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Suzanne's Pregnancy Journal ~ 3rd Trimester |
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| Week 28 | Week 29 | Week 30 | Week 31 | Week 32 | Week 33 | |||
| Week 34 | Week 35 | Week 36 | Week 37 | Week 38 | Week 39 | Week 40 | ||
| Week 41 | Week 42 | |||||||
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Week 27 (Jul 29 - Aug 4, 2002) Time
is really flying by – the 3rd trimester is upon us already!
We’d better get cracking on the nursery!
Speaking of which, Scotty’s gift of "Pooh’s First
Star" bedding & accessories from Grandma Kim & Grandpa
Kraston has arrived! J
I’d complied some images of "Pooh’s First Star" for my own
drooling purposes, so if you've got a hankering to see how our nursery
will look come October, feel free to
take
a peek!
The nursery décor will be a celestial themed combination of Classic &
Disney Winnie-the-Pooh ~ in a gender-neutral color pallet, featuring
purple walls! The bedding set itself is Disney Poohbear in the
pastels of the Classic Pooh collection, so there will be no discriminating
when it comes to 100 Acre Wood toys! Along with a bassinet & a
van-full of girls clothing, Aunt Diane & Uncle Paddy have given us
their white changing table. J
Who knows if they’ll be able to cleave Katie from the matching crib
before her soon-to-be cousin arrives – neither she nor Lizzie seem eager
just yet for Katie’s move to a bunkbed in a shared big-girl room!
Katie’s or not, a white crib is in now in order to coordinate with our
1st piece of nursery furniture! J
All contributions from the Brennan’s of Ardsley are sorted & in
storage containers for Scotty’s future use (or in bags to go to our
local women & children’s shelter). Baby’s little corner of
Gramps & Gram’s attic is really starting to fill up now! |
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Week 28 (Aug 5 - Aug 11, 2002) Both OB appointments for the week are now behind us & it’s time for another update! We had our ‘in depth’ ultrasound on Monday & the Gestational Diabetes screening was today. Stephanie at the Eastern Virginia School of Medicine did this ultrasound, so the set up was a bit different than our OB’s office. I was able to lay on the exam table & watch the action from a TV mounted on the far wall, rather than having to crane my neck to see the monitor. J I just can’t believe how anxious & excited I get before an ultrasound – I sooo love seeing the baby!! Little Scotty appeared to be playing patty-cake in his/her amniotic fluid yesterday – we could see (in what seemed like slow motion) tiny hands that looked to be clapping! And Baby’s feet were kicking away so much so that the tech couldn’t count Scotty’s toes! S/he is weighing in at 2 lbs 5 oz, with a gestational age of 27 Weeks + 1 day, which we were assured is well within the norm. If you’re keen to see Scotty’s smiling face, feel free to take a look at our little alien (a term of endearment when coming from sci-fi fans such as Mommy & Daddy)! |
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Down
to business though, we have to go back in on August 30th for
yet another sonogram to get a good look at the heart. Not that we mind more ultrasounds!!!! J Yesterday, the baby
was laying transverse in the uterus (head to the left, facing down; spine
curving above my naval; tuchus to the right) and the heart was
just behind my belly button, apparently making it hard to get a clear view
of all they needed to see to pronounce Scotty's heart as healthy as the
rest of the structures appear (we saw our baby’s brain – how neat is
that?!?)! As for
the glucose test today (not nearly as awful as the horror stories I’ve
heard, but then I do like orange soda!), I will have the results of the
gestational diabetes screening before the week is out if there is a
problem. Otherwise, I am to
assume that all is well on that front, too, and our next OB appointment
will be on August 20th. We
got to listen to Scotty’s heart tones today & even heard the
pulsating of the umbilical cord! J Tonight
we shall try to see if we can hear more of the same thru a “Bébé Sounds”
home monitor we bought – batteries not included (Gramps' holiday lesson
learned as Daddy heads out to fetch a 9Volt before we can play) –
what a nice birthday present it would make for Mommy if Baby cooperates! J |
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Week 29 (Aug 12 - Aug 18, 2002) Mommy & Daddy took a tour of the place were Baby shall enter the world, if all goes well! J Part of our “pregnancy instructions” from the OB’s office suggested a tour of the hospital’s Family Maternity Center, which we took last night with about 6 other couples. Aside from warnings about hospital food, and a heads-up that the ‘Daddy Chair’ was not at all a comfortable place to sleep, everything looks wonderful! J We’ll stay for 2 days (3 if a c-sec) in a "LDRP" (Labor Delivery Recovery Post Partum) room, with an adjustable birthing bed. There are 12 of these private rooms with a shower in the en suite bathroom, refrigerator, cable television, & a direct line telephone. They’re each decorated with wallpaper, a 2-seat dining table, a sleeper chair for Daddy & rocking chair for Mommy. We’re encouraged to bring in blankets & pillows from home as well as a boom-box. They also encourage you to utilize alternative measures to assist in enhancing the birth process, including the shower, rocking chair, birthing ball, heated rice socks, and massage during labor. The Family Maternity Center at WCH also has an operating room for Cesarean sections and complicated vaginal deliveries. And the neonatal special care nursery is there for baby emergencies, too. Assuming no c-section is needed & the baby is generally healthy, everything is done right in the room – including any oxygen treatments that the baby might need after birth. And Daddy is really encouraged to participate, too. Not only can he cut the umbilical cord, but Dad can help the doctor guide the baby out at the moment of birth. (Wonder if Kraston is up for that much involvement?!? J) They don’t even take the baby to the nursery to weigh him/her – instead the scales come to you! It really sounds like the only time we’d be without Scotty is for his/her 1st bath & ~um, er~ his circumcision. The