Breast is Best...but it doesn't alwasy work

I had every intentions of feeding my sweet baby breastmilk. To the point I never EVER thought about formula. It had been made very clear by many people Breast is Best. Period. Well unfortunatly things don't always work that way. When Jude was born by C-section as soon as I was wheeled into the recovery room someone came in started trying to get him to latch. He was resistant and she managed to get a little colustrum into him by her finger and said he was just tired we would try later. unfortunatly after getting to the mother baby floors around 9:45 my family came up and had all headed home by 10:45 for the night. We continued to try to get my sweet baby to latch on which he failed to do. He was gaggin and kept turning blue. He was taken to NICU around 1am and we found out he would be admitted. He was in NICU for 9 days and through out the time I pumped every 2 hours religiously as I was told. I tried to feed him but he was not able to latch. We finally were given a shield but he still acted very hesitant to feed. Finally we started bottle feeding him what I had pumped. One day lacatation came in and pretty much told me I had no choice I had to get him to latch insinuating I was a bad mother if i gave him formula as he was not gaining weight like he should be. While "working" with us one day( aka forcing my son onto my breast as he screamed and cried) He quit breathing. She was shocked and jus kinda stared while I shook him trying to get him to breath in. She said oh well I'm not sure what to do about that. Finally one day while I was napping my mother was visiting helping with baby so we could get a little sleep and when latation came in she KINDLY informed them I would pump exclusivley and they needed to leave it be. Other then dirty looks I never heard anything about it agian.
         Fast forward a little bit and we came home. Jude still would not latch and I was pumping every 2 hours and feeding him out of a bottle. I had been sick for over a week from doing this. Feeling like I had the flu ect. I later found out is was sleep deprivation from all the time in the NICU and making myself wake every two hrs at night to pump, then feeding baby. Between all of it, and stressing myself because I wasn't a "good" mother I was only sleeping about 1-3 hours a day if i was lucky. We finally made the hard choice to supplement with formula. I have been informed how I should continue to try, if I was determined enough and loved my son I would make it work. I still have certain people to this day that everytime I see them they have something to say. To those people I know what is best for me and my baby. I feel sad that I could not breastfeed. I longed for that but it didn't work. I love my son and I'm doing what's best for him and our family. So please so kindly butt out. My body, my boobs, my baby, my business.

BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS:

Mothers who breastfeed should be celebrated.  They are fantastic mothers who want what is best for their children.  They are strong, intelligent women who love their children enough to feed them in the best way they can.  Their children will be healthy, happy and strong because of the love a breastfeeding mother puts  into every feed, the time she spends bonding with her child and because her child is being nurtured and feed well.  Many breastfeeding mothers have overcome huge obstacles, heartbreaking experiences and pain – physically and emotionally to feed their babies. Often they have also had to deal with criticism from uneducated, rude individuals for breastfeeding their baby.  Many find that there is not enough support which is not good enough as a breastfeeding mother should have all the support she needs to breastfeed from her whole community.   A breastfeeding mother should be proud of the way she feeds her baby, she should celebrate what a wonderful mother she is and should know that she is successfully doing the best for her family and herself by providing healthy, nutritious food and love.  

BOTTLEFEEDING MOTHERS:

Mothers who bottlefeed should be celebrated.  They are fantastic mothers who want what is best for their children.  They are strong, intelligent women who love their children enough to feed them in the best way they can.  Their children will be healthy, happy and strong because of the love a bottlefeeding mother puts  into every feed, the time she spends bonding with her child and because her child is being nurtured and feed well.  Many bottlefeeding mothers have overcome huge obstacles, heartbreaking experiences and pain – physically and emotionally to feed their babies. Often they have also had to deal with criticism from uneducated, rude individuals for bottlefeeding their baby.  Many find that there is not enough support which is not good enough as a bottlefeeding mother should have all the support she needs to bottlefeed from her whole community.   A bottlefeeding mother should be proud of the way she feeds her baby, she should celebrate what a wonderful mother she is and should know that she is successfully doing the best for her family and herself by providing healthy, nutritious food and love.

