Doc Appt. 8/16

Waiting for the Doctor reading a book

Playing with his evil twin

Mama decided to jump in on this one!

Nate weighs 23 lbs. 5.5 oz
30 inches long (grew 10 inches since birth!)

He got 5 shots and some blood tests done and did great afterwards, no reactions!

Doc Appt. 4.5 Month Check Up

My chubby Nate weighed in at 16 lbs. 5 ounces and was 26 inches long! He was somewhere in the low 70 percentile for both weight and height and his head was in the same category so he's well porportioned, lol. His doctor wasn't concerned about anything and told me I was doing a great job in nursing him. He's obviously getting enough and growing at a good rate. As for solids, he's had tastes here and there but doctor said I can start at 5 months if I'd like so on Jan 3rd, he'll have his first bite of cereal. Soon after he'll have some avocado and sweet potatoes, the only fruit he'll be getting is bananas mixed with veggies, I don't want to do the same mistake again! Even though breastmilk is already sweet and it doesn't cause a sweet tooth, I think he'll benefit alot more from veggies than sugared foods. Another main reason is because I got Bubbs hooked on fruits and he didn't want any veggies. I still need to buy a little more supplies to get started so I'll be doing that today at my favorite place! TARGET!!
Some Info I thought I'd pass along when it comes to Breastfeeding and starting solids.

LLL suggests this progression when introducing your baby (6 months or older) to solid foods:

-Ripe banana, avocado, yam, or sweet potato (sweet like breastmilk)
-Meats
-Whole-grain breads and cereals (rather than baby cereals)
    [wheat and corn are usually delayed until baby is 9-12 months old]
-Fresh fruits
   [citrus fruits are usually delayed until baby is 9-12 months old]
-Vegetables
-Dairy products after 9 months
   [cow's milk is usually delayed until baby is 12-18 months old]
(source: kellymom.com)

3 Month Postpartum (all about ME!)

Ok, I thought I'd be selfish for a bit and talk about myself :-)

It's been 3 months since having the little turkey and I feel great. I think alot of it has to do with my weight loss. I'm now down.......35 lbs. from my highest weight (before I gave birth) and that puts me at about 21 lbs. less than I was Pre-pregnancy. In the beginning I wasn't eating much, mostly cause I was too busy and I had no appetite. Then I got stuck at the same weight for a long time and decided to do something about it and started the Weight Watcher's Breastfeeding Program. I would get 25 points if I wasn't BF-ing but since I am I get 35 pts. It seems like a lot BUT I'm still hungry cause Nate takes alot from me. I read somewhere that for each ounce you make you burn 20 calories and I think he's eating about 4 ounces every 2-3 hours right now.

As for my surgery I feel completely healed but know in reality that I'm not and should still take it easy. Dr. Tsai couldn't believe how great I healed on the outside and said he couldn't even see a scar. I don't think I ever posted about my incision on here but it was clear across my bottom stomach, from one end to the next, it was awful. One day after coming home from the hospital I decided to look down there and to my great surprise I had staples from one end to the other, I was horrified and I think I even cried. I was horrified by my black stomach, it was so bruised that it looked DEAD. I remember Dr. Tsai telling me that I had alot of bruising but didn't think it was this bad. He said it was from the D&C cause the doctor had to push on my stomach to get everything out...OUCH (thank God they put me to sleep!). I don't remember the exact number but Naty counted about 17 staples but when I got them out the nurse said I had about 20! that's alot.

When I got home from the hospital I didn't relax like I should have. I was giving others advice about not doing too much and how they shouldn't worry about house duties.......but I didn't take my own advice, once again. I really thought I would be able to control myself and rest but it was so hard. I was going daily to Naty's parents new house and hauling Nathaniel back and forth. I was up and down and even went shopping the day after I got home from the hospital. I could NOT stay still. I'm not a sitting around type person, I get too antsy and need to do something. I did take medicine a little longer than my previous c-sections but that was expected with a bigger incision that I didn't know about.

So now, 3 months later, I feel amazing and blame it all on weight loss. I honestly believe that if I didn't lose this much weight I would be miserable still. I'd probably be needing the occasional motrin for my back or stomach (scar tissue) but I don't feel any of that.

