Hello all! It has been a while since I've thought to blog. Sorry if you were waiting in suspense. :)
Everything has looked great with Mairi at the doctor since we were hospitalized. My hemoglobin was really low last week, but they gave me an iron supplement and I have been fine. The doctor also sent me to physical therapy for my back injury, and they gave me a "mommy to be" brace. That has helped minimize my back pain a lot, which is wonderful. Generally I am feeling well, although I am sleepy a lot and I feel huge a lot. I can't get enough smoothies and icees, probably because I'm so hot all the time! We have 9.5 weeks to go, and we are getting excited! We had our hospital tour this week (we said hi to our old room), filled out our birth plan, and got a goody bag from the hospital. :)
Now I'll share with you a nice pregnancy survey:
I Am This Far Along: 30 weeks.
The BEST Part of Being Pregnant Is: I love feeling her move around in my belly! Sometimes it hurts a little, sometimes it's touching, and sometimes it's downright comical. My friend Chris asked me a few weeks ago if we were going to raise Mairi as a Catholic, and she kicked so hard that it hurt! So we figure she is really for it, or adamantly against it. :)
The WORST Part of Being Pregnant Is: "Take it easy!", "Don't do that!". I am not very good at asking other people for help with things, and I'm not used to being treated like I'm going to break. I am as careful as possible, but sometimes I forget that I just can't do everything that other people can do. Like SHAVE my freaking LEGS by myself. (Thanks for your help, John!)
This Has Been My Most Ridiculous Craving So Far: I haven't had any really strange cravings. Nothing crazy, really. What surprises me about cravings is not that I'm getting them, but when I do I need whatever I'm craving IMMEDIATELY. Like, right now. I'm not very patient.
This Is The Nick-Name We Have Come Up With For the Fetus: Well, as you now know, her name is Mairi, so we call her that. But we called her "Ferglet" for a long time.
This Was The Time I Felt The Most "Pregnant": I feel very pregnant when I get out of bed and when I try to gracefully exit my car. Or when I bend over to pick something up. Ugh.
This Is The WORST Baby Name My Partner/Family/Coworker Have Suggested So Far: LOL not too many people have dared suggest a name to us. Which is probably a good thing. :)
The Silliest Piece Of Unsolicited Advice I Have Recieved Thus Far Is: OMG I'm not sure. I don't really listen to that anyway. I can't think of anything. One woman told me three weeks ago that I was probably going to go into labor within the week because my back was hurting. I told her no, that I had a back injury that was causing my back pain. And she said no, when you're pregnant back pain is always indicative of early onset labor. Whatever.
People Have/Haven't Started To Touch My Belly Without Asking: UGH I hate this. A LOT. Strangers are bad enough, but it's the worst when it's someone I know who I haven't seen in a while. I would never grope someone like that! Ugh!!
I Believe The Baby Is A(Boy or Girl?): It's a GIRL. And after the 5 ultrasounds we've had to have, I feel very confident that this is true! :)
Funniest Place I Have Unwittingly Fallen Asleep: I fell asleep in the bathtub a few nights ago with my blackberry in my hand, precariously dangling above the water. Good thing John found me before my blackberry took a bath, too!
My Pregnancy IDOL Is: I don't know if I necessarily have one. I will say though, that I have immense sympathy and respect for women who desperately want to get pregnant but are struggling to for whatever reason. We were surprised by this pregnancy, but I feel so lucky that we are going to welcome our little girl into the world without experiencing the pain of infertility.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Three days in the Hospital!
Hello family and friends,
I wanted to take a minute to update everyone on what is going on. For those of you who don’t know, I was admitted into the hospital late Monday evening after a fall on my back onstage during a preview performance of Bat Boy: The Musical at the Firehall Theatre.
Here’s the short of things:
They are kept me in the hospital for a little over 3 days because there has been evidence of hemorrhaging in the placenta around my baby. This hemorrhaging could cause our daughter to lose blood volume, which puts her life in danger. This morning I was released because the amount of her blood found in mine went down, but we’re not quite out of the woods yet. I go back in on Tuesday for them to retest, and we’ll see from there.
