32+1

Nothing really new going on this week since I already posted about the GD test results and the induction date. It’s definitely a relief for me to have an end date and I’m sure it takes a little stress off of the dads to know that they won’t be waiting here for 2+ weeks for a baby. Since they have to stay in Oregon for about 2-3 weeks after the baby is born to get paperwork sorted out, I think knowing that they won’t need to spend extra time waiting on the baby to arrive probably helps them plan. I’m sure they’ll be more than ready to head home after a month here.

Weekly Update

How far along: 32+1

How big is baby: about the size of an naked-tailed armadillo, around 18 inches long and about 4 pounds

Symptoms: There’s been an uptick in Braxton Hicks the last week I think due, at least in part, to the heat. I have heartburn what feels like constantly. I have Tums stashed pretty much everywhere. It helps if I don’t let my stomach get empty, but sometimes it seems to happen for no reason. Still some minor swelling my feet which I expect to stay with me until she arrives

Movement: We spent the first half of Saturday walking around and she was very quiet until we got back in the truck and I sat down. She also picks up her activity right before I go to bed.

Sleep: Not great, but not terrible. Last night wasn’t restful, but that was because of my own kids and the fact that it was warm in the house

Miss anything? not being so tired or getting out of breath so easily

Food cravings? sweets, Mexican food, sandwiches

Anything making you queasy or sick? eating too much. My stomach is definitely getting more cramped in there

Best moment of the week? We went camping for the weekend a couple hours south of our house. There’s a place there called the Train Mountain Railroad and it’s 37 miles of track for miniature/model trains (big enough for people to ride on though). Every Saturday during the summer the members and volunteers give free rides to the public on about a mile and half of track. It was a blast. The waiting/concession area was nice and shady as was most of the track we rode on. They open at 10 and we got there about 10:30. There was hardly any wait, which is always a bonus when you have kids. We were able to take two rides and have some snow cones. Wyatt and Olivia both really enjoyed themselves and mentioned more than once how much fun it was. We really enjoyed the area and I’m already planning on another trip next summer.

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No GD!

I had my OB appointment this morning and she right away told me congratulations on not having GD this go around 😁 She did say it was close, but a pass is a pass. I don’t have to do any blood sugar monitoring, no nonstress tests, or any of the other stuff that goes along with it. Obviously I don’t need to go crazy on the sugar and carbs, but I also don’t need to stress when I want to have a cookie (or two 😜)

We also talked about induction options. I had discussed with the dad’s that I would prefer not to go past 41 weeks and for convenience reasons I’m willing to induce closer to 40 weeks if they’d like to do that. They have to wait at least 2-3 weeks after she’s born to get all the paperwork done and get her home which I’m sure they’ll be anxious to do. They were of a similar mind about not going past 41 weeks and said if my OB and I are okay with it they wouldn’t mind having it done closer to my due date. My OB said that while she absolutely wouldn’t do an elective induction before 39 weeks (which we don’t want anyway) she is comfortable inducing between 40 and 41 weeks. My OB looked at her schedule and gave two dates that she’s on call 9/11 and 9/16. We both agreed 9/16 was too far out so we went with the 9/11 date. It’s too early to book with the hospital, but once we’re able to, we’ll get it on the books. It’s nice to have an end date. The hardest part at the end of my first pregnancy was not knowing when he’d arrive. I’m too type A to enjoy any of the “unknown” and I am much more relaxed and at ease when there’s a plan.

Other than that everything looks great and baby’s heartbeat was nice and strong. She even did some acrobatics for the doctor.

Rolling right along to 32 weeks….

31+1 and Test Results

I went in on Saturday to do my 3 hour glucose tolerance test. Let me tell you that if you’re looking for a super fun, exciting way to spend half your Saturday….that is not the way to do it LOL Luckily I had a couple World Cup games to watch while I waited between blood draws.

For those not familiar with this test it consists of fasting for 8 hours before. Then you go in and they draw your blood and check your fasting blood sugar level. They then give you 10oz of sugar to drink…well it’s 10oz of liquid with 100g of sugar in it. You have 5 minutes to drink it and a word to the wise, don’t try to chug it. Take the 5 minutes, your stomach will thank you. Then you have your blood drawn 1 hour later, 2 hours later, and 3 hours later. You can’t leave the lab area in the time and you can’t eat anything until after the last draw. You can drink water throughout though.

The way my lab does it is they run your initial and last draw through a glucometer before they send them to the lab so they can see those two numbers immediately. The middle two draws just go to the lab. The tech explained that they do this so they can make sure your fasting level isn’t too high because if it was then they wouldn’t want to give you the drink full of sugar. They do it the last time to make sure the level isn’t too low before you drive home.

