23rd Week Update

This will be a long blog full of great news...so again, I'll break this up in chapters.

"Come again, Doc?"-
Today is the 29th, I'm 23 weeks and 2 days along now.  On the 22nd I went to my first doctor's appointment at Mercy OB.  And let me take this moment to say they are fantastic.  They are so nice, and my nurse, Mary, was sweet, informative, caring, and thorough.  I was very pleased with my experience.  But to the exciting part...  At that doctors appointment I weighed 101!  That's 9 pounds!  My heart rate was good.  Basically we discussed my placenta previa, and how we would go forward from there.  I then asked if I could travel to Sacramento to watch my brother-in-law, Mark, graduate from college.  She said she would order me a sonogram the next day so that we could re-evaluate the situation.  So, basically she was telling me that if the placenta hadn't moved I wasn't going, so I made plans with family so that I wouldn't be stuck at home by myself while everyone was out celebrating.  I had been told that the chances of the placenta moving are really one in a million that late into the pregnancy, and that if it was going to move at all it wouldn't do so until around 30-35 weeks.  So, I went to my appointment the next day [the 23rd] anyways.  They hooked me up to the ultrasound, and this time my husband got to be there.  The sono tech wouldn't tell me anything, but she kept commenting on how active the baby was.  I was told I have one of the most active babies they had seen in a while!  I'm thinking that's good.  I got ready to leave and I decided to ask the nurse if she thought the trip would be safe if I didn't do much walking and she said "You do not have placenta previa!  Have safe travels!"  "Wait...what?  Are you sure?"  I was positive that this was a dream.  She was so non-chalant about it, I was sure there was a mistake.  She said "Amber Reynolds, right?  10-23-92?"  Haha, I started balling.  I was trying to ask questions but couldn't get a sentence out without crying.  This was the biggest miracle ever.  I have had an army of people praying for me and the baby.  God definitely conquered this.  There is nothing scientific about this.  Truly, this was the first time in my life where there was no doubt in my heart that God was on my side, and that my prayers were really being listened to.  I always knew prayer worked...but to have 100% certainty of such was amazing.  I felt like God personally tuned into my life and answered my biggest prayer of my life!  It's so great to be touched by the Big Man.  So we celebrated by going to Sacramento the next day.  It wore me out, but it was great!

Off Bedrest-
So now I'm off bed rest, and the doctor called me today and told me the baby is measuring right on and they didn't find any abnormalities.  So that's great!  I do have some sort of minor infection though, but she believes it's caused by me not taking my Elmiron any more.  She said it wasn't a big deal, so I didn't listen to the details much, just had her call in a prescription.  It's not a UTI, but it's some sort of bacteria that my body is having trouble fighting.  Being off bed rest has been great.  I'm trying to work up my energy and muscle.  Lying down 24/7 for almost two months does not do the body good.  I get tired easily now, but I'm getting my house together!  I am loving my new house, and we finally have the baby all set up.  My life is getting back together. Getting my insurance worked out this week, and tomorrow I'm calling unemployment.  I sure do miss work!

Cravings-
I eat cereal every day.  Cheerios and Honey Bunches of Oats, especially.  Taco Bell's taco supremes.  Cranberry juice.  Ice Cream.  Cold things.  Bland things.  And of course mexican still.

Nursery-
We have been getting everything set up nicely.  We decided to keep the crib broken down until we'll be using it.  We have a bassinet I plan on using for a while.  And I plan to co-sleep.  I had ordered 3 more diapers a while ago, and they never came.  I accepted that my great deal was too good to be true, and that I was scammed, but my in-laws showed up with them last weekend.  It some how got shipped to their house instead of ours.  So I now have 7 cloth diapers...slowly but surely building them up.  My main things on my list of things we need before the baby gets here:  Mini-washing machine, glider chair, more diapers, safety kits and first aid stuff, baby towels and bathroom stuff, a Moby wrap [or a more generic version haha], classic pooh crib set [of course that can probably wait], more clothes, a diaper pail or some sort of contraption for holding the dirty cloth diapers, newborn disposable diapers [we are doing disposable for the first 3 months or so], nursing bras, changing table pad, and the video baby monitor.  While unpacking our new house, I've been finding all the pooh bear stuff I've been saving since I was a kid, and I'm excited to start setting things up.  Also, I'll be starting all my little baby projects soon [wood letters, baby scrapbook, grocery cart cover, more bassinet sheets, tye dye onesies, ect.,...].

Milestones-
I think my only real milestone this week is that by the end of the week I'm considered a viable pregnancy!  So everyday from here on out is hope!