Well, I barely made it in to my OB appointment this past Friday. Thursday night around 2am I woke up feeling terrible and end up vomiting off and on for the rest of the night. I had caught the lovely virus that Gemma had earlier in the week. I was so nauseous and shaky that I couldn't get up and wasn't sure if I could make it in to the doctor. However I was starting to worry that I might need an IV with some fluids because I literally couldn't even get anything down at all, even water. Then I remembered I still had some of my magical Zofran left from the first trimester. I choked one down and about an hour later I was still feeling terrible but was feeling well enough to start sipping some fluids and throw on some clothes and head to the doctor. I had called ahead to tell the office what was going on and they said for me to come on in and if needed, they could do an IV in the office itself rather than the hospital.
As it turns out, I had good news all around at the OB on Friday despite how awful I was feeling. Since the Zofran had helped significantly, the doctor said to keeping taking it for a bit to fend off the nausea and then slowly rehydrate with some gatorade rather than straight water (yay - no IV!). My blood work had come back and was showing that my iron was back up to 11 (still borderline, but it means that I can just continue to treat the anemia with the supplement and diet rather than having to have an infusion - yay!). When she did my internal, I was 1 cm. dilated and 50% effaced (not that that means I'll go into labor anytime soon, but at least something is happening!) and the baby was head down. (I think all of this is due in part to the fact that I have practically walked my legs off since the last appointment in hopes of encouraging baby & body to better prepare themselves for labor!) I still have an ultrasound this Friday to make sure that he's staying head down since he's still quite mobile despite the lack of room.
And tomorrow he'll officially be full-term. It won't hurt my feelings if he wants to come on out anytime now. I'm ready. Let's do this!
Ethan and Gemma
Monday, March 19, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Under four weeks to go...
We (the baby and I) are officially at 36 weeks, 1 day today which means we (hopefully) have less than 4 weeks to go!
I went to the OB this past Friday for a checkup and it ended up being an epic all-day long adventure. The nurse had almost finished putting all my vitals into the computer when Cy showed up and asked if she had checked my hemoglobin. (I had totally forgotten to bring it up on my own for some reason.) The nurse was kind of reluctant and didn't seem to think it was necessary but Cy insisted on it so she did. It had dropped from 10.2 to 9.0 since my last appointment, which was especially disheartening since I have now been taking an iron supplement for over two weeks and eating tons of red meat (which I don't even like) plus other iron-rich foods. The doctor spoke with us for a while about this. She said that a finger stick is often not completely accurate so she ordered some more extensive blood work for me. I had that done yesterday so hopefully we will find out some results this Friday at my next appointment. She said that if my hemoglobin is in fact that low I will probably need to see a hematologist and have an iron infusion via IV. I am not excited about this at all of course but I guess I would way rather have an infusion than have to have a transfusion. I have really been trying to eat even more iron-rich foods since my appointment. I am really hoping I can boost it enough to avoid any sort of "fusions" but nothing I do seems to be working. So we will see about that.
I had my first internal exam and no dilation yet but she said it is "very soft" whatever that even means. While she was doing the exam, she couldn't seem to figure out the position of the baby so she ordered an ultrasound. We sat for a while and waited for that, then did the ultrasound to discover that the baby is transverse (sideways). This was totally unexpected as Gemma was head down by at least 33 or 34 weeks if not earlier. Bummer. So then we had to go back and talk to the doctor some more about that.
The doctor walked us through all the options. She said that the baby still has room and time to turn on his own so one option is to just see how things go. Another option would be to go ahead and have a version (I'm assuming she meant an ECV and not ICV but she did mention I would need an epidural for it which totally freaked me out). She said that ideally, versions are performed around 36 or 37 weeks when there is still some room to turn the baby. However, there are risks to the baby (with the cord, placenta, etc.) and there is no guarantee the baby won't just immediately flip back. Cy and I both thought it was a no-brainer to pass on this. The doctor agreed and ordered another ultrasound for Fri. Mar. 23 (between 37-38 weeks). If he is still transverse by 39 weeks, the doctor suggested coming in for a version then and if the version is successful, they will immediately induce labor and if it is not successful they will be prepped for a C-section (which they would want to do at 39 weeks anyway). This would cut down the risk factor for the baby since he would be coming out immediately after the version one way or another. Also should mention at this point that the placenta is anterior (directly in front) which will make it harder to turn the baby. Of course the decision is ultimately up to us and we aren't sure what to do but for now we are just waiting to see if the little guy will flip on his own.
We eventually made it out of the OB's office and now everything is pretty much just a waiting game (which is how pregnancy always is anyway). :)
In other news, poor sweet little Gemma is sick yet again with another nasty tummy bug. She has been throwing up off and on for the past couple of days. I really hope she will be well soon and that she can stay well for a while now. She needs to get better so that she is healthy and ready to meet her brother!