6 Weeks

Wow I have not had time to update the blog nearly as much since Jude got here...Were to start.
We got to come home on Oct 19th after 9 days in NICU.  Coming home was so fun/exciting and so scary as well. I think I spent the first week constantly checking him to make sure he was breathing lol. Because when Jude was in the NICU I was only able to actually breast feed him once a day if I was lucky we had some latching issues( well he would only latch on for minutes without the shield and was not getting enough to eat). I had been pumping in the hospital and feeding it to him via bottle. He was taking it good but was not gaining weight fast enough. We has 6 lb 9 oz when born, and when we left the hospital 9 days later he was still on 6lb 3 oz. I decided to supplement with formula to help his weight gain. We got home on Friday and when we went to the Dr on Monday and he had gained up to 6lbs 7 oz. Between supplementing and trying to pump as much as I should my milk just wasn't enough and slowly started to dry up. So We switched Jude over to all formula. I wish it wouldn't have ended that way but I'd rather hae had it happen that way and him be healthy then vice versa. I've received some flack on it from certain people (aka people who need to mind their own business). Comments made, but its all in one ear and out the other. Every baby is different. every situation is different, and we did what we thought was best for our son.
                So now in two days my little guy will be 6 weeks old. I can't believe how fast time flies. He is sleeping 5-6 hours at night. Tries to hold his head up when hes on his tummy and anytime we will let him lol( hes still a little wobbly). He's starting to make more cooing noises, and smiling a little. We haven't had but maybe one or two reactive smiles but he should be here in the nest few weeks. Also he can no fit into some of hos 0-3 months clothes but still tends to fit better in his newborn clothes. when we went for his month check up he was up to 8lbs 7 oz so hes doing great on the weight gain now. During the day he goes anywhere from 2-4 hours between feedings just depending. And he he spends at least 2-3 hours in real alert time where hes looking everywhere and taking it all in. So he is doing great.
               We have been doing good to adjusting to parenthood. It's very different then you plan on it to be but so worth it. The first month was so tiring.. I felt like we never could rest. I didn't get the rest I needed in the hospital because when the nurses were trying to get me to rest i insisted on spending all my time in the NICU.  It was basically I didn't sleep any on the 9th or 10th. Then Jude was born that night and taken to NICU around 1am. I had not slept at that point since the 8th. I stayed up all night waiting for them to take me to NICU. I was still partially numb, has leg pumps on, and a cath so I had to be taken in a wheelchair. She finally took me at 5 am and I didn't come back to my room until 1 am the next morning. I then finally fell asleep around 4am, and was back up at 5:30am heading to NICU. This was how it was for days. I think the whole 9 days I was in the hospital I slept maybe 8 hours. Most of that was once we got in the transition room and my mom would come up during the day and watch Jude and I would fall asleep for an hr in the recliner. Defiantly not the most fun. I actually started to freak out because I was so tired I sometimes literally could not remember what day it was or how long I had been there. Then once we got home I went for my two week follow up and my incision looked great. About 2 days later I noticed it had opened back up and was bleeding. I called the Dr and they had me come in. The informed me it wasn't a concern it happens alot but they put me on an antibiotic just in case to prevent infection. Two days later it had opened a little more. I ended up going back and she said it was just releasing extra fluid( I know gross). I had to go in a week later to f.u with my Dr and let her check it and make sure it was healing ok. I went in and she said it looked great.She said it looked great.I went home and I swear if over the weekend another place didn't open and the old one started bleeding again! She had me come back in and it all was fine as far as infection. They just kept having me come in to check it to make sure it wasn't getting worse. So i go back tomorrow and thankfully its been a week and it seems to have healed up mostly. It's still tender and the scar ofcourse still looks fresh which it will for months. But overall it looks good. So hopefully as of tomorrow I will be good to go.
        So overall things have been great. We love little JUJU bean to death and feel so blessed to have this little guy in our lives. I've been asked a few times if we will have anymore kids. Obviously God is the only one who knows that for sure. I said after he was born I wouldn't have anymore because all the drama we went through. But as time goes on I'm going back to my old state of mind in that I would love to have another one. Only time will tell.

