First visit to Labor and Delivery- CHECK!

Yup, although I was adament I would not go to Labor and Delivery until it was time for Claire to be born, we found ourselves there tonight. I have been having braxton hicks contractions very regularly. My doctor said to call if they were more frequent than every 10 minutes and they have been lately. After resisting for a few days I called this afternoon and my doctor said to head into L&D. Josh was more nervous than I was. I actually wasn't nervous at all; I was looking forward to some reassurance though. They put all these bands and instruments around my tummy that timed and measured the contractions. My fear was that the contractions would stop the minute I arrived there and then would start again as soon as I left. I didn't want to be known as the pregnant girl that cried wolf. Soon after they hooked me up the nurse said, "Did you feel that?" and I said, "nope!". Apparently I was having a lot more contactions than what I was even feeling. They were coming every 5 minutes (a.k.a. not a good sign).

After measuring my contractions for awhile and noticing they were not going away, they did an FFN test (fetal fibronectin). If positive, there's a liklihood (but not certainty) you will go into labor in the next two weeks. After an hour and 15 minute wait for the result, we learned it was negative (praise God!). Then they did a cervical check, which was also good. Then they did a urine test. I was given a prescription called Macrobid to treat a urinary tract infection. They have no idea if I even have one as it takes 3 days to create a culture and test it. But they want me to start on the medication just in case. If it's negative, they'll have me stop and if it's positive, I'll continue. I also have to go in to the doctor more frequently. At this point I'm supposed to go in every 2 weeks until I'm 36 weeks, which is when I'll go in weekly. My next appt is scheduled for a week from today but they want me to also go in this Thursday or Friday. Hopefully I won't have to go in 2x/week for the rest of the pregnancy because that will get old fast!

All in all, we're very happy with the results. I'm glad I wasn't too stubborn to go in because it's not normal to have contactions every 5 minutes at this point (although the doctor said it very well could continue like this for the remainder of the pregnancy). I am 31 weeks today! Yay! Just a couple more months to go! We hope she stays safe and sound for at least another 6 weeks. She was kicking away like crazy during the testing tonight.

I had my first baby shower yesterday and it was absolutely gorgeous! Pam, Sarah, Amy, and Angela did a fantastic job! I'll write a post on that with pictures soon. For now I'm going to avoid my homework and go watch 24.

Nursery!

My dear friend Laurie Ford has helped me decorate most of my house. I'm not exactly a natural when it comes to home decor so I always appreciate her help.

We spent five hours today shopping for nursery decor. We went to Chipotle for lunch and then Target in Burnsville, Pottery Barn Kids, Gap at Southdale, Target in Edina, and then Michaels in Burnsville. Once we got home we had fun putting it all together for about 1.5 hours. Then we had a great steak dinner with Josh and Andrew! All in all a great day. And I started it off even better- worshipping God at Hosanna (by myself)- and I cried AGAIN. I cry every time I am at church now. This is a new thing since I've been pregnant.

Anyways...here are some pictures!! The pictures do not do the room justice. It is so fricken' cute. I have one little wall left. I ordered something from Uppercase Living that will be going there. Let me know what you think!

Funny people

I have had a few funny comments lately.

• Someone that I do not work with at Target said to me, "Hi Whitney. It is so nice your face isn't swollen!!" and then walked away. Yes, it is nice indeed. :)
• "Do you think people ever wonder if you are a teenage mother?" Thanks PAM!!!!
• "Do you eat NO sugar?!?!"

The third comment came from a nurse after my gestational diabetes testing that I had last Wednesday. You have 5 minutes to drink this nasty orange sugary drink. I thought I was doing really well with managing the time until the nurse popped in and said "20 SECONDS!!!" and I had 1/3 left. Needless to say, I felt a bit quesy during the hour wait before I had my blood tested. While waiting I realized it probably wasn't the best idea to have a powdered sugar donut for breakfast right before my blood sugar test. During the hour of waiting I went to the front desk to schedule my next appt. As I stood there I started feeling dizzy so I leaned against the counter as I talked with the receptionist. This was not new- I feel that way all the time. While I waited I had a visit with Dr. Song. She measured my uterus which is right on track and I talked to her (once again) about my dizzy/lightheaded spells. We also talked about the sciatica. She said she can refer me to physical therapy if I want. I have been sleeping better lately because I am using two pillows between my legs. This has helped tremendously. I also have a prenatal massage on Feb 15th (Thanks Mom!!) so we'll see if that also helps. I like this Dr soooo much. I really hope we get lucky and she is the one who delivers our precious baby girl.

Once the hour was up, they took my blood. I asked the nurse how long until I get the results and she said it just takes a minute. When she walked back a couple minutes later she said, "Uhhh....do you feel okay??". I was like, great! That's just what you want to hear when you're waiting to learn if you have gestational diabetes or not. I told her that I was lightheaded but I'm that way like 50% of the time. She said, "Because your blood sugar level is extremely, extremely low". Good news- I don't have diabetes! Then she said, "Do you eat NO sugar?!?!". To this, I bursted out laughing. I told her I eat more sugar than I probably should (but I left out the minor detail of having a donut for breakfast...don't want to get a lecture and feel guilty the next time I have a donut...because it will happen again, sooner rather than later :)). This explains why I am lightheaded so often. There's not much they can do about it. She told me I needed to get something to eat immediately after leaving the office. Even though I was lightheaded, I felt a lot better than I often do, so I wonder what my blood sugar level looks like when I feel very dizzy! I am going to concentrate on trying to eat something (healthy) every 30 minutes or so. I have only gained 13 pounds so far (which is just fine with my Dr) so I don't have to worry about gaining too much weight from eating so frequently.

I am in Las Vegas right now for the Reverse Logistics Association conference. It's not quite the same being pregnant here, but it has been fun! It's my first time here. Tonight I am eating dinner at a steak house with Genco, the third party service provider that operates Target's return center that I manage, and then Ashley (my direct report) and I are going to a Cirque du Soleil show at 9:30. I hope I don't fall asleep during it! Last night Ashley and I ate dinner at New York, New York and then walked up and down the strip and checked out the hotels. I was back in my room at 9PM and asleep by about 9:05!

I get home tomorrow night. I can't wait to see my hubby. Miss him!!! This is my third time traveling in the past month and I am ready to be done for awhile.