OB Appointment #7

Not much new to report today. I grew 2 cm in the last 2 weeks, which means baby is growing as they should. Liz talked to me today about the wonderful world of the episiotomy, tearing, forceps, and vacuum. I didn't realize all the ways a person could tear during this event. Let's just say I hope my skin and interior has great elasticity. :P~

Once the baby is born, Dan will have the option to cut the cord, but he isn't required to if he doesn't feel comfortable. She said then she will ask me if he decides not to. I'm thinking that, at that point, I will probably want nothing to do with cutting anything that just came from me, but I guess we'll see what happens at the time.

Peanut's heartbeat was a strong 153 BPM and he/she decided to only kick at the Doppler once...I was surprised how cooperative he/she was. It must have been nap time.

I do have a feeling that Peanut is a girl. I'm not sure if I've mentioned that before or not, I'm not sure why I feel that way, and I certainly have no basis on which to judge. Dan believes it's a boy, so that has led to some entertaining discussions. At the end of the day, however, either will be a welcome addition. (Especially once I can let the baby kick at my hands or at least something other than my bladder, ribs, or cervix.)

Welcome to Trimester #3

The 28th week of Peanut's existance begins today. This means that we're entering the last 1/3 of this whole in-body experience.....thank goodness. I don't believe I will ever be one of those women that coo and wax nostalgic about pregnancy. I have been extremely, extremely fortunate in this pregnancy thus far in that I have not had many of the regular side effects that go with the package...I've never gotten sick, no swelling (yet), not too many weird aches and pains, not really too many cravings (at least none I wouldn't have pre-baby), and I can still get to my shoes fairly easily (a skill that I am told will become more of a challenge in the coming weeks). I am very thankful for this. I know things could be so much worse and there could be an entire scad of complications. I believe, however, I am just about ready to be alone in my own body again. Not that I don't already love the pants off Peanut (which is amazing in an of itself to love someone so much that you've never even met), it's more that each of us is our own person and needs to occupy their own space. This might have something to do with the 3 to 5 and then 7 to 9 am kickboxing classes (among other things) that Peanut seems to enjoy doing to me.

There is one of my normal routines that it was time for tonight that I ALMOST couldn't do....and that freaked me out a little. So, now I guess begins the real fun...new logistics for otherwise mundane, routine tasks.

So, I've been told several view points by several people on taking belly pictures. Some say I'll regret not having any, some say I won't miss them. What the heck, might as well try one when things aren't too out of control, right? Against my better judgement, I'm including one taken tonight at the beginning of Tri-3. Here I am 27 weeks pregnant. Peanut is a little over 15 inches long and weighs just over 2 lbs at this point. No wonder I can feel him/her stretching out!

OB Appointment #6

Today was glucose test day! I arrived at the Dr's office and went straight to the lab where I got to drink THE sweetest, orange flavored, flat tasting soda EVER. Oddly enough, I was given FIVE minutes to drink this 10 oz concoction. I joked with the nurse that the "chug" time limit reminded me of college days.....she wasn't too amused. She just instructed me to come back in 1 hour so she could draw blood to send in for gestational diabetes screening. I cut my humor losses and headed upstairs to see Liz.

A lot of this appointment went like the last...routine weighing (no, I WON'T post the numbers....they would startle you... ha ha), urine target practice, blood pressure, etc. Everything checked out, baby's heart was thumping away at 156 BPM and I grew 2 cm over the last 2 weeks, all healthy and normal things. The sugary drink before seeing Liz tho got Peanut in an uproar. When she started the Doppler and went after the heartbeat, Peanut kicked the Doppler wand dead SQUARE, making it jump off my belly. At the same time, on the other side of my belly, he/she must have punched at the same time. I've never seen my belly take on such a weird shape. This playing/kicking went on for a few minutes until things settled down a little. The doc chuckled and commented, 'Boy, talk about attitude!' She assured me though that there was no such thing as an over-active baby, and the fact that Peanut moves around almost constantly is a sign of a healthy baby.

