1st Pregnancy: Week 29

This week has definitely been a busy baby week. We had another class on Wednesday night - Pointers from a Pediatrician. We learned quite a few fascinating things that I had never know. One was a technique/practice on how to train the baby to sleep through the night. We’ll definitely be giving that one a try!

Yesterday we had a few doctor’s appointments to attend. One was the monthly ultrasound checkup with the specialists and the other was a consultation with one of the hospitals neonatal doctors. From the ultrasound we got a few great new pictures. He’s now big enough to produce a nice 3D picture - so that’s really interesting to see. One of the other pics is of one of his feet - you can see why we keep saying he’s got big feet. Click on the images to view them at a larger scale.

At the specialists appointment we learned that he’s about 3 lbs 11 oz right now - no doubt we’re going to have a big boy! His heart beat was 146 bpm, very good. His head and abdominal growth is continuing to be measured as “normal.” The ventricles in his brain are still measuring around 16cm - a normal baby’s should be less than 10cm. And he was in a head down position this week.

Our second appointment was at the Neonatal Center in the hospital. We met with Dr. Knee and Julie from Child Services. We discussed Parker’s condition and what we can expect after birth from the hospital and staff. They assured us that we will have all resources and equipment needed at the hospital to treat him. Dr Knee is one of nine neonatalogists and at least one will be in the delivery room with us.

At this point they’re assuming that Parker will need to go to the ICU after birth where they’ll start evaluating him. He could possibly have an ultrasound done on the head and/or a cat scan to assess the brain. Depending on what they find, he may/may not have to have surgery. He most likely will not be able to feed normally at the beginning, but they will have me begin to breastfeed so that when he can have the milk, they can give it to him via an IV.

It was suggested that I find out from my OB whether they plan to have me go into regular labor or if they want to schedule a c-section. Also, Dr. Knee suggested that we have the OB make an appointment with a nuerosurgeon to help us better understand the surgeries/procedures they may do.

At the end of our consultation, Julie gave us a tour of the 3rd floor which includes the NICU and Intermediate CU.

So, we’ve had quite an informative week. I think both Jeff and I feel a little more comfortable now knowing what to expect after birth. We have all of the faith in the world that Parker will be in good hands and that when we leave the hospital he’ll be the healthy boy he’s supposed to be.

On Monday is my next regular OB checkup - so, I’m sure we’ll go over a lot of what was discussed yesterday. Plus, I’ll be mentioning the few points Dr. Knee said I should discuss. Then we have an Infant CPR class on Tuesday night.

We’ll keep you updated! Have a great weekend!

1st Pregnancy: Week 28 - Start of 3rd Trimester

Yesterday marked the official start of my third trimester - only 12 weeks to go! It’s hard to believe we’re going to be parents in less than 3 months!

I’m definitely already starting to feel the final body changes coming on. The stretch marks are creeping up, the bladder needs to be emptied more frequently, I have problems getting up from the couch, and all of the other good stuff that’s only going to get worse as the next weeks progress. Nothing that’s making me too uncomfortable though - still manageable.

The last time we left off with a few doctors appointments coming up.

Thursday, March 19th, was the last visit with the specialists. I found out that I passed the 3 hour glucose test - thank goodness - so, hopefully I won’t have to do another one for the rest of this pregnancy. They were also testing to see if I’d developed any new infections with the bloodwork - I tested negative for all. There was one, the HSV virus, that the lab didn’t run, so I had to go back in and get my blood drawn for that.

During this ultrasound they were reviewing Parker’s growth to see how he’s developing. You’ll remember that the last visit I had, I came out of it with the impression that Parker’s head was growing too big too quickly and so was his body. My mind was put at ease in this appointment: his head circumfrence was right on the “normal” path - and his body weight was about 2 lbs 2 oz which was just above average (in the 62nd percentile - 50th being normal). The ventricals in the brain, however, still remain the same size - they haven’t shrunk and they haven’t swelled.

The doctor again advised that he’d like me to have amniocentesis done to verify what chromosomes, if any, may be causing the problem. On that day, he said that the results would take 8-10 days to process. The longer I wait to do the test, the more time it takes to receive results. He assured me that he believes there would be a very minimal chance of pre-term labor because the amount of amniotic fluid they’re extracting is so little. After talking with Jeff about it, we decided we’d wait and see how the next round of appointments go before we decide to go through with it or not.

On Tuesday, March 24th, was my regular OB Appointment. The time with the doctor was very quick - the waiting was the longest. I summarized the information I received from the specialists, she checked Parker’s heartbeat, went over some of the birth plan details, and I was on my way.

Our next set of appointments begin next week. We have a class, Pointers from a Pediatrician, on April 15th. We have an ultrasound with the specialists on April 16th. A consultation with the neo-natal doctors on April 16th. Regular OB Appointment on April 20th. And then our 6-week Birthing Classes start on April 21st. I’m sure that the rest of April is going to fly by quickly!

At some point I need to get a picture of my belly up here so you can see it’s indeed growing! We’ll continue to keep you informed as the weeks go by! Until next time…