I Hate Lead

It's was difficult to enjoy Mother's Day this year.  We had Weston's one-year physical last Monday and they did a finger prick to test for anemia and lead.  We got a call Tuesday from the pediatrician telling us that we had to go to Children's to get a venous draw because the first test came back positive for lead.  Not good.  So we went to Children's on Wednesday and Thursday (the first draw didn't yield enough blood so we had to go a second time).  Saturday our pediatrician called and said his blood lead level (BLL) was 16.4 μg/dL (micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood).


To make a long, worrisome story short, Weston's BLL is elevated.  Anything over 10 μg/dL is cause for concern, but after my hours and hours of researching lead poisoning on the Internet, there is no such thing as a safe BLL.  We have an appointment at the lead clinic on Wednesday, and from there they'll walk us through what our next steps are.


How did he get this??  No, he didn't get it from eating paint chips like is commonly thought...

Did You Eat a Lot of Paint Chips as a Kid?

I'm actually amazed at how babies and toddlers can pick up lead.  Because they're crawling around everywhere, exploring, and putting everything into their mouths, they can gradually accumulate lead in their system.  It's most easily obtained through ingestion.  Lead dust is something that occurs from lead paint that's been disturbed and not been properly removed.  We just moved into a completely renovated house that was built in 1892....lead paint was banned in the late 1970s...so it's most likely from the renovation dust that settled all over the house.  Of course, we cleaned before we moved in, but with a non-HEPA vacuum, which can just suck up the lead dust and blow it right out the back again.  I did wipe everything down with a wet rag, but obviously not well enough.

It's not easy to do either, especially keep calm

I really had no idea of the dangers of lead dust, or even what is was for that matter.  I'm more than angry about this whole situation, but we're getting it resolved.  The clinic works with the local health department and they will come out and do an assessment of the house to figure out where the lead is coming from.  In the mean time, we're washing his hands constantly and trying to mop the floors without vacuuming.  Our new Dyson HEPA filter vacuum should arrive on Wednesday...

Two Month Check Up

I was dreading this morning's appointment--SHOTS.  Three of them.  There's something about seeing a baby in pain that can only be understood when your own baby is actually in pain.  I've been around lots and lots of babies in my lifetime, and many of them have had runny noses, bruises, bumps, or just not been feeling well.  Weston had a runny nose last week, and I was distraught in a way that baffled me.  I felt so incredibly bad for him.  And I've been anxious for his shots today since last week sometime.  He did alright--just screamed bloody murder for about a minute and got bright red.  He calmed down after I held him close and talked calmly to him.  He whimpered in the car on the way back home, but slept pretty soundly.  I even sat in the back seat with him and stroked his head while Nate drove.  He's upstairs sleeping soundly right now, even after a long 3-hour nap this afternoon.

Let's see... he's 24 1/2 inches (98th percentile), 13 pounds 2 ounces (75th) and has an impressive head circumference of 40.5 centimeters (90th).  It's hard to believe how much he's grown in such a short amount of time.  No wonder babies sleep so much!

Gotta Love Percentiles

Weston had his two week appointment yesterday.  He's growing like a weed, so that's good news!  Here's the breakdown:

Weight 9 lbs. 15 oz. = 75%
Length 22.5 in. = 95%
Head 37.7 cm = 90%

He's gained 1 pound and 3 ounces since birth and grown an inch and a half.  Yikes!  He's got some fat rolls developing.  I love the head circumference measurement, given the fact that Nate and I both have extra large craniums.

Body slamming Dad

So cute!

