Our appt today - update

We had another ultrasound today to have something to compare our levels to from Wednesday. We measured a 10 on Wednesday, and today we measured an 11. While that's an improvement, it wasn't exceptional news. Dr. White feels confident enough to let me stay as-is and not put me on bedrest, but he has requested weekly ultrasound appointments to keep an eye on the levels of amniotic fluid.

I got to clarify a little bit about why this is important and why low amniotic fluid is risky. He said in my case, since I don't fall into any of the typical categories of symptoms of having this, that it could be 1 of 2 things. Either this is just how Harper is carrying - that what's considered "low" for other babies, is just normal for her. OR, that it's a result of my hypertension. He was clear to say that though I have learned to self-monitor my hypertension and have kept it at a good level at all my appointments, that I still have it. And hypertension can restrict the blood vessels that feed and nourish the placenta, making it harder for Harper to get what she needs as quick as she needs it. He compared it to a really slow gas pump - eventually you'll get the gas you need, but you'll wait a while for it to fill up your tank. And with growing babies inside mommy's tummy, this is not a good thing.

SOOOO... he's recommended lots of rest as often as I can get it. I think I can handle that. :) Well.. MAYBE I can handle that. I have a hard time sitting down sometimes. But I'm really going to try to be better about it. He reminded me that any wasted energy is energy the placenta could be using to help feed and grow Harper. So that's all the reason I need. And for now, we'll just monitor it and see how things go!!

I have been in a bit of a bigger rush to get things ready for work, though. Now faced with the possibility that I MIGHT have her early, I'm definitely getting things ready for me not to be there!! Lots of instructions to write, lots of training here and there... But I'm very excited!

Shower is tomorrow, so I'll be posting pics soon.

'til next time..

34 Week Belly Pic

Wow. In pictures I can really tell how big the belly is getting!

Daddy got a PROMOTION!!!

Yes! Jon is now officially a Supervisor again!!!

We are SO proud of the wonderful job he did on his Testing Day and all the hard work he put in to preparing for it. It really wore him out, especially trying to switch from nights to days in less than a day, AND working as much as he could on getting himself ready. But he came through like a champ and we are so thrilled!

There were 2 other candidates also interviewing, and they were each tested in 3 areas. Jon ended up coming in FIRST place in all 3!!!

Jon was actually a Supervisor when he left to come live closer to me in Vegas, so needless to say, we were thrilled when the opportunity came up for him to test/interview for it again. WOOOHOOOO!!!!

Congratulations DADDY!!!

34 Week Update

34 weeks! (tomorrow)

We had our 34 week appointment today and it came back with some mixed results. Blood pressure was good - 110/68 - the lowest ever! But I gained 4 pounds since my last appt.. .yikes! Chalking that up to a really rough week last week and easy access to Easter candy.

Today we had our third trimester ultrasound and got to see little Harper! This morning I made sure to drink a caffeine-filled Diet Coke, ate some breakfast and drank some orange juice to be SURE that she was awake and active to put on a show. Do you think she cooperated??? Just like every other time, nope! Harper was completely asleep the entire time. Just laying back, enjoying a little nap while we looked at her beautiful face. Today wasn't just for spying, though. The tech had to take measurements of her head, stomach and thigh - all of which ranked in the normal range. She also estimated her weight to be at 4.3 pounds, which the Doctor said was just a hair over normal (4 pounds). The tech also had to actually measure her breathing and heart rate. She also needed to see her hands and feet move, which obviously being totally conked out, Harper wasn't doing. So she used the vibrating stimulator on my tummy to sort of wake her up. It worked, and she got what she needed so Harper could go back to dreamland.

The only alarming part of the ultrasound was finding out that I have low amniotic fluid. Well, technically what the Doctor said is that it's on the "low side of normal", so while it's not cause for alarm YET, it does need to be monitored to make sure nothing is leaking and that everything is progressing along as it should be. He doesn't want us to worry, but he does want to see us again in 2 days to see what the fluids are measuring at then. If they're the same level or higher, then he'll send us on our way. If they happen to be any lower, then we need to talk about the next steps, which could involve an early delivery eventually. But Jon and I are going with the assumption that everything is fine until we hear otherwise. No sense in getting worked up over nothing. I'll be sure to update on Friday once we know something.