Newborn pic

Working on holding my head up

My first night home...Mommy looks a little tired/dead lol

Jude is Here!!

Baby Jude has made his apperence. We went into the hospital Tuesday 10.09.12 to start induction. They started me on cervedil to jump start labor. That first night I had a bunch of contractions but nothing that was so painful. The next morning my Dr came in around 8am and broke my water and started the pitocin. THAT'S when the REAL contractions started. I've heard it said that Pitocin contractions are 3-4 times worse then natural labor and I would have to say WOW!!! I have no pain tolerence  and I made it to 5 cm until I could not stand the pain. Mainly because they were starting o trigger panic attacks. So I got my epidural around 2:30 pm. As for the epidural. I was so scared to get it but it was easy as pie. The hardest part was sitting still during the contractions. I will say I did not like the feeling it gave me. It does make you feel very out of control. But luckily I did have some control over my movement. So I wasn'tprogressing and around 7pm the  Dr came in and I had develped a fever. Baby was also anterior and was stuck and not dropping. We decided a C-setion was needed to prevent infection and Dr was afraid if we waited baby wasn't going to com out on his own and we would end up in an emergency C-section later.  Going into the C-setion I was freaking out. Mainly just the unknown of such a major surgery. Once I was in I did have a few moments of panic but once she showed me Jude over the curtain it all left my mind. I also love that Mission has a huge flat screen set up next to your head so that while they are sewing you up you can lay and watch everything they are doing to the baby( apgar score, daddy cutting cord ect). Once we went into the recovery room I got to sit up and hold my little man. We got to do skin on skin and feed and I've never been more in love. After about 2 hours of private time we went up to the Mother baby floor, and Jude started getting choked bad. They rushed him to the nursery and daddy followed. They brought him back in about 30 minutes and said he was fine just getting a little choked from fluid. Family came up to visit and it wouldn't stop. At one point he stoped breathing for a second and started spitting up green junk. They took him again and his PCP decided he needed to get checked out in NICU. I was in the room all night alone while Alan and him were getting settled in NICU. I wasn't able to go see him again until 5am the next morning. It was such a long night. When I finally seen my little man all hooked up it ripped my heart out. They said he had an infection( passed from me from my water being broken and why I had a fever during labor). They had started him on antibiotics, and IV and said we were looking at probably 1-2 days in NICU.They also did a GI scan to make sure no bloackage which came back good but showed he had EXTREME acid reflux. He finally stopped spitting so bad around Fri and I was able to start feeding him. He was doing so much better the Dr said we were going home Monday the 10.15.12. We got into a transition room and we were thrilled. That Sunday night though he started having bradycardia. Basiccally theyir little heartbeats drop below 70 beats a minute and sometimes they have spells of apnea( no breathing). He had 35 in the first night! Needless to say we didn't get to go home the next day. They decided that the Acid reflux was causing the bradycardia since all his other numbers( oxygen, resp ect) stayed the same. He started the Prilosec that night. He slowley started improving. Eating every 3 hours and having less and less bradys. We finally got to come home Friday. He still has Bradys every once in a while but the Dr is not concerned with a few. He said alot of babys have them and parents never know because they arent on monitors. We are still getting him an alarm that alerts us if he were to quit breathing for our own peace of mind.
              Needless to say it was a long hard week but having my little guy home makes it all worth it. I couldn't be more happy with my life!

Judes Coming!

So we went to the Dr this morning for Judes regular appt. He passed his NST. It actually took us a little longer because he was SO active he kept kicking really hard and we would lose him on the monitor lol. They don't count it as good unless he stays on the monitor for the entire heart-rate rise, and then till it comes back down to his resting rate. We also got the official word that we are being induced next week! I'm only 1cm dilated, but I'm 50% efface and( tmi I know) but my cervix is VERY soft. She said we will check in at the hospital on Tuesday night at 8pm, and they will start me on the Cervidil to get the induction started. Basically it is used to help "ripen" the cervix, and make you dilate. Depending on how successful that is that will also try the bulb. They said they typically try to save the pitocin for last and the goal would be to not have to use it all( thats what I'm hoping for!) I still have to go in for my regular appt on Tuesday for the NST. Plus she said though its a VERY small chance but if the hospital was just OVERBOOKED, and they had a bunch of emergency deliveries they would have to push me back a day, so she said they will double check that to. Apparently it happens alot at park ridge, and pardee, but is VERY rare as Mission since its so much larger. So basically as long as all goes as planned Jude will be here in 5 days! I honestly can't believe it. Alan and I were talking when we left the Dr office that is litterally feels like a dream. So know I've got to kick it into gear and get this house cleaned up this weekend. Because I had this killer cold this week I've fallen behind on ALL my household chores lol. We want the house nice and clean for when Jude bug comes home. Can't WAIT!!

