Insomnia

Well... it is currently 5:27 am on Sunday, April 13th and I have been awake for about 2 hours. Got to love pregnancy related insomnia. Sparky and I are catching up on the news we missed over night (thanks to FoxNews) and uploading things onto Steve's iPod. I'm sure this is meant to prepare me for the many sleepless nights ahead, but I can't help but thinking this is silly, since extra sleep at this stage of the pregnancy would seem to be a good thing. Oh well... by the time I need to start getting ready for church the iPod should have at least 400 tracks from my old cd's ready to be added and I should be very well informed.

Happy Sunday :)

Operation Eviction

I have been having contractions off and on since Tuesday, so yesterday we decided to see if we could help Sparky move things along. We started off with a pep talk (the crazy yoga website said we needed to let her know that we were ready for her to arrive but that we knew it was her decision - yeah... right...). We then filled our day with lots of spicy food, walking, and other activities that we thought may be useful in the eviction process. And, by the end of the day, I was having regular contractions at 10 minutes apart. But then again, our child has been obstinate this entire pregnancy, so when we decided to get some rest just in case, the contractions went away. Back to the drawing board for today.

Unfortunately it is going to be cold and rainy today, so the walking part may be difficult. Yesterday's brief window of 74 and sunny was perfect. Knowing this child she is going to hold off until tax day - it just seems like a day when an attorney and dentist should have a child, doesn't it???

Wishing you good luck in your endeavors today and hoping that you will pray for a quick delivery (and soon) for this baby, before we all go crazy (or my belly splits in half).

Week 37 - Almost Done

We had a third baby shower on Saturday - Sparky is certainly a very lucky, very spoiled little girl. Our Sunday School class put on quite the party and I had a great time visiting with all those friends. They are all great ladies and Steve and I are both really going to miss our church family here in Ann Arbor.

Somehow my waistline is back down to 45 inches. Apparently Sparky has been sinking or is getting smashed or something. Not that it's slowed her down any - she is still wiggling away, mostly when I am wanting to nap. I am finally at the tail end of the head/chest cold that I have been battling. Just a few rouge coughs every now and then. Even though I've been feeling better, my discomfort level is about a 9.5 on a scale of 10. There is just not room for this little wiggly girl inside me and she just can't stand to be still. Hopefully she will be a little less active when she arrives so we can get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Steve is off to Dallas on Wednesday, so I am hoping and praying that Sparky will be cooperative and will stay put until at least Friday. As hard as it is for me to sit around doing nothing, I've been trying really hard to do just that. Today's projects include trying to get this condo sold (I spent all morning typing a sales contract to give to an interested party) and trying to get a house in Sault Sainte Marie purchased. Last night Steve did some major cleaning for me and I double checked the bags for the hospital. We should be all set, but since the hospital is only 5 minutes away I haven't been too worried about making sure I have absolutely everything packed up.

All of the laundry is done (again)

I finished washing all of the baby things. I was "done" with the baby laundry three weeks ago, but then we got more things, which required more laundry. And after Saturday's shower I will probably have more things and need to do more laundry. And there isn't even a baby here yet...

Maize, Sparky, and I are starting the first of our two days of being home alone by watching t.v. and cleaning up the kitchen counters. I made two little jobs for myself to do each day so that I can feel productive without getting too tired or overworked. Our other job today is to clean the master bathroom. That shouldn't be too bad either - just a little sweeping, mopping, and counter cleaning - I am going to leave the scrubbing in the shower for Steve to do when he gets home. Not that he will be home long. We will have him for Sunday and Monday and then on Tuesday he is off to Dallas until Friday.

Sparky is cooperating so far and keeping quiet. We are keeping our fingers crossed that she will wait at least the next 10 days before making her appearance so that our doctor can deliver her when he is back from vacation.

The Week 36 Checkup

Steve and I went to the doctor's office for the week 36 checkup. It was NOT fun. I am big and uncomfortable and not dilated at all. And... for the doctor to determine I was not dilated was the most uncomfortable part of pregnancy thus far. Needless to say, I left the doctor's office as a very unhappy camper.

Our doctor will be in Jamaica next week, so the current goal is to make it to the second week of April. He's hoping we don't have to meet his fill in next week and that we can aim for week 38. We will see if Sparky will cooperate with the current plan. With both the doctor and Steve and my parents hours away, next week would be a really bad time for her to decide to make her arrival.

