32 Week Appointment

Andy and I were spending the afternoon in Bloomington to finish up baby purchases and go to our last baby class. My appointment was at 3:15 and we arrived right on time. I left my sample and got called back by Dr. Dudley's assistant right away. We went to the back room which I thought was odd, but she did the usual stuff. Weight up 19 lb total (4 in the last 2 weeks - yikes)! I'll be limiting the cookies from now on. BP 102/60 as usual. No symptoms to note. Then she realized I was Dr. Emm's patient so she took me over to one of her rooms. Dr. came in just a few minutes later.

Again, nothing unusual to discuss as I'm feeling fine. She mentioned how easy I am. She measured my belly and said growth is on track. She suspects I'll have a nice, average, 7 pounder - I like average! Baby's heart rate was 147, slowly creeping down. Dr. Emm checked my movement chart and said all looked well. She asked about Braxton hicks and I said I wasn't quite sure if that's what it was, but that I was feeling tightening. Nothing else to note really.

I asked for my pump prescription and we were on our way. My next appointment is in two weeks on March 9. 

28-32 Weeks

We are nearing the home stretch here. And I can say now that if she were to come tomorrow, we would be pretty much prepared (although she really needs to cook for longer). We have a bassinet for her to sleep in, and the nursery is pretty much done (even though she won't use it much for the next 6 months). We have a stash of diapers (combo of disposables and cloth). Andy and I have scheduled a date this week to shop for some clothes and pick up the rest of the essentials.

I'm starting to feel some aches and pains now and then from my growing belly. I need to up my activity level to hopefully kick this. I've gotten a few cramps even in my legs and feet too. I can't quite tell if I've had any Braxton Hicks yet, or if it's just pressure of her moving and pushing things around in there. If so, it's only been a handful of times. Otherwise I love feeling and watching her move. It lets me know things are all good in there. No stretch marks at this point and my belly button is just sort of flattened. 

Still struggling with insomnia, even though I've hit a wall with energy. For a while I was a busy bee nesting. The night of our shower I woke up at 3am and spent 2.5 hours putting things away. But now I tire more easily. All the energy I do have is used efficiently to nest, at least, and I still can be really motivated, it just seems to be less so than before. There were a few times this past week when I was too tired to move or talk. It's like someone sent a message to my body saying 'hey, they're almost done preparing! You can steal her energy now!' Some of that is low blood sugar, but it almost feels like it did in the first trimester on the exhaustion front.

Speaking of blood sugar, I feel like I am eating a lot. I get hungry quickly so snacks are a must. And it seems lots of sweets have entered my home lately, so there has been no shortage of sugar available. Otherwise I'm pretty much bingeing on fruit. For instance this week I went through 2 cartons of strawberries, 2 cartons of blackberries, a pint of blueberries, 4 plums, and probably 4 navel oranges. The sweet craving gender myth holds true for this one.

                               28 Weeks                                                                32 Weeks

I'm starting to feel like I've been pregnant forever! Come. On. April.

Prepared Childbirth Class: Session 3

This week's topic was mostly labor interventions and C-sections. We went over different types of interventions (ie. forceps, vacuums, C-sections) and reasons each would need to be done. This covered all ways baby can be poorly positioned/breech, prolapsed cord, or simply baby is just too big. I have to say that covering all of the ways that labor can go wrong does not make me want to do this very much. Obviously, I see the benefits of being informed but holy cow can crazy things happen during labor. I swear I only get anxiety about delivery when I'm sitting in this class.

I was thankful that Shellie said some statistic that over 700 babies were born vaginally at St. Joe's last year and only 25 had medical interventions with either forceps or vacuums. I really expected that to be much higher. She couldn't give a guess about episiotomies, though. 

Then we watched a video about C-sections. The couple in the video had wanted a natural, unmedicated labor but the baby was just too big and wasn't coming out after something like 30 hours of labor (seriously, did they just copy Allyson's labor or something?). It was a pretty good view of C-sections I thought, reviewing the whole process of prep, the actual surgery, and post-surgery protocol. I did think that it may have shown a bit more positive light on C-sections than is really real. The woman ended up having no trouble with any recoveries, but I know that post C-section pain is legit! 

Shellie also shared her history laboring her 3 kids. She labored for a very long time with her first, but she ended up being 9.5 lb and wouldn't fit, so they did a section. Her other 2 were also sections because she figured she'd probably have all big babies and would keep having the same problem. She stressed that C-sections are no joke and did not recommend doing an elective surgery for fun. Or for convenience. (Anyone who would do that is just nutty).

Then we toured the labor and delivery unit. Thankfully we did not have to go outside, but took the underground tunnel over to the unit. I've been here several times so I knew the basics. And at this point I had hit a wall of extreme fatigue and had a hard time paying attention. We saw the water birth room, the nursery, a standard labor/delivery room, the OR, and the recovery room. One thing I learned was that they do have a blow up pool that can be taken to your room if you want, and you don't have to go to the water birth room. Otherwise, I've seen the nursery and a standard room before. The OR and recovery rooms were obviously knew to me though - not a whole lot to note about those. 

Then we walked back over to the classroom and were all set. Next week is mostly post-delivery care/baby prep and Q&A. 

Appointment: 30 Weeks

My appointment is set for Monday, February 9 at 9:45 am. I arrive a few minutes early, but the bathroom is taken so I can't leave my sample. I head back in a few minutes, but they are out of cups. I let one of the office workers know and they go on a wild goose chase for cups. Finally I can pee!

Jessica calls me back pretty much immediately after. I'm up 15 lb total and blood pressure still holding steady at 100/60. No other symptoms to note for her. She goes over the movement chart with me. Every day from now on I have to document how long it takes to feel 10 distinct movements. No problem. She takes me to an exam room.

