We had our 28 week OB/MFM appointment yesterday. Baby boy seems to be doing well. His heart rate was in the 130s. I measured right on track. I gained more weight than I thought I had, although I shouldn't be too surprised with how I've been putting away the desserts. It wasn't enough weight for my doctor to bring up, and she actually talked about how thin I am when we discussed 3D ultrasounds and how that made me a better candidate for one. The nurse even complimented my bump and how perfect it is. I've also gotten a few random stranger comments about how I'm all belly. I just need to remind myself of those compliments when I step on the scale or look at my butt in the mirror. I had a small amount of sugar in my urine again, but she wasn't too concerned, just wants me to get my 4 hour glucose test in for the second time this pregnancy, so I scheduled it for next week. I'm craving sweets like crazy, so it would be difficult to hang up those hankerings if it comes back positive. She also did another cervix exam since I'm nervous about preterm labor. She said it's nice and closed and the baby is so high she couldn't even feel him. She doesn't anticipate me going into labor early.
I can hardly believe I have finally made it to the every two week appointment stage of the pregnancy! That makes it feel like we are getting super close to the end. We are getting ready to start the higher level of monitoring for the single umbilical artery. In two weeks I have an ultrasound to check growth, then in four weeks I'll start the twice per week NST's and they will check amniotic fluid levels once per week. It's also time to start kick counts twice per day. I officially started last night, although I had been starting to keep track a little bit a couple weeks ago. He has given me ten kicks within a few minutes both times so far. I think the last 2.5 months will fly, especially with all these appointments. I'm getting so excited!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Third Trimester
I'm so happy to be in the third trimester (although some books say I'm not officially 3rd trimester until the end of this week, when I hit 28 weeks, I think if there are only 3 months left then I'm 3rd trimester)! Only 89 days until my due date! Baby boy seems to be doing well. I feel him moving around on a regular schedule. He likes to sleep in the mornings until after lunch, then he'll wake up and move around a bit, take an afternoon nap, then at night he gets the most active. I am usually feeling him move around until I fall asleep. It's so reassuring to go to sleep feeling him. I can't even describe how in love with him I am already. My daughter likes to feel him kick and move and we talk about him daily and things he'll do when he "comes out." I think she is going to make an amazing big sister!
I have another OB appointment in a week. I'm still worried about preterm labor or my water breaking or him getting tangled in his cord, or not getting enough nutrients with the 2 vessel cord. I thought I lost part of my mucous plug last night, but there were no contractions and no blood, so from what I've read, that can be normal and it can regenerate in a couple of days. It could have just been CM too, I can't be sure. Day to day has been a little better this month and overall I haven't been quite as nervous, but I have had my moments.
My husband has been working hard on the nursery and we are so happy with how it's coming along! 3 coats of green paint and started on the wainscoting. I have a cordless roman shade ordered to go under the valance, which should be here in about a week. It's getting more and more real!
I have another OB appointment in a week. I'm still worried about preterm labor or my water breaking or him getting tangled in his cord, or not getting enough nutrients with the 2 vessel cord. I thought I lost part of my mucous plug last night, but there were no contractions and no blood, so from what I've read, that can be normal and it can regenerate in a couple of days. It could have just been CM too, I can't be sure. Day to day has been a little better this month and overall I haven't been quite as nervous, but I have had my moments.
My husband has been working hard on the nursery and we are so happy with how it's coming along! 3 coats of green paint and started on the wainscoting. I have a cordless roman shade ordered to go under the valance, which should be here in about a week. It's getting more and more real!
We also had a little photoshoot at home yesterday. I am really happy with how they turned out. Here are a couple of my 27 week baby belly...
