Full Term!!!

Actually 37+3 today, so 3 days into full-term!  Honestly did not think I'd make it this far, and now I'm wondering if we'll have to actually evict this baby...

Last night I unpacked my first "new" baby thing - a changing table pad.  It sounds silly, but we have so much stuff still from Sam and Abi that I haven't really had to buy anything new.  Our old changing pad, however, is either lost or destroyed (or both), so I ordered a new one and opened it up last night.  I put on a soft off-white cover and got so excited!  Don't ask why.  Pregnancy hormones make weird things exciting and extra-emotional.  Now I want to go buy a bunch more stuff so I can keep getting more and more excited.  It just all of a sudden seemed very real.  Cannot wait to meet this "bebe" - as the kids keep calling it!

We had a great time at Disney last week - our last vacation as a family of four, and our last actual relaxing vacation for a while, I suspect.  The kids had a blast and we all slept way more than I expected - with average wake-up times in the 8:30-9:30am range!  I waddled around the parks while Scott took Sam and Abi on some fun rides.  I did manage to get myself into the People Mover (in Tomorrowland), which is actually pretty fun (if your idea of fun involves slow speed, quiet attractions).  The ride takes you through Space Mountain, which was Abi's only way to experience it (as she's still a few inches too short), so I got to watch her get excited.  We did LegoLand and SeaWorld too, and by the end of the trip, I was definitely exhausted.  Mainly my back hurt from being on my feet so much, but overall I handled it way better than I expected.  Didn't really tell my OB I was going - not sure he would have been so excited about that idea.

Anyway, I'm home now and the clock is ticking.  Been reading about ways to handle labor (besides the obvious epidural) and wondering just when this is going to happen.  It occurred to me today that this little one is just getting bigger and bigger, which is starting to make my dreams of a VBAC much less attractive.  Oh well, we'll see.  I'm happy to just roll with it. =)

35 + 2

130 lbs - no matter what I do I just keep gaining weight...!

I am officially more pregnant with Little Number Three than I ever was with Abi - huge milestone!!!  In fact, when I saw my high-risk OB last week (at 33+6 weeks), he told me that after 34 weeks they would not perform tocolysis (ie, wouldn't stop labor if it happened) and the baby had a 100% chance of survival.  I immediately felt more relaxed at that point and stopped stressing - although I am not really ready for the baby to come just yet, at least I know that he/ she will be healthy and okay if we have an early arrival.  I was officially discharged from the high-risk clinic that day, but I think I still would deliver at Sacred Heart (instead of Eglin) if the baby were born before 36 weeks, because Eglin doesn't have any kind of NICU care.

Here I am now:

Yes, it's a public restroom.  We don't have any full-length mirrors in our house, and I get self-conscious asking anyone else to take a picture.  Lest you think I went in there specifically to take pregnancy pictures, let me tell you that I was waiting on Sam - his feet are just out of the frame of the picture in the stall to the far right. =)

The daily contractions continue but not as strong or frequent as before.  I have also had 3 separate episodes of STRONG contractions (2 today, in fact), that very much remind me of going into labor with Sam.  I hope I'm imagining them, or that they are just Braxton-Hicks.  Although I know the baby would be fine if born today, I have too much to do before Christmas to go into labor!

Fingers (and legs) crossed for 4+ more weeks!

A little smile after yesterday's post - taken today, at 31+2 weeks:

31+1 weeks, 127 lbs (fluctuating, based on this stomach bug that's going around), and baby's still cooking!

And that is the only exclamation point that this post gets.  Skip the next two paragraphs if you don't feel like reading about me complain.  I am getting frustrated with this pregnancy.  The contractions are continuing, and they are painful.  I've had to take several more doses of the Procardia medication to stop them, and it only works for a few hours.  My back hurts from sitting/ lying around, and I am going stir crazy.  I am also starting to panic because I am NOT READY FOR THIS BABY TO COME OUT.  I don't have a name, a crib, diapers, or any of the other 340,852 things that are helpful to have when a newborn is around.  Not to mention Christmas shopping, which can't be done because within a few minutes of walking, I start contracting again.  I would throw in a complaint about how there's no room in my chest to breathe, or how uncomfortable it is to have a foot in my ribcage no matter what position I lie in, but truthfully, I prefer those discomforts to the contractions, and I would really actually LIKE it if those discomforts continued, because it would mean the baby is growing inside me and not coming out.  I really, really, really hope this little one stays in at least until after Christmas, and it would be so, so, SO nice if the contractions would stop too.

