...and my body says "I QUIT!"

Not so good news on the home front, kids.

After a very unpleasant doctor appointment on Friday, followed by immediately going to the hospital to get my blood work, it's official. My body says NO MORE! Well, it's trying to say that. We just aren't QUITE letting it yet.

First, there is the protein in my urine. For about 6 weeks now, there has been a consistent small amount. It hasn't been anything to worry about though, since the amount was only +1, and I had no other warning signs for pre-e. Apparently, my blood pressure is now on the rise. It's not clinically high yet, but it's high for me. Add that to the +1 protein, and now we have warning signs that need to be watched regularly. Little bit of good news is my fifth disease blood work came back, and I don't have it - but I assumed that since they changed my niece's diagnosis. I also never have had it though, so I am not immune and still need to be cautious. And then there is my liver.

For a while now, my hands and my feet - ESPECIALLY MY TOES! - have been SUPER itchy. Like, I may have had mosquitos trapped in socks and gloves itchy. That went on for a week straight, and one day, I erupted into a full body rash. The rash disappeared 2 days later, but the hand and foot itch stayed. A week later, I broke into the rash again, and the next day, it was again gone. So at my bi-weekly appointment, I brought it up. I told Cheri, my midwife, that I was super itchy. She guessed "The belly?" and when I told her no, my feet and hands, I watched her face drop.

Uh oh.

She then told me I needed to go from the appointment to the hospital and get the blood work done then. The rash is unrelated, a typical pregnancy thing. Good thing it appeared though, or I would have never thought to mention itchy hands and feet! They swell up and down, so I thought itching would be a logical side effect of that. Apparently, I thought wrong.

Itchy hands and feet are a major warning sign of a condition where essentially, the pregnancy hormones are clogging up my liver and it's leaking bile into my blood stream. My body can handle a small amount of this, but any kind of concentration in my blood is a MAJOR danger. It's an acid - and it would work like an acid on my organs. Not only will it wreak all kinds of havoc on my organs, but it would also cross the placenta to Cole.

The results came back today. My liver function test came back with elevated levels. I have it. Currently however, it's not yet in the danger zone. What does this mean? For one, Cole gets to stay put... for now. Two, Megan loses more blood - weekly, from here on out. There is a number that once I hit, Cole gets handed an eviction notice stat. Hopefully however, he makes it just two more weeks to 37.

I however, expected the test to come back normal. I freaked out at first, but then calmed down and figured it was just some precaution that wouldn't turn into anything, so I was completely blindsided by this news today. And didn't think to ask how far away from that "Bail" number I was. Genius. :\

So for now, it's a holding pattern. Wait and see. Google tells me that it's pretty darn rare for these numbers to hold steady, so I should expect them to climb, and fairly fast at that. When Cheri explained it to me on Friday, she said she's had 3 cases - and while 2 made it to 37 weeks, one had to be taken at 34. Luckily, we are mostly out of the danger zone with Cole - if he needed to be delivered this weekend or next week, we would be so close to full term that he shouldn't see much effect.

The only attempt I can make to help out my liver is to, basically, overhydrate. Realistically, it's not going to make a difference. Most times, you can't flush out the liver until the hormones have stopped producing. I figure however, even if I can get my little guy just one extra day closer to full term by downing a buttload of water for a little bit, then it's worth it. Plus, it's just water! I already know where every bathroom in the county is :D

That also means it's time to finish up with last minute things - time to pack the hospital bag, install the car seat bases in the car... I've already made up his bed, finished his laundry, and the toy bin is being picked up tomorrow. As soon as the pack-n-play is set up in our room, we're all set for him!

It's like a whole new house!

I cannot BELIEVE the difference new carpeting makes!

Carpeting went in on Friday. My house looks fantastic! Now if I could just get it all unpacked LOL! Cole's room is coming along nicely. It's a little messy currently, I need to get the artwork and shadowboxes on the wall so I can get some of that stuff off the floor :D I also have a ton of baby laundry to do. You would think with my king sized washer, those tiny clothes would be done in one load... unless you shop like I do! I am officially not buying any more clothes though, until he starts moving into 3-6 months and I can see what the weather is like. There are a few more purchases that need to be made before Cole gets here, but I'm pretty set!

