We had our 24 weeks pregnancy check-up today at Ashley Women's Center in Gastonia with Dr. Howe (he delivered Josh back in  '81).  It was a pretty quick (about 30 minutes) and rather uneventful visit, and everything is still going great.  I had to have the glucola test at this check up, so I had to drink a really sugary drink an hour before my appointment.


Chug, chug!  It tasted like flat orange soda.

Here's a description of the purpose of the test and gestational diabetes that I read in my weekly email from the American Pregnancy Association:

Between 24 and 28 weeks, most healthcare providers will perform a glucose screening test. This test checks for gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is a temporary form (in most cases) of diabetes in which the body does not produce adequate amounts of insulin to deal with sugar during pregnancy. Signs and symptoms can include:

• Sugar in urine (revealed in a test done in your doctor’s office)
• Unusual thirst
• Frequent urination
• Fatigue
• Nausea

Approximately 2-5 % of all expecting mothers will develop gestational diabetes. The screening for this disease usually will take place between your 24th and 28th week of pregnancy. Doctors test for gestational diabetes during this time because the placenta is producing large amounts of hormones that may cause insulin resistance. If the result comes back with elevated levels, further testing would be done to confirm a diagnosis of gestational diabetes.

The nurse checked the standards -- weight (up about 19.5 lbs total -- yikes!), urine test, blood pressure, and Teeny's heart beat (160 bpm).  Then they whisked me off to get my blood taken at exactly one hour after I had finished the sugar drink (50g of glucose - take that coke!).  After that, I met with Dr. Howe (no, we didn't tell him he delivered Josh 26 years ago), and he checked me for swelling (he said something like "yep, you still have ankles"), measured the uterus, and felt around for the baby's position (breech, so he's flipped in the last month....but it's not an issue since we're still early and there's plenty of time and room left for more flipping).  He told us that everything looked fine with the pregnancy.  I finished out the appointment with a quick flu shot (and another $135 payment for the pregnancy and L/D doctor's office charges --- only one more payment......is there a Kmart layaway in my belly?).

Our next appointment is in another 4 weeks (end of November)  with my regular OB-GYN, Dr. Lynch, in the Belmont office.

We took a trip to the mountains this weekend, with a group of our friends -- Amy, Joel, Rex, Liz, Adam, & Hannah.  The "cabin" was near Sylva / Dillsboro, NC....and very high atop a mountain and at the end of a very scary winding (one-way) road.  I was near a panic attack during our first ascent to the cabin --- when we didn't know exactly which sharp turn to take and at one point ended up at a house with a prominent "private property, no trespassing" (will they shoot us?) sign displayed.  Turning around was not an easy feat, considering that the mountain dropped down on one side of the road and up to make "more" mountain on the other.  Eventually we found our cabin (and I proclaimed that I was never going back down that road, and baby Teeny would be born up there).  It had a great view, and was a really nice house!

The view from the deck

Josh, Adam, & Joel threw the football outside for a bit, and at one point the ball sailed over Joel (he had his hands in his pockets!) and down the side of the mountain a bit.  My kooky husband went down after it, and managed to retrieve it with only a few briar wounds.

After settling into our rooms (score! -- we got the master suite, since I pulled the preggers status) we began working on figuring out meals and our grocery list.  The guys decided they would venture out to the store for us -- but did not realize that it was Western's homecoming weekend, and they got stuck in the middle of the parade --- TWICE! 

The first night we had fun playing Wii, Skipbo, and pool, and the boys also ventured into the hot tub. 

Hannah, Amy, & me playing Skipbo -- Hannah, the first-timer, kicked our butts!  I think she hustled us..... :)


Adam, Joel, & Josh enjoying the hot tub -- who says you need girls? 

We decided to head out to Dillsboro for dinner on Saturday (somehow, I was persuaded to ride on the treacherous mountain road again) to the Dillsboro Smokehouse.  The barbeque & ribs were great, even though we did have to wait a long time to get seated and get our food.


Josh & me (and Teeny!) in Dillsboro


Adam & Josh before dinner at the Dillsboro Smokehouse

Here are some other pictures -- we had a great time!


Amy & me on the deck -- we finally remembered to take a picture!


Me & Josh (and Teeny!) on the deck.  He mocks our famous arm trick!

This week, there's not much to report that's new, so I will take this blog time to lament on the things I miss from before I was pregnant (even though I do love being pregnant, there are some aspects that could be improved).

• Sleeping on my stomach
• Sleeping without tossing and turning all night
• Sleeping without extra pillows
• Walking the 5 blocks to / from work without being out of breath
• Walking 4-5 blocks without having to pee
• Getting up from the floor easily / Bending down or over easily
• Not having random conversations with strangers (everyone wants to ask about the pregnancy now that it's obvious)
• Prescription allergy medicine
• Alcohol! 
  
• TMI warning -- Being able to "tend" to my shaving needs by sight (if only I had been able to finish the laser treatments before getting preggers!)

To be fair and balanced, I'll have to list my favorite things about being pregnant in an upcoming weekly post. :)

Here's the 22 week belly picture: