39 Weeks

Easter marked the beginning of my 39th week of this pregnancy. I had a check up and NST today. My midwife checked me in the morning and I was 1 cm dialated and 50% effaced. My blood pressure is still nice and low at 112/68 and my itching has not got any worse. She gave me some advice on how to help the babe move furthur down into my pelvis, one of which was eating basil of all things! She also told me of a restricted diet of only 3 servings a day of fruit, 4 servings of dairy in a day and 1 refined sugar serving in a week to help slow the baby's growth if I am concerned about his size. Most of my pregnancy I have measured at or slightly smaller than how far along I am, today I measured 41! Ha. Though, I wonder if the fact that I have only gained 1 pound (22 total) in the past 6 weeks has anything to do with it. At this point I am losing weight/fat on the rest of my body and gaining it just in baby. He is a heavy sucker and makes it a challenge to flip over at night!

My chiropractor has worked wonders and last week was my best week yet. I was hardly even sore after yesterday's visit. I am not 100%, and won't be before baby is born, but my I can feel looseness in joints and pop things that have felt baically frozen for months now. I feel like a new woman!

The baby still looks good in my NST's, they thought about rechecking my bile acids, but since my itching hasn't progressed, it takes a week to get the results, and I am already scheduled for a c-section next Friday, the Dr. thought it wasn't neccessary. I have another NST Friday and one next Tuesday. I also have my Pre-op appointment Monday with the OB and then Tuesday another check up with my midwife. It is kinda cool feeling like you have a team of people watching out for you, even if it is sort of a pain in the butt going to so many appointments. Today Mom came up on the train to help watch O for me while I was in my appointments and Poppa Rick was able to meet us at my NST so Oliver got a lot of Gramma and Poppa time in today. Friday and Tuesday he gets to party down with Granny Nanny in the afternoons.

I thought I would take the time to do a "little" retouching on some belly shots and show everyone how horrifyingly HUGE my belly is. I passed how big I was with Oliver at about 34 weeks I think!

It's a....

Surprise, Still!


This little baby, beside being a surprise itself, seems to be making sure that it's sex will be a surprise until birth as well.


Today I had a check up with an OB at the clinic next to the hospital. The Dr. I was supposed to see was out sick and they were able to schedule me with another only 15 mins. later than my original appointment. I didn't care for her as much, she was nice and all but her personality was just a bit odd. It was an odd circumstance, seeing a new paitent at 38 weeks and knowing nothing about them. But it did sort of bother me that I spent  a few minutes sitting there while she read my chart. I'm sure I was squeezed into her morning but I would rather feel like someone had at least browsed my file beforehand. The Dr. I was supposed to see and saw last week, had read all my history and previous labor and it was so refreshing!


Everything seemed good. Heartrate was good, I imagine I measured fine since she didn't say anything, and my blood work looked normal. (I had itching start last week and had blood drawn to check my liver function.) The only test result still out is for my Bile Acid levels and should be in with the next day or too. My blood pressure was elevated for me but since it is still in the normal range no one cares. Seems odd to me, but what do I know? My highest was 129/93 and my lowest 113/80 something. Last week I was 90/60 so you see the spike! It was the same at the end with Oliver too and no one ever cared.


After my OB appointment I went over for a NST (non-stress test). They started the appointment off with an ultrasound to measure the fluid levels and check that the baby was doing the practice breathing, which it was. She asked if I knew the sex and I said No, then she said, Do you want to know? and I said YES! But of course, she couldn't get a clear shot of the behind region and we still don't know!

 
The rest of the NST is being hooked up on a moniter just like during labor with a band measuring the baby's heart rate & another measuring activity/contractions along with a few BP's taken. All looked good and healthy and I am scheduled to go back Friday for another. I think that I am probably going to be asked to go back every few days until the baby is here. Now my next challenge is finding someone to watch Oliver while I do the test, since no one is allowed to be present besides the mama.

 
The have decided to chalk my itching up to Pregnancy related itching, but I am guessing that my bile salts will be elevated at that is what my 1st blood test with Oliver indicated and it is the same kind of itching. I am just hoping that tonight it doesn't keep me awake. I think I will go ahead and take my benedryl, that should help knock me out!

Busy Day (Part Deux)

The itching is back...

I have been having a few evenings the past week or so where I start to itch all over but it is always gone by morning. Last night it started again and didn't go away by the time I got up. I tried lotion before bed to see if it was just dry skin, or maybe it was just stretching of skin, but the itching was all over, not just concentrated on my tummy... I tried a shower in the morning and that helped. All of these episodes of itching have not been as intense or dramatic as it was with Oliver. 

After my shower I tried calling the OB Advice line at one of the clinics and was on hold for 15 minutes. I gave up as I had a chiropractor appointment and needed to finish getting ready.

I had a great appointment and we may have found out that the baby gates might have something to do with why my hip/pelvis keep tilting backwards and out of whack. She really worked a muscle in my left glute that has been tight and threatens to charlie horse when I stretch my hamstrings. She also adjusted my upper back and my shoulder relieving a lot of tension that I had built up.

Once that was done, I drove Graham around to all of his errands and dropped him off at work. While he was unloading the car I tried the Advice line again.

I got through after only 10 mins of being on hold.

I was a little annoyed with the "advice nurse" as she knew nothing of Cholestatis, procedures, or what it meant. I had to explain to her that I was wondering if I needed a blood test, and the only remedy to stop the itching was taking the baby out. She took my question and told me she would pass it on to a nurse who would call me back.

With that settled, Oliver and I headed to the store.

I got a really terrible cart and knew I could not deal with it and traded it for another. For some unknown reason, Oliver decided he didn't like that cart and wouldn't sit still and just started crying. After a few minutes (but what felt like and eternity) I decided to try some Baby Tylenol. He has been teething since September and the Eye teeth are currently working their way in. He loves the stuff and as soon as he saw the bottle he was happy. That only lasted until I put it away and then he started fussing again. After a cople of minutes he calmed down, but ended up having a few outbursts through out the trip. 

While in the forzen food section, I got a call from a nurse who told me they had ordered blood work for me and went ahead and set up a NST (non stress test) for me after my appointment next Tuesday. Since I have to fast for 8 hours before the Cholestatis test, she recommended that I go right in to any lab, get my blood sucked and then eat.

Oliver and I finished our shopping and I drove right to the lab. It hadn't occured to me before to put Oliver in his stroller while I had blood drawn until I called my Dad to see if he had any free time this afternoon.

The plan worked, except for Oliver Crying and Screaming the whole time I was having my blood taken. I think he wanted to be held and was a little freaked out by the white coat...

We grabbed some lunch and headed home.

I put him down for his nap at about 3pm, 2 hours after his normal time and did a few things around the house and then headed to the couch for a nap myself. I sleep very lightly when he isn't sleeping, waking up and I can hear him chattering to himself in his crib. When I went to get him up I didn't know if he had even slept, but I was pretty sure he hadn't. 

I put him in his chair, got him a snack of crackers, string cheese, OJ & and a blood orange and did a few more chores around the house. I went to get him cleaned up and have some play time and he had fallen asleep in his chair!

So I had to clean sticky orange juice off his face and hands and brush all the crumbs off of him while he was asleep.

He woke up on his move to the crib, cried for maybe a minute and then passed out. That was about 7:30 pm! He has been out ever since and I am glad that I had changed him into play clothes earlier...

Also, yesterday I recieved a call from a nurse at the clinic I went to Monday to let me know that I am positive for Group B Strep and will need antibiotics before the baby is born to  make sure that it doesn't get an infection during birth. I don't know if they do it for a c-section as well, but I assume so.

