31 Weeks and A Major Score!

Here we go!

How far along? 31 Weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: I have had ZERO appetite this week, so the "high calorie" diet isn't exactly going as planned. I'm taking in as much protein as I can to make up for the calories I am not taking in. I go back a week from Monday to weigh in. O_O
Maternity clothes? Maternity pants every day and still trying to make my regular shirts work. I got several really cute maternity shirts from my MIL for Christmas that will hopefully see me through the end!
Sleep: Oy. I've been REALLY lucky up until this point. I really have. But this past week has been brutal in the sleep department. I sleep when I can, but between getting up to pee (which thankfully is still only once a night and that just started this past week-up until now I've been sleeping through the night), the hip pain and my ribs feeling like they were going to split down the middle, sleep is definitely getting harder. I wouldn't trade it for anything though.
Best moment this week: Being pregnant at Christmas. In my own odd little world, there is something special about being pregnant at Christmas. I am so thankful I got to experience it. Abbey bounced around and moved all day and that really was the best gift I could have ever asked for (but the iPod touch was a close second!).
Movement: She bounces like crazy and I can't get enough of it. It makes me sad to think this is all coming to an end. I really will miss her feet in my bladder.
Food cravings: M&M Cookie from Great American Cookie Co. I've had 2 this week. Ooops.
Gender: GIRL! GIRL! GIRL!
Labor Signs: No, thank you.
Belly Button in or out? Going, going.....
What I miss: Nothing at the moment...
What I am looking forward to: Seeing Abbey at our US January 6!
Weekly Wisdom: Enjoy every minute. I am so sad this whole experience is almost over. This is probably our last pregnancy so I know it's possible I'll never feel a baby bounce around and wiggle in my belly. I can't even talk about it without tearing up.
Milestones: Right now, every day is a milestone. I am more pregnant than I have ever been, so everyday is a huge deal. Our goal is 40 weeks, 37 at the earliest, so every day is one day closer to our goal. (I know this has been the same since the beginning but I honestly believe it.)

Sadly, there is no fruit/veggie pic this week. There is a belly pic, but I haven't uploaded them just yet. It's coming. I promise. Probably...tomorrow.

Now, this major score I mentioned above. I have been collecting (read:hoarding) diaper coupons and formula coupons and any other coupons I can get my hands on since the second we found out we were pregnant back in June...and maybe even before then. Many of them were nearing their expiration date so I made 938 different little stacks, one for diapers, one for formula, toys, wipes, gear, etc. I noticed some were store coupons (specifically Target) and the others were from manufacturers. So I googled around and asked a few friends for the inside scoop on all these coupons and got more than I expected. Apparently you can stack 1 manufacturers coupon with a Target coupon. So here's what I did: I paired up 1 Manuf. coupon with whatever Target coupon I had. Then I checked to see if you had to buy multiple things (ie: diapers AND wipes) in order to use the coupons. Then I checked to see if I had a coupon that I could use with the "other" item from the initial coupon. I then I stacked three coupons for two different items, taking as much as $9 off the two items. Make sense? No? It's hard to explain, so let's add brand names.

I had 1 Manf coupon for $3 off 1 package of Pampers diapers AND wipes, 1 Target coupon for $3 off a package of Pampers diapers and 1 Target coupon for $3 off 1 package of Pampers wipes (and I had three of each of those, so I used this whole thing three times over, all on the same check out order). So I got 1 box of Pampers and 1 package of wipes and used all three coupons on the two items.

So, by the time I had used some of my stash of coupons up, we left Target 3 large boxes of diapers, 3 large packs of wipes, 2 cans of Similac powder formula and 1 bottle of ready made Similac formula for less than $40! (Our initial total was almost $90, ending total, after coupons was $42.05, but I bought some socks and a few clearance Christmas items). I think the best buy was the formula. The ready made bottle was $5.34 before the coupon. I had a $5 off coupon which left the bottle costing .34 cents! I also had a $5 off any baby purchase of $25 or more that I was able to throw in on top of everything.

Moral of the story: USE YOUR COUPONS. Not using them is literally throwing money in the trash. And if you don't use yours, send them to me, hahaha!

I hope you all had a great Christmas and got everything you could have ever wanted!

31Weeks

Merry Christmas, Buddha!

Hi, Baby Boy!

