28 weeks 5 days

Today's ultrasound went pretty well. Baby J is measuring in the 55th percentile so if he stays in there the full 40 weeks, he will likely be just over 7lbs. Heart, brain, bladder, stomach - everything looked fine and dandy. He was even doing some practice breathing which should start happening around 29 weeks. He was moving his mouth a lot - guess he will be a talker like his daddy. He was no longer head down as he had been on April 5 but I thought that would be the case because I definitely felt him make a big move a few days ago. I felt him completely flip. Now that was freaky. We even got a 3D picture of his face - it is a little covered by the umbilical cord but a handsome little guy none the less.

As for the Previa - I am still considered marginal but I have entered the time when the lower uterus stretches the most, 28-32 weeks. So, I go back for another ultrasound with this specialist in 4 weeks. We will see if any progress is made - if not, I am definitely looking at a c-section and likely looking at some bleeding and bed rest. But it shouldn't have any affect on the baby.

My sciatica has responded well to Acupuncture. It still comes and goes but is definitely much, much better than it was. The pain is dull and infrequent - mainly when I am sitting in the car. I have a treatment tonight and a massage after that. So I am hoping I can ease up on the Acu appointments this week.

I need to take a new bump photo soon. I feel MUCH bigger than I did last time I took one. I have gained a couple of pounds since then too. I will do a weekly update, with a photo, on Thursday.

All's well

Good Dr appt today. Baby J is right on track - 51st percentile in size, heart beat 130.

My sciatica is still bad, not to mention the constipation and hemmorroids - pregnancy is bliss? But, I can't complain really. It is all worth it. Today was my glucose test, should get the results tomorrow. Weight gain is perfect - 14.4lbs at 28 weeks. Dr recommended a maternity support belt to help with the sciatica - I will try anything so we will go get one tonight. The acupuncture is helping some but it is short lived... and gets expensive quickly.

My new nephew T is, of course, another dreamboat. Handsome little guy is doing quite well.

Tuesday is my next U/S with the specialist so I will write again then- hopefully will have a good picture of our boy to post then.

Sciatica sucks

Well, as if worrying about the Previa isn't enough, I am now experiencing some of the worst pain of my entire life thanks to Sciatica. It starting last Thursday night. I didn't know what it was at first but quickly connected the dots on Friday morning. The nurse said not to do much of any sort of activity which was NOT going to happen - we moved last weekend. I didn't carry anything heavy up the stairs but of course I did some things. I couldn't sit back and watch everyone else do all the work. It isn't my personality. So I tried to keep my activity to a minimum but did specifically disobey the direction to not vacuum.

I have been icing, using a heating pad, even sitting with a tennis ball jammed into my lower back to try to relieve the pain. Things work for a little while but not long. I am seeing my acupuncturist tomorrow and I CAN'T WAIT! I just know he can help me out.

On another note, I think we have found a daycare for the baby come October when I return to work. We feel really great about the people we met there when we toured. And the owner came to meet us and chatted for a while. It is a really nice facility and it is right on our street, about a mile from home. I am amazed though just how expensive childcare is. I mean, of course we want to pay for the quality of care he will receive, but it is a large monthly expense - comparable to a mortgage really - more than one of our mortgages actually! So I am waiting for them to provide some references for me to call and hopefully, we will reserve his spot next week. This is a big load off my mind.

Last night I set up the Land of Nod chair that I bought with his name embroidered on it. It was so cool to see his name in writing on"something" and not just in our heads. IJ still wants to keep the name secret so I can't share. but it is only a few more months. So excited to meet my boy!

week 26 update

My baby this week: size of a head of lettuce

Weight Gain: 13 lbs. total. Right on track.

Baby bump: 

Sleep: Still waking up to pee a couple times each night. Not been falling back to sleep easily but that is more likely due to the stress of moving.

Best moment of the week: Getting the nursery painted.

Symptoms: Hungry. Little guy is kicking and rolling around a lot!

Food cravings: Triscuits and chocolate - which I normally do not much care for.

What I miss: Not being winded when I go up the stairs.