So here are my results:
Draw: Guideline: My Number:

Fasting <95 78

1 hour <180 178

2 hour <155 152

3 hour <140 72

So according to the guidelines I technically passed. The nurse who called me with my results said that my OB hadn’t seen them yet and she may recommend some diet modifications or something, but that I had passed. I have an OB appointment on Thursday so I’m sure we’ll discuss the results then. I’m very curious to see what she’ll recommend or want me to do. I’m really hoping she doesn’t want to redo the test between now and my due date (I read sometimes providers will have the test redone in 4 weeks). I’m also interested in how this will affect my labor/delivery plans. With gestational diabetes they don’t let you go past your due date as the placenta can breakdown faster and the baby can be bigger. So I was induced at 40 weeks last pregnancy. Since I have technically passed the GD test I’m curious if she’ll just let me go into labor naturally, if she’ll want to induce close to my due date because the numbers were so close, or if she’ll recommend an induction around 41, or something else. Being type A I like to have a rough outline of the plan even though I’m usually pretty good with any last minute changes, I really like to have an idea. With all these variables and scenarios rattling around my head I’m looking forward to getting some answers this Thursday.

Weekly Update

How far along: 31+1

How big is baby: about the size of an otter minus the tail, around 17.5 inches long and just over 3.5 pounds

Symptoms: Still tired, I don’t really see that symptom going anywhere before she’s born. Fewer Braxton Hicks recently which is nice. I’m noticing a little swelling in my feet if it’s hot and I’m up and around a lot. It’s not bad, but my socks left nice marks on my ankles the other day

Movement: She’s slowed down a bit, I think because she has less and less room. She’s still very active, but just less so than she was a couple weeks ago (she’s kicking and rolling as I type this)

Sleep: It’s better now that I’m over the cold I had last week. I don’t sleep well when my nose is stuffy.

Miss anything? not being so tired or getting out of breath so easily

Food cravings? sweets, Mexican food

Anything making you queasy or sick? eating too much. My stomach is definitely getting more cramped in there

Best moment of the week? Taking my son to see Jurassic World yesterday. He was sooo excited and enjoyed it so much

30+1

I got the call last week that I do in fact have to take the 3 hour glucose tolerance test. I tried to do it during the week last week, but fitting 3+ hours into an already tight schedule just wasn’t going to work and we were out of town last weekend. The nurse told me that it was fine if I needed to wait until this upcoming Saturday so that’s what I’m going to do. I’m not looking forward to it, but I’m ready to get it over with and just know one way or the other. It’s kind of the only “chore” I need to get done before I can go completely into summer mode so I’ll be glad when it’s done regardless of the results really.

Weekly Update:

How far along: 30+1…30 sounds so much further along than 29. Maybe it’s because we’ll be in the 30s from now until my due date

How big is baby: about the size of a platypus minus the tail, almost 17 inches long and just about 3.5 pounds…she should be adding on about a 1/2 a pound a week which just sounds crazy

Symptoms: Tired, on and off Braxton Hicks. They don’t usually hurt, but they make it hard to breathe, like my lungs get cramped so I feel out of breath until it passes

Movement: Still active and can make my stomach shake and roll pretty good when she’s in the mood

Sleep: not bad, I actually slept from about 11:30p-4:30a without having to get up and use the bathroom. That’s pretty dang good for me these days!

Miss anything? not getting out of breath just bending over to pick stuff up LOL

Food cravings? sweets, fruit, hamburgers, Mexican food

Anything making you queasy or sick? eating too much. My stomach is definitely getting more cramped in there

Best moment of the week? My daughter turned 3 yesterday (where does the time go?!) she was so happy it was finally her birthday and just lit up every time someone mentioned it

29 weeks

I had my gestational diabetes screening last Wednesday. I got a call from the office in the early afternoon. She said my number was 134. She then went on to say that it used to be everything under 140 was considered good, but they have since changed it to anything under 130…because of course they have. She said when people fall between the two numbers they let the doctor decide based on history and risk factors if the 3 hour test is needed. My doctor was out of the office all last week so I didn’t get an answer one way or the other. I haven’t heard from the office yet today. I’m hoping I’ll get an answer by the end of the day, but I’m almost positive she will have me do the 3 hour test. I’m definitely not looking forward to it in the slightest especially since it’s super hard to take 3 1/2 hours out of the day during the week and we’re out of town this upcoming Fri-Sun so the weekend isn’t an option. So I’m still in limbo which I’m never happy to be in. I like to know one way or the other and hate to be left “hanging”. If I don’t hear by tomorrow afternoon then I will contact the office. Luckily they’re pretty good about getting back about things promptly.

Weekly Update:

How far along: 29+1

How big is baby: about the size of a New England Cottontail Rabbit, 16 inches long and just about 3 pounds…she’ll likely be at least doubling that weight in the next 11 weeks!

Symptoms: Tired, the Braxton Hicks have slowed down and don’t usually come with the painful cramping I was having which is great. I still get heartburn when I’m hungry, but it hasn’t been terrible. I did have a dream last night that I was trying to decide what Zantac package to buy though LOL

Movement: She’s still a mover and a shaker. I did my first “kick count” last night and it took her 4 minutes to reach the 10 movements they look for. They want to see at least 10 movements in an HOUR so she’s just a bit of an over achiever.

Sleep: I didn’t sleep much Saturday night, but overall it hasn’t been terrible

Miss anything? not getting out of breath just bending over to pick stuff up LOL

Food cravings? sweets, fruit, hamburgers, Mexican food

Anything making you queasy or sick? eating too much. My stomach is definitely getting more cramped in there

Best moment of the week? Spending the weekend doing fun stuff with the kids. We took them to see the Incredibles 2 on Saturday and we took them swimming on Sunday.