Fort Ross - May 2007

Here are some shots from our Memorial Day trip to Fort Ross.

Not good news

Dr. Rittenhouse called to break the news that I, unfortunately, didn't pass my gestational diabetes test. This means I have to check in with a specialist to help me through it and make sure that things are as normal as possible for baby. I also was reminded to eat more frequent but small meals and to exercise after each one. Even if it's just a daily walk.

Needless to say, I'm bummed. Very bummed. During the call, I was actually having lunch at my desk. I decided to take a walk afterwards. I had a long walk, and it resulted in an aching achilles. Right now it's pretty painful to walk around because of it.

I'm having seasonal allergies as well, and the light-sleeping-thing isn't helping much. I've never been this crappy until now! The frustration of finding our own place is also getting under my skin, so all of a sudden things aren't looking up. :( 

Will I need a cane soon?

It feels like it!!

Walking up a slight hill seems like an awful challenge now. I'm extra slow too to preserve my energy. The other day I got into my car rather quickly and it kind of hurt my belly a little. Never doing that again. Reaching for my cell phone in the car is getting hard as well, and although I shouldn't even be reaching for my phone while driving, I'd have to keep it where I can easily grab it without leaning over.

I continue to read weekly developments on the internet, and it seems that sleeping lightly will be common from here on. No kidding! I have had urges to nap whenever I need it lately -- getting tired randomly throughout the day has picked up again. Sleeping early seems to be a nice thing also, but I wake up in the middle of the night for no reason. Last week, a little 3.1 jolt woke me up early in the morning. I have never woken up from a minor earthquake because I'm a deep sleeper by nature (the only one I know of in my family). What hasn't changed is that I still sleep through my alarm.

It hasn't helped much that sleeping positions have become annoying. I should really get a pregnancy pillow now. I feel so much discomfort on both sides, and I think that may be the biggest reason why I can't sleep well. I'm supposed to get a prenatal massage this coming weekend as my only pampering treat to myself this trimester. It also feels like my uterus pushes against my stomach when I lay on my left side. I woke up from a nap today (laying on my left) with a very numb stomach. But even when I'm up, my stomach feels numb.

The need to urinate frequently is back! This time I don't really mind it as much because it allows me to get up from sitting too long. Actually, many a time, it's Gerard's movements that cause my bladder to feel like I have to go. He pushes against it often.

Forgetfulness is still with me today, but not as bad as before. Heartburns are random and annoying as well, but surprisingly I'm able to ignore it for the most part.

Holding a guitar? It feels different! I will probably get back into songwriting much later on if and when inspiration burns again, but during my maternity leave I plan to do just two things (other than being a full time mom to Gerard): read my design books and learn Flash, and learn how to cook!!! Yuuuup. I'm not a domesticated female at all, but I should learn that skill once and for all. Luckily for us, papa Egan actually knows how to cook so our butts are fed.....but I'd like to help out with that duty.

Also -- contact lenses become harder to wear in the 3rd trimester. Very true for me as well. I may have to stop wearing them for the next 2 months.


That's all to share for now! We're doing good as far as meeting these timely pregnancy expectations I've been reading about since week 6. 

Welcome to our third trimester

This is our first week into the last trimester, and while I'm so very ecstatic we made it this far, I'm so very relieved we're getting close to the big day.... but not without anticipating all the pains and joys of the actual labor.

Some third trimester points I've already begun feeling are increased Braxton hicks contractions (doctor confirmed what those tightening sensations were at the last appointment), lots of back pain, and body warmth. Yup. Lately I've been kicking off blankets or waking up in a lot of heat even in this cold, San Francisco winter. Of course I still get cold but my body warms up so fast these days.

Today was extremely weird at work. Something just didn't feel right and I was quite imbalanced. I had no idea what was up, but I felt it could only go away if I drank soda or had ice cream (my vices). I'm already trying to cut down my carbs and sugars in preparation for my 3-hour Glucose testing this Saturday but I couldn't resist the ice cream. Just had to buy a little cup. It helped a little, but just a little. I was also have some annoying lower back pain everytime I sat down. A brief walk on an afternoon break was called for, but that didn't help much because I sat down and my back was still in a lot of discomfort.

And tonight, I'm feeling quite crampy on the belly, specifically on my right side. Could Gerard be hanging out there? I tried shifting my abdomen towards my left but that didn't help. Right now he seems to be awake and moving around and my right side doesn't seem to cramp as much as it did 30 minutes ago. But the way I see it, as long as my boy is moving and keeping me entertained, I'm fine with the cramp.

I will try to sleep it off. Hopefully I don't wake up to another earthquake tomorrow morning! Maybe that's what got me all weirded out today. LOL
http://www.ktvu.com/station/14267655/detail.html 

Glucose Test result

FAILED! I'm not surprised, but I am. It's been really hard to cut off my carbs, even with doctor's recommendation I do. I have to come in again for the 3-hour test. Let's hope this one passes? In other news.... my attention was caught by a CNN article reporting on an apartment fire in Germany. I saved the picture of the baby being thrown out the window (he survived), while his parents or guardians watched from up above to make sure he was caught by a rescuer below. I don't know if anyone perished in that fire, but I hope no one did. The picture was very striking though. Seeing a baby dropped through the air.... 

Active little dude

The last few days have been about Gerard's much stronger movements. He kicks hard, he responds to my belly taps and movement, and responds to the way I sleep. I took a nap this afternoon and while sleeping on my left side, my shoulder started hurting so I turned to my right. Then he started moving in a way I've never felt until that moment, it was major shuffling in there. I turned back to my left to see if he preferred that position, but he kept making the same motions. So I turned back to my right because my left shoulder was really distressing. I hope all that calcium & protein I've been consuming are behind this.

I can't yet tell his response patterns when it comes to music and conversation noise. He randomly makes some kind of move when I'm talking, or when my boss is talking in a meeting, or when I'm listening to music. He has responded a couple of times to papa's taps on my belly. But he only does it after once or twice, then he stops responding. He'll probably the kind of kid who'll react to what his parents say the first time, then starts ignoring us the second time. Uh ohhhh. Hope I'm wrong.

I finally got started packing my hospital bag. Not quite done yet... I still need to wash some of his (new) clothing items before I pack those. Me being a germ freak, I have to wash even his brand new clothes before he wears them.  

gerard's updates

shortly before i started writing this very entry, gerard gave me a damn good tickle. yesterday, i was "playing" with him by tapping on my belly with a pen to see if he'd respond. then i realized i might be bothering him, so i looked it up on google and found this interesting article: http://www.birthpsychology.com/lifebefore/sound4.html

he did give me a hard kick when i tapped my belly at one point, but then he stopped responding for a while.

in other news, i finally got the go-ahead to get my glucose testing which i plan to take this saturday. doctor measured my belly (good size!) and noted that the position was also good. my weight was surprisingly good. so everything is just that... good. we had questions about delivery and fetal position, he answered them all. during the appointment, it seemed gerard was in fetal position but of course there's still plenty of time for him to tumble around. we won't be getting anymore ultrasounds (unless there's a medical reason for it) so at this point, everything will just be check ups until the big day! after my next appointment in february, i will be coming in every two weeks. we now have the option of delivering at another hospital in the case we find a home in the northern part of san francisco. doctor rittenhouse also works at that hospital and said we can go there if i go into labor in the middle of the night, or we can still go to my current hospital where i've been seeing him since august in daly city in case i go into labor while i'm at work (in redwood city). but let's hope i don't go into labor at work.

i'm a little under prepared with all of this as i've been pre-occupied with apartment hunting. but i'll start packing my hospital bags this week as it's never too late to start early.