A note from Sissy

As the sister I am so very excited to see our, tiny, cute, lovey, baby brother. All thow it is really fun seeing him grow and feeling him kick in Erin's belly! I feel so bad for Erin because she has to carry him around for nine mounths strate still working and her back hurts her so much. CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THAT BABY AND FINALLLLY HAVE HIM IN OUR HOUSE !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sissy loves you baby brother!!

                                                             Love,
                                                            Jessica 
                                                                               
                                                                                     

25 weeks down, 15 to go! (Technically speaking! However, Mama doesn't see how it's physically possible to go more than 12 more!)

25 weeks!!

So we had our routine, monthly check up this week. The appointment was originally for the glucose tolerance test and scheduled with our nurse practitioner, Janet, for next week. However, since I have been having such unbearable back and pelvic pain, Dr. Lafferty (our OB) wanted to see me for an exam immediately. They scheduled an exam right away and moved the glucose test up by a week.

I was instructed to arrive at the hospital's lab 40 minutes before my Dr. visit was scheduled. No problem. I left work and headed straight there to find my wonderful husband waiting patiently for us. We checked in at the lab, where we were handed a 16oz bottle of an "orange" flavored drink. The lab tech said "you need to finish this in less than 5 minutes. Do not eat or drink anything for at least 1 hour following your first drink. Please return the empty bottle to me after you finish drinking the fluid. Please return to the lab for your blood work exactly 1 hour after you have completely finished all 16oz."

Okie dokie! Didn't sound all that bad. And the "drink" smelled like Orange Sunkist soda that I remember getting in my Happy Meals when I was a kid. So it couldn't be that bad. Ha! Little did I know, prior to the first sip, that it would have the same consistency of cold maple syrup! So my goal quickly became to drink this stuff in less than 5 minutes and the only way to do it was to 1) think about that PB & chocolate froyo that I was craving so badly! And 2) to plug my nose. With a few gags, I finally got it down and then proudly returned the empty bottle....

We then headed to the 4th floor where our Dr's off ice is, for our appointment. We were just in time. A few moments before we were called a clenched onto Matt's arm and said "I reeeally don't feel well!" I began sweating, my heart racing. He asked if I was okay and if I needed some water or something. I didn't need water, I needed a toilet, and FAST! I quickly ran through the waiting room, to the end of the hallway, where there was a women's bathroom. Go figure! Women's bathroom of an OBGYN office was occupied. So I quickly darted into the men's. As I sit there on the toilet, I tried to convince myself I was not going to be sick and to take deep breaths--merely because I knew darn well that if I got sick, I would have to come back and drink that yucky orange drink again and that was the very last thing that I ever wanted to have to do! I didn't stand a chance, though, up it came...all of it!  Beat red, sweating, dizzy, and out of breath, I walked back to Matt who obviously knew that the orange drink didn't stay down. Needless to say, the glucose test has been rescheduled. Dr. Lafferty said that if I can't keep it down next time, they will prescribe an anti-vommiting medication for me to take prior to the test.

The appointment with Dr. Lafferty  went relatively well. I've still only gained a total of 7lbs. and my blood pressure hasn't changed since the last appointment: 110/70. Dr. Lafferty did a quick exam and measured the baby as well. Final verdict: "All looks great!" I said, "Well that's obviously great to hear, but what about this pain!? I can't walk. Can't sleep but an hour or 2 at a time. Can't get in and out of bed alone. Can't roll over alone. Can't get my leg over the tub to get in and out of the shower alone....What do I do?" He said, "Give him about 4 months, it's too early to have him now! And take tylenol in the meantime. This is a good indication that your body is naturally preparing for baby's arival." It's good to know that everything is normal and "good." But holy moly the pain is often so bad, I cannot even get up again after I've sat down. It's amazing how much we take for granted how frequently we use and need all of the muscles in our body! I am still standing behind my belief that there is just no way this baby is holding out for 40 weeks! I think he will arrive sometime in mid-end of October. If that's the case, I hope before Halloween because I've already found a DARLING Halloween costume! =)

I've done quite a bit of research as to what I can do to help the symptoms. So far I have found the obvious: Get lots of rest, avoid lifting and pushing, keep back supported, avoid standing on your feet long periods, apply heat to painful areas, and sleep with a pillow between your legs. I have found that it helps the most when I get lots of sleep...so that is now my goal each night. I've been trying the pillow but somehow I find it on the floor every morning so I am not so sure it's helping at all. "Lifting" is #3 on my job description, so I am currently re-evalutaing that situation because unfortunately I do not think that it will change. And I am on my feet 110% of the day, which is unavoidable. Oh! And it seems to help A LOT when I stand in the deep end of a pool--deep enough that my whole body is emersed, but shallow enough that I can reach and keep my head above water. The zero-gravity effect, I suppose. So with the summer heat finally here, I know we will likely spend any free time in the pool!

Our tiny pea is very, very active now, too!! So much movement and fluttering and kicking!! It's really neat. Matt likes to sleep with his arm around me and hand resting on my tummy--this way he can feel baby if he kicks in the middle of the night. If I am sleeping, I rarely feel him. But he wakes up Daddy all of the time. The other night I woke up to Matt saying, "Whoa! That was a big one!" So we layed there for a bit and just felt baby having what felt like a kick ball party in Mommy's belly! =)  

The summer heat is definietly takin' its toll on me! Although I find myself still being so thankful that it hit us late this year. This week was the first time all summer that I'd have many people agree with me that it's been TOO HOT! It was about 102 at our house on Wednesday, 102-103 on Thursday, and 105 on Friday. Naturally, the AC goes on as soon as we get home from work and has been staying on until we go to bed and can sleep comfortably. Having this big "thing" now semi-permanately attached to my tummy along with the unpleasurable experience of being out of breath even when I am simply resting on the couch, really makes tolerating such heat IMPOSSIBLE! I took a bath last night full of ice cubes!

That's about it for this week. I must go somewhere far away from this heat....Daddy has a soccer tournament at the beach today so I may head there for that. But I also need to find a gift for my cousin who is also having a little baby boy, 1 week after us! We are having a joint shower next weekend in Vegas. HA! Let's see how we two do together in that heat! I'd rather not think about it until I get there!

Happy weekend to all!

Love,
Mommy & Baby