Another glimpse at baby

Another part of my hospital stay was an ultrasound to check on baby. This wasn't one of those fancy 3D/4D ones like last time but they did get a great profile of the baby! Hopefully you can make it out -- it's as if the baby is lying on its back and you are looking at it from the side.

We all agreed (including the VERY experienced ultrasound tech) that it looks like the baby has a big nose! That's OK -- it was never in this baby's genetics to have a small one!
Aaron is convinced that the ultrasound picture looks like him. Here is a picture of him when he was 11 & 1/2 weeks old. I think he could be onto something here! Anyway, if the baby looks like him that's OK 'cause he was pretty cute!

Preterm Labor is the Pits!

The day after my last post (Dec. 23) I started having what I thought were Braxton-Hicks contractions.... So I ignored them all day because they didn't hurt.

I woke up on Christmas Eve and got in the shower to get ready for church. In the span of about 10 minutes I had 6 painless contractions - but the frequency made me think these may not be Braxton-Hicks. I decided to page the doctor and sent Aaron on to church by himself (he had to play the angel Gabriel in the Nativity Play -- very important!). When the doctor called back he suggested I come in and be evaluated since it was hard to determine over the phone what was happening.

I drove myself to the hospital and checked in at the Women's Evaluation Unit (WEU). I did the usual pee in a cup, step on a scale, blood pressure, etc. Then they hooked me up to a monitor..... That's when things started happening! The nurses first comments were "I don't like this, I don't like this at all.. You're contracting every 2 minutes! I need to go get some meds." She came back with meds AND a doctor who did all the necessary things doctors do to determine that I was also dilated to 3cm. The doctor informed me that I would be spending Christmas with them!

I received an IV, some medication and a trip straight to the labor & delivery unit. There I was started on a nasty labor-stopping medication, magnesium sulfate. It caused me to be hot, nauseated, have blurred vision, slurred speech, extreme thirst, and weak shaky muscles.

The way I look in the picture below pretty much sums up the way the medications made me feel!
With the help of another labor stopping medication called terbutaline, they were able to get the contractions stopped with no further progression. In the middle of the night I was transferred out of the labor and delivery unit since I wasn't an immediate threat for delivery.

There I spent the next few days, finally getting off the magnesium and starting to feel better. Once I was off the magnesium the contractions came back a bit so they kept me a little longer for monitoring.


I stayed quite busy with visits from my pharmacy friends, Aaron, reading, movies, catching up on some sleep I missed the first few days, and trying not to get bed sores!

I was finally discharged on the 29th of Dec. It felt SO good to sleep in my own bed! I have to take terbutaline 5mg every 4 hours (i.e. set the alarm) and I'm not allowed to work or do much of anything. At least I'm not on strict bed rest so I can move about the house and go out a little bit with Aaron.

Through all of this the baby was just fine, active as ever and in no distress. I have to stay on the medication until I'm 36 weeks (currently 33 & 1/2 weeks).... then we'll see!

I'll do my best to post regularly now.... It's not like I have much else going on!

Bigger and bigger....

DISCLAIMER: IF YOU DO NOT LIKE BELLY SHOTS DO NOT CONTINUE TO VIEW THIS POST! THERE ARE 8 PICTURES OF ME, INCLUDING A FEW OF WHAT I LIKE TO CALL "NAKEY BELLY".

We'll start off nice with a picture of me at about 30 weeks before heading off to work one morning.

The same morning but a true side profile. Hmmm... wouldn't exactly classify that as cute anymore? It sorta looks like I shoved a beach ball under my shirt. I bought this shirt hoping it would be loose. It wasn't.

OK, here's the first nakey belly shot. I especially like the protruding belly button. Now I know what the inside of my belly button looks like.

Here is a great picture to represent the true girth of the belly. Another fun thing to note is that my belly button is NOT midline. I actually knew that before being pregnant. Also of note is the scar above my belly button from my old belly button ring.

This is a picture of me today after work. I'm currently 32 weeks pregnant and had a doctors appt. today. Everything is fine!

I think it's getting closer to the true size of a basketball now.

Despite acting silly, this is a good picture to depict that the belly is growing straight out the front. It's nearly impossible to see the size of belly in this picture!

I saved the best for last... I didn't think Aaron was ready to take the picture so I was acting like a fool.

My apologies if you were traumatized by this post -- but hey you had fair warning not to read it!

Fun times with family....

Sydney and Kristi came to visit for Thanksgiving. Here Sydney and I were tickling the baby...

Sydney thought "baby Flatau" needed a kiss! I think that may have been baby's first kiss.

