Except it really doesn't take much to distract me. Or make me happy at this point. I had a long list of questions to ask my midwife, frustration to express over feeling hungry all the time, questions about Group Strep B, etc. and ...
Well, it always seems that my midwife appointments always come at a good time. Hadn't felt the baby move in at least 2 days, so as soon as she put on the doppler and found the heartbeat (which took about 2 minutes - I was not happy) the world switched back to hearts and rainbows and kittens and I was just so happy about the dopplering that I told her I had no questions, no complaints about the diet, that everything was really just perfect.
So there we have it. It really does seem odd to me that the baby moves so very, very little. I don't think that combined I would have gotten through a single kick count last week (i.e. I did not feel 10 distinct movements all week) but my belly is measuring exactly on size, she says the baby feels normal-sized, and I did manage to gain 3 lbs in 2 weeks (which is great since I was down 6 last appointment, back up to 24 lbs total which seems nice), so no worries (at least on her side).
And I finally have a specialist appointment for GD next week, so hopefully they'll have a doppler and I'll leave feeling just as warm and fuzzy as I did today. And for the record, should I ever be in this precarious state again in the future, I am buying a doppler. On day 1. Because if I'd ever imagined I would still want a doppler at 31.5 weeks, I definitely would have splurged.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
And I did not even consult Dr. Google
I have a new theory about why my morning blood sugar levels are rising.
I went out for dinner yesterday night. To a pizza place. So, I ate, well, pizza. Carbs and all. No protein. It happens.
And my 2-hour post meal test was fine.
AND, my test this morning was much, much better than anything last week.
So here's my theory: I was with a group of people so I had dinner at 6 pm. My dinners have been creeping up to 8:30/9 pm this past week (in part because I just don't feel inspired to eat anything I'm supposed to be eating, so I usually wait until JD puts something on a plate in front of me to start eating ...). And I don't think that's enough time for my body to process the food before breakfast. So I'm hoping if I move my dinners a bit earlier this week that my numbers will go back down.
I find restricting my diet incredibly stressful, and I know that can also increase the numbers. But I found out this past Sunday at Birthing Class #1, mandated by the hospital, that the reason my midwife insisted I see this doctor at this clinic is that he is the one who will have to sign off on whether I can have a 'natural' birth or whether it's straight to c-section land for me. Nothing like adding a little stress to your appointment, eh?
(Don't worry - I won't take this type of absurd ruling without protest. My back-up plan if he says no way to labor is to go out of state. No other state has quite NYC's liability laws, and thus far NONE of my test scores are off enough to even put me firmly in the GD category. And seriously, as long as I'm not on insulin, at least 95% of doctors in the U.S. would let me go into labor).
I went out for dinner yesterday night. To a pizza place. So, I ate, well, pizza. Carbs and all. No protein. It happens.
And my 2-hour post meal test was fine.
AND, my test this morning was much, much better than anything last week.
So here's my theory: I was with a group of people so I had dinner at 6 pm. My dinners have been creeping up to 8:30/9 pm this past week (in part because I just don't feel inspired to eat anything I'm supposed to be eating, so I usually wait until JD puts something on a plate in front of me to start eating ...). And I don't think that's enough time for my body to process the food before breakfast. So I'm hoping if I move my dinners a bit earlier this week that my numbers will go back down.
I find restricting my diet incredibly stressful, and I know that can also increase the numbers. But I found out this past Sunday at Birthing Class #1, mandated by the hospital, that the reason my midwife insisted I see this doctor at this clinic is that he is the one who will have to sign off on whether I can have a 'natural' birth or whether it's straight to c-section land for me. Nothing like adding a little stress to your appointment, eh?
(Don't worry - I won't take this type of absurd ruling without protest. My back-up plan if he says no way to labor is to go out of state. No other state has quite NYC's liability laws, and thus far NONE of my test scores are off enough to even put me firmly in the GD category. And seriously, as long as I'm not on insulin, at least 95% of doctors in the U.S. would let me go into labor).
Monday, October 20, 2008
Moving, part 2
Sometimes I wonder if because JD missed the first trimester (I was abroad) and I have been in unusually good health during this pregnancy, he's missed the whole idea of pampering me. But he just headed out to finish some work, and came back 2 minutes later with a stack of empty boxes he found on the street. I think he's finally getting that he's going to have to do the physical work for this move (even if I will still be in charge).
