Great Expectations

I felt a gush of fluid while I was showering and because I have a cerclage (stitch in cervix) my doctor wanted me to go to L&D ASAP. While it is OK for my water to break while I have the cerclage in, it is not OK to have contractions with it because the strain could cause my cervix to tear. So, Drew and I head over to L&D and the contractions were coming but not so badly that I can’t function. I had lower back pain too, but chalked it all up to nerves.The Non-Stress Test at L&D show that I am having minor contractions and the nurse performs a test to see if my water did break. The test is positive at first and then negative and then positive and then negative- basically inconclusive. So, the doctor on call decides that the best bet would be to remove the stitch and to see if labor progresses. She also finds out that the “low amniotic” fluid that had every one worried on Friday was a mistake and my fluid levels are actually fine (at 11 rather than 5.5). They made me walk around for an hour and then eat because my sugar was very low. The walking was to see if there was another gush of fluid but there wasn’t. I am now at home awaiting Mya arrival. My doctor thinks that labor will begin soon so I am on “Mya Watch”.

I will be sure to keep everyone updated.

Had another doctor’s appointment today- Group B Strep test, NST, Fluid Check....Well, Mya is doing OK. Her heart rate was normal and she had her three big movements. Unfortunately my fluid may be low- 5.5 to be exact. It’s still normal but a little low. So, I am on strict bed-rest with instructions to drink A LOT of water and to do very little moving. Then on Monday I go back for another NST and fluid check. If there is a problem, Mya may be coming 4 weeks early.

My doctor is not too concerned about me haivng the baby early as he thinks Mya is ready. I mean I am 35 weeks and will be 36 on Tuesday. I'm only a week away from being full term. I want her healthy, so if that means having to have her now, sobeit. my niece was born at 39 weeks and her mom had low fluid. The doctors ignored it and because of that my niece was so scrunched up at birth that she had to have physical therapy for the first 8 months of life. Her legs and arms were twisted and she couldn't move her neck to the left. She is now developmentally delayed and it may be because she was not getting enough oxygen.

So, as you can see, I would rather have her now than risk it.

We saw Dr. G today (my Perinatalogist). It may be my last appointment with her and I’m a little disappointed because we really like her. She is fun and honest and compassionate. Once Mya is born we are definitely going to visit Dr. G seeing as how she was/is a instrumental part of Mya’s life. At any rate, all is well. When I went to my appointment with Dr. G back at 30 weeks, it seemed Mya was measuring big (slightly over 4 pounds at the time). But now, she is right on schedule. She is 5 lbs 11 oz and Dr. G expects her to be roughly 8 pounds. I’m happy because with Gestational Diabetes it is very common to have 9-10 lbs babies, but I have managed to keep my sugars under control so Mya hasn’t had any severe growth spurts. I’m also happy because there is no doubt that my pregnancy (sans any major problems) will end naturally with a vaginal delivery.

Now on to the gripe. My in-laws are pissing me off. They say things like “you’re baby is going to be huge” and “look and you and Andrew, you won’t have a small baby.” The funny thing is that I don’t want a small baby. I want an average sized baby. In fact, medical studies have proven that babies of low-birth weights have a higher rate of developmental delays and learning disabilities. Nonetheless, I find their comments very rude and annoying. Firstly, because I am just sick of hearing EVERY opinion that they have and secondly because it is a jab at our weight. The second bothers me more. My in-laws, all of them, are fat. They have always been fat. And there is nothing worse that a fat person telling you that you are fat. It boils my blood. I am overweight now, but wasn’t always. It seems that my marriage into this family has made me fat and I hate it.

My husband and I are very determined to lose weight. We were both doing Weight Watchers before I got pregnant and will continue after Mya is born. But my mother-in-law and father-in-law are compulsive over-eaters with MANY weight-related health problems, and rather than focus on themselves they constantly make comments about my weight and about Andrew’s weight. My MIL also had GD when she was pregnant with my husband but did not follow the diet. She ate whatever she wanted because she is like that, and ignored the doctor’s warnings. Andrew was 10 pounds when he was born and had jaundice (both can be attributed to the GD). I on the other hand follow the GD diet and makes sure that I do not eat sugar so that Mya is not at risk. Dr. G thinks this is why Mya is doing so well.

