Baby Update

I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes last week.  It really doesn't seem to be that big of a deal, it's more involved for me and doesn't seem to affect Ali all that much.  I go to the diabetes management center this afternoon to get all the stuff and will start tracking my blood sugars daily then fax it to the center every week.  As long as I can keep it managed with diet, we'll just keep this up till she's born.  If it doesn't respond to diet, then we'll have to look into insulin shots, etc. 

 

Gestational diabetes goes away after the baby is born, although more than likely I will have it again with the next pregancy and I'll have a slightly higher risk for Type 2 diabetes later in life.  But I was already at that risk due to family history so no biggie there.

 

What happens with gestational diabetes is that the placenta absorbs the insulin my pancreas produces and prevents it from being distributed in my body.  The placenta then gives all that insulin to Ali, which is why gestational diabetes babies are bigger.  I did have an ultrasound yesterday (at 31 weeks) and her head is measuring 31 weeks, her abdomen and thigh bones were measuring 32...so her frame isn't that much bigger than you'd expect.  But, her weight should be around 3.5 pounds and she's 4.3.  My doctor said that they are going to plan on inducing me before my due date because she doesn't want the shoulders getting too big and we get into the problem of the head coming out, but the shoulders getting stuck.  How early is going to be determined mainly by how much weight Ali gains, how big her shoulders get, how well the diabetes is controlled, and if I become pre-eclamptic. 

 

The ultrasound was exciting, she has a lot of hair (I did when I was born) and her face no longer looked like a skeleton, it looked just like a baby picture!  We think so far she has JM's cheeks and my jawbone structure. 

 

Along with the gestational diabetes, Ali and I will be monitored more often until she's born.  I will have ultrasounds done every 3-4 weeks (which I'm perfectly happy with) and then starting in August I'll go to the hospital twice a week for nonstress tests.  We had one done a few weeks ago, I just get hooked up to monitors and we listen to her heartbeat for an hour or so...which I'm perfectly fine with as well...I love hearing that sound! 

 

Another side note, my doctor said to be prepared because the hospital has a policy that all gestational diabetes babies get put in the NICU for observation after birth.  She said they haven't been as strict with that lately, but just in case they do it, it's their policy, not necessarily that they think something's wrong.

 

So that's the update for now!  A lot going on, but she's coming sooner than we thought AND I'm happy with being monitored more!!!

Flooding

JM and I recently learned a technique that I feel, if used correctly, could make a huge difference in many marriages and relationships. 

We met with the small groups minister at our church who enjoys counseling marriage issues.  Before the baby is born, there are things that I was hoping to at least get started working on in our relationship.  I know arguments are inevitable and we are going to disagree, but I wanted to learn how to communicate better during those times.  We seem to have arguments and nothing is ever resolved.  It's like we just get tired of arguing and brush it under the rug.  Unfortunately, by using this tactic, that stuff hidden under the rug always seems to make its way out at a later point in time. 

I know that whatever our children grow up seeing in our relationship is what they are going to think is normal, and in turn is what they will expect out of their own relationships when they reach adulthood.  I never want to think of my little girl in a relationship that's verbally abusive, or one where yelling or swearing at each other is how they communicate, or going in and out of relationships because divorce is easier than dealing with the problem...all because that's what she saw growing up.  I feel that if she sees that her parents do argue, but they find resolution in it and treat each other with respect during it, she will seek the same thing in life.  If she grows up knowing that divorce isn't an option and that you should never settle for a mediocre life, but instead work hard at improving your relationship, which also means working on yourself, then that is what she'll work to attain.

Please keep in mind that JM and I do not have a verbally abusive relationship where we swear and yell at each other.  Nor are we heading down that road.  I'm just trying to be proactive.  Our lives are hectic enough right now trying to work multiple jobs and overtime to make ends meet.  Add a baby into it, and there's going to be less time to work on us.  My hope is that if we start working on 'us' now, by the time she enters our lives, working to improve our relationship will be something we do automatically and on a consistent basis. 

But I digress.  The minister we met with had many amazing suggestions and gave us each a different book to read that he thought would benefit us.  There is one idea that he shared with us that he and his wife use.  Keep in mind, I do not know the book this comes from or where the research was done or any specifics.  I'm telling this from what I heard him say, so it's also being told from a woman's point of view.  Regardless, I think it could help many couples.  JM and I are working on making it part of our relationship.  In theory, it sounds like it will work great, but it's a concept that's much easier said than done.

