31 weeks & a 3D ultrasound!

ok, ok, i know it's not super easy to make out, but this is the baby's face! i had my first 3D ultrasound today and it was so cool. on the screen i could see him in color and so much more clearly than the regular ultrasound. the still shots never look as good as the view on the screen, and i realize out of context it's tough to even figure out what you're looking at... but this is a close-up of his face, mostly looking straight at the camera. the side of his head (his left side) is mushed up against me, so that's hard to see, but you can catch a glimpse of his right eye, nose, and mouth. it was so cool to see what he actually sort of looks like, even though he wasn't super cooperative with the ultrasound tech... as always. i hope i'll get to have another one of those. technology is the bomb.

we also got a decent shot of all of him, profile view with his head on the right:

he's measuring at the 71st percentile now and weighs 4 lbs, which puts him probably around 17 inches long! a big boy! everything looks great, though. he's head down and everything seems to be just fine. his heart is nice and strong, showing no effects of the medicine i was taking. the umbilical cord has been sort of draped near his neck for awhile so they were monitoring that, but as of today it was totally out of the way. one less thing to worry about.

as for my maternity issues, things are the same... which is good. about the best we can hope for, anyway. my cervical measurement was between 2.4 and 2.6 cm today, which is essentially the same as it's been for weeks now. the doctor said he's not all that concerned about it at this point... the further along i get the more "normal" this measurement is. he said i still need to stay on bed rest, mostly because of the size of the baby, but he doesn't see any reason to be concerned at this point. chances are we'll make it past any danger zone. i go back next week and we'll see how it looks in terms of me going back to work.

by friday evening, for reasons unknown, my back pain went completely away. i was expecting it to abate when i took the super medicine over the weekend, but instead it happened before i even took my first dose. i took my last dose on sunday at midnight and now, three days later, it still hasn't started up again. fingers crossed that this terrible side effect has passed at least for awhile, because a new one has cropped up in its place: insomnia. man alive, it's awful. last night i finally got a whopping 8 hours, which was blissful, because the three nights prior i was averaging about 3 hours. it's especially frustrating because i can't find any reason for my sleeplessness, other than being pregnant, which i guess is enough. i read that almost 80% of pregnant women experience sleep issues in the third trimester. it's so unfair. but i'm holding out hope that i can at least pull a repeat of last night tonight and get back on normal footing. for now. i'm just thankful for the ability to nap right now... going back to work will be pretty challenging if this keeps up.

my parents were here for a few days to help out and it was such a blessing. my dad did all kinds of odd jobs around the house that have needed to get done for months/years, and my mom helped me completely finish the baby's room. all of the gifts we've gotten are organized and put away, all the new clothing and accessories are washed and in the dresser, and the room is decorated and totally ready for baby, whenever he arrives. that puts my mind at ease. now i can focus on the projects that i am able to do from a reclined position: school prep, pediatrician and daycare research, and hopefully getting some good rest and relaxation in before the craziness of this fall is upon us. i am getting really excited.

quick update from my cervix...

went to the doctor today and things are looking good! my cervical measurement was between 2.6 and 2.7 today, which basically means it's holding steady but i like that the numbers are a little higher than last week's 2.4. they checked out all the baby's vitals, especially his heart since that's the danger with the one medication (indomethacin), but everything looks great. so the doc said i should stick to the same regimen for another week. this weekend is the last time i will take the indomethacin, as it's really not safe for baby after 32 weeks. i go back next wednesday and we'll see how things are going then. he also said i can go to physical therapy for my back if i feel like i need to, so i'm going to give the place my OB recommended a call and see what their hours are like. all good news here, and even more so that i'm now sitting in a cafe drinking a decaf latte while i wait for an early dinner with the hubby before our childbirth class. it made more sense than going home and having to get back to this part of the neighborhood later today, AND it's a super big treat for me. yippee. :)

30 Weeks! (1wk, 5 days of bed rest)

30 weeks feels like a huge milestone. Even though October still feels far away, 10 more weeks of pregnancy (give or take) certainly doesn't. I feel the baby swimming around in there all day long -- what once felt like a little fish is now most definitely a sea monster -- and I realize that soon he'll be here. Though hopefully not TOO soon.

Going on two weeks of bed rest and I'm still not miserable. Being allowed to move around a little bit really helps... I just hope we don't go back to the doctor on Wednesday to find out there's been a drastic change and get converted back to strict bed rest. I haven't been taking advantage of my modified status, i don't think. I try only to leave the house every other day, and I haven't gone far other than my doctor appointments, for which I've been supplementing bus travel with a car service at least one way (uphill. My neighborhood is one big, well, slope). I have plenty to keep me busy, and I've thankfully had a lot of friends visiting. It also seems that the hubby's crazed work load is dropping, as is typical for august, and it's a whole lot nicer being home with him than sitting here by myself.

