This past Advent season I had the honor of praying for Renee over at Second Chances. I loved getting to know her by reading through her informative and picture-filled blog. Renee has faced many challenges, but she is also incredibly strong of faith and spirit. She is such an inspiration!
My heartfelt thanks go out to A Complicated Life for her prayers. They were invaluable to me! One of the intentions I asked my Prayer Buddy to pray for was that Nemo will find employment after he gets his PhD in May. A few weeks ago he landed an interview at a University in a city where we have friends (bonus) AND just today he found another excellent opportunity that fits him perfectly--I'm hoping we get an interview out of that one too!
Have a blessed and happy rest of the Christmas season, Prayer Buddies. My prayers are with you both.
Now on to 2011!
During the bleeding scare on Monday I was ready to call our New Year's Eve party off, but now we are going ahead as planned. Nemo has been a HUGE help getting ready. Even though he is already the designated chef for the event he has also cleaned, vacuumed, moved furniture, de-cluttered, etc etc. The house is almost unrecognizable!
Despite all of his hard work the chore list is still about a mile long. I am floating away in dirty laundry, and I shudder to think how long it's been since I washed the kitchen floor. It's going to be a busy couple of days, but I honestly prefer them that way.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
*Updated, Everything OK* Scared Again
*Update*
The nurse got back to me and thought it would be a good idea for me to come in and get checked out, so they squeezed me in this afternoon. I broke down and im'ed Nemo from work to tell him I had the appointment, and he met me there. I was just so scared and needed the moral support. I think he was a little peeved that I lied to him this morning when he asked if everything was ok and I said yes. So I won't be doing that again.
The midwife did an internal exam, and the results were that my cervix was closed and there was no evidence of bleeding. So where the blood I saw came from remains a mystery, which bothers me, but I am still eternally thankful that things appear to be ok for the moment. I did get a nice big shot of Rho.gam right in the tush -ouch!- just in case.
They checked the baby's heartbeat and it was nice and strong--and very easy to find compared to the other times, which I guess means that baby is getting bigger.
I don't know what the future will bring, but this episode has reminded me to appreciate every day, every minute I have with my loved ones.
****
I had been doing ok on the anxiety front--entering my second trimester takes most of the credit for that.
But all last week I was having these weird stomach pains. They didn't feel like cramps, exactly, so I chalked them up to either growing pains or the stress of traveling.
This morning the pain was better, but I then started to get small flecks of blood when I went to the bathroom. I think its vaginal, but I can't be sure. I didn't tell Nemo because I didn't want to worry him. Now here I am at work, out of my mind with worry.
I called the midwife's office but they still haven't gotten back to me. I am desperate to go in to see if there is still a heartbeat.
I'm fourteen and a half weeks. We JUST told our families. We were planning on telling our friends this weekend. This isn't supposed to be happening. I don't know what to do, and if you can spare them I could really use some prayers to help me get through whatever comes next.
The nurse got back to me and thought it would be a good idea for me to come in and get checked out, so they squeezed me in this afternoon. I broke down and im'ed Nemo from work to tell him I had the appointment, and he met me there. I was just so scared and needed the moral support. I think he was a little peeved that I lied to him this morning when he asked if everything was ok and I said yes. So I won't be doing that again.
The midwife did an internal exam, and the results were that my cervix was closed and there was no evidence of bleeding. So where the blood I saw came from remains a mystery, which bothers me, but I am still eternally thankful that things appear to be ok for the moment. I did get a nice big shot of Rho.gam right in the tush -ouch!- just in case.
They checked the baby's heartbeat and it was nice and strong--and very easy to find compared to the other times, which I guess means that baby is getting bigger.
I don't know what the future will bring, but this episode has reminded me to appreciate every day, every minute I have with my loved ones.
****
I had been doing ok on the anxiety front--entering my second trimester takes most of the credit for that.
But all last week I was having these weird stomach pains. They didn't feel like cramps, exactly, so I chalked them up to either growing pains or the stress of traveling.
This morning the pain was better, but I then started to get small flecks of blood when I went to the bathroom. I think its vaginal, but I can't be sure. I didn't tell Nemo because I didn't want to worry him. Now here I am at work, out of my mind with worry.
I called the midwife's office but they still haven't gotten back to me. I am desperate to go in to see if there is still a heartbeat.
I'm fourteen and a half weeks. We JUST told our families. We were planning on telling our friends this weekend. This isn't supposed to be happening. I don't know what to do, and if you can spare them I could really use some prayers to help me get through whatever comes next.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Telling People
Very shortly we will be leaving to visit Nemo's parents, not just to exchange Christmas presents but also to tell them about the baby.
