33 Week checkup

Just had my 33 week checkup yesterday (or 34 weeks if we prefer UCSD’s assessment) and things are looking great!

Firstly, I passed my glucose tolerance test! Boy was that whole process a pain. First, I went in for the standard one-hour test. Now when I did this test with Kanan, my doctor told me i didn’t have to fast, so I made my appointment for after work. Well, I had carrots for lunch without knowing that those are one of the highest vegetables on the glycemic index. So I didn’t pass it and therefore had to take the 3-hour test which includes fasting (I’ll go into the details soon). I did not want to make the same mistake again, so this time I took the test in the morning after I didn’t eat breakfast just to make sure. Well, the lab lost my blood. Yes,you don’t have to reread that last line, they LOST MY BLOOD. Now this wouldn’t be such a terrible thing except for that the test is not fun. You have to drink this  10 oz bottle of disgusting sweet syrup version of tang and then sit there for an hour feeling terrible before they take your blood. So needless to say, when they lost my blood and I learned I would have to do it again, I was not happy. But I did it. And again, I didn’t eat breakfast. But I did enjoy a cup of half-caf coffee with powdered creamer and no sugar. Not a good choice. I didn’t pass. Agh! I looked up coffee on the internet and its connection with glucose levels. Guess what, it raises insulin levels. So there you go. I messed up. Again. So off to the three-hour test I went. This one is much worse. You have to fast for 12 hours. So I didn’t eat anything from 8pm to 830 am when I went in to the lab. They stuck my arm immediately to get my “fasting glucose levels.” Then I had to drink the nasty drink. After one hour of sitting there, (actually standing for a while because no one in the waiting room offered the pregnant woman his or her seat, so I finally had to just clear one of the magazine tables and sat my rump there until one became available) they stuck my arm again for more blood to test. Then after one more hour, stuck my arm again. And then finally, one hour later, they stuck my arm for the last time. During this time, I felt sick. I had a difficult time concentrating so I couldn’t grade essays as I had attempted but instead could only maintain enough intelligence to mentally process the pictures in a February issue of People Magazine. I also felt this weird tingly sensation up and down my arms. But, on the positive note, I did use the negative experience to treat myself to an In-and-out cheeseburger and a vanilla shake on my way home. Felt much better after that!And the best news is, I passed. Yay!! I am thoroughly enjoying my cravings for baked goods like toast, creme of wheat cereal, cake, and cookies and did not want to swap that for chicken in the morning.

Condition of baby: heart rate in the 130′s still which is normal and good. His head is down–also good. He is moving all day long now as opposed to just the evenings. He gets an occasional bout of hiccups from time to time. He loves my belly being touched by dad or brother. And he gets extra active after Mom eats sweets. He still likes to hang out on my right side, so my belly looks lopsided most of the time. And he doesn’t like it when I cough (leftover effect of the three-week bout of laryngitis I just got over)! He jumps sometimes when I do. It’s cute.

Condition of Mom:

On the downside—-I am starting to get uncomfortable pretty much all the time, but especially in the evenings. It seems that I’m having a harder and harder time feeling like I can breathe, the bigger this baby gets. So I sit in one position until it’s too uncomfortable and my breathing gets shallow. Then I move into another position. And the process continues. At night, I wake up constantly from being uncomfortable or needing to go to the bathroom. So now the fatigue is starting to come back during the day. I’ll definitely be ready for middle-of-the-night feedings though! Also–baby is putting weight on my bladder. So guess what happens when I cough? You got it. Even if I just went to the bathroom! Somehow there’s still just enough! Not enough to embarrass myself, but I know it happened and I don’t like it! So–I guess its time I start doing kegals. Boo! I always forget. And finally, my hips can sometimes really ache. I mean ache so bad that at night I have a hard time even walking–especially if I was on my feet a lot that day. I think I’m officially ready to just roll myself around my classroom on my desk chair instead of walking. Haha!

On the bright side–I’ve gained only 25 pounds so far, which is much, much better than where I was at with Kanan. At the rate I am going, I should gain 33 pounds by the time Jameson comes, which fits right in the 25-35 pound healthy zone for pregnant women. Yay!! Secondly, my skin looks fabulous. After Kanan was born, I have struggled with more acne. I was always blessed in this area, so constantly having 5-6 pimples on my face everyday drives me nuts! Well, now my skin is better than ever. Not one pimple! I love it! I can go makeup free and feel beautiful! And, my chapped-lips continue to stay gone. Oh, and this is strange, but I’ve noticed my hair on my legs is not growing as fast. I used to have to shave my legs everyday and now I can go like 3 days between shaves. And the hair that is there is super fine. What’s up with that? I mean I’m not complaining. Less work in the shower is definitely appreciated. It is just strange. Especially since the hair on my head is growing faster and none of the hair that is there falls out anymore, so its growing super thick. The same goes for my nails. They are stronger, with whiter tips, and long. Again, no complaints, just….strange.

