37 week midwife appointment

37 w, 5 day
Midwife Amy

It is now Friday night and I am getting around to writing all this.  It has been one late night after another here this week.  When ice enters Texas, our world pretty much ends.  I must have seen every road in the DFW area this week just trying to stay away from slick spots and too much traffic.  Mostly it was all in vain. 

So when Wednesday got here, the weather had finally warmed enough to start melting the ice on the roads so having a 4 PM appointment seemed like a great time to finally get home before 7 PM.  That was my plan.....that however was not Amy or Blake's plan.

Amy asked all the normal questions about if I am ready, do I have everything planned, know where to go, etc.  Then, came the belly measurement.  Only measuring 36-37 weeks this time.  I'm convinced this baby is smaller than G.  All I am hoping for is healthy and well, maybe a slightly smaller head.  I found G's birth measurements today and his head was 14.5" which is quite large for a newborn especially one born at 38 weeks, 1 day. 

Then came the usual favorite part....the Doppler.  Baby heart beat time.  Only this time Blake thought it would be fun to squirm around so much that he must have kept rolling on his cord causing his heart rate to dip into the 90's.  Normal is 110-180, which really is a gigantic range if you think about it. 

So Amy decided I needed to head over to the MOPS area (no idea what that stands for, but basically it is a high risk prenatal assessment center).  They handed me the usual 97 sheets of paper that needed to be filled out and while I got to work on those, they hooked me up to the fetal scan and contraction monitor.  In between questions I watched his little heart bounce all over the 110-180 spectrum.  The contraction monitor was not picking up anything.  Both were great news.  Blake kept kicking the contraction monitor.  It literally moved about 3 inches above my stomach at one point.  I stayed on the monitor for about an hour and only 3 times did his heart rate drop to the 90's, but even then it was literally for 4 seconds or less.  They only worry if it stays there for more than 30 seconds at a time. 

Next up was a sonogram to check the fluid levels.  I think she said they were 11 cm, but whatever the number, she said it was good so yet again no worries.  I got to see him on the monitor for a minute or so.  She stayed down by his head and chest and didn't do any baby measuring so no idea if he is small or large or even still a boy :) 

So basically, he is fine.  He moves and kicks and squirms constantly and now we know he has plenty of fluid so there is nothing to worry about.  I am just hoping to get through 1 more week of work and then have him around the 21st.  It just sounds easier to have mom and dad already in town to watch G and not have to deal with the drama of going into labor at work.  I have already had one of my older employees tell me she's been practicing and reading up on how to catch a baby and one of our security guards also said he was prepared if necessary.  I realize I am more on the nudist side of the spectrum, but having my coworkers see me in labor does not appeal to me at all and I don't trust any of them to let me drive myself to the hospital.  I refuse to go by ambulance to any of the hospitals in Irving.  I've been to killer Baylor for 3 days due to my Crohns disease.  I actually was released on Christmas day several years ago.  Let's just say, Baylor Irving is where you send someone if you want them to be ignored and die.  I know I want minimal interventions for this birth, but I do want some of the perks of being in a hospital.  My company loves to call Ambulances and most of the time it is for one of my employees.  Last time we called one was a week before Thanksgiving.  I do not want to be the next in line thank you very much.

Today one of the ladies from the other side of the building dropped off the adorable green booties for Blake.  I love them and how nice is she for thinking of me?  So cool I think!.

I worked on my Birth Plan a little this week.  The highlights:

1.  No IV, but I will do a Heparin/saline lock if I have to.
2.  Minimal exams, mostly just upon arrival and as I feel I am progressing. 
3.  While I'm allowed to eat and drink freely, I know with G I refused everything and after 24 hours of labor I was exhausted and starving.  I asked for 2 post birth sandwich boxes LOL.  So this time I'm going to bring some Organic Apple Juice with me.  They stock regular apple juice on the delivery floor but I think I want to bring my own. 
4.  Intermittent monitoring
5.  No interventions, pain meds or epidural.
6.  No delivering on my back this time.  That was awful and caused me labor induced asthma.  Yes, there is such a thing.  Leave it to me.
7.  Delayed cord clamping until the pulsating stops.
8.  Blake goes on my chest immediately and stays there for the next 2 hours.
9.  APGAR can be done on my chest.
10.  Measurements, shots, creams, etc can be done after the 2 hours is up. 
11.  Breastfeeding begins immediately.
12.  No Hepatitis B vaccine in the hospital. 
13.  Blake will not have a bath until we get home. 
14  Blake will only leave my room for the circumcision. 
15.  No pacifiers or bottles, nursing only.
16.  Assuming we are both healthy, we are going to beg to get out ASAP.