And since 2 of my most favorite bloggers asked why we're moving, the short answer is that we have the incredible luxury of living in graduate student housing. Our rent is significantly less than market value and it allows us to live in a decent neighborhood despite our low income. However, the downside of institutional housing is that the university has the worst housing policies ever. We have been on a wait list for 'family' housing since last spring, which isn't such a long time, but we're not necessarily guaranteed better housing this fall and if we decline it'll probably be another year before we're given a chance to move. Oh, and they usually require you to move within 48 hours of signing a contract, during which time other students are allowed to 'view' your still inhabited apartment to decide if they want it. Moving on 48 hours notice in NYC is the pits, and it significantly raises all the costs involved. We didn't find out that our lottery number was up until Friday, and luckily we won't be looking at apartments till Wednesday, but a friend with 2 children was told Friday at 4 pm that she should be ready to move on Tuesday.
The truth is that I am quite attached to the mini-apartment and it's in a great location, but if this is our one and only opportunity to get a 'subsidized' 2-bedroom, we really have to take it. I wish that we could buck the trend and not have our rent rise at the same time we have to start paying for childcare, but 320 square feet is a bit on the small side for three of us.
And that is why I instructed JD to stop by the liquor store on the way home and see if they have any empty boxes for us ... when of course what I'd really like is for him to bring home a nice cool bottle of prosecco and some top-shelf liquor.
Update: I am so excited! Months after we put our registry online, people have actually started buying us presents this week. Real, useful things we won't have to buy ourselves - today someone ordered us some cloth diapers and a breastfeeding pillow and baby sling - so exciting! (we really limited our registry to absolutely necessary items because of our space constraints. We're not getting a changing table or any decorations, etc. at this point since the poor baby is being pushed into the corner next to our bed for the foreseeable future...) but then I realized that if we move all those presents won't be forwarded to our new address. Should be fun.
And since 2 of my most favorite bloggers asked why we're moving, the short answer is that we have the incredible luxury of living in graduate student housing. Our rent is significantly less than market value and it allows us to live in a decent neighborhood despite our low income. However, the downside of institutional housing is that the university has the worst housing policies ever. We have been on a wait list for 'family' housing since last spring, which isn't such a long time, but we're not necessarily guaranteed better housing this fall and if we decline it'll probably be another year before we're given a chance to move. Oh, and they usually require you to move within 48 hours of signing a contract, during which time other students are allowed to 'view' your still inhabited apartment to decide if they want it. Moving on 48 hours notice in NYC is the pits, and it significantly raises all the costs involved. We didn't find out that our lottery number was up until Friday, and luckily we won't be looking at apartments till Wednesday, but a friend with 2 children was told Friday at 4 pm that she should be ready to move on Tuesday.
The truth is that I am quite attached to the mini-apartment and it's in a great location, but if this is our one and only opportunity to get a 'subsidized' 2-bedroom, we really have to take it. I wish that we could buck the trend and not have our rent rise at the same time we have to start paying for childcare, but 320 square feet is a bit on the small side for three of us.
And that is why I instructed JD to stop by the liquor store on the way home and see if they have any empty boxes for us ... when of course what I'd really like is for him to bring home a nice cool bottle of prosecco and some top-shelf liquor.
Update: I am so excited! Months after we put our registry online, people have actually started buying us presents this week. Real, useful things we won't have to buy ourselves - today someone ordered us some cloth diapers and a breastfeeding pillow and baby sling - so exciting! (we really limited our registry to absolutely necessary items because of our space constraints. We're not getting a changing table or any decorations, etc. at this point since the poor baby is being pushed into the corner next to our bed for the foreseeable future...) but then I realized that if we move all those presents won't be forwarded to our new address. Should be fun.
Moving
It seems likely that we'll be moving early next week. We won't find out for sure until midday Thursday. I was super-stressed about moving at this point, so I thought I'd try to find some positives (of which there are many):
Cons:
- I can't lift stuff. Oh, and JD really can't pack. I do all of our packing and moving and have for the past 5 1/2 years. It is going to be really, really hard to watch him pack stuff (he almost broke 3 dishes just cleaning up Friday night - this is usually comical but not when I can't fix it).
- Packing a full apartment overnight sucks.
- We had just finished setting up the 'nursery' corner.
