Friday night we went to a boat party for my husband's work. My friend Sarah helped me make a Bun in the Oven costume. We painted a box black, made it into an oven, drew a loaf of bread on a brown shirt, cut out a door and put saran wrap on the box so you could see my belly and topped my head with a teapot made of foil. The party was fun and I won most original, which won a target gift card (baby stuff!).
Saturday we went to birth class all day long. The best thing about the whole day is when Dave said at the end of the day " I didn't really realize before today how hard labor can be." This was so good because I finally feel like he will be really supportive. Gone are the days of the comments "Oh, just call me when you're pushing and I'll show up!" :)
I met with my high risk OB doctor today from Madigan. He drove here. He said baby sounds good and he answered some of my questions about labor, which I will go into more detail next post. Then I had a non-stress test and baby hearbeat for half hour was good. Then I had an ultrasound but couldn't see anything because the nurse kept the light on. And just as I think I'm finally leaving the hospital, I think to speak to the EFM coordinator again, who once again, gives me the doom and gloom scenerio and tells me the navy has no problem splitting my husband and I up and that will probably be their course of action. Again, I will explain this later more too. I'm just trying to summarize for now. So....because of that, I waited another two hours to see my primary care doctor to speak to him about his connections to Groton's hospital to discuss their level of care meeting my back needs. Long story short, we are still on hold for if and when we move and where. Gotta love the navy... The EFM people are the clowns, and the heartache is the wait.
More to come, hope you're so curious you'll come back!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Recap
Last week had cord blood to baby blood flow checks and all went well. I also had two ultrasounds which both looked good and I got to see the cutest profile picture yet of Beaner. Until those, I really wasn't for sure if Beaner was super cute. But now I'm convinced. I'm not sure what I wrote last. Two weekends ago we went camping for the first time with our truck and I did really well. 12 hours of great warm sleep, even in a tent!
I had an awesome baby shower yesterday. The only thing that could have made it better is if people actually showed up! Okay, a bit of sarcasm there. Those who did show up were all amazing wonderful women and I am very greatful to have them in my life. My hosts did an amazing wonderful beautiful job. We had great decor, great food, great company, great people on Skype joining us, great games, and great gifts. I just felt somewhat bad that people I really thought were coming did not show. But what can you do?
Thank you to my hosts and all the help! You guys are AMAZING!
This morning I had a home nurse visit me. We talked, did paperwork, and chit chatted for two hours! We talked about everything under the sun and even a little about baby! My nurse is a wonderful sweet black woman. I bring up her color because half our conversation consisted of culture, race, and different areas in the country we have lived where we both had our sets of culture shock. I told her I am from South Dakota and until I moved to SC with my husband, I have probably seen one or two black people in my life! She laughed at me but shared the same stories with me when moving to Washington back in 1991 and being looked at funny because there were so many white people! Then we discussed Seattle itself, bringing ins: all new shocks for both of us: sexual prefereces, politics, religions and lack of. She is a great woman and I feel very comfortable knowing she will be helping me out when baby Bean is born.
This afternoon I went to a non-stress test and we listened to Bean's heart beat for twenty minutes. I had a new nurse this time and we chatted a bit. She didn't say much about the charting and I forgot to ask but I'm sure if all is not well I will be hearing from them. In my non-professional opinion, all looked as it did last week when things were fine so I'm not really worried.
And that's your recap!
I had an awesome baby shower yesterday. The only thing that could have made it better is if people actually showed up! Okay, a bit of sarcasm there. Those who did show up were all amazing wonderful women and I am very greatful to have them in my life. My hosts did an amazing wonderful beautiful job. We had great decor, great food, great company, great people on Skype joining us, great games, and great gifts. I just felt somewhat bad that people I really thought were coming did not show. But what can you do?
Thank you to my hosts and all the help! You guys are AMAZING!
