Skin problem

I can't sleep. It's nearly 5am and I woke up because I have a skin problem. An itchy skin problem. Apparently it's very common in pregnancy.
I've just started noticing it in the past week or so. It's hard to believe how being pregnant could bring on so many problems. It doesn't seem to make sense why I would have a skin problem when I'm growing a baby inside me.
Very strange.
My doctor recommended that I try Hydrocortizone cream. Fortunately, that has given me some relief.
That is my news for today. That's why I'm up at an odd hour.
So along with my beach ball (it feels more like a heavy bowling ball these days) that I sleep with every night, I have a lovely skin(icky rash) to sleep with.
I have to keep reminding myself that it will all be worth it when I get to have my baby in my arms. A lot of people have been telling me that.

1 week from today is Eric's due date. 7 days! Whoohoo!
Let's go Eric, let's go!

Look what we got!

A new digital camera! Whooohooo! Much better than the old one we had.
It'll be great for all those baby pictures.

Here are some more pictures.

Baby proofing

David and I have started to baby proof the apartment. At first I thought that it would be great because it would give me something else to do instead of sitting around thinking about how much time I have until delivery day. I've been hearing from other people that the last 2 weeks are the worst because they just drag.
But then I discovered a problem. Now there are a lot of things that I can't reach. We have some "baby dangerous" things that are now on a high shelf. So now whenever I need to reach something I ask David. It's nice to be married to a tall husband. (Yes I have stool to stand on but I don't want to take a chance and fall, especially when I have a precious baby inside. Besides I've been using the stool for a footrest and it works really well for that.)

I've also been a mildly annoyed because I can't lift anything over about 10 pounds. I feel helpless and that's a frustrating feeling for me. It's hard for me to ask for help, but I guess I'll have to get used to doing it.

11 days

Notice how my shirt hangs off of me in the front. :-)
And the cat in the window..... The cat made me smile. That's something that I needed the past few days.

I can hardly believe that I have less than 2 weeks until my due date.

Again?

Yep it happened again. I had some more pain and I didn't know what to do.
I was on my way to visit some friends of mine and my womb decided to protest (or something). I was having trouble walking to the car and even more pain walking back up the stairs to the apartment. Something didn't feel right. The pain was in my pelvis area and lasted about 15 minutes and then slowly eased up after a while. So I called my doctor but I ended up talking to the nurse instead. She said to go to the hospital because it could be the start of labor and it would be better for me to get checked out just to be safe.

So this time I drove myself the hospital because David was coming back from his lunch and he had to go back to work so we both decided that I could call him from the hospital if it's the real thing.

The nurse hooked me up to the monitor again and determined that my uterus is irritable again. ---No full contractions and the pain that I was having was ligament pain. My womb is stretching to make more room for Eric. Ouch! It hurts.
She also said that I would know when I start having the real contractions because they last about a minute and then they are consistant. But I've never done this before so I don't know exactly what real contractions feel like.

I remember when I went to the child birth classes, they talked about the contractions and how to time them. But I don't think they mentioned what they would feel like.
For example: do they feel like a really bad stomach ache? Or really horrible menstrual cramps? Who knows?
I'm just feeling pretty dumb after going to the hospital 3 times (so far) only to be sent home after a few hours and I still have 2 weeks to go until my actual due date.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made!

I know that Eric is going to be beautiful. David and I both know that.
Today I had the ultrasound and the doctor determined that Eric is now 6 pounds and 7 ounces. Go Eric! And his measurements are right where they're supposed to be. The doctor kept saying "What a beautiful baby." I wish that we had him as our OBGYN but we don't. He's so much more personable than the OBGYN who I have now.
I wish I had a good ultrasound picture to put up from todays appointment but I don't. The pictures didn't turn out very clear this time. But we were able to see Eric on the screen so that's good enough for us. :-)

The doctor who did the ultrasound today said that Eric should be right around the normal weight. He's supposed to gain a half a pound a week so since I have about 2 weeks to go until the due date, that means that he should be about 8 pounds when he is born (give or take a few ounces or so).
Whoohoo!

While we were waiting in the waiting room, there was a lady who was very talkative and then she started talking to me. She seemed friendly but then I asked her about how many kids she had and she said "Oh, this would be my seventh one. But I've had 3 abortions." Then she made a terribly lame excuse about her not being ready for a baby and not having a loving father to take care of the babies......... I didn't know what to say so I just looked away.
How could she do that? Or maybe a better question is, How could anybody do that?
It's a baby for crying out loud!!! A life!!!!!
I can't quite figure out if people who have abortions just don't care or if they're completely ignorant or just plain stupid. Most likely the people who have abortions are also atheists.