Again, I don't think I mentioned it here but I tried getting an IUD inserted when I went for my 6 week PP appt. and it was unsuccessful. It was way too painful and my doctor called off the procedure after I was shaking and crying from the pain. He said he'd surgically insert it if I wanted so I said YES and I have a surgery date for Nov. 17th. Please say a little prayer for me since I'll be put under, it's nothing major but the being put to sleep part is scary. Which brings me to another thing I forgot to mention, after talking with Dr. Tsai he said my uterus is healthy enough to carry another baby and said I can do that if I wanted in the future. Who knows?!? I want another baby, I want TONS but I've got to focus on the ones we have now. They deserve all of our attention and sometimes it's hard to give it to them 3 so maybe in the future if we get brave enough we might have 1 more and that will be it. I always wanted 4 children but Naty said he's happy already. I'm not 100% on what our decision is but only time will tell.

You know what's the strangest thing?!?!? I don't remember being pregnant w/Nate. I remember it wasn't bad till the last weeks. It's so weird that it just happened and it's completely out of my head already. I think a week after I had him I felt this way. I don't remember my belly, the moving, anything. I know I had a big belly and the baby moved but I just don't remember my belly popping out while I sat around or walked around, its really weird. I even went back in my posts to read and it made me feel alot better cause I hate not remembering. I'm so glad I did this blog, I really need to save it somewhere so I never lose this. It's the only way I can go back and remember...ok I'm getting choked up. I better stop.


My Mom and Nathaniel

2.5 Month Appt.

My baby boy is thriving off his mama and that makes me so happy! he's not as big as Bubbs was at this stage but he's still a chunker. At 11 weeks, he weighed in at 12 lbs. 12 oz. and was 24 inches long. Which puts him below average for weight and slightly above average for length.

He's still BF and on occasion he'll get a bottle of formula, mostly when I leave him with Naty (which is rare!) Cause I don't want to hassle him with warming up my BM cause I'm actually afraid of him not getting the temp. right so I don't even worry myself about it. He's been fine with times I've given him formula but no matter what I still need to pump so it's still like he nursed and then I get to save that milk I took out to freeze!

I'm going back to school in January and I'll have to leave BM with my MIL, Nate will be 6 months then so he won't be drinking so many bottles and eating baby food then. I will continue to pump when I get a chance in between classes in my car. I will be needing costco pack batteries to get me through the semester. I don't mind doing this for my chubster.

Overall, life has been a little difficult, we have good and bad days and good days are when he naps and bad days are when he cries and wants me to hold him all day. Other than that we're so in love!

I got an OFFICIAL DATE!

Ok, so Doctor kept telling me that he'd schedule my c-section for Aug. 2nd then at my last appt. he said Aug 1st and now I'm officially scheduled for Aug 3rd @11am! Wow! this is so real now, I have a date and time!! I couldn't wait for that because the doc can say one thing but it doesn't mean anything till its scheduled so now I have exactly 2 weeks from today to meet my lil boy. That means two weeks to get the last of everything ready and 2 more weeks to sleep all I can.

Today at my doctor appt. I ran into an old friend from high school. It had been 10 years since we last seen each other so we talked for a few minutes before we got called in for our NST but it was really good seeing her after all these years. She's a week pastdue so she was feeling miserable but again, I'm glad I got to see her!

Well my appt. went really good and my water is slowly getting lower and lower, this time it was at 9 so thats another factor that can move up my c-section but again, I keep saying I hope not! I really want to hold out till my date! we'll see. Ok, I better get some stuff done, I still haven't emptied those drawers out so I'll do that now. bye for now.

P.S. I've gained 14 lbs in total now....

