We went back to the doctor on Tuesday August 7th for our 5th appointment. It was a very productive visit. First off, our baby girl is still moving about making her heartbeat hard to monitor, but it is somewhere between 140 & 150 beats per minute. The nurse said her heartbeat may start dropping slightly before birth, but apparently infants and young children have quicker heartbeats than adults so it won't drop to "normal" for some time. :)
I had my gestational diabetes test and passed. At least I don't have to worry about that. I was nervous about drinking the orange flavored sugar stuff with my fructose intolerance but it wasn't really a big deal. They also gave me my Rogam shot. Terri was right - she made me bend over and pull down my bottoms! I think it was even more strange when she put a bandage on my tush... It just felt weird!
We also discussed the recent prescription drug question with the doctor. She assured me she has been prescribing Flonase to pregnant women for years and has never had a problem. She also looked up the eye drops and did not feel this was a problem either. Apparently these two drugs are "cell specific" and are designed to effect only the optic and/or nasal cells. Her explanation was the same explanation given to me the first time by my allergy doctor and recently by one of Adam's med-student friends. (Thanks Deb & Dan!)
And last but certainly not least - the contractions caused by KC (our cat) are nothing to worry about. The doctor couldn't tell the baby's position yet but said all was well. Of course, we are to keep an eye out for the "symptoms" and come in if there are any questions but they are pretty classic Braxton Hicks contractions. I think it is a little early for them to start but what do I know!?!? As long as she is still moving and "okay", we're happy!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
28 Weeks
Baby:
She is a mover! She is now about 2-1/2 pounds and around 16 inches long. Since week 17, she has increased her weight 10x. Her brain is growing and getting those weird squiggly things and her body is also filling out.
Mom:
It has been an eventful week on the pregnancy front. For starters, we are officially in our last trimester! Some sources say 27 weeks is the last trimester, but by 28 weeks they are all in agreement. That means we are 1/3 of the way to welcoming our new little girl into our world.
I was a little nervous on Thursday night... I was afraid we might be welcoming her much earlier than expected. While laying in bed reading a magazine, our cat - KC - jumped on my stomach, right above my belly button. OUCH!!! After I had composed myself, I started having contractions... They weren't really painful - just a lot of tightening throughout my entire middle! Oh no - what did the kitty do? We read all the books we had, searched the Internet, and eventually I fell asleep. I woke up around 5 AM again with those contractions and almost woke Adam up too, but after eating a bowl of cereal they subsided and I went back to bed around 6:15 for a little nap.
Since then I've noticed my "bump" is a few inches lower and wider. The nurse thought maybe she flipped sideways which seemed to make sense considering where I was feeling movement and kicks/punches. Over the past few days she has moved from the left to the right and I suspect she is in some sort of fetal position but am not sure which end is up. Heck, for all I know it is ever changing...
The contractions were officially diagnosed as Braxton Hicks contractions and they have subsided in intensity, but are still occurring daily. I've been told it is normal (even though it seems early to me) and is nothing to worry about unless they become more intense and close together. Fortunately neither of those are happening. :) *I spoke too soon... In the past hour, I've had almost 10 contractions. They are however getting further apart not closer together and she is moving in strange ways. I'm not having any other scary symptoms so I'm praying she just moves a certain way that triggers the Braxton Hicks for me. I'll continue to push fluids and rest for the next hour. No news is good news!*
Dad:
We are ready for the baby to get here. Come to think of it, we don't have the nursery done yet. We still need to get a car seat and stroller. We have some clothes, but not enough for the multiple changes. Still need to buy diapers, baby wipes, bottles, and stuff we don't even know about yet. Then there's toys and stuff to keep the baby happy. Hmmm, we still need to take that childbirth class, too. Don't want to get an F in that class, otherwise you can't have your baby. I'm not done with my PhD, so not ready there. I guess the baby probably isn't ready yet either....still needs a few weeks to cook.
But we are ready! We are ready for Sarah to start feeling better and not worrying so much. We are ready for the smiling little face. We are ready for the coos and giggles. We are ready for a little hand to wrap around our finger. We are ready for the first time the baby recognizes us. We are ready for the first steps and first words. We are ready to hold and love our first little child. We are ready to wake up in the middle of the night to feed and change a stinky diaper. . . . .Well, I guess a few things can wait.
She is a mover! She is now about 2-1/2 pounds and around 16 inches long. Since week 17, she has increased her weight 10x. Her brain is growing and getting those weird squiggly things and her body is also filling out.
Mom:
It has been an eventful week on the pregnancy front. For starters, we are officially in our last trimester! Some sources say 27 weeks is the last trimester, but by 28 weeks they are all in agreement. That means we are 1/3 of the way to welcoming our new little girl into our world.