37 weeks growth scan with a little ranting on the side =]

So today was Jude's 37 week growth scan at Mahec. They basically do these expecially if you have gestational diabties to mak sure baby isn't to big first off, and then to check the heart. Unfrotunatly if your sugars are not controlled it can cause and enlarged heart muscle which doesn't allow the blood to pump correctly to the heart. So his estimated weight was 6 lbs 7 oz. The Dr did tell us this can be 1/2 lb off by more or less. So technally he could be as big as 6 lbs 15 oz. Either way he fell in the 56th percentile which was perfect. They also did a detailed check on his little heart, all the ateries et and said it looked great as well. Size was great. So he's right on track for growth all around. He was still head down(thank goodness).
          So tomorrow I go to my regular OBGYN Dr McArthur for my regular appt but also to find out what day we will set my induction. And this is where i insert my mini rant...Please skip if you don't want to hear...
              #1:  I'm SO sick of hearing people tell me there is NO medical reason for induction. First off PLEASE educate yourself before you open your big mouth! I think its great that you have NO problems what so ever with your pregnancy but I DO have gestational diabetes. So let me educate you just a little bit. When you have Diabetes it puts extra strain on the placenta. Its is VERY common for women who have it's placenta to poop out around 38-39 weeks. NO it does not happen in every case. But I'm sorry I WILL NOT take the chance that it could happen and something happen to my baby so I can fit into your idea of the "perfect" labor and delivery.
            #2: I don't care if your having your baby "natural" and how its the best way yada yada yada. SHUT UP PLEASE! I don't care how well written your birth plan is, I don't care how much you hate hospitals, I don't care how much your "midwife" says Drs are bad. Even if I was not high risk I would NEVER go through anyone other then a trained Dr, and the hospital. While you were busy being brain washed by their ignorance I was busy doing actual research. I would never take a risk that an emergency could happen and my child and myself could be left without Emergency medical care. It's buisness, and what you do if your business. But DO NOT sit and act like I'm less of a women, or a mother because I'm not doing it the way you think it right.
           #3: If one more person tells me I will HAVE to have an epidural, or on the opposite side that I can't its wrong to do it I swear I will scream!. I know my body. I know what I can handle and what I cannot handle. To the people who say they know me and I will have to have one( other then Alan, mom, candace ect) Yes you are probably right. I have a HORRIBLY low pain tolerance, and severe panic attacks so it would probably be in my best bet to get one. But don't write me off yet. I plan on trying to last as long as I can without it. If its only half way thru great, it I were to make it all the way thru even more awesome. Only time can tell what will happen. Everyone handles labor different. For the ones telling me no no just trust your body, you don't need one, " I didn't get one and I did fine". Please Shove it. I don't care what you did. And please also consider before you judge me that I will be induced. AKA the contractions are known to be 3-5x's stronger then natural contractions like you had during your labor.

                Ok I feel a little better. I have let people worry me sick about this stuff like their opinions even matter. What matters is whats right for me, and my baby. I trust God to take care of me and he will make sure it all works out in his way.

Ok I've fallen behind

Go figure I go out of work on Maternity leave and THEN my blog falls behind lol. So lets do a little catch up.  Not much has changed. We are officially in our 37th week. I can't wait until Monday Oct 1st we go in for our growth scan and then the Dr will start making decisions on our induction date. I can't wait tom meet this little wiggle worm. I've been slacking in maternity pics to because to be honest when your home all day it takes alot to make yourself change out of sweatpants and tshirts. I mean really people lets just be honest. I'm almost 9.5 months pregnant, my legs hurt, my back hurts, and I just want to be comfortable lol. This is all I got...

