Preeclampsia Horror

You might have taken notice I've been MIA for the past couple weeks and haven't updated since twenty-seven weeks.  Well, if you don't know through Facebook already, Ninja (aka Ryken) is here! I apparently got randomly selected against my wishes by the pregnancy gods to develop a disease called Preeclampsia causing me to give birth to my sweet boy at only 29 weeks and 1 day.  Which is any first time or hell ANY time mother's nightmare, hearing your baby isn't going to make it full term and in order for you and him both to make it out on the other end safely he has to be delivered premature and then be prayed over for a smooth continued maturing (which he should be still doing in my uterus) in the NICU at your hospital for who knows how long. Needless to say this has been THE HARDEST hurdle I've ever had to deal with and hope to overcome in my entire life.  Thank god Ryken seems to be doing so well each and every day of the now ten days he's had to spend in his little incubator he has improved and improved.  I thank god for all the overwhelming support and prayers my little guy has received from SO many people, not only from my family as well as Adam's but from both of our friends and even from people I haven't even really been in touch with for months.  All of you know please, from the bottom of my heart, how unbelievably grateful I am, thank you. Along with that I also have to express my overflowing amount of gratitude I have toward each and every single one of his amazing nurses and doctors he has had so far, they are all literally miracle workers and I have been NOTHING short of amazed and satisfied with the care that he has been receiving.  If I'm not there when the doctor does her daily rounds she makes it a point to call me to let me know his updates for the day and to reassure me that he is still doing such a fantastic job.  I am so lucky to have the team I have working with him and I don't know how I will ever have the ability to repay them for the love and care they are giving my baby.  With that being said, I will post a different post going into better detail of the path that led us to this abrupt halt in my pregnancy and this miracle baby boy we now have.

Week 27

How Far Along?

27 weeks, 1 day!

 

Weight Gain?

Next doctor's appointment is on the fifth.  I did COMPLETELY indulge yesterday at the fair though so its probably going to be really, really, really depressing.

 

Stretch Marks?:

Not that I've seen.

 

How big is Little Ninja S?

The size of a rutabaga...whatever that may be??

 

Maternity Clothes?

Take another look at the above picture.  That's right ladies and gentlemen (ha I doubt any guys read this) that is a maternity shirt AND pants.  BAAM I did that! haha I don't even care anymore.

  

Best moment this week?

State fair much?! haha mmm food. Adam and I spent about eight hours there yesterday and still didn't get enough, we will be back next weekend.  My feet were stupid swollen, I probably drank my obese body weight in water, and Ninja was the happiest little fetus in the world with all the delicious goodness I was giving him to chow down on.

Miss Anything?

I miss beer, we were at a wedding this weekend and all I wanted was a nice cold beer.  Adam also got this DELICIOUS orange something beer yesterday at the fair that tasted (I did try a sip) EXACTLY like my beloved blue moon with an orange slice in it.  Sad day.

Food cravings? 

I haven't really craved anything recently, its more just been I want to eat a little something ALL THE TIME.  I have to force myself to go do something else sometimes so I don't just inhale my entire kitchen. #fatgirlproblems

Movement?

So I think he might have taken some offense to me telling people I don't feel him a whole lot during the day because yesterday morning as soon as I woke up Adam put his hand on my tummy and he was kicking SUPER hard, and today he's just been boogying in there all.day.long. He's going to town right now as I type actually.

 

Belly Button in or out?

Its pretty much stayed the same, but I have a nasty feeling it won't stay this way by the end of all this.

Anything make you queasy or sick? 

Hello, return of the nausea. I mean really? It's happened like two or three times this week, mostly in the morning.  I just get super sick to my stomach again.  Not cool, Ninja, not cool.

 

Looking forward to?

Going home to Texas in like two weeks for my baby shower!! Adam's coming too! I'm pretty lucky to have a baby daddy that I don't have to force to do these things with me haha.

 

Sleep?

