I can’t believe we’re sitting here at 39 weeks pregnant and playing the waiting game. My last trimester has absolutely flown by and it’s crazy to think that in just a matter of hours, I could be holding Love Bug on the outside. Read the rest of this entry »
Yesterday, I woke up to some very strong Braxton-Hicks contractions. So strong that I was tempted to stay home from a planned outing to Ottawa Street with a good friend to pick up fabrics to make some slings. I ended up going anyways and although I continued to have decent runs of contractions and some intense cervical pain (what on earth was Love Bug doing in there??), there was nothing that was coming with any regularity.
I continued to have strong ones all through the afternoon and evening and Brad and I were pretty sure that Love Bug would be making his/her arrival last night or early on Valentine’s Day - how perfect would that have been? We decided to head up to bed around 10:30 (early for us, believe it or not) and get some rest in case that was it. I fell asleep around 11:30 or 12, wonderfully, but was awake at 1AM with a big contraction. As I laid in the dark and breathed through it, I thought for sure I was in labour. I timed 4 contractions at exactly 5 minutes apart and lasting around 45 seconds apiece which were quite strong and definitely tightening down across my belly and into my back when Gwen woke up.
After trying to put her on the potty and attempting to settle her, the contractions spaced out - between 7 and 13 minutes apart. They picked back up again for a time, but were inconsistent. At about 3:30AM, I was starving hungry, so I decided to go downstairs, have a snack, and call my midwife to get some advice on what to do. Once I got downstairs, the contractions all but stopped. I had an apple and a hunk of cheese, cleaned up my camera’s memory card (fresh memory for Love Bug’s arrival!), and did a bit of web surfing. Since I had only 3 contractions in 45 minutes and they were very short, I decided not to call the midwife and to go back up to bed. I was asleep by about 4:30AM and Brad was wonderful enough to get me some extra sleep in the morning - 10:20AM! - it was fantastic and well needed.
I have had a few decent contractions today, but definitely nothing to get worked up about. I guess we’ll see!
I had my 37 week appointment on Monday and discussed the GBS thing with my primary midwife. She was very supportive of our decision to not use antibiotics and to decline the 4- and 12-hour blood tests and to treat on risk factors. THANK GOODNESS. I feel so much better about things now! And we did end up getting the antibiotic prescription filled, so we have it just in case.
Baby had a nice acceleration in heartrate while we were listening (the student had just palpated positioning and gotten Love Bug all riled up) into the 160’s, but it settled back down into the 140’s/150’s after a minute or two. My primary midwife’s guess is: girl, in the high 7-lb range, born at 39 weeks - which is the 18th/19th … same as my secondary midwife’s guess for timing! We’ll see!
Love Bug’s movements have definitely slowed down some in the past few days. He/she is still moving a lot in the evenings, but the movements are both stronger and slower. I’ve read that the baby often starts moving a little less due to lack of space and conserving energy, but who knows! I’m definitely not concerned about the amount of movement anyways - plenty of kicks and punches and hiccups going on in there!
Um, I’m full term.
Yep, that means I can go at any time.
Yep, that’s a bit crazy/exciting/nerve-wracking.
I can’t believe I could have a baby in 4 weeks. That’s mildly terrifying! Read the rest of this entry »
On Friday, I had my 29 week appointment. According to their wildly inaccurate scales (the one I normally weigh myself on is 10 lbs less than most scales, and that bathroom was out of order, so I weighed myself in the other), I’ve gained 30 lbs. I’m 99.8% sure I’ve gained around 20, so I’m trying not to be too concerned!! Read the rest of this entry »
Sigh.
Over the weekend, I developped a reddened, sore lump on the back on my leg behind my knee. I called the thrombosis clinic that I went to a few weeks ago and they made me an appointment for the next day.
After a quick examination and a compression ultrasound, I was diagnosed with Superficial Thrombophlebitis, which is a clot in a superficial vein. No deep vein involvement, thankfully. Read the rest of this entry »
Just for kicks I checked out my belly pics from my pregnancy with Gwen Read the rest of this entry »
I can’t believe I’m 27 weeks - officially in my third trimester. Only 10 more weeks until I’m full-term. Um - ACK.
Time for an update, methinks!
Overall, I’m feeling fantastic. A bit of back pain every now and then, but nothing like when I was pregnant with Gwen. I think a lot of that had to do with my job, so I’m so so so thankful that I’m able to stay at home this time around! With Gwen, I was sleeping with a Snoogle by the end of my first trimester … this time, I’m still sleeping with only one pillow - the one under my head! I find the back pain the worst on the days where Gwen wants to be carried a lot … and it makes me so sad when I’m not able to do it 
I went to see a Thrombosis specialist a few weeks ago. He was unconcerned with my veins - in fact, he said that I was experiencing completely common symptoms among women who suffer from pregnancy-induced varicose veins. He reassured me that having varicose veins during pregnancy only slightly increases your risk - if at all - of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) post-partum. He said I’m definitely at risk for superficial clots (thrombophlebitis), but barely at an increased risk of DVT. That made me feel a TONNE better and I’m hoping that will help ease others’ concerns as well. They sent me for a compression ultrasound of the veins on my left leg just as a baseline, since I’ve still got a whole trimester to go, but it was, thankfully, negative and I was free to go! He also let me know that full-length hose are completely unnecessary and that thigh-high vs. full-length is merely a matter of preference and comfort. Please shoot me. I’ve been wearing full-length since mid-summer and have hated Every. Minute. Of it. He also suggested I wear hose on only the only leg, since it’s the most commonly affected and I show no symptoms of anything happening on my right leg. Maybe in the new year I’ll buy a new pair of thigh-high hose!
Brad has now felt Love Bug move a bunch of times - he/she is VERY strong already! I think we’re both finally starting to feel real excitement about this new addition to our family - excited to meet him/her and excited to see how our family is going to change!
Unbelievably, I’m 18 weeks pregnant already. How on earth is this happening so quickly?
We had our second trimester ultrasound this afternoon and it was fun. Apparently the baby was so wiggly the tech had issues getting all the pictures she needed. And, since my placenta is in the front, that’s why it’s so difficult for me to feel the movement. And guess what? We’re having … Read the rest of this entry »
