I LOVE my doctors/nurse practitioner!
On Friday, I sent her an email because of the wrist pain I have been having. What does wrist pain and pregnancy have in common, you might wonder? I had carpal tunnel syndrome prior to becoming pregnant, and in the past few weeks it has gone from being a minor annoyance to pretty much incapacitating right hand.
At my 20 week ultrasound, Diane (the NP) recommended a splint, which I went out and purchased and wore. And it's not HELPING. So I sent her an email, and she called me within the hour and asked me to come in and see one of the doctors. (Talk about a quick response!)
So today I went in and saw Dr. Cascio. She looked at it a little bit and still thinks it's carpal tunnel - albeit severe. So she referred me to an orthopedist, which I will be seeing on Wednesday morning. The consensus so far is that I will likely need a cortisone shot, and if that doesn't help, surgery to loosen things up in there.
NOT FUN. But at least we are moving in the right direction, because this pain has been making me downright cranky.
But, while I was there, Dr. Cascio was nice enough to pull out the doppler and let me listen to the baby's heartbeat (aww) - a strong, healthy, 130-140 bpm. I also mentioned my concerns about the placenta, after what I was told at my last appointment, and apparently the ultrasound tech confused my file with another patient's. Mine is sitting right where it should be and there's no reason for concern. I even asked - is it possible they just forgot to mark it down, and Dr. Cascio said that they are legally required to make note of that for liability reasons. She also confirmed that as everything is "situated" right now, the risk for pre-term labor is extremely low.
So - YAY. I may not have gotten my arm fixed, but I did get some peace of mind.
In other news, we made our way out to Babies R Us weekend before last to pick up our crib and glider. They didn't wind up having the one I initially wanted, so we browsed around (for about 2 1/2 hours!) looking and cribs, furniture, bedding, and all other kinds of baby stuff.
Even though they didn't have the crib I initially wanted, they did have a lot of really nice stuff. We wound up going with natural wood instead of white (the one we picked got better reviews and was sturdier than the white cribs) but was still the same style that I liked.
This was the crib we got:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2812336
Since we now know we're having a girl, we opted for a more "girly" theme. Scott was a big factor in making this decision, since he is so thrilled to be having a girhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifl and wants to spoil his little princess. So we wound up going with a pink butterfly theme for the nursery instead of the sun moon and stars that I had initially planned on. With the little bit we had left over on our gift cards, we were able to get the bedding and a little blanket.
This was the bedding we went with:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2748323
Finally, last weekend we made enough progress in the nursery that we're almost ready to put the crib and glider together! Hurray! Just a few more steps and the baby's room will be all set!
January 28, 2008
January 22, 2008
21w5d - 18w2d to go!
I just made a slideshow of all the ultrasound pictures we have - including those from the 20 week ultrasound where we found out that the baby is a girl (and got the 3D image of her little face)! Enjoy!
January 18, 2008
21w1d - 18w5d to go!
I got some good news this week!
I had been very nervous about what I was going to do about maternity leave - I have been saving all of my vacation and sick time since last August (my anniversary month at work) so that I would have at least three weeks of time that I could take for the baby. (Mind you, I made this decision before I even pregnant!)
I spoke with my manager (Alicia) shortly before Christmas, and she said she would see what she could do to get me a little extra time. A few days ago, after speaking with our department director (Luis), she got back to me.
The result: my company is letting me take two extra work-from-home weeks! So, total, I will be home for five weeks with pay. I am so thrilled - yes, it doesn't seem like a whole lot, but they also were not required to make this concession for me. There is certainly no law that says they have to let me work from home. It is so generous of them and reminds me why this is such a great place to work!
I may still have to take a little bit of time unpaid (if I wind up having to have a c-section - though I am still hoping and praying that I won't have to!!!!) but this alleviates a lot of stress I was having. There was no way I could afford to take more than maybe a week or two unpaid, and I don't have short term disability so without this, I was looking at having to come back to work three weeks after Angelica is born.
