Well, I received some unexpected news on Tuesday. I figured since I was not called on Monday that all was well with my gestational diabetes test. Wrong! They called me on Tuesday (yesterday) to come in today for the longer test. I was worried and anxious. I spent a lot of Tuesday afternoon and evening thinking about what that could mean. So, needless to say, I was not very happy. It just seemed like I was left asking "Now what could go wrong?"
I felt better when I got there this morning and was talking to the lab tech. She said more than half of the pregnant women who come through their office fail the first test. She said it often is due to what the woman eats the day before. Apparently, most women are careful with what they eat the night before, but what you eat that whole day matters. I ate several things that day that could cause my sugar to be high. So, I went today for the longer test. I did not enjoy the three needle sticks. But I will have results tomorrow. I am praying for good results.
Overall, I feel really good. And I still feel very blessed. I think this is another opportunity where God is teaching me that He is in control. I know whatever happens, Rachel and I are in his hands and we will be okay. I will update sometime after the I get the results.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Blessed
Blessed....that is the word that sums up how I feel right now. Things are going well. And I continue to be reminded daily, especially in this pregnancy, that I am not in control. I have no control over anything. And it kind of feels good that it is outside of my hands. All I have to do is take care of myself and pray, God is handling the rest.
Last Thursday I went to Columbia for my interview with the Board of Ordained Ministry. There were ten of us there for interviews. We got started late, but I was one of the ones to be interviewed in the first time slot. I was thankful to get it over with, but it meant I had to wait the rest of the time. And we all know, waiting seems to be the worst part of anything! I finished my interview at 11:05, and I found out my results at about 12:50 my results. I passed!!! I will be getting commissioned at Annual Conference in June, if I don't miss it due to pregnancy issues! I am so excited and proud of myself. I knew I could do it. Thank you to anyone who prayed for me throughout the ordeal. It means so much.
Then on Friday I went back to the OB. My fluid levels were much better. Rachel looked and sounded good. My cervix still looks fine. My blood pressure was low, no excessive protein, and no swelling (pre-eclampsia symptoms) so things seem to be looking good. Rachel is still measuring a tad on the big side. My iron is still a little low, but we are watching that. It is from the anemia, and if that is my only struggle the remainder of my pregnancy, then I am doing good. I took my gestational diabetes test, and was told they would call me today if I needed to take the 3 hour test. I did not get a call, so I am assuming that I did not fail the first test, which means no diabetes. My OB was so pleased at the appointment with how I am doing and how things are going. She even said to me that over the past several weeks she had been looking for, even expecting, something to go wrong, and she just can't find it. She said over the past 2 weeks that they had looked for everything and I am pretty normal. She said this is as close to a textbook pregnancy as you can have after pre-eclampsia. I can't tell you how I feel, other than thankful. I am finally starting to believe that we will get further than I got with Joshua, and maybe even pretty close to term. Please continue to remember us in your prayers!
Last Thursday I went to Columbia for my interview with the Board of Ordained Ministry. There were ten of us there for interviews. We got started late, but I was one of the ones to be interviewed in the first time slot. I was thankful to get it over with, but it meant I had to wait the rest of the time. And we all know, waiting seems to be the worst part of anything! I finished my interview at 11:05, and I found out my results at about 12:50 my results. I passed!!! I will be getting commissioned at Annual Conference in June, if I don't miss it due to pregnancy issues! I am so excited and proud of myself. I knew I could do it. Thank you to anyone who prayed for me throughout the ordeal. It means so much.
Then on Friday I went back to the OB. My fluid levels were much better. Rachel looked and sounded good. My cervix still looks fine. My blood pressure was low, no excessive protein, and no swelling (pre-eclampsia symptoms) so things seem to be looking good. Rachel is still measuring a tad on the big side. My iron is still a little low, but we are watching that. It is from the anemia, and if that is my only struggle the remainder of my pregnancy, then I am doing good. I took my gestational diabetes test, and was told they would call me today if I needed to take the 3 hour test. I did not get a call, so I am assuming that I did not fail the first test, which means no diabetes. My OB was so pleased at the appointment with how I am doing and how things are going. She even said to me that over the past several weeks she had been looking for, even expecting, something to go wrong, and she just can't find it. She said over the past 2 weeks that they had looked for everything and I am pretty normal. She said this is as close to a textbook pregnancy as you can have after pre-eclampsia. I can't tell you how I feel, other than thankful. I am finally starting to believe that we will get further than I got with Joshua, and maybe even pretty close to term. Please continue to remember us in your prayers!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Life at this point in my pregnancy
Hey Everyone! I am sorry it has been an eternity since I have written. I promise I will get to the point with more regular updates.
What can I say? It has been busy. Since I work at a church, Lent and Easter are a busy, busy season. I was happy to have the day after Easter off! This Thursday I go for my final interview for commissioning. If all goes well, I will be commissioned in June! Please keep me in your prayers!
So with Easter, work, chasing after a two year old, normal mom and wife duties, and being pregnant, I have been busy and tired! Our little Rachel is still a Rachel. Three ultrasounds say so! We are excited! I made a registry for her, and it is so much harder to do that for a girl than it is for a boy. There is so much more stuff for girls! It is overwhelming!
