Glucose, Heartburn, and Exhaustion Oh My!
Let's start this post off with a little pregnancy humor. My friend Sarah sent this to me.
Phew it's a hot one today! Well, it's hot for the bay area. We got into the 80's, which means cool showers and putting the fan on high because we don't have very much air flow in the apartment. I got chores out of the way early, so I was able to relax this afternoon before my doctors appointment.
I'm seeing the doctor every other week now to keep a close eye on what's going on. Last week I took the glucose test to check for gestational diabetes, so was looking forward to getting those results today. The appointment started off well when I learned that I had only gained two pounds since the last appointment ... it's the tiny victories keep me optimistic among the discomfort of carrying twins. I had to wait a while in the room before the doctor came in, so I was reading through one of the parenting magazines. I got to a page that talked about what happens on the day of birth, and there was a special section talking about the epidural.
The writer talked about the ease of the epidural and how they set it up to be controlled by mommy so that she can boost pain relief when it's getting worse. Pretty much all women can choose the epidural if they want it and rarely do they miss the epidural "window" during a first time birth. Unfortunately there are a slight few medical reasons a woman cannot have an epidural and to my horror, having a clotting blood disorder was among the three listed. I'm glad they already checked my blood pressure, because when I read that, I set the magazine down and laid back on the table so I could take some deep breaths and calm myself down.
When the doctor came in and asked if there was anything I had on my agenda for today, I barely waited for her to finish her sentence and I said, "does my clotting disorder take me out of the running for an epidural?" She said, "oh, um well, that depends." (not what I wanted to hear). She explained that my disorder makes me clot and the exclusion is for people who have hemophilia which is the opposite of what I have. However, the blood thinners that I am taking make me a bleeder, so it's all about timing. If I take my shot of heparin and go into labor - no epidural. If I take my shot of heparin and go into labor hours later, I should be good.
It's their preference that mom takes the epidural because she explained that there can be a lot of manual manipulation with twins that can be extremely uncomfortable and in the event of a c-section they prefer epidural over a local anesthesia. I concur.
Blood sugar results came back great, no gestational diabetes, so that's good. It's especially good because my newest craving is cake. Don't judge me, I keep it under control. It doesn't take a lot to satisfy the craving.
I have been feeling exceptionally tired lately, as in I am ready for a nap by 10am, and then another by 3pm. My blood results show that I am anemic, which is adding to the exhaustion. The good news is that an iron pill will help boost my iron levels and hopefully help me have more energy. I'm thankful that I found this out because if Evan told me one more time that the "key to energy is exercising" I would have been forced to rip his arm off and beat him with it.
In other news, I am done with school! Yeayyy this is a massive triumph. I am still at my internship for a little while longer, but that is only 3 days a week, so I am getting by there just fine. My graduation ceremony is on June 1st and my parents are flying out to celebrate with me. Evan also took the day off so he's able to come and see me walk. These past two years have been full of wonderful times and very challenging times, I'm glad to have it under my belt and be able move forward towards licensing. My degree is a Masters in Clinical Counseling, which allows me to do therapy in a variety of settings. The difference between a masters and a ph.d is that I can diagnose but I cannot prescribe medications. That's better for me anyway because it's the therapeutic part I love about being with my clients, not deciding which meds they should be on.
Evan is doing well. He had an office party in Golden Gate park last week and got quite the suntan! He's finishing up one book that he's reading and moving onto a book about parenting by Dwayne Wade the basketball player. Should be a good read. I've got two books going right now too, one is a novel and the other is about self-care for caretakers which is something us counselors forget about sometimes. A friend of Evan't from Texas is coming out this week and we're joining she and her boyfriend at the Giants game on Friday night which we're excited about.
The babies are moving and grooving like crazy these days. They're getting long too, I can now feel heads or feet or something all the way over on my sides and not just in the middle anymore. They like music and they like when people are talking. The little boy loves to get attention - when the doctor put the dopplar on my stomach over him he wouldn't stop moving long enough for her to get a read on his heartbeat today, she had to take a second shot at it later in the appointment. They both love book time before bed where Evan reads to them from Calvin & Hobbes or one of the other baby books we have already.