Interesting to note, we are 13 days before Blake's due date.  Garrett had just been born at this same point in my pregnancy.  Usually you hear 1st babies are late, 2nd are early.  I'm thinking I've got this backward.  Just hope he exits by his due date.  I have been trying to take it somewhat easy so he stays in a little longer, but by next week I'm going to be walking my heart out. 

G:  age 2 on his rocking horse from grandpa Barkema

Next appointment is next Wednesday.  I wonder if it will be my final appointment.  That would be nice. 

32 week appointment

32 weeks (56 days left)
Midwife Allison (1st time ever meeting her)

Baby B's heartbeat:  120-125
Stomach measurement:  32 weeks YAY!!
Gestational Diabetes:  NOPE!!!!!  Passed my 3 hour.  Thank goodness.  Apparently I am just a repeat 1 hour failure. 
Left Leg pain:  just normal Sciatica.
Workouts:  Still cleared for anything and everything except laying on my back, rock climbing and treadmills.  Starting a plank challenge today along with my regular routine.  Join the plank challenge here (pregnant or not). 
Big babies/early babies:  there is no hard and fast rule, every baby just does what they want so just because G was 13 days early and 9 lbs 4 oz, it doesn't mean B will be anything like that.  We just have to wait and see.
Remaining Appointments:  I scheduled the next 4 appointments through December 11.  It sounds so close now. 
Work funny: 
1.  My boss was running late this morning so she asked me to go to her Friday morning meeting for her which I did and have done many times in the past.  I arrived at the last possible second but I made it, huffing and puffing maybe a little.  Pregnancy does things to your oxygen supply I think due to blood volume or whatever, but not critical, just a normal part of the process.  Anyway, the 2 other DC managers told my boss later that she shouldn't be sending her pregnant supervisor to her meetings for her.  She asked why and they said because she is pregnant.  So she asked why that was a problem and they said because she is sick.  What????  Oddly I workout in our work's fitness center everyday at the same time as one of these managers and he tells me daily how proud he is of me continuing to workout and how it looks like it is working to keep me in shape.  So apparently pregnant women are fine to workout, but are too sick to attend meetings.  Men....LOL. 
2.  Everyone keeps asking me when I am going to leave for maternity leave.  My reply:  When the baby falls out!  I can't predict this baby's arrival anymore than the next person.  Why waste vacation on being a large, tired, pregnant woman.  I'd rather use the time for actual baby cuddles. 
Room/Closet Remodel:  I ordered Baby B's full name in street signs earlier this week to match the ones we have for Garrett and they arrived in 3 days.  Amazing!!!!!  Check out Personalized Street Signs to make your own. 

As for the closet, all the clothes are now on hangers, but I need to finalize the arrangement so it makes sense.  Thank goodness for walk in closets. I think it is time to organize the guest/toy room closet as it seems to have become baby overflow zone/randomness.  I hate randomness in closets.  Then off to tackle my closet which also serves as the garage for G's big Ford truck. 

28 week appointment

28 weeks, 6 days
Midwife Kathleen

It is now like a week later and I'm finally writing this, so only 10 more weeks until he is due. I still think he will be early though.

This was my 1 hour glucose test appointment.  Yuck!!!  Drink a flat sugary soda and then get your blood drawn an hour later.  Good times.  As was the case with G, I later found out I failed it.  So next week I take the 3 hour (which I passed with G).  Hopefully I will pass this one. 

So while I was waiting around I had my regular appointment.  She went over my thyroid test, which is now fine, but apparently I will need to continue to test each year just to be sure.  We listened to the baby.  I was so busy listening I don't think she ever told me his heartrate.  I'm so not good with details.  She measured my belly.  Only measuring 30 weeks, so only a week ahead of schedule.  Not bad.  I'm thinking this little guy is smaller than G.  He sure moves like he has plenty of space in there.  He is breach at the moment.  His head is hanging out on my right side and his little feet are hanging out on the left. 

She asked me a million times if I had any questions.  I didn't.  While I'm starting to get back into that tired, feeling huge phase, this pregnancy is super easy.  She went back and forth a few times trying to decide if my weight was an issue.  That is the most annoying part about appointments.  Who cares how much I weigh?  My weight fluctuates 5 pounds in a single day, pre-prego and prego.  The only thing about my body that looks different than before I got pregnant is my stomach.  I still lift weights most days of the week.  Luckily, she decided my weight was not an issue and moved on.  I need to add a "Do NOT discuss the SCALE" clause in my file.  Scales are evil :)  I do not like them, even if you are pregnant they do not accurately measure anything.  That is what I am sticking with anyway!

