PS

I would just like everyone to notice...that's technically 3 posts in one day...

If it was a Cade!

Assuming the other one is a little girl, I selected a little boy the second time...very similar don't you think??

What do you think about my little new baby If it was a Cade?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

My new sweet baby - Little Bit!

HAHAHAHA Thanks, Natalie, for the link! Natalie had posted a website where you could plug in pics of you and your "partner" and determine what you kiddos will look like...Here's ours (and I'm assuming this one is a girl)...not too bad, Brett's nose and eyes although it does seem that the big ears are a dominant trait...

Is it ironic that they have her as a swimmer????

What do you think about my little new baby Little Bit?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

Better and Better

I swear, I'm becoming a better blogger by the month! This post though, won't be quite as long as some of the others. It's just a little update.

First off, I think I've been feeling Little Bit move! I've been feeling little flutters that could be light little kicks and occassionally I'll get a feeling that makes me think "Hmmm, is that gas, or is that Little Bit?" 'Cause all the books say that the early movement is often mistaken for gas pains. Anyhow, we've listened to the heartbeat again since the last post and it seems to be holding steady a little lower than previous at about 147-158.

I've also been having a bit of pain that I know isn't related to Little Bit moving. After yet another trip to the ortho I've been made aware that the severe pain that I thought was in my tailbone is actually my SI joint. It was so inflammed that the only way to begin to make it feel any better was with a cortisone shot. So, yesterday I went for that injection, even though I have had them in the past and they are not enjoyable. So far, I'm still a little sore and stiff but that's to be expected and I have noticed a difference in my overall pain level so it seems to be working. It's just that with the high maintenance kiddos in my class I can't seem to really slow down.

Otherwise, the re-distribution continues. I haven't been gaining any weight but I am definitely starting to grow a little more! I still expected to be a little bigger than I am at this point but I'm not complaining. The less I gain the less I have to loose in the end. AND, we ordered our nursery furniture. Here's a pic...

This is the crib and the low dresser, it's also the color we chose, Classic Cherry...

This is a pic of the 5-drawer dresser that we got to complete the set...


So, we are super excited about the furniture but we do have to wait 6-8 weeks so it should be arriving right before Christmas. Merry Christmas Little Bit, thanks Grandnan and Granddad! (Now the mommy-to-be just has to light a fire under her own butt to clean out the will-be nursery)

Anyhow, that's the latest, stay tuned for Nov. 6th when we find out if it's a Cade or a Marley!!

A Promise Is A Promise

Yea me!!...I'm a better blogger this month! At least so far :) I told you all I would post after my Dr's appointments yesterday, and even though I didn't do it last night, at least I'm doing it today. Doesn't that improve my track record??

The cardiologist appointment went well. When he walked into the room yesterday and said "Well the results of you Holter Monitor were very interesting, I haven't seen anything quite like it before," I was kind of on edge (although who wouldn't be, merely being 28 and in a cardiologist's office), but he explained himself quickly so I didn't have the chance to get too worried.

He said that for every time I recorded a feeling in the record chart they were able to see on the monitor what it was. Basically, my heart beats to early. So instead of my heart beating in a typical rythm (1 2 3 4) mine occassionally beats early (12 3 4). So beat 2, for instance, is so close to beat 1 that by the time I get back into a regular rythm with beat 3 there is a larger gap than would be normal. It's this gap that I feel. It feels like a skip, but technically, since my heart beat early, even though I didn't feel it, it isn't really a skip.

He also said that since my heart is contracting early it has more time to fill with blood between beats 2 and 3 so it has to work harder to expel the extra blood on beat 3 and that's why I feel the pounding. It really makes a lot of sense to me so I hope I'm explaining it well enough. He drew me a picture that I tried to duplicate and scan it in but it didn't scan right...

Anyway, he said that he's not really sure what's causing it to happen. He thinks it's likely that it's something that I've always had and my body is used to functioning with it. So why, you ask, am I feeling it now? Well, the answer is simple, I have a foreign object that has taken up residence in my body. Yes, that's right, I'm referring to Little Bit :) A blessing though he or she may be, this is a major change in my body. One, my heart has to work harder because of the excess blood supply and two, well frankly, being pregnant isn't "normal" for my body. This all makes sense because the one other time I had this feeling was when I had a significant lung infection. At the time the doctors sort of blew off what I was saying as an effect of the medication or just a side effect of being sick. Which may lead you to ask, what is it exactly that causes this to happen?

The teacher in me says "Good Question!" Unfortunately, right now we aren't sure what the answer is. There are things they know cause this to happen. 1.) A weak heart, which no one thought I had being the athlete I was and we know I don't have because I did have an echo done. 2.) A blockage, which based on my athletic background, the condition of my heart, and my age they don't think is likely however, they are going to do a stress test to make sure once the baby is born. 3.) Electrolyte imbalances and the like, which all came back, including my magnesium levels, normal. 4.) Stimulants...this is why I think they thought it was a side effect when I had the lung infection. This "condition" can be triggered by certain stimulants such as a rescue inhaler or caffeine, although I haven't used or had either since I found out I was pregnant so that's not likely the cause now.