We learned an important lesson this week - cough drops, even the sugar free ones, will make your blood sugar high. So... I've had a high reading most days at lunch because the cough drops were necessary to make it through the afternoon (in the morning I can use the hot shower and the evening I just sleep). Luckily the doctor doesn't get upset when there is a logical explanation for the high readings. Unluckily, the baby is still crazy from the extra sugar, even if there is a logical explanation for needing it.

Steve is leaving me this weekend to go scope out houses in Sault Ste. Marie - I am going to try very, very hard to stay off my feet and relax. We finally got the mortgage situation under control, so hopefully we will have some housing arrangements for "Up North" soon.

What happens when you give the baby sugar...

I've been sick since Thursday, so today I decided I didn't really care what I was supposed to eat. It's been 5 or 6 weeks with no bad readings, so today at lunch I decided to have Arby's for lunch. My blood sugar has been high all week anyway from being sick and taking medicine to combat the symptoms.

Sparky obviously enjoyed today's cheat. We won't be doing it again - her extra energy made it so not worth it.

The "Day to Day" List - and Week 35 Update

In basketball they list players as "day to day" when they have an injury. Sparky has landed us on the "week to week" list. This week, we are clear for another week of being pregnant, unless Sparky decides to come on her own terms. I talked to the doctor today and he said Sparky is at the high end of normal, but every week counts. So we'll re-evaluate next week and probably have a day or two notice for when labor will be induced. Maybe Sparky will do us all a favor and decide she is ready to evict herself before the doctor has the chance to pick a birthday for her.

Sunday was the start of a not-so-amazing new phenomenon - incredible discomfort. When the doctor asked me with morning how I was feeling I told him I felt like I had a baby elephant riding around, not a baby girl. As my good friend Sue put it, I have a one bedroom apartment, not a three bedroom house, for this girl to live in and she is taking up all of the available space. The poor little occupant is also having a very difficult time moving, so I've had to help her out a few times when she gets stuck halfway through moving around.

My waistline is up to 45 and 1/2 inches, but somehow I've managed to lose another 5 or so pounds in the last couple weeks. That was a slight cause for concern at the appointment this morning, but since Sparky seems to be doing well the weight must be coming off me, which is just fine with me. I'm hoping that by the time that we head to Steve's graduation I can fit back into my normal clothes.

This week Maize decided that she is scared of the kicking belly, so she's taken over Steve's personal space. She prefers his lap, but if he fills it with the computer she just takes over his shoulders. Someone needs to let the dog know that she is not a lap dog or a small kitten.
We are headed to Hastings this weekend to visit family for Easter and for the second of 4 baby showers. We are really excited about visiting family and getting out for a weekend. Happy Easter to you all - we hope you get to eat the share of the Easter candy that I can't have.
A pictorial recap of the expanding baby belly - weeks 8 through 35.

Surprise Shower

My co-workers had a surprise baby shower for us today. I was SHOCKED and very thankful for such generous co-workers. Sparky got a lot of wonderful things, including the really cool Baby Einstein excersaucer that we had registered for. We are so thankful for the many people who are so generous, Sparky already has much more than any baby probably needs.

We are looking forward to a quiet weekend at home, which may be our last since we will be traveling next weekend and Steve may be going to Sault Ste. Marie the following weekend to get our housing situation in order (we hope). We are hoping to wrap up a few last minute projects and to get a lot of cleaning done before we need to start worrying about baby things. We hope you all have an equally relaxing and productive weekend.

The BIG News

Just when we thought we had things figured out and under control, Sparky threw us for another loop. While a normal infant at week 34 would be 4.9 pounds or so, Ms. Sparky is well over 7 pounds. The ultrasound technician said the doctor would be able to give us the official weight, but she only knew how to get within the range. When I came home and tried to calculate the weight based on metric conversion I came up with 8 pounds, 1 ounce. Either way, Sparky is at least 2 pounds heavier than the average baby and will likely be here sooner rather than later. Based on her size, she is equivalent to a 36 week old baby, which would put a revised due date around April 7th. We are hoping to get some better information on the new plan of attack next Wednesday at our weekly visit.

So... other than that, week 34 is off to an uneventful start. My knee is bruised from the fall on Sunday, but not hurting. We now know why I feel like I have the world's largest baby in my belly. We have most of the essentials ready to bring Sparky home and now we just play the waiting game.

Congratulations to Becky Rasey for being the first to figure out that Sparky's name is Abigail Grace. Steve and I originally were debating between Elizabeth and Kathryn, but neither really ever really just seemed to fit Sparky. So after much debating and consideration we decided that Abigail was going to be the best name for our little gal. So, Abby will be joining our family shortly and you can all pray for a safe delivery and for a healthy little girl.

