Friday, July 31, 2009

still "enjoying" morning sickness

so, i really thought i would be over the morning sickness by now, but obviously...

there has been no rhyme or reason to my sickness, no pattern, nothing. some people have it through the evening, some in the morning only, some all day. me? every 1-3 weeks depending... it started in week 8, then I was free and clear until week 11, then it came back again week 13, then week 14, and here again week 15 (although those both happened this week, they occured technically in 2 different "weeks" of my pregnancy). it strikes any time day or night, and doesn't care if i'm near a bathroom. ugh.

maybe morning sickness is a plague for McFadden or former McFadden girls. my sister-in-law April said she was sick through 6 months with both of her boys. and now, my sister-in-law Shannon, at 5 months is getting sick again after about a month of relief. luckily, i still have my Zofran, and I think I just need to take it daily, regardless of how I feel. Other than that, I've felt pretty good lately, the nausea, which i've had more of than the vomiting has slowed down since my visit to the Dr. on Monday. Morning sickness is a weird bird. According to Wikipedia, there is insufficient evidence to nail down one or multiple causes for why pregnant women suffer morning sickness. Some causes are basically a bunch of hooey, while others can't be proven b\c they are the same case for all pregnant women, and not all pregnant women get sick.

the worst part of morning sickness has been being alone when it happens. everyone wants comfort when they're sick, and I have, the majority of the time, been here alone.

there hasn't been a particular food cause either, random things, mostly healthy seem to have set it off- fruit, cereal, apple pie, potato chips, and mostly an empty stomach. Dr. Uma says I should be feeling better by week 16 though b\c I have no signs of a thyroid problem. so i'm holding out until Tuesday praying for the relief to come!

i'm hoping my blog doesn't lead people to think that pregnancy is just this big downer... I know morning sickness can have a sharp effect on the way a woman feels, and almost in a way, it still doesn't feel "real." I know things are really going to be coming along in the next few weeks though- feeling the baby move, knowing the sex, wearning actual maternity clothes! I should be coming upon the time where I feel the best in my pregnancy, and I can't wait to share it all!! Pin It!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

names, insurance, and other nonsense

my sister in law's results were confirmed: it's a girl! the first girl grandchild. although, i was hoping it would be me, I digress...

with finding out the sex of your baby, (and even when you don't) you must pick names. i just recently bought 100,001 baby names, or as it should be called 99,999 stupid baby names. I guess I shouldn't say stupid just b\c i'm not going to name my baby some Scandanavian name, but I am having a really hard time with names. I used to have all these names picked out that I loved, but now I am older, and some of those names could be catagorized with "Apple Martin" rather than being a good baby name. Anything I seem to pick out, Dave hates. Dave also is dead set that we're having a boy, and therefore has vetoed every girls name I have suggested to him; even going so far as to refer to our child as the boy name that he has picked out. The one I told him was "ok" and that hasn't been set in stone yet... So as the field of names that I like (i'm in "J" in the baby book and have selected maybe 5 names) is getting smaller and smaller, I'm trying to figure out what to do. I have ridiculously made a list of everyone I know who is expecting since we have found out we were expecting. From that list I have tried to list whether they are having a boy or girl, and from there what name they have picked out if they have made it public. My list is at 30 people. THIRTY. So far, 4 have given birth. Also, so far, only 7 are having girls, 1 isn't finding out the sex and 10 aren't far enough along yet to know. Also, in more craziness: only 5 of these people are due after me. This presents my problem. People are so weird about baby names. Some people don't tell (i have considered this), but most people don't want you using their name. This means I've got to wait out 25 people worth of baby names and pray to God above that none of these people use my names. Because I'm telling you now, once I pick out a name that I like, and husband agrees on, nothing is changing my mind. NOTHING.

Of course, we also have 5 weeks to go until we find out the sex, but still...

Today is week 15. Threw up yesterday, hoping that by NEXT WEEK that this is all behind me. Of course, my sister in law is still throwing up at 22 weeks. I'm also waiting on my hair to start growing Rapunzel-style. I had these really long Freddy Krueger-like nails, but they started breaking off one by one, and yesterday I had to trim them all down to a suitable length. Now they just feel weird.

