Preclampsia

Well, I guess that this will be the last of my pregnancy posts. Then we will have to start a new trend with NICU updates.

This adventure started before I even knew it was happening. Sunday I had a couple times when I was seeing spots, but I just figured that I had been up too long and needed to rest. Gavin and I had slept in that morning and weren't extremely tired when we tried to go to bed. We stayed up late talking and I had to get up in the morning because we had people coming to clean our house. I hadn't slept well, but got up and waited for them to come.

As the day continued I started to get a headache. It wasn't horrible, but wasn't pleasant either. I was laying on the couch trying to get some work done, but having a hard time. Gavin got off work around 5 and had to run some errands. He picked up bread bowls at Kiwi Loco. I had eaten about half of mine and wasn't really feeling well. Out of no where I started to get some really bad chest pain. I progressed quickly and I was bent over the couch in extreme pain. Gavin called the hospital and they told him that is sounded like heart burn. They told me to take some tums and see if it would resolve. I took two and it lessened my symptoms for about an hour. As the pain started to come back we knew that we weren't staying home this time.

Gavin drove me to the emergency room and eventually they got me up to labor and delivery in a room. I had taken two more tums before we had come up so my pain was under control as they were setting up the monitors. They weren't really all that concerned with my chest pain or my contractions after they started to monitor my blood pressure. It was pretty high. I think the first one they took was 150/104. They continued to take my blood pressure ever 5 minutes. At one point it had gone up to 175/106. They did some blood tests and after they results came back the doctor came in to talk to us.

While Jack was doing well, I on the other hand was not. The doctor told us that I had severe preclampsia. My blood pressure was extremely high, my liver enzymes were elevated and my platelets were very low. Preclampsia put you at risk for seizures, stroke and puts both me and the baby at risk of death. The only cure for preclampsia is delivering the baby. The plan was to give me a steroid shot and start me on a magnesium drip. That would make sure I didn't go into labor long enough for the steroids to due Jack some good.

So we started the adventure again of hourly vital checks and getting up every two hours to use the bathroom. They were collecting my fluids for 24 hours. I wasn't allowed to eat anything, not fun. In the morning I was pretty tired, but really I was hungry. I figured that I wasn't going to be induced until the next day so they would let me eat breakfast. Turns out that wasn't going to happen.

The doctor came in again and let us know that my labs from the morning had come back and my liver was shutting down. They didn't have time to wait until the next day. So at nine a.m. Tuesday morning they started a pitocin drip.

Week 32!

Well all the doctors get excited about week 32, so YAY for week 32! My doctor said that none of them really expected me to get this far. I guess all this laying around has done something (or has it). My appointment was really short because the doctor got a call to go deliver a baby and I didn't want to wait around for who knows how long for him to come back.

I'm still off my medication. My contractions vary sometimes I'll get 11 in an hour and sometimes I'll have 3. There were a couple times I probably could have gone to the hospital, but I'm sick of them giving me that nasty drug, so usually I just wait it out. Some of my contractions have been a little uncomfortable, as in I can feel them, but they aren't really painful.

My doctor said that I still can't increase my activity level yet. They want to keep me on my progesterone gel until 36 weeks. My next appointment isn't for two weeks. That seems like an eternity. Hopefully we won't have to go in before that point. We will see what the Christmas excitement brings. So pretty much an uneventful week.

31 weeks

As per my previous post, the last week has been more drama than it was worth. Today I made it to 31 weeks! I woke up having contractions which just continued clear through my appointment. I think I had close to 24 in 2 hours. I got a lot more attention at my appointment than expected.  A lot more test than were first scheduled. They did a fetal non-stress. (I'm not sure why because I've has six hours of monitoring in the last six weeks). Just like normal Jack was doing fine. The thing it did pick up was the fact that I was having a good amount of contractions.

Next, we ventured to the ultra sound room. I've had so many of them at this point that I'm getting pretty good at knowing what they are finding before the doctor tells me. This is nice because I hate waiting and they don't always tell me all the details I want to know. On a good note my cervical length hasn't changed. I'm still sitting pretty at 1.4 c.m. Then they checked my fluid level. It increased from last time, but only to 9.  As a reference, I increased back to 14 the last time they took me off the medicine.

