Doctor's appointment

Finding time to blog is difficult. There is so much that I want to write about and document on this crazy journey, but finding time to sit down at a computer is almost impossible. So I found a Blogger app! I can usually get one hand free and write in T9. So entries will probably be a lot shorter and possibly contain some odd word choices, but it's better than nothing.

So, we had our first pediatrician appointment yesterday. It went well except X screamed through most of it. It was his normal feeding time, so that was part of it, and generally it isn't much fun. But he gained 9 ounces in 6 days and seems completely healthy. He is now 9 pounds 9 ounces, 21 inches long and in the 86th percentile for size. Still a chunker.

After the doctor we went to old Chicago for lunch with huge success. X slept through all of it. He is not a fan of his carseat so he was ready to get out of it when we got home, but he did great at the restaurant.

Overall it was a good day, we all got out of the house, X is doing awesome and I'm unbelievably happy.

posted from Bloggeroid

32 Week Appointment

Yesterday we had our 32 week appointment--hopefully I only have two more! Our doctor was an hour late, yeah, fun times. Oh well, I guess Kaiser enjoys making me wait. I still really like our doctor and I just assume something happened that morning. Anyway, I had some mild concerns, nothing that I felt was pressing or urgent (I did wait for my scheduled appointment) but the doctor wanted to check my amniotic fluid anyway. So, I had a wonderful pelvic exam (which gets more painful as I get more pregnant I think) and then a surprise ultrasound!! It wasn't the cool ultrasound where you can see everything, it was just the little machine that they have in the office that they use to check for a heartbeat at 8 weeks--so we couldn't see the whole baby at once--or his face since he was facing my spine, but we could see the back of his head, his spine and ribs, his lungs breathing, his fist and one giant foot. I wasn't expecting that, but it was awesome. His heartbeat was 144 and his lungs looked really good (I think, at least the doctor was happy with it). My amniotic fluid was fine through the exam and the ultrasound, so nothing to worry about. He talked to us a little bit about preterm labor again, reasons to come in or call and gave Mike a DVD on circumcision.

I find it amusing that they have a video. When I was born everyone was circumcised, I think it is more of a decision now. I think most people probably still do have it done, but it is not automatic. The American Pediatric Association doesn't recommend it, but they don't recommend against it either--they say it is a personal and religious decision. Essentially they say that circumcision lowers some risks but very mildly, and that other people say that having foreskin teaches boys better hygiene which then lowers the risks anyway. It also says that the risk of infection FROM the surgery is about the same as the risk of infection from not having it done--so it doesn't really matter.

I think it is Mike's decision, but if there wasn't a Mike I wouldn't do it. First, I am not a guy, so I don't really care or maybe I don't get it. I have had sex with uncircumcised guys and never really cared. It was way easier to get certain things done :) That may be a down side for some guys. No idea. The main reason I wouldn't is because it is painful, and it is just a tiny baby. You can't explain to him that it will hurt, or need to heal. It just hurts him and I would assume it hurts like hell when he pees. Babies can't reason logically, but I am sure they get "when I do this it hurts" scenarios. It seems mean to make a baby's first week result in when I pee it burns. However, risk of infection is really low, they do use numbing agents for the actual procedure and in the long run he won't remember it at all. I don't mind that Mike wants to get it done, I really don't care that much, I just don't want anyone freaking out about it if we chose not to. It is not dangerous either way, it is not a medical decision, it is a personal decision, and if everyone could just acknowledge that I would be a lot happier and not feel the need to educate everyone :) I think there is a lot of misinformation out there about how it will get infected, but there is just as much information saying that an exposed penis is dangerous too--it just isn't as main stream. Neither are cloth diapers, but they are still a really good choice.

Other than that, gigantor is not really gigantic at all. He isn't small or anything, but the doctor did not seem at all surprised by the size and he is measuring perfect at 32 weeks, which I would assume puts him in the 50th percentile--which makes me happy. It is not a very accurate reading, it can be off from 1-2 weeks, but that is no big deal as I want to deliver at 38 weeks anyway :) The baby is tall though. His head is down by my pelvis, the doctor said he can still flip, but probably won't. I always feel him kicking REALLY low and pushing out on my right side so I was confused about him being head down. Well, his head and feet are down there. Essentially his head is down there, his back curves up my right side to about 1-2 inches below my ribs in the center (he follows the rib line from what I can feel) then he folds over so his butt is a little right of center at the top of the belly, and puts his feet back down towards the left where he likes to peddle his feet into my left side and kick outward. I am always sore on that side really low. Sometimes he likes to kick my back and sometimes he moves his butt and flips around (which you can see) or stretches his legs upwards, but since the doctor explained how he was laying it make sense with his movements. I rarely get kicked in the ribs, sometimes punched or pressed on, but I always get kicked in the bladder, spine and belly crease. It doesn't seem comfy to me, but if he is happy I don't care.

