Nothing to be concerned about, really.
For a few days, I had been feeling dehydrated to the point of terrible headache and feeling like I'm going to pass out. This is despite drinking 3/4 to a full gallon of water each day! Yesterday morning, I had had enough and decided to take a trip to Labor and Delivery to be sure nothing serious was going on.
They hooked me up to monitors. The baby's heart rate is perfect (I didn't have a concern about the baby), my blood pressure is fine (a great sign as I'm approaching labor), and I didn't have any contractions while there. They checked for ketones in my urine and there weren't any, so despite what I'm feeling, I'm not severely dehydrated. Still they recommended I get a liter of saline via IV to catch my body up to what it needs, which I thought was a great idea!
An hour and a half and 3 pokes of needles later, I felt much better! They recommended I drink a gallon and a half of a mix between water and Gatorade. Jeeze! And I thought peeing every hour was annoying. -.-
Also, my blood sugar was only 69 and this was just after eating a protein bar. I had an imbalance of carbs to protein for breakfast (apple cinnamon oatmeal with raisins and Kefir), so that may have contributed. They suggested I try to maintain 90 grams of protein spread throughout the day which I had been trying to do, but it's very hard with my limited choices... I had been skipping my snacks lately, though, so I'll go back to eating every 2 hours again.
All in all, everything is still going very well. I have my next prenatal appointment on Monday, so look forward to another update then.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Monday, August 24, 2015
Family Values
Here's the topic on my mind today.
Family values and dynamics were never really things I gave much thought about until recently. Family was just always there. They are the people you grew up with, the people that housed, clothed, and cared for you. Later, family also included those you chose to bring into your life on a daily basis and those you chose to care for, house, and clothe.
In my previous marriage, I was cut off from my family, the people that mattered most to me. I won't get into detail, but I didn't realize how much I missed them until after that relationship was over. The point being, there wasn't much thought or importance put into family so I didn't learn anything there... Unless you count the things I know I don't want in a family.
Fast forward to now; one of the great things about our marriage together is that we communicate very well and often. It's often expressed to me how important family is and has strengthened my own definition of family. Meanwhile, I express how important it is to have self-respect and respect for those you care for and love. The many conversations we've had has taught me that not everyone has the same idea of what it means to be a family. We both have come into the relationship with very different ideas and we're planning to meld those together into what we believe will be the best for ourselves and our children.
Does this mean how we were raised was wrong? No, not necessarily. Like I said, everyone's family is different and it takes different strategies to work with different personalities.
One of the most important things to me is honesty and then respect. Not just towards others, but yourself as well. I would never impose on a family member who I know cannot support me in whatever way I may be asking. One example I can think of from my past is never asking my grandparents for money simply because I knew the rest of my cousins were doing so and I didn't want to be an additional burden on them. This shows respect.
In reverse circumstances, I do not offer to do things for others that I cannot support, either. For example, if I'm down with a migraine, I'm not going to offer to help anyone move their furniture. Or if I'm bogged down with work, I'm not going to invite someone to stay at my house when I know I'll need the rest without company. This is self-respect and requires that you be honest with yourself about how you're feeling.
In addition, if someone asks me for something they believe I may be able to provide, sure, if I have the means. I love to give when I'm allowed to do it when I feel it's appropriate. The thing is, I usually "give and forget." Meaning, I don't expect it to be returned to me in kind. I'm overjoyed if it is, but it's not a requirement. The important thing to note is, if there's a pattern of giving without receiving, at least, appreciation in return, then I may very well stop giving to that individual. It doesn't usually come to that, though because I tend to restrict my giving to when I really want to, not when I feel obliged to.
On the topic of giving... One thing I've learned from being with Peter is that you must be sure what and how you're giving is wanted in the first place! Consistently giving to someone who doesn't want your gifts and maybe outright rejects them, brews nasty feelings on both ends. I just had to deal with this with my daughter the other day when she went in her room and cried because I told her I didn't need her help with packing things for the baby shower last weekend. Turns out, what she really wanted was to spend some time with me and giving help where she thought it was needed was the way she thought of to ask for it since she loves to help out. I didn't realize this until later. Would my response have been different if she asked for what she really wanted? Of course! So, I explained this to her and she completely understood.
I suppose I digressed a little, but the important thing to remember here is that everyone is different, every family is different, and just because you don't agree with how one family is functioning, it doesn't mean it's wrong. And just because one chooses to raise their own family in a different way, it doesn't mean they're throwing how they were raised out the window.