This morning I had a home nurse visit me. We talked, did paperwork, and chit chatted for two hours! We talked about everything under the sun and even a little about baby! My nurse is a wonderful sweet black woman. I bring up her color because half our conversation consisted of culture, race, and different areas in the country we have lived where we both had our sets of culture shock. I told her I am from South Dakota and until I moved to SC with my husband, I have probably seen one or two black people in my life! She laughed at me but shared the same stories with me when moving to Washington back in 1991 and being looked at funny because there were so many white people! Then we discussed Seattle itself, bringing ins: all new shocks for both of us: sexual prefereces, politics, religions and lack of. She is a great woman and I feel very comfortable knowing she will be helping me out when baby Bean is born.
This afternoon I went to a non-stress test and we listened to Bean's heart beat for twenty minutes. I had a new nurse this time and we chatted a bit. She didn't say much about the charting and I forgot to ask but I'm sure if all is not well I will be hearing from them. In my non-professional opinion, all looked as it did last week when things were fine so I'm not really worried.
And that's your recap!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Change, Change, and More Change
Where do I even begin? Do I tell you that we will be moving across the country a week and a half after my due date? Or do I tell you first that I have been bumped up to high risk complicated OB in a matter of days? Or that we bought a new pick up? Okay well, apparently I've just told it all! Details you ask? Okay then, what first?
The baby of course! So yes, little Bean, although still said to be healthy, is having issues. Beaner is tiny, small, ever so little, munchkin, mini me, itty bitty. The last post discussed my doubt in the ultra sound machines. But last week I was sent to Madigan Medical Center in Tacoma (half hour away) to be seen by a high risk OB doctor who did bone growth measurements on Beaner and confirmed that yes, our baby is growing in the 3rd percentile, meaning that only 3% of babies at this stage are this small. Bean has been growing consistently, just very small. So they decided I would be seen at Madigan once a week until delivery to check growth and blood flow between the placenta and the baby.
Then, today, I get a phone call from my hospital OB clinic telling me they are trying to help the driving situation and have re scheduled my next blood flow check appointment from Madigan to Bremerton so that I do not have to drive as far. They said the equipment at Bremerton will be sufficient and I will continue to go to Madigan for the growth chart checks. Then she continued to talk and suddenly, she had me scheduled for five more appointments in the span of two weeks! I was pretty shocked I guess you could say, going from one appointment a week to now three a week. Once a week I will be checked for blood flow from me to the baby, once a week I will have a non-stress test performed on the baby, and the third appointment will be every other week to measure growth and tracking bone length/size of the baby. Plus, I will have additional appointments to do regular OB check ups, labs, and whatever else they decide necessary. I have decided I should probably get a little calendar just to keep track of it all! Beaner moves daily, A LOT! Kicks, rolls, flips, turns, punches--you name it, I feel it. This is a great thing. Also, every time Bean has been checked, heart beat is strong and healthy. So far, I have decided Bean is an anomaly, because he/she is a one of a kind power house in a tiny little body. There is no sign of brain damage, chromosome abnormalities, lack of nutrition or caloric intake, or anything else majorly wrong. Bean is just slow to grow. I hope it stays this way and maybe in a few weeks Bean will become mighty and catch up.
It is official: Bean's first permanent home of record will be Groton, CT. This will be intersesting to see how the next weeks and months play out. We plan to pull away from WA the 1st or 2nd of January (of course, all pending on the condition of the Bean.) This goes hand in hand with the other big change: a pick up. Dave has been wanting a truck for over a year now, searching, running numbers, finding exactly what he likes. With Bean on the way we figured a second vehicle is inevitable. With such a huge move, a truck now made sense to haul our car and two months worth of stuff across country. (We won't settle in Groton until the end of February.) Because we will be traveling in January and February from coast to coast, weather will be an issue and a four wheel drive half ton pick up sounded like the safest bet. Oh! Which brings me to the surprise I discussed last post and haven't told yet. We were very excited to learn that Dave's parents and sister went in on the Britax stroller and car seat together, so thank you to them for such a nice gift! While truck browsing, we brought the car seat along only to find it did not fit in the cab we originally wanted, so we upgraded our needs to a four door truck, seating six. The car seat fits perfectly with room to spare! With my prior sales experience, I decided I "do not negotiate with terrorists" as I told Dave, and I told the dealer what we would pay, not the other way around! So we purchased the exact truck we wanted with the exact features for the exact price Dave was willing to pay (Eleven thousand dollars cheaper!).