I am so happy! This means that between Scott & I, we have the first 9-10 weeks of the baby's life covered, where one of us can be home with her. (His company provides paid paternity leave - something that is unprecedented in this country. We are both so lucky!)
What great news!
Also resolved this week: the daycare issue. I was freaking out last week after finding out how much full-time daycare costs. (3 times what I thought it would be - should have done better research!) I didn't want to burden my family, especially since my mom is already watching Willy (my nephew) and has two grand babies on the way right now (Yes - Angelica will have a cousin who will be just a few weeks younger than her!)...that's a lot of work! But my mother has said she doesn't mind covering the 2-3 days a week we will need - and won't take money from us for it. And my sister offered to help whenever she can - but with her second baby on the way, and grad school and work - that will be a LOT on her plate!
The daycare relief is HUGE - I was looking at having to spend half my income on daycare, so this is amazing! We are so fortunate to have family living close and being supportive!
In other great news - we made the final payment on Scott's car yesterday. After five and a half years at almost $400/month - the car is ours! That will go a long way to helping us get other areas of our financial life straightened out (credit cards and student loans and such) - and maybe give us a little more "fun" money, too! :) (And, uhh, holy crap! We actually own property now!!!)
All in all, it's been a good week!
I had been very nervous about what I was going to do about maternity leave - I have been saving all of my vacation and sick time since last August (my anniversary month at work) so that I would have at least three weeks of time that I could take for the baby. (Mind you, I made this decision before I even pregnant!)
I spoke with my manager (Alicia) shortly before Christmas, and she said she would see what she could do to get me a little extra time. A few days ago, after speaking with our department director (Luis), she got back to me.
The result: my company is letting me take two extra work-from-home weeks! So, total, I will be home for five weeks with pay. I am so thrilled - yes, it doesn't seem like a whole lot, but they also were not required to make this concession for me. There is certainly no law that says they have to let me work from home. It is so generous of them and reminds me why this is such a great place to work!
I may still have to take a little bit of time unpaid (if I wind up having to have a c-section - though I am still hoping and praying that I won't have to!!!!) but this alleviates a lot of stress I was having. There was no way I could afford to take more than maybe a week or two unpaid, and I don't have short term disability so without this, I was looking at having to come back to work three weeks after Angelica is born.
I am so happy! This means that between Scott & I, we have the first 9-10 weeks of the baby's life covered, where one of us can be home with her. (His company provides paid paternity leave - something that is unprecedented in this country. We are both so lucky!)
What great news!
Also resolved this week: the daycare issue. I was freaking out last week after finding out how much full-time daycare costs. (3 times what I thought it would be - should have done better research!) I didn't want to burden my family, especially since my mom is already watching Willy (my nephew) and has two grand babies on the way right now (Yes - Angelica will have a cousin who will be just a few weeks younger than her!)...that's a lot of work! But my mother has said she doesn't mind covering the 2-3 days a week we will need - and won't take money from us for it. And my sister offered to help whenever she can - but with her second baby on the way, and grad school and work - that will be a LOT on her plate!
The daycare relief is HUGE - I was looking at having to spend half my income on daycare, so this is amazing! We are so fortunate to have family living close and being supportive!
In other great news - we made the final payment on Scott's car yesterday. After five and a half years at almost $400/month - the car is ours! That will go a long way to helping us get other areas of our financial life straightened out (credit cards and student loans and such) - and maybe give us a little more "fun" money, too! :) (And, uhh, holy crap! We actually own property now!!!)
All in all, it's been a good week!
January 14, 2008
20w5d - 19w1d to go!
Wow, I actually have less time left being pregnant I've already spent being pregnant!
"Big" ultrasound was today.
I caved in. I totally went weak and lost all resolve. I've said for years that I never want to find out what the baby's sex is until he/she is born. But today, I caved.
It's a...GIRL!
Looks like it will be a baby Angelica...coming this May!
Everything with the baby looked good...heartbeat was 141bpm and strong. I got a 3D scan of her cute little face. She looks like her daddy. Aww.
