I'm still here...

I have so many things I could post about but really, have no time to accomplish that. I have loads of pictures to crop and resize so you can see what we did with our summer (it was busy!) but I am getting ready for a new life to join our family in 2 days!!!

The summer has flown by but thankfully will not be over quite yet. I checked the forecast and am very pleased to see that the day baby and I come home from the hospital summer will still be here! I was afraid it might be as last year at this time when we were wearing jeans and sweatshirts. So not ready for that! The boys are ready for the County Fair and my Mom took George and Pete to help setup the 4H building which is one of my favorite things to do. I have finally realized I can't do it all but I hope I remember that after the baby is born.

I am very excited but a bit nervous too. I hope to post from the hospital with pictures of our little one.

Only 2 more days!!!  :)

Not Labor but a Kidney Stone

After my previous post I figured I was in the clear from kidney stones, but, I did end up with what I assume was a kidney stone a week ago. We were on the way home from a family gathering when a sudden pain came on in my back. I determined that it was not labor pains as it was only on my left side and kept getting worse and was constant without moving to my abdomen. I told John how much it reminded me of when I had a kidney stone when pregnant with Missy. I lay down on my left side as soon as we were home with pillows around but the pain was so bad it brought me to tears at times and nothing stopped it. Our older boys were so sweet and albeit worried too but would check on me and ask if they could get anything for me. 

I ended up calling the on-call nurse who did determine that I was not in labor but said I sounded like I should get to the hospital to get it checked out. I was all for that seeing as I was miserable. We were on our way and upon getting on the highway my pain suddenly stopped. It had been about 1 hr. 15 minutes by that time. John decided to go in anyway and wait it out at my parents house as they are right down the road from the hospital and he didn't want to be heading in later that night. My Dad scared my Mom by calling to her that we were there because I was having the baby and we all got a kick out of that. I ended up calling the nurse to tell her I no longer needed to go in and she agreed I sounded so much better.

I do think that calcium carbonate may be in other things I have taken such as digestive enzymes and possibly the generic prenatals I had been taking but not certain that was the problem this time. In looking up kidney stones in pregnancy I did find that all of the pressure of the organs pressing on each other can cause build-up of waste in the kidney along as well as dehydration both of which I think caused my problem. I have a horrible time making sure I drink enough. And the learning continues.

So, now we wonder if this is a sign that we are having a girl being that the only other time I had a kidney stone was when pregnant with a girl. :) We'll see!

Calcium and Kidney Stones in Pregnancy

I am constantly learning new things, and even though this is my sixth pregnancy I am still learning. I typically have heartburn, especially during the third trimester. In the past month it happened often while I was still eating.

When I was pregnant with Missy Blue I popped Tums like there was no tomorrow. I figured they were helping and the berry flavor was so good. But I developed kidney stones, which was horrible, and found that taking too many Tums can cause calcium deposits leading to kidney stones of which my current doctor agreed. With my last pregnancy I avoided taking them at all costs and this time as well I took one only if really necessary but usually endured the annoying burning feeling of my food coming up.

I was talking with a friend who told me that Tums has calcium carbonate which is not easily absorbed. I did more research and found out that it can cause more problems than kidney stones such as arthritis from calcified muscles and possibly even a heart attack as your heart is a muscle. My friend also told me about a calcium supplement she takes with bioavailable chelated (I am not getting into all that as it is way over my head or desire to really grasp) calcium and magnesium that her midwife recommends and so I began taking that. I was amazed at what a difference it made. My heartburn has almost completely stopped along with the charlie horses I would get in my legs each morning upon waking. And the round ligament pain that I always experience ended also. I sure wish I would have known this at the beginning of pregnancy! I was told that I don't "complain to the right people". :)

36 Weeks and Counting

Here is my latest side view at 36 weeks. Missy told me yesterday that she really would like me to get some shirts to cover my belly better as she is tired of seeing it all the time. :) Seppy just laughs when he sees it.

I really do have a hard time keeping the lower portion covered as maternity clothes do not seem to be made for women who stick straight out in front. I pondered the idea of starting my own maternity line to make flattering clothes that do not pull so tightly in the back and ride up too high in the front. The only thing that really works is if I have the full panel belly which is also harder to find. Here I had looked forward to wearing some of my cute maternity tops and dresses from past pregnancies but most have not been fitting for the past few months. Well, soon I'll fit in my maternity clothes without a problem and it will be my normal clothes that will take awhile to squeeze back into.

Home Stretch

I am now 36 weeks pregnant and very much counting down the days until baby makes an appearance. The doctor has had my c-section scheduled for months now and while I tried to convince them to up the date by a few days for my comfort level, they would not budge. As with my last c-section the insurance company dictates how many days before your due date a c-section or induction can be done. With Seppy it had gone to 10 days early (my two before were 12 days) but this time they closed the gap even further and so I can only go 7 days early which is a little too close for comfort for me.

My first and only truly natural birth was 7 days early. I don't really count the twins in the equation as that was not a normal pregnancy. The doctors do not want me to labor against my scar tissue and so I'd need to rush to the hospital for an emergency section and that obviously isn't ideal. While I'd prefer any day to have a normal labor and delivery, in having to go through a c-section I do prefer the laid back approach where it is as comfortable as possible. I know that my Lord knows all of this and I have friends praying along with me and so I have been resting in that.

As to how I am feeling, well, my energy hasn't picked up as I had hoped. The weight of the baby is a tremendous pressure (I think it gets worse each time) so getting up from sitting or out of bed is not my favorite thing in the world. I can't move very fast and it is getting hard to keep up with life in general. My belly sits on my lap when I sit which seems so strange and I am now getting back aches from the front-heaviness. But yet despite all of the aches and pains, I know I am blessed to be carrying a precious gift. And oh! how I love to sit and watch this little one squirm around and see my belly move from side to side. I love when the kids put their hand on my belly and try to guess body parts of their brother/sister. I love knowing that soon I will hold this little one in my arms and smell that wonderful fresh baby scent. Ahh! It is all worth it!

Packer Jersey Birthday Cake

The theme for cakes around here seems to be football lately. The other boys had helmets for their birthday and George selected a Packer Jersey cake for his. Now, if we would have had time he really liked the idea of having the helmet also, although it works better with a player who has long hair so as to connect the two (we saw one of Troy Polamalu that was quite interesting). Being that George turned 12 it worked out perfectly to use Aaron Rodgers jersey as he is #12.

George wanted to make his own cake and while I baked it he helped to shape it and made the frosting. I tried to get it close to the true Packer green but didn't have the right shade of green and George didn't want too much food coloring in his frosting so we settled with darker leaf green with a touch of black in it. George drew the numbers onto paper, cut them out and then traced them onto the blank cake with a knife. I did outline them with white star pipping and then he filled them in. The only other thing I really did was the Rodgers lettering and George pipped the rest of the cake. 

Being that cake decorating is something I enjoy doing I had a hard time letting go of this one only to watch but I know George enjoys it too and does a good job. I know I wasn't decorating cakes at the age of 12 so I wonder if he'll make his own children's birthday cakes some day. :) I do know that he is going to be a tremendous help when the next group of birthdays rolls around!