5/22/11

Getting So Close!

I try not to ONLY blog about pregnancy and the baby, but that's all I really have going on for me right now. To quote Tony, "all of our dates involve a trip to the doctor or hospital."

We have had some semi-eventful things happen in the world of baby lately. I had an appointment on Tuesday with the doctor and everything was just peachy. My blood pressure was higher than *my* normal, but still in the normal range so no one was worried. On Thursday night I got a really bad headache. I've suffered from migraines since my freshman year of college, so I'm familiar with how painful a headache can get. Unfortunately for me, this latest one was pretty bad and none of my migraine prescriptions are okay for a pregnant Hollie to consume. I remembered the doctor telling me that if I experienced any headaches with visual disturbances that I need to call him. This was also tricky because my migraines always produce what I call "sparkles." (It looks like the little flashes you get in your eyes after you get your picture taken.) I sort of brushed this headache off, chalking it up to pregnancy causing a migraine.

I went to my Prenatal Water Aerobics class Friday morning (don't laugh!) and talked to my teacher about my headache. During class I still had a dull headache, what I call migraine hangover, and the teacher suggested maybe I go to a drugstore and take my blood pressure. So, after class I grabbed a snack and headed to the store. I took three readings and averaged them out. You have to know that my blood pressure is usually something like 119/59 -- super low numbers. The average from these three readings was 141/91. AH! I called the nurse at my doctor's office and she sent me over to the Labor & Delivery unit for some Non-Stress Testing.

My blood pressure didn't get lower as I was monitored so they drew some blood and had me do a very lovely 24-hour urine collection. I had to report back yesterday.

The results? Well my blood and urine samples were great--the nurse said my urine collection was the best she had seen in a long time, that's right--but my blood pressure still refuses to come down to normal. I was told to rest and I go back to L&D Tuesday for a non-stress test and Wednesday I see my doctor. I guess if my blood pressure keeps creeping up like this, baby might make an early appearance.

I royally freaked out while we were in the hospital Saturday. They were swamped in L&D when I showed up and so instead of putting me in Triage (the transition room, basically) they put me in an actual labor room. Like, the room where I would be delivering the baby. The room was very nice and spacious, and we'll be quite comfortable there, but it was a little weird for me to realize this is all going to happen VERY soon. The nurse kept saying stuff like, "we just want to keep her in for a couple more weeks." Here's hoping my blood pressure goes down! I don't know if I'm ready for all of this!!

5/17/11

Like Mother, Like Daughter

The older I get I realize more and more how similar I am to my mom. We certainly have our differences, and are in no way the SAME, but there's a lot about me that reflects who my mom is and what she's about. I came to realize this over the weekend during various activities and things I had to do. I won't go into all of the ways i feel like I'm just like my mom, but my favorite trait I inherited from her is perfectionism.

When my mom and I throw a party, it gets done to the extreme. We both try to make things look the absolute best they can and if it doesn't work out it's never good. I've spent many days early in my marriage sobbing on the floor because a cake flopped over on the floor from being too soft, a recipe tasted nasty, etc. We really like to go "all out." A lot of people think its because we want to impress other people, and there may be a hint of that in there, but it is mostly because we want everyone to have a great experience. Especially if we are throwing a party for someone else.

If you look at the pictures from the baby shower my mom threw for me you can see what I'm talking about. Every little detail was planned to perfection by my mom and I loved it. The cupcakes were beautifully frosted with little flowers piped on top, the diaper cake looked edible (even Tony said it made him want cake), even the games were printed out on scrapbook paper that matched the theme. It was the loveliest party anyone has ever thrown for me. There was nothing about the shower that I would have changed had I done it on my own. I'm really glad I got to go home for that weekend and so grateful that my mom put so much time into the party.

