Let's try this again.

We made it to midday relatively incident free. Gabriel is fussier than normal because we're all sick. (All at different stages sick and what feels like completely different sickness as well. Example. Jessica is coughing, Gabriel has a low fever and an upset belly, I have a headache that won't quit and that delightfully husky sick voice, Mark's sneezing and his nose won't stop. See? Like I said, it doesn't make sense.)

I decide that since all is going relatively well that we should get to the store. I NEED stamps and I was also hoping to find something caffeine/dairy free at starbucks that might make me happy. 

Get Gabriel dressed.
Put Gabriel in the carseat. 
Collect my things.
Gabriel poops.
Take Gabriel out of carseat, change and replace back into carseat.
Tell Jessica to head out to the car. 
She wants to go out the front door and meet me in the garage. I grudgingly allow it. 
I head out to the garage via the kitchen. 
*all hell breaks lose*
Apparently I was not to open the garage. She wanted to wait outside for it to open. She is angry, sad and inconsolable. I put Gabriel into the car. (Can you believe that my anti-car child is actually sitting happily awake in his carseat while his sister rages?) Jessica is crying and won't cooperate. I decide to call it quits. 
Turn off car.
Take baby inside.
Practically drag toddler back inside. Eventually carry her upstairs. 
I send her to her room until she's ready to relax. 

She comes out a few minutes later with questions about a recent tragedy in our family. I know it's hard for a three year to grasp death and some families might not even mention it, but I wanted her to know that someone we loved and who loved her had passed. There's no way I can stay angry with her when she's obviously decided to be worried. 

Gabriel is sleepy and I put him into his rock n play. (Major difference between him and his sister here... Gabriel decides, 'okay this'll do.' and GOES TO SLEEP! Something Jessica never figured out.) Jessica and I talk about her Uncle, how much we loved him and what happened and how you don't die from being a little sick like she is now, but that he was very very sick for a long time. We rock and she falls asleep on me. I move her to the bed. 10 minutes later she wakes up a little and cries because I'm not next to her (see I told you she still hasn't mastered it.) I lay next to her and she goes back to sleep. It's been 40 minutes and both my children are asleep at the same time during the day. I'm not sure this has ever happened. 

I think I'll just ask Mark to buy stamps on the way home...

Part One: Breech.

Tuesday the 9th

        I have my weekly OB appointment. (According to my dates I'm already 40+4. According to their dates I'm only 40+1) I'm seeing the midwife for the first time. She seems rather likable and I wish I'd thought to request her on previous visits. She takes the fundal height and feels around on my belly. She mentions that there's rather hard lump quite high up, she wonders what the chances of that being a head is. We both joke that that would be unthinkable. She decides that she wants to send me for an ultrasound 'just to be sure.'

        Ultrasound: The midwife is going to do the scan herself. That's a head. He's breech. Somehow not a single doctor noticed that the baby was still head up. Everyone just kept assuming he had a really hard butt I guess. She decides that because the baby is breech she needs the actual tech to come in and do the scan so they can check the placenta and get all the measurements correct.

        Back to the midwife: This means a c-section. They estimated the weight during the ultrasound and it's coming back as 8lbs 13oz. The midwife tells me that while I might be able to find a doctor willing to try a breech delivery vaginally, she doesn't know of a single doctor who thinks it would be safe to try to a normal delivery. She looks at me. I nod. She mentions that I'm awfully calm for someone who just found out they have an almost 9lb breech baby and needs a c-section. I stare at her some more before I find my words. "Well, what am I supposed to do? The baby needs to get here the safest way for him possible. Stressing out about it isn't going to change anything." With that she sends me off to do a 'non-stress test' to make sure babe will be happy waiting till the end of the week for a c-sec appointment.

         Non-stress test: These are the most stressful test ever labeled NON-STRESS. Lay back in a chair with monitors stuck to your belly and push a button every time the baby moves. Did the baby move... or was that just a gas bubble? Did the baby roll... or was that just my heartbeat?? aaaah! Babe wasn't cooperating and the test took ages. At first he wasn't wanting to move much and then (after having me drink a large glass of ice water and a Dr. Pepper) they weren't getting the proper heart-rate accelerations. [apparently when they move the doctor wants to see the heart-rate go up at least 15bpm and then stay elevated for at least 15 secs. Babe's was going up but not staying up. After about 40 minutes they were finally happy and I was released. At first they wanted me to wait for the appointment time but they couldn't get ahold of anyone at the hospital. Super busy. July is THE month for birthing babies.