Next appointment I get another pelvic exam to check for strep B (36 weeks) and do the heartbeat and measuring thing again. Then at 38 weeks they will check my cervix for dilation and efacement and I hopefully I will go into labor before the 40 week appointment when they talk about induction!

30 weeks!

I am 3/4 of the way done! I will meet my baby boy in 10 weeks. Please dear god let them be short weeks. Brandon measured me the other day and my belly is 39.5 inches around. WHAT? Yeah, I am not sure when that happened either. He also pointed out my cankles. So, I am getting big. I have also gained more than enough weight for the rest of my pregnancy, so it could slow down now, but it isn't I will probably gain at least another 10-15 pounds. Oh well, it is time to get swollen and huge I guess. It is also getting very hard to sleep and move around, plus walking up hills is almost impossible. I also got a crazy leg cramp last night that still hurts now, so that is insane, but apparently just another pregnancy symptom. They really should make a list of all of the shitty things the human body does and then title it pregnancy. Oh well. I passed my GTT test, I think, I am missing the results from the fourth test, but the doctor didn't call, so I think all is good. I did read this really cool article while I was at the hospital though.In baby news:
As baby's skin smooths out, her brain just keeps getting more wrinkled. All those grooves and indentations increase surface area, meaning more room for that oh-so-essential brain tissue. She's also adding some brawn -- her grip is now strong enough to grasp a finger.

You baby's length is about 16 inches—about as long as a laptop computer—and he measures almost 11 inches from crown to rump. He weighs approximately 2 1/2 to 3 pounds. From now until delivery, every baby will gain weight at a more individual rate. Your baby has doubled in height over the past six weeks, and from now until delivery, he'll gain only a few more inches in length. Don't worry if he's in a strange position (what your care provider might call a "transverse lie"). There's still plenty of time for him to get settled into the head-down (cephalic) position for birth. He's floating in about 1 1/2 pints of amniotic fluid and has some room to move. Your baby's most important organ, his brain, continues to develop at a rapid pace. His eyes are able to track light, and some researchers have theorized that exposing your belly to light may stimulate development. Try moving the beam of a flashlight slowly over your belly in a dim room, and see if he reacts.

Mama news:
Your massive belly and nighttime heartburn might be making sleep difficult to come by. If you are able to drift off, you're probably having some strange and vivid dreams -- your subconscious is no less anxious than your waking mind.
You've now been officially pregnant for seven months, and the home stretch is in sight. You're big now, no doubt about it! Your belly is about the size of a watermelon. Tying your shoes is a challenge, and you may already have adopted the pregnant "waddle."

To keep your sex life alive, continue having intercourse unless your doctor says otherwise. Most couples' sex life tapers off temporarily, but this may not be so much a problem of desire as one of engineering. The solution: be creative with positions and techniques.

GTT

Today I am doing my Glucose Tolerance Test to see if the elevated blood sugar from the glucose screening test was actually diabetes or just a freak occurrence. We are obviously hoping for freak occurrence, and I really don't think I have diabetes. However, from a lot of what I have read, I can have low risk factors and still develop it. So anyway, the test.

I had to take another day off of work because it is a three hour test, and afterwards you feel really shitty. So, the doctor told me to get here at 8:00 because fasting is really hard for pregnant women. I ate a sensible dinner last night around 7:00, went to bed, woke up and came in for my test. Yeah, KAISER SUCKS. I hate them. They didn't do my initial blood draw or give me the glucose until 9:05. So I sat there, starving and getting light headed. Then I had to drink some vile stuff. The screening test wasn't that bad, and I was assuming I just drank two bottles. No go, it is different. It is the same amount of liquid, twice the sugar. ICK. Then the lady told me I couldn't leave, I had to sit in their waiting room for three hours. Well....

I came prepared for this. I brought my kindle with a book I am reading. However, my kindle decided to suck and not hold a charge, no idea why. I charged it yesterday and then it was on sleep, now it will not wake up. I am going to file a complaint with Amazon and see if I can get a new one. But, I don't have a book and I can't leave to get my charger. So I went to the hospital gift shop. NO WHERE SELLS BOOKS! What the hell? I practically lived in the hospital in NM and they definitely sell books. However, I remembered in the maternity ward that they have a lending library. They also have a computer. Yeah. That is where I am now. I am supposed to be in the waiting room, but screw them. I am sitting in the nice maternity ward with a computer, books and a TV. Take that Kaiser, I will use the hospital facilities since you suck so much. Unfortunately I can only stay here for a little while, because I have to get my blood drawn again, and again, and again. Every hour until 12:05. I am already so hungry, although the nasty drink did actually help me feel less light headed from not eating.

Fail

I did not show diabetes who's boss. I don't even want to post. That 3rd tri post was supposed to have words, lots of words. But now, I will probably not even edit it. BOO.

