GBS Update

Hey folks, just a real quick update on my Group B Strep situation. I am finally finished with the antibiotics and will be going in next week to see how things have cleared up. I can finally go back to eating a normal schedule.

I did at one point develop a yeast infection (I know, I know TMI) but that is being taken care of now. It was awesome, I only had to take on pill for it, and that pill clears it up over the next few days.

I can't say that I feel 100% better because honestly, as the mom, you don't feel anything with Group B Strep, so I don't know yet how well the antibiotics work. I do know and accept that it won't be cured just managed.

Well that is my quick update. Check back tomorrow for my week 28 update.

Peace Out

First Birthing Class Completed

Last night Chris and I attended our first class of a five session birthing classing. We had signed up for the class back in March ... wanted to take it earlier but they said it was best to wait nearer the end so that the information is still fresh. Even though many women today feel the classes are unnecessary, there were quite a few couples in attendance. It was kind of nice to be around several other women who are in the same stages as we are, or pretty close to it.

Lets see, first the instructor is pretty nice. She has been teaching this class for over 20 years, almost 10 years in Winter Park and has actually had a lady go into labor during one of her classes ... must have been exciting for everyone else. She did kinda talk a lot, but then again that is what she is there for. The lesson itself is broken down to 1/2 time spent in a lecture the other 1/2 time spent in the relaxation methods. The lessons this time included, preterm labor, nutrition, breastfeeding, dilation and effacing. I think there were two more topics but she didn't get to them. Most of the topics we have already learned about but of course there were a few details here and there that we didn't know.

My favorite part would have to be the end where we got to learn and practice some of the relaxation stuff. Chris is a pro at it. One of the best and calming messages I have ever had and can't wait to see how it plays out and helps during labor.

Well four more weeks to go. I will try and not post about each one ... boring ... unless something exciting happens during glass (hopefully not me, way to early still).

My Body Week 27

♫My God is an Awesome God
He reigns on heaven and earth
With wisdom, power and love
My God is an Awesome God♫

I woke up this morning with that song in my head, and the next thing I know Chris comes into the room and says Happy 3rd Trimester. Awesome way to start the day. I hope the rest is sunshine and roses also.

Well today beings week 27 is this awesome pregnancy journey and I feel so blessed each day that I am on bed rest. Why you ask? Because each day I am on bed rest is another day Ty is still cooking and not coming out before his time.

As you may have already read, this weekend one of the nurses phoned to inform me of a bacteria present in my urine test. I have been on the antibiotics now for almost 5 complete days and I am happy to say there are no side effects at all. I am one of those people that get at least 75% of those nasty side effects that medications warn you about.

I am also down to like 4-5 of those painless braxton hicks contractions I was so concerned about earlier. I guess it shows that this whole being in bed thing and resting does actually pay off.

Thanks to everyone so far that has voted on our new baby contest. If you haven't done so yet check out the link on the top right corner. It is fun.

Peace Out

What Else You Got ... Bring it On

I am starting to feel like I am a walking example of all the different stuff that can go crazy during pregnancy. I received a call from one of the nurses at my Birthing Cottage this Saturday morning. Apparently results from the big urine test I did, (the one they have sent out to be tested, not the one I did myself at the office) came in this week and I have what is called Group B Strep. You can read all about it on this website here from American Pregnancy.

Seriously, I feel really special that the devil is attacking us so hard. That means God has some great works laid out for our future and the devil is trying everything to discourage me from enjoying my pregnancy. But I won't let him. NO I WON'T!!!

Well, I have already picked up my prescription and I started the antibiotics this afternoon. The doctor recommends that I start treating it now, even though the website and other sources indicate that this is usually taken care of closer to or during labor. She explained that since my cervix is already at 1 cm I am at risk for bacteria and such getting to the baby. I will be tested again once the prescription is finished. Oh and I have to also take one more pill to counter act one of the side effects of the antibiotic which is it could cause yeast infections. YEAH!!! FUN!!!

Once again, please continue to pray for Chris, myself and for Ty. Right now we need an army of prayer warriors seeking blessings and coverage over us and our health. Thanks ya'll.

.

(I thought it would be decades before I used one of these pill trackers)

Peace Out!

My Body Week 26

Hallelujah, we have made it another week and Ty is still put inside my stomach. I think he is trying to find his way out though, I am pretty sure of it. He has kicked the top of my cervix so much this week it isn't funny. I try to tell him to stop, that's not a good idea, but he hasn't figured it out yet. In the mean time he continues to grow and feed off of all my food and stuff. Check out what babycenter.com has to say about week 26.

Other than that I am doing pretty good. Ty is growing a lot and my stomach is starting to get real tight now so moving around is starting to get a little harder. Doesn't make it an easier right after I eat and my stomach gets even tighter. But since changing my diet I have learned how to eat much smaller portions so it don't get up stuffed too often.

Other personal stuff ... we have to baby stuff. We got our baby crib, tons of clothes and a few items for cleaning and care. Can't wait to get to use them.

Peace Out

Double Digits Folks...

