Dear Cambria,
Wow, I can't believe how fast the past 28 weeks have FLOWN by! I went to the Dr. yesterday and everything looked (and sounded great) with you. As always you had a good strong heartbeat and you even measured ahead of schedule. I think you must have just had a major growth spurt and I'm hoping that at my next appointment you will be back on track. I will admit that I'm a little concerned because your Daddy was over 9 pounds when he was born and I don't want you to be so big. I would prefer if you stayed in the 7 pound range, okay?
This week I started back to work. It has been nice and exhausting all at the same time. The first two days I did really well with everything and then things went downhill from there. Yesterday and today I am absolutely EXHAUSTED when I get home. I don't want to cook, clean, do any school work, etc. All I want to do is SLEEP forever! One good thing about it though is that being at work definitely makes the days go by faster which means it will not feel so long in the home stretch when I'm waiting for your arrival.
As I sit in the countless meetings that I have had this week I have been making a list of things that I can't wait for. I've found that it is SOOO hard to concentrate lately on things I should be focused on. Here are a few things that I have been thinking about a lot lately. I can't wait for...your arrival, when my feet stop hurting, my baby shower this weekend, seeing you for the first time, getting the first quarter of work under my belt, getting rid of this awful heartburn, sleeping without having to go to the bathroom a minimum of 3 times a night, losing all this weight I have gained and did I mention your arrival and seeing you for the first time? :-)
I love you!!! Stay cozy and safe and continue to grow big (but not too big), strong and beautiful! Oh, and it would also be greatly appreciated if you stop head butting me (the Dr. told me your head is way down there) in my right hip bone. It's the weirdest feeling ever and it feels pretty uncomfortable.
Love,
Mommy
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
28 Week Dr. Appointment...
Today was my big 28 week check up to see how Cami is doing and to take the wonderful glucose test. I promised yesterday that I would let you know how the fruit punch cocktail was, so here goes...The truth is, it really wasn't too bad. It honestly just tasted like regular fruit punch but with some added sugar. The hardest part was drinking it all within 5 minutes, but I managed to do just fine. I had my blood drawn at my appointment and they said that my blood work will be back tomorrow morning and if I don't hear from them by 1:00 tomorrow afternoon that I can know that everything turned out normal. I will keep my fingers crossed that it was all normal so I don't have to go back for the 3 hour glucose test.
The rest of the appointment was great too; well, other than the part when they make me weigh in but I ALWAYS hate that part. First the Dr. measured my stomach and wrote something down in my chart but didn't say anything to me about it. So, being the curious pregnant woman that I am asked her how I measured today. She informed me that at all of my previous appointments I was measuring completely average but that today Cami was measuring a little ahead of schedule - YIKES!!!! I am so glad that she had a growth spurt but I am begging her to go back to measuring average so that I don't have to A) give birth early or B) give birth to a 10 pound baby.
I also told the Dr. that since my last appointment Cambria has been hanging out in the right side of my stomach. She said that's totally normal and when they do hear from pregnant women that their babies are hanging out on one side it's ALWAYS the right side for some reason. I then asked her if she could tell what position Cami is in (head up or down). She felt around and said that her head it way down low and her feet are straight up by my ribs so she's doing a little handstand in my belly. Obviously she could flip numerous times before birth, but if she were to stay this way we'd be in good positioning for her birth.
That's about it for now. I now go back to see the Dr. in 3 weeks and then after that it will be every 2 weeks until I get to be 35 weeks when I will go every single week until she arrives. We're in the home stretch.....bring it on!!!!
The rest of the appointment was great too; well, other than the part when they make me weigh in but I ALWAYS hate that part. First the Dr. measured my stomach and wrote something down in my chart but didn't say anything to me about it. So, being the curious pregnant woman that I am asked her how I measured today. She informed me that at all of my previous appointments I was measuring completely average but that today Cami was measuring a little ahead of schedule - YIKES!!!! I am so glad that she had a growth spurt but I am begging her to go back to measuring average so that I don't have to A) give birth early or B) give birth to a 10 pound baby.