I'm not entirely sure why I wanted to write this post. The whole perfectionism thing has just been on my mind this weekend and I know without a doubt that I got it from my mom. While I like the fact that I inherited the desire to make things "just so" from my mom, I realize that as a mother you can't be a perfectionist. Kids aren't going to listen to you all of the time. I've been trying to tell myself this and learn to let some of my perfectionist tendencies go in preparation for motherhood.

Speaking of motherhood - my due date was a month from yesterday! CRAZY. I have a doctor's appointment today, so we'll see how it goes! I'm getting a bit impatient with this last month of pregnancy. I wish she could just come today.

5/3/11

Fruit Lady

I haven't had a lot of cravings this pregnancy. I've had a lot of "cravings" (things I just felt like pigging out on that I blamed on pregnancy) but no true foods that my body just wanted and needed. The one craving I have had is fruit. Beautiful, colorful, delicious fruit.

I seriously just can't get enough of it! Prior to my pregnancy if we got fruit at Costco it was often a waste of money because we couldn't consume the large quantities in time. Since about month 6, however, Costco fruit has been a weekly purchase in our home, and I eat most of it. I'm glad my craving is a healthy one at least!

I realized how bad its gotten today when I was checking out at Costco. Here's the list of things on the conveyer belt:

-4 lbs strawberries
-1 large clamshell blueberries
-1 large clamshell raspberries
-a box with probably 12 kiwis in it
-a box of frozen all-natural fruit bars (26 total!) - I've already eaten two today :)

Upon ringing me up, the little checker lady started giggling. I grinned at her, wondering what the heck she was doing, and asked, "what?" She said, "I can TOTALLY tell what you're craving!" I had to laugh, and I wasn't embarrassed because hey! It's fruit for crying out loud! No one can call me a pig for eating too much FRUIT. I know, I know.... fruit even has calories. I just feel justified in pigging out on fruit instead of cheese puffs.

In other pregnancy news, this baby is getting insanely close to being here! I can officially say that she'll be here NEXT MONTH. I am so excited but sometimes I have moments of sheer panic about all of this baby business. This usually happens when I'm alone and bored. I'm really excited to not be pregnant anymore, though. This being a huge, clumsy whale thing is getting old really fast.

4/27/11

Doctor Follow-Up

Yesterday was my doctor's appointment. I was really nervous to go because of all of the stuff that happened in Florida, but I was excited to make sure that baby was okay. The wait in the waiting room seemed to be an eternity and finally when they called me back and began taking all of my vitals, the nurse got a very concerned look on her face after taking my blood pressure. Oh great. When I asked her what was wrong, she asked me to put my arm up and squeeze my hand over and over. After doing this, she took my BP again, then had me walk up and down the hallways. Third time's the charm, I guess, as my BP was completely normal after my little walk. This was really strange for me because I am notorious for my low blood pressure readings. The nurse told me that sometimes the cuff she was using was a little wacky.

The doctor came in and we talked about Florida, and he smiled throughout the entire discussion. He said I was fine and to let him know about any more "excitement." He said I probably just did too much. I wish I would have had HIM in Florida with me! We could have made our flight home!! He told me that they were probably overly cautious with me because I was an out-of-towner that they hadn't seen before. Better safe than sorry, I suppose.

So, baby and I are all a-okay. She had a healthy heart rate, I'm measuring right on track, and the doctor was pleased with her activity level (though sometimes I wish she'd chill out a bit). I'm actually very glad that she moves a lot, because if something were wrong, I'd know in an instant. This little girl moves all day long it seems.

Only 7 more weeks!

4/25/11

Baby Room Update

I apologize for two posts in one day, but I just realized that we basically finished up baby's room this weekend! I bought some flower & butterfly decorations I've been eying at Hobby Lobby and we're so glad we got them! They really make it look like a little girl's room.


The toolbox on the shelving is NOT a permanent fixture ;)
It's really fun to have the room done! Now all we need is a cute baby to put in it.