I was a little nervous on Thursday night... I was afraid we might be welcoming her much earlier than expected. While laying in bed reading a magazine, our cat - KC - jumped on my stomach, right above my belly button. OUCH!!! After I had composed myself, I started having contractions... They weren't really painful - just a lot of tightening throughout my entire middle! Oh no - what did the kitty do? We read all the books we had, searched the Internet, and eventually I fell asleep. I woke up around 5 AM again with those contractions and almost woke Adam up too, but after eating a bowl of cereal they subsided and I went back to bed around 6:15 for a little nap.
Since then I've noticed my "bump" is a few inches lower and wider. The nurse thought maybe she flipped sideways which seemed to make sense considering where I was feeling movement and kicks/punches. Over the past few days she has moved from the left to the right and I suspect she is in some sort of fetal position but am not sure which end is up. Heck, for all I know it is ever changing...
The contractions were officially diagnosed as Braxton Hicks contractions and they have subsided in intensity, but are still occurring daily. I've been told it is normal (even though it seems early to me) and is nothing to worry about unless they become more intense and close together. Fortunately neither of those are happening. :) *I spoke too soon... In the past hour, I've had almost 10 contractions. They are however getting further apart not closer together and she is moving in strange ways. I'm not having any other scary symptoms so I'm praying she just moves a certain way that triggers the Braxton Hicks for me. I'll continue to push fluids and rest for the next hour. No news is good news!*
Dad:
We are ready for the baby to get here. Come to think of it, we don't have the nursery done yet. We still need to get a car seat and stroller. We have some clothes, but not enough for the multiple changes. Still need to buy diapers, baby wipes, bottles, and stuff we don't even know about yet. Then there's toys and stuff to keep the baby happy. Hmmm, we still need to take that childbirth class, too. Don't want to get an F in that class, otherwise you can't have your baby. I'm not done with my PhD, so not ready there. I guess the baby probably isn't ready yet either....still needs a few weeks to cook.
But we are ready! We are ready for Sarah to start feeling better and not worrying so much. We are ready for the smiling little face. We are ready for the coos and giggles. We are ready for a little hand to wrap around our finger. We are ready for the first time the baby recognizes us. We are ready for the first steps and first words. We are ready to hold and love our first little child. We are ready to wake up in the middle of the night to feed and change a stinky diaper. . . . .Well, I guess a few things can wait.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
27 Weeks
Baby:
She is about 2 pounds now and 14.5 inches long. She is moving more rhythmically and frequently. Her immune system is developing along with the further development of her lungs and other important organs.
Mom:
Well I am starting to get big and am now feeling it! I'm still loving to feel her move and am getting excited to be able to hold her and watch her grow. I'm also getting pains in my hips/buttocks that aren't very pleasant. I'm reading that swimming and heating pads can help so I guess I'll get some use out of that maternity swim suit after all! Stretching and the suggested exercises are just not helping.
I woke up a couple nights ago with a horrible leg cramp. (I don't think I've jumped or moved that fast in months.) As I grab my calf to massage it Adam wakes up and asks, "Are you okay?" I explained I was fine, just had a leg cramp and needed to walk (maybe not so eloquently) and soon it had subsided enough to lay back down. That same night I woke up to hit the restroom and while I was doing my thing, Adam stole my body pillow! Since I was not in the mood, I simply stole it back not so nicely and he grunted and rolled over. I'm telling you this for two reasons. The first is to remind me that mother nature is trying her darnedest to prepare me for night-time feedings. The second is to explain that I told Adam these stories the next day and he remembered NONE of it! What is mother nature preparing him for I wonder... Hum...
Dad:
Less than 3 months left until we have our little crying and pooping bundle of joy. Gees, now that I’m thinking about it, I’m less than 3 months away from changing my first diaper. I’m a little nervous about it ever since Jon (Sarah’s dad) gave me a little tidbit of information. He said something along the lines of, “You know…during the first few weeks, you don’t know how something that small can create such a mess. It’s not normal.” Then he gets a smirk on his face and utters the phrase I can’t get out of my head. “It’s kinda like self-leveling cement……gets in all the cracks.” Thanks for the visual Jon.
Besides that, things are pretty going along pretty smooth for me. The same can’t be said for Sarah. I think she might have just hit the down-slope of her pregnancy. She had been feeling great up until about a week ago. Now she is having real trouble getting out of chairs, bed, the car, etc. Just a little grunting and groaning, but nothing too bad from the pain standpoint. But then there is her hip. I don’t know if she has a pinched nerve or what, but it’s really bothering her. Hopefully it’s just a temporary thing, or else it’s going to be a long 3 months.
