What A Day (Of Appointments)

Appt 1 - "Moley, moley, moley": I made an appt to have a beauty mark, ok fine, mole looked at. I know this is gross, but I am a red head w/ fair complexion so I don't take any chances here and I keep an eye on all of my beauty marks, freckles, moles, etc... There was one mole in particular that I was concerned about. I had had it for as long as I can remember and it is located in my bikini area (I'll try not to get too graphic). Well, with the big belly and all, I can't really see it. One day I was in front of the mirror when I noticed that it suddenly wasn't the cute little mole I had grown to know and love all these years. It was now oddly shaped, very dark, and HUGE! This thing had to get checked out and no matter what... IT HAD TO GO! So, I go in, have the Doc look @ it (he isn't concerned, says it doesn't look cancerous), and he says, "I'm right on schedule, lets take it off right now." Allrightythen. I say, "While your at it, what about this one?" I had another one on my lower back that is right where your clothing tag rubs..annoying. While he was prepping me for the removal of the bikini area mole, I felt the need to apologize for the forest that has been neglected since my belly has made it impossible to see that region, let alone take a razor to it ;-). The doc was very understanding and said that I had a perfectly good excuse. Of course you know that this couldn't go as smoothly as one would expect, nope, not with me. First, he couldn't get me to go numb and had to use much more lidocaine that he anticipated. Second, they didn't want to come off (I guess they were used to their home). And third, the incisions wouldn't stop bleeding. At this point I just have some pain and discomfort given the very sensitive areas they were in (I'll spare you any more details on that) and who needs more of that when your in your 3rd trimester of pregnancy?!? Do you feel sorry for me yet ;-)?

Appt 2 - "Back to Back": I finished my first appt @ 9:49 and had my next appt @ 9:50. Luckily they were right down the hall from one another. Now we have PT for my back. What joy! The last time I went to PT, it made my back worse. I get there and have to do all this range of motion stuff and describe my pain and the level of pain I'm experiencing in certain positions...And guess what, he makes me get on my back, yes the same back where I just had the mole removed w/ a knife. It really wasn't that bad though b/c I was still pretty numb. I paid for it later though. After all was said and done the physical therapist said that it could either be pelvic displacement, but more than likely it is a bulging disk. I can't even tell you what number this diagnosis is. The kicker is that he doesn't personally like to deal w/ pregnant women so we are basically going to do some stretches each time I go and he gave me a lumbar support to use while I am in the seated position. Mind you, the whole reason I got referred to PT was b/c my lower back is out of whack and I was worried about it making for a difficult labor. Oh well.

Appt 3 - "By the way...": My last appt of the day was w/ the OB. this was the first time I had met w/ this particular OB. Oh goodie, another person who doesn't know me or my situation thus far. She briefly browses through my file to get up to speed and begins the usual proceedings. She measures me, looks good. Listens to the baby's heartbeat, sounds good. "Oh, by the way, has anyone gone over the results and findings of your ultrasound from your visit to labor and delivery?" "Uh, no, I guess not." "Well, it shows that you have a case of marginal placenta previa." "REALLY?!?" Thats funny since I was just in last week for a follow up from that very visit to labor and delivery and no one said a thing to me! Seriously, isn't this something that is rather important and should be discussed w/ me, marginal or not? She said that she expects the situation to resolve itself by 36wks at which I will go in for another ultrasound. Its a good thing that I have been taking care of myself and that I have an amazing husband that helps me out A LOT. I talked w/ a nurse here on base and she was amazed at this and at the fact they didn't even tell me what I should be doing in this situation. I also talked to another woman who has the same thing and they have been monitoring her very closely, have been giving her specific instructions on how to take care of herself, and she has seen the same OB the entire way through. I can't help but feel that I have fallen through the cracks since day one. The one thing I can rely on though is God (the healer), b/c He will never let me fall through the cracks and He has obviously been taking very good care of me and Baby Rex the whole time. PRAISE GOD!!!

The Transformers @ Holloman?!?

We are famous! Who knew that here in Alamogordo, NM (HAFB) would have a claim to fame to a blockbuster hit?!? I am pretty sure that the 1st Transformers did some filming here as well @ White Sands Missile Range. Last Wednesday I was observing @ Holloman Middle School and they had a couple of tanks from the US Army in the parking lot that were being used for the actual Transformers 2 movie. I thought that was pretty cool. Then on Thursday I had heard that there were star spottings (ShiaLaBeouf) @ our local WalMart and Chilis. I even saw the pictures caught on the camera phone of a friend of mine. This week they brought in some of the actual Transformers here on base so I went to get some pics :-). Enjoy!

