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Thursday, January 27, 2011

The waiting continues...

I went in for my amnio yesterday. While it wasn't HORRIBLE, it also wasn't the most pleasant thing in the world. At least Ben made it for the big stick! He drove 1 hour and 10 minutes, was with me for a grand total of maybe 15 minutes, and then drove back to work. He also agreed with me that the Dr. that did it was...less than pleasant. She's the Dr. at that office that I really don't care for. I LOVE the other Dr.

I found it interesting that the site where she inserted the needle was sore the rest of the day...how can such a thin needle cause that much discomfort? Ben was also surprised at just how much fluid they take out. We had to explain to him that there is a lot of fluid in there, and that it would replenish itself within 12 hours.

I got the results of the amnio yesterday afternoon (I felt like I was at the Dr.'s long enough they probably could have run the test and given me the results before I left, but no dice). Monkey's lungs came back as "borderline mature," so now my induction has been moved from Jan 28th (aka tomorrow) to Jan 31st (aka this coming Monday). Dang. I had gotten my mind set with tomorrow as the day to start the process...how on earth am I going to fill 3 more days? I'm going to rot with all this waiting.
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Sunday, January 23, 2011

So little time & motivation!

It's official. We will be inducing Friday as long as the amnio comes back showing that the baby's lungs are mature. As in, 6 days from now. And even though logistically I know we are ready, I can't shake the feeling that we're not ready. I feel like I should be doing more, preparing more, and have everything perfect. But that's not realistic...perfect is not possible. In fact, I don't think it's possible to be 100% ready for something that will change your life so completely. My answer to my dilemma? Sitting on the couch watching HGTV and messing around on the computer.

I know that no matter how hard I try, my idea of clean/tidy will never be Ben's idea of clean/tidy. I know that no matter how many times I rearrange or stare at the nursery, it will never feel complete because the crib and dresser are STILL not here, and without those I can't put things on the walls (I'm a stickler about centering/measuring how high things are based on furniture, so I have to wait). I know that the blanket I'm making won't be ready...and it wouldn't be ready before his birth no matter what, because it's a birth announcement in the middle. Which means I need his date of birth and weight/length before I can finish it.

I know I will never win the battle against dog hair. I have 2 shedding dogs. As in, no matter how many times you sweep/mop/vacuum/dust etc there will ALWAYS be some dog hair around. You pet these two and it looks like a cloud rises from their backs. I love my girls, but seriously? I could really live without the shedding.

So, I'm sitting here. Thinking that (hopefully) by this time next week my son will be here. Well, maybe not HERE (he may have to spend time in the NICU, which will inspire a whole slew of new posts, I'm sure) but at least out of my body and existing as his own person. Not that he isn't already, he has an attitude! And a sense of humor...as was proven by the jostling and pain he caused me at the function we had to be at last night. He was calm all day long, but just when I have to be pleasant, sociable, and pay attention to ceremony at this function I'm in an internal battle of wills with him...him wanting to "play" and me wanting him to stop headbutting whatever it is that he's headbutting that is causing me such sharp pains.

The couch is good for now. Maybe I'll try to do laundry, or vacuum, or ...something. But later. Because there is no such thing as perfect. And there is no such thing as completely ready. And I have to learn how to let go...and deal with the fact that all the planning/preparation in the world will not make me feel any more prepared than I do right now.
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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Two Weeks Left

Well, the appointment with my NP yesterday went better than I expected. Aside from the waiting. For the most part it was pretty routine...weight, blood pressure, monitoring (AKA Non-Stress Tests), Ultrasound to accompany the NST. I also had blood drawn for a CBC (Complete Blood Count) and RPR (to check for syphilis...yay), as well as an office visit with my NP to go over questions, have my Group B Strep test (not the most pleasant swab in the world), and check my cervix.


Everything up until waiting for the NP was pretty standard wait times. Then we got put in the exam room and waited for an HOUR for her to come in...that's not normal. Usually I'm waiting 20 minutes, tops. Ben and I spent our time determining if we had been forgotten, debating on whether ultrasound gel or hand sanitizing foam would squirt farther from it's bottle, then determining which would cling to the wall longer (AKA which is sticker...ultrasound gel won that debate), how we would escape if we were locked in, and trying to take naps to make the time pass faster, since we all know that the second you fall asleep the person you're waiting on will show up.

She did come in, and told us that because it was me (and my appointments usually don't take very long) she bumped me ahead of another patient who usually takes longer. Good for me. Did all the testing, and then we came to the discussion about Monkey's weight and what that means. After talking to my RE last week, I thought for sure they would want to deliver next week, at 36 weeks. The good news is that they're giving me a whole extra week to grow him myself! The bad news is that I still have to have an amnio. Yep, that's right folks...I avoided doing the amnio in the second trimester because a) I hate needles, and if I can avoid one I will and b) they can cause you to go into labor. At this point, though, the amnio will determine if I can induce or if we need to hold off to give his lungs more time to develop. So, that's scheduled for the 26th, which is 1.5 weeks away, and if all is OK on that, then we're inducing on Jan 28th, 2011, and Monkey will *probably* be born on Jan 29th, 2011, at 37w3d gestation.