After the ultra sound, they moved us to an exam room. I sat on the table for probably 25-30 minutes before the doctor came in. Good thing I had Gavin with me to entertain me. They repeated my fetal fibronectin test (the one that says if I'm in labor or not). It came back negative. This was probably the most informative appointment we have had. They didn't put me back on the sulindac. I was going to ask them not to anyway. We are continuing with the progersterone gel until 36 weeks. The plan is to get me to 32 weeks and then to 37 weeks. The doctor said that really I'm not in true labor until I'm having 15-20 contractions an hour. So unless my contractions start to feel uncomfortable or painful I don't need to go to the hospital.

So we get to continue with the bed rest. Instructions to drink lots of water and take it easy. The thought of being on bed rest for another 6 weeks doesn't sound fun, but it seems more do-able at this point. Plus the less time Jack has to spend in the NICU the better.

Nothing good on TV in the middle of the night

Well I'm just going to make this post short and sweet, because let's face it every time I go to the hospital the story is the same. I was having contractions about 3 minutes apart. It take an hour for them to decide what to do once I get there, even though I've been having them for the past three hours. They put me on the awful medicine. My contractions slow down and they send me home after checking my cervix. Of course I'm not dilated at all. Why would contractions shorten my cervix and do nothing to dilate it? I don't know the answer, but I'm guess it is because of the progesterone they have me on. So we were at the hospital from 2:00 a.m. to 5:15 a.m. Not exciting. Some time I wish I would have all these contractions during the day so I could get some sleep.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. So hopefully we will get some information on what the plan is at this point. The hospital staff keep throwing out "let's get you to full term." And to be honest with you a part of me is hoping that it won't be that long. I don't know if I can do this for another 7 weeks.

An extra visit

I'm sorry if all this hospital talk is getting redundant, but it is pretty much all that consumes my life right now. Yesterday, only one day since I stopped taking my medicine, I laid on the couch while Gavin and our friend Greg worked on the windows. I had been having contractions like usual all day long, but around five they shot up to 6 in a hour. The next hour I had 8 and they continued about that rate while we got ready to go to the hospital. I was hoping we were going to make it a few more days without having to go in, but no such luck.

I'm always frustrated with how long it takes to get things going once we get checked in. I feel like even at 30 weeks they would be in more of a hurry to get the situation assessed and start some intervention to get my contractions stopped. By the time they got everything working right I was having contractions every 3-5 minutes. The nurse came in and said they were going to start terbutaline. This was the medicine they gave me the last time I was in the hospital. It is not my favorite drug and I really didn't feel like it was very effective. I told the nurse this, but she said they would try three doses and if it still wasn't working they would try something else.

I thought it was weird that the doctor hadn't come in to talk to me about what he was thinking, turns out he wasn't even at the hospital. I understand it is the weekend, but I was really irritated. What if there was an emergency? How long would it take the doctor to get to the hospital. So they started the first dose. It worked for about an hour and then my contractions started again. They gave me another dose. This one lasted about two hours. So they started the third dose. 30 minutes later the nurse came back in. I had not had a contraction yet. She had called the doctor and he said to check me for dilation. If I wasn't dilated then I could go home.

I feel like some people are just better than others at checking your cervix. The last doctor who check my cervix was awesome and it didn't even hurt. I wish that I could show them how it feels to have fingers shoved into soft tissue. Maybe I should just poke their eye and see how they like it. Needless to say, it was not comfortable. I wasn't dilated and they promptly gave me my discharge instructions and had me shipped out the door. I went home knowing full well that I will end up going back. Although, maybe it will keep my contractions down for a couple days.

Gavin and I left for the hospital around 7:30 and go home around 2:30 a.m. The medicine they gave me makes me super shaky and increases my heart rate. They didn't even let it calm down before they sent me packing. I was sure with my contractions being that consistent I would start dilating, but apparently not. I told Gavin when I woke up this morning that maybe my cervix would never dilate and I would have to have a c-section. I was only joking....but what if that could actually happen.

So here's to hoping I don't end up back at the hospital again today!

On the happy side, the Boise State game was on and they won the Championship!

Week 30

Another doctor's visit down. This visit went about how I expected it to. We got to have  a full ultra sound this week to check the growth of the baby. We got a couple pictures of his feet and hands. For some reason every time we get the ultra sound done Jack has his arms covering his face. But who can blame him? My fluid was really low this week in the 4.5 range. As a reference it was 10 last week and 8 is at the bottom of the normal range. Needless to say he doesn't have a lot of room in there.

Because amniotic fluid is needed for proper lung development the doctor has once gain taken me off my medication. Last time this happened my contractions increased and my cervix shortened almost a centimeter within a week. Now that I'm past the 30 week mark they aren't measuring my cervical length anymore. I guess that means they are okay with him coming if that is what happens.

