Now that my due date is only 8 days away, I want to know what you think! Give me a guess on when you think Noah will be here.
Again, I'm due the 30th, but I don't think my midwife won't induce until 2 weeks past. (haven't actually confirmed that, though.) Rebekah came 6 days early. Let me know!
***Just to warn you, this is a long post. I really wanted to document my experiences with doctors lately, and I write how I talk (which can be excessive) so if you don't want to read through it all, feel free to skip to the rest of the post with the pictures and shorter stories! =)***
These past few weeks have been pretty crazy for us. I haven't been feeling too great, due to my asthma and allergies flaring up. When this happens my eczema follows too, which is just not fun to say the least. This whole pregnancy I've done really well without taking any medicines at all (from Tylenol to allergy medicine), so I didn't want to give in this time either. However, I started to feel worse about a week ago. I was getting up in the middle of the night to take breathing treatments about every 3-4 hours apart. Because I've had a really bad cough, it stirs up the asthma and I was gasping for air after a coughing fit. I've even dreaded going to sleep at night because that's when it gets worse. So, last Wednesday, I finally decided to make an appt. to see my primary care doctor to get some relief. (I knew from past experience that if I go too long untreated, I usually end up in the ER.) When I called, I couldn't get in to see him, so I settled with the first available doctor in the office instead. I guess you could say that it was a mistake to settle. She was just not the friendliest doctor, and it made things worse when I finally admitted to her that I didn't want to be on anything long term - I just needed relief now. She kept asking why I wasn't taking a particular inhaled steriod medication, and I told her that I've gone a really long time without having to take anything and I thought she'd appreciate where I was coming from. Instead, I think I made things worse. I asked her about getting a shot of steroids instead of the inhaler (because I've done this before), and she said it was much safer to go with the inhaler, and she seemed so annoyed with me. She told me to call my OBGYN and ask him to reassure me that she was right on this. She just had an attitude with me. Ugh! So I walked out of there with very little to go on and I was really frustrated because of her approach to talking to me and not really explaining things to me the way I'm used to. Fast forward to a few nights ago. I was taking treatments every two hours at night and about every 3 hours during the day. Even after taking them, I could still hear myself wheezing. Jason could hear me across the room. So again, I decided that I needed to do something. I contemplated going to my primary care to let him know my frustration with the last dr. and to see what he would recommend. But then I remembered the allergy specialist I've seen off and on, and thought I'd have a better shot at getting somewhere with him instead. Again, when I called Monday morning, I had to see the other doctor in the office, but I was miserable so at this point, I didn't care who I saw. The difference was night and day. I walked into the office and when I went to sign in, the receptionist could tell right away that I was short of breath. She gave me some paperwork to fill out, but told me it could wait and that she'd have me in a room as soon as she could. True to her word, I waited less than 5 minutes and they got me into a room, started me right away on a breathing treatment, and had a movie started for Rebekah to enjoy. When the doctor came in, he explained what he was going to do (did not waste any time with asking me questions about why I haven't taken anything or grilling me about anything else). He gave me a shot of steroids, plus the oral ones to take home. When I asked him why the other dr. wouldn't do that for me, he let me know that most primary care dr.s aren't as used to seeing what he sees every day since he is a specialist. He said that there was a slight risk with the medications, but since I'm so far along and that I am having trouble breathing that the good outweighs the bad. He went on to explain that not getting enough oxygen could send me into labor early, and that getting better would mean a better labor and delivery in a few weeks. He was SO gracious to answer all my questions and to set my mind at ease about what he was giving me. He even told me that he wouldn't make me stay on everything unless I absolutely need it. The appointment was at 11am and by 4 or 5 that night, I felt like a new person! I could breathe without wheezing and my skin was already clearing up! My midwife and chiropractor say that once I have the baby we are going to work on what I can do to stay away from the harsher medicines like the steroids, etc. But for now, I am so grateful that there is something I can take and for the relief I feel!
So after that whole long story, here are pictures of Rebekah being a cutie at the doctor's office. She was really enjoying herself!
Jason's cousin Staci was sweet and thoughtful enough to recently offer to throw us a baby shower for Noah! So we finally got around to getting registered last week! Getting registered is always fun, but definitely exhausting and might even tend to provoke a few tiny disagreements between the husband and me. But in the end, it was a relief to get it done and Rebekah thought it was fun to look at everything and I can't wait to be around the family to celebrate at the shower next weekend!
Target is one of my favorite, favorite, places to shop - for everything! (They gave us TWO scanners, which was great, because we were able to be on different aisles at the same time...this was also not so great as some funny things ended up on the registry without me looking! Thankfully you can go online and edit your registry! =)
I forgot to mention my midwife appointment last Wednesday. I found out my iron and protein levels are pretty low, so I have been instructed to eat more and to eat better. Of course, I already feel like I'm eating ALL the time! And let's just say that I pretty much haven't deprived myself of anything lately! I also lost a few pounds, which isn't significant, but she'd like to see me gaining instead. She mentioned to maybe try protein shakes to help boost my levels quicker, and then we can see about just doing dietary changes after we get my levels back to normal. Other than that though, everything is looking good! It is so precious to hear the baby's heartbeat every time and to find out what position he is in when she feels for him on my belly! Please just pray for me to make wise choices when I eat so I can pack in all the nutrients that I need!
My wonderful Lifegroup girls threw me a surprise baby shower last Friday, October 3rd. It was such a blessing and I got lots of cute clothes, diapers, and extra things I needed for Noah. There was even a few monogrammed items! Yay! I can't wait to use everything! (Thank you so much to everyone who helped out with it!)
I was so busy soaking up all the attention, that I forgot to take extra pictures. But here are the few I ended up with.
Here is the monogrammed blanket. There was also pacifers and a burp cloth. So cute!
Brandie and Kara
Look at that belly!
Sylvia, Brandie, and Angie
*By the way, my sister brought over her extra crib for us to use, so we don't have to worry about buying one like we thought we might. Here is a picture of the bedding I would like to get! I thought since it is gender neutral, it will look good since the kiddos will have to share a room for a while.
