So after eating some extra carbs over the weekend as instructed, I reported first thing Monday morning for my 3-hour glucose test. I knew it was going to difficult, since my stomach was already growling at 8am, but I brought One Drop to finish reading and take my mind off the situation. After three hours of sitting (Cleveland Clinic really needs more comfortable chairs), four blood draws, and a bottle of super-sweet drink I got to finally leave the lab and have some much needed lunch and something to drink (water . . . not a mojito).
I will say that sitting in the lab makes for some interesting people watching. Early in the morning there were some professional-looking people and a few fellow preggos getting their 1 hour test done (including one overly obnoxious one who was loudly discussing with her husband what to put on their baby registry - we get it, you're pregnant). Then came the moms (and a couple dads) with little kids. For the next hour or so there was non-stop crying and screaming coming from the blood draw room. Literally. They must have overlapped the kids so that one started screaming before the other one stopped. After that came the 65+ crowd. They were by far the most interesting. First off, they all loved to talk. They talked to each other, they talk to the lab technicians, they talk to themselves. Second, they were all hard of hearing and talked really loudly. Third, they all loved to talk to each other loudly about their medical conditions. There was one guy who, whenever anyone walked in, he would ask "what are you in for?" It was amazing to me how everyone was so free about talking about totally personal information. I tried to just hide in my book so that I wouldn't have to face 20 questions. It was also funny how they were all sharing their ages. For instance, there was a conversation between two men where one man, after introducing himself to the other said, "Can you believe I am going to be 89 next week?" It was really sort of funny, like something new to brag about after you retire and your kids are grown and gone. All in all, not a terrible experience.
The good news is that my test results came back normal. Thank you pancreas.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
MTHFR
Yes, that's what I call it too! The mother f*%#er gene........after 14 vials of blood to figure out why I've now had 2 miscarriages - heterozygous MTHFR gene and an elevated ANA titre are what were found. Niether of this issues are proven to be a cause of miscarriage but could be the issue. There is one test I've yet to do since the test must be done on certain days of the cycle - HSG - a ultrasound where they inject dye into my uterus to see if there are any structural issues with my uterus such as a septum. Both months since my miscarriage the testing days have been Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ugh.
MTHFR has several forms and lucky for me the heterozygous form is the "best" one to have. It has to do with the way my body is able to process folic acid and is a clotting issue. The treatment is high dose folic acid and an 81mg aspirin daily. The homozygous form mandates lovenox or heparin injections daily during pregnancy. If I have another miscarriage we will try lovenox. At the recommendation of my endocrinologist, the next cycle we try to conceive I have the pleasure of using progesterone suppositories cycle day 17-28 (if I'm pregnant I get to use them for 10-12 weeks and if I'm not pregnant I stop them for that cycle so I will then have my period).
To be honest, I'm not sure what we'll do if I have another miscarriage. We may choose surrogacy or adoption rather than going through the emotional roller coaster again. We'll cross that bridge if we get there. My hope and prayer is the 3rd time is a charm.
MTHFR has several forms and lucky for me the heterozygous form is the "best" one to have. It has to do with the way my body is able to process folic acid and is a clotting issue. The treatment is high dose folic acid and an 81mg aspirin daily. The homozygous form mandates lovenox or heparin injections daily during pregnancy. If I have another miscarriage we will try lovenox. At the recommendation of my endocrinologist, the next cycle we try to conceive I have the pleasure of using progesterone suppositories cycle day 17-28 (if I'm pregnant I get to use them for 10-12 weeks and if I'm not pregnant I stop them for that cycle so I will then have my period).
To be honest, I'm not sure what we'll do if I have another miscarriage. We may choose surrogacy or adoption rather than going through the emotional roller coaster again. We'll cross that bridge if we get there. My hope and prayer is the 3rd time is a charm.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
A Bit of Scare and More Yucky Glucose to Drink
So up until recently, I have been very fortunate to have an uneventful pregnancy. Sure, I felt sick as a dog for a while, and have other fun things that go with the package, but everything was going smoothly. Until last weekend.