That's right folks, we have hit double digits when it comes to counting down to Ty's expected delivery date. We are now at 99 days!! How exciting is that. Me and Phil were talking about the time when we just found out we were pregnant and the counter was at 200+ days. Now, the time is coming up so fast and we are so close. It's simply amazing.

Tomorrow we will be 26 weeks and that's awesome. We are coming up to being 2/3rd of the way thru, the 3rd trimester. We are excited!

Peace Out Folks
Chris C.

Our Most Recent Prenatal Visit

Okay so Chris and I were talking about it and we have lost track of what number prenatal visit we are on so we will just go with ... our latest visit. Yesterday we had a visit with Alice our Midwife at the birthing cottage to check on how little Ty is doing and how I am doing with the pregnancy. I have to say that it was a real encouraging and well spent visit. Here are my high points of the visit:

Urine test: Tests for Glucose, Protein, Bilirubin, Ketone, Specific Gravity, Blood, pH, Urobilinogen, Nitrite, Leukocytes. I must be drinking a lot of water because all of the results were good.

Weight: Even on bed rest and not being active, my weight was great. Since that dreadful visit a few weeks back when I had gained too much weight in one month I have actually lost 1.5 pounds. But the baby is still growing and health. :)

Babies heart rate: Still strong and beating loud and clear. Although it did take the student aide a little while to find it. Luckily the baby was moving just before that point so I knew he was fine.

Chances of preterm labor: Are pretty low. While there are some issues, it is not bad as we originally thought.

While I am still on bed rest and my cervix is still dilated the chances of something going wrong are very slim. My cervix is no 1cm dilated (10cm is when it is time to push the baby out) but it is not effaced, or shortening. The midwife explained that there are several women that have gone for weeks/months being 5cm dilated and baby still was healthy and went to full term. Even if I continue to dilate slowing over the next 11 weeks I should still be okay unless I start experience real contractions and other symptoms. So I am not worried. Just chillin in bed, catching up with friends and knitting my little projects.

Peace Out

My New Hobby

This past week during my adventurous trip to Walmart I picked up myself a knitting guide and a couple packs of yarn. I had told myself, I will not be subject to my laptop and video games all day long. I will find myself a hobby and be productive with my hands. I envisioned myself being able to teach myself how to knit and make my son his own little blankie. How do you think I am coming along so far????

Peace Out

Little Things Make Me Happy ... WALMART!!!

Yesterday I got to experience the biggest thrill in such a long time. Since being on bed rest I have been confined to my home, mainly my bedroom, and primarily on my bed (ha, it is bed rest silly). Well I have been really good (gold star for me) and I honestly felt a whole lot better so as a reward I got to get out of the house. No Joke. After my husband great husband came home from work I told him I would like to pick up a few things at the Super WalMart down the street. Thinking he would do the typically 'okay, what do you need, make a list and I'll get' I started to make the list. But nooooooo, he said 'okay, after I take a quick nap we can go.' I was so excited it seems like that 45 minute nap took forever and we couldn't leave fast enough. I was like a kid in candy store. Can't wait for my next outing ... to the birthing cottage for our appointment on Monday. We are hoping to hear that I can finally start doing stuff again. Not being able to clean and walk is actually frustrating.

New Contest Folks...

Yes yes yes yes, a new contest is here!!! This one is going to be great!! First, congrats to our Gender Contest Winner, Bette, check the video out here. To all that took part thanks.

Okay folks so here it is. So the last time, we asked you to guess whether we were going to have a girl or a boy. We know that it's a boy. Now the new contest is, Guess When.

Here are the instructions:

1. On the right hand side of the blog, you'll see ExpectNet.com Link. Click it!

2. Select "Enter a guess".

3. Enter the information.

4. Click Submit.

5. Sit back and wait :)

So the whole object is to guess Ty's big arrival date, time, length, and weight. Person with the closest without going over, WINS!!!!

The site will actually give points at the end and give us a winner. We have entered, so just follow suit. You can see who guessed and how many people guessed.

Well folks, get ya guessing on and have fun!!

Peace Out Folks
Chris C.

Week 25 Belly Shot...

Week 25 and 15weeks to go, if Ty goes full 40 weeks, and we are excited. We thank God everyday that we get and just ask Him for health and strength for Philippa and Ty. Ty's busy kicking away in Phil's belly, or as I say, he's working out and building those muscles. To that I say, get your work out on son. Sorry Phil. In fact, if you really think and look at it, he's in his little resort. Yeah, he works out, gets his food, sleeps and has his thermostat at just the right temperature. How cool is that.

So, I am still wanting to do the 3D/4D ultrasound at 30 weeks, so I'm pretty excited about that. Can't wait. I can't wait to see my son, and then I've also been thinking more and more about his birthday and holding him and kissing him and just having him here with us. Wow, that's going to be an awesome day. *sigh*

Ok folks without further a due, here's Phil's 25th week belly shot. Enjoy it :)

39 inchs

Peace Out Folks
Chris C.

