Weekly Update - Almost There

36 Weeks, 6 Days

I had my weekly OB appointment this morning. I was anxious to find out whether or not my blood pressure had stabilized since my last visit, and of course, I wanted to know if I had made any "progress" in the past week. Here's a quick update of where things currently stand nearly 37 weeks into my pregnancy:

• I lost a pound since last week. I celebrated this fact by enjoying a big chocolate shake with my lunch.
• My blood pressure was normal (for me). It was in the high 120s/80s; I can't remember the exact reading.
• Dr. H. ordered more blood tests to monitor my platelets, which were abnormally low at my last visit. She just called to inform me that they had gone up from 94,000 to 109,000....it's still lower than normal, but it's improving! My liver enzymes were normal as well.
• I'm not dilated or effaced (damn it!), but the baby's head has dropped significantly. She said she could feel it under my pubic bone. That explains the discomfort I've been feeling lately (ie: a ton of pressure in my pelvis.) The doc said his positioning is normal and a good sign. She said for some women, the baby's head stays really high until the due date, and then the baby has a lot further to go when labor begins. Looks like Baby V has already got a "head start."
• My fundal height is measuring 36 cm, which is what it measured last week. Dr. H said this isn't because the baby is not growing, but is due to the fact that the baby's head has dropped pretty low into the birth canal.

Sorry if this is TMI for all your blog followers. I just like to record these things so I don't forget them later. Stay tuned for more news!

Huge Relief

36 Weeks, 4 Days

We had an ultrasound this morning to check on Baby V in these last few weeks of pregnancy. I'm happy to report that it's all good news! He's right on target for his size (in the 65 percentile) and my amniotic fluid levels are where they should be.  The radiologist estimates that he's around 6 lbs, 12 ounces. If he stays in there until 40 weeks, he'll likely pass the 8 lb. mark! Big boy!

Other than learning that our sweet bun is just about perfectly baked, this was the least climactic ultrasound we've had to date. We really couldn't see much in terms of anatomy or facial features because the baby is so large now.  He was also blocking his face with BOTH of his hands the entire time, so the radiologist wasn't able to give us a take home pic. We were able to see that all his vital organs are working properly, including his kidneys, bladder, stomach and heart. He has a nice healthy head of hair as well. We also got a glimpse of the family jewels, thus confirming for the third and final time that it is, in fact, a boy. :)

In other news: WE OFFICIALLY HAVE A NANNY! I was hesitant to post anything on the blog until we were finished with our search because I didn't want to jinx things. A little more than a month ago, I connected with a new mommy via a listserve comprised of families that live in Southeast Baltimore. She posted a message saying that she was looking for another family with a newborn to join her in a nanny share when she goes back to work in July. I emailed her letting her know our situation, and we decided to meet in person. We immediately hit it off and after talking over coffee, decided that our childcare needs aligned perfectly and we'd go into the nanny share together. From there, we threw together a job description and posted it on Care.com to begin soliciting applications/resumes. We interviewed four candidates in person, and more over the phone, before deciding on the final one today. We offered her the job today and she accepted (pending a background check.) We're working on finalizing the contract as we speak and hopefully things will be signed, sealed, and delivered by this weekend. What a relief!

Bit of a Scare

36 Weeks, 3 Days

Here I am! Just days away from being considered full term (which is 37 weeks)! Can you believe it? I certainly can't. I feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER, while at the same time, it seems as if it was just yesterday I got a positive pregnancy test.

Looking puffy in the hospital...

