Hurry up and wait

Claire must be pretty comfortable in there. Today's 39-week appointment revealed no dilation and still only 50 percent effacement (unchanged for a few weeks). Her heart rate remains excellent as does her movement, and the doctor said she's sitting very low, which I already knew since I feel like I'm driving with a basketball in my lap lately.

I know I've had the easiest pregnancy in the world and I still feel great, but I'm getting so impatient to meet her! The doctor said they'll probably want to discuss inducing at next Tuesday's appointment if I make it that far -- which I bet I will. Unless I'm just oblivious, I haven't even had any Braxton Hicks contractions, much less the real deal. And the "gory details" I've been so excited (yet repulsed) by for the past week are totally normal and don't necessarily mean labor's right around the corner, the doctor said. I guess I should just be glad they're not atypical.

I pleaded for a guess as to when I might go into labor and all he would say is 10 percent of women deliver early, 10 percent deliver late, and the rest are within a few days of the due date. A non-answer to an impossible question, I realize.

Without us asking (I hadn't decided if I wanted to), the doctor said he normally would have stripped my membranes this morning but he didn't because of the group B strep. So ... the wait continues.

Counting down

Another doctor's appointment today, the 37-week one. I never got around to taking a 36-week bump picture so I think I'll skip and just do a 37-week one in two days. Today the measurements were right at about 36 weeks (3 cm. more than last week). Apparently I didn't necessarily grow that much in the past week; the doctor said the numbers can vary depending on the baby's position. Claire's heart rate was still good and strong. They didn't check for dilation or effacement because I haven't had any contractions.

I did find out that my group B strep infection test came back positive (they took the sample last week). It's not a big deal, just means I'll probably take penicillin during labor to prevent it from being passed on to Claire.

Betsy took this picture while she was in town last week. Not very glamorous -- I have a crooked linea nigra, a temporarily deformed belly button and a blob of weirdness above it (site of an ill-advised belly-button ring that lasted all of three months in high school) -- but I still like the picture.

Surprise ultrasound

Yesterday we had our 36-week appointment and for once there was a little excitement. We saw a doctor we hadn't seen before (we'll be rotating among them for the next few weeks since who delivers Claire depends on who's on call; this way we'll at least have met all of the doctors). He measured me at 33 cm., which was a centimeter smaller than I measured at my last appointment (when I measured right on at 34 cm./34 weeks). The centimeters are supposed to match how many weeks pregnant you are.

He said the change could a) mean the baby had dropped or b) indicate I was losing amniotic fluid, which would be bad, and he ordered an ultrasound for later in the afternoon to see which it was. Matt was pumped about that because he was kind of nervous all along that we weren't going to have an ultrasound between the sex-discovery one and the birth, which I guess does seem like a long time. I was excited because I thought we'd be able to see her face, which we did, but you couldn't tell anything about her features except that they're there. We weren't worried because her heart rate was good, she was moving great, and if there was a problem with the amniotic fluid, they could have delivered her immediately if needed and she would have been fine.

The ultrasound went well -- all the measurements are right on and there's plenty of amniotic fluid -- which means the baby has dropped, yay! I'm also 50 percent effaced but not at all dilated. And according to the ultrasound, she weighs 6 pounds, give or take 14 ounces, which, granted, is a big margin of error. They say she's gaining half an ounce a day now (more on the days I work at home and eat pink jellybeans for eight straight hours), so she's on target to be a good, healthy weight -- not too big, not too small.
I owe the blog a 36-week-bump picture. Probably it will come tomorrow, because I think the camera's at the office.

Part 2: Doctors and the bump

(Part 1 is here.)

3. For the past few weeks I'd been feeling like I needed to crack my lower back but couldn't because my stomach was in the way. It was affecting the way I ran but wasn't exactly painful, definitely nothing I couldn't run through and nothing that bothered me when I wasn't running. At the same time I was noticing an occasional sensation in my pelvis -- not really pain, it just felt like my hips or pelvis was spreading. Amanda said she'd felt the same thing so I didn't give it much thought.

Then last Tuesday I ran my normal trails in Rassie Wicker with Lauren R. and my lower back was killing me by the end of the run. For the rest of the night I literally could hardly walk -- I used both hands and the railing to make it up three stairs from the garage to the house. It was borderline excruciating to walk or even stand.

