Week 24 ~ Baby can now survive if delivered early!

Week 24 ~ highlights
 

I am so happy and excited to have reached this week with our little girl. My pregnancy app that I use announced that this week (week 24) is the week that if something happens and the baby is delivered early that she can survive!

This made my heart soar. It's never easy to lose something but when it's your own child there is a grief and brokenness like no other. Week 24 is a week with a blessing that I am so grateful to God for! Life, life and more life!

Wardrobe

This week I am realizing that 2 maternity shirts and one tank top isn't enough, even with a few sweaters I found at a second hand store. Being pregnant can be expensive in the wardrobe department as your regular shirts become too short and your pants are most definitely too tight. On top of which, nursing tops are different then maternity tops in that they allow you to access your breasts to feed your little one, while maternity tops do not. Another thing to add to my list is a maternity bathing suit. But where to find such a thing - I don't know!

Here's what I recommend. Buy 1-4 pairs of maternity pants (maybe a couple colors of jeans and a black pant plus a pair or two of leggings). Wait for them to go on sale, check out flyers or go online - sometimes the best deals are online. Buy 2-5 tank tops if you wear them under your regular shirt like myself or if it's summer and it's hot! These are generally cheap (H&M $12) and I am getting one black and one white. Now for the shirts. Why not buy 2-3 cute maternity tops you love that are super comfortable and then get some nursing shirts. Try them on, make sure you like the look and remember you will be smaller once the baby is born. This way you don't buy a whole new wardrobe you can only wear for 9 months. Lastly, you can still buy regular sweaters in larger sizes that look great and fit well and can easily be found in most likely any second hand store. Be picky and get the ones that have been barely worn as you will wear them a lot over the next while. However this will change the look of your 2-3 tops so you don't feel like you're putting the same thing on every day.

* If you have a friend with maternity clothing she isn't using ask to shop in her closet. Just make sure to take good care of her things and not wear them out as maternity wear is very expensive. This can help with changing up your wardrobe and not spending a huge amount on clothing you won't be wearing for more than a season.

Weight

I am also excited to write that we are back at our 181 lbs this week and while I don't want to gain a bunch of weight I don't mind if she does. I started this journey at 190 lbs and got down to 175 lbs because of the nausea cocktail I was served for 17 weeks which lead to a low appetite. Now that I'm going between 179 - 181 lbs I feel as if I am eating well, exercising when I can and drinking a whole lot of water to remain hydrated. Keeping in perspective that she will be between 6-10 lbs at birth, plus the placenta and water I'll lose and the fact that my breasts are growing to accommodate feeding this little one I don't have the thought that I'm eating for two but one. This little one needs healthy, nutritious meals that have a variety of color and that doesn't include sugar and take out or things that make me feel ill (currently still onions and now milk, milk chocolate and yogurt). I am eating my three meals plus snacks (or whenever I'm hungry really) and while some women gain 20-30 lbs and others 70+ lbs I seem to not be one of them. At first this really worried me. I wasn't gaining the pound or two a week that the book said I would, in fact I was losing or maintaining and WHAT IF I WAS HURTING HER somehow?! I talked with so many women about it and they all said the same thing. All bodies are different and as long as she is growing (which she is) it doesn't matter if the scale number is.

So ladies, love yourselves and make good choices for you and your baby. Say no to all that sugar that's out there, but know it's okay to make an exception once in a while. If you are worried about anything talk to your doctor or midwife and listen to what they have to say or get a second opinion. There are so many out there!

And keep searching for the healing and sunshine. God never gives up on us, He is always faithful and loves us beyond description!

Love, 

Laura

Ps. This week I have had NO fibroid pain and my leg and tailbone have been a lot less painful too! I am so grateful to God for hearing my prayers and changing these things for me!!!

Feeling the First Kick from the Outside!

FROM BABY TO MAN...

And so the circle of life continues. 

Now this man is having his own baby with me! There are so many exciting things while pregnant! Finding out, first ultrasound, second ultrasound, first movements, first kick felt by mom, first kick felt by dad, decorating the nursery, planning what having a new baby at home will look like for your family - and the list continues!!!

Our celebration currently is that on Tuesday, March 1, 2016 Raymond Oosterom felt his baby girl kick for the first time!

It was such a thrill! First I felt her kick and so then I got him to put his hand on my belly and she kicked again! The sweet part is that we were on the couch together and he was reading to me which she apparently likes. It was such a special moment and so happy! I'm really glad I get to put this moment in her baby book and that it's a memory full of specialness and joy for all three of us!

Comment below on your first kick story and make sure you write it in your baby book or journal too! It's fun to be able to read all of these things about yourself when you grow up - one of my favorite books is my baby book that my mom lovingly put together for me. I was quite the munchkin!

Keep searching for healing and sunshine

Laura xo

My husband made this little expression of Love and texted it to me when we were apart because of his job. It meant so much to me and I love seeing it and remembering! 

