18 week Belly Pictures - Finally!
11:26:00 AM Posted In 18 weeks , Belly Pictures , Pictures Edit This 0 Comments »
Elliott Richard, Cleo and I
My Breastfeeding Badges of Honor
Elliott Richard, Cleo and IOne down, 17 to go...
10:13:00 AM Posted In 18 weeks , Medical/Health , Pregnancy Edit This 0 Comments »
My nurse, Lisa, just left a little bit ago. She was here for about 45 minutes because we had paperwork and whatnot to do this time. My stats are:
Temp 98.6
BP 110/60
Tiny's HB 146
I was worried that Matria (the company she works for) would be a home health care company where the turnover rate is really high and they didn't really specialize in maternity and obstetrics. Apparently, maternity and obstetrics are all Matria does. Plus some preemie home care. Matria is also part of Summa Health Care, which is a pretty big health care/insurance group up north of here. So I felt much better just knowing that.
Lisa was super nice and really good at her job. She put me completely at ease. We talked for a little while. Then she took my vitals (see above) and then she gave me my injection. We had sent Gavin to his room when she got there because the sight of needles sends him into a tailspin, even if they aren't for him. Rob kept Elliott Richard busy in the office because he does okay with the sight of needles, unless they are directed at me. That freaks him out and makes him angry. The injection was relatively painless. It takes a little over a minute for her to push the whole amount in because it's suspended in oil, which makes it really thick. I'm a little sore but not too bad. I told her that she has to be my nurse for the rest of the pregnancy because she's so good. :)
We spent a lot of the time talking about the boys. At one point our conversation turned to Gavin and his Autism/Asperger's. She said a good friend's son had been recently diagnosed. So I mentioned Gavin's school and ADHD. At that point I learned a little bit about her daughter and situation. It was nice to be talked to as a human being rather just another patient, just another number.
I'm incredibly greatful Lisa was assigned my case. I prayed to God that my nurse would be nice and good at giving the injections. Trust me when I say that some nurses suck at giving this type of injection! God granted this prayer...Lisa is awesome! She is going to be what helps make these injections livable for the next 18 weeks. Well, her and hearing Tiny's heartbeat once a week. :)
Temp 98.6
BP 110/60
Tiny's HB 146
I was worried that Matria (the company she works for) would be a home health care company where the turnover rate is really high and they didn't really specialize in maternity and obstetrics. Apparently, maternity and obstetrics are all Matria does. Plus some preemie home care. Matria is also part of Summa Health Care, which is a pretty big health care/insurance group up north of here. So I felt much better just knowing that.
Lisa was super nice and really good at her job. She put me completely at ease. We talked for a little while. Then she took my vitals (see above) and then she gave me my injection. We had sent Gavin to his room when she got there because the sight of needles sends him into a tailspin, even if they aren't for him. Rob kept Elliott Richard busy in the office because he does okay with the sight of needles, unless they are directed at me. That freaks him out and makes him angry. The injection was relatively painless. It takes a little over a minute for her to push the whole amount in because it's suspended in oil, which makes it really thick. I'm a little sore but not too bad. I told her that she has to be my nurse for the rest of the pregnancy because she's so good. :)
We spent a lot of the time talking about the boys. At one point our conversation turned to Gavin and his Autism/Asperger's. She said a good friend's son had been recently diagnosed. So I mentioned Gavin's school and ADHD. At that point I learned a little bit about her daughter and situation. It was nice to be talked to as a human being rather just another patient, just another number.
I'm incredibly greatful Lisa was assigned my case. I prayed to God that my nurse would be nice and good at giving the injections. Trust me when I say that some nurses suck at giving this type of injection! God granted this prayer...Lisa is awesome! She is going to be what helps make these injections livable for the next 18 weeks. Well, her and hearing Tiny's heartbeat once a week. :)
My fate is set.
4:28:00 PM Posted In 18 weeks , Medical/Health , Pregnancy Edit This 0 Comments »
I received my progesterone injection kits this morning by FedEx. My nurse's name is Lisa and she will be here bright and early tomorrow morning at 8:30am. She said we would figure out then what my standing weekly appointment would be. We needed to get these injections started though so for now it's tomorrow. I'm still torn between being excited to hear Tiny. And between the fact that there will be mandatory needles involved.