Doc Appt. 7/16

It had been a long time since I seen Dr. Tsai and I was glad to see him again since he'll be doing my c-section. The appt. went really quick, I was supposed to get a GBS test but since I'm having a c-section theres no need and I'm glad! He just went over my concerns about the baby's size and now he thinks the baby is measuring big. I asked him if that was good of me having a big sized baby and he said it was ok since I'll be having a c-section and the baby was destined to be the size he is and it's unrelated to diabetes since my numbers are under control. So we'll see when he comes cause one doctor says small the other says big. Also, when I see the specialist he'll do another ultrasound (7/27) and let me know his estimated size. I also let him know that I'm having painful contractions and he said to come in if I'm having 3 or more in an hour which hasn't happened, mine are really spaced apart but they hurt!

I had my NST today as well and again, everything is well, a strong heartbeat and fluid is at 11.1, the nurse said it should be between 6-20 so I'm good on that. So, its just the waiting game, only 17 days to go.

36 Weeks

36 Weeks Pregnant

3 Weeks to go!

A slight delay in my posting but only because my internet isn't working that great right now. I'm still going to my NSTs and still having mild contractions. Some pains are worse than others but for the most part they are all associated with pain. I'm still sleeping good, even though its 1AM right now but only because I took a late nap and I'm actually tired right now and can easily fall asleep right now if I layed down.

We got the swing we ordered yesterday and Audrey was so anxious to put it together so I let her help me and she can't stop playing with it. She has one of her dirty dolls in it and loves to start it up and put the music on. I finally finished my room!!! Cleaning it and organizing but still have to hang canvas pictures that my sister drew for me, so far I have 1 done and 1 in progress and the 3rd not even started but I can finish them both tomorrow if I put my mind to it. LOL.

Today at my NST appt. the nice nurse showed me Nate again and let me see his face, his cheeks are super chubby and cute! She was telling the kids that the baby def. belonged to them since he had their cheeks, LOL! they were giggling and laughing because I had just finshed telling them in the car that his cheeks were chubby like theirs. But everything was good with the NST so I see my original doctor on thursday, not the specialist, I'm hoping he'll be able to measure Nate and reassure me that he's doing good and growing. I've lost a little weight but my stomach is popping out even more now, I'm at the point that I don't think it can stretch anymore, its super hard and tight, don't know where else it can go!

But anyway, Nate is kicking my bladder right now so I better go PEE! thats the story of my life ;-)

Doc Appt. 6/29

Seen the specialist yesterday and things went ok. The doctor checked Nate's size and he hasn't grown in the past 2 weeks. At my last appt. he was weighing in at 4lbs. 8 oz. and now he's 4lbs. 4oz. 2 weeks later, so of course I got scared and he said its nothing to worry about that he just might be a small baby but the thought of him not gaining is what scares me but again he said not to worry about it. Also, since I get NSTs twice a week he said if he sees any dips in his heart or in my fluid levels he'll just take the baby out which really scares me. I don't want him to come early cause of his lung development but if anything were to happen I think I'll try my hardest to keep him in longer and see what they tell me. But if his life is in jeopardy of course I'd rather have him out. I can't wait to hold him and see him but I want him healthy more than anything. Also, the specialist decided to do a 4D so that I can get a look at him and he's ADORABLE! looks just like Bubbs. My doctor gave me a picture but its really hard to make out since his pictures aren't good quality.

Then, I was waiting for the receptionist to get back so she can check me out and give me new appts. and thats when I started to feel awful. I was standing there and trying to concentrate and thats when I started sweating and shaking really bad. so they made me sit down and I passed out! They checked my blood and it was 48, super low so they gave me water and a protein bar and were putting rags on me to cool down and I felt a whole lot better about 10 minutes after, it was really scary. I said, I learned my lesson and I'll never go again without eating! My other problem was that I was cleaning like a mad woman right before so the combination of exercise and not eating almost killed me!

Now things are good and baby is moving and I can't wait to see the nurses tomorrow to get reassurance. I know this will be a constant worry on my mind, uuhh!

Next Appts:
July 1st: NST
July 1st: class
July 6th: NST
July 9th: NST
July 13th:NST
July 16th: Doc and NST

Reminders

Ok, I was looking at other people's hospital bags on youtube and I forgot some items!

PJs (I'm still not sure about this one, but we'll see)
slippers
robe
camera
batteries
phone
charger

I turn 34 weeks tomorrow so I'll update then but last night I was up going through the baby's clothes and putting them on hangers, it felt weird, like NOT REAL! I need to buy about 3 more packs of hangers to finish.

