Bumpdate: 28 Weeks

How Big is Baby?!  I get these lovely email updates from thebump.com, so I went into the app to put together this little tidbit about the baby this week.

Total Weight Gained:  18 pounds from my 8-week appointment.

Maternity Clothes:  I am thinking I for sure need to find some larger shirts (or yoga pants with a full panel for the belly!).  Sometimes I feel like my big ol’ belly hangs out (but just when I wear my non-paneled yoga pants!) so the bigger shirts will be a benefit beings I’ve still got 12 weeks left.

Sleep:  I’m not sure this area in pregnancy is ever going to improve.  If I’m not sleeping because I’m up peeing or stretching out a leg cramp, I’m not sleeping because my husband is seriously the world’s worst bed-hog!

Symptoms:  Constant peeing (like literally 5-minutes after each time);  leg cramps;  pelvic pain that feels like I’ve been bruised permanently; and most recently, high blood pressure.

Food Cravings: No new cravings.

Aversions:  Nothing new here either.

Workouts:  I’ve been trying to walk at least twice a week, however, I feel like I’m slowing down my walking partner.  I just am not moving as fast as I used to so it has deterred me from wanting to go out there.  That and the pelvic pain doesn’t help much either.

Milestones:  I passed my glucose test at my recent doctor’s appointment!

Baby Items Purchased:  We found ourselves at our local street fair a couple weeks ago and ended up buying baby girl a minky fleece blanket (pink & gray chevron) and ordered her a winter hat made out owl patterned minky fleece as well (which showed up less than a week later!). 

Gah!  This little stuff is so stinking adorable, I love it!! 

Recent Doctor’s Appointment

So I had my 28-week doctor’s appointment today, even though I’m 2 days away from 28-weeks.  I wasn’t really looking forward to it because I knew it was my glucose test.  I also know that I’ve been drinking/eating sugar like crazy so I thought my odds weren’t in my favor.  Add on top of that, the stress of bringing my almost 3-year old with me at the last minute and I guess that means my stress levels were high.

First thing the nurse did was make me drink my sugary orange drink.  I swear they made the bottles bigger! 

Next thing she did was take my blood pressure.  It came back high at 142/86.  I’ve never had an issue before so the doctor thinks it’s just a fluke reading, however, she wants to make sure I’m not developing preeclampsia and is having me do a 24-hour urine sample.  She also added on a couple of more lab tests since I already had to go for my glucose test. 

While waiting so patiently for my hour to be up to do the blood work today, our clinic offers a class called Healthy Beginnings.  Basically it’s a nurse that talks to you about your pregnancy, labor, & delivery.  The nurse also gives out goodie bags from the different formula companies as well.  Today I may have hit the formula jackpot!  I received two small cans of Enfamil Newborn; a cooler bag with breastfeeding information, an icepack & breastmilk collection bottles, along with a soft touch book for baby; and the adorable turquoise & brown keepsake box filled with ready-to-feed formula and a blow-up boppy type pillow.  The nurse also gave me some travel packets of formula that remind me of Crystal Light, only much larger.  The pink folder is just some paperwork for me to go through and fill out (admittance info & birth plan), along with some pregnancy & parenting magazines.  She was so nice & stuffed it all inside a reusable tote bag!

I looked pretty crazy walking with my overstuffed bagful of goodies and my toddler not far behind me.  I made my way to the lab and gave a couple tubes of blood and a urine sample.  I was finally able to leave the doctor’s office, but not without my brown grocery bag filled with my 24-hour urine supplies.

The nurse from my doctor’s office called and said all of my labs came back normal today (yay! no gestational diabetes!).  There was one thing that was mentioned to me though that I have a low blood platelet count.  Mine was 131 and she said the low end of normal is 150.  Then she throws in there not to worry and that they will recheck my count at 36 weeks.

I’m not too worried as I remember the anesthesiologist telling me I had a low blood platelet count before he gave me my epidural when I delivered Bode three years ago.  Though, I will be honest I have googled it and it makes me nervous.  Cancer is the first thing that pops up, but it does also say that pregnancy can cause it as well.  So no more worrying until they tell me I should!

Talk to Me:
Do you Google medical stuff to self-diagnose, only to wish you hadn’t?

Does your clinic offer samples like mine that make you feel like you’ve hit the jackpot?

This is Why I Don’t Have a Baking Blog

After dropping the girls off at school yesterday and returning home with zero motivation to do anything, except play Candy Crush, I decided I needed to make some chocolate chip cookies.  I found my package of chocolate chips and used the recipe on the back of the bag.  Followed the directions to a T, and this is how they turned out:

As soon as I took them out of the oven and let them cool for a couple minutes, they completely flattened out.  I tried to get them off the pan and they stuck to my spatula.  I happened to be talking to my brilliant sister, Bridget, who told me to add more flour so the dough wasn’t so sticky.  I was a bit leery, but thought it couldn’t hurt.  I started by adding in 1/3 cup, which didn’t help the dough much.  So I added another 1/3 cup of flour and the dough seemed better so I tried baking another batch.  This is how those turned out:

Almost like chocolate chip cookie perfection.  Out of the three dozen that turned out, there are like six left so I know Mr. Chaos enjoys them.  Or maybe it’s just that I don’t bake cookies ever so he feels the need to indulge.

