Monday, July 31, 2006

Mobile Baby

We have a mobile baby!

Margaret started scooting this past weekend. She has been spinning in circles for a little while and moving forward an inch at a time by doing that. But now she can move forward without going in circles and, more importantly, she KNOWS that she is moving. And she does it with purpose to get things that she shouldn't play with. (keep in mind this is all done on her bottom...)

Cords. She loves cords. She loves getting our CD books (the big black ones) and pulling out the CDs to chew on (Daddy had a fit). She loves handles on our drawers and cabinets. It is only a matter of time before she figures out how to open them. We need to baby proof.

I can't believe she is going to be one tomorrow. She is such a big girl now.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Weight issues (mine)

One thing that happened during my last pregnancy is that I gained very little weight during the first trimester and then for a month after that, I gained in a normal or little higher than normal way. Then around 17-18 weeks, I started to lose weight. I wasn’t very concerned about it because, frankly, I had an extra 10 or so I carried around with me.

Much to my surprise, when my water broke at 22 weeks and I was admitted into the hospital, I was back to my weight at my first ob appointment when I was only 6 weeks along. Over the next week in the hospital, I was given a standard calorie diet based on my weight and the amount I should have been gaining. It was 2000 calories, I think. When I complained to my ob after a week, that I was still hungry with that amount of food, they weighed me. I had lost four pounds in that week. So they kept upping my calories and weighing me.

Finally, I started slowly gaining on 2800 calories a day on complete bedrest. And since I was on a diabetic diet (even though I was NOT diabetic and could get no one to listen to me even though my sugars were ALWAYS normal), these calories had to be from foods that were low fat, low sugar. Imagine it. 2800 calories of baked chicken or fish, salad with fat free dressing, green beans, fruit, etc- nothing calorie dense at all. It was an enormous amount of food. I stuffed myself and was in pain most of the time because I was so concerned about my baby gaining well.

And she did. Margaret was hefty for her gestational age. A big 2 pounds and 15 ounces at 27w6d. The doctors told me that sometimes babies start to develop more rapidly when under extreme stress such as no amniotic fluid. This seemed to be the case with Margaret. I assumed this was the cause for my extreme caloric needs in the hospital.

So since then, I haven’t thought much about my weight issues while pregnant. Until this morning at the OB. At my weigh in, I had lost 2 pounds since my last appointment four weeks ago. The baby is measuring three days ahead of their last estimate, so I know the new monkey is doing fine. Two pounds isn’t much but I can’t help but worry. Why am I losing weight again? I’m eating more than I usually do… a lot more. Do I have some kind of crazy pregnancy metabolism? Did the amount of calories I needed during my last pregnancy really have to do with Margaret’s accelerated development? Or do I need to have my Endo do a workup on me? Luckily I don’t have to wait very long for my next appointment. If I continue to lose weight then, I’ll grill my doctors. Time for more cheese, I guess…

And then there were three

Margaret finally popped that third tooth. It is her top right tooth and I can barely see a corner of it when she looks at the ceiling (still doesn't allow fingers in there). I knew it was there because she is into grinding the little corner against her bottom teeth. Shiver...

She teethes so sloooowly. Her bottom two teeth popped through about two months ago and they are still not quite half way up. We are just now starting to be able to see them when she smiles at us.

Second OB appt this morning was uneventful. He asked how the Peri appt went and I told him about their treatment plan. He didn't seem offended at all. Also, I'm going to see their pg couselor... seems as though I am a *little* anxious about this pregnancy. Or maybe I'm just nuts. Heehee!

Monday, July 24, 2006

First Peri Appt

So, I am so glad that I didn't listen to my apparently stupid OB and pushed to see the Perinatologist. This morning I went to my first appointment and saw Dr. Newman. He remembered me from my hospital bedrest and took the time to ask a million questions about my history and about what happened last summer with my pregnancy.

He wants to see me every other week starting in three weeks. I will receive a transvaginal ultrasound to evaluate my cervical condition. He mentioned having a cerclage but he says that if preterm labor (contractions) caused my water to break last time, a cerclage can do more harm than good. It is only an option they do for incompetent cervix. We still have some time to consider it since I am only 11w along and they place them closer to 15-16 weeks.

I am on prophylactic antibiotics for the duration of my pregnancy just in case an infection was what caused the rupture.

And lastly, the reason I'm showing so much so soon is that I have a fibroid the size of a grapefruit on my uterus. He says that it should cause no problems with the pregnancy but they will keep an eye on it.

I am very happy with the visit. And I'm relieved that someone in the medical field thinks we shouldn't just "wait and see". I want to dump my ob but won't, I guess, now that I am happy with my care somewhere else. I feel sorry for the women who don't know any better and trust his advice about pregnancy after PPROM. "The cervix and breaking of water are two unrelated things." Ugh.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Not Much New

Still plugging away here. Still feeling sick. I have a tummy- earlier than last time!

My first appt with the Perinatologist is on Monday. I'm kind of nervous. Not sure why. I have my second appt with my OB on Tuesday which is just the "give us some money" appt.

