• 27 week OB appt.

    by  • May 16, 2012 • 1 Comment

    Crazy day! Between getting kids ready and off to school, I had to drink my oh-so-yummy glucose drink before heading off to the doc’s. I usually choose the orange drink but branched out this time with fruit punch. I probably should have stuck with the orange. I was not feeling so hot after I finished drinking it!

    It was a pretty routine appointment today, but I had hoped to talk to Dr. Seale a little bit more about what a VBAC delivery at the hospital I have to deliver at will look like. Based on the reading I’ve done and the people I’ve talked to, it sounds like the requirements vary quite a bit from hospital to hospital and I want to be prepared to argue in favor of having as few interventions as possible. We’ve also decided to hire a doula this time around to help increase my chances of having a successful, natural VBAC, so I wanted to discuss that with him and get a feel for whether he’ll be on board with that. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to do either of those things, as we were running against the clock to have my blood drawn an hour after finishing the glucose. He and his family are leaving on vacation as soon as school gets out, meaning my next appointment will just be with the nurse practioner, so I’ll be 32 weeks when I see him again. Since I don’t have any plans to deliver before, or even remotely after, that point, I think we’ll be OK.

    So, after a quick peek at Quincy, it was off to get my blood drawn and have a Tdap booster (which is recommended for anyone who hasn’t had one that will be spending time around the baby when she arrives….whooping cough has been going around with alarming frequency in our area, and it can be fatal in newborns). They also gave me paperwork to have my Rhogam shot, which is apparently going to be quite the process. I used to be able to just get it right there in the office, but they are no longer allowed to dispense the shot, so I have to check into the hospital as an outpatient, have a full blood work-up done, and then get the shot from a labor and delivery nurse. And we wonder why healthcare costs are so outrageous. There goes 2+ hours of my day tomorrow….hours that I don’t really have time to give up, but what are you going to do?

    I go back in 3 weeks (nurse practioner) and then the two week appointment start.  CRAZY!

    That about sums it up for today. Not very exciting, and yet full of more than I had anticipated. As of today, I have a sore right butt cheek (progesterone), a sore right arm (blood draw), and a sore right shoulder (Tdap)….after tomorrow, I’ll add a sore left arm (another blood draw) and a sore left butt cheek (Rhogam) into the mix. Aren’t you jealous?

    Weight: 147 lbs.

    MFM Appointment

    by  • May 15, 2012 • 4 Comments

    Hard to believe that it’s been 6 weeks since I last saw the perinatologist….as slow as it seems some days, I guess aspects of this pregnancy are going by quickly.

    We had another level II ultrasound last Friday, a cervical check, and met with Dr. Silver.  Quincy was really active and super cute!  She kept opening her mouth and putting all her fingers inside.  We got lots of fun pictures.  She’s measuring a bit ahead…about 5 days…and it was estimated that she weighs 2 lbs. 4 oz., give or take 5 oz.  Same size Zoey was when she was born at 28 weeks.

    Then we did a transvaginal ultrasound to measure my cervix.  I was pretty nervous about this part.  My contractions, while pretty spaced out, have also been fairly regular for the last few weeks, so I was worried that they might be causing my cervix to thin.  When I saw the first measurement pop up on the screen at 3.8 cm, I breathed a sigh of relief.  All is well in that department!

    Then we had to do another abdominal ultrasound, just to make sure that the placenta isn’t over my c-section scar.  They didn’t say that it’s not, but they didn’t say that it is, so I’m assuming that it’s not.  If it were, that would prevent me from attempting a VBAC (more on that later).

    Dr. Silver was pleased with the results of the ultrasounds.  He said either the progesterone shots are doing their job, or we’re just lucky this time, but either way we’ll take it.  As far as my contractions go, he said not to focus on having any particular number, just to keep track of whether or not the frequency increases.  I go back in 6 more weeks for another check and then he’ll set me free!

    Yesterday marks the start of the 3rd trimester!  Tomorrow is a regular OB appointment.  The fun one with the glucose test.  And then back again on Thursday for a rhogam shot.  My poor tushy is getting awfully tired of getting poked so much!  11 weeks of progesterone shots down, 9 more to go!  5 more weeks until we start non-stress tests (not sure how frequent those will be….probably every 2 weeks at first).  We’re on the downhill stretch!

