Stress, stress, and needing to nest

Many of you may be wondering about the delay in a new blog post.  Well, I temporarily suspended the blog.  It all began at my last doctor's appointment when I gained 8 pounds in 5 weeks.  For those of you who see me every day, I have REALLY started to show just in the past two weeks.  I wasn't really surprised when the nurse said I had gained that much because I knew my belly was definitely looking pregnant now.  However, she then proceded to lecture me about how I need to watch what I eat, like no eating (AND I QUOTE) "pizza, ice cream, or donuts."  And again, for those of you who know me, I do NOT eat those things!  She was talking to me as if I'm some lazy slob using pregnancy as an excuse to gain weight.  I was so upset, and all I could do was sit there and say, "Okay."  I told her I work out five times a week, but she probably thinks I walk for 10 minutes for my workout. 

Something they do at the Cornerstone Clinic is at 6 months, you start rotating doctors so you are familiar with all of them in case one delivers your baby.  So today my appointment was with Dr. Singleton, and this was a different nurse.  So anyway, I started bawling waiting for the doctor to come in, and when I met him for the first time, he probably thought I was a lunatic.  He wasn't concerned about the weight gain, and I really liked him, but it was hard to think about anything else because I was so upset.  He did measure my stomach this time and I measured 26 weeks (I was 25 weeks at the time), so he said everything looked good.

SO...then, last stop have my blood sugar checked.  Dr. Sellers assured me I didn't have gestational diabetes, but he said I did have to take the test.  I had drank the disgusting juice before my appointment, then I had to get my finger stuck on my way out.  Next thing I hear is, "Well, your blood sugar needed to be below 140, and it was 155, so you'll need to come back next week for the three hour glucose tolerance test." 
WHAT?!!

I lost it again.  She couldn't answer any of my questions, I had already seen the doctor, so I couldn't talk to him and get any answers.  I just had to go back to work and be upset and worried until next week.

So here I was, feeling so demoralized, fat, diabetic, and anxious.

Fast forward to this past Wednesday, not to mention I had to block off 3 hours in my schedule at work to come in to take this stupid test.  The deal with the test was, I was supposed to eat high carbs for three days prior to the test, fast after 9:00 the night before the test, go in the next morning and pass three of four tests.  There was sample menu they gave me, and it had things like ice cream and soda, the very things that nurse told me to avoid.  So again, that was confusing for me.  Why should I get tested after eating that way, when I don't normally eat like that?  That can't be good for the baby either!  I talked to some of the doctors at work, and they assured me it was to see how my body reacted to the sugar/carbs, and that I should follow the menu.  So I did!  The next morning at 7:45, I came in and had my fasting blood sugar taken (test #1).  She told me it had to be below 95, so I was holding my breath until the little machine beeped.  It was 85.  Barely, I thought.  Then I had to drink this "fruit punch" drink and wait an hour for test #2.  I had brought all my baby books and magazines to read while I waited, but I was too nervous to really do that.  I had to go to the bathroom, and while I was in there, I was thinking, "Doesn't exercise lower your blood sugar?"  So I did some pushups on the wall just in case.  The next time I had my blood sugar tested, it had to be below 180 and it was 134!!  I was so excited.  One more to go!  The next hour I went back and she said it had to be below 155 (which didn't make sense for me to have to stay since it was already below that with the second test), but anyway, it was 129 for test #3.  I was freed, and I left the doctor's office vindicated and a new woman.

In the meantime, I'm still wearing my two pairs of maternity pants for work, but using the belly band with my jeans other times.  Well, my mom and I went shopping on Saturday and I just tried a couple of pairs of maternity jeans on.  THEY FELT SO GOOD!  I told my mom, "I have to wear these out of the store.  I can't put my other jeans back on."  So that's what I did!  She told the girl, "Ma'am, my daughter is six months pregnant and really needs to wear these pants to the register to check out."  The girl was like, "Okay, but I'm going to have to escort her up to the register."  Something else that is funny is that I've been wearing some of my mom's tops and dresses!  Not maternity, just a little bigger.  It comes in handy to have a trendy mom, huh!

On another note, I have done pretty much nothing to prepare for this child's arrival into the world.  We have completed our childbirth class, but I have not ordered any furniture, painted, or done anything to his room!  This is all we have done:

 My mom had a good point when she said it's hard to think about that stuff when I'm just now buying maternity clothes!  It just seems like May will never be here and I have all the time in the world. I have no sense of urgency to do anything whatsoever.  I've been asking people how I can start nesting.  I wish I had the urge but I don't. Not yet anyway.  But either way, I have ordered the bedding and it is beautiful and isn't babyish, because it's for a big boy.  Here is a link to it.  My mom and I are going today to order the rocker/glider, and hopefully by the end of the week, I can order the crib!!

Adam and I did register at Target last weekend, and it was so overwhelming!  We went to Babys R Us yesterday and did it.  It just still doesn't seem real, like I'm actually going to be using all this baby stuff to take care of a baby!  I don't even know how to use half the stuff I registered for!  I've gotten lots of recommendations from friends and a book someone gave me called Baby Bargains to pick out things.

So that's the latest in the nutshell!  I have decided to re-activate the blog for now, and will resume posting the dreaded "belly pics."  Here are some from the past few weeks:

23 weeks.  I've been informed I'm supposed to do my hands like that to show my belly more.

24 weeks

25 weeks

26 weeks

This past week, that baby has really been moving around so much!  It's almost constant it seems like, and Adam feels him all the time!  It's not really just like pokes now; it kind of take my breath away when he does it!  They're definitely getting bigger and stronger.  Last night he was going crazy while we were watching the Super Bowl at our friends' house.  Even right now he is flipping around.  One day I told Adam it felt like he was trying to dig his way out, like I could feel his hands (or something!) on the bottom of my stomach, just constantly moving/digging.  I've also just realized he's been having the hiccups for quite a while now!  We could never figure it out, because we thought we'd feel him kick, but then it would happen again in a rhythm, and we thought it was my heartbeat or something else.  But my whole belly would go up and down like 5 or 6 times in a row, and I just now realized that's probably what it is!  So he has been practicing breathing for a few weeks now!  Very good!  On to the next developmental milestone.

It also feels like it is really hard for me to take a deep breath a lot of the time.  It's kind of like he's squishing my lungs?!  I am still working out, both on my own in the fitness center at church, and also with my friend, Maria/Cristina, from work.  She can vouch for me that I ain't just walking!  We do the John 3:16 workout where you run 3 laps, then we do different drills/variations of pushups, crunches, squats, jumps, etc.

I think it is a snow day today.  Adam got up to let Bubba out really early this morning and came back and said, "You're not going to believe it, but there's like an inch of snow on the ground!"  Wish I could stay home to take care of more business and try to nest, but it's off to work I go.  I'll have plenty of time off later!  Twelve weeks, to be exact, which I can't imagine!

This coming weekend, my good friend, Julie, and I are going to Eureka Springs for a Freakin' Eurekan 15k trail race!  Adam will be out of town for a coaches clinic, so we decided to make a girls weekend out of it and stay up there and get massages.  So I am definitely looking forward to that!

Have a good week, everyone