Hello 3rd Trimester, good-bye blood....

Greetings to the 3rd trimester! We have less than 3 months before our little man joins us, and the thought of that is both ridiculously exciting and unbelievably terrifying.

Oh, Lorraine....
Our first story is about a nurse named Lorraine. She means well. I suppose that says it all. I received a call from Lorraine last Friday where she simply said, "Your hemoglobin looks good, but your glucose is 160. You need to come in for more tests." Well, I'm not the smartest person, but I understand what hemoglobin and glucose is...but I have no idea what my glucose should be. So after trying to ask several questions, she simply responded that they worry I have gestational diabetes. How did I hear that? Well, you know that commercial where they ask if you are suffering from GINGIVITIS...... yeah, that voice.
G-E-S-T-A-T-I-O-N-A-L D-I-A-B-E-T-E-S.

Well, she could not answer any of my questions. What does this mean? How can it impact the baby? Should I be changing my diet? I got nothing. So I scheduled another test and did what no person should do...I googled.

Test 1: Fast the night before, chug the second nastiest beverage ever (50 grams of sugar), wait one hour and have your blood drawn.

Test 2: Fast the night before, have your blood drawn (#1), chug the nastiest beverage ever (100 grams of sugar), wait one hour for another draw (#2), wait another hour for another draw (#3), and wait, oh yes, wait one more hour for another draw (#4).

Did I mention I'm pregnant, and hungry, and thirsty, and in all that time I cannot drink or eat? So during the week of not knowing, what is Julia doing? She's avoiding carbs, any types of sugars and restricting herself to vegetables and meat and lots of water. I denied myself fruit! That takes will-power. I get a call yesterday (not from Lorraine) saying "perfectly normal, you look healthy." And the clouds part, and the light shines down and angels sing...okay, so I was happy. That was such a relief. The funny part? The nurse tells me, "I don't know why you were worried. When your normal weight and good health, if you get a positive on the 1-hour test, it's typically a false positive, I'd say 95-98% of the time. It's not uncommon to get a false-positive. The 3-hour test is just a precaution." Oh Lorraine...that would have been nice to know. All that worrying for nothing.
The history of Lorraine:
-- Julia has back pain, calls the doctor. Lorraine says "whatever you do, rest. Stay laying down as much as possible." Later the doctor says, "Whatever you do, move around and stretch it out. It'll get worse if you rest too much."
-- Julia has been exposed to whooping cough, calls the doctor. Lorraine says, "Oh my GOD! Let me find a doctor, they're not here, I'll page them, wait I'll call her cell phone. We'll probably need you to come in and take labs and get on antibiotics right away." The doctor says, "No symptoms yourself? You've been vaccinated? You'll be fine. We'll keep an eye on it, but the baby won't get it unless you have whooping cough while giving birth."

Lorraine can be hysterical. She makes an unknowing-first-time-mother....hysterical. Next time she calls, I may have to ask to speak to another nurse. She means well.

Baby Class!
Yes, as Chris said, this class is informative and necessary. But as others say...ignorance is bliss. I mean, who really needs to see that epidural needle? I don't need to see it, I'll close my eyes, turn around, and you do what you need to do. And wait a minute, what are these other tubes and and catheters...plural? Where are you putting all those...oh no no no. Something is supposed to come out of there, you're not supposed to be putting more in. Yes, people say childbirth is natural and beautiful. Those people have no watched these videos. Those tubes are not natural, and they're not pretty. And forceps sound harmless, right? You see a picture, and giggle...but wait...take a look at those forceps next to a pair of tongs or something...forceps are HUGE! Why are they that big? Why do they look like the bad guy's hand from the Terminator? Why is Chris smiling?!

A big thanks!
A big thanks to Pops and Terri who helped us finish up furnishing the nursery with a glider!! Comfiest piece of furniture ever, and I'm already using it.


Baby
He's doing VERY well. :) Kicking like a champ...in the middle of the night.
Leading names:
Maxson
Parker
Cooper

Feel free to vote!!! My beautiful sister is getting married in 3 weeks! We are Buffalo-bound very soon and cannot wait :)