         Lunch: I was texting Mark constantly throughout my appointment (thank you unlimited data plan and new phones!) so he knew what was going on. We had about 40 minutes before we needed to collect Jessica from school, so Mark drove out and met me for a very blah lunch at Jersey Mikes (I do not recommend.) He knows how terrified I am of a c-section. Mostly I'm worried that I'll have to have general anesthesia and it will be hours before I even meet our baby. Plus who wouldn't be freaked out about having their abdomen sliced open? There's a lot of staring at each other and Mark telling me it's going to be okay. I had my CBC (complete blood count) done at the OB's that morning so we won't know till tomorrow what my platelet numbers are. An anesthesiologist won't do a spinal if my platelets are under 100. We still don't have a day or time for the delivery but the clock has started to get my platelets up.

        Scheduled: I finally get a call from the hospital around 3 in the afternoon letting me know that I'm scheduled for 12 noon on Thursday the 11th. (A couple hours later they call back and ask if it's okay to bump me up to the 10am slot. Sure. Less waiting = less stress right?) I call mom. Well I called mom multiple times prior but this is THE call. The, we have a time and date and we need you to come down, call. She decides to head down in the morning.

       Family date night: I really needed to get my mind off things so we decided to take Jessica out to a movie on one of our last nights as a family of three. We let her choose between Monster's University and Despicable Me 2. She chose Despicable Me 2. (Only slightly upsetting as both Mark and I were secretly hoping to see the new Monster's movie.) We headed to the cinema and let Jessica chose anything she wanted.. mistake I know but we were in the mood to spoil. A cherry slushie, a box of junior mints split with Daddy, some popcorn and a bag of fruit snacks later, we had one very wired girl on our hands, but everyone was happy. 

[Stay tuned for Part 2. The Hematologist.]

T-2 days and a visit to the hematologist.

Okay let's see about this whole updating thing while Jessica is otherwise entertained.

I had another appointment with the hematologist this morning. (Low platelets. Platelets under 100 = no epidural/spinal and possibility of increased bleeding. My platelets think it's funny to hop just above and below 100.) My platelets came back today at 94 today despite taking steroids for the past 3 days. Hence intravenous steroid time. Thankfully Jessie was in preschool and I had a bit of time to kill. Uncomfortably my hematologist is at The North Carolina Cancer Centers, so everyone gives the pregnant lady in the cancer ward those "oh my gosh" looks. Super fun. Thankfully my hematologist has a few brain cells to rub together and realized it would be "weird" to put me in the chemotherapy room to get my IV and instead put me in a private 'break room' of sorts.

Sadly that's where the fun stopped. Enter elderly nurse with what seems like Parkinsons. Really? She's going to stab me with something?!? I close my eyes. Lots of failing. She wiggles it around. Still nothing. I can't watch. Finally she thinks she has it in. I ask how she knows if it's in properly. "Because there will be blood." Oh really? Because I'm pretty sure if my cat scratches me there's blood but it doesn't mean she's sunk her claw directly into my vein. Oi.

It hurts. I inform her. More wiggling. She tapes it down. It burns. I inform her. She looks concerned. Oh.. shouldn't be burning now should it? She notices swelling. Steroids are not going in the right place. Removes IV. Says she'll get someone else. HUGE sigh of relief, but wait, she's changed her mind. She wants to have a go at the other arm. This is where I wish I had the confidence to say, "could we please let someone else try?" I didn't. Instead I tried to offer a helpful, "it's quite common to have more than one person have a go at my veins since they're so deep." She did not get the hint.

She FINALLY gets it in and leaves me to it. Man I hate steroids. The hot flashes and heartburn are constant companions these days.

I have another appointment scheduled for the 10th of July. I'm hoping for a baby by then. That's one appointment I would love to cancel. I was hoping for a baby tonight but now I figure it would be a good idea to let the steroids take effect and give my veins a chance to heal up a bit before they start jabbing me all over again at the hospital. Not that I actually have any say in the matter....

Snack pack prepared, some nice little bits and bobs for the hospital purchased. Oh and look at this cute little outfit I got at Babies R Us this morning for only 40cents. Score! Also picked up this super soft baby blanket that turns out to be made out of 100% Organic cotton. So pretty!

38+6

Wow... it's been forever. I have a ton of excuses but I won't bore you with all of them, suffice to say, the carpal tunnel has made typing less than a pleasant experience. The recent course of steroids they've put me on to raise my platelets has made it a bit more bearable so I thought I'd better get something posted before the internets gave me up for dead. 

