Yay for a healthy baby!

We had our follow-up ultrasound this morning. Everything looks great! The cyst has resolved completely, and everything else looks completely normal. Thank you all for your prayers over the last few months!

As usual, Caroline was moving all over the place during the ultrasound. The tech had trouble getting her to be still long enough to even get a heart rate! She's measuring right on for dates, and the ultrasound estimated her weight around 3 lb. 6 oz., which is pretty much exactly where she should be, as well. She's currently frank breech (that's butt first, for the uninitiated!), but I'm not worried about that at all. I know that she was head down for a day or so last week, and I've been able to follow her kicks all around my tummy. Sometimes she kicks my ribs, sometimes my sides, and sometimes down low, so she obviously still has plenty of room to move around! I'm supposed to continue spending some time every day on my hands and knees with my bum in the air to try to encourage her to turn. Not the most pleasant thing to do, but if it's the biggest sacrifice I ever have to make for this kid, I'll be doing pretty well, dontcha think?

Jimmy and I discussed our general ideas about the birth with Karen this morning as well. For those of you who don't know my basic childbirth philosophy, let's just say that pregnancy turns me in to a bona fide, flower-wearing, Kumbaya-singing hippie nutjob. I do still shower and shave my legs and pits, however; I'm not THAT earthy! But the bottom line is that I think childbirth generally doesn't have to be a hugely medicalized event, and I prefer to avoid drugs if at all possible. That's what drew me to a midwife rather than an OB, and I've been very pleased with my choice so far. Anyway, we talked to her today about the possibility of Jimmy helping to catch the baby, and she was all for it, assuming all is going normally up until that point. Obviously, he'll have her assistance, so it's not like he'll be flying solo or anything (yes there were some "Go long!" jokes in the elevator on the way out of the appointment, LOL!). He thought that Anna's birth was so amazing and awe inspiring that he's really excited about being able to take a more active role in delivering this baby!

So, there it is in a nutshell. I'll be going back in two weeks for another regular visit. No more peeking at Caroline until she's ready to come out! The tech gave us one final ultrasound picture of her -- a profile shot. She's getting so big that it was hard to get her whole profile in the shot, but I think she looks beautiful (admittedly, I might be a tad biased!). I'm also posting the picture we took of Anna holding the 30-week rubber fetus, which is just about the size of Caroline right now (give or take a week!).

Third Trimester -- Woo-hoo!

Today begins my 28th week of pregnancy, so I'm officially in the home stretch -- my third trimester!

I called today and got the results of my gestational diabetes screen, and it was normal. Because I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), one of the symptoms of which is insulin resistance, I was moderately concerned that the GD screen would come back high, and I'd have to take the 3-hour test. Fortunately, everything is fine, so I don't have to drink that horrible orange stuff again! I did find out that my iron is a bit low, which I pretty much expected. It was low when I was pregnant and breastfeeding Anna, and it fluctuates between normal and low even when I'm not pregnant. Anyway, they're calling in a prescription for an iron supplement, which should fix the problem.

In other news, I have been suffering a severe case of "placenta brain" over the last few weeks. I remember forgetting small things when I was pregnant with Anna. It was not at all uncommon for me to misplace my keys or store the ice cream in the oven or whatever. But this time I seem to be forgetting dates, times, and events at an alarming rate. Yesterday, Jimmy and I were supposed to sing for an evening church service. I was even reminded at church yesterday morning, and I STILL forgot to go! And I didn't even realize I forgot until our choir director called this afternoon to make sure I was okay and hadn't had an emergency or something. Fortunately, the music was covered, and everything worked out okay, but I still feel really bad for forgetting. Maybe I can blame the iron deficiency, LOL!

Unfortunately, I seem to remember that "baby brain" is even worse than "placenta brain" because apparently all of the brain cells that are not involved in subsistance (breathing, eating, waking up in the middle of the night, feeding, diapering) seem to fall out right behind the baby, and it takes a couple of years before they start to finally regenerate. So I guess I can expect to walk around in a baby-induced haze for at least another 2 years or so. Sigh.

