Nutmeg

Chad and I had a big scare in our lives this week with our puppy. It all started Tuesday evening when we picked Nutmeg up from doggy daycare. We had brought her there so that she could play with other dogs and get some of her energy out. When we picked her up, Nutmeg was not her usual feisty self. She seemed very tired and lethargic. The owner said that she seemed tired in the afternoon so he put her in her crate to rest, but he said other than that she seemed fine.

When we got home we tried to feed her and she did not want her food, which is so unlike her. She did drink a ton of water, but within 5 minutes, she threw it all back up. We figured she was just so exhausted so we placed her in her crate and left her while we went to our childbirth class. When we got home, she had thrown up little more in her crate, but she got up when we opened the door and she went right for her water bowl again. She drank some water, but again it came right back up. I decided to take her to bed to let her rest and see how she was in the morning. At about 5:30 am, I heard her licking a lot so I got her some water. She immediately went for it and it immediately came up again. She threw up 3 more times so I called the doggy daycare to see if anything else happened to her the day before. The owner said prior to looking tired she was running around with the other dogs and seemed fine. He suggested I call the vet to have her checked since she was probably dehydrated from all the vomiting. He also mentioned that with her tendency to put rocks in her mouth it sounds like she may have a blockage in her stomach.

I immediately called the vet and they said to bring her right in. I explained to the vet all that had happened and that she tends to put rocks in her mouth. The vet said our best course of action would be to x-ray her belly and then do some blood work. We waited about 15 minutes and the vet came out with an x-ray in her hand and my stomach immediately dropped because I knew she was going to show us something. Sure enough, the x-ray showed she had a rock in her tummy. The doctor said they would have to remove it and I just lost it. Bulldogs do not do well with anesthesia. It is always a risk because of their small airways. I also was not happy that the vet is not staffed 24 hours a day and that she would have to be left there alone overnight. Our only other option was to go to a 24 hour hospital with a specialist which was an hour and a half away. Knowing how bad Nutmeg does in the car we did not think it would be good to transport her so we decided to keep her at our vet. They brought her in so we could say goodbye to her. I was such a mess and so worried. I told her she had to be ok because she is going to be a big sister. The vet promised to call as soon as she was done.

About 20 minutes later the vet called to say Nutmegs liver enzymes were high. She thought it might be due to all the vomiting, but she wanted to let me know before they did the surgery. 15 minutes later she called again to tell me that they had started and Nutmeg's abdomen was full of blood. They did not know where the blood was coming from, but she said it was a lot and they would try to find and stop the bleeding, but she did not know if they could. At that point I thought I was going to lose my dog. I got off the phone and called Chad and all I could do was pray until they called me back. An hour and a half later the vet called to tell me the surgery was over and Nutmeg was awake. She said she lost a lot of blood and that it had come from her liver, which was bruised and lacerated. I immediately asked if it was from the rock and she said there was no way for the rock to damage the liver. The two were totally unrelated. The vet said Nutmeg's injury was so bad that they would have thought she was hit by a car but knowing that we had her in daycare, the vet said the only thing that probably would have caused the damage would be another dog ramming into Nutmeg. The vet said they would have to monitor her blood levels to make sure she did not need a transfusion and just hope that she improves.

That night, the vet called and said that Nutmeg was alert. Her red blood cell count was stable, but her platelets were still low. Given all the blood she lost, the vet felt that her low levels were probably due to all the clotting her blood needed to do. They told me to call back the next morning at 7:30 to get an update. That whole night I did not sleep. I just kept thinking that my puppy was there all by herself and I worried that she would not make it through the night. I set my alarm for 7:30 am and immediately called the vet. The vet said Nutmeg was very alert and she already had gone for a walk. They were going to do her blood work again so the vet told me to call back at 9:30. When I called back the vet said her red blood cells where still good and the platelets were still low. Nutmeg's white blood cells were also a little high so they gave her antibiotics. The vet said she would call me again that night.

