yucky!

I survived this morning's glucose test... That was awful though! I kept praying that the 'juice' wouldn't be that bad and that I could get it down... Getting it down wasn't the problem - it was keeping it down! Those that know me, know I'm not big into sweet stuff. A little now and then is fine, but really sweet things just don't go well with my stomach. I managed to get Aubrey on the phone and talk to her for half my drive, which kept my mind off of the yucky feeling in tummy. I got to the office, heard his heart rate (solid 140 beats/minute), got measured - still measuring 1 week ahead (have been for the last 2 months), weighed in at +4 from my last appointment - right on with the pound per week, had a quick laugh with my doctor, and then to blood draw. The lady does the drawing for the office is really, really fun. She's very sweet and has an amazing memory with faces. My stomach had finally calmed and I sat in the chair for the test. Right about the second vial of blood I got amazingly light headed, hot, and really nauseated! I didn't say anything but all of a sudden she's bent down in my face telling me to breathe (apparently I wasn't doing it well?) she got me juice and peanut butter crackers and then made me sit there gabbing with her for another 20 minutes. I've never gotten like that with a blood draw - and she remembered that too from the visit she took 6 tubes out of me with no trouble... It was a little embarassing but she grabbed a bottle of the glucose drink off the shelf and showed me all the side effects and assured me that much sugar in such a small time frame wreaks a bit of havoc on the body, especially if your body isn't typically subjected to a ton of sugar. She also said to expect a killer headache, but thankfully I've avoided that :) I do kind of feel like I've hit a wall though this afternoon. I don't typically run out of energy until the very end of the day, but I'm dragging a bit already. The doctor asked me to start counting kicks daily to make sure once he's active, I feel 10 movements within that hour period - yeah that won't be a problem!! Once he's moving I get 10 kicks in a matter or a few minutes... Well, that's all I've got. It's not incredibly interesting but it's my update :o)

27 weeks

Saturday I entered my 27th week of pregnancy. I'm still feeling really good and have only minor complaints. Bending isn't so easy anymore, especially if I need to breathe while doing it... The only time it really bothers me is in bed when I'm trying to get up (to pee every 45 minutes) or get comfortable - it takes so much more energy to move when you're abdominals aren't able to flex the way you need them to. I haven't grown out as far as everyone around me seems to think I would have by now. To be honest, it's kind of nice. I was concerned about getting a little 'extra' during the pregnancy, but so far I'm a tad under the doctor's healthy weight chart - with no extra effort on my part :o) (i.e. don't rag on me for depriving my body, or dieting - I'm not!) I eat when I'm hungry and it doesn't seem to take much to fill my stomach (I think he's compressing that as well as my bladder). I'd be alright if he wanted to push out a little though, breathing might be a little easier.

I realized that I haven't blogged much about the pregnancy itself, so just giving a little update. From the post at 13 or so weeks where I talked about what a pain the baby was during the ultrasound: moving all around, hiding under my pelvic bone, etc. He hasn't slowed down much at all! He moves during the day, roughly every 45 minutes to an hour and is active for 5-10 minutes. At night he tends to be a little more active, for longer periods of time and shorter intervals in between... He seems to have more strength then too, the kicks to the ribs actually sting for a second.

It's getting a little strange to think that he'll be here in just 3 months! Exciting, yet dreading busy season at work while in my third trimester! I'm praying to have the energy and the ability to get as much of the overtime as I can get. For one, it's my job; and two, it's extra time that I'll be able to take off after he gets here! I have my glucose test tomorrow morning, I've had the red 'juice' sitting in my fridge since my last appointment and from what I hear it's really yucky :o(

I'll let ya'll know if I get anything interesting tomorrow, in the meantime here was our update from babycenter on Saturday (every Saturday morning we get our weekly update on the progress of the baby and read it before Ben goes to work)

Oh, and his hiccups, tend to last way longer than a few moments - yesterday sitting at my desk we had a 5 minute episode! Every 20 seconds or so I got a little 'jump'

"This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 15 inches long with his legs extended. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother him, so just relax and enjoy the tickle."

We're still here...

The snow hasn't buried us completely. Just made it incredibly difficult to get anything done! Made it to work all but last Thursday when Bellevue was shut down. Ben's days off are Sunday-Tuesday, so we've just been hanging out. He's had a few projects, I made cookies out of my great grandma's old cookbook (they didn't turn out like I'd hoped - I know it's not the recipe she used), we ventured out yesterday to get our Santa picture and finish up some Christmas shopping. It's been nice just having full days together! We even decided that because Ben's working Christmas Eve and Day that we'd have our Christmas early. So last night, we opened our gifts. I was instructed to not get upset - that after a few months, he wouldn't be able to do fun stuff like this again... This is what my sweet guy got me: 

Rapid Deterioration

Yesterday sucked! A few irritations at work, a couple personal things, followed by 2 really big blows sent me into my first little meltdown during this pregnancy. I think I've been incredibly even, hormonally speaking, during this pregnancy and I asked Ben about it last night and he agreed. I haven't picked fights, I haven't been too emotional - if anything I think I'm a little calmer when things come up... Anyway that has not been the case over the last 24 hours!
I'll skip over the crap and get right to the BIG stuff.