What I am looking forward to: Sewing for my nursery. And on a separate note, my sister's baby is coming soon!

Milestones: Last week of second trimester.

Emotions: Stressed about moving. Worried about the previa.

Week 25 update

My baby this week: size of an eggplant

Weight Gain: 12.8 lbs. total. Not bad.

Baby bump: 

Sleep: I wake up at 1:30 and 3:30 just about every night to pee. I am sure the frequency will increase as time goes on.

Best moment of the week: Ordering a piece of furniture for the baby that has his name on it.

Symptoms: Hungry. Little guy is kicking and rolling around a lot!

Food cravings: Triscuits and ambrosia salad (fruit cocktail with almonds, coconut, marshmallows and sour cream)

What I miss: A glass of wine after a rough day at work.

What I am looking forward to: Sewing for my nursery. 

Milestones: Almost in the third trimester.

Emotions: Nervous about the likelihood of a c-section. Excited that we might get to meet our son a week earlier than expected.

Week 24 update

My baby this week: size of an ear of corn

Weight Gain: 11.4 lbs. total. No gain this week. I seem to be in an every-other-week pattern

Baby bump: 

Sleep: Tossing and turning a lot.

Best moment of the week: This was the best and worst moment of the week - As I posted previously about the previa incident. The best thing was finding out it wasn't dangerous and hearing and seeing the baby Thursday and Friday.

Another great moment - deciding on a name! But I have to keep it secret. IJ doesn't want to tell anyone until the baby is here.

Symptoms: Hungry. And hungry!

Food cravings: Salt and avocado

What I miss: Not having to think about everything I lift.

What I am looking forward to: The nursery will be painted in less than 2 weeks! We are moving April 7 so I have had to wait - I just want to get started. 

Milestones: Viability! 

Emotions: Running the gamut and going from one extreme to the other very quickly 

I just knew things were going too smoothly...

***WARNING - post is a bit graphic***

On Thursday night, I was just finishing up a new episode of Grey's Anatomy and decided to hit the hay. I pit stopped in the rest room like every pregnant woman needs to do before bed time. And low and behold - blood. Not bright red and scary, older brown blood but yes, of course still scary. After staring at it for a couple of minutes. I prayed a bit and decided to wake IJ up. I scared the heart of of the poor guy - he was sound asleep. I called the doctor's office and the on-call nurse called back within 15 minutes. 10 minutes later, we were at the hospital. 15 minutes after that, Baby J was hooked up to a fetal monitor. After bracing us by saying she might not find his heart beat right away, there he was, clear as day and right away. Heart beating strong and still moving like crazy. I was also hooked up to watch for contractions.

My doctor came in about 15 minutes later and did an internal exam. He said to expect more bleeding but that if it remained "old looking" not to panic but if there was a lot of it, to call again. They sent me home with instructions to schedule an ultrasound for Friday.

I was in the shower Friday morning and the phone rang by 8:10 - the office opens at 8. They had already scheduled me for the U/S at 9am. IJ and I headed over and saw the little guy moving and shaking. All of his measurements were right on track. And then, there it was. A large whitish area overlapping my cervix. Yes, placenta previa has now been discovered. When I went for the Level 2 Feb 14, the Doctor said it looked like my placenta was "close to" my uterus but he didn't say anything about overlapping. According to this close look, it is definitely overlapping- hard to tell how much because scale is so altered in U/Ss but I would guess about a centimeter. So, it is possible that as my uterus stretches, my placenta will move up (like it normally does) but it may not. If it doesn't, I am likely facing bed rest and a definite C-Section. Which is fine. Since it causes no harm to the baby, I don't care what I have to go through to get him here safely.

For now, I had to take the weekend to rest and I can't lift anything over 15lbs for the rest of the pregnancy. Also, no aerobic activity. They will monitor me with US every 4 weeks and see what happens. I am really hoping I can make it to June before having to be on bed rest. I think I will go nuts if it goes on for months. Even 6 weeks sounds like a lot. But, they could take him out early, likely after 36 weeks. Of course I will keep you all posted on this as it progresses. For now, no bleeding since Friday morning so it seems, for now, we are in the clear.