She is about 2 pounds now and 14.5 inches long. She is moving more rhythmically and frequently. Her immune system is developing along with the further development of her lungs and other important organs.
Mom:
Well I am starting to get big and am now feeling it! I'm still loving to feel her move and am getting excited to be able to hold her and watch her grow. I'm also getting pains in my hips/buttocks that aren't very pleasant. I'm reading that swimming and heating pads can help so I guess I'll get some use out of that maternity swim suit after all! Stretching and the suggested exercises are just not helping.
I woke up a couple nights ago with a horrible leg cramp. (I don't think I've jumped or moved that fast in months.) As I grab my calf to massage it Adam wakes up and asks, "Are you okay?" I explained I was fine, just had a leg cramp and needed to walk (maybe not so eloquently) and soon it had subsided enough to lay back down. That same night I woke up to hit the restroom and while I was doing my thing, Adam stole my body pillow! Since I was not in the mood, I simply stole it back not so nicely and he grunted and rolled over. I'm telling you this for two reasons. The first is to remind me that mother nature is trying her darnedest to prepare me for night-time feedings. The second is to explain that I told Adam these stories the next day and he remembered NONE of it! What is mother nature preparing him for I wonder... Hum...
Dad:
Less than 3 months left until we have our little crying and pooping bundle of joy. Gees, now that I’m thinking about it, I’m less than 3 months away from changing my first diaper. I’m a little nervous about it ever since Jon (Sarah’s dad) gave me a little tidbit of information. He said something along the lines of, “You know…during the first few weeks, you don’t know how something that small can create such a mess. It’s not normal.” Then he gets a smirk on his face and utters the phrase I can’t get out of my head. “It’s kinda like self-leveling cement……gets in all the cracks.” Thanks for the visual Jon.
Besides that, things are pretty going along pretty smooth for me. The same can’t be said for Sarah. I think she might have just hit the down-slope of her pregnancy. She had been feeling great up until about a week ago. Now she is having real trouble getting out of chairs, bed, the car, etc. Just a little grunting and groaning, but nothing too bad from the pain standpoint. But then there is her hip. I don’t know if she has a pinched nerve or what, but it’s really bothering her. Hopefully it’s just a temporary thing, or else it’s going to be a long 3 months.
Doctor Frustration!!!
We've done such a good job at keeping this blog positive but I really must vent about something that happened yesterday at my allergy doctor appointment.
Everything was going fine, same ol' same ol'. Sarah has allergies and is basically allergic to everything except mold including dust and her furry cat. Yep, we're due at the end of October - Thanks! Then I open a can of worms - unintentionally, yet fortunately! My question - so what can, if anything, I take for my allergies while breastfeeding. Seems logical enough, right? I asked the same thing at the last visit only for while pregnant. The doctor didn't know so he was going to look it up. Perfect! (So I wait - and wait - and wait...)
He comes back (w/ a pharmacist) explaining I need to quit taking my eye drops! Okay... last time they were fine but I hardly use them. Oh, and we're going to switch your nasal spray to a Class B drug as opposed to the Class C. Fortunately I seldom use the stuff but I have used it... Wait! I was using a Class C nasal spray? What happened to the eye drops and nasal spray will be fine and will not effect the fetus? Well my advice to EVERYONE is do your OWN homework. Look up the prescription info YOURSELF b/c I asked several doctors, nurses, and even my pharmacist b/c I was rather cautious my first trimester. Heck, I even switched my shampoo b/c there were too many chemicals I couldn't pronounce in the professional curl enhancing one I was using! And I got bit by bugs b/c I refused to use DEET!
I hope and pray our baby is happy and healthy and that the seldom use of two allergy medications does not effect her well-being down the road. If anyone knows of someone who took Flonase or Patanol during pregnancy, please let me know if all was well. It would really help my mental state. I've never been so angry at a doctor before - and I've had my fair share of run-ins with them. This is UNACCEPTABLE and I hope it never happens to any of you. For your future knowledge, I'm including a summary of things I've learned below:
Drugs are classified into 4 groups related to use during pregnancy. Class A is proven safe. This includes Tums and that is about it. Class B is unknown, but some studies on animals show no effect to their fetuses or if animals showed effects, human studies have shown otherwise. Class C are also unknown and constitute somewhere around 80-90% of drugs prescribed by doctors. They either know nothing about these or animal studies have shown possible signs of fetal defects usually with very high doses. No studies in humans have been done. The last Class is X. These drugs are known to cause human fetal defects and are not recommended during pregnancy. The two I was using "as needed" (which I wouldn't have used at all had I known) were Class C drugs. This information is readily available for most drugs (I just learned today) by doing a quick Google search on the drug and clicking on the Prescription Information pdf.
