small discrepancy, everything else looked normal. It's possible that I will get yet another u/s in 6 weeks. (yay!)

As soon as I can talk Jeremy into scanning the pics from today, I'll post them.

Another ultrasound tomorrow (Thursday)

I didn't put this on the blog yet because I haven't posted in awhile (obviously). So here goes....

I had my 6 month appointment last week and I was measuring a little big for the date. Because of this, the nurse practitioner ordered another ultrasound to see what's going on. Possible reasons could be excess amniotic fluid or they dated the baby wrong at the original u/s. There's probably other reasons, but I can't remember them right now.

I guess we'll find out tomorrow....I'm trying not to worry, but it's hard not to.

26 Week Bump Picture (3 days late)

Ok, so it's Wednesday. I know I usually have these posted on Sunday, but it's been busy around here. We have a very sick kitty cat that has been requiring most of our extra time. So, this pic is actually my 26 wk, 3 day bump. Excuse the gnarly hair and goofy look - it was a long day.