This week I've ticked over to 28-weeks pregnant and officially into the last trimester. Entering the last trimester I've found things getting a little more about the business end having a baby - which makes a lot of sense I guess.
This week I've had a pre-admission interview with the private hospital we are having the baby at and I'm sorry to report it was a dead set downer.
Making it to this pregnant is still amazing to me. And for the past few weeks I've really enjoyed being pregnant and started believing I will have a baby soon. I do still sometimes catch myself, and think 'don't count your baby before it's born' - but then I feel the little munchkin kicking away and I'm back to thinking about the much more likely scenario of having a real small person of our own soon.
The telephone pre-admission call didn't start well. I'd missed my initial appointment, so this time I was on the ball waiting for the call, that didn't come. I followed up after half an hour and soon enough I got a call from a midwife. After going through the basics I hit the wonderful question regarding what number pregnancy this is, whether I'd had any miscarriages and terminations. The joy of explaining this is my sixth pregnancy and we've had no children. Then having to remember every lost pregnancy and every hospital the procedures were done in. Trying to explain the heterotopic pregnancy. It was bloody hard - and confusing. She was rushing ahead, getting the details wrong. In the end I was so flustered I couldn't even remember when one of the miscarriages happened. After we went through this history she then asked whether this pregnancy was naturally conceived. Uhmmm, no, it was IVF - did you not just take down my left fallopian tube and then my right fallopian tube were removed due to ectopic pregnancies?
For the past weeks I'd put thoughts about the losses behind and was just enjoying this pregnancy, so all that was a bummer. The midwife then asked about gestational diabetes. I'd just done the test on the weekend and my obstetrician had confirmed that I wasn't diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Yay. He did mention that my numbers were on the high side of normal, so he would keep track of the measurements of baby just to make sure everything was okay on that front. So I tell the midwife I'd been tested and it came back negative. She looked up my results and then proceeded to lecture me on my numbers being high and that I didn't want to get gestational diabetes. I told her my ob said he'd keep an eye on the baby's measurements. She continued telling me I should be watching what I eat and only eating low GI. If I get gestational diabetes the likelihood of me getting diabetes later in life is increased. Oh and did I know I was already overweight, which puts more pressure on the body and the insulin resistance that can develop...
Yes, I did know I was overweight. Yes I know the risks of gestational diabetes. Yes I got your brochures on breast feeding but figured until I had a baby to try it out with it probably wasn't worth reading. Can we move on now and focus on the miracle that I'm actually 28-weeks pregnant. No, let's talk about my mental health. How am I feeling? Well, now that I'm thinking about the fact that I'm overweight, and that even though I don't have gestational diabetes you've made me panic about my chance of still developing it and remembering the 6 babies I've lost over the past four years, I'm feeling a little sad actually. But 30 minutes ago, I felt great and yes I can cope with the house work, or cope if the house work doesn't get done. Believe me, I've got that down pat.
My first midwife experience and I didn't love it. Yay. So glad I have an awesome, non-panic instilling obstetrician that I get to see instead of seeing scary, kind-of-heartless midwife.
Our next obstetrician's appointment is just over a week away. At our last appointment our ob did the scan to check baby's measurements and mini matty is shaping up to be a big boy. His head measured on the 75th percentile, his femur measured 5cm, which was smack bang in the middle on the 50th percentile, but his abdomen measured on the 97th percentile! He averaged out as being on the 80th percentile and weighing an estimated 965 grams. Apparently all that is fine, if he is just growing to his genetic potential. The key is the measurements that will be taken at our next appointment and whether mini matty is still growing at the same rate. Growing too quickly, getting too big is the problem, and the key problem for gestational diabetes - that I don't have, but apparently I don't get to relax about that until these next measurements are done and (fingers crossed) mini matty measures on around the 80th percentile still.
The pre-admission phone call is a blip and I've been back to loving it again. Last night I did some research and decided what type of bouncer I'd like to get... imagine our own little person bouncing away...
Showing posts with label baby moving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby moving. Show all posts
Friday, August 2, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Holy pregnant - almost 25 weeks!
I have completely lost my blogging mojo and I'm missing sharing all the good stuff.
Funnily enough, I've gone back to work for few weeks and being busy during the day seems to make me able to achieve so much more outside of my work hours too. So while I'm on this roll with work, I'm going to TRY to get back to blogging about all the good stuff going on.
I think I am a really a very lucky pregnant person. I have felt well for all but one week of the 25 weeks so far. That one week in the first trimester I had a little nausea and a disgusting taste in my mouth, but then it stopped. Hooray! I've had no cravings and I haven't been off any foods either. I can still cook and eat anything I used to. I almost feel like I'm gloating, having heard so many other horror stories.
In the past couple weeks, corresponding with going back to work, I did have a bit of water retention, resulting in puffy feet and fingers, but this week that seems to have stopped. I hope it stays that way! I did start to think this must be the beginning of the bad stuff that comes with the pregnancy progressing.
Oh, and while I remember, I've also had sore hips a little bit. I noticed I can't sleep on one side for too long. Standing and walking around for long periods also plays with my hips. But then again, my husband also complained of having a sore back and hips after doing the pregnancy and baby expo, so maybe it isn't just a pregnancy problem!
About five weeks ago I started being able to feel our baby moving. How amazing is that! Over the past three weeks those movements have become quite strong and more spread out across my tummy, not just down low where I could initially feel them. The movements were finally strong enough I could feel them gently when I pressed against my tummy in the right spot, but I had the advantage of also being able to feel them on the inside.
