A wee bit of drama...

Well, as most of you are aware, 26 weeks started off with a bang. I will post the official "26 weeks" update, sans current picture, next. But until then, here is the official update on Baby D and his/her first temper tantrum...

Wednesday I started to feel weird. I can't really explain it other than that, but I just felt... weird. I'm not one to really freak out and call the doctor over every little thing, so I just decided to take it easy and see if the "weirdness" abated - logic being that if things still didn't feel right, I could call in the morning and see what the nurses thought. I didn't take the dogs out on their second walk, took a warm bath, chugged water like nobody's business, sat around with my feet up, and then eventually went to bed. Unfortunately, once I was in bed, I still couldn't get comfortable. My lower back was achy and I kept getting what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions. Just an overall tightening and discomfort, but not particularly painful. I was in and out of bed a few times and overall was a cranky person, you can just ask Mike. I may or may not have thrown a mini-tantrum over wanting ice cream... :)

Thursday morning the discomfort had abated a bit, but I still felt a little weird. Since we were supposed to leave Friday morning for LA, I decided to call the doc just to be safe. Not really my m.o., but hey, better safe than sorry considering an eight-hour drive and a four day holiday weekend were upon us. At noon, I met with Dr. Farias and when she checked things out, all was not well. I was 1 centimeter dilated and 50% effaced. At 26 weeks. Not so good. She said that if I wasn't dilated, the effacement wouldn't be that big of a deal, but the dilation combined with the effacement and my discomfort wasn't good. Baby D was being testy! She decided that a) I was not going to LA and b) was going straight to Labor & Delivery to be monitored. If the discomfort I was feeling were contractions, I would be admitted to stop them. Apparently my hospital tour was going to happen a month earlier than anticipated.

I went in at 1pm and for my first hospital admission in my life, I decided to start with a bang. The discomfort was, in fact, contractions and they were happening every 7 minutes; at their peak, I was having about 15 contractions per hour. Eek! Around 4pm, Dr. Farias swung by and told me they were going to admit me because I was in pre-term labor. I was transferred out of triage to a private room shortly thereafter where they started me on a Magnesium Sulfate IV to stop and/or slow the contractions. Unfortunately, the level I was on wasn't doing much so they had to up the dosage. Talk about loopy! I felt like I had a lazy eye. Trying to have a conversation with the neonatologist was interesting to say the least! But he did make me feel better if Baby D were to come a little early. Just to be safe, I also received the first of two betamethasone (steroid) shots to help develop Baby D's lungs if things went south.

Through Thursday night, I continued to have contractions but not at the same level as during the afternoon (approximately 6-8/hour). Late Friday afternoon, Dr. Farias came by and we rechecked my dilation (still 1cm, hurray!) and did a Fetal Fibronectin test. Even though the test ended up coming back positive, they decreased the IV and I felt a bazillion times better! Immediately after decreasing the IV, the contractions increased again, but once I was given an Ambien and went to sleep, they slowed down. Saturday morning I was only having 2-3 an hour, so they took me off the Magnesium and we started an oral med called Nifedipine. The few contractions I had after the switch were more of a nuisance than painful, and extremely irregular. By the afternoon, the doc had decided that if I continued to tolerate the Nifedipine, I could go home. Hurrah! She said I might continue to have contractions but if they're not doing anything (aka, causing me to dilate), they might be something I just get to deal with for the remainder of the pregnancy. Fortunately, after my second dose of Nifedipine, my blood pressure remained stable, the contractions remained little to non-existent and we were discharged around 5pm.

The entire experience was extremely surreal... I didn't particularly feel scared because I felt extremely well taken care of the whole time (by both the hospital staff and Mikey). I also never really felt like Baby D was threatened or about to make an appearance... but it was an interesting experience to say the least. For now, I will remain on the Nifedipine and have doctor's orders to "take it easy" for the next 8-12 weeks. Not strictly bedrest (thank GOD), but nothing to the level of activity I was at prior to this episode. No heavy cleaning, no dog-walking, no traveling, no over-exertion allowed. This week in particular I've been ordered to putter around and act like I'm snowed in, then at my appointment on Friday we can decide if any slight increase in activity will be allowed. Dr. Farias feels that we can get me to the mid-30's, so we're looking at a February or March baby instead of April. Let's hope we can keep him/her in as long as possible! She has had a few patients go full-term after going through pre-term labor, so maybe we can be that exception as well! We shall see. Now we just have to start getting our Baby D stash put together, considering we have Nada, Zilch, Zero. Online shopping it is!

