30 week update

Quick baby update:

Peanut is now nearly 6 lbs, and all measurements are between 35-36 weeks gestation, even though she is only 30 weeks. Big, but proportionately so, which is good.

My gestational diabetes has improved with medication & diet, but is still considered uncontrolled. Starting insulin injections as soon as the pharmacy fills it.

The good news is my A1C bloodwork came back good (5.3), and the maternal fetal doctor said that is a good sign that my diabetes will resolve once the pregnancy is over. Not for sure, but apparently it's a good indication that it will.

On the other hand, maternal fetal has had a special interest in my metabolic syndrome, and feels that the gestational diabetes is probably tied in with that. They've said on a couple of occasions that I will probably need treatment for the rest of my life, and will be lucky to dodge Type II Diabetes at some point down the line. Nothing we didn't know, but still a bummer to hear.

We did go ahead and start Non Stress Tests (NSTs) this week. First one went well. From here on out I'll have 2 per week, on top of at least one doctor appointment per week. Fun fun.

All of my doctors agree that a scheduled C-section is the way to go, but at the same time no one wants to commit, and definitely not schedule. That's a little frustrating for me. To have five different doctors say they think that's our best option, considering the complications with this current pregnancy and the complications I had during L&D with my first, but then have them turn around and say we'll wait until later in the pregnancy to confirm it's what's needed I find frustrating. I'm a planner. And as much as I realize that there are no guarantees, and even if we schedule it, she might try to come on her own terms, it would give me some peace of mind to have it confirmed. And if we had a date in the books it would be even better.

So despite all the complications, extra appointments, etc. things are going well. I'm horribly uncomfortable & tired all the time, but... okay. Jason's mom is throwing me a shower this weekend, so that should be fun. Jena is really looking forward to it, and is spending the night with her Mamaw the night before so she can help get things ready.

I guess that's about it for now. I'll try to post again soon. As always, thanks for checking in!

Jena Schooling Update

You may remember the issues we’ve had with the local public school regarding Jena’s age (she misses the cutoff by less than a week).

We were originally told that she would need to repeat Kindergarten, strictly because of her age.

Well, it took three months and talking to nine members of the administration, but we finally got word that as long as we produce a certificate of completion from the Kindergarten program she’s currently in, the will permit her to start first grade in the Fall after all.

We are still exploring the possibility of homeschooling, and no decision has been made yet, but it’s nice to finally know that if we do choose to send her to public school she will at least be able to progress to the next grade.

She is doing exceptionally well in Kindergarten, and amazes us regularly with her progress.

Jena is currently reading on a 3^rd grade level, has finished her first chapter book, and informed me that all the books we have at home are “too easy”. So the search to expand her library at home is on.

It’s my understanding that her math skills are currently at an end of 1^st / beginning of 2^nd grade level. She adds & subtracts numbers up to 100, does “carrying math” (ie. carry the 2…), and is progressing in her understanding of money & time.

Handwriting is still her struggle point, but we have seen huge improvements since the beginning of the school year.

And she’s such a little nerd. In a good way. She knows that she will go to a different school next year (she’s currently in a private preschool that ends after Kindergarten), and she knows it will either be the “big kid school” or homeschool, and that Mommy & Daddy haven’t decided yet.

When I explained to her that she wouldn’t go to school this Summer, she was confused. See, she’s gone to preschool every year, including Summers, since she was two.

She asked if it were because of the baby. I told her yes, since Mommy will be staying home from work after having the baby, Jena will just stay home with us too.

{{ insert frowny face }}

She then asked why we couldn’t at least do homeschool during the Summer, even if she were going to big kid school in August. Because she likes school. And she likes work. And she doesn’t want to not go to school all Summer.

And I love it.

I guess that’s all on her for now. Thanks for checking in!

Family Business Update

Regarding the business, Jason's starting the season with a bang. Since his job is so “weather permitting”, this week is the first week with several days available for him to work. And on Monday he had two jobs. He has several others lined up for later this week as well, but we’re honestly not sure if he’ll be able to do them or need to postpone them.

Why?

Well, first of all after a couple of days of beautiful weather, we’re back in a cold snap. So the weather for later this week is very iffy.

Secondly, his work van – the one that pulls his the trailer with all of his equipment and holds all of his tools – died Monday. Transmission went out. We knew it would happen eventually, as the van is nearly 20 years old, but it showed no signs of problems.

Luckily we were already planning on the business buying a truck later this year. It just came sooner than we thought. So yesterday he bought a work truck. But the dealership has to finalize some paperwork, so he can’t pick it up until tomorrow. And while he got a great deal on it, it does need tires. And brakes. And a trailer hitch so it can actually pull his trailer. And as optimistic as I am, the idea of all of that getting done in time for him to pick up the truck, finish the work that needs to be done on the truck, then go out and do a few jobs all in the next two days seems highly unlikely. So the jobs will probably need to be postponed.

Oh well. We hate to disappointment customers, but sometimes things like this can’t be helped. And now we have a new truck, which we knew we’d need eventually anyway. So I’m sure it’ll all work out in the end after all.

As always, thanks for checking in!

Baby Update

My appointment with MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine) went well. They were very thorough, and also took a lot of time explaining everything to me. In fact, the appointment took around two hours. I don’t think I’ve ever had a doctor appointment that long before, but I’m glad it was. There was so much to go over!