My Body Week 25

Ladies and gentlemen, we have successfully passed another week and Ty is growing strong. We have hit a lot of crazy little pot holes in the road to delivery lately but I am hoping things will start smoothing out now. We have received a tremendous amount of support from family and friends and it is just awesome. Thanks so much guys.

We of course are still following babycenter.com and assume that our baby is developing just on schedule with the what they say is happening ... just makes it easier for us. Week 25 talks about Ty getting a little chunkier now and putting on some baby fat. How cute!!!

As for me, I am starting to get a hang of this bed rest deal and making the most of my time. Still eating well and have been able to really monitor and maintain my weight. Been spending my time counting baby kicks but since I have been on bed rest his kicking habits have changed a lot so now I have to get used to an all new pattern.

Oh I do have the lovely experience of heartburn again now. For the past 5 nights it comes on at about 7pm and lingers until at least 11pm. Hopefully I am able to fall asleep early and miss half of it. A lot of it is due to the bed rest. Even though I am not laying down after I eat, I am so in active my food just isn't digesting fast enough. Good thing, I am not as hungry any more, but thing is stomach acid in the throat ... OUCH!!!

Peace Out

KeepEmCookin

I was on twitter this week blabbing about my adventures with bed rest and an awesome lady found me and offered a few kind words of support and encouragement. She also provided me with a link to her website KeemEmCooking.com. Later on that day I decided to take a look at the site and I found loads of useful information regarding preterm labor, bed rest and the like. Great source of info and they even have an online forum where other women on bed rest share their stories and experiences and ask questions regarding what they are going through. I haven't written in the forum yet, but I have read a few posts and responses and got some reassuring feedback so far.

Just wanted to share, in case you also wanted more information on preterm labor and bed rest.

Peace Out

Okay I Give In ... Silly Kicks

So I still think those baby kicks are creepy and weird but I have to admit, I have grown accustomed to them now. To the point where if I don't feel them ... of course I start to worry. Especially now with so many changes going on with my schedule of activity I am really watching and counting his little (okay mostly big) movements. He is usually having a little party of 1 first thing in the morning and at night before I go to bed. But I guess since I am at rest most of the day now he is getting more rest and at different times. Now I get the fun task of learning a new pattern.

Poor little guy ... I just spent the past 10 minutes waking him up just so I can be sure to feel him wiggle around.

Lord Be With Us

Just to give you a quick update ... I am at home and on recommended bed rest. Woke up early on Thursday morning experiencing several braxton hicks contracts in a short period of time. So I called my certified midwife Alice and she said to come in when the office opens up at 9am. So monitored and documented all my contractions and headed to the office. Turns out more then likely I was just really dehydrated because after I started drinking a lot they slowed down. However, she did take the time to check my cervix and it isn't completely closed like it should be. It is pretty soft, but she can't get her finger through. Bad, but not terrible.

So therefore, I am in bed ... relaxing. It is not a complete do nothing type of bed rest. I am allowed to get up and stretch, use the restroom, shower and make my own 'simple' meals (no heavy cooking). But it does mean no more walking :( cleaning :) exercising of any kind and just be in bed whenever there is no real need for me to be up. Which of course totally clashes with my instructions to exercise to watch my weight gain. Both situations if not monitored will have some effect on the baby. So now I have to super, super, super watch what I eat and how and when to make sure I have control over both situations.

Basically I just want to be sure that from here on out my cervix behaves, doesn't open any more and Ty stays put until at least 37 weeks. It is so scary because on babycenter.com they have a community section with different groups and Chris and I are a member of the 'Sept 2009 Babies' group so a lot of the ladies are at the same point in their pregnancy as we are. It is nice to hear their stories and how similar they are but some are starting to share their own tragedies with the group. Various ladies going into preterm labor around now. The good thing is now some of those ladies are starting to share that their babies are still alive in the NICU. I try not to read them too much because I am trying to stay positive and think it won't be us.

Peace Out

Gender Contest Winner...

Folks, all the votes are in and the poll is closed. We have a winner to our Gender Contest. A few months ago, we had a gender guess contest where family and friends would chime in and give their guess as to what we were having. Well, the video is up and the winner is.......

Stay tuned for our next contest.

Peace Out Folks
Chris C.

My Body Week 24

I can't believe that we have made it to six months already. It is amazing how time can fly sometimes. It is funny because I will complain at how slow time seems to be moving but I didn't expect to be this far along so fast. Time to start gearing up for the big day (4 months away). Now according to babycenter.com at 24 weeks Ty is the size of an ear of corn ... reading their site always makes me hungry.

As for me, things are awesome. Chris and I had a great time at our first parental visit with Dr. Alice at the Birthing Cottage. She is a really nice doctor and I am even more excited about the time we will spend there. Chris has a nice video of the heart beat that he will be putting up soon.

I haven't received the results of the Glucose test I took last week Thursday but I will be doing another one with the cottage at the end of the month anyway. As for now I am going to continue to walk for 30 minutes everyday and eat and pretty darn healthy diet.

Peace Out