Trip to Labor & Delivery

Well, today turned out a lot more exciting than I'd intended.

The little guy still wasn't moving much. A little thump last night and then nothing today. At my 24 week appointment yesterday the doctor had said that if I didn't start feeling things again that I should go in and get monitored to find out what's going on. I know that a noticeable decrease in movement can be a bad sign, so I went in. Figured better to go in and find out it was nothing to worry about than to not go in and regret it.

Before I even get started on how Labor & Delivery was, I have to tell you that driving myself to a hospital where the only association I have (so far) is my miscarriage being confirmed there...I was a nervous wreck that whole drive in. All the "this can't really be happening" feelings that were there in November came back and I had all I could do to hold it together and drive. I kept repeating to myself that there was probably nothing wrong in this case & this trip in will likely have a different outcome.


My doctor had let them know I was coming in, so they had a room set up for me. I got to get into a lovely gown, and then they hooked me up to the monitors. They were listening for baby's heart rate, and had me hit a little button every time I felt him move. I found out afterwards that this is apparently called a Non-Stress Test.

Please note that this isn't my stomach, the image credit is down below. This gives you a good idea of how I was hooked up though.

Thankfully, all is fine with the little guy. As the L&D nurse put it, "Wow, he's really deep down in there". Apparently he was burrowed deep down in my pelvis and therefore it was hard for me to feel movement. The monitor picked up his movement, most of which I didn't feel, in the same pattern as what I'd normally sense. Needless to say I felt A LOT better after that. They did a quick ultrasound after the monitoring as well. It was really hard to see much as it was a Level I machine and he's getting kind of big now (though I did find it funny that L&D referred to him as one of "the little ones"...to me he's HUGE now, but I guess in their world he is a little one). I did get to see a heartbeat though as well as his little hands and feet wiggling a little.

I know some people probably think I was overdoing it going in. The way I look at it though is that I noticed a pronounced change in how he was acting, and I know that going from moving a lot to not moving at all can be a very bad sign. I'd rather go into L&D and find out everything is fine and I was worrying for nothing than to not go in and potentially end up regretting it if it turns out there is something they could've done.

(Image credit:
http://www.i-am-pregnant.com/encyclopedia/T/Tests-during-pregnancy/Non-stress-test)

40 weeks... Yep. Still Pregnant.

So, we had our appointment this morning. Here is a picture of me at the doctor's office at 40 weeks pregnant:

The Good:

Progress! Yay. Last week I was barely 1cm and Dr Loh still had to go in practically up to her elbow to check me. This week I'm 1-2cm and 40% effaced, and she barely had to go in to her wrist. So, cervix and baby are much much lower. She's very happy with my progress. Especially for a first timer. AFI is great. Baby has awesome movement. And like I thought, I have 2 little feet (we saw toes and all) kicking my liver. I keep telling the baby s/he can't get out that way. We'll see if it sinks in!

Oh - and at 40w - my total gain is 19 pounds!! I couldn't be any prouder of myself. I celebrated by coming home and having some dark chocolate hershey kisses and I'll be having pumpkin pie for dessert.

The Bad:

She brought up inducing at 41 weeks. I expected that to happen. The conversation, i mean. I was just hoping to avoid it if there was progress. Her deal: she's a single doctor practice, and I already knew that she doesn't guarantee her availability past 41 weeks. No problem. Based on my history and family history, we had no doubt that I'd deliver early. So much for that. But now it's an issue. I asked her if all signs point to healthy, if she would consider letting me go past 41 weeks. She said she would, but I should know there are 2 days that week she will not be in town, and her coverage would be delivering. I said that of course I'd want her to deliver, but not being induced is very important to me, and we might have to take that chance. At least it's out there now.

The Plan:

Non-Stress Test (NST) at the hospital saturday morning followed by NST and exam in the office on monday.

The Crunchy in me:

I've been thinking for awhile now that maybe the red raspberry leaf (RRL) tea was doing TOO good a job toning my uterus and it was holding the baby in. DH thought that was dumb. Well - i called my acu - who told me to stop the RRL for exactly that reason. So, i'm stopping the RRL as of today, and will start it again post partum for toning. I have a 4oz bottle of Castor Oil which will be my "i've tried everything else, so I have nothing to lose" backup plan (more on that later). I haven't done acu in 2 months for financial reasons, but called her on a whim earlier this afternoon, and went in to start my acu induction. I had a 45 minute session today, and I'll follow it up with another on monday if I haven't delivered yet.