Looks like we'll be meeting our little man sooner than February, but still within the accepted time frame that is considered "full term," so he won't technically be considered premature. Plus, we've set it up so that the Dr. I like will be the one delivering the baby, which is AWESOME!!! Now if the baby furniture would just get here so we can get it set up before his arrival, that would be perfect.
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Still an example of the perfect human specimen...

That is what  Ben is calling himself these days. Great...now I have that ego to live with. Here is how that lovely quote came to be:

My fertility specialist has been insisting since we found out that I have the MTHFR homozygous mutation that Ben get tested as well. Needless to say, my endlessly procrastinating husband did not manage to get tested before he deployed, and now that he's been home almost 3 months and we just now got him tested (well, 2 weeks ago, but still). Today we got the results, which were: NEGATIVE!!! He does not have any form of the mutation. The last time we got him tested for something (sperm count/motility/etc.) everything came back at perfect or more...or as he likes to call it, "Super Sperm."
That's great, right? Yeah, except now I feel like even more of a fertility screw up. Every problem we have had with getting pregnant and during the pregnancy is because of my body. And now he's going around thinking he's got the perfect human form because he never has anything wrong, and his test results are pretty much always better than perfect. Then my mom brought up a great point: I have an amazing ability to choose right. Think about it. I could have ended up with someone who has just as many or more fertility/genetic issues as I do, but I managed to marry a man who has NO issues, thus making it as easy as possible for us to have a biological family with all of the issues that I do have. YAY!
On top of that, since all of my issues are genetic, I can blame my parents! And we now have sufficient reason for my sister to get tested for the MTHFR when she starts wanting a family, so she's actually ahead of the game...she will get to know of at least one issue before she even starts trying, so she'll be able to treat it (if she has it) from day one and have that much less to worry about. It still means she'll get to deal with blood thinners (if she does test positive) but that's part of the deal. Then she'll get to enjoy the belly pokes and bruises that I am dealing with on a daily basis.
Next appointment is on Friday...and we will probably have a conversation at that appointment about when Monkey will make his appearance, since based on my last growth scan he's still small. That means that he will quite probably make his debut before the end of the month!
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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Back on the Project Train.

Well, I feel great to be back on my creative roll! Baby quilt is well under way, but it's a slow process and I felt the need to just pump something out. So, when one of the lovely ladies on a website I'm on posted a link to a tutorial on how to make your own car seat cover of course I had to try it out! I was planning on simply throwing a blanket over the seat to keep him covered when necessary, but this way he doesn't get hit in the face with a blanked and the handle is kept out, so it's a win-win!

I also have to give myself props on the color selection. Somehow I managed to match the red in the car seat almost exactly, which I love. Just a couple of things about this tutorial:


1) To give yourself an easier time with the seams, etc. I suggest using 1/2 inch seam allowances rather than the 1/4 inch suggested.

2) Remember that most of the measurements in the tutorial are for the FINISHED project, so in order to have seam allowances as stated you have to add that length to each cut piece of fabric.

3) On the straps: I just made them about 8" long AFTER they were sewn and both ends closed. This meant that in order to place them correctly on the car seat cover, you just fold each in half, mark the halfway point with a crease or fabric pencil, and then sew it in 2 places: 1/2" to either side of the middle crease.

4) Also, when placing the straps, I think that were I to make this one again I would place them closer to the center. They are placed 11 1/2" from the outer edges (sides, not top & bottom) of the cover. I personally would put them closer to 13" in. They slip just slightly down the sides of the car seat handle when sewn 11 1/2" in, and I think just a little closer to center would be better.



5) The directions for placing the straps are a little vague: I marked the distance in and down on the main body of the car seat cover, then placed the straps by finding the exact middle of the strap and matching that point to my mark, then sewing on my pre-drawn lines.

6) If you are piecing the main body of the cover (like I did and as shown in the tutorial) I made the bottom accent (the red) a total of 4" tall. I personally like that amount, but I wanted to give anyone making this an idea of how big that panel is. So, the red on the bottom is 4" and the patterned piece is 38" for a total of 42" in height.

7) The curved corners are a matter of eyeballing it. I think I made mine so that at the deepest point (aka, the point of the square corner to the center of the curve) about 3", and it worked well. I might consider doing about 4" next time to avoid the corners dragging on the ground, but it's pretty even.


I had to include a picture of the cover flipped up, if only because I'm so proud of that color match (OK, almost match, but still). I also love the monkey strap pads that my mom got us. Granted, our car seat came with cushions on the straps already, but these were too darn cute not to use!!!!
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