I also told the Dr. that since my last appointment Cambria has been hanging out in the right side of my stomach. She said that's totally normal and when they do hear from pregnant women that their babies are hanging out on one side it's ALWAYS the right side for some reason. I then asked her if she could tell what position Cami is in (head up or down). She felt around and said that her head it way down low and her feet are straight up by my ribs so she's doing a little handstand in my belly. Obviously she could flip numerous times before birth, but if she were to stay this way we'd be in good positioning for her birth.
That's about it for now. I now go back to see the Dr. in 3 weeks and then after that it will be every 2 weeks until I get to be 35 weeks when I will go every single week until she arrives. We're in the home stretch.....bring it on!!!!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Glucose Fun!
This is a picture of the wonderful fruit punch cocktail that I get to enjoy tomorrow afternoon at about 2:00. How exciting!
Yes folks, it is time about that time for my 28 week glucose screening test. I have heard mixed opinions from other pregnant women who have taken this test. I would say about 50% of people I have talked to said it really isn't so bad and the other 50% had some type of horror story about throwing up, gagging, etc. when having to drink the sugary beverage. I guess only time will tell how I react to it. I plan to take my Dr.'s advice and have LOTS of water ready to drink when I finish the 'fruit punch'. I will admit, just to prove how nice my Dr. really is, that I did get to choose between fruit punch flavor and orange flavor. Lately I have been into fruit punch more and really sugary fruit punch sounded way better to me than excessively sugary orange juice.
I will report back tomorrow with the low down on how everything went. My fingers are crossed that the drink isn't as bad as I fear that it might be, that the blood work comes out fine saying that I don't have gestational diabetes and that I get a great report from the Doctor (to include hearing Cambria's heartbeat).
Monday, July 27, 2009
I Will Survive!
"Oh no not I, I will survive..." I think I will adopt that song as my theme song.
Today was my first day back to work and I am BEAT! To start my day off, I got a horrible night's sleep last night. There were a variety of factors that played a role in my poor sleep last night: terrible heartburn, aching hips, moving baby, needing to pee 3 times and the thoughts of going back to work today that kept creeping up on my mind. Anyway, when my alarm went off at 5:15 I was almost glad that it was time to get up (notice that I said 'almost').
Once I got up and on my way I was feeling pretty good. I got to work and it was actually very nice to be there in the company of other adults who were in the same boat as me; not wanting to be there. No, it really was great to see everyone and to catch up on everything that has been going on for the past 5 weeks. I have to admit too, I was pretty productive at work too. By 12:30 I had accomplished all of the following: visiting with coworkers, staff meeting, arranging furniture in office, organizing my desk, emptying my files from my filing cabinet and rearranging them to be more organized, figured out my caseload and coteachers and swapped lots of ideas and files with my office mates.
Okay, so I was productive in the morning....the afternoon was a different story. Around 12:30 the exhaustion hit HARD! All I wanted to do was curl up in my bed (or on my couch) and take a good 2 hour nap. For the entire afternoon I felt as though I was in a daze and looked as though I hadn't slept in 2 weeks (that's sure how I felt). I had to keep getting up and walking around the school in order to keep myself awake (and busy). I was thrilled when it was time to go home so I could crash on the couch and relax. Here's hoping that I can survive the afternoon exhaustion until Cambria debuts in October and here's to also hoping that the afternoon exhaustion doesn't evolve into all day exhaustion.
"Oh no not I, I will survive..."
Today was my first day back to work and I am BEAT! To start my day off, I got a horrible night's sleep last night. There were a variety of factors that played a role in my poor sleep last night: terrible heartburn, aching hips, moving baby, needing to pee 3 times and the thoughts of going back to work today that kept creeping up on my mind. Anyway, when my alarm went off at 5:15 I was almost glad that it was time to get up (notice that I said 'almost').
