A little tiny lizard came into the house a couple of weeks ago, and Daddy said Lily could take it into the bathtub with her... Poor little lizard must have been terrified!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Meredith's Baby Shower
Our good friends Meredith and Terry are having a baby boy! Emily and I hosted a baby shower for Meredith on Saturday, and it was so much fun!
The invitations had sailboats on them, and one night when I couldn't sleep I was laying awake in bed and I had this cute idea to make a sailboat out of a bathtub and a couple of baby towels. I didn't know how it would turn out, so I enlisted my wonderful husband who built a wooden frame for the sail. Emily and I filled the bathtub with diapers and bath stuff and asked guests to guess how many diapers they thought were in the sailboat - it was fun!
The invitations had sailboats on them, and one night when I couldn't sleep I was laying awake in bed and I had this cute idea to make a sailboat out of a bathtub and a couple of baby towels. I didn't know how it would turn out, so I enlisted my wonderful husband who built a wooden frame for the sail. Emily and I filled the bathtub with diapers and bath stuff and asked guests to guess how many diapers they thought were in the sailboat - it was fun!
My friend Jessica made this adorable cake.
And we had a little clothesline with onesies and washcloths.
We had lots of fun, and I ate about half the pan of enchilada dip that Emily made!
A baby shower!
My wonderful friends hosted a really fun baby shower for Dylan yesterday! We all met up at Pappasito's for some delicious Mexican food and a party for our little boy. Thank you all for celebrating with me!
Me and the hostesses, Katie, Meredith, and Natalie
Do you see those cupcakes on the left? They were amazing!
Me and the hostesses, Katie, Meredith, and Natalie
Do you see those cupcakes on the left? They were amazing!
Trish is due Oct 15; I am due Oct 18; Meredith is due Oct 27!
The whole gang
What a fun afternoon!
Prenatal Visit - 33 Weeks
I had another prenatal visit today, and I learned a new term: Biophysical Profile (BPP). It's a test that uses a fetal ultrasound and a nonstress test to measure the overall health of the baby. Ultrasound is used to keep track of movement, muscle tone, breathing rate, and the amount of amniotic fluid surrounding the baby; the nonstress test monitors increases in heart rate with movement. If these five areas are within a normal range, the baby is considered to be in good health.
So last week was my first BPP, but I didn't pick up on the name of the test because the ultrasound last week was also a growth ultrasound. Today's ultrasound was not a growth ultrasound, so we didn't get a new estimate of his weight. However, he's still pretty cute, and I got to watch him practice breathing by watching his abdomen move. That was something that hadn't been pointed out to me before, so it was really fun for me to see. Dylan was a sleepyhead this morning, so we had to watch him for quite awhile to see enough movement. Then the nonstress test was next, and he was still not moving a whole lot so they used a noisy little device that sounds like hair clippers to wake him up. They had to do that last week too, and I suspect it will be necessary during all of my upcoming visits as well - he's just not very active in the morning, it's nighttime when he starts moving all over the place. Everything they were looking for in the BPP was normal.
My doctors' office moved to another suite over the weekend, so today was their first day in the new office. It's very open and roomy, with beautiful neutral decor. So far my favorite part of the new office is the chairs in the nonstress testing area. Last week in the old office the test was done on a regular old exam table; this week I was sitting in a big comfy reclining chair for thirty minutes! It was great.
Then I had my actual checkup with Dr. Holland, where I learned that I had gained 2 pounds in the last week (Seriously? You mean I ate too much cake at the baby showers this weekend?! I'm shocked!). And then Laura took my blood pressure with an automatic blood pressure cuff. And it was outrageously high compared to what it's been running (140-something over 106!!!). So she did it again, and it was 140-something over 100. And then she went to find the real blood pressure cuffs that hadn't been put in the new exam rooms yet so she could do it manually. And thank the Lord, that crazy automatic blood pressure cuff was wrong -- my blood pressure was really 134/87. Still considerably higher than my typical readings, but by that time it probably really was elevated from the stress of thinking I might have diastolic numbers in the low 100s. So all is well, but I was given a thorough review from Dr. Holland about all the symptoms of preeclampsia and a stern reminder to call them immediately if any of them develop. I've since taken my blood pressure at home, and it's back to normal - 115/76. Phew!
I go back next week for another BPP, but I won't see the docs again until the week after that. Oh! And by the way - my c-section is only FOUR WEEKS FROM TODAY! Does that seem really, really close to anyone else, or is it just me!?
So last week was my first BPP, but I didn't pick up on the name of the test because the ultrasound last week was also a growth ultrasound. Today's ultrasound was not a growth ultrasound, so we didn't get a new estimate of his weight. However, he's still pretty cute, and I got to watch him practice breathing by watching his abdomen move. That was something that hadn't been pointed out to me before, so it was really fun for me to see. Dylan was a sleepyhead this morning, so we had to watch him for quite awhile to see enough movement. Then the nonstress test was next, and he was still not moving a whole lot so they used a noisy little device that sounds like hair clippers to wake him up. They had to do that last week too, and I suspect it will be necessary during all of my upcoming visits as well - he's just not very active in the morning, it's nighttime when he starts moving all over the place. Everything they were looking for in the BPP was normal.