When the vet called, she said Nutmeg was doing well. She has had some water and a little bit of food and she had gone out a few times. She even said that Nutmeg should be able to come home tomorrow night (Friday) or Saturday. I could not believe it. A part of me is nervous to take her home because of the trauma she has been through, but the other part of me just can't wait to have her in the house again.

The vet called this morning and Nutmeg's platelets have started to come up and she will be coming home tomorrow. The vet said her energy is up and our biggest struggle when she is home will be keeping her calm. We will also have to make sure she does not slip or fall which could re-injure her liver. Nutmeg also ate some food today. Apparently they fed her mashed potatoes and some other soft food. I immediately thought that Nutmeg must be loving her new diet. The vet said she definitely got her appetite back which is no surprise to us. The vet said she will call us in the morning with Nutmeg's latest blood test results and we are scheduled to pick her up at 1:oopm. I am so excited to bring her home, but am also nervous. I remember when she had her knee surgery I was constantly worried that she would hurt herself again I know I will probably have that same feeling again. I just hope baby H stays put for the next three weeks so that I do not have to worry about taking care of a newborn and doggy :O)

36 Weeks

I had my growth ultrasound yesterday and was so excited to see our little girl again. Chad came with me to the appointment and prior to going in we both guessed baby H's weight. Chad said 4 pounds 12 ounces, while I thought she was 5 pounds 6 ounces. Well she blew both of us out of the water. According to the ultrasound, her estimated weight is 6 pounds 8 ounces. Not only that but her head is measuring a little large (lucky me). The ultrasound confirmed that she is in position and my cervix is shortening. Once again she was moving around like crazy during the ultrasound. She was so active, the tech had a hard time measuring her leg bones, which to no surprise were right up in my ribs.

After the ultrasound we saw my doctor. I told her how concerned I was with the babies size and she said not to worry because at this point she is still in just the 50th percentile. Funny thing is I am still measuring small (just 32 weeks), but the ultrasound confirmed that is definitely wrong. The doctor checked me for the first time to see if my body has made any progress and she found that I am 50% effaced and 1cm dialated. It is not much, but it does mean that my body is starting to make progress towards getting our baby girl out.

Last night we had our second labor and delivery class and our instructor was one of the nurses from labor and delivery. She was super sweet and covered a lot of good information. We reviewed the stages of labor, relaxation techniques, pain management options and breathing. I really hope that when I am in labor our instructor is working because she was just great.

How far along? 36 weeks

Total Weight Gain: 28 pounds.

Maternity clothes? Yes, although I prefer to spend my days in sweats.

Sleep: Yes and I am soaking up every minute of it while I still can.

Best moment this week: This was a bad week. Nutmeg had to have surgery (which I will explain in a later post) luckily she made it through and should be ok. So the best moment will be when we get to take her home.

Movement: During our ultrasound she was moving around a ton as usual. The tech had such a hard time measuring her legs.

Food cravings: Nothing

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button in or out? Is flat a choice?

What I miss? My doggy :O(

What I am looking forward to: Getting our doggy home.

Milestones: Being 50% effaced and 1cm dialated. It is something!!

Valentines Day!!

I wanted to post the picture from our Valentines dinner. As I mentioned in my previous post we went to Table for dinner, which was so yummy!!! Over the past six months Chad and I have done a lot of complaining about how there are no good restaurants in Midland. We knew Table was considered the high end restaurant in town so we figured we would save it for a special occasion. I left dinner wishing we had not waited to try it because it was so good and we will probably not be able to go out to dinner again for a long time since Baby H will be here in 4 weeks!!

35/35

This week not only marks the milestone of hitting my 35th week, but it also means I only have 35 days left to go!! This day is known as 35/35 and since I advance a week every Sunday (today is Thursday) I only have 31 days left to go!!!! With each passing day I get more excited to meet our little girl, but I also get more nervous. The nervousness comes more from the fear of the unknown: not knowing when she will decide to come, how difficult it will be to get her out, and how Chad and I will manage once she is here. My biggest fear is labor and delivery because that is the one thing I cannot prepare for. I keep hoping I will be one of those women who has an easy labor and pushes 3 times to get her out, but realistically, I doubt that is going to happen.