I hope you are having the very best Christmas up there! Your dad and I miss you so much, especially around the holidays, but THANK YOU for the Christmas gift today! We were in the middle of an ugly rain storm on the way home from Grammy's house and as soon as we peaked over a huge hill we saw a big, fat, bright rainbow! It was beautiful and instantly made me tear up. I'm so glad you remembered us and said hi! It's so great to know you are doing well.

Your sister is going crazy right now on my bladder :) She's so silly and I think she is going to be a lot like you. We have some of the things we bought for you set up in her room. I'm sure you won't mind sharing...right? Haha.

Your dad and I are so, so blessed and thankful that we get to call you ours. We will never, ever forget what a huge part of our life that we were and still are. One of our biggest goals with Abbey is to make sure she knows everything about you and how lucky she is to already have a guardian angel.

We love you so, so much baby boy. Be good.

Love,
momma

30 Weeks (!)

YIKES! We are really in the home stretch now, aren't we!

How far along? 30 Weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Gained one over the past two weeks despite upping my calories and protein. Up 2 pounds overall.
Maternity clothes? Maternity pants every day and still trying to make my regular shirts work. I am hoping to buy as few maternity shirts as possible!
Sleep: I have to admit, it's getting harder. My hips and ribs HURT. But once I'm asleep, I usually sleep straight through the night, it's just getting to sleep that's the hard part.
Best moment this week: Making it to 30 weeks. I still can't believe it.
Movement: She bounces like crazy and I can't get enough of it. I already know I'll miss this.
Food cravings: Apple juice, apples, applesauce. Anything apple. (STILL)
Gender: GIRL! GIRL! GIRL!
Labor Signs: No, thank you.
Belly Button in or out? Going, going.....
What I miss: Nothing at the moment...
What I am looking forward to: Seeing Abbey at our US January 6!
Weekly Wisdom: Enjoy every minute. I am so sad this whole experience is almost over. This is probably our last pregnancy so I know it's possible I'll never feel a baby bounce around and wiggle in my belly. I can't even talk about it without tearing up.
Milestones: Right now, every day is a milestone. I am more pregnant than I have ever been, so everyday is a huge deal. Our goal is 40 weeks, 37 at the earliest, so every day is one day closer to our goal. (I know this has been the same since the beginning but I honestly believe it.)



What is Abbey up to this week?

Baby’s energy is surging, thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin. (Have those kicks and jabs to the ribs tipped you off yet?) Baby is also settling into sleeping and waking cycles, though -- as you’ve also probably noticed -- they don’t necessarily coincide with your own. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments.

All that^ stays the same until Week 32, so don't expect another fruit picture for the next few weeks!

And now for Show&Tell :)

**I can't find my 28 Week picture. I'm going to be really upset if I either (A) forgot to take one or (B) lost the pic entirely.

29 Weeks

30 Weeks


Yowza.


And now for the real Abbey update.

We had our regular appt yesterday with my OB and everything went great. Despite being on the different diet, I only managed to gain 1 pound, not the 3-5 they were looking for. BUT gaining is better than losing. My blood pressure looked great (117/77) and Abbey's heart rate was great (152bpm). We talked at length about why Abbey looks to be small right now.

1. IUGR which in my case would be due to lack of maternal weight gain. Like I said before, since we are fairly certain Abbey has no genetic issues (NT Scan and quad screen came back clean) and since I don't do illegal drugs, lack of weight gain on my part could be one reason she is small, which is why they are pushing me to gain gain gain.

(And here's where it gets tricky and it's really hard to explain, so bear with me.)

2. Metformin. I have to be on Metformin to control my PCOS and keep my ovaries from exploding with cysts. The Metformin helps the hormones going to my ovaries know what to do as to keep cysts from growing.However, Metformin is a drug most commonly used to treat diabetics. I am not a diabetic. If anything, my sugars run on the lower side of normal as opposed to the higher side. Metformin is also known for causing weight loss. Metformin is also starting to be related to smaller (yet still healthy!) babies. Let's try a flow chart of sorts.

-I need the Metformin to control my PCOS.
-I don't need the Metformin to control diabetes because I'm not diabetic.
-The Metformin is keeping me from gaining weight.
-I can't come off the Metformin because it is doing such a good job at keeping my ovaries disease free.
-The Meformin may be what is restricting Abbey's growth.

