Monday, January 30, 2006

30 Down, 10 To Go

Holy cow, we have reached the 30 week mark today. Stunned and delighted, I am. This may not be shocking, I guess, but every day that goes by without incident is a good day; indeed, a gift. So things are full of joy, here at the R v E household. Yay!

Last Tuesday's appointment went very well. The Bee measured at 3 lbs., 2 oz and gestational age was calculated to be 29w5d; 4 days ahead of schedule. I find this kind of funny, because with a baby conceived via IVF, there's just no question as to the date of fertilization. So I guess he'll be a fairly good sized baby. My right uterine arteries are still notched, but the left are doing great; in fact, my placenta likes the left arteries so much it has moved over there. So, I started out with a posterior placenta and it migrated over to the left lateral side of my uterus. Where the blood is. So that's a good thing, and it explains why much of the little wee bee's movements are in the lower left quadrant of my abdomen: he's usually head down, with his back along the right side of my uterus, hands in the lower left and feet in the upper left. Well, as long as he's comfy. The perinatologists don't seem to concerned, but want to see me back every 4 weeks just to stay on top of things and make sure problems don't crop up. I'm mightily relieved that they take such a proactive approach to pregnancy. I'd much rather the consistent monitoring than trying to react to a problem that has developed due to lax monitoring. Snapshot is posted down at the bottom of this post for those of you wanting to see the cheeky monkey. I'm also including a ticker - Oh, I had to get one - when the hell else am I going to be pregnant? I've got to enjoy this while I can!

With the advent of the third trimester, I have found that puffy feet are the rule, not the exception. The swollen ankles are really impressive and I found that my feet hurt a lot, which Mr. Right attributes to my weight gain (about 20 lbs so far). My new best friends are the TEDS support hose which are supposed to force the retained fluid back into my lymphatics and blood stream. They mostly work... mostly. What works the best is exercise, but as I do that in the early morning, my feet are back to their usual puffy selves by evening. Well, you can't blame a girl for trying...

I did have a spectacular nosebleed on Saturday evening. I say spectacular because it was also my first. I knew this could happen during pregnancy and is in fact fairly common, but was still a bit unsettled that it took 30 minutes to stop the bleeding. I called my aunt, who said that if it didn't stop soon to call the doctor. Fortunately, it resolved while I was on the phone with her. She said not to do what she did, which was wait a week before going to the doctor. (!) A week?! She didn't think it was a big deal because she had nosebleeds as a kid, but everything eventually wound up being okay with her. Thank goodness, because the woman is the brightest ray of sunshine. The ringer on my cell for her is "Ode to Joy", because she's a tremendous joy in our lives, and we know how lucky we are to have her. Hello C!

Thank you all for your lovely comments on my last post. I can't tell you how much they mean to me, and I'm always surprised when they arrive. Your kind words of encouragement have helped me tremendously. I know that some of you are going through very difficult times yourselves, so it always amazes me that in the midst of your own agita you can root for someone else, too. Thank you kindly, ladies and gents. : )

12 Comments:

At 1/30/2006 4:07 PM, Blogger Katie said...

Many times in ultrasound pics, I think the babes look a little blobbish, but your babe LOOKS like a babe, and I have to tell you, even looks pretty cute!

I'm with you on the monitoring. If I ever get there, I'd go to the doctor office EVERY freaking DAY if they'd let me.

Congrats on 30 WEEKS!

 
At 1/30/2006 4:23 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Anna, congratulations on another big milestone reached! So glad your placenta is well-nourished -- I'm sure that's a big relief. And Ben is beautiful -- can't wait to see him! (OK, I can wait ten weeks, but you know what I mean!)

 
At 1/30/2006 5:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

How freaking AWESOME!!! Ten more weeks...wow...

 
At 1/30/2006 8:53 PM, Blogger charlie's mom said...

30 weeks! Hurray!

 
At 1/31/2006 2:13 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anna it's not hard to leave nice comments to smeone like you who is so considerate of others and so sensitive about your own good fortune.

I'm delighted that things are going so well. And ben really does look cute.

 
At 1/31/2006 11:21 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congrats on 30 weeks! And that really is a great ultrasound pic!

I was wondering about your statement that your docs are really watching closely since they want to see you every 4 weeks. Was the "4 weeks" a typo? I have uterine arterial notching (mild) as well and I've been seen once a week since week 30 with an NST each week. When I get to 34 weeks I will be seen twice a week with an NST each time. (I also have pregnancy induced hypertension, so that may be part of the reason for all the visits too.) I was just wondering.

Congrats again and I hope these 10 weeks fly by uneventfully for you!

 
At 1/31/2006 11:42 AM, Blogger Anna said...

Hi Tessy, firstly congratulations to you, too! I'm so glad you're moving right along! And it sounds like you're really getting excelent prenatal care - you're in good hands. : )

No, the 4 weeks wasn't a typo. We went on January 24th, and we'll go back on February 22nd for another fetal growth check. The notching is fairly mild, but as the baby is measuring well and the left arteries are putting forth plenty of blood, they don't seem too concerned. They may want to see me more regularly after the 22nd, when I'll be 33 weeks. My blood pressure has been excellent, and my gestational diabetes screening results were normal (as well as my CBC). He's also been pretty active in the way of fetal movement, which they want me to keep track of and call them if I don't count 10 movements in 2 hours. I know that hypertension is a big factor for monitoring; they put me on baby aspririn a while ago to reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia. So far so good. I see my OB on Feb. 10th, and then I'll go every two weeks.

Please keep me updated and let me know how you're doing. I can't belive we're in the home stretch! Best wishes to you for an uneventful remainder of your pregnancy. : )

 
At 1/31/2006 12:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

OMG you and your gorgeous Ben are almost home! What a beautiful picture!

 
At 2/02/2006 4:44 PM, Blogger cat said...

Hurrah! Congrats on the 30 week marker. 10 and counting...

:)

 
At 2/02/2006 8:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, what a cutie! Just thrilled for you.

And nice to meet you, by the way!!

 
At 2/06/2006 4:51 PM, Blogger Pamplemousse said...

Gorgeous babe!! Congrats on the milestone reached. Not long to go now. Stay well and keep those feet up!!

 
At 2/09/2006 11:24 PM, Blogger luolin said...

Coming to this post a little late. I can't believe it is 30+ weeks already. Take care!

 

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