Pregnancy
Diary
JUNE 2001 - GROWING
AND GROWING AND GROWING!
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June 3rd (25 weeks - 6 days)
This week we had a great surprise - Sam's friend Jon (from university) and his girlfriend
Terri were here in Arizona!
Yesterday we headed north and met them in Sedona for the day. We really love it up there and it was wonderful to see the stunning red-rock mountains and enjoy the company of good friends from home. It was a perfect day from start to finish, the weather was great, we got caught up on all the news, did some touristy stuff, and just had an altogether wonderful time.
As Terri approached us for the first time she looked surprised to see I was not any larger than I was. It seems Sam had told them on the phone that I was huge, he got in trouble for that one! If he thinks I am big now I believe he has a real surprise coming in the next few months.
I didn't do too bad for an 6 month pregnant woman. Huffed and puffed my way up the hills with only a little assistance from my dear husband. Everyone kept asking if I was okay - had to keep reminding them that I am pregnant, not paralyzed!
We ended the day with a great meal at a nice restaurant - the waitress tried to talk me into sampling some wine - said it would bless the baby. As I am not a big wine lover (and an obsessively cautious person) I simply decided that our baby was going to be surrounded by enough blessings anyway and really didn't need this one extra. Thinking about it afterwards I really believe it is true - this will be one blessed little child.
By the end of the day, however, I was really starting to feel it. I didn't feel bad, just more tired than I normally would be and my back was aching a little. I knew that I was showing my fatigue when I joked that I seemed to be starting that "pregnant-woman-waddle-walk" and Terri said she had noticed it as well - I guess my graceful days are over for a little while. I was pretty exhausted, especially since I absolutely could not sleep the night before. I had finally drifted off between 6 and 730 in the morning (giving me only an hour and a half sleep before leaving for Sedona) and we didn't get home till almost 1am Sunday morning - so I was really worn out. Sleepless nights have been happening to me more and more often lately - between frequent bathroom trips, the babies movements (this little one is way more active during the wee hours of the morning - is this a sign of things to come?) and the discomfort of my steadily growing belly, it is hard to get comfortable and rest. I guess this might be natures way of preparing moms-to-be for the sleepless nights that come along with the baby. I still love being pregnant all day long - but at night I'm just a little less fond of things!
John and Terri are heading to the Grand Canyon today and will be staying at our home on Tuesday night - our very first houseguests. How grownup that sounds. I guess now I had better start cleaning!
June 4th (26 weeks)
Poor Sam - I think I have scared him to death a few times recently.
I have started to wake up at night with cramps in my legs, pain shooting down through my calves and feet. They are usually pretty mild (definitely uncomfortable, but not horribly painful) but a few times I have woken up screaming in pain. Sam wakes from heavy slumber to my yelling, moaning and jumping around, trying to figure out what is wrong through his hazy sleep-filled eyes. I imagine being woken by a screaming wife is frightening any time, but when your wife is a pregnant woman, I bet it is more than a little nerve wracking.
I have been told that the cramping can be due to a calcium/potassium imbalance, so I guess I will start drinking more milk and eating bananas.
June 5th (26 weeks - 1 day)
Alright - give me a moment to compose myself. I have reached the moment every
pregnant woman dreads!
Today for the first time I realized that, when standing up straight, I cannot see my toes! I have never especially liked my feet, but I miss them already.
Putting on shoes has been getting harder and harder, as has shaving my legs or anything else requiring bending over. I get partway and my belly hits my legs and I can't go any farther. By the end of this pregnancy I will probably be hairy legged and shoeless most of the time! I think that's where the phrase 'barefoot and pregnant' comes from - pregnant women consider putting on shoes just too much of a hassle (or maybe even an impossibility). I did make a trip to Payless this weekend and bought two pairs of slip-on shoes, so as long as my feet don't swell too much I should be alright till September!
June 12th (27 weeks - 1 day)
Do all pregnant women have such crazy
dreams? In the past week or so I have had several that are making me begin to
doubt my sanity. Without going into details, the most recent of these
dreams include our beautiful baby born with a disproportionately
large nose, our child being carried off in the clutches of flying wolves, a
character from the TV show ER giving birth to "The Pig Child Of Satan"....
I kid you not.
I suppose these dreams are related to all the pregnancy hormones surging through my body, and obviously indicate some level of subconscious worries about having the baby. Upon questioning friends who have already had children I have learned that these nightly dreams are indeed a normal pregnancy occurrence, but to tell the truth I'm still more than a little afraid of those flying wolves........
