Week 33: Over achiever?

On Thursday I had my first fetal monitoring appointment due to the gestational diabetes. Essentially this consists of sitting in a chair for 20+ minutes with an amplifier on my belly. Oh yeah, I also get a button to push every time she kicks. Well, apparently Allison passed her first test with flying colors in about 10 minutes! (Unfortunately, I still had to sit there for the remainder...) I was originally told that this was a 1x/week test, however, I have now been put on a medication to encourage my body to produce more insulin, so with that, I have to go in 2x/week now. I feel like I might as well move in to St. John's! But I just keep telling myself that we only have 7 weeks to go...

**I also was finally able to scan u/s pics, so check out week 20 & 27 for Allie's first photos!!

Week 32: Couple's Shower

I can't believe how close we are getting to our due date and our first baby shower certainly made it feel a bit more real!! Thank you everyone (especially Susan, Julie, and Lynn) for contributing to Allison's first party!! We had a great time and are very grateful for all the wonderful gifts. The tile mirror is going to turn out great and I'm sure that Allie will love having something in her room that was made just for her!! I also had no idea how much Cookie Monster stuff was really on the market... Wouldn't it be ironic if she grew up to hate him?? Hehe. Oh well, I've got a couple years before she can start arguing with me about it!!

Week 31

Week 30: More Stats ** Updated

I'm going to be spending a lot of time at St. John's from now until the end of April, so here's the latest and greatest stats... Weight is 159lbs (+16 from pre-pregnancy weight) and I'm continuing to gain about a pound per week. And my belly measures a whopping 32" (still on the large side, but within range). I've gotten to the point where I don't remember what it feels like to walk around without a bowling ball in my abdomen, however, I have fond memories of peaceful sleep that I can't wait to experience again!

**Update: I had another ultrasound on Thursday and Baby Allie is weighing in at 3lbs 5oz! Gestational diabetes babies tend to be on the big side, so it's definitely good news that she's not supersized. Everything else appears to be going well and I will be continued to be monitored by the perinatal lab every other week with non-stress tests as well as ultrasounds every month.

In other news, after a lot of discussion Matt and I have decided to deliver via C-section. While none of the three doctors providing my care can be certain that a vaginal delivery will worsen my Crohn's, there is significant risk of developing fistulas, tearing, or prolapsing that could complicate the disease. It was a tough decision because I really wanted to "experience" labor and I was afraid that recovery was going to be more difficult. But in the end, we know that I am no good to Allie if I am not healthy, so it's better to err on the side of caution. So, if all continues to go well, little Allie should make her grand entrance into the world between April 24th-29th!

With 2 months left, we have started working on the nursery and are making quick progress. I am however with-holding pics until we are done! I can tell you that the painting is almost done and we should be getting the furniture mid-March. It looks so different from the rest of the house, but it's been a lot of fun decorating with all the bright colors and patterns!

Week 29: Mer

So, the last week has been pretty much focused on trying to get my blood sugar under control, which has turned out to be much more difficult than I anticipated. The Prenidsone has such a strong effect on the readings that it's hard to get even my fasting glucose in the normal range. But I keep trying different routines in hope of finding something that works. Today looks kinda promising after tapering from 30mg to 25mg last night with a fasting blood glucose of 89 (almost the lowest it's ever been). My sweet tooth is probably not helping matters much either. I might just have to go on some additional medication for a little while... Hopefully some promising results over the weekend will change that, but we'll see. I just keep telling myself that we only have 2 more months to go!! And it will be busy with getting the nursery ready, childbirth classes, baby showers, and doctors appointments! Baby Allie will be here before we know it... (scary!!)

Week 28: Numbers

On Thursday I had the pleasure of spending all day in gestational diabetes training... fun, fun, fun! Turns out my glucogen test was 199, which is borderline tragically bad. So, the game plan is to count carbs and monitor my blood glucose until little Miss Allison's arrival. It's been a bit of a learning process to determine how much sugar my body can handle at one time, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. I just never realized how carb heavy my diet was. Especially snacks. I love fruit, granola bars, and milk, all of which have to be restricted. But honestly, it's not a bad thing for the Crohn's. Sugar is food for the bad bacteria in your gut, so limiting my intake can only do good things. As I continue to taper off the steroids, my body should also be able to process it better. We've only got about 10 weeks to go, so I'm sure the time will fly by! I also get to add additional appointments with a perinatologist as well as a diabetes educator to ensure that I'm doing everything right and that baby is healthy. That means more ultrasounds and fetal monitoring, which can be fun. Just not looking forward to spending so much time at St. John's!

Week 27: Home Stretch

Officially in the third trimester, I am really starting to feel pretty good! I went for my prenatal appointment yesterday and have gained another few pounds in the last month and my Crohn's appears to be pretty well in check. We also had another ultrasound to check on my placenta (which was lying a little close to my cervix last time) as well as the cyst they found during the MRI and both problems appear to have resolved themselves! Then we got the bomb dropped... Gestational diabetes... It was anticipated that the steroids would impede my body's ability to process sugars, however, I apparently flunked really bad. So, I have been stamped "high risk" and now will be also monitored by another obstetrician that specializes in complications through the remainder of my pregnancy. I'm not sure what kind of action will need to take place right now, but I'm assuming diet for sure and maybe medication?