3rd Tri

We had our 24 week appointment today. It went really well. I like our doctor a lot so that helps. He is really laid back and his general attitude is that growing a baby is natural and there are lots of variations, so just go with it. I asked about protein intake, and he essentially said if anything our baby is on the big size, so I probably shouldn't worry about him growing. I asked about some mild cramps, he said sometimes they get really bad, sometimes not, don't worry about it unless I have other symptoms. I asked about rapid weight gain, he told me I was normal and just catching up from before. I asked about being tired and gestational diabetics, he said I would take the test next week, I could do it early if I wanted, but really, being pregnant makes some people tired, that I should sleep more. I like this approach. I am such a control freak that having a laid back doctor makes everything so much easier (and less stressful since I could easily take thing wrong). Other than that, they weighed me, took my pulse, and measured my belly. He is measuring about a week ahead of schedule. No biggie. Next time I have my glucose screen. Yuck.

However, I did take pictures today anyway. So here I am at 24 weeks in my favorite gray sweater that makes me more pregnant. You can tell on the middle one because you can see the granny part of my maternity jeans. I am definitely showing now.

Rach, this is proof I love you.

My Baby, Gigantore

I know there are a lot of people who get ultrasounds and then the gender of the baby is different. Sometimes it is hard to tell, or to see, or the baby is uncooperative and the tech has to guess. When we went in for our appointment they asked if we wanted to know the gender. I told them that we did, and if they couldn't tell, could they please fake a reason for us to come back because I just really needed to know (although I was already sure). They covered my belly with goop, put on the wand thing and pulled it right back up "I know what it is, you sure you want to know?" Yeap, it was the obvious, as demonstrated below. For those of you less familiar with ultrasounds, you are looking down at his thigh bones (knees bent so they are under his knee caps), spread eagle, although slightly turned in to other stuff, I guess the placenta since I identified the umbilical cord. The specialist even made a joke about you can't be more sure than that. So, world, meet our little boy.

On Thursday we went in for our 20 week anatomy scan, we went to a perinatologist rather than just a regular sonographer. Although the sonographer we would have seen would have an obstetrical specialty, our doctor recommended the perinatologist so that we could focus on cleft-lip, cleft palette. The baby looked great. All of the major organs were functioning properly, there were no spinal issues, the placenta is far enough away from my cervix to avoid complications and the baby opened his mouth so that the doctor could get a good profile shot of his lip. He also got a shot of just his nose and lip, but I couldn't tell what it was even after he looked at it and showed me. I am glad he thinks the baby is fine.

I am not particularly impressed with the photos we received, although I supposed that is the downfall of a specialist. They spent a lot of time measuring organs and watching them work, and less time getting me good shots of our little boy complete with arms and legs. I think ultrasound photos are creepy anyway, but somehow I still love mine and wish I had more. The doctor did comment on the unusual size of the baby and even double checked my LMP to make sure it was right. The average weight of a baby at 20 weeks is 10.5 ounces. According to LMP I was exactly 20 weeks (although I am still sticking with a date four days early, see other posts for that rundown). My baby weighs 14.5 ounces. Not that an extra 4 ounces is that much, but it is when it is a third of your entire body weight!! Since then I have learned that Mike was 8 pounds 9 ounces when born, my dad had a smart ass remark about Norwegian men in general and my aunt told me my grandma gave birth to numerous 10 pound babies. Numerous. WTF! I am so screwed. Mike on the other hand finds the entire thing hilarious and says things like "we know where those extra 3 ounces are." Oh well, here is my gargantuan baby, even if you can't tell he has arms and legs.

Catch Up

I haven't updated the blog in almost three weeks. I just haven't really felt like it. Usually I blog in the morning, but I have been having a hard time getting to work on time (plus a crazy busy schedule at work) so that isn't really working. At night I just don't really feel like it. Anyway, there is actually a lot going on in baby land.

At the moment the most important is my lack of appropriate clothing. My mom and I went to the second hand store to get some clothes, most of which are awesome. However, I bought a pair of jeans that really don't fit. They are the right size, but they are too low rise or something. Where the jean material ends and the crazy elastic part is too low, so I feel like they are falling off all of the time. Those will be going back. However, this leaves me without any maternity. I don't have a lot of jeans anyway (something I will probably need to remedy after the baby comes too, which will suck because I will be out of money, I should have stocked up all year) and only one of them fits. My wonderful Lucky jeans I can't even zip. So, I have one pair of Gap jeans and their button-ability is quickly decreasing. I also have a few pairs of work pants that I can get by with if I use a bella band, but that won't last long either. I have two pairs of maternity pants, so I have to get at least three more pairs of pants for work and two pairs of jeans, just to make it through one week. I know everyone says I am lucky to be pregnant during the winter, and in general I agree, but I wish I could just throw on a dress and call it good. Damn belly. So, I have been searching Craigslist and will try to make it to some stores tomorrow. I just don't want to spend money on myself two weeks before Christmas! I don't have that kind of money. Crap.

