Oh no!

So I have shingles!

My back suddenly started hurting (muscular hurting) last Wednesday in one particular area. I figured it was just normal pregnancy pressure, changes, etc. I kept having Matt massage it & I kept massaging at it. Then on Saturday I noticed a couple of small bumps, but neither of us could really see anything. I figured that it was a bug bite or just irritated from me messing with it. By Sunday, the "bumps" had spread to a larger patch & the patch had multiplied to 3 patches. We still didn't have any idea what it was though. I thought it might be the beginning of PUPPPS (a VERY ITCHY pregnancy rash that I had when I was pregnant with Taylor).

This morning at work, I showed a couple of people & they all pretty much thought it was probably shingles. I then showed one of the Drs that we work with. He confirmed the suspicions. I already had a Dr appt scheduled this afternoon, so I showed the Dr. He confimred that it was shingles, but didn't really seem all that concerned. Apparently, shingles is much more dangerous for early pregnancy than for late stage of pregnancy. The Dr. was able to give me a medicine that should help. So far, it really doesn't hurt too bad & it hasn't spread more than the 3 patches on my back.



36 Weeks and 4 days - Still feeling good expect for the shingles.


I wonder what other rash, disease, etc that I can come up with to have while pregnant?? However, I am so blessed that none of the problems that I have had are extremly dangerous to Brayden or me. Also, thankfully, all of the problems have been treatable! How wonderful is 21st century medicine!?!?!

Oh well! At the most, we only have 20 days to go & hopefully the shingles will be long gone by the time Brayden arrives!

Not much new here

So we only have 3.5 weeks left until Brayden's arrival!!! And that is if he comes on Oct 20! Of course, Brayden might decide that he wants to come a bit early. Matt thinks the big day will be Oct 16 (our 4th wedding anniversary). I think it will be the 17th. My mom say is it will be Oct 8th (my grandfather Holbrook & great-grandfather Burris' birthdays) and my friend Renee thinks it will be Oct 7th.

All of the non-stress test have gone well so far. Brayden tends to cooperative rather well, but every once in a while he decides that Drs appointment time is naptime for him. If this is the case, they put this little buzzer thing on my belly & wake him up. It just makes a loud sound & vibrates a little. We had another Ultrasound last Monday. Brayden's growth is right on track for his age. They estimated his weight at the ultrasound (34 weeks) to be 4lbs 14oz. Unfortunatly, Brayden decided that he didn't want his picture taken. He kept putting his hands in front of his face & rolling over so that we couldn't see his face.

I feel like there is still so much to do to get ready for Brayden's arrival. The nursery is still a mess...stuff everywhere, clothes to wash, etc. I really just need 1 day to get everything in place. However, I know that if everything doesn't get done, it will still be OK. We have the crib and carseat ready to go, along with lots of diapers & wipes, so as far as Brayden will care, we have everything he needs. I am just an organizational freak & like to have everything in its place. I really need to let this go!

I also still have so many Thank you notes to write. We are SO incredibly grateful for all of the wonderful gifts that we have recived & for all of our friends & family.

Matt & I bought a new video camera last weekend. I am still trying to figure out the camera itself, but we want to learn how to past videos on the blog. If anyone is willing to give me a tutorial session on this, I would be VERY grateful!

Love
Jennifer, Matt, & Brayden

update

So we have had 2 non-stress tests (NST) done so far. Basically, they let me sit in a comfy recliner, hook a contraction monitor & a heartbeat monitor to my belly and I sit there for 20-30 minutes. Each time I feel Brayden move, I am supposed to press a button which records on a printout along with his heartrate & contractions.

So far, I haven't had any contractions (which is good at this time). I am having pretty consistent Braxton-Hicks contractions throughout the day. This is also good.

During the first round of testing on Tuesday, Brayden was SO active that I only had to stay hooked to the monitor for about 10 minutes. Today, he was not performing up to par. His heartrate was perfectly fine throughout, but I think he was sleeping (or maybe just being stubborn like is mom & Granddaddy Holbrook). The nurse came in & put a little buzzer up to my belly & it vibrated & made a loud noise. This woke Brayden up for a couple of minutes, but not enough to make him want to move a lot. After about 30 minutes, they let me go. I did feel a little movement during this time, but just not what I had felt on Tuesday. Of course, now 1 hr later, he is ALL over the place.

I also got the OK from the Dr today to come to Sid's Baby Dedication! Matt and I are excited that we can come & celebrate with the rest of the family! We are looking forward to seeing everyone again.

We will have another ultrasound on Sept 15. I will post more pictures then.


33 weeks and 3 days

Love
Jennifer, Matt, & Brayden