Some days I have to pinch myself. If we hadn't gotten pregnant this cycle, there is a very strong possibility we would have thrown in the towel. If I had miscarried I likely would not have tried for another pregnancy. This is likely my very last pregnancy regardless of the outcome. I just don't have much more fight left in me. I am feeling so blessed and sometime overwhelmed with how well things are going. I don't want to jinx it at this point, but I am feeling mostly good about how this is going to turn out. I am beyond ready to move past this part of my life, my journey, and be content with the family I have been blessed with. I still look at other women's tests and get a bit sad that I will likely never experience those two pink lines again, and I'm sure once he's here I will miss things about pregnancy. I didn't have the family of 4 babies that I always thought I would have, but I am okay with that. The things we have experienced and the the things I have seen others go through makes me realize what a miracle it is that I have a beautiful and healthy daughter and hopefully will soon be holding the completion to our family, a beautiful and healthy son. I Am Thankful!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Compassion
When I was pregnant with my daughter I did not get sick once. No colds, infections, stomach bugs, nothing. I got sick a lot for the first few months she was here, but that's another story. I have already had several colds and an upper respiratory infection with this pregnancy. For even more fun and worry, I woke up on Thursday puking. Let me tell you how strange that sensation is when your stomach is pushed all the way up at the top of your belly. The night before we had some take out shrimp. My husband ate it too and did not get sick, so I don't know if it was the shrimp or a bug. Either way, I was shaky, weak, sick, stomach cramps, and contracting, so my OB told me to go to labor and delivery triage, so off we went.
They checked me in and hooked me up to a contraction monitor and a fetal heart rate monitor. This woke my son up and he kept kicking. It was nice to get to sit and listen to him for an hour. They did a cervix check and said I was a fingertip dilated on the outer part, which is normal for women who have already had a baby, but nice and tight inside. I wasn't dehydrated, surprisingly, and my blood sugar levels were fine (95). While I was being monitored there were no contractions. They gave me a list of things to watch for and come back in for if I experienced them, otherwise, just let the illness run it's course. That's what I've been doing. Luckily the puking stopped after that morning, but the rest has lingered a bit.
My main purpose for writing this entry is to talk about the amazing nurse I had. She was asking all the questions they need to in order to get me all checked in, and as we started talking about the son we lost at 17 weeks, her tone changed. She told me she was the head of the demise comity at the hospital and wondered how everything happened at their sister hospital, where I was taken care of after his birth, and how I felt about it. I told her how we delivered him in our bathroom, still in the sac, and how we were afraid to touch him too much because we wanted to be sure he could be tested. She asked if we got to hold him and if they took pictures, I said no. She told me how sorry she was and that he was part of our family and the first thing they would have done there is broke the sac, wrapped him in a blanket, and let us hold him. There would have been photos and the entire situation would have been handled like a delivery and a loss. She is one of the few medical professionals to make me feel really validated in our loss and mourn, not only our son, but also the lack of comfort we received at the hospital. I haven't really cried like this about him for months, but this nurse granted me a very powerful gift that day...understanding and compassion, the permission to feel it again, and the validation that things were not handled as they should have been. I don't know if she'll ever know what she did for me that day, but it was very powerful and I am forever grateful.
They checked me in and hooked me up to a contraction monitor and a fetal heart rate monitor. This woke my son up and he kept kicking. It was nice to get to sit and listen to him for an hour. They did a cervix check and said I was a fingertip dilated on the outer part, which is normal for women who have already had a baby, but nice and tight inside. I wasn't dehydrated, surprisingly, and my blood sugar levels were fine (95). While I was being monitored there were no contractions. They gave me a list of things to watch for and come back in for if I experienced them, otherwise, just let the illness run it's course. That's what I've been doing. Luckily the puking stopped after that morning, but the rest has lingered a bit.
My main purpose for writing this entry is to talk about the amazing nurse I had. She was asking all the questions they need to in order to get me all checked in, and as we started talking about the son we lost at 17 weeks, her tone changed. She told me she was the head of the demise comity at the hospital and wondered how everything happened at their sister hospital, where I was taken care of after his birth, and how I felt about it. I told her how we delivered him in our bathroom, still in the sac, and how we were afraid to touch him too much because we wanted to be sure he could be tested. She asked if we got to hold him and if they took pictures, I said no. She told me how sorry she was and that he was part of our family and the first thing they would have done there is broke the sac, wrapped him in a blanket, and let us hold him. There would have been photos and the entire situation would have been handled like a delivery and a loss. She is one of the few medical professionals to make me feel really validated in our loss and mourn, not only our son, but also the lack of comfort we received at the hospital. I haven't really cried like this about him for months, but this nurse granted me a very powerful gift that day...understanding and compassion, the permission to feel it again, and the validation that things were not handled as they should have been. I don't know if she'll ever know what she did for me that day, but it was very powerful and I am forever grateful.
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