Week 34 - Relieved and Thankful

This past week has been a complete 180 from where I was last time I posted, and it's a really nice feeling. So many worries have been lifted off my shoulders, and I've been amazed at how generous and helpful people can be. A lot has happened, so here's the not-so-short story.

Last Thursday, we went to get the ultrasound done with the perinatologist. The verdict? Brianna's big, but not too big by just a hair. That day she was estimated at 5 pounds 8 ounces, which put her in the 87th percentile for size, and anything under 90th percentile is considered okay. This is great, because it means I won't necessarily be induced early and I have a better chance of starting labor naturally. The tech estimated that she'll be around 9 pounds at birth, but as I've been told, that's nothing my body can't handle thanks to my superbly over-sized bone structure (as evidenced by my huge feet). Everything looks healthy, all her organs seem to be doing well, and while she will have a bit of a belly according to the tech, she will also have long legs. So if there's a pool at the office for her size at birth, I'll go with 8 pounds 14 ounces and 22 inches.

Later that day we had our childbirth prep class, which focused on breastfeeding (and bottle feeding, for those who are choosing to go that direction). I am lucky enough to have a friend lending me a pump, so I can make this work even after I'm back in the office. My mom had a fairly easy time breastfeeding my little brother, and managed to do it until he was over a year old, but I have heard so many horror stories about latch problems, supply problems, pain and infections despite knowing several people who are really successful with it. It was nice to hear what causes those problems, so I can look out for them and have the best possible experience.

Then Saturday I woke up well before the butt-crack of dawn to fly out to California for a fantastic shower with my family and friends from the West Coast. It's amazing how helpful complete strangers are when you are obviously pregnant. I had so many offers of help, and only one or two people were brazen enough to touch my belly in the airports. I will say this though. Do not fly through Dallas if you are pregnant. The bathrooms are incredibly far apart and spaced exactly between the stops for the shuttle that goes around the airport. And then I thought I would be smart and use one of the disability carts that goes around knocking over the bags of unsuspecting travelers while it blazes past carrying the elderly and people unfortunate enough to have sprained an ankle two days before flying. Except I happened to choose the one cart that wanted to pick up everyone and their brother and then change direction several times. I could have walked all the way around all the terminals in the time it took the driver to finally get around to my gate. So, I didn't eat on my layover and my legs weren't fully stretched by the time I had to get back on board. All in all, it wasn't such a bad thing, since I actually had enough appetite after landing to thoroughly enjoy devouring an animal-style cheeseburger and chocolate shake from In-N-Out, and still eat well at the shower.

The shower was a bit of an explosion of pink, but beautifully so. My mom loves entertaining, and she pulled out all the stops for a high tea. Delicious food, pink and white tulips everywhere (I miss how early spring comes to California!), lovely tea, and not a bit of cucumber. I think she didn't believe me at first when I told her I wouldn't come if there any cucumber sandwiches, but threats of puking seemed to do the trick. It was wonderful to be surrounded by so many friends and family, and I'm almost overwhelmed by how generous everyone was. This baby is going to be the most adorably dressed little girl EVER. In fact, I got the same cute little cherry outfit in three different sizes, so she can be extra cute no matter how big she is. There were also some beautiful handmade clothes, like a tiny red bonnet my college roommate knit for her. So precious I almost can't stand it.

Since I was there for the whole weekend, I also got to spend a lot of time with my cousins and friends who had come in exotic locations like Seattle. There were plenty of Yo Mama jokes, and more than a few moments which will not be described to protect the less-than-innocent. Then there was the bath incident. My mom has one of those fancy whirlpool tubs that is also wide enough to accommodate my expanding belly, and I love being in water, so I decided to enjoy it while I could. And while it certainly was nice for me, I discovered that Brianna does. not. like. heat. I didn't notice it with the jets running, but as soon as the water was still I could see her twisting and turning, trying everything to get herself above the water level. I turned on my side to see what she would do, and I basically looked like an alien was trying to escape through my spleen because of the enormous bulge she made trying to get away from the heat.

Once she was calmed down, my family was entertained trying to put cold stuff on my belly to make her move. She must be just like me with the preference for cold over heat, since she didn't do anything. No movement. Nada. Either that, or she was on strike, which is possible given the stubborn streak that Andy and I both have. The fun ended when my mom thought a frozen steak would make her move, which was...not a good idea. Ever seen a pregnant woman surprised and surrounded by too many people? It wasn't pretty. The evening was redeemed by some excellent shrimp with pasta, which I haven't had much of because Andy hasn't been a fan. Plus ice cream for dessert, what's not to love?

