Well... at this point, our baby watch is now in effect! :) So exciting!! I cannot wait to meet our little peanut. It's hard for me to believe that it's already that time in my pregnancy. It really has flown by so so fast and it's very bittersweet. I've truly enjoyed this pregnancy the most out of all three. I've been super healthy, my weight gain is still under 15 pounds, and despite a couple of discomforts I've had to deal with, I've felt really good.
I still have my little worries that I'm trying to let go of... the first being that my platelets are still low. Apparently my doctor has it in my chart to redraw at delivery for some reason unknown to me. I totally forgot to ask why, so that will be something to ask at my next appointment (with a different doctor)(Dr. Hyde for those of you who might know him)(My doctor is going on vacation next week... of course). Dr. Cook did give me a little piece of mind and told me he didn't think my platelet level would cause a problem during delivery. So that made me feel a little better that no intervention is necessary for that.
Today's appointment went pretty well. Baby's measuring perfectly, still head down, and heart rate was nice and strong. Couldn't be doing better in that respect! I'm growing a very healthy baby here. Baby's still up pretty high in my rib cage right now though... so I'll be doing my best to try and coax the baby down up until delivery.
I've started to notice my braxton hicks contractions getting increasingly uncomfortable lately... and I have made a bit of progress, so that's all good stuff! I'm currently 3 cm and 50% effaced. Strangely enough that's exactly what I was at the same point in pregnancy with Annabelle... down to the day even! (I'm glad I recorded everything about her pregnancy! It's nice to have a reference point.) So needless to say, (and it's not a guarantee, obviously) I'm thinking that things may pan out to be similar to my last labor and delivery. We will see. Every pregnancy and delivery is different, so I'm not getting my hopes up for anything at all, including more progress before labor. While it's really nice to progress a bit before labor starts, women can still have very quick deliveries even without a lot of progress prior to the onset of labor. I also want to note, I know there are a lot of opinions about being checked for dilation before labor begins... I'm well aware of my option to forgo these exams... especially since they've only ever offered to check my dilation. It's never been forced on me at all. Personally, I just like to know where things are at. I'm well aware of the fact that it really means nothing until labor starts... it's just a personal preference and that's okay. I'm very aware of all the pro's and con's to these exams, I simply just like to know.
So anyway... Jeff and I decided since my progress happens to be the exact same as last time at this point in pregnancy, it would be extremely entertaining if this baby decided to arrive exactly when brother and sister did. They were both born 6 days early, on a Tuesday, at 7:50 am. So weird! Oddly enough, if this baby were to arrive 6 days early, that would also fall on a Tuesday. It would be crazy if that happened again.
Anyway, that's about it for now. I'll update again in a week. Thanks for reading, friends! :)
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Week 35
Although I'm not technically 35 weeks until tomorrow, I decided to post an update now since there won't be much to update on next week... considering I feel completely confident that I'm measuring perfectly and baby is doing just fine.
Recently I started noticing more frequent and stronger braxton hicks along with a few indicators that my body might be dilating. Both of these things are completely normal at this point, especially for third time moms, but when I started having more and more unusual aching back pain accompanied with some leaking fluid over the last couple days, I decided I better get things checked out today... especially since we're going on a short camping trip this week. (My pain was not crazy bad or anything... just enough to irritate me I guess). SO I called the on-call doc and she said to come in... of course. And the whole way I was kicking myself for calling because I felt silly and ridiculous... like I was probably just thinking into it too much.
When I finally got there, they got me right in and had me on the monitors... of course. Baby looked perfect, just as I expected, but they were fairly concerned about all the "contractions" I was having. They were the same braxton hicks I had been having, but they were consistently about 5 minutes apart... I felt minimal discomfort from them except for very mild cramps and mild aching in my back. I know what painful contractions feel like, and these were not even close to being painful.
They ended up running a couple tests and checked my cervix to make sure the braxton hicks weren't causing too much progress. I have not been the least bit concerned about early labor, or that baby would even come before 37 weeks, and I'm still not too concerned about it. But as of now I'm dilated 2cm, which is perfectly okay. My body is surely getting ready a little earlier this time, but baby's birth is definitely not imminent. My cervix was still completely closed at this point in my last pregnancy, so I was a little surprised to hear I had progressed at all. But, women do walk around like this for a while sometimes. I just hope baby hangs around at least for another 4 weeks. That would be ideal for me so I can have everyone present for the birth. I have to admit, it is kind of exciting that things are slowly starting to happen... Makes it feel real that baby will be here in the next month or so!
