37 weeks (or will be on Thursday) means technically this baby is 'full term' and if he was born now he should be just fine.... hopefully he will stay in there and keep cooking as I just am not ready quite yet... I have some things at work I would *really* like to take care of before Baby B arrives so I can really relax and focus on him when he is here. But if he decides to show up he should be cooked enough to be healthy and in the long run that is all that matters.
We saw Alli this week, Grayson was an angel boy (a sucker during and after the appointment certainly helped). My weight went up by another pound or so- no biggie, blood pressure is nice and steady (112/64), Baby B's hear rate is slowing down a bit (131 this week) which is apparently normal. Alli didn't have any great advice to get rid of my restless legs other than doing what I am already doing- but I didn't really expect anything new or fantastic so I am not too disappointed.
Results of the Group B Strep Test are.... Negative!!! Yippee!! That means no fluids or antibiotics during delivery- and makes me so very, very happy. I do have to have an IV put in but they will cap it and will not make me have any fluids at all :)
Not much else to report- we have our appointment with Cheri next week, and Alli the week after. Between appointments with the midwife, the chiropractor, back to school meetings, and more things are getting remarkably busy and I suspect that I am going to be shocked at how fast the rest of this pregnancy goes by (and I have been surprised at how fast it has gone so far) and it will seem like no time at all from now that Baby B arrives.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
36 Weeks
36 weeks....9 months pregnant.... only one month to go until Baby B is here!
We saw Cheri again this week and Grayson was not as happy and cheerful during the visit- but with Daddy's intervention and a little help from a sucker things rapidly improved for our sweet toddler.
This week I was once again measuring at 36 cm, gained back the two pounds I had lost ;), heard a nice strong Baby B heartbeat and was poked and prodded a lot in an attempt to figure out which way Baby B is pointing. Cheri is *pretty* sure that Baby B is head down- which I am good with for now. She did say that if we aren't certain by next week she would happily do a quick little ultrasound herself (but our next appointment is with Alli so who knows if she would do the same). Cheri also mentioned that I am already one to two cm dilated- interesting- but that probably doesn't mean a whole lot and I have nothing to compare it to as I haven't been checked before this week. I had to get tested for Group B Strep again and am praying super hard that it comes back negative as I *really* don't want an IV again during delivery. I hate IVs, I have read recently that IV fluids during delivery can negatively impact breastfeeding after birth (makes me wonder if that hurt G and I when we were starting) and that it can also make it 'seem' like a baby has lost too much of their birthweight after birth (turns out fluid weighs a lot and when the baby establishes a normal fluid balance they can seem like they lost a bunch of weight). I took probiotics fairly consistently this pregnancy so I am hopeful, but only time and my next appointment (which is already next week!!) will tell.
We denied the fetal growth ultrasound, which I don't think anyone who knows us (Cheri included) was surprised by, so the next time we are most likely going to see our darling Baby B will be at birth (unless one of our midwives does decide to take a really quick peek to see if his head is down). We decided that since nothing would be done other than start talking about induction or abnormal findings or benign incidental findings that could cause all kinds of hoopla there is no need to have another ultrasound.
Not much else to report- appointment with Alli next week and then Cheri the week after that, only one week until Baby B is considered full term which is pretty exciting.
We saw Cheri again this week and Grayson was not as happy and cheerful during the visit- but with Daddy's intervention and a little help from a sucker things rapidly improved for our sweet toddler.
This week I was once again measuring at 36 cm, gained back the two pounds I had lost ;), heard a nice strong Baby B heartbeat and was poked and prodded a lot in an attempt to figure out which way Baby B is pointing. Cheri is *pretty* sure that Baby B is head down- which I am good with for now. She did say that if we aren't certain by next week she would happily do a quick little ultrasound herself (but our next appointment is with Alli so who knows if she would do the same). Cheri also mentioned that I am already one to two cm dilated- interesting- but that probably doesn't mean a whole lot and I have nothing to compare it to as I haven't been checked before this week. I had to get tested for Group B Strep again and am praying super hard that it comes back negative as I *really* don't want an IV again during delivery. I hate IVs, I have read recently that IV fluids during delivery can negatively impact breastfeeding after birth (makes me wonder if that hurt G and I when we were starting) and that it can also make it 'seem' like a baby has lost too much of their birthweight after birth (turns out fluid weighs a lot and when the baby establishes a normal fluid balance they can seem like they lost a bunch of weight). I took probiotics fairly consistently this pregnancy so I am hopeful, but only time and my next appointment (which is already next week!!) will tell.