Here’s the (really) long version:
I fell at the end of Act 2, changed out of my costume, listened to notes, and went home. My lower back hurt from the fall and I felt strong pain in my upper abdomen. I waited about ten minute for it to feel better, but it just got worse, so we decided to go to the emergency room. When we arrived at the ER, they immediately wheeled me up to the maternity ward and ordered an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed what they thought was a small tear in the placenta, and they decided to keep me until the morning. They hooked me up to a “mom” machine which monitors our baby’s heart rate as well as if I am having contractions. They also informed me that I sprained my sacrum and bruised my hip in the fall. L
Early Tuesday morning, they gave me another ultrasound as well as a blood test. The ultrasound was to check that placental tear and to give the baby a biophysical scan, which shows if everything is okay with the baby. They also gave me a blood test called a Kleihauer-Betke test, which detects fetal-maternal hemmorage. Basically, it can see if there are any fetal blood cells mixed in with my blood cells. A positive result for the KB test indicates bleeding coming from the baby, umbilical cord, or placenta. Several hours after administering both tests, the resident doctor came in and let me know that the ultrasound looked great, but the KB test came back positive, with 0.2% of the baby’s blood mixed in with mine. The doctor told me that they were keeping me for another 24 hours at minimum, and that they needed to monitor our daughter very closely at that time.
Since I’m only 24 weeks and 6 days pregnant, the baby is still very small to be picked up by the monitor. She has a lot of room to wiggle around in, so it’s hard to get her to show up! The nurse will hunt for her heartbeat, place the monitor disc where they can find her, and then I have to lay as still as I possibly can for hours on end. If I move, she goes off the monitor. Then sometimes she goes off the monitor on her own accord. So that’s been stressful. The discs are attached with a two inch think Velcro strap, and I have rope burns on my back from the strap being adjusted when she moves. Today they gave me essentially a huge ace wrap, and that is a lot more comfortable!
Wednesday morning, they administered another KB test, and we waited a couple hours for the result. We were really hoping for a negative, but instead the test came back positive. Not only that, but the amount of fetal cells doubled since yesterday. They are continuing to monitor both of us to make sure that everything is okay.
My doctor also warned us that if the fetal cell percent goes up to 2.0%, there is a possibility that they will transfer me to Fargo to deliver her early. If the fetal cell percent goes up that high, she will have lost a significant amount of blood and will need to come out so she can get a transfusion. The NICU in Grand Forks can only handle babies who are born at 28 weeks or more, so if I need to deliver her soon they couldn’t accommodate her here. The NICU at MeritCare can handle babies born at 25 weeks or more, so they could take care of the baby if I need to deliver within the next week. Which we really hope doesn’t happen.
This morning (Thursday) I was given the KB test again, and three hours later (!) the results came back. The results were positive again, but today they only found 0.2% of fetal cells in my blood, which means that the bleeding went down. My doctor released me and told me to rest for the next couple days and to resume normal activity after that. She also let me know that we’re not entirely out of the woods yet. I go back to the clinic on Tuesday and they’re going to retest then, and hopefully that one will be negative! If not, then we’ll see, I guess!
With my doctor’s approval, I should be resuming my role as Meredith in Bat Boy: The Musical at the Firehall next week (maybe tomorrow if I’m feeling up to it). I sincerely appreciate all of you who were showing your support this week. We are both pretty shaken up, and it helps knowing that there are lots of people praying for us. Our daughter is a little fighter, and so am I, so the two of us girls are working hard to keep her in there until she’s done cooking! :)
Much love to all of you!
Love,
Maura, John, and Mairi Ferguson
(oh,P.S., her name is Mairi! We figured that since all of your prayers helped, you deserve to know her name.) :)
I wanted to take a minute to update everyone on what is going on. For those of you who don’t know, I was admitted into the hospital late Monday evening after a fall on my back onstage during a preview performance of Bat Boy: The Musical at the Firehall Theatre.
Here’s the short of things:
They are kept me in the hospital for a little over 3 days because there has been evidence of hemorrhaging in the placenta around my baby. This hemorrhaging could cause our daughter to lose blood volume, which puts her life in danger. This morning I was released because the amount of her blood found in mine went down, but we’re not quite out of the woods yet. I go back in on Tuesday for them to retest, and we’ll see from there.
Here’s the (really) long version:
I fell at the end of Act 2, changed out of my costume, listened to notes, and went home. My lower back hurt from the fall and I felt strong pain in my upper abdomen. I waited about ten minute for it to feel better, but it just got worse, so we decided to go to the emergency room. When we arrived at the ER, they immediately wheeled me up to the maternity ward and ordered an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed what they thought was a small tear in the placenta, and they decided to keep me until the morning. They hooked me up to a “mom” machine which monitors our baby’s heart rate as well as if I am having contractions. They also informed me that I sprained my sacrum and bruised my hip in the fall. L
Early Tuesday morning, they gave me another ultrasound as well as a blood test. The ultrasound was to check that placental tear and to give the baby a biophysical scan, which shows if everything is okay with the baby. They also gave me a blood test called a Kleihauer-Betke test, which detects fetal-maternal hemmorage. Basically, it can see if there are any fetal blood cells mixed in with my blood cells. A positive result for the KB test indicates bleeding coming from the baby, umbilical cord, or placenta. Several hours after administering both tests, the resident doctor came in and let me know that the ultrasound looked great, but the KB test came back positive, with 0.2% of the baby’s blood mixed in with mine. The doctor told me that they were keeping me for another 24 hours at minimum, and that they needed to monitor our daughter very closely at that time.