    23/24 week appointment

    by  • April 19, 2012 • 0 Comments

    I wasn’t due to have another appointment until next week, but I’m heading out this afternoon for a week in Washington D.C. and I wanted to see the doc before I left, just for peace of mind.  All continues to go well.  This was a pretty uneventful appointment….a quick peek on the ultrasound and instructions for the glucose test at my next appointment.  My doctor wanted me to take a copy of my records on my trip, saying “if you take an umbrella, it won’t rain” (ironic, because there is rain in the forecast while we’re there).  I think seeing medical records is fascinating….so many more details than you’re aware of.  I had a good chuckle when I saw the first page, which included my “problem list”….which was numbered 1-12.  Aside from that, I was happy to see that my teeth are of normal dentation and my extremities are not clubbed.  Up four pounds this time around, a variance from my normal 5….but I did go in a week early.

    3 weeks until my next maternal-fetal appointment and 4 weeks until my next OB appointment (glucose test and rhogam shot).

    Current weight: 143 lbs.

    20 week appt. and the “Big Ultrasound”

    by  • March 30, 2012 • 1 Comment

    I had my 20 week OB appt. on Wednesday.  It was a quick in and out….nothing much to report other than I’m up another 5 lbs.  Ack!  Given that the big weight gain weeks are yet to come, I might be in trouble.  This time around, I’m blaming it on the Girl Scouts and their blasted cookies!

    I’m a lucky sufferer of a condition called Symphisis Pubis Dysfunction during pregnancy.  Basically, my body produces the too much of the hormone relaxin too soon, which causes the ligaments that hold my pelvic bones together to loosen up, which causes those bones to become unstable.  In short, it means that I’m in pain in varying degrees all day, every day.  Not much fun.  At my appointment on Wednesday, my doctor said it will probably be even worse with just one baby than it was with two, which surprised (and disheartened) me.  He said one baby will have more room and freedom to move around and apply pressure to different areas of my pelvis.  He suggested trying a pregnancy support belt to see if it would relieve some of the pressure.  I did some research and ordered one that afternoon.  It came today so I haven’t worn it for very long yet to know if it will help, but it has a money-back guarentee, so I figure it’s worth a shot.

    Current weight: 139 lbs.

    Now for the in-depth stuff.

    We got up bright and early today to head down to the U for my level II ultrasound.  I’m soooo glad I didn’t decide to go with a regular OB down there….I would NOT want to make that drive on a regular basis!  The ultrasound went well, except for the fact that I was tense the entire time.  The tech started by looking at Quincy’s head and after a few seconds said “I’m going to have to come back to her head for a better look in a minute”.  She then says “Have you had any prenatal testing done?”.  Of course, the first thought that goes through my mind after hearing those two comments back-to-back is that there is something wrong, and I had a hard time getting rid of the nerves after that.  In spite of my nerves, Quincy was cute as ever and wiggled around the entire time!  She’s weighing about 12 oz. now.

    Once the ultrasound was done (the tech was very nice and made copies for each of the kids of some of the pictures), we went across the hall to the Maternal-Fetal Medicine clinic.  When the doc came in, he came across as pretty clueless. “You’re here for a consult?  Are you pregnant?”.  Ummm…..yeah. Have you looked at my chart?  He then proceeded to re-ask every question on the medical history I had already filled out and that he had sitting right in front of him.  Then he says “Did you have an ultrasound here today?  I’m going to need to go track down those results” and he leaves.  Joseph was peeved.  Knowing how much these appointments cost, he was REALLY irrirated that the doctor didn’t seem to have any idea why we were even there.  After a few minutes, the doctor returned, and the rest of the appointment went very well.  We had a very thorough discussion about my pregnancy history (which he referred to as ”horrible”) and then discussed how we were going to get this pregnancy to full-term.  Since none of the complications in my previous pregnancies seem to be related, he said I’ve just been lucky enough to be hit by lightening 3 times.

