What a difference!

The top picture is Ollie just after he was born, below it is Ollie now. I can really tell that he's gained weight. He looks so chubby now!

 

Monkey...

This little monkey's gone bananas!
 

The Thinker...

 

Yesterday was Oliver's two week birthday! To celebrate we went out to buy diapers. We were both exhausted when we got home. We also stopped by RTG to let Ollie meet everyone. They all thought he was super cute! (which of course he is)
Last night at his 12:00 feeding he seemed a little warm and wasn't acting like himself. At 3am, after rocking him and feeding him, I took his temperature and it was 99.1 so I got very upset and woke poor Bob. It wasn't enough of a temperature to call the dr, but I felt very guilty for exposing him to germs and people and stuff. He finally fell asleep and so did I. I woke up at 5 and he felt normal again, and so I made him another bottle, which he didn't want. I was very relieved and so I went back to sleep. He's acting fine today, though, so I was worried for nothing.
He started latching better, he'll usually go about 10 minutes or so on each side at every feeding. I think part of the problem is that as soon as he latches on he starts to fall asleep. I have to keep rubbing his cheeks or pinching his ear to wake him back up.
I noticed today, or realized I guess, that our wedding anniversary is 9-4-04 and Oliver's birthday is 9-6-06. Kind of an interesting thing with the numbers. Maybe we'll plan to have our next baby on 9-8-08 to keep up the trend.
I was getting excited about the house we've been working on buying. Now though, I'm frustrated about it. Apparently the seller is changing her mind and doesn't really want to sell it now. She is refusing to fix any of the major things that are wrong with it. This wouldn't be a problem except that if we back out now we still have to pay for the home inspection and the pest inspection. Seems to me that if SHE backs out then she should pay for it. She's wasted our time and energy, and we only have another month on this lease! ARRRRRRGH!

Pic of the day

 

Ollie update

We had a home visit from the Guilford Co Health Dept today to check on Ollie. The nurse weighed him and checked him out from head to toe. He weighs 6 pounds 1 oz now! That means since last week he's gained 9 oz. He has a little bit of diaper rash, but that's pretty standard I guess. His reflexes and temperature were good, too. She went over some general information and asked a lot of questions. Overall though, he's doing very well!

He is latching a lot better today. Yesterday I got very frustrated because he didn't latch at all. Today at his first feeding he latched right away and ate for 10 minutes on one side and 15 on the other. This feeding he did 5 minutes on each side. I'm glad he's getting better at it. I was starting to feel like a big fat failure.

I'm starving all the time. I guess because when you are making milk you just use so many calories, but for goodness sake. I feel like I need to eat all the time. Right now I'm eating some of the Tater Tot Casserole that Dolly made. It's actually pretty yummy!

Tomorrow will be my first day by myself. Bob has to go to work and no one is coming to stay with me. I'm not really nervous about it at all. Everything has gone really well so far. I usually sleep til noon anyway, so most of the day will be gone and it won't be that long until Bob gets home when I get up. I know that sounds lazy, but it's just because I get up every 3 hours to feed the little bug. It's very hard work!

Playing

This is Ollie playing on the quilt that Nanny made him. He likes it a lot!
 

Pic of the day

 

Pic of the day

 

Updates...

Well so far I haven't had to spend any day without help. Bob was off work until Wednesday, and then on Thursday and Friday Dolly came down to help out. What a help she was, too! The first day we just sat around and chatted mostly, but she answered some of the questions I still had. Yesterday I packed some boxes while she cooked us 3 delicious casseroles. Then she let me take a nap for about an hour or so before Bob came home. It was VERY nice. I also got some dishes washed and a few other small things done too. I caught up writing in Oliver's book so that he'll know what all went on while he was so tiny.
Today I'm doing laundry. There's so much of it! Ollie has decided that he likes to pee OUTSIDE the diaper. Anyone know how to prevent that? We have gone through several outfits and even more blankies because of it. He even peed on Bob earlier today!
He's starting to latch better, even though he still doesn't get it every time. Once he gets it though he will usually go about 15 or 20 minutes. I've stopped pumping at night so that I don't have to get up every 3 hours and stay up for one and a half for each feeding. He wakes up almost exactly every 3, and usually takes about 2 ounces if not more. I think he's gained weight because he looks chubbier.
I feel like I want to get out of the house, but I'm still not supposed to take Ollie out. I don't want to go anywhere by myself either, and we can't just leave the little guy at home while we go out.
We took him for a walk the other night and he got to meet Jasper's girlfriend and her mom. Jaimee liked him very much and we spent a little while talking about his birth and stuff. He got bit by a mosquito while we were out, though! Poor little guy, right on his cheek. I guess I won't take him out after dark anymore because that's when the bugs are out. Unless it gets colder soon and the bugs all go away.
I suppose that's all for now, there are a few new pictures below.

