Sunday, April 30, 2017

Week 30

Welcome to week 30!  It's cool and rainy here, but we're spending the day together as a family.  It's hard to believe that we're less than 10 weeks from meeting our little one already.  This last trimester is going so quickly already!  I'm sure the end will be here before I know it.  So, what's happening in pregnancy world this week?

For baby

Baby is now about 17 inches long and weighs about 3 1/2 pounds!  Orion was 20 inches long and 8 pounds 9 ounces, so that doesn't seem that far off!  Apparently from this point forward baby is supposed to be putting on about 1/2 a pound each week.  Baby is also starting to lose the lanugo, or the baby fur that covers them in the womb.  Hopefully that means the baby is less werewolf and more human by the time they are born.   The eyes are also still developing, but not very good but can tell the difference between light and dark, etc.  They will continue to improve over the next month until they reach they point they are at for birth.  Also, the bone marrow is now supposed to take over making baby's red blood cells, which will be extremely beneficial for the future.

For momma:

Overall, things are going alright.  I haven't had anything too major happening, other than the doctor's appointment that has made me uncomfortable.  My arm still hurts from the Whooping Cough shot on Thursday, and my hand is still incredibly sore, but at least now I can make a fist without whimpering.  I feel ok for the most part, with some soreness in my hips and tailbone, but again nothing major.  The worst part of things is simply feeling tired all the time.  I'm absolutely exhausted and not able to sleep through the night at all.  I wake up constantly from being uncomfortable or having to pee and it's definitely draining.  I'm doing the best I can to not let it get to me, but that's definitely easier some days than others.  

Saturday, April 29, 2017

V-Bac vs C-Section - Doctor Discussion

I mentioned in my last post  that I had a discussion with my doctor at our 29 week appointment about the potential of VBAC vs C-Section.  I chose my doctor specifically because she's someone who genuinely supports VBAC efforts, but I wanted her honest opinions on how things looked and was pleasantly surprised to get that.   We went through everything, and ultimately her answer was that statistically I only have about a 40% chance of success for a VBAC at this point.  There are a few things that work against me here:

  1. With Orion, I never progressed, so there is no guarantee that my pelvis (or the rest of my body) can manage childbirth naturally.  That doesn't mean that it can't but it's something that has to be taken into consideration. 
  2.  I am overweight (shocking, I know) which reduces the success rate of VBAC statistically. 
  3. My age.  While I'm not at an age yet that puts me at high risk, I am 32 years old, and the older you get the harder childbirth tends to be on your body. 
Again, none of these things necessarily mean that I COULDN'T deliver the baby naturally.  It just means that statistically I am more likely to run into issues.  All those things being said, if I chose to still try to do a VBAC my doctor would fully support my decision.  Ultimately, it is my decision which route I want to take, and I've made a decision.  

We are going to be scheduling a C-Section during my 39th week of pregnancy, unless I naturally go into labor before then.  Again, there are multiple things that come into play with that decision, and I don't feel like I have to justify my decision with anyone.  However, there are a few things to understand: 
  1. I will be having my tubes tied.  This process can be done as part of the C-Section, but would require another hospital visit and surgery at 6 weeks post-partum if I had a vaginal birth.  This would mean more time off work and 2 intense medical events in a very short period of time. 
  2. If I ended up using an epidural during vaginal birth, this would also mean the potential for 2 separate sets of anesthesia, which is not always my friend. 
  3. Again, I only have a 40% statistical chance of having the baby naturally. 
  4. Finally, I know that if I tried and failed I would feel MUCH worse about things than just choosing to go C-Section from the beginning.  This may not seem like it matters, but I remember with Orion feeling like a total failure and like I missed out on child birth, and I don't want to put myself through that again. 
If I go into labor naturally before 39 weeks, we will see what happens there, but for now this is the plan.  

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Doctor's Appointment - 29 Weeks

Today I had my 29 week doctor's appointment.  This appointment was longer than most have been, but should be the last intense-ish appointment *fingers crossed*.    This appointment included the 1 hour test for gestational diabetes, and the discussion of VBac vs C-Section with my doctor.

First, the gestational diabetes test.  At my last appointment, they sent me home with the glucose drink for me to drink one hour before my appointment.  I spent the last month dreading that since everyone talks about how horrible it was.  It was a clear liquid that was optimistically labeled "Fruit Punch."  I knew I had to drink the entire bottle (which was actually pretty small) within 5 minutes so when the time came, I held my breath and decided to just get it over with and chug it expecting the worst. In reality, it tasted like a melted popsicle and really wasn't all that bad.  When I got to the doctor's office, I checked in with the desk and they took note of my drink time, and then sent me back to the nurse for my vitals.  She measured all the things, then took me back to the room to meet with the doctor, promising she'd be back to draw my blood at the 1 hour mark.