Sleep...whats sleep? Seriously this week has sucked! Monday and Tuesday night I was woken up at 1:30 am to a stabbing pain behind my eyes, so bad I couldn't get back to sleep until like 5am it sucked! I was like a zombie the second morning, practice I guess. I called the nurse they told me to just stay hydrated and take some Tylenol PM which I did, HEAVEN SENT!  

 

Gender Prediction:

No more predicting we have a BOY!!!! Side note: I had a dream we were at the hospital and I delivered a girl and I was in complete shock and not prepared all I could think was "I HAVE NO GIRL NAMES PICKED OUT" 

 

Symptoms:

Hello sausage fingers and cankles...sexy right? Back pain more than you can imagine, breakouts.  Oh this is fun. :-/

 

Happy/Moody:

Oh my, this week has been the week of meltdowns.  My clothes don't fit, my body isn't normal looking anymore, I look like I'm going through puberty all over again.  I don't do well with change and I get I'm growing a baby and that's all great and dandy but again, change is hard and I have to figure out how to get better with that. I just feel insanely unattractive these days.

 BUT ON THAT NOTE! Thanks for reading! :)

Week 26, Six and a Half Months!

How Far Along?
26 weeks!

 

Weight Gain?

I don't even want know, I'm super glad I stuck with the whole idea of not owning a scale for the house.  We'll find out at my next doctors appointment on September 5th

 

Stretch Marks?:

Not that I've seen.

 

How big is Little Ninja S?

A head of lettuce??!! For real? I was just a Walmart looking at heads of lettuce, oh dear!

 

Maternity Clothes?

I have given in! Honestly, I'm not really sure why I was so off-put by them, it really makes me feel a little better to pull pants on that don't take jumping and extra effort to get buttoned around this big ole belly. Plus the smaller shirts are working out lovely.

  

Best moment this week?

Well, Ninja was moving around quite a bit today so that was nice.  He typically doesn't like to get movin' and groovin' until bed time.  OH and having my first stranger ask me if I knew what I was having yet made me smile because I feel like I finally look pregnant and not that I just ate a lot of McDonalds. OHHHH and getting to eat a chickfila sandwich was pretty much the most amazing thing ever, see previous post for what I'm talking about! :)

Miss Anything?

I miss not being pasty white. A little color would be great.

Food cravings? 

I got myself a piece of cookie cake last night so I was good to go.  Oh and I had an ICE cold water bottle the other day and I pretty much sucked the whole thing down in like ten seconds flat!

Movement?

Like I said up there, he was moving around a lot more today than he usually is.  I'm just suspecting he's practicing his super secretive ninja skills and that's why he doesn't move around a whole lot during the day!

 

Belly Button in or out?

Gross, just gross. I really hope it goes back to looking normal.

Anything make you queasy or sick? 

Doing good on this front!

 

Looking forward to?

Getting to see my family and friends in TEXAS in about a month!!!

 

Sleep?

Ugh, I must have jinxed myself because this whole time I haven't had an issue with this.  This past week has been awful. My back kills me as soon as I lay down, I wake up constantly throughout the night with my head throbbing, then it will take me about half an hour to fall back asleep.  I'm going to need this to get better or I'm going to die.  I consume entirely too much coffee at work to deal with this nonsense.

 

Gender Prediction:

No more predicting we have a BOY!!!! 

 

Symptoms:

So my feet swelled for the first time the other day, joy. My toes literally looked like little sausages, it was disgusting.  After I elevated them for a little while the swelling went away but I don't enjoy it.  My back has been KILLING me.  And my belly is just grrrrroowing I finally feel what its like to have your skin stretching!!!

 

Happy/Moody:

I've had a lot of moody issues this week, I literally feel like this stomach just popped out of no where and its really been messing with my self-esteem. Everyone keeps telling me "I'm not fat I'm pregnant" but its still really upsetting me that none of my clothes look normal anymore and that bending over with ease is practically impossible.

 

 

 

Best.Day.Ever.