Also... on the above ultrasound photo Steve and I are trying to decide whether Abby's arm bones look more like a pirate skull or the ginger bread cookie from Shrek. Feel free to add your interpretation of her interesting photo to the mix.

Sparky's Name

We wanted Sparky's name to be reflective of how we felt about her. Do a little research and you should arrive at her name. The first to post the correct answer will be rewarded with a special surprise sometime after Sparky's birth (no, not the joy of diaper changing or anything else like that...).

Week 33 and Counting

Well, if you voted for Kathryn Ruth, you may want to change your vote because Sparky's name is not Kate. We both really loved the name Kate, but we didn't want to fight with people who would have wanted to use Katie, which we didn't like. And, Steve's family already has an Aunt Kathy and a cousin Cathy, so we didn't need to add another Kathryn to the mix.We've now survived 3 weeks of the diabetic diet. I have to admit, it's not as terrible as I thought it would be. It is expensive to buy all the fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grain products, but we have had a good variety of food and there are only a few things I want that I can't have (mostly in the baked goods category - like donuts, waffles, and cinnamon rolls). I've figured out how much I can eat of sweeter foods and what to pair with them to make sure my sugars stay in the acceptable range. I can't wait to have a big glass of chocolate milk and a cinnamon roll when this is over.

Steve and I did a lot of home improvement kind of things on Saturday and I did a lot of packing, which was not such a great idea in retrospect. I had quite a few contractions on Saturday night, but after laying low on Sunday things are back to normal. From my perspective it seems like Sparky is riding a lot lower since last week (and actually since yesterday), but that is based only on the fact that I can see my belly button again. Those of you more experienced baby bump watchers will have to tell us whether she really did drop a bit lower this week. My belly is still 45 inches around, so I haven't gotten any bigger in the last week. Since starting the diabetes diet I also haven't gained any weight (in other words I weigh the same now as I did in early February).

Dr. Sammarco says we are doing a great job managing the diabetes. Steve is going to try to come to this week's appointment so that we can get a better guestimate of Sparky's arrival date. It will also be Steve's first time hearing Sparky's heartbeat, since she would not cooperate for that the last time he came to the regular appointment.

So now for Sparky's estimated size. According to our friends at webmd.com, Sparky should be about 19.5 inches and 4.4 pounds. She is basically stuck in place (I can tell you this because we can feel most of her bumps and lumps now and can feel her whole back). Apparently Sparky is going to gain over 1/2 of her weight between now and birth. We hope that the 1/2 is less than 4 pounds, because if she is already over 4 pounds and gains much more than 4 pounds I may not be too happy when it comes time to evict her from her current home.

Check back Wednesday for more details about the timing of Sparky's arrival (we hope). Safe weeks to you all, especially those who live up here in cold Michigan with us and who are expecting another winter storm this week.

Another Trip to the Doctor

Sparky and I made our weekly trip to the doctor's office this afternoon. The wait is much longer when you have to go during the afternoon. I got bored waiting and Sparky got the hiccups. It was entertaining to watch my belly wiggle with each hiccup. According to Dr. Sammarco we are doing really well managing the sugar levels, so that may be pointing to a later delivery (like April 11 or 18). Fairly soon we will have an ultrasound to check in on the size Sparky has achieved.

Yesterday, in spite of the terrible headache, Steve and I washed all Sparky's smallest clothes so she would have something to wear in the hospital and when we all got home. It was so funny to be folding dozens of shirts that all came from the same load - we are so used to washing our clothes which fill the machine quite quickly. We are starting to feel ready to add this little girl to our family. This weekend will be another weekend of little projects and trying to finish Sparky's afghan so it is ready to bring her home in.

We all hope you are having good weeks and that you haven't come down with the mystery virus I've had.

Week 32 - 8 Weeks and Counting

Well, first off, to the person who voted for Chelsea, that is not Sparky's name.

Week 32 is off to a so-so start. I have a terrible cold and I cannot take any over the counter medication because it raises blood sugar. So, Sparky is getting the normal diet to keep her from getting too big while I am sipping hot tea hoping it will help somehow with the congestion, sore throat, sneezing, cough, and earache. So far it is day 4 with the cold and it has been no fun. Being sick apparently raises your blood sugar naturally, so I've been struggling to keep my sugar levels down and having to be extra careful about what I am eating.

