Ritchie's First Half Marathon!

I am so proud of my husband for completing one of his goals and running in a half marathon! He's been training for a few months now and will continue training towards the San Francisco Marathon on July 26. This half marathon was one step in the right direction towards meeting his goal! 

Here he is with his running buddy, Chris all decked out after the race:

Congratulations, baby!! I am so proud of you for meeting your goals! Thank you for being such a wonderful man!

After 5 1/2 hours in labor and delivery...

I was diagnosed with a very bad urinary track infection. The third one this pregnancy. So, our Saturday went a little something like this:

I woke up with pain in my lower abdomen and on my left side. I was taking it easy and just trying to rest it away, but it only got worse. Then when I went to the bathroom there was blood again, just like a week and a half ago. After this happening off and on all day, I decided to call the on-call doctor, which just happened to be my actual OB. She wanted me to go to labor and delivery to rule out pre-term labor. So, off we went to Good Sam at about 2:30. We got checked in around 3:00 p.m. and I was hooked up to monitors to watch Maxton's heart rate and to see whether or not I was contracting. They also wanted a urine sample, so I began to drink down the water. An hour later I was able to given them a sample and an hour after that they determined that there was a lot of blood in my urine and therefore that's what I was seeing. They double checked that it wasn't coming from anywhere else, but by this time we were feeling very confident that it was a UTI. This was around 5:00 p.m. They took me off the monitors because Maxton was doing well and I wasn't contracting at all. They called my doctor and reported what they had found. She wanted to rule out kidney stones (this is when I got really nervous) and a kidney infection. I didn't have a fever and by now the pain was mostly gone (I think it was part gas) so the likelihood was slim, but still... 

So, I waited about another hour to get an ultrasound on my kidneys to check for stones. Then I waited another hour to get those results and THEN we had to wait for Dr. Kendrick (best obstetrician in the world, by the way) to come and release me. All in all, I didn't have kidney stones (THANK GOD!) and she didn't even think I had a kidney infection. She just said it's a bad UTI and prescribed me a stronger antibiotic. She'll now be screening my regularly for UTIs throughout the pregnancy and if I get another one I'll have to be on a low dose antibiotic for the remainder of the pregnancy. 

I'm feeling much better today and have had 3 rounds of the antibiotics so far. I've been pounding the water, cranberry juice, cranberry pills, and cranberry pills. Anything to try and make this clear up. Apparently I'm prone to them in pregnancy even though I've never had one prior. I didn't want to even call for fear that I was being a hypochondriac and would be a bother to my doctor. Well, although nothing serious was wrong with the baby (thank goodness!! ) I did have something that needed immediate treatment or it could have become something much worse. So, though it wasn't fun spending all that time in L&D, I am glad I now know what's going on and am working on curing it. Always trust those instincts and never feel bad about calling your doctor is what I learned this weekend! The staff at Good Sam was amazing! They were so reassuring and put me right at ease. They even let me hang there while I was waiting for the ultrasound, even though technically I should have been sent to the ER. It was much cozier waiting in our own room with the TV and toilet nearby. I'm very thankful to know I'll be delivering in a hospital with such great people working there! Although, that said, I don't want to go back there until mid-late September... 

False Alarm

We went today for our ultrasound to determine whether or not the placenta is low lying enough to be a concern. IT WASN'T!! We were very relieved to see that it's not low enough to the cervix to be an issue at all! I don't have to be on pelvic rest or anything! They said to take it easy as always if I ever spot or feel sore from overdoing it. I'm very thankful to be able to do yoga, swim, and have an enjoyable summer as a preggo lady! 

In addition to looking at the placenta we, of course, snuck a peek at our little man again. He was wiggling all around! He rolled and kicked and stretched all out! He looks like he's already running out of room in there! I guess that's why I'm in pain sometimes - I'm growing to give my boy some more space! 

So it was a great day for us! We're no longer worried because everything looks great AND it's the first night of So You Think You Can Dance! Woo-hoo! It doesn't get much better than that! 

Baby Update

Well, we had our first scare as parents to be last night! I was in some pain all day and at night I had some very slight bleeding. So, I called the on-call doctor and since the bleeding had stopped he decided that I didn't need to go in, but told me to make sure to be seen this morning first thing. So, that's what we did. It appears that my placenta may be partially covering the cervix and since we have such an active little guy in there, he's practically competing in the olympic games right on my placenta. Basically, this is what she thinks caused the bleeding. I have another ultrasound tomorrow to confirm how much of the cervix is being covered. At that point they will decide if I need to be on pelvic rest (no lovin', exercise, or lifting, and only moderate amounts of walking) or bedrest (can't do ANYTHING) or if I can just proceed as normal and continue to just be aware. I'm obviously hoping for the later of the three options and I'll make sure to keep you posted!  

It's a BOY!

Well, Ritchie and I are totally in shock still about the fact that our sweet baby growing in there is actually a BOY! haha! We are thrilled, but amazing at how off our instincts were. Let's hope the parenting intuition gets better with time : ) Here are some pictures of our little boy!

They Shouldn't Let Skinny People Work in Maternity Stores

Okay, so I decided to treat myself today after a long day at a Sacramento field trip in 100 degree weather with a new pair of shoes!! However, I went to Macy's and the rude salesperson told me that they didn't have any more in my size. No offer to call other stores, no asking if he should check in another color, nothing. But, I digress... 

So, I decided to go to A Pea in the Pod and look for a pretty maternity top and pair of pants. I was the only one in the store so I got all of the attention of the lovely size 2 sales associate trying to find me the perfect pair of capri black slacks for the next 2 months of work. It was a nightmare. She was very sweet. But as my ass takes over the country and claims its own zip code and my belly forms all kinds of new "handles" (I refuse to call them love handles, because I hate them) - the more I just don't want to have a teeny tiny woman bringing me large maternity pants and cheering me on telling me, "Everyone goes through this transition time." Yeah, that's what I want to hear. Code for, "You'll be getting fatter everyday, so you shouldn't buy those, because, basically, your ass won't even fit in them in two more months." Nice. 

So, in the meantime, I'll be buying LOTS of shoes. I've decided that I'll spend the remaining 5 1/2 months of pregnancy naked, in all my huge pregnant glory, with fabulous shoes on my feet! 

One question: Pink or Blue?

Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I've been dying to know if it's a boy or girl in there! Kuddos to everyone who can actually wait an entire 40 weeks to find out, because I'm only 15 weeks and I'm dying here! I officially have my appointment set for April 24 (after begging to be seen sooner) to have that magical ultrasound! The countdown is on! 2 weeks and 3 days until we finally know! That is, if he/she cooperates! 

On a different note, my friend Kim has lent me her doppler so we've been able to hear the heartbeat whenever we want (which as of now has been at least once a day). It's so amazing hearing the heartbeat and it's wonderful to know our little bean is growing away in there! Let's hope all of the appointments over the next few weeks continue to go well and give us good news! 

Keep posted on the boy/girl update!