29 Weeks

I had to call and make an unexpected appointment with the midwife for today.  I have been feeling a lot of weird pain and pressure (not normal) lately, and along with the fact that I've had contractions for awhile now and that Bryson came early, I felt like it would be in my best interest to go and get checked out before I had to work all weekend (12 hour shifts).  It's not normally like me to seek medical attention, but since I felt like something was happening early-on when I was pregnant with B and I didn't say anything and he came early, I'm a little hypersensitive to what is going on with my body this time around.  I would like to keep this baby gestating as long as I possibly can:)   


So I went in to have everything "checked out" and I'm glad that I did.  I told the midwife what I have been experiencing lately and she made me feel very justified in coming in, which I definitely needed.   Luckily, the baby is head down but the head is not engaged yet, which is something I was afraid of and is a good sign.  The heart rate was in the 140s and I'm measuring a little small at 28 cm (which is totally fine since I'm progressively getting bigger).   The midwife decided that she would do a fetal fibronectin test and check my cervix to see if I was dilating at all yet as well.  My cervix is thinning (which can be normal for a third baby), is a little shorter than is expected at this point (1 3/4 cm), and the opening is dilated to about a fingertip, which again can be because it's my third baby.  Essentially, this is just a baseline to go off of from now on.  The fetal fibronectin test is very interesting- basically, it's a measure of a protein produced by the fetal membranes which serves as a glue that attaches the fetal sac to the uterine lining.  If fetal fibronectin is found in the vagina too early (before 34 weeks), it may mean that the glue is disintegrating ahead of schedule because of contractions or an injury to the membranes.  The test is either positive or negative- a negative result means that it is 99% or so likely that you will not deliver in the next two weeks.  A positive doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to deliver in the next two weeks, especially since there are a lot of false positives with the test, but it does mean that the protein is present and you could be at increased risk of delivering early at some point.  I was assuming that my test would come back negative and that I could be reassured that I wasn't going into labor anytime soon.  I was wrong.  The midwife called me back later this afternoon to tell me that my test came back positive.  Again, this doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to go into labor soon, but it does put me at a higher risk of delivering early, especially since I have a history of a preterm baby.   She also suggested that because of the test results and all of the contractions that I have, it would probably be better to lighten my hours at work and so we agreed that three 8 hour shifts this weekend would be better than working three 12-hour shifts.  (Which luckily I was able to do since census is low and there is plenty of staff working.  Thank God.)  


So from now on, I'm going to be watched a little more closely by the midwives, probably have the fetal fibronectin test done every couple of weeks, and see what will happen with my work schedule.  I'm hoping bed rest is not in my near future, but maybe just taking some time off of work would be the best for me and the baby, we will have to see how things go.  As I mentioned, I would like to keep this baby in the womb for as long as possible, and am willing to do whatever it takes to get there.  For the mean time, I'm taking it easy and trying my best to rest as much as possible and drink lots of water.  Please pray for us that everything goes well for me and that the baby comes later than sooner and is completely healthy and happy:)   

27 Weeks

As of last Thursday, I have officially entered my third trimester- yeah!  Less than 13 weeks to go!  I'm getting increasing excited to meet this little one and to know whether or not it is a boy or a girl who will (probably) be completing our family;)  I figured since B was born so early and we had nothing ready for him, that I would be more prepared if it happens again this time around.  So I've finished the birth plan, started getting some baby clothes washed, and have even set out the suitcase in order to start packing my bag.  I know that it may seem to be a little soon, but I don't want to have a repeat of B's labor and be packing my bags between contractions:)  And maybe if I'm this prepared, I can ward off premature labor...although the continual Braxton Hicks contractions that I have every day tell me otherwise, but a girl can hope, right?