In preparation for the blood draw, I made sure to drink more than 8 glasses of water in the 6 hours before the appointment because last time I was told I was dehydrated and that's why the blood draw was difficult.  Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case.  The nurse tried to take blood from my right arm, but couldn't get it to flow, so she then tried my left arm.  Again, no go.  The nurse was kind and very good, but my body was not cooperating.  Ultimately, she ended up finding a vein in the back of my right hand and drawing the blood from there.  That was the most painful blood draw I've ever had.  And after barely getting 1 vial I started to clot so they gave up, but my hand is still swollen and bruised  and hurts SO bad.  I can't make a fist and even just typing hurts.  It was not my favorite experience.  Then, to just get it over with, they gave me the TDaP shot as well in my right arm for whooping cough so I ended the day with 4 bandages and lots of sore spots.  Not my favorite experience.  They said that they will contact me if I fail the gestational diabetes test, but I won't hear from them otherwise, so if I get any news, I'll make sure to post that here.

This post has gotten quite long already, so I'm going to make the VBac discussion with my doctor in a separate post.

Now for the vitals:
My weight:  Actually stayed the same in the last month.
Blood Pressure: 122/68
Temperature:  Normal
Baby's heartbeat: 145
Uterus: Measuring at 31 weeks

From here on, appointments will switch to 2 weeks instead of monthly, which definitely shows that we're getting closer!

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Week 29

Week 29.  So, I totally missed week 28, but here we are, playing catch up!  Sorry.  We are officially in the third and final trimester.  Woohoo.  We've had lots of rain and things are starting to grow and turn green, which is great.  So, what's happening in pregnancy world this week?

For baby

Baby is now about 16 inches long and weighs about three pounds!  That seems so big, but in the next 11 weeks baby will at least double, if not triple in size.  That seems crazy.  More and more fat is being deposited under baby's skin which is where most of the additional weight will come from. The baby still moves a lot, but is super stubborn and won't kick consistently for either of the boys.  I can tell Orion is frustrated, and that makes me sad.  I hope that as the baby continues to grow it will get easier for him to feel.

For momma:

Well, things are still progressing.  Unfortunately, I've officially had my first calf cramp.  I fully expected them, but I still hate them SO much.  They wake me from a dead sleep and take so long to go away again.  *sigh*  I've also started to have a weird issue where I feel light headed if I get too hot, which has only happened twice, but it's not fun at all.  Otherwise, things are just moving along.  I have my next doctor's appointment on Thursday, which includes my gestational diabetes test, so we'll see how things go there. 

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Dreams #7

It's been a while since I've talked about my dreams, but there are a couple new ones to add to the list.

A couple nights ago I had a dream that Seth and I went to the hospital to have the baby.  Instead of an epidural they put me to sleep completely so I missed the baby being born.  However, when I woke up I was in no pain and was able to get up and walk around with no issues.  They brought the baby in for me to try to breastfeed and the tiny baby had 7 teeth!! After trying (and failing) to breastfeed, the baby sat up on their own, grabbed a bottle behind me, and laid back down with it, holding it on their own.  It was so random...


Last night I had a much shorter dream that I was listening to my own stomach with a stethoscope to hear the baby's heart beat, but instead I could actually hear the baby cooing and crying inside my womb.  It was very strange!

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Week 27

Week 27.  Welcome to the final week of the second trimester.  It's hard to believe that we're here already, but we've made it!! The weather is warming and it feels like spring is finally here.  So, what's happening this week?

For baby

Baby is now about 15 inches long and weighs 2 pounds.  Baby will keep growing and growing over the next couple months to prep for life outside my body.  Baby is apparently supposed to be sleeping and waking up at regular intervals now, and is possibly even sucking on fingers.  Aww.

For momma:

Other than the usual aches and pains, nothing terribly exciting is happening.  I'm trying to avoid calf cramps like the plague!!  I haven't had one yet this pregnancy, but remember just how badly they hurt so I'm trying to steer clear of them.  

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Week 26

Week 26.  Last week, I scheduled my very first 3rd trimester doctor's appointment for next month.  It's hard to believe that we're that close already.  This week, we're officially in spring as well, so I'm hoping the weather will continue to stay nicer.  So, what's happening this week?

For baby
Baby is now about 14 inches long, and weighs nearly 2 pounds! This week baby's eyes finally open and they start to learn to focus and take in the world around them.  The iris still isn't pigmented, but that will come with time, although eye color can continue to change for at least the first 6 months of life.


For momma:

Overall, nothing much has changed.  I'm getting bigger and baby is wiggly but otherwise things are going well and uneventfully.