Limits!

This weekend we took to the backyard and cleared out the flower beds. I spent most of my time pulling weeds and trimming down old flowers. I didn’t feel like I was over doing anything. The weather was nice, we had light jackets on and George was working on hanging the lights on the house as I worked in the garden. In the end, George did most of the racking and piled things in the wheelbarrow to haul off to the trash. I felt great.

Later on Saturday night: About 10pm my hands started to feel a little sore. By midnight they were full on hurting. I tried ice and heat – nothing was helping. The pain was so bad I was starting to feel sick to my stomach. Now nothing was swelling, turning blue or visibly looking like it hurt… they just were hurting.

How do you fall asleep when your hands are hurting to the point of making you sick? Normally I would have taken a muscle relaxer and gone to bed. But since I am pregnant I had to find other ways..and so far ice and heat were not working. So George talked me through some relaxation techniques we are learning with the Bradley Method. They worked – I actually fell asleep some time after midnight!

However, shortly after 2am I was awake again! I sat there rocking back and forth while I rubbed my hands. Again I dozed off, all to wake again after 3am. This time I headed out to the living room. Now my legs were starting to hurt. The feeling was a tingle soreness feeling that was so intense I started to get frightened. I was gathering it was from the yard work – but how was I going to make it stop? Or when was it going to stop? It was the middle of the night… if it were the afternoon I would have called my OB office. George woke up and came out to the living room to check on me. He tried rubbing my hands – but it wasn’t helping or improving anything.

I looked on the internet and decided eating some bananas may help since they are recommended with muscle cramps. So I tried some bananas and headed back to bed. George worked on rubbing my leg and talking me through the Bradley techniques again. I fell asleep shortly after and stayed asleep until 9am! Finally! I woke Sunday to feel sore, but the pain was better. However, after a night like that, I just took naps all day on Sunday to try and get caught up on some sleep.

Lesson learned – while pregnant, you have to stop when you have done enough, not when you feel you have done enough. I should have stopped after the backyard portion was done instead of plowing to the front yard. Knowing your limits can save pain later.

Growing Pains....

Ouch! This weekend we hit the 25 week mark and I started experiencing what I would call growing pains. Around the bottom sides of my belly I am feeling aches and sharp pains every once and awhile. I guess I am getting to the point of stretching the skin and muscles.

We also can actually see the baby moving around in there. It looks like little pokes from behind a sheet. Being pregnant is so weird. I never knew it would feel this way.

Still taking progesterone – I have noticed a GREAT improvement when George goes slower with the shot. It takes over 3mins for 100mg. But the bump is not as great and the skin reaction has decreased. However, I am still so itchy. UGH! The following day I could just about go crazy!

Still taking T3 – I’ll take this until 28 weeks.

Doctor visit: last week Thursday we had a check-up. Everything looks great! I gained 4lbs and the babies HR was 156. We asked a ton of questions about labor & delivery. I am so surprised at the lack of information that is given to help explain/prepare us for labor and delivery. The only reason we know anything at this point is because we have gone looking for it. It’s just like the flipside when it comes to your fertility. The doc is just gonna give you the BCP unless you seek out additional information to learn your cycle. I wish they valued woman more and would at least make the info available, take it or leave it. The good news or at least I hope it means something, the doctor said I will do great in L&D because I am so tall and lean. So coupled with my knowledge on what to expect (and learning how to manage) and my body – we have good expectations for delivery.

In our Bradley classes – we are learning about relaxing. I noticed this morning (when a few aches and sharp pains were coming on) I really tense up. If I focus on relaxing, it’s not as bad or not bad at all. Tensing your body really does increase the sensation of pain. I am also doing kegels, pelvic rocks, relax sitting and squats regularly.

The BIG accomplishment this week – we switched the bedrooms! We now have a guestroom/office and a reading room/baby room in the making. After we were done we looked back at everything and made the comments, “This is sooooo much better, why didn’t we do this earlier?” So between cleaning out the frig on Saturday (full cleanout with draws and shelves getting a good washing) getting the rooms flipped and organized, I would say I am starting the nesting phase. I’ll post pictures later this evening.

Took a little dip....

They just called from PPVI - 66 is my new level, high zone 2. Will continue with the shots.

I am 24 weeks now. WOW where does the time go? We are over 1/2 way there! I am feeling the baby kick WAY more now. I have an appointment on Thursday. Dont expect anything new, but I have a few questions for the doctor.

We started Bradley Classes this past Friday night. I want to make sure I am as educated as possible to prepare for whats ahead. Education is the easiest way to remove any fear. The class was about 2 hours long and we really got A LOT out of it. Its husband coached and George seems very interested in everything so far. The first class talked a lot about exercises and eating right. We'll watch week 2 this Friday. Since we are doing the class long distance, I am pretty excited about meeting our instructor in December. George and I will be in DFW for a few days and sit in on class week 10. I am not sure what things will look like or how I will feel come March - but at least I will be informed and not looking at the nurse asking her what to do with my choices.

Awesome New Video for NaproTECHNOLOGY

Also, www.fertilitycare.com has launched a new website. Good stuff!

Giving Shots & Thoughts on the Bradley Method

George has been great with everything from surgery in Omaha (twice) to HCG shots post ovulation, charting, reminding me to take all my meds, and now more shots with progesterone. Recently the shots were starting to really hurt. It almost felt like I had a box of rocks I was sitting on from week to week due to the knots that developed.

However, now I think we found a winning solution - go really, really, really slow. On Thursday of last week he took over 3 mins to inject the meds in. I counted off in groups of 10 seconds and George stayed on pace. This has improved my post experience. Little itching, no pain the next day and no real knots to make of. For someone who HATES shots – this is not all that bad.

In other developments… has anyone heard of the Bradley Method? We have good friends in Chicago who used the method and loved it. Given my track record with doctors I was really trying to seek out a program that would give me the BEST understanding of birth… and include my husband in that too. We are starting classes this week via a remote instructor from Dallas. (We don’t have anyone in the Amarillo area). If you have any experience with the method I would love to hear your thoughts. While I know I am not able to plan for everything… like fertility, I like to learn and know about all my options.