Baby "M" 13 Week Check Up

Today I am 13 weeks pregnant and had my third OB appointment. The ultrasound tech was out but our doctor gave us a peek. Baby is healthy. Heart rate was about 170. 

I don't always feel pregnant because I haven't had many symptoms. We saw the little blip of the heartbeat at 9 weeks, but our OB couldn't figure out how to properly work the new ultrasound machine. This time around she seemed to know the machine better and was able to zoom in and show us the heartbeat, head and spine. Seeing the actually shape of a child makes it all more real... it was amazing how much the baby moved in the short time we took a peek.

So far, I have had no morning sickness, lots of heart burn and plenty of fatigue. I have not gained any weight and continue to basically feel good {besides my daily shots}.

Curtains: Follow Up

The last couple of weeks have been crazy, but I wanted to share pictures of the curtains I made for my sister's dining room {the ones I converted from cloth shower curtains from Target}.

My sister is happy. I am happy.

Do You Feel Sick?

I think that once people find out that your are expecting, the number one question is: Do you feel sick? Thankfully I am among those who experience almost no morning sickness. Don't get me wrong, I have heart burn like crazy {just thinking about food sometimes gives me heart burn} and I have definitely had my share of fatigue, but no nausea for this mommy to be. I chalk it up to good genes {my sister and mom had limited morning sickness, but both experienced the heart burn}.

Before you get to thinking that I have gotten off scott free in the pregnancy, let me tell you the one thing I have to deal with that most pregnant women do not: I have to give myself daily shots in my stomach.

When I found out at my first OB appointment that this was a possibility I was devastated.  

I HATE NEEDLES. I can't even watch a nurse give me a shot and any time they draw blood I tense up through the whole process.

The reason for these lovely shots goes back to about two years ago when I had a blood clot. At the time my doctor's assumed it was due to birth control. My current OB ordered some additional tests at my first doctor's visit. She wanted to confirm that I didn't have any genetic disorders and we waited to start the shots until 9 weeks when we had the tests back and she did an ultrasound to confirm a heartbeat.

For the last month I have religiously given myself shots in the stomach every night. It has gotten easier but I still hate it. It costs a bundle {almost $1000 per month – we have to pay the full amount until we meet our deductible} and it hurts {though icing the area helps}. So no morning sickness for this baby, but lots and lots of shots to administer through the rest of the year...

Excerpts from my personal journal:

 6 Week OB Visit

March 18, 2011 

We went to our first OB visit. Daniel likes my doctor. A urine test confirmed that I was indeed pregnant. The doctor checked my uterus and agreed that it had grown and that I was about six weeks along. For now she has put our due date as 11-11-11. The worst part about the whole visit was the discussion surrounding my 2008 DVT/PE {i.e. my blood clot experience}. My paperwork from Presby in Charlotte was incomplete and Dr. Adams decided to order me a few additional tests. This meant they drew A LOT of blood. This was a painful experience, but it should be the most blood they draw at any one time. It left me shaky and the nurses treated me to an ice-cold coke. Dr. Adams wants to be proactive and put me on anti-blood clot meds {after we receive the official tests back}. This will most likely mean daily shots. This makes me want to cry. I’m trying to be a grown-up about the whole situation, but it really sucks. I HATE needles. I thought I was past the whole blood clot thing, but history is history and it is better to be safe than have something horrific happen.

We got ice cream from Chick-fil-a after the appointment and then went to Barnes & Noble. Finally we went to The Terminal for dinner. I had a great steak salad and Daniel had his usual Black Bean Burrito. It was hard for me to think of anything other than the needles in my future.