Margaret is cutting her first top tooth. She's not being too bad, just reduced appetite and problems sleeping. Otherwise, she is in a pretty good mood and is cute as ever.

She has also started shouting lately. She sits on the floor, flaps her arms up and down, and yells "BA! BA! BA!" It is so very cute.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

What is wrong with me?

Out of all the healthy food we have in this house after our trip to the store on Sunday, all I want is Taco Bell nachos with guac. TACO BELL! I was so sick last night and all I wanted to eat was nachos. David was sweet to go get them for me. When I was done, I felt so much better. I don't think I have the heart to tell him that all I can think of again today is Taco Bell nachos. He has some sort of fancy pork chop dish planned for tonight.

nachos. yum.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

A big week

Sorry it has been so long since my last update but I have had a very eventful, stressful, fun, and busy week.

First, my Mom has been visiting for the week to help out. It was wonderful having her here! We live WAY too far apart. Being a Mommy makes you really need your own Mommy, doesn't it? I cried this morning when I woke up and she wasn't here. And poor Margaret cried because I was crying.

Second, my birthday was on Tuesday and I enjoyed being with Mom during the day and getting to go eat with David that night. We had sushi and it was so yummy! Of course, I'm steering clear of the raw stuff but it was still so good.

Also, I really started to show early this week. So I had to tell my major professor. And she canned me. It was a tough pill to swallow but I am feeling better now. Even though my now ex-boss thinks I am going to withdraw from school, this isn't really the plan. My husband let me know that there are a couple of other professors who are interested in having me in their labs. One in particular who had this exact same thing happen to her when she was in grad school. I plan to talk to her when she gets back from her vacation. ... I'll let you know...

Also, since my firing, David has been looking into new jobs. We went out to eat with a group who has been courting him for a while. They seem nice. In many ways I like them better than most of his current academia co-workers. The drawback is that David will have to travel with the job. I'm not so sure how much he will like being away from his baby. (Although, I guess we will be able to go with him some if we want to.) There is another job that requires no travel but we don't know if it is a pay raise worth leaving his current job for. We will know on Monday, I think.

Margaret is doing well and loves, loves, loves Grandma. I can tell she is missing her today. Isn't everybody?

Friday, July 07, 2006

So sick and Margaret update

Ugh. I remember being sick with Margaret but not like this. Maybe it is because I am so tired from taking care of her all day and trying to work at night and early morning? I hope it goes away soon. I was sick into my fourth month with Margaret but maybe since I feel worse, it will be of shorter duration. Here's to hoping!

Today I got an email from an internet friend, Mom of Margaret's "boyfriend". She told me that she thinks I'm going to go far in this pregnancy- a hunch she has. Let's hope she is right. It felt so good to hear that kind of reassurance from someone! I know I'm going to do everything I can to get as far as possible.

Margaret is doing so well with her eating lately! She now will eat half a cup of oatmeal and cereal for breakfast, a whole stage 1 jar for lunch, and a little finger foods for dinner in addition to her formula. She is really starting to lengthen and slim as babies do when they grow into toddlers. I look at her old pictures and think that she looked downright chubby back then (even though she really wasn't). Now her cheeks are starting to decrease in size and any hint of chub is gone.

She has also started to scoot on her bottom. All along her PT has said she thought Margaret would be a scooter rather than a crawler because of her low tone in her arms. It seems that this has started to happen. Now she likes to rotate around on her bottom and has started to try to scoot forward. It is very cute but I still wish she would crawl. Now during "tummy time" she just lays there and takes a rest. Sometimes she will push up on her arms but mostly she will either roll over or just have some quiet time. At times I thought she was just going to fall asleep.

The baby calls!

Monday, July 03, 2006

Craving

David did a trial run of a recipe he is going to cook... a panko crusted fried goat cheese over spinach and tomatoes. Now I can't stop thinking about the cheese. Yummy, yummy fried goat cheese. My first real craving.

Maternal Fetal Medicine

Yay! I got an appt with Maternal Fetal Medicine. Not exactly the Dr. I wanted but now that I've got the initial appt, it should be no problem to change to the doctor I want to see.

What a weight off my shoulders!

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Ultrasound

I went to my ultrasound on Friday and found out that according to their measurements, I am 7w1d along. This puts my due date on Feb 15, 2007. BUT I have good reason to believe that this date is off by a week, so I am considering my due date Feb 8 until I have another ultrasound where they do more measurements (the tech only did one).

My cervix was long and closed and the baby's heartrate was 169! High, just like a the wives tales say a girl's is supposed to be.

Tomorrow I start making the big push to see a perinatologist. If my OB does not cooperate, I will find a new OB. A person I met online who has a similar history to mine is already on modified bedrest until they can place her cerclage. This is all through her OB. I don't think I need to go to that extreme yet, but I do feel like this pregnancy should be treated as high risk. Not just "wait and see" as my OB put it.

Morning (all day) sickness is kicking me. It is so much harder with a little one to take care of. I can't just go writhe in bed like I want to. Thank goodness I have such a wonderful husband who has been cooking and taking Margaret when I need him to... I don't know what I'd do without him.