Stressfull Non-Stress tests

So I am now 34 weeks pregnant. 6 short weeks til my due date. We went to our normal appointment this week and for the second appointment in a row my fundus is measuring small. At our 32 week appointment I was measuring 31 weeks, which wasn't too big of a deal because it was just a week difference. But this week i'm still measuring 31 weeks. They sent me over to do a growth ultrasound and looks like Jonah is slowing down as far as growth. His head is at 34 weeks (not surprising with the big-head gene coming from my side) but his bones and stomach are measuring 30-31 weeks. They said its called IUGR. Intrauterine growth restriction. My placenta has stopped sending nourishment to the baby and he is using his backup food (kind of like when you don't eat for a week and you break down fat to nourish your body) to help his brain and heart develop but it is stunting his body's growth. They are not sure if it's because of the placement of the umbilical cord (on the edge of the placenta wall) or if the placenta is just giving up. Either way, it's scary. Right now his heart-rate and movements are excellent so they weren't super concerned but they want to monitor us twice a week until deliver. If for any reason in the next few weeks they find that he still hasn't grown since this visit or his heart is in distress he'll be making an early appearance. They are hoping he will grow and I can make it to 39 weeks still but they said if he's still small at 37 weeks, he's coming out.

Whole lot of information huh? They said they were just being overly cautious at this point because he's still in the 16th percentile for growth and they usually don't do any non-stress tests until they are in the 10th percentile, but they said we are in the gray area and they just want to be careful.


Side Note: This is the same  maternal fetal medicine Dr. that rushed us out of 20 week appointment with Coen because it was lunchtime. So, I have some trust issues with this guy. I hate when Dr's try to talk to you like a person, without talking to you like a person and use weird metaphors to help you understand that don't make any sense and then follows up their bs statement with "Right nurse...." and when I look at the nurse she has no idea what he's talking about either and says, "that's right." Get outta here dude.

Anyway, obviously we want to do what's best for our lil guy, but our wallets will not be happy. Going twice a week for these non-stress tests can be up to $200 a visit. I still need to talk to my actual Dr (the one I like) about what he thinks about it. Maybe we can go once a week or have the tests done in his office since i'll be going in once a week anyway at 36 weeks.  Mike was pretty frreaked about it. Financially and for the baby. I  know we have big headed, short babies, but this seems like a little bit more than just that.

So for the next few weeks I need to just take it easy. Lay on my side for bout 4-5 hours a day and increase my calories. If that doesn't help than it most likely because of the cord and there is nothing we can do about that.

All of those annoying "You're so tiny," comments are starting to make sense now.

Staying hopeful and I guess fattening myself up to make sure he's getting enough to eat.


BTW-These non-stress tests are crazy. They basically strap you up to the same monitor that they would when you are in labor to watch the heart-rate and contractions. They want the baby to be active and awake so they friggin buzz your stomach with this lil noisey vibrating thing. Its supposed to be similar to having an alarm go off next to your head. My kid literally tries to jump out of my stomach. Poor kid. Just grow would ya?!

26 Weeks

It's no fancy number, it's just "i'm not bullet-round" yet, so I decided to do some "lifestyle" maternity pics. It's really the kind of photography i'd like to do more of, but people are really into "props" and looking fancy. In real life....how often do we look fancy? Anyway....

Here they are:

 

Oh, don't mind me....

So....here's a fantastic story. So today, I went to school for a few hours while Mike hung out with Coen. They went swimming and by the time I got home Coen was passed out in his bed. So naturally I see "space and opportunity" for some mommy-daddy time, which happens rarely at this point. Well in the middle of everything, I guess Coen woke up, climbed out of his bed, went to his snack cabinet, grabbed himself some fruit snacks and snuck into our room. Next thing you know I look over and I see this kid at the side of the bed handing me the package of fruit snacks to open....

Literally this face....

Holding these....

I don't know how long he was there, or if he "saw" anything but let's just say....the magic was over. LOL. If he isn't scarred for life, we sure are.

Reunion

So 10 years ago, I graduated high-school and literally moonwalked my ass across that stage and promised I would never look back...well, alas...10 years later I guess I will be mingling with a bunch of people I see everyday on Facebook and asking them how they are (even though I already know LOL) I promised my friends we'd go together, so....we're going. Ticket is bought and paid for. I grew up in Ogden, Utah, which for those of you that don't know, it's kind of the ghetto of Utah (aside from West Valley). Half of the people I grew up with are meth heads, in prison, or have way too many kids to try to even leave the house or are entirely too broke to pay for the dinner so only like 30 of us are showing up to this thing. It's dinner at the Timbermine (a fancy steakhouse) and I've never been so there's that incentive. I'm gonna be a big ass round ball of pregnant so I really don't give a damn who got fat, and who got bald cuz i'm not gonna be looking like Halle Berry myself.