My acu wants me to start drinking peppermint tea (already have it and brewing now), eating dark chocolate (no problem) and garlic (i married a sicilian).

We're going to continue our nightly mall walking and just keep our fingers crossed.

The Inconvenient:

Because I was forced to take FMLA to do IVF (my job sucks), and because i've been out on disability since 32 weeks, my FMLA actually runs out at 41 weeks exactly. So technically, my job can fire me as of a week from today if I don't deliver. On one hand I don't care - because i don't plan on going back there anyway. However, in NJ we have NJFLI, which gives me another 12 weeks of job protection, which I was planning on using to find a new job. I can't apply for that until the day I deliver.

So, right now, we're working on finding out the following:

I know I am entitled to my STD for the 6 or 8 weeks following delivery regardless of when work separates me. So, i'm covered for that period. We're trying to find out, that if my job separates me at 41 weeks exactly, if I can apply for unemployment once the STD runs out. If I can, then we don't have a problem. If I can't, then the last ditch castor oil option happens at 40w5d.

Meanwhile, the intermittent contractions continue and are clearly doing something. PLEASE wish me labor. Even Mr DB is begging baby to come out now... and he's been the one telling Smudge to take his or her time.

Acu - don't fail me now.

Babywatch 2010 continues.....

Full Term Update

Who'd have thunk it?

Certainly not me.

More than 2 years ago, I had no doubt I wouldn't have any trouble getting pregnant. I was however, convinced that I would have trouble STAYING pregnant. Between my mother, my aunt and my grandmother, there must have been 15-20 miscarriages between them. I was sure I would follow that line.

Then 1 year ago, I was in the midst of what would be my 1st failed IVF cycle and about to sink into a horrible depression.

Who knew that my problem would be GETTING pregnant. Not staying pregnant.

Because apparently, STAYING pregnant I can do just fine.

Which brings me to today.

Despite my AMH. Despite MFI. Despite DOR/POF. Despite MTHFR. Despite 3 fibroids. Despite all of our diagnoses and a failed IVF cycle... and in memory of our lost twin... today I am 38 weeks pregnant.


Full Term.

Holy crap.

Our appointment today was largely uneventful. My cervix remains closed, although softening. Dr Loh can feel and move the baby's head, but she says still not any lower (i'd argue that... i'm rapidly losing anything that could be considered "below my belly"). I mentioned that movement has been very minimal the last 24 hours, so I got a quickie u/s to check our fluid levels (absolutely fine). Smudge is SO big. I can't even believe how big. I remember the days when we could see the whole baby on one screen. Now you can barely see one PART on one screen. It's amazing. The arms are up by his/her face with little fists. Dr Loh says Smudge's tone is great. Knees are drawn up and yep, those are feet in my ribs... crossed at the ankles. Maybe this is a little lady after all... I guess we'll see.

We also did an impromptu non-stress test (NST) to check the heartbeat patterns. So I got to sit on the monitor listening to the most beautiful sound in the world (my baby's heartbeat) for a half hour. It was wonderful. Smudge did exactly what s/he was supposed to do... when s/he wasn't trying to run away from the probe. This kid HATES being monitored in any way. It's really funny. We've been playing chase the baby for 8 months though. Why stop now, right?

Best news of the 38 week appointment. I lost a pound! Yay - go me. So after the 36 week debacle of gaining 4 pounds in 2 weeks, then holding steady at 37 weeks, at 38 weeks I have gained 20 pounds for the pregnancy. I am very proud of myself.

So - that's all for now. I hadn't had any contractions in about 36 hours until tonight, when I had 3 in the last hour... so i'm not holding my breath, but we'll see what happens. I think it's pretty funny that since becoming pregnant, we've thought i would deliver on thanksgiving. I guess we'll see. I did pack my bag the other day. That's surely going to keep me pregnant until 42 weeks. (Unlike if I hadn't packed at all - then i probably would have delivered 2 weeks ago.)

Horray for full term. Hooray for a healthy Smudge. And most of all... hooray for the difference a year can make.

4-7?!

Oh man, time is flying. In the... "Oh my gosh how is this possible" type of way. We're now 4-7 weeks away from meeting our son! I've been on weekly appointments for the last two weeks. Originally I was supposed to do NSTs & Internals weekly. But last week when Baby MB passed his NST with flying colors (even if it took 45 minutes!) Doc said we can wait till 35 weeks for internal exams to begin. YAY!