Judy's onsie...

She thought he wouldn't like it! Look at what a great job she did!
 

nice hair

I gave Ollie a mohawk...hehehe
 

Jason's creation...

Here is Oliver in the onsie that Jason made. Isn't he cute!
 

Pic of the day

 

One for Mom

He needs peas and quiet! That still cracks me up!!
 

Pic of the day

 

funny, huh?

Here's Oliver with his boppy pillow. He was trying to recreate being in the womb.
 

First bath!

Here is Oliver just before and just after his first bath. He didn't like it very much but he did really well once he was wrapped back up in that warm towel. Isn't he the cutest?


 

Things I have learned...

The last 5 days since Oliver was born have been a whirlwind of new experiences. Here are a few things I have learned...

1. Having a baby is hard work, but I can handle it
2. Babies poop A LOT
3. It's hard not to talk baby talk to someone so tiny
4. I'm not afraid of babies anymore
5. You really DO have a "motherly instinct"
6. It's hard not to cry when you think your something is wrong with your baby
7. You can miss someone, even if he's just down the hall or in the next room
8. It's hard to put down a baby, they're so snuggly!
9. breast pumps make you feel like a cow
10. I can wake up without an alarm, even if I've only slept for an hour or so

Oliver Lucian

means "Peaceful man of light"

He had an appointment at the pediatrician's today to check his jaundice. The doctor said he looked great! She also said that the puss that was in his left eye yesterday and both eyes today is just a blocked tear duct and that all we have to do is keep cleaning it with a warm washcloth and stroking down his nose as well to clear out the blockage. He gained 2 ounces since Saturday, too!! She said overall he's doing wonderfully.

He had his first adventure yesterday. We took him for a walk around the pond. He saw 3 geese, a heron, a bunch of ducks, a spider in a big pretty web, and he found two little blue feathers. He had a really good time, and he got out in the sun, which helped get rid of his jaundice. I think he's going to love the great outdoors!

Oh yeah, thank you to captain obvious who pointed out that my ticker is inaccurate (see comment on my last post) Believe it or not it's rather hard to find any time to get on here and post, so it was really nice to get a stupid comment after I spent about 5 hours typing that. I have had my hands full and haven't had a chance to take it down yet. Oh and obviously he was premature.

birth story

This is the way I remember things, starting with Tuesday, even though he wasn't born until Wednesday...

