I met with Dr.Kleiss (my Ob-Gyn) yesterday for a check-up. I was a little afraid she was going to tell me that I needed to slow down my weight gain. Luckily, she told me that I'm right on track. My blood pressure is staying at my normal, which is on the lower side of normal, so that's great that there are no BP issues. It was good to meet with her to discuss some of the minor issues I've been having. She's happy with where I'm at and thinks everything is progressing normally. Baby H's heartbeat was in the upper 140s/ lower 150s yesterday afternoon for my appointment. I'm scheduled in 4 weeks to return for my glucose tolerance test. I have a bottle of an orange flavored glucose drink ready for my appointment. Yuck! All fingers crossed I will pass without any difficulty.
I also asked Dr.Kleiss a very important question. How early can I get an epidural? The answer was music to my ears. As long as they know you're staying in the hospital to deliver, you can get it at any point. I've worked at a hospital that requires you to be at least 4cm dilated. The decision to get an epidural is one of the easiest decisions I have to make during this pregnancy. I know without a doubt that I want an epidural. I can't imagine not wanting one. Natural birth has become a new trend, which I don't fully understand. I'll fully admit that it is an impressive sight to see a woman give birth without an epidural and actually cope well. I only saw it a couple of times when I was a labor and delivery nurse. There is nothing noble or impressive about somebody attempting to deliver naturally who is not tolerating labor well. I think I've seen too much as a labor and delivery nurse to want to deliver without one. In the end, the goal for me is delivering a healthy baby- regardless of how she gets here. I just think that I will be a happier mom in less pain by getting the epidural.
Today I met with Dr.Fogle at Atlanta Perinatal Consultants, which is the high risk clinic where they are doing all of my ultrasounds. We found out last week that Steve was available this morning. I was able to move the appointment from yesterday to today so that he would be able to see Baby H for the first time! I was really happy he was able to join me. Baby H was a lot less active than previous scans. I'm not sure if she's running out of space as she's getting bigger or if she is just less active in the morning. The latter is probably true if she has any Matthews in her :-) She is measuring on track. We have all the stats written down. They were looking at several measurements (abdominal circumference, humerus length, femur length, head circumference, etc). She is weighing 13oz. Her heartbeat was 144. They confirmed that she is in fact a girl! I only have one more scan at Atlanta Perinatal, which will be in 4 weeks to check on Baby H's thyroid given that I have hypothyroidism and am taking Synthroid.
I also have been feeling very subtle movements in my abdomen for the past 2 weeks. I haven't been completely sure if this is Baby H moving. Most people start to feel movement around this gestational age, if not earlier. I first felt what I thought was her movement at 18w4d. Dr.Kleiss mentioned that if my placenta is anterior than it will be a more subtle feeling. We did confirm at today's ultrasound that the placenta is anterior. Therefore when she is moving/kicking/etc, she is hitting against the placenta, which makes it less noticeable to me. This doesn't bother me one bit. I'm sure at some point, her movements will be obvious as she gets bigger.
Ok, on to the part that everybody has been waiting for... the photos! I recommend that you tilt your head to the left so you can see the images better. Sorry!
Baby H's head with her arm bent so that her hand is up at her nose. Cute!
Baby H's foot!
Baby H's feet are crossed. You can see both of her feet. Love this.
So fun and so glad all is going well! Hard to believe you are more than halfway to the finish!
ReplyDeleteshe's so cute! love the feet shots ;)
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