Big Baby Yoches?

Because my fundal measurement jumped so significantly last Friday Doctor Hank ordered an ultrasound to find out the baby's approximate size. After an eternity of measuring obscure looking objects the ultrasound finally settled on something recognizable --his sweet sleeping face. It was enough to make me say, "awwww" even with the weird ultrasound distortion.

So, their guestimate is 8 pounds 13 ounces which puts him in the 86th percentile for weight. Although, he's big they don't classify him as macrosomic (or big for gestational age) until he's over the 90th percentile.

8 pounds, 13 ounces certainly isn't big for my family so I'm not sure what all the hoopla is about. Unless the little-big guy comes soon my next doctor's appointment is Friday where I'm sure we'll discuss the possibility of inducing labor and cesearean.

Prenatal Visit

Continuing the saga of strange pregnancy issues I had the worst night ever. I had a craving for one of my favorite comfort meals--mac n' cheese with broccoli. Big mistake. Similar to my previous encounter with broccoli while pregnant it was not a good thing. I awoke at 1am with terrible, debilitating pains down my right side. I cannot even begin to express just how much pain I was in. I could not lay on either side, I couldn't get up, and at times I couldn't even move. Jeremy tried to massage my side for almost an hour, but finally I realized there wasn't any way I was getting better and I didn't want to keep him up any later. I bathed, I watched the telly and basically stayed up the rest of the night.

Thankfully I had a doctor's appointment scheduled. Dr. Hank explained that I was completely constipated (thanks Broccoli) and the severe bloating was pushing on my sore rib causing a world of hurt. Who knew that a sneeze and some broccoli would be my downfall. I was sent packing with a grocery store list of some of the most disgustingly foul things ever to relieve my symptoms.

My fundal measurement jumped to 41 cm which caused the good doctor to be quite concerned about the baby's size. He acknowledged that my stomach could have rapidly grown because of the bloating...or I've got one big baby in my belly. He ordered me to have an ultrasound to determine the baby's size.

After the doctor visit I went to the hospital to have the baby monitored. I was exhausted, in pain and not in a generally good mood. The overly cautious nurse worked my last nerve as she chronicled every little issue. I told her I had just come from my doctor but she insisted on taking my blood pressure not once, but three more times, she said it was borderline, my ankles were too swollen and insisted I pee in a cup, even though I had just done that at my doctor's. I felt like she was looking for something to be wrong and wasn't listening to what I was saying...maybe, just maybe my blood sugar was high because I was in pain and tired?!?!

All in all, a rough day.

Prenatal Visit

Weight: Lost 5 pounds

Blood pressure: Little high

Fundal Height (distance from my pubic bone to the top of my uterus): 36 cm

Apparently, at this point a slow down in weight gain and even a weight loss is common so no worries there. I don't understand how baby is getting bigger, but I'm getting smaller. The shrinking fundal height means that baby has dropped which is a welcome relief and I've noticed a definite increase in appetite.

Doctor says that the baby could come anytime and I'm ready. But, I guess it's not just up to me. :) Ultimately Dr. Hank thinks he'll be late but only because most babies to first time moms are late.

Prenatal Visit

Blood pressure: Normal

Weight: Gained 17 pounds total

Fundal Height (distance from my pubic bone to the top of my uterus): 37 cm

Besides being sick as a dog, all is well. By the time I got home from work last night I had the worst sore throat. I ended up throwing up 3 different times during the night. It's never a pleasant experience, but it's way worse when you're pregnant. I feel like death warmed over today. Doctor Hank gave me a short list of over the counter medication that I could have. I'm sure Murphy's Law dictates that I will go into labor while I'm sick, can't breathe and am not sleeping.

Doc looked at my cankle and said it was normal. I just need to put the feet up more. Thankfully my blood pressure is normal otherwise it could be indicative of preeclampsia.

Prenatal Visit

Blood pressure: Normal

Weight: Gained a pound!

Fundal Height (distance from my pubic bone to the top of my uterus): 36cm

Doc says I'm measuring a tad big. He thinks it's my fibroids. At this point he believes my baby will be a little over 8 pounds but it's hard to say because of the fibroids.

He gave me all some paper work to keep with me at all times so that I can give to the hospital when I go into labor. I took this as a sign that baby will come early even though the doctor said it was standard procedure.

I think baby is ready. I mean, it's really cramped in there.

