My Baby Has Hair!

So today I stayed home from work and went to the doctor's. I already had an appointment set up for Wednesday, but a few things were bothering me that I didn't want to wait to get checked. Anyone who's seen me lately knows that I've got lots swelling going on. On its own, swelling is a completely normal side-effect of pregnancy. At my last two appointments, my blood pressure has been slightly elevated, but not enough where they were concerned. Well, last weekend I was at work setting up my classroom when I saw "spots". It was as if I was getting a migraine and my vision was all wacky, but no headache came. I thought it was kind of strange, but honestly didn't think too much of it. I figured I'm pregnant, and lots of wacky things happen to you when your pregnant. Besides, it was a really hot day and so maybe I was just lightheaded or something.

This weekend I was reading from my pregnancy book and I came across a section about pre-eclampsia, a rare but serious condition that occurs during pregnancy. As I read the symptoms, I started getting a little nervous.

Symptoms include: swelling, high blood pressure, vision changes (seeing spots was mentioned specifically), and a few other things.

I decided to call-in to work today and go see the doctor instead, just to be on the safe side. I expressed my concerns to my doctor and after evaluating me he does NOT think that I have pre-eclampsia. He said that the type of swelling I have improves after putting my feet up and lying down whereas with pre-eclampsia it usually stays the same no matter what you do. Also, he said that women with pre-eclampsia have a certain "look" about them, and I didn't have that "look". My blood pressure was slightly high, so he ended up doing an ultrasound to check on the baby.

Little Owen is perfectly healthy and his body is measuring right on schedule - 31 weeks! His head, however, is measuring 33 weeks. Yikes! It was so great having another ultrasound. I got to see how much he's grown since the last one and guess what... my baby has hair! I feel like such a proud mama already. My Dr. said he will probably have a LOT of hair by the time he's born, which doesn't surprise me since Rick had quite the head of hair at birth. My Dr. also estimated that Owen will probably weigh about 8 - 8 1/2 lbs. when he's born. I hope he's right - any bigger than that and I might have some issues.

Oh, and on a side note I ended up FLUNKING my glucose test. Go figure. I have to go in for a more extensive blood test on Wednesday. However, my Dr. said that according to my glucose level from the test, the chances of it being a false positive are quite high. Based on that alone, he doesn't think that I have gestational diabetes. But then again, this is me we're talking about, so anything's possible. I go in for a regular check-up next week to monitor my blood pressure. Whew! I think that's it for now...

Birthday Guess

I thought it would be fun to set up a poll so people can guess when Owen will arrive. Keep in mind my actual due date (Sept. 2), recent doctor reports, and I'll mention that I had a dream that Owen came early. (So far all my dreams about this pregnancy have been right.) So, please feel free to guess away! I am curious to see the predictions. The link is on the right.

Shopping Day!

So ever since we had our heatwave about a month ago I have been on a search to find some comfortable summer dresses. Today marked the start of another heatwave, so I found myself walking around the mall in the air conditioning. I also found myself in the Motherhood Maternity store. I am proud to say that today I had shopping success!! I found two dresses that are really comfortable and will hopefully get me through these hot summer months. Both dresses are casual and can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. I tried one on with some heels and it looked super cute, except it made me a little sad because my feet are swollen all of the time so the only shoes I can manage are flip flops or flats. Oh, well. Soon enough I will have my feet back (not to mention the rest of me!)

Baby Update

Today I went to the doctor and took the glucose test. I had to drink this orange soda stuff and then get my blood drawn to test for gestational diabetes. The drink didn't taste as bad as I thought it would. I find out tomorrow the test results.

Some good news...I'm only measuring 1 week ahead of schedule instead of 2 1/2 weeks. I asked my doctor what that means exactly and he said, "It just means that you won't have a 6 lb. baby; that's probably not what you wanted to hear, is it? I like to keep them at or under 9 lbs." HA! 9 lbs!! So I said, "Well, 7 or 8 lbs. would be just fine with me." I then asked him if the baby's getting too big if I could be induced early. He reassured me that anytime after 36 weeks would be ideal and that I'd probably be induced at least 2 weeks early. So that means that little Owen will be here sooner than we thought! YAY!!! I'm getting good and ready to get this baby OUT! I don't have a current baby bump shot because I can't find my camera connector cord, but I can assure you that I am LARGE and in charge!

Happy Graduation to Me!

It's official! My grades are in and (drum roll please...) I passed all of my classes! To be honest, I was a little nervous about my human biology class since science is really not my thing. It was a HUGE relief to know that I actually passed. I had decided awhile ago that I didn't want to attend my actual graduation ceremony. I've been to my sisters' and they were long, boring, and hot. In my pregnant state I didn't really feel like waking up early to go bake in the sun for a few hours just to have my name called and be given a "fake" diploma. Instead, I opted to skip all of the "boring" stuff and move on to the celebration. It actually worked out great that I wasn't planning on going. The day before my graduation ceremony, my mom had to fly unexpectedly to Florida. My grandpa was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and he'd had some sort of episode, resulting in his hospitalization. (He's out of the hospital now and doing better.) So, HAD I gone to my graduation ceremony, only my husband would have been able to attend. My mom was out of town, my dad had to work, and my siblings had either work or school. Now I get to plan a celebration of sorts when my mom gets back into town and we can have a "proper" graduation.

Rick and I had a great weekend attending Stake Conference. We are excited to be making new friends in the Los Alamitos ward. We are a little sad about losing our callings - he was with the Young Men and I was with the Young Women. However, we look forward to know whatever our new callings might be. On Sunday after church we went to Torrance for a suprise birthday party for Rick's grandpa. Rick's grandpa Merlin is such a crack-up. When he arrived, all of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were gathered in the backyard. We all yelled, "Surprise!" and he just said, "What? Surprise? For who? ME??? Awww...you got me. You really got me. Wow. You guys were so loud you blew out my hearing aid." He's so cute. We all adore him and enjoyed spending time with the family. We had good food and then a huge cake with a picture of Grandpa Merlin's face on it. He thought that was something else. In honor of Grandpa Merlin, here are some of his favorite phrases. Enjoy.

"Crimeny!"

"You wizenheimer!"

and

"What's for dessert?"