March 19,2011 

I stayed up late last night researching this whole blood clot thing. It was enough to make me scared and upset. The common treatment is daily shots of Lovenox. This means that I would be high risk of bleeding if I were to be in any kind of accident. It also can cause problems with epidurals and c-sections. Very scary stuff. Everything I have read seems to revolve around people that are positive for blood clotting disorders. My doctor says that I am more likely to have another clot since I have already had one, but it has been 2+ years and I have not had any indications that I will have another clot. I don’t want to be high risk. I guess you don’t get to choose that. There is very little information available online for someone in my exact situation – which I find to be frustrating. All of my reading was very upsetting and I had a good cry after we went to bed. I wish someone had clearly told me {before I got pregnant} that I would be high risk and that it would mean taking daily shots. I feel like I went into this whole pregnancy thing uninformed and it is very disconcerting.

 9 Week OB Visit

April 8, 2011 

Today was my 9-week check up. We found out that all of my tests for any kind of genetic blood clotting disorder came back negative. That is the good news. The bad news is that since I have already experienced one blood clot, I am more susceptible to another. So I get the joy of giving myself shots (at $30 a pop) for the duration of the pregnancy. We even had a phone consult from a high risk OB who agreed that this was the best course of action. I have the prescription in hand but it will be a few days before I actually have access to the medication. I guess I will just have to enjoy my last couple of days of freedom from shots. 

Dr. Adams did an ultrasound today just to make sure there was a heartbeat before she started me on meds. It was tiny, but it was there. We go back in four weeks and should be able to see/hear more.

I really like Dr. Adams. She is very direct and to the point. She doesn’t try to scare me. She encourages me to keep on doing what I am doing. She said that I can safely gain anywhere from 10 and 30 pounds. She continues to be ok with me running the half marathon and exercising. So far, so good.

52 Books: Book 21 & 22

Last week during the power outage I finished two books. The first was The Doublet Affair by Fiona Buckley. This is the second book in a series of historical fiction that take place in England, following one of the queen's ladies who is transitioning into a sleuth. I find the series to be ok. I am not particularly drawn to this type of fiction, but it is a quick, interesting read.

Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson was on my bookshelf and I started reading it on Wednesday when I lost power at my house. I was actually in the closet with a flashlight during one tornado warning and reading. I finished the book in a day. I felt really sorry for the main character, Louise. She is a girl growing up a small island who comes to hate her twin sister because she thinks that her sister gets all of the attention. It isn't until she grows up and moves away that she realizes that she was loved more than she knew. 

Excerpts from this book:

Life began to turn upside down at thirteen. I know that now. But at the time I thought the blame for my unhappiness must be fixed – on Caroline, on my grandmother, on my my mother, even on myself.

I had never caused my parents "a minute's worry." Didn't they know that worry proves you care? Didn't they realize that I needed their worry to assure myself that I was worth something?

The women of my island were not supposed to love water. Water was the wild, untamed kingdom of our men.

Menu Recap

Last week's meals were as follows:

 

Monday Dinner: Sausage, Tomato and Spinach Pasta. Daniel gave it 4.8/5 stars.

 

 

Tuesday Dinner: Steak Salad. Daniel gave it 4.67/5 stars.

 

Wednesday Dinner: I was supposed to make Philly Cheese steak sandwiches, but the power going out meant we were stuck eating Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches.

 

Thursday Dinner: Due to the power outages in Northern Alabama we cleaned out our fridge and headed to Nashville. My brother-in-law made us grilled salmon with rice and a salad. It was delish.

Friday Dinner: We ate at Olive Garden to celebrate my sister's birthday a little early and so that I could carb load for the Country Music half marathon I was to run in on Saturday.

Dessert was a family favorite: pistachio birthday cake for the birthday girl.

Saturday Lunch: Post race was a cheeseburger from McDonalds followed by a Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich and an ice cream cone from Chick-fil-a.

 

Saturday Dinner: We went to visit friends, Kristalynne and Nick, for dinner. Nick made us amazing grilled hamburgers. We also had mac n' cheese and Nick's famous salad. Afterward we made smores.

Sunday Lunch: Burgers from Five Guys.

 

Sunday Dinner: My brother-in-law grilled steaks for my sister's birthday. We also had stuffed mushrooms, baked potatoes and salad. We were well taken care of while we were without power.