I got some results back already from my blood work today. Looks as if my iron levels are still low but I don't know if it is anything to be concerned about. I figure the Dr. will let me know what is worrisome or not at my appointment on Tuesday. The Cholestatis test takes a few days and I hope the results are in by then. If I do have it again, I am pretty sure the baby will be coming a lot sooner than later. I should have no need for an amnio as I will be 38 weeks Sunday and the baby is now full term. Something good that might come out of this whole thing is the NST test usually includes an ultrasound to check fluid levels, baby activity and i think just a general check up. Maybe we will get to know the sex before birth after all!!

Best case scenario, no Cholestasis AND getting to see the babe and ending the dreaded unknown!

There you have my past 2 days in a nut shell. Now off to do a few more things and hit th couch until Graham gets home. Tomorrow and the next few days will be filled with trying to finish up everything on my list before baby's arrival...

PS..What do you think of the name Hugo for a boy?

I Can See the Light...

I had my OB appointment yesterday morning with one of the Doctors that also works out of the Hospital where I will be delivering. I actually saw her once with Oliver when I first went into Labor & Delivery for the itching. She really helped me feel at ease and I answered all my questions really before I even asked them. She had read all of the notes from the Dr.  that was on-call when I was taken in for my c-section and knew my history. That was so great! I didn't have to really explain it all over again. She told me that I have a 70-80% chance of having a successful delivery if I go into labor on my own. She also explained that they will only use pitocin if I have sort of started to progress and am starting to dialated or thin and having a few occasional contractions. Otherwise, she scheduled me for a repeat c-section for April 24th. If I don't go into labor before that date, then I will just be admitted. 

She did my Strep B test, and the rest of the appointment was just like any other pre-natal one, so that made me feel better since my next scheduled appt. with my midwife wasn't until the 14th and the last was the beginning of March. The baby's heart sounded good and I assume I measured well as she didn't make any comments. My blood pressure was 90/60, so still normal. Though it did throw the Student Nurse who took it for a loop! She was concerned that she hadn't done it right...

After my Strep test, she also checked me to see if there was any sort of progress yet and told me that my cervix was Very Unfavorable! Basically, nothing has happened yet and likely won't very soon. She also noted that I didn't have the roomiest of pelvises either. A first that I had ever heard and nice to know.

She had mentioned that most likely my induction didn't take because my body just wasn't ready, since I was induced early. We talked about baby size as Oliver was 2 ounces shy of 8 pounds and he was 1 1/2 weeks early. She said if this baby is too big for my not so big pelvis, that I would just stop progressing and have a c-section.

I left the appointment feelin a lot better with so  many questions answered and having that c-section date in place so there is an end in sight. As she said I can't be pregnant forever! (even if I feel like I will be/have been!)

They also set me up to see her again next week for another check up and then I have the one already for the next week with my Midwife/NP and then the 20th I am scheduled for a Pre-op appointment. I don't know why, but for some reason I have the inkling that I will be going until the 24th, but we will see what happens!

The 9th Month

 (note that there are no bare belly shots as the stretch marks are too horrific and I don't have that much time for PhotoShop!)

Sunday marked the beginning of my 9th month or 36 weeks. Monday I meet with an OB at the hospital to talk about my previous birth history and ask any questions regarding the VBAC (vaginal birth after ceasarian) I have a few other questions in my head as well that I need to get on paper this week. I have been having dreams about having the baby or last night a dream about an ultrasound that showed the baby being a boy. I also had a dream last week that I had twin boys and was actually quite happy. The not knowing makes it feel less real somehow, that and I was so taken back about getting pregnant that my brain won't fully process it until the baby is actually here or I am in labor. For some reason I don't think I will make it to my due date, I have never really accepted it as the real date, but I also don't feel that it will be too early, maybe a week before?

So far no real itching or signs of Cholestatis, so that is really good. I have made it 2 weeks furthur along than when I first got the itching with Oliver and next week marks when I was actually diagnosed. I am in unchartered waters, no complications, no ultrasounds since 20 weeks and don't really know what to expect in terms of my prenatal care. I have not yet had my Strep B test and don't know if the OB I meet with will be checking me out or just there to answered questions. I wonder what happens if you go into labor for that test. Will they give me antibiotics anyway? I also wonder if the baby is perfectly healthy at the 20 week ultrasound, does that mean it will be healthy at birth? So many questions in my head. How do they know if my fluid levels are OK, or what size the baby is. Do they just used the measuring method? Who knows, well, hopefully the OB does!

