Friday, May 16, 2008

Sooner than expected-Holy Cow




Yesterday I had my first NST (Non-Stress Test) of many and met with my OB. Baby M seemed to be just fine as he rolled around inside so much causing nurses to stop by the room and remark at how much "noise he's making." I guess I should take that as a prelude of the things to come. Afterwards, I met with my OB, and she still seemed so puzzled at how both she and the high-risk OB cannot seem to peg the Plural Effusion to anything yet because everything else looks so good. I appreciated her honesty. More so because it gave me a brief sigh of relief knowing that he's in good condition.

I had a few questions for her that I needed answered in order to give my employer more solid answers as to when I'd need to go on Maternity Leave. I asked her if she thought my original due date of July 2nd was still as scheduled. She said, most likely not. She seems to think I will either go early naturally, or they will induce me 2-3 weeks before my original due date! I asked her why she thinks I need to go early and one is because of his condition, (whether it changes or not) and the other is his size. She measured me at 36 weeks along, even though I'm actually 33 weeks. She said I'd deliver a big baby, and I told her that I really wanted to deliver vaginally unless there were complications that would prevent me from doing so. (Lord grant me super pushing powers!)

She said that by 37 weeks I (and the baby) should be ready to go, so I should plan on letting my employer know that my maternity leave would begin the week of June 16th. Of course there's a buffer here, because there's no concrete date. We'll just need to play it by ear and by the findings with all the testing and scans I'll have with doctor's visits.

So since my "being pregnant" time had gotten shorter by 2-3 weeks I got home and had this sudden Super Woman urge to PURGE! I threw away more stuff I didn't think I had, uncluttered our filing cabinet to make room for a Baby M folder, and finalized my "What to pack for the Hospital List." Of course no later after that my mind went into the list of things that still need to be done or decided on before Baby M comes.

Here's our list:
-Deciding on a Pediatrician.
-Installing the Car Seat, setting up an appointment with local authorities to make sure it's properly installed.
-Purchase a Dresser. (The crib can wait, we plan on using the Pack 'n Play for now)
-Bring home all the baby items and clothes we need from the In-law's home so I can start washing the clothes and setting up our place.
-Have Nathan's dad come over (with his architectural eye) and give us rearranging input for our living room as to how we can fit a crib/dresser and baby stuff and still manage to have a make-shift living room. I call this
process "Making 631 sq.ft. of living space work."
-Get rid of the love seat in the LR to make room for baby furniture.
-Get rid of or store all camping gear somewhere else to make room for baby stuff in our hallway closet.
-Purchase a Cam Corder to record my glorious moments of delivering a baby.
-Pack the Hospital bag and have it ready.


Stats:
Age of fetus: 33 weeks (measuring at 36 weeks)
What's going on this week:
He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a
conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

What's going on with Mommy:
As your baby fills out even more of your belly, lots of things might start to change: Whereas before you were sashaying, you may find yourself waddling. Finding an easy position to sit in — let alone sleep — is becoming more of a challenge. And bumping into chairs and counters is par for the course.

You may be feeling some achiness and even numbness in your fingers, wrists, and hands. Like many other tissues in your body, those in your wrist can retain fluid, which can increase pressure in the carpal tunnel, a bony canal in your wrist. Nerves that run through this "tunnel" may end up pinched, creating numbness; tingling, shooting or burning pain; or a dull ache. Try wearing a splint to stabilize your wrist or propping your arm up with a pillow when you sleep. If your work requires repetitive hand movements (at a keyboard or on an assembly line, for instance), remember to stretch your hands when you take breaks — which should be frequently.


Baby's Size: This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. BUT according to the doctor he weighs 5 1/2 pounds.
Mood: Happy
Cravings: Raspberry Frozen Yogurt, Thousand Island Dressing, and Chow Mein crispy noodles.
Energy: Low, lots of lower back and hip pain.
Morning Sickness: NONE!!! But I now have heartburn and burp a lot.

1 comment:

Lindsay said...

Oh my gosh! That is not far away at all! I mean, even July 2 isn't that far away, but 2-3 weeks before that? Eeeeeeeee! I am so excited!

...enough exclamation marks, though. You make such a lovely pregnant lady, and I hope you're feeling as well as is possible in the last trimester. :)