Lactation Education

Yesterday, Nick and I were invited to Lisa and John's house for a lactation consultation. Lisa and I worked together until just last month when she left her nursing position to focus on her pregnancy. She is having twin daughters and due in November. Lisa's friend, Tracy, works for the State Health Department and is a certified lactation consultant, which is her passion. She agreed to have a private consultation for us and taught us so much about breast feeding!

Me, Tracy and Lisa 

We watched two videos and went over extensive materials. I was glad that Nick was there because I think it will help us both to be prepared for the challenges and time commitment that breast feeding will bring. I am still wrapping my brain around how often the baby will need to be fed, and what that will mean for our schedules...and sleep! After meeting with Tracy, I do feel a bit more prepared and less nervous about it. It seems like so many of the people I know say how hard it is. Tracy said that it is the system that fails moms, not the moms failing themselves when they face challenges. There is help out there and hopefully things will go smoothly for us, but we will ask for any and all help we can get if/when we need it!

30 Weeks, and a Party!

On Tuesday, I went in for my 30 week appointment with Dr. Brown. I was really looking forward to this visit because I had some concern that I wasn't feeling the baby move as much as I should. She said that everything looked great! The baby's heart rate is 150 bpm and she said I have nothing to worry about and I am very low-risk. I have gained 20 pounds as of this week and I am pleased with that- I should be right on track for a good target rate of no more than 30 pounds.

Here is my profile at 30 weeks

Yesterday I arrived at work for our weekly hospital team meeting and was surprised by a Baby Shower from my teammates! It was a real surprise and was really sweet! I felt like I was 10 years old again having a birthday party when I was opening all of the gifts. I got several items from the registry, cute outfits, and diapers. They had a really great breakfast as well and I was really touched.

Baby Shower at work

By now, things are starting to pile up! I have all the baby stuff laying on the bed in the study. I think that room is starting to drive me crazy and I must do something with it soon. I have definitely identified a real sore spot for me...if anyone else asks me about my nursery theme, I am  going to SCREAM! I want to say that the theme is "chaos." That is what it feels like at this time. There is no theme, there is no crib, there are no "colors" and there really is no nursery!! I have convinced myself that it will be OK, but the more people ask me about it, the more I start to feel irritated and upset. Maybe this weekend I will at least clean out the room and I will feel better about it, maybe!

Post-Vacation Blues

After being off work for two weeks, I knew that today would be hard to go back. I am feeling sluggish and work can be, well...so much work! Yesterday after a two week hiatus from yoga, I went back for my Sunday morning class. I was really looking forward to it and got there early. 

I sat in the lobby by two girls who were also there for prenatal yoga and they were discussing their baby nurseries...paint colors, cribs, bedding, etc... I sat there thinking about our "nursery"/study which is full of boxes of clothes, knick-knacks and military garb, oh and a queen size bed. The walls are very much white, and will likely remain that way until we move out. My thoughts quickly shifted the the house we just sold- the 4-bedroom with closet space galore. Not that I wish we still had the house, but I couldn't help but think about which room I would have selected as the nursery. 

Back to class. Today's class was jammed pack, and per usual, everyone goes around the room and says how many weeks they are and how they are doing, etc... I was 3rd to go and I mentioned feeling kinda sluggish and a mental block about going back to work tomorrow, after having 2 weeks off. The instructor, who I now find incredibly annoying gave a pity-smile. I though to myself "If only you knew what I would be stepping into tomorrow!!" Then there were two different women who proudly announced that they were at 26 weeks and that tomorrow would actually be their LAST day of work. Before I knew it, my eyes were welling up. 26 weeks? Last day of work? I still have 8 long summer weeks left to go of being on my feet, going from hospital to hospital, dealing with other peoples' crises and demands, meetings and more meetings. I had to stop myself from going too deeply into my one-yogi pity party! I made it through the class, but my mind was distracted. I had a sense of dread about the demands that awaited me. I think that I realized that if going back to work tomorrow, after only two weeks away, would be hard...then how much harder will it be when I return after my maternity leave? 

I tried to pump myself up about today. That maybe it wouldn't be as bad as I anticipated. I barely slept and when I woke at 6:50 a.m., I had an hour's worth of voice mails (and that was just from Sunday) to go though and 9 patients in 4 different locations. All of them were new to me and had their own complexities. I lay there with tears streaming down my face. I did not want to go in. Where would I start? I was already tired. I made it into the office and printed off a mountain of papers to take with me on my way. When I arrived at the hospital and started to engage, it really wasn't that bad. I was reminded that I have a greater purpose than just being content with my leisure time. My work was chosen by me, and I by it. I was reminded that the people I work with are special people who are my friends and that I would not have them in my life if I did not rise to the occasion M-F from 8-5. They have to work too...I am not the only one! I have a supervisor who I respect and who knows the struggles of this work. When she saw me in the office, she said "I thought I would find you crying in here." I said "No, I already did that!." It's nice to be understood, and then I went about my day. It ended up not being that bad and I allowed myself to do what I felt comfortable with, knowing that I will get to the rest of it all tomorrow. And it will be okay.

Tomorrow I go in for my 30-week appointment, and I am excited. We are getting so close to meeting our baby daughter! Even without custom paint and coordinated nursery bedding, she will have the best life and ours will be better for it too.

Babymoon in Canada

29 Weeks at Royal Ontario Botanical Gardens

We embarked on our "last hurrah" on July 5 from Big Rapids to Toronto. Neither Nick or I had ever been to Canada before, so we were excited to do this trip together. The drive was about 6 hours and we stayed in downtown Toronto at the Hotel Intercontinental. We tackled the city right away and embarked on several days of eating our way through Toronto. It didn't take us too long to figure out the subway system, but we still had to do a lot of walking. Unfortunately the heat wave continued and the temps were quite hot.

