0 Update from the test and the feared results Gestational Diabetes

I came out of the test on Monday pretty hopeful that I would have great results on Wednesday and I would be ready to tackle the rest of this pregnancy. Not such luck would be had by me. I received the phone call from the doctor in the middle of a meeting but was able to grab it and run out of the conference room. The nurse was the bearer of bad news but she was very informative and helped me get into a gestational diabetes class the next day. I didnt take the news well, but I also didnt cry like a giant baby like I thought I would. So many things make me very emotional these days so it helps to not freak out over bad news once in a while. I called Mark, my parents and quickly started reading a million articles online about GD. Wow, I have a lot to learn.
The class was yesterday and was roughly 2.5 hours. I wasn't sure if it was just for gestational patients, and luckily it was. I dont think it would have been very helpful to have other diabetic patients in the class, but you never know sometimes. I was one of 4 students taking the class and I was pretty nervous about learning the ins and outs. I filled out a million pieces of paper and prepared to take good notes. I can tell you after 2.5 hours of class, I still have a lot to figure out.
I know it is all temporary, but since its not just about me, it makes it way more stressful than just watching my sugar levels. I am scared of being induced early, having a c-section or having a child with a higher risk of having diabetes. I am sure you will hear all about it in the next 10 weeks as I prepare for baby lee to arrive.

0 Valentines day and a visit to the doctor.

So failing the one hour glucose test isnt what I had in mind when I took the test a week ago. I was able to choke down the gross orange beverage and was ready to kick that test in the butt. I guess I wouldn't be so lucky with a failure phone call two days later and instructions to come in first thing for the three hour test. I was devastated. I was sure that I would pass as I have been doing VERY well on my weight and watching what I eat. I was also informed that I was anemic and needed iron pills but that was assumed since red meat isnt what I prefer right now being pregnant. I gathered all my instructions and prepared for the three hour first thing on Valentine's day.
I was instructed to fast for 12 hours so after an early dinner last night of steak, roasted potatoes and carrots with a glass of milk I was ready for a long night without food and drink. I wasnt loving the idea of being without but I was able to hold on. There is something about someone telling you that you cant have something that makes you want it more.
I arrived at the doctors office earlier than scheduled hoping to get started. We started a few minutes early with a first blood draw and then the dreaded drink of the lemon-lime variety. I choked it down in the three minute limit and prepared to get comfortable for the next hour wait. I was placed on the same floor as peds, so I was able to google over the babies and little kids that were coming in all dressed up for Valentines day. I nestled in with a book and started to drink plenty of water to rehydrate. (side note, when they said I couldnt have anything to drink, they should have said only water was an option for drinking - even more so with my veins). I made it through all of the pricks, hoping that I wouldnt get sick or feel sick from my blood sugar going all over the place and my stomach growling. It wasnt until the final prick that I was done and had to keep going with my un-pleasant day.
When you get to the 4th prick, you are done. Physically and mentally you are really ready for it to be over. You have listened to the 3 hours of patients that are in the doctors offices for well visits to the flu praying that you dont catch a thing. Thank the Lord I was sitting in the same seat the entire time and I packed some antibacterial hand wash for myself. I was prepared. When they called me in for the last time I was ready to check out. I thanked the lab tech as I walked in for being gentle and I started to sit down for the last prick. As she finished and pulled out the needle, I knew something was wrong.
Typically when I get blood drawn, my veins dont cooperate. If they do get blood out of them, they close up VERY quick after. Today was a little different. I have two veins that are usable for these types of draws. If you can get one on each side to cooperate (like we did today) it is a miracle. When the lab nurse pulled out the needle I noticed quite a bit more blood than normal coming out of my arm. I put pressure on it while she grabbed a bandaid and we prepared to switch gauze for the closure. As we switched WAY more blood was coming out of my arm than it should have been. Seeing the nurses face made me a little freaked out. She started asking me questions about aspirin and medications and I knew that it wasn't supposed to bleed like that. After holding my arm for a few minutes the bleeding just didn't stop. We nicked a vein. I was alright with it at first but I will admit my arm hurt. They instructed me to eat immediately and make sure that I rested the rest of the afternoon. That just wasn't in my schedule. I haven't been in the office more than 2 days in the last two weeks and I needed to get into the office and get ready for the week.
I finally did make it to the office after a trip to Verizon to get a new phone case, a stop at PotBelly for a sandwich and a 30 minute search for my badge. I might have called Mark crying like a baby since I couldnt find anything I needed and even though he was far away he was still able to cheer me up (as well as he convinced me to go to work for a surprise.) My day was much better after I went to work to see the flowers. Mark did a great job with the flowers and Paige was a wonderful date for dinner at the Rusty Bucket. Even though it was a bad start for the day, it was a good ending. Here are some pics of the day..

Flowers from Mark at the office

Arms after the day of blood draws.