My back pain has been the biggest complaint. I have learned through two controlled studies that it's the superdrug, Indomethacin, that I take in small doses as an anti-labor precaution that nearly eliminates the pain. It happened when I first started the meds, but then the back pain came back with a vengeance when i cycled off of that one. Now I'm taking it just on weekends, and man, did my back feel awesome this weekend! But I took my last dose at midnight so I'm expecting that reprieve will end soon. Moving around a bit does help, so if I keep that up as much as I can, along with periodic use of a heating pad, hopefully I can ward off the excruciating times. I am pretty sure it's sciatic nerve pain, which happens with pregnant women and will likely go away as soon as the baby comes. My regular OB gave me a referral for physical therapy that i'm going to run by the high risk doc. It's fairly close to home (four blocks away) so it should be doable.

All in all, if we're looking at three - MAYBE four - more weeks of this and then everything is a-ok (other than being 8/9 months pregnant and huge and uncomfortable) I think I will make it through unscathed. I know it will all be worth it. Holding steady.

bed rest, continued

after a week of strict bed rest, i went back to the doctor today and my cervix length is stable. she measured it three times and got a range of 2.4 - 2.6, which is considered the same as the 2.5 they got last week. not the best news we could have hoped for (that the one medication, indomethacin, was able to rebuild it), but definitely good news that it's not continuing to shorten.

the other good news, in my opinion, was the the doctor was pretty relaxed and confident about things moving forward, and that he gave me a long-term plan. even though i know if something changes drastically that this "plan" will be scrapped, i feel SO much better being able to think more long-term. the week-by-week "see what happens" scenario is not comfortable for me at all. but the doctor said we are really only concerned about the next 4-5 weeks. after i'm 33 or 34 weeks along he's comfortable letting me resume my normal activity and if the baby comes early, so be it. he said there's a possibility that i'll still carry to full-term, but at least by 34 weeks if the baby shows up there won't be any major concerns. especially since the baby is currently measuring at the 67th percentile (3lb, 5oz), and any increased size/development is helpful if he does decide to arrive prematurely.

so until that time, i need to stay on the procardia twice a day as i have been, and build in small doses of the indomethacin (just on weekends, for now) since there are possible dangers to the baby if you take that medication for more than small amounts of time. i also need to stay on a somewhat modified model of bed rest. he said i should still lay down as much as possible, for most of the day. but i can get up and do some small things around the house, and i can even go out to eat or something close to home as long as i don't do a lot of walking. i'll go back every week to make sure things are holding stable.

the week that i'm supposed to go back to work will be week 33 for me. he said there's a chance i'll be able to work that week, or at least part of the week. worst case is i miss that first week and then i can go back when i'm at 34 weeks. again, not ideal, but not a bad situation at all when i was imagining not being able to go back at all until the spring.

this is really ok with me. obviously i'd rather be doing fun summer things and accomplishing all of the things around the house that need to be done before the baby arrives. but at least now i know that's just not going to happen. no more waiting to see and feeling like i'm twiddling my thumbs. now i can plan for what needs to be done, get help where needed, and get over the disappointment that i won't be able to really live it up in these last weeks before parenthood begins. i'm thankful that i did have some fun this summer while i could! i traveled, i went to a concert, i saw some movies, went to some cookouts. now i have this baby to look forward to, and i really am very excited for that part of life to begin.

in less good news, my back pain has returned. i think the indomethacin helped it to feel better, but i can't take it all the time so i guess i may just have to deal with it. i described it to the doctor and he agreed with my internet-researched assumption that it's sciatic nerve pain, which isn't a concern in terms of being a labor symptom. it's almost definitely related to the pregnancy; often in the third trimester the baby's weight can cause this nerve in your lower back to become pinched or squeezed. but it's not a danger... just an annoyance. sometimes it's just awful, other times it's manageable. there doesn't seem to be any pattern or anything i can do about it. i'm hoping being able to move around a little bit more will help me be able to stretch it out a bit. but if that's the worst i have to worry about right now, i'll take it.

my parents are coming down in a week or so to lend a hand with the baby prep and also to bring some gifts that they've collected since my postponed baby shower and just keep me company. it is going to be such a huge help. and i have so many wonderful friends that have already started (and i know will continue) to visit, call, offer help, and cheer me up in general. it's not the way i imagined my pregnancy, but so far the only sure thing about this entire process is that nothing at all has happened the way that i imagined it would. but it's almost over, and even my crazy paranoid high risk doctor says there's nothing to worry about. it's all going to be fine.