For those of you who don't know, I was born and raised in Texas.  Home of all fabulous food choices.  Since moving to the northern county I have had to begin a strict diet of no Whataburger, Texas Roadhouse, Jack n the Box (which I never ate anyway), In n Out burger, and most missed of all...Chickfila.  BUT all that is about to change my dear blogging friends and rejoice we will!!!  If you have never had a taste of this magical chicken sandwich or even better chicken minis for breakfast YOU ARE MISSING OUT!!! But don't worry my fellow Minnesotaians...Chickfila is on the way!!! Opening in Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Apple Valley, and Bloomington in October! Oh my god I could die right now!! Anyway back to the best day ever, to celebrate these momentous occasions Chickfila is putting on "Event Days" in each of these cities this week.  Adam and I made it out to the first one yesterday afternoon in Apple Valley.  What are they doing at these said events you ask?? Well my fine ladies and gentlemen they are giving away free..yes FREE chicken sandwiches, you can take pictures with the people in their cow dressed attire, you can spin a wheel and win free stuff like tshirts OH and a hot air ballon...FO FREE! I mean seriously what else do you possible need to complete you day?! AH it was fantastic.

What does this have to Ninja? Well I'll tell you, for one I have craved Chickfila this entire pregnancy and short of going home in May I have been deprived of it this entire time.  Secondly, you know how people make their own baby food to be more economically friendly? My child will be eating ground up Chickfila.  Okay, maybe not...or maybe so.  Ninja's first words will be Chickfila, mark my words. I mean seriously people if you haven't tried this slice of heaven in the form of a restaurant please do so, otherwise I just don't think your life will have meaning.  MMMM Chickfila

 

 

Trimester Two and Two Thirds!

So according to my doctor at my appointment last week I'm in my third trimester.  This confuses me, because according to EVERYTHING else I've read the third trimester doesn't start until twenty-eight weeks.  So here's what we'll go with, I'm officially in trimester 2 2/3! BAM! On to the questions!

(By the way, I took two sets of pictures and ended up liking both so, you all get double dose.  You're welcome!)

 

 

 

How Far Along? 25 weeks, 1 day!

 

Weight Gain?

I think I might have had a melt down haha. Doctor's scales are MEAN! I'm apparently working with a 15 pound weight gain!

 

Stretch Marks?:

None to report as of now.  I did just buy some burt's bee's belly butter and the oil.  The oil smells like lemons and its lovely :)

 

How big is Little Ninja S?

According to thebump.com he is the size of cauliflower, which is confusing. I must not have an accurate description of a cauliflower in my head because to me I thought those were smaller than the cantaloupe that he was supposed to be last week? ALRIGHT!

 

Maternity Clothes?

So I had an epiphany this week! So when you initially go maternity clothes shopping (and are completely clueless) they tell you to buy the same size you are in normal clothes. For me tops are mediums and larges because HELLO this mama has a chest.  So I bought mediums, come to realize, these are entirely too big.  So I gave in and went and bought some small shirts, I love them! I actually feel like I look pregnant in them and not just fat and frumpy. The green shirt in the above picture is one of the new additions to the family :)

  

Best moment this week?

Figuring out a good weekend to start the planning to go home for my shower in Texas made me smile, I miss my family! And not having to take my glucose test until next doctors appointment!

Miss Anything?

I miss fitting into my old clothes.  And Sushi, I really wanted sushi the other day.

Food cravings? 

I made monkey bread last night. OH. MY. GOSH.  Hello forty pound weight gain!

Movement?

More and more, I was laying on the couch on Saturday and I felt him moving around on my right side so I lifted my shirt and my entire stomach was completely lopsided. It was so strange! Its like he curled into a tiny little ball on my right side and it deflated my left side! And I'm also abooooooout sixty-eight percent positive that I felt hiccups for the first time today, not entirely sure though.

 

Belly Button in or out?

Its getting shallower and shallower, freaking me out!

Anything make you queasy or sick? 

Nothing this week, let's keep this streak up!

 

Looking forward to?

Getting all these showers in order I'm super pumped to get this Ninja some goods!

 

Sleep?

Sleep is good, except when I have to get up to pee then it takes me about half an hour to get back to sleep which sucks.

 

Gender Prediction:

No more predicting we have a BOY!!!! 

