I know I have been horrible at posting blogs this pregnancy, but I also have a full time job now besides sitting at a desk in a research lab.. or sitting in class 6 hours a day. ;)
My job has me running, which is keeping me busy... and tired. It's hard being pregnant AND working a physically demanding job! Although, on the plus side, my hours have been reduced from the typical 60+ hours a week I was putting in to somewhere between 40-50 hours a week now. It's nice being able to sleep in till 6:00 AM and getting off work at 3:00 PM. It gives me a lot more time to get other stuff done, and not be so exhausted all the time.
20 weeks have come and gone very slowly, but rapidly at the same time. It's hard for me to believe that we are already half way through this pregnancy, but at the same time, I can't believe I still have 20 weeks left. I know I don't want this baby to come any earlier than planned, because that always raises the chances of there being difficulties, but at the same time I can't WAIT to hold this precious bundle in my arms. Many people keep telling me that there is no rush, and I do agree, because I know FULL well the requirements and stresses of pre-term delivery, but at the same time I find myself having less patience with this pregnancy and having a huge desire to just hold a baby of my own in my arms.
The baby has been identified to be another little girl. Brad and I found out at our 18 week appointment, and we are both pretty excited about it. We also took the hour and fifteen minute drive home to pick out a name for the little squirt, and I am in love with it, might I add. Brad wasn't too excited to pick out girl names, because he was really excited about the boy name we had already picked out, but oh well. He agreed on the name that I LOVE and so we will be planning on that.... unless plans change.
A couple of weeks ago I started losing a lot of my non-pregnant mobility that I used to have. I now have a well defined baby bump sticking out my front end, and it is starting to get exciting and annoying as I am not able to fluently do certain things such as tie my shoes and put on socks, but I will live. I'm pretty sure I will be dreading being 8-9 months pregnant in the dead of winter... there's no such thing as "slip on snow boots"....
The kicks and nudges are starting to get more and more defined as the little one starts to get bigger and bigger. There are frequent times at work where I am as far away from the bathroom as possible and the little tiger decides it's time to use my bladder as a punching bag (her favorite activity as of late). I honestly missed those kicks and nudges, as that was one of the only connections that Paige and I ever got to experience. I am so hoping that this little one will be able to fulfill so many more experiences in motherhood for me.
As we get closer and closer to the 28 week mark, my nerves start to queaze. It makes me nervous to think that the same thing as what happened with Paige is a possibility with this little one. At my 30 week mark I had made plans to fly to Florida, and bought airplane tickets, and had everything to go for a week long vacation with the family... Just recently it was brought up to my attention that I may not even be able to fly there due to my previous pregnancy experience at 28 weeks. I am hoping and praying that the dr. will clear me to fly that week so that I can take that vacation. What other way to relieve pregnancy stress than a week on the beach (in a full body suit to hide all those stretch marks) in Florida over Thanksgiving week??
Our next Dr. appointment is on October 9th, and they will decide then weather I will be visiting every other week or stay at every 4 weeks until 30 weeks. It all depends on how the baby grows and develops over the next couple of weeks. Everything looked very good at our last Dr. appointment and the baby had grown and caught up with the "average" at 18 weeks. We did an echo cardiogram on her heart, and the Dr. said everything looked great and all of her organs checked out. He believes that he double vessel chord will not be too much of a concern from here on out, but that I still have to maintain a regular daily schedule and I can't introduce new, physical activities into my schedule as that may cause stress to my body and the babies.
I can't wait for another visit as we get to see the little one every time on ultrasound. It's exciting to be able to see the development and see that heart beating. We only ever got 2 ultrasounds of Paige, but baby #2 has been photographed 5 times already, and will be for every visit!
So, thats the update for now, I'm sure I'll update again in a few weeks when I get a spare minute or two! hope all is well!!
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
17 Weeks.
I know that time keeps getting away from me. I was a lot better at posting blogs when I was pregnant with Paige. It was like an obsession when I was pregnant wit her. Now, it has turned into something that is just an extra thing to do. I am staying a lot busier these days with work compared to when I was at ISU working and going to school. My job consists of a lot more physical work these days than it did a year ago, and I am definitely feeling the difference.
These past 17 weeks have flown by, yet moved so slowly. I know I've said this before, but this pregnancy is just so much different than my pregnancy with Paige. I was so up-beat and excited about Paige. This time, it seems like more of a chore because I am so tired all the time and because this pregnancy hasn't been nearly as easy; physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, as my pregnancy with Paige. 17 weeks seems like its taken forever, but at the same time, I can't believe that a week from now, we will be able to say "he" or "she" once again. I am SO excited to see our little one up on the big screen again, to see all those tiny little body parts and be able to connect visually with the little one.