I could go on for days about this, but there is no point. Mya is healthy and that is all that matters.

I got something else from my shower this last weekend: sick!!!!! I am so sick. It kind of hit me out of the blue, but there is no doubt that I am sick. I have the flu AND bronchitis. That combined with the last few weeks of pregnancy is horrible. I am taking antibiotics, Mucinex DM, Tylonel PM but am unable to keep anything down. Any suggestions?

BTW- Out of the 28-30 people who attended my shower, 18 of us are sick. Can you believe that?

All is well in Kristinaville. Mya is doing great and despite my discomfort, I am not in labor. Darn smile. I have to have NST every week and starting next week I have to be seen twice a week because of the cerclage and the GD. I’m nesting like a mad woman now and trying to get things situated. There is so much to do and NO time. I think I am going to start a business. I am not sure of the name but the slogan would be “We do the nesting so you can do the resting!” LOL.

My in-laws threw me a hell of a baby shower on Saturday. It was amazing and tiring and overwhelming, but most importantly, it was filled with love. If you have been reading my blog you know that my mother and I have a less-than-perfect relationship. We have not spoken since before Christmas because she has been very unsupportive of, well, everything I do. however, despite my toxic relationship with her, I have been missing her. I want us to have a good relationship. I want Mya to experience the best of my mother- the woman from my pre-teen years who loved to spend time with me and who encouraged me to be the best that I could be. I thought that woman was amazing but somewhere along the way that woman was lost. But at my shower, that woman was alive and well. My mother came to my baby shower and hugged me the way a mother is supposed to hug her child. It was great. She wants to be a part of my life. She wants to be a part of my daughter’s life. And more importantly, I want to let her. In fact when I awoke Sunday morning I made sure to call her and to thank her for coming to the shower. I want this to be the start of a new relationship for us. Hopefully it will be.

Now for the good stuff. Mya will be well taken care of once she is born. We received so many gifts that we needed two Ford Explorers in order to get everything home. I was getting nervous because we had absolutely nothing for her. But now I feel like we’re ready for a baby although we now have to clean. I’m getting the nesting bug, so that shouldn’t be too difficult to finsih by the end of the week. I getting excited and nervous and very emotional about labor but I know everything will be fine.

Sunday was our very last Lamaze class. Unfortunately I spent the last two hours of the class in Labor and Delivery. We were doing a tour of the maternity ward (a very thorough one) and I begn to feel very hot and dizzy. Turns out I was dehydrated and was having some uterine cramping. All is good though and Mya is doing well. I tell you the baby shower was great, but I gonna spend a week recovering. LOL.

1. For FTM, Most labor last 24-36 hours.
2. 1 in 2 babies are born via c-section.
3. More c-sections are performed nowadays because doctors want to avoid head/birth trauma and the possibility of having to use forceps an vacuum (and the suing that can come along with it). While most doctors will allow things to progress naturally, if there seems to be a problem, they will opt to perform a c-section rather than not.
4. Only 4% of babies arrive on their due date
5. When umbilical cord is clamped, newborn’s heart automatically goes from pumping blood from the heart straight to the lungs to the normal way.
6. Babies are born with 2 unformed sections (closing up between 9-18 months) on their heads to:
(a) allow head to change shape so that it can fit down the birth canal
(b) allow room for the brain to grow
7. Moms in labor should bring mineral oil to the delivery so that it can be applied to the perinaeum to encourage stretching, thus avoiding an episiotomy.
8. The non-pregnant uterus weighs 2 oz.
9. C-sections can prevent babies from expressing extra mucus from their lungs.
10. Eye drops of erythromycin are given to babies to help fight potential infections of the eyes.

As you can see, I learned a lot in “Prepared Childbirth” Class. We also learned to breathe, but most of the class was spent learning about the actual process of childbirth. It was very helpful, because while I was adamant about getting drugs as soon as I entered the hospital, I now think I can hold off until it really hurts. This is not to say that I will forgo pain relief, but I am no longer scared about labor. I can’t wait until the second class.