So yes, there is a lot of change going on in the Rickenbach family. Feeling little Bean move so much reassures me and makes me think it's just his/her way of telling me "Mom, I'm going to be okay." And I believe it. The doctors say I will most likely not make it to my due date, but all of this is of course up in the air. As my upcoming appointments progress, I will keep you all posted on the status of the Bean. For now, keep saying your prayers and keep on reading!
The baby of course! So yes, little Bean, although still said to be healthy, is having issues. Beaner is tiny, small, ever so little, munchkin, mini me, itty bitty. The last post discussed my doubt in the ultra sound machines. But last week I was sent to Madigan Medical Center in Tacoma (half hour away) to be seen by a high risk OB doctor who did bone growth measurements on Beaner and confirmed that yes, our baby is growing in the 3rd percentile, meaning that only 3% of babies at this stage are this small. Bean has been growing consistently, just very small. So they decided I would be seen at Madigan once a week until delivery to check growth and blood flow between the placenta and the baby.
Then, today, I get a phone call from my hospital OB clinic telling me they are trying to help the driving situation and have re scheduled my next blood flow check appointment from Madigan to Bremerton so that I do not have to drive as far. They said the equipment at Bremerton will be sufficient and I will continue to go to Madigan for the growth chart checks. Then she continued to talk and suddenly, she had me scheduled for five more appointments in the span of two weeks! I was pretty shocked I guess you could say, going from one appointment a week to now three a week. Once a week I will be checked for blood flow from me to the baby, once a week I will have a non-stress test performed on the baby, and the third appointment will be every other week to measure growth and tracking bone length/size of the baby. Plus, I will have additional appointments to do regular OB check ups, labs, and whatever else they decide necessary. I have decided I should probably get a little calendar just to keep track of it all! Beaner moves daily, A LOT! Kicks, rolls, flips, turns, punches--you name it, I feel it. This is a great thing. Also, every time Bean has been checked, heart beat is strong and healthy. So far, I have decided Bean is an anomaly, because he/she is a one of a kind power house in a tiny little body. There is no sign of brain damage, chromosome abnormalities, lack of nutrition or caloric intake, or anything else majorly wrong. Bean is just slow to grow. I hope it stays this way and maybe in a few weeks Bean will become mighty and catch up.
It is official: Bean's first permanent home of record will be Groton, CT. This will be intersesting to see how the next weeks and months play out. We plan to pull away from WA the 1st or 2nd of January (of course, all pending on the condition of the Bean.) This goes hand in hand with the other big change: a pick up. Dave has been wanting a truck for over a year now, searching, running numbers, finding exactly what he likes. With Bean on the way we figured a second vehicle is inevitable. With such a huge move, a truck now made sense to haul our car and two months worth of stuff across country. (We won't settle in Groton until the end of February.) Because we will be traveling in January and February from coast to coast, weather will be an issue and a four wheel drive half ton pick up sounded like the safest bet. Oh! Which brings me to the surprise I discussed last post and haven't told yet. We were very excited to learn that Dave's parents and sister went in on the Britax stroller and car seat together, so thank you to them for such a nice gift! While truck browsing, we brought the car seat along only to find it did not fit in the cab we originally wanted, so we upgraded our needs to a four door truck, seating six. The car seat fits perfectly with room to spare! With my prior sales experience, I decided I "do not negotiate with terrorists" as I told Dave, and I told the dealer what we would pay, not the other way around! So we purchased the exact truck we wanted with the exact features for the exact price Dave was willing to pay (Eleven thousand dollars cheaper!).
So yes, there is a lot of change going on in the Rickenbach family. Feeling little Bean move so much reassures me and makes me think it's just his/her way of telling me "Mom, I'm going to be okay." And I believe it. The doctors say I will most likely not make it to my due date, but all of this is of course up in the air. As my upcoming appointments progress, I will keep you all posted on the status of the Bean. For now, keep saying your prayers and keep on reading!
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