So last week all 5 kiddos, Jeremy, my mom, myself and the ultrasound tech crammed in the tiny room to see who would be joining us, Lord willing, in a few months. Emma and Zion wanted a boy. Maggie and Katie wanted a girl. We were excited to find out it was our second son....we would have been excited if it had been our 5th daughter too. Zion is insistent that we name the baby "Little Zion" and he will be "big Zion". Actually, we plan to name the baby Charleston North. I really wanted a "Charlie" and Jeremy turned Charlie into Charleston North, so there you have it.
My blood pressure was a little high that was likely due to the iced coffee I had on the way plus finding out that the gender. My weight was right at 131 (from 114 pp). My weight seems to be very touchy. One wrong meal has a direct impact not the scale and since Jeremy keeps wanting to go to Western Sizzlin' (remember we live in the sticks and it's either that Hardee's or Sonic) it's affected a lot. : )
I am hoping and praying that "boy" does not mean gestational diabetes like last time. I am skipping the 1 hour glucose test and going straight for the three hour (in 4 weeks). I have always (except for Maggie) failed the one hour so this time rather than waste our money on the one hour (we are self-pay/Samaritian Ministries) my MW suggested that we just skip it all together. I know to some the glucose test seems unnecessary but from someone who failed it I prefer to take it and know what I can do that is best for my baby. Last time with a specific eating plan and exercise I was able to control my blood sugar with only a few high readings.
Let me say that this post is not meant to come across as whining and or complaining. This pregnancy as not been the easiest to bear and I have found such encouragement from other moms' who have walked in my shoes. I would not have found that encouragement if those ladies had not been willing to be honest about their pregnancy woes. I bear this pain knowing that it is for the an eternal soul and my physical earthly body is not here to be idolized. When my time has come (whether today or 60 years from now), I want to present my body to Christ used up and worn out for His service. Saggy, baggy, scared, flawed, callouses on my knees and hands, and a heart broken for Him.
So back to this pregnant body, my biggest problem (right now) are my varicose veins. They first appeared with #3, they were a mere slightly-blue coloring on my skin. I didn't even know what they were. With #4 they were present but not much of a problem. With #5, they landed me in the ER one weekend with a suspected blood clot. Thankfully it was not so but for the last couple of months of that pregnancy my right foot would not bend properly, therefore causing me to limp, because of the swollen veins in my ankle and foot. This time almost as soon as the positive on the pregnancy test, my veins started swelling. I am thankful that it is confined to only one leg but over the course of the last few pregnancies they now span from toes to belly. I have started wearing compression hose (thigh highs on the one leg) and they help immensely. I put them on first thing in the morning before getting up ( and take them off when I shower at night (which I do not like). After showering I put on a knee high sock (I did find some cute ones on Amazon) until I go to bed. I have found that I have to keep my leg straight or else the veins in the bend of knee hurt when I get up. I've tried the MMH herbal tincture, which I did not believe to bring me any relief. But I do love the lotion (which is also available from Azure and is cheaper). It is temporary immediate relief. My MW suggested that I take a baby aspirin a day to reduce the risk of clots but when I did that I had horrible non-stop heart palpitations ( for 18 hours) until I stopped taking the baby aspirin. I have not tried it again. I battle with fear over what they might become in this pregnancy or in future (Lord willing) pregnancies.
I've been having trouble getting deep breaths. I have to constantly remind the children that I'm not aggravated because I am always having to take intentional deep breaths and it sounds like I'm huffing in frustration. : ) I've noticed that my hands and feet are swelling at night which is not normal for me at any stage of pregnancy. Not sure what that is about.
Nothing beats the flips and flops of little Charlie though. He's not strong enough to be felt from the outside yet but soon and the kiddos can't wait!