Since I’m only 24 weeks and 6 days pregnant, the baby is still very small to be picked up by the monitor. She has a lot of room to wiggle around in, so it’s hard to get her to show up! The nurse will hunt for her heartbeat, place the monitor disc where they can find her, and then I have to lay as still as I possibly can for hours on end. If I move, she goes off the monitor. Then sometimes she goes off the monitor on her own accord. So that’s been stressful. The discs are attached with a two inch think Velcro strap, and I have rope burns on my back from the strap being adjusted when she moves. Today they gave me essentially a huge ace wrap, and that is a lot more comfortable!
Wednesday morning, they administered another KB test, and we waited a couple hours for the result. We were really hoping for a negative, but instead the test came back positive. Not only that, but the amount of fetal cells doubled since yesterday. They are continuing to monitor both of us to make sure that everything is okay.
My doctor also warned us that if the fetal cell percent goes up to 2.0%, there is a possibility that they will transfer me to Fargo to deliver her early. If the fetal cell percent goes up that high, she will have lost a significant amount of blood and will need to come out so she can get a transfusion. The NICU in Grand Forks can only handle babies who are born at 28 weeks or more, so if I need to deliver her soon they couldn’t accommodate her here. The NICU at MeritCare can handle babies born at 25 weeks or more, so they could take care of the baby if I need to deliver within the next week. Which we really hope doesn’t happen.
This morning (Thursday) I was given the KB test again, and three hours later (!) the results came back. The results were positive again, but today they only found 0.2% of fetal cells in my blood, which means that the bleeding went down. My doctor released me and told me to rest for the next couple days and to resume normal activity after that. She also let me know that we’re not entirely out of the woods yet. I go back to the clinic on Tuesday and they’re going to retest then, and hopefully that one will be negative! If not, then we’ll see, I guess!
With my doctor’s approval, I should be resuming my role as Meredith in Bat Boy: The Musical at the Firehall next week (maybe tomorrow if I’m feeling up to it). I sincerely appreciate all of you who were showing your support this week. We are both pretty shaken up, and it helps knowing that there are lots of people praying for us. Our daughter is a little fighter, and so am I, so the two of us girls are working hard to keep her in there until she’s done cooking! :)
Much love to all of you!
Love,
Maura, John, and Mairi Ferguson
(oh,P.S., her name is Mairi! We figured that since all of your prayers helped, you deserve to know her name.) :)
Monday, May 25, 2009
More pictures!
Here are three more pictures we got of our little girl at the ultrasound a couple weeks ago!
That is a closeup of her profile!
That is her teeny 3 centimeter footprint!
The little white hamburger shows us that it's a girl!!Things have been going well here in the Ferguson household. We are getting reorganized and are starting to put the nursery together. While I feel our little Ferglet dancing around every day, John still hasn't been able to feel her move yet! Even if she's going crazy, once he puts his hand on my belly she gets shy. I'm sure he will feel her any day now!
As you already know, we are keeping her name a secret until her birthday. However, we are calling her by her name at home, and both of us have almost slipped by calling her by name in front of our friends and family. This is a tough secret to keep, but so far we've kept it! :) We won't tell! Even if you get my adorable three year old cousin to call and ask me, Aunt Kathy! :)
Love to all of you this week!
As you already know, we are keeping her name a secret until her birthday. However, we are calling her by her name at home, and both of us have almost slipped by calling her by name in front of our friends and family. This is a tough secret to keep, but so far we've kept it! :) We won't tell! Even if you get my adorable three year old cousin to call and ask me, Aunt Kathy! :)
Love to all of you this week!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
And the Ferglet is....
We are having a daughter!! We were both surprised, as we both had boy vibes, as did our Doctor! John took a day or two to get used to it, but I'm pretty sure she'll be daddy's little princess. :) I am really excited, and went out and bought a couple girly onesies today, one with red ruffles and cherries all over it, and another that was pink polka dotted and says "I ♥ DAD".The ultrasound took well over an hour, because she was all curled up in the position you see in the photo. She was sitting in the breach position, and her feet were tucked up by her chin. Those little lines under the "a" in the picture are her toes! Because she was stubborn (imagine that, my daughter being stubborn!), we have to go back next month and get another ultrasound next month because they couldn't get a clear picture of her spine. Hopefully next time she will cooperate more with the ultrasound tech! :)
And now, here are some "belly pics" for you to see!
18 weeks
20 weeks
20 weeks
Nursery Stuff!
