A flat tire and a trip to labor and delivery

Saturday started out like any other day – I cleaned the apartment and then Garrett and I ran out to get groceries. I was feeling pretty good until we were getting ready to go up to Waverly to say goodbye to Katie and see Brent (they were making us dinner). I started to get Braxton Hicks like crazy at around 4pm and by the time we got up to Waverly I had between 15 and 20 of them. My lower abdomen was achy and lower back started to hurt. Thank goodness Garrett has a blackberry because we were able to look up info on Braxton Hicks (I’ve had them before but not this many). Garrett insisted (if I didn't call, he was going to do it for me because he was worried) that I call the doctor to see if there was something I should do or if we needed to get checked out just to make sure everything was okay.

The doctor said that I needed to go to St. Luke’s (the hospital I will be delivering at) and get checked out since I had drank a liter of water already and there was no relief of the BHs. I felt awful because we drove all the way to Waverly to see friends to turn around the second we get there to head back to Cedar Rapids. I know they understood and I wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize little Eden or myself. But I still felt bad about the whole thing.

Anywho, we turn around for the hour and fifteen minute ride to the hospital. I am trying not to cry the entire time thinking about how little she still is and how I didn’t want to find out I was actually going into labor. But I knew that there was plenty that could be done. ***Side story*** I was upset and we had brought a whole pan of brownies, so I opened the pan and just started eating them (they were not cut or anything so it was me digging brownie out with my hand).

About 20 minutes from CR we start to hear a weird noise coming from the car and Garrett pulls to the shoulder. I told him that I hoped it wasn’t a flat tire but he didn’t seem to think so because it didn’t sound like a flat. He starts walking around the car and then stops and starts shaking his head. I get out of the car and sure enough we have a flat! We both laughed because it was the only thing we could really think to do. So, Garrett being a manly man, got out the spare and starting lifting the car up. I am standing there thinking someone would see that I am pregnant and stop to help but nope (the whole time this is going on my BH’s were getting worse). To be positive I told Garrett that we needed to think of the good things that happened today like the good deals we got at Fareway when we went shopping:) It kind of lifted the mood a bit since we were in such a hurry to get the hospital. Garrett changed the tire and we were back on the road and on our way to the labor and delivery.

Once we got there they took me back to my room and strapped me with monitors. Eden’s heart beat was good but I was definitely having contraction after contraction. The nurse got an IV started because they suspected I was dehydrated even though I try and keep myself well watered. They also checked for a bladder infection just in case but since I’ve already had a bad one they said they needed to catheterize me. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and Garrett stayed by my side the entire time and never left for anything. They also gave me two ultrasounds to check for dilation and cervical length (both were good). We found out for sure that Eden is a girl (you could actually see her girl parts). She was beautiful! We got to see her little chunky face and watch her breath.

Well, three hours after I got my IV the contractions stopped and I was able to go home. I was told to not drink any caffeine whatsoever (I occasionally do) since that could have contributed to my dehydration and to take it easy. Garrett stopped and got me Wendy’s and rubbed my head when we got home (he truly is the best). So I learned my lesson, I need to make sure I drink TONS of water and I was told I should be peeing every half hour to hour and my pee needs to be clear. And if I have more than 4 contractions in an hour I need to just head on over to labor and delivery.

All is good now! And I am peeing all the time and drinking more water than I think is possible.

2 Months Exactly

Today marks 2 months until my due date. I can’t believe it! I am having a hard time with how fast this has gone. Soon I will have my own little baby in my arms…my own child…not someone elses…not a doll…but my own flesh and blood. Crazy!

I had an appointment yesterday (I am 31 weeks). It was just a routine visit but now I get to go every two weeks until I am 35 weeks and then every week. The doctor was listening for the heartbeat when all of a sudden Eden kicks him real hard…Garrett couldn’t believe how hard she kicked! Everything seems to be going smoothly, I have started getting heartburn/indigestion but it’s really nothing to complain about. The one thing that kind of stinks about being pregnant in the summer is the fact that my feet swell. I took off my shoes (they were slip-ons) and could barely get them back on! My feet were literally bulging out the top. I guess I will be sporting some nice cankles from now on:) But as long as she stays in there nice and safe I don’t mind.

