Whew, it's over!

I took the dreaded 3 hour gestational diabetes test on Tuesday.  I didn't expect it to be pleasant, but I didn't expect to feel as awful as I did either!!  I had to be fasting for about 10 hours leading up to the test.  I wasn't scheduled to have my first lab draw until 11am (by choice because I needed someone here to watch the girls), so I got up after midnight to get a little something to eat knowing it would feel like an eternity until I could eat again.

So I got there and they drew my fasting blood sugar.  Then I had to drink the most sugary orange "pop" I've ever had to drink!  Eeew.  An hour later they drew my blood again and I was still feeling pretty good.  But during the next hour, I seriously started to feel like I was going to throw up.  And if you throw up, you need to repeat the test again on another day.  So I was determined to keep it all down!  I think my body was so confused.  I hadn't eaten in over 12 hours, so I was light headed and dizzy from that.  But then you get slammed with 100 grams of sugar all at once, so I kind of felt like I wanted to run a few miles!

Anyway, I had to go lay down in the car before I had the 2 hour and the 3 hour draw.  I felt terrible!  Turns out that I passed with flying colors.  In fact, my numbers were so low that they're not sure how I failed the first test!  My fasting blood sugar was 75 (it needed to be between 70-99).  My one hour was 107 with a range being 70-189.  And my two hour was 95 with a range of 70-164.  I didn't get the results of my last draw before I left, but it really doesn't matter.  I could've failed one out of the four and still "passed" the test.  So the last draw was irrelevent.

Yay!  I get to keep eating what I want!!  But on the subject of food, I've noticed something really strange with this pregnancy.  About a month ago I first noticed that our peanut butter was tasting funny.  Nate had just bought a new jar of Skippy (which is my preferred brand) and I said right away that it tasted like it was made with peanuts that were badly burned.  So during his next grocery trip, I asked him to get a jar of Jif.  I was afraid to get another jar of Skippy because I didn't want it to be from the same "bad batch."  Turns out that the Jif smelled and tasted the same way!  My mom confirmed that our peanut butter is fine.  And my coworkers confirmed that the peanut butter at work is also fine.  So it's just my tastebuds. 

Over the last month, I've noticed many other things tasting "weird" to me.  Yogurt, ranch dressing, corn, some potatoes (unfortunately, french fries still taste fine!!), cottage cheese, etc.  I never experienced this when I was pregnant with the girls.  I had an aversion to chicken, which I also have with this pregnancy, but I never experienced the taste changes...where I really wanted something but couldn't eat it due to the bad taste.  My taste buds better revert back to normal at some point because let's face it, I LOVE my peanut butter!!

Here are a couple pictures of the girls.  I'll update on them soon.

Addi loves wearing this hoodie.

Apparently Livi was hot.  She laid down right over the AC vent.

Playing with their water table in their new swimming suits from Grandma and Grandpa J.

All is well in Pregnant Land

For the most part at least!!  I had quite the day lined up yesterday.  It started with having lab work done to test for gestational diabetes and anemia.  After that, I had an appointment with Dr L.  I'm measuring at 28 1/2 weeks, which is exactly what I am!  She was a bit concerned about the frequency of my contractions, so she performed another Fetal Fibronectin test.  I had two of them done while I was pregnant with the girls.  It's a very good indicator of preterm labor.  If the test comes back negative, there's a 99% chance that the baby will not be born for at least another 1-2 weeks.  Anyway, after that, I headed to ultrasound where I thought they were just going to be measuring the exit out.  I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that they were going to look at and measure the baby too!

So all of the good news first...I found out today that the Fetal Fibronectin did indeed come back negative!  Yay!  So little Baby J should be staying put for at least a couple weeks yet.  The ultrasound revealed that the exit out is actually better than it was a few weeks ago!  After a few measurements, the average length was 4.1cm.  So that's awesome.  The baby looks absolutely fantastic.  He was practicing his breathing a lot, sucking on the back of his arm, and his heartrate was perfect - in the mid 150s.  Oh yes, and he was actually measuring quite large at 3lbs 2oz!!  For comparison, the girls were measuring 2lbs 9oz and 2lbs 11oz at this exact same time.  So this baby is GINORMOUS!

