Wednesday, May 12, 2004
At today's appointment I had blood drawn for the quad screen. All of my (many) previous blood tests I've had for this pregnancy have come back normal, which is wonderful. When I was weighed today I realized that I weigh 14 lbs more than my pre-pregnancy weight. Yikes!! :) The doctor isn't concerned about it though so neither am I. And now that this morning sickness (more like all-day nausea) that I thought would *never* end, is finally going away, I should be able to resume my regular diet. It'll also help that I'm feeling well enough to be more active again. What a relief! My ultrasound is scheduled for May 24 and my next appointment for June 9. I can't wait!
Monday, May 24, 2004
Today was our 18 week ultrasound. The baby is doing wonderfully and looks very healthy. At the ultrasound I got to see every single finger and toe. It was beautiful. And we also got to see that IT'S A BOY! I guess I was just destined to have sons. This little one will make my third son. My four year old is *thrilled* that it's a boy. He's been talking to my belly for weeks asking the baby to be a boy. Well, he got his wish. :)
Saturday, May 29, 2004
We have decided to name our son Kaden Franco. When I was pregnant with my second son we narrowed the name choices down to two. Kaden is the name we didn't use. I am so glad I get to use it now! I really love the name! In Arabic Kaden means "companion" or "friend". In English Kaden means "fighter". I'd say that's certainly appropriate! This little guy certainly had to fight against the odds to be conceived! :) His middle name will be Franco after my grandpa Frank. My grandfather is going to be so happy since this is the first of 11 great-grandchildren to be named after him. It's about time!! :)
Thursday, June 03, 2004
From the research I've done, it appears as though I have sciatica. Sciatica is, quite appropriately, a pain in the butt! At first it was just a minor annoyance really. When I'd sit for any length of time, my right butt cheek would start hurting quite a bit. So, I'd shift the way I was sitting or stand up for a while. No big deal, really. Oh, but it's gotten much, much worse! Basically, it's hip pain from the baby pressing against my sciatic nerve. And it hurts! It's to the point now where it hurts sitting, standing, laying down, and every position in between. It's getting harder and harder to sleep. My behind still hurts when I sit, but now when I go to stand up I'm virtually paralyzed with pain for about 15 seconds. Then I can start limping around until the pain goes away at which point I can actually walk normally again. I understand that, more than likely, this will not go away until my little one is born. I didn't have this with either of my other two pregnancies. I have to guess that because I'm getting to be an old fart and I'm more out of shape, that I'm experiencing many new aches and pains this time around. But I gotta tell ya... it's all soooo worth it! :)
Saturday, June 12, 2004
June 9 was my last doctor's appointment. It was all great news. The blood work that they drew at my previous appointment all came back normal. She talked to me about my ultrasound and told me that everything looked great. At my 7 week ultrasound they had found some cysts on my ovaries and a small bleed (nothing serious, really), but all of that is now gone like she had anticipated. So, that's great. And she said the baby looked great - the placenta was growing nicely and the baby weighed about 9 ounces. According to the ultrasound I am a week further along than my due date. I don't think the doctor's office is going to change my due date though, but she did say, "That would make the due date October 18" so, maybe... I'll have to clarify next time. The baby's heartrate at the appointment was 147 and for the first time she found it right away. At all my other appointments it took quite a while to locate the heartbeat. He must be just getting big enough now that it's a lot easier! The doctor even said that my weight gain was good, which I was really surprised to hear! All together I've gained about 21 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. I thought that was a lot, but she said it was just fine. Who am I to argue with a professional? :) So, things are going great! Monday morning we fly to NY for a month... I'm so excited! I can't wait to see my family and friends!
Monday, July 18, 2004
We just got back from NY last night. The drive back home wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be. The kids were really good!! I was SO proud of Khaled. He usually can't sit still for two minutes, but he handled riding in the van for two days like a champ! We found out around PA that the windshield wipers on my "new" van didn't work! And it rained a LOT on the way down. After trying many other things, we ended up just dosing the windshield with Rain-X and making the drive without wipers. As long as you keep it above 45 MPH that Rain-X stuff works great. The water just rolls right off! Aside from that, the trip went pretty smoothly. We ended up getting a lot of stuff into my van. After buying a cargo carrier we managed to fit in a crib, infant car seat, basinette, a huge trunk, tons of clothes, a double stroller, and lots more. At this point we have almost everything we need for our new little man. And the biggest thing is that we ended up getting the van! Our other two cars are too small for our growing family. So, we drove back instead of flying and it was SO worth it!