Other than that - nothing new to report. I did talk to him about the new stiffness in my hands, which, as expected, is just a side effect of swelling in pregnancy. He compared it to arthritis and said it won't get better until after delivery. Fluid is gathering in my joints, which squeezes the tendons and makes it harder to move. I have to really be careful at work since carpal tunnel syndrome is common in pregnancy, so I make sure to stretch all the time when I'm at my computer. It's annoying and uncomfortable, and other than finding it hard to grip most things, I suppose I can live with this for another 6 weeks! Although Jon is sure to remind me that swelling gets worse as pregnancy gets further along.... thanks for that, Honey!!! I've lived with numb fingertips and an entire numb left thigh for this long - not to mention my hands falling asleep at night or when I'm on the phone too long. :) So this just seems like another thing to chalk up to "deal with it".

Here's another ultrasound picture of little Harper Belle. You'll probably think I'm crazy, but I swear she's got Jon's mouth! I have never been a believer in being able to tell by an ultrasound who a baby looks like... EVER. But this mouth just looks so unmistakably like her daddy's, I love it!!!

Week 33

Week 33 is an interesting shift into another side of pregnancy. One that I don't anticipate there being a turnaround point. 7 weeks left and I'm realizing that this is probably the long haul until she gets here. Harper is now EVERYWHERE all the time. And while I still absolutely LOVE feeling her move, her movement now forces me to readjust every time.

Just last night Jon asked me "why is it still weird everytime you feel her move?" I don't really know the right answer, except that she's constantly getting bigger, so the movementes feel different all the time. I still feel like there's an alien in there, but the alien is getting bigger and impacting me more and more. I guess it's kind of getting me ready for when she's here, huh? My actions are starting to be influenced by what she's doing, and soon EVERYTHING I do will revolve around her.

Interesting.

Next Saturday is the baby shower and I'm really looking forward to it. Jane's put in a lot of work to do it, and I'm so grateful for all that she's done to make it happen. I still don't know that many people here, but there will be a lot of the Hanes side of the family there, a few friends, and some people I've never met but have known Jon all of his life and are excited to share in the celebration of Harper. So excited!

New Pics! And 32 week update

Finally virus-free!!!

Here's my 30 week picture.

... and Jon's.

And my 32 week picture. Finally growing!

The appt went well this week, though I didn't feel too great that day. We've had some whacky weather here lately, and I think it was just taking its toll on me.

It was a quick appointment, so here's the rundown: Blood pressure was 120/70 - still great. I gained 1 more pound, which brings me to 11 total. He didn't measure my belly this week, so I have no update there. I do have some pretty significant swelling, and it gets worse throughout the day. I mentioned this to him, but knowing full well there is nothing that can really cure it except for actually having the baby. He suggested laying on my side as often as possible and taking warm baths. Both of these offer just temporary relief, but that's fine with me. We've got 2 more weeks until our next appointment and ultrasound where we will get to see little Harper again!

Rough Pregnancy Day

So I really haven't had any of these yet... But today.... YUCK.

I should have known I was in trouble first thing this morning when Baby Girl Harper felt like she was getting a running start to the left side of my stomach, then jutting out, bouncing back, and doing it all over again. Shortly after I got to work, she decided my ribs were a great spot, and proceeded to play soccer in there. Then she would kick off my ribs and bounce her head off my bladder. THEN, she decided it was a good time to stretch, and would proceed to jab my ribs and smash my bladder, both at the same time!!!

I normally really like it when she's kicking and moving around. It's alien-like, but it's amazing. Today, however, she didn't quit until sometime shortly after NOON. It was a long time. oy.

Around the time she finally went to sleep, I noticed my ankles/feet swelling up like balloons. I normally try not to pay attention to this since there's not much I can do at work except put my feet up on the upside down mail baskets I have stashed under there. But today I wore different shoes. Not bad shoes, mind you. They're completely comfortable under normal circumstances. But today the straps on the sandals just made for a fancy design on my huge feet. Looks like I'll be the fashion trendsetter of the office as usual and will be wearing my Crocs from here on out. I've only got the one pair still, so this weekend I think I'll go get another color to spice up my wardrobe. They're the only shoes roomy enough to allow for that extra swellage.

again... oy.

I came home and laid down on the couch with my feet up as I watched Ellen on my DVR. After about an hour they were down about half their size. I've still got 2 months to go....

