28 Weeks

Friday, May 23 - 28 weeks
Hello seventh month and third trimester!! I can't believe that you'll be making your appearance in just 12 more weeks....or less! This trimester you've got some serious growing to do. Right now you're supposed to be around 2lbs, which means you'll be gaining at least another 4-5 in the next twelve weeks. Hopefully you're not an almost 10-pounder like your Daddy was... You're pretty much fully developed, but you'll be spending these last couple months bulking up for the outside world.

Archie loves to be in the nursery & in all of the pictures!

Last night you were doing some crazy moves! You would shift something hard (I'm guessing your head and/or back) to the front right side of my belly, then you'd kick your legs or swing your arms in my back left side. It felt so weird because the front of my belly was hard and lopsided, and you must have been kicking/hitting some organ because it was quite uncomfortable back there. This is the first time you've ever been a little painful, but I couldn't help but laugh because it looked and felt so strange...plus it didn't last very long. I can tell I'm going to have some pretty entertaining days this summer watching you flip around!


Thursday, May 29 - 28w, 6d
Yay, school's out! I'm so glad I don't have to take anymore days off work for doctor's appointments...and perfect timing, too, because soon I'll be going weekly because I'm high-risk. Today's appointment went very well. I now weigh 130lbs which means I've gained 16lbs this pregnancy! :) The doctor was very pleased with that, and so am I because I thought it would be a big struggle to gain weight this whole pregnancy and I'm very happy that hasn't been an issue.

More snuggles from Archie :) Usually when he does this in the
evening, you move like crazy while he's up there
and Archie does not seem to care at all! Haha

You're doing very well, my uterus is measuring on track and your heart rate was around 150bpm. She guessed that you were head down because of where she found your heartbeat. And I'm guessing you're head down a lot of the time because I've been having some round ligament pain over the last few days, very low in my pelvis, and I'm assuming it has to be because of the way you're positioned. I'm glad you know which way to be, but you're not coming out for several more weeks, so don't get too excited yet!!
As I mentioned before, starting at 30 weeks, I'll be going to the doctor weekly for the rest of my pregnancy. At each appointment I'll be seeing the doctor, having an ultrasound, and having a NST (non-stress test). As I understand it, the NST will require me to sit in a recliner (woo hoo!) for 20-30 minutes while hooked up to two monitors - one for your heartbeat and one to track your movements. They want to make sure that your heart rate slightly increases with movements and that it's not decreasing which would show that you're in distress. Again, perfect timing to the end of the school year. These next 11 weeks, I plan on taking it easy during the week as much as possible because we have very fun & busy weekends planned pretty much the entire summer until August.

One more little positive this week - no leg or foot cramps! Of course I'm probably jinxing myself by writing this, but it's been very nice without them. :)

The Compliance Streak Ends

I am so bummed to have to be writing this, but I know it's not the end of the world. Tim and I did some traveling out of town this weekend to visit our friends and also to attend our friends' wedding. As usual, I packed up my extra two bags with my treatment equipment, but I forgot my albuterol and HTS vials! Ugh! Of course I didn't realize it until Saturday night when I went to do my evening treatment session. So I did my 30 minutes of Vest with just Pulmozyme and then my Cayston.

Since I know my treatments aren't as effective without my nebulizers (and especially with my growing belly), I decided to just leave my Vest in the car and enjoy a day and a half treatment-free (minus Cayston, I did that three times a day). I felt like I deserved a break since I hadn't skipped any Vest or nebs in 448 days and I'd been feeling so well lately. My mucus production has really slowed down and I've felt like my airways have been very clear for a while now. Wow....what a difference missing 3-4 treatments makes!!!

This morning I woke up feeling a little crackly and had a throat-clearing cough. Now as I sit here, back at home, strapped to my Vest and just finished my albuterol, I'm coughing up more than I have in weeks (which still isn't a ton, but it feels good to get it out). It sounds silly, but I guess I just forgot how important and effective consistent, daily treatments really are! As much as I grumble about not wanting to do my treatments all the time, I couldn't wait to get home to get strapped in my Vest with albuterol flooding my airways. So I'll be resetting my compliance count tomorrow and hope to continue it for the next twelve weeks til our little lady is born.

