Second Baby Shower We had our second baby shower last night. It was given by our Young Married Couples group at church. It was at Kim and Aaron's house. Thank you guys so much, we had a lot of fun. And of course what would a baby shower be without guessing the baby food game. Some of them weren't so bad, the fruity ones were okay. But the other ones were kinda gross. Poor babies who have to eat that. It was really funny watching Johan eat the baby food. He was out to win. We're all a very competitive group. And we received lots of wonderful gifts. Everyone is so generous. Make me feel so spoiled. Thank you everyone! ....... Well there's not much left to do now. I made a list of the thing we still need to get. Only a few major items like the stroller / car seat travel system, the co sleeper bassinet, and a lot of small things. Hopefully next weekend we'll be able to go get all those things. ....... We still need to put the swing and pack n play together. My mom bought us the pack n play. Thank you very much mom, although Johan didn't have time this weekend to go pick it up (it's waiting for us at Babies R Us), we'll get it next weekend though. ....... I'm glad my doctor has lifted my strict bedrest. I was able to go to the store and buy some nursing essentials that I needed to pick out myself. ...... Okay that's all for now, I'll post pictures of the shower in the next few days.
2006-09-22 (35 weeks)
Doctor's Appointment Week 35 I had my 35 weeks doctor's appointment today. I gained 4 pounds since last week. I weighed today 125 pounds. But remember the baby also gained quite a bit too over the last week. All the usual stuff: weight, blood pressure, checked my urine, measured my belly, listened to the heartbeat, looked at my kick count sheet. Everything was normal. I was still measuring small, I measured 33 weeks, not 35, but we know that is due to low fluid. Doctor said my fluid was holding steady, and to just keep doing what I am doing, which is nothing but drinking my water. I'm not on such a strict bedrest anymore, I can do light things. Which is good because I have my second baby shower tomorrow. I got my records to take to the hospital when I need to. I went over to the UPS store and photo copied them so I'd have a copy myself. Although I'm not really sure what I'm reading. His handwriting is hard to read of course and he uses alot of abbreviations. I asked a few questions. I asked about all the hiccups the baby gets. He gets them like 3 times a day. Doctor said it was fine. I asked about pre-regeristing at the hospital. I gotta go do that still. I asked again about why my fluid was low, still doesn't have an answer for that, nothing medically wrong with me that would cause it. I asked if my c-section date was still the 18th. Doctor said it was as long as my fluid keeps where it's at. Thats about it. Somehow we got talking about animals and his bull dog. He remembered that we had a cat, and that was something that I told him way back at my first or second appointment. Then he was telling us about Ligers. I guess some scientist crossed a tiger with a lion and came out with a liger. Dr. Fleisher must of been really intrigued by this because after the appointment when I was checking out he called Johan over to his desk to see photos of Ligers. And then he asked me for my email and he sent me the photos by email. It's just kinda strange thinking of your doctor sending you emails, especially ones that are not about medical care. I guess it's kinda like when we're young and you only think of your teacher as a teacher and not a real person. But like I said before Dr. Fleisher isn't one of those stiff doctor types. Today he was in jeans and a t-shirt. I have another ultrasound next Thursday and then my appointment with Dr. Fleisher on Friday. This will be the routine from now on. Next ultrasound is the last one where I'll have to drink all that water. After that I'm far enough along where they don't require it.
2006-09-21 (35 weeks)
Ultrasound 35 Weeks I had another ultrasound today to check on the fluids. My amniotic fluid measured 10. Which is not as high as I was hoping for. Last time it was 9.5 so it did go up, but only by a half a point. I'm hoping that this will be enough to keep me out of the hospital at least. I see Dr. Fleisher tomorrow. I can't believe that even with all the water I'm drinking and the laying around in bed and it still only went up a half point. The doctor doesn't know why my fluid is low. I don't have any of the illness or diseases that would put me at risk for low fluid, like lupus, preeclempsia, high blood pressure, diabetes, or anything else. And they eliminated the possibility that the baby could have kidney problems. And there's not a hole or tear in the sac, so I'm not leaking fluid. And I'm absolutely not dehydrated. So the doctor really doesn't know why my fluid is low, there is no explanation, it just is. ....... She weighed the baby today at 6 pounds 1 ounce. Which I find that hard to believe because just one week ago she weighed the baby at 4 pounds 11 ounces. And I don't think he could grow that much in one week. So I don't think that is very accurate, but that is what she said. Actually, that is what the machine said. She takes all the measurements and then the computer calculates the weight. ....... The baby's head has centered out. He's not off to the left anymore, his head is right in the center and has "dropped" a bit into my pelvis. He's getting into position. Little does he know, he's not exiting that way.