This past week I started experiencing some problems with my pregnancy, and you know that worried me. Last Wednesday I was having some minor contractions. My OB said it was probably a little early for Braxton Hicks, so she wanted me to come in. She did an exam and thought I might have an incompetent cervix (means premature delivery - oh no! not again!). She sent me to the hospital to have a detailed ultrasound to check on baby Rachel. Rachel looked really good and healthy. She is even on the big side. The ultrasound tech told me that probably means I won't have preeclampsia again because preeclampsia babies are small (Yay! Great news!). I also have no symptoms at this point, and in my last pregnancy I started with symptoms around 12 weeks (Thank God). Then I had a test to check my cervix. My OB called me on Friday and wanted me to come in ASAP. My cervix, it turns out, is fine. No incompetent cervix. But my amniotic fluid levels were low. They did a non-stress test to check Rachel. Rachel was fine; moving a lot, her heartrate was good, and I was having no contractions. My OB thinks my levels were low because I was dehydrated. She ordered me to drink plenty and rest when I can, but no bedrest. I go back this Friday and we will take my gestational diabetes test to see if I have that. If I do, that could explain some of the dehydration and fluid issues. But we are trusting God that everything is okay with our little angel.
Overall, I feel pretty good. And I feel good about the news from the OB. I hardly ever drink enough when I am not pregnant, so of course it would be an issue when I have a human living inside of me taking my nutrients. I need to work on drinking more overall. I just feel blessed. It appears we have no preeclampsia, we have no incompetent cervix, and I am not at risk for pre-term labor so that all says there is no reason I should not carry Rachel to term. That makes me happy!
Carrying her to term is my goal. In February, my OB asked me at one of my appointments to make one goal for my pregnancy or delivery and she would try to help me achieve that. She said no one's delivery goes as planned, and I had a lot of hiccups with my last one. She said I can't have everything I want, but to pick something and we would focus on that part of my birthplan and try to make it happen. My goal: to bring my little girl home with me. Carrying her to term or very close to it (like 36 weeks) will help me bring her home with me. Now, that is my OB's goal. It is what we are working on. Unless you have been there, you can't possibly know how hard it is to leave your child at the hospital when you are supposed to be at home bonding. And you can't know how bad I felt delivering early. My body appeared to be a hostile environment for little people. I thought I couldn't do something women were supposed to do and that made me feel like a failure. If I walk out of the hospital with my little girl this summer, I will feel so thankful. I will be the happiest woman in the world. And then I will be able to say that I did it. Please keep us in prayer for the remainder of our pregnancy. I need to make it at least 11 more weeks, but hopefully 12 or 13, and ideally my OB is hoping for 14 more.
What can I say? It has been busy. Since I work at a church, Lent and Easter are a busy, busy season. I was happy to have the day after Easter off! This Thursday I go for my final interview for commissioning. If all goes well, I will be commissioned in June! Please keep me in your prayers!
So with Easter, work, chasing after a two year old, normal mom and wife duties, and being pregnant, I have been busy and tired! Our little Rachel is still a Rachel. Three ultrasounds say so! We are excited! I made a registry for her, and it is so much harder to do that for a girl than it is for a boy. There is so much more stuff for girls! It is overwhelming!
This past week I started experiencing some problems with my pregnancy, and you know that worried me. Last Wednesday I was having some minor contractions. My OB said it was probably a little early for Braxton Hicks, so she wanted me to come in. She did an exam and thought I might have an incompetent cervix (means premature delivery - oh no! not again!). She sent me to the hospital to have a detailed ultrasound to check on baby Rachel. Rachel looked really good and healthy. She is even on the big side. The ultrasound tech told me that probably means I won't have preeclampsia again because preeclampsia babies are small (Yay! Great news!). I also have no symptoms at this point, and in my last pregnancy I started with symptoms around 12 weeks (Thank God). Then I had a test to check my cervix. My OB called me on Friday and wanted me to come in ASAP. My cervix, it turns out, is fine. No incompetent cervix. But my amniotic fluid levels were low. They did a non-stress test to check Rachel. Rachel was fine; moving a lot, her heartrate was good, and I was having no contractions. My OB thinks my levels were low because I was dehydrated. She ordered me to drink plenty and rest when I can, but no bedrest. I go back this Friday and we will take my gestational diabetes test to see if I have that. If I do, that could explain some of the dehydration and fluid issues. But we are trusting God that everything is okay with our little angel.
Overall, I feel pretty good. And I feel good about the news from the OB. I hardly ever drink enough when I am not pregnant, so of course it would be an issue when I have a human living inside of me taking my nutrients. I need to work on drinking more overall. I just feel blessed. It appears we have no preeclampsia, we have no incompetent cervix, and I am not at risk for pre-term labor so that all says there is no reason I should not carry Rachel to term. That makes me happy!
Carrying her to term is my goal. In February, my OB asked me at one of my appointments to make one goal for my pregnancy or delivery and she would try to help me achieve that. She said no one's delivery goes as planned, and I had a lot of hiccups with my last one. She said I can't have everything I want, but to pick something and we would focus on that part of my birthplan and try to make it happen. My goal: to bring my little girl home with me. Carrying her to term or very close to it (like 36 weeks) will help me bring her home with me. Now, that is my OB's goal. It is what we are working on. Unless you have been there, you can't possibly know how hard it is to leave your child at the hospital when you are supposed to be at home bonding. And you can't know how bad I felt delivering early. My body appeared to be a hostile environment for little people. I thought I couldn't do something women were supposed to do and that made me feel like a failure. If I walk out of the hospital with my little girl this summer, I will feel so thankful. I will be the happiest woman in the world. And then I will be able to say that I did it. Please keep us in prayer for the remainder of our pregnancy. I need to make it at least 11 more weeks, but hopefully 12 or 13, and ideally my OB is hoping for 14 more.
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