Issues with MyGiftList.com

So, several times when I have tried to access this site I have been unable to. Also, I realize people may want to go shopping with a list at an actual store instead of online. I am registered at BabiesRUs (not all items on this registry have been transferred to Mygiftlist.com)

I have also set up a spreadsheet viewable through google.com Anyone may view it at this address:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p9cFprTAkwdOepBhgokkfcQ&hl=en

Call from the Doctor

I got a call from the Doctor's office yesterday. My glucose test was normal so no need to do the 3 hour test. YAY!!!! I'm especially glad since I had the worst case of heartburn from it than in my memory.

Doctor visit update

Nothing too exciting to report from the visit. The glucose test left me feeling less than 100% and I was quite bummed to find out I couldn't drink anything after drinking the required liquid so I was stuck with the taste of overly sugary not so good Orange Fanta in my mouth for close to an hour.

I've gained 6 lbs. in the last 6 weeks, right about where we should be. Doc says that the bump and baby are growing well and is quite active. I half figured Roo would decide to be absolutely still and calm during the appointment since I had said it feels as if he is constantly moving. We got to see the heart (all 4 chambers which is quite neat). As the doc was looking around, trying to see if he could get a good face pic I was able to see fingers and possibly toes. We were able to see practice breathing and swallowing. Didn't get a great face shot (attempt in 3-D) because Roo is sitting with a hand next to an ear. At this point, Roo is in breach position, but with 13 weeks left there is plenty of time to flip around.

Next appointment in a month, right after New Years.

It's been a long time

Life has been quite busy as of late. In fact, I should be working on cleaning right now instead of writing, but, oh well. Tomorrow is our next OB appt. Not really looking forward to the glucose test.

Roo is doing quite well. Kicks are growing stronger with growth. One of the favored places seems to be right up under my right lung.

Since my last post, I have finished working (where I got our first baby gift), gotten a new outfit done for Jeff in the SCA, gone to MN for Thanksgiving and KWAR (fencing conference), and come home. Tomorrow Jeff's folks get into town for a nice weekend visit.

It feels a bit odd to know I won't be heading back to work. Having been gone to MN just after I finished has really made it feel like I'm just on an extended vacation. Visiting home was great. Thanksgiving with the family was nice. I got to see 4 friends from high school. Mom kept me quite busy as we went baby shopping nearly every day, mostly just to look. We spent 2+ hours registering at Babies'R'Us. My mom kept calling me granola and telling me I am not allowed to be too militant about my ideas. She sent us home with a good amount of stuff without going completely overboard.

KWAR was a ton of fun. It was great to see bunches of friends, new and old and Jeff had a wonderful time teaching and fencing. Amazingly I was still able to fit into all my garb (late 15th Century Italian dresses are great). By the end of the weekend I was more than ready to get home.

It's nice to be home, but reality has set in just how much is still left to do before this little one is here. I have gotten most of the items registered for at Babies'R'Us also transfered to MyGiftList.com along with some other items. (see the links at the side). I have also opened a registry at Amazon.com which has mostly similar items and some additional books we would like.

So, now I should go and work on getting things clean and put away from the trip and ready for Jeff's folks to be here. I'll update sometime after the OB appointment to report how things are going from that end (possibly not until Tues).

Up at 2 a.m.

Well, I was exhausted yesterday and headed to bed before 8:30, figuring I would either get needed sleep or be up around 4 or 5 or so. I woke up as Jeff got ready to leave the house around 11:30 and didn't get back into a restful sleep for a while. Around 1, I was really awake and realized my arm itched. I went to scratch it and found a cluster of red bumps on my inner arm. Now, this usually wouldn't phase me, but on Friday, I was informed one of my co-workers has shingles and began to worry about the possible implications of this, bumps bringing the concern to the forefront.

Needless to say after about 2 hours of looking stuff up online (yay info and pics on the internet) and speaking with my mom this morning, who has seen both chicken pox and shingles, my fear has subsided. The bumps look nothing like either shingles or chicken pox. They don't hurt at all and the itching has lessened. I'm pretty sure what I have is simply an allergic reaction from sweating in a shirt that I didn't first wash. *Big sigh of relief*

In other news, things continue to go well with the pregnancy and Roo. Our next appointment isn't until after Thanksgiving. Roo continues to be active and the kicks and such are getting stronger. It feels at times that my whole belly is shaking. Next up is getting our registry taken care of. Much of which may happen while I'm in MN for 2 weeks.

Only 6 working days left. I leave for MN early next Wed. to return Monday Dec. 3rd. I'm looking forward to seeing my folks, and sister and brother-in-law.