One thing that I love now that Eden has gotten bigger is that I can actually feel her different appendages and tell her head from her butt. Like right now I can feel a little arm around my belly button (she’s been laying cross-ways for almost a week now). And something that is funny to me is when she stretches, my whole belly gets lop-sided or I get lumps that stick out in random places. It’s really funny to see and Garrett will look over at my belly and say I see a butt. I’ll have to get a picture of it!

Now that we have moved, we officially have a nursery. I should post pictures of what it looks like right now! HA! Everything that we don’t know what to do with quite yet from moving is in her room and her closet is packed with guitars and amps. And her actual room is full of empty boxes and bins and stuff we need to take to my parents to store until we have room. But Eden does have a baby bed!!!!!! The mattress just came yesterday but it’s at my parents and I will be getting it soon. My dad spent two hours assembling the cute little crib (it’s not exactly little) and wanted everything to be perfect for his little grandbaby. The dresser and lingerie cabinet from my bedroom set at home are awaiting their delivery to the room. Once those are moved Eden’s room will be set up!

Well, I guess that’s it for now…

Asking me not to eat is like asking me to not breathe…

I had my 3 hour glucose test today. It was the longest three hours of my life (not really but it seemed like it went on forever). I got there at 8am and didn’t get started until 8:45, so I was going on almost 13 hours of not eating anything. The nurse made me drink a fruit punch flavored drink with 100g of sugar in it. I was doing alright while I drank it and then the nausea hit me like a bug on a windshield. The nice thing about this appointment was every nurse felt bad that I had to do it and tried to make me as comfortable as possible. So, they put me in a little room by myself with a couch and stuff and let me watch mindless tv.

I started getting really sleepy and kind of sick feeling but then all of a sudden the sugar must have hit Eden because she started dancing with the stars in my tummy! It was hilarious to watch and feel. Then she must have crashed from the sugar and just settled down for a little bit. Now she is moving again. Anyway, that was that and after watching three hours of tv and getting 5 viles of blood drawn (should have only been four but the nurse accidently put my blood in the wrong tube) I was free to leave. I am assuming I passed since no one told me anything.

So, it was about 11:45 when I finally left and I was hungry as hungry could be. My head was still spinning from the sugar and a 10 minute drive back to work took me 20 minutes because I couldn’t remember which way to turn. But once I got food in my stomach my brain started working!

I go back to the doctor in May 19th to get checked out again and maybe then I will find out if I passed this test!

Oh, something so cute that I have to share it: On my way to work a momma duck and her 8 little baby ducks crossed the street! Five mechanics stopped traffic to let them cross safely too! It was the cutest thing ever! If I would have hit one I would have needed to take bereavement to recover.

28 weeks!!!!

I had my 28 week appointment yesterday and I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant… The appointment went alright. I found out I am slightly anemic and that my blood sugar was little high for my gestational diabetes test. This means that I have to do a 12 hour fast next week and get my blood checked again for three hours – it really shouldn’t be too bad except I wake up starving and don’t know how I will make it for a grand total of 15 hours with no food!!!! The doctor doesn’t think I have gestational diabetes but wants to make sure that I am not. As for the rest of the appointment, it went really well! He was trying to get the clearest heartbeat reading when all of a sudden Eden gives him a huge kick! Other than that, I am measuring right on schedule:)

Garrett was so sweet when we went to my appointment. I was weighed and as usual shocked by what the scale said (and yet not surprised because all I have done for the past couple of weeks was eat) since I have never weighed this much. We go into the room to wait for the doctor and I ask Garrett the usual, “Do I look fat?” And he tells me know and assures me that I am beautiful beyond compare. Then I asked him, “How much do you weigh?” He replies that the last time he checked he weighed 170. I told him that that made me happy since I wasn’t close to passing him up but made sure to let him know that he needs to stay that way until Eden is born for my sake. Well, later on he decides he will weigh himself and guess what???? He weighs LESS than what he told me. Then he said that he only told me he weighed 170 because he thought it would make me feel good. LOL I told him it was a thoughtful but a very dirty little trick!

Then later that night we had our friend B over for dinner and B told me point blank that he thought I weighed more than Garrett already. This literally almost made me cry. Garrett gave me a big hug and told me that besides my growing belly, I still look slender and not to listen to what B said because it wasn’t true. I sure do love my husband!

