Sea Monkey Stats 30 Weeks

How far along? 30 weeks

Weight? 137.5 (Can you tell I had a good holiday? Up 2 lbs :-p

Symptoms? Constipation, dry/itchy skin (belly), leaky nipples, pelvic/hip pain

Maternity clothes? Yes

Nursery Purchases? Not specifically for the nursery, but purchased a new cover for the boppy (green) and a moby wrap (slate)

Stretch marks? Just a tiny one around my piercing scar

Sleep? Sleep is starting to become more uncomfortable. I am tired all the time now, so napping is back again. Naps, I am like a rock. At night I seem to toss and turn, which is hard with the extra weight.

Best moment this week? Getting to see family together.

Movement?Yes, butt sticking out and legs/feet kicking my side. Occasionally feeling the baby's head grinding on my bladder :(

Food cravings? Currently, hot cocoa, but in general not craving a lot.

What I miss? Feeling comfortable!

What I'm looking forward to? Chiropractor visit

Emotions? Feeling blessed with all the wonderful conversations we've been having with family. Between being extra introspective from the pregnancy, and the RCIA process, we've definitely grown closer together, but we're also forming closer bonds with my family. I feel a bit guilty that is isn't also including his family, but the close family bond we are seeking just isn't there with them. I wish it was, or wish there was a way to help facilitate that.

I delayed a bit on posting this so that I could write about Monday's MW appointment. I'm still continually frustrated at the lack of timeliness. My appointment was at 4 and we didn't get seen until shortly after 5. By the time we left, I had to call to make my next appointment because the rest of the staff had already left. I tried not to let it bother me, but it started to after the 3rd time DH asked what time it was. Feeling a bit trapped in my decision? Yes. If delivery is not here, its at the hospital.

Once I got to see the midwife, my frustrations were tempered. She's very thorough and makes it a point to take her time and have a relaxed aire for the appointments. I just wish the office staff would schedule her appointments longer because she is always running late. She is great and I have no doubts about her abilities, it's just frustrating taking time off work and wait in the waiting room.

Blood pressure is fine. No edema (swelling). Fundal height is right on target. Baby is in LOA position (Left Occiput Anterior), so head is down, back is on my left side, kicks are on my rightish side. I'm not sure how easy it is to tell if the baby is facing anterior or posterior at this point. Baby's heartbeat was at 145, and kept trying to kick the MW while she was trying to check baby' position! Spunky!

She's unsure of the pelvic pain, and what to do about it. She suggests staying away from prenatal yoga until I have it checked out. The plan is to check with the chiropractor and if that doesn't work, to try physical therapy. It's gotten so bad that 2 nights I almost spent the night on the floor because I couldn't physically get up. When I try to stand, I get a sharp pain in my pelvis until I get back into sitting position. I have to let it work itself out and sometimes it takes longer than others for it to quit hurting. One time it caught me as I was getting out of bed. Best I could do was sit on the step stool and then on the floor. It just wasn't a good situation. Eventually, after about 15 minutes, I was able to climb back up into bed. Hopefully the chiro has a solution.

Welcome to 31 Weeks

Sea Monkey Stats - 14 weeks

How far along? 13 weeks

Weight? Holding in at 118.5

Symptoms? fatigue!!, morning sickness!, constipation!, headaches

Maternity clothes? Few shirts at Kohl's Junior section that work as maternity, or mid-maternity. This tunic and this tunic

Nursery Purchases? 1st outfit we bought sea monkey. Really cute teddy bear set with onesie, pants and a hat

Stretch marks? No

Sleep? yes please! Still wanting lots, but not napping as much

Best moment this week?First Midwife Appointment

Movement? Occasionally I feel fluttering, but nothing like the strong movement I felt last week

Food cravings? Steak from Texas Roadhouse. Finally got some for lunch today.

What I miss? Nothing ATM! Enjoying pregnancy

What I'm looking forward to? Morning sickness easing up a bit more

Milestones? nothing really

Emotions? Been getting frustrated with morning sickness. I had it really bad Saturday after I decided to forgot Unisom the previous night. I ended up waking up at 4am and made myself some mac and cheese, then shortly after threw it up. I went back to bed and got up and had breakfast and felt energetic enough to do some yard work. Then after my shower I got sick again and felt miserable the rest of the day. DH convinced me to take a Unisom early and today I am feeling better after sleeping off and on for about 18 hours.

Welcome to 15 Weeks

First Midwife Appointment

Boy that was a long appointment, but it was really laid back so that was part of it. A few things I was annoyed with. I was there for my annual in Feb, but they still requested my insurance info and I had to fill out the same 8 pages of information I did last time. I hate paperwork! Then they ask the SAME questions during the medical history review of the appointment.

I am guessing that since it was a first appointment, and they are always known to run long, that they were wanting to move my appointment to an earlier time. I didn't get out of the office until close to 5pm.

During that time she examined my pelvic bones to make sure they were in proper place for birthing, which they were. They also swabbed for STD panel, which I am 100% positive will be clear. They also took about 4 vials of blood, which I am assuming is for a complete blood panel. I'm sure that will return fine, however I'm curious about my iron/hemoglobin level since I can be borderline anemic. Oh, yeah and there was the nice urine test and I did my first dipstick for protein and glucose. They asked me 4 times for consent for HIV, which I passed on because I've had taken a year or so ago and there is no way it would turn up positive. If I hadn't had it done before, then I would have signed. I also got to hear the baby on the Doppler. So easy to find! HB of around 150.

So this leaves one question up for debate. To test or not to test? We had a discussion with the midwife about the quad screen and we are on the fence. My stance is that I'm highly unlikely to go so far as to get an amniocentesis because of the risks and if we get positive markers on the blood test then that is likely where we would head after a level 2 ultrasound. She agreed and said there are often indicators in the blood test that result in false positives. My concern is worrying about a bad result for the rest of the pregnancy. My husband believes it is better to know now in case there is anything that can be done. He doesn't think finding out during birth or shortly after birth is the best time, that it would be traumatizing. We both agree that termination is not likely, and that there is nothing that we could do now to prepare ourselves if our child has down syndrome. I think the biggest concern is neural tube defects. We did not have an NT scan, but the RE did look at the spine and commented that everything appeared fine, but no measurement taken.

DH said it was up to me, but I hope he does realize that I am seriously considering what he is saying. I know we both need to do more research to feel more comfortable. I am thinking about taking it and just dealing with the stress until I hear the result, just so DH knows I take his opinion into consideration. I'm just not sure.

What do you think? Should I or shouldn't I?