Tuesday morning I still didn't feel very well (see the post below for why). We had an appointment to go see a house so I got dressed and off we went. We really liked the house, and told the realtor that we wanted to go ahead and make an offer. He said we should go over the house really well so we knew what we wanted to offer. As we were going around my back was hurting and I just wanted to sit down so I went back and sat in the car until they were finished. Bob came back out and we decided to go to Wal Mart to return some things and get some other things. When we got there I was not doing well standing in the line to return the stuff so I went and sat on a bench while Bob took care of business. When he was done we went back and got a wheelchair and Bob wheeled me around while we picked up the things we needed. When we were done we went home and I just rested for the rest of the evening. Bob made some spaghetti and it was really good! We went to bed at about 10:30.
I didn't actually go to sleep until 11:30, but got up every hour to go to the bathroom. (I was still having diarrhea) and my back hurt a whole lot! Finally around 6ish Bob's alarm went off and he was sort of awake. I told him how I felt and he asked if I wanted him to stay home with me that day. I told him no, to go to work I'd be fine. He got ready for work, and took the dog out. When he came back he asked me again if I wanted him to stay home. At this point I was having some cramping across my lower abdomen so I told him that he better stay. We called the birth center and since they were not open yet we left a message and waited for the midwife to call us back. When she did we told her what was going on and she told us to go ahead and go to the hospital. We got our things together and headed out. While we were driving the pain was getting worse so Bob was driving as fast as he could, honking and passing people. We got to the hospital and as we were walking across the parking deck I had a contraction and the parking attendant looked over and saw us. She ran up to the building and brought back a wheelchair and rushed us into the hospital. We rushed past admitting and straight to the 5th floor where they put us in a room and the midwife checked me. She said that I was dilated 3 cm and that this baby was coming out today. She offered some pain meds, and I let her know that I wanted none at all unless I asked for them. I think we got to the hospital around 10:45. They put us into another room where they hooked up the IV with the penicillin (my appointment for my Group B Strep had been scheduled for Friday). They also hooked up the fetal monitor and stuff. I don’t remember everything at this point. I do remember that the contractions were getting closer together for a while, and when one would come I would grab Bob or Bob’s shirt. After a while he got me my teddy bear and the labor necklace. I used the bear as a pillow against the edge of the bed. Then it seemed to me anyway, that the contractions were so far apart. I was sleeping in between them and each time I would think “this is going to take forever if these contractions don’t get closer together”. Although, as it turns out, even though it felt like 30 minutes of very refreshing sleep, it was only 30 seconds or so. At 8 cm I was getting such a strong urge to push that I could not stop myself. The midwife kept telling me to blow the pain away, but I just couldn’t stop from pushing. They gave me oxygen to help me breathe. Soon they were actually telling me to push, and I was really trying! After a few sessions of pushing I didn’t feel like I was making any progress so I asked if he was coming. Someone, I’m not sure who, said that his head was showing, and that he had a lot of hair. I reached down and felt his head. Bob said I started crying, but I don’t remember that. After that I pushed and pushed, but it was so hard. I felt like my head would explode and my lips went numb. The midwife said that if I didn’t get it in a few more pushes they were going to have to use the vacuum extractor thing. Oh yeah, even though I definitely did not want it, she gave me the episiotomy. THAT pain was almost worse than a contraction. I screamed like a crazy person! Anyway, when she said that I got upset. There was no way that I was going to let my baby get his head suctioned! I pushed and pushed and pushed with the next contraction. The next thing I knew his head was out, and then with a gush the rest of him came out, too! They rushed him over to give him oxygen and get him warmed up. No one told me at the time, but apparently with each contraction his heart rate was going down. Bob says when he came out they rushed him to cut the cord. He was so purple. The cord was wrapped around his neck, belly, and one leg. I’m not sure how he ended up that way. After a few minutes I asked if I could see him and the brought him over. He looked better (I didn’t see him before, but bob said he was almost black!) but he was still purple. I snuggled him a little bit and then they took him to get him under some lights for warmth and give him more oxygen. Just after they took him the midwife started helping me get the placenta out. It took a while, but it blurped out. I asked to see it and she came over and showed it to me. Bob said that he wanted to keep it, so it’s in our freezer now. The midwife started to stitch me up and in came my mom and sister! I was shaking so badly, I felt cold and I was exhausted! My mom said they had seen the baby in the hallway and he was so beautiful. She gave me a big hug and told me that I had done good. After I got stitched up they wheeled me out to the recovery area, and on the way from delivery to recovery they stop and you get to push a button that plays a lullaby to let everyone know that a baby was just born. We got into the room and started getting guests, but that’s a story for another time.

Brothers...

Here is Jasper with his new brother. They got along really well, and Jasper didn't even act weird. He does like to lick baby toes though! 

Our family..

This is Bob, Oliver and I a few hours after he was born. The only family member missing in this picture is Jasper. 

beautiful boy!!

Here are a few more pictures of the sweetest baby ever! The people he is with are Gramma Diane (middle right) then from right to left on the bottom is Aunt Rach-O, Pappy, and Nanny. Isn't he the most adorable baby you've ever seen? He's so well behaved too! He doesn't cry hardly ever, and he's eating like a madman! 

Welcome!

Oliver Lucian, just after he was born on 9-6-06
 

The show...