I have 4 appts next week
June 29th @3pm.......NST
June 29th @3:40......Doc
July 1st @8:40am.....NST
July 1st @9:30am.....Tubal Class (just to get info, not sure yet)

Ok, I better get back to work, I'm leaving here in a bit to my granny's surprise party. I swear every weekend is something! I'm so tired, don't know how I'm going to do this, its way too much for me.

Non-Stress Tests

2 out of 14 NSTs done!

Wow! how am I going to drive all the way to Fontana twice a week for NSTs?!? I've had a hard time getting there twice already, I wish they'd give me the equipment to take home, hey I should ask! Anyway, a NST is when they strap you to a contraction and baby heart monitor and they basically monitor the baby's movements and heart and make sure everything is going great. I also get a short ultrasound to check my fluid levels and the nurse usually gives me a short glimpse of Nate. Today was hilarious! Nate wasn't moving cause he was totally knocked out so here comes the nurse with a buzzer and she zaps my belly and the baby started moving like crazy. OMG! it was so funny how she came at me with that thing, she says, "he's head down right?" and I say yes and she just comes at my bottom belly (LOL) and BBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, I just jumped up, both the baby and I.

So far so good with the NSTs, I guess its all worth it cause they can catch any distress on the baby and can move quickly from there. So that brings me to 2 down and 14 to go. Ok I better get the kids stuff ready, we're going to the drive in!

Doc Appt. 6/15

Had another great appt.! I seen the high risk doctor again and got to see lil Nate again! and this time Naty went with me and told the doctor that he wanted to see his weenis for himself so he showed him and yes, its still there! lol He measured his leg bone that was measuring 32 weeks and his belly that was measuring exactly at 32 weeks so he's doing awesome! and get this.......he's estimated to weigh in at 4 lbs. 8 oz! that's one big kid but the doc said he's perfect, not big or small, just perfect so I'm glad the diabetes isn't making him big. He also went over alot of great information and said I'll be seeing him again, I'm not sure why but I don't mind, that means I get to see lil Nate again, yayy. Not sure when I'll see Dr. Tsai but when I do, I'll get a time to go with my c-section, so far I've got Aug. 2nd but no time which I want to know, badly!

Also, Naty and I passed by the other hospital that the doctor said I can have Nate at and its really nice. Its a catholic hospital in San Bernardino but we're still not sure if we're gonna go for it. Also, the hospital is really far so thats a huge minus.

I start my Non-stress tests (NST) this week and that is when they monitor the baby's heart and any contractions to make sure everything is still going good since I have GD. I'll be going twice a week for that and seeing the doctor every 2 weeks.

Here's my appts.
June 17th @ 10:40am.........NST
June 19th @ 8:40am..........NST
June 29th @ 3:00pm..........NST
June 29th @ 3:40pm..........Doc Appt. w/high risk doctor

I just noticed that they didn't schedule me for NSTs for the week of the 22nd so I'm gonna have to ask when I go Wed.

Oh and I forgot! when we seen the baby his legs and arms were over his face, it was so cute but the doctor couldn't get any good pictures of him but he did give me two that he took but again, they're hard to make out. I'll upload them tomorrow, other than that, I couldn't be any happier...Thank you JESUS!

Doc Appt. 5/28

I seen the high risk doctor today and he was so nice! I think I like him more than my regular doctor, hehe. He explained everything and some and also said since my numbers are staying at the high end of the range I should go on medication. He offered me 2 different types but since I'm familiar with Metformin he prescribed me that. I go back on 6/15 to see him again and said I'll see my doc, then see him etc.. I'm fine with that and also my old doctor will be doing the c-section so thats good. He also let me peek at the baby since it had been a long time. He was adorable! I could not believe what I was seeing and hearing and I'm glad I took Audrey too cause she got her own picture of him. I really thought I was going to get an estimate of his weight but totally forgot to ask cause I was so distracted and fascinated by everything else. His head is down and his legs are up under my boobs like I had figured, there's times that he lays straight across my stomach and you can feel his butt/back right across my stomach. He also asked if we should make sure he's a boy (after asking me if I knew) so I said, YES! cause I forgot about that! and sure enough, we seen his big package floating around so now I'm fully confident and 100% sure that theres a penis growing inside of me :-)

If you look at the picture above you can see his big lips and chin! I could not believe that! he has those baby lips that I LOVE! Also, I got to hear his heartbeat which I've heard alot before and for the first time I heard him breathe! its called practice breathing that they do to mature their lungs, I didn't even know that was possible. But overall, it was a great appt. and now we have 9 weeks and 2 days to go!