I did leave the appointment a little bit upset, though. Not about having a girl (I am thrilled that the baby is a girl - I didn't care either way, I am just excited to have a daughter!). I found out at the appointment that I have a low-lying placenta, which puts me at a higher risk for having placenta previa - meaning that the placenta is growing very low on the uterus, and unless it moves upward as the pregnancy progresses, it will cover the cervix, resulting in a necessary c-section. Not at all what this natural birth mama wanted to hear. (That I will absolutely NOT cave in on - I am very much looking forward to labor.) Everything I have read says that having placenta previa in the 2nd trimester is no need for alarm, in most cases it resolves itself - but I'll need a follow-up in about 12 weeks to determine if it has. So, let's all hope and pray that it does. It feels odd to me, though, because I have none of the risk factors for having placenta previa - I don't smoke (haven't in years), I'm not over 35, I haven't had a prior c-section or uterine surgery, haven't had a baby before, and I'm not having twins. So, I'm nervous. I want to deliver naturally and experience labor - I never even considered having an epidural, much less having a c-section (that ranks way up there with "worst nightmares").
But, we'll be optimistic. Angelica will be fine, she'll be delivered naturally, and the placenta will just crawl itself right back up the uterine wall and stay there.
In good news, they only had to do a BP check once this time - they didn't choke off my arm with the cuff this time, and got a good reading of 137/80. A little high on the top number, but better than the other readings I had been getting.
Also: if I thought it was torture at 7 weeks to have to sit around for 2 hours with a full bladder...at (almost) 21 weeks, it was flat out murder. I had to ask the tech if I could pleaaaasseee go to the bathroom first, because I was about to explode. Literally. If I hadn't, and she had touched my stomach with the ultrasound camera, I would have peed on her.
That's all the update for now. Next up is the gestational diabetes test on February 19th. Wish me luck!
"Big" ultrasound was today.
I caved in. I totally went weak and lost all resolve. I've said for years that I never want to find out what the baby's sex is until he/she is born. But today, I caved.
It's a...GIRL!
Looks like it will be a baby Angelica...coming this May!
Everything with the baby looked good...heartbeat was 141bpm and strong. I got a 3D scan of her cute little face. She looks like her daddy. Aww.
I did leave the appointment a little bit upset, though. Not about having a girl (I am thrilled that the baby is a girl - I didn't care either way, I am just excited to have a daughter!). I found out at the appointment that I have a low-lying placenta, which puts me at a higher risk for having placenta previa - meaning that the placenta is growing very low on the uterus, and unless it moves upward as the pregnancy progresses, it will cover the cervix, resulting in a necessary c-section. Not at all what this natural birth mama wanted to hear. (That I will absolutely NOT cave in on - I am very much looking forward to labor.) Everything I have read says that having placenta previa in the 2nd trimester is no need for alarm, in most cases it resolves itself - but I'll need a follow-up in about 12 weeks to determine if it has. So, let's all hope and pray that it does. It feels odd to me, though, because I have none of the risk factors for having placenta previa - I don't smoke (haven't in years), I'm not over 35, I haven't had a prior c-section or uterine surgery, haven't had a baby before, and I'm not having twins. So, I'm nervous. I want to deliver naturally and experience labor - I never even considered having an epidural, much less having a c-section (that ranks way up there with "worst nightmares").
But, we'll be optimistic. Angelica will be fine, she'll be delivered naturally, and the placenta will just crawl itself right back up the uterine wall and stay there.
In good news, they only had to do a BP check once this time - they didn't choke off my arm with the cuff this time, and got a good reading of 137/80. A little high on the top number, but better than the other readings I had been getting.
Also: if I thought it was torture at 7 weeks to have to sit around for 2 hours with a full bladder...at (almost) 21 weeks, it was flat out murder. I had to ask the tech if I could pleaaaasseee go to the bathroom first, because I was about to explode. Literally. If I hadn't, and she had touched my stomach with the ultrasound camera, I would have peed on her.
That's all the update for now. Next up is the gestational diabetes test on February 19th. Wish me luck!
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