I'm sleeping better at night, thank the Lord. Yesterday at my appointment I asked my Dr. about sleeping on my back. She said eventually I wouldn't be able to because it wouldn't be comfortable, but for now, i'd be fine. She also said that women labor on their backs, and that non-pregnant people sleep on their backs all the time, and none of them are dead yet, so that I would be fine, and that she wishes those books wouldn't have some of the info that they have in them.

The worst thing to come out of this may be with our insurance. We just switched to United Health Care from Blue Cross/Shield of GA with our move. My doctor's office has 2 locations: 1 at Sherman Hospital (which is completing construction on a new state-of-the-art building due to be finished in December), and one at St. Joseph-Provena. I chose Sherman for obvious reasons. My Doctor is awesome. Not only is she young and very friendly, and knows her stuff, but she looks like Uma Thurman. She's great! When I was leaving the office yesterday I saw a sign hanging in the waiting room that I wish I hadn't seen...

"Attention All United Healthcare Patients" (you know this can't be good)

Basically, the sign says that contract negotiations between Sherman and UHC have reached a stand still. On June 15th Sherman sent UHC a letter to cease operations between the 2. The contract expires in October. We will be continuing to try to reach an agreement with UHC.

By this time I will be 6 months pregnant, and will not be wanting to look for a new hospital or doctor. I don't even want to do that now at 3 months. To top this all off, there was an article in the local paper a few weeks ago saying that St. Joe's will no longer be delivering babies and sending all their patients to Sherman.

Should having a baby really be this difficult?! Just be praying for an agreement between United & Sherman b\c starting all over with a new Doctor\hospital would be the pits. Pin It!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

too weird

not only am i not sleeping at night, but when I am finally falling asleep, I keep having weird dreams that involve people i went to high school with where they're interlaced into my normal life. the weirdest thing- they're people i wasn't even really friends with in high school, that i haven't seen or heard from since. so strange... maybe this is because my 10 year reunion is coming up and i haven't decided whether i'm attending or not. either way, i'd rather just not dream at all, or dream about myself on a beach somewhere... ::sigh:: Pin It!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

14 weeks!

I am 14 weeks today! Moving right along!

A little too tired from my first day at work to post anything, so I should have something tomorrow- and maybe even some pictures!! Pin It!

Monday, July 20, 2009

sleepless nights already?

i am a stomach sleeper. i enjoy sleeping on my stomach, it makes me happy, and I have no problem sleeping. sometimes i even sleep on my back. coming up here in the next couple weeks I am going to have to change sleeping positions to where I am sleeping on my side, or as my book puts it, "change sleeping positions NOW!" i have already been "practicing" for these upcoming nights where i can no longer sleep on my tummy, and for when sleeping on my back or even laying on my back will cause severe trauma to my baby. so far, it's not working so well. i either lay there until i finally start to get sleepy, in which at that time I have to go to the bathroom, or i'm starving and I have to get up to eat...

we found a body pillow here at the house, so i've been using that for now, but i've had a few recommendations: 1. All Nighter total body pregnancy pillow (i would paste that link, but blog won't allow, or i'm dumb) and 2. Boppy Body Pillow. Both are about $50- crazy, and the All Nighter has better reviews, so i'll probably go for that if I decide on one. I still don't know if it's going to help me solve my problems. The last few days I've definitely had an easier time sleeping on my side, but I have woken up in extreme pain, and not where I should be in pain...

1. my ear- I have woken up the last couple mornings with my ear screaming in pain, I don't know if i am sleeping too hard or what, but it does NOT feel good.
2. arm/shoulder- i don't know where to put my arm when i sleep on my side- i can't get it out from under me- i've tried above my head, out to the side, nothing helps- i wake up and my whole left arm is asleep, or sore.

So, i'm hoping $50 and a magic pillow will help solve my problems- we'll see, i'll definitely keep you updated! Pin It!

Friday, July 17, 2009

moving right along through week 13

baby totally sucked my will to live yesterday. i was tired, cranky, slow, and in a lot of pain. i won't go into all the details of what went on yesterday b\c it's just not necessary. i do need to get to a chiropractor asap though- i am having a lot of neck pain, and it makes me nauseous.

last night we went to dinner with Dave's friend Israel. Israel lives about 30 minutes from us, and he went to Salzburg College with Dave- in being here, it is nice that we are closer to Salzburg friends including Israel, and Holly, who we hope to see very soon. I didn't think I was going to make it to/through dinner. I had left my Zofran at home, and all I had were rolaids and lemon drops. luckily, I made it and enjoyed the most awesome pasta/salad ever from the Rock Bottom Brewery- I am going to try to recreate it sometime b\c I could've eaten 2 of them!