What is an NST you ask? NST = Non Stress Test. Basically what I've gathered from it is it monitors baby's movement & heart rate related to that movement. The MA told me they look for two jumps in heart rate of 15+ BPM with the big movements within a 10 minute time frame. At my 32w Apt, Baby MB was sleepy and it took us 45 minutes to get the results the Dr wanted. This week, he had it down and it only took the regular 20 minutes!

The NST machine consists of 2 "probes". One measures the hear beat, just like a doppler. The other measures your uterus' irritability - measuring for contractions of any kind. Luckily, I haven't had any real contractions while hooked up. I also got to hold a cord to push when I feel movement.

This week's belly pic - I'm starting to drop!

Look how much my belly's grown!

I hope to have some nursery photos for you within the next week or two - things are still coming together.

My baby shower is on Sunday so I'll have photos to share from that too. Hopefully this nasty cold is gone by the time my shower is finally here - I'm feeling quite yucky!

Baby dust to everyone of you! Back soon!

37... I mean 38 Weeks!

Wow... I've been horrible blogger.

I just realized that I never blogged about my 37 week appointment… it.was.horrible. Dr. C was out of town so I saw Dr. W. I've seen her once before and didn't really get a good vibe from her but after this appointment I REALLY don't like her.

• She kept talking about "the second time around" insinuating this is my second kid. I corrected her... twice.
• When she measured my belly she said "oh right on target for being 36 weeks..." um... I corrected her again telling her I'm actually 37 weeks. I know the measurement is still normal either way but still irritating.
• She couldn't find Baby GB’s heartbeat - even after I showed her exactly where they always find it... after she finally found it she had to pull out her iphone to time it cause she "forgot her watch today." WTF?
• When asked about taking a birthing class, I got a lecture cause I said we haven't and that we didn't plan to?! Seriously lady??? Seriously?
• Dr. C told me that if I wanted she'd do an internal which I actually really wanted just to see if anything's going on yet… but after that I didn't want her to touch me.
• She gave me the great news that I tested positive for that Group B Strep crap! I know it's nothing serious and that I just have to get treated while in the hospital for delivery but just the fact that SHE delivered the news makes it that much more irritating!
• To boot - all of this lasted a total of about 5 minutes... Dr. C usually takes at least 15-20 min sometimes longer if we get to talking... thanks doc for the pointless appointment?

I just kept thinking after that appointment that PLEASE Baby GB PLEASE don’t come this week since Dr. C is out of town… we don’t want Dr. W to deliver us!!!!! Well, he obviously didn’t come cause I'm now 38 weeks 5 days knocked up.

I've been having 3 appointments a week; two non-stress tests to make sure Baby GB is moving around and that his heart rate is raising when he does, an ultrasound to measure his amniotic fluid levels and my regular appointment with Dr. C - who told me on Wednesday that there's nothin' going on down there... thanks Baby GB... let’s get this party started!!!

Anyway, my next appointment with Dr. C is on Monday - Monday the 22nd - we are REALLY hoping he makes his appearance on this day (even though technically it would be 1 week early). There are already a handful of 22^nd birthdays in my family so it would just be neat to add another one. Stay tuned....

Here's a picture of Baby GB from this week’s ultrasound... it’s adorable cause he looks exactly like daddy!!! We can’t WAIT to meet him!!!

Appointment Recap

I should have updated on Friday but I'm a slacker!

Well, week one of my new appt/work schedule down and I have to say I'm loving it! If I have to be working (which I wish we could afford for me to NOT work but that's just not possible) then I'd rather be getting off at 4. Even though most days I'm going to an appt it just makes me feel like I have so much more time in the afternoons to get stuff done!

On Wed I had my regular appt with Dr. C - everything looked good! We talked a little about how my first NST went and how they'd look from here on out. Baby GB's heart rate was 140, my blood pressure was normal, and my belly was actually measuring at 33 weeks (I was 34 weeks, 3 days). She also told me that sometime in the next two or three weeks (while I'm at the hospital anyway for my NST) that I need to make my way up to Labor & Delivery to pre-register. I didn't realize this was a huge ordeal but apparently it's not something I want to be doing while I'm in labor :)

On Friday was my second NST at the hospital, we did the movement test again that I talked about in my last post. It went MUCH faster this time - although Baby GB was asleep again - I let her know after only about 2 minutes when I hadn't really felt him wiggle that I'd need some cold water which woke him right up and he seemed to entertain himself in there kicking away.