On Saturday morning, I was walking through my living room when, (***TMI ALERT***) I suddenly felt very wet. I looked down and saw that I was wet even through my sweatpants. I reached down to check things out, so to speak, and found my hands covered in water. Then, it stopped and everything returned to normal. I felt fine. I wasn't in pain and didn't have any cramps, so I didn't think it was necessary to call the doctor. Bobby felt very different about that, so I ended up calling the answering service and talking to the doctor on call. He told me to go into labor and delivery right away to get checked out. So, we dressed and headed out to Hillcrest. I considered it a practice run and it really didn't take that long to get there. The worst part was getting to the hospital and finding it to be a warzone and no close parking. We'll have to take this into consideration when the real deal happens in the spring.
I L&D I got put in a crappy gown and hooked up to a fetal monitor. Luckily, it was evident right away that the baby was doing fine. It was bopping around like nothing was wrong and couldn't have cared less about what happened. This was good, but then came the exam. First, the on-call doctor from the practice I go to must have been busy, because they sent in a D.O. who looked totally disheveled and whom I am fairly certain just got woken up from a nap on a cot somewhere. He seemed sort of stoned, even (figuratively, not literally of course). He performed just about the most uncomfortable pelvic exam I have ever had. I am so used to my doctor just going in quickly and getting the job done in a pain free way. This guy jams in the speculum like it's nothing and then keeps walking away and leaving it in while he does other things. After what seemed like an eternity he finally finished. Bobby was a little shell-shocked from that experience, but I guess it is good practice for when all kinds of people will be checking things out down there during labor and delivery.
In the end, the stoney D.O. said that he didn't think it was amniotic fluid based upon his look under the microscope. And based upon other things they didn't think it was pre-term labor, but they sent off an fFN test to check things out.
All in all, it wasn't a bad experience since the results turned out ok. And we loved the nurse we had - I just hope she's there when the main even occurs!
After that stressful day, I thought I could relax, knowing that all I had to do was follow-up with my doctor this week. I went for my 1-hour glucose test Monday morning and put a call in to the office to get a follow-up appointment. The nurse called back to tell me that my fFN test was positive, which could indicate a risk of pre-term labor in the next few weeks. Obviously, this would not be good since the baby still has quite a few weeks to go. So, she set me up with an ultrasound and appointment in the afternoon.
After being nervous all day and hardly able to work, we got to have our ultrasound. We were very reassured to hear that that fluid level looks great and that my cervix is still "8 miles long" and shut tight. They also checked out the baby again so we got to have another look, which was fun. And we finally got our cute profile shot. In the end, I was instructed to take things easy, keep tabs on any symptoms or issues, and call right away with a problem. It was a big relief.
Then I got another call this morning from the nurse telling me that my glucose test results were in and I fell just 3 points above the "normal" cutoff line. The hits just keep in coming! So, I get to head back to the lab next Tuesday to do my 3-hour test. Hopefully, that will put an end to issues and get us back on the smooth sailing track.
On Saturday morning, I was walking through my living room when, (***TMI ALERT***) I suddenly felt very wet. I looked down and saw that I was wet even through my sweatpants. I reached down to check things out, so to speak, and found my hands covered in water. Then, it stopped and everything returned to normal. I felt fine. I wasn't in pain and didn't have any cramps, so I didn't think it was necessary to call the doctor. Bobby felt very different about that, so I ended up calling the answering service and talking to the doctor on call. He told me to go into labor and delivery right away to get checked out. So, we dressed and headed out to Hillcrest. I considered it a practice run and it really didn't take that long to get there. The worst part was getting to the hospital and finding it to be a warzone and no close parking. We'll have to take this into consideration when the real deal happens in the spring.