My doctors' office moved to another suite over the weekend, so today was their first day in the new office. It's very open and roomy, with beautiful neutral decor. So far my favorite part of the new office is the chairs in the nonstress testing area. Last week in the old office the test was done on a regular old exam table; this week I was sitting in a big comfy reclining chair for thirty minutes! It was great.
Then I had my actual checkup with Dr. Holland, where I learned that I had gained 2 pounds in the last week (Seriously? You mean I ate too much cake at the baby showers this weekend?! I'm shocked!). And then Laura took my blood pressure with an automatic blood pressure cuff. And it was outrageously high compared to what it's been running (140-something over 106!!!). So she did it again, and it was 140-something over 100. And then she went to find the real blood pressure cuffs that hadn't been put in the new exam rooms yet so she could do it manually. And thank the Lord, that crazy automatic blood pressure cuff was wrong -- my blood pressure was really 134/87. Still considerably higher than my typical readings, but by that time it probably really was elevated from the stress of thinking I might have diastolic numbers in the low 100s. So all is well, but I was given a thorough review from Dr. Holland about all the symptoms of preeclampsia and a stern reminder to call them immediately if any of them develop. I've since taken my blood pressure at home, and it's back to normal - 115/76. Phew!
I go back next week for another BPP, but I won't see the docs again until the week after that. Oh! And by the way - my c-section is only FOUR WEEKS FROM TODAY! Does that seem really, really close to anyone else, or is it just me!?
Monday, August 24, 2009
Prenatal Visit - 32 Weeks
Today was the first day of my weekly fetal monitoring, as well as weekly ultrasounds. According to the ultrasound, Dylan weighs 3 lbs 13 oz, plus or minus about half a pound; his activity level was normal during monitoring. Blood pressure is still normal... Nothing out of the ordinary to report. I go back next week.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Prenatal Visit - 30 weeks
Another normal doctor visit today. Blood pressure is great, no protein in my urine, gaining weight at a normal albeit fast pace. Baby's heartbeat was normal. We did another blood test today, as an extra safety precaution because my blood is Rh-. Dusty and I have the same blood type, so there is no logical reason for any issues with Rh antibodies, but they drew blood today to doublecheck that I'm not developing antibodies. Apparently it's routine to doublecheck even when both parents have the same blood type. I scheduled all the rest of my doctor visits for the remainder of my pregnancy, which makes it seem like it's really almost over. Such a strange feeling! I go back in two weeks for a doctor visit, ultrasound, and fetal monitoring. And after that I'm going back for monitoring every week until the baby's born, but I won't see the doctor every week.
Nurse Laura is back at the OB's office, at least temporarily, and I was so glad to see her today! She is a wonderful nurse, always on top of things. The new nurse who had taken her place wasn't working out, so now Laura is back. I'm pretty happy about it, even if it's not really that big of a deal.
People have been asking how I'm feeling... I feel fine overall. I get tired pretty easily, but I think it's usually because I don't always sleep very well at night anymore. Otherwise, I'm feeling pretty well. I have some very mild heartburn, but Tums work fine. Sometimes I have some lower back pain, but a warm bath usually takes care of it. So far so good, this has been a very normal pregnancy!
I've been wondering about nesting. I went through a little hizzy last weekend when I decided that ALL of the baby stuff needed to be out of the attic and cleaned in one day. I got most of it cleaned up and put back together before I ran out of steam that day. Also went on a nursery painting stint and finished outlining one of the characters. Do you suppose I'm nesting? I don't know when it's normal to do that, or how you know when you're nesting and not just getting things done.
At any rate, we only have seven weeks left before the baby will be here! I am so excited! Oh, by the way -- The poll in the sidebar is closed, and we've decided on a spelling. His name is Dylan Randall.
Nurse Laura is back at the OB's office, at least temporarily, and I was so glad to see her today! She is a wonderful nurse, always on top of things. The new nurse who had taken her place wasn't working out, so now Laura is back. I'm pretty happy about it, even if it's not really that big of a deal.
People have been asking how I'm feeling... I feel fine overall. I get tired pretty easily, but I think it's usually because I don't always sleep very well at night anymore. Otherwise, I'm feeling pretty well. I have some very mild heartburn, but Tums work fine. Sometimes I have some lower back pain, but a warm bath usually takes care of it. So far so good, this has been a very normal pregnancy!
I've been wondering about nesting. I went through a little hizzy last weekend when I decided that ALL of the baby stuff needed to be out of the attic and cleaned in one day. I got most of it cleaned up and put back together before I ran out of steam that day. Also went on a nursery painting stint and finished outlining one of the characters. Do you suppose I'm nesting? I don't know when it's normal to do that, or how you know when you're nesting and not just getting things done.
At any rate, we only have seven weeks left before the baby will be here! I am so excited! Oh, by the way -- The poll in the sidebar is closed, and we've decided on a spelling. His name is Dylan Randall.
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