Our little family is keeping happy and healthy, hope yours are too!
Lots of Love, Bree and Evan.
Phew it's a hot one today! Well, it's hot for the bay area. We got into the 80's, which means cool showers and putting the fan on high because we don't have very much air flow in the apartment. I got chores out of the way early, so I was able to relax this afternoon before my doctors appointment.
I'm seeing the doctor every other week now to keep a close eye on what's going on. Last week I took the glucose test to check for gestational diabetes, so was looking forward to getting those results today. The appointment started off well when I learned that I had only gained two pounds since the last appointment ... it's the tiny victories keep me optimistic among the discomfort of carrying twins. I had to wait a while in the room before the doctor came in, so I was reading through one of the parenting magazines. I got to a page that talked about what happens on the day of birth, and there was a special section talking about the epidural.
The writer talked about the ease of the epidural and how they set it up to be controlled by mommy so that she can boost pain relief when it's getting worse. Pretty much all women can choose the epidural if they want it and rarely do they miss the epidural "window" during a first time birth. Unfortunately there are a slight few medical reasons a woman cannot have an epidural and to my horror, having a clotting blood disorder was among the three listed. I'm glad they already checked my blood pressure, because when I read that, I set the magazine down and laid back on the table so I could take some deep breaths and calm myself down.
When the doctor came in and asked if there was anything I had on my agenda for today, I barely waited for her to finish her sentence and I said, "does my clotting disorder take me out of the running for an epidural?" She said, "oh, um well, that depends." (not what I wanted to hear). She explained that my disorder makes me clot and the exclusion is for people who have hemophilia which is the opposite of what I have. However, the blood thinners that I am taking make me a bleeder, so it's all about timing. If I take my shot of heparin and go into labor - no epidural. If I take my shot of heparin and go into labor hours later, I should be good.
It's their preference that mom takes the epidural because she explained that there can be a lot of manual manipulation with twins that can be extremely uncomfortable and in the event of a c-section they prefer epidural over a local anesthesia. I concur.
Blood sugar results came back great, no gestational diabetes, so that's good. It's especially good because my newest craving is cake. Don't judge me, I keep it under control. It doesn't take a lot to satisfy the craving.
I have been feeling exceptionally tired lately, as in I am ready for a nap by 10am, and then another by 3pm. My blood results show that I am anemic, which is adding to the exhaustion. The good news is that an iron pill will help boost my iron levels and hopefully help me have more energy. I'm thankful that I found this out because if Evan told me one more time that the "key to energy is exercising" I would have been forced to rip his arm off and beat him with it.
In other news, I am done with school! Yeayyy this is a massive triumph. I am still at my internship for a little while longer, but that is only 3 days a week, so I am getting by there just fine. My graduation ceremony is on June 1st and my parents are flying out to celebrate with me. Evan also took the day off so he's able to come and see me walk. These past two years have been full of wonderful times and very challenging times, I'm glad to have it under my belt and be able move forward towards licensing. My degree is a Masters in Clinical Counseling, which allows me to do therapy in a variety of settings. The difference between a masters and a ph.d is that I can diagnose but I cannot prescribe medications. That's better for me anyway because it's the therapeutic part I love about being with my clients, not deciding which meds they should be on.
Evan is doing well. He had an office party in Golden Gate park last week and got quite the suntan! He's finishing up one book that he's reading and moving onto a book about parenting by Dwayne Wade the basketball player. Should be a good read. I've got two books going right now too, one is a novel and the other is about self-care for caretakers which is something us counselors forget about sometimes. A friend of Evan't from Texas is coming out this week and we're joining she and her boyfriend at the Giants game on Friday night which we're excited about.
The babies are moving and grooving like crazy these days. They're getting long too, I can now feel heads or feet or something all the way over on my sides and not just in the middle anymore. They like music and they like when people are talking. The little boy loves to get attention - when the doctor put the dopplar on my stomach over him he wouldn't stop moving long enough for her to get a read on his heartbeat today, she had to take a second shot at it later in the appointment. They both love book time before bed where Evan reads to them from Calvin & Hobbes or one of the other baby books we have already.
Our little family is keeping happy and healthy, hope yours are too!
Lots of Love, Bree and Evan.
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