The trip to NY was great. We loved spending time with family and friends and the kids had lots of fun. Still, it's good to be home. We missed daddy. :)
Friday, July 23, 2004
I had my July appointment today. I've gained another 7 lbs., which she said was very good especially considering I'd been on vacation. The baby's heartbeat was 140, which is also very good. I took my one hour glucose test and I really hope I pass it this time. I failed it during my last pregnancy and didn't much enjoy the three hour test I then had to take! And, surprise, surprise, I am measuring big. My doctor decided it was time to find out why I'm measuring bigger than I should be. She scheduled another ultrasound for July 29th. I could be bigger for lots of reasons - baby might have had a growth spurt, I might have too much fluid, my due date might be wrong, etc. We'll be finding out next week and I'll get to have another look at my baby! YAY! My OB appointment after that is scheduled for August 13 and after that my appointments will be every two weeks! Every time I think about that I get butterflies. I can't believe how quickly this is all going!
July 29, 2004
I had my ultrasound today at 2:00. The technician couldn't tell me anything from a medical standpoint, which I expected. I'm going to have to wait until my August 13 appointment with my doctor to find out why I'm measuring big. The ultrasound itself was wonderful though. He was kicking around in there like crazy, making the technician's job a little more challenging. :) He is soooo cute. I was amazed at how well I could see his facial features. I even got to see him yawn and move his eyes around, which was just phenomenal. The technician I had is the same one I've had each time. I think she's just wonderful. She took the time to point out everything - kidneys, stomach, bladder, spinal column, hemispheres of the brain, and on and on. She also took the time to get some great pictures for us. I have added six of the the pictures to the photo page. My two other sons also got to come into the room after she took all her measurements. She pointed out everything to them, too. My 12 year old was especially amazed. He keeps saying, "I can't wait to meet my baby brother!" Both of my boys regularly talk to my belly (Khaled thinks the baby's ear is my belly button!) and they love to feel him kicking in there. Khaled puts his hand on my belly and when Kaden moves his eyes get huge, he looks and me and squeals, "I feeled that!!" How cute is he??? :)
Now I just have to wait for about two weeks to get all my test results (from both the ultrasound and my glucose test). I'm quite sure that regarding both, no news is good news right now. If there was something wrong, I'm sure I'd get a phone call well before my appointment. So, 27 weeks down, 13 weeks to go! (WOW!! I've got a lot to do!!!)
August 14, 2004
Well, I passed my glucose test! I am pretty stoked about that because I didn't so much enjoy the three hour test last pregnancy! :) She said anything below 135 was good and my blood sugar level came back as 105. The sonogram results showed that the baby weighed about 2 lbs. 13 oz. at the time and that everything was normal. My fluid level was fine so I'm not measuring big for that reason. The ultrasound moved my due date ahead a little further making him due Oct. 14, which will be around the time we schedule my c-section. I lost a half a pound since my last appointment. That has never happened in any of my pregnancies! I've never lost weight from one appointment to the next. I've always gained at least a couple of pounds. Believe me, I wasn't upset about it at all since I've already gained about 30 lbs! Egads! When she measured my fundal height it put me at 32 weeks and she just said, "wow... he's growing so fast!" His heartrate was 141 and my next appointment is in two weeks. We'll be scheduling the c-section then. It'll be the first time I'll be seeing the doctor since he did my c-section and tubal ligation four years ago. I never thought I'd be seeing him again!!! I'm going to have to razz him a bit about his tubal ligation skills. "So, doc, tell me... what DID you cut when you were in there???" :)
Friday, August 27, 2004
I gained another two pounds. That makes 32 lbs. total so far. The baby's heartrate was 148. We must've caught him during an active time of the day because it's usually in the low 140's. I saw Dr. Parker today instead of Dr. Quinsey (Dr. Quinsey is the one that did my c- section and tubal ligation). My original appointment was changed from Wednesday to today because Dr. Quinsey ended up being out. I'd never seen Dr. Parker before, but I really wanted to schedule my c-section and I couldn't do that until I saw a doctor. So, right now it's on the schedule for Dr. Quinsey on October 15. I'm going to see if I can't convince him to do it on October 16 for me even though it's a Saturday. My other two boys birthdays are both on the 16th (one in May and one in June) so I'd really like to have #3 on the 16th, too. Dr. Parker said he'd do it on the 16th (and I got really excited), but then he checked his schedule and found he'd be out of town that whole week. Bummer. I'll just have to work on convincing Dr. Quinsey to do it! :)
