Okie doke. So, as I mentioned in my 33 week check-in post, I was concerned about pre-e since I gained 8 lbs in the past week (!), my blood pressure has been high, there's been protein in my urine, and my swelling is increasing.
Even though my next appt was scheduled for this coming Tuesday I called my OB's office this morning to let them know about my worries and they said they wanted to see me ASAP so I went in this afternoon.
Based on today's appt I guess everything is fine for now as far as I know. My blood pressure was good at the office (still higher than usual for me at 121/83 while normal is about 110/75ish but nowhere close to some of the readings I've been getting at home with my BP cuff - highest has been 145/98!) so that's good. But it's also slightly frustrating since I feel like the boy who cried wolf.
They tested my urine and the protein level is still at +3, as it was at my last appt a little over 3 weeks ago (and consistent with my own testing at home). They sent me home with a pee jug and are having me do a 24 hour urine collection. Since I have a 3-hour baby class at the hospital tomorrow and then my shower on Sunday I won't be able to do the collection until Monday into Tuesday and will bring it back to the lab on Tuesday morning. I also mentioned to the doc that I have been turned down for a urine test at every single prenatal appointment so far and she said she'd put it in my chart to make sure it is now tested every time moving forward. Good.
They also drew blood and I should get results within a couple/few days. I believe that is to make sure I'm not having any kidney issues.
Regarding the crazy weight gain, the doc didn't really have an answer for that. She seemed to chalk it up to the fact that my weight hasn't really changed in about 3 weeks,
plus regular pregnancy swelling, plus growth of the baby, and she suggested that maybe I have been eating too much sodium which could be causing excess water retention. That's possible - I haven't really been focusing on sodium and I do eat canned soup almost every single day for lunch which is full of sodium so maybe all of this is just the perfect storm this week. I guess I'll just have to see how the next week goes weight-wise.
A good thing is that I don't have any additional symptoms of pre-e: vision changes/floaters, severe headaches, abdominal/shoulder/back pain (beyond normal 3rd tri aches and pains), swelling that so bad it's pitting... I did vomit the other day but I think that was more due to having an empty stomach and eating too many Tums, and I see stars pretty often but it's always after movement (changes in position or bending over to pick something up), so I'm not worried about that stuff.
So for next steps, I need to do the 24 hr urine catch, she told me to continue to monitor my BP and keep using the urine test strips if I want to, try to limit my sodium intake, and just wait for the results of my B/W (and then urine collection next week). They're also switching me to routine appts every other week now moving forward.
Lastly, I did mention to her that I've been feeling the baby
move less lately so she gave me a non-stress test (NST) to make sure baby is doing okay. And he is! His HB is good and he passed in plenty of time. She also told me I should be doing kick counts (which is interesting because at my last appt I specifically asked that doc if I should do them and he said no), so I'll be starting those now.
I'm also measuring at exactly 33 weeks so that's good :-)
All in all I still feel a bit concerned but I'll just keep an eye on things and keep my FX that all my test results come back okay.
Thanks to everyone who checked in on me today!!
Friday, February 27, 2015
33 weeks, 7 to go!
Wow. 7 to go (at most)... Exciting and scary all at the same time :-)
Major events this week:
My weight ballooned. I wrote last week that I figured I was due for a bit of a jump in weight gain since it had remained the same the past few weeks but this is a little ridiculous: 8 lbs. In one week. Methinks that is not good since "rapid weight gain" is a sign of pre-e. I am definitely retaining water and my hands and feet are not so pretty these days but I don't have pitting or anything. The protein level in my urine has remained the same over the last month (+3) and my blood pressure has slowly been rising and is officially into the high range now but it's nothing crazy yet so...I guess I'm good?
Luckily, my next OB appt is this coming Tuesday so I can ask the doc then if there's anything I should be worried about. I also asked my PAIF girls about their experiences with pre-e so I'm hoping I'll be able to get some more info and advice.
Yesterday I had the privilege of peeing myself while puking! It was pretty awesome. AND Hubs was there to witness it because while I was hurling I started getting dizzy and seeing stars so I called him in to stay with me so that I wouldn't keel over and y'know, knock myself unconscious and choke on my own vomit or something. Instead, I peed myself. (My life is fun right now.)