The concept is called "flooding".  A researcher did a study where he hooked couples up to machines and measured blood pressure, heart rate, etc.  He found that during an argument, there is a point where all of your vital signs increased...a point in which he called flooding.  Once flooding was reach, tempers flared and things were said that the couples felt badly about later.  He also found that after flooding was reached, it took anywhere from 30-60 minutes for vital signs to return to normal.  As you can imagine, during an argument, there is no downtime to let your vitals return to normal, making a resolution very difficult for a couple to obtain. 

Going on with this idea, men and women are different...plain and simple.  Let's take women for example.  During an argument, flooding will tend to make them sharp as a tack.  They know exactly what to say and what jabs to throw and just what to do to get their point across.  To show my personal experiences, when I reach this flooding point, I could argue any lawyer into a corner and make him cry.  I am by no means proud of that, especially when I see what it does to my spouse when he's left speechless or his temper shows because I've driven him to it, but it's what happens. 

Women also absolutely need to have closure in an argument.  We need to know what has been resolved to make this argument worth it...in other words, what did we learn from this?  Leaving an argument unresolved will eat away at us.  We can't sleep and will continue to get more and more angry the longer the argument is left unresolved...which will inevitably lead to another argument.

Men, on the other hand, are the complete opposite.  When they reach the flooding stage, they seem to lose all communication skills.  The woman has become sharper and the man can't keep up.  He's trying to come up with his next sentence but she's throwing words at him and he has to tune her out to find what it is he wants to say.  All men want to do is go to their 'cave' and make the argument go away.  If you've read "Men are from Mars...", you know exactly what I'm talking about.  Also, if men let themselves stay in the argument and reach the flooding stage, their temper will surface, which is when they say things that will make the situation much worse because they're feeling threatened and aren't being allowed enough time to think about what it is they actually want to say. 

So here is the compromise that the minister and his wife have developed using flooding.  An argument or disagreement arises, as will happen.  She's becoming sharper and wanting a resolution.  He starts to feel himself 'flood'.  He can tell his vital signs are increasing, he's on the verge of becoming angry and not able to think straight.  He states, "I'm feeling flooded".  This is where the compromise comes in, and both parties need to fulfill their portion for this to work.

After he states he's feeling flooded, the argument and the wife need to stop.  This is very hard for the wife, as she wants a result now.  This is a huge compromise on the woman's part.  She doesn't want to wait for him to get his head on straight...she can finish this now, why can't he?  But, it's part of the deal that's been made.  She stops.  The husband has already made a huge step by controlling his anger and emotions and instead of letting them get the best of him, he admits that he needs a break and claims flooding. 

But, for this to work, many other things need to happen.  After he states he's feeling flooded, he also needs to tell her an exact time in which they will revisit the subject.  It should be at least 30-60 minutes from then to let them both return to their normal state of minds.  He can say that they'll come back to this in an hour, after he gets home from work, after the kids go to bed....you get the picture.  But, HE HAS TO GIVE A TIME.  Otherwise, the woman feels like he's just trying to get out of the argument.  She feels he 'claimed flooding' because he just wants to go to bed or watch the game, and that will cause the woman to feel unloved and taken advantage of.  We all know that if she's left to feel this way...there will be another argument or she won't be able to recover from her flood and her anger will continue to rise, which doesn't help the situation. 

After he has stated he's feeling flooded and would like to discuss this at an exact time, he needs to leave the situation.  I'm not saying he needs to go to a hotel or anything drastic like that.  But he needs to leave the room.  If they're getting ready for bed, he cannot continue to lay there read his book.  For one thing, he's showing his wife that he's not thinking over what happened and focusing on what he needs to say and do.  She feels that he's literally just trying to cop out of the argument.  He didn't feel like arguing right now, so he's claiming flooding so she'll shut up and he can go on doing what he was doing.  This will not work.  She needs to feel that he loves her enough to take this seriously and hold up his end of the bargain.  He needs to go to another room, go for a walk, whatever will help him focus on what he would like to say.  By staying in the same room, the woman isn't being allowed time to recover AND the husband is testing out her self-control.  Remember, she still desperately wants to continue this and come to a conclusion.  She has shown a huge commitment to him and his needs by stepping back when he claims flooding.  Do not test her ability to continue that by sitting there reading in front of her.  He needs to respect what she feels she is giving up to let him recover and step away. 

