Worrisome

Well, I was feeling pretty good about my appointments and ultrasound last week, but then yesterday the doctor called about the specific results of the ultrasound. She said the growth results were good, but it was noticed that Butterball potentially has hydronephrosis. Apparently, they were able to tell the the collecting ducts in the left kidney are distended. She is having me go in for a level two ultrasound with a perinatologist. They are supposed to call me today to set up the appointment. There was nothing about hydronephrosis in my pregnancy books and I did well to put off googling it until this morning. I just don't like lack of knowledge. I did find this site which is not alarmist at all, but provides good information:

Children's Hospital Boston: Hydronephrosis

The doctor freaked me out a bit by saying that she wanted the perinatologist to rule out genetic or chromosomal abnormalities because we now have two "red flags" with the kidney and the two vessel cord. Of course, I asked her if there were known genetic abnormalities associated with hydronephrosis and she said, No, but since there are two potential issues then we should rule it out. I can't imagine this is the case seeing as there is no family history and the initial screening at 13 weeks put us at extremely low odds.

The whole thing seems so crazy. I mean most people don't even have ultrasounds after the big one at 20 weeks, so what would happen if they hadn't caught this? Or heck, ultrasounds weren't even routine just a couple decades ago. I guess if they rule out genetic issues, then we just monitor the kidneys and have a plan with a specialized pediatrician for when Butterball is born.

I am alternating between being knowing there is nothing good about worrying and that it is best to just keep cool and be informed, and then giving all that up and worrying and being sad that it just seems like one thing after another.

To top it all off, they also did a urine culture at my appointment and determined I am a strep B carrier. I guess this is a common thing and some women are and some women aren't. It is not a problem if you are, but it can be an issue for the baby during delivery thus I will require IV antibiotics when I get to the hospital. As if that weren't enough, apparently my numbers were high enough to indicate a bladder infection (symptomless?) that means they want to put me on an oral antibiotic now.

Well, I hope this isn't too crazy of a post. I need to wrap my head around it all a little more and hopefully gather more info. I will keep you updated as I learn more.

30 Weeks

Here is the latest belly photo. Whew, and I still have 10 weeks to go. I am really starting to feel a bit awkward with this belly. Butterball should be averaging around 3 pounds now (but who knows after the last ultrasound), so that still means he could put on another 4-5 pounds before birth. This belly is going to grow.

We had a really beautiful weekend with lots of swimming in the lake. It truly is wonderful to get in the water and feel the weight of my belly lift away. Sean and I also went canoeing this morning and I did well once getting in the canoe, but the balance needed to get in and out is more difficult. I wasn't very prepared and didn't take any photos though. I need to be better about bringing my camera with me for blogging purposes. Next post will have more pics.

Butterball has been doing a lot of stretching lately, where I feel him up high and down low at the same time. It is definitely a weird experience. He is also definitely getting the hiccups these days. It feels like a rhythmic tapping. Apparently it is good for him as it strengthens the diaphram.

This past week, I was so excited to meet my newest niece, Annalise. She just turned one month old. It was amazing to hold her and think that I will have a newborn in about two months. I am excited and nervous and still in a state of disbelief about the whole thing.

Well, this coming week, I am going to try to establish a routine of morning walks and afternoon writing. It has been hard to keep in mind we are not just visiting on vacation this time.

And as always, we are ever hopeful to find out news on the house this week. Fingers crossed, everyone!

Made it to NH

We successfully moved from Akron and I am now writing from the granite state! Whew, the move was tough. I never want to have to pack everything up again. Poor Sean had to do all the heavy lifting as well. But, we survived and lived to tell the tale. We did really do it right with the U-Pack pod things. They brought them in on a big truck and forklifted them into the drive way. We had them delivered on a Tuesday and picked up on a Thursday. We managed to fit all our worldly possesions into two of them. They are now sitting in storage until we figure out our housing situation.

The drive to NH was not too bad. Sean drove his work truck and I drove the Saturn with Lily in the back. We broke the trip into two days and we were very happy to visit with our great friends, Mandy and Scott in PA. They have a beautiful son, Noah, who was a delight to meet. Mandy was so kind to show me some cloth diaper folding techniques and an assortment of baby-wearing wraps as well as give me all sorts of new mother tips. We stayed Friday night and headed out for NH on Saturday.