I went to the OB this past Friday for a checkup and it ended up being an epic all-day long adventure. The nurse had almost finished putting all my vitals into the computer when Cy showed up and asked if she had checked my hemoglobin. (I had totally forgotten to bring it up on my own for some reason.) The nurse was kind of reluctant and didn't seem to think it was necessary but Cy insisted on it so she did. It had dropped from 10.2 to 9.0 since my last appointment, which was especially disheartening since I have now been taking an iron supplement for over two weeks and eating tons of red meat (which I don't even like) plus other iron-rich foods. The doctor spoke with us for a while about this. She said that a finger stick is often not completely accurate so she ordered some more extensive blood work for me. I had that done yesterday so hopefully we will find out some results this Friday at my next appointment. She said that if my hemoglobin is in fact that low I will probably need to see a hematologist and have an iron infusion via IV. I am not excited about this at all of course but I guess I would way rather have an infusion than have to have a transfusion. I have really been trying to eat even more iron-rich foods since my appointment. I am really hoping I can boost it enough to avoid any sort of "fusions" but nothing I do seems to be working. So we will see about that.
I had my first internal exam and no dilation yet but she said it is "very soft" whatever that even means. While she was doing the exam, she couldn't seem to figure out the position of the baby so she ordered an ultrasound. We sat for a while and waited for that, then did the ultrasound to discover that the baby is transverse (sideways). This was totally unexpected as Gemma was head down by at least 33 or 34 weeks if not earlier. Bummer. So then we had to go back and talk to the doctor some more about that.
The doctor walked us through all the options. She said that the baby still has room and time to turn on his own so one option is to just see how things go. Another option would be to go ahead and have a version (I'm assuming she meant an ECV and not ICV but she did mention I would need an epidural for it which totally freaked me out). She said that ideally, versions are performed around 36 or 37 weeks when there is still some room to turn the baby. However, there are risks to the baby (with the cord, placenta, etc.) and there is no guarantee the baby won't just immediately flip back. Cy and I both thought it was a no-brainer to pass on this. The doctor agreed and ordered another ultrasound for Fri. Mar. 23 (between 37-38 weeks). If he is still transverse by 39 weeks, the doctor suggested coming in for a version then and if the version is successful, they will immediately induce labor and if it is not successful they will be prepped for a C-section (which they would want to do at 39 weeks anyway). This would cut down the risk factor for the baby since he would be coming out immediately after the version one way or another. Also should mention at this point that the placenta is anterior (directly in front) which will make it harder to turn the baby. Of course the decision is ultimately up to us and we aren't sure what to do but for now we are just waiting to see if the little guy will flip on his own.
We eventually made it out of the OB's office and now everything is pretty much just a waiting game (which is how pregnancy always is anyway). :)
In other news, poor sweet little Gemma is sick yet again with another nasty tummy bug. She has been throwing up off and on for the past couple of days. I really hope she will be well soon and that she can stay well for a while now. She needs to get better so that she is healthy and ready to meet her brother!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Leap Day Fun at the SC Aquarium
Yesterday Nana came down for the morning and we headed to the aquarium. This is only the second time Gemma has been (well, plus a trip to Ripley's in Myrtle Beach) and it has been quite a while so I knew she would enjoy it much more this time now that she is so much more aware of everything. Also, she is pretty much obsessed with the movie Finding Nemo right now, so I knew she would love getting to see some real fish. As soon as we walked into the main level, she immediately ran to one of the big tanks and started yelling: "Water! Water!" She was SO excited! (She even tried to kiss some of the fish through the glass a couple of times.)
We saw tons of really cool fish and birds and LOTS of water (which was apparently very exciting) and Gemma even got to pet a tiny baby alligator! (I didn't get a great picture of this because she pulled away pretty quickly - she obviously wasn't too sure about the whole alligator-petting-thing.)
When we were finished looking at all the water inside the aquarium, we enjoyed looking at a bunch more water in the harbor. Gemma and I posed for a picture together on a bench next to a large, strange frog. (I'm trying to love this picture for how cute and sweet Gemma is all cuddled up with me while ignoring how large and gross I look. I am really not sure I can survive 5+ more weeks of being pregnant - I have already been going nuts for about the past month.)
Gemma had so much fun at the aquarium. I am hoping to get a family membership for us sometime soon although I figured I might as well wait a bit as I really don't see myself hauling Gemma and the newborn around downtown for a while. But we will see. Anyway, it was a fun outing for us yesterday, especially since we haven't left the house much lately since we've all been sick off and on for about the past month.
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