Ok so here's what happened. Saturday at work the store ordered KFC and I ate some. I knew I shouldn't have, it was greasy, but I was hungry. After work we went out with Kyle and Cindy to a Chinese buffet. I didn't eat anything odd there, so I don't blame them for what happened next. All that night I felt bloated, like I had gas or needed to go to the bathroom, but when I did nothing happened. Sunday I didn't have to work so Bob and I spent the day doing some stuff and lounging around the house. I still felt horrible. Monday I went to work, even though when I got up I felt worse than ever, and it was our 2 year wedding anniversary. Bob told me to call out, but I went in anyway. The day was pretty unbusy, so I just sat in a corner doing almost nothing and moving as little as possible. At about 1 my inlaws stopped by on their way back from WV and took us to lunch. We had a pretty good time with them, although the service at Ruby Tuesday was lacking. After I got back to work I still felt pretty bad so I did some busy work that I do for the manager every month. When I was finished I was going to hand out the finished product to the salespeople, but stopped by the bathroom first. To my dismay, I had a little bit of blood on the TP! I started to get nervous, so I called Bob and he told me to come on home. I talked to my mgr and she said it would be ok so off I went. I spent the rest of the night calling people and trying to figure out if this was something I needed to really worry about or not. I laid on the couch and drank lots of water. Bob made me some yummy spaghetti for dinner. We went to bed fairly early and I slept really well! I only got up 4 times. I didn't end up calling the birth center until Tuesday morning though. They very calmly told me that it was probably just the mucous plug and that I could go about life as usual. Well, that was a relief! I still felt miserable most of the morning, but after I took a nap I felt better. Not great, but better. So I've been reading up on the mucous plug and apparently I could go into labor ANYTIME! I'M NOT READY!!!
So, if anyone can help me out...I need to know what else I absolutely MUST have when the baby comes home. I have a bassinet and a crib, I have a car seat, i have plenty of clothes and blankets and diapers. What else do I need?!?!?

Asheville shower

Here is a group picture of everyone at the Asheville shower. From left to right: Rachael, Dave, Bob, me, Dale, Mom, Delilah, Sarah, Aunt Sandy, and Gramma
 

belly picture

Here is a picture of my belly, taken August 20th at the shower in Asheville.
 

houses...

we went yesterday with our real estate agent to look at some houses. We only looked at 3, but we eliminated 2 of them pretty quickly. The first one looked like it was from the 60's and looked haunted too. The second one was pretty good. Right now a little old couple lives there, and they smoke so it stinks. The carpet is teal. Other than that everything looked good. The rooms were decent sizes, there are 1.5 bathrooms, the kitchen had a fair amount of counter space. Plus it's a 3 bedroom which means that we won't have to put the computer in the bedroom! It had a big fenced in back yard for Jasper too. The third house we looked at was horrible. The carpet had holes in it, as did the walls. The pool (which we didn't really want) was NASTY. The master bath had a shower with no door. The rooms were huge though, and the kitchen was, too. If it wasn't so torn up we would have liked it a lot. So anyway, we like our realtor. He was really honest about the places we looked at. He even showed me how to make sure the bathrooms were ok (check the pipes, toilet, shower, etc). He gave us a list of other houses he thinks we might like so I'm going to try to check those out on listing book later today.

Our 2 year anniversary is coming up in a few days! I'm so excited!!! Since it's labor day this year I'll have to work! I think I have Tuesday off though, and so does Bob so we can just celebrate then for the whole entire day. I don't know what we're going to do, but I'm sure it will be fun.

getting ready

We had another dr's appt yesterday. Everything was normal, as usual. Blood pressure was excellent, raisin's heartbeat was strong, nothing out of the ordinary. They asked about our birth plan, which I have mostly together but have to put the finishing touches on. Next week I'll have my Group B Strep test so I'll know when I get the results if I have to go to the hospital or if I get to stay at the Birth Center. I've mostly packed my bag, the only thing it still needs are some snacks and a few other things.

My next appointment is the 8th, then it's once a week after that. We have a few more birth classes then we're done with that, too. Of course, that means we'll be that much closer to actually having the baby.

I've started getting swollen ankles...oh how I dreaded getting the cankles!...it's not pleasant. I can't sit in one position for very long without hurting when I move. My ankles and knees feel sore. Someone at work today told me that my face looks puffy. :(

We went yesterday and talked to a realtor. He's taking us to look inside some houses on Thursday. We are a little more excited now. I guess we need to get things moving though, we only have 6 weeks until the raisin is due, and only 5 until our lease is up here at the apartment. Of course, they did say we could extend it month to month if we need to, but they raise the rate by $100 if we do that!

Bob is still looking for another job. He got offered a job with FedEx, but they keep dragging their feet so I guess it's back to the drawing board. He said something about a night auditor position at Holiday Inn today. It might not be the greatest because it's third shift, but he already knows how to do it. I think he should go ahead and apply and keep his options open as well.

I've been looking into Medical Transcription. You can learn it in as little as 4 months, and you can work from home. I'm not sure how that works, but I'd like to work from home and I'm pretty sure that I'd learn it pretty quickly. They give you up to a year though. If I can make as much as they say that I can then Bob won't have to work two jobs for very long.

this weekend...

