28w5d

I'm feeling huge.





24 lb weight gain overall as of this morning. I sure hope it slows down because it's getting ridiculous.

I also passed my Gestational Diabetes Test with flying colors. WOOOT!

Latest Baking Adventure

Oreos Anyone?

I had my gestational diabetes screen last week Monday. I ate a 1/2 a bagel with cream cheese before going in. The form clearly states you should eat normally - so I did.

Then they called me 2 days later saying my scores were 'elevated' and that I needed to take the 3 hour test from hell! My score was 149 - they ask anybody over 140 to do the big test. So naturally needle-phobic me freaked the hell out. That's 4!!! needles in 3 hours people and 4 viles of blood. Do the math - I only have 2 arms... that means each arm will get stuck twice in 3 hours! I felt like I was approaching my death as Friday came along.

I slathered both arms with the lidocaine cream that my midwife prescribed for me. I fasted for 12 hours prior to the test - and was starving and thirsty. The first needle was fine, the syrupy drink was awful, but not nearly what people make it out to be. It's just overly sweet koolaid really.

The second needle wasn't bad either - since it was technically the first prick on both arms for the first hour. The waiting was really the most awful. Just sitting and waiting for 3! hours while I should have been at work. I brought my laptop and they did have wireless in the lab so I was able to at least stay connected at work and keep up with emails. I really didn't want to waste PTO on sitting in a waiting room.

The 3rd needle was slightly more painful in that they went into a freshly pricked arm. I tried to get the lidocaine on there as thick as possible but, it really didn't work. The 4th was by far the worst, but at least it was over then.

They weren't suppose to tell me my scores but they discretely showed me the paper for my 1st and 4th draw. My fasting score was at 79 and my 4th draw after 3 hours was 113. I looked online and found that the limit for fasting is around 90 and the limit for the 3 hour is about 140. If those numbers hold true then I think I passed with flying colors.

In which case - pass the oreos.

Our birthing class starts Monday - I'm sure I'll have all kinds of interesting stories to blog about after that. Whenever I get in a class setting I turn into uber-competitive teacher's pet girl. I'm sure this won't be any different.

Pregnant Brazilian

Being that my belly has become so incredibly large that I can no longer see my vagina let alone know what the state of my bikini line is, I decided it was time to get a bikini wax. I have done this once before as a sort of "treat" for Mr. M right before the wedding. It was painful, but I think that's to be expected, but the hair came back in much softer and finer afterwards.

Since I'm nearly 7 months pregnant I wanted to make sure I found a place that was comfortable waxing someone in my condition so I went for an eyebrow wax last weekend at a spa near by. I liked the aesthetician enough and asked her if she would mind doing a bikini wax on me. She said, "a regular bikini wax, or a brazilian." I told her I was interested in a brazilian.

Now let me explain. I feel like I'm the hairiest woman alive lately. Some of that is due to hair growing faster from pregnancy hormones and some of it is due to the fact that I can't properly see the area I'm attempting to groom. I already feel quite unattractive with the double chin that I've accumulated in the past few months and the general largeness of everything else isn't helping either. So I figure, why not feel "pretty" SOMEwhere, even if its the somewhere only my husband and I will see (and the midwives of course).

She asks me to try a few leg positions to see if I can get my body to do what I need it to in order to get in the little nooks and crannies that a brazilian requires. After wooing her with my amazing flexibility (hip ligaments? What hip ligaments?) she agrees we could give a try and see how far we can get. So I make an appointment for the following Saturday.

All week long I am worrying about how painful the wax is going to be and wondering how will they REALLY be able to get the hair off of those oh so sensitive parts. My basic thinking is that if I can't take a bikini wax there is NO WAY I can make it through a natural labor So during the actual event I was practicing putting my mind elsewhere and breathing through the painful parts. I did pretty well actually although the hair was stubborn as HELL.

I think I'll do it once more in about a month and a half putting me at about 8 1/2 months pregnant. I'm thinkin it might make the healing process a little easier if I've got less hair to deal with down there. Especially if I end up with stitches or a tear.

Call me crazy - thats what my friends did, but what do I care, I gotta smoooooth hooha.