Hello all! Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, I've been a busy girl! :) I started my new job this week at the UND Bookstore. I am the Senior Accounting Clerk. I hope to be fully trained in a few weeks... right now I don't know what I'm doing and it's a little frustrating. I start rehearsals for Bat Boy: The Musical tomorrow night, so I will be really busy for the next few months!
We have ordered most of the furniture for the Ferglet's room (thanks, Mom and Colin!), and I wanted to share some pics! We haven't received any of it yet, but here are some pics from the websites.
And here is the bedding, which I am madly in love with:
I'm not sure how we'll decorate the walls yet. :)
We have ordered most of the furniture for the Ferglet's room (thanks, Mom and Colin!), and I wanted to share some pics! We haven't received any of it yet, but here are some pics from the websites.
Here is the crib:
Here is the changing table:
And here is the bedding, which I am madly in love with:
I'm not sure how we'll decorate the walls yet. :)
Friday, May 1, 2009
Hello, friends and family! Happy May Day! Maura here with an update.
This week has been a long one! My beloved Grandma, Mary Williams, was hospitalized early Monday morning for heart issues. I went up as soon as I could make it, and spend hours upon hours there talking to the doctors, taking notes, watching Dr. Phil, and beating my Aunt Kathy at Gin Rummy. :) Grandma was released late Wednesday, and we are all happy to see her home again. She has to get a test done in Saint Cloud, MN (about a 3.5 hour drive from Grand Forks) to see if there is a blockage in her heart. If there is, they will take care of that here in Grand Forks. If there is not, then they will consider the possibility of a pacemaker. Keep her in your prayers, please!
The pregnancy is going very well. I can feel the baby move on a daily basis now. The Ferglet is the most active at night when I lie down, and after I have anything sugary, like candy or cookies. It also was very wiggly the other night when I was watching "A Celebration of Sondheim at Carnegie Hall", which tells me that our baby will have impeccable musical taste. :) The wiggles don't feel like flutters anymore, it feels more like there is a tiny person wiggling around inside me! :) I wouldn't say the baby has kicked yet, it just wiggles and adjusts, from what I can feel. My latest food obsession is cherry pie. YUMMMM! I'm afraid they will soon know me by name at the Village Inn because I have been in so frequently lately for a piece of warm cherry pie with ice cream on top. It is so good. I think when I'm done with this post I'll go have a piece. :)
We are counting down to Tuesday, May 12th- the day we get our first ultrasound! When I was in the hospital with my Grandma, a technician came in to give her an ultrasound of her heart, and I asked her if she would just really quick give me one to see the sex of the baby. She said no. I tried really hard, though. :)
Do you think The Ferglet is a boy or a girl?? Comment and let us know! :) Love to you all!
This week has been a long one! My beloved Grandma, Mary Williams, was hospitalized early Monday morning for heart issues. I went up as soon as I could make it, and spend hours upon hours there talking to the doctors, taking notes, watching Dr. Phil, and beating my Aunt Kathy at Gin Rummy. :) Grandma was released late Wednesday, and we are all happy to see her home again. She has to get a test done in Saint Cloud, MN (about a 3.5 hour drive from Grand Forks) to see if there is a blockage in her heart. If there is, they will take care of that here in Grand Forks. If there is not, then they will consider the possibility of a pacemaker. Keep her in your prayers, please!
The pregnancy is going very well. I can feel the baby move on a daily basis now. The Ferglet is the most active at night when I lie down, and after I have anything sugary, like candy or cookies. It also was very wiggly the other night when I was watching "A Celebration of Sondheim at Carnegie Hall", which tells me that our baby will have impeccable musical taste. :) The wiggles don't feel like flutters anymore, it feels more like there is a tiny person wiggling around inside me! :) I wouldn't say the baby has kicked yet, it just wiggles and adjusts, from what I can feel. My latest food obsession is cherry pie. YUMMMM! I'm afraid they will soon know me by name at the Village Inn because I have been in so frequently lately for a piece of warm cherry pie with ice cream on top. It is so good. I think when I'm done with this post I'll go have a piece. :)
We are counting down to Tuesday, May 12th- the day we get our first ultrasound! When I was in the hospital with my Grandma, a technician came in to give her an ultrasound of her heart, and I asked her if she would just really quick give me one to see the sex of the baby. She said no. I tried really hard, though. :)
Do you think The Ferglet is a boy or a girl?? Comment and let us know! :) Love to you all!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
A Sad Loss.
This has been a very hard week for us. Yesterday, we had to put our beloved dog Jack to sleep. He was 19 years old. He started losing his sight a few years ago, lost his hearing a few weeks ago, and this past weekend he could not even get himself up to go to the food dish. I got him from a rescue when I was 12, so I have had him half my life. He was a retired Champion show dog who needed a good home. He was a good boy, and we all miss him very much. I'm' too sad to type much more, so I posted a few pictures. Rest in peace Jack, you were a great friend.
