10/2/10- This week we went to Disneyland on wednesday, which was so much fun... but HOT. Tuesday we had gone to IKEA where I slipped, and fell down pretty hard. I was terrified, ONCE AGAIN, that the baby was in danger. I tried to ignore it, and had fun anyways. Thursday on our way home guess what.... I felt baby kick! It was awesome and reassured me. I feel it multiple times/day now and love it. Last night (friday) I went to the bathroom two different times, and both times I had globby mucus plug come out. Not HUGE amounts, just small pieces. I KNOW it is it from my experience with both my girls. With Lylah I started losing bits/pieces around 30-32 weeks and FREAKED OUT and raced to my doc... where I found out it's totally normal to start losing it WEEKS before anything happens. With Isabelle I started losing pieces at 25 weeks on.... and freaked me out again. Now here I am once again... I mean c'mon, 17 weeks??? That seems INSANELY EARLY, but I have no other warning signs of anything so I'm still planning on going overdue. =P

10/13/10- Ok, so I went in for my ultrasound this afternoon and ONLY drank orange juice before hand to make baby wiggle and jiggle like it did with my last and everyone I know who has done the oj thing. Guess what... baby was sleeping away NOT moving at all. Hands behind head, legs chilling CROSSED. She tried over and over to get a glimpse, but NOTHING. She did the other measurements and kept coming back to see if it had moved at all but nope. Seriously this baby was just sleeping away so comfy. I was terrified that I would have to wait longer and pay out of pocket because this is my last u/s unless complications come up. After she was done she had me lay on my side to maybe wake up baby.... nope baby was more snug! She had my try my other side, and baby flipped over, crossed legs again, and went back to sleep. What a brat! Then she had me go on my back once again to annoy little bugger and that finally worked to open the legs just a tiny bit. Once she got into position to see gender we were all like, 'I see a hand.' Yup, baby opened their legs up and covered up the privates with their hand!! Serious punk. Finally she got a quick clear image. Its.... A........ BOY!!! No question about it, definate boy. My husband was seriously grinning ear to ear for the next few hours. It's still surreal after having 2 girls, but if I start to doubt it I will just bust out my u/s dvd I got and check out the little pee pee again. I still can't believe after all the orange juice I drank that baby was sleeping! Heart rate was 143, blood pressure was 100/64, and I have gained a total of 7 pounds.

11/10/10- 22 weeks...I LOVE Dr. Kroeker. The End. LOL... anyways, blood pressure was fine I forget what it was though. Weight gain= 15 pounds, yes up 8 in the past month! sheesh! I asked her if their u/s tech is ever wrong about the gender, and she said, "I'm sure she has been, we are all wrong sometimes." And then I asked if I was going to have another u/s before the birth or not (knowing that I wouldn't but asked anyways.) She said, well sure! I can always find a reason to get you one. So she looked through my chart and said, "they couldn't get a clear picture of the cord at your u/s to clarify a 3 vessel cord, so I need them to do it again. There, we got a reason!" hehehe, I love it! So, I go in 3 weeks (dec 1st) to have another u/s, and hopefully see my little boy's thinggy again. Not much else to report this time. Still trying to see if insurance will cover IUD, which I'm praying they do, otherwise Derick will win and get snipped. =**(

1/15/11- 32 weeks! I can't believe I haven't updated in 10 weeks. Life has been crazy, as usual. Well, we had that second u/s that I mentioned previously, and although I still couldn't make out a little penis, the technition kept pointing out, "there's your boy!" LOL, so I assume it's still a boy. =) I found out that insurance and medi-cal DOES NOT cover any part of an IUD for me. I literally freaked out when I found out about that. I can't bring myself to currently be okay with derick getting a vasectomy! Having 3 young kids (none in school full time) is very hard... obviously. BUT, because of that reason, and the fact that life could change around financially very quickly, I can't predict how we will feel about having any more kids like 3-5 years from now. If, at that time we still don't want more, then I will be ok with a vasectomy, but not now! I'm just lost, because... lets face it, this is my 6th pregnancy and we are obviously a fertile couple. =/ I WAS told about this family planning program through the state of CA that will pay for an IUD if you qualify, and evidently one way to qualify is not wanting your spouse to find out.... so I looked it up and it does exist.... but we will go down that road after baby is born. ............. Since the beginning of December I have felt depressed. I could feel it get progressively worse but never really wanted to admit to it and call the doc. Finally, 2 weeks ago at my 30 week appt I talked/cried to my doc about everything that I felt. She started me on zoloft and I can tell it's making a HUGE difference! yay!! I did so some googling after I started on it though, and found some concerns with women taking it during the 3rd trimester..... 1 being the baby can have withdraw symptoms peaking at 48 hours old, and 2. being can cause persistant pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. I talked to my doc about these risks, and ultimately we think the benefits far outweigh the risks right now, but I tell you... if ANYTHING happens to this baby because of the drugs I will be thrown so far down into depression. It was a hard decision for us. Anyways.... what else.... I just had my 32 week appt and everything is going great.Blood pressure 122/67, total of 29 pound weight gain, and baby had heartrate about 140bpm, and is doing good. At 30 weeks I was checked and was 0cm, 50% effaced.... so slower than with Izzy at this point. We have officially decided on a name, and it's either a love or hate name. We are sure some of our close family/friends will love it, and some will hate it, but have no idea which ones will be which. It's ok, because I don't like some of their names either! hahaha. Well, the girls and I are sick this week, so hopefully it all gets better soon, and there's a baby shower next week. Stay tuned.