Once I got up and on my way I was feeling pretty good. I got to work and it was actually very nice to be there in the company of other adults who were in the same boat as me; not wanting to be there. No, it really was great to see everyone and to catch up on everything that has been going on for the past 5 weeks. I have to admit too, I was pretty productive at work too. By 12:30 I had accomplished all of the following: visiting with coworkers, staff meeting, arranging furniture in office, organizing my desk, emptying my files from my filing cabinet and rearranging them to be more organized, figured out my caseload and coteachers and swapped lots of ideas and files with my office mates.
Okay, so I was productive in the morning....the afternoon was a different story. Around 12:30 the exhaustion hit HARD! All I wanted to do was curl up in my bed (or on my couch) and take a good 2 hour nap. For the entire afternoon I felt as though I was in a daze and looked as though I hadn't slept in 2 weeks (that's sure how I felt). I had to keep getting up and walking around the school in order to keep myself awake (and busy). I was thrilled when it was time to go home so I could crash on the couch and relax. Here's hoping that I can survive the afternoon exhaustion until Cambria debuts in October and here's to also hoping that the afternoon exhaustion doesn't evolve into all day exhaustion.
"Oh no not I, I will survive..."
Sunday, July 26, 2009
The Beginning of the End...
Today is the beginning of the end to my 5 week summer vacation and I'm feeling a little sad. I woke up early to try and seize the day and squeeze every last ounce out of it that I could. Instead, I just find myself sitting on the couch cuddling with Gus while Jon plays video games and dreading being at work tomorrow morning at this time. The one good thing that has come out of today so far is the chocolate chip pancakes that Jon made me for breakfast...YUMMMM!
On the bright side, Cambria is kicking up a storm this morning and I have a Dr. appointment on Wednesday to hear her beautiful heartbeat and get an update on how she's doing. I always love going to my Dr. appointments. Usually after I have an appointment I walk around with a permanent smile on my face for the next 24 hours or so just thinking of her strong heartbeat and her wiggling around. There's just something reassuring about hearing her heartbeat even though I feel her moving ALL the time now.
Yesterday we went to our childbirth class. Oh man, what an experience that was. It was NOTHING like what I expected it to be! I thought we would be up moving around and practicing a lot (after all, they did have us bring pillows and blankets). Instead, we sat in some VERY uncomfortable chairs for 5 hours while some elderly woman preached to us all about pregnancy. I did learn some new things, but for the most part it just made me more anxious about the whole process. At one point the instructor was demonstrating the 'haa, hee' breathing technique and she was slowly walking around the room practicing. It became awkward because the entire room fell quiet and she was making these 'haa, hee' noises. She stopped RIGHT next to Jon's chair and was basically breathing very loudly and heavily in his ear and when I glanced at him and saw his face I just burst out laughing. I tried to contain myself but I just couldn't. I actually had to stand up and leave to regain my composure. Jon does not deal well with awkward situations and strangers and his face was the funniest thing I have ever seen. That was definitely the highlight of the day!
Well, that's it for now. I am going to go try to enjoy my last day of freedom. Heck, the beginning of the end just means that there is a new chapter waiting to open up, right? Most people would see this new chapter as the beginning to another school year, but I'm thinking differently. I see the new chapter as 'getting the next 10 weeks of work under my belt so that I can then FINALLY meet our daughter'. :-)
On the bright side, Cambria is kicking up a storm this morning and I have a Dr. appointment on Wednesday to hear her beautiful heartbeat and get an update on how she's doing. I always love going to my Dr. appointments. Usually after I have an appointment I walk around with a permanent smile on my face for the next 24 hours or so just thinking of her strong heartbeat and her wiggling around. There's just something reassuring about hearing her heartbeat even though I feel her moving ALL the time now.
