I cannot believe I haven't posted in 5 weeks. Shame on me!!! It has been a long 5 weeks and I am just exhausted. Here are some of the details of what has happened since I last logged in.
*I am getting fat...people are telling me that I look SOOO BIG and "there is no way you will make it to October." For the record, I am SHORT and therefore my belly sticks out farther than the average pregnant woman and I have gained within my allotted amount, so BACK OFF!!! lol
*I wake up a LOT at nighttime. I am soooo very tired all the time. And then at 4am, most nights, I wake up, wide awake and cannot get back to sleep until 6 or 7am. Good thing I work 2nd shifts as I can sleep some more in the morning. But, this means my housework is getting neglected. UGH!
*On August 6th, I switched units at my job because it made my schedule a bit better in that I don't have to do any 3rd shifts anymore and now get a two day weekend (my days off are Thursday and Friday) rather than having to come in on one of my days off for a staff meeting. The change in units has been rather challenging as I am learning some new skills and the job keeps me on my feet a lot more than the previous one. But, it became available and I had to take it when it opened up. Makes it a bit easier to return to when I return from my maternity leave.
*Since taking my new position, and subsequently moving around more frequently, I have been noticing a LOT more braxton hicks contractions. They happen ALL THE TIME...when I have to go to the bathroom, when the baby moves, when I have gas, when I switch positions in bed, when I wake up, when I lay down, etc. So, on August 9th, I went for a walk with my friend as I do a couple of times a week and I had 6 contractions in my one hour walk. She encouraged me to call the doctor. I didn't want to make a big deal about it because I had had a lot of contractions in my pregnancy with Ethan and had started to dilate about this time in his pregnancy too. I had been hooked up to the monitors several times and given anti contraction medication a couple of times and still never delivered him until 40 weeks. So after I got home from the walk, I lied down on my left side, drank a bunch of water and the contractions subsided. I called the doctor anyway and spoke with one of the nurses who talked to the doctor. They told me that some people have what is called uterine irritability, so these contractions I was having could just be normal for me. I was instructed to call if I had more than 12 in a day and more than 4-6 in an hour and they would assess it again. But, I am not worried.
On 8/18/11 I went into the doctor for my 30 week checkup and ultrasound.
Here are my notations for his growth at 30 weeks, 0 day:
Placenta: looking good along the back of the uterus
Heart Rate: 150 beats per minute
Cervical length: 3.0 mm (this is good as long as it is over 3 mm).
Head circumference: 28.49 cm
Head length (BPD): 7.64 cm
Femur length: 5.69 cm
Abdominal circumference: 26.94 cm
Amt. of amniotic fluid: plenty: 16.6 (anything over 10 is good and under 24)
Weight: 3 lb, 9 oz
Measuring: 30 weeks, 2 days
Presentation: head down
Mom weight: 150.0 (random fact: I was this weight at the beginning of Ethan's pregnancy, so hopefully I won't gain too much more as I worked hard to take off the weight after his pregnancy)
Mom BP: 100/60
Mom Pulse: good
Placenta is looking good and it posterior!
This baby has been consistently in the 55th percentile on the growth curve and is doing just great. The doctor reviewed the ultrasound and came in to tell me that she looked hard to try to find something that was off, but everything is looking just perfect!! I showed her my sugar readings and there were two that were high, so she wanted me to test more of my breakfast time sugars to be sure that was under control. I think it is fine, I just have not been following my diet very closely as I had with Ethan's pregnancy. I am eating a lot of donuts, fast food, sugared cereals, etc. So far, I am not diagnosed with gestational diabetes, so I will not be a slave to the rigidity of the diet until I have to.
We talked a long time with Dr. Keeton as she is so patient with us. She described how the c-section will go, who can be in there with me, what happens to the baby when he is born, where Shaun will be, how anesthesia will manage my care. Again she asked if I needed some counseling as I approach delivery and my anxiety increases. I let her know this is not necessary as I have dealt with the grief, anxiety, and my thoughts. I just needed specific information related to my current care and health and that is what would ease my anxiety. We talked about my cousin who had a heart attack during her c-section and the doctor assured me that this was extremely rare and shouldn't worry about that, but let the anesthesiologist know all my concerns when I get there. So I need to make a list of what I am supposed to remind the anesthesiologist on the day of the c-section. I will do that later.
I have an NST (non-stress test) scheduled for September 6th. I will be 32 weeks, 5 days then and will be at the office twice a week from then on. I will be seen 3 days later for a BPP (biophysical profile) and doctor visit and every 3-4 days the cycle will continue until I deliver.
An NST is where I will have a contraction monitor and a heart rate monitor strapped to my belly. I will mark whenever the baby moves and when a healthy baby moves, the heart rate usually goes up. If the baby moves two or more times in 20 minutes and the heart rate increases by 15 beats and stays increased for 15 seconds, then the baby is probably doing well. The contraction monitor will record how the baby's heart rate reacts to contractions as well as if there are too many contractions at one time.
A BPP is an ultrasound that looks at the baby's muscle tone and movements and checks the baby's breathing movements, the fluid around baby, and the general health of the baby. I have never had this done before, so I am not sure how it assesses health correctly. I will let you know soon enough...2 weeks from now is my first BPP.
So, we are well into the 3rd trimester. My back is aching, my hips hurt and sometimes my belly gets beat up so badly by his little feet that I go numb in some spots. In less than 7 weeks we will meet our little boy!!! I am so stinking excited!!!
Father, thank you so much for blessing our pregnancy and our marriage in this way. We praise you for who you are and what you are doing in our lives. I ask that you be with us for the next 48 days and you show your goodness to all around us!! Your love is beautiful. In Jesus' name, AMEN!