I got online and self-diagnosed it as a problem with my SI joint. Apparently, near the end of pregnancy your body releases a hormone to relax the pelvic area and prepare the joints for childbirth. Occasionally it releases too much and the ligaments get too loose and unstable.

Normally I would wait out this kind of thing but a) the pain was really, really bad and b) I am terrified of chronic back problems and c) everything thing I read said this problem could get worse with future pregnancies, of which I'm hoping for several and d) I will go insane if I can't run again soon. All in all it seemed like something I should try to nip in the bud.

After NINE DAYS of not running the pain is much better but I still can't really walk without limping. So this morning I had the first chiropractor visit of my life. He said it's definitely an SI joint issue but the good news is it should improve a lot with some specific exercises (that I have to go back next week to get -- paying another specialist co-pay, annoying).

He said I should take another week or two off from running while doing these exercises, but after that I should be able to run again (while continuing the exercises for several months). I'm sure it will be awesome running for the first time after two or three weeks off in mid-June at 36 weeks pregnant, but whatever -- I won't complain. I was sure he was going to tell me to just hold off on running until after Claire's born (which I would have ignored, but it's nice to have official approval). He also "adjusted" me and it felt great.

4. This afternoon we had the routine 34-week appointment. Starting with the next appointment (36 weeks) we'll go weekly. Everything looked fine, baby's heart rate was great, urine was clean, etc. I didn't see my regular doctor and this one told me to keep my heart rate below 140 when running, but it's a little too late to worry about that.

He also told me to try to gain a pound by the next visit because apparently I haven't gained weight in the past month, but I'm not sure if he was serious. I am an eating machine -- anyone who's spent time with me will attest to that -- and I don't know of any other way to gain weight (except to cut back on exercise ... hmm).

5. Here's today's bump!

Counting down

Yesterday was the 32-week doctor's appointment and it was, as usual, uneventful. The most excitement came from the fact that we were going to eat at The Villager as soon as it was over. But boring is good when it comes to doctor's appointments.

Claire's heart rate has been in the upper-130s for the last couple of visits, down from the 150s several months ago, but apparently that's good because it's supposed to slow down as the pregnancy progresses. She's already positioned herself bottom-up, which is also good.

It was way early to be bringing this up, but I asked the doctor about the clinic's policy on inducing labor. He thought I was asking how early they would agree to induce me, and he told me 38 or 39 weeks if there were no red flags with the baby. But what I really wanted to know was how overdue I'd be allowed to get, because I'd much prefer to avoid an induction unless it's medically necessary, and he said I could go up to 42 weeks.

I hope and pray I don't go two weeks overdue (my amazing mom endured going THREE weeks overdue -- twice), but I'm glad it doesn't sound like they're going to rush things. I've heard horror stories of people having to fight not to be induced even just a few days after the due date. Which seems stupid since due dates are usually just an educated guess.

The heat of July could usher in a change of heart -- you never know -- but at least in that case it would be my decision, not something they're forcing.

Here's today's 32-week bump picture:In other news, Babies "R" Us called yesterday and said the crib came in, so we're going to pick it up tomorrow. Which means ... Remington Grill!

No more monthly appointments

I feel like this blog's been a little neglected lately. Other than the fact of my rapidly expanding stomach, there's nothing much new to report. I've been feeling rather hugely pregnant for weeks now, but when I look back at pictures even from just two weeks ago, I realize I feel bigger than I look. The baby is now gaining weight at a rate of something like half a pound a week, so soon I will both feel AND look huge.
We had the 30-week appointment today, the last monthly appointment. From now until 36 weeks we'll go every two weeks, and from 36 weeks until the baby's born it will be every week. The doctor measured Claire at 30 centimeters long, which is right on target.

We had signed up for a childbirth class on May 16 but now I have a client coming into town that weekend, so we asked about rescheduling the class. The April one's already over and the June one is for something like June 28 -- a week and a half before our due date. The receptionist told us all of the information is available online, so armed with that website plus the packet of "curriculum" for the class (including yet another copy of "What to Expect the First Year" -- it's an epidemic!) I think we're going to skip the class altogether.