Florida Vacation

*Warning! Super long post!*

Last Thursday Tony and I flew to Florida to attend his sister's wedding in Ft. Lauderdale. She was having a destination beach wedding so the whole family gathered to be there for her special day. I must say, I didn't mind leaving a snowstorm and showing up to 86 degree weather! The humidity wasn't too bad, and it was so nice to wear shorts all the time!

We went to the beach Friday during the day. The water was so clean and nice. It was really a pretty beach. I usually don't like the ocean because it stinks and the water looks dirty, but this beach was more like a Caribbean beach (not quite..but close enough). It was nice to be in the water and I think the baby liked the rocking motions of the waves. She slept basically all day and hardly moved. After our day at the beach all of the whiteys in the family (Tony, Caity, and me) all developed pretty bad sunburns and looked pretty fabulous at the rehearsal dinner that night, haha. I put sunscreen on like 3 times and STILL got burned! The rehearsal dinner was really nice. It was at a place called 15th Street Fisheries. Even though Tony and I aren't big fish eaters, Tony ordered grouper just to try it, and we both ended up liking it. Yay for trying new things! :)

Saturday was the "big day." All of the bridesmaids congregated in Carleigh's hotel room to get our hair done. I had to step out several times because of the hairspray fumes, but it was still fun girly time. I didn't really take ANY pictures (I'm bad, I know!!) so I just have to describe everything! Our hair was all done in low buns with loose curls. Very beachy-looking. I tried my best to cover up my funny-looking sunburns with foundation. I even enlisted Tony to do some cover-up work on my back, and he did a really nice job! It didn't totally get rid of the burns, but it helped blend it in a little bit for pictures. I'm hoping the photographer can do some Photo Shop magic on that stuff. ;)

The wedding was beautiful and very romantic. I really hope that Carleigh and Sherwin are happy, they both did a great job and looked so happy together. During the reception/dancing part, Carleigh had each of the members of the wedding party announced and we had to dance in together. If you know Tony and me, we're not the grooviest folks on the block. I've been to a lot of dances at church, but I am by no means talented in the dance department. We decided to just goof-ball it up to compensate for our lack of skills. Tony did his best shimmy down the runway and I was laughing so hard I could barely move. I already felt like an idiot trying to boogey down with my big baby bump. We survived and did it for Carleigh. She seemed pleased with everyone's dancing and luckily we weren't the only ones who did some silly stuff.

After all of the wedding celebrations were over, Tony and I decided that we'd use the rest of our week in Florida to take a last-chance vacation as a couple without a baby. We did a lot of fun stuff: an Everglades Tram Tour in Miami, ate at some local-recommended restaurants that were delicious, went to a comedy/magic show (we were the only couple there without kids, haha), did some more beach stuff, and even played Mike and Carmie in a rousing game of mini golf. It was really fun! My feet were so swollen and puffy the whole time from the heat and--I think--elevation change. Tuesday night we drove from Orlando back to Ft. Lauderdale so we could catch our plane on Wednesday. We went swimming in the hotel pool--fabulous!--and relaxed in our hotel room to enjoy our last night of vacation.

Wednesday morning we woke up as normal, ate breakfast, and began packing our bags. RIGHT before we were ready to walk out the door, I decided to hit the bathroom one last time before we went to do some sight-seeing to pass time before our flight. When I was in the bathroom, I noticed that I was bleeding. I got really scared and tried to stay calm when I told Tony. Tony was a superman and remained completely cool the entire time as he told me to call the doctor. We ended up having to wait about 30 minutes to call because the office wasn't open yet. When I finally got through the nurse asked me a handful of questions and then sighed and told me to go to the nearest Labor and Delivery to get an evaluation to make sure I wasn't going into Pre-Term labor.