Evenings have been busy, late and exhausting so bump shots haven't really happened. Which is why you are, sadly, on the receiving end of a selfie-mirror shot! (but it's better than nothing right?)

oh, and the diaper bag arrived today!

28 Weeks ... a few days ago.

Nope, no bump shot. Can't seem to coordinate schedules enough to actually get one taken. I'll do my very best to arrange something for this Friday when I hit 29 weeks. 

Baby/Mummy stats:

I was at the OB for a checkup on Monday. They did the dreaded Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT), which honestly, was not nearly as bad as expected! In Scotland they sent me straight for the 4 hour test because the baby was measuring ahead. This baby is measuring a week ahead too (no... their dates aren't wrong, really) but they were happy starting with the one hour test. To make it even easier, they even sent the syrupy drink home with me at my 26 week appointment with instructions on how and when to take it before the next appointment. (Syrupy fruitpunch? You know what? I can handle that. It's like a snow cone without the annoying icy bits.) I downed it at 7:41am, appointment started at 8:15am and by 8:41am I'd had all my routine tests, met with the doctor and was in the chair waiting to get my blood drawn. Which (as you all know) is never fun for me. Surprise surprise - they hit a vein on the first try AND I have enough blood flowing to fill all 3 vials. Awesome. So much better than last time.

Baby's heart rate was 142

My blood pressure was good but honestly, those numbers mean nothing to me so I find them hard to remember.

I'm up a total of 16lbs. (My goal now is 1lb a week for the next 12 weeks.. unlikely but I can try!)

GTT test results were normal.

Platelets are low, but not concerningly low. They'll retest in two weeks.

Now for your daily DUH moment.. I'm testing as anemic. No wonder I'm freakin' dizzy with a racing pulse so much of the time. Kinda wonder why they didn't feel like checking my iron levels or suggest a supplement 2 months ago. It's not like I haven't mentioned it every time I've been in the office. Picked up some iron pills today so hopefully I'll be feeling less dizzy in about a week. :)

The Wake Forest Police Department’s Carnival for the Kids

A friend mentioned that there was a fair in Wake Forest last week. Mark loves carnival rides. We decided to be implusive. Jessica had a wonderful nap from 3 - 5:30pm so we were all set for an evening of spontaneous fun when Mark got home around 6.

It's more than obvious that Jessica inherited her father's sense of adventure rather than my skittish nature. She wanted to ride EVERYTHING. Mark spent far more on ride tickets than I've ever even considered spending at a fair. A generous lady on her way out came up to us and asked if Jessica was riding. I was slightly confused but nodded and said yes. She handed me two tickets and said they had spares. (Apparently if your 3 year is wearing bows in her hair, a fluffy dress AND cowboy boots everyone in North Carolina will stop to swoon and tell you how adorable she is. Oh and give you free stuff.) On top of Mark's extravagant purchase and two free tickets we still had to go back to the ticket counter and buy one more ticket so Jessica and Mark could ride the ferris wheel 'one last time,' at her insistance! Even the carnies loved her, and if you've ever been to a fair you know what a tight lipped bunch they can be.

First ride of the night.

Be still my heart....

and up they go! The second ride was after dark and I was too busy eating funnel cake to take any pictures. I'd lost some of the 'mom panic' by that point.

I'm missing a video from the carousel which is adorable too but between my persnickity phone and the mac... uploading is not exactly smooth sailing.

Chopstick savant.

Yup, she ate almost that entire plate of edamame. 

Last week as Jessica was getting over the 'stomach bug that would not die' we decided to meet Mark at PeiWei for dinner. I did not have it in me to cook (that's sooo unusual right now - can you taste the sarcasm?) We'd never been and our friends have said good things about the place. The food was good and the atmosphere relaxed. (Although my skyrocketing blood pressure at the end of the meal, which meant we had to hang around for a while since I totally couldn't drive, indicates a rather high sodium content to their food. So unfortunately not somewhere we can go back to whilst still pregnant.)

For fast food, the staff was incredibly helpful. From the guy who took our order to the multiple people who brought the food. However, it must be said, that the awesome award for the night goes to the kindly server who saw Mark patiently trying to teach our 3 year old how to use chopsticks and came to the rescue with a nifty 'kid helper' contraption. (Honestly, attempting to teach a 3 year old how to use chopsticks? Sometimes I think my husband has the patience of a saint!) With the helper thingey attached she was off and running. I don't know about you.... but I'm kinda incredibly impressed.