Everything on the ultra sound, except my fluid level, looked really good. Jack is still measuring about a week ahead of my due date. He has always been a little ahead this whole pregnancy. Gavin is convinced Jack will have his big head, as his head is measuring 2 weeks ahead. Jack in now weighing in at 3.5 lbs.

I really want to last as long a Jack needs me to on bed rest, but my body is really hating me right now. The past few days have been rough. My back and neck are just begging me to stop laying around on the couch. My hips hate me for all of this sleeping on my side business. My arms and legs continue to atrophy and it might be a good thing Jack is little when he is born so that I will be able to hold him. I've already started planning my recovery program in my head. It is going to take a lot of work.

I asked the doctor how long Jack would be in the NICU if I had him within the next week. He said probably around 4-5 weeks. We've got to fatten him up. I'll try to keep you updated on any developments. Hopefully we can make it to my next appointment with no trips to the hospital.

Week 29

So in the craziness that has been Thanksgiving I haven't had the chance to do my weekly update. I went to my doctor's appointment on Wednesday. They said they would fit me in at 12:30. I ended up sitting in the waiting room by myself for a good 15 minutes. They did the ultra sound pretty quick and then I ended up sitting in the exam room for another 25 minutes. The wait wasn't really exciting because Gavin had to work and  couldn't be at my appointment.

Finally, the doctor came in to give me the update. My amniotic fluid was down to 10 but they was still in the normal range. That meant that I could keep taking my medicine. My cervical length hadn't changed so I was still at 1.4 cm. He said we would just keep doing what I was doing and check back in next week. He had me schedule a full ultra sound to get measurements of the babies growth and make sure everything was going well in that department.

My appointment isn't until Friday, which is the longest I've gone between appointments so far. I'm predicting that my fluid level is going to be low next time and they will have to take me off my medicine. The good thing will be that I will be over 30 weeks at that point so in the event that I do end up going into labor we can stay in Twin Falls. The last time they took me off my medicine my cervix shortened .8 cm in one week. That was even with me going into the hospital once to have my contractions stopped. If my cervix shortens that much again they really won't much left to go and I'm guessing that I'll have a baby fairly soon.

I'm not sure at this point what they doctor's plan is going to be if they have to take me off the medicine. I guess it will depend on what they find in my ultra sound. Before I was willing to risk the effects of taking medicine against the possibility of having a baby at 25 weeks. Now that we have gotten into the 30 week range and out of the real danger zone I'm less inclined to want a whole bunch of medication. I know that the longer he has in my womb the better, but I also don't want to cause him other issues.

Then their is the fact the I am still on bed rest. I'm not sure how much more of this my body can take. I can already see and feel the amount of muscle mass I've lost. The prospect of recovering from that and being in a condition that I can return to my very physical job is daunting to me. At least I know a few rehab tricks to help the process along. I will do anything to keep my baby healthy, but I need to be able to take care of him as well.

So cross your fingers we get a few more weeks!

28 weeks!

Well it is already half way through the week. It is interesting how everything in my life has become about what week it is. If we can just get to next week everything will be so much better. Then we get there and start all over again...if we can just make it to next week.

After the fun adventure we had at the hospital on Monday, which seems like an eternity ago, I was really interested to see what my next appointment would hold. There were probably a couple times between Monday and Thursday that I could have warranted going back to the hospital, but I held out. Wednesday night was probably the worst, as far as how many contractions I had, but I decided that I would rather sleep in my own bed and go to my appointment at 9:30 a.m.

My ultra sound went pretty well. My fluid had gone back up to 13.7 which is what we had hoped to see. I waited for the  doctor to come in for a while. When he finally did he looked through the numbers and asked for a reference from last week. Then he said he needed to step out for a minute. That is never a good sign. Turns out my cervix had shortened again to 1.37 cm. Not very good. So he had gone to consult with another doctor on restarting my medicine. At least they know if they take me off the medicine my fluid will go up. The problem is my contractions increase when I'm not on it. That in turn shortens my cervix.

So I am at home taking my medicine and trying to do nothing. Any time I get up my contractions increase. I'm just trying to get though past next weekend. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. We have already had to change our plans once and I'm really looking forward to seeing my family. So hopefully we can make it to at least 30 weeks until this baby decides to come.

On the comforting side, the doctors are really pleased that I have made it to 28 weeks. That gives Jack a lot better chance of having minimal complications.