And now for the not so great, but not terrible news.  In addition to finding out the results of my Fetal Fibronectin, I also found out today that I failed my preliminary gestational diabetes test.  The number had to be below 140 and mine came back at 146.  What a bummer.  So I have to go back on Tuesday for the 3 hour test.  I will have to fast for 8-10 hours and they will draw my blood right when I get there.  Then I'll drink a sugary solution that has double the carbs of the one I drank yesterday.  Oh goodie.  After that, they'll draw my blood 1hr, 2hrs, and 3hrs post ingestion of my yummy, tangy drink (that's sarcasm just in case you didn't catch on)!  Keep your fingers crossed that I pass!  The other not so great news is that this baby is sitting very, very breech.  He has his legs crossed in front of him sitting right on top of the exit out with his little head up under my ribs.  In fact, he's so curled up with his legs rather pretzel-like that Paula couldn't even double check the gender (not that we want to know, but Paula sure did!).  He's been this way for over two weeks now and I'm a little worried that he's getting very comfortable in that position.  I know he has plenty of time to turn into the optimal delivery position of being head down...but the longer he sits in this same position, the more I fear that he's making his permanent home that way!  Let's hope not. 

The one positive about Baby J sitting breech is that he's not putting any pressure on the exit out.  I think that's why my measurements have always been great during this pregnancy.  With the girls, Addi got stuck head down by 18 weeks.  And the constant pressure of her little head made the exit out start to buckle.  So I guess I have to look on the bright side and realize that this baby might be helping me avoid bedrest by staying breech for a while (just please don't stay that way all the way up to delivery...mommy doesn't need nor want a C-section)!!

Next appointment will be in 2 weeks.  But first I have to survive my lab work next week!  Ugh.

Cuddle Time

This never happens, so I had to take about 50 pictures while the opportunity lasted.  They had just woken up for the day and I think they might have still been a bit tired!  Here are just a few of those too-many-to-count pictures that I took.  Excuse the bed-head...there was no time to brush hair before the photo shoot!!

A milestone of sorts

Well, I've officially been mobile longer during this pregnancy than I was during the last one!  I've surpassed the point in which I was put on strict bedrest last time.  Woo-hoo!  So that means that even if I'm put on bedrest again, it will at least be less than 67 days!!  Hey, I gotta maintain a positive perspective, right?  I'm just thankful for every day that I still get to go to work and do my job.  I never, ever thought I'd say that.  But as I was laying on my couch last time, I would've given anything  just to go back to work!

The girls are learning more and more every day.  Adalyn's vocabulary seems to have exploded in the past couple weeks.  Fish, shoes, cow, go, ball, and no (unfortunately!) are just several of the new words she now says.  Alivia is still working on talking a bit more.  I think she tends to let Addi do the talking for her sometimes.  She can identify every picture under the sun that you ask her to: sheep, flower, socks, ball, teddy bear, owl, etc., but she's still working on saying some of it.

Addi's standing on a chair helping Livi finish her supper.

They seriously look like they've done something wrong.  Such guilty faces!

Kids are (sometimes) easily entertained

All I'm doing is bouncing a big blue ball off my head and catching it.  Little Miss Alivia thought it was the greatest thing in the world.  She was laughing hysterically for about 5 minutes before Nate and I even thought to break out the video camera.  And she continued to bust a gut for several minutes after shutting it off.  As you'll see, even when the ball gets away, she keeps coming back for more!!  She laughs so hard that she loses her breath!

Just a helpful tip for those who aren't computer savvy.  If you watch it on the blog, part of the screen is cut off and therefore, Livi gets cut off at times (not a huge deal).  But if you want to see the full screen, click on the video to make it play and then click on it again...it will open up Youtube.

Hip-hip hooray!!