2006-09-17 (34 weeks)
Bedrest! So here's the story how it happened: Back at 30 weeks the doctor determined I had low amniotic fluid. It measured 7. He took me out of work and said I was to drink lots of water and relax and take it easy. Then at 32 weeks my fluid had gone up to 12. Which is good, not perfect, but good. That means that it eliminated the possibility that there could be a kidney or digestive problem with the baby. Then at 34 weeks my fluid went back down. It was 9.5 on thursday at my last ultrasound. I am now on weekly ultrasounds. So the doctor has now put me on bedrest. I can only get up to go to the bathroom, eat, shower, and go to my doctors appointments, which I now have 2 times a week. Doctor said that if my fluid goes down again he will put me in the hospital on IV until I deliver. He also said that I am still not gaining enough weight. I have only gained 1 pound in the last 6 weeks. He weighed me at 121. But the good news is that the baby shows no signs of any problems, he's still growing good, getting the hiccups alot. That is good because it shows that he's swallowing the amniotic fluid and this helps recycle the fluid, (the fluid is primarily made up of the baby's own urine, gross, but true), and it also is developing the lungs. Baby Joshua weighed in at 4 pounds 11 ounces. This means that he's not gaining an ounce a day like I thought he was before. But he's still well within normal weight measurements. ..... I'm trying my hardest to drink the 2 gallons of water the doctor wants me to try to get. But it is nearly impossible. Just think about it. The average person should get the 8, 8 ounce glasses a day, that is half a gallon. How many people actually get that much, now try to drink 4 times that amount. And try to eat more because you're underweight, not gonna happen. I had always just tried to drink and drink without actually measuring the amount. Now I have started to measure every drop I take in. I can get about 1 and 3/4 gallons a day, but there is no way I can get the 2 gallons. I challenge anyone to that. good luck. ....... Okay, what else. In researching the low amniotic fluid, which by the way is called Oligohydramnios, it's good that I am so far along. I am now at 34 1/2 weeks. And I found out that most doctors will induce labor when full term is
reached. Which is at 37 weeks. The reason being that as the baby gets bigger and bigger and has less room to "float" around in there he could put pressure on the umbilical cord, which of course would be very bad. And anyways if a woman goes into labor anytime after 37 weeks they don't stop it. So who knows, I might be a mom is just over 2 weeks from now. This would however put a damper on the plans we've made. Johan put his vacation time in already starting the 18th. This is because the doctor gave me my forms for the hospital. We are to be there at 7am on October 18th. But this was before I had my last ultrasound that showed my fluid went down. So if he did induce me at 37 weeks, that would be the first week of October. We have a bunch of birthdays then. Johan's is the 3rd, Kevin's is the 4th, Val's is the 5th, and my Grandpa's was the 7th. Maybe little Joshua will squeeze in on the 6th. ....... Unrelated to that, Johan and I took our infant CPR class. A lot of information that I hope we never need to use. I cancelled the hospital tour, breastfeeding education, and infant care classes because of the bedrest. So neither one of us knows how to change a diaper or bath a baby, or any of the other necessities of caring for an infant. I guess I should of scheduled the classes for my 7th month, not my 8th. I guess we'll just wing it. It'll be an adventure we'll learn together. ........ Now that I'm on full bedrest, poor Johan, not only does he get to work 2 jobs, he also now gets to do all the cleaning, shopping, laundry, cooking, and waiting on me. His, birthday is coming up, the big 30. And I can't even go to the store to buy him a card. Let alone a present. He won't let me buy him a present. The only thing he wants is another guitar. The Fender stratocastor 60th anniversary edition. Which is way out of our price range. Not to mention the fact that we have no money now that I'm not working. He understands. He keeps telling me I better not buy anything for his birthday. And I understand about the money, but he only turns 30 once. And if that guitar is out of the question, then I have no idea what to get him. Another guitar book, but he has a hundred of them. And he'd be mad I spent any money anyways. ........ Alright, I can't think of anything else now/