I was pulling out the newborn diapers yesterday, and I got all teary. I know how tiny babies are, I have had decent exposure to newborns, but not to my own. Considering where they come out of, they better not be adult sized! But putting away those itty bitty diapers just made me want him here more than ever. I can't wait to meet my little man!

His crib should be here shortly - hopefully :D It could be another 2 weeks, but I am hoping it arrives before that. I am holding off on washing his bedding until I have somewhere to put it!

I had a surprise shower on Saturday. My SIL got me SO GOOD! I thought I was going to a surprise birthday party for her FIL. Even after I walked in and they yelled Surprise, I still didn't get it! I was looking at my friends, like what are they doing here? Just as it was dawning on me, my SIL told me it was my baby shower :D I was completely clueless! I loved it. I have the best in-laws in the entire world.

I can't believe the things I got at my shower either. I got the convertible car seat, the high chair, the most ADORABLE diaper cake you've ever seen... I can't begin to list everything. My friends and family were SO generous. Cole will be so loved, and I hope he grows up knowing and appreciating the kind of people that are around him. I don't know what I did in my life to deserve the priviledge of calling them my friends and family.

Things are almost falling into place!

Yes, I said almost. We all know I can't catch a TOTAL break!

After one major meltdown, realizing how far along I am and how little I have prepared, things have kicked into gear. I spent today making purchases and preparing the house - carpeting goes in on Friday, starting between 9 and 11 am! That means my house needs to be EMPTY - but that also means it can be filled up immediately after!

Today, I bought him a car seat. Speaking of, MAJOR shout out to healthchecksystems.com. Not only did they have my car seat, it was $5 cheaper than anywhere else, had a 5% off coupon, AND free shipping. I ordered it today at about 3 pm. Free shipping will have it here - no lie - TOMORROW. Talk about fast! But here it is, the Chicco 'Romantic' KeyFit 30:

We also purchased the swing today. I've been eyeing this one up for quite a while, and I officially had to have it! It's the Fisher Price Starlight Papasan Swing. It runs on batteries or plugs into the wall, so it's definitely perfect!

And - that's right, the shopping continued even further - I also bought his toy system for his second closet. One closet in his room is a good size, we will be installing a do-it-yourself custom shelving system in there. That of course, leaves the evil closet. The closet that is incredibly diagonal, with a pipe running down the side, which makes the thing impossible to handle. One side is 12 inches wide, while the other side is 15 inches. Adult hangers just BARELY fit in the thing - it's evil. Not to mention, you can't have anything in drawers, since the closet is so much wider than the door. So I found the perfect solution:

All that is left, is to get his dresser and bookcase! His changing table is currently stuffed in the back of the kitchen, the crib will arrive when it wants to LOL, and the only thing left is my diaper bag!

Everything else will have to wait until after my shower :D

And all that good news and progress is trumped by my newest bit of drama - my adorable niece, who I just spent time with over the weekend, has come down with Fifth Disease. My blood work was done today, so I will hopefully have the results tomorrow. My mom remembers 2 out of the 6 of us had it, but she doesn't remember which 2 LOL! So I have a 1 in 3 shot of having the antibodies :D Here's hoping I either have the antibodies, or just didn't catch the Fifth!

Cole's Crib has been purchased - again!

The BonaVita Peyton Lifestyle Crib in white:



and it should be here in 2-4 weeks!

Yes, I'm slacking on the crib. Well, not really. I ordered the Sorelle Gia 4-in-1 in mid-May. After 2 back-orders, I canceled and planned on ordering it from another site. I had to re-shop to make sure, again, that the Sorelle was the perfect crib... when I again came across the Peyton. I had taken it off the list when shopping a few months ago, as I couldn't stomach the price. After all, who knows if Cole will turn out to be a beaver and destroy the crib?

