33 Weeks

We covered lots of ground at our OB appointment last week. Apparently, the hospital doesn't like scheduling inductions more than a week out because they end up having to cancel a lot of them, so we won't know an exact date for another week or two. The doctor also shared that my bleeding throughout pregnancy puts me at risk for bleeding during birth. She said it would be like a "stress test" for my placenta. If I bleed during birth, we would have to do an emergency c-section. So this led me to ask about her recommendation around an epidural since if we have to do an emergency c-section, there would not be time to perform one if it isn't already in place. She agreed and said she would recommend one for me because, otherwise, if a c-section is needed, I would have to go under general anesthesia and Mike would not be able to be in the room. I told her that I am nervous about having an epidural and that I worry about having a panic attack. She said that there are plenty of good medicines they can give me for that. Besides all this, she thought that baby was laying across my belly which would obviously necessitate a c-section automatically if he didn't turn (did I mention that this one is already a troublemaker??).

I will admit that I was pretty emotional after this appointment. So much choice has been stripped away. So many worst-case scenarios running through my head. But I have to focus on baby and he is doing well and that's all that matters. Luckily my gloomy mood only lasted the day and I'm feeling more upbeat (though still stressed about getting everything done!).

Today, we had our weekly ultrasound and everything was still looking great with baby. The umbilical vein hasn't dilated further and blood flow looks good. And he was head down! Hurray! Now he needs to stay put :) As usual, he was moving like crazy and hiding his little face, so unfortunately no pictures. Maybe he is planning to surprise us all with his insane good looks and flowing locks of hair!

Also, today is Mike's birthday! He has been such a rock to me through this not-so-fun pregnancy and I can't wait to see him as daddy. I love you, Mike! <3

31-32 Weeks

This baby is a handful and he's not even out of the womb yet! Last Tuesday, we had a growth ultrasound. Overall, he was in the 30th percentile, estimated weight of 3 lbs 11 oz, and aced his BPP.  However, baby's belly was measuring small (~7th percentile). He also had a small dilation in his umbilical vein called a varix. It is just over the threshold for being considered a dilation: 9 mm is the cutoff and his was 9.7 mm. The doctor didn't seem too concerned but did mention the possibility of an early induction and wanted us to follow-up with the high-risk doctor.

Yesterday we had our follow-up. The results were pretty much the same, but they were able to check a few other things. In particular, they were able to look at the blood flow through the umbilical vein. The concern with a varix is that the blood flow could become turbulent or a blood clot could form, but the scan yesterday showed that that is currently not an issue. We were glad to hear that! The dilation has also not grown since last week. The high-risk doctor wants to do weekly ultrasounds to monitor and recommended induction at 36-37 weeks. At that point, she said the risk of him staying in longer outweighs the benefits.

So here we are. Two doctor appointments every week (one high-risk, one regular OB) and baby will be coming in 3-4 weeks assuming that the varix remains stable. I'm surprised by how upset I am at the idea of induction. Or maybe I'm upset that we are dealing with yet another issue. Or the fact that I have even less time to get everything ready. Or maybe it's everything rolled into one. Hopefully, I'll feel more positive in a few days, but right now I just feel like curling up into a ball and sleeping for a while.

Enough Debbie Downer. Here are some pictures!

Picture on right taken on Sunday.  Feeling huge! 

Framed prints for baby's room made from a calendar.

Halfway done with baby's crochet mobile (I'm actually done now, but need to put it together!)

28 - 30 Weeks

Another three weeks have flown by and baby is still cozy in my belly. Hurray! Unfortunately, while he is snug as a bug, I'm getting more and more uncomfortable. I never realized how difficult it would be to carry this much weight! And he is still going to double in size! Just trying to keep my eye on the prize at this point.

Week 28 photo

Here's a run-down of the past three weeks.

Week 28:
I passed my glucose test! I was worried I wouldn't because before I left the hospital, the doctor told me that the magnesium sulfate could mess with my blood sugar level for up to a week. Glad to have that out of the way.

We also had an ultrasound and a BPP. Baby was yawning like crazy! He must have been worn out from all the excitement of the previous week too. And the ultrasound tech said it looks like he has some hair ... that would explain the heartburn! Here's a pic of his sweet profile.

Our day-long birth class was on Saturday and it was pretty intense. I left feeling more anxious than before, but knowledge is power, right? Mike learned some massage techniques (which he will hopefully remember!) and there were several videos which he found surprisingly graphic. "What do you think is going to happen, dear?" Ha!

And the bathroom is done (except for the window ... don't judge!).

Week 29:
We had our Infants 101 class on Thursday. This class wasn't quite as useful to me since I babysat quite a bit growing up, but it was certainly fun to watch Mike change a doll's diaper :) and there were other helpful tidbits here and there, too.

We started remodeling the third bedroom (finally!). This will be the guest room once completed so we can turn the current guest room into the nursery. It just needs a bit of framing, drywall, paint and carpet. There's already been good progress on the drywall, so hoping this project wraps up quickly!

We also ordered new windows for baby's room and the two bathrooms. We'll be cutting it close with those, but it will be ok even if baby comes before they're installed since he will be in our room for a while.

Week 30:
I had a regular doctor visit last week ... no pokes or blood draws this time ... nice to have a break! I did apparently gain five lbs in two weeks. My doctor had told me that she expected me to have a "growth spurt" so I guess this is it ... doesn't make it any easier to see the numbers creep up on the scale :-P

Work was pretty stressful last week with lots of political BS which is my favorite thing ever. I was really glad to make it to the weekend! Thankfully, things seemed to have calmed down now (based on a sample size of one day out of this week ;) ).

Hoping for a productive and otherwise uneventful week 31!