Rievalin's Blog

31 weeks

rievalin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:56:30 +0000

How am I feeling today? Hands are swollen and I am slightly out of breath. Thoughts of this and that in addition to my pregnancy are scrambling through my mind. So I try to stay calm and collected for the sake of baby. At least I have the place to myself where quiet is more than welcome due to all the noise that goes through my head these days. I’ve been numbing my mind with 90′s romance movies and my favorite Animated series and reading. You can’t totally avoid reality but for the most part, some of these distractions does work.

On the positive side, my husband and I get to see our little baby again through ultrasound tomorrow morning for our second Doctor’s visit of the month. We haven’t seen him since our 19-20th week check up. The past few weeks he has been very active when he feels like it, mostly in the late night and early mornings ( 11- 3- 6-8, seems to be his pattern), with the exception of when I perk him up with my sinful intakes of sweet or when I need to wake him up just to make sure he is moving around in there as suggested by our Dr.

Yesterday, my Honeee finally set up the long awaited crib in our room. Finally!!!!:) Now we just need to purchase a mattress and and some bedding. Check that off on our list of things to do. So many things to have done before the baby is here. Unfortunately I cannot accomplish most of the things that needs sorting and cleaning around our place in preparation for our baby on my own. I think that is one of the frustrating things right now. I have all the free time but not the strength to do all the things I need to do. Oh well, I just pray somehow all is ready by the time baby comes. Hopefully he comes around his due date and not too soon, though the weight off my back sooner than later would be a relief….still, a healthy baby needs to be a good little baby and stay in mommy until he is well and done:)

Easter 2010 – almost in full bloom

rievalin — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:47:56 +0000

29 Weeks

Forgetful and Clumsy

rievalin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 17:21:20 +0000

I must admit I have always been a little clutsy, but rarely forgetful before I was pregnant. Now, I am more clumsy and forget things so easily. One time I was at my parents house and had to lock up my dad’s van. The next morning I get a call asking what I did with his keys. I was like, “Didn’t I hand it over to him?” I checked my person and behold, I absent mindedly put his keys in my purse. Good thing he had a spare so he was able to drive the car to work. Since then, I’ve tried to tidy up and keep things organized so I minimize things I need to remember. I’ve even created a To Do and Upcoming Events list on my big white board by our bedroom to keep me on track. However, as much as I try to get organized and slow down my thinking process that absentminded cloud sneaks up on you. Just as recent as yesterday after my Doctor’s appointment I deposited cash into my ATM without the required envelope to identify where the cash was being deposited. I had just previously deposited into my BofA account and for some reason just followed the same depositing process with my CalNat account, which I forgot for that instance was different. I called customer support and branch supervisor immediately to make sure my money was well accounted for and was safely into my account. Thank goodness it was not too much of a hassle and they just reminded me that next time I should use and envelope:)

As the day draws near in anticipation of our new arrival, all I can really think about is all the needed preparation that has to happen before he arrives. I surmise that contributes to us pregnant women being clumsy and forgetful, aside from our hormones going here and every where. Speaking for myself…my mind is in a fog at times trying to watch what I eat, how I carry myself, how it will feel when contraction starts and of course the actual labor and delivery praying all with go well with mommy, baby, and daddy. Yes, I also worry about baby daddy checking to see how he is emotionally and mentally with the anticipation of our baby.

Slow and Easy

rievalin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 06:20:58 +0000

I am now entering my 3rd trimester . Feeling a little bit winded. As my baby and belly gets bigger, the more I have to slow down and catch my breathe when waddling along and chattering with others. Being at this stage of my pregnancy and my allergies causing problems with my sinus, I’ve been learning the art of less is more when speaking. It is almost like I’m learning to train myself to not speak unnecessarily and even becoming twice the listerner I was before I was pregnant. Might seem strange to those who know me, but so far it hasn’t been pointed out yet:)

Taking things slow and easy and the quiet times with just baby and me, I have been reassessing what is important in life. It is still an ongoing process. When thinking about the future of my own family, I can’t help but think about the relationship with my family growing up as well as my current relationship with them. I have been reflecting on the relationship with my parents and siblings a lot these past few months, what I used to think was the good and the bad when I was young and how it truly was now that I am a bit older, wiser, and about to be a parent myself in just a few months time. It is funny how selfish we are when we were young and continue to be as we get older until we have our own kids. We spent more time wanting, complaining and feeling sorry for ourselves because we were deprive of this and that when we were kids instead of spending more time appreciating what we did have.

Words that I’ve always cherished come to mind more frequently as I spend more time with my family…

LOVE…PATIENCE…UNDERSTANDING…APPRECIATION

As always I pray for God’s Blessings that these words are passed along and taught to our beloved baby.

Noses are Red…

rievalin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:19:06 +0000

I woke up this morning with a sore throat and a bloody little show. My nose felt a little dry and stufy so I did what I normally do, blow my nose. I was praying it would be clear but, red it was. My nose was bloodier than usual. I took out one of my pregnancy reference books “Mayo Clinic Guide To A Healthy Pregnancy” and did the following for self-care:

Sit up and keep your head elevated. Pinch the soft parts of my nose together between my thumb and index finger.
Pressed firmly and gently, compressing the pinch parts of my nose toward the face.
Held my position for five minutes.
Lean forward to avoid swallowing the blood, and breathe through my mouth. ( It says to also apply ice-crushed in a plastic bag or washcloth – across the bridge of the nose, but we usually don’t carry ice in our freezer. We should probably buy a bag just in case)

In case anyone of you are curious what their prevention is, here are a couple of tips mentioned, but of course a health care provider should be called if nosebleeds persists, if you have high blood pressure or if it occurs after a head injury as stated.

To prevent a nosebleed:

Be gentle when blowing your nose, and don’t try packing your nose with gauze.
Dry air make you more susceptible to nosebleeds. Use a humidifier during the winter months (in my case, when dry air is experienced overall I think).

Until I got pregnant, I never experienced a bloody nose before. So aside from having high bood, being anemic, and now experiencing a bloody show sensitive than most due to the the prior two mentioned…all is peachy…not to mention your ocassional constipation now and then due to supplements.

Another week starts and the routine begins…drink plenty of water (suggested at least 64 oz a day if not more), low sodium diet, walk at least 30 minutes two to three times a week, relax when possible, and happy thoughts.

Almost there I say…almost there:)