This time I came prepared to the appointment. She always asks me if I have ANY questions about anything...and I can never think of anything on the spot. This time, I came with a list. I asked her about things ranging from Braxton-Hicks contractions (I haven't had any....yet) to classes for Dan and I to take to protein or carbs leading to larger or smaller babies. She took her time with each one, despite being about 1/2 hour behind, which was great because I had to be at the clinic an hour anyway for the glucose to run thru my system.

I went back down to the lab to see the nurse to get her blood sample. She seemed to be in a better mood this time, which I am thankful for because she did an excellent job sticking me! I'll find out the results tomorrow. Today I am 26 weeks, and 1 day pregnant, or in my 27th week. Where did this second trimester go?

Great Comic Strip

This comic strip seems to have a lot of foreshadowing in it for some reason... :P~ I've got the link to the online archive for this comic in the links list on the right....

Happy New Year!

Well, the new year has officially begun. It's back to work and back to preparations, which, my facebook countdown so constantly reminds me....is less than 102 days away now. What in the world are we going to do with a baby? I know we'll be fine, and we'll figure it all out, but jeez....I still have moments where I feel like this hasn't really sunk in! These days, however, they're moments of anxiety instead of hours or days. It will all come, and I know we have lots of help if we have questions or concerns.

Speaking of having it sink in....it seems as though those maternity jeans and comfy pants that I so naively thought I'd never fill out are getting to fit better and better....even though my doc says I haven't gained a lot of weight, I'm starting to feel a bit like an apple with arms and legs. My first day back at work after the holiday break gave me a little lesson in Peanut growth....I sat down at my desk and scooted into my favorite work position to get the day started, only to find out that I couldn't scoot in under my desk all the way in as I am used to. And as I jockeyed around for a position that was similar enough to pacify me, Peanut decided to start taking target practice with those little feet at the underside of my desk. He/she is preparing me for having a toddler well in that I can never go long without pausing to observe what he/she is up to! I've been noticing, too, that my mobility as far as picking something off the floor from a seated position isn't as easy as it used to be, and rolling over in bed takes some thought. I'm a little over a week from starting my third trimester....this should only get more fun from here! :P

OB Appointment #5

Another visit with the doctor today. It was a pretty standard visit...weight, blood pressure, bathroom target practice... I coaxed Dan to go with me today. The day before I had called the doctor to see if there was anything that we could safely do to help us determine what little Peanut was hiding. She said that if the pregnancy keeps progressing as well as it has been, there will be no reason for more ultrasounds for medical purposes. She also let me know of another patient who wanted to know badly for planning purposes too....this other patient had been having problems and had been in for three ultrasounds...each time the baby refused to give up the goods....sometimes, I guess it's just meant to be a surprise. She recommended a place we could go, if we end up deciding to, that does what they call 'recreational ultrasounds.' They offer all the fancy 3d and 4d stuff for albums, videos for keepsakes, etc, etc....they also offer simple, 2d ultrasounds for updated viewing of the Peanut if that's what's preferred. The jury is still out with us on this one. We aren't sure if this is some sort of test where we're supposed to leave well enough alone or what. Honestly, I've felt like Peanut is a girl for awhile...but recently I go back and forth, thinking sometimes it may be a boy....so that doesn't help much at all. :P I also have a couple of friends who have generously offered to have us scanned by either themselves or another friend that's a doctor. Boys' names seem to be harder for us to agree on than girls' names, so we'll see how this all plays out.

Today's heartbeat was again a steady 154 BPM. From now on, the doctor will measure me with a tape measure from pubic bone to rib cage to see how Peanut is growing that way. I asked her why she thought I wasn't popping OUT like so many other pregnant women I see with the cute basketball bellies. She explained that I seem to have a long torso, and that my uterus is tilted back. Long torso's give the baby more room to fill before they pop out, and a tilted uterus provides the Peanut with better shots to my bladder, spine, and intestines for kickboxing practice....wonderful. *chuckle* So even though I'm not as "popped out" as I thought I should be, I measure within the normal range for someone 6 months pregnant.

Here ends the monthly appointments! Now I will get to go see my doctor every 2 weeks. Time seems to be flying by more quickly these days. And now, I am caught up with my posting of major events and appointments past, I can post about more things as they happen, instead of from the notes in my day planner.

Merry Christmas, Mom & Dad!!