I'm sure the contractions are at least partially related to a good deal of emotional stress that's been going on, and it would be nice if that would go away too.  If I could quit my job, I would, in a heartbeat, because the satisfaction I get from going to work at this point is far outweighed by the day-to-day annoyances and aggravation that come with just walking in the door of the hospital.  Then I could focus on spending what limited time I have left with my two perfect kiddos - before the third one throws our daily rhythm into complete chaos (good chaos, I know, but chaos nonetheless).

On the plus side, and speaking of that, Sam and Abi have been wonderful.  They are absolutely doting and sweet and gentle, and have taken to cuddling up next to me kind of curled around my big belly somehow.  Unfortunately, they have also come down with the stomach bug, so the three of us have been pretty pathetic over the last couple of days, resting on the couch and going to bed early.  On that note, it's 9:30pm and my freshly-washed sheets are calling...

Hopefully more positive thoughts next time.

November 15th - 30 weeks tomorrow!!!

It's been harder to keep up with this pregnancy blog thing than I thought...

I had my last plane ride of pregnancy a couple of weeks ago, when I went to DC one last time for a conference (before "hunkering down in the birthing stall," as one of my friends so delicately put it).  Thankfully it was an uneventful trip and I came back on the 4th of November.  The next day, I started feeling some cramping, which got worse just about every time I stood up.  Three days later, it was to the point where I was grimacing every few minutes and leaning way forward in my chair to relieve the discomfort.  I couldn't remember if this was normal "Braxton Hicks" contractions or what, so I asked another girl in my department who is almost exactly as pregnant as me.  As I leaned against the wall in the clinic hallway, focusing on slowly inhaling and exhaling, she told me that she hadn't had any cramping whatsoever.  I decided then that maybe what I was experiencing wasn't completely expected, and so I went to my OB.

From there, he walked me to L&D immediately, commenting along the way that I didn't look very comfortable.  They got me checked in to one of the triage rooms and hooked me up to the baby heart rate monitor and the toco (contraction) monitor.  At first, nothing was registering on the toco monitor, even when I felt certain I was having a contraction.  Then, once the toco monitor was readjusted, the contractions started showing up.  They were beautiful, perfect, rhythmic contractions every 2-3 minutes - exactly what you'd like to see if you were in labor.  Except that I wasn't supposed to be in labor, as I wasn't even 29 weeks.  My OB came in right around then with slightly wide eyes and told me he wanted to give me a medication to stop the contractions.  At that point, they were actually starting to feel very uncomfortable, and I was starting to get more than a little nervous, so of course I agreed.  The medication slowed the contractions within 20-30 minutes, and I was discharged home with plenty of extra to take if they started back up.

Over the next few days, I tried to take it easy, and I really noticed things were better if I sat down and elevated my legs.  On my first day back at work (after a wonderful 3 day weekend), the contractions started right back up.  I took the medication and it calmed things down for about an hour, but then it started back up again.  I called my OB who, of course, sent me right back to L&D.  All the tests showed I was not in labor, but the contractions were real.  They gave me whopping doses of the same medication again, and it again pretty much stopped the contractions.  The problem is that it also lowered my blood pressure and gave me a splitting headache.  Eventually they sent me home, knowing that I had a follow-up appointment with my "high-risk" OB (Maternal Fetal Medicine or MFM specialist) today.

After hearing the events of the last week, the MFM took one look at the toco reading and told me he recommended bedrest.  Acknowledging that I am a physician and that immediately stopping work would be a challenge, he agreed to a compromise, of reduced work hours with a transition to bedrest if things got worse.  From talking with my regular OB, I had been prepared for this, and have already been working with my colleague and commander to start reduced work hours.  I can't say I'm too miserable about that, actually.  The contractions are getting pretty uncomfortable and who wouldn't like some extra time off?  If it weren't for the prospect of the baby actually showing up TEN WEEKS EARLY, I'd be thrilled.  Fingers crossed that the stress associated with working full-time is fully responsible for this turn of events, and that cutting down my hours will keep this little one in for the next 2.5 months. =)

Hopefully no more exciting updates anytime soon!