Well the housing situation has become such drama! Last week, before we moved we spoke with our agent who told us that the seller's agent said the lein holding bank was going to issue a letter of approval for the sale. Yippee. We were very excited. Then on Saturday, in the midst of our long drive, we got a call from our agent saying that someone had put a better offer on the house. It was the most agravating thing as we have a signed purchase agreement from the seller, and the house has not been listed in two months! I won't go into all the gritty details, but there are definitely some shady dealings going on and I fear the seller's agent is a big sleaze bag. I broke down and cried in a rest stop (hormones?). So, we were very angry, but over the past few days we were beginning to wrap our heads around the idea of finding a nice place to rent. Well, then yesterday, our agent calls us again and says we are still number 1 to purchase the house and that the bank is going to want to move quickly. Wow! This whole thing has been such a rollercoaster. Of course, this is still just talk as we are waiting for the official paperwork from the bank. Who knows what today may bring in terms of news on the house buying front. Nothing will surprise me at this point, however. I should put another poll up on the blog as to whether or not we will be homeowners. It truly is anyone's guess.

Well, onto the most important news. Butterball is doing quite well. Tomorrow marks 30 weeks and I will definitely get a belly picture up soon. Yesterday, I went to my first appointment with the practice in Concord. I was a bit nervous about it, but I was so pleased by the end. I ended up meeting with an OB instead of a midwife, but she was just wonderful. She took a lot of time to answer all my questions and she was on the same page with me in my hopes for a natural birth. It seems the whole practice is very liberal and will always take into account the costs versus benefits of any medical intervention.

We listened to Butterball's heartbeat and it was a strong 148 or so. She showed me the doppler reading the heart rate and showed that it was variable. She said this this a good thing, indicating that he is active and when we move around, we have different oxygen requirements which cause our heart to beat faster or slower to meet those needs. I am also measuring right on target for 30 weeks.

We discussed the previous 2 vessel cord diagnosis. She agreed with my Akron midwife that it is most often not an issue at all, but that we ought to monitor Butterball's growth in the coming weeks just to make sure he remains on schedule and the placenta and cord continue to deliver all of his oxygen and nutritional requirements. So, today, I went in for an ultrasound to get baseline growth measurements and then I will go again in 4 weeks to do a comparative ultrasound. I must say, it was wonderful to see him again today. I dare say, he is looking quite handsome. He is positioned head down and facing towards my left. He has his hands and feet by his face. You can see things are becoming more cramped for the little guy. Here is a profile:

Here, his face is forward. Hopefully you can make out eyes and nose. His mouth is hidden by his feet:

And this is the top of his head. It is really cool because you can see he has a lot of hair. Notice where the arrow is pointing and that is all the fuzzy hair on his head. The technician said he had a lot. She normally doesn't see it all over like this, but more often just a "Friar Tuck" pattern on the sides. I think the detail is amazing.

She did a lot of measurements and actually said Butterball is measuring around 32 weeks along! Of course, there is a margin of error to these things. My due date remains the same because the early dating ultrasounds (mine was at 12 weeks) are much more accurate. In later ultrasounds, the genetics of the baby determine its size. But, I fear this may mean Butterball could be a big boy! The ultrasound estimated he is just under 4 pounds right now. I suppose we will see in the next ultrasound. And I suspect we will discuss the details at my next appointment. I am now going every two weeks and I already have my next three appointments scheduled. I will be meeting with the midwives of the practice during those.

Overall, we are all doing well. Lily is loving NH and swimming almost daily. There will be much more news to come regarding our house and Butterball, so stay tuned.

28 Weeks

Okay, here is the real 28 week belly photo. To me, it has really exploded. Many of my maternity pants are not really fitting right anymore and even some of the shirts are getting a little tight. It is a bit frustrating as I am not keen to buy more clothes that will not work in 2 1/2 months. I am grateful that I don't have a job that I actually have to dress up for or I would be in real trouble.

I had my 28 week check up last Thursday. It was my last appointment with my midwife, Alice, in Akron. She was so sweet and I will miss her. Everything looked good. Butterball was moving around and Alice said he was head down for now, but he can do plenty of flips in the next few weeks. His heartbeat was a strong 145 beats/min. I had to take a glucose test to screen for gestational diabetes. It consisted of me drinking a very sugary orange drink and then sitting in the lab for an hour after which they took my blood. It wasn't bad really and I got the results today that my sugar levels were just fine. The bads news was that my blood cell count was a bit low and I am somewhat anemic. This surprised me as I thought I was eating the right things and I am religious about taking my prenatal vitamins. But, the nurse who called with the results said I need to concentrate more on getting iron-rich foods. I guess that means more meat, beans, and spinach for me. I am relaxing my meat consumption philosophy a bit for the time being to try to get the appropriate iron. I feel a bit guilty about it, but Butterball needs iron so that is what needs to be done. I am also wondering if this is one reason I have been so tired lately. I was chalking it up to the beginning of third tri and all the packing we have been doing, but I think this is probably also contributing. It actually makes me feel a little better because I was getting sad at how lazy I have felt.