Do you have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe that turns out every time (and you are willing to share) or are you a cookie baking failure like myself?

Back To School

I was really nervous for Kinley to start Kindergarten this year as she’s always been my more clingy child.  We put her through preschool last year hoping that it would help her transition to Kindergarten better.  Well, it didn’t.

Our morning started out great.  Everybody actually woke up on time and seemed to be in an overall good mood.  We walked to school with the neighbors and as we arrived, the kids were greeted (half a block away) with the local radio station blasting it’s music trying to get kids pumped for the first day of school.  When we got to the school, they had rolled out the red carpet and had balloons lining the sidewalks for the kids.  They had each child stop to take a picture with their ‘first day of school’ frames.  Such a fun first back to school morning. 

Once the fun was over, it was time to tell Kinley we’d see her after school.  That’s when the tears started.  She was hoping I could stay at school with her.  Luckily, her big sister, Talyn, and the neighbor girl, Alexa, were able to help Kinley find her way to her classroom before they had to head to their classroom.  I really wanted to be the one to help her like I did with Talyn back in Kindergarten, however, the school installed a new set of doors that parents aren’t allowed through unless they sign in as a visitor.  Anyways, we cried.  She was just sad because she was going to miss her mommy all day.  I was just sad because she was.

The principal called that afternoon to let me know that Kinley had been having a bit of a rough morning and spent most of it crying.  Talk about breaking my heart.  She also told me that Kinley had lost her tooth while on the playground.  I thought for sure that would have made her happy as she had been hoping to lose it at school.  When we went to the open house, her teacher had seen her wiggly tooth and mentioned they have a tooth chart to put their names on when they lose their teeth.  It was something Kinley was looking forward to.

I went to pick the kids up from school and I asked how everything went.  Talyn & Alexa said good, except that every time they saw Kinley during the day, she was crying.  I asked Kinley why and she just said she missed me.  Talk about breaking a mom’s heart!

Everyday since, Kinley has cried.  Each day it’s becoming less and less.  It’s breaking my heart but I know she is loving school.  She can’t stop talking about school – they did this, this, or that; so-and-so can do such and such; etc.  She is full of stories and smiles when she tells me about her day.  Yet each time I ask why she cries at school, she says she just misses me.

How do I make school easier for her?  She refuses to play on the playground, rather she just stands there with the playground aide and calls herself her assistant.  I’m not sure how talkative she is to the other kids at lunch or in her classroom.  I just know that the tiniest thing sets her off into a frenzy (like when she couldn’t find her orange that she had brought for snack).  Rather than using her words, she starts having a meltdown.  So frustrating!!

That’s it in a nutshell – we’re back to school & Kinley hates it.  Talyn on the other hand is loving it, which makes me very happy.

Bumpdate: 25 Weeks

How far along:  25 weeks (tomorrow)

Total Weight Gained:   Up 14 pounds since my 8 week appointment.

Maternity Clothes:  I found my new jeans at Gap Online.  I had to get two sizes (12 &14) as the 14 is a bit big now, and the 12 probably won’t fit when I’m closer to the end of this pregnancy.

Sleep:   Still sleeping okay, though I have been starting to wake up a couple of times due to leg cramps.  There have also been a couple of insomniac nights that I didn’t fall asleep until 3:30 a.m.!

Symptoms:  My nausea is still at bay due to me taking vitamin B6 + Unisom tablet, which I had to increase to a whole tablet to help with the sleep issues.  The constipation isn’t going away.  I am upping my fruits & veggies, along with my water intake to help with that.  Also, there’s this pain in the vajayjay that just won’t go away.  It feels like someone kicked me and I’m bruised down there.

Food Cravings:  No new cravings for me lately, though my sister did send an entire box of gummy candy, along with some chocolates from Germany, which I can’t keep out of!

Aversions:  Mosquitos! LOL! Ugh, they are so bad here right now.

Workouts:  Still non-existent.  Though school did start today so I will be walking more!!

Milestones:  This little thing is a mover & shaker!  We got to see the baby again on ultrasound so we could do a sex check since the little thing didn’t cooperate the first time.  The punches & kicks were unbelievable, especially because on the screen it looks like it uses the whole body, but when I feel it, it doesn’t feel like punches & kicks.  Weird, right?
 
Baby Items Purchased:  Still none.  The only thing I really need for this baby is a take-me-home from the hospital outfit, a stroller attachment for the carseat, and some fabric to make my own baby blankets & burp cloths.

Gender:  Baby cooperated this time!  We did gender reveal cupcakes for the kids with my in-laws.  We are having another girl!