Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I had a fairly uneventful cavity filling session on Thursday with my dentist. As usual, he was concerned for my comfort and safety and kept asking if I was okay, did this hurt, etc. I reassured him "You know you're doing a good job, doc, when your patient is dozing off."
So, yeah... I was numb enough to nod off during drilling and all that great stuff.
Coincidentally, I was also numb to the point where I couldn't say the words Christmas, Songs, or Fast. "Y'wanna thing thome Chrithmuth Thongs really fath?" *dribble, drool*
It took about 3-4 hours for the anesthetics to wear off, then I felt great. I am so glad to be caught up on dental work. It's so nice to be able to chew on both sides of my mouth without pain!
Even if you are a periodontal-phob, get your work done. I promise it's worth it, you'll feel so much better the day after.

In case you haven't noticed, my pregnancy widgets have changed again. Yesterday we saw the OB for a checkup, and he changed our due date back to July 7/8. I'm still really confused on whether I'm 11 or 12 weeks along, even though I'm 99% positive we concieved around the 20th of October, and I usually don't ovulate till the 18th of the month. Anyway, the OB was trying to pick up the heartbeat on the doppler, but couldn't find it, so he brought in the transportable ultrasound machine. He found the baby. Mini Gerschler has moved to just below my belly button. He was laying on his side and waved at us. No, I'm really serious. His arm and hand moved back and forth. "Hi, guys! Can you please stop disturbing my naps?"
So that was fun.
After that, I got my Christmas shopping done. Yes, I really am insane, but we knew this. At least it got done. Andy really liked his presents today so it was worth it. We went to our friends' Mike & Kathy's place for Christmas Eve supper and buddy time. Kathy had dressed their little boy up like Santa, and he was asleep when we got there and was smiling and laughing in his sleep-- too funny!
They also gave us one of our first baby presents! EEEEE!! They gave us one of those wiggle gyms where you lay the baby on its back so it can bat at the toys above. I was really tickled. I'm looking forward to using it. After we got home, I opened presents from various friends to help even up the loot under the tree (I had a lot more than Andy & Aaron thanks to various secret santas), and one of the presents was baby clothes. I was really touched. There's obviously something wrong with me if I get weepy over gifts for the baby, but not when I see the heartbeat or a body part flutter. Go figure. Anyway, I hung that up next to the little jacket we bought when we first found out we were pregnant. Needless to say, I am starting to get motivated to clean the bedroom closet so I can start putting in little stackable drawers for the baby and organize Mini Gerschler's things.
My friend Rayvin in Canada sent me a Muppet Christmas CD (Eeeee! again), and another secret santa sent me some pearl ex powders for my painting. Andy got me some great presents too, including fuzzy red slippers to match the Many Skins of Elmo robe he got me for our anniversary.
Now I'm just waiting for Sam to call us. We were supposed to go over there for breakfast, but relatives held them captive, insisting they must stay for blueberry pancakes and horse-drawn sleigh rides. Sounds like a party to me. Anyway, I can't wait to see the expression on her face when she opens the fuzzy pink monster-clawed slippers I got her. She was hoping she would get a new set of silly slippers from someone, and I think these will hit the spot. We'll bring the kids some presents too.

Well I think that's it for now. Our next appointment is to get the keloid on my ear looked at on January 7th. Then we see Clarene again the next day, and the OB towards the end of January.
I'll let you know if anything exciting or amusing happens or crosses my mind.
Have a safe, joyous, and wonderful holiday!

My Little Jumping Bean

Yes, yes. I know it's been a while since the last entry, but I didn't have a whole lot to say. It's been pretty quiet around here. I meant to update on Saturday about my anniversary, but got side tracked. I'll talk about the anniversary in a minute, but first I want to update you all on Mini Gerschler.

Today we had our appointment with the perionatalogist. We had another ultrasound, which seems puts my mind at ease as I can actually SEE and hear that everything is going the way it's supposed to. It was a long scan, and apparently Mini Gersch' didn't like it. He started jumping around. I'm not talking little blips, I'm talking SERIOUS AIR JORDAN! He'd hop 1/2 way up the uterus/womb. I was laughing so hard I started crying. I couldn't stop. It was just too funny. He was like "Dude. DUDE! GET OFF MY HEAD!!"
No more caffeine for you, Mini Gersch'.

