Monday, January 24, 2011

32 weeks ultrasound and pregnancy update

This morning I was super lucky to get one final ultrasound to see our baby girl! I was pretty sad last night when Brent told me he had to go out of town for work to cover for someone... he had really wanted to be there today to see her one last time before her arrival, but he's an awesome worker and wont turn down assignments if needed. So off I went to our midwife's office. First up was the ultrasound! It was amazing to see how much baby girl has grown and changed!! She's super pudgy! Part of the reason I had the ultrasound was because at my last 3 appointments my fundal height has been measuring 2 weeks big, so our midwife wanted to see if it was baby, me, amniotic fluid, or just because. Well, Baby girl was approximately 4 lbs 8 oz, according to the machine. The tech mentioned she thought she was closer to 5lbs, but it's hard to tell just from an image and ultrasounds tend to be off. Baby girl has super pudgy cheeks, seen in the face pics below, they are super adorable! Both the tech and I also thought we saw what looked like a double chin... but couldn't tell for sure! She also had really thick thighs, so she's gaining weight perfectly and then some! I wish the tech would have taken a picture of her thigh, it was adorable! The tech also showed me that baby girl has hair! not a ton, but there was some fuzz going on in there, we could see it floating around, which was kinda creepy, but neat because I totally thought she would be bald (I was bald for my first few years I think). 

So here are our baby girl's stats for this ultrasound/week:

Appx. 4 pounds 8 ounces

Heartrate was 147 during the ultrasound, and then my midwife counted 153 about 20 minutes later, but I also heard the heartrate dip on the doppler. Baby girl was much more active during the doppler than the ultrasound, we could barely get her to move on screen, so she was probably sleeping before we woke her up.

Foot length is 3 inches! super long, skinny feet!

Her belly looked awesome! Same with her head/skull, brain, lungs, heart, etc, everything looked to be functioning perfectly and healthy. 


(below) Baby girl's super chubby cheeks! and possible double chin! her arm and hand are curled up below her chin, (look at the pic sideways, it helps to make out the face)


She was opening her eyes and mouth, and the tech tried to get a pic of it, she got the top on a little, which is why it's so dark, hand is again curled under her chin.


Her long, skinny foot!! and perfect toes!


another close up of her chubby cheeks


and a profile picture, she was turning, so it's not great, but you can see her forehead, nose, and mouth, and her holding her hand up by her face again, she really likes to do that, I wouldnt be surprised if thats how she sleeps when she's out. 


Other good things from this appointment ( I wont share the icky, pregnancy stuff...) I'm gaining weight finally!! I'm up 4 more lbs from my last appointment! my midwife is super happy that i'm finally gaining, she thinks I might make it up to between 15 and 20 lbs after all! Heart rate is perfect, not too low like it has been in the past. I passed my glucose test!! which we knew when we didn't get the phone call 2 weeks ago, but my results were 120, which failing is 140+, so yay me! No gestational Diabetes! 

Brent and I also took the hospital tour last week, and I will fully admit I did NOT like L&D. It totally freaked me out! I got the dizzy, clammy, hot, going to pass out feeling while touring the room and the floor... it was way too sterile and white and uncomfortable for me. I seriously am planning to labor at home until baby girl's head is about to come out if I can... I did not like the room there at all... On the other hand, the recovery/maternity side was much more relaxed and pleasant. Calming, soothing colors on the walls, browns, creams, tans, with color accents in the decor, very relaxing and nice compared to the total hospital feel of the other side. I think i'll be fine in recovery, I don't plan to be there very long if I can help it. I do realize things happen that might be out of my control, but I like to think of the positive, and positive to me is a less than 24 hour stay :) 

Last week also marked the start of our birthing class, which I cannot believe I have not blogged about yet! We LOVED it! I do have to mention first... a work friend of Brent's recommended the class to us, He and his wife took it with their first child a couple years ago and felt so much more prepared than other couples we had talked to that took hospital classes, they ended up with a C-section, but were ok and informed and knew how to handle the situation when it came time. They just had their 2nd baby last week (Congrats to them!!) I have yet to hear how it went, but the class instructor was their doula! So all through our class, she referenced them and how she was at home laboring currently and if she got a call she had to go, but that the husband insisted she not cancel the class because Brent and I were in it and he didnt want us to miss! :) 

It was a pretty cool class, even if we were 20 minutes late due to my flight being delayed... not fun, but we just missed the introductions mostly. We went over our wishes for a perfect labor and delivery experience as a class, and then from that master list, we as a couple picked the top 10 things we wanted, Our list?
  1. Supportive environment
  2. Successful goals
  3. Comfortable environment/partner/staff/ positions/etc.
  4. Relaxed everything
  5. Strong support from my partner (Brent) and Midwife and nurse, and my ability to stay strong physically throughout the labor and delivery.
  6. Calm and peaceful environment, dim lights, light music, maybe a favorite movie on the tv, etc.
  7. Relatively quick/ timely labor and delivery, no stalling, not too fast either though.
  8. Accepting, of what is happening, what might happen, and if interventions do need to happen 
  9. Encouraging environment, encouragement from Brent if I start to falter or get tired, that I can do it and have this baby naturally, and without medication, and without interventions. 
  10. Privacy from nursing staff (minimal when necessary) and friends and family...
    * This is the part where I should mention Brent and I have decided to not allow visitors... were still debating the family thing. I really don't want people coming to the hospital to see me or the baby, and I would rather have them come by once were home and settled in. There are just too many things going on at the hospital to be comfortable if someone shows up for a visit... I don't want to have to worry about not having a top of if i'm breast feeding, or if the baby is sleeping, or i'm sleeping, or etc... but we would love visitors once were home and settled in after a week or two. The what if's are there too, as in, what if I labor all night, and want to sleep all day, visiting hours will be over. What if I don't do well during labor, and am having a rough recovery? What if the baby is having a hard time feeding, I want to give her my full attention and not stress or worry if someone is there. There are just too many what if's that we wont know until they happen... We also want to spend the first day as just us, a family, Brent, myself and baby girl. The bonding that happens those first few hours is incredible and we want to have the fullest amount of that special time possible.
Also, We've been informed that the time of year may hinder any visitors... Were heading into heavy flu season, and they will not allow most visitors during flu season, it kinda goes on lock down around there I guess. They are pretty serious about it too, my midwife declined the flu shot (as she does every year) and has to wear a face mask EVERY DAY for her rounds and while she's in the hospital... just in case! last year she had to wear it from November through April, because the season was so bad (she never got sick), I smile every time she walks in the room for my appointment, because she's got her mask on :)

We really did love our first class, and cannot wait for number 2 tomorrow night! Oh, and the night after our first class, we went out to dinner at Bittercreek and ran into another couple from the class! They recognized us, and we sat in the parking garage entrance talking for almost half an hour! I look forward to seeing them again this week and getting to know them, they seemed like a pretty cool couple. Brent and I hope to make several new friends in this class, or at least I would like to make some new mom friends, with babies the same age as ours, it would be nice to have a play group right off the bat. 


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