I remember a while back when I had the amniocentesis test our doctor told us that some people decide to have an abortion when they find out that the baby has a problem because they can't handle not having a perfect child.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and WONDERFULLY MADE, your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139 v.13-16
So there! That's what God says!

Close, but no dilation

Sorry for the bad picture. I really didn't look that pathetic but the camera we used doesn't do too well indoors. What can I say? It's cheap but hey, at least it's digital.

Today David and I went to the Church we grew up in. During the meeting I realized that my womb wasn't too happy. I started feeling a little achy. I tried my best to think of something else and focus on worshipping the Lord but it was starting to get difficult. I wasn't that concerned because Eric was kicking and moving just like he always has been. He seemed to be happy.
During the break, I was visiting with some people and I noticed that the crampy, achy feeling was going away. "Good, maybe it's just one of the those annoying Braxton hicks things again." I thought to myself.

During the next meeting, I noticed something else that made me start to worry. I whispered to David about it and we decided to head home and call the doctor. The doctor on call said to head to the hospital (again?) and get checked out.
But before we headed to the hospital we stopped at home and picked up the hospital bag and the infant car seat (just in case).

When I got to the hospital, I ended up getting the same nurse that I had the last time that I was there. She is very nice. She hooked me up the amazing sound machine again (external monitoring) and after a short while, she determined that my uterus was irritable but wasn't having any full contractions. Interesting huh? I thought so too. She said that it is common for that to happen and that it is really nothing to worry about.
She left me and David alone for a few minutes in the labor and delivery room and we dozed off for a little bit. Then she returned and said she talked to the doctor who was on call. The doctor said to go home and to relax and take it easy.
So David and I headed home a little reluctantly this time. We were hoping that it was for real this time and that we could call our family and friends and shout, "Our little Eric is born and he's doing just fine".

We've decided to leave the hospital bag in the car until the real time comes.
We'll have to see if I have another "false alarm" before Eric really is ready to come.

By the way, it's 19 days 'til the "due date" and I'm officially 37 weeks.
I have an ultrasound on Wednesday and another checkup on Thursday.
I'll keep you all posted.

Yes doctor..... whatever you say doctor

Well, I had the appointment today. I have discovered that pelvic exams hurt a lot worse when I'm pregnant.
The funny thing was that when the nurse called me in to the exam room I said something about being nervous about the pelvic exam. She said, "Oh, we're not going to do the exam today, unless you want to have it done.
Well, after the event that I had in the hospital I decided that I would like to know how close I was to going into labor.
When the nurse took my blood pressure, it was high. Or much higher than normal.
I know I was stressed when I got to the doctor's appointment but when I found out that my blood pressure was high, I felt a little more stressed. I guess I'm just a stress case these days.
I'll just say that I'm glad that David was with me today.

After the exam the doctor told me that she was pretty sure that I would last another week. Right after she said that I started to go into orbit. I thought "another week? What about 3 weeks? Can I last 3 weeks? That would be my actual due date."
I've been feeling a lot of pressure in the pelvic area and I wondered how I could make it another 3 weeks. Sometimes I'm not sure if I can even get up and walk. I feel like an old lady. I can hardly believe that I could be this uncomfortable.
The doctor also said that Eric hasn't dropped yet and that he was pretty high in there but the good news is that he is in the head down position which is a good thing.
But I don't know how long I have until he makes his appearance.

After the appointment, David and I went to get something to eat. (Quiznos hit the spot, I was hungry again).
Then we headed home and David went back to work.
I decided to go to the store and get a few more things to add to my hospital bag.
I also got a few things for myself to help get my mind off of these pregnancy woes.
I thought maybe a puzzle of cats and kittens would do the trick. (Yes I like puzzles) I haven't put a puzzle together in quite a while. I remembered that puzzles were relaxing to me. Even though they might be frustrating to other people. I like to see the pieces fit together.
Also, I got a relaxing cd by Jim Brickman (piano music). I listened to it today and it's good stuff. That's what I think anyway.

