I find it pretty incredible that I made it to the ninth month of pregnancy!
I'm happy to say that I'm still feeling pretty good overall. I'm still working full time and probably would continue all the way until my delivery date if my parents weren't coming into town the week before. Since I'd like to spend a little time with them while I'm still independent, my last day of work will be July 29th. I also get my 5 year service award that day, which is a full size, steel sword. Pretty cool!
Today's appointment went fairly well. Baby Eli cooperated with the monitoring session for once, however I had 5 contractions within 30 minutes. Dr. P. ended up checking me to see if the contractions were actually causing any cervical changes (and thus if I was experiencing, or at risk of pre term labor). As it turns out, I'm still closed up tight, so the likelihood of early labor is slim. Unfortunately, that also means that my induction will likely be fairly lengthy unless something changes in the next two weeks...
I also got my prescription for heparin injections today. I'll switching to that twice a day until delivery. We've decided that I will not go back on blood thinners after birth since Dr. P. feels that bleeding complications with my uc outweigh the slight risk of developing a clot.
As far as preparations go, we are just about ready! Baby clothes are washed, hospital bags are packed, car seat is purchased... I have two pediatrician appointments lined up since we have to choose one before the birth. Other than that, we're just in waiting mode.
Today's Stats
Gestational age: 36 weeks, 1 day
Weight: 5 lbs, 14 ounces
Percentile: 33rd
Heart rate: 157 bpm
My weight gain: 12 pounds
Weeks until delivery: 2!
Weeks left of work: 1
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
34 weeks & things are looking good!
We can all breathe a little easier today as the baby is looking very healthy and gained some weight. He's still a little behind his former growth curve, but not as far behind as two weeks ago. He's now in the 40% percentile for his age.
His kidneys are still holding a very small amount of extra fluid, so they will need to be checked by his pediatrician after birth. However, Dr. P. thinks that it will probably resolve without any intervention as the amount is barely over the normal cutoff (6mm instead of 5mm).
In other news, I met with my gastroenterologist last week to discuss my colitis flare and birth options. He said my flare sounds pretty mild and there's a good chance it will resolve by delivery. Even better, he doesn't think there's any need for a c-section at this point since UC doesn't typically cause fistulas unless it's very severe (which mine is not). So, we are currently planning on an induction around August 5th. I'll know the final date and time on Monday!
I'm feeling very fortunate these days. I'm thrilled that I'm almost at the end of the pregnancy (something which I never believed would actually happen, based on my history), and even better, the third trimester has been pretty easy overall. I know of so many women who are just miserable at this point, and I was warned over and over about how difficult it would be. Amazingly, I still feel really good. I'm not experiencing swelling, or varicose veins, or hemorrhoids, or severe heartburn, or almost any of the myriad of third trimester discomforts. My back is a little sore at the end of the day, and I'm slightly more tired than normal, but honestly, I think the first trimester was a lot harder than this one. Dr. P. said she thinks this can be attributed to how much I love my job as I'm really motivated to work as long as possible. She said if I hated my job, I'd probably be miserable and in pain. Interesting, no?
Today's Stats:
Gestational Age: 34 weeks, 1 day
Baby's Weight: 5 lbs, 1 ounce
Fruit Comparison: Honeydew Melon
Weeks until delivery: 4
Weeks until I stop work: 3
My weight change: + 11 lbs
His kidneys are still holding a very small amount of extra fluid, so they will need to be checked by his pediatrician after birth. However, Dr. P. thinks that it will probably resolve without any intervention as the amount is barely over the normal cutoff (6mm instead of 5mm).
In other news, I met with my gastroenterologist last week to discuss my colitis flare and birth options. He said my flare sounds pretty mild and there's a good chance it will resolve by delivery. Even better, he doesn't think there's any need for a c-section at this point since UC doesn't typically cause fistulas unless it's very severe (which mine is not). So, we are currently planning on an induction around August 5th. I'll know the final date and time on Monday!
I'm feeling very fortunate these days. I'm thrilled that I'm almost at the end of the pregnancy (something which I never believed would actually happen, based on my history), and even better, the third trimester has been pretty easy overall. I know of so many women who are just miserable at this point, and I was warned over and over about how difficult it would be. Amazingly, I still feel really good. I'm not experiencing swelling, or varicose veins, or hemorrhoids, or severe heartburn, or almost any of the myriad of third trimester discomforts. My back is a little sore at the end of the day, and I'm slightly more tired than normal, but honestly, I think the first trimester was a lot harder than this one. Dr. P. said she thinks this can be attributed to how much I love my job as I'm really motivated to work as long as possible. She said if I hated my job, I'd probably be miserable and in pain. Interesting, no?
Today's Stats:
Gestational Age: 34 weeks, 1 day
Baby's Weight: 5 lbs, 1 ounce
Fruit Comparison: Honeydew Melon
Weeks until delivery: 4
Weeks until I stop work: 3
My weight change: + 11 lbs
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Nursery Decorations
This past long weekend was a productive one. We finished framing and hanging pictures, broke down a mountain of boxes, washed and folded baby laundry, put together the stroller, packed the hospital bag, took a trip to Ikea, and Chad finally tackled cleaning up and organizing our disaster office. Somewhere in there I found time to get a massage (wonderful) and we watched 3 towns' fireworks shows from our back yard. Oh, and I nearly blew us all up by starting an inferno in our gas grill... luckily I managed to turn the propane off before it caught fire too. Anyone know how to clean fire extinguisher foam off a grill?? :-P
Now that the nursery is done, I'm feeling much less stressed. It's really starting to set in that this baby will be here in just a few more weeks! I'm excited and nervous at the same time -- I can't wait to meet him, but I'm also really not looking forward to the delivery part...
Anyway, here are a few pictures of the nursery:
My next ultrasound is tomorrow afternoon, so I will update you afterwards with the latest stats.
Now that the nursery is done, I'm feeling much less stressed. It's really starting to set in that this baby will be here in just a few more weeks! I'm excited and nervous at the same time -- I can't wait to meet him, but I'm also really not looking forward to the delivery part...
Anyway, here are a few pictures of the nursery:
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| We spent an afternoon painting these. |
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| The tree and monsters are vinyl decals. |
My next ultrasound is tomorrow afternoon, so I will update you afterwards with the latest stats.
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