Pregnancy Milestones

I live pregnancy through a series of milestone markers, the dates that doctors determine show a significant change in the status for both mom and baby. These smaller goals (at least smaller then the 40 weeks of a pregnancy going to it's due date) help get through the weeks.

• The first milestone is at 12 weeks, the ending of the first trimester. the rate of miscarriage after this time decreases significantly and so when I hit 12 weeks I breathed out a huge sigh of relief. This is also around when some of the pregnancy symptoms dissipate such as nausea, tiredness etc. (mine happened at 14 weeks, but it started at 12).
• The second milestone is 24 weeks, this is when viability begins. You know the lady with the 19 children who regularly appears on the TLC channel? She had her last child at 24 weeks. It is certainly not optimal but babies can survive this. I am currently at 25 weeks (or will be tomorrow). This is another time to have a huge sigh of relief. If something were to happen.. such as a huge spike in my blood pressure or distress in the baby at least delivery is an option.
• I think the third milestone is around 30 weeks, at this point it seems like most babies will make it if they have to be delivered and the rate of long term complications go down.
• Finally 37 weeks, most babies will have enough lung development that they won't have to stay very long in the hospital if delivered after this point.

I am happy to have made it this far but I hope to make it through all four milestones before having little She-ra.

Easter Now and Then

Ryan does NOT love having his picture taken with the Easter Bunny. The picture was taken before Ryan had his "get me out of here" total melt down. Of course when we got away from the bunny, Ryan loved him, he was blowing kisses to the bunny and waving... just as long as the bunny stayed about 20 feet away.
I've also posted last years Easter Bunny picture for some comparison. Yes this years bunny was way creepier, Ryan was also much more aware of the creep factor this year. (You can click on both pictures for a bigger version).

2009

Visit To Massachusetts

This weekend we took a trip to Massachusetts for Ryan's grandfathers 50th birthday. Ryan was such a good traveler, the flights were easy and he was flexible about sleeping and eating and everything. Ryan loved being surrounded by so much family to give him attention and lots of kids right around his age. On top of the pictures listed here we also got family pictures professionally taken so when we get those I will post them.

Playing Soccer

Second Cousins

Second Cousins Hugging

Cousins

Ryan, Kaylie and their grandparents

Food Restrictions

If anyone ever says in my presence that pregnant woman can eat whatever they want, I am going to have some words for them. First of all, all pregnant woman must avoid soft cheeses (blue cheese, feta etc.), they must also avoid anything undercooked (or in the case of sushi not cooked at all), then there is caffeine which has been directly linked to miscarriage, and alcohol of course. So that is the list, at least off the top of my head of what "normal" pregnant woman must avoid.

Then you get to me... and other women with blood sugar issues. Most people who have blood sugar issues must avoid sugar and non-complex carbohydrates. I am still in the process of figuring out what exactly I have to do to regulate my sugar. If it gets too low I cry... no joke, I start crying and I stop about 2 minutes after eating, I get out of control and except for eating nothing can calm me down. If my sugar gets to high I get really hot and weak. So the question on the table is how to make it hit somewhere between 80-120 at all times.

What we have learned so far is that in the morning I can deal with carbs, probably not a bagel but I can have oatmeal. In fact I need carbs because it is usually around 10am that my blood sugar hits it's low point and if I haven't had enough I cry. So I have to snack at 10. I seem to be able to handle carbs at lunch too, nothing refined but I can do whole grains etc. The issue is that after lunch I can't have any carbs or sugars or fruit... really I am left with high fat dairy, protein and vegetables.

It's a work in progress, Don is helping by keeping track of everything and trying to find patterns. Hopefully we fall into a rhythm where I don't have to constantly be thinking about food. Until then everything will be documented, scheduled and regulated. Sounds like fun I know, but I gotta do what I gotta do!

March Pictures

The Support Of Friends

Sometimes as a mom you lose touch with the reality of the outside world. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a stay at home mom and I am very blessed to have been given the opportunity to do it, but sometimes I feel like it’s hard to keep in touch with some of the great people I have in my life. I have a few friends who live far away who are corny as it sounds I feel are my "soul sisters". Even if we don’t talk for awhile I feel like we can fall right back into talking and getting each other because that’s just how it is. These friends are so important to me, and as someone who accidentally forgets to stay in touch sometimes I am very thankful for them. (One of the reasons I keep this blog is so they know what is going on with me during those times when I am less than in touch).
Today I received a super sweet, wonderful card from my friend Rachel who most certainly qualifies as one of my "soul sisters". We haven’t talked for a few weeks, not for any other reason than sometimes life just gets in the way. She sent not only lovely words that really brightened my day but she sent a gift card so that Don and I could go out on a date. It’s easy for Don and I to forget to take time and make an effort to go out on dates and this gave us the motivation to plan something. It was amazing of her to think of us and give us something we could enjoy so much together. I am thankful down to my core for the support I receive from people all across the country. I can’t wait for Rachel to come visit, now we just need to figure out when that is going to be!

