Bedrest Update

After resting up all weekend and drinking plenty of fluids, I'm feeling a lot better than I felt on Friday. I did my best to stay on 'bedrest' but it was more of a modified bedrest since I can't really just lay around and do nothing all the time. I folded a bunch of laundry, set up the baby monitor, partially packed my hospital bag (mostly out of fear that I would need it soon!), ordered some pregnancy photos for the baby book I'm working on, ordered more clothes for Veda (because she really needs more... she did need some warmer ones), and ordered some nursing bras. What I've learned is bedrest = internet shopping = no bueno!
My doctor called me this morning to see how I was feeling and to tell me to eat a good breakfast and come in a little early just in case I had to be connected to the monitor for long. So we did just that and headed into the office around 10:30 this morning.  I'm so very happy to say that Veda looked beautiful on the monitor! Her heart rate was strong and steady with no decelerations.  While she wasn't moving this morning, the doc said he was happy with it. Actually he said, "I'm not worried about you anymore," which made me really happy! 
Next up: Call him on Wednesday to update him on how I'm feeling. If all is well, I'll see him Friday, if I'm at all concerned, I'll go to the hospital Wednesday for another non-stress test. 
Thank you all for thinking of us, sending up prayers, & calling/texting me! I was pretty scared at the thought of her coming early, not because I don't want to meet her, I just want her to be well-done ;) 
I asked if I still needed to be on bedrest. He says I don't have to be on strict bedrest, just try to stay off my feet and no trips to Target or Costco (what a fun hater!). He said it's perfectly fine to go out with my husband for coffee or a movie, I don't have to be confined to the house. However, Brett is going out of town tonight to San Diego for a comedy show, so the dates will have to wait. 
Of course, I want to go back to work, but that's not an option so I'll take it easy and reconnect with my husband over the next few weeks until we become a little family of three. 
Happy New Year Everyone! Be safe!! 

Bedrest

Oh yes, the time has apparently come for my doctor to put me on bedrest. How did this happen when it's been such smooth sailing for last 35 weeks?! 
Well, yesterday I had an appointment with my OBGYN after work, just my routine check up. I let him know that baby girl hasn't been moving as much as normal, which has been going on for a couple of weeks now. They hooked me up to a monitor to measure both her heart rate and to see if I was having any contractions. I was not having any contractions, and her heart rate was strong and steady around 120-130 beats per minute. However, he thought he saw a couple of times where her rate dipped down. My five minute appointment quickly turned into an hour (+). Brett ran to the pharmacy to get me some orange juice and crackers to try to wake our sleepy peanut, but she just wasn't really moving. My doctor decided I should go home and sleep and come back in the afternoon. 
So yesterday afternoon we found ourselves back in the office, connected to the monitor. Again, strong/steady heart rate with the exception of one dip and not much movement. I started getting nervous real fast and won myself an order for bedrest and a trip to the hospital. After an ultrasound (in office), our doctor said she looks good and healthy, her cord is not around her neck and she's a great size. If need be, he would take her this weekend via c-section - which is not at all what I wanted to hear. 
That's not part of my birth plan! I'm supposed to work for three more weeks and then naturally go into labor and deliver a chubby little nugget! However, it's not the worst possible outcome, so I need to learn to let go of controlling every situation and do what's best for me and my baby. 
From here, we went over to the hospital, where their monitors are a little better and did a non-stress test (more of the same, watching baby's heart rate and checking for contractions). I was hooked up for an hour and everything appeared to be ok - steady heart rate with no dips and also no contractions. The doctor was notified and I was scheduled for another appointment the next day (today) to check just one more time. He assured me that everything was fine, he just wants to take precaution. 
This morning we headed back to the hospital and did another non-stress test. I had a good breakfast to see if I could get her to move around a bit, but she just doesn't really want to dance for me anymore. I really just think she's run out of room to move much, because again, her heart rate was steady and strong with no dips. I did have a few contractions, which I didn't know they were contractions... I've been feeling those for awhile now. 
We have another appointment Monday morning and will likely be going at least once a week for the rest of my pregnancy, which is hopefully another 4 weeks or so. 
I guess I've over done it by working too much. The doc says its normal for people to quit working at 36 weeks and most of those people have desk jobs, not 12 hour nursing jobs that require them to be on their feet and moving and under stressful situations. I did work an extra shift last week because I was feeling so good. I guess I don't know when enough is enough... or maybe I just want to be distracted so that I'm not sitting at home worrying about everything that's about to come. 
I'm not real excited about the thought of bedrest for the next few weeks because I'm not really that good at just sitting around. I have a laundry list of things to do, but I know they aren't things that need to be done right now. I'm sure I'll be packing on another 20 pounds in the next few week (God I hope not!). I can feel boredom setting in already... 
Say a prayer or send some good thoughts for us that we can keep Miss Veda in mommy's tummy for a few more weeks until she's fully cooked!