nursing staff does encourage their ‘free babysitting’ so Mom can get some rest, but the policy is that you may keep your infant with you as much as you like. For visitors J, the FMC lounge is equipped with a television, in-hospital phone, pay phone, and a nearby restroom (funny how that’s become a priority for me of late!). All visitors have to obtain a visitor pass to gain access to the FMC itself, let alone Mom’s room. They tag Mom, Dad & Baby with matching ID bracelets (2 on the baby) & then tag the umbilical cord clamp with the same ID number & a ‘department store’ theft sensor about the size of a Starburst candy. An alarm will sound if the baby gets too close to the exit doors of the FMC & the doors lock immediately & the elevator comes to the 3rd floor, opens & won’t run again until alarm is turned off. The Dads on the tour were warned they wouldn’t be able to retrieve their baby from the nursery without their ID bracelet on – so no cutting it off when you go home, Kraston! They’ve never had a kidnapping, but aren’t taking chances either – all very fine by us! The tour was really informative & answered a lot of the little questions we had. Being surrounded by all those pregnant women ~and fitting in~ really makes this all seem very real!! How can we be having a baby in about 11 weeks??!?? J |
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Week 30 (Aug 19 - Aug 25, 2002) Mommy & Daddy & Baby had a busy weekend! J Soon-to-be Great-Grandpa Jim came to Williamsburg on Wednesday for a stay at Brennan’s B&B, so we spent many an evening around the table at Gram & Gramps’ house. On Saturday, Auntie Tracy also ventured a visit (with a stash of goodies for Scotty from herself & Mrs. F ~ much thanks!)! She & I entertained Willie while the resident Brennans took a trip with Grandpa Jim to visit the Ardsley Brennans in Maryland. While here, Tracy spent a fair amount of time starring at my tummy waiting for Scotty to put on a show! S/he did not let Auntie Tracy down! J Flutters felt & martial arts witnessed, I’d say it was a successful trip! Glad to have me otherwise occupied ~ I’m sure, Kraston spent his day slaving away on the nursery (lookin’ good in there!). He did join us for dinner though, so as not to seem anti-social, of course! J Tracy was on her way out the door as the other travelers made their way up the drive – with a van-full of more donations from Aunt Diane & Uncle Paddy! Sunday evening found us back at the B&B admiring the finds Grams discovered in this latest load. She keeps saying this baby had best be a girl or he’s gonna be dolled up in some really cute dresses! So long as s/he’s healthy, Mommy & Daddy have no gender preferences! And speaking of making sure Baby is healthy, we have a routine OB appointment on Tuesday afternoon, so I’ll end this update here by saying just 10 more weeks to go... J Week 30 +2 days Rest assured, both Mommy & Baby are doing fine according to Dr. Roberson (our primary OB)! J Our appointment went smoothly, although Kraston & I were at the OB’s for an hour waiting in the exam room to actually be seen. This is par for the course at Williamsburg OB/GYN, apparently – almost every visit we’ve had with an actual doctor involved an excessive amount of waiting for the exam to start. Once the doc finally arrived, we were seen, had our next appointment scheduled, & out of the building all within 10 minutes. I asked my questions about increasing ligament tenderness & rather ‘unpleasant’ edema, only to be told there wasn’t really anything that could be done about either – the answer I expected, but not the one I wanted! K We were told that the edema might be contributing to the swinging scales I keep experiencing. Although the OB does insist it’s not a problem, my weight continues to fluctuate – down 10 lbs from 2 weeks ago (28 weeks), which was up 16 lbs from the appointment 4 weeks prior (24 weeks). (It’ll be interesting to see where I am come the day of delivery!) And the best moment of the appointment was, of course, when we got to listen to Scotty’s fetal heart tones! J The baby’s heat rate is now at 140 beats per minute. That’s down quite a lot from the fairly consistent 155 range we’d been hearing before, so I did ask if that number was worrisome. Dr. Roberson says that by the time Scotty is born, s/he’ll have a heart rate down around 120 BPM, and that we’re progressing toward that point with no foreseen problems. Always good to know! J Our next OB appointment is September 3rd (with the dreaded Dr. Jenkins), but we do have the 2nd in-depth ultrasound on August 30th down at the Eastern Virginia School of Medicine!! |
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Week 31 (Aug 26 - Sept 1, 2002) Friday is the big day this week & we’ll have a picture to post, so I’ll try to keep this update short! J Can’t have ya’ll (Mary!) panicking that something dreadful has kept me from the computer though! We’re both terribly excited to see Scotty via ultrasound on Friday ~ hopefully the tech will be able to get a good look at the baby’s heart this time. There’s been plenty of activity from Scotty over the last week – yesterday was hopefully not a sign of things to come, for the baby hardly slept at all! J And I was assaulted by a stranger for the 1st time, too! J Okay – not assaulted & not a stranger by true definition of the words... Mom & I were stocking up on things for Scotty in TJ Maxx when the check out clerk (Gina) reached out for my belly - hesitated long enough to ask my permission - and then gave the baby a rub! I now feel it’s obvious to the world that I’m officially pregnant! Time is really flying by though! Kraston has made great strides on the nursery – everything is finally unpacked! (I've made strides, too, like having picked up quilted celestial pillow cases & an accent pillow for the bed that will share the room with the crib!) We plan to paint Scotty’s room the last weekend of September & then work on a fresh coat of white on the furniture the following weekend. Mommy & Daddy continue to ‘house-hunt’ but we shan’t leave Baby’s décor pending on a new home! J Week 31 +6 days Friday was the 2nd of our in-depth ultrasounds at EVMS! J This one was performed by Deb, who says Scotty looks beautiful. S/he’s now 3lbs 14oz and in the 43rd growth