Ultrasound Pics

My friend Cat let me come over and scan the pictures the Doctor has given us from the ultrasounds. Here they are:


This picture is from our first visit on 2 August 2007


This picture is from 27 September 2007

Half Way There!!!

Well, I had my 20 week doctor's appointment today. Everything looks quite good. The doctor hasn't expressed any concerns and other than the occasional lingering cough and some heartburn I am feeling quite well. Another quick visit with the doctor. My blood pressure has come back down (I get nervous at the office and it is higher than I would like). Another quick ultrasound (seems to be the doctor's norm). The doc was looking at the umbilical cord to make sure all the vessels look okay and checking to see if we could determine the sex or not. The doc is sure he knows what we are having, but seeing as I know there is at least one person who doesn't want to know, I'll leave that for you to ask me about. Next visit will be a longer one, as I have to do the glucose/diabetes test :P (ick) I have to stay there for at least an hour. I may or may not bring Jeff with me, despite it being visit he had planned on going to (every other one). Due to Thanksgiving, I won't be seeing the Doc again until Dec. 6th after I'm back from MN.

I had a wonderful trip to New York to see a friend from college marry a friend from high school. I got to see lots of folks I haven't seen in a long time and share our happy news. The trip was relatively uneventful, however it wasn't easy to get comfortable in the seats. My back was quite achy through most of the flights.

Nothing else going on. I only have 17 working days left until I am done working.

Coughs and Clothes

Went off to an SCA war (week long camping event) last week and had a wonderful time, except for a few things. First, people telling me what I can not do because I am pregnant got very old very quickly. Second, the sneezes and sniffles that I thought were just allergies progressed into a running nose and cough, making me quite miserable when waking in the morning and several times throughout the day, being at it's worst while camping on Saturday resulting in my decision to go home early on Sunday instead of Monday. Lastly, on Saturday, I started to have wicked round ligament pains in my left hip which radiated down to my leg. That was quite painful, made it difficult to walk, sit, and lie down, and screamed at me each time I coughed. Saturday night culminated with my hormones running rampant and having a hormonal, irrational bout of sobbing. My attempts to calm it myself failed, so I got Jeff, who helped me calm down enough to finally go to sleep (at the early hour of 9 p.m.). I awoke Sunday morning feeling better. The cough was less and the ligament pain had subsided for the most part.

I was very happy with my decision to come home on Sunday. It meant I was able to drive the car home instead of the truck, all packed down, which was a bit easier. I got home, rested and watched the (sad) Packers game. Monday resulted in my cough getting even worse and my body aching. Driving home with that would have been torture. I woke Tuesday morning feeling much better and having one more day of work off realized the bras I have been wearing no longer are comfortable or really work at all. Knowing that I started wearing a 34DD (also known as a E) an have grown in the bust close to 3", I chose to go shopping at a wonderful bra shop about 45 minutes away. I got there, was measured and am now comfortably wearing a 34G. While up in that area, I chose to go to a mall where I knew there were at least 2 maternity clothes shops (2x the number of any malls near home) and managed to get myself 3 henley shirts, 3 sweaters, and 2 pairs of jeans. I am quite happy to have some more clothes again. I still need to find another pair or two of suitable work pants.

Apparently, however, the trip shopping and my lungs did not agree. Since arriving home from shopping, my cough has been worse than others, at times making me feel like I was about to vomit or as if I am drowning. Yesterday (Thursday) I finally broke down and called the Dr. office to find out what cough syrup is safe for me and Roo. I promptly sent Jeff out to pick some up for me and found an immediate relief. Without the syrup, the cough is still unbearable. I plan on making an appointment to see the doctor either Monday or Tuesday if the coughing does not subside when off the medication over the weekend.

Doctor visit

The visit with the Doc went well today. Everything still looks good. The baby and my uterus are growing as they should. We had a much more extensive ultrasound than the last few. We heard a heart beat, saw the head (including an eye, nose, mouth and chin), saw the spine, femurs, the abdomen (or a cross section of it). I've gained 6 lbs. total since my first appointment with my PCP back in July. That's about all for now.

Update

Spain was wonderful. I felt great for most of the time we were there, only typical aches and pains that everyone else had from the increase in activity of walking all over the town to explore. The flights were reletively easy, if I forget about the tail bone pain I got on the second half of the long flight. I had none of the usual problems with walking in the airport of after the long flights and was able to make it through all of the airports without a cane. I would highly suggest that if you have an option to fly through a city other than Miami you take it. That airport was a nightmare. The wedding was absolutely lovely as was the reception. We had a bit of a chance to dance, but unfortunately, people were smoking inside, so I often chose to be outside enjoying conversation.