I'm so, so, so happy to report that I'm having consistently good runs again. My theory, actually, is that the pollen, not the pregnancy, was to blame. I've never been bothered by pollen, but one day last week I ran right after a good rain and had the best run in forever. That got me thinking pollen might be the culprit. The pollen's starting to build up again, so maybe this is partly mental, but I haven't had a bad run since then.

Also, this may have nothing to do with being pregnant, but I recently had the worst case of poison ivy I've ever had (it's finally clearing up after about two weeks). It started with two bumps on my ankle, which I scratched because I thought they were bug bites; it spread all the way up my body and over onto Matt's. It was terrible. Every day I found a new patch. Poison ivy, like pollen, has never affected me, so maybe the pregnancy somehow really is to blame.

Good news

I do not have gestational diabetes! I had the test this afternoon and got the call a few hours later as I was walking out of the grocery store carrying two pounds of strawberries, two pounds of plums and a 12-pack of Coke. I would hate to give up any of that sugary goodness, so I'm thrilled not to have to.

Also, here's the bump at 27 weeks:

Yay for eBay!

Right after writing the last post a wonderful thing happened. I decided to check eBay one more time for the elusive 7 For All Mankind maternity jeans in my size and length and for a reasonable price, and miracle of miracles! A pair had just been listed in my size, with the original (34-inch) inseam, and for less than one-third what they cost in the store!

I was excited but didn't get my hopes up because there were several days of bidding left and I wasn't willing to pay the "buy it now" price. Yesterday, with just a few hours left in the auction, I finally put in a bid, still sure someone would swoop in at the last second and take them from me. But apparently most people in the market for these jeans really have shorter legs than I do because I WON!
I can't wait till they get here. I feel sure they'll fit because they're exactly what I've tried on in the store (and exactly what I wear in non-maternity jeans). But even if they don't, at this price, I'm confident I could resell them and break even, if not turn a profit -- although I might have to throw in a credit for hemming. :)

This afternoon we had our monthly doctor's appointment. It was completely routine -- all they did was check the heartbeat. And weigh me. Apparently I have now gained either seven or nine pounds (the scale flickered back and forth and I don't know which number the nurse went with), almost all of which came in the last month. Clearly I have a healthy appetite.

Yesterday was the first time a stranger commented on my belly, and it happened not once but twice, in Chick-fil-A and then at the new shoe store beside the new TJ Maxx. Amanda was with me both times. The woman at the shoe store also felt the need to inform Amanda she is in fact going to have a boy. Multiple ultrasounds? Whatever. She's carrying it like a boy. (No worries, she agreed that I'm having a girl.)

Ultrasound pictures

I can't decipher much from them, but here are Tuesday's ultrasound pictures. She wiggled around a lot but didn't do anything awesome like give us a thumbs-up, like Brianna did. :)

We thought we'd be ready to announce the name by now but we aren't quite there. It's such a big decision -- so permanent! And so many things to consider. Will her monogram spell out something vulgar? Is there a famous murderer with this name? Does it suit a teenager, business woman, mom, grandmother as well as it suits a cute baby? Will people constantly misspell it? Aaaah!

We're probably 90 percent decided and hope to make a final decision in a few days so we (and you) can start referring to her by name. Although for now I'm happy just to be able to call her "her" instead of "it."

No news is good news

We had a good, uneventful doctor's appointment on Tuesday. I didn't even get undressed -- I'm not sure what the point of the visit was -- but we did get to hear the heartbeat again (155 beats per minute). The best thing about that appointment was that we got to schedule our NEXT one -- Feb. 10 -- when we'll find out the sex of the baby! I still think it's a girl ... Matt thinks it's a boy ... we'll be happy either way.

Soon after that visit we'll be announcing the baby's name, so stay tuned. And although we aren't disclosing the names we're thinking about, this is your last call if there are ones you feel we must consider. Don't get your hopes up, though -- I think we're pretty set. :)

I asked the doctor if it would be OK to sign up for the Nashville half-marathon in April, and he said it was fine as long as I was in shape for it and stayed hydrated during it. Carrie and Jacob have signed up for it, Stephen was going to if I did and Matt would have joined us for the trip. I don't love half-marathons, but it's supposed to be a really fun race, with a band every mile and great crowd support. Plus there's something about being pregnant, especially visibly so (which I assume I will be by then), that takes off ALL pressure to run fast.