Labor and delivery....not the most comfortable beds

Well it turns out the medicine they took me off of was doing something good for me. Since I was taken off my contractions have been gradually increasing. Yesterday I got up to 6 in an hour for two hours. This is the magic number they told me to go to the hospital for. 

I wasn't sure what they were going to do. I wasn't looking forward to being put back on magnesium. When the doctor came in he told me they weren't going to do magnesium. They would repeat my fetal fibronectin test. He checked my cervix and I was still not dilated. He decided to try a different drug called terbutaline. Not super fun. It made my heart rate go up to 105-110, made me super tired and my hands were shaky, but it stopped my contractions. My ffn test came back negative, meaning I wasn't in active labor. 

They decided to discharge we home and to follow up with my doctor on Thursday at my appointment. So the whole thing was a little anti-climatic. I'm not going to complain about that too much. I'm just stuck in this cycle of stress and worry never knowing when to go in and when I'm being too careful. But the doctor said it is better to be safe than sorry. I could go in and nothing would be different or I could go in and be 4 cm dilated. Not really something I want to mess with. 

Gavin said maybe I should just wait to go in until my water breaks. I told him that is kind of a point of no return. You really can't stop labor once your water breaks. It isn't good for the baby. We are almost to 28 weeks (tomorrow), which was our first short term goal. The next big milestone to reach is 30 weeks. That will mean that we can stay in Twin Falls and that I got to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. 

But through it all Jack is doing really well. His heart rate always looks good and he doesn't seem to be in any distress. I always worry that all the drugs they keep giving me are going to injure him in someway. But I'm trying to have faith in the system. The problem with that is I know the system has flaws and doesn't always work the way we hoped it would. Still putting my trust in the Lord and I know no matter what happens everything will turn out the way it is supposed to. 

Week 27

Sorry if this starts to get old, but it is really they only thing happening in my life right now. Plus people keep asking me for updates so here you are.

At my appointment this week:

Glucose test: 114 mg/dL which is just below normal. I didn't really have any problems with this test ever though everyone I talked to made it sound like the most horrible thing they had to go through.

Amniotic Fluid Index: 5. Normal at this stage is 8-18. One of the medications they had me taking to decrease my contractions has decreased my amniotic fluid. This was one of the side effects, which is why I've been getting an ultra sound every week. So they had discontinued this medication. Hopefully, my contractions don't start up again.

Cervical length: I measured at 2.2 cm, which is a little more than last week. You have to factor in error of measurements, but I haven't gotten shorter so that is good. I'm still not dilated at all so that is a good sign.

They put me on a fetal monitor for half and hour. Jack was moving around like crazy. He doesn't like to be squished apparently. He is doing great. His heart rate is normal.

My instructions were to keep doing nothing, as in lay on the couch. As much as I hate it I really believe that will be the only thing that keeps this baby in. It has been better with things to do for work. It makes my day go by a lot faster.

Week 26

So the past week has been a little hard. Anyone who knows me know that I like to be busy. I like to be up and doing things. We learned that modified bed rest needed to be lay on the couch unless you need to use the bathroom. That gets boring pretty quick.

My boss is the best ever and she asked me if I would like them to find me some work to do from home. I was going to ask her if I could do just that, but she beat me to it. It was slow starting, but I should be busy until this baby decides to come (hopefully not for a while).

I didn't have to go back to the hospital this week, but came close a couple times.

At my doctor's appointment I had an ultra sound which showed my cervix had shortened a little more, but not enough to put me back in the hospital. My contractions were under control for the most part with my average being 1-2 an hour. Pretty much they said to keep doing what I'm doing.

Back again 25 weeks

I started this a long time ago. Sorry it took me a couple weeks to finish. Not that I haven't had the time.

When we got up to labor and delivery I told the nurses I was just sent home this morning and they told me to come back if I had more than 4-6 contractions in an hour. So they set me up in a room. The nurse who came into to do my intake was not my favorite. She treated me like I was making everything up and I didn't know what I was talking about.

First she hooked me up to the wrong monitor and couldn't pick up any contractions. She asked me if I was having any and I thought I had a couple but couldn't tell for sure because of all the equipment in the way. She wanted to know how long I had been having six contractions in an hour. I was getting frustrated. I told her it had happened twice that day and they didn't tell me to track it over a couple hours. They told me to come in if it happened once. She took my blood pressure and I was in the 150/90 range. Gavin was not happy. I told him that I was just stressed out and everything would be fine.