Prenatal Visit

This was my first follow-up visit since I got released from the hospital. Everything seems good.

Blood pressure: Normal

Weight: After gaining a few pounds in the hospital (too much food!!) I lost two pounds so my grand total is 14 pounds.

Fundal Height (distance from my pubic bone to the top of my uterus): 33cm

Additional comments:
Doctor says I could get another bladder infection, but we'll hope for the best. My iron is very low, and while I still have an appointment with a specialist it's not until the 11th of October. In the meantime I need to double dose my Iron supplement. My crazy itching is normal, if it gets really bad I can take a Benadryl. There's nothing I can do for my new disgustingly large and swollen ankles (just appeared two days ago!!) but elevate and "give birth". Umm...thanks Doc! ;)

And finally, post bladder infection, the only pain I'm experiencing now is due to baby's latest sleeping position--butt in the air on my right side which creates a very hard and lopsided belly and TONS of pain for me!!

Prenatal Visit

Blood pressure: Normal

Weight: I've gained 10.5 pounds. Technically I gained 16.5 and then lost 6 pounds. Doc says it's fine and I don't have to gain anything else because the baby is still growing. Apparently, I don't need to grow too. If I stayed at this amount I figure I'd lose about 20 pounds after the baby is born (baby, placenta, etc) and then I'll come out of this whole thing 10 pounds lighter! Wouldn't that be awesome. Ya, we'll see. :)

Fundal Height (distance from my pubic bone to the top of my uterus): 30cm.

Doc says he couldn't be happier with where I'm at with everything and that I'm on track for about an 8 pound baby.

Prenatal Visit: Gestational Diabetes Doctor & Nutritionist

Now that I'm past the stupid virus and bladder infection my numbers are normal. Both the Doctor and Nutritionist were happy with my numbers and my health and the fact that I lost 3 pounds wasn't a concern at all. Blood pressure is fine, baby's heartbeat was good (although hard to hear through all the kicking). It was a great visit. No medication for me!

Happy Dance, Prenatal Visit, and Jeremy's off to Germany

Today is the fist day in almost two weeks that I feel back to my usual self. I am so relieved! And just to add a gold star to my day I found that my fasting sugar was under 100--which meant that my after breakfast sugar didn't skyrocket. Soooo, what this all means is that perhaps my virus, or whatever, was really doing a doozy on my numbers! If I keep this up over the weekend then I'll know for sure that my readings are normal, the virus was wreaking havoc, and I won't have to go on medication! Yay. Do the happy dance.

I had another prenatal visit that went very well. Weight, blood pressure, fundal height is all good. We talked about my Gestational Diabetes a little bit. He feels like I'm probably stabilized now and my numbers will be good so medication may be unnecessary. A few more days and we'll know for sure. He said, however, that I will be subjected to more visits and more tests because of the GD so they can make sure the baby is healthy and not getting too big. If I don't have the baby by the 14th (of November) they will have to induce labor for the baby's health. He said a normal pregnancy could go until the 21st, but not babies from Mommies with GD--they can only go a week past the due date.

On an icky note Jeremy left for Germany today. He'll be back next Thursday night. It always sucks when you have a travellin' loved one, but it's especially hard when you're 7 months pregnant and have been feeling horrible. The timing sucks, but at least I am feeling better today and I'm NOT 9 months pregnant. :)

27 weeks (3rd Trimester Begins!)

We missed another photo last week (26 weeks) so this shows 2 weeks of progress.

My 1st and 2nd trimester were wonderful. I felt great, had good energy, with minimal food issues. I don't know if its psychosymatic, but once I hit the 3rd trimester (today!!) I started to feel different. Suddenly I feel bigger, slower...and in general, not so wonderful. I'm hoping I'm just fighting off some bug or something. We went to a campout last weekend with a bunch of our friends. Turns out most of them were sick or recovering from being sick--not the greatest environment for me I guess. Anyway, I'm hopeful this will pass because I know this isn't quite right.

On the bright side the baby's movements have become more intense. He's still kicking up a storm, but he also seems to be fond of rolling himself into a little ball where some hard part (his head? his butt?) stick out in a strange little bump...always on my right side. It's a very strange sensation.

Prenatal Visit

I had a good Doctor's visit today. Jeremy couldn't go with me because of the new job, but it wasn't anything unusual so no big deal.

Blood pressure: Normal

Weight: I've gained 13 pounds so far, which is excellent.