35 weeks

My photographer officially backed up and I feel like I'm still taking up the entire picture.  Oh well! 

PS Anyone want to confess to buying us the changing pad? When I received it, it said bill to Chayna Riley... hell I don't know, maybe I internet shop in my sleep ;)

HOW FAR ALONG?: 35 weeks

TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN?: About that... I guess I either ate too much this week or was a little more lazy than normal... or both, but I'm up to 25 pounds! 

MATERNITY CLOTHES: I could probably use more but with only 5ish weeks to go, whats the point? I'll rock them either way. Sorry baby, mommy is no fashionista!

SLEEP?: Unfortunately that's all I've done on my days off.  Brett has been sick and I'm trying not to get sick, so we've been doing a lot of sleeping/resting and staying hydrated in different rooms. :(

BEST MOMENT/S THIS WEEK?: Having some time off to relax with my honey, even though he was sick most of the time. On Christmas Eve we went to see 'This is 40' which was pretty funny!

WORST MOMENT THIS WEEK?:  I hate that Brett is sick and there's not much I can do about it. He's been fighting this off for what seems like months and I think it's time he finally caved in. I'd much rather him get sick now and get over it than get sick once the little one is here. Oh, that and discovering that after all these months of me knowing I need to have Supplemental Disability at work, I've come to realize I have Supplemental LIfe Insurance. Outstanding.

MISS ANYTHING?:  Pregnancy wise... not really. Missing our family at Christmastime. I really can't travel this far along... 

MOVEMENT?: I can feel her, but not as often. I'm not sure if I'm just used to it by now or what. Her little movements feel so tiny.  Of course I worry because I'm a first timer, but we have another doctor's appointment (with the doc we actually admire) on Friday morning.  

FOOD CRAVINGS?:   Must be the season, I really want a carmel apple cider again! 

LABOR SIGNS?: Not yet... no Braxton HIcks either. 

SYMPTOMS / MOODS?: Nothing new or out of the ordinary that I can think of right now. I think my brain is slowly turning to mush!

BELLY BUTTON IN or OUT?: Not out, but mostly flat.

WEDDING RINGS OFF or ON?: My hands have been swollen every time I wake up, so I've had to squeeze my rings off. I'm pretty much working the next week straight, so I'll be wearing my work ring, which is a little bigger... hopefully my actual rings will still fit next week!

LOOKING FORWARD TO...?  Next weekend my coworkers are throwing me a baby shower, so I'm pretty excited for that!! Also, I plan to get a really nice pregnancy massage next week with some of my Christmas money :)

34 weeks

34 weeks & some serious growing

HOW FAR ALONG?: 34 weeks, SIX more to go!?!? Can that possibly be right? 

TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN?: I just got off the scale and I've gained 22.5 pounds, trying to stay on track but it's pretty difficult with the holidays among us and our generous patient/patient's families. I have an very hard time saying 'no' to sweets :/ 

MATERNITY CLOTHES: Well... they are pretty snug. Yesterday I opted for sweats and a t-shirt and there seemed to be a gap between the two... time for Brett's t-shirts?

SLEEP?: I still feel rested and like I'm getting enough sleep, but the tossing/turning has definitely begun. I feel like every hour I'm shifting, which is no easy task!

BEST MOMENT/S THIS WEEK?: We got to see our little pumpkin on ultrasound last week. We hadn't initially planned on going in for this appointment (it's through the perinatologist and is optional) because everything has been going very smoothly and we didn't feel like we needed to spend the extra money on it. Our doctor had given us a prescription for it awhile back just in case we decided to go. So why did we go? Remember my "worst moment" last week, I said it was a phone call I had gotten from my mom? Well, she had two bad dreams back to back and really felt strongly that we needed to get an ultrasound. For a lot of people that may sound crazy, especially since I'm in the medical field and hadn't experienced anything out of the ordinary, but my mom has had premonitions in the past that have really altered our lives forever and not in a good way. So I immediately called and set up an appointment for the next day and was so relieved/elated that everything looks good! 