1/29/11- Well, I'm now 34 weeks.... 5 weeks & 6 days to go! It is really scaring me in many ways. I love being pregnant and will really miss this, as it probably wont happen again. Also, I'm scared of the adjustment to having 3 kids around. I'm excited for our son, but honestly it's still surreal.... like a dream. Didn't help that pregnancy FLEW by and somehow I missed it. Anyways, I had a doc appt a few days ago. Blood pressure was 112/70, which I thought to be funny because at the time they took it I felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest! Total weight gain= 31 pounds. Evidently I have some protein in my urine, but doc said not enough to worry right now, plus my blood pressure is awesome and if I had preeclampsia it would shoot up. PHEW! I am measuring fine, and his heartrate was in the 150's.... but I should add I just had a contraction literally seconds before so it makes sense his heart rate was a little higher than previously. I have been having a hard time focusing my eyes, and I was told that's normal in pregnancy.... that my cornea is swelling and should return to normal after I deliver. In addition to the focus problem I also see little shooting dots every once in awhile. I asked about this 2 weeks ago and he was concerned about preeclampsia, but with a good blood pressure he thinks it's just the opposite... that my blood pressure gets too low and I see the flying spots. IDK, but they are annoying, especially when driving! Anyways, I expressed my fears to my doc and told her I wish I could just give birth to a 9 month old! LOL, and she responded by saying, well you DO give birth to kids that weigh as much as a 9 month old! =**( She started talking about how maybe we should aim to get him out BY my due date, if not a week early. (That's the earliest you can do induction.) So, basically she suggested induction, without actually suggesting induction. Currently I will NOT choose to do induction before I am a week overdue.... although I know in those last few weeks things, and thought processes can change so we will see! I have come to the decision that I do WANT an epidural this time... just hoping and praying that I don't have months of complications like last time, also praying we get to the hospital in time to get one this time! =) If not, then whatever, done it before.... just don't want HORRID pain if I don't have to I guess. My doc wants me to come in weekly now, which is weird because they don't "normally" do that until 36 weeks.... so I'm wondering if she's worried about something she didn't mention to me. I mean, my next appt in a few days I'll only be 34.5 weeks! Whatever..... it's time out of the house, ALONE.

2/1/11- Today didn't go as I planned. I got to my appt 15 mins early and I was so calm and relaxed it was just nice to be out. After sitting there resting for 15 mins reading a magazine, I was called back. Well, turns out I gained 5 pounds in 6 days! Total weight gain up to 36lbs. Immediately I was freaked out because I know that sudden weight gain is one of the warning signs of preeclampsia. As the nurse was walking me to my room she's obviously also noticing the sudden gain and said, "let me check your urine one more time real quick..." I know what that means: checking for significant protein in my urine as another sign of preeclampsia, but alas I only still have trace amounts. My blood pressure was checked (after being calm and relaxed, unlike last week where I felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest) and it was up to 134/80. =/ Doc came in and checked my legs for swelling, and said I do have some, but not a lot. He said my blood pressure is borderline worrisome, and I've been seeing spots for awhile so although that is another sign, it's not a new one. Baby is doing good, although I don't know bpm or anything. I had the beta strep test done today, and was checked and am 1-2cm dilated. He told me that if I start to feel really bad between now and next tuesday then to go to L&D, otherwise we will see where everything is at in a week. I am so freaked out! I just pray that everything was a fluke , and when I go in next week everything will be back to "normal" because if it's worse, and diagnosed as preeclampsia the only cure is delivery. =/ Only time will tell.