Although the appointment went well, and I’m very satisfied with everything, there were definitely some parts I wish I could just put my head in the sand over.

Words like:
                NICU
                incubator
                stillbirth

Yeah. I’m glad I’m well-informed, but I could go a lifetime with never hearing those words.

He agrees with our plan for a scheduled C-section. Honestly don’t remember if I told you guys that or not, but our regular Ob had already agreed that it was our safest options, considering the complications I had during labor & delivery with Jena. So we’re all on board there.

The biggest concern right now seems to be the baby’s size. Peanut is on track to be 11 lbs, which doesn’t surprise us at all, and we believe to be at least mostly genetic, but the doctors are concerned because of the what-ifs. Namely, what if the baby grows bigger than the placenta can support?

He said at the first sign that Peanut might be in distress because the placenta can no longer support her, we will immediately go for a C-section. As he said, we know babies cannot survive if the placenta cannot support them, but the NICU has very fine incubators.

I’m sure they do, but it’s still scary to think of.

They started me on meds for my GD (gestational diabetes). So far my numbers have come down, but not enough. I anticipate they will raise the dosage at my next appointment.

I am to begin kick counts twice a day immediately, fax my blood sugar numbers to them weekly, have an ultrasound scheduled for next week, and will begin NSTs (Non Stress Tests) no later than 32 weeks (three weeks from now). I also have at least one doctor appointment weekly, sometimes more than one.

On a less-medical-more-practical front, we still need to work on the nursery. Badly. I’ve sorted out everything that was in there, but need Jason to find some time to actually move the boxes for me, since I’m not supposed to lift. After going thru everything, eight of the boxes are headed straight to the trash. The rest we need to keep.

Once that stuff gets moved out we can clean everything really well, paint if needed, set up the crib, etc.

Unfortunately this comes at the time when Jason’s business is taking off for the season. I told him this morning we need to pick a day that is nursery work day. Nothing else (because there’s always something else). Hopefully if we do that we can knock out most (if not all) of it in one day and be done.

That's all for now. Thanks for checking in!

28 Week Baby Update

So much to catch you up on!

Well, my blood pressure has normalized on its own, so we're still watching it, but so far out of the woods.

Unfortunately my gestational diabetes (GD) is currently "uncontrolled". I am doing my best to follow the eating plan given to me, but my numbers keep going up. My morning fasting blood sugar is the worst, at double or more the target.

And just for added fun, this week I started weekly visits to the High Risk Pregnancy Clinic, and at my visit was told that I need to consult with the Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist at the hospital where I will deliver.

Why so much attention? Well, it's a combination. First & foremost seems to be my "advanced reproductive age". They really like bringing up how old I am, LOL.
Then you add to that my giant baby. Peanut is currently on target to be 11 lbs at birth. Not bad considering my husband was nearly 12 lbs, and my dad was 10 lbs, so we're getting it on both sides. And I was informed that if I had carried Jena to term she would likely have been 10.5 lbs. But still. Big babies mean higher risks for mom, so... there's that.
And of course my uncontrolled GD on top of that. And then the hypertension, even though it's currently resolved, is yet one more reason to keep an eye on things.

So high risk clinic & specialists it is.

We are starting to enter panic mode, realizing how quickly this baby is coming. If I carry to term (which is unlikely), we have a mere 12 weeks left. The nursery isn't really even started. We still have to finish cleaning out the room, before we can begin putting it together. We just went thru all of Jena's old things that we had in storage over the weekend, and did manage to register last night. But it's all happening so fast.

Speaking of registering, my mother-in-law is throwing me a shower. I know there's all kinds of different views on second baby showers, but she wanted to do it. Honestly, I'm not expecting much of a turnout. My family doesn't "do" 2nd baby showers. So besides my mom & my sister, I'm not sure anyone else will show up. Which is fine. I understand the view, and it's okay.

But... I'm questioning the logic. Growing up obviously we never did them. The reasoning (as it was explained to me) is that the first time you shower the mom with things she'll need for baby. For the second child, she should already have what she needs, so to have another shower is akin to being greedy.

But here's the thing:
- after years in storage, some of our items from Jena just didn't survive. Pack-n-Play. Diaper bag. Baby bath. To name a few of the larger items
- there is also a bevy of smaller items that just need to be replaced, or are disposable

I'm gonna be honest, I was surprised at how much did end up on our registry. There's so much that we don't have, despite all the things we kept from when Jena was a baby (which was a lot, IMO).

So for me the logic doesn't hold. If you're gonna help the mom out the first time, why not the second time? It seems a little hypocritical to say you're okay with bringing presents for baby #1, but not for baby #2.

It's okay if you don't want to because you don't want to. But the logic for not doing 2nd showers as it was always explained to me just doesn't hold. Just my opinion.

Besides, when I was pregnant with Jena I knew I wanted a shower for any other kids we might have. Not because of the presents, but because I just can't imagine having all this celebration over one child, but not celebrating any subsequent children. How could I not celebrate Peanut's upcoming arrival? Because tradition says we don't? Sounds like a tradition that needs to go, in my opinion.

So to those invited, come. Bring a gift, don't bring a gift, I really don't care. But help me celebrate this child and everything she means to me and my family.

Well... that got a lot longer than I originally intended. I guess that's what happens when I don't get to write as often, huh?

Thanks for checking in!