My waistline is still at 45 inches, although I seem to be rapidly changing shape and I am assuming a big expansion is on the horizon. I have lost about 5 pounds since starting the diabetic diet, but the doctor isn't too concerned about it so I am sure that Sparky is doing just fine. She should be about 19 inches long and around 4 pounds this week. She is now pretty thoroughly stuck now and we can feel her back pretty well, along with feeling her little rear end frequently pushing up into my ribcage. I can't complain too much, though, now that we are regulating our sugar Sparky is much better behaved and I've had a much easier time sleeping and working.

We are back to the doctor on Wednesday, but I don't expect it to be much more than listening to Sparky's heartbeat and checking my sugar levels. Hopefully the cold does not linger much beyond this week.

The Safe Food List (So Far)

1. Whole grain blueberry oatmeal (some strange off brand)
2. Turkey sausage links
3. Oranges (only 1/2 per meal)
4. Grapes (only 30 per meal)
5. Wendy's Single burger without cheese
6. Chili (in small quantities)
7. Toast
8. Salad
9. Celery sticks
10. Carrot Sticks
11. No sugar, high fiber yogurt
12. Cottage Cheese
13. Fajitas without shells
14. Stir-Fry without sauce
15. California Pizza Kitchen extra thin crust pizza

As you can see - it's been a very boring diet and a very careful process of adding new things to the safe list (one item at a time). Each morning I add or change one thing to something new to see how it is going to affect my blood sugar. So far I've only had one reading above the doctor's recommended level (the first breakfast did not go so well).

Tomorrow we are trying breakfast burritos. On an interesting note, Sparky is apparently no longer on a sugar high and has been less active (don't worry - she is still passing the kick test everyday, so there is no reason to be concerned about her health or safety). My poor belly is finally getting a reprieve from the constant motion that we had been experiencing due to Sparky's sugar fueled behavior. The whole family is sleeping much better.

The Glucose Tolerance Test

Well... yesterday I completed the glucose tolerance test. For those of you lucky enough to have never had this test, this is how it goes. First, you have to fast for at least 8 hours. My doctor's office told me this included water, but that was incorrect, so I was hungry and dehydrated yesterday morning. Second, they take an initial blood sample to see what your baseline blood sugar level is. Then you get to drink this really nasty, pure sugar beverage. One hour (exactly) later, they take your blood a second time. Then another hour later they take the third sample followed by a fourth sample three hours after you started the whole mess. This is the second time I've had the test done - I had it done once in high school to test for low blood sugar.

So, needless to say, by noon yesterday I had a terrible headache from almost 16 hours without food (since we had dinner at 5 on Thursday and I forgot to snack before bed in anticipation of the test) and about 12 hours without water. Steve had most of the day off, so he took me out for lunch after the ordeal, but putting food into a totally empty stomach just created extra acid reflux. Oh well...

I talked to my sister Melissa last night and gave her the low down on the test so that when she gets to the one hour test in a few weeks she will not eat anything sugary before and end up having to do the long test. Sitting in a hospital laboratory waiting room is not my idea of fun. Neither is being used to show the 3 nurses in training how to do the glucose tolerance test. We specifically decided to use the local hospital, rather than the University of Michigan's hospital to avoid having a bunch of students, interns, and trainees around. It just goes to show you that you can't always get what you want. Unfortunately Sparky won't be old enough to understand this lesson for quite a while.

Extra Wild Wednesday

Sparky has decided that today is extra wild Wednesday and my body has been suffering the consequences all day. This morning I actually had a few incidents of her head pushing down in my lower abdomen and her feet pushing up diagonally on the opposite side near my ribs. OUCH! I was worried for a few moments that we may have a car wreck because of her craziness. She has been wild since 5 am without much rest in between.

After lunch I had to take a break from answering my phone - resulting in 3 voicemail messages I had to return - because the attacks were getting a little too strong and much to frequent to risk being on the phone with one of my builder contacts and blurting out "ouch" or any other reaction to Sparky's fun. I should be thinking about making dinner, but standing up right now is not something I am looking forward to doing. At least we know she is active and healthy, right???

The Very First Stretch Mark

For my few friends who are not now and have not been pregnant - using cocoa butter or any other type of lotion to avoid stretch marks WILL NOT WORK. It will however, keep you from feeling all itchy and flaky, so I still recommend it.

I now have a very tiny beginning of a stretch mark down on my belly (below where I can see it without looking in the mirror). Steve verified for me this morning that it was an actual stretch mark and not just a mark from my pajamas. Obviously, it was a very sad morning and most of my bikinis went into the Goodwill bag, along with a lot of other things. I kept a few, just in case the mark is below my bikini line when my belly is back to its normal-ish size and shape.