I really feel like this was a happy accident because it brought me back to reality for a couple days. It made me realize how lucky I am to have all of these medications available to me and how much my lungs really rely on them. I hope that I'm able to keep this in my mind when I'm a new sleep-deprived mother because I know it's going to be a decision between sleep and treatments sometimes. It's not going to help anyone if I'm not healthy. So I'm going to try my best to do at least one treatment a day when she arrives because I want to be the healthiest mom I can be. :-)

27 Weeks

Friday, May 16 - 27 weeks
This week your eyes are able to open and close, your brain is very active, and you're practicing breathing (amniotic fluid). Although your lungs are still immature, they would be able to function (with a lot of medical help) if you were born now...but stay in there for a little while longer! Yesterday was May 15 which put us exactly three months away from your due date and I'm now in the last week of my second trimester.

Archie loves you already :-)

Monday, May 19 - 27w, 3d
I can tell that you are growing so much because the past couple of days my tummy muscles have been feeling like they're stretching again. I can also feel you moving all over my tummy instead of just down low and a little on the right. Now you're stretching out and usually take up my whole belly when you're moving a lot. I'm very glad that you're still sitting pretty low, too. Even though I'm feeling you more on my sides, you still haven't gone much higher than my belly button. I can see now how babies wedge their way into their mom's ribs though because I can tell you're pretty squished in there. Let's hope you stay as low as you are for as long as possible.
I'm assuming you like (or maybe hate) the sound of kids. This weekend we celebrated Liam's first birthday, and as I'm sure you heard, Cole isn't very quiet. During the whole party, you were moving so much and I wonder if it was because you could hear all of the boys. And then again today, we had our field trip to the zoo, and while I was monitoring the playground you were moving around a ton. I can't wait until you're old/big enough to run around and play with your cousins and other kids.
Saturday evening you had the hiccups again. They didn't seem to last as long this time around, but it was so cute. They were tiny little rhythmic taps for a few minutes...Daddy just thinks you have rhythm :).

Pros & Cons of Pregnancy - 1st & 2nd Trimesters

So many people ask me how I'm doing/feeling on a daily basis, and throughout this whole pregnancy I've been so fortunate to answer "great" every time! As this pregnancy progresses, I wanted to make a list of the things I love about being pregnant, and the not-so-fun things about it, too.

Pros:

• My health has been amazing during this pregnancy (aside from in February when I got sick). When I have been sick, I've been lucky enough to have several treatment options (Tobi, Kalydeco, Cayston) at hand that helped me get back to feeling good again.
• Putting on weight hasn't been as much of a struggle as I thought it would be. This could be the Kalydeco helping out, or just my body responding well to pregnancy -- either way, I'm very happy this hasn't been an issue.
• I love my belly! I'm not one to take pictures of it without my shirt over it, and you'll definitely never see me in a bathing suit this summer, but every time I walk past a mirror, I love what I see. I don't feel pregnant, so I often forget what I look like to others. This belly is a constant reminder of the struggles that we overcame to get to this point and how lucky we are to be going through this experience.
• One perk of being high-risk is monthly ultrasounds! I love that I'm able to see Baby Girl's monthly development instead of just reading about it. It's absolutely amazing to see how much she changes in just a short amount of time.  
• Baby movements! This one might be the best! I felt the first movements right at 20 weeks and have been obsessed ever since! The first little nudges were great, but the bigger and stronger she gets, the more fascinated I am with feeling every little poke, body role and whole-body stretches and flips. Watching her make my belly bounce is hilarious and I often sit in bed on the weekends after I wake up just staring (and poking) waiting for her to dance around. Although, Tim says I have to stop poking her so she doesn't have brain damage... :)
• Bigger boobs -- who can complain about that?! Aside from having to purchase new bras, I can't complain about a little extra cleavage. I'm sure this one's a pro for Tim, too.
• How could I forget....no morning sickness!! I was very excited about this one! First of all, I hate throwing up, so the thought of doing it for weeks on end killed me. Plus I was so worried about managing my weight, especially in the beginning of the pregnancy, that I was very thankful not to have to deal with any nausea or vomiting.
• I've never really felt tired. I think that the typical fatigue that comes with the first trimester was mostly over winter break when I was just bumming around the house anyway. Now that I'm closing in on the third trimester, I do notice it takes a bit more effort to bend and move certain ways, but I still feel like I have the same energy level.