Family values and dynamics were never really things I gave much thought about until recently. Family was just always there. They are the people you grew up with, the people that housed, clothed, and cared for you. Later, family also included those you chose to bring into your life on a daily basis and those you chose to care for, house, and clothe.
In my previous marriage, I was cut off from my family, the people that mattered most to me. I won't get into detail, but I didn't realize how much I missed them until after that relationship was over. The point being, there wasn't much thought or importance put into family so I didn't learn anything there... Unless you count the things I know I don't want in a family.
Fast forward to now; one of the great things about our marriage together is that we communicate very well and often. It's often expressed to me how important family is and has strengthened my own definition of family. Meanwhile, I express how important it is to have self-respect and respect for those you care for and love. The many conversations we've had has taught me that not everyone has the same idea of what it means to be a family. We both have come into the relationship with very different ideas and we're planning to meld those together into what we believe will be the best for ourselves and our children.
Does this mean how we were raised was wrong? No, not necessarily. Like I said, everyone's family is different and it takes different strategies to work with different personalities.
One of the most important things to me is honesty and then respect. Not just towards others, but yourself as well. I would never impose on a family member who I know cannot support me in whatever way I may be asking. One example I can think of from my past is never asking my grandparents for money simply because I knew the rest of my cousins were doing so and I didn't want to be an additional burden on them. This shows respect.
In reverse circumstances, I do not offer to do things for others that I cannot support, either. For example, if I'm down with a migraine, I'm not going to offer to help anyone move their furniture. Or if I'm bogged down with work, I'm not going to invite someone to stay at my house when I know I'll need the rest without company. This is self-respect and requires that you be honest with yourself about how you're feeling.
In addition, if someone asks me for something they believe I may be able to provide, sure, if I have the means. I love to give when I'm allowed to do it when I feel it's appropriate. The thing is, I usually "give and forget." Meaning, I don't expect it to be returned to me in kind. I'm overjoyed if it is, but it's not a requirement. The important thing to note is, if there's a pattern of giving without receiving, at least, appreciation in return, then I may very well stop giving to that individual. It doesn't usually come to that, though because I tend to restrict my giving to when I really want to, not when I feel obliged to.
On the topic of giving... One thing I've learned from being with Peter is that you must be sure what and how you're giving is wanted in the first place! Consistently giving to someone who doesn't want your gifts and maybe outright rejects them, brews nasty feelings on both ends. I just had to deal with this with my daughter the other day when she went in her room and cried because I told her I didn't need her help with packing things for the baby shower last weekend. Turns out, what she really wanted was to spend some time with me and giving help where she thought it was needed was the way she thought of to ask for it since she loves to help out. I didn't realize this until later. Would my response have been different if she asked for what she really wanted? Of course! So, I explained this to her and she completely understood.
I suppose I digressed a little, but the important thing to remember here is that everyone is different, every family is different, and just because you don't agree with how one family is functioning, it doesn't mean it's wrong. And just because one chooses to raise their own family in a different way, it doesn't mean they're throwing how they were raised out the window.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
The Nightly Adventures of a Dislocated Hip
So, my hip may not be officially dislocated, but it certainly feels that way!
Every night for the past 2-3 weeks, I wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and have to struggle through trying to place my hip back in its socket on the way. I can tell it's going to be a struggle when I can barely roll over in bed without extreme pain in my pelvis.
I roll very slowly, sit up and roll my hips around while on the edge of the bed in hopes it'll decide to pop back into place before standing. If that fails, I stand and hold onto everything as I painfully shift my feet forward toward the bathroom. Sometimes this is when I hear the huge pop of relief, but other times, I must wait until sitting on the toilet, and other times still, I wait until I'm on my way back to feel that pop.
I thought I was getting this because I was so relaxed while sleeping, but last night may have proved me wrong. On Saturday, we went to a concert that had us home late at 1am. We're usually in bed by 10pm. I had thought about what the baby must be experiencing having the sleep schedule thrown off like that, but it was only a fleeting thought. Well, apparently, it has disturbed the baby's sleeping schedule because over the past couple of days the movement patterns have been different and in the middle of last night there was LOTS and LOTS of movement from the baby. To the point I could barely sleep and it penetrated my dreams more than usual. I think THIS is the reason my hip is popping out of place!