Luckily, there are a lot of other things Chad and I can prepare for and we have been busy doing a lot this past week. Tuesday we had our first labor and delivery class. We learned all about what we should pack for the hospital, which I need to do this weekend. Two of my biggest questions were also answered in the class. I found out we will have a private room for our entire stay and I will have Internet access in the hospital!!! I am very excited that we will be able to get pictures of our little girl out to our friends and family quickly. Wednesday we had our second babycare class which covered illnesses, medicine, vaccines, and clearing an airway. Thursday was our one and only breastfeeding class. This is probably the one area I had the most questions about and I definitely asked many of them at the class. The teacher was very good and covered a lot of important information, but she seemed to be in a rush to leave. Luckily, I will have lactation consultants at the hospital I can talk to about any of my remaining concerns.

I also scheduled Baby H's newborn photos this week. They are tentatively scheduled for 4 days after my due date, which may have to be switched depending on her punctuality :O) As part of the photo package I signed up for, Baby H will have a year of memories done. This means she will have photos taken at birth, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Chad thinks it is a bit of overkill, but it is my first baby and I want to do it!

We also started to prepare Nutmeg for the baby this week. We had a dog trainer come to the house to evaluate and work with her. To no surprise he said she has a lot of energy, excitement, and curiosity, but essentially no attention span. Our biggest goal is to calm her down and decrease her curiosity, especially when it come to the baby. He worked with her a lot as soon as he came in because she was jumping all over him and licking the air, which we found out is not good because it shows she is over excited. His goal was to get her calmed down by touching her pressure points. Well each time he got her to lie down she was right back up (no attention span). His biggest suggestion is to get the energy out of her so I have been walking her for 30 minutes a day (yeah at 9 months pregnant) and we sent her to doggy daycare on Tuesday. Having her run around at daycare definitely helped. She was so tired and less distracted that she was better at listening and easier to work with. We plan to continue to send her, but we have a lot of work ahead of us still. Just today on our walk she jetted out and grabbed a rock in her mouth. She often does this when I walk with her and will not give it up no matter how hard I try to get it out. For the next 15 minutes she walked with the rock in her mouth and only dropped it right before coming into the house. It is her little way of saying she still has control of me. Well, like our trainer suggested I put her in a time out. She sat and eventually laid down and was calm, but we will see next time we go for a walk if it actually helped:O)

How far along? 35 weeks

Total Weight Gain: 25 pounds.

Maternity clothes? Yes, although I prefer to spend my days in sweats.

Sleep: Yes, but my daughter is already interrupting my sleep by forcing frequent trips to the bathroom and stretching into my ribs at night.

Best moment this week: Our dinner at Table. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of food. I only wish we had gone sooner since now we will need to find a babysitter to go out.

Movement: She is still going strong despite everyone saying babies sometimes slow down at this point.

Food cravings: Chocolate Milkshake this week

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button in or out? Is flat a choice?

What I miss? NJ :O(

What I am looking forward to: Our ultrasound on Tuesday. I am so excited to see our little girl again.

Milestones: The car seat is installed in the car.

34 Weeks

I had my 34 week check up with my new doctor on Tuesday. I waited a little over an hour to see her, which I was warned about when I decided to switch to her. Apparently she always runs behind, but they said it is because she really spends time with her patients, which was true with me. Most OB's spend 5-10 minutes with you if you are lucky, but my doctor spent about 25 minutes with me. She really took the time to get to know me and talk to me about my pregnancy thus far and what to expect in the next few weeks. I talked to her about the cramping I have been experiencing and she said it is probably my body getting ready for labor. She said due to my body size and structure I am more likely to feel every bite of my labor.....joy!!!

