It's baaaaack!

I had thought I was finally done with all of that sinus congestion from the 2nd trimester because it had pretty much gone away for about a month. BUT...now it's back with a vengeance! This week I've had to go back to my decongestant/nose spray routine. Major bummer! Basically, I think my pregnancy has caused me to be allergic to something - like maybe I'm more sensitive to dust or maybe to my cats. Whatever it is, I really can't wait to be rid of this!

I have also started to get less sleep due to being uncomfortable, getting heartburn, having to pee 2 to 3 times a night and waking up with a runny/stuffy nose. Each week that goes by, it gets harder for me to get up from a low seat or a deep cushion. And just rolling over in bed can be quite uncomfortable. This belly gets heavy!

At my doctor's visit last week I was told that I was measuring right on schedule so it doesn't look like my baby is growing too big or not enough. At my appointment next week I'll be 34 weeks so I want to be sure and find out if they think she's head-down and I'm also curious as to about how much she weighs so far. As of now, there's no reason to think I won't be able to have a vaginal delivery, so I'm hoping she doesn't get TOO big! :-)

Updates

I found out some interesting news recently...the doctor that I don't like at my OB's office is retiring! BUT....he's not leaving until August 31st - two weeks after my due date. Lucky me, he will still be around for the rest of my pregnancy and possibly for my delivery. I'm pretty much over it now since there isn't really anything I can do about it, and I realize it's not the end of the world if he delivers my baby but I am glad that he'll be gone after that.

We've checked one more thing off the list by selecting a Pediatrician's office for Hadley. They're located in the same building as my OB/GYN so it's pretty convenient. They are a pretty large practice...13 doctors on staff and I think they also have 3 RNs we can see as well. One thing I liked is that they have 10 nurses working in the triage area who are there to take all the phone calls they receive from worried parents about what to do with their children. So there's always someone to help me if I think Hadley's having a problem. I also like that they don't make you stick with one doctor. If I don't like one doctor, I can switch Hadley to a different one anytime. Or, if I really like a particular doctor, she can see the same one at each visit.

Shower #2

I had another baby shower this past weekend and it was another great one! This one was family, close family friends and ladies that my Mom is close with through church.

I got many great gifts but this one was probably the most creative:

My mom's friend, Kathy (who is almost like "Aunt Kathy" to me), made this really cute diaper cake and she stuck in some baby toys, hangers, socks and spoons and then wrapped the box with receiving blankets! Such a great idea!

My grandmom, Sara (Hadley's great-grandma) was able to come to shower which was really great...I was worried she might not make it, but I was so glad she did. And she surprised me by bringing some of the books that I used to read over and over at her house when I was growing up. I can't wait to read them to Hadley! I bet she will love them, too!

Wish I hadn't heard that...

I'm beginning to question whether I should have signed up for these childbirth classes we've been going to. At class last night, Bev, the nurse who teaches the class, was going over when to call the doctor when you think you might be in labor and then she started telling us when you should call the doctor after you've gone home after the birth of the baby. THAT was scary. She was talking about symptoms we could encounter with our breasts and also things that can happen down below. And she was very graphic! I think that talk made me more scared of having the baby than the actual fear of labor pains! I cannot even repeat some of the stuff she mentioned because it is just too disgusting to share on my blog.

Fortunately, we did eventually get off that topic and we learned some relaxation techniques and some exercises that are supposed to help us push when we're in labor. I think the class is helpful, but so far, it hasn't made me any less scared about having a baby!

1st Baby Shower

Saturday was my first baby shower and it was so wonderful! My friend, Sharon threw the shower for me and she did such a great job. Everything looked great and she had thought of some really cute ideas like giving packets of heather seeds as party favors (my daughter's name means "from the field of Heather") and having everyone email her with the title of their favorite children's book so she could purchase them as a gift. I got lots of great gifts and I'm thrilled to have such a good start to Hadley's library. All of my best girlfriends came to the shower, some of them traveling across several states to be there and I had the best time just seeing everyone and spending time with my girls. I'm so grateful to have all of these ladies in my life!