Antipasto Penne Salad
Capicola Ham
Genoa Salami
Fresh Mozzarella
Kalamata Olives
Artichoke Hearts (my salad had NONE- outrage)!!
Beefsteak Tomatoes
Roasted Red Peppers
Penne Pasta
Arugula
all with Pesto Vinaigrette

Amazing!

Leaving the house almost turned out to be tragic- I only own 2 pairs of jeans that still fit- the rest are in the pile to be boxed and marked "pre baby." Both those pairs of jeans turned out to be dirty- and all hell almost broke loose. Luckily I invested in the BeBand earlier this week and a crisis was averted! Lesson learned: plan laundry days better.

Tonight I plan to do some grocery shopping with husband- hopefully he won't mind. I am starving here and constantly eating cereal, fruit or easy mac for a meal- Dave seems to not think there is anything wrong with this, but then again, Dave has never been pregnant. Now I must go fix myself a bowl of cereal (i've already had easy mac for lunch) and change out the laundry... Pin It!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

ultrasound results

it's a baby... skeletor! at least that's what baby is looking like these days. it was so neat though to see the little teeth, the spine and the heartbeat. plus baby has 2 arms and legs, and looked right on track for 13 weeks! after our ultrasound, Dr. Duval came in to discuss our results and he said everything looked normal and next up was the blood test- if the blood test showed anything they would recommend an amnio to find out for sure. i told him i wouldn't really be interested in doing an amnio, so he then recommend that I just not worry about the blood tests, and come back in 7 weeks for the more detailed ultrasound and anatomy check! in a little less than 2 weeks I will head back to Dr. Barthel's office for my regular 4-week checkup!

today baby seems to be sucking my will to live- i just feel puny. i think i'm about 5 minutes away from an afternoon nap.... zzzzzzzz Pin It!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

exciting day today!

this afternoon i have an ultrasound. it's actually the test for down syndrome, but i'm excited none the less to see baby peach McFadden. i think it's too soon to determine the sex at this point, so i won't have my hopes up!

Dave & I are still hard at work on our insurance claim. we have all our pictures printed, and our list looks complete- we just need to sort the photos and I think we can send everything in with our fingers crossed! it rained here really hard around 4 am last night- it always makes me worry that we need to go check out the unit for further damage! it seems pretty dry now though, so i think we're ok...

tonight i have orientation for work... finally! i am packing tylenol, rolaids, zofran, lots of snacks and lemon drops- all to fight off hunger and nausea! i don't know how long it will last- so it's best to just come prepared!!

earlier this week, i got a wonderful birthday/baby package from my friend Lyn! it included adorable pictures of her little girl, Ava (now almost 6 months- WOW), the BabyWise book, a nice soft blanket, and teddy bear (that Eleanor proceded to dig out of the box and make her personal plaything, and 2 packs of Swaddlers diapers (mmm, they smell so sweet)! how exciting is it to receive baby things?!

so, i said earlier this week that my sister in law was supposed to find out the sex of her baby- well, it is maybe a girl. she said her technician really didn't do that well in trying to even find out- which i know disappointed her. she also found out her fluid is low- which could be the result of her reappearing morning sickness (which her Dr. tried to call a "bug"). She has had a really hard time with her Dr.'s office- she has to see a different Dr. every time, and it's really bugging her- here she is at 20 weeks, and has yet to see the same Dr. and the one she's liked best so far was the first one she saw!! they just keep jerking her around- and I realize i have been really lucky- i love my Dr.!! since her fluids are low she is going to have a more in-depth level 2 ultrasound in the next 2 weeks- they are also more in-dept with the anatomy check too- so maybe she'll have some confirmation. my step-niece was really wanting a boy, and threw a total tantrum when she found out it was possibly a girl. hopefully this next ultrasound will give them confirmation either way and she can either jump for joy, or get over it and prepare for a sister. i love my brother dearly, and i'm glad i have him, but i always wished i had a sister too! I think she'll be fine, and she'll get over it... eventually!

well, i can't think of anything else that's really pressing right now, so i need to get ready and go feed myself so i don't get sick later!

until next time... Pin It!

