Tuesday, December 11, 2007

31 week checkup

First of all, have you SEEN the 4D ultrasound pics??? How cool are they?!




Not much new except that I gained 5 pounds in 3 weeks! AHHH! First I couldn't gain any weight and now I can't stop! Robby came with me to my check-up, and when the nurse asked about the 4D ultrasound (he was there), he said "Yeah, and we got a GREAT shot of his PENIS!" looking all proud of himself for getting away with "potty language." I about DIED!!! hahaha...



Anyway, I'm well into my 3rd trimester now, and it's really showing its horrid little face. From out of nowhere, my temper is nearly nonexistent, my ankles are swelling, my feet hurt by 11am, my belly aches, my back hurts, my ribs hurt, I can't breathe, and I'm sooo tired! I weigh more than I ever have in my life, and it's only going to get worse!



The midwife I saw yesterday implied that Connor will be a big baby, I guess because of my rapid weight gain. I'm sure it has mostly to do with my *borderline* diabetes and the fact that I'm no longer watching my diet or checking my blood-sugar very much. I'm predicting a 7.5 pounder, which WILL be my biggest baby. Lord I hope he's no bigger than that!!! I'm on a 2-week check-up schedule now, so more then.



I know, I know, I need to get more belly pics up... but first they have to be taken! And hopefully we will have some sort of family x-mas pics done soon... time's running out!



That's all for now, tootles!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

7-month pregger checkup & more

Haven't written in a while, since checkups have been uneventful, but I figured I'd give an update anyway. I'm measuring perfectly, baby Connor is VERY active, and his kicks are now embarrassingly visible from across the room. ALIEN INVASION!!! Last night Robby laid his head on my belly and felt Connor kick him in the ear! Then he heard my stomach rumble, and told me that Connor had farted, hahaha... I'll try to get some new belly pics up soon... along with the 40,000 other things on my to-do list, that is. I've gained back all the weight I lost plus 10 lbs! I now weigh as much as I did when I gave birth to the twins! AHHH!!! I told my midwife that people were remarking about how SMALL I look for 7 months, but after she examined me and saw that everything was fine, she told me to tell people to "bugger off" (she's Scottish). Awesome.




So, somehow I PASSED my 3-hour glucose tolerance test, meaning that even thought my blood-sugar goes up, it comes back down within a reasonable amount of time. That's good; I don't have to watch my diet quite so closely. And I'm glad, because the strict diabetic diet gets REALLY depressing after a while. My midwife told me that when they got the results from the lab, the nurse came running down the hallway yelling "She passed, she passed!" Apparently they were happy about that, since if I hadn't passed they would have had to boot me out of midwifery and up to the OB doctors, and NONE of us want THAT, haha.



Drew finally got a job, and I am enjoying being back in my housewife role again, although last week I think I wore myself out a little with all my pent-up enthusiasm. I know he feels better now, too, being back in the manly-man breadwinner role. ***Proud of you, hun!*** <3



Probably the biggest news of all regarding our *little* family, is that we have taken Robby off his AD/HD meds. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while, due to the negative side effects (e.g. NO weight gain, and a crabby disposition), but have been putting off because I was nervous about all the changes that we would have to make. But he got a bad cold about 3 weeks ago, and I didn't give him the meds while he was sick, since they were unnecessary and interfered with his recovery. By the time he was well, the "withdrawal" period was over, and I liked all the smiles and laughs I was seeing. So I read up on it, and even though it was sudden, we have implemented a bunch of lifestyle changes to accommodate his "special needs." These include more structure/routine, less TV, more outside play/exercise, stricter discipline (NOT to be confused with HARSHER discipline), and enormous amounts of patience on everyone's part. I also started him on some vitamin/mineral and herbal supplements that are formulated for AD/HD, which DO actually seem to help, and he has started seeing a behavioral therapist.



Robby is like a whole new little boy. He is eating better, sleeping better, smiling and laughing more, and coming up to me and hugging me, talking to my belly, and telling me that he loves me ALL THE TIME! It makes me sad that the meds were suppressing this sweet kid for so long. But I can't let the guilt get to me; I was desperate when I put him on meds, alone with 2 babies and an out-of-control preschooler when my husband left me for 11 months to go to Iraq. And it's good that I'm making these changes before too much damage was done. Robby has grown and matured and is more responsive to the discipline, even though the symptoms of his AD/HD are still QUITE apparent. I'd rather have a happy, affectionate, hyperactive child than a whiny, miserable, relatively compliant one. But he sure can be exhausting!



That's all for now. Next week we are having a 4-D ultrasound (anniversary present from the in-laws), and I will be sure to post the pics as soon as I can!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

5 month checkup and baby's gender!

So yesterday we went for our checkup and they told us there had been a scheduling mishap regarding the ultrasound. We had to wait until this morning to have it done! Drew was pissed, and I have to say I was quite frustrated myself. But the checkup went fine, everything is growing like it's supposed to, and I've gained back 5 of the 10 lbs I had lost. Whoopee. And tomorrow I go to the lab for my early glucose tolerance test to officially diagnose the gestational diabetes.




So, the ultrasound went fine today... baby is perfectly sized for the gestational age, ten fingers, ten toes, four heart chambers, perfectly sized brain, blah, blah, blah...



What? What's that you say? Hurry up and tell you the gender, you say?

Okay.



Drumroll please.....

