Michelle's Pregnancy Journal - Page 12
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June 16, 2002     16w6d
Happy Father's Day, Nate!
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    Today, we celebrated Nate's first Father's Day.  Actually, I suppose celebrated is not quite the right term, since we didn't do much, but I gave him his cards and his gift and we went out to dinner.  It was very nice.  The gift I gave him wasn't exactly for him, but when I saw it online several weeks ago, I just knew I had to buy it.  It's a play mat for a baby that looks like a newspaper and makes crinkling noises like paper would.  It's so cute, and he really liked it, even if it doesn't do him much good personally. :)  Click here to see what it looks like.
      Our crib shopping trip was a bust, sort of.  It turned out the outlet we drove so far to go to was not really worth it.  The prices were barely any different from regular retail, and the selection was very limited.  On the plus side, however, the trip was all worth it because  we had a wonderful time with Tara - she and Aunt Cindy took us out to a Japanese restaurant for a congratulatory dinner Friday night that was delicious - and on Saturday she took us to several baby shops in Greenwood just to browse.  We went to Babies R Us, and we decided to show her our dresser.  Sitting right next to it was the matching crib, which we hadn't even looked at before because it wasn't by one of the 3 brands we were interested in.  However, it looked kind of nice and we were getting frustrated with our narrow search, so we played with it a bit.  It seems very sturdy and the drop side is as smooth as any of the Childcraft cribs we had previously tried, and we just fell in love with it.  Best of all, it is very affordable.  We were going to buy it that very day, but it turned out they didn't have it in stock, so we had to scratch that plan.  But I think we have decided that it is the crib we want for sure, so whenever we next go to Chicago, we'll purchase it at the Babies R Us there.  Nate dropped by our Toys R Us here in South Bend to see if they could order it, but they can't, so we'll just have to wait.  Regardless, I'm thrilled to finally have a crib picked out.  Click here to see a picture of it.
     On the ligament pain front, I had the best day I've had in awhile today.  I have some slight discomfort, but not to the point where I would call it pain, like what I've been having for most of the last two weeks.  It's been so nice to walk up the stairs without cringing!  And we even went to Sam's Club for awhile today, so it's not like I've been totally sedentary or anything.  Actually, on a less happy note,  while we were at Sam's Club, I had another episode of that crushing back pain.  I know I recorded the first episode back in early May in my journal, but I don't think I wrote that I had another one at the doctor's office in early June, when Erin was here.  My OB has no idea what causes it and is baffled by how quickly the attacks come and go, but since the episodes are becoming more frequent - this one came less than 3 weeks after the last one - I've decided I have to see another doctor about it.  I'm going to call my family doctor tomorrow and make an appointment so he can either diagnose me or refer me to the appropriate specialist.  The episodes are, mercifully, very short (10-20 minutes usually) but while it occurs, I'd say it ranks as the most intense pain I've ever felt in my life.  It makes me feel like I'm going to vomit, and I actually cried as we sat in a quiet little corner of Sam's while I waited for it to pass.  It may not be anything serious, and they may not even be able to do anything about it while I'm pregnant, but it would be nice to at least have a diagnosis that might help me predict when the attacks will happen or give me a course of action to take when they do.  If the episodes continue to get closer and closer together, they could be daily by the time I'm full term, so I'd like to be able to do something about it.
     Other than that, though, I'm feeling better than I have in weeks and hoping to stay that way!  I'll check in again soon.
June 18, 2002     17w1d
I FELT THE BABY MOVE!
    This time, I am 100% positive, there is no doubt in my mind!  It wasn't a discernible kick or anything, but it was this fluttering sensation that I think lasted close to two minutes.  I've never felt anything like it in my life.  It was so wonderful.  And for once, I knew there was absolutely nothing else I was doing or my body was doing that could have been causing the sensation.  It had to be the baby.  Nate even teared up when I told him, and I think Mom did, too.  Oh gosh, I'm just absolutely on cloud nine, now.  Unfortunately, I know early movements can be few and far between, so I'm not holding my breath that I'll feel it again anytime soon, but I'm just so glad I finally felt it.  I feel like I've been waiting for this moment from the second I got my positive pregnancy test. :)
     Well, that's the only excitement going on.  Other than that, my ligament pain is still leaving me alone, but now a horrible cold is kicking my butt.  I would say I just can't win, but in light of today's other events, I'm too happy and excited to care.
June 20, 2002     17w3d
I've Definitely Had Better Days
    As usual, life can't be all fun and games. :)  After the euphoria of feeling the baby move on Tuesday, today was equally as rotten.  First, while my cold is passing, that means all the congestion is breaking up and trying to find its lonely way out of my nose, so I was going through Kleenex like crazy all morning.  This morning was also the day of my gestational diabetes test, which meant I had to fast for 12 hours overnight, have them draw blood with a finger prick, drink 10 oz of this awful super sugary orange pop, and then have them prick my finger every hour for the next three.  All by itself, not fun.  Even less fun when you $*&@* fail!  Yes, at 17 weeks, I am now officially gestationally diabetic.  It's unusual this early, but PCOS raises the risk of it dramatically, so I always knew it was a possibility.  Judging from my reaction (I sobbed off and on for about 3 hours after leaving the doctor's office, intensifying the whole Kleenex crisis), I wasn't as well prepared for the worst as I thought I was.  Actually, I shouldn't call it "the worst" - it's not THAT bad - but I just was not expecting to fail yet.  Most women aren't even tested until 26-28 weeks, because that's when it usually develops.  Anyway, all it really means is that I have to be on a fairly strict diet for the next 5 months and cut out most of my sugar intake almost entirely.  Other than that, it's not too bad - since I'm pregnant, there are still lots of calories, so it's not like I need to be afraid of starving to death or anything.  It's just that I LOVE dessert and it's going to be hard to cut it out for so long.  But anything for the health of our baby! :)  The possible complications for baby are very large birthweight (should I just start planning my C-section right now?), and occasionally blood sugar, kidney, or respiratory problems at birth.  The complications are usually pretty mild, though, and only require very short stays in the NICU, if there are any complications at all.  So all in all, it's not so bad.  I just was really unprepared to get this diagnosis today.
     And to top the whole wonderful day off, my ligament pain seems to be returning!  I must have seriously made God mad, because I got a cold as soon as my ligament pain went away, and now that the cold is going, the ligament pain is returning.  What have I done?? :)
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