But I was thinking the race was on April 29, which is only nine days after Amanda's due date, and I know first babies sometimes tend to come late. I definitely don't want to be in Nashville during Brianna's birth, nor do I want to lose a not-cheap race registration fee if that's how the timing works out. And then yesterday Carrie told me the race is actually on April 25 -- even closer to Amanda's due date, and more of a potential conflict -- so I think I've decided to skip the race. It would have been a fun road trip/long weekend, but not as much fun as holding my newest niece!

I feel kind of stupid putting this out there because I'm not sure it's even possible yet, and I don't like thinking of myself as a crazy pregnant woman with an overactive imagination ... but I wonder if I've been feeling the baby move for a few days. It hasn't happened often, but I've noticed a kind of fluttery or bubbly feeling while lying in bed a few times. I have read online of people feeling this sensation around 14-16 weeks, but it seems much more common in another month or so.

The lime has a heartbeat!

Technically the baby won't be the size of a lime until tomorrow, but I'm so opposed to prunes (this week's fruit) that I'm going to promote it a day early.

We had another doctor's appointment today and got to hear the heartbeat! Hooray! That was so exciting!

I think I'll really be able to relax now. I'd been a little nervous the past couple of weeks because my only two symptoms (exhaustion and slight breast tenderness) had pretty much disappeared. But the doctor said everything looks great, the heartbeat is at 176 (he said it probably will be a little slower at my next appointment) and I can consider myself very lucky to be feeling so good.

Other than hearing the heartbeat, the only purpose of the visit was for him to do a general exam and pap smear because I hadn't had one since last August. At my next appointment, Jan. 13, I think he's just going to listen for the heartbeat again -- and at the NEXT one we'll get the all-important boy-or-girl ultrasound!

I asked the doctor about workout limits or precautions as the second trimester approaches and he repeated what he said at the last visit -- just to listen to my body and keep doing what I've been doing unless it gets uncomfortable. He said the only potential harm would be if I somehow got hit in the stomach, but there's not much chance of that. I love how relaxed he is about everything. For now my plan is to do CrossFit (modified if necessary) through the second trimester, then probably just run in the third trimester.

I also asked him if I need to be careful about lying on my back, as some people have told me, and he said not to really worry about it. He said if you did sleep eight straight hours on your back that wouldn't be ideal, but most people move around in their sleep all night long, so it's not a concern. And seriously, I wake up to pee like two or three times a night now, so there's no danger of me sleeping eight straight hours in any position.

Let's hear it for the boy

One of the best things about being married to a guy with the mind of an engineer and an obsession with Consumer Reports is this: He has agreed to take charge of all the baby-product research and purchase decisions. There's an overwhelming amount of information and advertising out there and I'm just happy he's willing to wade through it. What a man.

Also, good news: The doctor just called and said my "prenatal panel" came back completely normal. I'm still not sure what all was tested, but normal is good.

The secret's out, mostly

Apparently I'm not so great about blogging when I know I don't have an audience! Or it may be that there just isn't much to say about being pregnant right now. In the last week or so we've told a bunch of our friends and family, and as of today we're telling those who already know that it's fine to spread the word. Such good secret-keepers our friends and family have proved to be -- for the most part! I'm also planning to post it on my "real" blog and on Facebook today. You know, nothing's official until it hits Facebook.

There's a lot going on with the baby -- he or she is the size of a green olive right now -- but I still can't tell much. My tiredness seems a little better, which actually makes me a little nervous since it's my only indisputable pregnancy symptom. I've also noticed in the past week or so a tendency toward queasiness when I'm really hungry, especially at night. It's not nausea -- I never feel like I'm going to throw up -- it's more like my blood sugar's way off. It goes away as soon as I eat so I'm just learning to not postpone dinner (or to eat a snack if I have to wait on Matt).

I had another doctor's appointment on Monday, but it was uneventful. I didn't see the doctor, have an ultrasound or even get weighed, which made me happy, the appointment coming as it did on the heels of Thanksgiving. The entire point of the visit was to gather my medical history and take blood for a basic prenatal workup -- I'm not sure what that tests for. I also got a flu shot, which I wasn't sure about -- I usually don't get one -- but the nurse promised that there's no potential harm to the baby, that I wouldn't get the flu from it and that I do not want to be pregnant with the flu (as she was). So I got the shot.