ENERGY. Something I haven’t felt in a long time has finally arrived!!! This is not the kind of energy that makes me want to run or even go walking for hours. This kind of energy means I need less sleep to feel awake. Life past 9pm is like a whole new world to me…what shows are on tv? What cleaning can be accomplished? Needless to say I don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight because I am too tired anymore. I have cleaned A TON in the past couple of weeks and packed almost all our stuff with the exception of the kitchen, bathroom stuff that is still be used, Garrett’s college stuff, and our clothes. These things will hopefully get done this weekend. Oh how having energy has changed me!

I will keep you posted on the outcome of my tests next week…

Nasty infection

Today marks a first for me. I have a bladder infection. Who knew a bladder infection could be so mysterious? So here is my little story:

Sunday I went to church and during the service my lower abdomen started to feel really funny – kind of like I had to pee but not really. We got home and I went to the bathroom but the feeling was still there. I told Garrett it must be Eden sitting on my bladder, so I got down in the “pod” position (the prep for a head stand) and tried to get Eden off my bladder. I stood up and the feeling was still there but I shrugged it off. Then about a half hour later my lower abdomen started to ache and get crampy. It was so uncomfortable that I laid on the couch pretty much the whole day. I read in one of my pregnancy books that cramps can be a sign of premature labor but I knew how sometimes I read into things a little too much, so I decided if I felt worse the next I would go to the doctor or if I started having contractions.

Monday morning I woke up and felt pretty good. The achiness and cramps were pretty much gone. The only discomfort I felt was a little bit of weird pressure/ache in my lower abdomen. I thought I was dehydrated for most of the day because my pee was a light brown color. Then later on it started to turn pink/red. Of course I got worried. I googled everything imaginable…I knew I wasn’t in preterm labor but what else would cause blood in my pee??? I felt great other than a slight discomfort. Well, by the time I was done googling I had diagnosed myself with one of the following: bladder infection (but I should be experiencing more pain and discomfort and burning and peeing more often), kidney infection (but I should be experiencing back pain), kidney stones (this was/is a real possibility because you don’t have to have pain just bleeding – the pain comes from the stone blocking or trying to pass), or bladder cancer (but I need to be over the age of 50 for this to be realistic). For some odd reason I thought that out of all of the above, I had bladder cancer. WebMD confirmed that my symptoms best fit with it, so it must be true. So I spent the remainder of my night upset over my findings (it was too late in the evening to go to the doctor).

This morning I went to the doctor and he was surprised that I wasn’t feeling bad. After taking one look at my urine and he said, yep you have a BAD bladder infection. He said that there was quite a bit of blood and it was so cloudy that he didn’t even have to test it. With that said, I was told to drink TONS of water and take an antibiotic (safe for the baby) and if I didn’t feel better by tomorrow morning to come in and he would run cultures and a few other tests to make sure that it wasn’t in my kidneys and stuff.

Anywho, the morale of my story is – drink lots of water, go to the doctor when you don’t feel right (especially when pregnant - I got scolded by my doctor for waiting so long to come in), being in the “pod” position does nothing for bladder infections but it is fun to do, and self-diagnosing is never a good idea.

Only 15 more to go…

I had my 25 week appointment yesterday and everything looked great! I am measuring right on schedule and Eden was being very active with a heart rate of 150 bpm (it amazes me that it is so small and beating so fast). Nothing new to report except that I have to do a glucose test in three weeks and the stuff they gave me to drink looks like Tang in a medical glass bottle. But on the upside they gave me a free diaper bag roll-up organizer with formula and a pacifier in it!

Eden has been very active lately. She kicks me every which way and then rolls and flips in my stomach. I like the feeling of knowing she is doing okay but sometimes it does get a little uncomfortable (especially when she kicks my bladder repeatedly and I feel like I have to pee every 5 minutes). But she is doing great and growing like a weed! I am so blessed!

Other news in the Hufford household…
We are moving May 16th to Cedar Rapids! We found an apartment to call home and I cannot express how excited I am to finally be in one place! It has been a hard year spending half of my time here in Cedar Rapids and half of my time in Waverly. Both Garrett and I are glad that there will be no more commuting and we can sleep in the same bed every night!

Pictures!!!

These pictures are over due and out of order.

1. 24 weeks (I hate this picture but it is the most recent pregnancy pic)...People keep telling me how small I am but compared to my before body I am LOTS bigger!

2. 17 weeks

3. 16 weeks

4. 16 weeks with a view of the belly

5. The first two pregnancy tests I took.

6. My pre-pregnancy body...it was from a couple months earlier but I don't have any others downloaded.