I had a fantastic OB appointment two days ago (yeah, I'm a little slow in writing about it...that's what happens when you have two toddlers).  As usual, I saw Dr L's nurse first.  She asked if it would be okay to see a med student before seeing Dr L.  I didn't mind, I saw plenty of them while I was pregnant with the girls.  So we talked for a bit about how I'm feeling, if the baby is active, if I have any major concerns or questions, etc.  Then he listened to the baby, the heartrate was in the 150's, and measured my belly which was again right on track at 26cm.

Then he went to get Dr L.  She came in with the ultrasound machine and measured the exit out.  Although it shortened almost a full centimeter from 4.4cm two weeks ago to 3.6cm this week, the funneling has completely disappeared...which is wonderful news!  We'll do another cervical length check in 3 weeks and if the number is favorable, she said I don't have to have any more.  I guess she's been addressing my "case" with Dr M who is a high risk doctor from my hometown (so they do phone consults).  I had no idea that I was high risk again this pregnancy.  I knew I was last time simply due to carrying twins.  But yeah, in addition to Dr L keeping an eye on me, Dr M has been getting routine updates as to how this pregnancy is progressing.  And today, I was given an A++ for my efforts.  However, I'll still have the same lifting restrictions for a while yet. 

Anyway, at my visit in three weeks, I'll also have the gestational diabetes test done.  I passed it with flying colors last time so I'm hoping the same holds true this time.

And just a couple bonus pictures...

Alivia's first ponytail/top knot courtesy of Aunt Chelsea

Adalyn had to make sure she was sufficiently prune-like before getting out of the pool.

Pregnancy survey - take 2

How far along? 25 weeks today

Total weight gain/loss: A gain of about 13-15 pounds or so.

Maternity clothes? Seriously?  I haven't been able to hide the belly for a looong time...I even have a couple maternity tops I'm about to outgrow!

Stretch marks? I'll just copy and paste what I wrote last time...it still applies!! Oh, there's plenty of those. But not from this pregnancy. In fact, if I were to get one from this pregnancy, I'm not sure I'll even be able to tell!

Sleep: On the couch, away from my husband.  I need the back support and he probably wouldn't appreciate feeling me get out of bed 6 times a night to go to the bathroom.

Best moment this week: Having a couple days where I didn't have any heartburn.  Since it kicked in several weeks ago, it seems as though I haven't been able to escape it!  But I had two glorious days free from its grasp.

Movement: Uh, yeah.  This is one active little bugger.  I sometimes actually wonder if he ever sleeps!!

Food cravings: I'm not sure I really have cravings versus just not wanting certain foods.  Unfortunately, that means that anything that's probably healthy for me is what I'm really not in the mood for.

Gender: Still don't know and still don't want to know.

Labor Signs: Hoping to keep them at bay for quite a while yet!!

Belly Button in or out? It's still an innie...we'll see when that changes!

What I miss: Not being able to sleep longer than 2 hours at a stretch - or sleep in general.

What I'm looking forward to: OB appointment on Wednesday.  Though I'm kinda nervous too.

Weekly Wisdom: Don't let a toddler jump on your belly - it doesn't feel very good (pregnant or not!)

Milestones: I've started to feel the baby get the hiccups in the past 1-2 weeks! 

Water Babies

These were taken over the course of a few days.  I think we took the girls outside to go swimming 3 times in one week.  And they really did enjoy it!!

Addi went straight for the sprinkler.

Livi preferred to stay as far away from it as possible!

Jumping and landing on her bottom.

Making splashes.

Just horsin' around.

This is Addi's classic surprise face while she says "ooohhh"

In and out, in and out. They can never just stay in.

Another OB appt

I saw Dr L on Wednesday.  My blood pressure remains good.  I'm still measuring right on track at 24cm.  And the baby's heartrate was in the 140's.  Because of how I've been feeling lately, she decided to do a quick ultrasound in the office to take a peek at the "exit out."  I'm having some of the same feelings I did when Addi was head down and knocking on the door.  So of course that had me a bit worried.