Monday, July 13, 2009

cravings and adversions

everyone talks about food cravings and pregnancy. pickles and ice cream and what have you.

ice cream is the most commonly craved food by pregnant women- but i have wanted nothing to do with it. in fact, if you know me well, you would know that my food motto could very well be "eat dessert first." not these days. sweets haven't really been something i desire. no nightly chocolate fix, no grabbing a candy bar of sorts at the grocery store. if we go to starbucks, sure i'll take something, but lately dessert just hasn't been on the menu for me- it's sad, and refreshing. the closest "dessert" type thing i've wanted has been a peach smoothie from panera. i'm still waiting for one...

another thing i'm not interested in these days... meat. i hope that's healthy. i will occasionally eat a can of tuna, i will eat salmon when it's made here, i made myself shrimp & grits for dinner last week, and I will never say no to a burger from steak & shake, but that's about it. I don't know what it is, but there is something about meat, when cooked where I can see or smell it, that just makes me ill! ground beef is about the only thing that sounds appealing, but i don't want to be anywhere near it while it cooks. my father in law eats very healthy, and makes a lot of dishes with lean meat in them- and I have either turned them down, or eaten very little of them!

as far as cravings go, i kind of want what i see other people eating, or hear about other people eating. it started when Turk & JD were eating Reese's Puffs Cereal on Scrubs- then i had to have some. then my friend Tiffany told me how she craved anything with tomato sauce- that's been about all i've wanted to eat since then (and that was 4 or 5 weeks ago)! then Jess told me about having shrimp & grits at a restaurant for their anniversary, and bbq for hubby Jay's bday. the weirdest things though have had to be the frozen fried foods- jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks and spinach/artichoke dip. i've made many a meal out of those lately as bad as that seems.

cravings and adversions are supposed to be wearing down now that the first trimester is over. we will see...

exciting things up ahead:

currently: my sister-in-law is @ the dr. as I type having an ultrasound to determine the sex of my soon to be niece or nephew!

upcoming: orientation for work starts tomorrow at 10AM. Haven't worked since i've been up here, or since i've known I was pregnant. very nervous... Pin It!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Weeks 9-12 aka: i need to update

Since my pukey week 8 things have been a lot better.

Week 9 I journeyed home to Atlanta where we threw a surprise party for my parents 30th anniversary! I'm pleased to report that it went very well and we had no real issues with pulling it off. I even got to pull some sneaky stunts, and that's very exciting. It was good to be home, celebrate my bday with friends and celebrate my parents anniversary with family and friends. Although we really didn't get to spend father's day with my dad, we were still there for that weekend.

Upon returning home, (starting week 10) we carried some items to our storage facility. We had an indoor unit that seemed pretty safe. When we got inside there was water in our unit, but it seemed pretty minor. The facility had closed, so we put our new things up high and left. We came back Wednesday to show the people who run the place. The damage still looked minor, but upon further inspection we realized that the entire unit's floor was covered by water- a space of 15X15. We spent the next 5 hours taking everything (the entire contents of our home in Atlanta) and separating the wet from the dry and reloading everything into a new unit. Luckily, pregnant women don't get to move all of that stuff. Dave's parents helped, and a couple of his friends came by too. By the end of the night my entire body ached, i was covered in bites, hot, cranky, and had cried a lot. Lucky for us, big ticket items like furniture were safe, but smaller electrics, dvds, books, and most of my yearbooks (irreplacable) were destroyed. We are in the process of a claim, currently.

We attended a fun wedding this weekend, and the tail end of week 10/beginning of week 11 had a Dr.'s appointment in store for me. Since I've been pretty nauseated, i got a Rx to zofran. Yay. Thank goodness b\c the vomiting reurned in week 11. Luckily, it has passed for now, and i'm off to week 12. I got a job the same day as my dr.'s appt- and I start work on Tuesday. I've had a couple interviews since, but still waiting to hear back from those. Hopefully i'll be a better updater these days too! I should be feeling better here beginning week 13!

1 Trimester down! Pin It!