Mid-Week Update!

Well, I think I've finally gotten my diabetes under control! I went to the doctor Monday morning for a non-stress test and spoke to my doctor about my glucose levels again. She upped my insulin significantly and today was the first day I've had normal levels!!! Hopefully this is the last time she will need to up it, but at least I feel better knowing that I'm able to control it now! Clay is still doing great! The results of the non-stress test were perfectly normal. I have another ultrasound August 18th to check his weight.

Last Friday I had my first Baby Shower hosted by my good friends at work. Mark was invited as well and we had the best time! We got lots of great gifts. We got the diaper champ, jumperoo, booster seat, lots of receiving blankets, onsies and gift cards. The food was also wonderful!! My favorite, of course, were the sweet things (the things I was not supposed to have, but did). We had cupcakes from this wonderful bakery in Birmingham - and I enjoyed every last bite! Even Monte, my little yorkie, got a gift. He got a stuffed Hippo from the girls hosting the shower :). Below are a few of the pictures from the shower.

The yummy cupcakes

The Jumperoo that hopefully Clay will love to use on a regular basis (when he's old enough, of course)

The Diaper Champ that Mark will be using when he changes all the diapers :).
Monte's new favorite toy - Mr. Hippo. He LOVES it!

This weekend I have another shower here in Huntsville! I'm VERY excited about it! We've got a lot of our friends and family who we don't get to see very often coming in to town so I'm sure there will be plenty of good times! I'll be sure to post pictures from that as well.

I'm Ready for CAKE!!!!!!

So... I just finished up my first week of NST's (Non-Stress Tests) which have actually been pretty neat. I go in twice a week (Monday and Thursday) and they hook me up to a machine that measures contractions as well as Clayton's heart rate. During the time I'm hooked up to the machine, they measure his heart rate and see if it's going up like it should when he moves around. They like to see it go up about 20 beats or so from his resting heart rate when he moves. He has performed well both times so far and everything looks great (he's still big, though!). I have not been having any labor contractions, but they think I may be having some Braxton Hicks contractions... so nothing to worry about.

As far as the diabetes, my body refuses to cooperate! She upped my dosage again on Monday... now I'm taking more of the 2 kinds of insulin with dinner and she added another injection with my breakfast. Hopefully this will do it! I'm quickly becoming good friends with the people at the Target Pharmacy!

The first of my showers is tomorrow and I'm VERY excited! It's my work shower down in Birmingham thrown by my great friends I've worked with for the last 5 years! I will be sure to take lots of pictures! I am also going to eat some cake whether my diabetes likes it or not! I've not had a lick of "real" sugar in the last 5 weeks and have been saving up to splurge at my showers!! (I did ok this with the dr this morning, of course!)

I've got a couple more showers coming up in the next few weeks... hopefully Clayton will hold off and they won't turn into "Meet the Baby" showers :)!

As far as how HUGE I've gotten, I took a 33 week picture. I just really don't think my stomach can expand anymore!

My Clever Husband

My clever husband had some time to kill yesterday while waiting at the Cracker Barrel to meet up with some co-workers. He decided to browse through the little country store area of Cracker Barrel while he waited. What he found was SOOOO typical of him! He, of course, had to get it! When he came home, he told me he had a surprise for Baby Clay. I couldn't imagine what he found at Cracker Barrel! When he showed me... I laughed hysterically! It has got the be the cutest and funniest thing I've seen in a while! He was VERY proud of himself. I just had to take pictures of it!

This is the front. Typical "Guy" thing to pick out for a baby. Especially one in the Landscape/Construction business.This is the back. This is what makes the whole outfit! VERY clever putting the dump truck on the "butt" of the outfit!

I'm Giving Birth to a Toddler!!!!!

Yes, folks... Baby Clay is a BIG BABY! I had my appointment this morning and they did an ultrasound to see how much he weighs... and he is a porker :)! He weighs 5.1 pounds which is the size of a 36 week old (keep in mind I'm only 32 weeks!). He is definitely coming into the world by c-section. He is scheduled to arrive Monday, September 8th at 12:30 PM... or actually that's my appointment time. I'm sure he'll come a little later after that. They said he is perfectly healthy and should stay that way. His heartbeat was good and everything measured just fine... big - but fine. My doctor estimates that he will probably be over 9 1/2 pounds by 39 weeks, so a c-section is perfectly fine with me. And it should please the family who was going to be stuck in the waiting room until I popped him out... now they know what time to come! Next week, I start my "2-a-weeks" and go in on Monday and Thursday to do non-stress tests - which basically means they will hook me up to a monitor and every time he moves, I hit a button and they make sure his heart rate goes up during that time. Lord! I hope he's moving all over the place so it doesn't take long!