Midwife appointment tomorrow morning - along with a gestational diabetes screen. Wish me luck on that one.

Nesting Anyone?

I didn't think I would fall prey to the usual "nesting instinct" that I hear most pregnant woman experience. I couldn't have been more wrong.

I'm like a home improvement FIEND! Here's what we've currently got going on in our home:

• New hardwood floors in entryway and Mr. M's office
  
• New carpet in living room and dining room
  
• Prime and paint baby's room
• New furniture (couch, chair, desk, file cabinet, dresser for baby girl)
• Ripping up carpet in current office and found hardwood floors!!! Therefore, refinishing hardwood floors in office.

So what this means is I have more cardboard in my home than I care to admit. I've thought about tricking the little kids down the block into thinking it was great fort making materials but haven't had the guts to approach them. They'd probably wonder whats with the crazy pregnant lady with the piles of cardboard.

I also can't help with any of these renovations since I can't be around paint, sanding, staining, or polyurethane. Which is insanely frustrating when I'm the one with the nesting urge. I just want it to be clean when baby girl arrives. I also would like to be proud of my home when we have family/friends pouring in the weeks after baby girl is born.

I'm also feeling exceedingly put off at work. Staying home when baby arrives is looking more and more appealing. Especially since I have NO IDEA where to start with searching for childcare. I'm totally at a loss on the daycare front. I'm touring a daycare center close to my work next week. I don't think its possible for them to show me anything that would make me want to leave my baby at a daycare center, but we'll see. Trying to keep an open mind.

The Boring Part of Pregnancy

I'm now in that gray middle area of pregnancy and it seems to be inching by at a snails pace. I'm 26 weeks pregnant today. Here's the current update:

• Belly is exceedingly noticeable and I can no longer pass for maybe not pregnant just fat.
  
• All maternity clothes, all the time - remind me again why I was excited about wearing them.
• Starting to get difficult to move, bend over, stand up, roll over, etc.
  
• Vaginal Discharge has reached an all time high - and frankly I'm disgusted
• I officially can't see my vagina - and therefore can't shave my bikini area, which I'm sure makes me even MORE attractive*
• Mucus membranes are are hyper drive. I wake up with my nose clogged and it ain't pretty when I blow.
  
• I believe I have gotten myself a cavity which I blame entirely on the first trimester throwing up everyday. That much stomach acid can't be good for your teeth. Dentist appt May 15th - but they told me it could just be gum sensitivity which is common during pregnancy.
  
• Stretch marks are still being held at bay - I have none.... yet. I've been slathering the senseless lotion on everyday in hopes that by sheer will they will not surface.
  
• Weird dry patches on my boobs - where my skin flakes off. It could be from the baby powder I'm applying liberally everyday under my boobs and in my cleavage to hopefully prevent any sort of rash. Warm + Dark + Moist = yeast infection. And yes, you can get them ANYWHERE. I haven't gotten one yet, but the midwife said to be on the lookout.
  
• Sudden swelling of feet occurred at work the other day. Holy HELL was that painful. I went to the mall at lunch at bought a new pair of shoes it was so bad.
  

I have my Gestational Diabetes screen next Monday which I hope I pass because I REALLY do not want to deal with diets and more needles. My midwife, the genius that she is, prescribed me a medication for topical numbing which should hopefully help with my needle phobia. She told me to put it on both arms before the screen then I can just sit back and close my eyes when they do the blood draw. MAGIC!

Birthing class starts April 23rd - and I'm looking forward to it. However, I realize I'm a bit more educated than others who will be taking the class and we may be spending quite a bit of time learning about things I've already covered in my constant research and reading.

Major home improvement has been taking place here and will continue until Junelips is born. We're getting new floors, new carpets, new furniture, and painting the baby's room. Where does the money come from you ask? Mr. M got a substantial bonus, we got a substantial tax return, and I got a surprise Spot Bonus from work. Totaling about $11,000 - which I believe at the end of all this we will have spent completely.

I finally broke down and bought baby girls coming home outfit. Its the only item of clothing I plan to buy - its absolutely adorable and makes my uterus contract just looking at it. hehe