another fun little update...

i don't have gestational diabetes!!!!! aaaaaaand, my blood pressure is still holding at fairly good. the ob basically said that everything was going as well as it could be, and she's way happy with my progress. total weight gain at almost 31 weeks? 15 pounds. not too bad!

now the goal is to maintain this good blood pressure until at least 36 weeks.

dude. that's 5 weeks away....

the mega blood work and latest events...

so, that 3 hour glucose tolerance test wasn't *too* bad. i mean, the blood draws were okay. considering i had to get 4 different pricks. the beverage wasn't all that horrible tasting. DSO was jumping off the uterus from it, though. that was fun. and slightly painful.... i was eyeing the water cooler the whole time, and man was i excited to be able to drink from it! then, after about 15 hours of fasting, chris took me to Bob's Big Boy, where i had the most amazing bacon cheeseburger. i kinda want another one right now....

i did happen to spend a few hours at Labor and Delivery last week. all is well. everything was fine. i had been feeling this strange sharp pain on my left side for about a day, and figured i should call the OB's office. they said to go to L&D and get it checked out. needless to say, i was a bit freaking out-y. it turned out to be nothing; most likely stretching muscles and/or DSO kicking in a not fun way. well for me. but, we were able to listen to her heartbeat the whole time we were there. although, i don't think either one of us was too much of a fan of the process... those monitors are strapped on too tight in my opinion, and she kept kicking at them and moving around. i'm kinda afraid of her level of energy once she's actually here...

thanksgiving was super fun. it was a santa maria year for thanksgiving, so we made the trek up to chris' homeland and spent a fabulous 4 days lounging and eating. i'm thinking i might have gained a bit too much... we got to spend some time with our friends who live in colorado now, gabe and jen. not only was it nice to spend a day with them, fabulous weather made for a fun time in santa barbara. i even did some shopping. i heart shopping! it was also a good chance to spend some time with the in-laws. especially considering i have no clue when we'll be able to head up there again.

this is what happens when i don't update!!

i still have another event! my 30 week ultrasound.

we went because some marker in an earlier test showed a slight risk in low birth weight. thus, they wanted a 30 week growth scan to make sure DSO was growing on target. aside from being nervous that something might be wrong, i was excited because we were gonna see her again! long story short, all was well. she's growing fabulously, and is looking really good! the tech did some 4D pictures and chris decided that she had my nose and his scowl. poor kid....

i failed to mention....

11 pounds. that's the running total of weight gain. 11 pounds in *was was* 27 weeks. pretty awesome if you ask me!

i have an appointment at 30 weeks, which is in two weeks from today. then every 2 weeks, i believe. so we'll see how high that number actually gets. crossing my fingers for no more than 20 to 25!

although, as long as my face doesn't get too fat....

readers, i have entered the 3rd trimester.

rather insane if you ask me. and looking to POSSIBLY become complicated. but hopefully not.

for starters, my glucose screening test did not go so well. in fact, it was very not well. the cutoff for high blood sugar is140. me? i was 171. yuck. so now, i have to do the three hour test. which, were it not for the FOUR BLOOD DRAWS required, wouldn't be too bad. not to mention the fact that my veins are crap when i'm not hydrated, and i have to take this test on an 8-12 hour fast. water included. but, i mean, if i'm willing to even consider a natural birth, i guess i can handle all the poking. the thing is, i'm worried about finding out i have gestational diabetes. i guess it couldn't happen to a *slightly* more prepared person, considering chris is type 1 and i worked in an endocrinology clinic for about 3 years, but still. however, it i do have it, i'd rather know and work with it to make sure DSO and i are as safe as possible.

now for the second... before being pregnant, i had blood pressure issues. like, for years. i was on meds for a while and everything. since becoming pregnant, my numbers have been BEAUTIFUL. like enough to make me want to call my doctor and tell her to get a new machine or something. but, because of that, i'm at risk of preeclapsia/hypertension/toxemia, whatever you want to call it. if this does become a problem, it can be pretty bad. so, i had a *lovely* blood draw to get a toxemia baseline. because, you know, it's always nice to know what things look like when you don't have any issues! for now, my blood pressure is still good, i haven't been swelling strangely, but there are some things here and there that keep me kinda worried.

part three: allergies. i'm pretty sure that's what i'm suffering from. except, aside from the congestion and what have you, my ear hurts too. its rather annoying and kinda becoming more painful. this makes my head hurt which makes me freak out about the aforementioned issue...

but then, DSO kicks all crazy, and i think to myself, i'm having a baby. as scared as i am to have any complications, i know i will be monitored and the most important thing on everyone's mind will be to keep both me and DSO safe.

besides, God's already got this one in the bag.

there's a party going on, and it seems that i'm the venue

seriously.

