Three's Company & False Labor?

I awoke this morning around 5AM,struggling to get out of the bed. Not just because it was early and I was tired, but because it actually does take me a minute to manage to get out of the bed (NinjaMan loves to watch me try and get out of bed, so glad he enjoys laughing at me so much!).This time though, I had an awful pain in the center of my stomach, one of which I haven't felt before. The pain was strong,but it didn't feel like a contraction,my stomach was hard like a contraction,but I could tell this was a different pain. I get through my early morning tinkle trip and manage to crawl back into bed, still in pain. I noticed then that my stomach was hurting more when I laid on my back,almost like my round ligament was stretching, so I laid on my side to help ease the pain. A few hours later I woke up again having to tinkle (bladder pressure is quite annoying. Again I notice I'm in alot more pain after getting up and moving around. This time NinjaMan woke up to my "ow" and "ouches". I told him I was hurting really bad so he helped me out of bed and rubbed my back as I sat at the edge of the bed. Worried, I text Hot Mama (my Mom) explaining to her my pain and where it was located.I decide to get dressed while I await her reply,just in case it was time to go to the hospital. For some unknown reason, this is where I had the Three's Company Song stuck in my head! I have no idea why, I haven't even watched/heard anything associated with that show.No reply from Hot Mama, so I go downstairs to check my bloodsugar to see if somehow that might be the problem or a contributor to the pain. Check my bloodsugar and get a 96 result, so I knew my diabetes wasn't the cause of my pain.I then call Hot Mama to try and discuss what could possibly be wrong, no answer.
WHERE IS HOT MAMA?! I mean, she may have just went to church,but Hot Mama knows she needs to have her phone on vibrate! I tell myself that maybe she didn't feel it vibrate and I need to give her time to check the phone. So, still no answer or reply; I decide to text Dad because he always has his phone. No answer from Dad. What is going on?!! I tried not to panic,but that's hard to do when you're in pain and pregnant.
While sitting at my desk I noticed I felt gassy and I needed to go to the bathroom--could this have been my problem? ...Probably so. So I go to the bathroom, and notice I feel better afterwards. I went upstairs to tell NinjaMan I felt a little better,but I still had the pain in the center of my stomach, it just wasn't as strong. I was feeling better but the pain still lingered, it just was bearable now, but I still felt "off".
I go back downstairs and decide to put on some coffee, I was wanting coffee but not food, which is abnormal for me. I always wake up hungry, but today was different and that didn't help my worry. So i begin to make the coffee and I catch myself singing Three's Company again. What is going on with me today? I had to laugh at myself about the Three's Company thing.It's just so random, which makes it even more funny, because I'm a very random type of person. I say crazy, random,funny things all the time (not in a "that lady is crazy" kinda way,but in a "person who says funny things at random" kinda way), but this was just unrelated to anything funny. I tell NinjaMan about having that song in my head and he comments that he doesn't even know the song. --Great, I'm alone in my funny randomness!
I make my coffee, warm up a wheat bagel and start my morning ritual of checking emails and facebook while the song still plays in my head.
An hour or so goes by and still no replies from Hot Mama or Dad, I kept thinking to myself that it's so unlike them to not answer their phones or check them after an hour, something's gotta be going on.
I then decide to text my 19 yr old sister,Nina....surely she has her phone,it's her lifeline. AHA! A reply within 1 minute of sending the text! What a great, text addicted sister! She tells me that they've gone out of town to go Easter dress shopping for my 8 yr old sister. Out of town with out their phones,very unlike them. I tell Nina that I also text Dad and didn't get a reply and I needed them earlier because I thought I might've neeeded to go the Labor & Delivery. About 2 minutes later Dad calls me, he says Nina called and said I was in pain earlier and trying to get ahold of them.--Yep! Why didn't you answer your phone when I needed you! Apparently Dad didn't know Mom left her phone at home, but I still told him she was in trouble with me. Hot Mama calls about 5 minutes later and explains that she realized she left it as she was leaving the house,but thought "I always have it and nobody has ever needed me, it should be fine this one time". I reply with "the one time you don't take it with you is the one time someone needs you! Somebody is always gonna really need to reach you when you're unreachable!" "And by the way Mom, you're on restriction until you can prove to me that you're responsible."
She got a kick out of that one! :) I wasn't mad at all though, these things happen and people don't mean for them too. I'm just glad it happened when it was a "false alarm" rather than the real deal.
I told Mom and Dad to have a bag packed for this type of thing and to be prepared for that call, because with my high-risk pregnancy...you never know when Baby Ninja will decide to show up! :)
So maybe it was false labor, maybe it was just gas...really bad gas. Whatever the case, I feel much better! I just hope that when I do go into labor, I don't get the Three's Company song stuck in my head!