Hanging out with Great Aunt Terry

 

Yikes

I had my 40 week 5 day prenatal appointment this morning, and it was pretty overwhelming.  Against what I had planned on doing, I did step on the scale and actually lost a pound from last time, so that was fun.  But, then I spoke with my midwife, and we discussed induction next Tuesday night using Cervidil and then possibly following up the next day with Pitocin if things haven't progressed.  I started crying immediately.  She reassured me that baby and I had over a week to deal with this, but it was still hard to swallow.  She also spoke with me about scheduling a fetal Non-Stress Test (NST) this coming Friday because I am overdue.  As is routine, I hopped up on the table so that she could measure my fundal height and listen to the baby's heart tones.  As we were listening, I heard the most horrible sound of the heart rate dropping pretty low and staying that way for a few seconds.  She kept listening, and it did it again two more times.  At that point, she said that she'd like to schedule the NST that afternoon just to rule anything out, and I agreed.

At this point, I was a wreck.  I drove home to eat lunch and get Nate and head back to the hospital.  Away we went, and got hooked up right away to the monitor.  After about 30 minutes of listening to the heartbeat, the tech told us that things looked fine, and we still needed to do an ultrasound.  I got pretty excited at this point because our last ultrasound was at 13 weeks (back in October)!  She made sure to be very careful to not show us anything revealing as far as its private parts were concerned.

Because of the fact that we chose to not find out the gender of Mr. Belvedere, coupled with not having gotten a 20-week ultrasound that included an anatomy scan, I have had this completely irrational fear that baby was intersexed--meaning that it couldn't be classified as either male or female.

After the tech did the scan, I asked, "Did you see what it was?"
She replied, "Yes, but I'm not going to tell you."
Nate piped up, "But it's one or the other, right?"

At first she didn't quite get what we were getting at, so I explained my fear.  She then reassured us that yes, we would be bringing home either a boy OR a girl.

Final result?  Everything's fine with baby.  We have another NST scheduled for Friday.

Enjoying Milwaukee

I really want to just type this:

No baby news yet.

I can't do that to you readers, who, according to the statistics page on the blog, have been checking the posts on here more than I visit the bathroom each day.  I think that's impressive, mostly because I can't believe how often I'm in there.  I'm honored that you're reading this.

I went with Nate to school today, so I've been at UW-M's campus all afternoon.  I really can't stand being in the apartment.  It was nice to get out again, and the campus is close to Lake Michigan, so I packed a lunch and waddled down to a nice bench with a spectacular view of the lake.  I would have kept going after I ate, but there were no bathrooms of any sort on the way and I felt like I was going to pee my pants, so I had to cut my walk short.  I still have some time before Nate's done teaching, so I could go for another little stroll.

I have an appointment with my midwife tomorrow morning, and at that time, she'll let me know if I'm dilated or effaced.  I've been using evening primrose oil (EPO) and drinking raspberry leaf tea, neither of which are supposed to start labor.  The oil is supposed to soften the cervix, and the tea tones and strengthens the uterus.  Since I wasn't hardly effaced two weeks ago, the midwife suggested 2 grams of EPO nightly.  I'll find out tomorrow if my efforts have been worth it.  Oh, and as of right now, I'm not getting on the scale.  The medical assistant can go ahead and write "refused" on my chart.

Charting the Belly: Week 38

This weekly plan with the midwife is time consuming!  I have appointments every week now, and I've only scheduled them up until April 19, which is next Tuesday.  I'm just hoping that's my last one before Mr. Belvedere makes his or her debut...  Yeah right--I'll probably go until 42 weeks and deliver a 10 pound baby.

Hopefully no more than 15 days to go!

I am beyond anxious to meet who this little critter is that's been jumping on my bladder, kicking my ribs, making me cry these past nine months for seemingly ridiculous reasons, and having me countdown the days until my next appointment with my hair stylist.  As a side note, I cannot get over how much hair is on my head or how thick it is.  Normally, I have to clean out the drain after every shower I take or sweep up my hair from the bathroom floor on a daily basis.  Since about week 20, I haven't had to do any of that, which means that after this baby is born, my hair loss will be indescribable.

