This poor pregnancy has hardly been documented. It's kind of sad compared to how detailed I was with my first pregnancy. Last time I took such great weekly pictures with monthly blog updates; this time I was lucky to have snapped a few pictures of me in PJ's in the dirty bathroom mirror.
And I can't say it's been because this pregnancy has been so similar to the last. In fact, this pregnancy has been very different.
The first trimester was pretty similar overall. I was just very, very tired the entire time. (Jason kept saying he didn't remember me being this tired last time, but I reassured him I was.) This time however, I had some morning sickness between weeks 10 and 18. It was always first thing in the morning, and usually triggered by smell (like freshly brewing coffee). I could usually curb it by eating Cheerios in bed before I even stood up. Luckily, it went away a bit into the 2nd trimester, and it never lasted into the day like some women's do.
November 12th - 19 weeks
Another thing that was different from our pregnancy with Matilda is that we chose to do some genetic screenings at 14 weeks. We just did one of the basic blood work screenings that showed a low likelihood of chromosomal disorders. We also found out through the blood work that we were having another girl. While we would have been happy with a boy or a girl, I think both of us were leaning towards a girl because we already knew what to expect and we already had a bunch of girl stuff.
November 22nd - 20 weeks
The 20 week anatomy scan was good other than the fact that they thought she might have a hole between the two lower chambers of her heart (VSD). We had a fetal echocardiogram a few weeks later. It didn't note any major heart defects, but apparently it's not detailed enough to pick up small holes like the one they thought she might have had. Plus, small holes can close themselves either before or after birth. The doctor just recommended that the pediatrician check for a murmur at birth, and we'll go from there.
December 13th - 23 weeks
I don't remember many huge complaints during the second trimester, other than a sinus infection around 23 weeks. I've had some hip discomfort, but not the sharp/ throbbing sciatic nerve pain I had with Matilda. Usually, if I don't sit on the floor for long periods of time or overdo it physically, my hips are ok this time around.
December 22nd - 24.5 weeks
Another bump in the road in this pregnancy was that I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes around 28 weeks. The test was the day after I came back from a work trip where I had indulged in too many sweets. Based on my blood sugar levels (they had me testing 4x a day, and now 2x), I am highly skeptical that I actually have it. I've just had to watch my carbs, but as long as I eat reasonably, my sugars have been fine.
Another weird symptom that started around this point was swelling ankles. I already have hardy enough ankles without the swelling. I've learned that keeping my feet elevated or wearing compression socks has helped.
January 14th - 28 weeks
Matilda grabbed my phone one day at the park and took the pictures of me above. :)
January 24th - 29 weeks
Since I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, they have me alternating between ultrasounds and fetal non-stress tests (NST)'s at every doctor's visit. They've all been A-Okay. The ultrasounds check the amniotic fluid levels, do a biophysical profile, and check her growth. She's still been on the small side during all of the ultrasounds (less than 25%), so they haven't been worried she's getting too big (which is a complication of gestational diabetes). The NST's just monitor her heart rate for a bit and make sure she's active.
Another plus of the frequent ultrasounds, is that we've been able to confirm she's been heads down pretty much the entire pregnancy. No extraordinary attempts to flip this baby have been necessary!
February 8th - 31 weeks
February 10 - 31.5 weeks
At 34 weeks, I had a bit of a scare and ended up in labor and delivery for 2-3 hours. I was having contractions every 2-5 minutes. Since they weren't painful and I wasn't dilating, they just made me drink a bunch of water and sent me home. I've had contractions on and off since then. They'll usually last a few hours, but don't intensify and usually dissipate after awhile. Other than a few sporadic Braxton Hicks contractions with Matilda (usually when working out), I never had anything close to consistent contractions or labor.
February 25th - 34 weeks
Good thing Miss Mabel didn't come early, because my office threw me a sweet baby shower at 35 weeks. It was beautifully decorated, the cakes were delicious, and the gifts were so generous. :)
March 6 - 35 weeks
March 10th - 36 weeks
As far as weight gain, I think I'm up about 24 pounds at this point. I gained a lot of weight early on with this pregnancy (probably due to not being as active this time around), but once I started monitoring my diet with the gestational diabetes, my weight gain plateaued a bit. I've only gained about 3-4 pounds the entire third trimester (which is usually when women gain most of the weight).
March 22nd - 37.5 weeks
I'm at the point in this pregnancy (39 weeks) where I am ready for Miss Mabel's arrival. Her movements have become painful, I'm not sleeping great, my legs have been cramping, and we're just generally anxious to meet her. Matilda comes into our room every morning and peeks into the pack and play and asks, "Is Baby Sister here yet?" It's so sweet and pretty much captures all of our sentiments.
March 26th - 38 weeks
We're hoping for a successful VBAC this time around. If I don't have Mabel before my due date, my doctor will let me go to about 41 weeks to try to have her naturally. If I'm not showing any progress, we'll have to schedule another C-section. She won't induce unless I'm already in labor and have just stalled. That's one reason we'd be perfectly happy if she decides to make her appearance this week. Last time around, this is when we had our scheduled C-section with Matilda, so playing the waiting game is new for us. We can't wait to meet Miss Mabel.
No comments:
Post a Comment