Progression (29 weeks, 3 days)

29 weeks

Due Date: April 5th

Musings on the Weekly Photo: Where'd THAT come from?

Marination Time: 29 weeks

Weight Gain: Net (+11) as of doc appointment on 1/20. But if you add in the weight I lost and then re-gained, we're at +21. Ugh.

Maternity Clothes: All about the same, sweats or maternity pants. I definitely can't wear many of my old shirts without a tank top underneath to add length because the belly has finally popped out.

Fruit of the Week: Squash! We graduated!

Name: We officially have two names (both first and middle) for each sex. Hurrah!

Gender: Team Green

Movement: Par-tay. Baby is head down most of the time now, so it's pretty odd seeing a foot pop out up above my belly button. But that is much-preferred over transverse - Baby was running out of space and decided that s/he liked having his/her head in my right side and his/her butt sticking out by my belly button. Holy wow that was uncomfortable...

Cravings/Aversions: Vegetables. Salad. Sweets in moderation. I definitely crave dessert after lunch and dinner most days. The idea of meat grosses me out most of the time.

Annoyances: I don't like having my kidneys kicked. Other than that and occasional contractions, I feel pretty good!

Highlights of the Week: Got another peek at Baby D yesterday, s/he has a TON of hair and is weighing in at 3lb 2oz. Dr. Farias said at 34 weeks she won't stop labor if it starts, so as long as I make it that far, I get to back to "normal" in 4.5 weeks! Hurray! We're supposed to start our birthing class this week as well, but it's a six-week course so the Doctor recommended we try to switch into a weekend class that knocks it out in one day. She said six weeks was probably "really wishful thinking." Eek! We might have a baby in less than six weeks?! In other news, Sharon and Jerry visited last weekend and my parents and Grammie are here this week, so we've been able to get a lot of baby-shopping and cleaning done. Baby D now has a dresser, a place to sleep, some clothes and a carseat. I feel much more prepared now!

28 weeks

Due Date: April 5th

Musings on the Weekly Photo: Yes, those are the same clothes as last week. We might be a little bigger? I sure feel bigger...

Marination Time: 28 weeks

Weight Gain: Net (+8) as of doc appointment on 1/6. Yes, I lost a pound in a week; three days of hospital food will do that to a girl. Next appointment is Friday, 1/20.

Maternity Clothes: Same, although I did wear my regular jeans on principle. They were a little tight, but they buttoned! Haha. I'm enjoying wearing the maternity shirts that I got for Christmas, but I swear they have a backward sideview mirror effect... "Objects in shirt are smaller than they appear." I think maternity shirts create the illusion that pregnant women look bigger than they are...

Fruit of the Week: Eggplant

Name: We officially have two names (both first and middle) for each sex. Hurrah!

Gender: Team Green

Movement: Wowza. Side note: it's kind of creepy watching my belly dance.

Cravings/Aversions: I haven't really had many specific cravings this week, see "annoyances."

Annoyances: There is a definite difference in how I'm feeling depending on how Baby is lying (transverse v. head-down). I'm pretty sure when Baby is head-down, s/he likes to stick a foot in my stomach, which leads to intense reflux which thus leads to a diminished appetite. I'm now in snack-mode as I can't really handle full meals.

Highlights of the Week: Doc says I can attempt my prenatal yoga DVD as long as I make sure my heart rate doesn't increase. Still no cardio allowed, but she also said I can do resistance band exercises. Three cheers for some sort of exercise! Hurrah!

Baby D Update + Third Trimester!

So we had our 27-week appointment this morning, technically my "original" appointment before last week's debacle but now more of a follow-up from the hospitalization. In addition to my one-hour glucose screening, Dr. Farias went ahead and did an ultrasound to make sure Baby D still looks a-okay (S/he does! Everything measures on track and bebe weighs about 2lb 4oz.) She also wanted to check and make sure my cervix hasn't shortened anymore in the last week (Which it hasn't! Hurray!) Baby D was back to hanging out transverse today, a two-edged sword of sorts. Good because s/he isn't head down and pushing down on my cervix, causing it to further efface. Bad because if s/he remains that way or if something were to happen, our only option is a c-section. I will take transverse Baby D not shortening my cervix for $200, Alex! Obviously s/he has a ton of time to flip, which is very likely especially considering s/he is so active, but vanity aside, I am definitely not averse to a c-section if it keeps him/her in as long as possible.