The best thing to come from the appointment was a boatload of free prenatal vitamins. The ones my doctor prescribed had no generic and were pricey -- like $45 for a 30-day supply. I asked the nurse for something comparable with a generic, but she said the one I was using was really the best because it has DHA (?) which I guess is very important for the baby but not all prenatals have. But then she gave me a 50-day supply of samples of the good stuff! So that'll do me for awhile.

My next appointment is on the 16th and I'll get to see the doctor but not have another ultrasound. I think we might get to hear the heartbeat, but it might be a little early -- I've heard you can definitely hear it by week 12. I actually don't think I get another ultrasound until the one where we find out the sex, unless a problem arises. But as long as we can hear the heartbeat I'm OK with waiting on the ultrasound.

Tiny town

It's so hard to keep a secret in this town. When I went to the doctor for my initial blood test to confirm pregnancy, who did I run into but my grandparents! I couldn't believe it. I just told them I was there for some bloodwork, and they didn't know we were in baby-making mode so they weren't suspicious. So not suspicious that my grandmother thought nothing of mentioning that she'd seen me there to everyone at Sunday lunch the next week (I wasn't there).

My mom had randomly announced to me a couple of weeks earlier -- on the very day of conception, it turned out -- that she had a feeling I was pregnant. Even after I found out I was, Matt and I didn't plan to tell ANYONE except Amanda (I had to tell her!), until at least eight weeks or so. But after this Sunday-lunch announcement, my mom pulled Amanda aside and asked her point-blank if she knew of any reason why I'd be getting bloodwork. Amanda tried to play it cool but immediately called me to give me a heads-up that Mom was suspicious.

That's when Matt and I decided just to tell a few people -- our parents, his brothers and Carrie, and a handful of our very closest friends. We still haven't even told our grandparents. :) By Thanksgiving we're going to be less careful about it and by Christmas everyone will know.

Back to the tiny town for a second -- my experience was not nearly as bad as Carrie's. I went with her to the doctor for the blood test to confirm her pregnancy and as we were checking out we ran into our mother-in-law. Carrie was holding a huge bag of samples of prenatal vitamins and booklets. Our mother-in-law saw us and waved and we turned around and bolted. Needless to say, she figured out pretty fast that one of us was with child and Carrie and Jacob had announced it to the family within a week.

Bedside manner: negative

We went for our first ultrasound last Thursday at five weeks, six days and I was excited that we might get to see the heartbeat because once the heartbeat's been detected the chance of miscarriage drops to less than 10 percent. But I was trying not to be too excited because the heartbeat can't always be seen that early -- a few days can make a big difference around six weeks. Still, I hoped.

So we went in and the ultrasound started and after a few seconds the ultrasound tech asks me "Have you HAD a positive pregnancy test?" HUH? My heart dropped and I said "Yes" and she kept moving the wand around and didn't say another word for what felt like forever but must have really been five or 10 minutes. I couldn't see the screen so I didn't have any idea what was going on but I felt sure she'd tell me when she found the baby. I was freaking out in my mind and praying really, really hard for her to find the baby and for it to be fine.

I could only think of three possibilities: a) I'd had a miscarriage, which I didn't think was likely because I hadn't had bleeding or cramps or any other symptoms; b) I hadn't been pregnant in the first place, which I didn't think was likely because I'd had five positive home pregnancy tests and a positive blood test at the doctor's office; c) the baby wasn't where it was supposed to be, which I figured couldn't be good (ectopic?). She just kept moving the wand around and not saying a word.

Finally, she moved the screen so I could see it and pointed out the baby and its heartbeat (yay!) and said it was measuring right on schedule. I told her, "Your silence was scaring me!" but I was so relieved my annoyance quickly disappeared.

She left so I could get dressed and Matt and I agreed that was terrifying. He had been able to see the screen from where he sat so although it did take her a couple of minutes to find the baby, he saw her find it. But HE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING. So for several minutes, while she was measuring the baby, etc., I was the only person in the room who thought she was still looking in vain for the baby.

I asked Matt, "WHY didn't you say something when she found it?!" and did not get a satisfactory response. Oh well. All's well that ends well.
(He thinks this picture looks like a creepy rabbit. I can see it too.)