Doctor update – 38 weeks

Just got back from my 38 week checkup. Doctor appointments are weekly now, my next one is scheduled for 8/20 when I’ll be 39 weeks. They didn’t do much today, tested my urine, checked my blood pressure, listened to the baby’s heartbeat, meausured my uterus and checked my cervix. Urine was good, Blood pressure was normal, baby’s heartrate was good (140 bpm), uterus is on schedule and amount of fluid is normal. I’m still 1.5cm dialated and 50% effaced, so no progress since the last time I was checked. She immediately noticed how low he was and recognized that I was probably feeling a ton of pressure. She said once I go into labor she doesn’t think it will take to long for things to get going, which is good for me…but bad if we can’t get to the hospital right away…shouldn’t be too much of a problem the hospital is about 12 minutes from West Des Moines, which is where I spend all my time. I also asked if they induce labor and what point that is that they do, and she said that they won’t let me go past 41 weeks, which basically means we’ll have our baby before September 3rd. But she also mentioned, she doesn’t think I’ll make it that far because he’s so low, a few strong contractions and I’ll be good to go.

So now it’s still just the waiting game, my gut tells me there is at least another week…which I’m completely ok with as long as he’s not a HUGE baby! Judging by birth weight of Josh and I, I don’t think he’ll be quite 9 pounds even if he makes it to 40 weeks, I guess around 8 or 8.5 pounds if we go all the way to 40 weeks.

So much to tell!

I apologize, I have not been doing very well at keeping this updated, which is crazy considering how bored I am and how impatient I’m getting! So today is August 10th, we are just about 38 weeks pregnant. If Baby Boy decides to come now, he will be a healthy baby and everything is fully developed…at this point he’s just getting fatter, and of course cuter. Since the last blog, I have to tell you..we’ve had an interesting 3 weeks. Everything with the pregnancy was same-o same-o until July 19th, I had relatives in town visiting, we spent the day out at the lake, it was hot…but not super hot. I managed to drink around 60 ounces of water while we were there, I applied sunblock and by 5:00 I was still as red as a lobster. My cousin has an almost 3 year old that had a cast on his leg due to an accident the week before, he managed to get sand in the cast while we were at the lake and we had to make a trip to the emergency room to get his cast removed and a new one put back on, on the way there…I began having mild contractions 5 minutes apart, about an hour and a half later I was still having them and they were getting a little stronger and closer together, with me only being 33 1/2 weeks at the time..I was concerned. Luckily I was already at the hospital that we chose to deliver at so I waddled to the maternity ward and they wanted to have me admitted, I called Josh…told him to get there. 3 hours later we were sent home, the contractions were 2 min apart but not strong enough, they gave me a shot to stop them and hooked up and IV to give me fluids and sent me home.

2 weeks later, I had contractions throughout the 2 weeks, some strong, but mostly mild. In the evening on Thursday July 31st I began having strong contractions while cooking dinner, I had them for a little while before I realized maybe we needed to start tracking them, we began timing them and for an hour they were about an average of 6 minutes apart, we decided to go to bed and see if they’d go away…we knew if they kept me awake…it would be time to go to the hospital. I woke up throughout the night off and on with another contraction, and by 6 in the morning on 8/1 they were strong and close together, I was also having some strong cramping and backaches in between the contractions. By 8:00 we called in to work, notified the parents that we were going to the hospital to get checked out. Yet another false alarm, contractions were 3-6 minutes apart…but again not strong enough to progress into active labor, I got another shot to stop the contractions and I was sent home.

Here we are 8/10, I still have contractions on occasion but no false alarms, nothing that we’ve even felt needed to be timed. I should also point out that the first false alarm I was checked and I was 1cm dialated and 50% effaced, the second visit to the hospital I was about 1.5cm and still 50% effaced. I have an appointment this Tuesday 8/12, we’ll see if I’ve progressed..I’m hoping for at least 2cm.

Also on top of the false alarms, my cousin who visited last month notified us that 2 of her kids were diagnosed with whooping cough and that we need to be aware so we can watch out for symptoms. I called my doctor told him I haven’t shown any symptoms but is there anything we can do to prevent getting it after we’ve been exposed. The answer was No there is no prevention, and if you do get it unfortunetaly there isn’t anything you can take since you’re pregnant. A week later Josh began getting a stuffy nose a sore throat and within a couple days he started coughing, by the time 9 days had passed and he still had the cough we decided we better get to the clinic, we went yesterday morning…he does have whooping cough and was given an antibiotic to make him non-contagious. The antibiotic will take 5 days to be effective, so we’re praying I don’t have the baby until after Wednesday. I have yet to show any symptoms, I’m going to talk to my doctor at the next appointment and suggest that maybe I get on the antibiotic as soon as I have the baby just to be sure. It will probably effect the breastfeeding process, but I figure I can pump and dump to keep my milk in…and the baby may be on formula for the first week, but eventually we can still continue the breast feeding process. Whooping cough is not so bad in older children and adults, but it can be fatal to infants and the elderly so it is rather scary to think of the possibility of a newborn getting it…but with prayers and being careful I’m sure everything will be fine.