When I told my mom she said "Wait a minute, how do you know it's a he?" I just told her, "Well, it's not very nice to call it an IT now is it?" She wasn't as nearly amused about the jumping around as my aunt was when I told her. I thought it was just about the funniest thing that's happened in a while. The humor is wearing off after not hearing a whole lot of people think it's as funny as I think it is. Andy was highly amused as well. It's good to know the baby is healthy and reacting to things. His little heart was doing 171 bpm. I thought it was a little fast, but the ultrasonographer said it was normal for this time frame. They've also got me all mixed up on my dates now. At the first scan they said 7 weeks (which means I'm 10 weeks this Wednesday), but today they measured the baby & said "You're eleven weeks, sister". Well, not in those words exactly, but I'm still confused.
So to point, we are having a Mini Gerschler some time in the summer of 2008. LOL.

I've enclosed the scans they did. You can really make out a lot more than at the first scan where we just stared into the black void and wondered what the heck we were looking at. Now we can see the eye, nose, mouth, and foot. Yay, Mini Gerschler has at least 1 foot! I guess I can't call him my little kidney bean anymore. I will have to start calling him my little Jumping Bean. Maybe just JB.

So anyway, now that we've talked about Mini Gerschler, we can discuss our sixth wedding anniversary. Andy figured it would be our last anniversary of freedom (ie: pre-kid), so he wanted to do something really special. So Friday afternoon he surprised me by coming home early and whisking me away to Salt Lake City. We spent the night at the Little America hotel, in the world's hardest bed. I like a firm bed, but not a hard one. This one was hard.
That night we walked to Temple Square to see the temple and the pretty Christmas lights. We also visited the beautiful family presentation thingy in the North Visitor Center. I recommend this for anyone who loves their family. It was extra special going with Andy and expecting our first baby. We are officially becoming a family.
So after that, we walked back to the hotel, got some dinner, and went to bed.
Andy gave me a really nice bath robe. When I opened it up, I gasped "Oh my gosh... you killed Elmo."
It's this lovely, incredibly soft, fuzzy robe... it looks like Elmo on Sesame Street got skinned a couple times. It's great.
The only downfall of the get away was that I got a big ol' blister on my toe from walking so much, so I was hobbling around the rest of the weekend. The other drawback that I'm terribly sad about is that I left my FAVORITE slippers at the hotel. My mom bought them for me for Christmas when she came to visit us in 2005... right before our road trip together. They were furry and rainbowy... much like many slain muppets. I used to joke about how many muppets I had to skin to make them. The hotel still hasn't called us back about finding them, so I'm down about that.
Can someone send me some incredibly furry, rainbowy slippers for Christmas please? They were super soft inside, and had a good rubber sole on bottom.

Anyway, at the bottom of this entry you'll find a picture from a scene at Temple Square. I guess I'll post another update after I see the dentist on the 20th or the OB/GYN on the 24th.
Enjoy your holiday festivities till then!

The Monthly Bump, December Edition

So as I sit here eating a strawberry poptart (I swear the craving popped up out of nowhere), I consciously wonder why I'm gaining weight so fast. I know, I know, lay off the poptarts, lady. Seriously though, this is my first one in YEARS.
I wish I could offer you advice on how to keep great blood sugar numbers, or how to stave off morning sickness, or how to cope with the depression of being in a constant state of hibernation, but I can't. The fact is I'm still just a kid slowly coming to terms with, Holy Hannah, I'M having a kid, growing into the role of adulthood, and doing the best I can to manage my health. I guess that's all you really can do-- the best you can. Park a little further away from the store in parking lots, concentrate more of your diet toward the 6 food groups (milk, meat, grains, fruits, veggies, and CHOCOLATE!!), and take your meds religiously.

Okay, poptart done with. We saw Clarene today. She's my diabetes specialist in case you've forgotten. I got my due pat on the head, was told I'd be a great parent since I'm already taking such good care of baby by taking care of myself, and also had my hA1c done. It was 7.2 last month. Since my numbers have been so good, the hA1c has come down to 6.8. HOORAY! Clarene also wrote me a new prescription for my insulin since I am going through it faster. I can have up to 100 units a day if I need to... not that I'll need that much, but that's definitely some room to flex. Don't worry, I won't be naughty, pig out, and give myself 100 at any given time. I'll still stay in the 15-20 range. Clarene said it was alright that I dropped my ratio down to the 7-8 to 1 range. I'll probably be in the 6-7 range by the end of the month.