I spent today cleaning out my office at school. It was a strange feeling. It is a little anti-climatic since I haven't actually finished and I know I will be back to defend (hopefully sooner rather than later). The rest of this week is packing and we head out on Friday.

Fried Pickles and Basil Ice Cream

One of the big questions every pregnant woman seems to get is, "What cravings have you had?" I have gotten that one a lot and I often answer, "not too many." I have definitely had more of a sweet tooth. I have been enjoying chocolate ice cream which was never a big draw for me pre-pregnancy (I always liked fruity kinds). But, then yesterday I had a nice going away dinner with my lab. When I was asked where we should go, I immediately suggested a restaurant in town called, Crave (rather appropriate) because they have the BEST FRIED PICKLES! Hmm. They are cumin and curry spiced and served with chili sauce and raita. These things rock my world! We had to get two servings just so others at the table could try them as I had to have a lot! Here is a photo of me taking the last one on the stick:

Not only did I really enjoy the fried pickles, but after the meal, we were offered dessert and my first inclination was to decline until the waitress mentioned their ice cream flavor of the day was BASIL. Well, in that case, I will have a scoop! YUMMY! It is really a shame we are leaving Akron as I swear I could subsist on fried pickles and basil ice cream for the rest of my pregnancy. I think this will be my big craving that I can tell Butterball about.

We had a lovely time at dinner and it is really starting to hit that I am leaving. I am very excited to go, but it is a mix of emotions to think back on the last five years of my life here. My adviser was reminiscing on my arrival and then shipping me off to our first field season in New Mexico. I have certainly had some good times and met some great people.

In particular, Chiara has been through it all with me: every field season in New Mexico, every crazy trip to Australia, every up and down in the PhD program (and it really is a roller coaster). She has very much been a sister to me and it is crazy to think about where our lives are going to take us next.


Well, I am obviously getting emotional and mushy. So, I will end this post with my current belly picture:

Just kidding....my 28 week picture and update coming soon :)

Pregnancy Q&A

Got this via email and found it amusing....

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?

A: No, 35 children is enough.

Q : I'm two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?

A: With any luck, right after he finishes college.

Q : What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex?

A: Childbirth.

Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she's

borderline irrational.

A: So what's your question?

Q : My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor,

but pressure. Is she right?

A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.

Q: When is the best time to get an epidural?

A: Right after you find out you're pregnant.

Q: Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife

is in labor?

A: Not unless the word 'alimony' means anything to you.

Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?

A: Yes, pregnancy.

Q : Do I have to have a baby shower?

A: Not if you change the baby's diaper very quickly.

Q : Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act

normal again?

A: When the kids are in college.

Colorado Baby Shower

I am back! I had a fantastic trip to the wild west. It was wonderful to be surrounded by friends and family. I was so happy to visit with my Grandmama, Josette while she was visiting from Mexico.
And it was wonderful to see my sister and my silly, exuberant nephews.

We had a wonderful visit with my godparents, Larry and Rhoda one evening. Also, their daughter and my great friend, Becky came over with her husband Hans and their beautiful twin girls, Paige and Chloe.

My mom and my sister threw me and butterball a fantastic baby shower. It was wonderful to reconnect with friends and family.

My aunt Kelley and my cousin Veronica flew in from Phoenix. Kelley was hardcore with the shower games.

Everyone was extremely generous and Butterball is going to be very well outfitted! The gifts were so cute and it was wonderful to revel in everything baby and anticipate Butterball's arrival. I feel so grateful and blessed to have such a wonderful support group and to know that Butterball is already so loved.I thought the cake was so very cute! And, boy, do I enjoy cake these days!

Hmm...maybe that's how I got this belly! It really seems to be growing by the day. Butterball is quite active too and I often feel him in the middle of the night doing what can only be major acrobats. My shower was actually on the day we completed 27 weeks. We are officially in the third trimester!
Butterball should be around 2 pounds and 14 1/2 inches long. His brain should be quite active at this point. He should be opening and closing his eyes now. And I am told that I should be able to feel hiccups when he gets them. I have my 28 week appointment this Thursday. I have to take the gestational diabetes test. I am as always looking forward to hearing Butterball's heartbeat. I am not looking forward to stepping on the scale after indulging in fantastic meals (mmm...mexican) while in Colorado :)

Sean and I are surrounded by boxes and we will have the majority of our things packed this weekend. We are having some pods delivered next Tuesday. Time is flying and in a week and a half we will be in NH.