    As far as odds for this pregnancy go, he said that having had a stillbirth, which typically affects 1 in every 150-200 pregnancies, my odds are more like 1 in 20 (NOT comforting)….but, that since I’ve had three live births since then, he feels comfortable putting me in the 1 in 100 range.  Still not overly comforting, but better.  He said I have a 50% chance of another pre-term delivery….but with progesterone shots, he’d put me at a 30% chance.

    He said the biggest thing we can do to prevent pre-term labor is the progesterone shots, which I am already doing.  I had read one study that showed an increase risk of stillbirth while taking progesterone….he didn’t agree with that and feels that it’s perfectly safe and doesn’t put me at a higher risk.   He would like to monitor my placental function closely, as that is one of the few things that can be an indicator of a potential stillbirth, as well as do regular non-stress tests.

    On the pre-term labor end of things, I’m to be very pro-active in contacting my doctor for any increase in symptoms that are indicators of pre-term labor (back ache, cramping, contractions, etc.).  He would also like me back at 26 and 32 weeks for cervical length checks (it looked great today).  Most of the monitoring that he would like can be done with my regular OB.

    He agreed with Dr. Seale that I’m an excellent candidate for a VBAC and encouraged me to go that route (already planning on it) and he said he feels confident that we can get to at least 37 week this time.  We left feeling very good about the appointment and the plan of action from here on out and just pray that everything goes as we hope it will.

     

    Odds and Ends

    by  • March 18, 2012 • 2 Comments

    Ryan has been itching to feel the baby move.  Every couple of hours he asks “Is the baby awake?”.  Most of the time she isn’t, at least to the point that she’s kicking hard enough to feel on the outside.  But this weekend she has been really active and everybody was able to put their hand on my tummy and feel her little kicks.  It’s been so much fun to see the kids’ amazement and excitement over that….it’s something we’ve never experienced before, as Ryan was too young to care or understand when I was pregnant with the twins.  Emmy kisses my tummy multiple times a day and loves to talk to Quincy or sing her songs.

    Just Between Friends had their spring consignment sale over the weekend and I was so glad that we know it’s a girl so we could find some good deals.  I focused mostly only newborn, 0-3, and 3-6 months clothes, since the next sale will be in September or early October and we can get bigger sizes then.  The kids had fun picking out little sleepers, and I had fun knowing how cheap they all were.  We also found a swing for a really great price.  My neighbor and I went to the half-price sale Saturday morning where I filled one of those big, blue IKEA bags to the brim with clothes….and the grand total was only $46!  Most things were only $1, so that was fun.  gotta love a great deal!

    I found one preemie sleeper that I couldn’t pass up.  Hopefully we won’t have to use it, but I can’t help but stare at it in amazement, remembering that my babies were all drowning in preemie clothes even by the time they came home from the hospital.  It’s SO tiny, so it’s crazy to me that it could ever be big on a baby….and yet, I had three of them!

    The First & The Fifth

    by  • March 5, 2012 • 3 Comments

    This came in the mail over the weekend:

    It kind of gave me heart palpitations.  I don’t really mind shots that much….especially after my pregnancy with the twins, I got used to being constantly poked.  The difference now is that I can see how thick the serum is and how big the needles are.  I prefer not to be privvy to that kind of information.  I’m so grateful to have a very good friend who is a nurse….Joseph was very queasy over the idea of giving these to me every week, and I was very queasy over knowing the person holding the needle was queasy.  We went to my friend’s house last night to get the first of what will hopefully be about 20 weeks of progesterone shots.  I was nervous.  I was certain it was going to be painful.  I’m sure I was tense, which only makes it worse.  So imagine my surprise when it was over with barely a prick and a tiny burn.  Whew!  I think I can do this now!

    This same friend asked me today what Quincy means.  I tend to be one who picks a name I like first, and then find out what it means later, so I didn’t have an answer for her.  I took a minute to look it up this afternoon and thought that it was very fitting that, being the 5th child in our family, her name means “Fifth”.  And kind of neat that it was information that I learned on Zoey’s birthday, which happens to be the 5th.

    Pink!!

    by  • March 4, 2012 • 3 Comments

    Although we hadn’t told many people, we had an appointment ready to go on Friday to find out the gender at Fetal Fotos, just in case we couldn’t find out at our last doctor’s appointment.  It was immediately clear that we have another GIRL on the way!!