Simply put, we are stuck for the moment. The great news is all Abbey's major organs (brain, heart, lungs, kidneys) look great and are right on track. Her cord looks great. Her fluid levels are great. She's just a small baby. We have another US in 2 weeks to check her growth and come up with a game plan for the remaining 6-8 weeks of this pregnancy.

So. We are thankful. There is nothing wrong, just a little added stress for me. I am not considered high risk at the moment and Abbey is not in any danger. We just want her to chub up a bit.

And I think that catches everything up.

One more thing. I have made the decision to go private following Abbey's arrival. I will be moving to a new, private blog that will require you to have a username and password to log view the blog. I'm doing this for several reasons, but mostly for our privacy. I don't want pictures of our daughter just floating around on the internet for anyone to see. This blog will remain public and I might update over here once in a while (minus pictures) for those who don't want to make the move, but I promise nothing.

So if you want in, please email me at speakoftheblog@gmail.com. I think I can take 100 different readers so everyone that is a "follower" now should be able to get in over "there". Family will get invites first, then friends.

WHEW! That was a long entry! If you made it this far, go get yourself a cookie!

I hope you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! Remember the reason for the season :)

Number One Sign You Are Too Tired To Put Together An Exersaucer...

There is a recall out for our exersaucer, so I decided (at 8:30 at night after a long day) to open ours and see if it was one of with the serial number being recalled (it wasn't-Thank God! It was the model before ours). So...since it was open, I decided I'd build it. It can't be that hard, right?

Wrong.

First, I couldn't get the seat to snap in correctly. After much tugging and pulling, I get the cloth seat snapped into it's position.

Then, I couldn't get the legs to snap on. They are plastic freaking legs. It should not be that hard. So I pushed and shoved and twisted those damn legs ever which way you can think but they would not snap in. Eventually, I got one to snap in. With my finger still between each piece of plastic. Um. Ow. Ow actually isn't the word. It's much harsher. I pulled the pieces apart, threw them across the room and just burst into tears. It was not until then that it occurred to me that I just might be too tired and hormonal to put together an exersaucer (that she won't even need for another 6 months) tonight. But I get on these tangents where I think things have to be done that very minute. Ben heard the commotion and came to Abbey's room where I was "working" to find me in my undies, a tank top, surrounded by pink and green pieces of plastic sobbing. God love him for not laughing. All he said was "I think you are too tired to do this tonight. Why don't you go ahead to bed."

So here I am. In bed. Nursing my poor finger and my ego while he works on her exersaucer in the next room.

Let this be a lesson to you all. When you know you are too tired to do something, don't even attempt it.


In other news, Abbey is doing great! She's been a maniac today. On my way home, I stopped by Dairy Queen to pick up a milkshake. I ordered a small and the girls behind the counter asked if it was for me or the baby. I quickly said it was kind of for both of us since we both need to add a few pounds over the next two weeks. They laughed and asked a few more questions before one of the girls returned with a LARGE shake. They said to consider it for the baby, refused to let me pay the difference and sent me on my way. Very sweet! But- have you ever seen a LARGE shake from DQ? It's like a freakin 10 gallon drum! Who honestly needs that much? It was one of those cups you almost have to hold with both hands, lol. Out of sheer curiosity I had to look up the nutrition info when I got home. Are you sitting down? 1130 Calories. ELEVEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY CALORIES. Holy Lord. Seriously. I drank it down (poor me, right?) but promptly barfed about 1/2 of it back up. So there goes those calories. I didn't barf it up because of an pregnancy related nausea. I barfed it up because that is an obscene amount of calories to take in and 20 minutes and my body said "Heeeeeeeeeck no", haha! I barfed it up because NO ONE should drink an 1100 calorie milkshake.

So another lesson learned there. Always (politely) turn down milkshake upgrades. Or have some self control and don't drink the entire thing.

28w4d

28 Week Appt.

It wasn't great news, but it wasn't terrible. I'll start from the beginning.

So the three pounds I had gained (overall)...pretty much gone. I lost 2 pounds. So we are at one pound total for weight gain. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't skinny pre-pregnancy, but I still should have gained more than 1 pound by now. I'm losing weight which is keeping Abbey from gaining appropriately. Which leads to the next issue.

Abbey is pretty small. Her belly is only measuring in the 12% and overall she is in the 32% for babies at her gestational age. Her head, limbs, organs, fluid levels, cord and placenta all look good right now, she just is a little behind, growth wise.