Rebel Against Daylight Savings Time

I feel like you don't really understand the gravity of daylight savings time until you have a child. If they are too young to read a clock then they go about their schedule without any notice to the difference in time. If they went to bed at 7:00pm before, now that you have lost an hour they go to bed at 8:00pm. At least this is how it has been everytime the time has changed since Ryan has been born, well everytime until this time. Ryan decided to instead rebel against the whole day and sleep right through it.

My wonderful little boy who wakes up at the crack of dawn every single day slept until 10am this morning. He woke up and was fine, not sick, just apparently tired. He went down for a nap at 1:00 (I thought he would skip it but when we hit noon we could tell skipping nap was out of the question), he then woke up at 3:00 and went back to sleep at 6:40pm. I'm hoping he was just getting back on track after a few weeks of too little sleep and will start a normal schedule tomorrow(that doesn't involve any wake up before 6:50am). But if I have learned anything from having a toddler (or really a child at any age it seems) it is to prepare for the unexpected, I guess I will just have to wait to see how this particular cookie crumbles.

Quick She-Ra Update

She-Ra is now 1 pound and according to the internet and she is the length of a spaghetti squash. I have to admit I get a kick out of websites comparing babies to produce, I mean really who defined a spaghetti squash as being 10 inches long? And of course now I picture being pregnant with a spaghetti squash with little legs that kick me in the bladder!

Anyway, I have my next doctors appointment next week, so unless I come up with a name between now and then I probably won't update on She-Ra again until then.

Naming She-Ra

We are having trouble naming the bun in the oven this time around. We come up with names, knock them off the list, add more... I feel like most of the time we are getting no closer to a final name. I have been through a book of like 10,000 names, still no inspiration. I can tell you names I hate, but so far nothing that seems perfect. One of my friends has started calling her She-Ra, so until inspiration hits She-Ra it is (if you don't know who She-Ra is Google it). Hopefully inspiration hits soon because this is starting to stress me out, there has to be something out there perfect for our little girl, and I am trying to keep faith that it is right around the corner so she won't have to live life as She-Ra.

Baby Room Progress

We completed the crib this weekend, and moved out the guest bed that had previously been occupying the space. Since the crib was set up I couldn't just leave it naked so I had to put on the bedding. One more thing off the check list only 9 million more to go! (Before I get any comments, yes the room is blue and yes we are having a girl)

I Only Have How Long?

A friend of mine gave birth yesterday to a beautiful baby girl. It has made this whole pregnancy thing feel very real for me. Sure there was 18 weeks between our due dates… but my goodness when it comes to a life changing event on the horizon 18 weeks suddenly seems pretty short, especially when there is no guarantee that I will make it to my due date.

I am both excited and nervous. When I had Ryan I had no idea what to expect. Sure I read all the books but honestly until you go through labor and bringing home a newborn you really don’t know. This time I know what labor is like, and what having a newborn is like (of course both are always going to be different from the first time, but I have a general idea). I am excited, though the thought of juggling a newborn and a 2 year old is a little daunting.

Today we are starting with the nursery transformation which is exciting and makes me feel like we are making progress in the preparation. With feelings about my impending juggling act I feel a serious need to prepare now. Related to that, I am also starting to develop the nesting neurosis so hopefully setting up the crib and cleaning out the room today will help. I’ll post pictures as soon as I am happy with the room (so it could be a while).

Blood Sugar Update

So my computer is broken, I am borrowing Don's for a minute so I thought I would do a very quick update.

I am 21 weeks pregnant, which is over half way!

Unfortunately I'm not doing as well as I was while pregnant with Ryan. Last week my blood sugar started fluctuating and now only a week later it seems pretty much out of control. I have given up ice cream and other sweets (which is no fun while pregnant). But even with giving those up (which was enough while pregnant with Ryan) things seem to be getting worse. I have put some books on hold at the library so that I can make some diabetic menus and see what else I can do to bring down the levels. Hopefully after a little reading I can do something to change what is going on. The weather is also about to get better, which means I can get some more exercise which should also help.

Hopefully by next week I will be on the road to recovery! Also, hopefully I will be with my computer again tomorrow.