25 Weeks

Today, I am 25 weeks and 5 days, I delivered Malakai at 25 weeks 4 days.It feels so good to finally make it this far.What's even better is that things are going really well. I feel great, and so its weird to be taking it easy and resting so much. I know that the more I rest the better though because she is so active on the days or don't do much and just rest.

How Far Along: 25 weeks 5 days. My OBGYN said that things are looking great and our biggest goal is to make it to 28 weeks but if things continue to go this well we should easily be able to make it to 32 weeks and further.

Baby Size: We didn't measure her at the last ultrasound but at 24 weeks she weighed about 1 pound 4 ounces. She is starting to grow a little slower, that may just be because I am pretty small and she is also going to be small. Her blood flow is looking great, its still in normal range although its starting to creep toward the bad side of normal range.

Total Weight Gain: 10 pounds. I've had the hardest time gaining weight, my OB said to keep eating brownies to pack it on. I'm also trying really hard to eat a lot of protein because that is supposed to help her grow more. I've read that in the next week or so she should have a growth spurt and I should get really big.




Movement: I feel her a lot. Sometime I think she is jumping around in there. During the ultrasound we saw her yawning and it was the cutest thing. It's so neat to feel her move and see what she is doing on the ultrasound.

Food Cravings: Lots of lemonade. Hamburgers and french fries.

Symptoms: Saturday night I had the worst leg cramps. I also have been getting heart burn and I hope that's a sign her hair is growing. Worst of all is this horrible gas I have had.

Praise/ Prayer Request: Praise that her blood flow looked great last week, it was even better than the week before. Also, my blood pressure was great even at the appointment. Pray that her blood flow continues to be normal, that she grows a lot, and that my blood pressure stays normal so that we can make it FULL TERM.

24 Week Appointment

Well, my appointment yesterday didn’t quite go as I had hoped. There was a lot of good news, but also some disappointing news too.  

To start, I had an ultrasound and Baby Girl is so cute. She is breech, but I don’t think that really matters since I’m going to have a scheduled c-section.  I love looking at the ultrasound pictures and trying to guess what she will look like when she gets here. I think she will look more like Matt simply because I don’t think she is going to be born with the head full of brown hair I had as a baby. We checked her size and she is now at 28%, and 5 weeks ago with the same ultrasound tech we were at 56%. I'm so disappointed that she is falling behind on her growth. The blood flow is still looking great and she still has lots of fluid too. My Dr. said that blood flow and fluid are the two most important things we will be checking and as long as they are at good levels we are ok. 

After my ultrasound I went to see my Doctor. My blood pressure was better than last week at the office and my protein check was trace. We were both really excited that my protein is so low! This means no pre-eclampsia symptoms. I would love to know if this improvement in my protein also equals an improvement in my kidney function, but at the same time I’m nervous to find out. Next week, we will check again to make sure that she still has good blood flow to her and lots of fluid.  We will also see if she stays around 26%, and if she does then that would be great, she would just be a small baby. From now until delivery I will be seen weekly to make sure no problems creep up. We still don’t know when delivery will be, as long as things continue to look good we will keep her inside, my due date is August 7.

Thanks for all your sweet messages and comments and most of all your prayers. I’m thrilled that we have made it this far and things are still going well. I’m so thankful that my kidney’s seem to be doing great and in May I will find out my function. Please continue to pray that she continues to grow and that she does not fall further behind.  Our God is Powerful and able to do Miracles.

Hydrangea Wreath Under $10

With all the time I spend on Pinterest, I finally decided I needed to start making some of the cute things I was seeing. I did a search for hydrangea wreath and here is what I found: http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=HYDRANGEA%20WREATH

There are a lot of really cute wreaths out there. My friend and I went out shopping for the supplies and the next day we put together our wreaths. I am very pleased with the finished  wreath and most of all that it was done for under $10.

Here is what I needed:

1 cardboard wreath. I found mine at Michael's near the foam wreaths, but the cardboard wreath is much cheaper. You could also cut your own out, but I think this will be more weather resistant. ($2.50 maybe)

2 bunches of hydrangeas. Michael's was having a 60% off sale. ($6.00)

Ribbon. I found this at Hobby Lobby 50% off. The whole spool was $5.00 but I only used about 2 of the 30 feet that is on it.

Hot Glue Gun

Scissors

Here is how I did it:

First: pull the leaves and flowers off your bunch. Cut the stems off the leaves.

Second: Glue leaves around the wreath.

Third: Space the flowers evenly around the wreath and glue them on. Leave a small space for your ribbon.

Fourth: Tie a cute bow with the ribbon. Nothing fancy, simple will do.

Fifth: Take down the Easter Wreath that's been up there a few weeks after Easter has already passed. Quickly hang up your new wreath before wiping the pollen off the door.

Maybe one day I will show you the entire front porch, but for now your not missing much. It is really calling for a fresh coat of paint, but that is going to have to wait until after Baby Girl gets here.

23 weeks and Good News

Yesterday, I had an appointment with my OBGYN. He said that he and my MFM are very happy with the way things are going. It was nice to chat about being pregnant a few months from now, and reassuring that we would make it that far. My blood pressure was still a little high in the office, but I told him that it had gone back to normal when I saw the MFM and they did not want to change the dose. I’ve also gained a total of 8 pounds this pregnancy, and he was happy about that. I’m working to gain more because I’m still a little behind. There have been several stops for Chicken Biscuits and Milkshakes to help make it happen.

21 weeks

Every week I have to give a urine sample to be tested for protein, it’s something all pregnant women do. It’s been a little high every time since I have kidney disease and I already spill a little protein, but yesterday it was the lowest it has ever been this entire pregnancy and back to normal for my kidneys. That was great news.

We also talked about steroid shots and decided we would do them at 28 weeks and then a booster if we have to deliver before 34 weeks. I was so happy to hear that he thinks there will be no problems before 28 weeks and even later.  

At my ultrasound last week at the MFM office, baby girl was measuring at 46% on the scan and at 18 weeks she was 61%. My OB said that this is probable an indication that she is starting to fall behind on growth but because she started out big she has a long ways she can fall behind before it becomes an issue. He said with my high blood pressure, and the anti-bodies it was very unlikely that this would not happen, but at least it has happened later. Next week I have another ultrasound and we will make sure there are no clots in the placenta and the umbilical cord is still providing her with enough nourishment. Right now, she weighs over a pound, and more than Malakai when he was born.

23 weeks

Overall, it was a good appointment. Praise that my protein was lower this time. Please be praying for her growth, my blood pressure to remain normal, continued improvement and restoration of my kidneys, full-term delivery, and wisdom for the doctors.