Doc Appt. 4/30

Had a great appt. heard lil Nate's heart, was beating very strong and healthy. Doctor mentioned having him at St. Bernadine's hospital in San Bernardino instead of Kaiser Fontana since they have a contract with them. I'm going to check it out before I say yes so that will be one of our many missions to get ready for him. I checked out their website and it seems pretty good but still I need to look at it with my own eyes and visit their maternity ward.

I also had my 1 hour glucose test and that came out high. I think the range is <130 and mine was 167 so now I've gotta do the 3 hour test. I had gestational diabetes with both my other pregnancies so it's not surprising or upsetting. I know what I have to do to take care of myself and my baby. Also, they found me to be anemic so I've gotta take Iron (bleh) and drink lots of water and eat lots of fiber in addition to the diabetic diet that they'll put me on. No biggie.

I'm also happy about my weight and have gained about 7-10 lbs total. I'm not sure where I was at the beginning but I'll just say 10 lbs. I'm almost 6 1/2 months pregnant so thats good! lol. he wants me to gain 25 which I don't think I'll do, esp. if they put me on the diabetic diet.

Overall, great appt. and I don't have to go in till another month!

Doc Appt. 2/26

I just got back from seeing my doctor and everything went well. He had a hard time hearing the heart, probably cause of my fat stomach but it was ok cause he brought out the ultrasound machine. I seen the baby moving a little bit but he said he/she was asleep. The doc started moving my belly to wake him/her up but no luck, he/she started to move it's hands over his/her face and I seen the heartbeat going strong. Audrey got a little mad that she didn't get to see the baby cause she was sitting on the other side of the machine, LOL. That happened last time too so she's mad. The doctor continued to measure my uterus and it was measuring really good. It's way above my belly button so it's growing!! So I see the doctor in 4 weeks and all is well. Thank you God!

Ultrasound 1/29/09

I had an appt. yesterday and everything went well. I guess I'll be getting ultrasounds everytime I go, my doctor is really cool and young so I'm loving him right now. He's listened to everything, all my complaints, nonsense and jokes, LOL. He's really down to earth and very helpful. Oh and his name is Dr. Tsai, BTW. I was measuring 12 wks and 4 days which would change my EDD to 8/8/09, AGAIN, but he said don't worry about that, we're sticking to 8/9/09 and that's it. I had to take Audrey with me but she was sitting on the other side of the U/S machine so she couldn't see the baby waving and moving like crazy. Dr. Tsai said, "that's one healthy baby," just because of how hyper it seems to be, I feel like it's a boy even more! But we'll see on March 3rd, that's 5 weeks away! that will come and go in no time.

He wanted to know if I'm eating well cause I've lost weight, that was a big surprise cause I eat like a pig. I know that can catch up to me so I thought I'd attempt to look at my diabetes crap again, blah. I keep saying I'm gonna start and I haven't. I somewhat did it today but I've only had breakfast today, hahahaha.

So the baby looks really good, we're really happy and Naty confessed that this is the first time that he's been this happy about us having a baby. I was really happy about that since this was a huge surprise. I think it has a lot to do with our maturity level and how we're better off than we have been in the past.

My next appt. is Feb. 26th at 10:45am
NOTE: Baby measured 6.44cm, growing fast!

12 Weeks

12 Weeks Pregnant

Ok, I really need to find a new website with a cuter baby, that thing is getting ridiculous.

Now my weeks change on Mondays so I'm going to end up changing all of my tickers even though I'll have the baby a week before my due date.