As for the diabetes part... my doctor didn't like the levels and prescribed me more insulin. I still just have 1 injection (Thank Goodness!), but now I have to use 2 different kinds of insulin. I bet my insurance company is LOVIN' me right now. I always like to see what insurance has to pay... and it's A LOT compared to my copay. You would think they had generic insulin for as long as diabetes has been around! My doctor assured me that my levels were in no way hurting Clayton, but that it's just precautionary to up the dosage.

I did get some decent pictures from the ultrasound. They are not as good as they have been in the past because he's a little cramped for space right now. They switched the 4-d on for a little bit to see if they could get some good pics and those didn't turn out very well. Plus the umbilical cord was all up in his way.

Oh! The Craziness!

I know I haven't posted in a while, but it's been a little crazy around here! I've been out of town a few times recently, we've had a wedding, we've had errands, we've had class... and we've had EXTREMELY high blood sugars! I had gotten some good news last Thursday when I faxed my blood sugar results in that I was doing a good job and didn't need to go on anymore insulin, but I'm not sure that's going to be the case this week! I've got an ultrasound this Thursday so we'll get to see if Baby Clay really weighs the 10 pounds I feel like he weighs :). I'm hoping the past measurements are off because of his long legs, or that I'm carrying around a lot of extra fluid... I can only hope! After this ultrasound, I should have 1 more around 36 weeks (I'm 32 now) and that one will be the one where my doctor determines whether or not a c-section is needed.

We did have our last Childbirth Class last night! I now feel prepared... or at least a little more prepared. We did the tour of the hospital and watched a video about the Neonatal Unit they have at Huntsville Hospital as well as the infamous birthing video! I did not think the birthing video was that bad. Now, if you ask Mark, he will tell you it was more shocking than watching any horror movie he's ever seen. I was actually surprised at the number of couples who left before they showed the video. One preggo girl even brought her ipod so that she could watch a movie while the birthing video was on... COME ON people! It's not that bad! Yeah, it was a little graphic, but I've seen shows on the Discovery channel that are more graphic! Now we get to start Parenting Class next Thursday - which I think will be really good. We, of course, learn the basics - changing diapers, feeding, etc. - but we also learn things like CPR and what to do in emergencies.

I know with the Gestational Diabetes I've been harping on all the negative things about pregnancy, but I've decided to turn over a new leaf (for the time being) and focus on my Top 10 Favorite Things About Being Pregnant:

10. The Expectant Mothers parking spots at Publix. I did, of course, wait until I was showing before I started using these - because I am one of those people that makes sure those that park there truly "look" pregnant!

9. Being "forgetful" is ok... since I'm pregnant.

8. Not having to hold my stomach in.

7. Not feeling bad for taking naps - I'm not talking about falling asleep on the couch for a few minutes during Days of Our Lives, but climbing into the bed (that I didn't make, of course) and napping for a couple of hours.

6. Even though I have Gestational Diabetes, I've been able to make Mexican Food and Moe's almost a daily part of my life... and I don't feel guilty about it one bit :)!

5. The sweet things my husband does for me. It's the little things... like bringing me a Diet Sunkist from the store - although, I think it's only because he's trying to make me happy so I don't mention anything about the 6-pack he bought for himself!

4. Having nice people let me cut in front of them in the bathroom line - this is really becoming a luxury the farther along I get!

3. The unexplained bond that a pregnant woman obviously shares with every stranger that has ever had a kid. I can't tell you how many department store clerks have told me about their childbirth and child rearing experiences! I had 2 just the other day when I was shopping for a wedding gift!

2. MATERNITY JEANS - (this was almost my #1, but you'll see why I chose my #1) I cannot tell you how much I LOVE maternity jeans. Forget Fat Jeans! From now on, whenever I'm having a "feeling fat" day... I'm pulling out the maternity jeans!

And the #1 favorite thing about being pregnant...

1. Feeling Baby Clay moving around inside of me! He constantly moves and now that he's gotten bigger, my whole stomach moves with him. Before it was just kicks and bumps... and now it's actual body parts moving across my stomach! Very weird... but the neatest thing I've ever experienced.

