The End of an Era

As the end of this pregnancy draws to a close, I'm finding myself a little sad. I'm very glad this pregnancy is almost over. In spite of the diabetes, it had been a fairly easy pregnancy, but since my fall and car accident it's been crazy. We're nearing two weeks of solid, every 15 minutes or less contractions. Sometimes they're very close together and I think it's time to head to the hospital. But we're still here. I'm very ready to meet my son. I feel, however, like my baby is no longer a baby. It almost feels like we're replacing her. She's a big girl now. She has a big girl bed that she successfully sleeps in. She looks huge. She's very independent. She's not a baby. It makes me sad and proud. Strange combination, but I have a feeling there will be many sad/proud moments as we continue this journey as parents. I don't like it.

In pregnancy news, I'm definitely still contracting. I think my water's just going to have to break so that I actually know that it's time. Jackson's still very active and looking good on my NSTs. Tomorrow I have an ultrasound, an NST, and a doctor's appointment. It'll be nice to see him again and find out if my cervix has made any progress since last week. The ultrasound this time is to check his weight to make sure he's not too big for a vaginal delivery. Based on the ultrasound I had at the hospital after the accident, I'm guessing he's about 7 1/2 pounds. Not too big, thankfully. I just hope we don't go clear to 39 weeks before he arrives. We'll see! I'm guessing he'll make his arrival next week while Kraig's at camp. He seems to like to do things the complicated way, so it won't be surprising! I'll update tomorrow after my appointments, hopefully...

Oh the drama!

I found out yesterday that I failed my glucose test. The lady from my OB's office called to tell me I had gestational diabetes. Wasn't expecting that. I have four prescriptions I need to pick up at the pharmacy for testing supplies and I have a four hour gestational diabetes management class on Tuesday. On top of it all, because of the "complication," I can no longer see my midwife. I have to see one of the other doctors in the practice. It's a little disappointing to get through 2/3 of your pregnancy and suddenly have someone different to see. Oh well. Out of my hands.

I had an ultrasound this morning, since I'm measuring large. And large he is! I'm 27 weeks, 3 days today, but he's measuring at 30 weeks, 3 days. I'm sure it has to do with the gestational diabetes issue, but I'm not sure what all it means in terms of due date and delivery. I don't actually get to see the doctor until Monday. IF they moved my due date up three weeks, I'd be due on Kate's due date. If I had him at the "new" 37 weeks, that would be 6 1/2 weeks from now. Surely that's not how it's going to work out, but holy cow. He'll be here before we know it!

I was pretty upset about the diagnosis yesterday, but I'm feeling better today. I know that it's going to be well monitored and controlled, which is the best thing for me and Jackson. I'm not thrilled about poking myself multiple times a day, but I know it's what's best. I'll still have a healthy baby and rest of my pregnancy as long as I take this seriously and get it under control. No biggie. Plenty of people have dealt with this. I'm just ready to have my class so I can really understand a little more about it and get the process rolling. Right now, I feel like I'm in the dark.

Oh yes, and Jack weighs approximately 3lbs 6 oz. That's all the more weight I've gained this pregnancy. Pretty crazy!

In other news, I get my "new" cloth diapers today! Pictures coming!

Can you tell we've been busy?

I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged! It's still pretty crazy around here. We've got a few piles of things to unpack still and we're still getting used to living here. Perhaps one of the biggest changes is that Kraig doesn't come home for lunch (at least not everyday). It's just not as practical as it was when we lived two minutes from the church. Not to mention the additional gas costs! Things are going well, though!

Kate is getting three new teeth, I think, so she's been a bit of a bear. Hopefully it'll pass quickly.

I had my 26 week appointment yesterday. Everything went well. I'm up around 5 pounds total so far. Not too bad. At my 18 week ultrasound, the baby was measuring about a week farther along than my due date and yesterday, I measured about a centimeter ahead. I'm having an ultrasound next Thursday just to get a weight estimate on him and sneak another peek:) Then I'll go back the following week for my 28 week appointment. I can't believe we're to the point of going every two weeks already!

In other news, I planted tomatoes, green onions, basil and cilantro yesterday. I don't quite have room or interest in a full-sized garden, so container gardening is fine for me. I got tomato plants on clearance at Lowe's for $0.25, so I bought four. We could never eat that many tomatoes, but we'll see if they all live!

The Results Are In!!

(Pardon me while I take a break from the current blog series to make an announcement!)

Yesterday was a big day. We were celebrating my 26th birthday and we were having our big ultrasound. It was a great day! My ultrasound appointment was at 9:30. We got in pretty quickly, and it wasn't long before we were finally seeing images of our little one. This was the first peek we'd had, and we were ready to see it! The tech began taking pictures of different body parts, examining the heart, stomach, and other organs. Then came the obvious between the legs shot. I knew what she was looking at. Kraig knew too. And it was quite obvious that baby had boy parts! We knew before the tech even asked if we wanted to know. Finally, she asked. I said, "Yes," quite emphatically, even though I was pretty positive about what I was seeing. She said, "It's a boy!" It was shocking. We wanted a boy, but we were perfectly happy with our girl and another would have been fine--definitely more economical. But we're getting our boy. I cried a little because I was so shocked. It's still not quite settled in me. The ultrasound finished pretty quickly and Kraig and I left to make our list of phone calls. My actual appointment with my midwife wasn't until later in the day, so we sat in the parking lot sharing our good news.

Then we realized it was barely after 10 a.m. Our friend Sara was watching Kate so we could go to the appointment and then enjoy a lunch out for my birthday. So we headed to Target to kill some time. Once it was lunch time, we headed to our favorite Chinese restaurant and ate way too much food. It was great. Then we headed home in time to feed Kate lunch and put her down for a nap. Shortly after she went down, I headed out for my midwife appointment. After waiting in the lobby for over an hour past my appointment time, all she really had to tell me was that the ultrasound looked good. Good news, but such a wait! Then I went to do my weekly Monday grocery shopping. Once I got home, we rested for a while and continued to question our name choice. We want to be 100% sure about it before we let it out. I also decided I wasn't interested in cooking dinner, so we went to Cici's and enjoyed some pizza and salad.

It was a great birthday. It was very special to have our ultrasound on my birthday. We had Kate's the day before my birthday, since my birthday was on a Saturday that year. They were both great experiences. Now we're planning for a boy. We'll have a new room to decorate, clothes to collect, and I finally get to start ordering my cloth diapers! I'm super excited to finally know the gender. I'm very grateful that I'm still feeling well. I'm tired and having difficulty sleeping, but that's the worst of it! 22 weeks to go!