Other then that Jude has been doing good at his twice weekly appts. He has passed all his NST's. also we did a cervix check and I was 1 CM( nothing really I know but I was excited). The Dr also did a quick ultrasound and he is head down still( yay). Other then that no real changes. I can't believe in literally in anywhere from a week-2.5 weeks we could meet our little guy.

Maternity Leave

Let me start by saying if you are reading this you probably already know that I made the Blog Private to approved viewers only. I decided to do that mainly because of some weird views we were getting , and there are some people who don't need to know what is going on in our lives. Its nothing mean I just prefer certain people not have every detail as they don't have any need.

So as of Monday Sept 10th I started my Maternity leave. I had not planned on starting it until Sept 28th but due to an increase in my sugar meds again and the very high chance Jude will be joining us sooner( my ultrasound to determine this is Oct 1st) I decided to go ahead and leave 2 weeks early. Luckily I work for a great company, and the owner/my manager was very supportive of me through out our entire fertility struggle and all. I will be returning to work Jan 2nd 2013. So far I've cleaned my house, caught up all the chores ect lol. Now I'm spending lots of time relaxing and making crafts on pintrest lol. I go to the Dr now twice a week for NST's( Non stress tests) to monitor Jude and do far he is doing great. He is really starting to run out of room in there( I can tell lol). He now does this thing where he balls up on one side of my stomach and its like I have a huge rock sticking out lol. I love it though. I will rub his little back/butt/head whatever body part it is and he will just wiggle around but not move. Other then that things have been pretty good. I'm having to watch my sugar really close again. She upped my meds because I was having alot of highs again. Which she said was completely normal the further along you get. So for now we will just relax and see what happens!

35th WEEK

3d/4d ultrasound

We went this past Saturday (08.25.12) for our 3d/4d ultrasound. Jude took a while to warm up but he did so good. Here is my favorite picture below and I provided a link to the rest on my facebook.

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151098291638241.438088.779428240&type=3 

NST's and Goodies.

Today started our 33rd week. I went to the Dr for my first of many NST's( non-stress tests). Jude passed with flying colors. He did great. I found out I will be going twice a week every week so they can moniter and make sure my placenta is still working good and supplying Jude with what he needs. Unfortunately with Diabetes in pregnancy the Placenta can start to calcify early so they have to keep a close eye on it. I don't mind it just lets me know hes being watched very close and careful. We also had Alan's work baby shower at Carrabba's sunday night. It was so nice of them to put it together and we got a bunch of great and cute stuff. Jude will be one styling little guy lol.

Starting the 32nd week

So our 32nd week officially started Monday. I can't believe we have made it so far. I didn't have a Dr appt this week so not much going on. I can't wait until Saturday though. We are going to Visions of Life the place where we did our gender scan to have our 3d/4d Ultrasounds! I can't wait to see his face! I just hope he cooperates and shows it to us lol. Then Sunday we have Alan's work baby shower at Carrabbas. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and eating Carrabbas lol. After that I have a busy couple weeks coming up. We have two appts next week one Monday, one Thursday both with NST's(non-stress tests). Then I have a 3 day weekend to start the month of sept yay! Then that Thursday Sept 6th I have court for the wreck =(. Not looking forward to that part. So needless to say before we know it Jude will be joining us!