Suddenly, the price had dropped more than $100! I could manage it. Still a tad over, but I can do it... until you add shipping. The lowest shipping cost was $125, while the Sorelle had free shipping. Oh, and forget the price - even if it were a million dollars and I could afford it, I CANNOT afford an 8-10 week delivery time. :sigh: Looks like I'd settle for the Sorelle. It is a beautiful crib, so I really can't complain.

Until I called our local high end baby store on a whim.

Not only did they carry Bonavita, but they carried the Peyton Lifestyle. Oh, and they had it in the store (in the wrong color) but I could go see it and feel it. They did have one in white in the main warehouse, so it will be in in 2-4 weeks... or less.

Oh, and it's $50 CHEAPER than online, with NO SHIPPING OR DELIVERY COSTS, we can pick it up at the store when it comes in.

:::swoon::: Oh how I love you, Just For Kids. You might be Amish and carry NO HOURS on Sundays for church, but I. LOVE. YOU. Almost as much as I love the creator of Nexium.

Oh, and about the carpet...

It is bought and paid for! Thank you Lowe's, for having competent employees and subcontractors.

The carpet had to be ordered, so it should be in by Monday - we will get a call when it comes in and schedule a date then. I'm hoping for Wednesday the 17th. Cutting it close, yes, but really - that will have me at 33 weeks. THAT is cutting it close.

I also had to cancel the crib (Drama!) since it was yet again back-ordered further. I could get it faster by canceling and ordering from a different website - so we canceled. That of course, has to be reordered now... so much money going out at once has cheapo Megan in convulsions. :D

But, the crib should be reordered on Friday, with delivery in 2-3 weeks. That puts the arrival time right around July 4th.

Oh, and since the crib was re-back-ordered.... It is now showing as available. Cute, huh?

Rules of War

Painting War, that is. This war had begun 5 years ago, and is just now ending this week. Let me describe the rules:

Rule #1 - lay out the rules before painting begins.

Some of us grew up with lazy mothers, who didn't want to paint - so she painted EVERYTHING - walls, ceiling, trim - the same color. Moving from there, into apartments where everything is white, I would have no knowledge of basic rules of paint. You will see all the following rules could have been avoided if THIS rule had been followed.

Rule #2 - Ceiling paint is not a gimmick.

After painting the walls and ceilings in the living room, hallway, up the stairs, and upstairs hallway in a lovely shade of tan called Devonshire, I was then informed that ceilings should be white. So when I painted the bedrooms, I painted the ceilings white. What kind of white you ask? White! The same can of white paint I had for the trim - white is white.

No. White SEMI-GLOSS is not the same as white ceiling paint. Please revert back to rule #1.

Rule#3 - Get more paint than you need when you buy paint the first time.

Paint is reformulated all the time, especially now for VOCs and all that stuff. So when the paint was first discussed, over the phone with DH already at Home Depot, I then learned about finishes. I wanted flat paint, seeing as we live in an 1850's townhouse - our walls are FAR from perfect. I was promptly vetoed, seeing as flat hides wall imperfections, but is apparently impossible to clean.

Imperfections versus Dirt? No contest.

So I vote eggshell. He wants semi-gloss. And I don't write down which one we buy - and since we had the perfect amount, I didn't keep the can. So when I go back to get more for touch ups a year later, I find myself staring at the paint aisle. The can was white with blue and red on it.

Eggshell has blue trim with red writing.

Semi-gloss has red trim with blue writing.

So I buy semi-gloss, figuring that he knows about paint way more than I do, I would have conceded to him. I get home, make the touch ups, HOLY SHINY SPLOTCHES ON THE WALL.

Guess it must have been eggshell.

Go to Home Depot, get a quart of eggshell, HOLY MATTE SPLOTCHES ON THE WALL. The semi-gloss was closer. And now I have to re-roll the entire thing. Luckily in the living room, I can just re-roll the spots since the lighting in the room doesn't give it away. So I work my butt off the whole day.

THE FARKING LIVING ROOM IS PAINTED IN EGGSHELL. It was WAAAY closer before. Moral of the story - write it down. Oh, and if you keep a consistent color throughout your house, USE A CONSISTENT FINISH.

There are more rules, but they will have to wait... Off to paint yet another white shiny ceiling.