Which brings us to number 5...Adrenaline...I have been thinking about this A LOT and I have a theory. For so many years I was a high caliber athlete, adrenaline was my middle name simply based on my training regimen. Since then, I have kept my adrenaline up with my high stress job. Based on the fact that I mainly get this feeling in the late afternoon to early evening hours when I'm sitting on my couch, I think if it is realted to adrenaline it is not an increase, which would be typical, but a decrease. Yes, that's right, it seems I may be an adrenaline junky and when if my body isn't running at that high level my heart just doesn't know what to do. It's only a theory but it makes sense in my head.


So, in a nutshell, I'm not crazy. I am definitely having these palpitations and PVC's but ultimately since they aren't impacting my "quality of life" or my daily activities there is no need to treat immediately. Doc said to come back in 6-7 months (of course earlier if things get worse) after the baby is born and we will discuss treatment in more depth then. It is something that is treated with medication and even though the medication has been approved for use in pregnant women, he just doesn't feel the need to risk it. I agree. As long as I can still function, even if I have to live with this "weird" feeling, then it doesn't seem to be anything to worry about immediately but will need to be treated in the long run.

So...that's that.

I did also go to see the nutritionist and let me keep that short and sweet for you. I really don't feel that it was a good use of my time or money. Basically, she didn't help me in the way that I needed her to, despite what I said, and I really just didn't like her. I felt she wasn't confident in what she was saying so why should I feel confident in what she was saying? It wasn't a good match and I'm doing pretty darn good with the weight so far (I haven't gained anything, I just think anything extra I had pre-pregnancy is re-distributing) and I'm almost half way through so I'm gonna give it a go on my own. The doctors all seem happy with my progress so far so I'm going to just keep on truckin...

Based on my blogging history don't expect anything for a while. Keep checking back just in case. My next appointment isn't until November 6th when we have our next OB appt. and a sonogram to, among other things, determine whether it's a boy little bit or a girl little bit. I'm 99% sure we have settled on names for both and for those of you who don't know, we will be having either a Cade Michael or a Marley Christine. Remember though, I said 99% sure...just like the pill is 99% effective...you never know what could happen!

We'll keep you posted...

I know, I know...

...I'm officially the world's worst blogger. Emily, I apologize for secretly swearing at you everytime I checked Kaley's blog and saw it wasn't updated! :) Anyhow, there is a lot to update so let's get to it.

First off I would like to say Congratulations to my brother Christian and his wife Natalie. They just found out last week that they are expecting a boy! I think the latest at the top of the name list is Reese...

So, on to Little Bit. Little Bit is doing just fine, even though Jasper jumped on me last night and probably left a little paw print birthmark on the poor baby's forhead. I had an OB appointment today and heard the heartbeat again. It's steady, at this point, in the 155-160 range so, for all of you wives tailers out there, and those hoping for just the case, that's more indicative of a baby girl than a baby boy. HOWEVER, I know Natalie had been getting heart rates in that range at one point too so who knows...

Now for more of an update on what's been happening with me. We'll start where I left off last time, going to visit the ortho. Dr. Lotfi, the wonderful doctor that he is, has said that the back surgery I had 6 years ago should have no effect on the pregnancy and/or delivery. He did also say however, that I need to gain as little weight as possible for the baby to be healthy so that the weight gain has as little impact as possible on my spine. So, since we all know how swimmers and ex-swimmers like to pack away the calories, my mom and I determined that getting a nutritional consult would probably be a good idea and how about that, the OB has one they refer too, so I'm going to the nutritionist on Tuesday the 7th. Anyhow, we've been given the go ahead for a vaginal delivery. Now, 2 weeks ago it seemed that news was music to the nurse/midwife's ears. Today however, when I saw the OB, she said that we would make the decision to c-section or not to c-section as the day gets closer. She said they'll take everything into consideration, my pain level at that point, my anxiety level etc. So no set decision on that yet...although is there ever?

Now for those of you who didn't know...Little Bit also seems to be playing a few tricks with my heart. It seems that I am having palpatations (fairly common in pregnancy) and Pre-Ventricular Contractions or for those of us without medical degrees, misfires or skips in my heartbeat. Now don't freak out, although I was a little concerned, cause I have gone to see the cardiologist and these PVC's, as they are known, could be compeltely benign. Last week he put me on a Holter Montior for 24 hours to determine how frequently they were occuring. He said if they are happening every once in a while then no big deal but if they are happening a lot we will need to discuss treatment. He wouldn't tell me at the time what that treatment might be but I'm not going to worry about it unless I have to. SO, I follow up with him Tuesday the 7th in addition to going to the nutritionist. We'll know a lot more then because he'll have the results from the monitor.

So I'm going to go on the record as saying everything is good...I know some of you might be sitting there thinking "oh yeah, right." But really, I think things could be a lot worse. We've had our moments, and there are still a few things that need to be resolved, but Little Bit is doing good and has a strong healthy heart beat so I can handle the rest. I mean really, I haven't been puking (knock on wood) so can I really be upset?

And one last thing, for those of you who have been asking, there really isn't too much to show in the way of a belly picture. No really, I'm serious, the doctor even said today that I'm "hiding" Little Bit really well. I go back in 5 weeks for my next appt. and for the sonogram to check things out...including sex. I figure there will be more showing at that point so I'll consider having Brett take a pic then.

Enough for now, I promise I will be better and update again after Tuesday!