Snow Showers and No Baby Shower

YES!!! Finally a new week is starting. This past week was a roller coaster ride and ended with a blanket of unexpected snow. Normally, I like snow but Saturday was suppose to be my baby shower.

All week I was watching the weather and praying that the snow storm that was being predicted would stay south and not reach us. I headed to bed Friday night with shower dreams in my head and less then an inch of snow predicted. MIL & I woke up a little late but had plans to do a few errands before the shower. We were in the middle of getting ready to leave the house and MIL looked out the window. She called to me, "It's snow!" "

"CRAP!"

Maybe 15 minutes later my neighbor knocked on my door and told me that the roads were terrible and asked if there was a back up plan for my shower. Sadly there was no back up plan and I was insistent that nothing was going to ruin this day. I was going to get to my shower and it was going to happen.

We decided to leave early and pick up some lunch before heading to my friends house. The roads weren't bad if you drove 20MPH but not everyone was driving that slow. After being on the road for about 15 minutes my friend called me and told me that she had witness several accidents already and was turning around. My heart sank and I knew what I needed to do. I told her to call my other friend and tell her to cancel the shower.

My friends called the guest or at least I thought. Two hours after I had already been home sulking about the lose of my day, my friend called and asked if I was having fun. What? She said she was almost to the shower and she was sorry she was running late. Now I felt terrible because I knew I should have called her. You think the terrible day would end there but it didn't. DH was playing a gig about 2 hours away and got snowed in. It was the icing on top of a very bad day.

Luckily, today was better and the sun was shining. Let this week be better then the last.

GD Education

Today was my introduction into gestational diabetes and it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. I think the worst part of the whole experience was dealing with the insurance BS. Yesterday, I made several phone calls between the Diabetes Education Center and my OB's office to make sure EVERYTHING was squared away. Because if I am going to take a day off from work then this class needs to happen.

Anticipating an issue I arrived about 20mins early. When I got to the desk they said, "We have a problem we never got your referral and we don't have your authorization." WTH!?! This is why I made all those phone calls yesterday. Luckily the ladies were very nice and called my OB's office and arrange everything for me. This was only after a few frustrated hormonal pregnant women tears.

The class was a great learning experience for me about how food affects your blood sugar and how just a few simple food changes can keep GD under control. They also gave me a food plan based on me pre-pregnancy weight. It is actually really easy because they map out my 3 small meals and my 3 snacks. I am actually looking forward to going to the grocery store tomorrow to pick out some great food choices.

The biggest changes come with breakfast and of course giving up my one Pepsi a day. For breakfast I am suppose to avoid all fruit and cereal. I LOVE fruit and cereal, it is like breakfast staple. Also I have to give up orange juice, well just for a few weeks.

To finish off my day I went and saw my OB for a BP check. It was a good appointment because my blood sugar was good, my BP ok, and Ant's heart beat was awesome. The only thing she is concerned about is because my BP has been slowly rising through out my pregnancy and she is concerned it is the early signs of preeclampsia. I really don't have any other symptoms but she just wants to make sure we keep everything under control. It feels great to know that my OB is really keeping an eye on everything.

Eventful Week

Monday was my 34 week appointment at the OB. It was a very exciting appointment because my MIL is now in town with us and it was the first time she would hear Ant's heartbeat. Every appointment I have had so far have been uneventful and I assumed this one would be the same.

It started off normal till we got to my blood pressure. The RN took my BP and she told me the #'s 148 over 78 (I think). I asked how that was and she told me it was a little high and to lay down on my left side. When my OB came in she asked me several questions.

"Are you seeing black spots?"
"Are you having sharp pains on your sides?"

"Are you having headaches?"

"How is the baby moving?"

This was all very overwhelming but that was just the beginning. She also told me that there was sugar in my urine and that she wanted me to redo my 3hr glucose test. She then told me if I passed she would leave me alone about it. The RN did retake my BP and it was 134 over 74, better but not great. Before I left we decided that I would redo my glucose test on Tuesday and come back in on Friday to check my BP.