Sydney gave her seal of approval to the baby's stroller after a trip to the zoo. She thought she needed one just like it. I don't think her mom agreed to buy a 4 year old a new stroller......

Aaron's trip up north wouldn't have been complete without a stop by Jon's place of employment... Mexican Village in downtown Fargo. What a charming, handsome server he is!

I think Emily and Michael also approved of the service. Or maybe they were winking at the guy taking the picture? I'm not sure.

Gary thought the bean burrito was "so hot" -- Aaron says there probably wasn't much if any spice in it.... Maybe it was just the thought of eating Mexican food, or what comes after eating a bean burrito.

Aaron met my parents in Nashua, Iowa on his way back to Missouri. They were on their way back to North Dakota after staying with me while Aaron was gone! Nothing like a great family photo in the local gas station.

It's time I included a picture of Daniel and his lovely girlfriend, Holly. Isn't Holly a pretty girl? I'm not sure how Dan got so lucky. Any woman who can tolerate a Flatau man is amazing, right?

Craig and Jill took a Mexican cruise around Thanksgiving and by the looks of it had a great time!

Cali!

Love those palm trees.... Why is everyone fascinated by palm trees, who doesn't live by them? Everytime I go somewhere with palm trees I have to take pictures.


December 3rd - 7th I traveled to Anaheim, California for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) annual Mid-Year convention. It is a HUGE conference with something like 20,000 pharmacists in attendance from all over the world.


Here is a picture of our booth at the residency showcase. People interested in completing a resdiency can stop by and gather information about our program.


My boss took this picture of our group at the residency showcase. Pictured (l to r) are McKenzie (current pharmacy practice resident), Brianne (current pharmacy practice resident), Kirk (former resident and current clinical pharmacy specialist), me (former resident and current clinical staff pharmacist), and Deanna (clinical/residency coordinator and fellow NDSU grad).


Of course, the most exciting thing I saw all week was this gigantic pair of underwear hanging from the ceiling at the exhibits. This is the exhibit for a company called Health Care Logistics. They are funny!

BCPS

On Thursday we received the news that I passed my pharmacotherapy specialist licensure exam! What a relief!!

The following ingredients were necessary for a successful outcome:

1. One supportive, patient, loving, handsome, athletic yet manly sensitive, keen intellected and self-sacrificing husband (Aaron helped me with this list)
   
2. 7 months of intensive studying -- as sanity allowed
3. A large amount of $$$$ to travel to review conferences, purchase study materials, and pay for the examination fees
4. Supportive co-workers who continually offered words of encouragement and motivation while hiding their duress and forlorn disappointment at my lack of companionship, unmatched wit, sparkling conversation and enchanting enticing personality during lunch breaks (spent studying)

Why become Board Certified if it took all that work and sacrifice?
"Specialty certification in pharmacy offers real value and benefits to patients, health care professionals, employers, health care systems, pharmacist specialists, and the general public. Board certified pharmacist specialists contribute significantly to optimal, cost-effective drug treatment in their specialty practice areas. Board certification offers an opportunity for pharmacist specialists to demonstrate advanced skills and knowledge, and is a means of informing the public and other health care professionals of the pharmacist specialist's educational and practice accomplishments. Many certified pharmacist specialists have reported enhanced recognition from colleagues in other health care professions. Others report a "competitive edge" in job placement and advancement. Still others have received reimbursement from third party payers, increased salaries, one-time bonuses, or other monetary benefits because their skills and knowledge are validated through a national board certification process."

What does "board certified" mean?
"Board certification is a voluntary process for those who are already licensed to practice pharmacy. Board certification indicates a pharmacist has demonstrated an advanced level of education, experience, knowledge and skills -- beyond what is required for licensure - in a particular specialty practice area."

How do I become board certified?
"There are four basic eligibility requirements for board certification:

• entry-level pharmacy degree;
• current active pharmacy license;
• defined additional training and experience in the specialty; and
• passing the specialty certification examination."

How is BPS certification different from a license, certificate program, or continuing education?
"Certification is a voluntary process by which a practitioner's education, experience, knowledge and skills are confirmed by an agency of the profession as meeting or surpassing a defined standard beyond that required for licensure. BPS certification is the only designation within the pharmacy profession recognizing training, experience, knowledge, and skill at the specialist level, measured against an established national standard.

Licensure is the process by which a government agency grants permission to an individual to practice upon finding the applicant has attained the basic degree of competency necessary to ensure public health, safety, and welfare.

Certificate programs and continuing education programs are developed by organizations and institutions to provide structured and systematic postgraduate educational experiences. Certificates indicate completion of the program, but may not measure a practitioner's knowledge and skills against national standards."