We had a bit of a scare last Thursday. It all started when I went in for my weekly baby appointment at 8:30 am. All was pretty normal. My doctor finally "checked" me for the first time. Not exactly comfortable, but I'm anxious to learn whether or not I'm showing signs of impending labor. She could feel the baby's head; I wasn't dilated or effaced yet. Baby V is sitting really low and his head is pressed right on my bladder, which is the reason for the pain I've been experiencing these past few weeks. We listened to his heartbeat and it was right on target in the 140s. They also tested me for Group B Strep, which is standard procedure for all pregnant women between 35-37 weeks. If you test positive, you have to be on IV antibiotics during labor to make sure you don't pass it on to the baby.* Dr. H estimated that he's around 6 to 6.5 lbs by now. Everything about my check-up was normal, except for my blood pressure. It was abnormally high at 140/90. It was enough for Dr. H to be concerned so she ordered some tests to rule out a dangerous pregnancy condition called preeclampsia.  She also wanted to see me for a follow up appointment on Monday, rather than wait another week to see me so that she could check my blood pressure. So, after scheduling another appointment, Vicente and I waddled down to the diagnostic center to get my blood drawn. After that, I decided it was best to take the rest of the day off from work. I was feeling very anxious from the doctor's warnings, and we both thought it would be a good day to get some rest and get me off my feet. I'm glad we did. Around 3 pm, Dr. H called me with the lab results. She said that while my liver enzymes were normal, my platelet count was low (94,000). When paired with high blood pressure, that could indicate preeclampsia, so she asked that I come into the hospital right away for further testing and monitoring of me and the baby.

Vicente and I packed up the remainder of our hospital bag and drove back up to GBMC for the second time that day. I was pretty overwhelmed. Mostly, I was worried for the baby's sake. It was scary to think that I could be induced that day if something had been wrong. Long story short, I turned out to be fine. I was at the hospital for a couple of hours, during which time the nurses took serial blood pressure readings and monitored the baby's heartbeat. Oddly enough, all my BP readings were normal, and thankfully Baby V's heart rate was fantastic. Dr. H. popped in to tell me she did not think I had preeclampsia, but she thinks I have thrombocytopenia (aka: low platelets), a fairly benign condition that many women develop in pregnancy. She ordered a fetal growth sonogram for the following Tuesday (which is tomorrow) just to make sure the baby is growing as he should, but she has no reason to believe he isn't. I'm just happy I get to see my sweet babe one more time before he's here!

*Update, I found out this morning that I tested positive for Strep B, so I'll have to get IV antibiotics to protect baby V during birth. It's very common...one in four pregnant women have it. Luckily, being on IV antibiotics greatly reduces the chance of passing it on to your little one during delivery, so God willing, everything should be OK. I guess this is one of those reasons why prenatal care is so important!

Saturday walk in Patterson Park

Trying to walk this baby right out!
Like how my jacket still  fits?

Antsy and Uncomfortable

35 Weeks, 3 Days

Who knew a 35-week baby bump made
such an awesome table?

I've been having a lot of new pregnancy symptoms in recent days. Maybe it's because I'm a month away from my due date and hyper aware of my body. Every single new sensation I feel, my brain shifts into high gear and I ask myself, is it time? IS IT TIME? Trust me, I'm in no rush to go into labor. I want Vince to stay in there as  long as he needs to in order to be fully baked.  But, I am really anxious to have him here and the anticipation is killin' me.

One thing that's new: I think the baby started to descend into my pelvis this weekend. On Saturday, I started having occasional stabbing pains in what feels like my bladder - a sensation similar to what a bladder infection can feel like. It's not constant, but it does come on suddenly and it's uncomfortable enough to stop me in my tracks. I'll bring it up with my doctor at my next appointment on Thursday, but based on everything I've read, this is likely a sign that the baby is beginning to "drop" into the pelvis in preparation for birth. It happens to first-time moms around 2-4 weeks prior to delivery. So, the timing would be just about right for me.

Also, my Braxton Hicks contractions are getting notably stronger. When I first started feeling these around three weeks ago, they were completely painless. All I felt was a tightening in my belly. While I still have similar BH contractions every day, occasionally I'll get a painful one. Like today, for example.

I'm sure these updates are super boring to anyone reading this, but I wanted to document these new feelings for myself (for future reference) while they were fresh in my head. It's nothing I'm particularly concerned about. I think it's mother nature's way of preparing me both physically and mentally for D Day.

If these are signs that labor is imminent, at least I know we're ready for it! Vicente and I packed our hospital bag last night and installed the car seat in my Honda. :)

Can I have some cheese with my whine?

35 Weeks

Photo taken at 34 Weeks, 3 Days

Well, I hit the 35 week mark today! Only 35 more days until I can hold my boy in my arms instead of lugging him around in my belly. Also, 35 more days until I can again drink the sweet nectar of life that is vodka soda with lime.