June 17th (27 weeks - 6 days)
Today is Sam's first fathers day. I have said it before and I
will say it again, he is going to be such an incredible father. He is
so involved in this pregnancy and I can't wait to see his face the first time he
holds his child. We have bought a French translation of the children's
book "Guess How Much I Love You" and he will lie down near my belly
and read to the baby at night. At the first sound of his voice the baby
gets excited and kicks in response and then settles in for story time - I can
tell that our baby already knows and loves daddy's voice. I am willing to bet that the story will be a favorite for years to
come. I am so fortunate to have married such an amazing man, and our baby
will be the luckiest baby alive to have him for a father.
Today also makes me think about what a wonderful grandfather my dad will be. He is such an amazing man - I don't think he ever really believes how incredible he is (no matter how many times I tell him). He has taught me so much about being a generous and spiritual person. He is unselfishly giving, unconditionally kind. He is also so much fun, kids always love being around him - and I know our baby will be no exception. He is really looking forward to coming down in September to see the baby, it will be such a fantastic thing to see him with his first grandchild. He will also be doing the baptism at Christmas time - I know that will be a very emotional moment for everyone.
Sam was lying on my abdomen last night just before bed with his ear pressed against the lower part of my belly when he exclaimed that he was pretty sure he could hear the heartbeat. I didn't believe him at first - I (being a skeptic) was sure that such a thing was impossible. We got out our little battery powered baby listening devise and sure enough he was hearing the little thump-thump-thump of our baby's heart beating. It was such an amazing moment - the look of complete joy and excitement on his face is something I wish I could have recorded forever. He has been excited from the start -but always as an extension of my own excitement. This is the first time he said that he felt totally bonded and connected to the baby, it made it seem so much more real to him. He just lay there for what seemed like forever listening to the heartbeat with wonder in his eyes. It was such an incredibly beautiful moment, this is something that is his and his alone.
June 18th (28 weeks)
12 weeks from today is my due date - I cannot wait to meet my child. It
sometimes seems impossible that so much time has gone by so quickly. At
other times the three months that remain seem like an eternity. I am so
eager to see our baby - to touch that soft baby skin and cuddle that perfect
tiny infant that we have created. I try to envision that first moment I will hold our baby, and
as magical as I imagine it to be I know that nothing could possibly prepare me
for how it will actually feel.
I have just received news that my diary will be posted at Pregnancy
Today, a popular pregnancy website. They also provide me with
a message board so that people can correspond with me about my journal
entries. The best part - after the baby is born they will send me a bound
copy of this diary - what a wonderful memento that
will be for our child when he or she is older.
June 20th (28 weeks - 2 days)
I had my 28 week appointment with Pam today. It was a marathon visit-
let me see if I
can even remember everything.
Today was the big gestational diabetes test - we arrived at Pam's at 730am and after a few minutes she staggered out looking more than slightly tired - turns out she had been at a birth until 430am - poor lady. The baby was born vaginally in a frank breech position - both Pam and the covering OB missed the babies position, so it was a big surprise for everyone involved (especially the momma I assume) Everything went well in the end though, which is all that really matters.
Pam did a quick finger prick to obtain a blood sample and tested my 12 hour fasting blood glucose level (which was 85) and sent us off to Denny's for a big breakfast. I ate my way through two pancakes with strawberries, six strips of bacon, two sausages, a large glass of 2% mild and a small orange juice. By the end of this feast I thought I was going to be ill - I was eating so slowly just forcing myself to take one more bite at a time. I can't eat as much now anyway because my stomach is so tightly squeezed in there - this was really too much.
When we returned we had our appointment. We talked about the pros and cons of vitamin K shots and erythromycin eye drops for the baby after birth and Pam gave us some literature to read to help us make our decision. Next we went over our birth kit and supply list - you should see some of the things we have to get.........
2 bags of frozen peas
100 Q-tips
A shower curtain
A brand new hose
4-6 ounce bottle of cold pressed castor oil or olive oil
Crock pot....
And the list goes on.....we laughed so much over some of the items, until we got an explanation it was hard to imagine what they were for (and I bet most of you reading this are puzzling over some of the items as well).
In our birth kit (which we have to order) there are other lovely items such as mesh panties and 25 non-sterile gloves (25?? Is the extra one for the one handed midwife?), as well as 2 bendable straws (individually wrapped, no less) You can also order something called a 'maxi-pad ice pack' - Lovely indeed!