On another note I felt the baby move! The first time I wasn't sure, but I am sure now. I don't feel it very often, but if I lay down and am very still and poke at it a lot I will feel it. Sometimes. We went to the doctor and when I told her she seemed skeptical, but I told her where I felt it and it was exactly where the baby was on the doppler. I can't wait until I can actually feel it more more consistently and when Mike can feel it through my stomach. It will be reassuring when I can feel it too.

I also had my first baby dream. Everyone always talks about how they have these vivid dreams when they are pregnant. I always have had super vivid dreams, so I was expecting them. But nothing, or at least not any more vivid than normal. In fact, I never even dream about being pregnant. I have had quite a few vivid dreams about losing the baby. That sucks. If I have one more dream about going pee and it being full of blood I am going to die. I think it is partially because I need to pee a lot and I dream about peeing and it hurts because I don't wake up all of the time, and my subconscious interprets the pain and fear of miscarriage, even though conscience me recognizes it as "holy crap I am going pee my pants for real this time." Anyway, the other night I had a real baby dream. I dreamt that I was in labor and I passed on the epidural and I pushed a few times and voila there was a baby. It was easy and not painful and at the end I had a beautiful baby boy. I am now convinced that I am having a boy, seeing as this is the only time I have ever dreamt about a baby. Plus, I just think it is a boy. No idea why, I just do.

On the subject of gender, we scheduled our perintologist on January 7th. We could actually have it sooner, but they are booked. I am not sure how they are booked, but they are, so we have to wait until then. It also costs quite a bit more, but since it will be my only ultrasound I want to make sure everything is okay with the baby, and a preintologist makes me feel better about that. If the baby hides its gender, I am going to freak out though, since we don't get another chance.

1st Baby Doc

We went to the doctor yesterday to have our first check up and see the baby. The baby is good--a few days later (or newer) than we thought. The doctor said the baby is 7 weeks 6 days instead of 8 weeks. No big deal now, but come May 23rd I may feel different.

The appointment went well. It was sort of review of everything I can and can't do, but it made me feel a lot better. My chances of having a miscarriage are down to 7% according to her, but I have read that they are as low as 2%. Regardless, that is a hell of a lot better than before. They weighed me and checked everything out. I have a fragile cervix, but it poses no problem for the baby, it just means I will bleed a lot more when I give birth and throughout my pregnancy. Awesome. I asked if it was an infection, and she said no, but still, it is scary no matter what. On the bright side I loved her.

On the down side, she will not deliver my baby. In fact, it will be really random who delivers my baby, and that is just how Kaiser does it, so I can't even find a doctor in my insuranace network that will deliver my baby. It is just random. In some ways this makes it better because when I am in labor and panicking I won't freak out that my doctor isn't there, since that is assumed from the start. It is just sort of weird. I am nervous that whatever Mike and I decide to do for our birth plan won't matter at all. I am worried that I will have to have IVs and continuous fetal monitoring and such. Hopefully at 30 weeks when we go to the hospital to preregister they will help explain that, since really it is mostly nurses and the doctor just catches :)

The only thing really on my mind about it is the genetic testing. I won't have an amniocentesis, I already know that, but Kaiser offers a blood test that could detect many defects and at our 24 week ultrasound they can also look for soft signs of Down's Syndrome, Trisomy 18 and Fragile X syndrome. It won't affect me anyway, I would still carry the baby to term. However, the doctor said some people want to know so that they can mentally prepare. I honestly don't think it is possible to mentally prepare for a baby period. The only concern I have is cleft-lip/cleft-palette. 2 of Mike's nieces have it and we would have to talk to a geneticist to find out our risk. I am sure it is pretty low regardless, but it does occur in his family. The only reason I would care is because I would want to find out about feeding. Since a baby who cannot nurse is significantly different than a baby who can, it would be worth it to know that ahead of time. I think. Maybe. Part of me just wants to assume everything is fine and go on from there. We will see how I feel in a few months.

After we went to the doctor we had lunch where I ate more than I have since I got pregnant, which was nice. Then we played mini-golf and went bowling--it was the best day ever. Mike accidentally hit me in the head with a golf club and it hurt like hell. I have a lump. It made me cry, but I was sort of shocked. It DID hurt, and it made my eyes water, but I cried like a kid does. I think it startled me and made my eyes water and then I cried because of hormones. It was so weird. I remembered what it felt like to be a little kid and cry when you get hurt--it was a weird combo of surprise and pain and just like having my feelings hurt that I got hit with a golf club. Ridiculous, but interesting. Our next appointment is 12 weeks, and we get to hear the heartbeat!! I can't wait.