Yesterday we went to our childbirth class. Oh man, what an experience that was. It was NOTHING like what I expected it to be! I thought we would be up moving around and practicing a lot (after all, they did have us bring pillows and blankets). Instead, we sat in some VERY uncomfortable chairs for 5 hours while some elderly woman preached to us all about pregnancy. I did learn some new things, but for the most part it just made me more anxious about the whole process. At one point the instructor was demonstrating the 'haa, hee' breathing technique and she was slowly walking around the room practicing. It became awkward because the entire room fell quiet and she was making these 'haa, hee' noises. She stopped RIGHT next to Jon's chair and was basically breathing very loudly and heavily in his ear and when I glanced at him and saw his face I just burst out laughing. I tried to contain myself but I just couldn't. I actually had to stand up and leave to regain my composure. Jon does not deal well with awkward situations and strangers and his face was the funniest thing I have ever seen. That was definitely the highlight of the day!
Well, that's it for now. I am going to go try to enjoy my last day of freedom. Heck, the beginning of the end just means that there is a new chapter waiting to open up, right? Most people would see this new chapter as the beginning to another school year, but I'm thinking differently. I see the new chapter as 'getting the next 10 weeks of work under my belt so that I can then FINALLY meet our daughter'. :-)
Friday, July 24, 2009
OUCH!
Last night I developed what is by far the most uncomfortable pregnancy symptom to date for me. After Jon and I went out for a nice dinner I came home and realized that the heels of my feet were beginning to hurt (my right foot in particular). I dismissed this as nothing originally but as the night, and now today, have gone on things have only gotten worse. My heels hurt so bad!!! Obviously the pain is best when I'm sitting but it definitely isn't gone. I tried to explain to my husband what it feels like but it's hard to explain. My best explanation is a dull aching but yet sharp and tingly along with throbbing all rolled into one. YUCK!!! This morning I decided that my one dollar sandals from Old Navy that I got are probably not giving my feet the best support so Jon convinced me to go get some new sandals. We went to the mall and I got some new Reefs that feel wonderful, but the pain is still pretty bad.
After doing some reading (in books and online) I have no doubt that the pain is from the flattening of my feet due to my changing body. There is some scientific term for it, but I can't think of it off the top of my head right now. All of the symptoms and what I'm experiencing sound exactly like it. It apparently is very common for pregnant women and sounds like it's something I'll probably have to deal with until Cambria is delivered. I am definitely going to ask the Dr. at my appointment this week though if she has any tips on how to better deal with it. It wouldn't be such a problem if I was still on summer vacation for another month and could sit with my feet up all day. I am a little concerned though about chasing around special education kiddos all day for 8 hours a day all while on my feet. I might have to take another teacher's advice who recently had a baby and get a chair with wheels from the computer lab and roll around all day....oh man, this could get interesting!!!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
27 Weeks
Dear Cambria,
As of today I am 27 weeks pregnant with you. This week has been pretty uneventful and I'm thankful for that. I have used the past week to do a lot of relaxing, napping and just plain being lazy. I figure that I needed to take advantage of our down time together since I have to go back to work on Monday....BOOO!!!
One thing I have noticed in the past couple days about you is that you love to keep me awake at night. You have made sleeping at night much more difficult. I would say that about every hour I wake up with my hips aching and have to turn to my other side. As soon as I turn over you begin your antics. You kick, roll, punch, etc. and all of your movements are pretty strong now so they keep me wide awake. It's hard to fall back to sleep when your belly is moving all over the place. After about 15 minutes you fall asleep (or maybe you don't...but at least you stop moving so much) and I finally fall back asleep for about 45 minutes until my hips hurt so bad again that I must turn over. Then the vicious cycle repeats itself. So - I have been enjoying daily afternoon naps to catch up on a little bit of the sleep that I'm losing at night. I will surely miss those afternoon naps when I go back to work next week.
Tonight Daddy and I are meeting for dinner by Fair Oaks Mall before we go to the hospital for our Maternity Ward tour. I really am still in awe that in a few short months you and I will be in the hospital together sharing our first glimpse of each other! I often wonder what that moment will be like - the moment that Daddy and I first lay our eyes on you. I can only imagine that I will be crying (tears of joy) and that you will be the most beautiful baby ever! I wonder how much you will weigh, how long you will be and will you look just like your Daddy (I HOPE SO!). I also am curious to see how your Daddy reacts when he sees you for the first time. He trys to act like he's Mr. Tough Guy, but I know the truth! I wouldn't be surprised if he either stood frozen in total shock at the miracle of life or if he even sheds some tears of joy at the sight of his daughter. Just thinking about that moment makes me tear up. We love you so much already!!