What a hectic weekend we had! I worked until 9 on Friday, then had to go to K-Mart to exchange the oil filter for the Galoot since I got the wrong size. We had to change the oil in the Galoot because we had a lot of driving planned for the next few days. Once we got home from that it was already late and Bob had to finish changing the oil and put on the new battery connecter thingy since the other one broke when he was trying to clean off all the corrosion. By the time we got to bed it was around midnight. I was exhausted, and wasn't feeling very well either. In fact, I was downright miserable and feeling like I might throw up. Luckily after a few Rolaids and some Popsicles I was able to get to sleep.
Morning came really early, and though we had planned to leave around 8 or 8:30 we ended up leaving around 9:45. We drove for 4 hours, with only 1 stop, I think...maybe 2. It wasn't a bad ride, and I didn't end up sleeping during any of it. When we got to WV we went straight to the WV state fair, which just so happens to be in Lewisburg. The first place we went was in the craft building. There are always so many neat things in there. Bob took a picture of a huge pumpkin on his phone; I'll try to post it later. There were quilts and clothes and things that people had made too. As we were walking around we were looking for the afghan that Mammaw made for Bob since she said she was going to enter it. We finally found it on the top tier of about the 3rd row we walked down. To our suprise there was a first place ribbon hanging from it!! We were very impressed, and Bob even got a little misty. Anyway, then we walked around looking at the animals and enjoying the general atmosphere of the fair. I got some cotton candy and we had a fabulous smoothie. Bob got me a charm for my necklace (a turtle made from multicoloured tiger's eye) Bob had a grape snowcone while I drank a delicious bottle of water. We hung around there for about 3 hours, which was really fun, but really hot! After we left there we went to the first shower of the weekend. We hung out with Cheryl, Kelsie, Jordyn, Angie, Ethan, Timothy, Mammaw, Bob Sr, Dolly, Ladona, Amaya, Morgan, Birch, Gretchen, Indigo, Chris, and Kate and Kerrigan (who came all the way from Montana!). There were some games and some fabulous food!! I can't wait to post pictures of the game the guys played. I didn't bring the camera so I don't have any, and the story isn't the same unless you can see it. Anyway, we had a fabulous time with all of them. By the time it was over I was so tired I could barely stand it. Since Kate was in town and he hardly ever gets to see her, Bob wanted to go to dinner with her and Chris. We went to a Mexican restaurant and ate until we were all stuffed...Chris even ordered some fried ice cream, which we all shared. After that Chris and Kate and Kerrigan went back to Chris's house, and Bob and I went to Birch's. We hung out with Gretchen and her sister, and I got to ask a lot of questions about pregnancy and labor. I was very excited to talk to Gretchen since she had a very similar birth to what I would like to have. She said I should definitely get the Group B Strep test, it was one of the few she actually had. That made up my mind even more than anything else probably would have. We talked about plans for after the baby and she gave me some tips...Indigo is about 6 months so I'm sure it's all very fresh in her mind. We went to bed at about 10:30...I could barely keep my eyes open.
We had plans to leave there around 10, but that didn't work out. Bob woke me up and said that he and the guys were going to go for a walk, so I stayed in bed for a little longer. When I went down Gretchen and her sister (Tracy?) were starting to make breakfast. I hung out in the kitchen with them for a while, then I started to feel not very well. I went back up to the bedroom and laid down...the next thing I knew Bob was waking me up telling me that we needed to get moving! I felt a little better, so I got up and packed up our stuff. Bob decided that even though it was almost 10 that we should have breakfast before we left. I was very glad he decided that. There were apple pancakes, sausage, bacon, and a frittata. I only had 1 pancake and 3 sausages, but it was so good! I did try a little bit of the frittata (which was egg with tomato, onion, mushrooms). Everything tasted so good, and the conversation was fabulous. Pretty soon we realized that it was 11:30!!!! We grabbed the last of our stuff and headed out the door.
Bob had his laptop so we mapped our route to Rachael's house with it and off we headed down the mountains. It rained a lot and we had to make a few more pit stops than we anticipated, but we were only a little bit late for the Asheville shower. It was supposed to be at 4:30, we got there at almost 5. (sorry, Rach) Anyway, when we got there Bob and Dave went off to do guy things while us girls (Rachael, Mama, Sarah, Gramma, and Aunt Sandy) got down to eating some delicious stuff. Mama had made mini chicken enchiladas (my recipe), and there were frozen chocolate covered strawberries and bananas, chips and salsa, cocktail weenies, caramel apples, cookies shaped like baby carriages, and a big cake. Oh yeah, and some delicious punch. Anyway we ate and chatted and stuff, then we played some games. Rachael had come up with some seriously funny games, and great prizes! I'll have to describe them later because I'm getting tired and this post is really long! Anyway, after a while we finished the games and food and Bob and Dave came back. We hung out for a little while longer, but then it was time to go. We drove the 3 hours back to Greensboro, getting home at just about midnight. I was so tired that I just went straight to bed. I slept until almost 11, which was pure bliss. I haven't slept like that for so long.
Monday we spent the day driving around and looking at houses. We started with a list of 18 and got it down to 2. Of course, that's just the ones in Greensboro...we still have Winston, High Point, Eden, King, Reidsville, etc etc...but at least we narrowed it down some. When we got home we just layed around like bums for a while, then we packed some boxes. That's right, even though we don't have to move for another month and a half we started packing. We figure it's a good idea to get ahead that way if the raisin comes early or something then we won't have to panic and rush and exhaust ourselves.