My mom is coming into town this weekend to help with last-minute baby stuff. She and Van are planning to come up to Baltimore one more time in early April before the baby gets here, but that's more to visit than to get things ready for baby. I'm only two weeks shy of being "full term" and I feel like this baby could technically come any day now. Not that Braxton Hicks contractions are necessarily a precursor for early labor, but it does have my baby radar on high alert these days. I'm just waiting for my water to break at my desk every time I feel a BH come on. This weekend, I want to get EVERYTHING else taken care of that I need to just in case baby V wants to make an early entrance. Mom's going to help me pack my hospital bag in addition to a few shopping excursions to Home Depot, Target, and Babies R Us to stock us up on everything we'll need. Sounds like a fun weekend, no? Haha.

As I look back and read my earlier blog posts, especially the one I wrote at 29 weeks, I can't help but laugh at my pregnancy journey thus far. Only now do I truly understand what it feels like to be REALLY pregnant. I waddle everywhere. I have the intense urge to pee at least once an hour...even when I don't really have to go at all. I have pinched nerves in my back that makes walking uncomfortable  not to mention some pelvic pain if I overexert myself. All I dream of doing after work is lying on the couch with my feet propped up watching HGTV or the Food Network with a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich in hand. The highlight of my evenings is when I drape myself across Vicente's lap and he rubs me until I fall asleep around 8:30 pm. Have I become a totally frumpy cliche? Maybe. But I dare anyone who hasn't been 35 weeks pregnant to judge me for it!

Word Vomit

34 Weeks, 3 Days

There's something about late pregnancy that has reduced the effectiveness of my brain-to-mouth filter. I was on my way to the bathroom at work this afternoon when a male coworker came up behind me rather suddenly and asked how I was feeling. Honestly, all I was thinking about at that very moment was how baby V's head was pressing down on my bladder and I was doing everything in my power NOT to pee in my pants. I responded rather shortly, "Fine. Just trying to make it to the bathroom without incident."

He seemed a little confused and responded: "Um, OK." Poor guy.

Anyway...

Baby Update

33 Weeks, 6 Days

Wow, I've been doing a lot of blog posting this week. Go me!

I had yet another prenatal doctor's appointment this morning. Everything is perfectly normal. I only gained 3 lbs since my last visit. Yay! My doctor said the weight gain will taper off now that the end is near. I shouldn't gain more than 5 additional pounds. My blood pressure is perfect, and the baby is measuring exactly where he should at 34 weeks. The doc pressed around on my belly and said the baby's head is definitely down, and he's lying on his side so that his butt is pointed straight up toward the top of my uterus and his feet are firmly planted into the right side of my abdomen. His heart rate was in the 150s, but it spiked to the 160s as the nurse was monitoring it due to the baby stretching and squirming. She laughed because she could see his feet pushing out on my right side. Love that little guy (who is approximately 5 lbs now!)

I asked my doctor about the frequent Braxton Hicks contractions I've been having and she said they're perfectly normal. I also mentioned the pelvic pain and she recommended buying a belly band to help support my growing bump which is putting some strain on the ligaments in my pelvis. I'll check it out, but it sounds really uncomfortable. Like, worse than Spanx.

She also asked me if I planned on getting an epidural. I said TOTES! Apparently, my doc is very liberal about administering epidurals (music to my ears) so as soon as they determine I'm in active labor, I'm allowed to get one. She said it's ideal to wait until I'm at least 4 cm dilated to get one. I'll try to hold out as long as I can so that we don't unnecessarily slow down the labor process.

She'll see me again in two weeks, and then once a week until my due date. I'm getting so excited!

My sister Ashley had a prenatal visit today as well. What are the odds? She reports that baby Emma is doing great!

Hospital Tour

33 Weeks, 5 Days

Labor Room

Last night, Vicente and I took a guided tour of the OB floor of the hospital where I'll be delivering (Greater Baltimore Medical Center.) My doctor recommended that we take the tour since we opted to skip childbirth classes. She said it would be helpful to see the hospital and the delivery rooms so that we'd know what to expect when D Day finally comes. I'm glad we went, although nothing was particularly surprising to me.

Here's how it should all go down if everything goes according to plan...