I apologize this is so long, I’m playing catch up. I will try and keep you all updated when anything occurs…which is hopefully soon. In the meantime I’m trying to think of things to do to occupy my time at home to keep me distracted!

Just another checkup – 34 Weeks

Yesterday I was having some stronger contractions, they went away after I laid down so I figured it wasn’t anything to be concerned about. I went to see the doctor today for my regular 3 week checkup. Of course I was just in and out as usual, seems like they make it as quick as possible. My weight has managed to stay the same, which is strange to me considering the fact that they say you gain the most weight in your 3rd trimester. But as long as they aren’t concerned, I’m not concerned and I guess it just means I have less weight to lose later on.

They don’t really give me a weight estimate or anything when I go, but when I look online it says at 34 weeks he’s roughly 19 inches long and right around 5 pounds, that of course can be off by a pound or 2. He is still pretty active, and the doctor said he’s actually what they call transverse right now, he’s kind of sideways, neither head up nor down. He isn’t concerned until about 37 weeks, and if he’s not in the right position by then, we’ll try and move him. Everything else is looking great, he told me to keep cool and drink lots of fluids.

Yesterday and the day before was gorgeous out, we even kept our windows open, but the humidity is back. It’s been a very strange summer, a strange year in general when it comes to weather. But I have to say I’m pretty fortunate that the humidity is off and on, by now, in mid-july it’s usually constant umbearable humidity.

Next appointment is set for August 4th, I was a little shocked that it’s 3 weeks out, I’ll be 37 weeks pregnant and considered full term, so by then…it could happen at anytime.

Oh and I was given 3 circumstances in which I need to get to the hospital. That was if I have any bleeding what-so-ever, contractions that are 4-5 minutes apart, and if my water breaks. Any other concerns call the doctors office first and they’ll advise where to go from there.

“Your body is preparing for labor” 32 weeks

Ok, for my first post on the new family blog I will update you all on the pregnancy. I wish I would have thought about doing this much earlier than I am now…but I planned on doing this after the baby was born, why not start now. I have a feeling this particular post will be long to mostly fill you in.

So far, all 32 weeks have gone extremely well, my mother was blessed with 3 healthy pregnancies and labors. I hope to be that lucky. We haven’t run into any complications, there was a point where I took the gestational diabetes test, didn’t pass…had to go for another longer test in which I passed but was borderline. The doctor has told me that at this point changing my diet will not help or hurt anything therefore I’ve basically been eating for 2 still =)

I’ve gained a whopping 20 pounds, which continues to fluxuate up and down this week, you may find it odd that someone in their third trimester would lose weight, but I found a way. I was concerned, Josh was concerned so I made a call to the doctors office yesterday for them to tell me, this is normal and that my body is preparing for birth…she didn’t exactly explain what that meant, but basically any complaint, concern or happening will from now on have the excuse of “your body is preparing for birth”.

My maternity clothes no longer fit, I emphasize the maternity because I don’t understand who the designers of certain maternity clothes are, but they must not be pregnant nor have ever been pregnant. I have yet to find a comfortable pair of maternity jeans, I have 1pair of white capris that I like best, but can’t wear everyday and should probably wear sparingly considering that my clumsiness is only building up as we progress, white and pregnancy just don’t mix well. My belly is peaking out of the bottom of my maternity shirts, which has lead me to my last resort…Josh’s t-shirts and summer dresses. Don’t mistake the summer dresses as “she still looks so cute” and “I can’t believe you still work hard to look good” believe me, there is no working hard to look good, you get what you get at this point and whatever fits is what I wear.

We spent the month of June preparing the house and purchasing necessities for the arrival, I had my first baby shower just 2 weeks ago in which we were blessed with almost everything that was needed. We spent this past weekend moving a bunch of furniture from room to room, bringing in new couches and making much more space in our living area, which I sure will find it’s way to be filled coming soon in the next few months.

I continue to work full-time and plan to up until I go into labor (god-willing that won’t actually be at work!) Unless of course the doctor insists on bed-rest for any reason, fingers crossed that will not happen. As of now I plan on taking a for sure 8 weeks of maternity leave, in my mind that is not nearly enough time so I would love to do 10, if not 12…but financially we’re just not sure if that will be able to happen. Ideally I’d rather stay home and not return to work, but again financially it’s just not the right time.

Our next doctors visit will take place on July 14th, I’ll be a whopping 34 weeks pregnant and hope to bring back great news and baby progress.