WORST MOMENT THIS WEEK?:  While at the perinatologist, she kept asking me if I had passed my glucose test (really, like 3 times!), which I did. I guess baby girl is growing like a weed and her average measurements landed her at a weight of around 5 pounds 4 ounces to 5 pounds 9 ounces and I still have a few weeks to go - sixish, which means if she gains 0.5 pounds per week that's another 3 pounds. She got me all freaked out and said I have to cut back/out carbs or my baby will be huge and if she gets to be around 9 pounds, I'll have to be induced. So I did some research and thought about cutting carbs, but that just seems to be impossible. I've learned I LOVE carbs and I could never do even a low-carb diet. Also, through my research, I found that it's really unhealthy for pregnant women to go low/no carb in this stage in the game and has the potential to cause brain damage. So I think I'll opt for the chubby baby with a brain vs. the tiny baby with brain damage. AND... I was 8 pounds 6 ounces, Brett was 8 pounds 8 ounces so I'm expecting an 8 pound baby - when was that considered huge? Sounds healthy to me!  This is just one of the many reasons we didn't want to go back to this particular perinatologist, she's very hot/cold and I'm not a big fan of her bedside manner. SO THERE!

MISS ANYTHING?:  I missed carbs for about six hours when I decided, screw it, there's nothing to eat without them! :)

MOVEMENT?: Veda has been moving, and she's got herself into what must be a pretty comfy position. She's head down and ready to come out, which puts her little booty up into my right rib cage - so that's fun! All of her punches and kicks are now on my left side and not as strong since she's just so gigantic she probably can't move. Whatever doc. 

FOOD CRAVINGS?:   Take a guess... yep, carbs!

LABOR SIGNS?: Not yet... no Braxton HIcks either. 

SYMPTOMS / MOODS?: Everything that I've mentioned in the past, plus I cried my eyes out when my mom called me to tell me to get an ultrasound - mostly out of fear of the unknown. Other than that I haven't had many overly emotional bursts. Also, last night we went to a movie and I don't know if it was the seats or what, but I was having some lower back spasms. My husband was so sweet and let me borrow his arm for a majority of the movie to keep me sitting upright - poor guy, his arm was so uncomfortable and mostly numb, thank you honeybear!

BELLY BUTTON IN or OUT?: Not out, but mostly flat.

WEDDING RINGS OFF or ON?: They are still on but I do have some hand swelling at times which makes them pretty snug. I do have an additional plain white-gold band that I wear to work that's a bit bigger, so I may be wearing that all the time soon. 

LOOKING FORWARD TO...?  Honestly, maternity leave! I do love my job and my coworkers have gone above and beyond to accommodate me, but my job is mentally, physically and emotionally draining at times and it's getting harder every day. My belly seems to get in the way of some of my tasks nowadays, but I'm still aiming to work for 4 more weeks. I hope I can do it!

33 Weeks

33 weeks!! 7 more to go :)))

HOW FAR ALONG?: 33 weeks. I cannot believe it! At times I feel like I've been pregnant forever and then there are times where it seems like it's gone so fast and I'm not ready for the end to be near. 

TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN?: I think it's between 22-23 pounds, haven't braved the scale this week!

MATERNITY CLOTHES: I opted to not buy too many maternity clothes because I hardly ever wear 'real clothes,' between working and sleeping and comfy days at home.  The ones I do have are quite snug, just the tops really, and for some reason I'm still finding it necessary to squeeze into pre-maternity clothes which I'm probably stretching the crap out of!

SLEEP?: Still no issues with sleep, thank God! I'm sure my days are numbered though! This week Brett decided to darken our room by placing cardboard into the windows and now I don't know if it's night or day but it is nice to sleep in dark room. 

BEST MOMENT/S THIS WEEK?: Brett & I had a great weekend at Pechanga! It was nice and relaxing, just what the doctor ordered ;) I think Brett sat in the steam room at least once a day... add that to the 'miss anything' column for me!

WORST MOMENT THIS WEEK?:  I got a phone call from my mom (sorry, mom) that's left me worried. I'll share more next week when it's no longer a 'worst' moment!

MISS ANYTHING?:  Laying on my stomach... or my back for that matter.

MOVEMENT?: She's moving. I think now I'm feeling elbows and knees though, they aren't as big... I'm guessing I'm cramping her style!

FOOD CRAVINGS?:  Still no real cravings. 

LABOR SIGNS?: NO!

SYMPTOMS / MOODS?: Again, nothing new. 

BELLY BUTTON IN or OUT?: In (ish), pretty much flat.

WEDDING RINGS OFF or ON?: On.

LOOKING FORWARD TO...?  We have our third trimester ultrasound with the (oi! baby brain!) 'special' doctor with the super advanced ultrasound machine. We initially weren't going to do it because it's really not required, but we like to see her, so we're going!

Brett @ 33 weeks :)

He has been a lot more sensitive during my pregnancy!  He is so excited about his baby, as am I, but I honestly think he's having more symptoms than I am! :) Just no weight gain - lucky dude!