Group B strep test

Most of this post is copied and pasted from other places. I've put all my comments in italics. I'm still undecided whether I will have the test or not.

About 40% of adults are carriers of Group B Streptococcum (GBS) in their genital or intestinal tracts. Usually, GBS doesn't cause problems. In fact, in most healthy adults it is considered a "normal" organism, and treatment with antibiotics is not given. It does have significance for the pregnant woman, however. GBS, which can be passed from mother to baby during childbirth, is the leading cause of newborn sepsis--serious infection throughout the baby's body soon after birth.
A specific combination of factors seems to be at work in babies who develop GBS disease. It is most likely to develop in babies whose mothers are carriers of GBS and who have one or more clinical risk factors. In these babies, who are at the highest possible risk for GBS disease, about five out of 100 will develop it. Babies whose mothers are GBS carriers but have no clinical risk factors are less likely to develop GBS disease: about one in 200 babies will get GBS disease. Those whose mothers have clinical risk factors but test negative for GBS are even less likely to develop GBS disease--about 1 in 1000--and those whose mothers have neither risk factors nor a positive GBS culture have a very small chance of getting GBS disease--about 1 in 3000.
Clinical Risk Factors for Developing GBS Disease:Prenatal risk factors: Previous baby with GBS disease; urinary tract infection with GBS at any time during this pregnancyLabor-related risk factors: Onset of labor before 37 weeks, rupture of membranes before 37 weeks; rupture of membranes more than 18 hours before birth; fever over 100.4 degrees during labor.
Researchers conducted a review of infants who had early-onset group B streptococcal (EOGBS) infections and were born in Southern California Kaiser Permanente Hospitals from 1988 through 1996. To summarize:
*319 infants with EOGBS sepsis, bacteremia, or clinically suspected infection were identified from a population of 277,912 live births (approximately 1 in every 870 births).*Of the 172 term infants with culture-positive infection who had clinical signs of infection, 95% exhibited them in the first 24 hours of life.*All of the infants exposed to antibiotics during birth became ill within the first 24 hours of life.
Researchers concluded that "exposure to antibiotics during labor did not change the clinical spectrum of disease or the onset of clinical signs of infection within 24 hours of birth for term infants with EOGBS infection."
(from http://www.midwiferytoday.com/enews/enews0337.asp )

Because women who carry GBS but do not develop any of these three complications have a relatively low risk of delivering an infant with GBS disease, the decision to take antibiotics during labor should balance risks and benefits. Penicillin is very effective at preventing GBS disease in the newborn and is generally safe. A GBS carrier with none of the conditions above has the following risks:
* 1 in 200 chance of delivering a baby with GBS disease if antibiotics are not given
* 1 in 4000 chance of delivering a baby with GBS disease if antibiotics are given
* 1 in 10 chance, or lower, of experiencing a mild allergic reaction to penicillin (such as rash)
* 1 in 10, 000 chance of developing a severe allergic reaction--anaphylaxis--to penicillin. Anaphylaxis requires emergency treatment and can be life-threatening.

the bacteria can come and go, so the test isn't always a reliable indicator of who will have GBS on delivery day. And since results aren't available for a few days, testing during labor isn't possible. (*Why do it if you are not sure if the results will still be acurate?)
Some doctors only screen patients who have a history of urinary tract infections, a fever near delivery time, or who have had a GBS baby. (*I have none of these things*)
GBS is easily treated with antibiotics, so call your doctor if your baby has symptoms such as uncontrollable crying, poor feeding, fever, grunting, or blue skin. (Late-onset GBS, which develops after the first week, may also cause vomiting.)