    I have to admit that I was a little surprised.  I haven’t had any strong feelings about what the gender would be, but my leanings were more toward it being a boy.  Joseph thought it would be a girl.  And the kids, of course, guessed their own gender.  I would have been perfectly happy either way, but I’m beyond thrilled that it’s a girl (in large part because the shopping is so much more fun!).  Emmy was so excited, but started to cry when Joseph said she’d have to share the attention with a sister.  I thought Owen would be the most upset, but he didn’t seem too phased by it, and was totally over it when we stopped at the mall and he got to help pick out a pink outfit…he’s quite the shopper.  Ryan took it the hardest and while he’s not sulking anymore, I’m not sure he’s really excited yet.

    We like to have a name ready to share when we reveal the gender, and I was starting to sweat a girl name.  Joseph already had a boy name picked out (Beckham, for those who are curious) and he told me I could pick whatever I wanted for a girl.  I had a bit of a list worked up, but none of them felt quite right.  I knew I wanted to incorporate my grandma’s name, Beth, in some way, but wasn’t sure if it would as part of the first or middle name.  Then one night we were looking at Google maps at all places Joseph served on his mission in Massachusetts and the name Quincy jumped out at me and I knew that was the name.  My mom works with a lady who has a little girl named Quincy, which I always thought was so cute, but when I paired that with the significance of Joseph’s mission, it all came together.  So, she’ll be named Quincy Beth.   Doesn’t she already have a cute little profile?

     

    16 wk appt.

    by  • February 29, 2012 • 4 Comments

    Just got home from my 16 week appointment.  Pretty uneventful.  The twins came with me this time and were excited to hear the baby’s heartbeat, but we got a surprise ultrasound instead!  The machine he used was an older one, so the picture wasn’t very crisp and clear and Owen was rather confused by what he saw.  I let him hold the picture we got and he kept turning it around and around trying to figure out what he was looking at.  The doctor attempted to get a peek at the gender, but the baby had its hand covering up the goods, so we left without any fun surprises to share.  Here’s our little alien head…..can you see now why Owen was so confused?

    I also got my prescription for the progesterone shots that I’ll get weekly from here until the end.  I can’t call the pharmacy until this afternoon, so I’m not entirely sure what that will all entail, other than to say that Joseph is very grateful that we have a couple of friends who are nurses that can take the job of administering the shots.

    I think I posted earlier about the insurance issue with the doctors that do the 20 week ultrasound….none of them at the hospital I’ll deliver at tak our insruance anymore.  That is proving to be a problem and I left without an appointment for that, but I was able to find two doctors on our insurance list that might be able to do it for us.  I’m still waiting for a call back from my doctor’s nurse to see what will happen there.  Once again (in spite of being grateful to at least have it), I HATE OUR INSURANCE!!

    Weight: 134 lbs. (yikes…up 5 lbs!)

    16 weeks!

    by  • February 28, 2012 • 3 Comments

    First off, I don’t know if it’s just my computer, but for some reason, these pictures are showing up huge…..but if you click on the post title, it will take you to a page where they are a much better size.

    It’s kind of weird to think that on the timeline of my last pregnancy, I’d be at the halfway point right now.  We took belly shots tonight and I think I actually look a bit smaller than I did in the 12 week picture….I guess all the bloat has finally gone.

    Owen and Emmy were funny….they had to take their turn as well.  This picture is terrible, but too cute not to share!

    The crib came in last week.  Joseph stopped on his way home from work to pick it up, despite the fact that I was doubtful it would fit in his car.  Turns out, I was right.  So, he had to unload carseats from the Durango and turn around and head back to SLC to get it.  Of course, we had to put it together that night.  We’d hate to wait until to August to do it and find that a part was missing or something.  Then we had to figure out where to put it.  Imagine us carrying it down the stairs and barely squeezing it through the doorway of the spare bedroom!

    We also got the stroller.  A friend texted to let me know that she had found a floor model on clearance for $50 less than the already on sale price.  It wasn’t the color I wanted, but for the price savings, we were willing to compromise on that.  We even got lucky when Joseph got there and discovered that they had a black one, which was the color we wanted.  And then we got lucky again when they found one in the back, new in the box, so we didn’t have to take the floor model.  Score!