27 week midwife visit

I got to do the 1-hour glucose screen today. It sucked. I don't care what "they" say, that orange stuff is VILE. I nearly threw up a couple of times drinking it. They did let me drink the glucola at home, which was good, since I could then spend part of the hour driving to my appointment rather than just sitting and waiting. I really, REALLY hope that I pass the stupid screen so that I don't have to go back and do the 3-hour test. They usually don't give you the results until your next appointment (strange -- I remember getting the results instantly when I was pregnant with Anna), but they said I could call Monday if I wanted to know sooner. Oh, and the place where they drew my blood has developed about a 4" long bruise that is all sorts of pretty shades of purple and blue. Lovely.

Other than that, everything was pretty boring. My blood pressure was 110/63, which was down a bit from last time -- not that it was bad before (I think it was about 130/80), but it was a little high for *me*, since my average bp usually runs somewhere in the 100-110/60 range. Weight was up 2 pounds. Baby was very active (who wouldn't be, after having all the sugar from the glucola?) and measuring right on target.

I now get to start going every 2 weeks. My next visit will include a Level II ultrasound to make sure the cyst has gone away and that there are no other abnormalities that could indicate something more serious.

I also asked my midwife when she generally gets concerned about breech/transverse babies. This one is definitely transverse right now -- all the kicks are either down low or on the sides -- but it's obviously too early to really be a concern at this point. She said she doesn't start worrying until full term (around 37 weeks), which is exactly what I wanted to hear! I love that she's so laid back about things like that. I've had some friends whose doctors scheduled them a c-section when their babies weren't in position at 30 weeks, which is just craziness because babies still have PLENTY of time/room to turn at that point. So anyway, Caroline has plenty of time to get into the correct position to make her appearance, though I have to say I'd welcome a break from all the bladder trampolining that she has seemed to enjoy over the last few months!

Peaches at last! Plus 1300 diapers!

We are so very blessed to have such a wonderful church family.

This morning, I got a call from a friend at church who said, "I was visiting my parents over the weekend, and I was at a farmer's market where they had peaches, so I thought of you. I got you some, and I'll bring them to you tonight!" And she did. These are the juiciest, sweetest peaches I can ever recall eating, and I'm FINALLY satisfying the craving I've had for THREE MONTHS! I'm eating them with a spoon right now, and I swear, they taste better than ice cream to me. I am in heaven.

After I picked up my peaches, I headed over to choir practice. Lo and behold, they had a surprise baby shower for us tonight! There were two beautiful cakes -- one was edible, and one was made of diapers. Almost everyone there had brought a package or two of diapers, plus there were a few cute outfits and bibs thrown in for good measure. In all, we brought home somewhere around 1300 diapers -- all different brands, in sizes 1 and 2! And they somehow managed to pull this off without us finding out they were doing it. What a wonderful and completely unexpected surprise!

You know, "they" recommend picking up a package of diapers every week or so before the baby is born so you'll be prepared, and I was about to start doing just that, but at this point, I think I'll pick up a few packages of wipes and call it good.

Did I mention that these are the best peaches I've ever had? OMG, they're like candy. And they're almost gone now. But now I know they're out there (and they're RIPE!), and the guy at the farmer's market down the street said they should get them soon, so I'll have easy access to my fix. Woo-hoo!

27 weeks

Next week will begin my third trimester. Wow. A friend at church yesterday rubbed my belly and informed me that it felt like "a ripe melon". I told him that if he thumped me like a melon, I'd thump his melon right back!

Caroline is around 14.4 inches long and about 2 pounds this week. She's still moving CONSTANTLY, and she's managed a couple of acrobatic feats this week that have really taken me by surprise. For example, she has somehow managed to get a hand or foot over on top of the front of my hip bone on the right. I don't know how she does that, since that part of my hip bone is really nowhere near my uterus, but maybe she feels the need to stretch or something. It's pretty darned uncomfortable when she does it, though, so I'm hoping she'll flip soon! Of course, then I can look forward to little feet in my ribs and lungs, so maybe I should watch what I wish for!