The final trimester

Oct 24th, 2012

Ok, I'm 26+5 weeks today and this baby is HUGE!!  I am sure I will laugh in another few months when I read this, but I feel like I'm as big as I will probably get.  I do love being pregnant and having my special little belly-shelf to rest my hands on.  Sam and Abi are not as adoring, complaining that the baby is taking up all my lap space, which is where they want to be sitting.  Actually, they are amazing with how excited and sweet they are to the baby already.  Abi in particular loves to come give me a huge hug and kiss and then kisses my belly and says, "I love you, baby!"  Sam loves to feel the baby kick, and today, the little one had hiccups for the first time, which Sam found hysterical.  I love it too.

No excitement since last time, thankfully.  I had another ultrasound which showed this peanut is growing at the 50th percentile - measuring at 1lb, 10oz at last check.  Everything else appears to be status quo.  I did manage to come down with my first cold of pregnancy, which flat-out sucked.  I am still recovering from that, and I have to say, I did forget how horrible it is to make it through 10 days of congestion, sinus drainage, and sore throat without any medication.  Ugh.  Thankfully the kids didn't get it, and they were absolute angels about letting me sleep over the weekend.

I've narrowed down the list of names, I think, although Scott doesn't know it. =)  For a girl, I love Emerson or Madelyn, and for a boy, Ryan or Joshua.  Based on how things went with the 2 previous babies, though, I am sure those names will change more than once over the next 3 months, and ultimately, Scott will come up with the perfect name, as he's done twice before. =)

Almost halfway!

This was written around September 16th, 2012, but I didn't get around to posting it until now...

Halfway (or so)!

21 and ½ weeks – cannot believe how fast this pregnancy is going!  I am finally passing that point where people wonder if I’m pregnant or just letting myself go…there is a definite bump.  This baby is extra cute, at least from the belly profile:

Also notice the super cute boots (to go with the baby).  And they were on sale.

We did have a scare last week.  I went in for what I thought was my routine 20 week high-risk appointment, and the ultrasound showed that this little cutie has a slight heart defect – a VSD.  Abi actually had the same thing, but they didn’t detect it until after she was born.  I guess because I’m “AMA” combined with having a prior pre-term delivery and with Abi having her VSD, this time they did an in utero fetal echocardiogram, which showed the same heart defect.  The VSD doesn’t really concern me that much (maybe it should, but it doesn’t), because it’s a pretty common defect and the OB said it wasn’t particularly hemodynamically significant (ie, baby is still getting good blood flow to all organs).  However, the presence of a VSD apparently increases the risk of birth defects (specifically Down’s syndrome) by 20-FOLD.  So, instead of having a 1 in 889 chance of Down’s, we were looking at a 1 in 45 chance.  Way different odds.  With Sam and Abi, I never had the first or second trimester screening tests, but for some reason being a little older this time I am more paranoid.  The OB offered me an amniocentesis the very same day, with preliminary results in 4 days and final results in 10 days.  I never thought I would have an amnio, ever.  Whenever I thought about it, I just thought about the risk to the baby, with the needle going near all those tiny important structures.  However, at that appointment, that was the last thing going through my mind.  All I could think about was getting the results.  Scott wasn’t even with me, so I called him and I’m sure he was as worried as I was, and said I should do it, because I wouldn’t sleep until I had the results.  He was right.  So I had the amnio on Sept 6^th.

The OB asked if I was allergic to iodine, and I said, no, and I’m not allergic to lidocaine either, so he should feel free to use plenty.  To which he said, “we actually don’t use any lidocaine for this” and proceeded to do the procedure, which was really not bad.  Lidocaine would have been overkill.  I did have some cramping afterwards, but mostly all I could think about was how I was going to survive 4 agonizing days waiting for results.

Well, I survived by going to Washington DC, for a friend's retirement from the Navy, and spending time with some very wonderful friends who did a great job distracting me from the anxiety and worry that would have absolutely otherwise ruled my weekend.  The following Monday, I came back to Florida and immediately called the genetics counselor, who gave me the absolutely fantastic and fabulous news - normal amnio.  A week or so later, the final results confirmed it.  I cried, I was so happy.  This baby growing thing is way too stressful.