Update on Gestational Diabetes. 03/26/2010

I went to the doctor yesterday and he reviewed my log book. Still had high morning/fasting sugar levels, so the doctor increased my dosage to 1 pill Glyburide before bed and 1/2 pill in the mornings. I think my doctor lied to me at my last visit so that I'd be scared and behave. He told me that the next step was insulin if I couldn't get my sugars down. It worked though, because my diet sugar levels weren't bad (had one mess up with 1/4 a banana) but that was about it. So I go back in a week so we can check my sugars and see if we need to increase to Glyburide 2x/day.....hoping and praying not!
NonStressTest(NST)
Had my 2nd NST after my doc appt. BabyNinja started out moving a little bit, but then decided to not cooperate for a while. The nurse had to keep me on the test for a while, but we got a great laugh at BabyNinja and his hiccups that lasted for 20 minutes! It was so cute because I could feel the hiccups and then hear the movement from them! Just when we thought he'd stopped, he'd start hiccuping again! :) We finally got him to move long enough to check his heart rate and be sent home with a good result! Yay!! It's easing my stress to see that he is,in fact, doing ok even with the diabetes, so that is uplifting.
The main thing i worry about is that BabyNinja isn't doing ok and they have to induce labor immediately. I know NinjaMan worries when he can't come to the NST that he'll get that call from me saying "Inducing me! Get here NOW!" And I know that he wouldn't go home to get our hospital bag--he wouldn't know where to look for the stuff that needs packed anyway--but I'd like to look somewhat presentable in our first family pic! But i would want him there ASAP too!
NinjaMan has been great for moral support with all thats been going on! He knows when I'm upset when he can't even see my face! Apparently my body language isn't very subtle in a worried state because NinjaMan and my midwife have rubbed my shoulder if I ask a question that sounds slightly concerned. At least i have the support though!
Check back soon for the post concerning my checkup with my blood sugar levels! :)

Turned 21 and I celebrate with.....

WATER! Woohoo! Don't get me wrong, I love my BabyNinja so much already, but it was kind of a bummer to have to drink water. I'm not big on alcohol, that's not a big deal to me at all, but I so badly wanted a Strawberry Bull (contains Red Bull & Strawberry,non-alcoholic) from Outback last night! And I can't even have that!
Every second I am awake I fear that whatever i eat is going to make my BabyNinja become overweight at birth. Sometimes I don't want to eat because I don't want to have to count out the carbs or remind myself that I can't eat what I'm craving! I do end up eating because, well, I like food..even the diabetic kind. Lately though, I feel as though I'm eating the same things over and over; eggs in the morning, pizza made on wheat tortilla, grilled chicken or grilled pork chops and a veggie. I never feel satisfied when I'm done eating, probably because I'm a snacker rather than a 3 square meal eater.
I don't want to have complications with BabyNinja or his birth.I don't want a C-section, pre-term delivery or him to gain too much weight. I don't want him to be premature either, but boy am I sick of dealing with this diabetes, and I miss BabyNinja. I've only seen BabyNinja in ultrasounds, but I already love him with all my heart and I just want to be a Mom already! "miss" may not be the right word because I haven't met him, but I feel like I know him.He already makes me laugh at his hiccups and shuttering. I feel protective of him, my Momma Bear instinct kicked in very early, I feel like I need to protect him from me having the diabetes. Knowing that my blood sugar can be high after fasting and can harm my BabyNinja just makes me ill. I'm almost mad at my body because the first half of my pregnancy was fine and then--BAM!! Gestational Diabetes that can't be controlled with just diet!
My body/the womb is suppose to be the safest place for him in his life and even thats not safe anymore! arrgghh!!!
I'm sorry,I'm just frustrated today, this diabetes is trying to get to me and I'm letting it. *deep breaths* -ok, I CAN beat this, I just got to keep my head on straight and my heart on God and all else will fall into place.