He also needs to spend that time calming himself and finding the words to continue the discussion in a civilized manner.  If she's read "Men are from Mars...", she understands that by going to his cave he may need to watch tv for a bit or play a video game to calm down.  It's hard for her because she's still sitting there incomplete and hurting, but she's accepting he needs to do this and she puts his needs before her own.  But if she finds that he's been playing the game or watching tv, has not thought things through himself, or just fails to return to the subject...you guessed it...another argument. 

And let's be honest, if any of the above things have happened, she isn't going to respect his 'flooding' claim the next time because she feels he has shown her that he is not taking her, the argument, or their relationship seriously.  She feels he is only showing that he is continuing to put his own wants ahead of her and their relationship.

Men also need to understand that although this flooding claim was created to allow him time to calm himself and find his own words, it also works to his advantage.  From experience, I can tell you that if I'm removed from the argument for 30-60 minutes and I TRUST that JM will return to discuss the topic, I ease up.  My vitals are given a chance to return to normal and I'm able to see the topic more clearly as well.  So when JM comes back to finish discussing, he's not dealing with the same angry person he was dealing with at the time.  I've calmed and looked at more sides to the subject, therefore I will be much more willing to listen to what he has to say and how he feels, rather than continue my attack because I'm quicker on my feet. 

But, again, I have to have been told a time and TRUST in him that he will return to the subject.  Just as he needs to be able to TRUST that when he tells me he's feeling flooded, I stop.

I'm sure any man reading this will think, "Typical woman wrote this because it's all about what the MAN needs to do".  But that's the point.  Most women can argue a topic for hours and be sharp and on the ball the whole time.  Most men cannot.  This has been created so the man has the same opportunity to share his point or feelings.  By using this, he just gets extra time to think about it without his wife repeating her points and not allowing him to think clearly regarding what he wants to say.  And trust me, shutting up mid-argument is harder for a woman than any man could imagine :-)

Just another manic Monday

I need to learn to not work on Mondays anymore.  I go through this every stinking week.  I'm not sure if it's really more of a pain or if any day you start your work week is like this, but I'm willing to try something new!

 

I have a patient today who is one of the resident's wife.  Keep in mind we probably have hundreds of residents at this hospital, so that doesn't make you any more special than any of my other patients.  There was a whole big issue about how her treatments were ordered every 4 hours but she wanted them every 5 hours and yesterday the RT catered to that.  I don't have the time for that today.  I explained to her that she could have her treatment at the time I was in the room (which was 4 hours from her last treatment), or I could go do the rest of my first rounds and try to make it back to her afterwards, but I couldn't guarantee her that it would be exactly 5 hours from her last treatment.  She wasn't thrilled, but she didn't seem to upset by it (she is obviously one of those girls that are used to getting her way though, she gave me one of those looks like "How can you not be doing exactly what I want you to do???")  I get a call later from the head nurse of the unit who is enraged because this patient is saying that she came out of the shower and I walked in the room for her treatment.  She asked me if I could wait a minute while she got dressed and I said no and stormed out of the room.  It was almost humorous how incredibly falsified her story was. 

 

But it gets better.  She then calls her husband, the resident, who is in surgery at the time.  He leaves surgery and goes to my department to speak with my supervisor.  Seriously?  Luckily, without even knowing my side of the story they backed me up but the patient did request that I not be allowed in her room again.  Fine by me.  I don't think I could have handled seeing her again.  It did make me feel horrible though that someone else had to take her and deal with her for the rest of the day.

 

On a lighter note, we picked out the nursery furniture yesterday!  Here's the link if you want to check it out, it's the second set, the Isabella.

http://www.buybuybaby.com/babyFurnitureSets1.asp?

I had narrowed it down to about 5 sets and we went back to finalize the decision and this set had been put on clearance because it was discontinued.  Made that decision much easier!

 

I'm going to go back to work and try to survive the next hour.  Actually, I'm just going to sit back and feel Alice playing around and get lost in my own little world :-)

Day of Alice

I'll start off by saying that EVERYTHING IS FINE.  She's still as perfect as can be and I'm...well, we all know I'm perfect ;-)  I know JM was updating people with bits and pieces here and there, so I thought I'd get the whole story out so everyone's on the same page!

Side note, for those who don't know, we have decided on a name.  We're naming her after JM's grandmother and my great grandmother, so it's Alice Violet.  Her nickname is after a girl who is very dear to me, so we've been calling her Ali.