I L&D I got put in a crappy gown and hooked up to a fetal monitor. Luckily, it was evident right away that the baby was doing fine. It was bopping around like nothing was wrong and couldn't have cared less about what happened. This was good, but then came the exam. First, the on-call doctor from the practice I go to must have been busy, because they sent in a D.O. who looked totally disheveled and whom I am fairly certain just got woken up from a nap on a cot somewhere. He seemed sort of stoned, even (figuratively, not literally of course). He performed just about the most uncomfortable pelvic exam I have ever had. I am so used to my doctor just going in quickly and getting the job done in a pain free way. This guy jams in the speculum like it's nothing and then keeps walking away and leaving it in while he does other things. After what seemed like an eternity he finally finished. Bobby was a little shell-shocked from that experience, but I guess it is good practice for when all kinds of people will be checking things out down there during labor and delivery.
In the end, the stoney D.O. said that he didn't think it was amniotic fluid based upon his look under the microscope. And based upon other things they didn't think it was pre-term labor, but they sent off an fFN test to check things out.
All in all, it wasn't a bad experience since the results turned out ok. And we loved the nurse we had - I just hope she's there when the main even occurs!
After that stressful day, I thought I could relax, knowing that all I had to do was follow-up with my doctor this week. I went for my 1-hour glucose test Monday morning and put a call in to the office to get a follow-up appointment. The nurse called back to tell me that my fFN test was positive, which could indicate a risk of pre-term labor in the next few weeks. Obviously, this would not be good since the baby still has quite a few weeks to go. So, she set me up with an ultrasound and appointment in the afternoon.
After being nervous all day and hardly able to work, we got to have our ultrasound. We were very reassured to hear that that fluid level looks great and that my cervix is still "8 miles long" and shut tight. They also checked out the baby again so we got to have another look, which was fun. And we finally got our cute profile shot. In the end, I was instructed to take things easy, keep tabs on any symptoms or issues, and call right away with a problem. It was a big relief.
Then I got another call this morning from the nurse telling me that my glucose test results were in and I fell just 3 points above the "normal" cutoff line. The hits just keep in coming! So, I get to head back to the lab next Tuesday to do my 3-hour test. Hopefully, that will put an end to issues and get us back on the smooth sailing track.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
do i smell?
dont think im gross.
i cant tell if im just lazy, or if it is that im cold all the time and dont want to be colder, or if i am just so tired i cant get up the energy....
BUT-
I dont want to take a shower.
seriously. i just dont feel like it.
i make sure i dont smell- and i take a shower when i really need to. but most of the time, its more like every other day instead of every day.
i used to be the kind of person compulsive about showering- showering every morning for sure, and sometimes in the evening if i had a really "sick" day at work.
but now, i just dont understand it.
my friend vanessa told me yesterday that for sure it means im having a girl- since they say "girls take all your beauty".....she has a 50% chance of being right! who knows....
but i do promise, for now i'll try to shower a little more often.
i cant tell if im just lazy, or if it is that im cold all the time and dont want to be colder, or if i am just so tired i cant get up the energy....
BUT-
I dont want to take a shower.
seriously. i just dont feel like it.
i make sure i dont smell- and i take a shower when i really need to. but most of the time, its more like every other day instead of every day.
i used to be the kind of person compulsive about showering- showering every morning for sure, and sometimes in the evening if i had a really "sick" day at work.
but now, i just dont understand it.
my friend vanessa told me yesterday that for sure it means im having a girl- since they say "girls take all your beauty".....she has a 50% chance of being right! who knows....
but i do promise, for now i'll try to shower a little more often.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
6 Months Along ... Wait, That Means Only 4 Left
It's like I woke up today and realized that I have hardly any time left to get organized! We are on track with things - baby furniture ordered, registry started, looking into lamaze classes, pediatricians, and child care, but I still feel like I won't get things done on time. And my pregnancy brain is worse than ever, totally killing my normally stellar memory.
Things I have done recently:
1. Put a new container of ice cream in the fridge after shopping - and not discovering it until more than 24 hours later when I went in the freezer for ice cream and learned it was a puddle.
2. Printed out important estate planning documents rather than e-mailing them to the client, which I only discovered when the client asked me where the were several days later.