NinjaChic's Non Stress Test

Last Thursday, my doctor wanted me to start coming in 2x a week for a Non Stress Test. Today was my first time having one. :) I went in, sat in this huge chair, and they strapped an ultrasound machine to me. This machine had 2 leads, one to monitor Baby Ninja's heartbeat and movement, the other records contractions. If BabyNinja's heart beats faster (at least 15 beats per minute over his resting rate) while he's moving for at least 15 seconds on two separate occasions during a 20-minute span, the result is normal, or "reactive." A normal result means BabyNinja is doing fine. But, if BabyNinja's heartbeat doesn't increase with movement or he doesn't move within 90 minutes, the result is "nonreactive". A nonreactive result could mean BabyNinja isn't getting enough oxygen, if that is the problem, then my doctor will want to induce labor because he isn't doing well in the womb.
Today, BabyNinja did great! He moved around when he was suppose to and his heartrate increased with his movement. Let's hope this cooperation with BabyNinja continues. :)

NinjaMan experiencing Sympathetic Pregnancy?

Lately, NinjaMan has not been feeling great lately. He's experiencing tummy aches, headaches, and even some nausea; never to the point of needing to see a doctor,but enough to have him feeling a little off lately.
Could it be he's experiencing Couvade (sympathetic pregnancy)?
It's definitely possible! The frequency of Couvade in modern Western populations ranges from under 20 percent to more than 80 percent of expectant fathers. Weird huh? Mental Health professionals speculate the cause of Couvade is jealousy of the woman being able to carry a child or they are selfishly seeking attention because they feel guilty for impregnating the woman.
Now, I will admit that I get much more attention than NinjaMan because I am carrying our child. People only pay attention to a pregnant woman because of the baby, once the baby is born, the baby gets attention/acknowledgment before the parents,so it makes sense that the woman gets more attention. This doesn't mean that the expectant father should be ignored, fathers play a very important role in both pregnancy and parenting. If it wasn't for NinjaMan, I'd have already fallen to pieces over developing Gestational Diabetes, he keeps me on my toes about what/how I eat and when I need to take a break to keep from overdoing things.
As much as I want to be pampered for being pregnant, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to give NinjaMan a little sympathy for his tummyaches or a nice backrub when he's tired from a long day. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" comes to mind when I think about Couvade. If I'm a little sympathetic and nurturing when NinjaMan is feeling a little off, then he will have the same concern for me during and after the pregnancy. I'm not just saying "Be nice so hubby will be nice to you", that's not the right reason. Be nice to hubby because you care for him and his well being, just like he cares for yours. NinjaMan doesn't expect me to go a bit out of my way to care for him, but he does know that I care about him and I do those things to show him that.
So my new goal is to show NinjaMan that I care and sympathize with him whenever he's not feeling great; in turn, I'm sure NinjaMan's confidence will get a little boost too!

The meds are workin' Doc!

Yesterday I was told by my doctor to increase my diabetes medicine from 1/2 pill of Glyburide once a day to 1/2 a pill 2 times a day. My blood sugar was continuously high in the mornings after fasting for 8 hours, so starting last night, I take 1/2 pill in the mornings and 1/2 pill before bed. I'm proud to say that it's working! This morning before food my blood sugar was 92 and was 90 two hours after breakfast! I'm trying my hardest to eat responsibly for the health of me and Baby Noob, and I'm hoping and praying I don't have to take the next step in diabetic medicine if this doesn't work, which is insulin shots. Ouch! It takes alot of planning and awareness of what you're eating to do this right, I'm just hoping all this pays off and I don't have to have insulin shots anyway! That'll be a relief! I'm told not to worry,but how can I not?

Hormones, Nausea and Cravings

The first time I experienced food cravings was actually before I knew I was pregnant. One day I was leaving school on my commute back home and I had this sudden craving for a McDonald's Big Mac. Never in my life had I tasted a Big Mac, but my Mom (Hot Mama) is a fan of them. So, I find the closest McDonald's,order a Big Mac at the drive-thru and take it home. I ate that Big Mac like I hadn't eaten in days! I loved it and I couldn't believe I had waited so long to try one! After that,I went to McDonald's and got a Big Mac about 5 times within the next 2 weeks!

Throughout my first trimester, I had Morning Sickness,but never any vomiting, only really bad nausea. I did look forward to the end of my first trimester in hopes that the nausea would end. About 2 weeks into my second trimester, the nausea was gone and I was so very thankful!

