30 weeks: In the home stretch

I'm 30 weeks now. What I consider the "homestretch".My appointments shift from once a month, to every 2 weeks. Midwife appointments shift from basic prenatal checks to going over my birth plan, discussing any fears, ironing out the birth deals, going over any testing we'd like to have or decline, and discussing whether we'd like the standard "protocol" for baby when he's born. Wow! It feels like just yesterday I was lining up the handfuls of pregnancy tests on the counter in amazement.



Anyways, yet another good midwife appointment. I'm up 2 pounds in 2 weeks. n which my midwife joyfully exclaimed "YES! Finally!" Which put me at 4 1/2 lbs. under pre-pregnancy weight still, but about 4 lbs. up from when I first started seeing my midwife. I'm sure I'll really start packing on the pounds these last few weeks as my body prepares for birth and as baby Dino begins to pack on his chunk.



There was slight protein in my urine, which has been an issue on and off his pregnancy, but not major and probably most likely due to whatever I had eaten/not eaten prior. My bloodwork came back. My hemoglobin is just fine. slightly lower compared to some, but perfectly fine for a pregnant woman 30 weeks pregnant, so YAY!



We discussed the GD test for diabeties, circumcision, vitamin k injection for baby, and the eye ointment for baby as well. I've decided to bypass the GD testing. My diet is goo and I'm testing my glucose levels at home periodically and am always right on target. As for circumcision, wow, what a hot topic, huh? My oldest is not circumcised. I believe it's not necessary and is a cosmetic procedure and that it's best left to be. Hubby, on the other hand feels very strongly that this baby should be circumcised. So, we're at a crossroad, and have something to hash out a bit before the birth. Because we have not completely decided about circumcision we've decided to go ahead and give the baby the vitamin k shot at birth, to help with blood clotting. I have however declined the eye goop , since it's to protect against std's as the baby travels the birth canal, which I am confident that I do not have, and that my husband has not given me. So, that's that for now. I'm sure we'll discuss the GBS (group beta strep) more in depth at my next appointment. I am torn on whether to even do the testing or not. It's a bigger test to me, so I'm trying to weigh each side carefully.



As for Baby, he's doing amazingly well. She got the last ultrasound report. My cervix is measuring right on track and behaving itself. Baby measured RIGHT on track as well. Placenta is high and posterior. cord insertion looked good. And I won't be going back to the perinatologist for the remainder of the pregnancy unless I manage to go past 41-42 weeks.



Baby's heartrate sounded good and strong yesterday. My midwife palpated a bit and determined baby to be head down, body on left side, and LOA (left occiput anterior) which is the prime position for giving birth. Hopefully he stays put. He's still rather high, but I'm not expecting him to drop a ton before labor. For now he resides just under my ribs to remind mommy that he's there, in a not so comfortable way.



Since I don't think I've posted many (if any) belly pictures this pregnancy, here's my 30 week picture. Yes, I'm huge.

27.5 weeks

Wow, it's been a long road but we have officially passed our first "big" milestone this pregnancy. There has been some (not so hidden) anxiety leading up to 27 weeks 2 days. If you've followed this blog for long then you'll know that it was at this gestation that our Preemie Princess Emma Grace was born. All 2lbs. 2oz. of her that struggled to live in those early weeks. We have prayed for a healthy pregnancy, and for a full-term baby, and have taken this pregnancy day by day. What a joy to make it past 27 weeks.

We had yet another good, boring, midwife appt. last saturday. I have been super duper tired and apparently pale lookingm, so she's ordered some lab work to check for anemia. Not a huge deal, but something which we'd rather treat sooner rather than later. Baby Dino's heartbeat was on the slower side at 128 bpm, but that's probably because he was resting. He appears to be back head down, yay! Everything else looked good. My next midwife appt. will be in 3 weeks when I hit 30 weeks. From there we go to every 2 weeks. Yikes! It's beginning to feel like crunch time.

I have another ultrasound appt. and ultrasound cervical check tomorrow. I'm sure everything will be just fine. I'll also get to see this little guy again. I'm curious to know what their estimated weight it for him, since he feels on the bigger side and we can compare to what Emma actually was when she was born. I know there is always some inaccuracy either way with weights, but it's still fun to speculate.

Here's a picture from our last ultrasound. Hopefully, I'll have another to post tomorrow.