I have been seeing a chiropractor the past week and have another appointment Friday. She thinks that 2-3 more visits should get me in pretty good shape before the baby comes. Next time I see her I will ask about after delivery care. As I mentioned before, it is so nice to have someone listen to you and understand what you are saying, not to mention FIX the problems. It is such a sense of validation. I don't feel that often. I quite frequently feel that others don't think my pain is real or that I am just weak. I think that I proved I am a lot stronger and can tolerate a lot more pain than even I thought I could with Oliver's birth. I handled over 48 hours of contractions before asking for any sort of pain relief. I managed a C-section recovery with primarily Ibuprofen. My pain is real and some one is listening. I could get addicted! Yesterday consisted of a lot of stretching muscles and ligaments that are pulling my left pelvis out of whack and also my tailbone. I was so sore after and felt like I was hit by a truck this morning, but as that tenderness goes away I am left feeling less and less actual pain.

I have found the past couple of weeks that my level of irritabilty is way up, sort of unusual for me. I usually fight it and try to think through what is bothering me, but frankly I don't have the energy or paitence to do that now and just let it out. I feel no need to apolozige for it either. Graham was lucky enough to witness it the other morning and he tried to be angry too but I didn't let him and I think I caught him of guard and he just realized it was best to let it go. Shortly after I cool down but I have just been letting out my frustrations as I feel them instead of holding them in until later. It will all be over again, and hopefully I will feel the sense of lightness and energy I did after Oliver was born. You know I will need it!!!

24 Weeks Plus

This morning I had my 24 week check up, eventhough I will be 25 weeks in 2 day. Everything looked great. I apparently gained 6 pounds, (though my sweater weighed 2 of those pounds...) it doesn't really bother me since I don't feel i'm that big and the same thing happened about this same time with Oliver. The heartrate was 152, so if you go by the old wives tale, that means girl. Oliver always had a pretty fast strong heartbeat, but this one is even faster! I have to start my kick counts now and my next appointment in 4 weeks brings the glucose and iron tests. Woo Hoo, more blood sucking!

Everything has been good and moving smoothly. I feel like I am carrying more round and out this time, maybe even a little higher. My only issue is my left hip and pelvic area which can get pretty painful. This week hasn't been bad though, so that is good. I just put some Pilates and Yoga DVD's on my Netflix to try those out and see how they help or effect the pain.

That's all I have for now.

We are working on names and finding it very difficult with boy names. We really could only agree on Oliver and after that we are just stuck, nothing feels right. I'll post a poll when we have some ideas and maybe everyone can help us choose...

Pregnancy Brain Strikes Again...

I just thought I would share for everyone my latest pregnancy brain fart, if anything, for a good laugh. And for all of you out there who are wanting to get pregnant, this is what you have to look forward too!

Yesterday morning we headed out of the house to run errands. Our first stop was Les Schwab to look into new tires for the truck. It was really busy so I had to park on the street and carry Oliver over to the store to meet Graham. As I was waling I noticed that my left foot was getting wet. My first thought was "Huh, I guess I can't wear these shoes out when it is wet" not even noticing that my right foot was completely dry. I got into the store, handed Oliver over to Graham and then looked down at my feet. I had one one shoe and one felt slipper. Needless to say I was embarassed. Don't know if anyone noticed or not. Luckily I had another pair of shoes in the car from a few days earlier and quickly scurried to the car to change them. Now in the past I have forgotten to change from my flip flops to shoes but never have I left the house with 2 different shoes (or slippers) on my feet. I have heard of it though, usually when you are so big you can't see your feet. My excuse to Graham was that it is a lot more work now to look at my feet. Good excuse right?