Reading: The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain. I bought this on a kindle deal email sometime this year after a friend recommended it to me. It's been a page turner so far! I'm also slowly working my way through the first part of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I'm only going to read the parts that are applicable to the newborn phase and then I'll read more of it when our baby is older. It's a dense read but interesting!
Loving: the fall colors and crisp fall weather we've had lately! This week is going to be beautiful as it's going to be sunny and in the 70s. I'm trying to soak up all the beauty as I know the trees will shed their leaves very soon!
Feeling: really tired. I'm not getting the 2nd trimester burst of energy that others have talked about experiencing, likely because of my RA. Unfortunately my RA is not getting any better. I've stopped counting the number of flares I've had because it's too depressing. Right now I'm getting flares every week, and the one I have right now is particularly painful and is impacting joints in my both of my hands. :( I'm really struggling with my RA and wish it would just calm down. :(
Thinking: about our trip to Asheville! We leave next Wednesday and I am so excited for a getaway. We won't be able to do as much hiking as I would like due to my pregnancy/RA issues, but I'm hoping we can do a shorter hike each day. Besides that we'll eat lots of good food and take in the beauty of the area. We'll also be spending a night in Charlotte on the way back. It will be good to see some of my friends as a couple of them haven't met Phil yet!
Anticipating: our ultrasound on Thursday! We haven't seen the baby since the 9 week ultrasound so we are very excited to see him or her again! We are getting a level II ultrasound so they can look extra close and make sure the steroids I've been on haven't impacted the baby's development. Our ultrasound will be done at a perinatal clinic. We have 2.5 hours of appointments, including the 80 minute ultrasound. I'm glad they are being very thorough and it will be good to discuss my RA with the perinatal physician. I completely trust my Rheumatologist, but it will be good to talk to another physician.
Watching: very little tv. I finished all the free seasons of Suits on Prime so now I'm impatiently waiting for another season to be released!
Grateful: for the excellent medical care that I have access to. I really love my OB practice. They told me that any time I feel anxious, I can just come over and listen to the baby's heartbeat. I haven't done this but it's nice to know it's an option. I also appreciate that I live in a large city with excellent specialists. If I lived elsewhere, it would be harder to see a perinatal specialist like the one I'm seeing this week.
Working: on finishing a blanket that I started last winter, although I haven't been able to work on it the last couple of weeks as my flares have been impacting my hands. I finished the other blanket that I started last winter. I think this will be a baby blanket for baby Segner as I think our nursery will be gray and yellow so this should coordinate with it.
Listening: to the Birthful Podcast. It's a great podcast for first-time moms the host covers so many topics! My favorite episode so far was A Mindful and Minimalist Baby Registry. As I've mentioned before, we are trying to be really mindful about what we register for as we don't want to get too much stuff.
Wishing: my RA would calm down. I'm just so tired of these flares as they are painful and make me extra tired. I've kind of lost hope of them going away and feel like they will just be part of this pregnancy.
What are you anticipating, loving and grateful for these days?
9 comments:
It breaks my heart that these flares keep happening so I am thankful you are seeing a specialist on Thursday. I hope they can give you some advice that will help, and I'm also excited to hear all about your appt and the ultrasound. You are fortunate to have such great medical expertise so close!
Have a great trip to NC next week! I bet it will be beautiful there.
Apart from the flares and being so tired, it all sounds good. I wish you'd get a break from that. Hopefully you can also really relax on your trip. Are you going to Biltmore House?
As for me, anticipating a quiet weekend, loving that our rain stopped and so grateful for all the support I have around me.
I am hoping the flares will die down and you can enjoy the pregnancy a little more than you already do... going to your next ultrasound must be so exciting!
It's so so shitty you have to deal with these dang flares and also so so good you have access to such amazing specialized care. And your OB practice sounds so awesome - how great to tell you to come listen to the heartbeat anytime!! That baby blanket is adorable, I love it! I am anticipating the start of maternity leave, grateful to be reaching the end of an overall healthy and easy pregnancy and loving curling up on our new couch with a good book, cozy blanket and cup of tea in the evenings!
I hope your RA calms down soon and that you get a break from it. Your trip away sounds like it will be wonderful :)
Man, I sure wish the flares would go away. I'm so sorry! Hang in there. You have a good attitude about it, and you're right - it's a blessing to have talented healthcare providers to guide you, even through rough patches.
Ugh, I'm so bummed that your flares haven't stopped. That has to be so frustrating to deal with. I'm really glad you're going to see a perinatal specialist - I'm sure that will help any worries you're having. <3
I am also anticipating a trip to Asheville, loving that we're finally getting some cooler weather in Florida (highs in the low 80s; I'll take it!), and grateful for my support system.
That blanket is super cute! I am still so impressed that you are able to create something like that out of nothing. I am not sure I have the patience. One of my other problems is that when I run into a snag, I often get bored with the task. Not that I don't like to solve problems but I just get annoyed easily I guess. I also want it to be perfect. I made a scarf but I wasn't putting the same tension on it so one side started to be skinnier and so I was almost done and I took it all apart. Then I never started it again!
I am sorry to hear about your flares. Once you have the baby, will you be able to go back on the stronger meds? Or will breastfeeding and other things like that cause you to also have to be on a lower dose? It would be nice if you could just chalk this one up to pregnancy, as if it were swollen ankles or gas, and be done with it once the pregnancy is over!
That is so awful that your RA keeps flaring up; I can't imagine how hard that must be :-(
The ultrasound is exciting!!!
The blanket looks great! How nice to have a baby blanket that you were able to make yourself.
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