My Glucose Screening

I had my glucose screening a couple of weeks ago (as you probably know by reading), and here is the video to show you exactly what to expect if you haven't done one before.  Basically, you drink the glucola, wait an hour, and then have your blood draw to be analyzed for gestational diabetes.
Dr. Villers' office made the hour wait go by really fast.  I drank "the juice" at 8:30, and was seen by Dr. Villers at 9:00.  I was very busy during the hour "wait."  The staff also mentioned they will send the glucola home with some of their patients to drink 30-45 minutes before their appointment, so all they have to do is to go straight to get their blood drawn when they arrive for their next appointment.  All and all, the process was painless!
The "glucola" was super sweet, but if you know me at all, I love sugar (I've been known to eat it straight....weird...maybe), so it was no problem for me!  Speaking of sweets, I just found out yesterday that one of my showers actually depended on me passing my screening.  Luckily I did because my girlfriends (Mary-Margaret, Jennifer, and Catherine) and sis-in-law, Julie, are hosting a dessert themed shower!  My mouth is already watering!

This video is blurry...bummer.
If you can't see the YouTube video below, click here, to view it on MUSC's website.

25 Weeks Today!

"Head to heels, Tillman now measures about 13 1/2 inches. His weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. He's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture." (according to babycenter.com!)

Tillman is certainly growing and getting stronger.  I can feel his movements and occasionally I can see my tummy move (at this point it is only something I see, no one else notices it yet).  When he is really active while I'm laying in bed the bed feels like it is moving.  It is really cool to think that he could make all of that happen!

On my to do list for this week:
-Sign up for the MUSC Child Birth Education Class (we're doing the full Saturday class.  Nick and I both have the attitude of "let's just get this done."  No sense in us going for 4 weeks on a week night.)
-Sign up for the MUSC Breast Feeding Class
-Call Parkwood Pediatrics (they come highly recommended by Dr. Villers and friends)
-Looking at a few other daycares....I know I can't believe I'm doing this again...Lions Tiger and Daycare...oh my!

Praying for Cohen

Please take a minute today to pray for baby Cohen and his family. I have followed Megan (mom) through her pregnancy journey (she's on my blog roll), and today is officially Cohen's Birthday!  As Megan describes it, Cohen has a "broken heart" and will need lots of TLC once born.


Read Cohen's story: Click Here

Megan's blog:  In the Wonderful Life

Layette-Fashion Friday

Layette is a new word I have learned since being pregnant.  Not many of my friends have been pregnant, so I haven't been exposed to all the baby terms until now.  A Layette is a collection of clothing for a newborn child. The term "layette set" is commonly used in the United States to refer to gift sets of baby clothes. Traditionally, women would hand-sew their baby's clothes during their pregnancy. Today "layette" is often used to identify a baby clothing section of a store (according to Wikipedia).

I'm finding that the boutique baby stores often refer to their higher end/heirloom quality baby attire as Layette. 

Pixie Lily is a brand of Layette, and it is actually a Charleston company.  You can find Piexie Lily at Baby Bloomers, Charleston Child, and on the web.
Pixie Lily also is on Facebook and has a mailing list.  My cousin, Erica, found out that Pixie Lily now does 50% off Fridays. Although it can still be pricey, Layette is rarely on sale in stores, so if you're interested in Layette, this might be the deal for you on this Fashion Friday!

I'm sure there are tons of Layette brands (another is Kissy Kissy).  What is your favorite one?

Tillman goes to his first Indy 500!

Nick and I took a long road trip over Memorial Day weekend up to Ohio and Indiana.  We hit the road on Thursday afternoon and arrived in Ohio on Friday mid-day after stopping over night in Tennessee.  The trip is about 11 hours long.  It is just too much for us to do in one day especially when we're not pressed for time. 

Last Sunday we went to the Indy 500 with Nick's Mom.  Indianapolis is about an hour and a half from Nick's Mom's house, so we hit the road early Sunday morning for the 1PM race start. I've been to the race three times.  Nick has been far more, as his family has had tickets since the 50's.  His Grandparents used to go every year, and now the tickets have been passed down.  I won't say that we are hard core race fans, but we are certainly into the family tradition of going!

As for the three Indy 500 I have been, it has rained, been prefect weather, and then this year, the HOTTEST race in history!  This hot weather was perfect timing with being pregnant.  It was supposed to be 83 degrees, but ended up being 96 degrees (I hope that weather man got a disciplinary note in his file).  I got really hot around lap 83 (out of 200), so I went down to get me something to drink.  It was literally 10-15 degrees cooler on the ground!  Guess what, most of the concession stands were out of water!

We sit in turn two, so we see turns one and two and then the back straight away.  The race track was 130 degrees which made the track slick, thus causing all the great wreaks! Chill out, no one got seriously hurt, and if you have ever been to a race, that is what you look for!  All the wreaks happened in our viewing area expect the last wreak where the guy's car goes up on the wall (probably the most exciting one).

Here are some videos and pictures from the race!

Us before going into the race gates.

Nick, Me and Tillman's Mimi in the stands

Turn 2

Our Tickets

A Wreak...racer getting into the SUV

Loading up the wreaked car and other racers on a caution lap

Side Note:  Traveling during the 2nd trimester is great!  I don't yet feel too big and uncomfortable yet, and I'm done (I hope) the the nauseousness.  Dr. Viller's told me to take a baby aspirin before getting on the road to prevent any type of blood clots (just being cautious).
Nick and I are really trying to take advantage of the last few months of just the two of us by doing a little bit of traveling (really...road tripin' it).  We've got one or two more trips planned before Tillman arrives.

Passed!

Meredith,
 You passed your glucose test! Hooray!
M

Margaret S. Villers, MD
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Medical University of South Carolina
 
I got the above email on Friday!  It was nice to hear the good news.  Another update from my appointment is that my "belly growth" is two weeks behind.  Dr. Villers isn't too concerned about it, as Nick and I aren't very large people.  She would like to see me in 3 weeks, and if my "belly growth" is still behind, I'll go for another ultrasound (growth study) to make sure Tillman is growing as he should.

Week 24...man, this is going by pretty fast!

Tillman is as long as an ear of corn this week!  Here's what babycenter.com had to say about our little man this week.  "Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long, he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon."

Changes with me are also occurring.  According to babycenter.com my uterus is the size of a soccer ball and has raise above my belly button.  The site also mentioned the glucose screening test that I had last Thursday to screen for gestational diabetes, a pregnancy-related high-blood-sugar condition. They state "untreated diabetes increases your risk of having a difficult vaginal delivery or needing a cesarean section because it causes your baby to grow too large, especially in his upper body. It also raises your baby's odds for other complications like low blood sugar right after birth. "