They nurse finally got the equipment set up and started to pick up contractions. I had six in thirty minutes. I think by this point I had been at the hospital for at least and hour and a half. I still hadn't seen a doctor and I was about ready to ask for a new nurse, when I discovered that the nurse helping me was the charge nurse. Meaning that I didn't have to put up with her all night.

The resident doctor came in and said if I started to go into labor they would just deliver the baby in Twin Falls. I was not happy to hear that, as the NICU in Twin Falls is only credited for babies after 30 weeks. Later when the actual doctor came in he assured me if my fetal fibronectin test came back positive they would be shipping me to Boise. That came as a relief, but I was really hoping I wasn't really in labor. So they did their test and sent it down to the lab. Then they hooked me up to and IV and started fluids.

Lucky for me the test came back negative. That didn't change the fact that I was still having too many contractions. So they started me on a lovely Magnesium drip. Let me tell you not the most exciting thing I've ever been on. It made me really hot and then left a weird feeling in the back of my throat for the next 24 hours. They had to monitor a lot of things while I was on this drip. I got my blood drawn every 6 hours. For the first hour my nurse had stay in the room with me to make sure I was okay with the bolus (large first dose). Then after that I had to have my vitals checked every hour. I don't know about you, but I don't fall asleep very well so being woken up every hour was pretty rough. The first night I didn't get much sleep, but the next night I was completely exhausted (just ask Gavin) and I was able to fall asleep in between vital checks.

I should have taken a picture of all the things they had hooked up to me. On one side I had my IV. The other arm had a blood pressure cuff and pulse-oximeter. Then around my middle they had a fetal heart monitor and another monitor for my contractions. It was quite the task to move in bed and get up to go to the bathroom. Gavin got pretty good at helping me unhook/re-hooked all the machines.

In addition to the Magnesium, I also got two steroid shots to help develop Jack's lung more quickly in case he is born early. Then they gave me my Rhogam shot for my rH negative blood. So I had three shots in my butt within 3 hours. That was a first.

So I was in the hospital for two midnights. I was exhausted when I went home. They had my contraction slowed down to one every couple of hours. I was released home on modified bed rest.

Pregnancy saga continues

Well I suppose this pregnancy is turning out to be nothing like I thought it would. I went to my appointment last week only to go through the same tests as always and have them tell me everything was going well. The doctor then gave me my 6 month instructions on coming in if I start having pain or more than 5 contractions in an hour. I thought to myself I don't think I would know if I was having a contraction. So upon asking her to give me the signs, Gavin and I both looked at each other and knew that I had already been having some. They weren't very frequent so we thought nothing of it.

Over the next two weeks that followed that appointment I drove to Rexburg and Salt Lake City all by myself. Both times right after I have worked a full day at the hospital. After going to Rexburg and returning home I started to have increased contractions. I think the most I counted was 9 in a day. That definitely made me start paying more attention. After my trip to Salt Lake, I had to work the next two days and then had a day off. My first day off, Monday, I count 12 contractions, all while I was doing nothing but watching tv and resting. The next day, Tuesday, I started to get a little more nervous. I still hadn't had more than three to four contractions in an hour, but that was the most I had experienced so far. I had a presidency meeting I needed to go to and then a Stake Leadership meeting to follow. That is a lot of sitting.

During the Leadership meeting I started writing down the specific times of my contractions. I determined that if I made it to five I would get up and leave. I said a prayer hoping that they would stop. I really wanted to stay and listen to the whole meeting. After the meeting we went to the gym for refreshments. I didn't eat anything and after talking to my friend for 5 minutes I decided I needed to go home.

When I got home I told Gavin what had happened. They still weren't really close together, so I decided to just relax. I tried to follow all of the guideline to stop contractions. I emptied my bladder. I laid on my left side. I was drinking a ton of water. Still nothing seemed to be help. After an hour I had written down 10 contractions. This was now midnight. I called the on call doctor (PA) and she told me to drink water, stay off my feet and keep watching the contractions for a few hours. If they didn't die down I should come in.

I was a little frustrated with her. She wasn't really listening to me and I got the feeling that she thought I was over reacting. What did she think I was doing at midnight. I definitely wasn't up working out. I continued to keep track of contractions and then decided to call my sister-in-law, who had gone through problems with contractions, and asked what she would do. She suggested taking a bath. Just for the record I hate baths. They do not relax me. I don't fit right in the bath tub and I am uncomfortable the whole time. To add to the fun of contractions I was also having some pretty bad back pain on my left side.

