Monday, September 29, 2008

Okay, a small complication

I am not sure that I am going to do all that well during labor and delivery...today, I experienced my second go round with what I now know to be kidney stones. The girls at work had to scoop me off the floor and into a wheel chair to get me to the car and into the clinic. I sat on floor in a ball, clutching the chair, begging people not to touch me, until finally a nurse transfered me to another wheel chair and some how I ended up on the examining table, curled in another little ball. Then, the nurse began asking me questions...during this all consuming pain (definitly at least an 8 on a scale of 1-10), they wanted to know my last bowl movement, what I had to drink the last few days and where it hurt. I could definitly tell her where it hurt.

The first time this pain gripped me, I was out at the barn by myself...and drove home. This time, I was lucky enough for this to happen at work, where people could see that I was NOT FAKING! When the icy hot grip finally let go of the left side of my back and front sides, the OBGYN doc sent us over to the hospital to start of the fetal heart rate monitor and IV fluids. Because there was no blood in my urine (and no history of kidney problems), kidney stones were an option, but not a likely one. So I sat in the triage department on the labor and delivery floor, getting filled with fluids so the poor nurses could strain my urine. When they didn't find anything after two trips to the rest room, we got to go home. I wish I could have stayed on the fetal monitor for longer though, because it is so reassuring to hear your little ones heart beat, and not only feel the punches wriggles and wiggles, but to hear them too (it was hard to keep her/him on the monitor from all of the movement), and know the pain was not effecting the baby or was compiled by any contractions.

Of course, when we got home (Jeremiah was lucky enough to carry the biohazard bag containing the pee catcher and strainer!), and I strained my own urine (!) I found all kinds of intersting little fragments and flakes.

The good news is...this may happen again. There was no ultrasound of the kidneys or anything, just go home and strain your pee until you don't hurt anymore. Oh, and here are some drugs, because yes, this really may happen again, so really, really drink that cranberry juice and water.

I never really thought all that much about the drugs during labor. Now I think, good thing they have those drugs, otherwise, I am not going.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Baby Pictures!

Here are a few pictures of our very photogenic little one:
Here is some thumb sucking action:



And here, our little one is sick of being poked:





Let's hope this isn't a personality display!!!!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Ultrasound Day!


Today, Jeremiah had the day off, and I took the afternoon off for our plethora of doctors visits (you go to the ultrasound and then you go see the actual doc). While I was busy chugging glass after glass of water in attempt to fill my bladder and provide good photos, Jeremiah put together the crib.
It may seem kinda early for the crib business, but it gives Griz and Peanut more of a chance to prepare for their human brother or sister.
After Jeremiah got the crib all put together, we left for the ultrasound. We were about a half hour early but it was the only way to stop me from emptying my Auntie Sharon size bladder (which the baby thought was really fun to use as a pillow). Our tech was really fun and had a Lithuanian accent that was very thick (so when she asked me to roll over I didn't know what she was talking about). She got is in as early as we came and made funny jokes (and then told me not to laugh!). After she checked out all of the necessities, she scoped out the little bladder kicker. "Beautiful brain, beautiful spine, beautiful skin, beautiful feet, beautiful mouth, thumb sucker, long legs!" She got the little one to move around and even get a couple of really good profile shots before she printed them out and sent me off to the restroom. I just have to scan them into the computer tomorrow at work and I will post them for you ASAP.
We have to wait for the official report, but it is a very big baby-about a week ahead of our due date or very big! 1 pound, 6 ounces with very long legs! Wahoo!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Is she gettling fat...or is she pregnant?

Okay, so at this point some people are still having trouble telling that I am pregnant (by people, I mostly mean...well, men).



But at 23 weeks, we have had a bit of a growth spurt! Now that Jeremiah is home he can feel our little slugger moving away. And when I sit at my desk with a tighter fitting shirt I can watch my belly move and it is really cool!

Tommorrow is the ultrasound and if we can figure it out, I will post the pictures.







Wednesday, September 17, 2008

How the Only Wendy's in Town Almost Went Up in Flames...

I had my first afternoon workout today (preceded and finished with a hearty snack) since I started growing this little ball of flutters. I have finally figured out how to eat to manage my energy levels so I could work out at end of the day (instead of the pre-dawn hours). I knew I was going to be walking the hunger line, in spite of my post workout snack, though, because I had to run a few errands on my way home. Well that inkling of hunger coupled with the pregnant nose demanded a cheeseburger from Wendy's (that may disgust me later, but at the time I was pursuing with single minded, dogged determination).

Seeings as I have a pretty good sense of smell to start with and can now smell someone smoking a cigarette in the car 6 stoplights ahead of me on the only road in Great Falls that has "rush hour traffic", and occasionally consider inviting myself to the neighbors' dinner table, the three hamburger joints on the way to run errands only fueled the hunger. I bypassed all of my errands and only cut off two cars as I swerved into the Wendy's parking lot on the other side of the street. Halleluja, there weren't even other cars in the drive through!! I ordered my cheeseburger, baked potato and small coke, paid my dollars to the first window and impatiently waited at the second window. The guy handed my bag over and I waited paitently for the coke...when he came back a few minutes (!) later and handed me two frosty's, I kindly handed them back and told him that I was waiting for a coke (then I knocked on the window and asked for a straw). I pulled away into "rush hour traffic" happily sipping my delicious fountian coke in anticipation of my hamburger. I crossed my two lanes of traffic into the left hand turn lane and waited to make my turn. When the craving got the best of me, I opened the bag for my tasty little dinner delight. After unwrapping a CHICKEN SANDWICH and shreiking "THIS ISN'T WHAT I ORDERED", I caught the green arrow squealed the Xterra around the corner, squeezed between two oncoming cars and made it into the parking lot of the store next to Wendy's. I slammed the car door shut, marched my increasingly pissed off, hungry, baby growing belly into the Wendy's and slammed the chicken sandwich on the counter. When the heavily tattoooed, balloon shaped man behind the counter asked if he could help me, I said "THIS ISN'T WHAT I ORDERED!" in my nicest, I'm going to burn down your facility if you don't fix this quickly, voice. After FIVE entire minutes he gingerly placed the cheeseburger before me, thanked me for waiting patiently (I am surprised my hair didn't start on fire) and made sure I was out the door before he made fun of me.