Belly Love...
12:12:00 PM Posted In 1 year , 18 weeks , Elliott Richard , Pregnancy Edit This 0 Comments »
Elliott Richard has become obsessed with the "belly". Whenever he notices that the belly is there, he looks at me so sweetly and says "Belly?" So I show him the belly and he gives it hugs and kisses. I always ask him if he would like to tell the "belly" stories and he leans in really close and says "story". He won't tell you that the baby is in the belly. But if you ask him "where's the baby" he'll point to the belly. Recently he's started trying to play catch with the belly. It's so sweet! I'll have to have Rob take some video so I can post it.
Poo...poo...poo...
7:22:00 AM Posted In 1 year , 18 weeks , Elliott Richard , Gavin , Pregnancy , Sick Edit This 0 Comments »
That's how I feel. I took a 2.5 hour nap yesterday and still went to bed at 10:00pm. And now I've got an ear ache and a sore throat. Blech.
I've been trying to make a list of the things I'd like to have accomplished before Tiny is born and/or I end up on bed rest. It feels like every time I write something down, I think of 5 more things to add. *sigh*
So far my list of Must Do items includes: get Elliott Richard's room gutted, get Elliott Richard sleeping in his room, rewash all the baby stuff in baby safe soap, have all of the out-grown baby clothes packed up and stored in the attic, find a way to make life as easy and smooth as possible for everyone, go on a tour of the hospital's new maternity/labor and delivery ward, have all of our contacts and case workers set up and established
And my list of Try to Do items includes: finish updating Gavin and Elliott Richard's baby books, finish the cross stitch birth announcement for Tiny, gut the attic and sell everything that is just taking up space, keep up with my pregnancy calendars and journal, find a baby book and baby journal for Tiny
That's all I can remember off the top of my head right now but those lists are still pretty long. I've already set up our tour of the hospital. I went for the earliest date I could get in case I do end up on bed rest, I want to have already seen the hosptial. Especially if I end up in the hospital, it would be nice to know where we are going. lol
I can't believe that Elliott Richard is going to be 2 years old in less than 2 weeks! It's crazy how quickly the time flies. He's still cutting his last tooth, which is being incredibly stubborn at this point. I'm not sure what we will be doing for his birthday though. It can't be anything that will get Gavin's back up and honestly, everything seems to get his back up lately. It's been suggested that we do nothing but that just seems wrong and unfair.
Today is Gavin's first day home in a week. Last Monday I called my Mom sobbing because after all the days off of school, coupled with snow days and weekends our house had been non-stop. I was sick, again, and not getting any better. And we were all on edge and getting on each other's nerves, so I asked her if she would take Gavin for a while. She took him Monday night after work and he came home last night after going grocery shopping with Grammy. Granted he came home for a few hours every day after school but for the most part he was with my parents. The break certainly helped but it feels like we barely just scratched the surface. Rob and I spent the whole week basically sleeping and trying to recoup, so we accomplished nothing. *sigh*
I keep trying to come up with ways to...peacefully co-exist, for lack of a better way to put it. But I keep falling short. I can't help but feel that if I were just a little more organized and on top of things that everything would be better. I try, Lord knows I do but it goes against everything I am. I don't know how to be organized. I can figure it out enough to set it up but when it comes time to implement it I just can't seem to get my brain around it and make sense of it. There's got to be a way though. I just haven't found it yet. At least, I hope there's a way and I just haven't found it yet. *sigh*
I've been trying to make a list of the things I'd like to have accomplished before Tiny is born and/or I end up on bed rest. It feels like every time I write something down, I think of 5 more things to add. *sigh*
So far my list of Must Do items includes: get Elliott Richard's room gutted, get Elliott Richard sleeping in his room, rewash all the baby stuff in baby safe soap, have all of the out-grown baby clothes packed up and stored in the attic, find a way to make life as easy and smooth as possible for everyone, go on a tour of the hospital's new maternity/labor and delivery ward, have all of our contacts and case workers set up and established
And my list of Try to Do items includes: finish updating Gavin and Elliott Richard's baby books, finish the cross stitch birth announcement for Tiny, gut the attic and sell everything that is just taking up space, keep up with my pregnancy calendars and journal, find a baby book and baby journal for Tiny
That's all I can remember off the top of my head right now but those lists are still pretty long. I've already set up our tour of the hospital. I went for the earliest date I could get in case I do end up on bed rest, I want to have already seen the hosptial. Especially if I end up in the hospital, it would be nice to know where we are going. lol
I can't believe that Elliott Richard is going to be 2 years old in less than 2 weeks! It's crazy how quickly the time flies. He's still cutting his last tooth, which is being incredibly stubborn at this point. I'm not sure what we will be doing for his birthday though. It can't be anything that will get Gavin's back up and honestly, everything seems to get his back up lately. It's been suggested that we do nothing but that just seems wrong and unfair.