30 week Growth Scan and appt

So today was Judes 30 week visit and growth ultrasound. He is 3 lbs 10 oz and in the 86th percentile. So he is growing good. Based on his measurements he is just a couple days bigger so that's perfect. We found out that because my diabetes they will not let me carry past 39 weeks. So basically if he doesn't decided to join the world on his own before Oct 16th they will induce me or plan a scheduled c-section. Possibly the c-section based on his size, and because he is currently in breech position. But he still has some time to turn. So over all he looks good! I do back now every other week twice  a week for non-stress tests to watch the placenta and for Dr appts. So we got a week knocked off our meeting date lol. So we will definitely meet Jude max in 8 weeks and 6 days lol( but who is counting)

30 WEEK ULTRASOUNDS

Change of subject

I have always used this blog in the past to post about infertility, pregnancy, and all the exciting things with Jude. I just wanted to change the topic for  one post. now don't worry I'm going political on you lol. I just wanted to acknowledge my husband. Alan is such a driving force in my life but he doesn't get acknowledged enough. When we were struggling to conceive he was my backbone. He was there for me every-time I needed a shoulder to cry on and most of the time he was ready and in waiting before I even knew I was needing it. Since I have become pregnant I have had a few scares mainly when we thought we were losing Jude at 7 weeks, and some scared with my sugar before I was adjusted to the medication. He was always there in protector mode ready to do whatever I needed. And now as we near the end of pregnancy he is always helping me out. He helps me out around the house how ever he can( though i'm officially nesting and I tend to be a bit picky lol). Like today I was so tired but the bathroom had to be cleaned. Well I hate to ask for his help because he already works 6 days a week and his only day off if Sunday. Well he came in and found me sitting there more then a little exasperated. While alot of men would have left me there to clean it, he jumped right in told me to go sit down and rest and literally did more then I planned and scrubbed the bathroom down. He is getting used to me starting jobs and getting to tired to finish but he willingly takes over without a even a hint of frustration. I know he didn't want to spend his sunday afternoon cleaning out the closet, but he jumped right in to help me. 
          In the begining of he pregnancy he was leary about it. Not that he was not excited but to be honest he just didn't seem as interested. I think it was just a fear/nerves because it didn't seem real after all the years of trying. But now I love when he's walking with me in the store, I turn to talk to him only to see I lost him back in the baby section looking at things for Jude. I love hearing him talk about our future. About taking Jude to the park, watching grow up. 
       The point is( especially now in my sometimes hormone filled rants) I forget how blessed I REALLY am. I'm so thankful for such a loving, affectionate, caring husband. I know without a doubt I can always count on him and he will always be there to fight for me and our little family. I'm lucky to have him as a husband/partner for life, and Jude is blessed to have him as a daddy.

           We love you so much Alan <3

 

30th week

30TH WEEK

So we are now in our 30th week which I by the way cannot believe! e have approx 9.5-10 weeks till Jude's due date. I cannot wait to meet that little guy! I'm  been going to the Dr every other week now. I go back on Tuesday for a growth ultrasound to see how bid our little guy is. The one unfortunate thing is that as I have progressed my sugar is becoming less and less manageable. I'm still able to do it with just pills but as off this weekend I will be upping my daily dose by 1.25 mg possibly. I'm going to make one last stitch effort to do it with diet but if it doesn't work we will be upping by Monday. The Dr also has me doing kick counts twice a day now. Basically you just lay on your side quietly and need to feel the little one move at least 10 times in an hour. In the morning Jude is a little slower to get started( but I'm not a big morning person either lol) so he usually gets his 10 in by 25 mins max...But at night that little booger gets 10 kicks in within minutes... Also because I'm high risk every dr visit now they will be doing a non-stress test to make sure he is moving right and now showing any signs of stress. One problem people with Diabetes often have is calcification of the placenta. Basically if starts to die off to early and if not caught it can cause stillborn babies. So they like to track it often to make sure all is well. If he were to start showing signs of less movement thru the kick counts and/or the non-stress tests they would do another biological scan and possibly take him early. Lets just hope since my sugar is very well controlled all goes well and he gets to bake until its time for him to come=].

a little pregnancy fun

I seen this on another girls blog and thought I would take it for fun...


Age when you found out you were pregnant:
25

Did you experience any pregnancy symptoms?:
In the begining I had a little naseau and frequent urination but thats about it.

How far along were you when you found out?:
Right at 4 weeks. I litterally found out the DAY my period as supposed to start.

Was your little one planned or a surprise?:
Very much planned and prayed for.