percentile, with a heart rate of 146bpm. And while we’re on the subject of the baby’s heart... The whole reason we went in on Friday was to get a good look at Scotty’s heart, since last time it was tucked behind my belly button. This time the baby was laying engaged (head down, on his/her side – facing my right, legs poised to do some kidney kickin’), so we were able to get the look we needed – after Scotty finally cooperated by moving the arm blocking our view off his/her chest – upon request, no less! (What a kid! J) Valve functioning & the 4 chambers of the heart were clearly visible, and the doctor also showed us breathing movements – so 2 U/S firsts for Mommy & Daddy! Though we still don’t want to know Scotty’s sex, we did ask both the tech & the doctor if all the necessary parts were accounted for & as they should be. The tech wouldn’t say (“Maybe...”), but the doc said that Scotty’s gender was “unambiguous” and everything looked fine in that department. He did go on to state that unambiguous doesn’t mean BOY, since labia is just as apparent as testes on the ultrasound, so we shouldn’t try to interpret his comment either way. Having surfed other ultrasound websites & seen the differences for myself, I know he wasn’t just creating a cover story to preserve our ‘not to know’ position! We were also given pictures of the ultrasound, and of course you can click away if you’d like to see Scotty’s latest! J The first is of Baby’s face & the second is a profile of the body. |
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(Mommy
needs to buy a new picture frame – we’ve had more U/Ss than the
original 4 the OB planned on!) This
will be the last ultrasound we have, unless something goes wrong between
now & delivery. On the
way out of the exam room, we wished them a happy Labor Day & the doc
made a joke about our labor day coming up soon enough!
Both Kraston & I really like the 2 techs & 2 doctors we met
at EVMS & are sorry that they won’t be the delivery team when Scotty
comes into the world...but you do what the HMO tells you to, and in
Williamsburg, we haven’t a choice of OB clinics.
Speaking of which, September 3rd is our next OB
appointment, so no worrying allowed if there is no post until after the
visit! J |
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Week 32 (Sept 2 - Sept 8, 2002) I
guess it’s a good sign where the actual pregnancy is concerned that
we spend more time waiting in the exam room than we do during the actual
exam... Again today, as at
our previous appointments to see any of the OBs, the wait was long (though
not horrible) -- especially when compared to the actual length of the
visit by Dr. Jenkins. All is
well thus far, though, so no complaints here.
Apparently we are right on track, my belly measured at exactly 32
weeks on his tape measure & we’re 32 Weeks & 1 Day along.
Saving the baby’s umbilical cord blood was the only topic we
brought to the appointment & the doc agreed that it was a smart idea
on our part to do so. With
his support of the process, the collection kit from Cord Blood Registry
will be requested. Mommy
& Daddy also got an extra treat at the doctor’s office!
As if right on cue, Scotty gave an audible kick to the Doppler at
our OB appointment today! J
We had difficulty getting a steady reading on the heart rate this
time, though (ranging from 142 to 130 beats per minute), what with all
that playing around going on inside. I’m glad our kid can entertain him/herself ~ a handy skill
to have in Life! J
Kraston has developed ‘labor room jitters’ as the reality of
‘8 weeks left’ sinks in! He’s
having dreams now of my going into labor in the halls of the hospital,
& would prefer to go from Pregnant to Parents with no Delivery stage
in between so he doesn't have to watch me suffer.
I’m not so much fearful of Pain, but of having something go wrong
during the delivery ~ a C-section is NOT the goal here, no mater how
‘common’ the procedure! I’m
really hoping the Childbirth Preparation classes we’ve enrolled in
actually HELP, as I’d prefer to forgo the epidural even (but I’m not
a glutton for punishment!). I
just feel that because the getting pregnant part was a tad less than
‘natural’, I’d like the delivery to be as ‘natural’ as
my body can handle! So we
start Lamaze on Sept. 22nd & will be reading up on other
birthing techniques (Bradley Method included) from now until the Big Day
to be as prepared as possible! Daddy
is really getting practice at labor massage now that Braxton-Hicks
contractions of the back as well as abdomen have joined the ranks
with Mommy's other Pregnancy Symptoms! K |
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Week 33 (Sept 9 - Sept 15, 2002) Kraston
& I just can’t believe there are only 7 weeks until our due date!
Everyone said that the last trimester would drag on forever, but
for us it is zooming by way too fast!
Perhaps it is because we wanted to be here ~ pregnant ~ for so long
that concentrating on more than ‘this’ as the objective seemed too
good to be true!! J
It will all be over soon, this thing - this state - this condition
of pregnancy ... and we put so much focus for so long on achieving this
goal that “a baby” is a wonderful bonus for overcoming
infertility. I know that
sounds crazy, that what we were really hoping for was a baby – not just
a pregnancy...and that is, of course, true!
But the odds of ‘baby’ as our outcome going into the fertility
treatments seemed too much to hope against that we (or at least I, Kraston
was far more optimistic) put ‘pregnancy’ as the aspiration &
‘baby’ as the thing to fantasize about...
And now it’s really happening – our dreams are on the cusp of
coming true!! More & more
these days we make little comments to each other about how there really is
a baby in this belly of mine. A
person we’ve created is just waiting to be born...who we’re just
longing to meet! The thought still catches us by surprise & fills us with
awe! And speaking of awe ~
Auntie Becky was down at the B&B this weekend & spent a great deal
of her Sunday staring at my belly, perhaps more out of curiosity than
awe..?! She was rewarded with a flutter from our lil’ one & got
to feel (along with Grams) the forming toes of future Brennan feet (heaven
forbid ~ please let Daddy’s genes have won that battle!).