The first time I realized I was having crazy hormones was on a Sunday. NinjaMan and I had decided to go out to eat,but we couldn't agree on where to eat. We had just left the house and NinjaMan was playing his music a little too loud, so I asked him to turn it down. NinjaMan, being the aggravating person he is sometimes, refused saying "Metallica shouldn't be turned down, especially not this awesome song". I was a bit annoyed at that point not mad. He then decided to aggravate me by thumping my leg repeatedly. I,again, calmly asked him to stop, but of course he continued because he thinks its cute when I'm mad. What NinjaMan doesn't understand is that when he thumps, he thumps too hard and it actually hurts instead of stings,but he doesn't think or realize he thumps so hard. So, i warned him that he was making me mad and he needed to stop, but NinjaMan, thinking I was being cute I guess, decided to continue. It was at that point that I was so mad and ill that I contemplated ripping his arm off and I yelled at him,calling him ugly names. We rode in silence the rest of the way to whatever restaurant he wanted to go to; I was too mad to tell him where I wanted to go. I eventually calmed down and NinjaMan apologized for pushing me too far, so we did get to enjoy the meal. But, fair warning to guys everywhere: Do NOT push a pregnant woman too far, she will retaliate!

Telling the family the BIG news!

NinjaMan and I live about 6 hours from my family and about 12 hours from his family, but we felt the big news was too exciting and important to tell our families over the phone. So, NinjaMan and I called our parents and told them we were coming to visit;this was the same weekend of finding out we were pregnant. The arrangement to get everyone together went on without a hitch and nobody suspected us of having news of pregnancy. My parents,sisters and grandparents came, NinjaMan's Mom,sisters and grandparents came and we all sat down in a private room at a local steakhouse. After everyone ordered their meals, NinjaMan gave a gift bag to everyone and I told them they all had to open their gift at the same time. My mother (who wants to be called Hot Mama instead of Grandmama) jokingly told me that she thought I was about to tell everyone I was pregnant. I could not look at her when I said "Just wait and open your gift!" for fear of giving the surprise away! When everyone looked in their bag they saw a plastic baby bottle, after having everyone pull out the bottles, I told them to open the bottle and pull out the paper. The paper was two of the sonogram pictures we were given when we found out we were pregnant.
Of course, NinjaMan's Mom and my Mom were the first to realize what these pictures meant. I looked at my parents and NinjaMan's Mom and saw them smiling from ear to ear with expressions of absolute joy on their faces.

Surprise! You're Pregnant!

NinjaMan, my parents,my sisters and I planned a vacation to Disney World for the first weekend in October. The previous week I was ill with a stomach flu,but feeling better we decided to go ahead with our vacation. While at Disney I felt nauseated some mornings and was always very tired by the end of each day, but being tired is common for a trip to Disney. NinjaMan and I love to eat at the Biergarten(German restaurant meaning "Beer Garden") in Epcot, and so we went and enjoyed the food and fun. While there I was experiencing pain in my chest on my left side; worried, I called my mother who is also a nurse. I told her about the pain and that I felt like it was in and around my shoulder. Mom told me it was probably just from my backpack being too heavy,but it could also be heartburn from the food I had eaten.
After returning home from our vacation I noticed I still felt tired and nauseated and so NinjaMan suggested buying an at-home pregnancy test. I then remembered missing a birth control pill and that I was two days late on my period, and so I ran to the pharmacy and bought two tests. After both tests came back positive, I ran back to the store and bought two digital tests,which also came back positive. I told NinjaMan about the tests and we decided to go to the Base Clinic the next day to get my blood drawn so we could be absolutely sure. NinjaMan,nervous as I was, decided to take a day off and go with me to the Clinic. After an hour of anxiously waiting, we were called to a room and given the result. The nurse told us "Congrats, You're Pregnant!!" but his happy expression changed when he saw we were still worried. I explained to him that a couple days before I had an episode of bleeding and we were concerned that I had miscarried. After explaining this, we were sent to Eglin AFB because our base does not have an Ob/Gyn clinic. NinjaMan and I rush over to Eglin's Ob Clinic only to find they were closed for training, but were told to come back early the next morning.
The next day (October 8,2009) we were at the clinic as soon as it opened and the staff checked my weight and blood pressure. We were sent to an examining room where we explained everything and the doctor decided to do an ultrasound. It was then we saw our precious baby for the first time! NinjaMan held my hand and I cried tears of joy when we heard our baby's heartbeat.The doctor told us that by the size of the baby I was 9 weeks and 4 days pregnant instead of 5 weeks like we thought! The doctor calculated my due date for May 8, 2010.The feeling we had when we saw our baby for the first time and knew that everything was alright was like nothing we have ever felt before!