"Pharmacists today practice in an environment that is changing rapidly and dramatically. Drug therapy, as an integral part of contemporary health care, has become increasingly complex, requiring new practice modes and competencies. In response to the needs of the public and the health care system, the pharmacy profession has developed several areas of practice specialization. Board certification in those specialty practice areas, recognized by the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS), provides an objective, independent process by which pharmacist specialists can demonstrate specialized education, experience, knowledge and skills.

The BPS was established in 1976 by the American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA) to respond to the evolving requirements of patients and the health care system. BPS' mission is to recognize specialty practice areas, define knowledge and skill standards for recognized specialties, evaluate the knowledge and skills of individual pharmacist specialists, and serve as a source of information and coordinating agency for pharmacy specialties."

All information in quotation marks was taken from the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties web site at www.bpsweb.org.

Last Ride

According to the doctor today is the last day I am 'allowed' to ride my bikes until after the baby is born! I can't make any guarantees -- but I surely won't be mountain biking again until I am a true biker momma.

We took advantage of the awesome Missouri fall weather for a low key mountain bike ride today. We went west of St. Louis to Weldon Spring Conservation Area for a beautiful 8.5 mile ride.

The baby enjoyed the ride bouncing along on top of my bladder and constricting my lungs when I leaned forward to power up a hill. It was a joyful last ride, although a bit humbling (15 extra pounds, a big belly, and out of shape legs)!


Rowdy loves to come along on bike rides! We are able to keep him off leash and he is such a good dog. He chased squirrels and birds, pointed 2 wild turkeys, swam across a stream, never wandred off, and kept up with us the whole way. He's right in front of me in the picture below.

Baby Flatau's Room

Baby Flatau has as much of a nursery as it'll ever have in St. Louis. It took a lot of work and help from Aaron to move beds and furniture around but I think we have a good set-up. It's a cozy room and will work for the few months we'll be here with the baby.

The following pictures are of the baby's bed, clothes, blankets, books, decorations and other items in the room. Hopefully it'll give you an idea of what is taking shape in preparation for the little one!

24 Weeks and Waddling?

Not waddling yet but things are no longer deniable. People are no longer afraid to ask. I am clearly pregnant with or without clothing coverage! Below you will notice a lovely comparison shot at 5 weeks with 24 weeks (taken today).




OK Flatau's -- this ones for you..... I know y'all love it when I put pictures of my naked belly on the internet so here it is! If you think this one is gross, they're only going to get worse. Enjoy!

What's Been Goin' On

Craig's Home!

The most important thing that has happened lately is that my brother-in-law (Jill's husband) is home from Iraq -- safe and sound! He's been home a little over a week. The picture below is when Jill picked him up after their plane landed. We're glad Craig is home and I'm hoping we'll get to see them soon!

Outward Expansion

I've been continuing to make room for the little one that is getting bigger by the day. The picture below is my belly and NO, I'm not sticking it out! That's just the way it is.... for now.

Fall Foliage

The weather in St. Louis has been cooling off and the trees are awesome right now. Aaron took this picture in the park at the Seminary.

That Rowdy Dog

Aaron has been busy working with Rowdy taking him into the fields and teaching him how to be a hunter. Hopefully it works! Maci doesn't get to go with (unless I'm there) for a few reasons:

#1 She is WAY gun shy (literally freaks out if a gun is fired)
#2 She tends to run back to her 'safe zones' if she is off leash (she would sprint three miles back to the car because it's safe there)
#3 She's not a hunter!

But today we will take the dogs out and she will come with because I'm going along so I can take her on leash. Also we will not be bringing any firearms so she shouldn't get scared!

Sweet

I've hit the mother load! So I had a bad day yesterday and the hormones were running rampant. I talked to my mom and sister on the phone and proceeded to um, sorta cry and stuff. I guess it was worth it because I had a large pot of candy delivered to me at work today!

Sadie was also very excited about it when I unloaded the goods. She posed pretty after she sniffed everything. As you can see I won't be needing to purchase any chocolate anytime soon.

THANK YOU!!

More Cats!

Last week we went out to grab a bite to eat and came home to find this.......
.....happily exploring the roof of our back porch. Sadie was also out but she ran back inside before we could get her picture.

Apparently Aaron left the window open in the attic (I'm not allowed to say WHY he often has the window open up there -- and NO it doesn't involve any bodily function). Fortunately they were not able to get up on the roof of the house or down to the ground -- so I guess they were safe?

All I could say was.... "Way to go Aaron!"



Sadie was resting so cute on our bed that we had to have a little photo shoot with her. What a nice girl!