I'm also starting to notice some of the alien bulges from the outside when she slides and kicks around. Very cool. She does still seem to be transverse, since I'm noticing the majority of her kicks down low and on the sides. I do get on all fours several times a day when I feel her moving around to encourage her to go head down, but it's still early days yet, so I'm not too worried at this point.

I see my midwife Thursday, and I'll do my glucose tolerance test then. Joy. I'm so NOT looking forward to drinking the evil orange stuff! But it's just five minutes out of my life, so I guess I can handle it. After this appointment, I'll start going every two weeks. The appointment two weeks from Thursday will be my level 2 ultrasound to make sure the cyst has resolved and everything is looking as it should. I'm both excited and nervous about it -- excited to get another peek at my girl, but a little nervous to find out whether the cyst is still there and/or whether there are other issues that might indicate something more serious.

Happy Mother's Day!

I love Mother's Day! I love it that there's a day dedicated just to families. I spent yesterday with my little family, and it was just wonderful. Jimmy bought me some flowers Friday night, and they have been brightening up the kitchen ever since. I also got a great card with "coupons" for lots of different services, like a massage (which I'm sure will be MUCH needed!), a finished project (plenty of those to choose from!), a gourmet meal cooked by him complete with chocolate dessert ('nuff said!), etc. Anna made me a beautiful butterfly garden stake in preschool along with a card that made me cry when I read it. Here's the poem that was inside:

Dear Mother,

Please keep this butterfly always in your view
To remind you of the loving hands htat made it just for you.

When you look upon its beautifl wings,
I hope that you will see
That the butterfly is a symbol of our Lord
And also your love for me.

I am like the tiny caterpillar
From which a butterfly grows.
Someday I'll spread my wings
And off to the future I'll go.

But no matter who far or wide I soar,
You can be sure of one thing:
I'll always be grateful for your guidance and love,
And how you gave me my wings!


Isn't that just beautiful? We also had a lovely church service, and Jimmy and Anna took me Carrabba's for lunch. Yum! All in all, it was a really wonderful day!

26 Weeks and Counting!

I can't believe that I'll be in my third trimester in two weeks! In a lot of ways, this pregnancy has flown by. In others ways, it seems like I've been pregnant FOREVER!

According to Babycenter.com, Baby Caroline is around 14 inches and 2 pounds this week. She's growing nicely in there, and her hearing is apparently getting very good about now. Considering that she's been responding to music consistently for about the last 10-11 weeks, I can't imagine that her hearing is going to get even better before it's all said and done!

I can definitely tell she's getting bigger in there. I have felt lots of hiccups over the last several weeks, and she actually kicked Jimmy in the head (repeatedly, and with great force!) the other day when he leaned down to see if he could feel some of her kicks. I haven't seen any of the weird, about-to-open-up-and-reveal-an-alien movements I used to see when I was pregnant with Anna, but I have been able to see a few kicks on the outside.

I went to the chiropractor yesterday, and he mentioned that it feels like the baby is transverse, which means she's sitting sideways right now. There is still plenty of room and time for her to turn head down, but he gave me a few exercises to do that will encourage her to turn. Basically, any time I feel her moving, I'm to get down on hands and knees with my bum in the air. Nice, huh? Ah, pregnancy makes me feel so beautiful!

My next midwife appointment is a week from Thursday, so I'll find out then if Caroline is still tranverse. It's apparently normal up until about 24-26 weeks, so we're still okay. After about 30 weeks, they really start keeping an eye on things because a baby who doesn't turn is an automatic c-section. Of course, there are other things I can do to encourage turning, including playing music down low, putting frozen peas next to the baby's head and a warm heating pad down low (baby is supposed to turn away from the cold), shining a flashlight down low (go toward the light, Baby!), and lying inverted on a board for 10 minutes a day. Apparently, diving into a swimming pool several times can also help, but the image of my 7 or 8 months pregnant self diving off a diving board gives me the giggles! But I will do just about ANYTHING to avoid a c-section, so if that means diving or standing on my head or walking on my hands, so be it! Turn, Baby, Turn!