After my shopping spree, I headed to the park. But first I was hungry again (and Eric was hungry too) so I headed to Taco Bell and enjoyed a delicious bean and cheese burrito (no onions) and a soft taco at the park. How relaxing! I could almost feel my blood pressure dropping as I took a few deep breaths of the fresh air and looked around at the scenery. I'm so glad that I live close to a park. I guess it's been a while since I've been outside in the fresh air.

Doctor appointments

-----24 days----
Tomorrow I have a doctor appointment that I'm not looking forward to. It's the dreaded pelvic exam. The doctor will check me to see if Eric is getting ready to come or if he's not quite ready (maybe he'll come late and I'll have to be induced? Who knows?). I guess we'll all have to wait and see.

Next week (at 38 weeks),I have an ultrasound so the doctor can see how big Eric is and maybe the doctor can estimate how big he'll be at birth. I don't know how accurate that is though, I've heard it's more of a guess than anything.

In other news: David and I need to get a pediatrician. Which basically means that we need to wait on Blue Cross. They're suppose to "assign" us one. We have to fill out a form within 30 days after Eric is born and then Blue Cross can process the paper work. (Paperwork, how fun!) We may be able to change it if we find out that we (or Eric) just doesn't like him/her. But don't all babies hate going to the doctor, no matter how nice the doctor is?

I have my hospital bag packed. It's sitting by the door.

25 days

Guess I'm not too good at doing the countdown thing. I was suppose to be counting down the days until the projected due date but I missed a few days. Oh well.

I've been too busy being uncomfortable and complaining about it.
I need to think of some brilliant project that I can do that doesn't hurt and doesn't send me back to the hospital or put the baby's life in danger.
I will do my best to not complain and whine on this post. (I'll save it for another one. j/k :-) No really, I have re-read through some of my blog posts and sometimes I can hardly believe what I've said on there. Most of the time it just seems like emotions and crazy talk.

I know I seem like I'm always changing my mind but here I go again....
I've decided to give away our baby's name.
His name will be Eric! From Baby Z, to baby zebra (I've been told that was a little lame :) and ECZ. I was kind of going back and forth on it for while.

Lately I've been working on addressing the birth announcements. Hoping it will save me time later on.
Also, trying to baby proof the apartment the best that we can. We've got lots of stuff to lock up. :-)
I didn't realize it until I started looking into all of the cupboards.

The countdown begins..................

Well, since I'm uncomfortable and I can't think of anything else exciting to write, I've decided that now would be a good time to start counting down the days. It's exactly 30 days until D-day.
But who knows when the baby will come. It could be early as in a few weeks or it could be late like 2 weeks past the due date. To me that's unsettling not knowing when he'll come. But I realize that that's all part of it and I have to accept it somehow.

I've been spending most of my days reading. I have quite a few baby/new mom magazines and books. Some of them are helpful and some of them give me nightmares. Actually most of them give me nightmares. Lately, I've been waking up in the middle of the night and I look at the crib by the side of our bed. It seems so weird that a little tiny ECZ will be in there in just a few short weeks.
One of the things that I've been reading is that new moms lose A LOT of sleep and that taking a shower becomes a luxury. Oh and the breastfeeding? There's a huge selection of books on that subject.
Before I was pregnant I hardly even knew that breastfeeding was a subject that could take up an entire book.

Another thing that I just read today is that new moms need to learn to type with one hand. (so that I can hold the baby and type at the same time). They say it's a necessary skill that moms should learn. I guess I'd better start practicing. I have some time to learn how to get fast at it. Or maybe that's not possible. Maybe I can use the computer when the baby is sleeping? I've also read that I should sleep when the baby sleeps. I wonder how that is going to work.

Right now, (as I type) ECZ is poking me on both sides. It feels like he is trying to poke a hole and start digging his way out. It feels even worse when I'm lying down and trying to sleep.
He weighs about 5 1/2 pounds and is about 13 inches long from crown(head) to rump(bottom).
I can't wait to hold my precious baby. :-D

I just want it to be over!

Ok, I think I've reached the stage of wanting it to be over. I'm hot, I can't move very well, my pelvis aches, my feet hurt, I'm a complete clutz and I am afraid to do anything now. I don't want to repeat what happened last Saturday.
But things need to be done. There are a number of things to be done before the baby arrives and I didn't anticipate going to the hospital and have to be put on bed rest this past weekend. We were suppose to go up to Tehachapi and buy my father-in-law's car and also look at a house that was on the market that the realtor told us about. But the Lord had other plans for us and we found out that the previous owners of the house smoked and that something we weren't interested in, plus the seller needed someone to move in by the 15th of September. (Not good timing at all).