Today is Gavin's first day home in a week. Last Monday I called my Mom sobbing because after all the days off of school, coupled with snow days and weekends our house had been non-stop. I was sick, again, and not getting any better. And we were all on edge and getting on each other's nerves, so I asked her if she would take Gavin for a while. She took him Monday night after work and he came home last night after going grocery shopping with Grammy. Granted he came home for a few hours every day after school but for the most part he was with my parents. The break certainly helped but it feels like we barely just scratched the surface. Rob and I spent the whole week basically sleeping and trying to recoup, so we accomplished nothing. *sigh*
I keep trying to come up with ways to...peacefully co-exist, for lack of a better way to put it. But I keep falling short. I can't help but feel that if I were just a little more organized and on top of things that everything would be better. I try, Lord knows I do but it goes against everything I am. I don't know how to be organized. I can figure it out enough to set it up but when it comes time to implement it I just can't seem to get my brain around it and make sense of it. There's got to be a way though. I just haven't found it yet. At least, I hope there's a way and I just haven't found it yet. *sigh*
Um...yay?
4:45:00 PM Posted In 18 weeks , Medical/Health , Pregnancy Edit This 0 Comments »
I just heard from the nurse with my insurance company. Insurance actually approved the progesterone injections so I'll have the package with the kits on Monday and then I'll call them and they'll tell me what my standing appointment is. I'm trying to focus on the positive, I'll get to listen to Tiny once a week (not counting Dr. D appointments and whatnot). I'm also trying to ignore the negative, pain in the butt (literally - lol) and needles. I'm terrified of needles. *shivers*
18 weeks
9:49:00 AM Posted In 18 weeks , Pregnancy Edit This 0 Comments »What Tiny's been up to this week: We have two more ounces! Your "getting bigger-n-better by the minute baby" is already up to 7 ounces and 6 inches! This is a big week for their baby skin. There are now two distinct layers—the epidermis (or the surface skin) and dermis. Currently, their skin is covered with a greasy, waxy, cheese-like substance, known as vernix caseosa. Sure, it sounds pretty nasty, but this mixture of fatty secretions covering your little swimmer from head to toe is the best way to protect their oh-so-thin skin from bruising and abrasions as well as chapping caused by amniotic fluid exposure (and your little one is swimming in that stuff!). Still don’t like the fact your little darling is currently slathered in fatty cream like a greased pig? Well, you know the birthing process? Where you have to push something the size of a watermelon out a hole the size of a grape? That adorable little greased piglet would have a lot harder time getting through the birth canal without the vernix caseosa. Fun fact for momma’s with baby girls: it’s a uterus within a uterus! Your little girl will have developed a uterus and vagina canal by the end of this week.
Tiny has certainly been a busy little bee this week. I've been feeling more and more movement every day, although it's still a little muted from the placement of the placenta. The other night I was laying in bed after helping Elliott Richard fall back to sleep and I could feel the unmistakable "bomp bomp bomp" of the hiccups. :) Pregnancy is so amazing!
Update on the weekly progesterone shots: I spoke with Lori, one of the nurses at Dr. D's office. She said that I am the first patient ever to have been recommended the shots by my insurance company. Usually Dr. D requests the shots and the insurance company fights them on it. So when the insurance company suggested the injections, Dr. D jumped at the opportunity. So now I just have to wait for the nurse to call and set up my weekly appointments.