Dr. Parker was funny. He measured me and said I was making another big, healthy baby (after he asked what Khaled weighed). So, I'm assuming this little guy is going to be about 9 lbs... probably a bit over. Then the doctor goes over and picks up my file and says, "So, I see we're looking at doing some permanent form of birth cont... wait a minute... have you already had a tubal ligation???" That man's jaw hit the floor. We sat and talked about it for a long time. He said he's never known any doctor or patient that this has ever happened to before. He said Dr. Quinsey was going to be in shock when he found out and that he was going to feel really bad. He said, "I've gotta shake your hand! That's amazing!" He also said, "Dr. Quinsey owes you a steak dinner!" He said only about 1 or 2 women in a thousand have a tubal ligation failure. He said I'm obviously very fertile and is assuming that my tubes grew back together. He showed me my file where it details the surgery. I read the section that talks about my tubal ligation being done. Dr. Quinsey did a modified Pomeroy method. He made a loop in the tube, cut off the loop, and then cauterized the ends. Apparently the cauterization makes it a "modified" method. Dr. Parker was like, "AND he cauterized! I can't believe it! That's supposed to be the most effective technique." Dr. Parker also said that my boy will probably be President some day. He said my tubes weren't cooperating because they said, "Oh no... We've gotta have Kaden! He's GOT to be born!" :)
Anyway, I really liked Dr. Parker. I was feeling pretty darn special when I left the office. And we had quite a few laughs during our conversation, too, which is always a bonus! :) Now I just can't wait to actually see Dr. Quinsey next time (on September 8). I'm dying to see how he's going to react! :)
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Well, I slacked off two weeks ago and didn't update my journal after that appointment. Probably just because it was a little disappointing. Dr. Quinsey really has poor bedside manner. At my September 8 appointment he leafed through my paperwork forever... I think he was scared to make eye contact with me. He's either just really disinterested in his patients or he's just really shy. I haven't decided which. He was mumbling about the pathology report. He couldn't find the pathology report in my file and wanted to find it in case there was anything telling in it about what went wrong with the tubal ligation. And he apologized a few times. He kept fumbling over himself trying to find the right words. Like he said, "mistakes like this happen... well, this is not a mistake... that's not what I mean... there is just a failure rate..." and then he'd fade off. I like Dr. Parker a lot more! :) I gained another 3 lbs, which brought me up to about 34 pounds total..
Today's appointment wasn't much better. I gained another two pounds in the last two weeks. That's 36 pounds total. My blood pressure was really high for me this time (130/80). The nurse asked me if I was feeling light headed, which I have been. Light headed and really short of breath. I do not like it at all. The baby's heartrate was 141, but I almost passed out on the table while she was using the doppler. I can NOT lay on my back for ANY length of time without feeling as if I'm going to pass out! I also had the culture taken for the Group B Strep. Fun, fun.
The doctor located my pathology report. He said that the pathologist reported "two full-thickness tubes". Meaning that it appears my tubal ligation was done correctly. I asked my doctor if he thought my tubes grew back together. He said, "definitely at least one of your tubes grew back together." Crazy, huh? That means I have at least one functioning tube and I could probably get pregnant again. I don't think my husband wants to hear that though. :) I told the doctor I wanted my insides left as is. It's up to hubby to get a vasectomy if he wants to go the permanent birth control route again. My doctor STILL wasn't able to tell me if he would definitely do my c-section on October 16. He said that he doesn't have the October schedule yet. But one way or another my c-section most likely WILL be on October 16. He said he probably would be on call that day and would do it if he was. If someone else is on call, he'll ask them to do it. He said he'll have the schedule next week and I should know something solid (of course, all of this is exactly what he said at the last appointment).
So, I asked him if there would be a problem having my mother and husband in the operating room with me. He said they would only allow one person in the room. This is going to cause some drama! My mother in law was there along with my husband when Khaled was born. So, my mother is thinking... "well, it's my turn!" And I agree! The thing is, my mother in law is a nurse in the Florida Hospital system and does rotations in that particular hospital. So, she knew people and was able to pull some strings. And I seem to recall that because she is a medical professional, they had no problem with her being in the room. But here's the thing... my mother is ALSO a registered nurse. She's retired but her license is current so this might be a plus. However, this means I'm going to have to ask my mother in law to do a favor for my mother (but more for me, really. I want her to be there). I won't get into the nitty gritty on this, but let's just say how this plays out will be very interesting. My husband said he'd give up his spot to let my mother be in the room. It is a very sweet gesture, but no way! He's got to be there when his son is born.
So, Dr. Quinsey kinda got me peeved today. Here I am trying to ask him questions and he's trying to leave the room. He's like half way out the door and I'm trying to talk to him. Nothing like making me feel like I'm so NOT worth his time. He spent like 5 minutes in my room, too, so it's not like I was monopolizing his time. It's just annoying.