For those of you waiting an update on my latest doctor's appointment, I had the date wrong in my head. It wasn't today, it's Thursday. More on how Roo and I are doing then.

Gotta love The Onion

Just a quick post before we run off to Spain for the extended weekend. My friend Sara posted this on her blog and I think it's great.

click here for link.

A very active Roo

Well, I had my visit with the OB today. It took only about 5 minutes, as we don't feel the need to do genetic counseling or testing for Down Syndrome (it wouldn't change anything for us). Just a quick, "how are you feeling?" and listening to the heart beat again. Roo was quite active and moving around during the whole time we watched/listened. All looks good. Heartbeat at 167 bpm. Everything is growing as expected. Next visit is in 4 weeks and we'll do an ultrasound and some blood tests.

Feeling Good

I was explaining to someone I met the other night about Fibromyalgia and got to the point where I talk about pain levels. I said, "My normal pain level was between a 6 and 8." She wondered how I lived like that and a friend that was sitting and listening asked what my levels are now that I'm pregnant. It was at that point that I realized that my pain has really gone away for the most part. Any little aches and pains I feel don't even rate on the scale I'm used to using. They are just so low. In addition to that, my fatigue is much less. Granted that I am tired, but much of that is just the pregnancy. It's a much different feeling than being fatigued. On a night I get little or poor sleep, I do notice a change in my fatigue levels, but it takes very little to get back to having little to no fatigue. It's such a wonderful change.
Other than that I'm feeling pretty good. The morning sickness is basically gone. I occasionally notice a bit of nausea, but nothing compared to what I had. Some of the food aversions are still around (mainly eggs), but I've been able to prepare a couple of dinners that we then cooked on the grill. It's nice to eat at home again.
I went out and bought my first round of maternity clothes last Wednesday. My best friend from college, Allie, was in town for the day for work and we had dinner together and then hit Motherhood Maternity shop. Allie is great with shopping and helping it be less of a chore for me. She also shops sales and such, like me, which is great. We had limited time, because she had to get to the airport for her flight home, but we managed quite a haul for not too expensive. I got one pair of pants (supposed to be cropped, but hit just a the foot for me), a pant set, a nice dress for the upcoming weddings, a causal dress, 5 t-shirts, and 2 pks of 3 pr of underware. The shirts and dresses were the most pressing items I needed, seeing as my bust has increased in size and much of what I own is no longer appropriate to be wearing to work. I still have several pairs of pants that fit and I can wear to work, so no rush in that area yet.
In other news, we managed to go out and buy a new car to replace the stolen and totaled Accord. We really had intended on just looking, as we haven't gotten the check from insurance yet, but the dealership is willing to hold our check until next Wednesday, allowing for time to get that check. We have the deal worked out for the lowest possible amount we would get, and if we get more, we will renegotiate the contract, likely shortening the length and decreasing the APR while keeping about the same payments. Jeff is very happy with the new car. **EDIT** I just got off the phone with the insurance adjuster and we got around what I expected, perhaps a bit more. We will be able to renegotiate the deal for a year shorter with the same payments and less interest. Yay!! I'll be very happy for this to be all over with.**END EDIT** We got a 2007 Toyota Camry. Very few extras, but it drives quite nicely and with the security system we got in it (for a steal of a price) the car is rated as "nearly unstealable". We are quite pleased and that is more stress that is gone from our lives. We can return the rental car today (which we really don't like). Soon, all of this will be behind us.
That's about it. Next Doctor's appointment is on Thursday.

Grr

I have been working hard to try and maintain a positive attitude and keep my stress levels as low as possible. Sometime life works against your best intentions.

Sunday morning, as Jeff went to to leave, he found our car gone. We had parked it in our carport the evening before around 7:30 pm. Upon learning the news, I was shaking beyond belief. I started making the necessary phone calls to report the car stolen, first to the police, then to insurance. As I took care of what needed to be done, I started to calm a bit, but the shock was still there. Jeff and I realized we both needed to eat, so we got in the truck and went for lunch. Realizing neither of us really wanted to sit at home, we then went and saw the Simpson's Movie. This helped both of us to relax quite a bit. We realized that there was little we could do and didn't expect the car to be found, which would mean we would need to buy a new one. We started discussing our options and were keeping as positive a light on the situation as possible.

Around 9 pm we received a phone call from the Whittier police (about 15 miles away) that they had good and bad news. The car had been found, was in a police pursuit and ended in a collision. The police officer stated the car would need "one big bandaid". I asked if in his opinion the car was totaled and he said yes. It was nice to know that the car was found and that we could get much of our stuff out of it.

