Thursday, September 30, 2010

the bubble has burst, if only a little bit.

well, i suppose everything couldn't be perfect the whole way through, God must think I'm too strong of a woman to waste an easy, carefree pregnancy on...

today I arrived at the doctor, gave my usual urine sample, and was told that my protein levels were high for the 2nd time in a row. They immediately sent me upstairs to the lab to complete a lengthy series of tests, if only for a precaution, they say.

High protein levels, combined with other symptoms (some I have just barely, like swelling of the hands/feet, some not at all, like high blood pressure) could be a sign of preeclampsia, which is also known as toxemia. It's a danger to both the mom and baby. Worst case scenarios include stroke, kidney failure, and loss of life to mom and baby.

Mild cases usually result in just being a bit more cautious, monitoring with more frequest doctors visits, and getting to the 36 week mark and then letting doc decide when it's time to move.

I have a level 3 ultrasound tomorrow, and begin the exciting process(!) of collecting all of my urine over the next 24 hours for testing. More concrete information will come once all of the results are in and the doc has reviewed and made a prognosis.

If you are the praying type, pray. If you are the 'sending out cosmic vibes' type, do so. If you are the crossing fingers type, I'll take that too.

Really trying not to be overdramatic. 90% of me knows that this should be ok. 10% of me can't stop thinking about it.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Act 3...(I thought I'd never get here)

Well, I've finally arrived at the 3rd trimester, and let me tell you- for those women who told me that their second pregnancy has "flown by", I can't say that's been my experience. These past few weeks are starting to pick up, but I think I'm just impatient and want to hold and kiss my little baby girl SO bad. It's unreal.

Ginger is starting to understand the concept of baby in the belly, now that I'm getting bigger. She likes to give baby kisses, and the other day when I asked her what we should name the baby, she said "sister". Well, that makes sense!

Which brings me to the naming topic- we are STILL going back and forth with a few names. It's definitely MUCH more difficult with baby girl #2 than with Ginger. I think the moment we found out G was a girl, we were sold on the name. But this time, there are more layers of complexity in choosing a name. We have a few we go back and forth with, but I seriously doubt that we'll make a decision anytime soon. Another big difference from last time.

bb #2 is enjoying a lot of kung fu in my belly these days. I don't mind it one bit, though it catches me off guard a majority of the time. She's a strong little one, preferring her arm at the top right of my belly, and her foot at the bottom left (almost feels diagonal at times). Who knows, maybe she's doing summersaults, all I know is how happy I am to place my hand where she's kicking to hopefully transmit a bit of love through the belly.

I have had a crazy obsession with cheese popcorn this pregnancy, especially in the past two months. And I've had an aversion to chain fast food (other than maybe Chick-fil-A) which is totally different than with Ginger. I've also come to love drumstick ice cream cones (no nuts) and have one almost every night. The upside of being pregnant :)

With only 12 weeks to go, I realize I am behind, big time. We still haven't moved the house around, though I figure there's no rush when we're going to have Ginger continue to use her crib/nursery for at least the first 6-8 weeks of bb#2's life. It's not as easy to be "set" as last time around- by this point I had literally everything in place. Crib, furniture, bedding, everything decorated just the way that I dreamed. The good news is I'm not really stressing about it. That's probably what I enjoy the most about this 2nd pregnancy, the fact that I've known what to expect (well to a certain extent) and that's good for me. The drama of the 1st time around is curbed a bit. But I still worry, and just want to know the baby is healthy and home and we can start our new beginning as a family of 4.

People have asked me whether we'll keep trying for a boy. For now, I say "we'll see". Both Paul and I could really end up feeling fulfilled with two girls, and while we always thought we'd have a brewd of boys running around here, we're kind of taking to the idea of a pair of sisters to raise. Girls truly do melt your hearts, and I was always fearful of having a little girl to raise, but I'm really enjoying it with Ginger. She is so thoughtful, sweet, and loving, and I just can't wait to see how she takes to being a big sister.

Enough for now, but sweet bb#2 I am SOOO ready for you! Can't wait to smell, kiss, snuggle, and love on you!