A Day At The Hospital

This past Friday started as any other day. I got up to see my hubby off to work and had a lot of expectations for getting things done. I had some breakfast, caught up on some emails and was feeling motivated to work out a bit. I got on the elliptical for a half hour and then did some reps w/ my little 5 lb weights (Ive been doing this the entire pregnancy). I felt really good all through the work out, but shortly after I started getting really bad cramping in my lower left abdomen. It was continual pain w/ sharp pains every once in a while that would radiate in my back. I laid down for about a half hour w/ no relief so I decided to call the Dr. I spoke w/ the nurse on call and she advised me to go to Labor and Delivery to get checked out. Mind you, the baby was still moving a lot, as usual, and there was no bleeding.
When I got to the hospital I had to give a urine sample and they hooked me up to the monitors. I could here the baby's heartbeat which made me feel better. They asked me a series of questions and kept track of the monitors. The nurse told me that everything w/ the baby looked great and she could see small contractions. The pain was not getting any better so they sent me in for an ultrasound. While that was nerve racking, I enjoyed hearing about Baby Rex. The technician said that all his measurements were good, his heartbeat was 158 BPM, and he weighs 3 lbs, 9 oz. How cute is that!?!
The ultrasound showed that things were just right, there were no tears and my cervix was still closed. The urine sample came back showing no issues either. Because I wasn't having more than 4 contractions in an hour, but still having the pain, they concluded that it must be really intense round ligament pains b/c of the rapid growth of my uterus. They gave me some pain meds w/ a script and told me to go to the OB this coming week instead of waiting for my next appt.
Well, by the time I got out of there is was 5:30 and our prenatal class started at 6. Mitch ran home to take care of the dogs and get out of his uniform ( he would be late) and I was to get us something to eat. We ate and listened for the first part pf class and the second part was more hands on. We got to practice labor positions w/ the labor ball (exercise ball). The instructor gave us a bag of ice and when she said, "contraction begins" we had to hold the bag tightly while using our breathing techniques and labor positions to keep our minds off the annoyance of the ice. Fun, fun, fun. I do have to give props to hubby b/c he was so darn cute and doing everything he was supposed to :-).
By the time we finally got home it was 8:30. Needless to say, my expectations for getting things done did not happen. Oh well. Better to be safe than sorry.

Nursery Coming Together

Den and Mitch had fun building things during their visit, which included the crib/changer combo and the glider and ottoman. The nursery is coming together. It is now just a matter of finishing touches and getting the rest of the baby items we need so that we can find a home for everything. The pictures below will give you a glimpse into Baby Rex's nursery (and all the hard work Den and Mitch did while watching football ;-O).

Gives new meaning to, "behind bars"

Yes, Mitch is actually reading directions and yes, Den is watching his Vikings

All put together

Pretty soon is won't be the teddy bears using this nice glider :-)

Paint Colors

Mitch and I live in base housing that is run by a company called Soaring Heights. What this means is that essentially we rent our home and b/c it is on a military base, everything looks a particular way and they have strict standards (ex: your yard has to look a certain way and anything you want to do/change has to meet certain criteria and be approved), although we have noticed they are not nearly as strict here as they were at Vance AFB. Anyway, since we will be here for a significant period of time, I really wanted to get some color on my very boring, off white walls. Also, you have to have everything back to the way/color it was when you moved in. For this reason, I thought we would at least do an accent wall in each room to make it more our own. I went and had the colors approved by housing and then bought the paint and put it in the garage where it sat for quite a while. After coming back from our month long trips, Mitch and I realized it was time to get to work and get things done around the house. I am happy to say that with my father-in-law's help, Mitch was able to get all of the rooms painted. The pictures below will give you an idea of what we did. Mind you, I didn't do a very good job with getting the true color b/c my photography skills are a little lacking.

This is the dining rm color that extends onto one wall in the kitchen as well (we have a vineyard grape theme going)

This is the spare BR, very neutral

This is our giant wall in the giant liv rm

And this is Cheech being adorable in the nursery. He thinks that is HIS blanky.

And last, but not least, we have the Master BR

Prenatal Class and More

We started our prenatal classes this past week at the hospital. So far it seems to be well put together and informational. For our first class we spent some time meeting the other people in class. We then went over the basic anatomy/physiology of pregnancy, body mechanics/exercise, the warning signs of preterm labor, labor pain and pain theories, and breathing and relaxation exercises. A lot of it was review for me, but I am glad Mitch got to see/hear the information.
We also started our Tuesday night bible study for company grade officers, I started attending a PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) bible study where I am the praise and worship leader (Yikes!), and I have also started back singing w/ the chapel's praise and worship team. Mitch has been extremely busy @ work and getting big projects done around our house. Right now he has some help b/c his dad (Den) is here visiting us. Den is always such a huge help and I am very thankful that he is able to be there for my hubby :-).
I spent all day today washing and putting baby stuff away. I know I got a lot done, but I am paying for it now. My back hurts so bad! I like going into the nursery though and seeing all of Baby Rex's toys, stuffed animals, ADORABLE clothes, diapers, and other baby essentials :-). I can't wait until we get the furniture in there, get it painted and decorated.
I am hoping to get some pictures from the shower I had at home up as soon as I get them my self. Next week we have another OB appt and the spouses coffees will start (lucky me, I get to be the treasurer). Mitch heads out to GA for a wk on the 13th. I will miss him and he has to miss 2 prenatal classes, including the one where we cover tips for the support person (Ugh!).
Time for some rest!!!