Birthing Class #1

We made the trip up to Menomonee Falls Well Rounded Maternity Center Saturday morning for our first birthing class.  Our instructor, Coral Slavin, is a seasoned Bradley Method instructor, but has since modified the class because the true Bradley course was too rigid for her tastes.  So she created a hybrid class.  There were about seven other couples there, all of us first time parents except for one couple.  We talked quite a bit about the importance of relaxing during labor so that the body can do its job.  Next week's topic is about diet and nutrition.

I also had my 30 week appointment this afternoon at the Midwifery Center at Aurora Sinai.  Things are good...baby's heart rate is 142 and my fundal height is 30 cm (right on target).  My blood work from last time showed that I'm not producing any antibodies, and I think that means that Mr. Belvedere and I have compatible blood, but that conversation was too much for me to follow.  I'll put that on my list of questions for next time.

Fundal height--things are getting cramped

It's hard to believe that there are just ten weeks left (give or take a few).  It's gone by very quickly so far, but I've heard from others that this last trimester can get long...

End of the Second Trimester

I had my glucose tolerance test last Tuesday at my appointment, and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to pass it.  I don't know why I had that feeling, but as it turns out, I'm in the clear.  I got a 93, which falls well below the recommended 140 mg/dL.  I picked the fruit punch flavor, mostly because I was told the orange was the nastiest.  It wasn't that bad, except that after about ten minutes, I felt pretty gross, like I had just eaten a half-dozen donuts.  I got a little shaky, and when it was time to draw blood, my hands were super sweaty.  I think the MA thought I was going to pass out as she was drawing my blood.

In two weeks, we start the Bradley Method classes at the Maternity Center up in Menomonee Falls.  It's a 2-1/2 hour class that lasts 8 weeks.  I'm hoping that it will give us some good information about having a natural childbirth (no drugs) and the process of labor and delivery.  In turn, when it comes time to making a birth plan, we'll have more knowledge than what we've got right now.

Midwife Appointment #1

I have a confession.  I ate a Third Pounder with fries from McDonald's tonight.  Nate and I were in a rush to get to our appointment this evening, and we had to opt for something quick to eat.  I accidentally suggested McDonald's, and we went.  I think I've had food from there about three or four times so far this year, and for me, that's three or four times too many.  I quietly told the baby I was sorry for eating that kind of stuff, but that I was hungry, and I would hope that it would understand.

Anyway, it was such a nice feeling to have spent over an hour with LaNette McQuitty, our Certified Professional Midwife, at our first appointment with her.  We were asked three times if we had any questions, and she took the time to answer every one of them.  We got to hear the baby's heartbeat, at a steady 150.  All my levels are good, according to the lovely-colored stick I peed on.  LaNette easily found the top of my uterus, and told me that in the next couple of weeks, I should feel those little flutters that I'm anxiously awaiting!

Let's Move!

No, I'm not referring to moving out of our cramped apartment.  I am talking about wanting to feel the baby move!  Last Thursday, I was at 16 weeks, and according to everything I read, quickening (feeling the baby's first movements) usually happens between 16 and 20 weeks.  It's about the size of an avocado, and it's going to double its weight in the next few weeks.  However, being a first time pregger, I may have wait patiently for its movements until week 20.  LAME.  I have loved hearing women describe their first experience of baby's movement.  Here are a few descriptions I've heard from moms I know:

• flutters
• popcorn popping
• flips
• gas (Gert?)
• a light touch
• butterflies

The avocado
(taken from babycenter.com)

With all the craziness that happened last month with the loss of my dad, I never scheduled a three-month prenatal appointment.  Oops.  We do have a four-month appointment with our midwife this Tuesday evening.  I love the fact that we can have evening appointments with her, and Nate doesn't have to miss school, and I don't have to take sick time!

First Appointments

In rather anticlimactic fashion, my first prenatal visit at Physicians of OBGYN last Tuesday was a let down.  The medical assistant was terribly rude, mostly because I think that my appointment was at 3:30 and they go home at 4.  I just saw the nurse practitioner, and wasn't told much other than "you have a very pregnant feeling uterus."  Good news, since I had occasional weird doubts that I actually was pregnant.