About a week or so ago I commenced the process of trying to get my husband to be feeling at the right time. I think it was a little annoying and disappointing for him because he couldn't feel it. He is also worried about pressing too hard and hurting the baby. A few nights ago the baby was very, very busy and doing big turns. I had my arms crossed my tummy and felt it give me a shove. So I got husband's hand in the spot just above my belly button and it all came together at the right time and our baby gave two big kicks exactly where my husband's hand was. Again, it was just amazing! I was so thrilled that at last my husband could feel the baby.
We have our next obstetrician's appointment tomorrow. We are still only going every four weeks at this stage. I think this appointment will be about measuring the baby. Between 24 and 28 weeks is when they test for gestational diabetes and the measurements taken at the 24 weeks appointment are then compared with the 28 weeks appointment to make sure baby isn't growing too quickly. In between these two obstetrics appointments I will also be sent to undertake a glucose tolerance test. For those of you that haven't had the pleasure of doing one of these tests, they take blood after fasting, and then again each hour for two hours after I've consumed a measured amount of fizzy drink.
Being a heavier person to start with I have been quite careful about trying not to gain too much weight during the pregnancy. To date I've gained three kilograms and I'm hoping to keep my overall weight gain to under eight kilograms - this is within the recommended guidelines for someone with a higher body mass index at the start of pregnancy.
Early on I was worried that people would just think I was fatter, and not pregnant. I still think people who didn't know me would wonder "is that lady pregnant, or just fat?" I can really tell the difference as all my clothes don't fit around the waist! Personally I think I'm really beginning to look pregnant which is pretty fun. I've had to buy maternity wear in the past couple of weeks, and as it turns it, nothing makes you look more pregnant than wearing maternity wear.
One last awesome pregnancy thing, how good is my hair and my skin! My hair suddenly grew at light speed and looks beautiful. My face feels so smooth and soft - seriously people are commenting on how good I look.
Happy, happy pregnancy days right now. Here's to a continued healthy, trouble free pregnancy.
Funnily enough, I've gone back to work for few weeks and being busy during the day seems to make me able to achieve so much more outside of my work hours too. So while I'm on this roll with work, I'm going to TRY to get back to blogging about all the good stuff going on.
I think I am a really a very lucky pregnant person. I have felt well for all but one week of the 25 weeks so far. That one week in the first trimester I had a little nausea and a disgusting taste in my mouth, but then it stopped. Hooray! I've had no cravings and I haven't been off any foods either. I can still cook and eat anything I used to. I almost feel like I'm gloating, having heard so many other horror stories.
In the past couple weeks, corresponding with going back to work, I did have a bit of water retention, resulting in puffy feet and fingers, but this week that seems to have stopped. I hope it stays that way! I did start to think this must be the beginning of the bad stuff that comes with the pregnancy progressing.
Oh, and while I remember, I've also had sore hips a little bit. I noticed I can't sleep on one side for too long. Standing and walking around for long periods also plays with my hips. But then again, my husband also complained of having a sore back and hips after doing the pregnancy and baby expo, so maybe it isn't just a pregnancy problem!
About five weeks ago I started being able to feel our baby moving. How amazing is that! Over the past three weeks those movements have become quite strong and more spread out across my tummy, not just down low where I could initially feel them. The movements were finally strong enough I could feel them gently when I pressed against my tummy in the right spot, but I had the advantage of also being able to feel them on the inside.
About a week or so ago I commenced the process of trying to get my husband to be feeling at the right time. I think it was a little annoying and disappointing for him because he couldn't feel it. He is also worried about pressing too hard and hurting the baby. A few nights ago the baby was very, very busy and doing big turns. I had my arms crossed my tummy and felt it give me a shove. So I got husband's hand in the spot just above my belly button and it all came together at the right time and our baby gave two big kicks exactly where my husband's hand was. Again, it was just amazing! I was so thrilled that at last my husband could feel the baby.
We have our next obstetrician's appointment tomorrow. We are still only going every four weeks at this stage. I think this appointment will be about measuring the baby. Between 24 and 28 weeks is when they test for gestational diabetes and the measurements taken at the 24 weeks appointment are then compared with the 28 weeks appointment to make sure baby isn't growing too quickly. In between these two obstetrics appointments I will also be sent to undertake a glucose tolerance test. For those of you that haven't had the pleasure of doing one of these tests, they take blood after fasting, and then again each hour for two hours after I've consumed a measured amount of fizzy drink.
Being a heavier person to start with I have been quite careful about trying not to gain too much weight during the pregnancy. To date I've gained three kilograms and I'm hoping to keep my overall weight gain to under eight kilograms - this is within the recommended guidelines for someone with a higher body mass index at the start of pregnancy.
Early on I was worried that people would just think I was fatter, and not pregnant. I still think people who didn't know me would wonder "is that lady pregnant, or just fat?" I can really tell the difference as all my clothes don't fit around the waist! Personally I think I'm really beginning to look pregnant which is pretty fun. I've had to buy maternity wear in the past couple of weeks, and as it turns it, nothing makes you look more pregnant than wearing maternity wear.
One last awesome pregnancy thing, how good is my hair and my skin! My hair suddenly grew at light speed and looks beautiful. My face feels so smooth and soft - seriously people are commenting on how good I look.
Happy, happy pregnancy days right now. Here's to a continued healthy, trouble free pregnancy.
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