I wait for about 1 minute before Dr. Emm comes in. She says results from the glucose test were all good and that I was even a bit on the low side. I figured. Like I said before, no interesting symptoms to review with her. She measures my belly and gets out the Doppler. Heartbeat is 153. Just before she feels me for position, I tell her I think baby is still transverse. It takes her about .5 seconds to tell me that baby's head is down and in good position. I swear the kid had to have changed overnight, because I had been feeling movement on either side of my belly for weeks (and since the appointment it has been much more vertical and closer to the middle). That was really my only concern so I'm all set to come back in 2 weeks. We are nearing the end now that we're up to more frequent appointments!

Next update is set for Tuesday, February 24th.

Prepared Childbirth Class: Session 2

Tonight we are covering more labor specific stuff. First Shellie goes over the stages of labor. I won't go into detail here, but she basically tells us the differences between early, active, and transition and follows up with the pushing stage and delivering the placenta. She covers various options we have for laboring in the hospital (ie. the tub, shower, positions for pushing, etc.). I'm happy that she goes into detail with this and does give a pretty good range of options. We watch a birth video documenting one couple's entire natural labor and delivery in a nutshell. They tell us that most first time moms only labor for 10-12 hours and I think that's a load of crap. Overall, everything is helpful though.

Next we discuss options for induction and pain management (IV and epidurals). I know my options but hope I don't have to use these. We watch a video about epidurals which is also helpful, despite my not really being interested in one. Shellie asks if any of us are planning to not have an epidural. I answer with "we're winging it," because that's my exact plan. Everyone looks at me like I'm crazy. I do not want to set myself up for failure by saying that I won't have an epidural, because if I'm in the hospital for over a day and feel like my body is splitting in half, I'm sure I'll want some relief. But I'm also not planning on signing the epidural waiver when I walk in the door either. We're really just gonna see how this goes. And I'm just biased from my sisters' experiences with induction (LONG) and hoping to dodge that bullet while we're at it, too. I'm sure I'll be much more easily persuaded come April 18, though.

I guess they interpret my not immediately signing up for the epidural as a sign that I have a fear of needles. Nope. Drawing blood ain't no thang and what do I care about a needle I can't even see? I really just want to be able to walk the kid out and avoid being confined to the bed. I don't feel the need to justify myself because I know it's a lost cause so I just leave it with my short response.

(Side note: literally two days after this class I was chatting with 2 of my cheer moms. One just had a baby 2 weeks ago while the other has had 7 kids. The woman with 7 kids has had all of them naturally with fairly short labors and reassured me that I could do it naturally even though everyone will tell me I'm crazy. The other delivered naturally this time after having terrible experiences with epidurals in the past - now I'm not sure I believe the 1% spinal headache statistic.)

We end the night with a few breathing exercises. Honestly, I've already forgotten these which is terrible because it's pretty much the one thing I wanted to take away from the classes. I'll need to do some refreshers. Overall the class is helpful in giving a snapshot view of labor from start to finish. It would certainly be helpful in coming up with a game plan if we didn't already have one.

Next week we tour the L + D unit.

Prepared Childbirth Class: Session 1

I'm not sure if this is interesting to anyone, but figured what the heck on documenting about it. We decided to take a childbirth class mostly because it's one of those things you just have to do, like a rite of passage of sorts. I never expected to get much out of it, but figured it certainly wouldn't hurt. Plus, I know that it will be helpful for Andy. Since I'm delivering at St. Joe's it made the most sense to take a class there. When I looked to sign up back in November, the only class that was open was the 4-part Tuesday night class in February. So, Tuesday it is!

We pulled up to the Business and Conference Center maybe 10 minutes early. At 6:00 there were only four couples, including us. The instructor said we were supposed to have a full 10 couples, so this meant that 6 couples legit just didn't show up! The weather wasn't even bad. Our instructor is Shellie, a RN probably in her low to mid-30s. She worked on the L+D floor, but for the last several years has been working in an OB office. She said she's been teaching this class for something like 8 years. I like her. She is friendly and laid back. We started off with brief introductions and then a break-out for an icebreaker type thing.

I could tell right away that I was in the minority of the group. There was maybe one other mom who seemed more on the natural path and knew some stuff, but the other two definitely gave off the vibe of "I don't know much, just do the usual western medicine stuff" kind of people. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but that is just not how I want this whole labor thing to go for myself. There was one mom-to-be in particular who seemed clueless. When we got in the car even Andy said "that one girl was dumb." That's saying something coming from him.

I digress with the judgment..

After getting the background info together, Shellie started with basic pregnancy anatomy. The uterus, placenta, blah blah stuff. Obviously this has to be covered, but I would hope everyone knew most of that part. She explained dilation vs. effacement. Then she showed us the various monitors used. This is also where I started to see even more of a disconnect. Shellie said that everyone gets monitored externally throughout their entire labor. The. Whole. Time. I don't want that. I want to be able to move around and not be confined to bed, at least if I can handle it for some of the time. Then I asked about moving around and she said most doctors are okay with monitoring for 20 minutes every hour. I know that in the past 5 years, L+D has become more flexible. I'm sure all of the nurses prefer easy patients who just do what they say, so I assume that's why they teach the class this way. Shellie said that when she worked on the unit nearly everyone was monitored internally! No thanks.

She also reviewed symptoms of pre-term labor, false labor, and real labor. We watched a short video that appeared to be made in 1992. It was about fears of labor and parenthood, signs of labor, and how to time contractions. Then we finished with what to expect when arriving on the unit, some quick general relaxation, and were out of there by 7:45! Next week we cover labor specifics.