Once my contractions start coming close together at regular intervals and my doctor tells me "it's time," Vicente and I will trek up to GBMC (hopefully with mom in tow if she's in town) which is about 30 minutes from our house. We can conveniently pull into valet, or he can drop me off at the front lobby and go park in the nearby garage.  I'll get checked in and then wait until the nurse comes to get me. From there, I'll be taken to a private pre-admission room with a fetal monitor to determine the frequency and intensity of my contractions. A nurse practitioner will do an exam to determine how far along I am in the labor process and then she and/or the doctor on duty will decide to admit me if I'm in active labor.

From there, I will be taken to my own room where I will labor and ultimately deliver the baby (assuming all goes well and I don't require a C-section.) Hopefully I'll make it to the hospital with plenty of time to receive an epidural. I don't see the point in experiencing the excruciating pain of childbirth when there are perfectly safe options to help moms cope with the pain. Although I 100% respect other people's decisions to go with natural childbirth. I can have up to four visitors in the labor and delivery room with me at a time, even when I start pushing. However, I only want V and my mom in the room when that intensely private time to push finally comes. My knees started shaking when I was in that room just thinking about what the whole experience is going to be like. EEK.

Once the baby is out, they'll take him to an incubator in the corner of the room to weigh him, suction out his mouth and nose, give him a shot of vitamin K, perform the Apgar tests, and put some gel on his eyes to protect them from infection. Then they'll bring him back over to me to hold and snuggle while the doctor works me over. I'll recover in the same room for about an hour, and hopefully the baby will be happy and healthy and we can keep him with us during that time. I learned that I get to breastfeed in that first hour after delivery, should I choose, and I'm really excited about that. I have no idea why, but it seems like such an incredible bonding moment. I'm getting all teary eyed just thinking about it.

From there, I'll be wheeled down to another private room where I'll spend the rest of my hospital stay. Baby V will be pushed by his daddy down to the nursery where he'll get worked over my the nursing staff. That's when he'll get his first bath, have his footprints taken, get some blood drawn and have his first vaccination. I'm sure a lot of other stuff goes on during that time, but they didn't get into the details. Once the nurses are done making my baby cry, they'll bring him back to our room where we can have him "room in" with us for as long as we want. Some new parents prefer to keep their baby with them the whole time, while others ask to send the baby to the nursery so that mom can get some rest after the exhausting labor experience. At this moment, I want the baby to stay with us in the room, but I'm not firmly committed to that because I have no idea how I will physically feel in the moment.

So, that's that! I should only have to stay in the hospital for 1-2 nights if all goes well. I'm starting to get pretty anxious about the whole thing, but I feel a lot more prepared now that we took the tour!

That Awkward Moment When...

33 Weeks, 4 Days

So...a really awkward/slightly amazing thing happened to me about an hour ago. I walked next door to a my favorite local deli to grab lunch (a tuna melt, in case you were curious) and as I was waiting in line to pay, a respectable-looking man walks up to me and says in a loud voice:

"Can I just say you look absolutely amazing?!? I was just telling my buddy here that you are by far the sexiest pregnant woman I've ever seen."

I subsequently turned 50 shades of red. Inappropriate? Yes. Awesome? Yes.

While I would normally frown upon public displays of sexual harassment, I gotta say, this one is an exception.

I certainly DON'T feel sexy these days. Yes, I think pregnancy is a beautiful thing, but it doesn't really make me want to shake my tail feather all over town. Right now, I feel like a planet. And just to give this guy's sexy comment a bit of comical context, check out this photo I took last night. Sexiest pregnant woman you've ever seen? I'll let my husband decide. LOL!

Oompa Loompa Doopity Doo...

33 Weeks, 3 Days

View from the top

Not much to share today other than this incredibly ridiculous "selfie" shot that I took last night before getting into bed. My feet are almost completely obscured by my enormous belly bump nowadays. Unfortunately, it makes it difficult to enjoy my colorful pedicures. FYI, my feet don't always look this red. I had just gotten out of the bath about 15 minutes prior to taking this photo. Multiple Facebook friends have pointed out that it looks like I have Oompa Loompa feet. Ha! True that.