Other Arm after vein issues

Shot from above as I type... belly getting bigger

My dates for the evening

0 Week 27 - update and how we are doing

So I went to the doctor last week and didnt write about it but since I have another appointment tomorrow I figured I would write a recap for this doctor. I saw Dr. Lewis this time and what can I say- she is awesome just like the rest of the practice. I am really glad that I have the doctors that I do. I am always able to get an appointment when I need one, they are always kind and they take care of me (baby Lee and Mark) very well. The last appointment I had with Dr. Lewis was diverted to the midwife since she was out on a delivery, but I finally got to meet her and was glad I did. I can feel completely comfortable with every doctor in the practice and I cant usually say that when it comes to doctors.
The appointment was pretty routine. I am a little off my appointments with rescheduling so I didnt have my glucose testing this appointment but they are starting my two week appointments now so I can get caught up. I cant believe I am already at the two week appointment time. I did get a little talking to when I had too much sugar in my urine, however, I guess that will happen when you eat your breakfast of oatmeal (full sugar since I was out of my low sugar variety). I am hoping that I pass the glucose test and baby Lee is fine, but I am not too concerned.
Week 27-
Total weight gain: Guess was right at 6lbs. I am counting that as a win.

How big is baby?: eggplant or cauliflower... I dont see how these are similar however they are where I am.

Maternity clothes?: of course... going strong with a good stock
Stretch marks? none currently- keeping fingers crossed.
Symptoms? well sleep is come and go... swelling happens when you fly and walk too much and attempting to get sleep in a hotel isnt as easy when you are trying to keep off your back.
Sleep?frequent bathroom trips wake everyone up but I guess that is better than not sleeping.
Best moment this week?: coming home from a long business trip.
Movement?: finally can see some external movement. Hilarious and very welcome.
Food cravings? anything that involves veggies... I still love me some veggies.
Labor signs?: nope.
Belly button in or out?: still in but wow does it hurt when it stretches.
Gender? team green
What I miss? cute clothes are still it and a good hard workout. I feel so bad that I cant break an awesome sweat. I am doing well to keep moving.
What I am looking forward to: last business trip is this week. Orlando for 4 days and then Mark heads to London. Looking forward to it being over, however, I do not want Mark to leave.
Milestone: Welcome to the Third Trimester~

0 The weeks keep rolling on! We are finally in the third Trimester!

The weeks keep on rolling by and we are finally in our third trimester. Its very exciting and yet scary at the same time. I am feeling consistent movement now, and usually when Mark is around he can feel it as well. Its definitely a lot higher movement than it was before but the jabs while I am sitting or driving still come down low. I don't think baby Lee likes sitting in a car at all. It has been a whirlwind of the last two weeks so I figured it needed its own post.
Traveling for work while pregnant isnt always ideal. My job requires me to travel when necessary and with the time winding down for me to be able to travel, I decided to get my last trips scheduled as quickly as possible. I had two trips that had to be made out west so those were scheduled first. The first stop was Phoenix, Arizona. The flight was fairly easy and the weather was wonderful. I arrived and headed to a large amount of store visits before settling in my hotel. I stayed in a Spring Hill Suites and it was very nice. The location was perfect (right next to the Arizona Cardinals stadium) and there was plenty to eat close. That first night I made my way to Gordon Biersch. I know its a chain, but it seemed to hit the spot and it was less than a mile from my hotel. After eating a wonderful meal and heading back to the hotel I was finally able to relax. Baby Lee must have loved the food, because it was moving all over the place at night.
The next day I had plenty more to see and do while in Phoenix and a flight to catch to LA that night so it was keeping me very busy that day. The temperatures hit about 75 degrees and I was officially over being in the heat. I didnt pack appropriately so I was stuck in tights, dress shoes and a skirt for 10 hours and luckily I was able to grab some jeans out of my bag prior to getting on the plane. I was happy that we had a short flight and all I wanted to do was get settled in LA.
After the short flight to LA and dinner I was able to finally check into the hotel. Dinner was quick since I wasnt staying in the nicest area of town. The next morning was an early morning drive to Compton and then heading to San Diego getting a look at some equipment. After a long 2.5 hour drive one way, I was able to enjoy looking at the ocean and get work done at the same time.Another early bedtime and I was heading to Nashville- Paige was turning 30 and I was ready to see some friends.
After delays at the airport I was able to enjoy my weekend. It definitely isn't as fun to enjoy the bar life in Nashville when you aren't drinking, but it was still a good time had by all. A new pair of boots were welcomed into the family of my shoes and I was able to relax and enjoy time with the girls!
Great weekend and very busy... I will write on my trip to Houston the same time soon... it needs its own post for sure! Glad to be at week 28 and I will update on how I am feeling in another post.

0 Working on the baby room- without the actual room

I am starting to be a little stressed about the baby room. I have been looking at bedding, sheets, rockers, curtains all without knowing what the baby room will actually be. Talk about stressful! I am sure that we will get the big stuff taken care of eventually, however, I still can stress over it. Hopefully I can organize my thoughts here so when it comes to the time to actually move into a house and decorate we will be ready.