DSO is starting to pack a mean punch. it's pretty much visible to whoever may be constantly observing me. she likes to kick/punch/headbutt (i really have no clue what goes on in there) chris. the best though.... she kicked rubi. rubi has taken to trying her hardest to lay as close as physically possible to me. she tries incessantly to sleep on my belly. apparently i'm not the only one that doesn't like it. the other night she was half on my belly when DSO started her shenanigans. and i guess rubi felt it because to jumped up and stared really hard at where she had been laying. then looked at me and all over the place. my poor little dog was confused! i, however, thought i was hilarious!

lets see.... according to the regular dr, my cold was more of an allergy flare up. and i need to drink more water. umm, sir, can you explain to me how to drink more water? i'm downing at least 90 oz a day.... but, i'll do what i must to keep pre-term labor away. oh, that's me newest fear. pre-term labor. it's like i can never just not be worried about something. i'm doing better though! i promise! well, ask chris if i'm doing better. he's the one that sees my worrying first hand. oh, and leg cramps are the suck.

in other news, i'm in a wedding this weekend. should be fun. i close friend of mine from grad school is getting married and asked me to be a bridesmaid long before DSO came along. now she gets to join the party too. all of 6 full months of her.

although, i think i don't look too bad. in fact, while i feel huge, i don't think i look too huge. until other people oh so kindly point out that i'm sooooo big already. i just kindly remind them that i'm about 2 feet tall, with a 3 inch torso. i mean, honestly, where else is this kid gonna go! i've only gained about 10 lbs the thus far *the official count comes on wednesday at the ob's office*, and it's really all belly, so whatever! i look stinking cute!

okay, enough random rambling....

i'm sick...

i miss drugs. although, in light of my last post, this should be a piece of cake!

it started around Wednesday, then progressively got worse. it makes me unhappy. i don't like feeling like crap.

being sick is totally for the birds....

on a happier note, DSO doesn't seem to be phased by my being sick. chris felt her kick my stomach out. totally strange and alien-y. mix that and having my little rubi sleeping on the couch next to me, and i'm not too bad.

25 weeks down, 15 to go....

i can't believe it. 25 weeks. that's 5 and a half months. and let me tell you, i'm CLEARLY pregnant. we went to my in-law's house this weekend, and my *fabulous* father-in-law had the audacity to look at my belly and say "WHOA!" too funny! although, i'm kinda wondering what will happen when i hit week 35..... eeek!

things have been going fairly well. that whole tooth extraction turned out to be a non-issue. in fact, it went so wonderfully that my dentist decided that he couldn't wait for DSO to get here so he could get the other 3 out. what a nice guy....

DSO seems to be growing well too. i mean, i'm growing, and she's kicking up a storm. she has her sleepy days, but even then, she likes to let me know that she's still a strong kid. i'm slightly worried about what her energy level is gonna be like when she's here. although, she'll be a kid, so i'm sure it'll be through the roof. plus, she's a blend of both chris and i, so i'm pretty sure she's be crazy. but, with fabulous black hair and a great ability to tan. not to mention her bilingual skills. yeah, she's gonna be pretty awesome.

aside from that, i've been doing A TON of labor and delivery thinking these days. it's a pretty daunting thing when you have nothing to compare it to. i mean, i can listen to my friends and family who have been there, but i have NO CLUE what i'm in for. thus, i've made a decision. some might find it crazy, but i've made up my mind.

i'm gonna go natural. well, not home birth, natural. believe me, i don't have that kind of determination! but, i wanna do this without drugs. prayerfully. just chris and i, and my mom in the room reading scripture or something of that nature.

i really have nothing against drugs, or people who use them. really. i just really want to go without. i wanna feel it. i know that sounds BEYOND CRAZY. but, if God created me for any one thing *outside of giving Him glory* it was to birth children. that's literally what my body was created for. and, i know i can do it. will i refuse medical intervention when needed? no. i'm not THAT crazy. i mean, will be birthing at a fabulous hospital for that very reason. but, i really want to do this.

thus said... start praying now!