5 Months Pregnant

Hm, since the last post... My ultrasound showed my cervix to be 2.5 cm. This was a thing of concern since the average cervix length is 4 cm and a short cervix can be indicative of an incompetent cervix which shortens and opens when it's not supposed to and may lead to a preterm labor. I assumed that since I never leaked or spotted or anything that I don't have that particular problem and that I just always had a short cervix or something.

The doctor ordered a second ultrasound and referred me to a high risk doctor. The second ultrasound showed my cervix to be 2.5 cm again. Then the high risk doctor measured my cervix at 3.5 cm which is normal, so now I'm back to seeing my usual doctor. Sheesh.

I called Kaiser to inquire about the contracted birthing center option. It appears that Kaiser is with only with one birthing center in this area and it's in Virginia. So, I'll probably be giving birth at Holy Cross then. I'll pre-register right now.

I got the H1N1 shot on Tuesday. I started having the sniffles that morning though. So far it seems to just be a cold though since I have no fever. I haven't had a fever in like 6 years. We'll see how I am by the end of the week.

Anyways, my main concern is still with our future financial situation. I've become angry at what American society has become in this area. Because more mothers are working these days, their families are making more money and have an advantage over families where the mothers chose to stay home. The more mothers that are working, the more money families make, and the higher the home/rental prices get. So high, in fact, that the other mothers are forced to work also in order to compete for just a basic living for their families.

It doesn't make sense that an entry-level job for someone bachelor's degree doesn't pay enough for them to afford all of the basics of living in a measly one-bedroom apartment. I'm referring to how much my husband is getting paid, of course. My parents were our ages with similar education and jobs when they had their first kid and it appears that they were eventually able to buy a good house. A house like theirs is worth about $300K today and even with our combined full-time salaries minus child care, we wouldn't be able to afford that. Is there no longer any hope for a perfect life? What is the world coming to?

It's a girl!

I drank the exact amount of water that they told me to: not more and not less. But, the technician sent me to the bathroom twice to empty my bladder because the baby was moving too much. I did feel the baby kicking a lot when I was in the waiting room.

Baby weighs a good 11 oz and is on track at 19 1/2 weeks. We clearly saw that the baby is a girl. I was hoping for and expecting a boy. So, the surprise made it extra special.

The baby's head was too low and my cervix is too short. The doctor says that this is okay. I just need to tell someone if I feel pressure down there.

Prenatal Visit

I had an appointment yesterday and learned that I had gained 10 lbs this past month. I guess that it makes a difference to be vomiting only once a week instead of once a day. I still have 4 lbs to gain in order to break even. I am at 18 1/2 weeks. I think, at night, that I am occasionally feeling the baby tapping if I feel with my hand. The doctor said that the top of the uterus is where it should be at this point.

I tried eating a salad today, the same salad that I used to be able to eat a few weeks ago, but I had to spit out the first bite and go throw up the strawberry ensure that I had drunk an hour previously. I read in a study that trying to eat foods that one has an aversion to, for nutrition's sake, does not help the pregnant person whatsoever. This makes perfect sense to me, especially if an aversion to one food causes me to throw up something else that I had already in my stomach.

I'll have to leave work early today because I ran out of stuff to eat again. How am I supposed to get any work done if I have to eat every 45 minutes?! I feel like no matter what I do, I'm going to feel horrible by 2 pm if I don't find a place to lay down and relax/nap.

Anyways, I have an ultrasound next Wednesday and will hopefully find out whether it is a boy or girl. I am assuming that it will be a boy. Let's see if I'm correct! Perhaps I'll put a baby bump photo on here soon also.

Steve has been going to the Career Fair at UMD this week. Christian gave him an Italian suit that he had an extra of, so Steve is looking especially handsome. I hope that Steve may get a good job out of this.

Yucky

I've been feeling relatively happy lately since I got an office mate at work. I've been getting up on time and everything. Steve and I have also been successfully praying every morning and reading scriptures together every night. It's been surprisingly easy too. Now I just need to do personal scripture study, visiting teaching, and cleaning the apartment. Forget the temple--unless I'm allowed to put snacks in my pocket and eat during the session. I get sick if I go for more than 1 hour without eating and feel feint if I go without drinking.

Yesterday evening, though, when I was done eating dinner, I suddenly started getting the urge to throw up. I thought that since I hadn't vomited since last Thursday, that I could keep it down. I should have learned by now that any attempt to ever keep down an oncoming vomit is futile. So, I lost control of course and started running to the bathroom. Even though our apartment is dinky, I didn't quite make it. I vomited through my hand and onto the kitchen floor, the walls, the bathroom door, all over the bathroom floor, on my foot, on my pants, and eventually in the toilet. And then I cleaned it all up. As far as I remember, that's never happened to me before. I've always successfully made it to the toilet or a throw-up pan until now.

I guess that I should start looking towards the 20 week mark in 3 weeks and hope that I'll be better by then.