Apparently you can test positive, but then do it again later and be negative. I don't think the test is very reliable. However, I don't want anything to happen to the poor innocent raisin either.

If I get nervous

I have found that when I start feeling nervous about labor or taking care of the new baby that all I have to do is read some blogs. That's right! Read blogs. I have a few favorites at Babes in Blogland that I read regularly, and some that I read periodically. Seems like everyone has the same fears/concerns/worries that I do. That makes me feel better!

We had another appointment today at the Birth Center. She measured me and took my blood pressure and such, the usual things. Everything was normal. The raisin's heartbeat was normal. She felt around and found out that he is in the head down position now, with his back along my left side. That explains why almost all the movement is on my right...he's got arms and legs flailing over there! The midwife (who was very nice and informative, as I will discuss later) said that is the best position for him to be in for the easiest birth. Hooray! The raisin is already smart!

I asked the (very helpful, informative) midwife about the achy/crampy feeling I've been having lately. First let me tell you, it is very hard to explain what it feels like...it's not like "the cramps" but it's like the feeling I get the few days before my period starts, like pre-cramps...anyway, it happened every night for a few days so I was worried. She said that as long as it isn't intermitent cramps then I should be ok. So as long as it stays a constant ache then it's normal. Also, I do some labwork every appointment. I have to pee in a cup and swish this little paper sticky thing around in it and then record the results. Anyway, for the last 3 appointments I've had elevated leukocytes. I asked about this, because it doesn't seem normal to me. She asked if I had any pain or burning when I pee, to which I answered (honestly) that no I didn't. She then said that sometimes the elevated leukocytes are a sign of a bladder infection, but if there were no symptoms then it was probably just a contaminated sample or some such thing and not to worry.

She said that sometime in the next 2 weeks I need to decide if I want to have the Strep B test. She said that it will find out if there are nasty little bacteria waiting to attack the raisin when he comes out. If you do have it then they give you antibiotics while you are in labor, which SHOULD prevent anything happening to the baby. She also said that if the test is positive then I won't be able to have the baby at the birth center. It isn't a required test, so I'm not sure if I will do it yet. Apparently the results of the infection if the baby does pick it up are quite serious, but only a few women carry it (10 - 30%), and only .5% of them have babies who get the infection. It sounds like a super small percentage to me, but I'm going to do plenty of research before I decide one way or the other.

getting motivated...

I'm having trouble keeping my house clean and getting things done. I just feel so tired all the time and when I get home from work I just want to go to sleep. On top of that we've been driving all over looking at houses. We've also been collecting boxes so we can start packing up stuff we don't need, but so far all the boxes are just stacked up with nothing in them. I made myself a to-do list, and I've done a few things on it, but it seems like there's never enough time to get anything done. Today, for example. Bob set the alarm for me to get up at 9. I hit the snooze until 9:30 because I didn't sleep very well last night. I have to be at work at 11, so that leaves me, from now, 45 minutes to get ready. Getting ready will take ALL that time. I still have to make myself a lunch and shower and get dressed and take the dog out, none of which are on my list. When I get home, shortly after 7, we are going to look at some houses before it gets dark, and then possibly have a date. By the time we get home it will be time for bed and then I have to get up tomorrow and do it all over again. I wish some of these things were things I could do from work.

I'm so lucky!!

I've been reading a lot of blogs and such lately, and I'm realizing more and more just how lucky I am.
For one thing, I got pregnant easily. By easily I mean "oops! We weren't planning this!!" I don't think I was ever really aware of how hard some people TRY to get pregnant. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't...sometimes it just takes a really long time and a lot of struggles. I kind of just walked into it when I wasn't expecting it or (GASP) wanting it. I knew we'd have kids one day, I just didn't think it'd be so soon.
The other thing is that my husband is so supportive and understanding, and he's AROUND. He didn't get scared and run off when we found out. (not that I expected him to) He's been involved in every step, been to every doctors appointment. He reads to the raisin, and makes sure I eat right and take my vitamins. We exercise together at the pool, even though he HATES the pool. He makes me feel better when I'm sad or worried or sick. I think he even likes shopping for baby stuff as much as I do.
Also, we have a healthy baby. He's got all his parts, he's active, he's not too small, and he's caused me almost no trouble. (unless you count heartburn ALL THE TIME). We've had no worries of miscarriage or premature birth, no diabetes, no bleeding or cramping.
Another thing, we have lots of friends and family who have given us baby gifts and offered to stay with us once the raisin is born. They keep in touch so they know how we are all doing. They come to see us, even though it's a long drive and gas is expensive and they have to work the next day.
All together, I would have to say that I'm pretty much the luckiest pregnant woman ever.

birth plan...