Big thanks to everyone's thoughts, prayers and well-wishes. Here's to 8+ weeks of being a couch potato!

Cheers,
Mike, Dianne and Baby D

25 weeks

Due Date: April 5th

Musings on the Weekly Photo: We have approximately 14ish more weeks of growing? Really?

Marination Time: 25 weeks

Weight Gain: Net (+2) as of doc appointment on 12/2 (next appointment is Jan. 6th).

Maternity Clothes: To be honest, I didn't really get out of my workout clothes this week. I know, I know - lazy, lazy girl! But why bother being uncomfortable in jeans if you can wear running pants and slippers?!

Fruit of the Week: We have graduated to Eggplant status!

Name: Lacee has decided "Rrrrrrreuben" (roll that r!) is way more fun than "Cletus the Fetus." So, what if s/he is a girl? "Rrrrreubenita." Um, maybe his/her nickname will be Roo?

Gender: Team Green

Movement: It seems to depend on the day, but s/he has been more calm this week. I've also been relatively busy with holiday stuff, so I might just be more distracted.

Cravings/Aversions: My aversion to poultry seems to have returned. I also haven't been nearly as hungry  and tend to get full quickly. Let the organ-smushing commence!

Annoyances: Mood swings aren't cool. I cried watching a Folgers commercial on Tuesday morning...

Highlights of the Week: Merry, merry Christmas! This year we're driving to Texas to spend Christmas with my parents and Grammie, coming home on Monday, then turning around on Friday to drive to LA for New Years. I'm not looking forward to all those hours in a car, but it'll be nice to see both sides of the family. :)

24 weeks

Due Date: April 5th

Musings on the Weekly Photo: Is it just me, or has the quality of these phone pictures gone downhill? Bump-wise, I may have popped? Eh, eh?

Marination Time: 24 weeks

Weight Gain: Net (+2) as of doc appointment on 12/2 (next appointment is Jan. 6th).

Maternity Clothes: I definitely need to make sure my t-shirts have some extra space, besides that, everything else is about the same as before. I did find a pair of maternity jeans for $10 this week - it's a Festivus miracle! Those things are expensive! Ridiculous if you ask me. They're just jeans with elastic. Grr.

Fruit of the Week: Papaya

Name: We have lists! Hurrah!

Gender: Team Green

Movement: All. The. Time. The kicks are so hard sometimes that I have to catch my breath! Bebe's got some oomph. Mike definitely has no trouble feeling them as well, especially in the morning. I like to think they're having a little chat before he leaves for work. :)

Cravings/Aversions: Cravings... Gimme that fruit. Yum yum. My sweet tooth seems to come and go, but it seems to be more of the idea of sweets that I'm craving - once I eat the sugar, I feel kind of yucky. This week I'm definitely feeling a need for protein as well - bebe must be going through a growth spurt. As for aversions... lunch meats and Mexican food are still a big, fat BOO.

Annoyances: Braxton Hicks. They don't hurt, but I've become oh-so-much more AWARE of them. They definitely kick my butt if I'm dehydrated or have over-exerted myself. Just another reminder that I am not, in fact, invincible. Darn it. I'm also carrying really low, which basically means that Baby D thinks of my bladder as his/her own personal trampoline... that's a lot of fun.

Highlights of the Week: Three cheers for viability!

23 weeks

Due Date: April 5th

Musings on the Weekly Photo: Yes, that is a Glacier Park t-shirt from the 70s. Thanks, Dad. Bump-wise, a little up 'n a little out.

Marination Time: 23 weeks

Weight Gain: Net (+2) as of 12/2

Maternity Clothes: About the same. My shirts are a wee tight and I prefer to wear the aforementioned leggings, but I can still fit into the majority of my clothing (including my jeans, thank God.) Although when I broke out my peacoat this week (yay cold weather!), we ended up with a bit of a "faaaat guy in little cooooat" situation...

