ultrasound & more bedrest

We went for an ultrasound yesterday just to check on everything. The baby looks great... he was super cute, waving his hands around and opening and closing his mouth until he found his thumb and started sucking on it :) His heart rate was fine, and he has been as active as ever.

Unfortunately, the ultrasound showed that my cervix (the thing that keeps the baby inside, basically) was too short compared to what it's supposed to be - it's 19mm and it's supposed to be closer to 30mm. This means that the contractions I've been having have shortened it, and caused me to dilate 1/2cm and efface 50%. Because of all that I have to definitely stay on strict bedrest to prevent any more shortening/dilating/effacing. I'll find out what the next step of the pregnancy is going to look like at my appointment on the 22nd.

So bedrest is kind of a bummer, but I'll do anything for baby boy... and I'm finding things to keep me busy!

30 weeks, and bedrest {sigh}

Well we had a little hiccup yesterday... I was out shopping and started having contractions. Try as we might, they would not go away so at 10:00pm my midwife sent us to Baylor hospital to be monitored. They ended up giving me a shot of Terbutaline to slow the contractions, and we got to come home at 6:00am this morning. Poor Thomas has an engineering grad class exam tonight (he's actually taking it as I write) and didn't have much time to prepare... not to mention the fact that we were awake basically all night with contractions and nurses and doctors in and out of the room.
We had a follow-up appointment at the Birth Center today and they put me on strict bedrest because I'm still having contractions (although not as bad as last night) and I'm 1/2 cm dilated and 50% effaced already, which they are not happy about at 30 weeks. The baby is fine, which we are so thankful for, his heart rate is strong and he's very active. But we don't want him to make his debut just yet! I'm hoping we make it to at least 37 weeks, which is considered "full term".
The plan for now is bedrest until my next appointment on the 22nd of December when they'll re-evaluate. I'm hoping the contractions stop and they'll allow me to move around a little more before then, because right now all I'm allowed to do is get up to go to the bathroom, and take a very short shower once a day!


How far along: 30 weeks (Dec. 8th)

Baby size: 3 pounds, and about 17 inches long... one of my pregnancy websites say he's about the size of a head of cabbage? Haha.

Total weight gain/loss: +15 lbs

Sleep: Not so great anymore... can't get comfortable. I guess I'll have to get used to the lying-down position, though!

Movement: All the time.

Food cravings/aversions: Soups have been my best friend this week... they are so nice in the cold weather, and especially since Thomas and I seem to have come down with some minor sniffly cold-ness.

Pregnancy symptoms: Lots of contractions, unfortunately! And general crampiness and achiness.

What I miss: Not being on bedrest :) It's only been a day and already I hardly know what to do with myself. I can now see the dust on every surface in the house and I'm itching to get up and dust everything! Haha.

What I'm looking forward to: Having Thomas home for the weekend to hang out with! And also, we're both looking forward to him being done with his classes for the semester. He has two more exams next Tuesday and Wednesday and then he's done!

Milestones: Three-fourths of the way through pregnancy! 30 weeks down, [hopefully] around 10 more to go!

Best moment of this week: Ironically, it was really cool to be able to constantly hear the baby's heartbeat while I was hooked up to the monitors at the hospital! Very reassuring.

Pregnancy moments with the hubby: He has just been wonderful since all this started yesterday. He's taken good care of me. The contractions last night were often very painful and he helped me relax through them. He scolds me if I'm not lying down flat enough :) And he brings me everything I need.

26 - 29 weeks

I'm behind, as usual.


How far along: 26 weeks (Nov. 10th), 27 weeks (Nov. 17th), 28 weeks (Nov. 24th), 29 weeks (Dec. 1st)

Baby size: Currently a butternut squash :) He's about 3 pounds, and up to 17 inches long from head to foot.

Total weight gain/loss: +15 lbs at 29 weeks (sigh)

Sleep: Not so great anymore... can't get comfortable.

Movement: All the time.

Food cravings/aversions: I'm still really liking spicy stuff... Thai food especially at the moment... I make this Thai red curry veggie/noodle soup, and it's been on the menu pretty much every week. We also like to go to (or get take-out from) Royal Thai, our favorite restaurant. Anything chocolate is really good... Twix bars, Starbucks hot chocolate, chocolate gelato & frozen yogurt, chocolate gummy bears (yes, really)... and the list goes on. And lots & lots of fresh fruit... can't get enough of it... I went through an entire 5-pound bag of Cuties (tangerines) in about 3 days. Haha.

Pregnancy symptoms: Bruised ribs! This little boy can really kick. Recently he's been lodging himself up in my ribs whenever I'm lying down. Sometimes I have to get up and walk around for him to move down a bit so I can breathe. Do I really have 10 more weeks of this? Yikes! At my 29-week appointment, I was measuring ahead again - at 33-34 weeks. At this point no one can give me a reason as to why except that some people just measure differently... like my uterus is positioned differently so it measures further "ahead" (higher up on my torso) or something. My glucose screening was fine, so I don't have gestational diabetes, which is good. Apparently if you have gestational diabetes, the baby tends to be bigger. In all of our ultrasounds the baby has been pretty normal-sized... they just moved my due date up 5 days. So I guess I'm just weird and measure ahead :)

What I miss: Being able to move around freely. It gets a little harder with a basketball in your abdomen.

What I'm looking forward to: More of all the Christmas-y stuff :) We've already put up our tree and I've been making presents. I love it! Also, I'm REALLY looking forward to moving to a bigger apartment in early January. I can't get this apartment clean & tidy enough because there's just too much stuff to fit!

Milestones: We are in the third trimester (starting week 28)!

Best moment of this week month: The long weekend that Thomas got off for Thanksgiving! It was so nice to have a break with him.

Pregnancy moments with the hubby: We like to "play" with baby boy... we'll give my belly little pokes and watch him wriggle and kick back. Thomas also likes to talk to him through my belly... baby boy likes the vibrations of his voice and usually calms right down if he's been wriggling (or kicking me in the ribs).
The past couple of weeks at our birthing class we've done "labor practice"... the instructor rings a little bell when the "contraction" starts and again when it ends. During the "contraction" we have to practice different laboring positions... like rocking on a birth ball, or kneeling and leaning on a ball/chair... and the labor coach (ie. Thomas) has to do massage or counter-pressure on my back etc. It's all really good practice, and I'm sure we'll be grateful for it when the real contractions start and we know what to do to manage the pain... but it's pretty comical at the time. Especially when, as usual, all the other couples are taking it very seriously and the women actually look like they're in pain... and Thomas and I are trying not to laugh at them. This past week we practiced positions for pushing the baby out... and that was just plain funny.

The ever-growing baby bump.

I haven't been very good at taking bump pictures. So far I have one at 12.5 weeks, one at 15 weeks, one at 16 weeks, one at 22.5 weeks, and one at 27 weeks! I'll add them to this post and update it whenever I take a new one.

12.5 weeks

15 weeks. I'm not seeing a huge difference yet...

16 weeks... holy moly, where did that bump come from?!

22.5 weeks!

 27 weeks! Baby (and bump) had a major growth spurt.