Registry Crisis (in my own mind)

**Disclaimer at the bottom of this post**

So it turns out that Target's new return policy even extends to registries. At the beginning of this year, Target started enforcing a new rule that you must provide either a receipt or gift receipt in order to return/exchange something. If you did not, you were only allowed to return/exchange 2 items per calendar year. After that, you're out of luck.

I thought surely this wouldn't apply to purchases made from a registry. If you've registered for it, that's your proof that it was purchased from there, right? Wrong. No longer. Sooooo..... as a result, I've removed most of everything that was on my Target registry and put it on my Babies R Us registry. Babies R Us has a really great return policy and I've just been impressed overall with their customer service in person.

I used to be one of those people who dreaded going into Babies R Us because it was so out of my realm of reality. HOWEVER, I've come over to the dark side/and or seen the light (whichever way you prefer to look at it) and now I love it. They have really competitive prices on MOST things and such a wide variety of brands and options. PLUS, like I mentioned, they have great customer service and all the gear and stuff is right there for you to test out. They're also great about sending out coupons all the time, which of course everyone loves!

I used to be a die hard Target shopper and would go there for everything. I even hang on to most of my reciepts and have never had a problem with their return policy. But I was really disappointed with the lack of access to things there, and with it being such a big store, their focus was definitely not on baby stuff. Don't get me wrong - I've had my frustrations with Babies R Us as well, especially with their items being out of stock online. But they assure me they do get frequent stock that arrives all the time, so not to fret.

Okay, I feel better. I've left a few things on Target that really were better priced or just not available at Babies R Us. I'm not a complete Target-hater. Trust me, I'd still much rather step foot into Target than Walmart ANY day. But for this purpose, I'm definitely much more of a Babies R Us lover now. :)




DISCLAIMER: Please do not read this post as an obvious advertisement for gifts that I'm anticipating being purchased for us, as that is not its intent. I'm merely a pregnant woman who has a lot of things on her mind, and I find that blogging about them really helps. ALSO, I don't plan on returning/exchanging ANY of my gifts that DO happen to be purchased for us. However, in the event that there are duplicates or any other issues, it's nice to know that it wouldn't be a hassle to return. Again, I'm a pregnant woman who is looking for ways to make things in her life just a bit easier and less stressful these days.

Thanks for listening. I am done now.

30 Week Update

Last week was our 30 week checkup and everything is still looking great! My blood pressure was 120/70 - woo hoo!! I got the results back from my glucose test and my number was 61. I had no idea what this meant, so I asked the dr if that was good. He said "yes, especially since we consider 'normal' to be between 70-90. So if you had 61 AFTER drinking that drink, then I think you're just fine". Weird! But whatever...

I've gained exactly 10 pounds and have only slight swelling. Well, at least in the morning it's only slight... At the end of the day with certain shoes it's scary! My belly measured 31 1/2, so things are definitely leveling off. My next appt is at 32 weeks - time is definitely flying by.

I can definitely tell Harper is growing like a weed in there. Just after I had told a few people that I hadn't felt her in my ribs at all - but that was probably just because I'm long waisted and had a bit of extra room for her in there... the next day her feet are playing soccer up in there!!! For the last week I've had on and off indigestion and reflux because she's decided that's one of her new favorite things to do.

She's still predominantly on my left side, although she does make her way to the middle a lot more often and occasionally over to the right. I have a lot of fun watching my belly jump and shift around, and Jon's even gotten to see that a few times which freaks him out.

Other than a few nights here and there of sleeplessness, I really don't have much to complain about. Normal stretching of ligaments and soreness here and there but doing fine otherwise.

It's getting down to the wire!!!

I'm very indecisive

We've (I've) decided on a new bedding YET AGAIN for Harper's room. I REALLY love this one, and Jon says he does too. I know he wasn't too keen on the last one, so I really believe him this time. ;)

It's ladybugs and dragonflies!!!


For some reason I've been really drawn to ladybugs for Harper. I don't know why, and I know that sounds stupid saying it. But Jon thinks they're great too, so that's all that matters, right? He even picked out a onesie from Old Navy for Harper that says "Pretty Little Lady" and it has a ladybug on it. Sooo cute! And if you know me, you know I've always loved dragonflies. So it's perfect!!

These are super cute appliques that I've registered for that you can use in all sorts of ways. It also comes with an entire line of accessories and I'm in love with EVERYTHING!!!

30 week pics!!

Are coming...

My computer has a virus and it makes me very sad. :( I'll get them uploaded just as soon as I can.