Chuck Norris Never Ran a Marathon

Laura and I at the start

The morning of the Country Music Marathon came faster than I anticipated. The last week was crazy due to making our baby announcement and then the storms that came through Alabama. I was only able to squeeze in one last short workout on Tuesday and then just hoped for the best.

Throngs of people ready to run

When my friend Laura asked me if I wanted to train for the Country Music Marathon, I said sure. I had no idea that two months into training I would be pregnant or that I would go ahead and run the race at 12 weeks preggo {my doctor has been very supportive of my training and I would not have done it if I hadn't already been training}.

We made it to Corral #1 (the official start) by 7:30 AM

Saturday morning I was up bright and early – probably just nerves. Daniel and his sister and I were headed into Nashville by 5:45 and had no problem finding a parking spot close to Vanderbilt and the start line. I was really shocked at how many people were there. I knew that there would be over 30,000 runners, but I wasn't prepared to see so many people gathered in one place.

The starting line

I met up with Laura and her dad in Corral #24 {pace time 2:30} but we moved up to Corral #23. The race started in waves that were 1-2 minutes apart, so it was actually around 7:30 before our group left the starting line.

Running through downtown Nashville. Image via.

I was really surprised at how emotional I felt, even at the beginning of the race. I was there and doing this run with all of these other people. It kind of took my breath away. It might have also been the baby hormones talking...

Image via.

I stuck with Laura and her dad through the first mile and then they picked up the pace and I settled into a comfortable jog with the 2:30 pace group. I managed to stick with this group until mile 9.

Country Music Hall of Fame. Image via.

Daniel and Emily were there after mile marker #4 to take pictures and cheer me on. It meant so much to me to see them. Daniel actually came on the course and asked me how I was doing and gave me a kiss. They were there again around mile marker #8.

Laura and her dad close to Belmont.

Some of the hills in the first half of the race were pretty hard for me. I started walking the hills after mile #3 because my hill running was so slow and walking allowed me to lengthen my stride and really swing my arms. I think this is the only reason I didn't have hip pain by the end of the race.

Me at about mile #4.

My brother snuck into the race right after mile marker #6. With his long legs, he was able to walk while I ran at my ridiculously slow pace. He really encouraged me, especially at the end. I am so glad he was there. When I started to feel sick from fatigue after mile #11, he talked me through it. When I needed to walk, he hung with me. He even held my hand for a little while when I was really hurting.

Me right after mile #6.

After mile marker #9 I slowed down a bit and sometime after mile marker #10 I was in the 2:45 pace group. I hung with them until mile marker #11, and then I finally had to walk. I walked until about mile 12.5 and then I found the energy to run the last 0.5 miles across the bridge to the finish. You make a right hand turn after the bridge to the finish line and I literally sprinted to the end. It felt amazing.

My brother Mark and I after mile #8.

Emotionally I thought I was going to break down and cry every time there was a band playing or whenever I saw all of the spectators with their signs of encouragement – the funniest one I saw was "Chuck Norris Never Ran a Marathon." I gave high fives to countless numbers of little boys cheering on the racers. At the end I thought I would sob through the finish, but I managed to hold it together.

The finish line.

At the finish there were so many people I found myself very disoriented. Thank goodness I had my cell phone or I would have never found Daniel and Emily or Mark. Daniel missed my big finish, which was a bit of a disappointment, but I am so glad he and Emily were there throughout the race. 

Daniel and I after the race.

At 12 weeks pregnant, I ran a half marathon at 3:08:01. That is a slow time, but I am still proud of it. I have never been a runner and this is a huge accomplishment. I can now mark #45 off of my life list.

Mark and I after the race.

We walked across a pedestrian bridge to get back to our car.

Daniel and Emily walked 7+ miles in order to see me throughout the race!

Country Music Half Marathon

Tomorrow is the big day and I am a bit nervous. Last night I watched this preview video of the route and it looks like a lot of hills. I know that I can easily run 8.5 miles {my longest training run was 10 miles about 2 weeks ago}. I also have no shame in walking, I just hope that my training pays off and I can complete the course.