Anyway, my appointments are every week now! (YIKES!) I can't believe how quickly this is going. So, I will be back for another appointment update on September 29. Hopefully (keeping my fingers crossed) I'll get a solid "YES" on the October 16 c-section date.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
I finally got a solid answer on the c-section date! My doctor IS on call that weekend, so I was able to get the date I wanted: October 16. YAY!! :::happy dance::: So, now all my boys will be 16ers. Matthew is 5/16, Khaled is 6/16, and Kaden will be 10/16. I'm pretty excited about that since I really thought from the beginning that it wasn't going to happen (the 16th being a Saturday and all).
Other than that excitement, my appointment was pretty uneventful. My blood pressure was down from my last appt (120/70), I lost a pound (so, as of now I've gained 35), baby's heartbeat was 141, and my group B strep test came back negative. Back again in a week for my second to last appointment! Time flies, eh?
One last note: I talked to my mom and told her that they wouldn't let her into the operating room. I'm so bummed about it, but she took it really well. She said it was okay. Last time they had her (along with other family/friends) right in the next room so they could actually hear everything going on in the OR when Khaled was born. She said that'll be just fine again. I just really wish she could be there in the room though when her last grandbaby is born! It's not fair... I just wanna whine, "It's my body and my baby! I should be able to have more say in who's in the room!!" Maybe if I stomp my feet and stick out my bottom lip, it'll convince them to change their policy for me. I somehow doubt it though. :) It certainly won't stop me from asking the head nurse the day of the c-section though. It's worth a shot.
Wednesday, October 6, 2004
Well, I gained back the pound I lost last appointment, bringing me back up to a total gain of 36 pounds. Kaden's heartbeat was 147 and my blood pressure was the highest it's been. I've been sick for a while now though so that's probably why my blood pressure was up (130/90). I've had this horrible chest cold. The constant coughing is making life that much more uncomfortable lately and making it even harder to get sleep. Hopefully it will clear up soon! The doctor did an internal (I hate it when I'm not expecting it!) and found that I'm not at all dialated or effaced. Doesn't surprise me a bit. I swear that if my babies had to come out naturally, they'd be in there forever! I haven't even had a single Braxton Hicks contraction.
It seems that someone is giving my doctor a hard time about doing my c-section on the 16th. They don't like to do elective c-sections on weekends, which is why no one has called me yet to schedule a time. Dr. Quinsey said that we'll either have to do the section at a different hospital (South Seminole) or we'll just have to tell a little white lie to get it done at Florida Altamonte (my regular hospital). He said that if he's given a hard time at South Seminole (which he doesn't anticipate) that we'll just have to tell them at Altamonte that I'm leaking fluid or that I'm not comfortable with how little the baby is moving. Either way, he assures me baby Kaden WILL be arriving on October 16. I was quite impressed that Dr. Quinsey would go to such lengths to make sure I got the date I wanted, though I know it's partly that he was offended that his judgment was questioned by the administration. Either way, it works for me and we're still on for October 16. :)
My mom will be flying in from New York on Monday. My kids are SO excited and can't wait for her to get here! Truth be told, I feel the same way. It'll just be nice to have her here and I could really use her help and support, especially since I've been sick for the past six days. I'm pretty exhausted. I want my mommy!! :) I can't believe we're so close now. Only 10 more days and Kaden will be here! I can't believe it.
Friday, October 23, 2004
Kaden is one week old today. With all the excitement going on, I didn't update my journal for my last doctor's appointment. My mother did come into town on Monday October 11. She has been such a wonderful help. We had a great week together with the other kids before Kaden arrived on the 16th and she definitely helped me get my house into order. At my last doctor's appointment I'd lost that one pound again that I'd yo-yoed with. So, my total weight gain for the pregnancy was 35 pounds. Not so bad. I thought for a while it'd be much worse than that! There's a lot of updating I want to do to my site - adding pictures and stories. I think it's going to take a little time though. I'm battling with the baby blues right now. Those darned hormones. My hubby goes back to work on Monday and my mom leaves the next week. I'm worried about how I'm going to cope with being "alone" again. That and a lot of other things are making me blue. I have so much to be thankful for though and I'm doing my darndest to focus on that! Kaden is just perfect. More perfect than I could have ever imagined in my wildest dreams. To say that I am lucky is an enormous understatement. Keep coming back to visit my site and bear with my slow updating. Thank you!
From now on all journal entries will be added to Kaden's Baby Journal
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