Ticker

So I guess you've noticed I put up a ticker (that's for you Andrea!) :) I just wasn't really sure which date to put in there. Cause when I had my first ultrasound, I was 5 days earlier than my due date indicated but they said they weren't going to change my due date cause it was within a week.

Right now, the dates are according to how she was measuring at my first ultrasound and not my due date. So although my EDD is still September 24th, she may very well show up closer to September 29th (or on the 28th and be Septtro's birthday present!)

Edited: When I had my first ultrasound, I should have been 13 weeks and 6 days according to my last cycle but she measured 13 weeks and 1 day. So my ticker dates are according to me being 13 weeks and 1 day at that first ultrasound instead of 13 weeks and 6 days. Technically, my due date should be more like September 29th but they kept it September 24th because the difference was within a week.

Sorry if it was confusing before - haha - hopefully it's more clear now??

not so sneaky after all

Ever since we got our new furniture (at least 2 years), Suka has not been allowed on the couch and she's done well not getting up there. However, in the past several months, she's decided to get on the couch while we're gone anyway. We've never actually SEEN her on the couch, but the pillows knocked on the floor and her hair on the couch as well as the warm feeling of a cuddled puppy gives her away. Now, before she gets her hello hugs when we come home, we go feel the couch and look to see if it looks like she's been up there.

She's either getting more brave or more stupid because after my Sunday afternoon nap, I walked into the living room to find her like this:

She tried to get down ever so gently but it was too late - she was caught! She actually managed to get down without misplacing either of the pillows this time which, I must say, is pretty impressive. I really do think it's pretty funny actually; although it drives Septtro absolutely crazy that she continues to get up there. :)

Update

I had an appointment this morning. I asked the doctor about my "borderline GD" diagnosis. He went to look at the numbers and came back and said, "Well you were only borderline on one of your numbers so I'd say you passed and you're fine".

Well good grief!

So I told him about how I was basically cutting back on sweets and carbs and such anyway and he said it's always good to eat healthy but there was no reason for me to adhere to a strict diabetic-type diet.

And that was that...all that confusion for the past week and now I actually got to speak to a doctor (instead of a nurse) and was told everything is fine - that I wasn't even considered borderline.

I will say, all this concern over whether or not I have GD, I have come to actually enjoy cutting out all the yucky stuff and eating more healthy. It makes me feel better mentally and physically anyway! So I will still occasionally indulge in my Java Chip Starbucks ice cream and may have some Chick Fil A waffle fries every once and a while...but those will be considered treats. Hopefully, I can keep up this mentality even after Ladybug is born so I can lose that baby weight quicker!

In other news, the appointment went well. Ladybug's heartbeat was in the 150s and I'm measuring just half a week ahead (but I keep wondering how accurate that first ultrasound measurement is anyway in regards to how many weeks you ACTUALLY are - I'd say it's pretty hard to know for sure).

Ladybug is due exactly TWO months from now! I can't believe it!!! I'm SO ready to meet my lil bug-a-boo!

I Passed! :)

I got my results from my 3 hour fasting glucose test on Friday. I called them first thing in the morning to find out cause I was so curious and didn't wanna have to wait until after the weekend. The nurse said my numbers were slightly elevated but that I did not have gestational diabetes. Basically, 2 out of the 4 blood draws they did were great and 2 out out of the 4 were literally right on the borderline.

***note to people who might not be familiar with what gestational diabetes is - nobody REALLY knows what the cause is (it really seems to have almost nothing to do with what the mother does or doesn't do) but the following theory is pretty popular:

"The placenta supplies a growing fetus with nutrients and water, as well as produces a variety of hormones to maintain the pregnancy. Some of these hormones (estrogen, cortisol, and human placental lactogen) can have a blocking effect on insulin, which usually begins about 20 to 24 weeks into the pregnancy.

As the placenta grows, more of these hormones are produced, and insulin resistance becomes greater. Normally, the pancreas is able to make additional insulin to overcome insulin resistance, but when the production of insulin is not enough to overcome the effect of the placental hormones, gestational diabetes results."

I guess some women's bodies just have a harder time keeping up with the needed insulin levels at this stage in pregnancy. Anyway, I'm relieved I don't have GD but will still continue to eat healthy (I love my garden cucumbers and yellow squash!).

Update - 29 weeks

I know it's been a while...I took some time off work to get some things done around the house. Nesting has pretty much set in...Septtro wasn't too thrilled with some of my cleaning adventures. He made me wrap a t-shirt around my nose and mouth while cleaning our shower and stopped me mid-way through my deep clean of all of the windows in our house. :) But I'm thankful for his concern and for caring enough about me and Ladybug to make me take breaks. I'm almost out of the 20-week mark! It feels like I've been there the longest. Here's my stats:

Week and day: 29 weeks 0 days - into my third and final trimester!