Baby is moving less these days. Sometimes it freaks me out but logically I know it's just because there is less and less room in there for him to move. I still feel him but not the way I did before. He's starting to get big and should be somewhere around 4.5 lbs! (Although the pregnancy app says 4.2 - 5.8 lbs. Yikes.) I'm looking forward to having my belly measured during Tuesday's appt cuz, um, my belly is huge now:
Rolling over in bed is difficult. Putting on my socks/underwear/pants is difficult. Wiping myself after using the bathroom is difficult. (How do extremely obese people manage it?) And you don't even want to know how hairy I am below the waist these days. Poor hubby. (Not that there's been any sexy time going on around here... although I can't imagine why not since I spend my days waddling around the house in Hubs' over-sized shirts and the same 2 pairs of pajama pants while he watches me puke and pee at the same time. I'm a babe!)
Nursery is mostly put together!! This past weekend Hubs and I did some serious work in there and I love it and am getting so excited :-) I'll do an AW post soon with pics.
Also, my baby shower is this Sunday! I'm not supposed to know that but I'm glad I do so that I can mentally prepare. I'm hoping we'll get a bunch of stuff from our registry so that I can get the nursery as complete as possible. I also have my work shower on Wednesday (another thing I'm not supposed to know about). I am getting super uncomfortable these days but am still happy because this is really some of the best parts of pregnancy: showers, presents, nursery, washing and putting away little baby clothes... it's so exciting!
Finally, we have our baby classes starting this week. We decided to only do a few: Tomorrow is "Parenting your Newborn", Thursday is "Breastfeeding Success" and then next Saturday is the hospital tour of labor & delivery so we know where to go and what to expect.
Things feel like they're moving quickly and slowly all at the same time! Right now I am worried about pre-e so I'm closely monitoring those symptoms but besides that, things are good!
UPDATE (1pm Fri): Based on the advice of some ladies who experienced pre-e, and reinforced by a caring reader, I did call my OB office earlier today to let them know about my symptoms. As it turns out they do want to get me in asap to be checked out so I'm going in later this afternoon. Hopefully it's nothing but better safe than sorry. I'll update the blog when I can - hopefully all is well.
Major events this week:
My weight ballooned. I wrote last week that I figured I was due for a bit of a jump in weight gain since it had remained the same the past few weeks but this is a little ridiculous: 8 lbs. In one week. Methinks that is not good since "rapid weight gain" is a sign of pre-e. I am definitely retaining water and my hands and feet are not so pretty these days but I don't have pitting or anything. The protein level in my urine has remained the same over the last month (+3) and my blood pressure has slowly been rising and is officially into the high range now but it's nothing crazy yet so...I guess I'm good?
Luckily, my next OB appt is this coming Tuesday so I can ask the doc then if there's anything I should be worried about. I also asked my PAIF girls about their experiences with pre-e so I'm hoping I'll be able to get some more info and advice.
Yesterday I had the privilege of peeing myself while puking! It was pretty awesome. AND Hubs was there to witness it because while I was hurling I started getting dizzy and seeing stars so I called him in to stay with me so that I wouldn't keel over and y'know, knock myself unconscious and choke on my own vomit or something. Instead, I peed myself. (My life is fun right now.)
Baby is moving less these days. Sometimes it freaks me out but logically I know it's just because there is less and less room in there for him to move. I still feel him but not the way I did before. He's starting to get big and should be somewhere around 4.5 lbs! (Although the pregnancy app says 4.2 - 5.8 lbs. Yikes.) I'm looking forward to having my belly measured during Tuesday's appt cuz, um, my belly is huge now:
Rolling over in bed is difficult. Putting on my socks/underwear/pants is difficult. Wiping myself after using the bathroom is difficult. (How do extremely obese people manage it?) And you don't even want to know how hairy I am below the waist these days. Poor hubby. (Not that there's been any sexy time going on around here... although I can't imagine why not since I spend my days waddling around the house in Hubs' over-sized shirts and the same 2 pairs of pajama pants while he watches me puke and pee at the same time. I'm a babe!)