Vicente and I didn't do much this weekend other than relax and enjoy some quality time together. Friday night,we went to our favorite dinner spot, Salt, with Jess for some delicious grub. I ordered two appetizers for dinner since I can't seem to fit a full entree into my oppressed stomach these days. Saturday, we went to the mall and waddled around for a couple hours. We ordered pizza in for dinner and finally watched Argo. Good stuff. Sunday, I got a pedi and washed all of Baby V's bedding, towels, washcloths and blankets. I'm saving the layette laundry for when my mom comes in town again in a couple of weekends. She's much better at laundry duty than I am, and I'm afraid I'm going to shrink and ruin all of little Vince's expensive new clothes.

This week, I continue my search for nanny candidates in tandem with the other new mommy I found online. We're currently using Care.com to advertise our job description and have received several applications from various candidates, but only a couple of those are worth exploring further. I'm trying to set up some additional phone interviews this week, and hopefully we can all get together before the week's end for some in-person interviews. Wish us luck!

Braxton Hicks

33 Weeks

This week, I started to experience Braxton Hicks contractions. Up until this point, I've had maybe 3 or 4 random contractions spread over a couple weeks, and usually during the night. However, I woke up on Wednesday morning experiencing a tightening sensation in my belly, which continued throughout the entire day. At first, I thought it was the baby getting into a really awkward position with his butt pointed straight out. When I looked down at my belly during one of these episodes, it looked pointy and was as tight as a snare drum. There wasn't any pain associated with the sensation, it was just uncomfortable. Anyway, all day at work on Wednesday, I felt the contractions occur 2-3 times an hour. I was so busy that I wasn't able to time them, but I knew they were Braxton Hicks so didn't think to call my doctor. By 4 pm, however, I figured it wouldn't hurt just to call her and let her know what was up. I spoke to the nurse practitioner, who paged the doctor on call. As soon as the doc called back, she advised me to go to the hospital just to make sure it wasn't pre-term labor. Honestly, I was a bit surprised that her advice wasn't to go home, lie down, and drink some water. I'm not a drama queen and felt that a hospital visit was a bit unnecessary. But it's always wise to follow doctor's orders. And since this is my baby's health we're talking about, I decided not to play around. The doc said sometimes during the third trimester, Braxton Hicks can be difficult to differentiate from pre-term labor, and if it was pre-term labor, there are things they can do to stop it if you haven't already progressed too far.

So, around 4:30 pm I ducked out of work and drove to Greater Baltimore Medical Center to get checked out. I called Vicente and my mom on the drive up there, and told them not to worry. V was so sweet and said he was going to walk and feed the dog in case this was the "real deal" and he'd meet me up there.

I checked in and was immediately hooked up to a fetal monitor. (I assume this is the room I'll go to when I'm truly in labor to determine what stage I'm in, etc.) I instantly heard my little guy's heart pounding away in the 150s, which was reassuring. I had some belly discomfort right when I laid down on the hospital bed, which was reflected on the fetal monitor, but it didn't look like a typical contraction. The nurse said that was just some cramping of the uterus that is a normal part of pregnancy in the third trimester. In the hour I was hooked up to the monitor, I did have one contraction, albeit a small one. It was validating to know that I was, in fact, experiencing Braxton Hicks and that it wasn't just fetal movement or gas or something else embarrassing. The nurse practitioner checked me out in my nether-regions and determined that my cervix had not dilated, so that was all good news.  After about 1.5 hours of being monitored, the doctor determined that it wasn't pre-term labor, just normal Braxton Hicks contractions, and I was free to go home!

What a relief.

The whole experience put things into perspective. Baby V could technically arrive any day now. One of my to-dos this weekend is to start packing a bag for the hospital. While we don't want the dude to come until I'm at least 37 weeks when he's considered full term, it's never too early to be prepared. I get that from my mama. :)

Since Wednesday, I've continued to feel additional Braxton Hicks contractions, but not as much as I felt that first day. They seem to come along in the late afternoons and early evenings.

I have my next doctor's appointment on Thursday next week, and then I start going in once a week until baby arrives. Time is flying by, y'all! In a matter of seven short weeks, I'll have my sweet baby boy in my arms. It all feels so surreal.

Now here's a picture that has nothing to do with this post. We hung the FINAL piece of the nursery puzzle last night: adorable ABC artwork that we placed over the changing table. Love how the colors tie in so well with the funky rug.