Anyway... they were very glad I ended up coming in though. They discovered I have a nasty bladder infection which they are treating with antibiotics. The dr said if I had waited a whole lot longer it likely would have caused an assortment of issues and spread to my kidneys which would have been very unpleasant. Sooo needless to say the discomforts I've noticed lately were from the bladder infection and should subside soon. I really didn't have much to complain about in the first place, just wanted to be sure that my symptoms were normal before we left town. Glad I went in and now I can enjoy the trip a little more comfortably. Everything pregnancy and baby related is still going quite well. I feel great considering I'm getting so far along now. Thankful for each and every day, and each and every moment of this experience. Anyway, thanks for reading friends! I'll update at 37 weeks. :)
Recently I started noticing more frequent and stronger braxton hicks along with a few indicators that my body might be dilating. Both of these things are completely normal at this point, especially for third time moms, but when I started having more and more unusual aching back pain accompanied with some leaking fluid over the last couple days, I decided I better get things checked out today... especially since we're going on a short camping trip this week. (My pain was not crazy bad or anything... just enough to irritate me I guess). SO I called the on-call doc and she said to come in... of course. And the whole way I was kicking myself for calling because I felt silly and ridiculous... like I was probably just thinking into it too much.
When I finally got there, they got me right in and had me on the monitors... of course. Baby looked perfect, just as I expected, but they were fairly concerned about all the "contractions" I was having. They were the same braxton hicks I had been having, but they were consistently about 5 minutes apart... I felt minimal discomfort from them except for very mild cramps and mild aching in my back. I know what painful contractions feel like, and these were not even close to being painful.
They ended up running a couple tests and checked my cervix to make sure the braxton hicks weren't causing too much progress. I have not been the least bit concerned about early labor, or that baby would even come before 37 weeks, and I'm still not too concerned about it. But as of now I'm dilated 2cm, which is perfectly okay. My body is surely getting ready a little earlier this time, but baby's birth is definitely not imminent. My cervix was still completely closed at this point in my last pregnancy, so I was a little surprised to hear I had progressed at all. But, women do walk around like this for a while sometimes. I just hope baby hangs around at least for another 4 weeks. That would be ideal for me so I can have everyone present for the birth. I have to admit, it is kind of exciting that things are slowly starting to happen... Makes it feel real that baby will be here in the next month or so!
Anyway... they were very glad I ended up coming in though. They discovered I have a nasty bladder infection which they are treating with antibiotics. The dr said if I had waited a whole lot longer it likely would have caused an assortment of issues and spread to my kidneys which would have been very unpleasant. Sooo needless to say the discomforts I've noticed lately were from the bladder infection and should subside soon. I really didn't have much to complain about in the first place, just wanted to be sure that my symptoms were normal before we left town. Glad I went in and now I can enjoy the trip a little more comfortably. Everything pregnancy and baby related is still going quite well. I feel great considering I'm getting so far along now. Thankful for each and every day, and each and every moment of this experience. Anyway, thanks for reading friends! I'll update at 37 weeks. :)
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Weeks 33/34
Well, I'm blogging from my phone... Unfortunately. My MacBook charger bit the dust so we have our phones and an iPad... Not my favorite pieces of technology.
Anyway, we have been super busy on the home improvement train. We painted the trim in the kids room, repainted the walls, and put up some really nice chair rail trim to separate the two paint colors. We liked it so much that we applied the same concept to other parts of the house. We have one wall left and our bedroom to do. Otherwise it feels great to have fresh paint throughout the house... As well as freshly painted trim and doors.
I'm not sure at this point if I've found extreme motivation, extra energy, or both. I'm leaning more toward extra motivation since I know it will be way harder to get this stuff done once the baby comes. Either way, our house feels and looks so nice!
Anyway, baby updates... Baby is steadily growing and getting more squished. I am really enjoying this part of pregnancy. Sure, there are normal discomforts that accompany this part, but I love feeling the baby move and feeling little feet in my ribs... As weird as that sounds. Baby also has a very consistent schedule, at least that I have noticed... As soon as the kids are up and Jeff gets home, baby is kicking away in there. baby is also very active in the evening when the kids have settled into bed. Hopefully this schedule stays when baby is born. Other than that, baby is doing perfectly fine in there and weighs roughly 5 pounds at this point. Baby is also head down at the moment and measuring perfectly.. Dr was able to feel the baby's head and bottom at my last appointment... And we even heard/felt baby's hiccups when my Dr checked the heart beat. So cute!