Ch. Croix's Jack Be Nimble 01/02/90-04/22/09
We love you, Jack!
We love you, Jack!
Jack Halloween 2008, checking out our pumpkin. We called this "Jack-in-lantern"
Me in 6th Grade with Basil and Jack.
Jack and Bella, November 2005.
Jack on the left in 2003.
Friday, April 17, 2009
The day we found out about the Ferglet!
We both wanted to write a little and share with you the day we found out we were pregnant. Hope you enjoy! :)
John's perspective:
I remember Maura wasn't feeling well for a while and I started to think that she might have been pregnant when we went on a weekend trip to Minneapolis. I noticed that she wanted to stop a lot to use the restroom on the five hour drive. My suspicions were confirmed one morning when I was getting ready for work and I heard my wife in the bathroom frantically calling my name. I went into the bathroom and Maura said, "I just took a pregnancy test and it's positive!" I gave her a really big hug and smiled really big and kissed her. Maura seemed very freaked out and buried her head in my chest. We had to go to work, and the rest of the day I couldn't keep my mind off of it. I wanted to tell everybody, but I didn't because we weren't sure that one positive test really meant she was pregnant. After work that day, we got a second test and Maura took it, and it was positive, too! We called the doctor and the nurse on the phone confirmed that two positive tests meant that we were going to have a baby. I felt really excited and really nervous and just knew that everything was going to be really different really soon. We didn't tell anybody until a few days later, and it was really exciting telling people that we have a baby on the way.
Maura's perspective:
When I found out I was pregnant, it was a total shock! John and I were in the final rehearsals for Lucky Stiff, and I was very busy with that and work. My period was 11 days late or so, and I figured it was because I was stressed out about memorizing my lines for the show. I had a pregnancy test at my home and saw it one morning after I woke up. I thought, well, I'm late, I should take the pregnancy test and see. I honestly didn't think it would be positive. Seconds after I took it, I saw two lines appear. My husband was just waking up, and I just started to say his name. He walked into the bathroom probably thinking the toilet had overflowed, and I showed him the test. He was more excited than I was!! I was totally freaked! :) He gave me the best hug I've ever had in my life. We went to work and I couldn't concentrate on anything all day. We only had an hour between work and rehearsal, and as soon as I got home from work I took a second test. It was positive, too, and I had a little meltdown. I just couldn't believe it. I remember telling John, "How can we have a baby?? I don't even know my lines!!" I was amazed with John and how calm he was with the whole thing. I always figured when I got pregnant I would be the calm one and John would lose it, but it was quite the opposite! It's not that I wasn't happy, I totally was, I was just so shocked I didn' t know how to react. It was very difficult to concentrate on the show, but I did. The best I could, at least! :)
John's perspective:
I remember Maura wasn't feeling well for a while and I started to think that she might have been pregnant when we went on a weekend trip to Minneapolis. I noticed that she wanted to stop a lot to use the restroom on the five hour drive. My suspicions were confirmed one morning when I was getting ready for work and I heard my wife in the bathroom frantically calling my name. I went into the bathroom and Maura said, "I just took a pregnancy test and it's positive!" I gave her a really big hug and smiled really big and kissed her. Maura seemed very freaked out and buried her head in my chest. We had to go to work, and the rest of the day I couldn't keep my mind off of it. I wanted to tell everybody, but I didn't because we weren't sure that one positive test really meant she was pregnant. After work that day, we got a second test and Maura took it, and it was positive, too! We called the doctor and the nurse on the phone confirmed that two positive tests meant that we were going to have a baby. I felt really excited and really nervous and just knew that everything was going to be really different really soon. We didn't tell anybody until a few days later, and it was really exciting telling people that we have a baby on the way.
Maura's perspective:
When I found out I was pregnant, it was a total shock! John and I were in the final rehearsals for Lucky Stiff, and I was very busy with that and work. My period was 11 days late or so, and I figured it was because I was stressed out about memorizing my lines for the show. I had a pregnancy test at my home and saw it one morning after I woke up. I thought, well, I'm late, I should take the pregnancy test and see. I honestly didn't think it would be positive. Seconds after I took it, I saw two lines appear. My husband was just waking up, and I just started to say his name. He walked into the bathroom probably thinking the toilet had overflowed, and I showed him the test. He was more excited than I was!! I was totally freaked! :) He gave me the best hug I've ever had in my life. We went to work and I couldn't concentrate on anything all day. We only had an hour between work and rehearsal, and as soon as I got home from work I took a second test. It was positive, too, and I had a little meltdown. I just couldn't believe it. I remember telling John, "How can we have a baby?? I don't even know my lines!!" I was amazed with John and how calm he was with the whole thing. I always figured when I got pregnant I would be the calm one and John would lose it, but it was quite the opposite! It's not that I wasn't happy, I totally was, I was just so shocked I didn' t know how to react. It was very difficult to concentrate on the show, but I did. The best I could, at least! :)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Sickness!