Nursery is mostly put together!! This past weekend Hubs and I did some serious work in there and I love it and am getting so excited :-) I'll do an AW post soon with pics.
Also, my baby shower is this Sunday! I'm not supposed to know that but I'm glad I do so that I can mentally prepare. I'm hoping we'll get a bunch of stuff from our registry so that I can get the nursery as complete as possible. I also have my work shower on Wednesday (another thing I'm not supposed to know about). I am getting super uncomfortable these days but am still happy because this is really some of the best parts of pregnancy: showers, presents, nursery, washing and putting away little baby clothes... it's so exciting!
Finally, we have our baby classes starting this week. We decided to only do a few: Tomorrow is "Parenting your Newborn", Thursday is "Breastfeeding Success" and then next Saturday is the hospital tour of labor & delivery so we know where to go and what to expect.
Things feel like they're moving quickly and slowly all at the same time! Right now I am worried about pre-e so I'm closely monitoring those symptoms but besides that, things are good!
UPDATE (1pm Fri): Based on the advice of some ladies who experienced pre-e, and reinforced by a caring reader, I did call my OB office earlier today to let them know about my symptoms. As it turns out they do want to get me in asap to be checked out so I'm going in later this afternoon. Hopefully it's nothing but better safe than sorry. I'll update the blog when I can - hopefully all is well.
Friday, February 20, 2015
32 week check-in
32 weeks down, 8 to go!
Not too much to report on this week, just moving along. The weeks feel slow now.
Check out my low-rider:
Weight gain: +11 lbs (Stayed the same for the last couple weeks so I expect a jump next week as I am feeling huge these days)
Size of baby: Last week was a pineapple, this week is a squash(?). Supposedly that equals somewhere in the vicinity of almost 4 lbs and 17 inches.
Symptoms: I'm pretty sure baby boy is head down. The doc said he thought so at my last OB appt and I am getting some killer pelvic pain these days so it makes sense. His little baby head is putting some serious pressure on my pelvis, hips, lower abdomen, legs, butt. I think it's funny that if he is indeed in the "proper" position (head down, facing in) then when Hubs kisses my belly he's pretty much kissing the baby's butt. Hee.
I'm having all the old symptoms still (insomnia, constipation, heartburn, nausea, shortness of breath, BH, etc.) but a newer symptom lately is a pretty itchy belly. I'm moisturizing twice a day trying to keep it in check but it doesn't always work. I can feel the skin starting to stretch more and more, especially on my sides.
I am also exhausted by about 7:30pm every night. It's not so much sleepiness as just exhaustion from hauling around my body all day long. I'm so achy and sore by that time and my belly feels so heavy that I just can't get comfortable or relax. I kind of shift around positions on the couch, then walk around for a bit, then try the floor, then try to stretch, then try the recliner... it makes for long uncomfortable evenings where I just watch the clock until it's time for bed. Luckily once I get to bed I usually sleep pretty well (minus pee breaks) until 3:30/4am.
Movement: He is a mover and a shaker! I can tell he's running out of space in there though because I rarely feel kicks or jabs anymore. Now it's like he's trying to stretch so I'll feel pressure in multiple places at the same time (like a foot in my ribs and a fist on my bladder), and also rippling motions like he's trying to move around but can't. I'm guessing the alien belly will just get more prominent as the weeks go on. He now has a pretty noticeable daily sleep/wake pattern too.
What I'm looking forward to: Major excitement in my world this week: The nursery is now painted and Hubs and I are putting it all together this weekend!! :-) I have really been looking forward to this. I'll post some pics next week! It still won't be done for a while since the glider/recliner is on backorder and there are quite a few things I registered for that may or may not be gifted to us at my shower (Mar 1st!) but I'm putting together what I have so far. Yay! I cannot WAIT for tomorrow!
Not too much to report on this week, just moving along. The weeks feel slow now.
Check out my low-rider:
Weight gain: +11 lbs (Stayed the same for the last couple weeks so I expect a jump next week as I am feeling huge these days)
Size of baby: Last week was a pineapple, this week is a squash(?). Supposedly that equals somewhere in the vicinity of almost 4 lbs and 17 inches.