Peanut may be a stinker, take regular kickboxing classes in the morning and evenings, and be using my bladder for target practice, but I have to admire his/her sense of grand-scheme timing. Today, the day after Christmas (so he/she's a day late...who's counting?), the baby becomes viable. This means should anything happen to me or the pregnancy, the baby can survive with intensive care and has a good chance of growing up normally. What a great Christmas gift!

20 Week Ultrasound Pictures

Here we see Peanut facing the camera, sucking that left thumb and waving the right at us. Just hanging out in his/her own little club house. If you look closely you can see both halves of the brain, the eye cavities, nasal cavity, and the little bones in the arms. Who knew these ultrasounds were going to be such great lessons in anatomy?

Here's looking down on the top of Peanut's head. You can see the ghost image of the left hand fingers curling around as he/she sucks the thumb (on the left side of the head). The bump you see at the top of the circle is Peanut's little ear.

Here's a shot of Peanut's left fist as he/she is sucking on the thumb. The profile of the face is deeper than the level the ultrasound snapshot was taken at this moment in time. The white blur under the little fist is his/her cheek and temple.

OB Appointment #4 & 20 Week Ultrasound

Today is the day Dan and I have been waiting for almost since we found out we were expecting. Today, not only did we get to go see the doctor to make sure all was still progressing well (it was....heart beat of 154 today), we also got to go and get the 20 week ultrasound! This is the sonogram where, most of the time, parents can find out if everything looks well developed and measures well with where the baby should be at this point in development. An added perk (for those inquiring minds) is that most of the time you can find out whether you're having a little boy or a little girl. Dan and I don't prefer one sex over another, but we did want to find out for planning and peace-of-mind purposes. We arrived at Radiology excited and I had a very full bladder to encourage good viewing.

Well, here is the first proof positive that the Peanut is already like his/her mom and dad....a stinker. The baby was sucking its left thumb with little legs crossed tight.....with its right hand wedged between its legs for extra coverage. The tech did most of her measurements and allowed me to hit the bathroom so I'd be more comfortable for the rest of the scan. During my bathroom visit, Peanut rearranged him/herself a bit. Now both hands were occupied elsewhere, but the tech wouldn't venture towards the lower half of the baby again. From her brisk comments, we came to the conclusion that she didn't believe parents should know the sex of the babt before birth in spite of our asking her. She couldn't even make a guess, where as a couple of times Dan and I were sure that we saw something (although I realize we're nowhere near ultrasound reading experts). That part of the experience left us feeling disappointed and a little angry that someone else would take the liberty to make that decisions when it wasn't theirs to make in the first place. However, overall the experience was a good one, all 4 chambers of the heart were well formed and pumping away, we've got all 10 fingers and 10 toes accounted for, the cord is strong and open, all the little bones are developed...ribs, skull, leg, arm bones....you could see everything. In fact, at one point the tech was looking at Peanut and pointed out what looked like a dark void on the screen....she stated 'Mom's not the only one that has to go to the bathroom!" We are very thankful Peanut is healthy, well developed, and measured just right for his/her age. However, I wish I would have been able to have this experience with the tech that I had seen with the ultrasound at 8 weeks.

Happy Birthday!

Welcome to the 6th anniversary of my 25th b-day. It's a weeknight this year, and Dan had to travel out of town for work. After baking a cake and having some supper, the dog and I settled down into our evening. Having time on my hands, I decided to take a bath. While filling the tub, I noticed some weird feelings in my abdominal area, but didn't really think much of it....I had just had a spicy supper, after all. As I soaked in the bath, I started thinking about how the books I've been reading and the doctor are always telling me where my uterus should be at each stage of development. Cognitively, I knew what this meant, but never really made the connection physically. I decided that I needed to figure it out! I started feeling for the hard "grapefruit" that was supposedly in my abdominal area at this time....and what do you know! There, indeed, was a rock hard lump there. Interesting! I started to apply gentle pressure to it just to see what else I could find out.....and *THUMP*! My hand moved outward seemingly on it's own. This was the beginning of me being able to associate some of the weird thumps, swirls and swishes with some of Peanut's pre-natal activities. Peanut let me know that even though Dan was away for the night, I wasn't alone.