Hello everyone! Maura here. We just got back from the doctor a few hours ago, and I am sick with a bad case of bronchitis and a sinus infection. ICK! I started to feel some congestion and a sore throat last Tuesday on John's birthday, and it was just downhill from there. The cough is driving me nuts! My chest is constantly sore, and I'm wheezing like crazy. I've had a low grade fever for 5 days. I was scared to take anything due to the Ferglet! Finally I called the doctor and we went today. She was very nice and gave me a prescription for an antibiotic and told me to take plain Robitussin. Hopefully that will help. I'm supposed to take it easy for a week because having moderate to severe bronchitis increases the risk of catching pneumonia, which is especially dangerous during pregnancy. We most definitely don't want that. Also, I lost over three pounds in the past week, and I am supposed to eat more. Normally that would not be a problem, but it's hard to eat when you're not hungry.
John is getting the sniffles as well and has a cough, but he has no fever and is feeling okay. John is being a wonderful husband and father to be. He is very kind and attentive (which is no surprise)! I am grateful for him on a daily basis. Last week I would cry very easily, due to pregnancy hormones and feeling so sick, and John got to the point where he would just come give me a hug. I think I cried once because I was almost out of pop. What a tragedy! :) I love John so much, and I know that he is going to be a wonderful dad. We are both so very excited to be parents! :) We are counting down to MAY 12th, when we find out if the Ferglet is a boy or a girl. Eee!
Finally, we are so happy that today there are signs of spring! It's close to 60 degrees here today (15.5 Celsius) and in North Dakota, that is shorts weather! We have opened all the windows in the house, and it is lovely. Now if the river would just go down!! Our beloved dog park is under water, so we can't take Bella and Luigi out to run safely. For now, they just look out the window excitedly with their paws on the sill. The river is expected to go down in a few weeks. We are grateful that the city of Grand Forks invested so wisely in a great flood protection system, because while Fargo and other ND communities have been evacuating and really stressing out, we have just been watching the river go up, relatively unconcerned.
I hope you all had a great Easter, quiet readers!
John is getting the sniffles as well and has a cough, but he has no fever and is feeling okay. John is being a wonderful husband and father to be. He is very kind and attentive (which is no surprise)! I am grateful for him on a daily basis. Last week I would cry very easily, due to pregnancy hormones and feeling so sick, and John got to the point where he would just come give me a hug. I think I cried once because I was almost out of pop. What a tragedy! :) I love John so much, and I know that he is going to be a wonderful dad. We are both so very excited to be parents! :) We are counting down to MAY 12th, when we find out if the Ferglet is a boy or a girl. Eee!
Finally, we are so happy that today there are signs of spring! It's close to 60 degrees here today (15.5 Celsius) and in North Dakota, that is shorts weather! We have opened all the windows in the house, and it is lovely. Now if the river would just go down!! Our beloved dog park is under water, so we can't take Bella and Luigi out to run safely. For now, they just look out the window excitedly with their paws on the sill. The river is expected to go down in a few weeks. We are grateful that the city of Grand Forks invested so wisely in a great flood protection system, because while Fargo and other ND communities have been evacuating and really stressing out, we have just been watching the river go up, relatively unconcerned.
I hope you all had a great Easter, quiet readers!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Another Doctor Appt... and Baby Wiggles!
Hello!
We had our second prenatal appointment today, and all went well. It was a much faster appointment than the first one! We went over my lab results from last time (everything is perfect), checked my heart rate and blood pressure (again, right on target), and talked about something called a maternal serum screening. It is an optional test to see if the baby has spinal cord issues or Down Syndrome by checking the level of a certain hormone. If something shows up on the screening, then an amniocentesis is performed, which is a potentially risky procedure where they take cells from the fluid around the baby. We opted to not take the maternal serum screening because the chances of our child having Down Syndrome are slim. Also, if the baby were to have it, we would not choose to terminate the pregnancy. We are excited to welcome whoever is growing inside me, no matter who they are! :) Finally, the doctor answered some silly questions that we had, and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat again! Today the sound was really scratchy at first, and Dr. Setnes Hoefs told us that scratchy noise was our little one wiggling around in there (or as John calls it, the baby was doing the "no-pants dance"). The heartbeat was the same as it was last time, 150 beats per minute. That is right in the normal range, so we are happy parents-to-be. Everything is going as well as it can so far (knock on wood)!!