Fundal Height (distance from my pubic bone to the top of my uterus): 24cm.

Last time it was 23cm, which had me measuring large. As a rule of thumb the fundal height is roughly equivalent to the weeks you are pregnant. So, I was measuring 23cm at week 20, which he chalked up to my ever growing fibroids. Apparently, I have two and they're both about an inch and a half. Because I'm still not measuring large he says they may have stopped growing. W'ell see.

I got to listen to his heartbeat and his kicks. He even walloped Doctor Hank's hand. The good Doc laughed and said "boys are fun". But he said it in that foreboding horror movie sort of way. I half expected him to throw back his head and produce an evil laugh as the full moon came up over his shoulder. Instead, he nonchalantly said, "the kicking will never stop and he'll destroy your house". My Doctor is a funny man.

I asked him about how long I should continue working. He said, "Ideally, 2 to 4 weeks" before my due date. Umm!! 4 weeks?!! I must have made a face because he said, "well, if you're healthy and feel good then 1 to 2 is fine." What the heck would I do with myself for more than 2 weeks?! I would just pace the house waiting for the little guys arrival. I'd rather keep busy and keep preoccupied. Well, at least that's what I feel now in my still comfy 24th week. :)

After that I went downstairs to the lab for my glucose screening. This is the test that tells me whether or not I have any signs of gestational diabetes.

My next appointment is in 4 weeks. After that I'll go to every 3 weeks and then finally every two weeks.

Prenatal Visit and Ultrasound

Today we had two back to back appointments. The first was for an ultrasound, the second was my usual check up with the doctor.

I was pretty anxious to see the baby--it'd been a whole month since we heard his heartbeat and although I had felt him kick I was feeling a little panicky because I had only felt him kick once and it was days ago. I just wanted reassurance that everything was okay with the little guy.

The ultrasound was crazy. The nurse meticulously went from the head, down his front side, up through the legs and up the backside taking a million detailed pictures of mostly indecipherable objects. Thankfully she called out what she was looking at--kidneys, bladder, etc. They all looked like blobs to me except for his little beating heart which was just so cool to see. When she zoomed back out we could see his hand rubbing his eyes and touching his face. Unfortunately when it came to picture time he rolled over and was laying on his face so we didn't get a great profile or face shot. We did however, get a very clear picture of his foot (as he was kicking me!) and a porno shot that shows quite clearly that yes indeed, he is a boy. :)

The doctor appointment was the usual blood pressure check, weigh, pee in a cup, and listen to the heartbeat. Thankfully my blood pressure went back down from the last visit where it was a little on the high side. I've only gained 10 pounds thus far so that's good news. And my blood sugar and protein levels are all normal. Doctor Hank was cracking me up so I was extra giggly. He made me listen to my giggling through the monitor and told me, "that's what the baby hears...so keep doing that!" Sounds like a good idea.

20 Weeks!

Halfway there! I'm definitely getting big, but somehow I thought I'd be bigger at the halfway point.

We've got two back to back doctor appointments tomorrow morning. One for an ultrasound and one regular check up. I can't wait to see the little guy--it'll be one month tomorrow since my last check up where I got to hear his heartbeat. It's nice to have these reassurances that all is well with the baby.

17 weeks, 5 days

More belly!

Prenatal Visit

This one was a short one—did the usual pee in a cup, weigh in, and blood pressure check. I haven’t gained any weight yet, but I’m definitely getting bigger. My pants were noticeably tighter this morning--weird that I can be expanding, but not weighing more. He measured the length of my belly and confirmed that yes…I am getting larger. My blood pressure was a little high (not surprising given the stress that I’ve been under at work).

Next we listened to my heart beat and then the babies—racing fast. But the best part was he pointed out the kicking sound and let me listen for awhile. And although it’s too early to FEEL the kicking you could definitely hear it! After hearing just how much he was kicking I was glad I couldn’t feel anything--the little guy was definitely fired up about something!

CVS Test Today!

Today was the big CVS test day. It’s one thing to take a test that will tell you the health of your unborn child, but it’s especially nerve-wracking to know the test will be uncomfortable and could potentially cause miscarriage. It sort of defeats the joy of being a week away from your 2nd trimester. Everything I read online about CVS said the potential for miscarriage increases with the inexperience of the tester, so make sure you go to someone who does more that 50 a year. That’s not very reassuring. What if the doctor had a sleepless night?! What if they were hung over? Or what if they were just having a bad day? There are too many what ifs. Thankfully when we arrived, we were both relieved to see the sheer magnitude of the waiting room and how full it was. This guy OBVIOUSLY did way more than 50 a year—he probably does 50 every two days!