When is your EDD?:
Oct 23 2012

How many weeks are you currently?:
I'm in my 30th week

Is this your first child?  If not, how many do you have?:
1st Child

What was your first reaction when you found out you were pregnant?:
I was beyond ecstatic. I literally freaked out! It was on valentines day.

Who was the first person you told that you were pregnant?:
Well I wanted it to be Alan but I was in such shock when I seen the positive test I had to get Heather to look at it to confirm I was not going crazy.

How far along were you when you felt baby kick for the first time?:
Probably about 14-15 weeks.

What month did you find out the sex of your baby?:
May 18th

Are you having a boy or girl?:
Sweet Boy

What cravings have you had?:
I have had a mix. But in all honesty I have not had these crazy must have insane fits like I've read about some people having. Just really want it but dont die if I dont get it.

Have you/are you planning on attending any Lamaze classes?:
 No

Do you have a name picked out?:
Jude Elijah Wright

When did you decide on a name?  Who picked it?:
Alan and I picked it out together.

What kind of birth plan are you considering?:
Well I can't say I won't use medication if we have it traditionally. But with my Diabetes we don't know if I will be going traditional or c-section until closer to time.

What pregnancy discomforts have you experienced?:
None really. I'm generally comfortable.

What pregnancy related books have you read/are you currently reading?:
I started reading a few in the beginning. But not I'm not reading any.

Any weird pregnancy dreams?:
HAha we won't even go there....

Who do you want in the delivery room with you?:
Defiantly Alan, but probably my Mom to because shes one of the only people in the world who can really calm me down.

Are you planning on breast feeding?:
yep

Do you plan on having any more little ones?:
We would like to if its Gods will

Playing catch up

So lets play a little catch up. On July 11th I was on my way home from work when I got in a car wreck. Ofcourse instantly my thoughts went to Jude. The cop that came was so rude but once my fmaily and the ambuland got there we headed up to the hospital. After hours of waiting( no matter how much i kicked, screamed, whined, complained) they finally checked on Judes heartrate. He was just fine. they ended up admitting me to the Labor and Delivery for 24 hours to monitor him. Talk about misery....being forced to layon your back for hours and hours. The only good part was hearing hte steady tic tock of his little heart. The following morning they did and ultrasound and he looked good. He was also already head down. At 6 that night the let me go home. I had a Dr appt that following monday and everything looked good.
       On July 28th we had our baby shower. It was fun. We got alot of cute stuff, and then with the gift cards/money we were able to get everything else we needed for Jude so we are all set thank goodness. We can still use the little things like diapers, wipes, and little goodies but we will start slowley buidling out stock for when he gets here lol.
        I went to the Dr yesterday and got to start visiting with different doctors so I can get to know everyone. I seen Dr Veazey. She was very nice. Now that I'm going every two weeks she aid because I will be getting a 20 minutes non-stress test to watch Jude and make sure all is well. Not sure if this is normal or just because I'm "high risk" due to the diabetes. We go back in two weeks on aug 14th for our appt, and we will have a growth ultrasound to see how the little bug is growing. I can believe we only have 2 months and 19 days till his due date. I can't wait to meet my little guy,

27th Week

How far along? 

In my 27th week

Best moment this week: 

I love laying and watching Jude move my stomach all around and move things if I lay them on it.

Movement: 

Very strong now, and I feel him through out the day and night.

Symptoms: 

My back has been hurting. I've been SO tired. But I also have a cold so that may be playing into my lack of sleep right now. I still feel generally comfortable at this point except when I walk a lot I get kinda dizzy.

Food cravings: 

Mini Chicken Sandwich's from Sams Club. I eat them everyday for lunch lol

Food aversions: 

none yet I've been lucky

Gender: 

My sweet little BOY
.

Random:

Jude loves to be read to and music he goes crazy. He loves when we sing happy together to him as well lol.

25th week

So this week I started my 25th week.  I can't believe we only have approx 15 weeks until we meed little Jude. I had my follow up ultrasound on July 3rd and it went really well. They saw all the chambers and arteries they couldn't see for his heart last time due to his position perfectly this time. The Dr said his heart and everything else was beautiful and he was doing great from what they can tell. He weighed about 1.8 lbs( BIG guy lol) Which is in the 55 percentile per the Dr which means he's perfectly average and perfectly on track.  My  sugars have been under such good control I don't have to go back to my specialist until I'm 36 weeks to do a growth ultrasound unless something happens. Here are a few pictures from Tuesday...