I tried to get comfortable in bed. I had counted 12 contractions that next hour. That makes 22 contractions in 2 hours. I really didn't feel like that was normal. At the same time, I didn't really want to go to the hospital and have that PA treat me like a little girl who didn't know anything. So Amanda suggested I try sleeping. So finally at 3 in the morning I fell asleep. When I woke up at 6:45 to get ready for work I wasn't having any contractions. I was so excited that they had gone away. As soon as I rolled over to get out of bed I had a contraction. It didn't take me too long to call my boss and let her know I wouldn't be coming in that day.

The clinic didn't open until 8:30 so I decided to track my contractions until then. Yeah I ended up with 12. So I called in to see what they wanted me to do. The receptionist transferred me to one of the nurses phones I left a message and didn't get a call back for an hour. After convincing her that I was sure I was having contractions and was only 25 weeks, she decided I should come in. I got an appointment for 11:45. Longest two hours ever.

So I went in for my appointment. The nurse taking me back kept trying to see if something else was going on. Are you sick? Could you have a bladder infection? None of her wondering was making me feel any better. When I finally saw the doctor he started doing tests. He checked my cervix. I wasn't dilated but he felt like I was pretty thin. So he ordered an ultra sound. Because my appointment was so close to lunch time all the ultra sound techs were unavailable. I think we ended up wait in the room for a good hour.

Finally got the ultra sound done. They measured my cervix length and then checked Jack out a little. He was being camera shy and had his arms up over his face. Not the best pictures of him we have had so far. The ultra sound tech left to go talk to the doctor about what she found. She came back 15 minutes later to tell us that the doctor was currently in a surgery. The waiting continued. When the doctor finally made it in he told me that my cervix was really short for how far along I was. I was measuring on average around 2 cm. At this point I should be more like 3.5 to 4 cm. I was 50% effaced. He told me this wasn't good and wanted to get me hooked up on a monitor to see if he could stop my contractions. He gave me some things to read which stated that I have a 30% chance of going into preterm labor. That is a big percentage in the ob/gyn world.

So they took me over to labor and delivery. I got my gown on and they hooked me up to a fetal monitor as well as a monitor for my contractions. Every kept telling me how small I was...the doctor told me to be prepared for that. They wanted me to tell them when I felt a contraction. I told them I had to feel it with my hand, but because they had the monitor strapped on so tight it wasn't difficult for me to tell. I was contracting more than they felt comfortable with. So out came the suppository. Lucky for me the nurse was kind enough to explain what I needed to do and let me put it in myself.
So I had three doses of suppository through out the night. I got woken up every four hours or so. I swear every time I finally fell asleep they would come it. Add the fact that I was sleeping in the most uncomfortable bed imaginable and you would find that I didn't feel that chipper in the morning.

I had still had some contractions through out the night but we were definitely out of the 12 an hour range. So they decided they would try to manage me with some medications and let me go home. On my way out of the hospital I had another contraction. Then we went to the pharmacy to fill my prescriptions. They didn't have what I needed at Fred Meyer's so we went to a different pharmacy. I was glad I did. The pharmacist was amazing and checked into everything they were giving me. Called the doctor, talked to nurses, called insurance company (which was the biggest thing). One of the medications they wanted me to take is pretty expensive and the insurance company didn't want to pay for it because it can be used as a fertility treatment. They wanted proof that I was actually pregnant. It seemed like to me that they could have just looked at my past claims, but I guess the Rx and medical sections of my insurance on in separate places. They had to fax something to my doctor and then get a paper signed. In the mean time the pharmacist said he could give me something similar to tied me over until they got this other medication in. While we were at the pharmacy I had five contractions.

Gavin just wanted me to go back to the hospital, but I wanted to see if they would die down again. Plus I really wanted to take a shower and take a nap. Gavin was a little annoyed with me, can you blame him. So by five thirty when I woke up from my nap and had another six contractions I said we could go back. We stopped by Kiwi Loco first to grab some dinner. We figured we would be staying the night again....

And the reveal....

I would have to say that my doctor's appointment went really well today. I think that Dr. Packham is by far my favorite of the OBGYN's that I've met thus far. Sadly, due to Gavin's school schedule I will have yet another doctor at my next appointment in October. I think when it starts getting closer I'm going to be a lot more picky.

I had my ultra sound today. I've had mixed feelings about it up to this point. At first I was really excited that we would be finding out the gender. Then someone would say they thought 19 weeks was to early for them to tell. Then someone else would tell me that is when they found out. Then another person said hopefully they don't have to do another ultra sound.