The following morning was another far too early experience to fly home. Brianna doesn't seem to like landings or turbulence (though she's fine with takeoff), so I was practicing my breathing exercises to relax despite her punches and twisting around. The flight attendant who was facing me in a jumpseat thought I was having Braxton-Hicks and kept offering me ice. Eventually I got home, with a lovely knot in my back and sore collarbones from hunching my shoulders thanks to the guy next to me with no sense of personal space.

Another thing I got from the flight was a stomach virus. Oh goody! I hated to use another sick day instead of saving them for my maternity leave, but I needed it. I'm not sure that I'm totally over it, but I'm not feeling unwell enough to justify staying home, so work it is. The past two weeks it's been a back and forth dance of each of Andy or I being sick in turns, or on especially unlucky days, both being sick. I could really use a maid service right about now. Instead, we had contractors paint Brianna's room yesterday (light green for the walls and a yellow accent), and then we can really get into setting up her room. I was going to do before and after pictures, but...painting is already finished, so you'll just get after pictures.

Wednesday we went in for the sonogram on my boob, and that came back...okay, I guess? They couldn't see anything despite feeling the nodule, so it's not like I was imagining it, it just turns out that everything looks like healthy tissue. For now, it's a "keep an eye on it" situation, and if my OB/GYN gets worried about it, I can do a mammogram. Which I would really prefer to not do. Supposedly I could safely shield Brianna right now, but I'm just not worried enough by the lump to risk exposing her to radiation. Breastfeeding would also delay getting one done, since milk pretty much obscures everything. All in all, it's reassuring, but I would feel better at least knowing what the hell it is.

So, given that babies gain on average half a pound a week, Brianna is probably about 6 pounds now. Her fingernails are about to the edge of her fingertips, so she'll have those lovely newborn claws that require a manicure immediately. She seems to be in position for birth, with her butt prominently pushing out at the top of my belly. Who knows whether that's true or not, we'll find out at our OB appointment later today. Sleep is becoming problematic, since I wake up at least twice a night to pee and when I get back into bed my hips hurt and she's awake and moving. Fun. Nature's way of preparing me for feedings at midnight and 3am and 4am. She is quite fond of Queen, and loves to move around (in perfect rhythm, no less) whenever one of their songs comes on. I think the Rockabye Baby CDs are in our future, so Andy can get her back to sleep after all those feedings.

Week 32 - When You Give Birth, You'll End Up Living In A Van Down By The River

At this week's childbirth class, we got to learn about all kinds of interventions, what's considered routine at the hospital, and when each one might happen. I probably should have realized this beforehand, but it would have been useful to have some kind of warning about how intense the class would be. And how if you're prone to anxiety and worry, you shouldn't come to class unless you've had a xanax and a couple glasses of wine, because otherwise you'll convince yourself that EVERY intervention is inevitable and you're going to look like a power strip with all the cords and tubing coming off of you, and then you get to be crucified when you get a C-section because of a funny reading on the monitors. The pain meds were also discussed, which was probably meant to be reassuring to most of the women present, but any discussion, pictures, or descriptions of needles going into the spinal area gives me the heebie-jeebies, so it certainly didn't make me feel any better. Besides, I consider pain meds an intervention that I want to avoid unless I'm no longer able to function during active labor and won't have the strength to push when it comes time for that.

The whole thing probably wasn't helped by the appointment we had that same day, in which I learned that I get to have another ultrasound, but this time with a perinatologist in a high-risk diagnostic center. Uh, say what? Apparently this is just to get a specialized growth estimate to see if she's growing too fast, but use the words high-risk and alarm bells tend to go off with me. Andy and I were discussing whether this was going to be worth doing from a financial standpoint, and I explained to him that if Brianna was growing faster than she should, that it would be better for me to be induced a week or two early than to risk a C-section after 40 weeks if she became too large for my pelvis. Which also meant my head was wrapped around those two possibilities for my labor experience going into class, which really didn't help things. To top it all off, she was breech lay, so she definitely hasn't dropped. If she stays like that or goes back to that at every appointment, we'll get to go back to the high-risk center so the perinatologist can attempt an external version, also known as poking and prodding to get Brianna pissed off enough that she turns on her own. [Spell-check thinks I want to call the specialist a paleontologist, but if she goes so overdue that I need one of those, then I think I'll take a C-section after all, thank you very much.]

Adding to the general unease of the day, I asked the doctor about a little lump I had found in my breast, and after feeling it and asking a couple questions about my bra, tells me to stop wearing underwire bras and gives me a referral to get a sonogram of my boob. I was hoping I would get a nice reassuring response like "Oh, that's just [insert innocuous explanation that makes me feel silly for bringing it up in the first place]. You'll be fine." Instead, I have been given the death sentence of having to wear a grandma bra (good-bye sex life and supported breasts, hello sagginess and over-obvious nipples) while being told that an underwire-free bra is actually more supportive anyway. She lied. I got some this weekend, and my poor boobs are definitely an inch or two lower now. It's like a bad sports bra with less mesh, so I have a bit of a uniboob too. I ordered a nursing bra while I was shopping, so we'll see what that turns out to be like.