Baby girl did get to have some attention today, though.  Late last week I was having some sharp little pains while I was at work.  To be honest, I didn't think a whole lot of them.  I worked overtime 2 weeks straight and I figured Ali was just telling me that she didn't appreciate 96 hours of me being on my feet in 2 weeks.  (I did try to explain to her that she would appreciate it when she had diapers to wear, etc.).  They came back occasionally during the long weekend, but then I felt them again yesterday while I was at work.  I knew they weren't contractions because I get those 'dehydration cramps' (that's what I call them at least), but they are more like little sharp pricks.  My personal opinion was that they were 'growing pains'.  My ligaments are stretching and growing and I figured that was what was happening.  That considered, I work the next 2 days and 'given my history', I decided to call the doctor's office today just to hear them tell me that it's growing pains and totally normal at this point in the pregnancy.

I called this morning and told them what was going on, then they asked if I've felt the baby moving lately.  I hadn't, which is ok at this point in the pregnancy (24 weeks).  The books even say you can go days without feeling them at this point because their movement is unorganized and sporadic.  This must have set off some alarm with the nurse because she had me come straight into the hospital and be admitted for an NST.

Of course, on the way there I had to google 'NST' and learned that it's a Non Stress Test for the baby.  The point of it is to see if there are any drops in heart rate or changes in movement to indicate a possibly oxygenation issue (such as the placenta is pushing against the baby or the umbilical cord is around the neck).  It also said that these tests aren't done until 28 weeks because the movement of the baby before that is too unpredictable, so I was a little confused.

We arrived at the hospital and were admitted and taken to the labor and delivery triage.  Our nurse ended up being a girl I played softball with in high school.  She questioned why they were doing this test and let us know that more than likely, it wouldn't show anything, it was just too early for that kind of test.  But she hooked me up anyways and we monitored Ali's heartbeat and movement for 30 minutes.  I had to click a button every time I felt her move...and man, was she going nuts.  Some of her kicks were so loud on the monitor that JM jumped!  Not sure what got into the little girl, but she was definitely making her presence known.

After the 30 minutes, Krystal (our nurse) came in and rearranged the monitor on my belly and took my pulse.  I figured she must have noticed something, and sure enough we heard her on the phone with my doctor saying that the heart rate dropped from where it was holding steady (140-ish) to the 80's for over 2 minutes.  She had taken my pulse to make sure that the machine hadn't just picked up my heartbeat for some reason, but mine was in the 90's.  Krystal told us later that you can expect drops for even up to a minute, but 2 minutes was something that we might as well get checked out since we were there. 

My doctor had a high risk delivery team sent over (which took about 2 hours...I'm still very sore for being hooked up and not moving for that long!!!), but it was worth it.  First the high risk delivery tech came in and did a VERY detailed ultrasound.  She even checked the blood flow in all parts of the baby and everything was perfect.  The umbilical cord was in the appropriate place and flowing correctly.  She even showed us that if there was any doubt before that it was definitely a girl, it was a sure thing now.  Then the high risk delivery doctor came in and went through a brief ultrasound with us and checked everything out.  She was so sweet, she kept saying everything was 'perfect' and looked 'awesome'.  She was one of those people who hummed, but it was a lullaby type song and it was so incredibly soothing!  Then she even told us to have a blessed day, which I always like. 

We did get a better look at Ali's face, and although I'm sure I'm biased, I have to say, she is awfully pretty already :-)

But in the end, they could not find any reason for the decel (heart rate drop) or for my pains.  My personal opinion now is that it's either growing pains, or she just moves so much she's pressing up against other parts of me and I'm feeling the repercussions.  She did not stop moving once during the ultrasound, they even mentioned again how active she is for this age.

Speaking of where she stands, she is measuring 1 lb 11 oz.  According to the books she should be 1 lb 6 oz now.  Obviously she's my daughter, overachieving already ;-)  It even puts her in the 90th percentile for size!  Yikes!!!  Everything they measured showed that she's measuring 25-26 weeks, but my due date is staying the same since babies grow at different rates, she may slow down in a couple of weeks. 

That was our day in a nutshell.  We got a few more pictures of her to put on the fridge and the reassurance that everything's fine and me working so much isn't harmful for her yet.  We were starving and stopped at Costco for shopping and lunch.  Side note, if you want a REALLY good ice cream treat, try the $1.50 hand dipped ice cream bar at Costco's food court.  Amazing.  They'll even dip it in a nut mixture if you want.  My belly was so happy!  I even got JM to go to the pool with me (and get rained on for a few minutes) to stretch out my back and let my belly relax. 

I'm off to walk the dog and go to bed early.  I work the next 2 days :-(  Hope everyone had a good hump day!

Ultrasound pics