I can't believe it has been 10 years. It makes me realize how much can change in just 5 years. I've had  2 different lives already since graduating. It makes high-school really not seem all that bad when I look at what I went through afterwards. They rebuilt my school into something unrecognizable and actually pretty nice for Ogden, so I'm going to go and check it out on Friday and then on Saturday is a picnic and dinner.  I'm a pretty nostalgic/sentimental person so of course i'll go. I damn sure aint going to the 20 year....Aint nobody got time for that! LOL

I've come a damn long way since highschool. I had hooooorrible acne, I had no fashion sense, I was not my more assertive self and I kind of let people walk all over me. I could slap myself. But I guess that's how it goes. I can't really say i'm doing much now...I didn't invent post-its (please tell me you know this movie) I'm still in friggin college but whatever. I'm busy being a mama at the ripe age of 28. I didn't have kids before I was 18 and waited to find a good man before I got married. I feel pretty damn good about it. Hopefully in 10 years I'm working for a newspaper or magazine or something, I'll have a 12 year old and a 10 year old and will have been married for 13 years and we'll be traveling and being friggin awesome LOL.

I'll add some old ugly pics of myself to this later along with pics from the actual reunion.

Flake

Yep that's me. Flakier than a buttermilk biscuit. Lately I have been invited to about 10 million different things and I'm like "yea, I'll go" but come the day i'm like..."Bleh, I don't want to get dressed, I don't want to drive, I don't want to fight my kid into putting clothes and shoes on, I don't want to spend money......I'm not going." LOL

I honestly don't mean to be this way, but lately I don't want to run around. Yes, I'm pulling the pregnant card....I'm friggin tired mayne. I'm at the "I can barely breathe" faze. I walk up the stairs or walk too swiftly, I'm gonna need a 15 minute break before I do anything else. Don't let the fact that "i'm little" fool you. This baby is now active as ever, so come night time when I would like to go to sleep there is literally a party in my tummy. (Yes I did just quote Yo-Gabba-Gabba) This kid spends all night breakdancing and then around 7 am he wakes me up again to feed him. His kicks are no longer subtle and cute. He's like, "Maybe if I stick my feet up in these ribs she'll get up...." So i'm up right now at 8 am. And if you know me, you know that I do not get up til noon. Hey, don't hate....that's a privilege of being a SAHM (stay at home mom) and having a growing toddler that likes to sleep in.  I'm not one of those "He naps at noon, he eats at 3, he plays at 5" type moms.  I'm like: when he's tired he'll sleep, when he's hungry he'll eat and he can run around in a diaper or butt naked all day if he wants. If he wants to dump the whole box of cereal on the floor and then pretend to swim in it, i'm ok with that. Let em live before they have to grow up and get on "The Man's" clock. He's only got a few years before he has to go to school and get into a routine. Why start him now when he's friggin not even 2? I sleep just fine (aside from the baby kicking me)

Anyway, as I ramble.....This type of schedule doesn't  usually work with other mommy's schedules. Their kids are up at 6am and they are having play-dates at 10 am which means if we're gonna hang out, I gotta drag my ass outta bed. Also Coen's because he sleeps until about 10, 10:30. So instead, we end up hanging out together at home. Crafting, walking to the park, reading, teaching him new words etc...just simple stuff. I am not trying to isolate myself and i'm not mad at the mom's that are on a schedule. Lord knows it's not going to be easy getting Coen into the swing of things come school time, but right now....we're having a good time just doing our own thing. Girl's nights are all fine and dandy, but I need a lot of notice. I don't have a regular babysitter. Thus the reason I stay home...My parents work, my husband's parents work, We have no grandparents in the state.....Outside of work my mom has a crazy social life so I'm lucky if  I get to see her, let alone my child. My husband is one of the busiest men in America. If I need him to watch Coen while I have "lady time" I need to check his crazy schedule first. I'm ok with it though. Most times, if my husband is home, I want to be home with him. The other issue is money. We have another baby coming and our insurance is pure comedy so we've gotta make sure we are prepared for the ginormous bill that is coming our way in 4 months. Now let's throw baby #2 into the equation and we'll see how much time I have on my hands.....

So I just want to apologize publicly if i've flaked on you. I know I said "Yes, I'll go" and then the next day I didn't call or texted some lame excuse or something actually did come up. I don't mean to be flakey, but sometimes I'd rather sleep or stay home. That's just where I am right now. If we are still cool in about....a  year or two when I'm done with school and my kids are a little big bigger and I'm not pregnant and juggling a bunch of crap....than cool. If not...well....you're are just too cool for me :)

Pee Pees

Well while i'm avoiding my math homework (which is basically like trying to learn chinese) I will update. 

Baby Dos is a BOY!

Check out that head! Poor kids inherit my big ol' noggin everytime! LOL

Hooray for Pee Pees! Which I will be surrounded by for the rest of my life LOL. Mike thought I would be sad because this means we will never have a daughter, but I'm good. I've come to terms with it long ago. Especially coming into the Huerta clan. The chances were pretty slim anyway! This way Coen will have a buddy, I don't have to buy anything new or paint the room; I never have to really explain "menstrual cycles" or buy a Costco sized box of Pads/Tampons.  I have 3 nieces (possibly 4...My sister is expecting her 4th which she desperately hopes is a boy) and my best friend had twin daughters. I will steal one of them if I'm really needing a break from Testosterone. 

We haven't completely settled on names yet, but we're thinking Elijah Michael. "Eli" for short. We can't think of any other names we can agree on so, this will probably be it, but we still have 6 months to change our minds.

So cheers, to catching falling dare-devils and crying over broken bones, and kissing dirt covered faces!
Anyhoo, back to my tortuous Math!

UPDATE:

Most definitely a boy! 20 week appt on June 18th

SnapKnot Camera Giveaway

Big thanks to the SnapKnot wedding photography directory for offering this great camera giveaway!
Enter To Win Here