Afternoon Update

All is well, so far. As of this afternoon, the baby's heart rate had come down to an acceptable level, so that's good! They zoomed in on the heart during the ultrasound, and the doctor said that it looks perfectly healthy, no defects, etc. So that's great. The problem at this point is the extra amniotic fluid, they said it could either be just a fluke... They draw these lines of what "normal" is, and he said that there's always going to be people below and above that. He said it's likely I'm just one of the "above normal" people. The alternate cause he said are some genetic abnormalities in which the baby can't swallow effectively, but he doesn't think that's what it is. First of all, because I watched the baby take 3 gulps of fluid on ultrasound this morning, plus he said in the case of these abnormalities, there would be a large excess of fluid (because they're not drinking any), he said he would consider mine a mild excess.

So, he talked to my regular doctor, and he recommended I "be careful" for the next couple days and he wants to see me again on Thursday (and Monday!) and then go from there. I will go back to the perinatologist next Thursday for another Level II ultrasound, to check on the fluid levels, see if it has increased/decreased, etc.

So that's the update for now!

34 Week Update

I had my 34 Week appointment and an ultrasound this morning. First of all, the baby is SO cute!!! They got a good shot of his/her face for me... It took my breath away! It looked like.. a baby! haha. He/she is 5 pounds 3 oz, estimated to be 7.5 -8 pounds at birth (assuming 40 weeks). Great! I'll take it. I reminded the u/s tech that we don't know the sex, and don't want to know! But at some point during the u/s, she said "he is doing this" .... So hmm!! I'm sure it was totally a generic "he" but it's fun to speculate. She said the baby was doing a great job practicing breathing, she said he/she was going to town! She liked to see that. Baby is also swallowing well, we got to see Noah/Kate take a few drinks, and the stomach looks good.

So, for the bad news. The baby's heart is beating faster than they'd like to see. Baby was very active during the ultrasound, squirming and moving all over the place, and she couldn't get a steady read of the heartbeat with the baby at rest, but could tell it was faster than "normal." So they ran a fetal NST. The baby settled down during that, but the heart rate never went down, which is what concerned them a little bit. Also, they said I have a lot more amniotic fluid than normal. They said it's no wonder I can't breathe, I'm completely full of fluid! They also ran an FFN test on me (a test that can tell you if you're at risk for labor in the next week or so), and when he was doing that I told him that I'd been having a lot of BH, so he said it's a good thing they're going to run the FFN. We'll get the results tomorrow. So they're sending me this afternoon for a Level II ultrasound to check on the heart and excess fluid. Depending on what they find or don't find, my Dr thinks me might want me on bedrest. He said I'm at a higher risk for water breakage because my amniotic sac is so full.

Soo... That's where we're at. The ultrasound is at 1:30. Jeff left work at 11:30 to come be with me. I'll keep you updated! I have some u/s pics from this morning, but don't have time to get them scanned and uploaded right now... So hopefully later today!

From here on out I see the doctor every week!

4, 14, 24, 34

I am 34 Weeks today!! Feeling like it too. I have about a 10 minute comfort maximum, I have to shift positions every 10 minutes or it's just not a happy time! :) Baby's kicks are getting harder and more painful too, he/she's getting strong! I can't wait, only 6 more weeks!

Here's a fun progression of the pregnancy, at 4, 14, 24, and 34 weeks!

4 Weeks


14 Weeks


24 Weeks


34 Weeks

Completed Nursery Photos

The nursery is done and ready for a baby!












In other news, I stopped at Walgreens today, and the lady at the checkout counter said that my baby looks like it's ready to come any day now. That's a great thing to hear when you have 6 weeks to go....

Sister Belly Comparison

I check in on Andrea's belly pics from time to time, to compare size and the difference in how we're carrying. I was in for a shock today! Here is Andrea at 34 weeks, and me at 33.5 weeks:



No wonder I'm having breathing problems!!! Look how high this baby is compared to Micah! I officially can't wait for the baby to drop. :)

The other interesting comparison is knowing that Andrea is carrying a boy in the picture... So what does that say about mine??

33 Week Picture

Here I am at 33 weeks!



Each week I feel like it's a huge growth spurt! This baby seems to be making up for lost time. We had a good Easter weekend with the Blairs in Oklahoma. They bought a Pack n Play to keep at their house, which is awesome! One less thing we have to pack up and drag around! It's so surreal to think that the next time we go up there, we'll be bringing a baby with us! Crazy!

I was also thinking about it yesterday on our drive home, how while I do have a weekly picture of myself through the pregnancy, I don't have any pictures in regular clothes! So I might try to make an effort to get more pictures in some of my favorite maternity outfits. Besides, we don't have any full-length mirrors, so I only know what I look like from the waist-up! haha! I never know what my whole body looks like! You never know what could happen, if I'll be able to get pregnant again, so I'd like to have it well-documented! Plus, next time, I'll be chasing a kid around and I doubt I'll have the time or energy for this many pictures! :)

I finally got a message back from the cardiologist with the results from my heart monitor. They said everything looks good and normal for the most part. I have no fatal rhythms (ha! I hope not!) But I am having some early beats and late beats, but not severe enough to the point where I need treatment or anything.

So, I guess that's that, I just need to take it easy, breathe slowly through my episodes, and limit my straight up and down sitting, and walk around whenever I can!

Ouch

I've been reading in my pregnancy books for weeks that at any time I can expect a charlie horse in the middle of the night. Thankfully, I had escaped that misery. That is, until last night. Holy. Cow. Ouch. I can't remember the last time I'd had one, certainly not in my adult life, but I remember having one in Owatonna, MN one night. So we're looking at 10 years at least! This one was BAD, and it lasted over 5 minutes! I laid in bed trying to massage my calf, but to no avail! I woke Jeff up and asked him what I'm supposed to do! The whole calf muscle was just quivering. It was weird. He told me to get up and stretch it out. So I hobbled out of bed and hopped over to the wall and stretched until it went away. Geez! My poor calf is still sore today. I need to read up on it today, and see what dietary things I can be doing to keep these nasty things away!

On the heart front, I got the results of my echocariogram (heart ultrasound) yesterday. They said everything is structured and functioning correctly, so that's good. Still waiting on the results from the monitor.

And my OB called this morning, saying my GBS test came back negative, so that's good too. That's one shot either I or the baby won't need at delivery or something... So good news overall!

I've really tried to put a stop to buying maternity clothes. At this point, with roughly 7 weeks left, it just seems pointless to buy more. I have realized though, that I'm really going to need probably one more pair of pants, preferably black pants. I have a lot of work days left, and it's really not fun to be sitting at work uncomfortable in a pair of pants that are too tight. So that's my mission for my lunch break today, to hunt down a pair of pants.

And, as of last night, Jeff and I are apparently ready to be parents. We concluded our childbirth series with a class on infant safety and CPR. It's comforting to me to have those skills at least in the back of our minds, God forbid we ever need them. So we're done! It's weird to think that's all the preparation we're going to get before we have this baby!