I have my 3 month appt. on Thursday and I start school tomorrow, so this is going to be a hectic week for me. I just barely started getting ready for school and just bought my parking permit! OMG! I was freaking out cause the parking went up to $8 instead of $5 a day. I also printed out the syllabus for my class and called and made last minute arrangements with Audrey's school (a day change). Talk about, last minute! I still need to get my bag ready and folders all organized. I have a bunch of old stuff from last semester in my folders and backpack. Anyway! I've only told my good friend that I'm pregnant because I don't want anyone knowing, but I know once I start showing they'll find out for themselves. The good thing is that I only go on campus for 2 classes!

I'm not sure if I spoke about my energy coming back, but it has! I've felt a lot better and not needing to sleep as much as I did in the beginning. I hated the way I felt and would pray the sleepiness would go away, I didn't feel normal. My nausea went away, for the most part, I do get the occasional pukey feeling but nothing bad. Oh and I've been getting nasty hives and headaches. I was told that I couldn't take benadryl during the first trimester so I didn't take any, then I read on a lot of websites that it's safe, but I'll listen to my doctor on that one.

It's really weird how my stomach got smaller. I think a lot of it was bloating and now that it's all gone down, I don't look that big anymore, which is great! My pants were soooooo tight and then one day I tried them again and they weren't as tight, so I'm hoping I can stay small and not get HUGE. Of course, I just pray the baby grows and puts on healthy weight but I've got a lot of baggage and the baby can really hide in there :-)

The kids are still excited and now kiss my stomach and talk to the baby. They fight already about the baby so I'm afraid to see what they'll do when he/she is actually here.

Also, I wanted to talk about diapering. I tried cloth with Bubbs and I had a horrible experience, constant changing and constant washing the sheets and blankets BUT after doing much research I think I was doing it wrong...heh. I didn't know about liners and didn't know about different folding techniques for boys vs. girls, DUH! I just followed what the old folks said all around me and then realized NOW that I was folding the diaper for a girl! but still, I'm not sure I want to go that route cause I feel as if I tried and failed so I want to try something a little more advanced like bumgenius, it's an all in one cloth diaper that's a lot easier and a lot friendler for mom. The drawback is, they're $35 for 2. There's also fuzzibunz which are about the same price but these have buttons instead of velcro. I'm just keeping my options open and will most likely use these with the help of disposables when these are dirty or when I'm on the go.

New Appts.

I have to wait all over again for my next ultrasound, it's scheduled for Jan. 19th at 9am and I'm just hoping they find a happy, healthy baby in there. I really want to know my REAL official due date so that I can have a real countdown to the big day. I think I'm about a week off from the date on the right of the screen but it's ok. I really didn't want a summer baby but hey, what can I do now! Pump up the AC and never leave home, I can do that.

I really need to get moving, I've been laying around not doing much. I know Naty was fustrated with me but I told him to please have patience with me and understand that this will be over in a few weeks (I'm hoping). I've heard that everything gets better in the 2nd trimester, which I really don't remember BUT I'm just thinking and praying that happens.

So, so far, tired, hungry, nauseous and tired again, that one is really beating me up.

My First Appointment

This appt. wasn't with a doctor but with a nurse that had me fill out a million and one forms and give 7 tubes of blood, 2 containers of pee, a arm full of reading material and my new prenatal vitamins. It honestly went very well and it got me pretty excited for what's to come.

My first ultrasound and doctor appt. will be on Dec. 31st at 1:20 pm, so that means Naty can go with me since that's a holiday for him! yayy!! (I didn't know they were open on New Year's Eve) They are going to do a vag ultrasound and we'll get to hear the heartbeat too!

Then my 2nd ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby is on March 3, at 8:45am. I'm thinking of changing that cause that is super early but then its 3 months away and I'll probably won't be able to sleep anyway.
The kids are starting to ask questions cause Naty and I say something and then one will ask, "does that mean that you're gonna have a baby?" and we just look at each other and laugh. They are gonna be so happy when they find out! I'm thinking of getting them big brother and big sister t-shirts to wear and that is how the family will find out, still not sure but I'll come up with something!

My first prenatal vitamin that I just took.