I guess I am being taught a lesson or something. I don't know what the Lord is teaching me because with my emotions, nothing makes sense to me. This has been a very hot summer. (Not good for a pregnant woman that's for sure.) The fact that only a small amount of my clothes fit me and are some what comfortable. I've pretty much out grown all of my maternity clothes but I only have 1 month to go and I don't think it's worth it to go buy some more.
Arrrrrgh....... I'm a little frustrated.

I just wish that I could go out for a walk and get some fresh air but it seems that my body is saying "No!" So I guess I'd better listen to it.

I am so hot and sweaty. I wish I could fix my thermostat. It's broken.

The amazing sound machine

This post has some graphic details.

This morning I went to the hospital. Yesterday I went shopping again at the mall. Why didn't I know better? I think it's because I felt ok at the time. I thought walking was good for me. Besides the more walking I do when I'm pregnant the better I'll recover after the delivery and the pelvic muscles are used during labor so I can't really go wrong by walking. Also during the week, I did laundry. I thought I was being safe because I was doing 1 load a day.
I thought wrong. I did too much walking.

Anyway, this morning I was bleeding and I was scared. Shortly after I was bleeding I
was really achy and I experienced some contractions. Both David and I were immediately alarmed because of what I've learned in the child birth class. If there is any bleeding or cramping before 37 weeks then I need to call the doctor and get checked out. So I called the doctor and explained to them what I had experienced they said to go to the hospital and get checked out. (I thought sure it was pre-term labor and that ECZ was going to come early because he couldn't wait to see his mommy and daddy. He wanted to know what the voices were that he has been hearing all this time.) Also, I thought "No this can't be happening, I'm not ready. I don't have everything ready for ECZ. His crib doesn't even have sheets yet." I thought that ECZ was going to come today.

At the hospital, I checked in to the Labor and delivery room and then the nurse said to get comfortable in a very stylish striped blue and white gown.
Then I carefully got on the hospital bed. I was scared because I have never been a patient in the hospital let alone in the labor and delivery room.
The nurse strapped the equipment on me to start the external monitoring. It was 2 special belts with a very high tech speaker/heart monitor thing (I don't know what it was called so for now I'll just call it the amazing sound machine). That thing could pick up everything. I could hear the kicks, all the movements and the changes in the heart beat and me laughing. (Yep, I actually laughed during this scary event.... I'll explain more on that later)
Also, the screen that read everything had the heart rate and some other numbers that really scared me. I didn't know what everything meant and so when I saw ECZ's heart rate go all over the place and then I felt him kick me almost like he was angry and wanted out, I cried. Then the nice nurse came in and explained that ECZ is fine and that what I thought was an abnormal heart beat turns out to to be fine. That means that he is regulating his heart beat. Kind of like when you and I run around and our heart beat goes up. He is developing and his brain is healthy. It's funny how I get scared when I don't understand things.

The screen also printed out all the activity that was going on and the nurse was able to watch it from the desk/office at the nurses station. After about an hour, I had a pretty big contraction which was quite painful and she came in an said that she was going to give me a shot to stop the contractions. She explained that I would feel chilled and shaky. It was amazing because I felt that right away and it did help the contractions.

Like I mentioned earlier.......when I laughed it was because of David and his great sense of humor. Anyway, something he said caught my funny bone and then I kept laughing because the monitor was making this funny sound and it sounded like it was laughing too.

When the nurse let me go home about 3 hours later, she gave me strict doctors orders to be on pelvic rest. Which means moderate bed rest for the rest of the weekend. So no walking around, basically I have to just rest and not do anything.
If I have any abnormal symptoms like I experienced earlier, then I need to return to the hospital again.
Also, no house work and especially no laundry because we have stairs and it's too heavy of a load for me to carry.

Well as it turns out, he didn't come.... not yet anyway. But I should get my bags packed so I'll be good and ready. I kind of felt like today's event was a little preview of what the real thing will be like. Those of you who have given birth are probably thinking "HA! You've got another thing coming woman". I probably do. I'll just have to be surprised.

After today, I felt much more amazed of how God our creator created us. (I was amazed before but now that I'm pregnant and I have been able to see what the baby looks like on the ultrasound......I'm just in awe of it all.)
He knows what he's doing. He's an incredible God!