     

     

     

     

    First big purchase!

    by  • February 20, 2012 • 3 Comments

    As the twins outgrew things, we sold them off in an effort to fund whatever big purchase was coming up next.  Outgrown the cribs?  Sell them to help buy twin beds.  Done with the stroller that will hold carseats?  Sell it and get one more lightweight and easy to pack around.  As a result, we have NO baby gear whatsoever left in our house.  It’s nice to know what we really can’t live without and what is just a luxury, so that we can avoid filling the house up with unecessary gear and overspending.  As such, our list of must-haves (in terms of the “big” stuff) has been narrowed down to 4 items:  a carseat,  a swing, a stroller, and a crib.

    Arrangements have been made to buy a carseat from a tech friend in Colorado who will be here next month to visit family.  She’s giving me a screaming good deal on a brand new Chicco KeyFit, which was one of the seats I had my eye on, as it fits small babies well (gotta be prepared, just in case this one comes early too).  It’s not the cover choice I would have picked, but for the price, I won’t complain!  Since it won’t technically be paid for and in hand until March, I’m not technically counting it as the first purchase.

    A swing is also in the works, ironically also from a friend in Colorado.  I’ve been checking the local classifieds for something I like, but if I haven’t found anything the next time her parents visit her, she’ll send her swing back with them.

    We scoped out strollers last weekend now know what we want.  The debate has been whether to get the 2011 model, which is currently being clearanced at most places, or get the 2012 model, which has a couple of newly added, very convenient features on it.  In a strange turn of events, it’s Joseph who has been holding out for the 2012 model, in spite of the extra cost.  However, a bit of discussion has brought him down and we will likely get the one on clearance.

    The crib has been a harder decision to make.  We’ve eyed mini cribs a bit, mainly because we’re not entirely sure where we’re even going to put this baby, and a mini crib would allow us more versatility in making that decision.  As I’ve been eying nurseries online, I ran across this crib, that I totally loved.   However, the price tag was not something I could even entertain.  While we were out looking at strollers last weekend, we saw a very similar crib, with a very similar price tag….but as I approached the crib, I saw a SALE sign sitting inside it with the price of $199.  Much more my style!  Unfortunately, in spite of what the sign posted on the crib said, the saleslady said it was unavailable in white and we left disappointed.  Further searches throughout the week yielded several other similar options, all out of our price range.  I began to lose my senses and actually consider paying $350 to get what I wanted (I mean really, if the crib winds up sitting in the middle of my living room because that’s the only place to put it, it might as well look great, right?).  Then we decided to call one more Babies ‘r Us store and see if they happened to have a white crib in stock, and happily learned that it was still available in white.  This store didn’t have it on sale though, so they suggested calling the first store back, which we did.  And guess what?  They can order the crib in white (crazy saleslady from the weekend before….who knows what she was thinking).  BUT, it’s not on sale anymore.  Joseph pulled out the pity card and asked if, since it was the fault of their staff that we didn’t get the crib when it was on sale, would they still honor the price….and they agreed!  He took a quick trip to SLC to take care of the ordering and paying and we should have our crib in 7-14 days!  We’ll hopefully know  in a couple of weeks if we need to put pink or blue bedding in it!

    12 Week appt.

    by  • February 1, 2012 • 1 Comment

    Last week of the first trimester! From a day-by-day perspective, it’s gone by kind of slow. But now that I’m here, it seems to have flown by.  I’ve been feeling better overall, but the last three days have been pretty queasy ones.

    I had my second prenatal appointment yesterday. I had scheduled it for a time when all the kids would be in school, only to find out a couple of weeks later that it was SEP conferences this week, meaning Ryan was out of school early every day. So he got to tag along to the appointment and it was fun for him to see the baby on the ultrasound.

    When the doctor first started the ultrasound, the baby was very still….which always makes my heart lurch….but I was able to find the heartbeat quickly and as soon as I did, two little legs started kicking as well.  We got quite the little show seeing all the wiggles.  The baby was measuring exactly where it should be.