 

Symptoms:

I literally have been getting super uncomfortable back pain, which is worrying me because I know I'm going to get like twice this size and I don't know how I'm going to do it if its already hurting this often and this bad. I had my first heat stroke the other day! I thought I was going to die for about five minutes!

 

Happy/Moody:

Happy and Moody, again Adam is really really enjoying this time of life.  I'm sorry!

 

 

 

And then I just wanted to throw this in here because Adam thinks its comical to take pictures of me without informing me that he is in the first place.  That and look how long my hair looks! haha

 

And that's all folks! Happy 2 2/3 trimester Ninja!!!

 



How Did We Get Here (Part One)

I think this more to myself than I would probably ever want to let on.  But here it is, I'm going to let all of you in on a little secret, and by "all of you" I mean the two MAYBE three people that probably read this.  Before I get into the nitty-gritty, here is the story behind the reason for this post:

As I've stated before I have recently developed a liking to reading blogs, mostly mommy/pregnancy blogs, but lesbi-honest, I read anything that catches my eye (I have a lot of down time to fill while I'm pretending to work).  Anyway, when I stumbled across my first "bump" blog I was pretty intrigued to say the least, I mean its kind of cool how we live in a world where technology can literally keep a log of your daily life and momentous events; because let's face it, I lose everything.  It wasn't log until I had finished the first and wanted more, so I took to pinterest to fuel my desire.  Pinterest is a god by the way.  I miiiight have gone a little overboard on the whole pregnancy blog thing but honestly I thoroughly enjoy them and while I still feel like I am ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY PERCENT lost on this pregnancy road I find myself on, they seem to offer me a comfort of sorts to know that maybe I shouldn't freak out THAT bad about the scale now reading numbers I have never dreamed of.  MOVING ON, while I will continue to brag on all these wonderful women I have come across in my trek of the internet, the one thing I have noticed is they all fall into the same category: "Happily married and overjoyed to find out they are expecting their little"  Which is perfect and amazing.  But that's not my situation and I know that its not how it ALWAYS works, but why can't I find any blogs that have the "happily single mommy"?  Okay, no I'm not single but I'm not married either and I know there are more girls out there that would appreciate reading a blog like mine. But I'm getting ahead of myself, point is: (and you can chose to take offense to this if you want, I mean none)  As much as I love Adam and know he is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with I wasn't ready to be a mom yet, I wasn't even sure if I EVER wanted to be a mom.  It's a harsh reality when you have to accept the hand that is dealt to you and go with it.  With that said, please don't click the "x" at the top right corner JUST yet.  It might have taken me awhile to accept the road that was laid out for me but the point is I did, and honestly I can say I'm pretty excited to meet this little boy and I hope nothing more to be the best Mommy I can to him. So here's the story:

March 28, 2013 (I believe): It was a Thursday, I remember because I had a perfect job interview line up for the next morning, I had been feeling sick to my stomach a few morning that week but I honestly didn't think anything of it.  I was always irregular and the thought of being pregnant didn't even cross my mind.  It was on the tip of everyone else's tongue though and after laughing it off and telling them to stop being dumb I was driving home and I thought to myself "I'll just take the spare I have and get them all to shut up about it".  So I did just that. I got home, Adam was still at work, I went upstairs and grabbed the leftover test I had laying under the sink. So I did my thing and laid it on the counter next to me and before I had even stood up to flush the toilet this is what my eyes are met with:

 

 

I mean immediately.  The "test" line wasn't even visible yet, but sure enough BRIGHT blue your ego is preggo.  So what do I do? I immediately call my best friend.  Here's a how the next five to ten minutes play out:

 

Amanda: Hello?

Alissa: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

 

Eventually we concluded I would drive out to Eagan to her place while she ran to the store to purchase more tests.  I didn't call Adam, I didn't tell him anything. I had NO idea what to say.  To make this a little less tedious to read I'll shorten the next couple hours.  I took a total of one million, okay three more tests, all of which were VERY positive.  Point made: I was pregnant.

 

Next posting when I decide to be unlazy: The unveiling to Adam.

Six Months!

