Another week closer! It has been a relatively stable week since about Wednesday afternoon. I am definitely “sicker” both in arthritis and stomach stuff since maybe 4 weeks ago, but I am not having the super low lows anymore, it has sort of reached a new normal. This means I can eat and sleep again, even though I have to get used to a certain amount of stomach discomfort and arthritis symptoms. Overall, seems like an okay balance between drugs (now at 9 mg prednisone) and disease management. My blood sugars also have stabilized, showing that overall things are happier in my body. Dr. Kline is happy with it and so am I.
Baby is looking great. They estimate his weight at 6 lbs and 4 oz (57th percentile). His head is 9 cm across and 33 cm around and his femur is 6.7 cm. He is looking cute and doing well. He is quite squished in there but still enjoying being very active. He played around during the ultrasound and got 5 heartbeat accelerations in the 20 minute NST (non-stress test) when he only needed 2. I am not having any contractions and am doing well. My weight is back where it was after dropping two pounds last week (with all the stomach issues), so that is good. I have been eating a ton more this last week and still didn’t gain past where I was.
We had a busy weekend of fun and productivity and we are rapidly getting closer and closer to being ready for baby. The bassinet and breast pump came this week as well as the mattress pads, breast milk bags, steaming bags, etc. Pretty much we now have everything we need. I might buy another sheet or two, but I wanted to see how the color I bought looks before I place more. I only need a few more things to feel ready – a new hamper for our bedroom, a lamp for baby room for nursing, and some squishy floor mats for changing table and kitchen. Projects left are to vacuum and dust bedroom and do the new pantry shelves (I already cleaned it out the last two days). We’ll see how much of all this we get done. It doesn’t feel like way too much, but we also have important tasks like making cookies (we got some good sugar cookie and gingerbread dough from Wildflour), and making Christmas Lasagna and Danish!
We finished our hypnobirthing class yesterday which was great. Not only did I learn a lot but they really are big on practicing relaxation and I find it is good time for Charles and I to spend together thinking and preparing for not just the labor, but our future. It has been nice. I am noticing improvements already in how quickly I can get into a relaxed state (and I was already pretty good before from dealing with pain over the last 10 years). I learned a lot of tricks and I really think it will be an asset to me in labor. We did a big fear release visualization yesterday, and I thought it was great. I feel almost no fear now approaching the labor, even knowing it will likely be augmented by medication.
Charles and I are continuing the great baby name hunt. We are running short on time. We finally went and bought two baby books and have been enjoying the process of batting names back and forth. All the reading did was reinforce the list we already had, but I feel like we have 6 or so good names to choose from and I think any of them would work well. We’ll work to hopefully choose one by next weekend.
I am really looking forward to “Christmas.” I put it in quotes because Charles and I aren’t getting seriously into the gift part of Christmas this year (heck our baby and house purchases are doing our part to keep amazon in business without Christmas gifts too!). Also, with us both being so busy and me getting more and more tired, Charles has allowed me to Christmas shop for him when we are out together. If he points out an expensive honey he wants, I just buy it with him rather than having to drive back later. What I AM excited about is getting to spend time with my Mom, Dad, Kevin, Tara, Luke and Andrew. The three days with them is what I am so looking forward to. I had a firm talk with baby that he has to wait at least until the 28th so I get my recharging family time (and ideally until the 31st so my doctor is in town)! On a sadder note, it is a real bummer to not get to see Charles’ family this year, especially after having to cancel the summer trip. Thank god we saw everyone at Gina’s wedding, but it still seems like it has been too long. You all will be in our hearts and minds even though we won’t be there with you! Next time you see us though, we’ll have a pretty fantastic plus 1!
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