Doctors will sometimes tell you that the benefits of using different drugs outweigh the risks. I am not a doctor and can't recommend anything to you, but I suggest you follow your doctor AND your gut. For example, if you are on anti-seizure meds, that might be important. For me, I'm allergic to so many antibiotics, my allergy medications are somewhat important to at least control the symptoms enough to not turn into an infection. However the Class B pills would have been sufficient! As for breastfeeding and allergy meds - nada! Everything is secreted into the milk. If I must take something, they say the only thing approved by some association is Claritin (over the counter-generic fine). I'm going to simply stop all of them and hope/pray for the best for our precious little one!
Everything was going fine, same ol' same ol'. Sarah has allergies and is basically allergic to everything except mold including dust and her furry cat. Yep, we're due at the end of October - Thanks! Then I open a can of worms - unintentionally, yet fortunately! My question - so what can, if anything, I take for my allergies while breastfeeding. Seems logical enough, right? I asked the same thing at the last visit only for while pregnant. The doctor didn't know so he was going to look it up. Perfect! (So I wait - and wait - and wait...)
He comes back (w/ a pharmacist) explaining I need to quit taking my eye drops! Okay... last time they were fine but I hardly use them. Oh, and we're going to switch your nasal spray to a Class B drug as opposed to the Class C. Fortunately I seldom use the stuff but I have used it... Wait! I was using a Class C nasal spray? What happened to the eye drops and nasal spray will be fine and will not effect the fetus? Well my advice to EVERYONE is do your OWN homework. Look up the prescription info YOURSELF b/c I asked several doctors, nurses, and even my pharmacist b/c I was rather cautious my first trimester. Heck, I even switched my shampoo b/c there were too many chemicals I couldn't pronounce in the professional curl enhancing one I was using! And I got bit by bugs b/c I refused to use DEET!
I hope and pray our baby is happy and healthy and that the seldom use of two allergy medications does not effect her well-being down the road. If anyone knows of someone who took Flonase or Patanol during pregnancy, please let me know if all was well. It would really help my mental state. I've never been so angry at a doctor before - and I've had my fair share of run-ins with them. This is UNACCEPTABLE and I hope it never happens to any of you. For your future knowledge, I'm including a summary of things I've learned below:
Drugs are classified into 4 groups related to use during pregnancy. Class A is proven safe. This includes Tums and that is about it. Class B is unknown, but some studies on animals show no effect to their fetuses or if animals showed effects, human studies have shown otherwise. Class C are also unknown and constitute somewhere around 80-90% of drugs prescribed by doctors. They either know nothing about these or animal studies have shown possible signs of fetal defects usually with very high doses. No studies in humans have been done. The last Class is X. These drugs are known to cause human fetal defects and are not recommended during pregnancy. The two I was using "as needed" (which I wouldn't have used at all had I known) were Class C drugs. This information is readily available for most drugs (I just learned today) by doing a quick Google search on the drug and clicking on the Prescription Information pdf.
Doctors will sometimes tell you that the benefits of using different drugs outweigh the risks. I am not a doctor and can't recommend anything to you, but I suggest you follow your doctor AND your gut. For example, if you are on anti-seizure meds, that might be important. For me, I'm allergic to so many antibiotics, my allergy medications are somewhat important to at least control the symptoms enough to not turn into an infection. However the Class B pills would have been sufficient! As for breastfeeding and allergy meds - nada! Everything is secreted into the milk. If I must take something, they say the only thing approved by some association is Claritin (over the counter-generic fine). I'm going to simply stop all of them and hope/pray for the best for our precious little one!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
4th Doc Apt - 26 Weeks
So we went in on Tuesday July 24th expecting to have the glucose (gestational diabetes) test and a Rh neg shot (I'm O- and Adam is B+) but found out we were 2 weeks too early. Apparently the schedulers mis-read 6 week return and scheduled a 4 week return. (Oh well, it is only valuable sick leave that could have been used for maternity leave!) :) I honestly don't 100% understand, but the Rh Neg shot only lasts 12 weeks so if they give it too early, it has to be given again before the baby is born... I've been told if she is positive, I'll need another shot after her birth. I bet by then I just say - Okay, whatever!
But they did their normal thing - measured my tummy which was 26 cm, asked us questions, and listened to her heartbeat which was between 140 and 150 beats per minute. They would have given us a more accurate count except she wouldn't hold still long enough for the machine to count! Oh yeah, and she kicked the nurse which was pretty funny!
But they did their normal thing - measured my tummy which was 26 cm, asked us questions, and listened to her heartbeat which was between 140 and 150 beats per minute. They would have given us a more accurate count except she wouldn't hold still long enough for the machine to count! Oh yeah, and she kicked the nurse which was pretty funny!
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