When she examined me she felt I was measuring small for 34 weeks. She actually only measured me to be 31 weeks, which was odd because at my 32 week appointment and all weeks prior to that I was measuring right on track. My doctor said her measurement could be off for two reasons. One reason being every doctor measures their patients differently and since this was the first time she was measuring me herself she said not to be nervous. The second reason she felt it could be off is because Baby H's head is very low. She is pretty sure the baby has probably dropped since my last doctor examined me, which would throw off the measurement. The good news is between the baby's head dropping and all the cramping I am having it means we are getting closer to meeting our little girl. The doctor did schedule me for a growth ultrasound to check the babies size. I am so excited to get to see our little girl again. We have not seen her since our anatomy ultrasound at 19 weeks. They schedule the ultrasound right before our next appointment which is Tuesday, February 23rd. During the ultrasound they will check the babies weight, position and my cervix to see if my body is making any progress.

On Wednesday night Chad and I had our first class at the hospital, Babycare 101. The whole class is focused on what we will need to know once our little girl is here. We learned all about diaper changing, bathing and dressing our little girl. We even got a doll to practice on. Chad practiced putting on the diaper, onesie and sleeper since I already have experience. I was very inpressed as Chad did an awesome job. Chad was also extremely proud of himself, but I had to remind him our baby will not be as cooperative as the doll :O) Next week we have three nights of classes. We have our first labor and delivery class, Babycare 102 and a breastfeeding class.

How far along? 34 weeks
Total Weight Gain: 25 pounds.
Maternity clothes? Yes, although I prefer to spend my days in sweats.
Sleep: I have been having a hard time falling a sleep and no matter how much I sleep I always feel exhausted.

Best moment this week: I bought tickets for the Yankees White Sox game in Chicago. It will be Baby H's first Yankee game!!!

Movement: She is still going strong despite everyone saying babies sometimes slow down at this point.

Food cravings: None really

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs: Cramping
Belly Button in or out? In but very shallow
What I miss? NJ :O(

What I am looking forward to: Our Valentines dinner at Table. It is supposed to be the best restaurant in Midland..... we will see what that really means.

Milestones: I went and got my Michigan license.

33 Weeks.....8 Months!!!

Baby H and I have now hit the 8 month mark. At 33 weeks, Baby H is weighing a little over four pounds and is just over 17 inches long. Luckily, I was right and I got the good news at my appointment last week that Baby H is head down. The nurse practitioner was able to tell that our little girl is positioned with her back and butt running along the left side of my body and her arms and legs extended toward my right side, kind of in a half moon shape. This explains why I feel like the right side of my body is a punching bag!

As for what is going on with my doctor fiasco.....I was able to get an appointment last Tuesday with a nurse practitioner in the practice. Prior to going in, Chad and I decided I would just stay with my current practice because the hospital is really good and all of the other doctors have very good reviews. When I met with the nurse practitioner she was very nice and told me they were counseling all of old doctor's patients regarding their options. I explained that I did research on my own and if possible I would like to switch to another doctor in the practice. Luckily the doctor I requested is available and I have my first appointment with her on Tuesday. The rest of the appointment went very well. I am measuring right on track and my blood preasure and the baby's heartbeat are all good.

How far along? 33 weeks
Total Weight Gain: 24 pounds.
Maternity clothes? Yes, although I prefer to spend my days in sweats.
Sleep: Still pretty good, but I am waking up to pee a lot again.

Best moment this week: Nothing to really report.... the excitement in my life has died down now that I am back in Michigan.

Movement: Oh yes....we were watching my belly move while we were out to dinner last night.

Food cravings: Blooming Onion.... yeah I know gross!!

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs: None, but I have had a lot of cramping this week, which I will be asking the doctor about on Tuesday
Belly Button in or out? In but very shallow
What I miss? NJ :O(

What I am looking forward to: We start our baby classes next week. First up is Babycare 101

Milestones: I finally changed my name with social security. Now I need to get a new license.