Monday, I got a call from the insurance adjuster and let him know the car had been recovered. I went to the tow yard to clean out the car and look at the damage. Luckily, we have a very good friend who not only drove me to and from work, but she insisted on taking me to go and see the car. I am so happy she did. She helped to make sure I was laughing and not crying through the whole thing. The car wasn't what I expected. My thought was a front impact collision. The car had been hit in 2 places. First on the driver side door, which was completley destroyed, along with damage to the front panel and the rear door. The other impact was on the rear passenger side. The rear panel and part of the bumper were pretty banged up. The wheel was sitting at about a 60 degree angle. After seeing the car, I was pretty sure it would be totaled by the insurance company.

Once I spoke with the adjuster again and got the car released to the insurance company (which involved 45 minutes at the Whittier Police Dept.) all that was left to do is get the affidavit of theft completed, pick up the rental that insurance arranged for, and wait for the inspector to determine the amount of damage. I got the affidavit sent on Tuesday and then waited to hear about the car. Finally, I thought that the stress should be done. I have taken care of everything I have to do.

Today, I got a phone call from the inspector, indicating that what I thought was true. The car is a total loss. Unfortunately, the tow yard had "forgotten" or misplaced the release given to them so I had to make several phone calls to straighten that out. I have found myself shaking again. I guess the finality of it has gotten to me a bit. I spoke with our adjuster and once they determine how much money we will get and we pick it up, we will only have an additional 3 days on the rental car that is covered by insurance. GRR. That doesn't allow for much time to find something.

I am trying my best to stay relaxed and know that things will work out in the end. I need to make sure that I don't get overly worked up. I really don't want this all effecting the baby.

On the pregnancy front, things are continuing to go well. The morning sickness comes and goes now, sometimes making it near impossible for me to eat what is in front of me right away. But, I always manage to eat. My chest continues to grow and be sore. I have weird sensations in my belly, and I realize it it likely my uterus growing and all the lovely pregnancy changes going on.

First OB appt.

We had our first OB appointment today. I had a chance to ask a lot of the questions that I had about the MD's philosophy and views on many things. For the most part I am happy with the answers and both Jeff and I are comfortable with him. Once the intake paperwork was filled out, we were taken back for weighing and blood pressure. Then we went into Dr. Kizner's office to discuss family history stuff. Once that was covered, we headed into the exam room. The results/reports from my PCP were missing from my file (to be found and added before we left), but since she had done a full work up when I went in for my initial visit with her the only test left to perform was an ultrasound.

The ultrasound went quite smoothly, the doctor telling us what we were looking at as it went along. Everything looks good. We saw the fetus and yolk sack. Based on the size, the estimated due date is 3/13, but based on my LMP the due date is 3/11. The doc will keep the due date there. I think the most exciting part was getting to hear the baby's heartbeat. It was strong and 160 beats per minute.

The oddest part of the visit had to be the feeling of the ultrasound. I could feel the waves in my upper belly like pulsations. Definitely odd and not something I was expecting. We got lots of pamphlets and things to look at and decide to what level we want to do testing. Now that we have heard the heart, I am much more comfortable letting people know that we are pregnant.

Pictures soon (hopefully) of the expanding belly. I've noticed most of my pants are either tight or no longer fit. If I can find a scanner to use, we may be able to get the ultrasound pic up here as well. I'm still feeling all day sick, with it getting worse as the day progresses. Luckily I'm just feeling sick and not being sick. I usually can find something to eat, even if it doesn't calm the stomach at all.

Next appointment is at the end of the month. Jeff will join me again for the 4 month appointment where another ultrasound will be done (and more comprehensive).

Morning sickness

Well, the title says it all. I was hoping, as I was in my 6th week I would manage not to feel morning sickness. I haven't had so much luck, it started Wednesday. I do however, have enough luck that it isn't as bad as it could be. I can still manage to eat, I just need to plan well and make sure that I don't wait too long between meals. Drinking water helps a lot at keeping it a bit at bay. I had Thai food for dinner last night, and the ginger (I ordered ginger chicken) helped enormously. It was the first time since waking up Wednesday that I didn't feel at all nauseous. I keep thinking that from everything I've read, this is a good sign that the placenta is developing well.

Other than that, on Tuesday I got a call from the Doctor with the results of my blood tests. "Everything looks fine, except the doctor would like you to come in and redo your hCG, some sort of lab mix up." I asked for clarification, but again was told that it was just some sort of difficulty with the reading. Wednesday I headed back to the Dr. office after work, got my paperwork for the labs and went to get one more lab done, nervous the whole time that this was a bad sign and in actuality my levels were too low. I started to get a bit worked up and decided, after looking closely at the lab sheet that the Dr. had checked the wrong box and only gotten a qualitative, not quantitative result thus I needed to test again. The morning sickness and Jeff helped me calm down on this point. As he said when I told him how I was feeling "well, that's a good sign."