Scotty, Mommy & Daddy even showed Auntie Becky our trick with
the remote control, whereby Scotty kicks the object balanced on my tummy! J Our
future kickboxer enjoys taking a whack at any inanimate object that my
belly presses against, it’s really a novelty to both Kraston & me!
Along with the remote control, Mommy’s latest novel, a wooden
ruler, the dining table, & the bed, Scotty’s favorite pastime is
kicking at the keyboard while I type (and s/he’s doing so right now)!
S/he’s partaken in this activity so much so (or I sit at the
PC so much so) that I have a permanent tender spot next to my naval
from where my skin rubs the keyboard with every kick! K Other
than that & heartburn, my only discomfort at this stage in the
pregnancy is intense pelvic strain from the ligament stretching that has
increased over the last week or so L, causing me to really waddle like a
duck now!! Make no mistake
however, the grunting that accompanies the waddle & shifting of
positions is a guttural reaction, not a complaint – I’ve loved
being pregnant & I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything, so
long as Scotty is the reward! J |
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Week 34 (Sept 16 - Sept 22, 2002) We witnessed a glimpse of our future at a breastfeeding class held by the Family Maternity Center at our hospital... I knew Scotty’d eat a lot, but every 2 or 3 hours for 40-ish minutes I was not prepared to hear! And that wasn’t the end of surprises in store. We’re planning to breast feed exclusively for the 1st six months of this little one’s life, with bottle-fed expressed milk being incorporated after about 5 weeks, and solids after 6 months. Our goal is to reduce Scotty’s chances of inheriting the food allergies in our families. A noble cause, if I do say so myself. J Well, at the class we learned how to go about providing allergy benefits to the infant with breast milk. Apparently, it is professed that my avoiding foods & food family groups to which there is a known ‘familial history of allergic reaction’ for the first 6 months of feeding is how we help Scotty avoid inheriting these same allergies. So part of my weekend was spent compiling a list of ‘familial allergies’ and researching ‘food families’... Am I ever in shock!! I have reactions to milk, tomatoes, scallops, and corn – those alone limit food choices for me already (because what is not made with either milk or tomatoes?). But when I factor in the allergies Kraston has, along with those of my mom, dad, & brother – suddenly there is not much left for me to eat come November thru May! And we haven’t even asked Kraston’s family about their allergies! The sheer number of restricted foods – once you add in ‘food families’ – is astounding. K This is going to be one heck of a challenge, but Scotty’s health is worth it, of course! And Daddy knows he’s in for the same restrictions, because there’s no way Mommy will be making 2 dinners or watching him eat the yummy stuff she can’t ~ at least not at home!! Kraston says it’s a good thing I still eat poultry! J |
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Week 35 (Sept 23 - Sept 29, 2002) Things here are in a state of flux right now... We’re staying at Mom & Dad’s with Willie, while they’re off across the pond gallivanting in England. J And that means web updates are not nearly as convenient to make from here since we are without FrontPage! But all is well - have no fear!! Our last OB appointment was on Friday with Dr. Pearce, who assures us everything is on track with Scotty. J The baby’s heart rate was at 150 bpm. We see Dr. Roberson on Oct 4th to start the every-visit dilation checks, and that will be the 1st of weekly appointments until Scotty’s birth day! J I can’t believe how fast this pregnancy is going by!! I wish we could just slow time so we can savor every moment of it! Lamaze started on Sunday. So far I have not learned anything new in Lamaze, but we've only had one class. No hee-hee-hoo-hoo breathing yet, just run-of-the-mill relaxation/deep breathing techniques. Hopefully the depth of the class will improve ~ otherwise it's not preparing me for childbirth anymore than I apparently already am -- and I don’t feel readied at all! K I think it's helping Kraston though -- to hear, not just read what to expect & to see other dads who are less prepared than he is! J I think it's making him feel a bit more confident that he really has been preparing, since he's definitely -visibly- more supportive than some of the other dads in our class. It is nice to be surrounded with other people at our exact place in life though...and to be among all those bloomin' bellies! J |
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Week 36 (Sept 30 - Oct 6, 2002) Auntie
Tracy was down to visit Scotty this weekend!
J It’d been a month & a half since we’d last seen each
other & she was shocked by how much growin’ Baby (uh, Mommy?) has done in that time!
(In fact, quite a few people have commented lately on the fact that
I am indeed pregnant! J
My
cycle buddy Sandy was just saying how she feels like her belly blossomed
over night with Tate & now she really looks pregnant, too!)
While she was here, I dragged Tracy around with me to the
doctor’s office (I have aggravated an old knee injury, so it seems)
& then we met Kraston at the Polo Club for dinner reservations made by
Uncle Mikey! (On William
& Mary’s Parents Weekend, it’s good to be sister to the General
Manager! J)
We made an addition to our family website this weekend, too -- a
new Survey Says page! Now
there are 2 pregnancy polls awaiting feedback (click
here, or link from our Journal Entryway to participate). Sorry, names are not
up for negotiation. However,
we would love to hear when you think our baby will be born &
your guess on if we’re having a boy or a girl! J
Lamaze continues to be an interesting Sunday activity (especially
with the aide of a crutch!), but has yet to teach us anything new about
handling pain more than the stress-management skills we are already
familiar with... K
My hopes remain high that something more
to learn is still down the road, after all this was only our 2nd class.