Symptoms: I'm pretty sure baby boy is head down. The doc said he thought so at my last OB appt and I am getting some killer pelvic pain these days so it makes sense. His little baby head is putting some serious pressure on my pelvis, hips, lower abdomen, legs, butt. I think it's funny that if he is indeed in the "proper" position (head down, facing in) then when Hubs kisses my belly he's pretty much kissing the baby's butt. Hee.
I'm having all the old symptoms still (insomnia, constipation, heartburn, nausea, shortness of breath, BH, etc.) but a newer symptom lately is a pretty itchy belly. I'm moisturizing twice a day trying to keep it in check but it doesn't always work. I can feel the skin starting to stretch more and more, especially on my sides.
I am also exhausted by about 7:30pm every night. It's not so much sleepiness as just exhaustion from hauling around my body all day long. I'm so achy and sore by that time and my belly feels so heavy that I just can't get comfortable or relax. I kind of shift around positions on the couch, then walk around for a bit, then try the floor, then try to stretch, then try the recliner... it makes for long uncomfortable evenings where I just watch the clock until it's time for bed. Luckily once I get to bed I usually sleep pretty well (minus pee breaks) until 3:30/4am.
Movement: He is a mover and a shaker! I can tell he's running out of space in there though because I rarely feel kicks or jabs anymore. Now it's like he's trying to stretch so I'll feel pressure in multiple places at the same time (like a foot in my ribs and a fist on my bladder), and also rippling motions like he's trying to move around but can't. I'm guessing the alien belly will just get more prominent as the weeks go on. He now has a pretty noticeable daily sleep/wake pattern too.
What I'm looking forward to: Major excitement in my world this week: The nursery is now painted and Hubs and I are putting it all together this weekend!! :-) I have really been looking forward to this. I'll post some pics next week! It still won't be done for a while since the glider/recliner is on backorder and there are quite a few things I registered for that may or may not be gifted to us at my shower (Mar 1st!) but I'm putting together what I have so far. Yay! I cannot WAIT for tomorrow!
Friday, February 13, 2015
31 weeks; 9 to go!
Ahhh! Single digit countdown!!!
31 weeks today and I can I just say HOLY BRAXTON HICKS. I am having so many "practice" contractions every day it is not even funny. To the point where I am actually timing them just because they seem so frequent sometimes. It's kinda freaking me out.
The other thing that's freaking me out is my gigantic alien belly. I just sit on the couch now and watch my belly morph and ripple. Hubs can see it from all the way across the room. It's kind of awesome in a sense but it is also slightly disturbing. The day I see an actual foot will be the day I stop watching.
Belly button is getting dangerously shallow and I'm officially up 11 lbs. Here's the bump!
Aren't I pretty? Also, different bathroom this week - very exciting.
(Really it's because I took this pic earlier in the week and I am way too
tired to put on clothes today to take a new picture. Plus the other
bathroom is upstairs and that would just require too much effort on my
part. Can you tell I'm tired now?)
So as you can see, I am officially big now. And apparently everyone else thinks so too because direct quote from a coworker this week who hasn't seen me in a little bit: "Holy CRAP! You're HUUUUGE!"
Gee, thanks. That's my favorite reaction :-/
And speaking of work, it is fucking crazy and I cannot wait to go out on maternity leave. However, good news is that I had a meeting with my boss earlier this week and she agreed to let me decide for myself when I want to come into the office now. I work from home part time as it is (since I live and work in different states) and it has just gotten so difficult to actually go in since it ends up being such a long day with the commute (particularly with the 8 billion feet of snow we've received in the Boston area in the last month). So depending on how I can move meetings around, I may have already had my last FULL day in the office. Yay!
Lastly, check out the onesie I got off of Etsy. LOVE! Can't wait to put our little (still nameless) son in it! :-)
31 weeks today and I can I just say HOLY BRAXTON HICKS. I am having so many "practice" contractions every day it is not even funny. To the point where I am actually timing them just because they seem so frequent sometimes. It's kinda freaking me out.
The other thing that's freaking me out is my gigantic alien belly. I just sit on the couch now and watch my belly morph and ripple. Hubs can see it from all the way across the room. It's kind of awesome in a sense but it is also slightly disturbing. The day I see an actual foot will be the day I stop watching.