Belly Button in or out: I feel like it gets poked out more and more :)

Wedding rings on or off: off until Ladybug is here for sure - hot weather = swollen fingers

Food cravings: peanut butter, still yellow squash and macaroni and cheese, Claussen pickles!

Food aversions: none!

Nausea: it's starting to barely make appearances every now and then - especially if I wait too long to eat lunch

Energy level: naps are makin a comeback

Weight gain: I only gained 4 pounds at my last appointment so that's right on track...total is right around 30

Mood: been a little moody lately...I think partly because this time last year I was pregnant with my Peanut. This past weekend was a year ago when I had complications and went to the ER. August 18th was the day we found out our Peanut was gone. So, already being emotional because of hormones, I think these next few weeks will be a bit difficult. Not that that means I'm any less grateful for my Ladybug. Just that there will always be a void for my Peanut.

Maternity clothes: I'm actually starting to outgrow some of the clothes I've been able to wear for the past few months. Mostly, I think, because I just got some bigger sizes so they're not really meant for a pregnant belly.

Size of baby: butternut squash

Changes of baby: weighs about two and a half pounds and 15 inches long, her brain can control her breathing and body temperature, sucking ability has been perfected, if she were to be born now she'd have a 9 in 10 chance of survival (although I'd much rather her stay and grow to full-term!)

Next appointment: July 24th at 9:15AM - just check-up. At my last appointment, she said Ladybug was head down! But I know she still has room and time to move all over...I'm just hopin maybe she'll end up head down again in a month or so. :) I start going to appointments every two weeks now.
**Yesterday afternoon, the nurse called. I didn't wanna hear from them (cause that would mean my glucose was "normal" - even though supposedly that 1st test isn't all that accurate anyway). She said they like for the numbers to be below 139 and mine was 146 so I have to go in Thursday for the 3-hour fast test. I know a lot of women who've had to do the second test and it's come back all normal so I'm hoping that will be the same for me. But I know even if I do have gestational diabetes, it can be controlled and my Ladybug will be just fine. It's just something else for me to remember to trust God in.

Other: I wish I had time to just sit and watch Ladybug move all over. It's so fun! I felt her hiccups for the first time on July 4th.
So far, we've gotten a crib (was given to us for free!) and a stroller/car seat (from Craigslist). I'll be excited to see her room come together more. I'm still looking for a lower dresser I can use as a changing table.
I've been having some pretty bad and vivid dreams lately and I don't really like them very much.

Here's a pic from yesterday (I was technically 28 weeks and 6 days). This lil girl likes to be LOW. I've started to notice my tummy being shaped abnormally when she decides to burrow - she seems to prefer my right side.

Long, Lost Volleyball

I miss playing volleyball. I really have been out of it for almost a year since I was preggers with Peanut last summer. After college, I was introduced to the volleyball world here in Greenville and would play just about year-round. I've come to love outdoor grass tournaments more than playing indoor.

Here's my first outdoor tournament. It was in September 2005 at the Labor Day Festival in Simpsonville. My partner, Joe, and I were definitely underdogs but made it to the finals...and lost. We were SO close! The prize for first place was money...quite a bit if I remember correctly. I walked away with no cash but did come away being proud I made it that far. Several times I thought I would pass out from the heat...wasn't used to playing outdoors. Thus began my obsession with outdoor tournaments.


This was a tournament in Charlotte. Katie and I quickly became doubles partners and did very well. We won first place in this tournament...might be hard to see but we're holdin our cash monies in the second picture. :)

This was at one of the big tournaments in Columbia - they're the most fun.


I know my form is horrible here but I like how high I actually got...not too shabby for 5'3 huh? :) I wasn't really taught a whole lot about volleyball. In fact, I played baseball/softball most of my life - walked on to my college volleyball team after my friend told me they needed more players. My freshman year in college, my coach taught me how to pass - I credit him for that. But then he left and we got a coach who had no experience and was very young and I had no further actual coaching.


This was at the Labor Day Festival tournament in 2007 - 2 years after my first debut...we won this one too :)


I even got Septtro interested and he started playing....this picture makes me so proud! :) We've played in a few coed tournaments together before but had to stop...the two of us on the same team wasn't working out so well. He's gotten back into playing indoor on Tuesdays and would like to get back into playing outdoor again soon.

I hope in the future I'll be able to get back into playing. I know and am thankful that the reason I'm not playing now is because my Ladybug is on her way. I'd much rather have her than be playing volleyball for sure...I just miss it. :) Ladybug will definitely be exposed to volleyball...that's for sure!