Last night we hit 8 weeks. We are officially 2 months along now, and took some new monthly bump photos. I've attached them here.



Yes my favorite shirt is as loud and obnoxious as I am.

There are mornings when I wake up, and it all seems so surreal... the fact that I'm married, that I am where I am, and that there's going to be a completely new person in my life next year. I won't be allowed to be selfish anymore. It's a lesson I'm slowly learning by knowing that everything I do and take into my body directly affects my baby. So I should enjoy the next several months, because it is the last time I will be in the limelight in the foreseeable future.

The Tooth Fairy

One of the most important things to take care of at any point in your life is your teeth-- especially when you are diabetic or pregnant, and I am both. I say this because of my visit to the dentist today.
I haven't gone to the dentist in 6 years, because we really haven't had dental insurance until this year. So my poor mouth went unchecked, through cavities and abscesses, for 6 whole years. I used to go every 6 months when I lived at home with my mom. Needless to say, due to neglect, I had to have one of my teeth pulled today. It's not entirely fun to say the least. I was born without some of my adult teeth, and the tooth that was pulled today was one of my baby teeth. So not only do I have a hole in my mouth, I don't have another tooth to fill it in with.
Regardless of what you tell your children, there is no magical tooth fairy to give you money and make a new tooth grow in.
So, please, PLEASE, people, take awesome care of your teeth! I cannot stress this enough... my parents and grandparents were right.
Take care of them. They're the only ones you've got (teeth and parents).

On a positive dental note, my new dentist was totally awesome and I can't wait to see him & his staff again. I know this must sound insane to those of you who have periodontal phobia, but I have my excuses. The main reason was because I got to watch Monster House while my poor little abscessed, cavity-ridden baby tooth was extracted. They had a little TV & VCR set up in the corner & the nurse asked if I'd like to watch a movie. I was totally into that, but then it occurred to me I wouldn't be able to see it once they laid the chair down... but as they laid the chair down my eyes transfixed on a beautiful PLASMA TV on the CEILING!! Holy cow! Since when did technology advance to personal entertainment while in a dental chair?! I was totally mesmerized. The dentist kept asking if I was ok, did this hurt, how did that feel, etc, but I was totally absorbed by the TV & let him know that between the movie and the drugs to numb me up, "I'm highly amused right now".

I need to have 3 cavities filled toward the end of the month. The dentist was hesitant to do it now because of the pregnancy, but the receptionist convinced him to let us do it so our insurance wouldn't charge us as much.
Which brings me to another note. All these years, in addition to not having insurance, or good insurance, I was afraid the dentist would cost not only an arm & a leg, but my firstborn as well. Today's deep cleaning (picking out tartar the size of rock chips from beneath my gums), exam, anesthetics, and extraction was just over $50. HOLY HANNAH!! I'm SO going back... yes, you dental-phobes, willingly.

I've spent most of the day dealing with the weird sensation of a gap in my teeth (sticking my tongue through it like a little kid), and the discomfort of the anesthesia wearing off. I can only stand gauze in my mouth for about an hour before it drives me crazy, physically, and I let my mouth rest for about half an hour, then reload with more gauze. The bleeding is slowly tapering off. Luckily the tooth was on the side of my mouth, and its absence can't really be noticed when I grin unless you're looking really hard. At least I won't be having any more pain when I chew after it heals up.

On a side note, I get to see Clarene on Thursday. I can't wait to show her the great numbers I've been having. I think she'll be really pleased.

While the dentist didn't limit me entirely to a liquid diet, I've been trying to stick to one.. man am I craving a pop tart right now!

SCHNOOOOOW!!!

Totally unrelated to my pregnancy, buuuuuut

IT SCHNOOOOOWED!! I'm so excited. I love freshly fallen snow. Best of all, I woke up to it December 1st. Snow in time for Christmas. I just hope it keeps coming down.

Now in case you can't tell what a goofball I am from previous posts, here's me being the big kid I am:






Welcome to the best month of the year, everybody!