Tuesday was mostly uneventful other then redoing my 3hr glucose test. I have to say I think DH's should have to take these test just so they know what their partners are going through. Not that I am complaining but when it comes to IF and pregnancy women have to do sooo much more then men. (PS. DH I love you)

Wednesday I missed a call from my OB. I knew it was bad because in the OB world they only call you back quickly if it is something bad. If everything is ok they never call. It feels so backwards from the IF world. Well, not completely backwards but they call with good and bad news. Also, they call you the same day.

Now we are to today, I called my OB back. I have to say I was surprised when she told me that I have gestational diabetes. She gave me a list of things I can start doing now such as avoiding sugar, carbs, only 2 servings of fruit, and walking 30-45mins 4-5 days a week. Also she wanted me to call diabetes center and make an appointment. I was very lucky because they have a class tomorrow from 9am-12pm but I also found out when I dropped my work insurance that they didn't authorize my other insurance for my pregnancy. So, lots of phone calls later it seems like everything went through but I will have to wait and see.

When I finally got home today MIL and I went for a nice walk. The only problem with with walking is that it is the middle of winter. You never know what you are going to get 50's or 20's.

I am sure I will be back blogging soon about my diabetes class tomorrow and my OB check up tomorrow. Fingers cross that my BP is down and that I get lots of good info about diabetes and controlling it with my diet.

Tree in the Making

With just about 7 weeks, we still have sooo much to do to prepare for Ant. My dear friend came down to my house this weekend to help me with the mural for his room. As you already know we are doing a "Tree Top" theme for his room. We thought the perfect addition would be giant tree in his room.

At first my friend was suppose to help me with the project but it turns out that I am great at painting. I don't know if if you can see but the brown is a mixture of several different colors. It has been a fun project but it is VERY time consuming.

This is also the last week before my MIL comes to stay with us till the end of March. I am very lucky to have the world's best MIL because she is very supportive. During our whole journey there was no pressure from her, it was just from myself. I am glad she will be here because I am in need of help. There are just not enough hours in the day to get everything done.

Mommy, Was Your Tummy Big

About a week ago I purchased this book for Ant. As, you already know we will be telling him his story from birth. Starting from birth is more for us to practice then for him but I think it is important for him to hear his story often so it isn't a surprise later. Many people have asked me how we plan on telling him and stories like "Mommy, Was Your Tummy Big?" are just the beginning.

As I read "Mommy, Was Your Tummy Big?" it brought tears to my eyes because it hits all the important points about our journey. It also keeps it simple and easy to understand. In the story, I love how they talk about the sadness, the donor, and the egg. Ms. Nadel did a great job talking about the donor and her "gift" the egg, it is eloquently put.

I can't tell you how Ant will respond yet or the questions he will ask but I know it will be a great jumping off point for telling him his story.

Preparing for Ant

I can't believe I will be 32 weeks tomorrow, it is amazing how fast this pregnancy has flown by. Over the winter break DH and I finally got started painting Ant's room. We still have a lot of work to do to get ready but we are officially on our way.

Over the next 2 weeks we need to finish as much as possible. My MIL has offered to come and spend the last month of my pregnancy with us and she is going to help us out during the month of March. I am so grateful that she is coming because I am already overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done. We need to have his room some what ready because that is also our guest bedroom.

This week starts a marathon of classes preparing us for Ant. I have heard many people say birthing classes is a waste of time but I am of the mind set that it is better to know what is coming or at least have some idea of what is happening. We are also register to take infant care and CPR. DH lucked out that he was busy during the breastfeeding class, so he doesn't have to go with me. Also, he isn't the one that is going to be breastfeeding.

As for the pregnancy, it is going great. I think sometime between Thanksgiving and now I have really popped. People are finally noticing I am pregnant without me telling them. Most people still tell me I am small but at least I have a cute baby bump now.

This past week I headed back to work after a nice 2 week break. It was great to be back to work but at the same time the 3rd trimester exhaustion is starting to set in. I am hoping for lots of snow days and late starts between now and the time Ant comes. Lastly, heartburn has really started to kick my a$$. The funniest thing is that water seems to make it worse. Thank goodness only 8 weeks to go!!!