So, enough of my rambling! I'm sure I'll post an update regarding my appointment on Thursday!

When Deviled Eggs Fly!!

Ok... now I need assurance from all of my friends who have been pregnant that I am completely normal (or at least normal where pregnancy hormones are concerned). I had a "crazy pregnant woman" episode this past weekend that is actually kind of funny now that I look back on it. Saturday evening I was making deviled eggs to take over to a friend's house for a cookout. I had them all finished and packed up nicely in tupperware. I told Mark I needed to put them in the cooler because we had a bit of a drive to the friend's house. He told me there was room... but there was not a good way to fit them in the cooler without them toppling over because of his beer. So I asked him if he could rearrange the cooler so that I can set them upright. He tried to fit them in and, of course, was not being "gentle" with them. I got a little irritated and took them away from him and said that they needed to be on a "flat" surface. So he took out some of his beer and held back the ice so that I could set the tupperware inside. While I was doing this, the top came off and he got frustrated with me. I, of course, didn't like his huffiness, so I said some not so nice things... then he said some not so nice things and that was it! I threw the deviled eggs across the kitchen! Now, if you ask Mark about this story, he might exaggerate a little and say that I threw the eggs AT him, but they were not even thrown in his direction. Needless to say, we did not have deviled eggs to take over to the cookout. But, WOW! It's amazing how you can be fine one minute and then psycho the next! Please tell me that at least one of you mommies out there has had a pregnancy episode similar to that!!! I really wish I had thought about taking a picture of the aftermath because it was actually quite humerous! He just better hope he doesn't set me off while I'm holding something more dangerous than deviled eggs :).

Oh, why can't I have a BORING pregnancy??!!!

I had my regular OB check up just a little while ago and knew it wasn't going to be a "regular" appointment due to all of this diabetes crap, but I was not expecting what happened! My doctor took a look at my blood sugar levels and her exact words were "This is not good!". She then followed it up with something like "don't let me scare you... it's not off the charts or anything". She said she was just really concerned since I am not the typical candidate to have gestational diabetes and I'm REALLY not the typical candidate that has to go on insulin... that's right folks, I am now going to have to give myself a shot of insulin in addition to the 4 finger pricks I do EVERY day.

Besides the whole "shock" with the insulin thing, Clayton is doing well. His heartbeat was in the 150's which was where it was supposed to be. He's now measuring 34 weeks along, even though I'm only 30. I asked if the diabetes was hurting him in any way and she said that it's basically like he's a "kid in a candy store" with the extra glucose, but that he's perfectly fine - maybe a little bit on the big side... but fine. I have an ultrasound in 2 weeks and then after that I have to go twice a week until I deliver.

The good news is, I now have a scheduled delivery date!! Clayton is going to make his appearance September 8th - well, we hope it's September 8th and not the 9th which would mean a VERY long labor for me :).

Diabetes Update

I went to see my diabetes nurse a little while ago and she looked at everything and said I was on the right track. I kind of almost half-heartedly wished she said I needed to go on insulin, because I'm SO OVER this diabetes stuff! I think I might hurl if I eat another salad! And peanut butter... it is fast becoming WAY overrated! Anyways... the only thing she said that might happen is my dr may see that my morning "Fasting" blood sugars are a little high and might prescribe me insulin before I go to bed. I'm cool with that... as long as I can have a big, fat watermelon cream slush from Sonic :). I didn't gain any weigt since last week - she said that is normal but that I really need to make sure I don't lose any.

I've got my next OB appointment with my dr tomorrow morning, so I should know more about this diabetes stuff as well as how Baby Clayton is doing. Wish me luck!!

Oh, and here's my 30 week picture... Lord I'm getting huge! I honestly don't know how much more my belly can stretch... and I've got 10 more weeks to go!

Nursery Preview!!!!

Sooo... Mark went to pick up the crib last Friday and I was afraid he was going to wait until we got every piece of furniture before he put it together... but like a good husband, he put it together that night! It took him less than an hour and he didn't even cuss once! I did have to go get him a beer mid-way through... which I think probably helped out on the cussing part :). He then painted the nursery (the whole thing minus the trim) on Saturday! What a great husband! I, of course, couldn't resist putting the bedding on - just to see what it looked like and it looks adorable!!! Below are a few pictures of it. Originally the animals are supposed to be on the outside, but they didn't show up too good with how wide the bars are on the crib. Now they are on the inside - where Baby Clay can enjoy them :)!!