2/8/11- 35.5 week checkup... Last week really confused me with the 5lb weight gain in 6 days, so I was wondering if it had to do with the clothing I was wearing, as I had big shoes and a heavy sweater on, so I wore the EXACT same clothes to my appointment today. Gained another 2 pounds, so total weight gain up to 38 pounds. BOO! Still only trace amount of protein in my urine, but blood pressure is up to 132/84.... the bottom number is concerning. I have been just in general not feeling good and kinda nausiated and so I told him that. He measured my belly and the measurments didn't match up with last week (and he was the same one who measured last week, so he even did it a second time!) Last week at 34.5 weeks I measured 36 weeks, now at 35.5 weeks I measured 35 weeks. I had been telling Derick in the past day or two I think maybe he dropped down a bit, but I wasn't sure. Well, doc asked me if I felt extra pressure down there as if baby dropped and I said I don't know, because I think he may have, but don't feel extreme pressure or anything. idk! Didn't have an internal check this week. Doc said he didn't want me to wait a week to come back in and possibly run into trouble with my body over the weekend, so I go back in 3 days on Friday. Just taking it day by day I guess. Fortunately last week's little scare was just what I needed to light a fire in my butt. I got so much done this past week, and feel like if baby were to come we would be ready. Now we just wait, and rest.

2/11/11- 36 weeks today! Well, I went back in to check up on my BP etc. First off, I gained another 2 pounds in 3 days. I am seriously not liking this deal! Total weight gain = 40 pounds. I was taken back to the room and my blood pressure was 140/86.... creeping up even more. DOH! The nurse had me immediately lie down on my left side and rest for a bit while she checked on my urine. I rested maybe 10-15 mins and she came back in and checked my blood pressure while I was still lying down, and it was 110/70 (my normal). I asked if there was protein in my urine and she slowly nodded yes. I have a 1+ protein. DOH! Doc came in and asked questions, measured me (right on track at 36 weeks), listened to heartbeat (130BPM), and I asked when they get worried about the proteins..... he said that he would have sent me to the hospital if 1. My blood pressure didn't improve after laying on my side, or 2. I have a measurement of 2+ proteins, but since my BP DID improve, and I currently only have a 1+ protein, I am "ok." Next appt on Tuesday.... guess I have to have bags ready at each appt now. =/ Preeclampsia seems to be on it's way.... now, how long can we hold it off??

2/18/11- Today I hit the 37 week mark= full term! WooHoo! It is seriously crazy, because I don't know where the time went. Anyways, I went back to the doctor a few days ago at 36.5 weeks, worried I was going to be induced that day. Well, an amazing thing happened. I got called back and got weighed.... I lost 3 pounds! To be fair though I wasn't wearing the big sweater and klunky shoes I had the past couple appointments. So, total weight gain= 37 pounds. They took my BP and I hesistantly asked what it was.... it was 127/80! SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEET! Also my 1+ protein found last time turned into just trace amount found this time. WHAAAAT?? Amazing I tell you. All the worrisome signs I had just disappeared. My BP isn't back to my "normal" but is in the safe range and that's all I can ask for. Belly measured 37 weeks, HB was 144BPM, and I was checked and was 2cm, 60% effaced. Because everything is looking good right now I don't have to go back for 1 whole week. WOOHOO! =)

2/25/11- 38 Weeks today! Score! Actually it is completely surreal.... wasn't it just September? Wowzers. 2 days ago I had my doc appt.... I gained another 4 pounds (WHAT?!?) so total weight gain= 41 pounds. Only trace protein, and blood pressure was 120/80, although I seriously feel like this specific nurse always takes lower BPs for me.... maybe she doesn't do it right? She was also the one that took it last week. LOL, or maybe I'm just crazy. Heartrate was 140's, she did a cervical check and I was unchanged. 2cm and 60%, and baby still really high up and needs to come down. I talked to my doc for awhile about my fears of hemmorhaging because that was one of the scariest things I have lived through, and asked many questions about whether induction & epidurals are associated with a higher risk etc. She calmed my fears a bit. I explained my fears of induction and she whole heartedly agreed that going into labor naturally is the BEST thing, but I also learned that she herself never got to experience that as she wanted to... she has 3 kids and was induced with all of them at 41 weeks! LOL! Birth plans need to be flexible. I also talked about how I am SO INCREDIBLY scared this time around, and just don't feel ready (I was totally ready with Izzy!) and she said that she also was the most scared with her third child! =) Makes me feel more normal. She said that at that point maybe moms just know too much... and I AGREE. That is more than likely my problem! I am just trying to chill, relax, and take things as they come. .............................. Yesterday I took the girls to the playground and speed walked around for a long time, then we went to costco and walked, and then we came home and went on a long walk/bike ride around the neighborhood. By the time we got home I felt like my vagina was broken! Anyways, last night I had 1.5 hours of contractions 3-5 mins apart, but since they weren't consistantly apart (like when I was in labor with Izzy) I knew I wasn't in labor. Oh well. This morning I woke up, and lost a HUGE glob of mucus plug. Unfortunately it wasn't blood tinged so it doesn't mean much... exciting nonetheless! Hoping to make it to Tuesday at least because I want a March baby and not a stupid F-Month (February) baby. I don't like the sound of February. Silly, I know. Next appt 1 week.