Fighting words

"This isn't really that bad."

We had Class 5 of our birthing class series last night (it should've been the last class but we're making up Class 4 tonight).  Dan got to wear the empathy belly.  As he walked back to his seat he told me that it wasn't that bad.  Yeah dude, you were "pregnant" for 35 minutes and spent the majority of it sitting in a chair.  :)

Ailments

Jim and Rie stopped by last night to drop off our crib, more on that later because it deserves a better quality of pictures than I can take with my phone, and Rie asked if I've been documenting my ailments throughout this pregnancy.  Honestly, not really.  Mostly because I don't want to remember them that well.  I know that everyone says once the baby is here you'll get a little bit of Momnesia and start to forget any issues you had in pregnancy.  Perhaps this is nature's way of telling you to continue to procreate. :)  However, I thought that I would take minute to roughly outline how I've physically felt throughout the past 32 weeks.  I'm on another upswing so I might as well take advantage of it!


7/26 - Found out we were expecting
7/28 - Progesterone levels low, start taking supplements
8/5 - Nausea sets in, start taking B6 and Unisom
9/1 - Nausea gets worse, B6 and Unisom isn't cutting it and afraid to leave the house
9/15 - Doc appointment (12 weeks), ask for prescription for nausea.  Around this time I also discovered what heartburn was and took nearly 10 Tums/day.  Fail 1 hour glucose test.
9/21 - Pass 3 hour glucose test.
9/27 - Swallowing pills becomes difficult, switch to chewy prenatal vitamins
10/9 - After trying multiple brands and forms of prenatals, decide its something about the taste that upsets my stomach.  Start taking multiple Flinestones vitamins.
9/16-11/9 - Nausea comes and goes, even with medication.  Meds made me drowsy and gave me migraines.
11/10 - Doc appointment (20 weeks). Ask doc for new nausea medication to help with drowsiness.  This one works wonders
11/10-11/29 - Besides heartburn feel pretty good.  Start taking Zantac, continue with new nausea med.
11/30 - Deathly cold of 2010 hits.  Feel like I was hit by a bus.  Go through 4 boxes of Kleenex in less than 4 days.
12/20 - Nausea seems to be mostly gone.  Regularly taking Zantac
12/27 - Mysterious rash forms on my belly.  Use lotion like crazy.  Hope it's excema.
12/30 - Rash is getting worse and spreading.  Call doc.  Get prescription for prednisone.  They think it's just a bad case of excema.  Also, fail 1 hr glucose test.
12/31 - Pass 3 hour glucose test!
1/3 - Rash has gotten much, much worse on prednisone.  Up entire night because I was in so much pain.
1/4 - Call the doc's office as soon as they open.  Get referral to dermatologist.  Might be PUPPS or allergic reaction to steroid.  Stop taking prednisone.
1/10 - Go to dermatologist, rash has improved since I stopped taking prednisone but still purple and blotchy across legs, arms, back and belly.  Derm takes a skin biopsy.
1/13 - Biopsy back.  Could either be PUPPS or an allergic reaction to steroid says the lab.
1/17 - Have stitches removed from biopsy.  Derm guesses it was excema, then an allergic reaction to prednisone since most of rash is now gone.  But, if it comes back it's probably PUPPS. :)
1/20 - Doc appointment (30 weeks).  Ask for a Zantac prescription because the heartburn is so bad!
1/22 - Hit with the great cold of January 2011.  Spend the weekend in bed.  Thinking it's time to buy stock in Puffs.
1/26 - Cold isn't getting better and has spread to a terrible cough.  Call doc.  Discover I have bronchitis and tonsilitis.  Feel like a 4 year old because they prescribe me amoxicillin (the pink, bubblegum flavored kind)
1/31 - Feeling 20 times better than I did last week although the cold and cough are hanging on for fun.  And to make me so I still sound like an elfman.

Disclaimer: Prior to 1/20, I make no guarantees that my dates are correct.  For many of these I pulled out my calendar and my box of prescription meds. ;)


Honestly, I haven't felt well the majority of this pregnancy.  Dan has been wonderful and has taken fabulous care of me.  Even on the days he thinks I'm just milking it.  However, Momnesia must be starting to kick in a little bit because right now I am so excited to meet our daughter that I don't really care what ailments I run into.  Her birthday can't come fast enough!

Good advice

One of the things that I've feared most about becoming a parent is the unsolicited advice.  I'm fairly certain that somewhere on my ever expanding belly is a sign that says, "please give me advice about how to raise my child, especially if you don't know me or my family."  That being said, it hasn't been nearly as bad as I expected it to be.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind advice.  Especially the helpful kind like - don't forget to take chapstick to the hospital because the air is really dry.  The kind of advice that bothers me typically ends with a connotation that if I don't follow their advice exactly I will ruin my child.  Example - the woman in one of our classes who all but said "you're a terrible parent if you decide to supplement with formula or choose not to breastfeed all together."

Last night, I got the best advice I've had during pregnancy.  During birthing class, the instructor told us (in reference to whether or not to receive pain medication during delivery) that we should have a plan but don't expect it to be in stone.  We've never done this (labor, delivery, parenting, etc.) before and until we are in the situation we won't know what works best for our family.  

I've been stressing out lately about whether we're making the right decisions:  nursing vs. formula, traditional vaccination schedule vs. delayed vaccinations, cribs vs. co-sleeping, cloth vs. disposable diapers, medicated vs. unmedicated birth, pacifiers vs. no pacifiers, etc., etc.  I'm fairly certain the list could go on for pages and pages.  Dan and I have made decisions as to what we think will work best for our family and last night really cemented that for right now we are making the right choice.  Right now we're making choices based on what we think will be best for the three of us and someday we may eat those decisions because there's a different way that comes along and works better for our family.  That's ok too. And it's ok if we're doing things differently than what people think we should be doing because what works for some might not work for us. 

**So I just re-read this post...hopefully you all know that this is not directed at anyone in particular and that if your opinions are different than mine I completely respect your decision and do not think that either of us is right, just that different choices work better for different families.**

A long awaited update

How far along: 28 weeks, 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: I stopped paying attention
Maternity clothes: heck yes
Stretch marks: ugh, more on this soon
Sleep: not so much.  Three nights this week I've been up for 3+ hours in the middle of the night
Best moment this week: Dan brought home some of her furniture!
Movement: I'm starting to figure out her schedule and look forward to the parts of the day when she wiggles around
Food cravings: bananas (normally I dislike bananas because of the texture but Little Miss really likes them!)
Food aversions: depends on the day. 
Gender: Sweet baby girl!
Belly Button in or out: In.
What I miss: Sleeping regular hours
What I am looking forward to: our 2nd childbirth class is on Sunday. It may sound weird but I find them relaxing!
Milestones: We made it to third trimester this week and now have doctor appointments every 2 weeks instead of 4!