36 weeks, 2 days I just got back from my weekly Dr's appt. She went over labor and delivery with us. Once I start getting painful contractions, I am supposed to call the Dr, so I can come in and get checked out. I should wait to go in until they are 8 minutes apart. People keep telling me that first pregnancies ALWAYS go overdue, but she said that 80% of babies arrive on time or earlier. She is going to do an exam in two weeks to determine if I am dilated yet. He was kind of active this morning so his heart rate was in the high 150's, which is still in the normal range. I told her that I feel like he moved back up higher, but she said he is still down low. I am wondering if he is a big baby because he seems to take up a lot of space! I guess we will find out when he gets here! My stomach measured 33 cm, but that doesn't really tell us much. Other than that, not much is going on. My next appt is Friday, May 2. I either have a cold or the mold allergens are getting to me. I took Benadryl last night and it seemed to help and then I made the mistake of taking it again this morning so I was a little high at the doctor's office. I have slowed down quite a bit and am fine with that. I have been doing less cleaning and running around and more resting and watching TV. Might as well do it while I can!
2008-04-18 (34 weeks)
35 weeks, 2 days Getting closer! This week has been pretty uneventful. The acid reflux seems to have gotten a little worse. I am punished for even the smallest indulgences and throw up my dinner about 3 times per week. I usually wake up feeling thirsty in the morning so the goal is to drink water fast before the Braxton Hicks contractions set in. These are not painful but its not good to have too many of them. Although a couple mornings ago, I did have a really painful one. But after resting and drinking water, I was fine. It has been a little more uncomfortable to sleep as I get bigger. I feel like I am hurting him in every position I sleep. If I lay on my side, which is what I am supposed to do, I will feel him poke me in my side with his foot and I get scared that I am crushing it! I think he sleeps with his legs spread wide open. So I continue to try to sleep on my side but at an angle. I have a dr's appointment next Friday and then once a week after that. After I recovered from the painful contraction the other day, I made sure that I was really prepared for the real thing. The bag is as packed as it can be. I threw the car seat in the back of the hummer. And I finished all of my baby reading. I feel really calm overall. I don't know if its because I am so prepared or because this is just where my hormones are right now, but I am glad to be calm. What else.....the other night a drunk driver almost ran over me and Adam on 360. We were lucky that he missed swiping us by a few inches. I do feel safer in my 3 tons of hummer for sure, although in this instance, I don't think it would have mattered. I am so glad that Adam doesn't specialize in criminal law defending these people. They get out of being punished and end up back on the road way too often!
2008-04-11 (33 weeks)
Confirmation of the drop!
I am 34 weeks, two days. We just got back from the Dr. I told her that I was sure the baby had dropped so we went into the sonogram room so she could check it out. Sure enough, he is in position to make his exit! Head down, face up! Then she was feeling my stomach and pelvic area to see if she could feel his head in my pelvis. Where she expected the head to be, she felt his shoulder! That means he's wayyyy low. She seemed really surprised, but not concerned. She just told me I needed to keep him in a little while longer! He is measuring 32 (I believe this is the fundal height). On average, this number corresponds to how many weeks you are. But there are also lots of variables, so I am not going to jump to the conclusion yet that he's too small. He has been the exact right measurements on all of the sonograms that I have had.
Some people have asked what it feels like when the baby drops. I might have talked about this in the last entry. Some women don't notice it at all. But Harrison was so high before that you can visibly see that he has moved down. The lower back pain has been pretty brutal and tylenol only can do so much to relieve it. There is a little bit of pelvic pain. I'm waddling. And its just harder to get up and down. I am more tired. I went to the mall yesterday and noticed how slow I was moving. Unfortunately, it hasn't relieved the acid reflux so I am still having to stick to my bland diet. This is when I am supposed to be chowing down on ice cream!!!! Oh well.....
On a good note, the weight gain has slowed down as it typically does at this point. I am holding steady at a 28 pound weight gain. Anything below 35 I will be happy with. This is when Harrison is going to start putting on the weight. He is probably 4 1/2 or 5 lbs and will hopefully pack on 2 or 3 more in the next several weeks. And still no stretch marks and no black line. And although my belly button is flat its not poking out! So when my back starts hurting and I notice the accumulation of new fat when I look in the mirror, I focus on these positive things.
2008-04-02 (32 weeks)
Harrison has dropped I have been suspecting the past few days that Harrison has already dropped. The weight of my stomach seems to have shifted down and there is a lot more pressure on my bladder. Every time I stand up, I feel like I have to go pee. My lower back hurts terribly and I have more discomfort in my pelvic area. I was feeling where his movements were last night and they were in between my hip bones (which is pretty low!) I have been having the Braxton Hicks contractions quite a bit but they aren't consistent. This is all called lightening.
In all of my baby books and online it says that in a first pregnancy, this happens between 2 and 4 weeks before you go into labor. So keeping true to my "real" May 21 due date, that would still be putting him here too early. I am all for him getting here early, but not THAT early. And since he regularly does that "Alien" thing where it feels like he is going to leap out of my stomach, I am convinced this boy wants OUT.
So I decided to call the nurse this morning to tell her what was going on and make sure that I don't need to be taking any precautions to make him stay put. She said that this can happen this early in my pregnancy and I don't need to worry. She said that it sounds like he dropped and also may have flipped around causing the back pain. All I need to do is drink at least 2 quarts of water per day (she said that will help with the pain), and don't worry unless the contractions turn into the bad crampy kind. When I go back to the dr. next Friday, she will be able to give me a better idea of his position. I still have to wonder about this nurse's advice since every single thing I have read tells me this is what happens 2- 4 weeks before delivery, but I guess I have no choice but to believe her! If this is the "4 week warning" that puts him here around May 1, 3 weeks early. Which is a little scary, but would probably be ok. That's all for now!