Due to the weather and lots of walking, I was starting to feel really pregnant...my feet and hands were swollen and any liquid I drank seemed to go right through me, and through me again. The constant need to find a "washroom" became a bother. Nick did a great job in scouting out some great restaurants in Toronto and we ate like Kings and Queens! Thank goodness I was diabetes-free.

Enjoying pizza in Toronto

One of our favorite places was Pizzeria Libretto, which is an authentic and certified Neapolitan pizza restaurant. We ended up going here two times and enjoyed delicious Margherita pizzas that really did taste like Italy! Another day we ventured into an area called "The Beach" for some Pakistani food at a place called Lahore Tikka House. We happened upon a South Asian Festival en route and it was packed with people and the air full of delicious smells. The food was great, but we got a bit waylaid on the way back due to bus route changes and it made for a long night.

Carly on the Toronto Islands

For sights we took a ferry to the Toronto Islands, which was a  fun ride, but we found the actual islands to be a bit cheesy! We also went to Honda Indy Car race and had a great time. We met Emma Davies Dixon at our hotel pool earlier in the week  and she was the wife of one of the racers. We cheered for Scott Dixon, but unfortunately he was out early due to engine failure. Nevertheless it was a fun experience and a first for us as well.

Joey and Nick after Maid of the Mist

On Monday, we left Toronto and headed to Niagara Falls to meet up with Nick's brother, Joe. It was about an hour and a half drive from Toronto. Niagara Falls reminded us a little bit of Reno with its hotels and casinos and seemingly small town feel. We joined the throngs of tourists at the Falls and were amazed by their magnificence. On Tuesday the three of us went on The Maid of the Mist, which is a ferry that goes into the Falls. We also stayed in a really nice hotel with a great aerial view of the falls and I also watched a tightrope walker from my room's window. After two days in Niagara Falls we were ready to get going home. We headed out towards Nashville, where we spent one night. It was fun and we met up with an old friend of Nick's downtown. We had a nice dinner and then enjoyed the bar and music scene in Nashville. Our last leg was a 14 hour drive...Nick drove the whole way and when we finally arrived back at our apartment at 1:30 a.m., we were so happy! It was a great trip, and we saw so much, but it was time to be home to our cat and to start focusing on the next great adventure...our Baby (who still does not have a name)!

Michigan!

We rolled into Uncle Fred's place around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday and were greeted by family and a nice meal. It was so good to finally be there! His place looked as good as ever and we had fun getting some pictures out on his deck and lawn.

At Croton

We went from there to Big Rapids and spent the night at the cottage. It was a full house...Mimi, Sarah and Ryan, my parents and Nick and me. We spent the night and the next day just hanging out...it felt so good to do more sitting and relaxing. I went kayaking a couple times and on Tuesday, there was a gorgeous full moon! The only bad thing about our time here was the heat. The heat wave had us miserable. There is no A/C at the Cottage and the temperatures outside were even hotter than Dallas temperatures.  Nick and I were very fortunate that my Uncle Fred let us sleep at his apartment in town. That was definitely a saving grace!

Carly & Mimi 28w4d

Kayaking with Mom under a full moon 7/3/12

Meet Me in St. Louis

Nick and I left Dallas at about 6 a.m. on Saturday and headed North for St. Louis, which is the half-way point from Dallas to Michigan. It was a great day of driving...well I didn't do anything except sit there and read or sleep! It was so nice to literally just sit back and relax! We made it to St. Louis around 4:30 p.m. and checked into the hotel, which was right across from The Arch.

28 weeks in St. Loius

We went to check out the Arch and it was so hot! It was 107 degrees...hotter than it had been in Texas when we left. I could barely stand it! From there we ventured out to find dinner and ended up having an Italian meal in Lafayette Square and the coming back to rest up for our next day's drive.

Glucose screening

Tuesday I went in for my glucose screen at 7 a.m. I was pretty worried about it from all that I read and I hate getting blood drawn. The worst part about it was having to fast and then downing the sugary drink and waiting. It wasn't as bad as I anticipated, but I was very eager to learn my results. On Wednesday morning, I got a call from the doctor's office saying that I failed the test by 6 points and I would need to come back for the full 4-hour exam.

Needless to say, I was not pleased! The thought of getting diagnosed with gestational diabetes and going on vacation out of town for two weeks was really overwhelming. I don't really know much about diabetes, so I got some books at the library. I read though them and still felt like it would be a very difficult challenge for me, especially with my chaotic work schedule and being on the go all the time. Wednesday afternoon, I had a breakdown and was just really worried. I wasnt sure that I would even know the results before we left for Michigan and that made me nervous. Should I go ahead and just live as if I did have GD?

I went in on Thursday at 7 a.m. to start the 4-hour long test. I barely slept a wink all night because I was in such a state of dread. Luckily I had talked to my friend who had GD and she helped ease my fears and other friends were supportive, too. I came equipped with plenty of reading material and my iPhone. It was actually a good time to catch up on my Twitterfeed and also wait for the SCOTUS ruling on the health care bill to come in. When it was all said and done, I headed up the road to a little breakfast cafe and in indulged in a full breakfast before I started on to work for the day. I was very happy to have that behind me, and glad I didn't pass out from hunger.

I was kind of resigned to that fact that I would get a diagnosis of gestational diabetes. When the phone rang on Friday morning, and the nurse said that I DID NOT have diabetes, I was so happy! Yay! We were leaving for our vacation after work and it was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Nick and I celebrated by stopping of at Baskin Robins! Although I am relieved that I wont have to change my diet for the remainder of the pregnancy, I do think that I will make more health conscious choices anyway.