So now we are officially in the third trimester. Man, how time flies! We weren't supposed to get any more peeks at the little bugger between now and delivery but because of our situation, doc wants to go ahead and do an ultrasound at each appointment to keep an eye on things. Darn, I guess I'll just have to look at that cute little baby face a few more times! As for said situation, I'm still on partial bedrest but have regained limited privileges to leave the house. Still no dog-walking, no heavy cleaning and no travel, but if I need milk I am allowed to drive to the store - as long as I "park close and don't go to Costco." Haha. Basically, the way she put it is that we can a) let me stay home and be comfortable, as long as I take it easy or b) throw me in the hospital for an indeterminate amount of time. She feels pretty confident that I'm in-tune enough with my body that having me at home is not a problem, so I'm going to try my best to be good so I can stay home! It's hard because I don't feel that bad, but of course, I didn't feel "that bad" last week when she admitted me. I guess I just have to listen to my body and not push it, then regret it!

Mike did ask about our soccer tickets to Phoenix and we got the "Ehhhhh let's see..." face. It doesn't help that there's really no way to drop me off close to the game - I'll have to walk at least a mile from the parking lot to the stadium, which is a definite no-no. She did say that if everything looks okay and I haven't progressed at all between now and the next appointment, it might be okay... if I can get dropped off. So my next appointment is in two weeks, which isn't anything out of the ordinary for a normal pregnancy, and we shall see if USA v. Venezuela is in my future. (Doubtful, considering the game is the day after my appointment - we'll need to find a taker for the ticket long before then.)

Keep those fingers crossed that Baby D stays put for a while! And I will promise to take it easy...

Cheers~
Mike, Di and Baby D

27 weeks

Due Date: April 5th

Musings on the Weekly Photo: I <3 Instagram. Anyhoo... I feel like I haven't grown much according to pictures but when I look down, I feel huge. Good news is that I can still see my feet!

Marination Time: 27 weeks

Weight Gain: Net (+9) as of doc appointment on 12/29 (next appointment is tomorrow, Jan. 6th).

Maternity Clothes: Probably the same, I haven't really gotten dressed this week. Errrr...

Fruit of the Week: Still hanging out in eggplant land.

Name: We have lists, but now Mike is hemming and hawing about some of the names being "just okay" but has no suggestions to replace them! Ugh. The problem with large families? All of the traditional names we're attracted to are already taken. Also, our number one boy's name (if it fits the little bugger) was on the top ten list for 2011. Double ugh. Big issue? Even though it's a family name, and even though we've had it picked out for years, I'm waffling because I'm not a huge fan of saddling my kid with the same name as five of his little buddies (if it's a boy). Grr. As for girl names, we have a middle name pretty much decided upon, but first names are a lot more of "it's just okay." Maybe we'll just name the kid Baby...

Gender: Team Green

Movement: "Party Rock" for sure. Maybe the betamethazone gave baby some extra muscles? 'Cuz s/he has got some oomph behind those kicks and punches. Since bebe is head down now, s/he is kicking my lungs and I'm a little bit short of breath!

Cravings/Aversions: This week I can't get enough salad.

Annoyances: There's that whole pre-term labor thing... The nifedipine makes me really dizzy, nauseous and tired which Mike says is to be expected since it's a BP med and my blood pressure was super-low to begin with (at the hospital, I was averaging 106/58). I also have been having contractions periodically, some more uncomfortable than others. It definitely gets worse at night, but once morning rolls around they seem to calm down. At this point I'm worried I won't know if/when I need to go back to the hospital - especially considering when they hospitalized me last week, I tried to talk my doctor out of it since I "felt fine." Um, no, apparently you're not fine...

Highlights of the Week: I've been playing catch-up on photo stuff since I'm house-bound and cleaning/vacuuming isn't allowed. I also got my iPhone! Hurray!

26 weeks

25 weeks, 4 days

Due Date: April 5th

Musings on the Weekly Photo: Merry Christmas!

Marination Time: 26 weeks, 4 days today

Weight Gain: Net (+9) as of doc appointment on 12/29 (next appointment is Jan. 6th).

Maternity Clothes: Same.

Fruit of the Week: Eggplant.

Name: We have lists.

Gender: Team Green (although all of my nurses this week told me they think it's a boy!)

Movement: I'm beginning to think "Party Rock" is the theme song for Baby D in utero. All of the staff were amazed at how active bebe is, they couldn't believe we're only 26 weeks.

Cravings/Aversions: All I want in life is fruit. Fruit, fruit, fruit.

Annoyances: There was that whole pre-term labor thing...

Highlights of the Week: Major highlight this week was being able to leave the hospital relatively unscathed, Baby D still in utero. Let's keep it that way for a bit longer!

A wee bit of drama...