We checked in at the nearest hospital where I was hooked up to all sorts of machinery. The doctor came in and examined me, and told me that I was having contractions. He hoped it was just because of dehydration and ordered an IV for me. This was my very fist IV of my life, believe it or not, and it was the WORST EVER. They screwed it up the first time and after like 45 minutes they realized NONE of the fluid was going into my body. They pulled out the IV a little and I could feel the fluids flowing, but soon I began developing a huge bulge in my arm and it hurt really bad. It looked like my arm was going to pop! The nurses took their time taking it out, saying it was "just infiltrated" and they tried again in my other hand. Luckily that one worked, but I really would be okay if I never had to have another IV for the rest of my life.

The IV wasn't helping the contractions, so they ordered an ultrasound to check the length of my cervix. At this point we had been at the hospital for around 5 hours, and had to cancel our flight home. I felt so bad about the money wasted (the airline couldn't help us at all with transferring/penalties/etc.) and the money being spent to pay for the medical bills, but Tony didn't seem to care a bit about finances and helped me get through my rough day. I was actually a little excited that I was going to be having an ultrasound because I thought I would get to see my cute little baby girl. It was a bit of good news in a day full of scary stuff. Unfortunately for me, the ultrasound tech was anything but nice and I didn't get one peek at my baby the whole 45 minutes she did the ultrasound. I was told by the receptionist that this was a diagnostic ultrasound and that I shouldn't ask a lot of questions so as to not break the tech's focus. Tony wasn't even allowed in the room with me. The only question I asked was, "so, is she still a girl?" The tech just glared at me and I shut my mouth. I was really sad.

Finally, 11 hours later, the doctor told me my cervix was perfectly strong and wasn't shortening at all, so my contractions weren't actually leading to labor. I was able to go "home" to our hotel and was put on 24-hour complete bed rest. Tony literally jumped up for joy and began collecting my things as I was disconnected from all of the monitors and needles stuck in me. We found the nearest McDonald's (neither of us had eaten the entire day in the hospital. I wasn't really allowed and Tony didn't want to eat in front of me) and stuffed our faces. We have never been so glad to see a hotel room in our lives. My bleeding and contractions, the doctor said, were most likely caused from simply over-doing it and not staying hydrated.

I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow, and I'm a bit afraid that he'll put me on bed rest for the duration of my pregnancy. 24-hour bed rest was hard enough for me and I don't think I could do it for two months! I'm also secretly hoping that they will do an ultrasound and since I know they are nice I might get to see my little girl :). One can hope, right?

So - that wraps up our Florida trip experience. It was a nice vacation even if it was a bit eventful at the end. We are all doing well now, safe and sound at home in cold Utah.

4/12/11

A Little Funny for You All

As I've mentioned before, this little girl inside me moves A LOT. She's bigger and stronger now, and its beginning to actually be painful for me when she decides to have dance parties in my abdomen. Tony and I always joke about how crazy and energetic she'll be once she's older.

Just for fun (and because I was bored) I did this mommy/child horoscope thing online and got this as a result:
Your Gemini child certainly keeps you busy! She grins at strangers in the park, and at home she unloads her entire toy chest looking for one toy at the bottom of the box. In general, she wreaks merry havoc as she rolls through childhood in her playful and energetic way.
That made Tony and I laugh, of course, because we could totally see this being her with how she acts right now.

So...(here's the funny)

Last night, after mowing the lawn, Tony began his workout. He was doing plyometrics from the P90x workout. If you've never heard of these, its a lot of jumping. It kills you. It's the "mother of all P90x workouts." It's super-tough. Tony, being the guy he is, always takes it up to the next level, jumping as high as he can and really pushing himself hard. Pan over to me, sitting on the couch with my blanket, watching TV, being a big lazy blob. I was trying to move the baby's dance party out of my ribcage area and while Tony was jumping up and down over and over, touching the ceiling then the floor I sighed and said, "She moves so much! I'm afraid this baby will be nothing like me." Mid-jump Tony (huffing and puffing) says, "why???"

I just cracked up and said "well....look at ME and look at YOU."

It may not be funny to others unless you were there, but we couldn't stop laughing. Maybe I should get up and move a little more? These two are going to outrun me!