One thing Lamaze has taught us about is the terminology of
labor, though, & we might get to put some
of it to use this week! Friday
will be the 1st of our weekly office visits & my 1st of many routine
cervical checks in the 5 weeks to come...
Having started out as a “high risk” pregnancy thanks to PCOS,
it’s relieving to have everything referred to as “routine” these
days! J
And among the routine things we’re apparently scheduled to do in
Week 36 is pack the hospital bag!!
How is it possible that we’ve already gotten to that point...?!? |
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Week 37 (Oct 7 - Oct 13, 2002) A lot has occurred in our little world since the last update... To begin with, I had a disappointingly hasty Week 36 OB appointment on Friday the 4th with our primary OB, Dr. Roberson. Not only was the wait once in the exam room excessive as I’ve come to expect, but she rushed the actual exam more than ever. By her way of thinking, we were done with the appointment before 2 minutes of our time together was up. That I actually asked questions about my status seemed an affront to her schedule! And unlike the appointment guide given to me at my very first visit said there would be, I did not receive the pelvic exam I was anticipating – and inquired repeatedly about. Asking for her signature on the cord blood banking forms was pushing our time too far – I literally had to stop her from walking out of the room & hand my own pen over to get a signature! Frustration, do you sense my frustration?!? Anyhow, moving on to more pleasant events... Grams & Mommy went shopping on Tuesday, and while we were out & about I started having contractions of a new level! They were not regular in spacing, so I was positive that labor had not begun, but Mom was awfully cute with her watch at the ready to time how long it was between each contraction! Rather than return me to my own doorstep, she took me back to their house for fear I’d go into full labor by myself! (How sweet!) But, obviously, yesterday was not Labor Day in the Scott household. And our Week 37 OB appointment was today with Dr. Pearce. He confirmed my ‘calm, cool & collected’ response to the new strength behind yesterday’s contractions was the appropriate one, given that they were indeed irregular in pattern. (By the way, the wait to see him was nearly non-existent, for a change!) And not only did we get to hear Scotty’s heartbeat, but I finally had my first ‘routine’ pelvic exam to check our progress. For the record, I’m 50% effaced, my cervix is closed, and we’re at -3 station. (That’s the kind of stuff Lamaze has taught us to listen for! J) In other news, Kraston & I started really house hunting with our family friend & realtor, Brenda on Wednesday the 2nd. She took us to 2 houses on Wed. and a 3rd on Thursday. The house on Thursday turned out to be one we’d seen over this summer when the nesting instinct sent us both out scouting neighborhoods. Apparently, the pending offer on it had just fallen through & the house was going up for sale again on that very day. Its inside was as appealing to us as the home’s location, so we made an offer on the house Friday the 4th. Things remain a little cloudy regarding the previous buyers still needing to sign some forms releasing the seller from the contract that is no longer underway, but with that as the contingency, our offer was accepted this afternoon!!! J Grandma, Grandpa, & Uncle Zoom will be out to visit Scotty (oh, and Daddy & Mommy, too) during the week prior to our scheduled closing on the new house (fingers crossed that all goes well!), and we can’t wait to show them ALL of our soon-to-be additions!! For a sneak-peek of our would-be abode, click here! As insane as the timing may be, it seems Kraston & I are on our way to not only becoming parents, but home owners, too! J |
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Week 38 (Oct 14 - Oct 20, 2002) This
update is late in coming – I know!
And
I still have my OB appt with Dr. Jones to report on come Friday!
But I
thought I’d post now anyhow since some ‘baby things’ have
happened since my last one! Namely,
Kraston received a surprise baby shower at the office on Oct. 11th!
J
He was indeed astonished, and I was there to witness the shock.
Daddy & Mommy both were touched that his ‘birthday club’
made such an effort ~ especially since all along he’d been telling
everybody who asked that we hadn’t registered anywhere & there were
no plans for a pre-baby shower! Talk
about us making things difficult...! At
their insistence (as though I needed an excuse), we headed down to
Babies-R-Us this weekend! J Just
for the fun of it (Kraston playing with the scanner gun), we registered
for the nifty stuff I’ve been researching on BabiesRUs.com. Shower or not, I guess it is easier to have it all on a “to
buy” list rather than pick things up as you go along like we’ve been
doing up to now. We also took
Grams with us to Lamaze on Sunday – figure if she’s gonna be of any
‘use’ to us in L&D, she might as well have a refresher.
Things have changed a bit in the world of Lamaze since she last took it
for Mike going on 25 years ago now! I
thought it might also make Kraston a bit more at ease to know that he had
a back up for “Mt. Dew breaks” if we end up with a long labor, though
he insists he won’t need a sub-coach!
Sunday’s class included a tour of the maternity ward, as well –
it was a repeat for us, but now Grams is familiar with the layout, too. J Along
with the fun stuff, I also managed to stumble across a name for the
constant, grinding pelvic pain I’ve mentioned over the last few months.
Like Dr. Fitzpatrick (our family practice doc) said when I went in to see
him about my bum knee, the pain is related to the Relaxin hormone, and all
symptoms point to Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) – not just the
normal pelvic discomfort that can accompany pregnancy.
It’s a tad bothersome (gurr!) that our PCP had more of an idea of
what the prenatal condition might be than the 3 of 4 docs on our OB
team have come up with. But
then, at the same time, I am not shocked to be fobbed off with the standard
“well, you’re pregnant” answer, because that’s just the kind of
attentiveness most of the practice has shown thus far on one occasion or
the other. I will take Dr.
Fitz’s theory & my own findings on SPD to Dr. Jones at
Friday’s appointment. I’ve
not yet had a chance to mention the pain to him, so it will be interesting
to see what the head OB has to say... |
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Week 39 (Oct 21 - Oct 27, 2002) Despite
predictions from many that we’d deliver a week early due to cosmic
events, we survived Monday’s full moon with no more than the usual
amount of contractions – for which I am grateful!