I've always known this is a strong baby...
Every night for the past 2-3 weeks, I wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and have to struggle through trying to place my hip back in its socket on the way. I can tell it's going to be a struggle when I can barely roll over in bed without extreme pain in my pelvis.
I roll very slowly, sit up and roll my hips around while on the edge of the bed in hopes it'll decide to pop back into place before standing. If that fails, I stand and hold onto everything as I painfully shift my feet forward toward the bathroom. Sometimes this is when I hear the huge pop of relief, but other times, I must wait until sitting on the toilet, and other times still, I wait until I'm on my way back to feel that pop.
I thought I was getting this because I was so relaxed while sleeping, but last night may have proved me wrong. On Saturday, we went to a concert that had us home late at 1am. We're usually in bed by 10pm. I had thought about what the baby must be experiencing having the sleep schedule thrown off like that, but it was only a fleeting thought. Well, apparently, it has disturbed the baby's sleeping schedule because over the past couple of days the movement patterns have been different and in the middle of last night there was LOTS and LOTS of movement from the baby. To the point I could barely sleep and it penetrated my dreams more than usual. I think THIS is the reason my hip is popping out of place!
I've always known this is a strong baby...
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Gender Neutrality
As you all know, or at least most of you, Peter and I have decided not to reveal the gender of our new baby until birth. Even then, the focus will not be on what gender the baby is, but rather the health and well being of the baby.
Some believe this is a silly thing to do and thinking about their reason for that is the exact reason why we're doing it. If nothing else, it starts the conversation on how we intend to raise our children.
I have been raising my 8 year old daughter this way and she's turning out wonderfully! She loves building with Lego and loves to cook. She loves mermaids and has started taking an interest in paper crafting. She has a ton of energy and enjoys playing outside and getting dirty as well as inside with video games. She says she wants to be a firefighter when she "grows up," yet at the same time be a mommy. For a long while her favorite color was black, now it's red (because it's my favorite color) and rainbow. When she was a baby, I dressed her in whatever I had and people often thought she was a boy, but it didn't bother me at all.
Raising a gender neutral child doesn't mean encouraging the child to be the opposite gender. It means we want to encourage the child to discover what they COULD be without restriction on what they SHOULD be.
So... to bring us back to the surface, I don't mind if, in your excitement, you decide to buy a blue/pink onesie for the baby, but please, at least, be considerate of the fact that we're trying to avoid gender targeted "stuff."
Some believe this is a silly thing to do and thinking about their reason for that is the exact reason why we're doing it. If nothing else, it starts the conversation on how we intend to raise our children.
"Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, describes the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions should avoid distinguishing roles according to people's sex or gender, in order to avoid discrimination arising from the impression that there are social roles for which one gender is more suited than the other." - WikipediaTo me, this means our children can play with, dress, and act whichever way they want to without judgement from either of us as parents in regards to how they SHOULDN'T be acting because of their gender. It means we'll be dressing our baby in whatever color we have. It means we take no issue with boys playing with barbie dolls or girls playing with trucks.
I have been raising my 8 year old daughter this way and she's turning out wonderfully! She loves building with Lego and loves to cook. She loves mermaids and has started taking an interest in paper crafting. She has a ton of energy and enjoys playing outside and getting dirty as well as inside with video games. She says she wants to be a firefighter when she "grows up," yet at the same time be a mommy. For a long while her favorite color was black, now it's red (because it's my favorite color) and rainbow. When she was a baby, I dressed her in whatever I had and people often thought she was a boy, but it didn't bother me at all.
Raising a gender neutral child doesn't mean encouraging the child to be the opposite gender. It means we want to encourage the child to discover what they COULD be without restriction on what they SHOULD be.
So... to bring us back to the surface, I don't mind if, in your excitement, you decide to buy a blue/pink onesie for the baby, but please, at least, be considerate of the fact that we're trying to avoid gender targeted "stuff."
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Prenatal Appointment (32 Weeks)
32 weeks! I had my prenatal appointment on Monday and all is well. Still at an 8 lb loss with no concern about the baby's weight gain. The back pain from last week is completely gone now (thanks, Mom, for the heating pad!) and I'm walking almost better than before pregnancy! Lol
Baby's movements are becoming more rolls and pushes rather than kicks and punches and I'm almost certain the baby is head down most of the time. Overall I feel great!
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