We denied the fetal growth ultrasound, which I don't think anyone who knows us (Cheri included) was surprised by, so the next time we are most likely going to see our darling Baby B will be at birth (unless one of our midwives does decide to take a really quick peek to see if his head is down). We decided that since nothing would be done other than start talking about induction or abnormal findings or benign incidental findings that could cause all kinds of hoopla there is no need to have another ultrasound.
Not much else to report- appointment with Alli next week and then Cheri the week after that, only one week until Baby B is considered full term which is pretty exciting.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Large and in charge
Baby B is taking up some serious space in my body. Serious space and lung capacity have been given up to my little bundle of joy currently sharing my body. According to Babycenter at 35 weeks "Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete – he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight."
At work at the hospital I have given up the elevators so I have been taking the stairs every shift. Two weekends ago I could make it from my office in the basement all the way to the fifth floor without taking a break or feeling totally out of shape. Today however I only made it to the fourth floor before I was panting, sweating and totally short of breath. Turns out Baby B has grown a lot in the last two weeks and is now invading my lung space making me short of breath after even the most moderate exertion- which I have to say is slightly disconcerting as it makes me feel out of shape (and God knows I have a major physical event coming up in about 4.5 weeks) and it is also odd to take so long to catch my breath BUT if Baby B is growing and strong then all is good and I guess it is actually a good thing, right?
At work at the hospital I have given up the elevators so I have been taking the stairs every shift. Two weekends ago I could make it from my office in the basement all the way to the fifth floor without taking a break or feeling totally out of shape. Today however I only made it to the fourth floor before I was panting, sweating and totally short of breath. Turns out Baby B has grown a lot in the last two weeks and is now invading my lung space making me short of breath after even the most moderate exertion- which I have to say is slightly disconcerting as it makes me feel out of shape (and God knows I have a major physical event coming up in about 4.5 weeks) and it is also odd to take so long to catch my breath BUT if Baby B is growing and strong then all is good and I guess it is actually a good thing, right?
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
34 weeks
Ryan and Grayson and I all headed to the midwife for my 34 week appointment. Grayson did MUCH much better this week (as Cheri predicted he would) and not only didn't cry a single time but also blew kisses at the end. My blood pressure remains wonderful (110/64), my weight is good (actually lost 2 pounds in the last two weeks) and the baby's heartbeat sounds wonderful and strong. Cheri is still not 100% certain that little man is head down, but is more sure that he is appropriately positioned than she was last week. Little Baby B is still measuring a bit big though- 36 cm this week- BUT that measurement has only gone up 3 cm in the last 4 weeks which is in the range of normal. When I measured 33 cm at 31 weeks it was a little concerning as that is a good bit ahead, but now that I measure 36 cm at 34 weeks it doesn't seem as big of a deal as the growth is constant.
So now we have to decide- do we go ahead and have the ultrasound next appointment at 36 weeks or not? The pros: we could be certain of Baby B's position so if he isn't nicely head down we could try to move him, we could check his weight and size, we could see him again soon (and since we really didn't get any good pics of him at his 20 week ultrasound we could snag some new pictures of our boy in utero). The cons: exposing Baby B to another ultrasound, the possiblity that they may find "something" that may make them think they need to induce, the possiblity that they may find "something" that means nothing (a la Grayson's pregnancy) that causes a whole bunch of hoopla for nothing, they may tell me that the baby is too big or too small, that I have too much or too little amniotic fluid.....but they may also be wrong of about any of that.
Point being I am leaning toward no u/s.... but I still have a week to decide
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