Still a BOY!

Profile Shot

Little Lips and nose peaking out lol

I go back to Dr McArthur my normal Dr on July 16th and as of then I will be going every other week instead of once a month. Also my baby shower is July 28th which I can't WAIT for lol.

25TH WEEK

I already look huge, but I've only gained 10 lbs and Jude is right on track so that's all that matters lol.. Or so I keep telling myself lol

6 months

So last Tuesday( 06.19.12 ) we were officially 6 months! I had  a Dr appointment with my regular OBGYN Dr McArthur and she said I was measuring right on track and Jude's heart beat in the 140's. I also send my blood sugars to my Specialist Dr Harper once a week and she says the are PERFECT. So everything is moving right along. 

             With summer moving in it has been miserable hot and I've found the the pool does wonders for you when your pregnant lol. So we;ve been spending many evenings and weekends at moms swimming. I may be in the beginning stages of driving Alan crazy as my nesting habit sets in haha. I've been cleaning the house like crazy. I can't believe Jude will be here in 16ish weeks.  

              We feel so blessed God seen fit to bless is with our little miracle baby and Can't wait to meet him!!! He's really been kicking up a storm lately. He is really active from about 9:30 am-11am. Then starts up about 12 and goes through sleep and active periods up until about 6:30. Then I typically don't feel him again till the next morning. On the weekend I don't feel him move NEAR as much. But I thinks its because I'm more active and not just sitting at my desk at work...

WEEK 23

   Also here are the 3 pictures from Jude's Ultrasound May 30th. I got back on July 3rd to have a follow up since they couldn't get a good view of all his heart chambers. The little booger wouldn't cooperate near the end of the ultrasound lol.

Little Legs

Confirmed he's a boy lol

Profile

Week 21

Thought I haven't decided if it should be called Week 21 or week bloated lardo lol.. Because that's what I've felt like ALL week!

How far along? 

In my 21st week

Best moment this week: 

Feeling Jude's movements get stronger.

Movement: 

It's still on and off but I'm starting to feel more defined bumps, and kicks.

Symptoms: 

Tired, and my nose ALWAYS stuffs up at night.

Food cravings: 

Pumpkin Seeds from the Dollar General.. Thanks Heather!

Food aversions: 

none yet I've been lucky

Gender: 

My sweet little BOY
.

Random:

I've quit drinking my OJ at night. I still want it SO bad but its just got way to much sugar. So because I cannot drink water at night I've substituted with low calorie gatorade and its hits the spot.

Jude's Room

So I spent most my memorial day making decorations for Jude's room. I made his name and a cool mobile. We started decorating and it was really fun. I can't wait to continue to add stuff to it. Our theme is kinda Vintage Black/White base colors.

Baby stuff Yay

So Today my mom ordered the playpen for Jude. He will be sleeping in our room to start in the playpen.

Its a BOY!!!

So we went to Visions of Life Yesterday for our Gender ultrasound. It came a horrible storm while we were waiting so we ended up being super early to avoid having to drive around and kill time in the rain. When we went back Jude would not move he was balled and no matter how much she prodded and poked he would flinch a little but would not budge. 

This is the position he was staying in.

I had some grape juice so she asked me to drink it an see if it would get him moving. After about 5 minutes he started stretching out a little and moving around. She got a couple shots but they are hard to see becasue as soon as she'd stop to take a picture he'd turn lol.

After about 15 minutes he decided to give us a peek which she called Boy( and i didn't see lol)

And finally gave us a quick peek then closed up again. 

It had quit storming when he started moving and as soon as we got the shot it came a huge clap of thunder and he balled back up... Erica the tech was telling us she doesn't know what causes it but she said if its storming she KNOWS its going to be a hard day because they just ball up and get comfy lol.

So we are happy to announce in 153 day( give or take of course) We will get to meet our little one Jude Elijah Wright!!