After that I went back out to the waiting room while they got a room ready for my ultrasound. Ya know, I'm not one to usually be self conscious or care that Mr GB can't make it to most of our appts but as I walked back out to a younger couple making out, an older couple holding hands, and another couple; I felt a little awkward being a singleton?! First of all I wanted to tell the younger couple to get a room... and second when I got home I made sure that Mr GB would be in attendance this Friday :)

Anyway, they called me back again and I have to say it was very exciting to see Baby GB again - it's been almost 15 weeks since our last ultrasound! Time sure has flown! Turns out he's in perfect head down position and he was even sucking his thumb when she first turned it on. I didn't realize but I even got to see him in 3D! Those kind of ultrasounds are amazing! She kept trying to erase shadows and let me get a better view of his little face - he's got super cute chubby cheeks and I even think he's going to have Mr GB's nose :) I was hoping to get another glimpse of the "goods" but he wasn't willing to show off - plus things are a little more cramped in there these days and his feet were all the way up by his head! Flexible little guy! It only lasted about 10 minutes but it was so beautiful! I kind of forgot the real reason we were having the ultrasound was to check the amniotic fluid levels which only took her about 2 minutes and she said everything looked great. So, without further adu - here's 34 Week, 5 Day old Baby GB :)

Enjoy!

1 Down - 2 To Go

Thanks to President's Day on Monday and a much needed 3-day weekend - yesterday marked the first day of my new hectic work/doctor appointment schedule! I have to say though, it wasn't that bad!

If you remember, Dr. C recommended that twice weekly I am to be scheduled for non-stress tests in addition to my regular (now every two week) OB appointments. I'm really thankful that my job is accommodating me during all these appointments and letting me change my schedule from 8am-5pm to 7am-4pm however getting up that extra hour earlier this morning was brutal! I didn't prepare myself and stayed up way too late on Monday night. I'm sure I'll adjust to that quickly though.

I was a little nervous about starting these appointments just because of the nature of them - basically having GD considers me in the High Risk Pregnancy category and also because, I've never been to the hospital... ever... for anything...

Anyway, I made it down there ok, found parking, paid my $2 for said parking, and proceeded to wander around the Women's Maternity Center of the hospital until I finally gave up and asked where the heck I needed to go. Mr. GB gets irritated with me because I'm like a man - I hate to ask for directions - so I'm glad he wasn't with me :)

So I finally figure out which part of the hospital they had me scheduled in - the Women's Center for Fetal-Maternal Medicine - and I took note since I'll be spending a lot of time there in the next 5 weeks. They hooked me up to a monitor that they told me would be similar to one they'd use up in L&D when I actually go into labor. Someone freaked me out and told me that these NST's would be simulating a contraction - that's not the case! Basically, one strap around my belly monitors Baby GB's heartbeat and another strap monitors if I'm having any contractions. The tech also gave me a little clicky deal that I had to push every time I felt Baby GB move. She said that they'll monitor him for a minimum of 20 minutes and they need to get at least 2 good movements with significant raises in heart rate. Apparently when a baby moves their heart rate raises and that's what the whole test is about.

Of course, it couldn't just be that easy right???

Baby GB was asleep... fabulous. His heart rate was right around 140 but for the first 5 or so minutes she let me just sit there waiting to see if he'd wake up. He didn't. So she got me a cup of cold water to see if that would help. It got him going a little bit but every time I'd feel him move and click the button she kept saying, "Come on little guy, we need that heart rate to be higher." Which of course... freaks me the eff out?!

After another 5 or so minutes she says we're going to use a little device that uses a combination of vibration and sound to really wake him up. She said it won't hurt him in the slightest but the second that vibration hit my stomach I got the hardest kick I've ever felt. He was awake!!! :) After that it was kick after kick and HR rise after rise. She said this was good and put my mind at ease telling me that they wouldn't let me leave their office if they thought something was wrong. They'd either call Dr. C or send me upstairs to L&D. So that was reassuring at least - I still think that lady needs to learn some tact when making comments about what she's looking at though.

I did end up having to sit there for 10 extra minutes because I guess once he was awake the cover line of his HR was bouncing from 140 to 135 and without 10 minutes of a consistent cover line I'd have to keep sitting there so they could monitor.

So that's it... fun stuff!!! Today I have my 34 Week appointment with Dr. C - hopefully all will go well and then on Friday I get to go back for my last appointment of the week back at the hospital. I'm really excited for Friday's appointment because it's an ultrasound so I get to see Baby GB again!!!