All in all, I am feeling great. I am starting to experience a little swelling here and there so I have had to watch my salt intake. I have also noticed a bit of mild heartburn if I eat or drink anything other than water within an hour before bed. Not much else to update on... Still watching my weight. I have gained about 12 pounds at this point, which is great. No complaints there. My Dr is pretty pleased by that.
I have to say, its pretty cute how excited Joey is getting. About a week ago, he told me the baby could stay in longer. So I asked when baby could come out, and he told me that when the school buses start coming back then the baby could come out. That probably sounds super random, but it was really sweet that he said that. A few months ago when he asked when the baby could come out, I wracked my brain for something to say which would help him understand when that point in time will be when baby is ready to be born. Since he doesn't yet understand seasons or the concept of extended lengths of time, I told him that the baby will be born in the fall... And the fall time is when the school buses come by our house again. So I told him when he starts seeing school buses again, then it means that the baby will be born soon. I couldn't believe he remembered that! It was so sweet that he remembered what I said and is already keeping his eyes open for the buses. So cute!
That's about it for now. Next appointment is in two weeks, then I start weekly visits! Its all coming up so fast! Thanks for following me, dear friends!
Anyway, we have been super busy on the home improvement train. We painted the trim in the kids room, repainted the walls, and put up some really nice chair rail trim to separate the two paint colors. We liked it so much that we applied the same concept to other parts of the house. We have one wall left and our bedroom to do. Otherwise it feels great to have fresh paint throughout the house... As well as freshly painted trim and doors.
I'm not sure at this point if I've found extreme motivation, extra energy, or both. I'm leaning more toward extra motivation since I know it will be way harder to get this stuff done once the baby comes. Either way, our house feels and looks so nice!
Anyway, baby updates... Baby is steadily growing and getting more squished. I am really enjoying this part of pregnancy. Sure, there are normal discomforts that accompany this part, but I love feeling the baby move and feeling little feet in my ribs... As weird as that sounds. Baby also has a very consistent schedule, at least that I have noticed... As soon as the kids are up and Jeff gets home, baby is kicking away in there. baby is also very active in the evening when the kids have settled into bed. Hopefully this schedule stays when baby is born. Other than that, baby is doing perfectly fine in there and weighs roughly 5 pounds at this point. Baby is also head down at the moment and measuring perfectly.. Dr was able to feel the baby's head and bottom at my last appointment... And we even heard/felt baby's hiccups when my Dr checked the heart beat. So cute!
All in all, I am feeling great. I am starting to experience a little swelling here and there so I have had to watch my salt intake. I have also noticed a bit of mild heartburn if I eat or drink anything other than water within an hour before bed. Not much else to update on... Still watching my weight. I have gained about 12 pounds at this point, which is great. No complaints there. My Dr is pretty pleased by that.
I have to say, its pretty cute how excited Joey is getting. About a week ago, he told me the baby could stay in longer. So I asked when baby could come out, and he told me that when the school buses start coming back then the baby could come out. That probably sounds super random, but it was really sweet that he said that. A few months ago when he asked when the baby could come out, I wracked my brain for something to say which would help him understand when that point in time will be when baby is ready to be born. Since he doesn't yet understand seasons or the concept of extended lengths of time, I told him that the baby will be born in the fall... And the fall time is when the school buses come by our house again. So I told him when he starts seeing school buses again, then it means that the baby will be born soon. I couldn't believe he remembered that! It was so sweet that he remembered what I said and is already keeping his eyes open for the buses. So cute!
That's about it for now. Next appointment is in two weeks, then I start weekly visits! Its all coming up so fast! Thanks for following me, dear friends!
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| Just a sample of what we did... it's continued into the hallway, and we did the same thing in the kids' room but with a different shade of tan. I absolutely love it! |
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| Just a little belly pic... 34 weeks 4 days. Excuse the workout attire... and the umbilical hernia. I've been trying to stay active in order to help baby get into the optimal position. I'm also hoping that if I keep up with my exercise I'll make a bit of progress before labor begins... that proved helpful last time. |
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