...Six Months...SIX MONTHS

Excuse me while I figure out how to breathe again!  Six months is half a year people! I have been at this pregnant thing for half of a year! That's probably the longest time I've ever spent dedicated to anything...just kidding, but for real. haha Anyway here's the bump update: (please excuse the REALLY bad pictures this week)

 

How Far Along?

24 weeks, 1 day!

Weight Gain?

I actually came across a scale this week so I of course jumped on, I'm up a pound according to that, so twelve total.  We'll see what the doctor's scale says on Wednesday.

 

Stretch Marks?:

None to report yet.

 

How big is Little Ninja S?

These continue to shock me, this week he's supposed to be relatable to a cantaloupe!

 

Maternity Clothes?

I wore one of my shirts for the first time last week! It still felt way too big but I'm running out of options with my normal shirts if my belly would attempt to catch up with my tatas we'd be in business.

  

Best moment this week?

Garage selling was fun I think Adam and I have decided to make it kind of a routine thing every Saturday morning (lives of old people) OH and I was laying on the couch last night watching Dexter and I had the remote resting on my stomach, I guess Ninja did not appreciate it invading his bubble because he started kicking and jabbing away at it, you could see it bouncing all over the place.  It was really kind of weird to watch.   

Miss Anything?

Color.  I miss not being this pasty white person :(

Food cravings? 

Anything chocolate, this has gotten pretty bad folks.

Movement?

Yes siree, I'm slowly starting to notice it a bit more often during the day. But most of it takes place at night when I'm laying down for bed. 

 

Belly Button in or out?

My belly button looks gross, end of story.

Anything make you queasy or sick? 

Just smelly drivers I've been dealing with at work.

 

Looking forward to?

Doing my glucose test on Wednesday! I mean, whaaaaat? haha

 

Sleep?

What's funny is during my whole first trimester I never got up to pee, I got up a total of THREE times last night!

 

Gender Prediction:

No more predicting we have a BOY!!!! 

 

Symptoms:

Just more lower back pain, I'm really enjoying that! :-\

 

Happy/Moody:

I'm doing pretty good, I'm starting to get really excited to meet this little guy.  I still have four months to go though!

 

 

 

Ninja's Family

Well now that I've decided to start adding some more depth to my blog I have had an overload of different ideas of topics I could go into.  Take note, none of them being full-fledged thought provoking ideas, more like mini ideas.  But I thought it might be easier to start in with an introductory post, if by any chance I'm not the only person that visits and reads these :)

First off Ninja's Daddy:  This is Adam and I must say Ladies and Gents, I must have hit the gold with this one.  Not to get too sappy, but I love this guy more than I thought it was possible to love another human being.  Times were tough and I pretty much had given up on being with someone and then about a month after I moved up here to Minnesota from Texas I found this stud and look where we are now, baby Ninja on the way!  No but seriously, this is the reason I can keep going during the day when things are rough, he is kind, caring, and brilliant. Like I said, boyfriend material: NAILED IT.  He has been nothing short of amazing and I cannot stand thinking about how fantastic of a dad he is going to be to our little boy without wanting to just burst at my seams!

 

 

 

Next up: Ninja's Fur Brother:

 

This is our sweet Tazer boy, Taze for short.  First things first, this little boy is W.I.L.D.  He is currently eight months old, his first birthday will actually be just a few days after Ninja's due date.  Literally though, this baby needs a yard.  We live in a townhome at the moment and the two square inches of dirt/grass that we are supposed to call our yard doesn't quite cut it for this ball of energy.  But for what he lacks in calm, mellow stuff he FULLY makes up in loving! When he is ready to be cuddled with he will jump right up on the bed and couch and snuggle right on up with you!  A lot of people ask me if I get worried about how he will be around Ninja when he gets here and honestly, I'm not too worried about it, Taze is a sweetheart and I have no doubt in my mind he will be the best fur brother there is! Finally, this puppy is a TALKER I have never heard a puppy have such an opinion on things! He's like a mini Adam :) haha  But for realz, I love this puppy

 

 

 

 

Well that's all I've got for now! Enjoy!