Everyone keeps saying that I ought to be sick of being pregnant by
now, but I really am loving it! I
think I’ll actually rather miss the constant presence of the lil’
alien I’m hosting! Of
course, having Scotty to hold in my arms will ease that
loss, I’m sure!!!!
JJJ I had my Week 39 OB
appt. on Tuesday with Dr. Roberson...
There was not much change in progression from Friday’s visit with
Dr. Jones, except that my cervix has dilated a ½ centimeter more to a
full 1 cm. We had a quickie
ultrasound to confirm the baby isn’t breech, but there are no pictures
to share – we didn’t even get an update on Scotty’s size.
L I
do have a wicked head cold right now that I’m to monitor & take
antibiotics for if it hasn’t cleared up by Monday (Labor Day in the
Scott household!). But the
antibiotics will surely cause other ‘issues’ & make for
complications at the time of delivery...
So I’m hovering over the humidifier & snortin’ up the
saline spray in an effort to keep a sinus infection at bay!
Saint Kraston has his halo out & polished yet again, as I am
quite cranky when feeling under the weather!
(In fact, Kraston commented just last night on how he hopes we have
a short labor or he’s in big trouble if I’m not feeling better by
then!
K) I’m sure this is one
characteristic Daddy’d rather Mommy not pass down to Scotty... J I can’t believe that in about 4 days (give or take) we’ll really
be able to see what traits this little person has inherited!! :)
Will s/he have blond hair like Mommy did at birth, or Daddy’s jet
black...stick straight like Mom’s or cute wavelets like Dad’s...?
Kraston’s features aren’t very strongly Vietnamese, but will
Scotty’s be...? Or do some of my Irish/Scandinavian genes stand a chance
with his Scottish blood in the mix, too?
Of my contributions, I hope our poor child isn’t cursed with
Brennan feet!! L Will
his/her eyes turn out to be blue like Mommy, Gramps, & Nana Kathleen?
Or the hazel of Daddy, Grandpa, and Grams?
Or brown like Grandma, Uncle Mikey, & Uncle Zoom?
And the biggest mystery of all, will Scotty be a boy or a girl?!?
We soon shall see... J |
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Week 40 of 40 (Oct 28 - Nov 3, 2002) Well,
today is the big day ~ should the stork arrive on time... J As
of 8 AM, however, there are no signs today of upcoming labor – not even
a twinge of contraction! I have
been contracting all weekend long, but though the ‘lengths’ have
been consistent, they stop after a while.
Last week Dr. Roberson said we’re to call in when the
contractions are at 5 minutes apart & have stayed so for an hour.
The closest we’ve gotten to that was on Saturday when I
contracted at 6 minutes apart for about a half hour – at the TJ Maxx
with Grams & Auntie Becky, after a quick visit to show off our
soon-to-be home. J I’ve
been having so many contractions lately that I don’t even get my hopes
up now when they start! We
have an OB appointment with Dr. Roberson at 11:20 this morning, so
hopefully she’ll say I’ve dilated quite a bit further than the 1 cm of
last Tuesday & perhaps Scotty will finally be at zero station (or
lower!) – which will rule out the possibility of turning breech!
At 3:30, I have an appointment with my Chiropractor, too. I’ve been seeing Dr. Walsh since May 2nd (Week
14) about the pain in my leg that got worse during the 1st
trimester. He’s been a
lifesaver – I can’t imagine having gone through this pregnancy without
his adjustments! The numbness
still comes & goes, but the diagonal ‘searing’ pain across the
front of my thigh (from hip to knee) that woke me up screaming in agony
& not able to move my leg has not returned since Week 15!
Ever optimistic, he & Barbara thought I ought to have one more
adjustment before labor started today! J
Personally, I don’t see the rush!!
All of a sudden, I’m a bit scared about the huge event on
the horizon ~ not Labor & Delivery, but beyond that to Life with
Baby!! Kraston seems(?) to
have great faith in my ability to mother our child, though – it is
L&D he’s worried about!
That & not having things quite ready for Scotty’s
homecoming...like the baby seat from Grams & Gramps is in the living
room, not in the car! Mommy
& Daddy are the only ones content to let Baby come in his/her own
sweet time, however! J Uncle Mikey has
placed his order for a Monday or Tuesday delivery – his days off!
Today is Uncle Zoom’s birthday, too, so he & Baby would share
the day if this little Punkin’ arrives as scheduled! And Grams is constantly hounding about when this baby will
show up ~ as if I have any control!
Gramps teases(?) that I need to wear a lawn-n-leaf bag when we’re
at their house or in their car – in case my water breaks! We got a call from Grandpa last night – on the cell
phone from Nebraska – just trying to stay in touch should labor
start while he & Grandma were out of the house!
Everyone seems to begin conversations with me lately by saying
“So, have you had that baby yet?” instead of hello!!
Sandy (my cycle buddy due on the same day) had not dilated at all
as of her update on the 23rd, so we shall see if either little
Tate or Scotty make their grand appearances today!!! J
v
Here are the (disappointing) stats from today’s OB visit:
a bit further dilated (1 ½ cm), no change in effacement or
station. So, really
no closer to labor today than I was at this time a week and a half ago!! K Dr. Roberson wants to
induce labor on Sunday, but that pleases me not. K
We negotiated for a non-stress test and another pelvic exam on
Monday, Nov. 4th (1st day of Week 41).