Stats:
My weight: +13lbs (from pre-pregnancy weight)
Belly measurement: 28 inches (I think?)
Baby Allison weighs approximately 2lbs 6oz (44th percentile)
Current fetal position is breech. We know she has plenty of time to move, but all the Binning boys were breech, so I'm wondering if there is any correlation...


I feel like there were some other details I wanted to add, but they are escaping me at the moment... But here is an updated (and better) belly pic!

Week 26: Feeling the Burn

While overall, I have to say that the second trimester has been much better than the first (aside from those pesky hospitalizations), I'm beginning to feel the symptoms of the home stretch. One of my least favorite has been the increasing amount of heartburn... And with all the projects we are trying to get done before Allison's arrival, being in a crouched or bent position only makes it worse! The good news is that it's not so bad I can't manage it by varying my activities or schedule. I definitely don't want to add any additional meds, so hopefully that will continue to work.

We are also very excited to start work on the nursery soon!! After registering (thanks again for everyone's suggestions), it all seems a little bit more real. I guess I'm nesting because I can't wait to start the painting and sewing. The paint has been purchased and we have the stencils for the walls all mapped out, so we are well on our way! You may have noticed that we don't have much bedding on our registry and that is because I found a pattern at Target that was discontinued. However, we were able to snag a few key pieces on clearance. Here is the link if you are curious... DwellStudio Circles. So, next week my objective is to find some coordinating fabrics for the window treatments 'n such. I'm so excited to see it all come together!

Week 25: Help!

Matt and I finally got the courage to start our Babies R Us registry last night, and I can't believe how overwhelming the entire experience was! Not really knowing what we really "need" we did our best to hit the basics, but only added a meager 17 items. So, I'm hoping that all the mommies out there could take a few minutes and let us know what your best/worst purchases were... Here is a link to our registry if you want to take a look.

Babies R Us Registry

Week 24: Stats

Another month has past and Baby Allison is getting BIG!! I have been gaining a bit of weight which is a relief and my belly measures 26"! (It should be approximately the same as the number of weeks gestation +/- 2", so I'm a bit on the big side.) She is still as active as ever and her heartbeat is really strong. While she still has quite a bit of cooking to do, her survival rate would actually be pretty good if she were born now. I find that very reassuring because I keep joking that she is trying to bust out of my belly with her strong kicking! Some other fun facts:

Week Twenty-Four

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• Bring on the bulk! Baby gains about 6 ounces this week. The weight is in muscle, bone mass and organs.
• His body begins to fill out with his appearance increasingly becoming more like a newborn.
• Taste buds begin to form. If mom drinks something strange or bitter, baby may be observed showing his distaste.
• Little creases have appeared on his palms. The muscular coordination of his hands has improved as he sucks his thumb.
• Over the next seven days the sweat glands will be forming in the skin.
• His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.
• This week your baby is officially considered viable.
• Baby weighs 1.3 pound (600gm) and is 11.8 inches (30cm) long -- almost the length of a ruler!

As for my health, I think it's safe to say that I will be stuck on the steroids until delivery. Best guess is that my last flare was caused by tapering off the meds too quickly. This can be a common response when the disease begins to go through withdrawal. I have to be very aware of everything I'm eating to monitor the effects each has on my digestive function. As well as I have eliminated most processed foods which has helped quite a bit. Besides that, I'm taking it day by day, anxiously awaiting Spring when we get to meet our little gymnast!

Week 23: Happy New Year!

Everyone in the Binning house has their fingers crossed that 2009 will be much calmer than 2008 was!! The good news is that I actually felt well enough to celebrate the new year after spending the previous 5 days in the hospital... Katie and Ian invited us and a few others over to Ian's mom's house and we played Rock Star, billiards, and had a great time socializing. It wasn't a late night by any means, but I made it to midnight and a little beyond without any trouble. The coolest part of the evening was when Matt finally felt Allison move for the first time right after midnight! What a way to ring in the new year!!

Week 22: Bah Humbug

So, Christmas started out really great for us... Allison has been moving around a lot more- to the point where others can feel her kick! Then on Christmas Day, my Crohn's took a turn for the worse suddenly. By 5pm I knew it wasn't going to improve on its own, so I headed back to the ER. Not surprisingly, they admitted me. I was given IV steroids and put back on a clear liquid diet as well given an MRI. The test proved that I don't have any abcess or obstruction, which is good news. They did however, find a 4cm cyst on my right ovary. I was a little alarmed, but apparently it is very common and nothing to worry about. After a few days of rest and the medications, I could tell things were on the mend, but maintenance is now the name of the game. It's become obvious that I may not be able to get off the steroids for the remainder of the pregnancy. This complicates things a bit, but all my doctors seem pretty confident that staying on the medications will be safe for both of us for the next few months.

Week 21