3. Talked to a client for several minutes about "her case" only to realize I was explaining something going on in a totally different case (the weirder part may be that the client didn't bother to interrupt me and tell me she had no idea what I was talking about)
I feel like I am forgetting everything, and at a really busy time of year when I am trying to settle 15 different cases, that is not good - at this time it is crucial to be able to keep things organized and straight.
I did just make a list of projects to accomplish at home after the first of the year - mostly all are nursery or baby-related. Hopefully by making a list I can remember to do them all. Too bad it doesn't mean they will magically get accomplished without me!
Things I have done recently:
1. Put a new container of ice cream in the fridge after shopping - and not discovering it until more than 24 hours later when I went in the freezer for ice cream and learned it was a puddle.
2. Printed out important estate planning documents rather than e-mailing them to the client, which I only discovered when the client asked me where the were several days later.
3. Talked to a client for several minutes about "her case" only to realize I was explaining something going on in a totally different case (the weirder part may be that the client didn't bother to interrupt me and tell me she had no idea what I was talking about)
I feel like I am forgetting everything, and at a really busy time of year when I am trying to settle 15 different cases, that is not good - at this time it is crucial to be able to keep things organized and straight.
I did just make a list of projects to accomplish at home after the first of the year - mostly all are nursery or baby-related. Hopefully by making a list I can remember to do them all. Too bad it doesn't mean they will magically get accomplished without me!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Virginia, There is a Santa Claus (or is there?)
Thank you 3rd Generation Working Mom for blogging inspiration! I'm getting a little nervous that I might be kicked out of the Baby Fever blog since I've been a delinquent poster. Anyway, here goes.....
'Is Santa Claus a lie?' I suppose that depends on what you consider a lie. I think of Santa Claus as a fib or little white lie, possibly even a secret (see below). I don't really remember believing in Santa Claus, although I'm positive I did at some point. I do, however remember my brother believing in Santa Claus and working out a deal with him once I could no longer keep the secret (here is where I consider it a secret) any longer...if we tell mom and dad you still believe in Santa, they will still buy us presents. So we went with it, for a really long time. In fact, so long that there came a time when my dad sat my brother down and told him Santa didn't exist, then the whole deal came out and my parents got a good laugh.
That being said, I'm not sure I'll shower my (fake) children with gifts from Santa. Yes, they'll get gifts, plenty of them of them from Mom and Dad for Christmas AND Hanukkah, but not from Santa or Hanukkah Harry. I remember thinking that the whole idea of Santa was so silly, of course one man can not fly all around the world in one night giving gifts to all the children while being led by reindeer. I would think, 'who believes that crap?'
When I was a teenager, my grandfather shared stories with me of his childhood Christmases. My grandfather was raised by strict Italian immigrant parents and many of his experiences were those of the old world. He explained to me that when he was a child, Christmas here in the US was very different from Christmas in Italy, where Santa did not exist. When my great grandparents came here they were horrified of the idea of 'telling their children lies' about a fictional man in a red suit. So my grandpa did not know Santa Claus, he got an orange (his own) and a box of chocolates that he had to share with each of his 4 siblings. These gifts were from his parents and they were much appreciated I am told. My favorite part of this is how my grandfather would talk about going to school, and the American children talking about Santa Claus. My grandpa thought they were silly and stupid and made fun of them! For some reason, this story made so much sense to me, and at that time I knew that if I were ever to have children, I would not invite Santa into my home.
Now, I realize this may change if I ever have my own children, I just don't see it happening though. Yes, I'll decorate a Christmas tree and buy presents and all that fun stuff. But why bring some strange man into it? Funny how three generations later, my (make believe) children will blow the whistle on Santa Claus, just as my grandfather did as a child of the 30's.
Disclaimer: I think it's perfectly acceptable for parents to share Santa Claus with their children and I am in no way discrediting this ritual. I'm just expressing my personal thoughts on the subject and realize that I am far from the norm.