Cons:

• CFRD & sugars: This one isn't really much to complain about, just a small inconvenience. The first half of my pregnancy, I had to check my blood sugar four times a day (fasting and then two hours after each meal). Since I was able to keep them pretty stable, the doctors let me cut down to twice a day around 24 weeks. This is definitely saving my little fingers from being pricked so much, but watching what I eat is constantly on my mind so I don't spike my blood sugar.
• Lack of carbs: I never realized how much I love carb-loaded food until I got pregnant and very strictly had to watch/control my blood sugars. I cannot wait to go on a carb-binge after she's born! I miss giant bowls of cereal and especially whole boxes of mac & cheese! 
• Leg & foot cramps: These are no fun! In the beginning they were sporadic and usually due to dehydration, but as I get into my third trimester, they're happening several times a week (always in the middle of the night). They're more frequent because my legs are carrying extra weight and my expanding uterus is putting pressure on my veins that return blood from my legs to my heart. My uterus is also putting pressure on the nerves leading from my trunk to my legs. (according to Baby Center)  
• Constantly having to drink water and go pee -- This is true of pretty much all pregnant women. We have to stay hydrated to avoid things like swelling and cramping, but the trade-off is frequent bathroom trips. I've had to start taking my class for an extra bathroom break each afternoon just so that I can go, lol. But thankfully I've only had very minimal swelling and it's only been on very hot days. Can't complain about that!
• Gas and bloating - This symptom came out of no where around week 25 and has been very annoying. I feel like I used to feel before I started taking probiotics - very uncomfortable, bloated and gassy, with extra bathroom trips during the day. At first, I thought maybe I should increase my probiotics, but after talking with my doctor and other CF women, it sounds like my insides are just shifted around and taking an extra enzyme with larger meals has helped a little bit. I'm really hoping this doesn't affect my weight gain.

26 Weeks

Saturday, May 10 - 26w, 1d
This week you're eyes are almost fully developed and will be opening soon, you now have eyelashes, you're getting a little more baby fat and are about the size of a head of lettuce.

We're Rockin' CF!

Today's the day of the Bloomington Great Strides walk and it looks like we're going to have a gorgeous day for it. The Veitengruber's have been amazing supporters since I met Daddy & I am so thankful that they continue to support me every year! I'm looking forward to the Peoria walk this fall though because it'll be your first (of many!) Great Strides and of course you'll be wearing that adorable onsie from Emily. :)

May 15 - 26w, 6d
I think you had the hiccups last night! As Daddy and I were going to sleep, I put my hands on my belly (like I do every night), and I felt a constant little movement. I asked Daddy to feel and he could feel it, too. It had to be the hiccups because you weren't moving around too much and the timing was very consistent.
This week you've been moving a lot more during the day. I still think you're sitting pretty low because I really don't feel like you're squishing my lungs much at all, thankfully, or kicking up into my ribs (you tend to favor my right side). I'm sure that'll change as you grow more in this last trimester though. They say your starting to wake and sleep at normal intervals...let's hope that continues when you're born...ha, yeah right!

Great Strides went well on Saturday. I spoke a little bit about my story and how I was motivated to get pregnant so I worked my butt off to stay healthy. When I was done, Cole came up to me, gave me a high-five and said, "that was awesome!"