Condition of Dad: He is working super hard in school, on his business, and building his business’s website. He is also still working in ministry–mentoring the youth of our church, working on his first sermon for the college group at our church on Luke 20, maintaining his studies in the internship program at our church, and attending a parenting class with me on Friday nights. He also of course balances this with his wonderful role as a husband and step-father to Kanan. He and Kanan are growing so close in their relationship–it is beautiful to watch. He of course is super excited about Jameson’s arrival–he’s cleaned out the garage and brought all of the baby stuff up to our apartment. And he is totally nesting! He completely reorganized the house during his spring break, bought curtains, hung them up, and rearranged furniture!

 

Kanan is 4!

Well Kanan’s 4th birthday was such a hit and so full of action, I actually forgot to pull out my camera and capture any of it. And given my father wasn’t there, who had he been, would have walked around the entire time with his camera around his neck, clicking away, I didn’t have him to call to make up for my unsentimental mistake. So here it is ladies and gentlemen. I took two photos total. This one is the only one that didn’t come out blurry. Kanan had just blown out his candles on his T-Rex cake and was excited as can be to eat the piece with the T-Rex’s eye.

We originally planned to have the birthday at a MLK park, down the street. But when we slept in yesterday morning and found icky weather, we rushed around trying to work with our back up plan: our friends the Martin’s home. They were off getting tables and chairs for the gathering. Owen rushed to Dollar tree for back up games and table runners and then to Costco for pizza. I got myself and the birthday boy dressed and then grabbed our cake and presents and rushed off to the Martin’s to set up. People were already there, as I the hostess, arrived at the time the party was scheduled to start. So our gracious friends made do with Doritos, and nothing to drink until Owen arrived with the rest of our things. As for me, I didn’t realize the plates and cups were in my trunk and so thought I had forgotten them at home. So our friend Bill raised off to Dollartree again to grab more plastic plates while we used the Martins extras from their pantry. Aghhhhh! I think it was at this point I actually started to tear up a bit from feeling so overwhelmed and so bad. I took a breather outside.

But everyone had a good time. The kids ran around outside playing ball, inside playing with cars and dolls; and the toddlers toddled around with parents following them around. The adults sat around, chit-chatting, debating philosophical ideas, sharing life stories, and acting rather entertained by the children’s behavior.

I believe everyone would agree that watching the children play hot potato was the most entertaining. Children circa four years old aren’t the best of sports. As each child caught the potato when the music stopped, they stormed off angrily, some throwing the potato on the ground and then crying over their loss. By the end of the game we had one happy winner and about five crying losers. I then suggested moving on to Musical Chairs–the parent’s all laughed and agreed–maybe next year. In the meantime, Pin-the-tail-on-the Donkey seemed like a better option. The kids all could see through the poorly made blind-fold and everyone amazingly knew where the Donkey’s bottom sat.

Kanan laughed and played imaginatively with his friends all clad in animal masks after the games. We sang happy birthday, ate a delicious cake made by Albertson’s and decorated by yours truly. My T-Rex’s arms grew way bigger than they should have been, but overall at least looked like a dinosaur in the end.

Kanan loved his presents and cried excitedly with each and every one. Getting him to be patient enough to wait until home to play with his new toys proved a bit more difficult as all his friends were pressuring the alternative. We saw disaster if we gave in. But the Lightening McQueen ball seemed like a safe pick for all the kids to share as the party winded down afterward.

All in all, there was only one kid who peed his pants (on the plush couch) and no one threw up. Only five kids cried, but no one got physically hurt. Parents all walked away still friends and our hostesses still like us despite our lack of preparation for the change of events from the weather. And funny enough, the icky whether did subside, so that it probably would have been a fine day at the park. Hahahah!

Sighs….

Still, Owen and I were happy to be able to throw a party for little Kanan—a special day to celebrate him and praise God for blessing us with his sweet little laugh, his energy, and curiosity. He is growing up to be such an amazing kid with a sense of humor and a great imagination.

Kanan, we love you so much! Happy Birthday little man. And thank you Jesus for blessing us with him. May he grow up to love and serve you and be little light in this dark world.

 

Sick with the Cold-Virus from the Antechamber.

The genesis of my cold

Well, its official. I am sick. I’m on day 4. I tried to prevent it with vitamin D and prayer. I even thought I had avoided it. I had always thought that incubation period before coming in contact with a virus and the time your symptoms appear were like 2-3 days. Well, I suppose that may be correct if you can actually nail down the day of the virus’s invasion into your system. Take my husband and son for example. When Owen got sick, he was  very good about covering his mouth when he coughed, not kissing me on the lips, etc. So the worst of his cold came and went and I didn’t catch it. But Kanan caught it (probably during their tickling fight they had on the couch when Owen was still sick) and then I may not have actually caught it from him until two or three days after he caught it because it took that long before he coughed in my face while sleeping in my bed. (that’s what I get for letting the little guy crawl in at 5 am with his blankey, his bunny, his monkey, and his doggy.)