If I am not at 4 cm by that exam, she wants a maternity ward
check-in the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 6th to start Cervidil
(a gel that softens & ripens the cervix), with a vaginal delivery expected
on Thursday or a C-section if
no baby by Friday
evening. This makes me not
happy, not happy, not happy!!!
I just feel that unless there is maternal or fetal distress,
induction is not a necessary step!! And
that the general thinking is “induction at Week 42 advisable” but my
OB team prefers to induce on the 1st day of Week 41 is really
annoying! Women have been
having babies for thousands of years without inducing labor!
Hopefully it won’t come to that & Scotty will surprise us and
Dr. Roberson by dropping in sometime between now & our appointment
Monday at 2:30 in the afternoon! J
Week 40
+1 day As
it stands now, both Sandy & I are still great with child
and we’ve progressed about the same amount.
Since we conceived on the same day, I think it would be terrific
if our children have the same birthdays, too!
Her OB isn’t even broaching the induction topic until Monday
(Week 41), though – so unless we both go into spontaneous labor together
or Sandy progresses faster, I’m on the books to give birth before
her. K Ya
know, I feel like I’m having déjà vu!
It seems like everyone around me is trying to get pregnant,
pregnant, waiting to deliver a baby any day now, or just had a baby! J I know they say
pregnant women bring luck to those trying to conceive, but I must have
some mighty powerful *~*Baby Dust*~* in this pocket-o’-mine! The legend of rubbing on a Buddha’s Belly for good luck
seems to hold true for rubbing on Buddha Baby Bellies, too!! It’s as though my every thought lately (aside from the ones
about our house) has been about conceiving, carrying, or delivering
babies!! J It’s
quite an obsessive topic, really! At
Auntie Tracy’s suggestion, I’m back to BBTing (basal body temperature)
to see if I get at least a .5 dip in my waking temp that is said to
predict labor starting within 24 hours.
I’d never read anything on that before...
Obviously, conception thoughts have HER as distracted as they had
me – now she’s coming up with things I can do to make us both crazy!
Counting down the days that remain in the Two Week Wait will drive
you to do anything (except drink) to pass the time ~ as now
both she & Auntie Leigh can attest to!!
I guess it’s good for me to get back into the BBT habit though,
if we’re shooting for Baby #2 as soon after this lil’ Punkin’
arrives as possible. Since
I’m planning to breastfeed, I won’t be able to use Glucophage to treat
PCOS or Clomid to bring on ovulation for the 1st 6 months of
Scotty’s life. It will be
interesting to see if pregnancy alone is enough to restart natural
ovulation for me. Perhaps I
ought to save some of this *~*Baby Dust*~* to use on myself... J
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Week 41 (Nov 4 - Nov 10, 2002) Well, we’re still no
closer to having a baby this week than we were last week at this time.
Yes, that’s right: there’s been NO PROGRESS at all!!! At least I can take comfort in knowing I’m not the only
one... Sandy’s check-up
today also revealed no status change.
We ended up seeing Dr. Jenkins today, instead of Dr. Roberson as
scheduled – it was the first visit to see him that was pleasant,
actually. Before that, however, we saw Kathy for the non-stress test.
She found Scotty’s heartbeat with something that looked like a
strap-on Doppler, set the belt in the right position, & turned the
reigns over to Kraston. Daddy
held the Doppler in place while we listened to the heartbeat & Mommy
buzzed in with a Jeopardy-like button each time the baby moved!
“What is ‘a kick in the bladder’, Alex?” J My pushes & the
baby’s heart rate were printed out much like an EKG readout & then
added to our records. We
passed the non-stress test with flying colors & headed to our actual
OB visit with high hopes of much progress & a postponed induction.
Dr. Jenkins took a look at the read-out & said he didn’t see
any reason to induce before Friday based on those results alone.
And then he started the cervical exam. K How, how I ask you – with
all the contraction I’ve had over the last week is it possible that
there has been NO progress?? The
baby has even traveled back up higher in my uterus.
Looks like we’ve got not only a late kid on our hands, but
a stubborn one, too – the qualities of Mother & Father each
shining through even inutero! K The
arrangement with Dr. Roberson was that if progress to 4cm had been made,
then we could hold off on the induction until Friday (since I really
do not want to add the additional risk of inducement to my
c-section odds), but if there’d been no progress by today’s visit she
wanted to start induction on Wednesday evening.
Dr. Jenkins said that he’d still be fine with starting induction
on Friday but that if a c-section were needed in the end, the weekend
staff at the hospital would be limited & Dr. Roberson would be the
only OB in surgery with us. His
advice was to plan the induction around a schedule that would allow for a
2nd OB to assist with the cesarean, should it come to that.
An induction this Wednesday or this coming Sunday would make that
possible. His measurement of
the baby (which he readily admitted could be way off due to Scotty’s
high position) was at 9 lbs. Yes
– you read that right – Dr. Jenkins thinks this is a NINE POUND baby.
He suspects that Scotty might already be too big for the birth
canal, and a c-section would therefore be needed with or without
induction. Because of that,
his suggestion was to schedule the induction early, rather than go into
spontaneous labor this weekend & face the same situation where we need
a c-section but only 1 OB is available for surgery.
So we are on the books for a 5:30pm Wednesday check-in, with
Cervidil to begin at about 7pm. The
practice usually does no more than 3 rounds of Cervidil to reach 2 or 3
centimeters. After I’ve
dilated to that appropriate amount, a Pitocen drip would be started &
my water broken artificially. (These
are the 2 steps that lead to higher c-section rates...K)
If labor still does not progress, Dr. Roberson has scheduled to
perform a cesarean at Noon on Friday.