First we went in for genetic counseling where a very nice lady explained the procedure in detail, gave us a list of possible side effects and then drew a family tree to determine if there were any genetic issues to be concerned with.

After that we went into a low-lit room. I laid on the table while Jeremy sat next to me. A nurse did an ultrasound from a million different angles and took a lot of measurements. There was a big screen TV above her head so we could watch. Much of it looked like weird undecipherable masses, but anytime she scrolled by the baby it’s image was quite clear and she would pause to show us. The first time we saw the little thing it had its arm laying alongside the head as if it was chillin’ out. It was so cute…we had to laugh. Yup, that’s our little laid back baby.

The test itself lasted only a minute, but it was extremely uncomfortable. Poor Jeremy’s seat was eye level with my belly—not exactly the bird’s eye view you’d want in a situation like this. I asked him if he was going to watch and he said, “no”. Instead we both watched the TV during the procedure, but it made me so uncomfortable I had to stop after a few seconds. Afterwards they checked the baby’s heart rate and zoomed in to it’s little head which was moving around…probably wondering what the heck was going on! I was glad to have the whole ordeal over with. Now we just have to wait 1 to 2 weeks for the results.

We Heard the Heartbeat!

We went to see the Doctor this morning. I was nervous because we were going to get the results for all the blood work back. Also, I knew we were going to start going over everything in more detail since we’ve reached a major milestone at 12 weeks in regards to odds of a miscarriage. The first thing we did was measure my belly. I was hoping we’d do another sonogram, but instead we got to hear the baby’s heartbeat. That was unbelievably cool; it just beat so fast. Jeremy looked happy. I wanted to cry. I guess we seemed apprehensive because Dr. Hank said, “this is good. This is all good. You’ve got a baby!”

After that we moved to his office and sat down and went over my blood work and he reviewed a bunch of paperwork with us. The discussion turned very un-fun when we got onto the topic of chromosomal testing (either a CVS test or amniocentesis) and whether or not we should do it since I’ll be over the age of 35 at the time of delivery. It’s hard to discuss the possibility that something could be wrong with our baby, but it had to be done. So, we left the office with a folder with too much information and slips of paper to make appointments for a CVS test and an ultrasound.

As soon as we walked outside I burst into tears. It’s hard to be positive and think positively when statistics start getting thrown around. I guess I felt a little beat down by the question of ‘what if…’

Tests

I went to Quest Diagnostics today for the blood and urine work in preparation for the next appointment on the 23rd. All in all it was pretty easy—took about 15 minutes. But, man I hate having my blood taken. It took 2 arms and 3 tries before my blood started flowing. I had to fill up 6 viles. Ugh.

Second Prenatal Appointment

Jeremy’s birthday week meant that we had a lot of plans and very little sleep. We arrived at the doctor’s visit a little late and bleary-eyed. Dr. Hank had delivered a baby the day before and had the follow-up circumcision that very morning so his schedule was all screwed up. We waited an hour and a half! I finally sent poor Jeremy away for food and coffee and a quick work check-in. Of course, as soon as he left I got called into the room. :(

Once in there, it was a quick visit. I had my second sonogram. Dr. Hank was looking for Speck to have grown to at least 15mm. Speck passed with flying colors and came in at a whopping 19.7mm, which put me at an estimated 8 weeks and 5 days. It was amazing to see that as soon as Speck appeared on screen I could quite clearly see a human form. I saw a little head, an arm and even a leg. I wished so bad that Jeremy was there, but got an extra picture instead.

Next up: I’m supposed to go get some blood and urine work done and then I follow up with my next visit on Monday, April 23rd. Dr. Hank said this was the “big” visit and the one that husbands really must make. Apparently, we’re going to get down to the nitty gritty.

First Prenatal Appointment

I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but thankfully Jeremy came along. He was invited into the room with me where I had my first sonogram. We got to see the little blob that we nicknamed Speck. It was a whopping 3.6mm!! We even got to see a flicker that was its heart. It was so unreal. I felt like the lady from the Aliens movie--something was growing inside of me!! :) Dr. Hank printed out several copies of Speck’s first photo and lectured Jeremy on his role as "supportive partner" and then sent us on our way.