We spent the rest of the weekend with family and you even showed off some of your moves to Aunt Linda and Grandma! Linda loved talking to you and watching you bounce around.

Yesterday, one of the employees at the dollar store said to another employee, "aww, look! She's got an itty bitty baby bump!" HA! I beg to differ on the itty bitty part! But she might have been thrown off on the size because I was wearing a jacket. Daddy and I agreed that it just looks like I have a soccer ball under my shirt. :)

Life in General

It's been too long since I've posted a non-pregnancy related post, but it's pretty hard when that's constantly on my mind! Last "normal" post was in February, I think...oops!

Anyway, we've been keeping extremely busy over the past few months. I'm pretty sure Tim started

nesting as soon as we found out I was pregnant. He's been a working machine! He completely refinished all of the hardwood floors in the house which look fantastic. He redid the ceiling (scraped the popcorn, sanded, added drywall and painted) in the living room and added a fireplace and mantel to the living room, as well repainting it all. The nursery is finished construction-wise, but still has lots of organizing and decorating to do once we get more baby supplies/furniture from our showers in June. We just had a new roof put on our house last week. Tim's also planning on adding a patio and pond to the backyard, as well as repainting the ugly blue siding on our house. And if he can get all of that done before August, I know that the kitchen is next -- which includes repainting the cabinets, extending our pantry, laying new hardwood floors, installing a new countertop and knocking down a wall...and he says there's not much to do in there... :)

I've tried to help out as much as possible but with being pregnant and not super handy, I've only done some of the painting, helped scrape the ceiling and helped move things when I could. Tim has been excellent at getting everything done even when he works full time doing the exact same stuff for work everyday...I don't know how he has the energy!

This last weekend we had our second Great Strides walk! Our team has raised around $1,200! We had gorgeous weather and had a great time visiting with all of Tim's family for the weekend. I did one of the opening speeches about my life with CF and how I had to kick my butt over the last few years to get my body ready for a pregnancy. The speech was a little scattered (pregnancy brain!), but I always enjoy sharing my story with others. Afterwards, I went to join my family and our almost 4 year old nephew gave me a high-five and said, "that was awesome!"

My biggest fan :-)

In other news, I've been pretty busy wrapping up the end of the school year with my little boogers and preparing for maternity leave in the fall. I recently learned that next year I'll be teaching Kindergarten again, so I'm really looking forward to that. It'll be much easier coming back from maternity leave to a grade that I've taught before instead of third grade like it was before. We're down to ten days of school left! This school year has flown by, thankfully, because my class has a couple (four to be exact) handfuls that I'm am definitely looking forward to getting a break from....lol. This summer I'll be moving rooms, again. Thankfully my principal and custodian are wonderful at accommodating all of the pregnant teachers who have to move this summer and doing our rooms first. I'm hoping to have all of my bulletin board fabric and boarders up the day after the last day of school. Then all I'll have to do when I come back after the room is cleaned is arrange the furniture, hang posters and organize. Anyone willing to come down this summer to help me out with that is more than welcome!

Speaking of summer, ours is full! Between baby showers, friends' weddings, family parties and a weekend trip to St. Louis for a Cardinals game, Tim and I will be super busy! Luckily I'll have still have weekdays to put my feet up and relax, :-), but my poor hubby is going to be going non-stop! Hopefully he'll get a few relaxing weekends this summer before the sleepless nights begin in three months! :-)

25 Weeks

Sunday, May 4 - 25w, 2d
I cannot believe we're at week 25! This pregnancy seems to be flying by, but at the same time, August seems so far away. This week you're the size of a rutabaga or cauliflower. You're starting to add some baby fat on your tiny little body, smooth out your wrinkly skin, and starting to grow some hair...slowly starting to look more like a newborn. You're also now able to tell which way is up and which way is down.