    Next appointment will mark the beginning of weekly progesterone shots.  We were also told that our insurance no longer covers the maternal-fetal specialists that do the in-depth ultrasound at 20 weeks, so we will probably run into some obstacles with figuring out how to get around that.  One more thing to add to the list why I despise our current insurance provider…

    Baby’s heartrate this week was 172 bpm….still in the girl range according to Old Wive’s Tales.

    Current weight: 129 lbs.

     

    Choices in Childbirth: Pain Management

    by  • January 25, 2012 • 3 Comments

    I used to be one of those people who, when it came to labor and delivery, was totally on board with “Bring on the drugs!”.

    I had an epidural when Zoey was born….but just barely.  First, the nurses said it wouldn’t be necessary.  When my doctor finally came and said I could have one, there were some issues with getting the anesthesiologist off the golf course and into the hospital (that situation burns me to this day).  When he finally came, the epidural didn’t take.  He had me rolling from side to side trying to get the drugs to flow better and it FINALLY kicked in just as I started to push.  Which basically meant I felt the entire pain of labor, with the exception of the last 15 minutes or so, and then was completely numb for the rest of the day.  It was not a good experience.

    I did not have an epidural when Ryan was born.  I went to the hospital at 34 weeks having contractions every 2-3 minutes, but after having an IV to ensure that I wasn’t dehydrated (which did help slow the contractions down some), I was told that it was false labor.  Since it was a Sunday and my doctor wasn’t on-call, the doctor caring for me decided to keep me overnight so that my own doctor could check me out the next morning.  I remember resting pretty peacefully, still contracting some, but not really in any pain.  The next morning at 7am the nurse shift changed.  Sometime before 7:30, my new nurse decided to check me and we were shocked when she said “You’re at an 8, this baby’s on his way!  Would you like an epidural?”, to which I emphatically replied “YES!”.  We were still in shock, but thought we had time….unfortunately, we didn’t.  My doctor arrived at 7:45 and said I was ready to go.  While my doctor broke my water, my nurse broke the news that there was no time for an epidural, at which point I went into complete panic mode.  Those of you that know me know that I’m a fairly quiet person.  I was NOT a quiet person over the next 20 minutes.  Thankfully, it only took 20 minutes from the time I was told “no epidural” to the time Ryan was here.  At the time, I swore I would never give birth without serious pain medication EVER again.

    The twins were born via c-section, so an epidural was unavoidable.  I don’t know why, but I always seem to attract the jerkiest anesthesiologists when I have babies (I’ve had the nicest ones for other surgical procedures).  It was a pretty routine epidural, and I was thankful for it in the hours after the surgery so that I could be comfortable enough to get some sleep.

    Over the years, I’ve come to learn more about some of the disadvantages of having an epidural.  Pain management had always been first and foremost in my mind….side effects didn’t matter as long as it didn’t hurt.  I started to ponder that if I had lived through a fairly traumatic delivery without an epidural (albeit without any grace at all!), I could probably do it quite well if I were prepared.  It’s a thought I’ve entertained for quite some time, not even sure if I’d ever have the chance to need to make the choice again.

    But here I am.  Contemplating the delivery of a baby in *hopefully* 6 1/2 months.  Hoping that this time around, it will come with the joy of having a crying baby placed on my chest, rather than whisked away to be resuscitated or coming into the world silent.  And here I am, being faced with decisions about how I want that delivery to look.  Because, for the most part, I get to decide.

    First off, is pain management.  I was right when I had Ryan and declared that I never wanted to go through that again without having some serious pain medication.  I don’t ever want to go through that again.  However, I’ve come to adapt that a bit, changing the word medication to management.  I’ve learned that pain management isn’t limited to drugs with potentially serious side effects.  While I haven’t decided exactly which method I’m going to employ, I do know that I want to avoid an epidural this time around (assuming I don’t wind up with another c-section, which is another topic for another day). I have friends who have been very successful using hypnosis (crazy, I know…it’s taken me some time to come around to the idea) as well as the Bradley method.  I still have some researching to do, as I’m sure there are plenty of other options as well, but I’m determined to use the inner strength that I know I have to conquer the physical pain that I know will come.