Women Blog

I went to the doctor’s office on Wednesday.  I asked to be checked to find out how dilated I was.  She said I was 3cm and thick.  I guess that means I am opening up but I haven’t really thinned a lot.  I wonder how long I can stay like this.  I made an appointment to come back in a week but she didn’t seemed convinced I would make it to the appointment.

If I had to guess I would say I will have the baby by Sunday.  I had a bunch of contractions this morning but they stopped after about 30 minutes.  My son was driving me nuts by acting crazy and I kind of lost track of the contractions.  Oh well, I guess that means it wasn’t time yet.

I know there are a few more hours in the day but I don’t think he will come THAT fast.  He will be a February baby.  That will make my mom happy.  Her birthday is on the 14th but I told her that I will not wait that long.  I really don’t think he wants to stay in that long anyway.  The Superbowl is on Sunday so that’s when my husband thinks he will come.  I think he will come tomorrow.  I also have in-laws coming soon and I think they are expecting a new baby.  I wonder if I will still be pregnant when they get here????

(37.7 weeks)

For several weeks now I have been telling my husband that it feels like someone has kicked me in the crotch.  It’s not exactly a nice feeling.  I guess it’s hard to explain but sometimes it really hurts.  Another pain is, what I’m guessing, a groin muscle pain.  Instead of getting leg cramps, I get groin cramps.  I will just be walking along and POW, it’s almost likes I pulled my groin.  Other times it’s like a shooting pain in the groin muscle.  Does this make sense?  Most of the time I just sit down and it goes away.  But usually not for long.  It has lingered around for the past few weeks.  I guess I might have a few more weeks to put up with but that’s OK! 

Maybe it’s just the ligaments stretching but it sure is weird.

(37.2 weeks)

I think I lost my mucus plug.  Ok, WARNING, this isn’t going to be a pleasant post to read.  Especially if a guy comes across it!! 

I was sitting on the toilet and thought something was weird.  So, I looked at the toilet paper and noticed a lot of brown.  I wiped some more and it was stringy with a blood tinge in it.  Well, “there it goes” I thought to myself.  I think I either just lost the whole mucus plug or continued to lose it for a little over a day.  It’s been a few days and I don’t see anything else.  This happened Wednesday I think.

Surprisingly I didn’t freak out and I didn’t call the doctor.  I figured it was the next step in the process and it made me realize I am getting closer to having this baby.  Now how long do I have to wait?  I’ve searched and searched the internet and all of the answers I’ve found vary.  Some people go into labor right away, others wait a few weeks.  So there is no set answer. 

I’m just glad there is only one mucus plug to lose because it is kind of gross.

Paper Clutter Control!

Do you hate cleaning out your files? One of the most difficult things about purging files is that we have to make decisions about what to clean and what to throw out. For many people (no shock here), those decisions can be stressful, even on a good day. So file folders continue to bulge, and then we don’t even want to file current papers, which compounds the whole problem.

In the case of paper clutter, the consequences of throwing away the wrong thing are more severe than in other areas. If you discard an item of clothing and then find you need it later, you can probably locate a replacement. If you accidentally throw an important document, the results can be disastrous.

One way to solve the problem is to purchase paper file cartons. These containers are usually prominently displayed in office supply stores during tax time, but are available year around. They are inexpensive and stack easilly. If you just can’t decide whether or not to keep a document, but don’t want it taking up space in your files, put it in your paper file box and store it in long term storage.

You’ll be able to retrieve the item if you need it, but it won’t take valuable space. Knowing you have the paper file box makes the decision making process less overwhelming.

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How Much Life Insurance do women need?

Many women feel as if they don’t need any life insurance at all, and I think this is a financial mistake. I can think of a couple of ways that families and individuals rationalize this decision, but I’m not sure they really hold up.

Do you think that you do not need life insurance because you are not the major breadwinner?

Think about the value of the things you do for your family, even if you do not directly earn money for them. Are you the maid, cook, taxi, and therapist for your family? Many women fill all of those positions in the clan and more! If you were not present to perform those duties, who would do them? Would other family members need to lose time from work to step in? Would your husband need to hire help?

I think many women realize that their family would struggle without them, and I think we know that some cash would help. Even if you just consider the high cost of funerals, you should consider life insurance if your family does not have $10,000 or more that they can gain access to quickly. Furthermore, deaths often lead medical bills and other debts. While your family copes with tragedy, you do not want them to have to worry about money too.

The good news is that life insurance for women is usually a little cheaper than it is for a man. Statistically we live longer. A small life insurance policy is an affordable decision that can give you peace of mind. If you are married, you may want to consider a joint policy with your husband, or having yourself added to a spouse coverage rider. These are very inexpensive solutions to a problem that could be devastating.

You may be young and healthy now, and certain that you will live to be 100. I hope you do. However, the time to look for life insurance is when you are still young and healthy, because that is when life insurance is cheap and easy to get! And don’t get too caught up in choices for life insurance, like term vs. whole vs. universal life.