Week 22 ~ Your Pregnancy and the Emergency Room

Beauty and Refreshing

 Nourishment and femininity

Relaxation and Rejuvenation 

Well we've made it! One day away from week 23 of carrying our sweet babe and it's the weekend! I couldn't be more excited for it to finally be here.

Pain - Symptoms

This week was a little different as I worked Monday, Wednesday - Friday and had Tuesday off. It all started on Tuesday. I was in pain (which for me is normal) but I started to notice a pattern. By the end of the day it was hitting me, this was NOT normal for me. I had a stabbing pain on my right side close to my hip and groin and it was quite intense (I rated it a 7/10). By the time I crawled into bed I decided to quickly check the area and compare it with the left side. There was a lump...

Tuesday was rainy but full of excitement! I had my midwife appointment and got to meet Jane (an amazing woman) which meant I got to hear little O's heartbeat nice and strong. We chatted about a whole bunch of stuff and then I meandered down to a little shop for some lunch before picking up my friend Lili to go on a thrifting adventure. It was fun. I felt a little off, kind of dizzy - not myself. Anyway by the time I got home this pain had started and I was grumpy.

I found a lump!

Fast foreword to 10:30 pm (yes I was getting to bed late) and the lump. I called the nurses hotline and was told I should see a Dr within the hour. I can't explain the emotions that flooded me upon hearing that. I went into complete shock, got some flip flops on and trotted out to the car - after barking at my husband to go to bed (which he did). I could barely drive I was shaking so badly and telling myself we (baby and I) were fine. There was no fluid or blood leaking from me which were good signs and I held on to that and God.

I got to the emergency, parked and went in. I must have looked awful! I was shaking and in a bunch of pain, I was staring vacantly trying to not cry or lose it completely and then I had to talk with the guy checking me in. I started bawling, telling him that I was okay, just in shock.

He calmly and quickly checked me in, pointed me toward maternity and that was that. I went up the elevator to the third floor and held out my papers to the nurses station. Sandy was my angel that evening, she walked me to the biggest room, listened through all of the crying, got baby O's heart beat loud and clear and let me listen to it thump thump until I could breathe again.

It was actually a pretty quick trip, in total about two hours. I got a blood test (no crying or pulling away, very calm and controlled) done in my hand as requested and a urine test, talked to Sandy and the Dr and after the tests came back great I was sent home with the word fibroid kicking around in my brain.

FIBROIDS!

FIBROID(s) - If you have them talk to your doctor or midwife about them and get informed about yours. Ask during your ultrasound for the technician to keep an eye out for them. They can simply be there, they can cause you insane amounts of pain but not affect your baby, or they can cause miscarriage, damage to the fallopian tube(s), cause hemorrhaging after birth, cause you to need a C-Section, cause painful and heavy periods, painful sex and a few other things. Find out if you have them or don't (they can be spotted on an ultrasound), find out where yours are located (inside the uterus isn't good), ask how big they are, if they are a concern to your practitioner and if you should have them checked out again.

Second Trip to the ER

The second trip in was because the pain had gotten worse and I wanted to make sure that whatever was wrong wasn't hurting my baby. It was sure hurting me but if she's fine then I'll be okay - you know? Tuesday's diagnosis was the assumption it was the fibroid but there was no visual confirmation. I called our midwife on our way home from work and she recommended us heading to the emerge right away so we did. My husband drove this time and as before I was sent up to a very quiet maternity ward right away (I guess they could see I was in a lot of pain because I was a lot calmer this time around). I got the blood test and urine tests all over again (they hadn't changed since Tuesday) and got to add a check of my cervix and an ultrasound to the list of things done/checked. My cervix was fine and the ultrasound let us know that A. baby was okay (although curled up into the smallest ball, she's since been very active and happy since, thank you Jesus!) B. I didn't need surgery - my appendix wasn't the issue and neither did I have kidney stones or gall bladder issues or hemorrhoids - YAY! C. that pesky fibroid had grown slightly and was exactly where the pain was radiating from.

This emergency visit the doctor sent me home with a prescription for something in the morphine family so I could manage the pain myself and save another possible trip to the emergency (which I haven't even filled as I don't believe in medicating if you can handle the pain while pregnant). My husband and I got home around 10:30 PM and were in bed by 11:30 PM and then I worked the next day.

It has been quite the week, week 22 but here I am walking into week 23 and feeling much better as the pain has decreased significantly! I feel hopeful as I was able to meet with someone I admire on Saturday and we had a wonderful meeting that will possibly begin a mentorship for me. I feel blessed as my friend came over and helped me empty out the babies room so that it looks more like a babies room and not a storage unit.

Bring it on week 23, there's nothing you can throw at me that God can't handle! I am learning this one lesson at a time and I am grateful it's getting through.

Look for the healing and sunshine!

Laura xo

Ps. I'm back down to 179.6 lbs but as I can see the baby is growing and I'm at my max weight health wise to begin with I'm not worried. If you are worried about your weight gain or loss please talk to your health practitioner about it!