I got the call yesterday that everything looks good, so now it's just waiting for the OB appointment in 2 weeks.

Finally, for all those who have been curious about the fibro, it is still here, as strong as ever. I've done more than my body is happy with the last few days, and I felt for it last night and this morning. I stayed home from work today, making sure to take extra good care of myself.

Doctor's Appointment

Friday I went to have a check up with my PCP. Everything looks good. I'm not completely comfortable with everything she said about natural births, however, from what I've read about the OB she has referred me to I am ecstatic. He has a VERY low rate of Cesarean sections. :) Everything I have read about him makes me comfortable. I have my first appointment in early August. We will see from there.

The one thing that really irked me about the doctor's appointment is that she said she was ordering labs. I asked if it was just blood or blood and urine and she said just blood, so I used the bathroom. Sure enough, I get the paperwork and UA is checked. Gah. They took 10 vials of blood (she said it should be everything the OB would want results of) and then I had to take a cup home and take it back to the labs on Sat. morning.

Still feeling well. Possibly more tired than usual (hard to believe) and the fibro is still here and kicking.

First Post

Despite having many other blogs and places to write, I have decided that I need a blog to write about baby stuff.

Here's a warning, much of what is written in this blog will be TMI and info about what's going on with my body. I will try to provide warning before so that you may skip an area if you wish.

There was much frustration in the month of June. Jeff went away to Uprising, an SCA event in Utah around what I had figured was my most fertile time. I bought an OPK (ovulation prediction kit) to see if that would help nail down my ovulation. I've had quite irregular BBT (Basal Body Temp) most likely due to FMS and poor sleep cycles, so I figured an OPK could be helpful. It was positive the day that Jeff got home, but following that, he was tired and moody and had an irregular sleep pattern. I was positive that we had missed any chance to get pregnant. There was no clear rise in BBT, so I was also thinking that perhaps I didn't ovulate.

Fast forward to Saturday July 7th. We go to CP prize, which was an odd day due to site issues. I felt off much of the day, dizzy, vertigo type feeling, and some fogginess. I attributed it to FMS, being tired, and not having slept well the night before. While at the event, Greg and Sarina announced that they are expecting in March. I was at the Inn (a tent set up by friends) and Jeff returned and let me know, with a bit of bite in his tone. The rest of the day is quite nice, spending time at Mo and Jon's and with friends. We head for home (a bit later than I would have liked, but Jeff got to talking) and Jeff and Xandra talk nearly the whole way back to dropping them off. Once they have been dropped off, we have some quiet time, then Jeff comments that whenever it's the right time to let him know so we can start trying again. I commented on how exciting it is that Greg and Sarina are expecting, but all these people are telling everyone early. He indicates that he is a bit jealous. This made me happy because it means that this is really something he wants. I tell him I'm nearly positive that we missed this month, and as soon as AF (aunt flo) comes to visit and has left, I'll let him know. The past 2 or 3 months have been quite odd as far as my cycle goes, and seeing as I have no idea when I ovulated, I'm not fully sure when it should come. Not thinking I have any HPT (home pregnancy tests) at home, I tell him if it doesn't come in the next 2 days, I'll probably test, just to see. We get home around 11ish, turn on our current Netflix movie and I proceed to nearly fall asleep. I head to the bathroom and in looking for more solution for my contacts, notice that there is one hpt left from last month. I decide I'll take it in the morning and head off to bed.

Sunday July 8th, I wake when my alarm goes off at 6 a.m., take my temp (which has been a bit more elevated the last few days than normal) then fall back to sleep until about 9. I wake up because nature calls and take the test. Within moments, the test shows positive, quite dark. I wait the 2 minutes, amazed, and then wake Jeff up to tell him. "Your fucking kidding me" were his exact words, seeing as I said I was almost positive there was no way just the night before. We then head off to Saul's birthday party, where it is quite difficult not to tell all of these folks that we are expecting. I have always said I want to wait until the 12 week mark to tell people. Now that I'm pregnant, I can't wait that long.

On Monday, I set up a doctor's appointment for Friday, and now am waiting for the final verification. Jeff and I have talked about it and realize we aren't gonna be able to stay quiet for 6 more weeks. We decided we will be telling family and friends once all seems clear from the doctor.

So, there's the story of finding out we're pregnant :)