I signed up for supplemental short term disability coverage in late 2006, with the idea of using it for a maternity leave eventually. I had my meeting with the agent and we went over the plan I was purchasing and I was told, and specifically verified the amount of time of coverage after labor - I know I was specific, because this is the only reason I wanted it and I knew my leave would be unpaid from work. Yesterday I met with the new rep handling our coverage, as our rep has suddenly disappeared. I do not have the amount of time that I thought... Matter of fact I have much less then I imagined. The insurance doesn't completely cover my normal salary, so I've been saving to make sure that I had enough to supplement that income. Not even that account in it's entirety can cover the time I was planning to take (and I've been so proud at my savings going beyond what I would need for that- this way it could cover the 'unknown' expenses to arise)
My meeting with the new rep was not really helpful, she understood what he did, but couldn't do anything about it... She was actually his regional manager and now he's no longer with the company - she implied that situations such as this were the cause, but couldn't outright say it. So now instead of comfortably taking 12-16 weeks off after Luke comes, I am covered for only 6 (less the first 7 days for their processing time - so really only paid for 5). If I have to go on bed rest or become unable to use the bathroom, feed or dress myself during the pregnancy or delivery - I'm covered up to 6 months. (Good for the worst case scenario, but statistically, and hopefully not the case here) In addition to feeling totally screwed over, the realization of how little he will still be when that sends me back to work is really, really disheartening. I spent most of the drive home trying not to cry, which didn't work. And then I talked to Ben - just his voice asking if I was okay was enough to throw me over the edge. He assured me we'd figure it out, and that everything would be fine. He said because of it being spring/summer there's plenty of overtime to be had - but the last thing I want is him gone every single day of the week. On top of that, the unknown leave time is hard to coordinate now at work, they kind of want specifics but are understanding in that this is all new info and I have no idea yet what we'll really be able to afford...
Leading into issue #2, the new King County contract has eliminated our current insurance. Ben got an email yesterday that I'm not totally sure he wouldn't have ignored for a bit had I not been snuggled up next to him watching his laptop. It gave no plan specifics and said basically we'd know more come January - NOT HELPFUL to a girl who's got OB appointments every 2 weeks starting in January. So then I got all panicked because our out of pocket is more than it used to be, delivery in the new plan isn't covered like our old plan, and I had no idea if I could keep my doctor. We managed to lose quite a bit of money yesterday without much notice or recourse, which didn't help my emotional state much.

Ben calmed me down, we made dinner and I even managed to sleep a little last night. This morning's long drive to work gave me ample time to get emotional again, but made it in without major mascara issues. I didn't get anywhere with the woman at King County benefits, she clearly didn't like her job! Thankfully, I managed to scrounge up a number for the new insurance company and they even had our info in the system already to make sure that on January 1 we'd be covered, he sounded like an older guy and was very helpful. Good news is, I don't have to find a new doctor that can manage to fit me in on short notice (every 2 weeks) and then for a March delivery! AND she's 'in-network' which gives us the highest coverage! Giant weight lifted!!
Now, I just have to keep praying that God will take care of the leave; either making it work for a little bit longer (preferred), or helping me through going back so soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUBREY!!

Your birthday present is waiting for you under my tree!

You are awesome! I love you and can't wait to see you this week!  Have a wonderful day!

Name update

I wasn't sure if I should post it, just in case we changed our minds... And then I realized that I can still do both! :o) Our little guy will be:

Lucas 'Luke' Benjamin

I'm not a huge fan of Lucas, I really just wanted it to be Luke, but Ben insists on naming him Lucas and calling him Luke. Ben tried really hard to battle against using his name anywhere in the baby's - but as a compromise for Lucas, and becuase I made a decent argument - he conceeded. Truth be told, I've been calling him Luke since before I knew (for sure) it was a boy :o)

random rant

Okay so no one carries plain little hats anymore!?! I've been looking for just a set of little baby caps in solid blues to match some outfits that don't come with them and I can't find any! They have little packs but they've got random designs or goofy little sayings like "bald hair day"... And that's just so not me. I'm a total hat freak on baby's when they're tiny (and born in winter)... First off because it's cold and they're used to the internal temperature of human womb, and second because I think they're so cute!
I swear they used to have plain sets in boy/girl/neutral colors in the past 9 years I've been shopping for friends/family babies... Apparently it's not 'in' anymore! :(

To Ben:

Your smile gives me strength

Your grumpiness challenges me to be more positive

Your laugh fills me with joy

Your strength & determination inspire me

Your silly humor makes me laugh even when I'm angry

Your arms are the safest place I know

Your love makes me grateful for everyday

I am so proud to be your wife! Thank you for being the amazing man that you are, and thank you for making me stronger, safer, more secure; filling me with more love, hope and happiness than I'd ever known before or even knew was possible. I love our life together!

Happy Anniversary!

I love you!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Well that blew by! Thanksgiving was busy, as usual - filled with lots of family and yummy food... and usually a little bloating :o)

Aubrey was in town and we did our midnight madness shopping out at the outlet, I did better than I thought staying up that late. It was great to get out and spend some time with her! Shopping was actually pleasurable! People were in their jammies, laid back, still semi-comatose from turkey... just the way you need to be when spending $$! I got into the stores though and completely froze, didn't know what to buy! That faded eventually and I got a couple jammies, some burp cloths, a couple little outfits... all at 80% off, so I did really well! Breakfast with Brandon, Aubrey, the twins and Brady Saturday morning, followed by some afternoon shopping with mom. Sunday was the start of me not feeling so hot, Ben had the beginnings of a cold for a couple days, but up until Sunday was feeling pretty normal. I made some soup and we laid low all day. 

I actually stayed home Monday thinking if I just rested enough it might not hit me. Rest, we did. We both slept most of the day, awake for maybe a few hours in the afternoon and then back to bed. It worked for Ben, but after work last night I was toast, and rapidly felt worse throughout the night. I made it to work today but couldn't make it past 3. Now I'm siting in my sweats with a yucky cup of hot Thera-flu (my doctor assured me it was safe) but yuck! 

I actually have ZERO pictures from this weekend, I decided to leave the camera at home and enjoy the festivities instead of trying to capture everyone else's enjoyment - and bug them to death with pictures :o)