The last Dr's appointment brought both good and bad news, yet again. We found out that the umbilical cyst that the specialist saw in our 7 week ultrasound in fact, had gone away. The chances of that cyst being a physical issue was 20%. We both felt pretty good that these odds were for us and that everything was going to turn out ok, and it did! But at our 15 week ultrasound, which was a "pre-anatomy" scan for the specialist, just to make sure that everything was looking good and that the baby was developing properly. This was when the bad news of the day came into play. The specialist found yet another issue with the umbilical cord. The Dr. explained the issue to us, and it turns out its not a real severe issue, but it is a major concern to me. The umbilical cord with baby #2 is in fact a double vessel cord, which means that there are only two blood vessels instead of the normal three in an umbilical chord. This is a concern because with only one artery and one vein, the baby can be effected with stunted growth and/or severe organ dysfunction. The organs that are mostly affected are the heart, kidneys, and liver. The numbers say that 70% of all babies with a double vessel cord live 100% normal lives. But that 30% is my main concern. I know its a smaller number, but I can't help but imagine that one in three babies are born with defects because of this double vessel cord. It scares the crap out of me.
We will learn more about the baby's anatomy next Wednesday, but part of me is freaking out. I'm just getting sick of being beat over and over again with freaky stuff, especially after our experience with Paige and having previous issues with the umbilical cord with her. This double vessel thing is scaring the crap out of me, and I's adding more stress to this pregnancy than what already is there due to our loss of Paige.
On the bright side... I started to feel the baby move this past week, and now I am regularly feeling kicks and nudges. Brad hasn't yet been able to feel the kicks, but they are getting stronger, so I know it's not too much longer now before he will be able to experience it! He was pretty jealous when I was laying in bed the other night and started feeling the movements. I know he is getting really anxious to feel the movements, and I am getting anxious for him to have that connection with the baby too.
I am starting to get nervous as we start to near our time for the baby to come. I am starting to prepare myself for another disaster I feel like. I don't want to say it's a natural reaction, but i feel like it is another reaction to our experience with Paige. I just ask, once again, for prayers and uplifting words of encouragement as we get closer to the end and farther through this pregnancy. As we near or 28 week mark I know I will be a nervous wreck, but I also know that prayer is a very strong action, and God hears prayer and answers it too. Thanks for everyone for reading my blogs and keeping up with us through this journey. It means a lot to us to know that we have friends there to support us and to help us through this rough journey.
These past 17 weeks have flown by, yet moved so slowly. I know I've said this before, but this pregnancy is just so much different than my pregnancy with Paige. I was so up-beat and excited about Paige. This time, it seems like more of a chore because I am so tired all the time and because this pregnancy hasn't been nearly as easy; physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, as my pregnancy with Paige. 17 weeks seems like its taken forever, but at the same time, I can't believe that a week from now, we will be able to say "he" or "she" once again. I am SO excited to see our little one up on the big screen again, to see all those tiny little body parts and be able to connect visually with the little one.
The last Dr's appointment brought both good and bad news, yet again. We found out that the umbilical cyst that the specialist saw in our 7 week ultrasound in fact, had gone away. The chances of that cyst being a physical issue was 20%. We both felt pretty good that these odds were for us and that everything was going to turn out ok, and it did! But at our 15 week ultrasound, which was a "pre-anatomy" scan for the specialist, just to make sure that everything was looking good and that the baby was developing properly. This was when the bad news of the day came into play. The specialist found yet another issue with the umbilical cord. The Dr. explained the issue to us, and it turns out its not a real severe issue, but it is a major concern to me. The umbilical cord with baby #2 is in fact a double vessel cord, which means that there are only two blood vessels instead of the normal three in an umbilical chord. This is a concern because with only one artery and one vein, the baby can be effected with stunted growth and/or severe organ dysfunction. The organs that are mostly affected are the heart, kidneys, and liver. The numbers say that 70% of all babies with a double vessel cord live 100% normal lives. But that 30% is my main concern. I know its a smaller number, but I can't help but imagine that one in three babies are born with defects because of this double vessel cord. It scares the crap out of me.
We will learn more about the baby's anatomy next Wednesday, but part of me is freaking out. I'm just getting sick of being beat over and over again with freaky stuff, especially after our experience with Paige and having previous issues with the umbilical cord with her. This double vessel thing is scaring the crap out of me, and I's adding more stress to this pregnancy than what already is there due to our loss of Paige.
On the bright side... I started to feel the baby move this past week, and now I am regularly feeling kicks and nudges. Brad hasn't yet been able to feel the kicks, but they are getting stronger, so I know it's not too much longer now before he will be able to experience it! He was pretty jealous when I was laying in bed the other night and started feeling the movements. I know he is getting really anxious to feel the movements, and I am getting anxious for him to have that connection with the baby too.
I am starting to get nervous as we start to near our time for the baby to come. I am starting to prepare myself for another disaster I feel like. I don't want to say it's a natural reaction, but i feel like it is another reaction to our experience with Paige. I just ask, once again, for prayers and uplifting words of encouragement as we get closer to the end and farther through this pregnancy. As we near or 28 week mark I know I will be a nervous wreck, but I also know that prayer is a very strong action, and God hears prayer and answers it too. Thanks for everyone for reading my blogs and keeping up with us through this journey. It means a lot to us to know that we have friends there to support us and to help us through this rough journey.
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