36w1d

• I am now 36w1d pregnant.

• I had an OB appointment at 36w0d.  I am STILL 2cm dilated (no shocker).  My platelets came back at 137k which is a bit lower than the 142 k from about 28 weeks and a bit lower than the normal range of 150 k – 450 k but still over the 100 k required to get an epidural.  So there is not too much of a concern at the moment.  The hospital will check my platelets again once I go into labor.  I am STREP B negative.  So no antibiotics during labor!!  And my TSH came back at 1.6 so I do not have to worry about changing my synthroid dosage until after delivery of baby boy.  The appointment was otherwise uneventful.  I go back next week.

• I got my final P17 injection!!!  (there is a part of me that believes these shots are keeping little boy in my belly)  I had a total of 23 injections over the course of the pregnancy.  I’m so grateful that I was approved, by my insurance company, for the shots.  It brought so much peace of mind.  But my BUTT is so glad they are done!!

• I am now going to the MFM 2x a week for a NST.  And baby boy passed with flying colors.

• Both the nurse at the NST and the OB mentioned that baby boy had a lower than normal (for him) heart rate.  It has always been between 140 bpm – 160 bpm and at the OB appointment it was 122 bpm, at my P17 appointment it was 128 bpm, and during the NST it never got above 141 bpm (and that was an acceleration point).  Anyhow both the OB and nurse mentioned that a lower than “normal” heart rate are signs of (1) running out of room and (2) nearing labor.  I’m going to go with option (1) because while I was worried about preterm labor for so long I now believe baby boy would love to hangout in my belly for another 6 months!!

• I am analyzing every symptom as a possible “symptom of labor” and it is starting to drive me CRAZY.  I am OK with baby boy making his arrival at anytime now.  I know that 37 weeks would be the ideal scenario but I will not lie … I AM DONE!  I am not able to sleep at night.  I am uncomfortable all the time.  The physical limitations are starting to wear on me.  I am carrying a full term baby (estimated at close to 8lbs now).  I have heartburn all the time.  I cannot focus at work.  I cannot get comfortable at work.  The baby has dropped low into my pelvis with basically feels like carrying a bowling ball between my legs at all time.  Any kick feels like a bruise to my ribs.  Is it possible for him to break a rib?  Haha.  

• We still have an eviction date of July 7th.  

Mary

bullet point updates

• I am currently 35w1d pregnant!!

• We had our final MFM appointment on June 8th.  My amniotic fluid levels are within the “normal” range at 19 cm.  Baby Boy #3 also passed the BPP with flying colors.  The u/s tech also did a quick growth u/s which estimated baby boy to be slightly over 7lbs at 35 weeks.  YIKES.  I take this with a grain of salt though because I believe the measurements are getting thrown off due to a very large head circumference.  Baby Boy #3 had a head circumference measurement of 40w1d at our 34w6d appointment.  I imagine this measurement to be fairly accurate considering Baby Boy #3 is about to be born into a family of large heads!!! But we finally got released from the MFM!!

• I had my 35 week appointment with the OB on June 9th.  I got the GBS test done.  I was worried I would go into labor before I was able to get tested for GBS and I do NOT want to receive antibiotics again during labor.  So I was glad to have made it to this milestone.  And of course, because my pants were already off (snicker), the OB decided to do a cervical check.  My cervix is currently “very soft” and I am 2 cm dilated.  What does this mean?  Absolutely NOTHING.  I could walk around 2 cm dilated for the next 4 weeks or I could go into labor tomorrow.  It will be interesting to see what sort of progression I make over the next few weeks.

• I am now seeing the OB on a weekly basis and I will start 2x a week NSTs beginning in week 36.

• I got my TSH level and platelet level checked at my OB appointment.  I should get those results soon.

• I get my final P17 injection on June 16th.

• And we have a tentative eviction date for Baby Boy #3.  Do you remember that I mentioned the VERY big noggin?  That big noggin has promoted me to an induction around July 7th (or 39 weeks).  The OB (and me) are extremely concerned that waiting past 39 weeks is only going to increase my need for a c-section.  The OB is confident I can still have a vaginal birth but wants to get the ball rolling by the beginning of week 39.  It is very weird to know that Baby Boy #3 will probably be in our life very close to July 7th.  YIKES!!!

• I am doing OK.  Our little boy is big.  And as such I have a lot of pelvic pressure and lower back pain.  I am struggling big time with pregnancy insomnia.  I tend to fall asleep from exhaustion by 10pm each night and then I am wide awake anytime between 2am and 4am.  It is making me drag a bit during the day.  I’m not too uncomfortable when I am asleep but I struggle with a lot of pain when I get out of bed.  I feel like Baby Boy is going to drop out of my pelvis and I often struggle to get my back straightened out.  The contractions are not too bad.  I get maybe 2 or 3 contractions an hour.  They still all feel like BH contractions.

Mary

growth u/s and BPP

 We had a growth u/s and BPP today.  The great news is that baby boy looks absolutely perfect and passed his BPP with flying colors.  That could also be because I ate a peanut butter and banana sandwich immediately before the appointment.  I had to give him a leg up on the competition!  And we found out he has some hair on his head!  It’s adorable.  The growth u/s also looked great overall.  Our big boy is still definitely a BIG boy weighing in at an estimated 5 lbs 13 oz (84th percentile).  I am 33w1d today.  Just to give a comparison, Jakob was measuring at an estimated 4 lbs 15 oz at our last u/s with the boys at 33w5d.  He was born at 5 lbs 3 oz a couple of days later.  My amniotic fluid levels are also still high.  The technical term is polyhdramnios.  The MFM still does not believe there is a reason for the high fluid level.  But my levels are measuring at 26 cm (95th percentile).  So we are now scheduled for weekly BPP appointments.  We go back, for another sneak peek of baby boy, on June 2nd.  There is an increased risk of stillbirth in cases of polyhdramnios.  So we just need to make sure baby boy remains happy and healthy in my belly.  I’m OK with that.  The u/s tech also said that baby boy was really low in my pelvis and probably now wedged too tight to flight again.  

Mary

how about another ...

I was getting out of the shower last night and my b*ra was laying on the bathroom floor.  Jakob reached over and picked it up off the floor and the following conversation took place ...

Jakob: "Here Mama.  You need to wear this."
Mama: "No.  Moms take off their b*ra at night."
Jakob: "No.  Mommy doesn't."
Mama: "Yep.  Mommy takes off her b*ra at night too."

Jakob walks out of the bedroom and over to where Kara is sitting with Alex on the recliner.  He walks up to Kara and proceeds to reach up and grab her br*east.  (The grabbing of our br*easts is actually not totally uncommon in our household.   The boys are a bit obsessed with everything br*easts.  But I assure you we are working on directing the boys in the appropriate time to grab a woman's br*easts.  As in NEVER.)

Jakob: "You take this off at night?"
Mommy: "Why did Jakob just grab my br*east?"
Mama (from the bathroom): "He doesn't know the word for b*ra.  He doesn't believe that you take your b*ra off at night."
Mommy: "Yes Jakob.  I take off my b*ra at night."
Jakob: "Ok.  Good."

 .... because boys.

Mary

stats for Alex

1 :

height: 28.75 inches (13th percentile)
weight: 18 lbs 15 oz (3rd percentile)

2 :

height: 33 inches (13th percentile)
weight: 23 lbs 6 oz (4th percentile)

3 :

height: 36 inches (10th percentile)
weight: 27 lbs 0 oz (7th percentile)

4 :

height: 38.5 inches (12th percentile)
weight: 31 lbs 0 oz (10th percentile)