- We may live in a mini-apartment (~320 sq. ft. but it's in a great location).
- Movers are so expensive, even if we pack everything.
- Our current building only allows moves from 9 to 5 weekdays, which basically means nobody will be able to come help us and we won't be able to hire the cheapest movers who only do nights and weekends.
- We might be moving into a walk-up. Ugh.
- Our rent will definitely go up. But hopefully not by too much.
Pros:
- Ok, living on the 1st floor might not be a good idea with a baby (basically if a bullet were to happen to come in the window it would have a 50% chance of going straight into the crib. Our neighborhood is pretty safe, but there are the requisite NYC shootings every year. Oh, and when people sit and smoke on the stoop they blow smoke directly into the crib ...).
- JD doesn't start work for another week, so at least he'll be around to help.
- It will (might) be easier to move now then in the spring.
- It would be nice to have a 2-bedroom or a larger 1-bedroom.
- I will find myself a beautiful, cheap, used kitchen table if we move. And then we will not need a folding table on Friday night.
- I might be able to convince some of my friends/family to come help with the baby the first week or two if we have a bigger place.
- This may put off our 'big move' to a cheaper neighborhood for another year. Or not.
Cons:
- I can't lift stuff. Oh, and JD really can't pack. I do all of our packing and moving and have for the past 5 1/2 years. It is going to be really, really hard to watch him pack stuff (he almost broke 3 dishes just cleaning up Friday night - this is usually comical but not when I can't fix it).
- Packing a full apartment overnight sucks.
- We had just finished setting up the 'nursery' corner.
- We may live in a mini-apartment (~320 sq. ft. but it's in a great location).
- Movers are so expensive, even if we pack everything.
- Our current building only allows moves from 9 to 5 weekdays, which basically means nobody will be able to come help us and we won't be able to hire the cheapest movers who only do nights and weekends.
- We might be moving into a walk-up. Ugh.
- Our rent will definitely go up. But hopefully not by too much.
Pros:
- Ok, living on the 1st floor might not be a good idea with a baby (basically if a bullet were to happen to come in the window it would have a 50% chance of going straight into the crib. Our neighborhood is pretty safe, but there are the requisite NYC shootings every year. Oh, and when people sit and smoke on the stoop they blow smoke directly into the crib ...).
- JD doesn't start work for another week, so at least he'll be around to help.
- It will (might) be easier to move now then in the spring.
- It would be nice to have a 2-bedroom or a larger 1-bedroom.
- I will find myself a beautiful, cheap, used kitchen table if we move. And then we will not need a folding table on Friday night.
- I might be able to convince some of my friends/family to come help with the baby the first week or two if we have a bigger place.
- This may put off our 'big move' to a cheaper neighborhood for another year. Or not.
question
How much sleep is normal to need/want in the third trimester?
In case you can't tell, I am full of self-doubt at the moment. Not that I have ever been one to enthusiastically 'trust my body' but I'm trying to figure out what are reasonable limitations on my activity at this point. And the sudden realization that I only have about 60 days to go, so this may actually be the point at which I need to slow down (although since I've stopped gaining weight and am still within 5 lbs on my pre-IF starting weight, I really am not feeling that uncomfortable - don't worry, I'm up close to 30 lbs from the beginning of the pregnancy so I think my weight gain is fine).
My blood sugar numbers are not great, but I realized this morning that part of the problem is that in an effort to 'relax' I accidentally cut all my exercise for the past 4 days. Not good.
So, it was supposed to be a 9 am to 9 pm workday today (I have a meeting that runs until exactly 9 pm tonight) but I overslept. So it's looking more like a 10:15 am to 10:15 pm kind-of day. Except that if I want to make time for an hour walk, then it'll be a bit later. And I really don't think that I can skip any of the work on my to-do list for today (did I mention we might move at the end of the week? Nothing like that hanging over us to keep me on schedule) so cutting back on the 'work' hours really isn't an option. And I also desperately need to run by the health food store and pick up more iron sometime today.
So how much is reasonable to sleep at this point?
In case you can't tell, I am full of self-doubt at the moment. Not that I have ever been one to enthusiastically 'trust my body' but I'm trying to figure out what are reasonable limitations on my activity at this point. And the sudden realization that I only have about 60 days to go, so this may actually be the point at which I need to slow down (although since I've stopped gaining weight and am still within 5 lbs on my pre-IF starting weight, I really am not feeling that uncomfortable - don't worry, I'm up close to 30 lbs from the beginning of the pregnancy so I think my weight gain is fine).