I had an appointment with the midwife on Thursday, and everything seems to be going great. Heard a good heartbeat at 166 bpm between when the little stinker was wiggling around too much for the Doppler to pick it up.
But I am still so nervous about the prospect of telling people. Especially parents and grandparents.
We told Nemo's parent's about our first pregnancy very early on, and then less than a week later we had to tell them that we lost the baby. We didn't tell them about the second pregnancy partly because I didn't want to tell them bad news again.
I know that they are going to be happy and excited when we tell them, but I worry that they will let our past losses taint their view of this new pregnancy. Maybe they won't be AS excited, you know? Because I'm the Woman Who Cried Pregnant.
Anyway, we are going to tell my parents and siblings when we go visit them for Christmas, and then we are having a bunch our friends over on New Year's Eve so we can break the news to them. I just need to get through the next two weeks. Yikes. I am praying that I will find some serious emotional strength!
I had an appointment with the midwife on Thursday, and everything seems to be going great. Heard a good heartbeat at 166 bpm between when the little stinker was wiggling around too much for the Doppler to pick it up.
But I am still so nervous about the prospect of telling people. Especially parents and grandparents.
We told Nemo's parent's about our first pregnancy very early on, and then less than a week later we had to tell them that we lost the baby. We didn't tell them about the second pregnancy partly because I didn't want to tell them bad news again.
I know that they are going to be happy and excited when we tell them, but I worry that they will let our past losses taint their view of this new pregnancy. Maybe they won't be AS excited, you know? Because I'm the Woman Who Cried Pregnant.
Anyway, we are going to tell my parents and siblings when we go visit them for Christmas, and then we are having a bunch our friends over on New Year's Eve so we can break the news to them. I just need to get through the next two weeks. Yikes. I am praying that I will find some serious emotional strength!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Babygazing
First of all, thank you all for your support and encouragement. You light up my dark places! And special thanks to my prayer buddy; I can feel your prayers working in my life!
Our third ultrasound was yesterday. When the ultrasound tech got started, she said she was going to check out my ovaries and whatnot and then move on the the "baby stuff".
WHO CARES ABOUT MY OVARIES! I WANT TO SEE THE BABY!
Luckily she consented to check the baby's heart first and it was, in fact, beating at 163 BPM.
Then she had to hunt high and low for my ovaries. One was hidden next to my hip, and she couldn't find the other one and had to call in her supervisor. Everything is moving around so much!
I had been waiting in the waiting room for so long that I had to pee really badly by the time I got into the exam room, but the tech wouldn't let me go because it makes everything contract or something like that. And then, through the whole scan, she and her supervisor kept saying, "Wow! You're bladder is REALLY full!"
To which I wanted to reply, "I KNOW! PLEASE STOP PRESSING ON IT!" But you know, they were the ones facilitating the babygazing, so I was polite.
The baby was measuring 5.6 centimeters, or about 2.2 inches, which is just about perfect for 12 weeks. He/she had REALLY long legs, or maybe it just seemed that way because the last time I had an ultrasound the legs were too small to be seen.
Nemo was absolutely enchanted to see the baby. He is a man in love!
The baby was really having a lot of fun in there. It liked to bend its knees and then kick off the sides of my uterus and bounce around--it did that three times in a row, and then a few more times throughout the scan. It was so cute!
We saw fingers, toes, nose, and all that stuff. It liked to have its hands by its face--I like to think that it was sucking its thumb:)
The first thing I did after the scan was thank God. The second thing I did was hustle to the store to buy a belly band. The waistbands of my jeans are not my friends. So much more comfortable now!
This cold/flu/sinus infection, or whatever the heck it is, is really getting the better of me. Once I kick one symptom, the others get worse. All I have now is a mild cough, mild sore throat, and KILLER sinus pressure. I literally did not get to sleep until six o'clock this morning because it felt like someone was driving a railroad spike into my cheek. Then I had to get to work by 9:30am. Not fun.
I tried multiple steamy showers, putting a heating pad on my face, and drinking lots of hot liquids, but nothing seemed to help. I'm really afraid to go to the doctor because I think they will just prescribe antibiotics, which I am worried would hurt the baby and also I typically have really bad reactions to antibiotics--sometimes its worse than the actual illness. I'm really hoping I can kick this on my own, but I am at my wit's end! I'm really praying that things change drastically by Monday, or else I will have to seek treatment per an agreement I have with Nemo...
Our third ultrasound was yesterday. When the ultrasound tech got started, she said she was going to check out my ovaries and whatnot and then move on the the "baby stuff".
WHO CARES ABOUT MY OVARIES! I WANT TO SEE THE BABY!