Since there wasn't a clear victor in the nursery decoration vote, we are going to stick with Classic Pooh (we've registered for the set at Target). We figure it's the best of all worlds - classic, cute, neutral (sage and cream) and best of all, not pink and girly (for Steve's sanity since he will be living with all females for a long while).

My tennis ball sized ankles returned this week. Not that I did anything different than a normal week (40-ish hours at work, at my desk, calling builders and reading contracts). Hopefully the swelling doesn't get too out of hand. For now I can live with it, but if my shoes quit fitting we may have a problem.

0 for 6...

Well... The doctor is zero for six in his attempts to listen to Sparky's heartbeat. She is apparently afraid of having her heartbeat known. They tried really hard to pin her down today by pushing in on my belly, but she was too sneaky for them. We visited the doctor again this morning for the dreaded shot and blood draw visit. It was just as non-fun as I had expected. First was taking the two vials of blood to find out if I have gestational diabetes. Although they say you can't feel the needle once it is in your arm, I am pretty sure they are full of it because I felt that needle in my vein the whole time. Then I got to have a rhogam shot, since I am lucky enough to have rh negative blood. Hopefully Sparky won't have rh positive blood so I won't have to have that shot again - it really stung going in and my poor backside ached all day at work.

Sparky's next opportunity to evade the doctor and the doppler heartbeat monitor is February 13th - maybe as a valentine gift to the staff at the doctor's office she will decide to cooperate. Or maybe she will just be too big to evade them.

Hoping you are all staying warm - our garage door was frozen to the cement this morning and it took some boiling water and Steve prying at it to get it open.

Sicky Icky Thursday

Sparky and I stayed home today because of some bad Chinese food last night (I think). Between the nausea, heartburn, and other intestinal problems, I think I could have been the spokesperson for Pepto Bismo today. Normally this wouldn't have kept me from doing my daily routine, including going to work, but when a small person inside of you keeps kicking your stomach and other upset insides it really intensifies the illness.

On the bright side, I am feeling pretty much back to normal (although I have not ventured into the kitchen to find something to eat for dinner). Now that Sparky is getting so big I am having a lot of daily back pain and also a lot of pain around my belly, probably related to more stretching. I've still got a belly button, but I am sure that it is not going to last much longer.

Hoping you are all feeling better than I am - Sparky is certainly feeling just fine, so no need to worry about her health today.

Week 27 - the Last Week of the 2nd Trimester

Well... with only one week left of the second trimester, I believe huge would be the word that best describes how I've been feeling lately. On Friday night I tried to put on the top from the photos in the week 15 update. Being a maternity top and a size large (my pre-pregnancy size was a ladies small) I figured it would be no problem. Boy was that a bad assumption. While the shirt went on (with some struggle), getting it back off was near impossible. At this point my only option is t-shirt material that has lots of stretch. So unfortunately, there goes 1/2 of my maternity tops. The bottoms are going much the same way - they are getting so tight around my belly that I'm thinking about just wearing dresses all day (something that I am not too excited about).

Sparky is still being very active and wild - my mom claims she told Sparky to act this way. On the bright side, Sparky has been getting wild mostly during the day and has been doing much better at sleeping through the night. It has made the work day much more difficult to get through - lots of kicking, wiggling, and flipping. My belly has gotten so big that it sits on my lap when I am sitting at my chair. This phenomenon creates an interesting activity for Sparky - she now kicks through my belly and into my leg. This is perhaps the creepiest part of being pregnant so far. While feeling her move is nice, because I know she is still healthy and doing just fine, feeling all that movement is not really on the top of the list of things I'd like to feel during the day (or night). I'm pretty sure I'm not one of those women who just love being pregnant. I know that Sparky will be well worth it, but I can't say I'm too excited about the thought of doing this too many times.

Well... on to the relevant data for the week. My belly is expanding again (ouch...) and is up to 44 inches. My belly button is being rather stubborn and is still an innie - but it is getting more and more sensitive and painful by the day, so I'm sure it's on its way to being an outie soon. Sparky has broken the 2 pound barrier and is around 14 1/2 inches. She's getting pretty regular in her sleep and wake habits. Her biggest wake times are between 7 and 9 am, 1 and 4 pm, and 5 and 8 pm. She also now has more clothes than any one baby could possibly wear, including 5 or 6 Christmas dresses.

Only 13 weeks to go...