Turns out that despite the contractions I'm having and the pressure I'm experiencing, the exit out is still looking really good.  However, there was one little concerning thing that she was able to identify on the ultrasound, so we'll be following up on that in 2 weeks.  For the curious, it's called funneling.  At this point, it's not terribly concerning but it's definitely something we'll be watching over the next couple of months.  Because of the funneling, Dr L told me that I'm no longer allowed to do any heavy lifting...that includes carrying both girls at the same time.  She doesn't even want me carrying one of them for any long length of time.  So that's going to be a bit of an adjustment.

I have another scheduled appt in 2 weeks.  It was originally going to be in 3 weeks, but Dr L is going to be on vacation that week.  And she agreed that given my history, she would like to see me sooner rather than later.  I was put on bedrest at 26 weeks plus a few days during my pregnancy with the girls and as we're quickly approaching that timeframe, I can feel my anxiety increasing.  So I'm glad she wants to start keeping a closer eye on me.

Stop and smell the roses

It was a rather big day today.  The girls survived their first day of day care!  We found a really nice lady who runs a day care out of her home and we'll be taking the girls there a handful of days a month.  I guess the girls did really well for their first day.  They actually took a nap...which I honestly thought would never happen.  Granted, the nap was only about 45 minutes long, but that's a whole lot better than I had feared!  They didn't eat terribly well.  However, they tend to eat one really good meal a day, usually lunch or supper.  Today it happened to be supper.  So I don't think it really had anything to do with being at day care. 

They weren't even really sad when I left.  Adalyn immediately went into the other room to play with the new toys.  Alivia was a bit more hesitant.  She clung tightly to me when we first arrived.  But by the time I left (about 20 minutes later) she was pretty content on exploring her new surroundings.  They're obviously not going full time, but it's just enough of a change to give them a little something new...new toys, new surroundings, new activities to engage in, new kids, etc.  So I think this is going to be a good thing.

Oh yes, and the expressions on their faces when I came to get them?  Priceless.  They melted my heart.

We've been striking out

So not only did we have the incident a couple weeks back where we took the girls to the YMCA to swim just minutes after some other tiny tot had an accident in the kiddie pool.  But yesterday, the weather man led us completely astray.  Local weather and weather in the Twin Cities both said 80-85 and sunny.  Not a cloud in the sky for the entire day.  Well apparently 80 and sunny really means 62 and pouring rain.

We made the hour and a half trip to Como Zoo so the girls could experience some new animals.  Thank goodness we planned ahead and brought their jeans and jackets "just in case" it wouldn't warm up by the time we got there (it was 60 when we left).  By the time we got there, it was still chilly, so we changed the girls out of their summer clothes and put them back in their spring/fall clothes.  Just 45 minutes or so after we arrived, the clouds moved in and the skies opened up.  Grrr.  So we promptly made the hour and a half trek back home.

However, we had some good luck today.  The temps actually hit 85 and there wasn't any rain (as was predicted...go figure).  So we took the girls to the local zoo.  They enjoyed seeing the sandhill cranes, cougars and black bears.

Staring at one of the big black bears.

Addi riding the bear.

And Livi too!!

Baby Update

We had our big ultrasound on Wednesday. And the baby looks great. Oh, and the baby is still a surprise!! Half way through the ultrasound, Nate was actually on the fence about whether he wanted to know or not. But in the end, we stuck to our guns. If we do decide to know before the birth, all I'll have to do is email Paula and ask her. We once again had our favorite ultrasound tech. And she made it very well known that she knows what we're having. So if curiosity really does get the best of us (which I don't think it will), she'll tell us. Oh yes, and Paula loves us so much that she secretly scanned the photos and about 15 video clips from the ultrasound onto a disc for us!

As I thought, this baby is one very active little baby. When the ultrasound started, Baby J was head down with the head facing my left hip. Shortly thereafter, the baby moved to breech. Then back to head down with the head facing my right hip. Then breech again. And by the end, settled on being head down. Whew.

