Moms on Call / Izzy Maternity

My friend Anna and I attended a Moms on Call workshop put on by Izzy Maternity.  We had both read the book and watched the DVD early on in our pregnancies, but it was nice to have a refresher course and meet the authors.   I have a lot of friends who swear by this book.  I hope it works as well for us.  I'll let you know how it goes soon!  

Izzy Maternity is a great resource and puts on a lot of cool events like this.  You can sign up for notifications via email on their website.  We got 20% off our entire purchase during the event last night!

Baby Connect

Check out this awesome baby app I found for iPhone and iPad!

Bought Another Week

Looks like I'll be able to make it to at least one more GT football game unless my ailing foot totally gives out on me.  First my car died last Friday afternoon and now my right foot has been giving me fits!  It began hurting about 2 weeks ago and has progressively gotten worse.  I think either swelling is aggravating old injuries or I have broken/fractured some new bones.  Either way, I can barely walk and this is certainly the most inopportune time for these crises to crop up.  

I saw Dr. Dian Fogle today who is a partner of doctor Mann's and my cousin Brittany's regular perinatologist.  She was very nice and told me early induction will all depend upon the rate of growth Dr. Mann sees next Monday, October 18th.  She did not check the growth today for some reason, but did take a close look at the heart and blood flow through both it and the umbilical cord.  She advised I pack my bags "just in case" which is something I never got around to doing this past weekend.  (Add it to the list.)  Oh yeah... she also reconfirmed the gender.  Good to know since we're done with the nursery and there's no time to turn back now.  I hope you all have your bets in. 

Now I have to decide if I can hold out until the podiatrist appointment I made for next Tuesday.  Hopefully it won't be too late, or I may be carting Baby B around in a wheelchair! 
PS- I'm not giving up on going to the Miami game just yet.  Keeping my options open.   

Fetal Non-Stress Test

My OBGYN performed a fetal non-stress test (NST) today.  The test involved attaching one belt to my abdomen to measure fetal heart rate and another belt to measure contractions. Movement, heart rate and “reactivity” of heart rate to movement was measured for 20-30 minutes. I was given a button to press every time I felt the baby move.  Baby B is definitely NOT a morning person.  I experienced some movement at first, but that quickly subsided so the doctor tried to use a small “buzzer” to wake the baby for the remainder of the test.  When that didn't work, I was given a brownie and some ice water.  (How sugar from a brownie is supposed to absorb into the baby's system that fast is beyond me, but I wasn't arguing... I'm used to getting stuck with needles so the brownie was a real treat for a change!)

The machine spit out paper with graphs that looked similar to what is pictured below.  The top is the baby's heart rate and the bottom is contractions.  Those dark plus shaped tick marks on the bottom of the upper graph represent each time the button was pressed.  They like to see the baby's heart rate jump around which is what occur during my test, and the fact that they sent me home meant they saw no cause for concern at this point even though Baby B was mostly sleeping.  Baby is a night owl I tell ya!   

Dr. McSwain also checked my cervix and said I was not dilated or effaced, but did inform me the baby had dropped some.  My next appointment with the OBGYN is scheduled for Friday, October 15th.

So Much for Going to Bed Early

Bert and I decided it would be nice to go to bed early for once last night.  It sounded like a good idea until we both lied wide awake at 4am this morning thinking simultaneously, "I can't sleep!"  Sheesh. The dogs must have thought we were crazy for getting out of bed that early, but I can't stand to just lay around for hours doing nothing.  At least I will have the luxury of taking a nap this afternoon if I get tired.  Now the dogs are laying in a king-size bed all to themselves.  So spoiled!   

In this Corner, Weighing in at 4lbs 15oz...

Baby B gained a whoppin’ pound in 2 weeks!  That doesn’t sound like much, but that’s better than the 1/3 pound per week we’ve been averaging recently.  Dr. Mann said that the baby looks great and we have more time, but she wants to monitor the placenta function weekly to be sure it’s still delivering enough nutrients.  She asked me to come in every week as well, so that’s 2 doctors appointments per week from here on out.  My next 3 appointments (assuming I make all 3) are 10/11, 10/18, and 10/25.

Whew!  I was so afraid she was going to tell us to pack our bags today.  Which, by the way, I still need to do just in case!  Now I get to go to Homecoming at least so long as this baby doesn't pull any surprises.   

Best Dressed Pumpkin

So I know this is wishful thinking on my part, and I have a bizillion clothes for the baby already, but I just couldn’t help myself.  On the off chance this baby really is here in time for Halloween, I have 2 adorable outfits prepared just in case.  These will probably swallow our tiny baby, but oh well.  In fact, the only thing that is sparing our child from having to wear a cheesy costume this year is the fact that they don’t make them that small.  Just wait till next year.  I’m going all out!