My blood sugar numbers are not great, but I realized this morning that part of the problem is that in an effort to 'relax' I accidentally cut all my exercise for the past 4 days. Not good.
So, it was supposed to be a 9 am to 9 pm workday today (I have a meeting that runs until exactly 9 pm tonight) but I overslept. So it's looking more like a 10:15 am to 10:15 pm kind-of day. Except that if I want to make time for an hour walk, then it'll be a bit later. And I really don't think that I can skip any of the work on my to-do list for today (did I mention we might move at the end of the week? Nothing like that hanging over us to keep me on schedule) so cutting back on the 'work' hours really isn't an option. And I also desperately need to run by the health food store and pick up more iron sometime today.
So how much is reasonable to sleep at this point?
Saturday, October 18, 2008
For the record (and a GD question)
I realize that I am incredibly lucky to have such an attentive, loving husband. I have seen marriages in my own family torn apart by infertility, and I think that ours has been barely scratched (although it of course helps that we knew I was in trouble long before we even started dating, so there was no moment of surprise that we couldn't conceive). And one of the reasons that I love JD so much is that he is quite (some might say brutally) honest about what he's thinking. I really appreciate that. I appreciate that he doesn't mind if I log into his e-mail or open his mail and that we really don't keep secrets from each other. And in that light, I record these recent gems by my husband because they made me laugh:
While discussing childbirth: "I can see why the birthrate in educated populations is dropping so rapidly."
While reading out-loud to him from the breastfeeding book about what to do if the husband doesn't feel involved in the process: "There are really guys out there who are jealous of this?"
And when his friend at dinner asked him some question about how it feels to be involved in such a profound and life-altering process: "Well, let's not forget that monkeys also grow babies and give birth. As do rats."
On to less fun topics, like gestational diabetes*:
I'm worried that my fasting morning numbers are at the very top of the 'normal range.' Normal in my chart is 60-90 and I've had 3 scores of 90 or 91 this week. So here's the question: can that number be affected by the fact that I often don't eat dinner until 8 or 9 pm? It seems like they must factor in an average dinnertime, or at least an average time between last meal and fasting test in the morning to get the normal range and maybe mine's a bit shorter? If not, what in the world do I do to decrease that number? My post-meal numbers are still fine.
* And yes, I am of course going to ask a medical professional this question. But I don't see my midwife till Tuesday and I don't have another GD consult for 10 days, so I thought asking 'the internets' might help me come up with a temporary answer or at least minimize my worry during the wait.
While discussing childbirth: "I can see why the birthrate in educated populations is dropping so rapidly."
While reading out-loud to him from the breastfeeding book about what to do if the husband doesn't feel involved in the process: "There are really guys out there who are jealous of this?"
And when his friend at dinner asked him some question about how it feels to be involved in such a profound and life-altering process: "Well, let's not forget that monkeys also grow babies and give birth. As do rats."
On to less fun topics, like gestational diabetes*:
I'm worried that my fasting morning numbers are at the very top of the 'normal range.' Normal in my chart is 60-90 and I've had 3 scores of 90 or 91 this week. So here's the question: can that number be affected by the fact that I often don't eat dinner until 8 or 9 pm? It seems like they must factor in an average dinnertime, or at least an average time between last meal and fasting test in the morning to get the normal range and maybe mine's a bit shorter? If not, what in the world do I do to decrease that number? My post-meal numbers are still fine.
* And yes, I am of course going to ask a medical professional this question. But I don't see my midwife till Tuesday and I don't have another GD consult for 10 days, so I thought asking 'the internets' might help me come up with a temporary answer or at least minimize my worry during the wait.
Friday, October 17, 2008
well
I really don't know how to make this make sense. We might be moving on Friday. We'll find out on Thursday. Did I mention that I'm, um, a wee bit plump at the moment and own about 20-25 boxes of books? And have a really busy week next week? And moving in NYC takes a lot of help because you have to have someone stand in the lobby/with the van, etc. to make sure nothing is stolen. You have to love institutional housing ... and they wonder why we are all so stressed about it. The only good thing is that at least JD will be around to help - when I moved into this apartment he couldn't even get the day off to fly up from City X and help me pack.
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