Today I went to Kohls for maternity clothes and ended up coming home with B's coming home from the hospital outfit.  It's so cute.  I can't wait to cuddle up with him when he gets here.  Decided on Newborn size, because even though G was big he still didn't fit 0-3 months stuff that first week.  Diapers however he was in size 1 on day 2 :) 

As for people's strange prego comments I had 1 older lady tell me this week that because I cross my arms at the top of my stomach, my baby will come out with a conehead.  I wanted to deck her.  If you don't have something nice or constructive to say, keep your mouth shut.  I guess maybe to her that was constructive and perhaps she is really concerned for me, but really there is no basis for your silly old wive tales.  One of my leads tells me daily that I just now look pregnant.  She tells me this EVERY DAY LOL and has for the last 2 months. 

I am now procrastinating on nesting, if there is such a thing.  The last round of baby clothes have been sorted and sitting in piles on my love seat for the last month.  Grandpa Pugh was here not too long ago and I still didn't bother to move them.  Maybe a project for this weekend.  We'll see. 

Maybe they will let me run over to L&D while I waste time between blood draws at the 3 hour so I can see the water birth suite.  It was completed like 2 months after G was born.  Go figure! I had G in 1 of the 2 rooms with a tub that they used for water births at the time, but it wasn't any more comfy that a tub at home so fine for relaxing, but not pushing.  Hopefully no other mommas go into labor when I do so I can get to that water birth suite first.  Going to try the whole water birth thing again I think. 

Well, I've been trying to write this for a week and now I'm even more exhausted :)  That pretty much sums up everything going on so far.  I have my next regular appointment in 2 weeks so I'll be 32 weeks then.  It is going by so fast. 

24 week appointment

I was busy most of last week, mostly making messes with G and then took a break from the computer over the weekend so I'm just now getting around to writing up my latest midwife appointment notes.

24 weeks, 6 days
Midwife Amy

Flexing (well in mid flex...Mark is not the most patient photographer)
Don't all pregnant women flex?
Wait till I complete Body Beast post prego, you will probably be tired of my flexing. 
(or you could join me...Always an option) 

1st paragraph is TMI, so skip it if you don't want to know THAT much about you.  Everything else is PG!

This appointment was supposed to include the normal baby checking activities as well as another procedure to check for the possibility of cervical cancer. This cervical cancer screening is not a normal procedure during pregnancy, but I pretty much denied the chance to have further testing done after an abnormal pap back in February. Why would I do that? I'm crazy! Ok, well, not entirely, but my regular doctor who caught it said it was low grade and probably would go away on it's own, but he sent me to a Gyn for further testing/discussion. She did not see anything when she looked, but suggested a test. Turns out it was an expensive test. I didn't find out how expensive the test was until the day of the appointment and well, even though we have always have enough and at times more than enough money, money still freaks me out and that made me decide not to do it. I was already apprehensive about further testing because even this doctor told me it usually goes away on it's own and can show up 1 test and be gone a few weeks later. Had I had my pap 1 day later, it could have come back perfect and we would have never known it had been abnormal just the day before. Plus, she said (as well as countless internet sources noted...yes, I know not to believe everything I read online, but ya still gotta check ya know) that eating healthier (ie. fruits, veggies, etc) can take away any bad cells. I am all for treating/preventing with food. So Amy did her own looking around and decided there is nothing visible that would suggest further testing needs to be done until after the baby arrives. 8 weeks PP I will need to get rechecked though.

So then comes the normal part of this checkup, except I'm not exactly sure how my appointment was scheduled because Amy didn't seem to know anything about the normal checkup part. She did listen to the baby's heartbeat (140-150 so normal) and they took my weight. Of all things to remember they remember the darn scale. Other than that, no belly measurement or anything. Although I'm not sure what else could have been done. Maybe blood pressure?