Belly button is getting dangerously shallow and I'm officially up 11 lbs. Here's the bump!
 |
So as you can see, I am officially big now. And apparently everyone else thinks so too because direct quote from a coworker this week who hasn't seen me in a little bit: "Holy CRAP! You're HUUUUGE!"
Gee, thanks. That's my favorite reaction :-/
And speaking of work, it is fucking crazy and I cannot wait to go out on maternity leave. However, good news is that I had a meeting with my boss earlier this week and she agreed to let me decide for myself when I want to come into the office now. I work from home part time as it is (since I live and work in different states) and it has just gotten so difficult to actually go in since it ends up being such a long day with the commute (particularly with the 8 billion feet of snow we've received in the Boston area in the last month). So depending on how I can move meetings around, I may have already had my last FULL day in the office. Yay!
Lastly, check out the onesie I got off of Etsy. LOVE! Can't wait to put our little (still nameless) son in it! :-)
Friday, February 6, 2015
30 weeks!!!
Sooooo.... 30 weeks. I am thrilled. I really truly am so happy and grateful to reach the 30s. It feels like such a milestone to me and I'm so happy we're now in the home stretch.
I cried today thinking about where we are now vs. a year-ish ago. I am so happy to be here. I am also sad. I know I don't talk about it so much anymore but - I miss Petey. Every day. And I always will. We're coming up on 1 year since having to say goodbye (just about a month and a half to go - I've been dreading it) and I cannot BELIEVE it. It doesn't feel like it possibly could have been that long ago. It has been a fast year and simultaneously a very slow and hard year for me too.
I know that doesn't make too much sense.
Sometimes things are still very raw for me though and will hit me out of the blue. For example, the other day I was wearing my Petey Nugget necklace that my wonderful IDOB and SAIF girls gave me (as I often do) but when I leaned into my hubby for a hug he thoughtfully fingered the necklace for a moment and I just burst into tears. Petey is still such a part of our lives but we don't really acknowledge our loss verbally too often anymore. We've "moved on" with life. We've learned to live without him and be "okay" with our reality but it is still very hard being a "mom" to a baby who is not here. And now I will be a mom to a baby who IS here. And I will experience everything with this baby that I was not allowed to experience with our first. It is heartbreaking. But I am also grateful and excited. It's such a convoluted mesh of emotions.
Regardless, I am thrilled to be at 30 weeks. Next week starts my single digit week countdown and that is very exciting to me.
Weight gain: + 9-10 lbs
Rings: Completely off with no chance of coming back on until after I give birth
Sleep: Relatively decent!
Symptoms: NUMEROUS. I get grosser every day. Sausage fingers, cankles, diarrhea and constipation (I never know which one I will be graced with during the day), hemorrhoids, gas, RLP, just generally uncomfortable/sore/achy with a very heavy and sometimes painful belly, Braxton Hicks contractions every day, trouble breathing, less and less range of motion (I now have to think seriously after dropping something about how important it is to actually bend over to pick it up or just leave it lying there)...
Also, my patience with other people is wearing thin. Zoe described it perfectly in that she is "way less tolerant of stupidity" lately. YES. And I feel like it's running rampant in my work-life right now. Ugh. I am looking forward to going out on maternity leave!
Cravings: Nothing major. I still love soup. I also love sweets. And chicken salad sandwiches have been pretty delicious lately (thanks Cici!).
Randoms: I had my routine OB appt earlier this week and all went well! I am measuring right at 30 weeks, baby's HB was great, my BP was great, AND I made them test my pee. Victory! They actually did find protein in my urine but said it wasn't anything to worry about due to the level and the fact that I don't have any other symptoms of pre-eclampsia. (I am going to be vigilant about testing my own urine and BP at home though and keeping an eye on weight and swelling just in case.)
Finally (wow, this post is long), my FIL is coming tomorrow to help Hubs put the crib together! We will now have a crib in the nursery :-) We also have other nursery furniture sitting in the basement waiting to be brought up and put together once the painter and the carpet cleaners do their thing over the next couple weeks. And all the decorations tucked away in the closet are burning a hole in the back of my mind since I cannot WAIT to start decorating once all this maintenence-y stuff is done. I just want my nursery done and my baby in it.