Anyway, the baby is measuring a bit ahead of schedule at 14oz. The femur length was a full week and a half ahead of where it should be. So we're going to have another long-legged little child...very similar to Miss Adalyn. The baby's heartrate was at 149bpm. He kept his arms crossed in the shape of an "X" over his face for a majority of the ultrasound. He stuck his tongue out at us a couple of times. He kept spreading his big toe out away from the rest of his toes...very similar to what Miss Alivia does. And we found out that the baby is a very flexible one as the picture will show.

Baby's profile (the bubbly thing above the belly is the umbilical cord)

Baby's face with the arm above the head and a fist that seems to be floating in mid-air.

The right foot with the big toe spread away from the rest!

The long-toed left foot.

Baby's arms making an "X"

And last but not least...

The baby curled up in a ball.  The knee is almost touching the nose!!

After the ultrasound I had an appointment with Dr L.  My blood pressure was good...102/64.  I'm back to measuring close to on track instead of measuring several weeks ahead like I was last time.  I'm up about 6-7 pounds so far.  I'll be going back for another appointment in 3 weeks. 

Oh yes, and something a bit funny.  The other day I was getting something out of the bedroom and Adalyn followed me in there.  Of all the things she could've found in the room, she decided to carry the Baby Name book out into the living room.  So apparently she wants to name the baby!  Which is probably a good thing, because Nate and I are absolutely clueless.

Fun, fun, fun

We took the girls to the mall and to the park yesterday.  Our original intention was to just let the girls burn off some energy at the mall, but there were some big kids in the play area who were pushing kids down the slide and just being plain mean.  So we left to take the girls to the park instead.  I don't think they minded....

They enjoyed their ride in the hot dog truck.

Adalyn was learning how to drive it.

Whereas Alivia preferred to steer Big Bird's plane.

Addi kept saying "weee!!"

Between smiles, Livi kept saying "Whoa!"

Swinging with mommy...

And swinging with daddy.

First time barefoot in the sand.

Someone always ruins it

Why is it that whenever you have something fun planned, it seems as though someone always has to ruin it?  We took the girls to the YMCA today to go swimming.  Well wouldn't ya know it, about 5-10 minutes before we got there, some other small child had an accident in the kiddie pool.  So they had to shut it down so it could be cleaned out.  What a bummer!

We decided to give the big pool a try.  But man was that thing COLD!  The girls lasted for about 20 minutes and then they started shivering pretty badly.  So we decided to call it quits.  It simply wasn't worth it because they weren't having as much fun as they otherwise would've been.  We actually stopped at the front desk on our way out to explain to them that the only reason we came was so that the girls could swim...and well, that didn't exactly happen.  So they gave us a family guest pass to come back again.  Next time we'll call ahead and make sure no wee ones had any accidents!

I was hoping to get some pictures of the girls swimming, but because our trip was so short, it didn't happen.  But speaking of pictures, we had the girls' 18 month pictures retaken and it was a huge success!  I'm so happy with the way they turned out.  Now we just have to decide which poses we want to order.  That's always the hard part.

Post-Pictures Pictures

Eating some apples and watching some Sesame Street.

We're not exactly happy with the girls' 18 month pictures.  This is the 5th set of pictures we've had taken at this place and this is the first time we've come away disappointed.  I guess I was expecting something bright, cheery, spring-like, etc.  But every single one of the pictures is dark and has a bad shadow darkening the right sides of the girls' bodies.  In some of them, it's actually kind of hard to tell that they even have ears or eyes on that side of their head!  Yeah, it's that bad.  I think that one of the lights must've burned out or something.  But I would think that's something the photographer would notice.  I could be wrong.  It's not like we're going to the place that charges you $500 just for the sitting fee.

Anyway, we're going to be having retakes done.  There were some really cute poses and expressions that I really do like, but I just can't get past the bad shadowing that appears.  I simply can't convince myself to spend money buying a bunch of pictures I'm not happy with.  So hopefully within the next couple of days we'll get in for another photo shoot.  I'm crossing my fingers that this set turns out much better than the first set!  Like I said, we've had pictures taken four other times at this place (3, 6, 9 and 12 months) and we've never been disappointed before.  So I hope it was just a fluke.