Luckily she consented to check the baby's heart first and it was, in fact, beating at 163 BPM.
Then she had to hunt high and low for my ovaries. One was hidden next to my hip, and she couldn't find the other one and had to call in her supervisor. Everything is moving around so much!
I had been waiting in the waiting room for so long that I had to pee really badly by the time I got into the exam room, but the tech wouldn't let me go because it makes everything contract or something like that. And then, through the whole scan, she and her supervisor kept saying, "Wow! You're bladder is REALLY full!"
To which I wanted to reply, "I KNOW! PLEASE STOP PRESSING ON IT!" But you know, they were the ones facilitating the babygazing, so I was polite.
The baby was measuring 5.6 centimeters, or about 2.2 inches, which is just about perfect for 12 weeks. He/she had REALLY long legs, or maybe it just seemed that way because the last time I had an ultrasound the legs were too small to be seen.
Nemo was absolutely enchanted to see the baby. He is a man in love!
The baby was really having a lot of fun in there. It liked to bend its knees and then kick off the sides of my uterus and bounce around--it did that three times in a row, and then a few more times throughout the scan. It was so cute!
We saw fingers, toes, nose, and all that stuff. It liked to have its hands by its face--I like to think that it was sucking its thumb:)
The first thing I did after the scan was thank God. The second thing I did was hustle to the store to buy a belly band. The waistbands of my jeans are not my friends. So much more comfortable now!
This cold/flu/sinus infection, or whatever the heck it is, is really getting the better of me. Once I kick one symptom, the others get worse. All I have now is a mild cough, mild sore throat, and KILLER sinus pressure. I literally did not get to sleep until six o'clock this morning because it felt like someone was driving a railroad spike into my cheek. Then I had to get to work by 9:30am. Not fun.
I tried multiple steamy showers, putting a heating pad on my face, and drinking lots of hot liquids, but nothing seemed to help. I'm really afraid to go to the doctor because I think they will just prescribe antibiotics, which I am worried would hurt the baby and also I typically have really bad reactions to antibiotics--sometimes its worse than the actual illness. I'm really hoping I can kick this on my own, but I am at my wit's end! I'm really praying that things change drastically by Monday, or else I will have to seek treatment per an agreement I have with Nemo...
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Sick Day
Blech. I'm sick.
I had a mild sore throat for a few days, then Sunday night it hit me like a ton of bricks. Chills, aches, headache, congestion, and cough.
I took Monday off of work in an attempt to nip this cold in the bud. I don't get sick often, but when I do I DO, you know? The last time I got a cold it turned into a six-week battle with a secondary bacterial infection. No way I am letting that happen now. So yesterday I relaxed and drank tea and OJ and ate homemade chicken noodle soup that Nemo was so kind as to make for me. He also made me brownies. Honestly, he is such a blessing.
Whether or not it actually worked is still to be seen. My sore throat is marginally better and my cough is marginally worse. The congestion and sinus pressure isn't so bad today though. Thank goodness for that. But, I'm back at work regardless.
Friday is my 12-week ultrasound. I am characteristically anxious but also very VERY excited. I have been watching videos of other people's 12-week ultrasounds on Yout.ube so I know what to expect. I have to say, I was absolutely blown away by the the wiggling and squirming of those little babies! I knew that babies start moving in utero fairly early, but I was expecting more slow-motion, astronaut type movements. Not bouncing, kicking, and twisting like I saw in the videos. WOW! I want so badly to see my baby do that!
I had a mild sore throat for a few days, then Sunday night it hit me like a ton of bricks. Chills, aches, headache, congestion, and cough.
I took Monday off of work in an attempt to nip this cold in the bud. I don't get sick often, but when I do I DO, you know? The last time I got a cold it turned into a six-week battle with a secondary bacterial infection. No way I am letting that happen now. So yesterday I relaxed and drank tea and OJ and ate homemade chicken noodle soup that Nemo was so kind as to make for me. He also made me brownies. Honestly, he is such a blessing.
Whether or not it actually worked is still to be seen. My sore throat is marginally better and my cough is marginally worse. The congestion and sinus pressure isn't so bad today though. Thank goodness for that. But, I'm back at work regardless.
Friday is my 12-week ultrasound. I am characteristically anxious but also very VERY excited. I have been watching videos of other people's 12-week ultrasounds on Yout.ube so I know what to expect. I have to say, I was absolutely blown away by the the wiggling and squirming of those little babies! I knew that babies start moving in utero fairly early, but I was expecting more slow-motion, astronaut type movements. Not bouncing, kicking, and twisting like I saw in the videos. WOW! I want so badly to see my baby do that!
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