Hospital visit...and other weird stuff

Last night we got to tour the hospital where our little girl will be born. For those of you who don't know, we will be at Emory Eastside in Snellville. They do hospital tours once a week and I was really surprised by how many couples were there for the tour last night....there had to be at least 20-25 couples there so they broke us up into two groups to take us around. The rooms are pretty nice...a good bit bigger than I'd expected and fairly new since the hospital itself hasn't been around that long. It was a little weird at first to see what the delivery room will look like. Now I can actually picture the room I'll deliver in (assuming I will be able to have a regular delivery without c-section). I also got a lot of my questions answered and I feel pretty comfortable with the hospital. They seem very willing to accomodate the mother's wishes when it comes to her baby.

I think I may have felt my first Braxton-hicks contractions last night. Still not totally sure, though since I can't really find a clear explanation online of what they feel like. As I was getting ready for bed last night I got this pain in the middle of my belly. It didn't feel like one of the baby's kicks and it definitely was much more uncomfortable. The best way I can describe it is that it felt like a tightening...but only in that area at the middle of my belly. I thought contractions were supposed to make your whole tummy tighten so that's why I'm still not totally sure what it was. I felt those pains several times in row last night along with what felt like period-type cramping and I also had severe heartburn so trying to fall asleep was quite difficult for awhile. I also had the same pains a couple times this morning. At this point, I'm not too concerned about it being anything worth calling the doctor about since I'm still feeling my baby move around like normal and I haven't had any bleeding or anything scary like that. I suppose it's also possible that it could be my baby pushing her feet outwards into my belly in an effort to stretch...that's the only other thing I could think of. The doc said on Monday that based on where he had located her heartbeat, he thought she had already moved into the head-down position in my uterus, so maybe that's what it is. I just hope these pains don't become a frequent occurance for me!

It's all good

I had a little bit of a scare at my last doctor visit because I had taken the 1-hour glucose test and had not passed it. I thought for sure this meant I probably had gestational diabetes (especially because I have a family history of diabetes). Since I had failed the 1-hour test, I had to go back this Monday and take the 3-hour test. For this test I had to fast for 10 hours (overnight), come into the office in the morning, and have them take my fasting blood sugar. Then, I had to drink this super sugary drink in five minutes. This stuff was pretty nasty...it had 100 grams of sugar in one 10 oz. drink. Ugh! Then they took blood from my arm every hour for 3 hours. I wasn't allowed to eat anything until the test was over around 11:30. I was STARVING!!

I ended up with two bruised arms from all the needles, but at least I found out that I passed the test and had normal results...woo-hoo! Not that it would have been the end of the world if I had GD but it would have been one more thing to worry about and it wouldn't have been fun having to completely cut out sweets. I also would have had to go in for diet counciling and frequent sugar tests. So I'm so relieved that everything checked out okay. From what the nurses told me, LOTS of people fail the 1-hour test but it's rare for anyone to fail the 3-hour.

My blood pressure was good and the doctor said I was measuring at 30 so the baby's size is right on target for me being 30 weeks pregnant. I've gained about 13lbs. since my first visit and they said I'm doing good with my weight so far. I'm so thankful that everything is going well!

Rey and I are going for a visit tonight to the hospital where our baby will be born. I'm looking forward to seeing where I'll meet my baby girl for the first time and getting some of my questions answered. :-)

Childbirth classes

It's really getting real now that we're going to be having a baby soon...Rey and I started our Childbirth classes this week. They started us out by having us watch a video of 5 childbirths (each had their own different circumstances) and boy, was that um...eye-opening. Yikes. They didn't hide anything from the camera and I must say that when you see the head coming out, it just doesn't look right! I know millions of women have gone through this process before me, but it still amazes me that my body is going to be capable of doing it.

One of the guys in the class commented that he wasn't going to look because he gets queasy and he was planning on staying up by his wife's head while she was giving birth so he wouldn't have to see the baby coming out. The nurse giving the class literally just laughed at him and told us that that is not how it's done and that he better be ready to see it all. Rey and I had sort of had the same idea, but I guess that's out the window now!

For next week's class we're going to start actually practicing for childbirth...we're supposed to bring pillows, a focal point and a stop watch. Should be interesting!