 

So my chart tracks the genesis. I blame it all on my cousin Dalton. Thanks coz!

 

So why am I writing this blog about a cold? Because this is no ordinary cold. This cold is a malicious little virus that likes to fester in your respiratory system, affecting every aspect of it. It likes to linger. And it likes to torture!

 

First–you start off with a terrible sore throat. Your throat feels likes its been burned with fire and cut with razors. Swallowing, speaking, just existing….is pure pain. Then the cough  on day three comes and the fatigue and the head ache. Every time you cough, your throat flashes out a solar flare of fire and the pressure in your head erupts so high you feel like your head will explode. Then the chest pressure on day 4. You feel like someone is standing on your chest. You resort to shallow breathing just to minimize the pain—so then you feel dizzy and weak from the lack of oxygen in your system. The trip to the store to get another bottle of Tylenol or Robotussin puts you so out of breath, you collapse on the couch on your return. Next—the voice box. This virus takes sandpaper and shreds it up to pulp and then soaks his claws in slime and rubs it all over the remains of your voice box afterward. So the sound that comes from your throat when you speak on day 5 is this croaking, phlegmy sputter. That is what I can expect tomorrow. I’m on day 4 right now. But from all the other people who had it before me, this was their pattern. Unless I take the path Kanan took. Now–the virus didn’t attack Kanan on day 5 the same way. No with Kanan, he filled his sinuses up with so much phlegm and snot, the pressure left no other option but for it to find relief through erupting out of his tear ducts. I had to wipe away yellow mucus from the kid’s eyes like every 10 minutes over the course of 24 hours. I thought it was pink eye, but they never glued shut. And pink eye is severely contagious. I didn’t catch it. So, my diagnosis is–pressure from sinuses. Other slight variations include–pneumonia, as in the case of my Grandma who caught it. And hallucinations, as in the case of Dalton, my cousin who is the earliest host of this virus that I can track down. Oh, which one should I choose?!!

 

So here I am on my couch—too weak to talk, to walk, to do anything other than write to you all and tell you to stay away from me. Stay far away. I’m doing my best to do my part too. I watched my church service on-line. And I’m cuddling with my blankets. My husband is racing off to church right now to cover our home fellowship table that we totally forgot to attend at the first service because my cold distracted us from everything. I didn’t even know it was day lights savings day until I hopped on-line to read a little Japan news before catching the service, only to find the service was already 30 minutes deep at 9:30.

 

I had so many plans this weekend. Plans to organize Kanan’s room with all the baby stuff we pulled from the garage. Plans to clean. Plans to grocery shop. If I don’t get it done today than it will be chaos next week trying to balance work and wifing, parenting, and cleaning and a cold. Oh yes, and planning out last-minute details to Kanan’s birthday party next weekend. So I have today left of this waste of a weekend.  I don’t pick up Kanan until 4 today. So have some time to try to muster up the strength to get off this couch and at least fold a load of laundry that has been sitting on my bed the last week. A week? Yes…because I went from nursing my son, to a day of work and then nursing my own cold after  long days at work that even included a back to school night. I have had no time. As for  Owen, he has been amazing. While that laundry does need to be folded—it is the least I can do. He has cleaned out the garage, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned and organized the living room, cleared out space in Kanan’s room for the baby stuff, designed a video-reel for an actor friend of ours, written a paper, and studied for mid-terms. All the while, while still coughing up the last remains of this virus that debilitated him 10 days ago. Yes, he still has lingering remains. I’m telling you, it is the cold-virus from the Antechamber of you-know-where.

 

29 Week Checkup

Baby’s heart rate: 137

Mommy’s weight gain: 22 lbs to date.

Progression of Pregnancy: 11 more weeks to go! Or 10. Yeah, I could be 30 weeks. Last day of work: April 22

Condition of baby: active to say the least. He kicked me in the ribs for the first time on Monday afternoon. Ugh that hurt!

Condition of mommy: chapped lips are going away= good.  Digestive system has gone awry again= bad. Trying not to get sick as everyone around me comes down with a nasty cold virus, so I’m taking vitamin D3 supplements and have done some research that helped me realize I need to continue with that for the rest of my life. Vitamin D3 is awesome! Also– my hair is getting thicker. I used to shed before I was pregnant, but not anymore. The same thing happened when I was pregnant with Kanan. As for the size of my belly—is it just me or am I not way bigger in the belly than I was at this point with Kanan? I don’t know, maybe its just my memory, but I feel like I look bigger. And my decolotage! I finally had to go buy new bras. Went up an entire cup size and and an extra inch in my ribcage!

Condition of big brother: very excited. Loves his little brother. Wants to be at the hospital when I give birth. Doesn’t want me to hurt.

Condition of Dad: sicky poo.