Bitching aside, there are a few things that are reassuring. When I'm on the external monitor, I can keep using a birthing ball or sit in a chair instead of being forced to lay down. Continuous fetal monitoring isn't standard, and neither is an IV. Internal exams are done every few hours or when the toleration of contractions seems to change, since that tends to signal a changing phase of labor. I can take Primrose Oil to avoid going overdue, and I can try acupuncture (which is covered by my insurance) to jump-start labor as well. No matter what, I won't have to go through having my membranes stripped, because they just don't do it since it's rarely effective. There is always a doctor and a midwife on shift, so I won't have anyone rushing me because they want to make it home in time for dinner. Just hand me off to the next attendant and we'll all be fine.

Brianna is now almost 4 pounds and 19 inches long, though I guess I'll have a more official estimate on Thursday. She still has room to move around, but it's definitely more cramped. A couple days ago, she was kicking me so hard that you could see the outline of her foot on my abdomen, and let's just say I'm pretty sure she'll have my feet. Sorry Little One, I guess we should have gone with Bigfoot as your nickname after all. She's putting on more fat and her skin is becoming less translucent (the pregnancy books aren't doing a good job of convincing me that I'm not just incubating an alien). Last night Andy had his hand on my belly to feel what she was up to, and he gave a little squeeze to get a better idea of what part he was feeling. Well, she kicked back. Not a sharp kick, just a little playful movement in return. So he did it again, and she moved against his hand again. It was so sweet seeing him get so excited to feel her move in response to something he did, especially on Valentine's Day. Just a few more weeks to go!

Week 31 - Attack of the Heartburn, and Why You Shouldn't Tempt Fate

So far, I've had a relatively easy pregnancy, all things considered. People would ask, "Are you dealing with this? Is that giving you a hard time?" And in my infinite foolishness, I would respond with "Oh no, that hasn't been a problem at all. I guess I'm just lucky!" Well, Murphy's Law tells us that this is an excellent way to immediately be bombarded with something.

And that something is Heartburn. With a capital H. And fireworks, and 27 out-of-tune tubas. Because that is just how over the top and obnoxious Heartburn has been lately. I had minor problems with heartburn after eating marinara in the first trimester, but we figured it out pretty quickly, I stayed away for the most part, and eventually I ate it again without problems. But we had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner last weekend because it sounded really good. Big mistake. Heartburn all night, and because it was the only option for Monday's lunch, I took leftovers. Which meant more Heartburn. Then the next night I made a Latin-spiced chickpea dish and tasted one of the chickpeas to be sure I got the seasoning right. I discovered that I might have put a tad too much cayenne in, and immediately was graced with more Heartburn. So it looks like our menu rotation will be changing soon to take out the spicy and/or acidic stuff, at least for the next two months. Which is no fun, because I love spicy food.

In other news, the Cinnabon was FABULOUS. Absolutely delish, especially washed down with a perfectly sweet-tart lemonade. Until it gave me heartburn. Luckily, that craving has been nicely satisfied, so I think I'll be good until I go home to California in a couple weeks. Either way, I'll be having my mom's cinnamon rolls, or failing that, a Cinnabon at the airport. And I get to have In-N-Out when I arrive, which is just awesome. A double-double animal style, paired with a chocolate shake. So. Damn. Good. And I can have it without worry because the 3-hour glucose test came back okay. One of the levels came back high, but that just means I have to be careful with what I eat instead of stabbing myself every few hours.

Brianna is now a whopping three and a half pounds and measures around 18 inches, give or take a smidge. Her brain is in high gear development, so I'll be loading up on eggs and flaxseed now (Omega-3's: nature's wonder food). She's filling out and getting fat on her body so she can keep herself warm, which means she'll look less and less like a hairy Bigfoot when she's born. What she might look like instead is a synchronized swimmer. As she gets bigger, she has less room to move, so I'm getting less of the big kicks (good for my bladder) and more sweeping and stretching motions. One night it felt like she was practicing somersaults and then gave a rousing rendition of YMCA.

We're starting to wonder if she's dropped now since she's in the head-down position most of the time. There seems to be a bit more room in my chest, and my belly seems a little low. Or it could just be that with her being head first she keeps her legs tucked more often than not, and I just carry low in general. But I'm definitely having to pee way more often. Sometimes every hour, occasionally even more often. Sleeping is becoming a pain because I wake up every couple hours and have to hoist myself out of bed despite the fact that my hips are stiff. She's putting a lot of pressure on my pelvis too, which doesn't help with the hip situation and makes it feel like I have a bowling ball resting on my cervix. Which is scary when I think about it, because I know her weight is going double, if not quite triple. It's going to be a long two months.