Speaking of the no-pants dance, I am pretty sure I felt the baby move on April 1st. Hopefully it wasn't an April Fools! :) John and I were lying in bed with the puppies watching TV, and I felt what I thought at first was gas. Just like little bubbles low in my belly. I stopped thinking it was gas when it went on for over 10 minutes, and I wasn't gassy at all. I asked the doctor if it could have possibly been the baby, and she said it probably was! We were both excited. :) It is starting to seem real. I am starting to get a bit more of a belly, which is kind of exciting too. I will post pics in the next week or so. I've only gained just under 8 pounds so far, which they said is right on track.
The food aversions are getting better, but I'm still not the biggest fan of garlic or meat smells right now. Along with my love of limes, I have begun to crave watermelon. The other night, I had half a watermelon for dinner!! I did makeup for Red River High School's production of South Pacific this past week, and one of the kids asked me why I was eating so much watermelon. I said it was my dinner! I also told him that your definition of dinner changes a lot when you're pregnant. :) I've been drinking chocolate milk like it's going out of style, which is very good for the wee one. I haven't had any nausea to speak of anymore, which is lovely. However, last week brought on the lovely pregnancy heartburn. Ugh. I was relieved to hear from my doc today that I can take antacids to relieve that pain. I've also had a really sore back this week, which the doc said can be relieved by massage (John was happy to hear that, I bet!). Other than that, it's going really well.
Well, that's it for this week! John turns 24 tomorrow, so we are gearing up for his birthday. We both have the day off, which is great.
Hope you all are well!
Maura & John
We had our second prenatal appointment today, and all went well. It was a much faster appointment than the first one! We went over my lab results from last time (everything is perfect), checked my heart rate and blood pressure (again, right on target), and talked about something called a maternal serum screening. It is an optional test to see if the baby has spinal cord issues or Down Syndrome by checking the level of a certain hormone. If something shows up on the screening, then an amniocentesis is performed, which is a potentially risky procedure where they take cells from the fluid around the baby. We opted to not take the maternal serum screening because the chances of our child having Down Syndrome are slim. Also, if the baby were to have it, we would not choose to terminate the pregnancy. We are excited to welcome whoever is growing inside me, no matter who they are! :) Finally, the doctor answered some silly questions that we had, and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat again! Today the sound was really scratchy at first, and Dr. Setnes Hoefs told us that scratchy noise was our little one wiggling around in there (or as John calls it, the baby was doing the "no-pants dance"). The heartbeat was the same as it was last time, 150 beats per minute. That is right in the normal range, so we are happy parents-to-be. Everything is going as well as it can so far (knock on wood)!!
Speaking of the no-pants dance, I am pretty sure I felt the baby move on April 1st. Hopefully it wasn't an April Fools! :) John and I were lying in bed with the puppies watching TV, and I felt what I thought at first was gas. Just like little bubbles low in my belly. I stopped thinking it was gas when it went on for over 10 minutes, and I wasn't gassy at all. I asked the doctor if it could have possibly been the baby, and she said it probably was! We were both excited. :) It is starting to seem real. I am starting to get a bit more of a belly, which is kind of exciting too. I will post pics in the next week or so. I've only gained just under 8 pounds so far, which they said is right on track.
The food aversions are getting better, but I'm still not the biggest fan of garlic or meat smells right now. Along with my love of limes, I have begun to crave watermelon. The other night, I had half a watermelon for dinner!! I did makeup for Red River High School's production of South Pacific this past week, and one of the kids asked me why I was eating so much watermelon. I said it was my dinner! I also told him that your definition of dinner changes a lot when you're pregnant. :) I've been drinking chocolate milk like it's going out of style, which is very good for the wee one. I haven't had any nausea to speak of anymore, which is lovely. However, last week brought on the lovely pregnancy heartburn. Ugh. I was relieved to hear from my doc today that I can take antacids to relieve that pain. I've also had a really sore back this week, which the doc said can be relieved by massage (John was happy to hear that, I bet!). Other than that, it's going really well.
Well, that's it for this week! John turns 24 tomorrow, so we are gearing up for his birthday. We both have the day off, which is great.
Hope you all are well!
Maura & John
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Welcome to our new blog!
Hello friends and family! As you all know by now, John and I are expecting our first little one. We are excited and nervous and a little scared! :) I think that's pretty normal. We decided to start a baby blog so that you could all check up and see how everything is going, since we have family and friends all over the United States and some wonderful family across the pond in Scotland!