As I mentioned above, I have to go back to work on Monday. The other day I spent most of the day wallowing in my self pity about having to go back to work and give up my precious quiet time at home. Although I still don't want to go back, I have decided that it's probably a good thing. It will keep my mind (and body) busy for the next few months until you arrive. As much as I hate to admit it too, I am excited to be around adults again and to meet my new little kiddos that I'll be dealing with this year. Then, after a few months of work I will have a great break at home with you for a few months. Ahhh - how I can't wait for that time!!!
Well, that's about it for this week. One week from today I go back to the Dr. for another checkup. I have high hopes that things will continue to move along smoothly. I have been so blessed to have had such an easy pregnancy thus far and I have no doubt that it will continue right up until you are here with us! While you continue to grow bigger, stronger, healthier and more beautiful with each passing day; we continue to patiently wait for you, Cambria. I love you!
Love,
Mommy
As of today I am 27 weeks pregnant with you. This week has been pretty uneventful and I'm thankful for that. I have used the past week to do a lot of relaxing, napping and just plain being lazy. I figure that I needed to take advantage of our down time together since I have to go back to work on Monday....BOOO!!!
One thing I have noticed in the past couple days about you is that you love to keep me awake at night. You have made sleeping at night much more difficult. I would say that about every hour I wake up with my hips aching and have to turn to my other side. As soon as I turn over you begin your antics. You kick, roll, punch, etc. and all of your movements are pretty strong now so they keep me wide awake. It's hard to fall back to sleep when your belly is moving all over the place. After about 15 minutes you fall asleep (or maybe you don't...but at least you stop moving so much) and I finally fall back asleep for about 45 minutes until my hips hurt so bad again that I must turn over. Then the vicious cycle repeats itself. So - I have been enjoying daily afternoon naps to catch up on a little bit of the sleep that I'm losing at night. I will surely miss those afternoon naps when I go back to work next week.
Tonight Daddy and I are meeting for dinner by Fair Oaks Mall before we go to the hospital for our Maternity Ward tour. I really am still in awe that in a few short months you and I will be in the hospital together sharing our first glimpse of each other! I often wonder what that moment will be like - the moment that Daddy and I first lay our eyes on you. I can only imagine that I will be crying (tears of joy) and that you will be the most beautiful baby ever! I wonder how much you will weigh, how long you will be and will you look just like your Daddy (I HOPE SO!). I also am curious to see how your Daddy reacts when he sees you for the first time. He trys to act like he's Mr. Tough Guy, but I know the truth! I wouldn't be surprised if he either stood frozen in total shock at the miracle of life or if he even sheds some tears of joy at the sight of his daughter. Just thinking about that moment makes me tear up. We love you so much already!!
As I mentioned above, I have to go back to work on Monday. The other day I spent most of the day wallowing in my self pity about having to go back to work and give up my precious quiet time at home. Although I still don't want to go back, I have decided that it's probably a good thing. It will keep my mind (and body) busy for the next few months until you arrive. As much as I hate to admit it too, I am excited to be around adults again and to meet my new little kiddos that I'll be dealing with this year. Then, after a few months of work I will have a great break at home with you for a few months. Ahhh - how I can't wait for that time!!!
Well, that's about it for this week. One week from today I go back to the Dr. for another checkup. I have high hopes that things will continue to move along smoothly. I have been so blessed to have had such an easy pregnancy thus far and I have no doubt that it will continue right up until you are here with us! While you continue to grow bigger, stronger, healthier and more beautiful with each passing day; we continue to patiently wait for you, Cambria. I love you!
Love,
Mommy
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