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If you groan every time you pull up to the pump, you are probably just joining the chorus. What used to be a trivial expense is turning into a major monthly bill, especially if you have a long commute or other activities that would be tough to cut back on. Of course, everybody is pushing more energy efficient cars, and even hybrid cars. However, many of us are just not in a position to invest in a newer car, even if gasoline bills will be cheaper.

CheapskateLiving.org has posted some help so we an all find cheaper gas. I am not going to reprint the article, but would like to touch on a few of the cheap gas savings tips.

They will point you to a government run website which is actually quite useful to save money on fuel and associated purchases. The US Department of Energy established this site to help you find the cheapest gasoline in your area and stay updated about tax credits for energy saving purchases. CheapskateLiving.org also commented how happy they were to see their tax money going to something useful, and I concur!

The article also lists measures you can take to make your old car use gasoline more efficiently, and things you may not have thought of to put less miles on your car.

Here’s The Article: Find Cheap Gas and Save Money On Fuel!

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Ok…so what is the world record of most times peed in 24 hours??  Whatever the record is, I probably broke it.  I swear everytime I stand up or sit down, I have to pee.  I usually go about 3 to 5 times a night.  I must be driving my husband nuts with as many times as I get up at night.  I’m sure it doesn’t help that I moan and groan when I try to roll over too.  And that the box spring creaks everytime I move.  I must make a lot of noise.

I actually just told my husband before that it has been hard for me to get up in the morning.  I feel groggy.  I am usually fine in the morning so that’s weird to me.  He says to me, it’s because you are up all night.  I guess that makes sense.  I don’t really think of it as being awake all night but I do wake up a lot.  I guess I am just getting prepared for this little guy.  He will be up a lot too.

I made it to 36 weeks.  Here is what is going on with my body and my baby right now.

“By this week of pregnancy your baby’s crown-to-rump length reaches about 13.5 inches and the total length is approximately 20.7 inches. Your baby weighs about 6 pounds now. The top of your uterus has moved further up under your ribs and is about 5.5 inches above your bellybutton. Your uterus has grown alot in the past few weeks as your baby has gained weight. You may have gained about 30 pounds by now and it is common for your weight to stay about the same from this point onwards.”

This was taken from this website.  It’s a good website that shows pics of an unborn baby to give you an idea of what is going on in there. 

I am getting so excited, I am almost ready for my little man to arrive.

After I finished up with my high-risk OB appointment,  I went over to the hospital to get my cerclage removed.  I went up to the third floor of the hospital, the labor and delivery wing.  There, they checked me in and one of my Obstetricians came in to see me.  She explained the cerclage removal process and we both hoped that it would go smoothly.

I didn’t have a long wait until we started.  The nurse and doctor got out all the proper equipment and started right away.  The doctor was very careful and got both of my stitches out.  I asked to keep them and the nurse put them in a little container for me.  The whole experience was a little uncomfortable but bearable.  The worst part was probably the speculum that was stuck in me to keep everything open.  Blah!!!

After the stitches were out we discussed my options.  One, I could pack up and run out of the hospital or two, I could hang around for a little bit to see if I started to contract.  I asked the doctor to check my cervix to see if I was dilated and she did.  I was 1cm dilated and the baby was pretty far up.  I decided to wait for about 20 minutes and nothing happened.  What a relief, I’m glad he decided to stay put for a little while. 

I was pretty crampy after I got home but I’m not sure if that was from the cerclage removal or if I was dilating.  It’s kind of weird to think that now I just sit and wait like every other pregnant woman.  I do have another appointment on Tuesday so we’ll see how far along I am then.  Hey, maybe this baby will make it to full term. 

I went to see the high risk doctor today.  It’s always weird because part of me gets excited to see my baby but the other part of me is nervous about what they will say. 

I went right to the ultrasound room and the sonographer was awesome.  She showed me so much and explained a lot to me.  Their equipment is so nice and new.  The screen is huge and it makes the baby look gigantic.  First she checked my amniotic fluid levels.  The levels were good and that was nice to hear.  Next she checked the umbilical cord.  She checked and checked and couldn’t find anything abnormal.  The baby wasn’t cooperating too much but enough for her to see what she needed to see. 

She saw the umbilical vein and the umbilical arteries.  She also saw where the vein entered the baby and that’s what she thinks may have confused the other sonographer.  She rechecked and still couldn’t find anything troublesome.  His anatomy, cord and placenta looked great.

This was such a relief to hear.  I just don’t know how I could handle any negative news about my baby.  It just wouldn’t be good.

What was really cool is they did a growth check on the baby.  He weighed 6lbs and 10 oz which puts him in the 78th percentile.  What a big boy.  If he goes full term, that will be a big baby!!  The sonographer also pointed out that if something was wrong with the cord, that it would affect the baby’s growth.  Obviously nothing was affecting this baby’s growth.  Phew!!