Daddy and I spent Friday & yesterday finally getting the furniture out of your room and back where it belongs. It looks so good! The living room's not quite complete yet, but I absolutely love the way its turning out.


New fireplace & mantle

Archie was very happy to have the furniture back :)

Last night, I went to a painting party with some friends from work and painted a cute little flower painting that kind of matches your nursery colors, so I'd like to hang it in your room eventually. While I was at the painting party, Uncle Chris and Uncle Tony came over to hang out for the night. We had a good time, and Uncle Chris even stayed this afternoon and I talked him into helping Daddy and I set up your pack & play! He was a good sport!

Great teamwork on the changing pad

Now onto the sleeper

All finished!

 

Of course, Ozzie had to try it out :)

I am so anxious to get your room all set up, but there's really not too much I can do right now until we get the rest of your stuff over the next couple months. Yesterday morning I also cleaned your room really well (walls, blinds, & floors) to get rid of all the dust from refinishing the floors. I started hanging all of your clothes in your closet and cleaning out your dresser today.

 

 

This week I also started Cayston. I've noticed that I'm starting to breathe a little heavier/harder, so I think my lungs are starting to get a little short on space. Before they got too compressed, I wanted to squeeze in a round of Cayston to keep them in good shape. Dr. Dowell agreed, so I started on Thursday morning. It's nice because each treatment is only two minutes, but I do have to do it three times a day, at least four hours apart. Since the treatment is so short, so far I haven't had any trouble fitting all three in each day.  

 

Thursday, May 8 - 25w, 6d

 

Only 99 days left until your due date! 

This morning I had an ultrasound to check your growth and the says that you're growing right on track. :) You definitely looked squished in there! You're about 1lb 11oz and your heart rate was 144bpm. They were able to check your spine today (you wouldn't cooperate at the last one) and they said it looks perfect. You were showing off your feet again today and moving like crazy after the ultrasound.

You just love showing off your feet :-)

They didn't weigh me today, so I'm not sure how much I've gained, but I'm guessing around a pound or two. Fortunately I don't have my next appointment until after school's out, so I don't have to take anymore days off work. I'm guessing I'll only have another 2-3 ultrasounds unless they do them more frequently in the third trimester. It's very reassuring knowing that my body is cooperating with this pregnancy and that you're growing just as you should. As excited as I am to see you and hold you, you still have lots of growing to do, so get comfy!

Oh, and this week you've started moving a ton while I'm doing my Vest. I don't know whether you love the movements or hate them, but you'll have to live with them for another few months.

Here's your little face :)

 

24 Weeks

Sunday, April 27 - 24w, 2d
I'm officially into my sixth month of pregnancy and you are getting bigger everyday. I had my first stranger say "congratulations mama" at Menards yesterday which was kind of weird, but nice. I love the weekends because Daddy and I lay in bed after we wake up just watching my belly bounce with all of your crazy movements. This morning I was playing with you, pushing my belly to see if you'd respond and sometimes you did, other times you'd just move yourself to the other side of my belly, haha. Daddy told me to stop bugging you, but I am still so fascinated with your movements, especially because they keep getting stronger.

On Friday after work, Rhonda and my work staff threw us a baby shower! It was so fun spending time with my coworkers to celebrate you. Everyone was very generous and I opened a lot of great and adorable things for you. I cannot wait until your room is cleaned out and our furniture is back in its place so I can start opening everything and organizing your room!

Thursday, May 1 - 24w, 6d
Not too much going on this week with you. You're still growing and getting stronger each day and I absolutely love feeling you flip around, especially when I'm at work. We have your next ultrasound next week (one per month) and of course, I'm looking forward to how much you've changed and how different you look. Daddy's been working really hard this week on the living room and it looks fantastic. There's still a list a mile-long of projects he wants to get done over the next few months, but I'm sure everything will fall into place. I'm hoping we'll slowly start getting the living room and office furniture out of your room soon so I can start organizing your things. That's the part I'm looking forward to the most...aside from your arrival! :-)