'Is Santa Claus a lie?' I suppose that depends on what you consider a lie. I think of Santa Claus as a fib or little white lie, possibly even a secret (see below). I don't really remember believing in Santa Claus, although I'm positive I did at some point. I do, however remember my brother believing in Santa Claus and working out a deal with him once I could no longer keep the secret (here is where I consider it a secret) any longer...if we tell mom and dad you still believe in Santa, they will still buy us presents. So we went with it, for a really long time. In fact, so long that there came a time when my dad sat my brother down and told him Santa didn't exist, then the whole deal came out and my parents got a good laugh.
That being said, I'm not sure I'll shower my (fake) children with gifts from Santa. Yes, they'll get gifts, plenty of them of them from Mom and Dad for Christmas AND Hanukkah, but not from Santa or Hanukkah Harry. I remember thinking that the whole idea of Santa was so silly, of course one man can not fly all around the world in one night giving gifts to all the children while being led by reindeer. I would think, 'who believes that crap?'
When I was a teenager, my grandfather shared stories with me of his childhood Christmases. My grandfather was raised by strict Italian immigrant parents and many of his experiences were those of the old world. He explained to me that when he was a child, Christmas here in the US was very different from Christmas in Italy, where Santa did not exist. When my great grandparents came here they were horrified of the idea of 'telling their children lies' about a fictional man in a red suit. So my grandpa did not know Santa Claus, he got an orange (his own) and a box of chocolates that he had to share with each of his 4 siblings. These gifts were from his parents and they were much appreciated I am told. My favorite part of this is how my grandfather would talk about going to school, and the American children talking about Santa Claus. My grandpa thought they were silly and stupid and made fun of them! For some reason, this story made so much sense to me, and at that time I knew that if I were ever to have children, I would not invite Santa into my home.
Now, I realize this may change if I ever have my own children, I just don't see it happening though. Yes, I'll decorate a Christmas tree and buy presents and all that fun stuff. But why bring some strange man into it? Funny how three generations later, my (make believe) children will blow the whistle on Santa Claus, just as my grandfather did as a child of the 30's.
Disclaimer: I think it's perfectly acceptable for parents to share Santa Claus with their children and I am in no way discrediting this ritual. I'm just expressing my personal thoughts on the subject and realize that I am far from the norm.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Clothing Woes
Anyone know where to buy a reasonably priced maternity suit? I am not in court all the time, so luckily I don't need to wear a suit every day. But there are at least a handful of occasions I know of where I will need to dress the part between now and maternity leave. Unfortunately, professional maternity attire leaves a lot of things to be desired. Sure, I have found some really cute sweaters and slacks that I can use in the office, but so far no good blouses and certainly no good suits. I went to motherhood and I felt a little hopeful when the selection (one black and one gray) didn't seem too terrible. But I was shocked when the pants were super tight (despite trying several sizes and several pairs of the same size). I mean, so tight that I had to shuffle my legs just to walk. I was picturing shuffling into the court room and apologizing to the judge for my inappropriate clothing and having to explain that maternity designers still aren't taking the professional woman into account. In the end, I would probably be more annoying than sympathetic. And don't get me started on blouses. I love that the maternity blouse has plenty of room in the tummy so your stomach can grow, unfortunately they forgot to add additional material to the bustline. So when I try on a blouse, it is so tight in the boobs that I look like I am stuffed in, and so big in the waist that I look like I am wearing a young child's dress as a shirt. So, I am still on a quest. And as a result, I have to go to court tomorrow in slacks and a sweater and hope that if I accessorize the hell out of myself no one will notice. Joy.
On the other hand, though, I love how roomy the maternity sweaters are because they feel so cozy and cute. I will just have to make sure that any future pregnancies take place in the fall and winter too so that I don't have to suffer the embarassment of sleeveless shirts with my chubby preggo arms.
On the other hand, though, I love how roomy the maternity sweaters are because they feel so cozy and cute. I will just have to make sure that any future pregnancies take place in the fall and winter too so that I don't have to suffer the embarassment of sleeveless shirts with my chubby preggo arms.
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