When I walked into the exam room and the ultra sound tech asked if we wanted to find out if it was a boy of girl we were relieved to say the least. I of course said yes. Gavin and I have been in an on going gender battle. He was sure it was a girl and I was sure/trying to be contrary saying it was a boy.

When we started, the tech said this was going to be a hard one to get to. The baby was all curled up in a ball sleeping. Our last ultra sound the baby had been moving all over the place. I guess it was harder and easier in some ways to get the pictures she was after. Eventually she was able to get the right angle and announced (I could already see it) we are having a.....

BOY!!!!

That's right. We are so excited. Of course, I had to gloat a little about being right. But really it was a 50/50 shot right. 

Here is my favorite picture that they took. You can see his little hand perfectly with all his fingers.

When the doctor came in to review all the data he said all the organs, limbs and brain appeared to be normal. The baby is weighing in at over 11 oz, which is 6 days ahead of schedule. So I may just be having this baby a little closer to the end of January. So even though I don't even look like I'm pregnant the doctor said that was fine and I was just one of the lucky ones that was skinny. That made me feel good after my last doctor made me feel bad at my last appointment. Although I did at least weigh in at 4 lbs more today than my last visit which made me smile. 

Now the next thing on my list is to figure out is if I've really been feeling this baby move or not. It is so hard to tell if I am making things up in my head. 

Still truckin'

So I realize it has been almost two months since I have posted. I guess I haven't really felt the desire or excitement to post anything. Pregnancy has been an interesting battle for me. I started out being labeled under weight at my first appointment meaning I needed to gain 35 lbs by the time everything is said and done. That is a daunting task for me. At least getting on my medication meant I wasn't losing weight... except that I wasn't gaining any either. While I wasn't throwing up, I wasn't really able to eat normal sized meals either. I'm not really the snacking type of person. I eat breakfast (if I wake up early enough before work), lunch and dinner. Trying to throw in snacks while I'm busy during my ten hour shift at the hospital is a little difficult for me to say the least. I've had to try though. I know when I start feeling gross it means I need to eat.

When I went to my third appointment my doctor asked me if my clothes were fitting any different. I said I hadn't really noticed anything at which point he said, "You know you need to gain weight." Yes I know that. I'm not an idiot. I'm trying my best. I feel like I'm having the same struggle I've had my whole life. I'm naturally skinny no matter what I do and people really like to point it out to me. The problem now is that people make it sound like I'm harming my child by being skinny. Like I'm doing it on purpose. I know that most of it is just me being insecure about not looking very pregnant at this point, but I do feel judged. People play it off like it is a good thing, but would you ever tell a pregnant woman she was fat or had gained to much weight? I mean to her face? No! That is not socially acceptable.

I had a friend last night tell me she thought something had gone wrong with my pregnancy because I hadn't posted any pictures of me being pregnant on facebook. I guess I don't see that point in taking pictures of myself every week and having them look exactly the same. People tell me, oh it almost looks like you are pregnant, all the time. That doesn't help me want to post pictures. So when I actually look pregnant, whatever that is I might decide it is worth it.

So just an update, yes I am still pregnant. I'm 18 weeks today. I have my second ultrasound on Tuesday, where I hopefully get to find out what I'm having. :) Then I can start spending money I don't have on cute baby stuff. I don't want people to think that I'm just angry all the time. I am excited to be having a baby, I'm just having a hard time adjusting to all the changes being pregnant have made to my life. I'm tired, nauseous, sick, cranky, and almost don't fit in my jeans.

So stay tuned for the good news next week!

Little one to come!

So I've been going crazy not telling anyone that we are having a baby. Gavin and I have been so excited. Don't get me wrong I don't love the morning sickness, throwing up, being tired all the time and trying to make it through work without dying. But I've wanted to be a mom for so long. I know that it is going to be hard, but I know that everything will be worth it. I know that I have so much to learn and have huge room to grow as a person.

I had my first appointment today. I was a little irritated that I would be seeing a PA and not the MD, but as soon as my appointment started my mind changed. My nurse was happy and cheerful. Then the PA came and was perfect for me. I loved her personality. She was up front with me and encouraged me to do all the things I love like kayaking and rock climbing with in my limits of course. She was very aware of my body and how each of our anatomy is a little bit different. Let's just say that the last time I had a pap smear was a disaster and I never wanted to go through that again. Just ask Gavin I was dreading it. But it was breeze compared to last time. My favorite part about the visit was getting to hear the baby's heart beat. Mindy said that usually it is pretty hard to hear the heart beat at ten weeks, but if all the stars align you can hear it. Pretty much she said I was skinny enough and my uterus is positioned correctly that it worked. 170 beats per minute was the baby's heart rate. It made it all seem more real.