I've been trying to work on my birth plan, in addition to trying to find a house and take care of the hubby and the puppy. So far, I've done pretty well with it, I think. I made a basic outline with some help from http://www.childbirth.org/interactive/ibirthplan.html
We have 5 more weeks of birth class before we HAVE to turn it in, so hopefully I can fill in some of the smaller details with the information I get from there. The first class was kind of fun. We learned some relaxation techniques, and watched a video of a birth. EW! I don't recommend watching those if you don't have to!
Bob said today that we need to start packing my bag, too. I have a list of what to put in it, but I can't imagine actually having it packed. It's only about 10 weeks away though, so I guess I need to be ready.

oh no!

I was in the shower, enjoying the nice warm water running down my back when I happened to look down and realized...I CAN'T SEE MY FEET! That's right, I look down and all that's there is a big giant round belly. I was very suprised at first, even though I figured this would happen at some point...then I was excited. I have a big belly! I've been reading some other blogs, and people talk about the moment they realized they were pregnant. Well, I suppose that was it for me. Yeah, I know it's weird.

get it together!

After baby shower #1, the house has been invaded by baby things. They are everywhere!! I made an attempt to get things organized yesterday. I took the tags off all the clothes and put them in the very cute hamper we got so I could wash them all. I also took most everything else out of the packaging and put it in a big tupperware container. I'm planning to start packing up stuff we don't need pretty soon so that when it comes time to move I won't be in a rush. We have an appointment tomorrow to go look at the house we like the best. We are planning to drive by a few others today to see if they are in decent shape outside and in not scary neighborhoods. We only have until the end of September before our lease is up, so we're trying to move before then.

soccer

yep, soccer. That's what the rasin will be playing when he gets older. He's so active! Sometimes I just sit and watch my belly twitch and move around. Sometimes he hits me so hard that it feels like his little arm or leg is going to come right through my belly! I can tell the difference between a kick and a roll, too. When he rolls it feels really weird.

I had a dream the other night that my belly was silver, kind of like mercury. I was looking down at it and I could see the raisin's open hand come out (still covered up with mercury belly) and then it closed. How weird is that?

the raisin's shower

Here are some pictures from the raisin's shower. The theme was duckies, in case you couldn't tell. We had lots of fun playing games and decorating onsies. I'm glad everyone could come (even if they had to leave early, or came late). I had a wonderful time and I hope everyone else did, too!

 

onsie...

This is the onsie that Jason made...I put it by itself because I wanted to show the front and back.
 

onsies...

These are the onsies that were decorated for the raisin at the shower. From top left they were made by: Kyle and Cindy, Karie, Brenda, Dolly, me, my mom, Jaimee, and Rachael. (Kyle and Cindy's got duplicated) I think we all had fun...I know I did.
 

changing...

I'd like to change the look of my blog, but i can't figure out how to do it. Can anyone help me out with that?

We have a visitor! Jason got here last night (LATE), and he's staying until Monday or Tuesday. (hopefully Tuesday) I'm not sure what Bob is planning to do with him for all that time, but I'm sure they will have a grand time...maybe they'll let me join them when I'm not working. Anyway, we are both very excited to have him visit. (In case you don't remember/know who Jason is, he was in our wedding...he's the science teacher)

Dr's appt

I had another dr's appt today. Everything was normal. my belly is 92cm now. From now on my appts will be 2 weeks apart instead of 4.

My baby shower is in a few days (3 to be exact).

oh my!!

I don't remember what I was doing today when I realized that I only have 11 more weeks until my due date! I'm not sure what to do! I mean, I suppose there's nothing special I need to do. We're still looking at houses, and until we get one I can't really stockpile baby stuff. My shower (the first one) is this Sunday. I did do some extra exercise today...we went to the pool for about an hour. I have another appointment on Thursday, and I start my birth classes in August. I guess I've done everything I can. 11 weeks, though! That's not long at all!!!