Sarah Riley

Taking charge of our own healthcare can be a daunting task, especially if you don't know how to navigate healthcare systems or work with providers. We're demystifying some of that for you, providing a toolbox to help you make sound decisions and get the best care possible.

I worked right up until the day before I delivered my baby. In hindsight, I wish I'd had some time off beforehand. It would have made life easier and less stressful. However, we don't always have ideal situations. I spent the last week of my pregnancy talking to baby a lot about making sure she waited until our scheduled date and time. Or, at the very least, if she was going to come early to try to do so during regular business hours on a day where my OB was working so that I didn't have to worry about being delivered by someone else.

May I suggest that if it can be avoided, moving to a new home while in one's third trimester during the hottest summer on record and trying to work at the same time should be avoided if at all possible? Because it should.

I've been feeling pretty good lately, other than being hot beyond all belief. I know now why everyone kept telling me last time that I was "lucky" not to be pregnant during the hottest part of the year here. Trying to keep my body temperature regulated is a constant struggle. So I feel like it's finally time to talk about this birthing thing on the blog.

Bad news first...I failed my 1 hour glucose tolerance screening. This was a huge downer. After taking the glucose drink my OB's office sent me home with at my last visit, I waited the hour before my appointment and they stuck my finger to check my blood sugar level. I believe the maximum cut-off...

My strep throat infested family has recovered. We're still in the process of buying a house, so that's been crazy. And then my family took a vacation to a place where there was (gasp) no easy Internet access. I know, hard to believe such places exist, but they do and I loved every minute of being almost completely unplugged! In terms of how I'm feeling, the last few weeks have been decent. The heartburn has continued to be awful. During my last pregnancy, my partner used to laugh that we should take out stock in Tums because I chewed my way through so many bottles.

The past couple of weeks have been awfully busy for me. In fact, I'm at home today with a kiddo who has strep throat. (Here's hoping I don't pick it up too!) At my most recent appointment with my obgyn, everything looked good. I'd gained 2 lbs. My doctor is still not particularly concerned because of the overall weight loss that I had during the first trimester. My blood pressure and urine were fine as well. Little one's heartbeat was in the 150s, exactly where it should be, and I'm feeling lots of movement now.

It's not even noon and I've cried at least 10 separate times today. Hooray. I had another topic in mind for this blog entry, but I'm incredibly emotional today and just can't quite tackle the topic I wanted. One of the things I've discovered about pregnancy is that it amplifies everything. The good...

After quite a wait, we finally got a look at the little peanut that I've been carrying around for the past 20 weeks.

It's been an exciting and also unexciting couple of weeks. Life is changing, as it often seems to do. At my last doctor's appointment I had gained a couple of pounds. My care provider was okay with this because it puts me back on the way to my pre-pregnancy weight. My partner was able to come to my appointment with me this time. We got to hear the heartbeat again.