I had a midwife appointment this past Wednesday (26 +6d) and had the glucose testing and lab work done.  I'm happy to report that I don't have gestational diabetes and I'm not anemic- yeah!  Less things to have to worry about.  My blood pressure is doing good, the baby's heart rate is once again in the 150s, and I'm measuring around 25.5 weeks (so a little behind, but this could just be human error since I feel huge!).  My weight is going up a little faster than I would like it to, but the midwives don't seem worried at all, especially considering that I have thyroid problems, even though according to my labs it's pretty well controlled with my current medication.  I've had to increase my medication with both of my other pregnancies, but so far my labs have shown that my current dosing is good.  Overall, things are going just fine, and besides the frequent contractions, the only other major issue I've been having is itching.  I.cannot.stop.itching!!!!  And it's getting rather annoying.  I talked with the midwife about the cause and how to deal with it, and she gave me a bunch of suggestions.  So after my appointment, I made a trip to Target and stocked up on Benadryl spray, lotion, Aveeno, Claritin, and any other suggestion that she gave me.  I'm desperate!  I can't say that anything has taken the itching away, but some things help short term to relieve some of the discomfort.  I think it may just be something that I'm going to have to live with until delivery, which is frustrating, but I'll suffer through.  I'm just hoping it's not related to liver issues at all (which would be a serious complication).  I had some liver function tests done at the appointment, but the results aren't back yet, so hopefully I'll be able to find out more at my next appointment, which is in 3-4 weeks.

26 Week Photo

New Year's Resolutions

I know that it's a little late to be posting resolutions, but it has taken me a little while to come up with some good ones that I know I can work on and keep;)  Also, I don't usually make resolutions, but for some reason, this year I've decided to, and here they are:

• We are going to eat out less.  It has become a bad habit that is very expensive and unhealthy! I'm going to do a better job of meal planning and getting groceries more often.  Plus, it will help that Travis has taken over some of the cooking duties:)
• I will keep my island clean.  This spot in the house has become the catch-all for everything and so it clutters easily.   I am going to attempt to clean it every night before I go to bed.  
• I am going to implement a daily cleaning schedule so that I will clean a little each day instead of cleaning the whole house every 1-2 weeks.  I'm looking at flylady.com to accomplish this;)
• I am going to use my green bags more often.  I have them and just forgot to grab them out the back of the car when I get groceries, but am going to make an effort to remember them from now on.  It's just smarter and I get sick of recycling plastic and paper bags.
• We are going to find a church to attend.  Religion has been a big part of my life and I'm beginning to feel like I need a church to go to and that my kids need it growing up as well.  Here's to hoping we can find one that is the right fit for us and our beliefs/desires.

Here's to 2011- may it be a great year!

Taryn's Invention

Taryn has had a wonderful time making forts with our couch cushions lately.  And while it's a little annoying to not have a place so sit since all of the cushions are being used to make the fort, I also don't mind sitting on the floor by fire and watching him build his forts (and then quietly laughing when Bryson knocks them down:)  Today's fort-making was a little bit different, though.  He started with four cushions that he placed in a square.  Then he took one away and all of a sudden exclaimed that he was making a "color and baby machine!"
"What is that, honey?"  I asked him.
"It's a machine to change the baby's diapers and then they can take a nap in it.  And it's a color machine, too."
"What does that do?  Color the baby's diapers?"
"Yeah!!  And over here on this side is wipes for wiping the baby."
"Awesome, buddy.  Does is have a garbage disposal for the dirty diapers?"
"No, that costs too much money to build that," he replied with a big grin on his face.
"Oh, so what are you going to do with the dirty diapers?"
"I don't know yet."
"Oh, well that's okay, you can keep thinking about it.  It sounds like a great idea, Taryn."
"Thanks!  And I'm also going to get some pillows to put in here and then the baby can take a nap in it!"

As he ran upstairs to get the pillows, my heart smiled a little bit at his excitement about the new arrival.  He's going to make a great big brother to this baby.  He wasn't so keen when B joined the family, but this time around he's a little bit older and more aware, and it makes me excited to see his excitment and to hear him talk about the baby.  He loves to kiss my belly and wants to feel the baby moving, and he reminds me every day, "Mom, your belly is getting bigger!"  (Thanks, buddy.)  He also wants the baby to come soon, but I make sure to tell him that it will be a little while (hopefully) before the baby comes.   He's ready for him/her now, apparently;)

As he came down the stairs with his pillows, he matter-of-fact told me that he needed a baby brother to put in his "baby machine" because he needs two brothers.  All I replied was, "Oh, okay."  We'll have to wait for a few months to see about that part, I guess.

Kids and their wild imaginations.

Welcome 2011

Happy New Year!  I've decided as part of my New Year's Resolutions that I would get back into blogging.  Not only is it a great way to keep our family and friends who live far away updated on our family happenings, but it's also a great way for me to keep a journal of our lives to look back on later.  I'm excited about sharing our adventures, fun and pictures from 2011 and in the years to come!!  Please stop by often and make sure to leave comments so I know that you are out there:)

Here's to an awesome 2011 filled with health, happiness, love, and most of all a new Baby Callaway!!!