The crib has been purchased and is in a light honey oak to make it more timeless. I loved the look of dark baby room furniture, however, I am worried it looks more dated for our taste. White had the same feeling to me- would be great for a baby room if we knew we were having a girl, but I am more into the natural wood looks. Here is the crib we selected again: Pottery Barn's Kendall crib

We plan to use the dresser that I had when I was a kid - I am REALLY excited about this. We are purchasing new knobs from Antropoligie to give this an antique but updated look. Its slightly darker than the crib, but still an oak finish to keep the lighter wood going in the room. Here are a few option
 

and the last piece of furniture is the changing table. Grandpa Tom (as he is very excited about being) is making the changing table. We know its not a necessity to have one, but we are hoping to use it as some storage for the baby toys as well. We plan to anchor it to the wall so that when the little one actually starts pulling up on stuff, we dont have to worry about things falling on its head. Here is the design for the changing table:

We plan to add baskets to the bottom of the changer and store toys and extra items there.

Decor- we have part of it covered but a long way to go. So far, we purchased the alphabet cards and map that we showed in an earlier post but again here:

 Recently we purchased a few more cards to add in with the alphabet letters. I am really excited about the colors on these cards and plan on using these colors throughout the room.

We are skipping bedding since you cant use most of the pieces, so we are planning on a few items to keep with the color scheme. The crib bumper is a breathable bumper which is more of a mesh bumper and keeps their little hands and feet from slipping through the rails. We are selecting a neutral color of white or tan to keep it usable for more than one kid and for more than one specific color.  The sheets are another item to add in color and texture. Here are a few of our selections:

As I start to think of paint and trim ideas, I will post more. We have 100 days until baby Lee (hopefully) makes its presence. Hopefully the house hunting will continue soon and we will be ready to move in before the baby is here!

 

0 Belly Progress and an update -

I am terrible at posting and need to get on it- not too much time left. I have to find the first pictures since the only pictures I am finding right now are ones that start in November- atleast its every two weeks at this point so I am consistent. Here is the bump progress:

So These range from 11/1 until yesterday. You can tell good progress until 12/15 and then it branches off. I need to get some better pics so that it is more consistent, but I definitely look pregnant now. I am 25 weeks so this is my update for 25 weeks:

Total weight gain: Monday will tell the official but I think its around 6lbs. I am counting that as a win.

How big is baby?: we are measuring the size of a rutabaga from Babycenter, this week on the Bump we are the size of a eggplant.

Maternity clothes?: Found bras- SCORE. Need short sleeve items badly, nothing is long enough for the bump and my chest.
Stretch marks? still feel like I should own stock in Palmers cocoa butter that is still keeping these away.
Symptoms? sleep is getting better as the round ligament pain starts to go away. Some days I wonder what in the heck is going on in there.
Sleep? still sleeping so that is a win. Tired more often than I thought I would be.
Best moment this week?: my dad called this morning and asked how his grandbaby was doing... not going to lie it made me cry.
Movement?: LOTS - I feel like a trampoline some days. Last night I felt hiccups for the first time. Hilarious.
Food cravings? spinach is the food of the week. I guess chalk it up to being healthy.
Labor signs?: keep them away.
Belly button in or out?: still in - stretching but getting bigger.
Gender? team green
What I miss? still missing cute clothes. I am disappointed with Maternity fashion right now- the economy has caused so many places to cut back and shopping online isnt for me this time.
What I am looking forward to: I am going to Cali next week so that should be fun pregnant.
Milestone: 15 weeks and counting... its going fast!

0 Baby Gear and a few decisions

Registering for baby stuff is definitely not the same as picking out wine glasses for your wedding. So much more thought has to go into things that are going to be protecting a human life.  I knew that I would be overwhelmed registering for gifts if I went in there blind, so I took some suggestions from friends and what they used as well as read a TON about every category that we needed to purchase. Mark and I registered at BabiesRUS which is somewhat the only option around here for baby registry. I think keeping it simple is the key and having more than one is too much for me right now.

We registered on a Monday night when I was off work. I think we were actually in the store about an hour and a half and we did get most of the work complete. I did find a lot of toys that were added by the excited father, however, if that is what he wants to add, more power to him. Below are some of the items that we decided to add to the registry and we cant wait to use all of the items. We had not planned on doing baby bedding, but did find something that we liked. We plan to use the color scheme but arent 100% positive we want all the baby bedding. Time will tell what we do about bedding, but it does take us down a path of organization.

For the nursery we picked the following items:

The baby bedding- Lambs & Ivy Doodle Doo from BabiesRUs.

The recliner/rocker - I could seriously sleep in this thing. Its a micro suede, but we plan to put some covers on the arms to help protect it from baby slobber.









Some simple gear:

Our bouncy seat- I can recall uncle Kenny loving his bouncy seat when he was a baby. We totally understand that the baby might never want to use this, but knowing I can take it into the bathroom while I am bathing or showering is a nice touch.

The swing- again something some kids love or hate.. we hope love is in the air for a swing. This is the Cradle n Swing Luv U Zoo- cute music not too obnoxious and runs on battery and by ac power.

The jumper- our friends use this and their little one loves it. I hope our little one loves it too.









That is just a rundown of a few items that we have selected. I will review some of the other items in another post. I am excited for our first shower which is in about 6 weeks. We have such generous friends and family members even willing to throw us a shower. We cannot wait to start decorating our little persons room! Wish us luck as we continue to look for a new home!