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BOY!!!





AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

You should have heard the curses. THREE BOYS?!?!?! Devin and I are SCREWED!!! I am screwed.

"You and your damn Y sperm!" I said to Drew.

Three boys and a girl. Grrr...



Poor Devin is going to have a hell of a time dating when she's older.

And she will be a spoiled little princess for the rest of her days.

A spoiled little princess with hard-ass tomboy tendancies. Hmph!



And someday three of my four children will tower over me with their six-foot-somethin' asses.

Boys.



Ahhh, it's alright. I love the little demon-spawn anyway. I'll be a little boy expert when it's all over and done with (which it NEVER will be until I'm haunting them). I'll take this opportunity to raise up three fine young men (and one fine young lady) to be exceptional boyfriends/husbands/fathers to their women/children later in life.



But alas, we have no name for this little man growing inside me. We had a girl's name all picked out. Annabelle Marie. What to name this child? We welcome suggestions, but don't be offended if we don't pick any of them! :)



Drew should start memorizing the theme song from "My Three Sons." Heh.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

16 week (4 month) preggo checkup

Not much new. Baby is healthy, strong heartbeat. Jane (midwife) says she thinks it's a boy since *it* was doing flips while she was trying to listen to the heartbeat.




I have felt a LITTLE bit of movement, like bumps and flutters every now and then, but not nearly as much as I would have expected by now based on my past two pregnancies, which makes ME think it's a girl (Devin was pretty laid back in the womb, whereas the boys wouldn't give me a moment's rest!). However, Janes says that since the twins stretched my uteras so much that it may simply not be tight enough in there yet to feel too much movement. (haha, I said tight)



I have been having horrible sinus headaches which finally peaked into a sinus infection last week -- felt like a damn migraine! I took antibiotics for it which made me even sicker; lost 4 lbs in 6 days! *sigh* Every day is punctuated by various bodily dysfunctions. :(



I have lost a total of 10 lbs now; brings me back into my "fat" non-maternity clothes. I have a little belly, but so skinny elsewhere! There is actually space between my thighs again - holy cow! I know I will start packing on the pounds soon; within the next month or so, and my belly will balloon out like nothing else.



Next month we will do the official blood-glucose tolerance test, as well as have the ultrasound -- and find out the gender! WOOHOO!!! It better be a girl!!!



I'm still sooo tired; I need 10 hours of sleep and still ready for bed by 4pm! This has been my most difficult pregnancy so far, probably due to the THREE young'uns I already have underfoot. I think I must have blocked the past pregnancies out of my memory or something! This is definately the LAST one!

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

3 month pregnant lady checkup

Yesterday we went to our 12-week checkup with our midwife. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat on the doppler!! It was srtong and regular. Jane (our midwife) wasn't sure we would be able to pick it up this early, but I assured her we would, and I was right! She said my uterus is "growing nicely", but I have actually LOST 7 lbs. Typically, I should have gained 2-5 lbs by now, but my *morning* sickness was so bad, and I've had a lot of GI issues, so my body is wasting away!! But the baby is getting what s/he needs, and that's what's important. I've got a little pooch now, and having to wear some maternity shorts, even thought they are all still a little big on me. :P




I'm starting to show some VERY early signs of gestational diabetes, though (excessive thirst and urination, fatigue, moodiness [imagine that!], and stomach upset), so she's got me on blood-glucose monitoring to track my levels and watch the patterns closely. My fingertips already look like sprinkler heads! The placenta favors a diabetic environment, so the bigger it gets, the more difficulty my body will have processing sugar. This is nothing new to me, though, as I developed it with the twins, but usually people don't get it until about 6-7 months. I'm only THREE months! Oh, well... Splenda, here I come! Yich...



That's all for now! We go again in a month.

Monday, July 2, 2007

8 week checkup + ultrasound

We went to see our midwife today for our first prenatal checkup, and she ordered an ultrasound to make sure there are NO MORE TWINS... and hooray, there's ONLY ONE baby in there!!! "Peanut" is doing great; strong heartbeat, measuring a tad big for his/her age (by three days, no biggie). I had to high-five Drew in the room when we saw it was only one... we are both SOOO relieved. So, that's the update... more in a month after the next checkup!




- Michelle

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

pregnancy sucks donkey dick!

I'm so fucking tired you'd think someone drugged me. there are not enough hours for sleep at night. i am ready for a nap by 11am. my children are driving me up the goddamn wall. i have turned into a drill instructor becasue i have no patience for them right now. my husband lost his job, and now he's out of town. i don't know how i am going to make it through the rest of this semester.




i just want to sleep. not go to school. not change endless diapers. not shuttle children all over the place. not do laundry. not clean up puppy piss. not cook meals. not do the dishes. just....fucking...sleep.



i would rather be battling morning sickness than this severe fatigue. cuz then at least i could puke and get on with my day. can't have caffeine. just have to deal with fatigue that borders on drowsiness. seriously, i will fall asleep if i sit down for more than 5 minutes.



i am losing hope that this will ever end, even though i know it will. but time is creeping by so friggin slowly right now, and all i want is to rest. i swear i'm so tired i'm on the verge of tears. try functioning as a (temporarily) single mother of three and part-time student while tranquilized, 24/7. I know drew's only out of town for another week and a half, but OH MY GOD. i will be watching the clock in agony until he's back.



i am grumpy.