So far, it's going pretty well! I am 13 weeks pregnant right now. Hello, second trimester! Our estimated due date is October 1st. I am pretty sure I'm carrying a boy. It's a feeling I've had for over a month now, and the midwife guessed that too when we all heard the heartbeat at our first prenatal appointment two weeks ago. We don't officially find out for a while now, but that's my guess. Both my mom my Aunt Kathy had dreams that we were having a little boy, too. John and I have lots of names in mind! We're pretty sure we have the first name decided, we just can't find a middle name we're in love with yet. And no, we're not telling the name until the wee one is born! Sorry, we realize that it is a tease to tell you we have a first name and then not give it up... you'll just have to stay tuned. ;)
The pregnancy has been pretty easy on me, so far. I didn't really get morning sickness, just a little pukey at the Firehall Theatre during our run of "Lucky Stiff", and I was pretty sick when brushing my teeth with mint toothpaste. That subsided when the staff at my friendly food co-op suggested a ginger toothpaste. Ginger has been a great friend of mine in the past couple months when I've felt nauseated. Ginger ale, ginger tea, and ginger candies. I haven't had any really wacky cravings yet, but I do crave lime all the time. We've now scoped out all the restaurants in Grand Forks to find the best lime drinks (virgin, of course!), lime desserts, entrees with lime in it, any lime. I've even gone so far as to carry a squeezy bottle of lime juice in my purse so that I can put it in whatever I want. The other weird food thing is that I absolutely cannot STAND garlic right now. That is odd, because on a usual basis I love garlic! I use pulverized garlic on my food just like salt and pepper when I'm not pregnant, so this sudden aversion has taken a while for both John and I to get used to. Other than that, I am the queen of napping. I nap all the time! I'm afraid that I have spent more time in my bed than anywhere else in the last couple months. John has been great about taking care of Bella, Jack, and Luigi so that I can rest.
And now, some words from John!
Now the daddy footnote. Maura and I are very excited for our new addition. It was a wonderful surprise for the both of us (and the future grandparents!) We had our first prenatal appointment on March 11th. Both the nurse and midwife were very excited for the both of us. You could tell they really liked babies. We received a book to read and a list of classes that we can take. Maura and I must have looked nervous because the midwife was very reassuring. Overall it was a pleasant experience. It was especially relieving to hear the heartbeat. It was verification that we are indeed having a baby and that were are not both crazy.
That's about all for now! We're trying to not worry about the flood in the Red River Valley right now. Hopefully everything will be okay!
Love to all of you!
Maura & John
So far, it's going pretty well! I am 13 weeks pregnant right now. Hello, second trimester! Our estimated due date is October 1st. I am pretty sure I'm carrying a boy. It's a feeling I've had for over a month now, and the midwife guessed that too when we all heard the heartbeat at our first prenatal appointment two weeks ago. We don't officially find out for a while now, but that's my guess. Both my mom my Aunt Kathy had dreams that we were having a little boy, too. John and I have lots of names in mind! We're pretty sure we have the first name decided, we just can't find a middle name we're in love with yet. And no, we're not telling the name until the wee one is born! Sorry, we realize that it is a tease to tell you we have a first name and then not give it up... you'll just have to stay tuned. ;)
The pregnancy has been pretty easy on me, so far. I didn't really get morning sickness, just a little pukey at the Firehall Theatre during our run of "Lucky Stiff", and I was pretty sick when brushing my teeth with mint toothpaste. That subsided when the staff at my friendly food co-op suggested a ginger toothpaste. Ginger has been a great friend of mine in the past couple months when I've felt nauseated. Ginger ale, ginger tea, and ginger candies. I haven't had any really wacky cravings yet, but I do crave lime all the time. We've now scoped out all the restaurants in Grand Forks to find the best lime drinks (virgin, of course!), lime desserts, entrees with lime in it, any lime. I've even gone so far as to carry a squeezy bottle of lime juice in my purse so that I can put it in whatever I want. The other weird food thing is that I absolutely cannot STAND garlic right now. That is odd, because on a usual basis I love garlic! I use pulverized garlic on my food just like salt and pepper when I'm not pregnant, so this sudden aversion has taken a while for both John and I to get used to. Other than that, I am the queen of napping. I nap all the time! I'm afraid that I have spent more time in my bed than anywhere else in the last couple months. John has been great about taking care of Bella, Jack, and Luigi so that I can rest.
And now, some words from John!
Now the daddy footnote. Maura and I are very excited for our new addition. It was a wonderful surprise for the both of us (and the future grandparents!) We had our first prenatal appointment on March 11th. Both the nurse and midwife were very excited for the both of us. You could tell they really liked babies. We received a book to read and a list of classes that we can take. Maura and I must have looked nervous because the midwife was very reassuring. Overall it was a pleasant experience. It was especially relieving to hear the heartbeat. It was verification that we are indeed having a baby and that were are not both crazy.
That's about all for now! We're trying to not worry about the flood in the Red River Valley right now. Hopefully everything will be okay!
Love to all of you!
Maura & John
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