So now the plan is for me to increase my caloric intake and gain some pounds. Every one keeps saying "Load up on ice cream and Chinese!". Uh, yea, that sounds fun, but (1) I don't feel like eating 99% of the time and when I do, it's never much and (2) I want to gain the weight in a healthy way, not by loading up on junk. I'm loading up on complex carbs and protein in an effort to gain weight but to it in a healthy manner.

AND It sounds like I'm having a C-section. O_O

My ovaries are apparently a real mess. My right one, anyway. From the US yesterday she can tell is it practically ruined and would rather me not have it. Apparently "diseased" ovaries are more likely to develop cancerous places on them and what not, so I'm likely better off without it. Lefty is doing ok and is the ovary we triggered from for Abbey, so I guess the right is a dud anyway.

And if Abbey stays small, she would rather deliver her by csec. Smaller babies sometimes don't do as well with vaginal deliveries and a csec i usually less stressful on them.

She said ultimately the decision is mine, but I really trust her and her partner with my care 100%. If they feel this is best for Abbey, I believe them.

Also, they are going to monitor Abbey every 10-14 days to check her growth and monitor my weight gain. If at 37 weeks she is still tiny, they will do an amnio and go ahead and deliver her. IUGR is one of her concerns and she said those babies tend to do better on the outside than in. Babies with IUGR sometimes have genetic issues or have drug addicted mothers and since neither is the case with our Abbey, lack of maternal weight gain is our only answer. She has not been diagnosed with IUGR at this point and we are really hoping to avoid it which makes it even more important for me to pack on some pounds.

This all makes me really sad. I'm a mess. I feel like a total eff up. I can't get pregnant on my own. Now I can't even provide well enough for her on the inside. How am I going to be a good mom when she is on the outside if I can't provide for her now.

But right now I really don't have time for a pity party. All my energy is being focused towards her and making her grow big and strong. Our goal is full term, but ultimately we know God is in control and will watch over us and take care of Abbey.

We really appreciate any prayers you can spare. We want a full term, healthy little girl and I really believe prayers can get us there.

28w3d

Sweet!

Thanks to PCOS, I got the privilege of taking the one hour glucose challenge TWICE.

YAY.

Not really...But whatever I have to do to keep me and Abigail healthy, right? I passed the first one a few weeks ago with a score of 114 (way below the failing mark). I hoped that since I had passed the first one by such a large margin they wouldn't make me take the second one. No dice. So I took it again Friday morning and passed with a 110 this time! Even better! So no more glucose tests for me!

My blood pressure looked awesome (124/79) too, so it was a great day!

And today? I washed sheets, cleaned the master bathroom and bedroom, folded (more of) Abbey's clothes (seriously running out of room!), Windex-ed all the mirrors and shot this awesome video. Please admire my lovely belly, lol. No stretch marks yet, but I am getting bigger by the day so I can only assume they are going to strike soon. Ben and I watched her move and dance around for almost an hour but as soon as we got out the camera out she settled in and got comfy. Stubborn girl. I have no idea who she gets her attitude from! Honest!

Other than that, we are all doing great! We reached the 28 week mark today which is both awesome, exciting and scary all at the same time. Just the thought that we could have a baby in ten weeks is mind numbing to me (and Ben!). I've been dealing with some bittersweet feelings regarding this pregnancy and all the fun milestones we are hitting and the fact that it is all coming to an end soon and the fact that we missed all this with Buddha. It's hard sometimes. I got really overwhelmed Thursday but thankfully Ben was home and just let me cry it out and take a nap. Just as soon as I think the healing process with Buddha is over, all the feelings of sadness and loss rip through me and I feel like part of the healing starts over. I wish we had gotten to experience all of this with Buddha, but I wouldn't trade Abigail for the world. I feel like I am almost forced to choose between the two of them even though it's impossible to do that. A power greater than I can even imagine made the decision for me and I trust that decision with my entire heart, but that doesn't mean it isn't hard sometimes. At the end of the day, I know I have a baby boy who taught me more in 9 weeks than I could have ever hoped to learn in a life time and who I am so insanely proud of and a baby girl who is teaching me how to trust and love again and melts my heart every moment of the day. I am so, so blessed to have them both and I can't thank God enough for allowing me to be their mom.


28Weeks