Chug Chug

Above is me at 26 weeks.

We are happy to announce that we have made it to 32 weeks!! Our appointment last week went well, the doctor is hopeful that we can make it to 36 weeks, the only issue right now is deciding whether an amniocentesis is really necessary...hopefully not! I had one with Nathaniel, and can't really say I enjoyed it too much. They are looking at the week of April 20th to take the baby.

At this point, I am still having quite a bit of contractions, but the doctors decided to sit back and see how they go. I was told to keep my activity level low, and do what is necessary to keep the pain level down. So thankfully I'm not on strict bed rest, but I don't have much energy for outings, and keep it to a weekly trip to the library and the doctors office. Not much of a life, I know :) but better than complete bed rest! (I can see those of you who have been on bed rest shaking your heads emphatically!)

My next appointment is next week, and I will be at 33 weeks. We should have a date set for the C-section then and a decision on the amnio.

Up and Down we go

Thinking that we weren't living our life to the fullest, I decided to go to my regular OB this past Tuesday due to a higher level of pain. Although it was determined that my uterus was not in a high risk of rupture, we discovered that I was contracting, a lot more regularly than I knew. I had felt some pretty hard contractions every few hours, but didn't think too much of it. However, the monitor revealed that I was actually contracting every 5 minutes, and while not enough to put me into active labor, the doctors were concerned about the stress on my uterus. So they gave me a shot to stop the contractions and kept me overnight for observation. The doctors also commented that they would really like to go to 32 weeks (I'm currently at 30) and after that, well, they think it is almost too much to hope for 36 weeks.

While sobering and disheartening to hear, I could hear God say afterwards, Yes, but I'm still GOD, and I'm still here with you. So we haven't stopped praying to make it to 36 weeks, and we ask the same of you. Our God is a God of miracles and nothing is too hard for Him!

Where did my feet go???

Ah yes...I've come to that glorious time of pregnancy where I magically transport myself from room to room without any sight of my feet, getting out of low chairs requires strength that completely defies the laws of both gravity and physics, and the tummy is no longer round, but a mixture of shapes, depending on which part of the baby is peeking out.

Oh, and did I forget to mention the constant tug-of-war between baby and my stomach? While the baby is constantly crying out, More food! My body replies, Yeah right! And where do you suppose we are going to put it, now that you've taken up almost complete residence?!

Sorry to say I don't have any pictures to post, keeping the blog up to date has been a challenge as I can't get on from where we stay, and my once a week trip to the library is not usually the most productive with 2 little boys in tow :) Perhaps next week I will remember the memory stick and try to post a few pictures of us.

30 Weeks and Counting

The days are slowly passing by and turning into weeks. I am happy to announce that I’ve made it to 29 weeks. I have an appointment this week with my regular OB, and then next week I’m off to see the perinatologist (high-risk OB doctor) to see how my uterus is holding up.
Pray that things will look good, and if not, that we would have wisdom about how to handle the situation.
My gestational diabetes is under control, thanks to a very informative, 2 hour class I took last week. I met with a diabetic RN and nutritionist, who explained to us the in’s and out’s of gestational diabetes, as well as how to control it through diet. We were given a pretty little device called a glucometer, with which we check our blood sugar 4 times daily (by pricking the end of our finger and then testing the blood). It sounds rough, but in actuality, I hardly feel the prick…it’s such a tiny little needle! The nutritionist made up an individual meal plan for all of us, based on our initial testing numbers. Thankfully, my numbers were just over the edge, so I haven’t had to change my eating habits too much, but snacking was emphasized…and what pregnant woman doesn’t want to snack?!
I was so surprised to hear I had gestational diabetes, especially since there is no history of diabetes in my family, but when I read over the risk factors, it made sense. Some risk factors include obesity, already birthed a baby who weighed over 9 pounds, family history of diabetes, and having lost a baby. My risk factor was having lost a baby…I’ve lost a few, so apparently this upped my risk.
The risk to the baby is having a very large baby, and possibly requiring a C-section (not an issue, since I’m already going to have one). Gestational diabetes can also cause extra fluid to build up in the uterus, which can lead to preterm labor. Right after birth, sometimes the baby will have low blood sugar, which means he or she would need special care and monitoring for a while.
Pray that the diabetes would remain under control
Pray that the baby would be healthy at birth
These past few weeks, I had been venturing out here and there, but since the pain level seems to have increased a bit this past week, Steve and I have decided to severely limit my outings to only the doctors.
Pray that the pain would not continue to increase and that I could rest well.
Thanks again for all your continued prayers!