Life, Liberty & the Persuit of a "Typical" Pregnancy
6:52:00 AM Posted In 18 weeks , Medical/Health , Pregnancy Edit This 1 Comment »
Busy. Busy. Busy.
It feels like my phone has rang non-stop all day yesterday. A few phone calls were just personal in nature. However, one of the phone calls was from a nurse with my insurance agency. Apparently they've just figured out that I'm pregnant and wanted to offer their assistance. They've set me up with a case manager to act as my liaison for all of my needs and whatnot throughout the pregnancy. Which is going to help in more ways than one. My case worker will be able to help me with services we need. She'll also be able to help me when the time comes for the blood thinners to start since it takes some special authorization to get them in the pre-filled syringes.
While I was talking to that first nurse she asked a bunch of questions about my previous pregnancies. So of course the topic of my preterm labor at 27 weeks with Elliott Richard came up, as well as all of my other complications throughout the pregnancy. So since I had preterm labor starting at 27 weeks and he born at 36 weeks, technically premature, that qualifies me for some certain things; which the nurse referred me for. The big thing at this point are weekly progesterone injections. There have been studies done that say that women with a history of preterm labor are 33% less likely to have preterm labor again if they receive these injections. On the one hand I'm excited because the way it works is that I'll have a standing weekly appointment with a visiting nurse. She'll come, take my vitals, check Tiny, listen to the heartbeat, assess me for signs of preterm labor and give me my injection.
I know that it will be very reassuring for me to have those weekly appointments. Just to have the opportunity to hear Tiny's heartbeat once a week independently of my appointments with Dr. D. At the same time though, I'm still doing research and trying to figure out if there are side effects that would lead me to not have the injections. So far, I've found some posts about a higher risk of hypospadias. But since Tiny's parts are all already formed it shouldn't affect us.
I've called Dr. D to get their opinions just to be sure. Although he had to send the referral after my case worker sent him the suggestion that I might benefit from the injections. So I'm sure he's okay with it. I just want to be sure. If he's on board, then I just have to wait for my insurance to approve what they suggested (how's that for slightly screwy? lol) and then set up my weekly dates with a needle and Tiny's heartbeat. :)
It feels like my phone has rang non-stop all day yesterday. A few phone calls were just personal in nature. However, one of the phone calls was from a nurse with my insurance agency. Apparently they've just figured out that I'm pregnant and wanted to offer their assistance. They've set me up with a case manager to act as my liaison for all of my needs and whatnot throughout the pregnancy. Which is going to help in more ways than one. My case worker will be able to help me with services we need. She'll also be able to help me when the time comes for the blood thinners to start since it takes some special authorization to get them in the pre-filled syringes.
While I was talking to that first nurse she asked a bunch of questions about my previous pregnancies. So of course the topic of my preterm labor at 27 weeks with Elliott Richard came up, as well as all of my other complications throughout the pregnancy. So since I had preterm labor starting at 27 weeks and he born at 36 weeks, technically premature, that qualifies me for some certain things; which the nurse referred me for. The big thing at this point are weekly progesterone injections. There have been studies done that say that women with a history of preterm labor are 33% less likely to have preterm labor again if they receive these injections. On the one hand I'm excited because the way it works is that I'll have a standing weekly appointment with a visiting nurse. She'll come, take my vitals, check Tiny, listen to the heartbeat, assess me for signs of preterm labor and give me my injection.
I know that it will be very reassuring for me to have those weekly appointments. Just to have the opportunity to hear Tiny's heartbeat once a week independently of my appointments with Dr. D. At the same time though, I'm still doing research and trying to figure out if there are side effects that would lead me to not have the injections. So far, I've found some posts about a higher risk of hypospadias. But since Tiny's parts are all already formed it shouldn't affect us.
I've called Dr. D to get their opinions just to be sure. Although he had to send the referral after my case worker sent him the suggestion that I might benefit from the injections. So I'm sure he's okay with it. I just want to be sure. If he's on board, then I just have to wait for my insurance to approve what they suggested (how's that for slightly screwy? lol) and then set up my weekly dates with a needle and Tiny's heartbeat. :)
Ah...true love...
***My Baby Boys***
