Quick post

My cervix is now between 3.4-3.8, so my specialist is going to keep me on weekly appointments until 28 weeks. What we do after that will depend on how everything goes between now and then. Right now, I’m still 2 cm. from needing a cerclage, so it looks like I will not be getting one. She usually does not give cerclages after 24 weeks, and I’ll be 24 weeks on Monday. Believe me, I’m not shedding tears over that!
That’s about all I have time for this morning. I saw a TON of garage sale signs on my way to my appointment, but I think I’ll have to let them go this morning. Now that is sad.
P.S. I also got to see her opening and closing her mouth. The tech said it looked like she was drinking. ha I have so many ultrasound pics of this baby! It really isn't even funny.

Okay, so I am really not keeping up with this blog.
My cervix went from 4.8 to 4.0 in two weeks, and I’ve been on weekly appointments since then. However, it has stayed 3.8-4.0 the last two weeks, so the doctor isn’t too concerned. I have an appointment tomorrow, and if my cervix has stayed around the same we’ll go back to two-week appointments. If my cervix is 3.0 or above by the time I’m 28 weeks I won’t see the specialist anymore. I’ll just watch for preterm labor and go from there. Right now I’m 23 ½ weeks. This all sounds so cut and dry, but the last few weeks have been pretty emotional. I am thankful for every new week that I carry this baby, and I’m even more thankful for weeks like this one in which I actually enjoy being pregnant.
Hannah is here, and she is being a lot of help. Nathan was sick for about a week a couple of weeks ago, and between me and him we had three doctor appointments in one week. It was so nice to be able to take naps at weird times on those days and let Hannah watch Nathan.
I’ve made my bread recipe again, and it is still a keeper! I love making bread once a month! I made muffins yesterday, and I’m amazed at the difference it makes to soak the flour in buttermilk rather than yogurt. Soooo much better!
Okay, that’s about as much time as I have right now.

Walgreens today

My net loss: $9.63.

I was completely out of wet Swiffer refills, so this was a great time to stock up. I don't usually use the Swiffer a whole lot, but I will be using it more now since I don't see myself carrying around a bucket of mop water. ha Anyway, I was happy!

Friday!

I was going to go to garage sales this morning, but our 30% chance of rain turned into an all-morning downpour. :-) Maybe next week the weather and our lives will let me go. ha
I haven't snagged any awesome deals lately, but I've been stocking up on toilet paper!! :-) I was running low, so this was a perfect week for stocking up again. I try to buy whenever I can find it under 22 cents a roll. Interesting, hmmm?
I made and froze my own cream of mushroom soup this week; I've used it twice, and I can't tell a difference. I have been trying to slowly organize my freezer and use things that need to be used. I wish I could go ahead and freeze meals for after the baby comes while I actually have energy, but I guess I'll have to wait a few more months. :-)
My garden seems to be doing well. It's really small, but I didn't want to overdo it. I'm hoping that it's not drowning with all the rain we've had in the last week.
Everything on the pregnancy front seems to be going well. OH, I started my new prenatal vitamins this week, and I may just have to eat crow on all the complaining I did! My body seems to LOVE those vitamins! I hope it lasts!!
My next appointment is next week; this week I was grateful for a break.
Okay, I'm out of steam and needing a nap. :-)

Back into the light!

What a week. Actually, to anyone but me I think the week has looked fairly normal. My specialist appointment was okay. My cervix still looks good and long, but I'll probably start the progesterone next appointment since everyone is highly encouraging me to. Have I mentioned I hate medicine or fake hormones?? ;-) The technician did some sort of ultrasound where they look at and measure everything on baby, the uterus, and me that they possibly can. I had no idea that they would be measuring her arm and leg bones. ?? Or her heart chambers, brain lobes, and spinal cord. I probably would have been in a better mood about the whole ordeal had I felt better. I didn't realize that a technician repeatedly rolling the ultrasound "thingy" over my hernia would cause that much pain. Little Chick's heart was right under my hernia and at a weird angle, so the technician was trying to get a better picture.
I remembered the ask the specialist about all the bloodwork that she made me do last time; she hadn't had a chance to "sign off" on it but looked it over and prescribed me a new prenatal and some folic acid. I guess I have something where I don't metabolize folic acid in whatever form it generally comes, and I also have some gene that gives me a slight risk for blood clots. So I have to take a baby aspirin a day. The aspirin is not a big deal. The prenatal is a very big deal. I should take a picture of all the different bottles of prenatals I have tried over the past two years. I finally found one that I could take (2 of 6 pills, anyway), and now I have to switch. I'm not switching until my body recovers from the stress of this week, though. ;-)
I won't even go into my emotional difficulties. ha

Weighing Options

I had my regular ob appointment today, and he verified the fact that we are indeed having a little girl. :-) So I went and bought some girlie yarn. Hopefully she will be easier on her blanket than Nathan has been on his. ha
Anyway, he really recommends that I start taking progesterone. The specialist mentioned it to me, but I didn't really think much about it. My doctor's opinion is that we should do all we can to help my cervix stay at the wonderful length that it's at. I have my next appointment with the specialist tomorrow, so I've been trying to research progesterone a little before then. There is some research that shows positive results in women with a history of preterm labor, although other doctors say that the long-term effects have not been thoroughly studied (and probably won't be for another twenty or thirty years - ha). Soooo, I'm trying to get all the information that I can then go with whatever choice I have the most peace with. I am kind of thinking that if my cervix is still super long I should have plenty of time to start the progesterone if it even hints that it wants to start shortening. Most of the women on whom the studies were done had a cervical length of 1.5 cm or less (mine was 5 cm).
I guess I'm just writing out my options and thoughts. We'll see how the appointment goes tomorrow. I've definitely been a lot more active the past two weeks than I have been over the first part of my pregnancy. I actually think it helped with my dizziness, though. I went to church Sunday, walked up the stairs, and was able to remain standing (and singing)! Usually I don't last more than a minute without having to sit down.
I should go to bed now. My hubs has gone to my brother's apartment for free pizza and study time, and I should be in bed. I had an awful headache today that was probably caused, in part, by several nights of bad sleep. I have to have my sleep. :-)

Walgreens, again

4 Sunsilk - $1.09 each

2 Sunsilk - $2.19 each

Minus 3 $2/2 coupons

Total after tax: $3.48

Received: $6 RR

It would've only been around $1.28 if they'd had more of the $1.09 shampoo, but they did not. Still, I "made" $2.52 on these (plus I'm totally stocked on shampoo!).

I also did another transaction and got two packs of lightbulbs ($1.99 each) and a Colgate toothbrush ($3.29). The total was $6.89; I used a $6 RR and got $3.50 RR back. We needed lightbulbs, and Aldi didn't have any. :-)

I have about $22.50 in Register Rewards right now, and I plan on using them this next week to stock up on Canada Dry! Walgreens is having a sale where you buy 3/$11 and get $5 RR back (on the 12-pack of cans), so I'll be spending around $2 a pack for these. They are around $4 apiece at Walmart.

I went to Aldi today and did my grocery shopping. I have a hard time getting to Aldi because it's out of the way of our normal routes and Evan has been taking me shopping lately. So today I tried to stock up on items that I can't stand buying at Walmart because they are so much higher. I'm still trying to find my groove when it comes to shopping on the weekend and using my time wisely. :-)