Well, as most of you are aware, 26 weeks started off with a bang. I will post the official "26 weeks" update, sans current picture, next. But until then, here is the official update on Baby D and his/her first temper tantrum...

Wednesday I started to feel weird. I can't really explain it other than that, but I just felt... weird. I'm not one to really freak out and call the doctor over every little thing, so I just decided to take it easy and see if the "weirdness" abated - logic being that if things still didn't feel right, I could call in the morning and see what the nurses thought. I didn't take the dogs out on their second walk, took a warm bath, chugged water like nobody's business, sat around with my feet up, and then eventually went to bed. Unfortunately, once I was in bed, I still couldn't get comfortable. My lower back was achy and I kept getting what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions. Just an overall tightening and discomfort, but not particularly painful. I was in and out of bed a few times and overall was a cranky person, you can just ask Mike. I may or may not have thrown a mini-tantrum over wanting ice cream... :)

Thursday morning the discomfort had abated a bit, but I still felt a little weird. Since we were supposed to leave Friday morning for LA, I decided to call the doc just to be safe. Not really my m.o., but hey, better safe than sorry considering an eight-hour drive and a four day holiday weekend were upon us. At noon, I met with Dr. Farias and when she checked things out, all was not well. I was 1 centimeter dilated and 50% effaced. At 26 weeks. Not so good. She said that if I wasn't dilated, the effacement wouldn't be that big of a deal, but the dilation combined with the effacement and my discomfort wasn't good. Baby D was being testy! She decided that a) I was not going to LA and b) was going straight to Labor & Delivery to be monitored. If the discomfort I was feeling were contractions, I would be admitted to stop them. Apparently my hospital tour was going to happen a month earlier than anticipated.

I went in at 1pm and for my first hospital admission in my life, I decided to start with a bang. The discomfort was, in fact, contractions and they were happening every 7 minutes; at their peak, I was having about 15 contractions per hour. Eek! Around 4pm, Dr. Farias swung by and told me they were going to admit me because I was in pre-term labor. I was transferred out of triage to a private room shortly thereafter where they started me on a Magnesium Sulfate IV to stop and/or slow the contractions. Unfortunately, the level I was on wasn't doing much so they had to up the dosage. Talk about loopy! I felt like I had a lazy eye. Trying to have a conversation with the neonatologist was interesting to say the least! But he did make me feel better if Baby D were to come a little early. Just to be safe, I also received the first of two betamethasone (steroid) shots to help develop Baby D's lungs if things went south.

Through Thursday night, I continued to have contractions but not at the same level as during the afternoon (approximately 6-8/hour). Late Friday afternoon, Dr. Farias came by and we rechecked my dilation (still 1cm, hurray!) and did a Fetal Fibronectin test. Even though the test ended up coming back positive, they decreased the IV and I felt a bazillion times better! Immediately after decreasing the IV, the contractions increased again, but once I was given an Ambien and went to sleep, they slowed down. Saturday morning I was only having 2-3 an hour, so they took me off the Magnesium and we started an oral med called Nifedipine. The few contractions I had after the switch were more of a nuisance than painful, and extremely irregular. By the afternoon, the doc had decided that if I continued to tolerate the Nifedipine, I could go home. Hurrah! She said I might continue to have contractions but if they're not doing anything (aka, causing me to dilate), they might be something I just get to deal with for the remainder of the pregnancy. Fortunately, after my second dose of Nifedipine, my blood pressure remained stable, the contractions remained little to non-existent and we were discharged around 5pm.

The entire experience was extremely surreal... I didn't particularly feel scared because I felt extremely well taken care of the whole time (by both the hospital staff and Mikey). I also never really felt like Baby D was threatened or about to make an appearance... but it was an interesting experience to say the least. For now, I will remain on the Nifedipine and have doctor's orders to "take it easy" for the next 8-12 weeks. Not strictly bedrest (thank GOD), but nothing to the level of activity I was at prior to this episode. No heavy cleaning, no dog-walking, no traveling, no over-exertion allowed. This week in particular I've been ordered to putter around and act like I'm snowed in, then at my appointment on Friday we can decide if any slight increase in activity will be allowed. Dr. Farias feels that we can get me to the mid-30's, so we're looking at a February or March baby instead of April. Let's hope we can keep him/her in as long as possible! She has had a few patients go full-term after going through pre-term labor, so maybe we can be that exception as well! We shall see. Now we just have to start getting our Baby D stash put together, considering we have Nada, Zilch, Zero. Online shopping it is!

Big thanks to everyone's thoughts, prayers and well-wishes. Here's to 8+ weeks of being a couch potato!

Cheers,
Mike, Dianne and Baby D