Single digit week countdown is just about here!!
I cried today thinking about where we are now vs. a year-ish ago. I am so happy to be here. I am also sad. I know I don't talk about it so much anymore but - I miss Petey. Every day. And I always will. We're coming up on 1 year since having to say goodbye (just about a month and a half to go - I've been dreading it) and I cannot BELIEVE it. It doesn't feel like it possibly could have been that long ago. It has been a fast year and simultaneously a very slow and hard year for me too.
I know that doesn't make too much sense.
Sometimes things are still very raw for me though and will hit me out of the blue. For example, the other day I was wearing my Petey Nugget necklace that my wonderful IDOB and SAIF girls gave me (as I often do) but when I leaned into my hubby for a hug he thoughtfully fingered the necklace for a moment and I just burst into tears. Petey is still such a part of our lives but we don't really acknowledge our loss verbally too often anymore. We've "moved on" with life. We've learned to live without him and be "okay" with our reality but it is still very hard being a "mom" to a baby who is not here. And now I will be a mom to a baby who IS here. And I will experience everything with this baby that I was not allowed to experience with our first. It is heartbreaking. But I am also grateful and excited. It's such a convoluted mesh of emotions.
Regardless, I am thrilled to be at 30 weeks. Next week starts my single digit week countdown and that is very exciting to me.
Weight gain: + 9-10 lbs
Rings: Completely off with no chance of coming back on until after I give birth
Sleep: Relatively decent!
Symptoms: NUMEROUS. I get grosser every day. Sausage fingers, cankles, diarrhea and constipation (I never know which one I will be graced with during the day), hemorrhoids, gas, RLP, just generally uncomfortable/sore/achy with a very heavy and sometimes painful belly, Braxton Hicks contractions every day, trouble breathing, less and less range of motion (I now have to think seriously after dropping something about how important it is to actually bend over to pick it up or just leave it lying there)...
Also, my patience with other people is wearing thin. Zoe described it perfectly in that she is "way less tolerant of stupidity" lately. YES. And I feel like it's running rampant in my work-life right now. Ugh. I am looking forward to going out on maternity leave!
Cravings: Nothing major. I still love soup. I also love sweets. And chicken salad sandwiches have been pretty delicious lately (thanks Cici!).
Randoms: I had my routine OB appt earlier this week and all went well! I am measuring right at 30 weeks, baby's HB was great, my BP was great, AND I made them test my pee. Victory! They actually did find protein in my urine but said it wasn't anything to worry about due to the level and the fact that I don't have any other symptoms of pre-eclampsia. (I am going to be vigilant about testing my own urine and BP at home though and keeping an eye on weight and swelling just in case.)
Funny story - I also got my T-dap shot during this appt and as the nurse went to go prep the shot I told her I was going to run to the bathroom quickly. I came back with a cup full of pee and just handed it to her. I told her that since I was going anyway I figured we might as well have her test it. She looked at me funny for a sec and then just shrugged and tested it. HA! In your face! You WILL take my pee whether you want to or NOT!Anywho, the appointment went well and the doctor said multiple times that everything is looking great and I'm doing great and he's really happy with how things are progressing. He estimated that baby boy is currently just about 3 lbs (and should end up 7-8 lbs at full term) and that based on external palpation appears to be head down and likely to stay there!! At this point, some Drs like to switch from meeting every 4 weeks to every 2 weeks but based on how I'm doing he said he feels confident in scheduling our next appt another 4 weeks from now. Yay.
Finally (wow, this post is long), my FIL is coming tomorrow to help Hubs put the crib together! We will now have a crib in the nursery :-) We also have other nursery furniture sitting in the basement waiting to be brought up and put together once the painter and the carpet cleaners do their thing over the next couple weeks. And all the decorations tucked away in the closet are burning a hole in the back of my mind since I cannot WAIT to start decorating once all this maintenence-y stuff is done. I just want my nursery done and my baby in it.
Single digit week countdown is just about here!!
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