Thursday, August 15, 2013

Placenta and Pasta

Here we go. Prepare yourself for an onslaught of random baby info. I'm 29 weeks today and I had an ultrasound. Follow up with the perinatologist to check and make sure that my placenta had stopped misbehaving and had moved up enough to no longer be classified as “marginal previa.”

Was I nervous? No, not really. I was more excited to see our baby on the screen. I knew today could be our last ultrasound until we meet him. Eek.

First good thing of the day? I signed in for my appointment 15 minutes early and noticed the girl signing in front of me had signed in 15 minutes late for hers. I grumbled a bit and wondered how people function who are perpetually late (oh yeah, you mean my mother?). But then, wonders of wonders, they called me back before her. Karma. (In case you’re curious, when we walked out, she was still waiting).

So we went into the room and the nurse informed me it would be a vaginal exam today. Damn. I thought I was done with those. Oh well. So I stripped down and covered myself with the stupid piece of paper that really doesn’t cover anything at all and got in the position. BOOM. Insta-nervous. How does that work? I instantly started contemplating whether I needed to use the bathroom and thinking about things like heartbeats.

Then the doctor came in and lubed up the happy “little” vaginal wand and then BAM we were looking at my cervix. 3.6cm. Now remember how this is the doctor that told us at the NT scan, ”You are not going to have a miscarriage.” Well today, after measuring my cervix, he looked at me and said, ”You will carry this baby to term. Wow, this guy doesn’t mess around. He doesn’t worry about making grand statements. ‘Course, he is also the guy who told us we’re having a girl…but still.

Anyhow. So that was good news. Cervix is great. And….placenta?? Up and out of the way! All cleared for vaginal delivery. Wow. Even though I wasn’t really nervous, I definitely felt the relief. And excitement. We’re one step closer to having the birth we want to have.

Then we switched to the abdominal ultrasound. I made him check that we’re still having a boy. I was rewarded with a shot of two giant testicles. Wow. Doctor also checked his position. He is head down! I was convinced he was transverse, based on the way I feel movement. But no, head is in position. He is right occipital posterior. So yeah, technically he is sunny side up right now, but doctor said that’s totally normal for this far along. Ok. He also showed me on the outside of my stomach where all of baby’s parts are. So cool. So that long hard curve I’ve been stroking really is his back. Neat! Oh, and he weighs 3 lbs 3 oz! That is a BABY. A little one, but a baby.

Let me pause for a minute and stop spewing random baby data at you to say this was my favorite ultrasound we’ve had. It was relaxed, slow-paced, and full of good news. I was able to actually appreciate the experience and bond a bit with B during the scan instead of forgetting to breathe and staring at the screen like a robot. Oh, and we got to watch him yawn. Which is ridiculously cute because it looks so much like a real baby just lazily yawning and chilling.

The only minutely worrisome news had to do with his size. He’s measuring a week ahead at exactly 30 weeks. The amniotic fluid is looking “great,” but then he said, “but you should watch your sweets and carbs intake.” Shit. I mumbled abashedly, “Well, I can tell you it’s not the sweets. It’s definitely the carbs.” In other words, it's definitely the PASTA.

Now, B keeps telling me I’m overreacting and that the doctor was not concerned at all. And he’s right. The doctor wasn’t. Even though I asked many times if I should be worried that he’s measuring ahead, the doctor kept saying that “everything was fine” and the baby looked amazing. But, the deal is that all signs keep pointing to the fact that I am not being strict enough with my diet. I mean, I’ve gained 24 lbs already, the midwives never like my diet choices, and now the scan is showing a big baby and fluid levels that make my doctor use the C-word. Damn.

Baby is currently at the 67th percentile for weight and size, which is just about perfect. But his projected weight on the due date? 8 lbs 11 oz. That is bigger than I would prefer to push out of my vagina. I’d be much happier with 6 or 7 lbs. Ha.

And so, in sum, the appointment was wonderful. He kept repeating over and over how happy he was with our pregnancy and how we were so “ready” for our vaginal delivery at the birth center and how now all we have to do is “sit and wait.” Can I just say, HOORAY?!? Life is good today.

Oh, and he totally has my husband's "prominent" nose. Oh well. Better on a boy than a girl, hey? And best part? Our baby looks like my hubby :)

12 comments:

  1. according to the US, our baby has my "prominent" nose... and my thought was also, better on a boy than a girl :)
    try not to be too hard on yourself about the carbs/size... your body will make the baby-sized-baby you can push out! Glad everything else looks good!

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    1. Thank you for the wise words. The doctor didn't seem concerned at all. Even when I said, "Um, that's a BIG baby!" He just laughed. So you're right. My body can handle it :)

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  2. oh my gosh!! look at that little guy!!

    I think you look great in the pictures you post on your blog. So many people are INCREDIBLY less healthy than you and go on to have perfectly heatlhy babies. Plus, I'm sure lots of women in Italy eat tons of pasta during their pregnancies!

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    1. You just made me smile. I think I should model my pregnancy over an Italian pregnancy. I probably should be drinking a lot more wine...

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  3. I read the title of this and thought it was going to be a post about eating your placenta after delivery - with pasta on the side. Seriously.

    So glad the placenta has moved and all looks great. I had to giggle at this "Which is ridiculously cute because it looks so much like a real baby just lazily yawning and chilling." Um, that's because he IS a real baby. LOL Hard to believe when they're still in utero, though.

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    1. Haha. That was kind of my intention. I thought the pasta and placenta sounded gross and would grab your attention ;)

      And you are SO right. Of course he's a real baby. Hahah. Silly me. I mean...just seeing him do that is so much more real than the print out black and white photos. Watching him living there inside me. So neat.

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  4. I love the u/s image! I haven't had a diagnostic scan (for proper measurements) since early June, but my fundal height has been two weeks ahead for about three weeks now, and the 3D ultrasound tech said that was probably at least in part because I've got a lot of fluid. But I think that's just related to how much water I drink! I definitely upped my intake over the last four weeks, so it's not surprising that my fluid levels have also taken a jump.

    I agree that you look great in your photos, so I hope you won't worry too much about the carbs!

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    1. Ohhh extra fluid because of water intake! I DO drink a lot of water. I really, really like that explanation a lot better. And I'm trying to just stay calm about. As B said, the doctor also wasn't worried. I worry enough for the rest of us!

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  5. Oh how exciting :) To see his little face, and to see him yawn. And your placenta is right up in place. I guess waiting now is going to be somewhat a difficult task... but you will be fine :) I will be thinking of you!

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  6. All good news! I am dying for another ultrasound. It's been far too long (in my opinion, anyway).
    An 8 pound baby is is big but not out of control. Have you seen the recent stories about 10 and 11 pound babies born in Germany and Spain? And they were born vaginally! Um, no thank you. 8 pounds seems petite compared to that.

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  7. Glad you had a great appointment! I can't wait until my baby starts to get measured and I don't have my pregnancy books to tell me what is normal. I want to know if I am close to normal dammit!

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  8. All very, very good things! Awesome! And I wouldn't worry about baby being sunnyside up at this point. I took a doula training workshop this weekend and learned that 80% of babies turn during labor, even if they were sunnyside up before. They figure it out! So excited for you.

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