I am thinking of postponing this whole process until a Sunday
evening check-in, if they’ll let me.
I really want to go o’natural with this delivery & that would
give my cervix some more time to kick it in gear!
If the tests all show that both Scotty & I are fine, then why
rush it?!? Okay – I know
why: the availability of a 2nd
OB present at a c-section if we go into labor this weekend & can’t
squeeze this lil’ one out! But
at the same time, even Dr. Jenkins said right away that his own
measurement could be off since the baby is currently so high!!
So, ‘spontaneous labor’ & ‘little baby’ thoughts
only!!!! J
Week
41 +2
days
Today was our scheduled check-in, so an update is due.
Ready? Ok.
No induction today! JJ I bet you guessed that already!
I broke a tooth & had a dentist appointment this afternoon to
get it fixed before the induction. Seeing
this as yet another sign to postpone our check-in (as though I needed
another one), I called the OB’s office to get the opinion of the head
OB, Dr. Jones, on if waiting until Sunday was doable.
He was out of town. Just
my luck. So Robin at the office paged the on-call doc for me to
discuss my concerns. Dr.
Jenkins, as fate would have it, called me back within a half hour.
I said that with not knowing how much pain I was going to be in
after the dentist & having gotten little sleep the night before, I’d
really like to consider putting the induction off until Sunday.
I explained that his advice about having a 2nd OB
available to assist in an emergency cesarean was what made me decide to
request checking-in for induction be put off until Sunday evening.
The gelled drug they’ll insert (Cervidil) usually takes 12 hours
to work, and that would mean the actual induction would begin Monday
morning, if my cervix had dilated far enough for them to start Pitocen
& break my waters. He
said that while they’d prefer to get the ball rolling sooner than later,
it was not unreasonable for me to wait.
He also confirmed that Week 42 was a customary timeframe to induce
at many other practices, and that chances of fetal complications like
Meconium aspiration & still birth were still very small if delivery
was made at the beginning of Week 42.
He let me make the final decision, and I feel as though he
respected that my reasoning was sound.
So the long-range plan is now:
Check in at the hospital into Dr. Roberson’s care on Sunday to
start the Cervidil, if necessary. (That's assuming that I don't go
into natural labor over the weekend. K) At most, three gel disks of Cervidil will
be used to dilate me enough to begin the Pitocen. Each disk would be applied for 12 hours.
After the 3rd disk, if it takes that many, Pitocen will
be administered through an IV drip & my waters will be broken.
If enough progress is not made for me to push before infection from
prematurely rupturing the waters begins, Dr. Jenkins would do the
c-section Tuesday afternoon. If
I do progress enough to push before the ‘cut-off’ for infection, but
the baby turns out to be too big or breech, it will be Dr. Jones
performing the c-section on Monday. Should we have a natural labor begin this weekend & need
a cesarean then, we’ll be in the position of having only one OB at the
hospital to do the surgery. Dr.
Jenkins doubts my cervix will dilate enough naturally to go into labor on
my own, however. K Hopefully
we’ll prove him wrong! J
It’s ironic really. In
the end here, the doctor I most dreaded has turned out to be the one in my
corner when it comes to waiting on the induction. Since he sees me
as a high c-section risk pregnancy already because of my weight, Dr,
Jenkins feels that inducing will only increase the chances of my needing
an emergency cesarean. So fat-phobia pays off in an odd way.
Again, ‘spontaneous labor & little baby’ thoughts are the
order of the day!! With any luck, the next update to this journal will be
composed from our room at WCH!! J Week 41 +6
days
Another Journal entry and still no sign of Scotty...
Oh well. L
I lost the infamous mucus plug Friday morning at 9:05, but the
cervical check at 4:30 pm that day showed only a slight change in
dilation. The OB was able to feel the baby's head just beyond my
cervix this time, though. He (yet again, Dr. Jenkins) said that was
a good sign, but nothing major has happened since then...
K
Check-in at Williamsburg Community Hospital is at 4:30 today. The
way I figure it, we've got just a few hours to have this baby without
intervention! So come on kiddo! Actually ~ they'll start the
Cervidil gel disks first if we're (who’s this WE?
Me. If I’m...) not
dilated far enough to begin Pitocin right away. I don't know the
EXACT procedure for artificially rupturing waters once on the Pitocin
drip... Perhaps we have some time to let those drug-induced
contractions cause my water to break on its own. You know I’ll
look that one up! J And that I'll request it once at WCH!!
(What a pushy broad your Mommy is, little one!!) In other
news, Sandy’s little boy Tate was born on Thursday! J She sent word of his
arrival & pictures
yesterday! So one half of
this buddy-system had made it safely across the street into Motherhood!
While she was busy adjusting to her 1st day at home with
Baby, Saturday was -for us- really rather wonderful, as pregnancy goes.
Scotty put on quite a show in ye olde belly, with several encore
performances! JJ I thought babies were supposed to really slow down for lack
of space/cramped conditions once we were this far along? But
our lil' punkin' is all over the place!! Not at all interested in
coming out on his/her own ~ despite the good talkin' to I've attempted to
give. J (A sign of discipline problems in the
future...?) I'm grateful for
the movement if s/he's not going to come o'natural!! At least I know
the baby is alive & kickin' (literally) and I’m not gripped with
fear over the 'risks' Dr. Roberson tried to sell us about not
inducing before Week 41 began! And hey -- it's soooo cool!!!! JJJ I'll be really
surprised (not to mention in pain) if this is a 9+ pound baby ~ my
uterus must be a mansion if so, plenty of room to spread out in!!
J
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Week 42 (Nov 11 - Nov 17, 2002)
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