Mindy also gave me a prescription for Zofran for my nausea. Let me tell you how long I've been waiting for this appointment just hoping I could get something. She asked if I had been nauseous and I said yes. She asked if I wanted her to do something about it and I told her only if she wanted me to gain weight. So far I think I've lost 4-5 lbs since I got pregnant. Not being able to eat has never been a good thing for me. The idea of gaining 35 lbs seems monumental to me. Hopefully with a little help I will be on track. I want my baby to be healthy and let's be honest I love food.

So hopefully sometime around February 11th we will welcome a little bundle of cuteness.

Spur of the moment....

One of the things Gavin and I have love most about living in Twin Falls is the spur of the moment times we have thrown together a trip to visit family or have them visit us. Memorial Day weekend a bunch of Gavin's family decided to get together in Rupert at the cabin. Gavin wasn't going to go at first because he is all about magnifying our callings and want me to teach my primary class. I told him that it isn't very often that his family gets together like this and we needed to go. So we did.

Luckily our new kayaks had just come into the store the day before the trip. So we packed up and headed out for the weekend. It was awesome. I don't know Gavin's family super well yet, so it was nice to spend more time with them. Gavin's brother had rented a jet ski, so I got to go water skiing for the first time. I almost got up on my first attempt, but not quite. I got up my next try which was pretty exciting. A little bit later I wiped out pretty good pulling my skis off and some how the ski ended up hitting my foot pretty good. I immediately started to bruise and swell up. The water was cold so I just iced it and kept on playing. Over the next week or so my foot turned all sorts of purple. That was to go with the bad sun burn I got on the top of both my feet. I guess that will teach me to let my sun screen dry before I get in the water.

Long story short, we played in the water, roasted marsh mellows, sat around talking, pulled taffy, played with nieces and nephews, eat good food and just enjoyed not being at work. It was a great spur of the moment.

Tynan helping me ski, thank goodness for wet suits!

new kayak

I know it looks like a crop circle, but it was for a game call fox and geese.

The next adventure we had all started when my mom called and told me that we had another wedding present at their house. The presents keep coming in twos, one for me and one for Heather, my dad said that the first one to visit his house got to pick which present they wanted. I didn't think it would happen, but we figured out a way to get back to Aberdeen. My mom wanted to take Monday off of work and I gave her a great excuse. So we made it to Aberdeen Sunday after church. We played games, ate breakfast burritos from El J's, went for a bike ride, I took Christmas lights off the roof, visited Dad at school, watched movies and helped mom make test screens for dad's classroom. 

We had a great time and it was fun that in a day we could make plans and decide to visit family. My next big

family adventure took a little more planning. In a couple short weeks I get to go to Florida and Georgia to visit my brothers and their families. I'm sad that Gavin can't come because of work, but I'll make sure I take the camera and get some pictures. 

Twin Falls Canyon

So one of the exciting parts of moving to Twin Falls is the canyon. It is so beautiful and only take us ten minutes to drive to it (like most things in Twin Falls). Gavin and I have ventured into the canyon twice so far. It isn't often that we have the same days off. Here are a few pictures from our adventures.

 Gavin decided to entertain himself while I was texting

 Gavin told me to look like a mermaid.

 I personally think it turned out more like a beached whale

 Lots of water falls right now with the spring run off

 Cool part about this trail is it takes you under the main bridge that they base jump off of. 

 This was our second hike. Don't worry we didn't come up from this side.

 View from the top

Gavin being silly 

We found a hole to climb in 

We then decided this wasn't a safe way down

This is the way we decided to come down instead

View looking back up

We love this place!

Aquarium

I got to switch one of my work days a couple weeks ago, which gave Gavin and I the same two days in a row off of work. We decided to take a trip down to Utah to visit some family. It was a great time. We got to

enjoy General Conference. It is definitely a change watching with four kids as opposed to roommates in college. But I had a great time. 

The day we were coming back we decided to visit the new aquarium. My cousin works there and we thought it would be nice to see the new building. Turns out the company decided to open the aquarium before all the animals had been transferred over. So we get to use our tickets to get in free another time. While all the exhibits were full, it was still fun to see some animals you don't encounter all the time. 

We didn't get a ton of pictures, but here are a few. 

Apparently it was turtle mating season. The aquarium worker told the kids they were playing leap frog.

Sea Horse

They have this cool rope bridge that you can walk across.