Amy had done my initial pregnancy exam so she saw her note to have my thyroid rechecked. She didn't see any follow up notes, so she asked if I had been rechecked. Well, no, of course not! She told me I could get it done today if I wanted. sure, what's a little blood work on a Wednesday afternoon? It would just require a stop at the lab at the end of the hall. So I get dressed and she tells me she will see me in the hallway. I am a super fast dresser so of course she is nowhere to be found so the nurse see me and walks me to the checkout desk, which is just at the other end of the hallway right in front of the lab. On my paperwork it says 1. have thyroid retested 2. return in 4 weeks for a normal appointment and a sugar test. Checkout lady (I'm sure not her real title) asks me if I would like to return on 10/9. Sounds good. Then she asks me morning or afternoon. Ummm, don't you have to be fasting for the sugar test? She says no. I say, well, isn't it 2 hours long. Again she says no. But at my last appointment I was told you guys no longer do 1 and 3 hour tests, just the 2 hour and if you fail that's it, you are just a failure and proceed as a prego diabetic. She tells me that apparently those tests were not working great so they stopped them. Interesting! So I pick an afternoon appointment and she asks if I need a parking sticker. Yes, I sure do. I get the sticker and she tells me to have a good day. Ummmm, did you not see the part on there that says have thyroid rechecked. Aw, yes, she says as the lab tech walks past her saying she will return soon. She tells her I will be waiting and then I wait. While I'm waiting, I swear the next person says she needs a morning appointment for her 2 hours sugar test since she will be fasting and the checkout lady says ok. HUH?????? But I do not ask because it just seems like too much trouble and I'm sure I will just end up more confused.

Finally the tech makes it back but for some reason she doesn't know I'm the one waiting and doesn't ask. So I'm hanging out holding the wall from falling over when the checkout lady finally says that I can just go back there. Blood is drawn and I am finally done. I get all the way home before noticing my appointment sheet says OB appointment and has no mention of a Sugar test. I could call and clarify, but I think I will just take my chances :)

Moral of the story: one picks midwives because they choose not to intervene or do unnecessary things. One does not pick them for their organizational skills, as clearly this is lacking.

Prego complaints: my legs are taking turns giving out after simple activities and it is quite painful.

The Baby: he's a kicker and a mover and clearly has restless leg syndrome (or maybe restless everything syndrome...is that a thing?). Either way I like it. Better to have movement than no movement. I think he may be getting big like G. Scary, but unless something weird happens between now and his birthday I don't imagine I will have any more sonos so I guess we'll just be surprised.

Random thoughts: I have this really great picture idea in mind for him and G for Christmas so is it bad of me to hope he arrives about a week early? G was 13 days early so I already have it in my head that Baby B will be early too. If not, no big deal. G will get to do it alone.

Speaking of Baby B, I keep thinking of the other boy name I wanted. Might just start up that convo with Mark again. That should bring more interest and fun to the next 15 weeks :)

On baby clothes: I have clothes coming out of my ears, closets, drawers, and any other crevices you can find. Mark just went and picked up another tote of clothes out of storage that I somehow missed this morning in the living room. Trying to organize everything so it gets worn is impossible, but I am organizing and reorganizing none the less.

I only picked up 50 more hangers at Target the other day.
I don't think that is going to be enough. 
How in the world did we have this many clothes?
The boy's closet is already full. 

On the boy's room and play room: just came up with a great decoration idea for the play room. Will start working on that soon. For the boy's room we just discovered that the corvette bed comes in blue finally so now we wait for the darn thing to go on sale. Once this whole baby naming business is for sure, I can order his name in street signs like G's and get those hung. Will need to rearrange some of the pictures and hang a pendant too. I still want a glider so that will have to get bought. Other than that, we are pretty good.

Wow, that was quite the post. If you made it this far, you deserve some kind of prize. Let me know what I owe you :)  I make no promises, just curious what you come up with. That was way longer than I imagined it would be for a simple 4 week OB appointment. 

A baby boy revealed in pics

I'm not even sure what to say about these photos.  I love them of course.  She captured our expression and that is exactly what I wanted.  It is just funny to see how shocked we are! 

To KT, sorry G was not feeling you that day.  He just wanted to run and play and sitting was not in his game plan.  He is a total mommas boy though and that is quite apparent here.  I still love his serious little face.  We'll bring his favorite "bubba" as a prop for his birthday shoot next month.  That should do the trick :)

To Kendra, your clothing choice was adorable.  As I was putting them in the closet this last weekend, I was getting excited for him to wear them.  He will be all cuddly in them and look adorable of course. 

From beginning to end....here goes:



It is the perogative of an almost 2 year old to do the opposite of what you ask. 
Such is life!

Patiently waiting

Not so patiently waiting.



It's A.......
 



BOY!!!!  Clearly the fact that those are boy clothes was quite entertaining to me. 





We look shocked and I just realized Mark hasn't even moved his arm.  LOL

Now we hug and celebrate.  Hehe
Mark is smiling.  That is a good sign!

G looks a bit terrified. 
Yes son, you are getting a baby brother!  Hide your toys :)

OMG I love his face!

Still digesting what all those little boy clothes could possibly mean.

 

 

3 weeks of torture over with just one pull of a clothes pin. 

Happy to know that it is a boy and so excited to get everything ready for him. 



Our creative photographer. 
Love the way we receive pics now :)