Saturday, May 24, 2014

Pregnancy Update

It feels good to be blogging again! And I apologize for not keeping you better updated on us and my pregnancy. Here's a brief overview of the last 8 months:

I found out we were pregnant right before Halloween. We had so much fun telling my mom because she didn't believe us at first and then got really really excited when she finally realized we were telling her the truth. That was pretty fun.

I had a lot more nausea, it seemed, with this one that I did with Hailey. I feel like as soon as I hit 12-14 weeks with Hailey, the nausea went away and the rest of the pregnancy was a breeze (besides the last week of it) and I honestly didn't mind being pregnant at all! This time, I feel like I've spent a lot more time on the couch much farther into my pregnancy. Probably up until about week 20 or so, I still had to lay down to wait for food to settle (still no throwing up though - that's a plus!), and I had only gained 5-7lbs the whole first half of the pregnancy.

Then something switched and I've been starving ever since! I know I've gained at least 20 more pounds since then, which is really sad for me to accept. I'm carrying much more forward and I feel so much bigger with this one that I ever did with Hailey. I also feel him move CONSTANTLY, which is different from Hailey because while I felt her move, it was just small, tiny little pokes. This boy MOVES. It's fun to watch and feel, and Scott says in one night, he felt Leo (that's his name :) ) move more than he ever felt Hailey that whole pregnancy.

However, from day one, as we discovered in our first dr apt, I've had high blood pressure. When I had to be induced with Hailey, it was because my blood pressure had gone from 120's/80's (very average) to 135-140/mid 80's (plus other pre-eclampsia signs). This time, I started out at the latter. I felt very strongly that I needed to see an OB specialist instead of just my GP for this pregnancy, so I switched over to Valley OB, where they have treated me so well and I have felt like I've really gotten the attention I've needed.

My BP did go down slightly during my 2nd trimester, but as I guessed it would, it has gone back up and it hasn't been pretty. A while ago, we bought an automatic blood pressure cuff so I can monitor my BP at home. Both my home readings and my appts started measuring really high, so they started having me come in every 2 weeks around week 28. I am now at week 33, I have to do weekly Non-stress tests (to make sure the baby is getting enough oxygen because high BP can constrict the flow of oxygen to the baby), and I am now on a BP medication called Labetalol. I've only taken it a few times, but I can already see a difference in my readings. Let's hope it stays good!

Because of my high BP, they had to do a growth ultrasound at week 32. I got to see my little baby! Wait, did I say little? I meant HUGE! His head and femur both measured on target at 32 weeks, but apparently his belly was at 34 weeks, or 95%!!! I asked the tech how much she guessed he weighed and she said about 5lbs according to the measurements. Oy vay! I gave birth to Hailey at 5lbs 10oz at 36 +6 weeks. I can only imagine how much huger this baby is going to be! And yes, I did say huger!

So I'm really tired and I feel huge and I get very hot, and I can't sleep anymore, and I go pee constantly, but I am still very very grateful to be pregnant and we just can't wait to meet our little boy in less than 2 months. We're almost there!

And I'll try to keep you better updated, too. :)

30 Weeks