When I got out the door, I checked to make sure it was indeed a cheeseburger, and then hurried over to the car a few parking lots over and enjoyed every last lick of ketchup, onion and cheese that covered the hamburger and its bun, slurped my little coke and licked the remaining sour cream off of the package when the baked potatoe was gone.

I felt like Grizzly after he gets a really good belly rub!
For those of you who have never had a pregnant craving, DO NOT dismiss it! I suffered for a week alternating between canoli and popcorn cravings, and couldn't get either because I was at a conference in Nashville with no access to transportation. On the last day of the conference they served a snack of...canoli's and popcorn! The other people must have thought I was crazy when they saw me stuff my purse with popcorn and then leave with a canoli in each hand. But I was finally, finally sated. More then that I was one happy, happy prego! There is nothing like the happiness that comes from a satisfied craving! But try to thwart it, and man alive, you are asking for your fast food joint to be lit on fire.

Two and half days until Jeremiah (and the camera) comes home! Hopefully he makes all of his flights and arrives on Saturday. We'll try to post a new picture this weekend so you can see us. :)

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Cravings

Today around 10am I started craving whipped cream...not cool whip or ready whip, but home made whipped cream...with nutmeg and cinnimon. By three o'clock, I desperately wanted home made whipped cream with apples. Yum! The biggest bummer about your husband being gone is that when a craving hits hard, there is no one to stop at the store on the way home and pick it up for you. But I wasn't giving up on the whipped cream. I stopped on the way home and got a little half of a pint and Grizzly and I snacked on apples and whipped cream while I made dinner and then again for dessert (well, Grizz had more carrots and whipped cream, but I am still not on good terms with the vegetables, so I stuck with the apples).

It's the first craving I have had for readily accesible (relatively) food. A Carbone's special (without meat) and fried cheese on a stick from the State Fair still haven't shown up on the front step...I can't wait for Nick's wedding in November. i hope somebody has that fried cheese on a stick in the freezer for me, because we WILL be stopping at Carbone's on the way home from the airport...I've already called in the order!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

So lucky!


There is nothing in the world as precious as babies, no matter the species...baby humans, puppies, kittens, chickens, horses. There just isn't anything as wonderful, and they are (usually) worth all of the effort. Today, when I was out taking care of Bailey, I stopped by the barn with the baby colt (who I have been in love with since I met him on his fifth day of life) and the malnourished mamma. We all stop by to feed her and I froze with my pitchfork halfway over the fence when I got there. The mare came right to me, happy with the simple offer of hay. But the little painted colt was bobbing and weaving at a little critter on the fence...a little grey and white kitten! They were playing together! It was so funny to watch them play together. The kitten would arch his back and hop and roll in the dust while the colt would gleefully dance around the paddock, or the kitten would stand on the rail and the colt would dodge little kitty claws thrown at his tender nose. I would have killed for a camera.


Eventually the kitten came over for a rub, and I found out his name is Max. It turns out the kitten entertains the little painted colt every day, even if the colt is napping on the ground, the kitten will come and bat at his ears. This works out pretty good for the mare, as horses love to play, and the babies even more so. After I inspected each of his little hooves (he thinks that is a fun game), I went back to my own barn and my own horse. Every once in a while Bailey works really hard at affection, and my heart just about crumples with her effort. She stands right next to me and places her big mustang head about an inch from my chest and expanding belly and waits for a rub. It always ends with my arms around her neck after I have almost rubbed all of the hair off of her face (a very tough place for a former wild, claustrophobic mustang to stand still in)...she is a very intuitive girl and she understands emotion and body language and I can't wait to share the little one with her once the cold melts away this spring! Hopefully we get a little cowboy or girl (what will we do if we get a kid who is allergic to animals???)!

Monday, September 8, 2008



Well, this is what I did over Labor Day Weekend while Jeremiah was (and still is) in Alaska. My belly is really not that big, it's just the end of the day, and it is always bigger at the end of the day...It surprised me a little, to be honest when I saw the picture! This painting is in the baby's room, which now has a crib and a play pen! Well, the play pen is in the closet (which is now free of Jeremiah's clothes-now we share a closet, bummer for me.) and the crib is in a box, but we are moving in the right direction anyway! I've heard that some prego's start to get a little bit crazy about getting everything in order a few weeks or so before the baby is born. Something about nesting. I seem to have begun nesting in month 5. Maybe it's better that Jeremiah is in Alaska! But with the way this kid is kicking, I just feel better when things are done. Plus, I have cut my workouts way back (after I scared myself half to death) and it gives me something to do with my energy (without feeling like such a crazy person).


I love all of the movement...when it slows down I start to worry. The first time I felt him (?) move I was in Walmart...it was the first time I had been there and not run out because I needed to vomit (Walmart smells BAD). I had just drank a can of root beer and I think it gave the little one a case of the wiggles...wiggles that I could feel. The people in Walmart (why is there always so many people in Walmart??!) must have thought I was crazy because I just stopped. In the middle of a well traveled aisle. It wasn't me that just made that...what ever it was! And then a week later I felt it again, but stronger and more persistant. And now I get to feel it every day. Jeremiah is going to be so excited when he gets home and his hand is kicked off my belly!