We also got to take home our birth pool. I am not absolutely set on having a water birth - but want the pool available for pain management during labor and if I feel like giving birth in water we will have everything set up. It is an three ring, inflatable pool that is 22 inches high and has a 60 inch diameter. We will have to set it up in the kitchen...never pictured myself giving birth in the kitchen but it is really the only suitable place (other than bathrooms it is the only non-carpeted area downstairs). This brought up another thought for us - we are really going to have to invesst in window coverings. Since our downstairs is still largely unfurnished we have not purchased curtains or blinds yet - but because I am thinking I don't want to share this event with my neighbors I guess some good opaque curtains are definitely in order!
We discussed childbirth classes. Both of Pam's students, Robin and Karen, are childbirth educators (and both have had seven children and home births) so we will take a class from one or both of them. They normally do the class for just one or a few couples at a time, so the attention will be very individual and I think we will learn a lot. They don't use any one particular method, but a combination of techniques. We really look forward to this. Pam said a hospital class would probably not be very useful for us, as our planned birth is about as different from the typical hospital birth as you can get.
My blood pressure was 110/68 - it was 98/58 at the beginning of the pregnancy, but Pam said an increase is normal over the course of nine months. My pulse was again high around 100, Pam said that can probably be attributed to the increase in blood volume (it is really interesting to think that I now have almost double my normal blood volume). The babies heart rate was 156 beats per minute - first time since the beginning that it was not 152, I was beginning to think it would never change. After moving the baby around, the heart rate went up to 164, showing that our little one is responding to stimulation.
The baby's head is clear up above my belly button right now - I really hope it moves downward so we don't have to go through chiropractic techniques or external version to move it. Pam did reassure me that almost all babies will move to a head down position all on their own before birth, and that it is definitely not time to worry yet. I guess that having a breech baby is one of my biggest concerns as having a septate uterus puts me at a greater risk, and breech baby in all likelihood means a hospital birth - and I really want to deliver this baby at home. My fundal height is measuring 28.2 - so I was right on target again for growth.
I have gained about 25 pounds since the beginning - but it is still all belly. I look down and think that this belly of mine, although protruding quite far, could not possibly account for 25 pounds, could it? But yet the scale does not lie! Of course, the other day I had to get Sam to come and read the numbers because after I stepped on the scale I realized that I couldn't see the readout without bending over!! Pam expects approximately a 40 pound weight gain and is very happy with where I am right now. I am kind of hoping to keep in under 40lbs, but we shall just have to wait and see.
We are supposed to begin doing fetal movement counts each night after eating. I have to lie still and record the starting time, count each movement I feel the baby make and record the end time after I have counted 10 distinct movements. This technique is designed to help me become aware of my baby's movement patterns so that if there is ever a decrease I will be more apt to notice it right away and get the necessary tests done to be sure the baby is doing well.
Right before we left (2 hours after eating) Pam did another finger prick and re-tested my blood glucose levels - the reading was 102 - so I passed with flying colors, what a relief. She also tested my hemoglobin to check for anemia (low iron) which was between 11.5 and 12. It was 13 at the beginning of pregnancy and up to a 2 point drop is expected during pregnancy. My reading is at the low end of normal but Pam says that that is to be expected and is fine.
Our next appointment is in two weeks - things are really speeding up now. I am getting so excited. I can't believe things are getting so close.
June 23rd (28 weeks - 5 days)
I
love being pregnant and have never been so happy with my life. Even with all the complaints (and
trust me, I do complain about the heartburn, back spasms, leg cramps, etc......) it is still the
most wonderful thing in the world. There is just nothing like feeling your baby moving
inside you and knowing that you have created and are sustaining life. I had no idea I would
enjoy these months so much, I can't remember a time in my life when I have been
so content and at peace. Despite all the problems we had in the beginning
I know I will remember this pregnancy as one of the most wonderful and blessed
times of my life. I hope and pray that these feelings continue after the baby is
born.
June 27th (29
weeks - 2 days)
The baby had hiccups today - I was feeling movement and
suddenly realized that the little thumps I felt were much too rhythmic to be
kicks or punches. Poor little baby was hiccupping for about 10 minutes
straight, can't have been too enjoyable for the little one.
Movement now is so constant I can hardly believe it - it does not seem like there is much of the day when this baby sleeps quietly. I think I should prepare for some major fatigue over the first few months (years?) of the baby's life, I have a feeling this is going to be one active little girl or boy. The sensations are becoming different now - there are stills sharp kicks and punches but more and more what I feel are larger, rolling movements - kind of like my baby is doing somersaults in there! Every so often I will see a little ripple that moves across my abdomen, frequently the movements are even strong enough to be visible through my clothes. Even though I have been feeling Baby LeBlanc's activities for months now it does not seem any less amazing or miraculous to me than it did the first time, I think I will miss this after the baby is born.