Fruit of the Week: Papaya

Name: We have lists! Hurrah!

Gender: Team Green

Movement: I swear this kid never sleeps - s/he really likes to rock and roll at 3am.

Cravings/Aversions: Cravings: fruit and sandwiches. I find myself eating pineapple or a honey crisp apple in the middle of the night a few times per week. Also, if I have Subway for lunch, I end up wanting it for dinner as well - and then I have the leftover 6" the next day for lunch. Yummy, yummy sandwiches. Aversions: still not liking the idea of lunch meat, and even though I'm okay with the taste of Mexican food, bebe is not so much a fan after a few bites. Sad face. :*(

Annoyances: See "Dear Baby D." 

Highlights of the Week: Still truckin' along! I went jogging for the first time in a while and it was glorious. It was not pretty nor was it fast, but it was successful and felt amazing. I've been walking a lot, but missed running. Granted it resembled more of a shuffle than a run, but it was faster than a walk and I'll take what I can get! In addition to my walking and yoga dvd, I'm going to try and keep it up at least once or twice a week until it becomes uncomfortable. We also got pre-registered for the hospital and signed up for our hospital tour and childbirth class; all of which culminated in the inevitable "omg, we're actually having a kid" moment. As of next week, if anything were to happen Baby D is viable so the doc likes her patients to be pre-registered as early as possible - just in case. Craziness! I'm almost 2/3 done baking this cookie!

Dear Baby D...

Dear Baby D, Rocking and rolling around at 3 am ain't cool... there will be plenty of time for that when you meet the big, wide world. Let's sleep, shall we? Gracias. Love, Your tired Mama

the name game, vol. 3 & 4

Vol. 3...
Dianne: "Daphne! Daphne Dotter. Haha."
Mike: "Only if this is Scooby-Doo."

Vol. 4...
Our newest method is to use an online random name generator and as I read aloud names that don't offend me, Mike gives me his first reaction.
Dianne: "Levi."
Mike: "Too Jewish."
Dianne: "Elijah."
Mike: "Too biblical. We are not church-going people."
Dianne: "Isaac."
Mike, eyebrows raised: "Really? Again..."
Dianne: "Miriam."
Mike: "That's either an old white lady or a black guy, I'm not sure. And if I can't tell if it's a boy or girl, then it's a no."

Funny enough, we actually made some headway during that conversation...

22 weeks and an ultrasound!

Due Date: Still April 5th, but we are measuring two days ahead. So we'll just say the first week of April!

Musings on the Weekly Photo: Up and out, my friends, up 'n out. More baby than fat! Yay! Side note: I feel a lot bigger than I look. I guess pictures are a good reality check.

Marination Time: 22 weeks.

Weight Gain: Gain of 5 since last appointment, officially +2. Also, baby weighed in at 1lb, 2oz today.

Maternity Clothes: Stretchy pants are God's gift to pregnant women, and BeBand leggings are my stretchy pants of choice! Mike took me to buy some shirts today - his idea, mind you. A lot of my tops that aren't t-shirts are getting a wee tight around the middle. What a thoughtful hubby. :)

Fruit of the Week: Papaya (where we will stay until week 24).

Name: Same dilemma.

Gender: It's a bouncing... baby! Haha. Kept our eyes closed today! No peeking allowed.

Movement: Still a party. Throughout the entire u/s today, bebe never stopped wiggling. I'm beginning to think that he/she will never sleep...

Cravings: Fruit, fruit and more fruit. Oh, and some fruit.

Annoyances: No complaints this week. 

Highlights of the Week: We had our Level II Ultrasound today and all is well! Brain, heart, spine, arms and legs look great and healthy. And those legs are long! Mike's genes are already showing up. :) He/she was super active the whole time and it was a trip to simultaneously see and feel the kicks - I definitely haven't been imagining all that movement since week 14. He/she is currently lying length-wise across my belly, which explains why my bump is so low. We also got to see lots of bebe's little face, but when we went back to get a profile shot, he/she decided to curl up into a little ball. This is what Baby Dotter looks like a la 5ish months baked: