We have had a rather eventful last week and a half. At 31 and a half weeks, I went to my doctor's appointment and my doctor told me that the baby was really low and given my history of delivering Tyler 3 and a half weeks early, I needed to slow down and do a reduced activity schedule. This basically meant cut back at work (so I went down to 2 days/week and only 3-4 hours/day), no gym, no cleaning, no picking up Tyler, etc. Pretty much when I'm not working, I should be laying down. My first day of work went okay, but after work on Thursday the 28th, I started having a lot of contractions in both my stomach and back. After calling my doctor, she said we need to go to the hospital. Luckily they were able to stop the contractions and 3 hours later I was able to go home. At that point, my doctor put me on strict bed rest (only allowed to get up to go to the bathroom). I can't even get my own food or water. I was told I didn't need to come back to the hospital unless I was having more than 4 contractions/hour.
If you thought it couldn't get more chaotic, we had a huge thunderstorm on Friday night. I can't remember a bigger storm than this. It sounded like a tornado. I had to go into the closet because it sounded like all of the windows were going to shatter. We lost power. It was 100 degrees outside and been 100 for a few days and was supposed to be over 100 degrees for the next week. J.D. was at our good friend's Chris and Licia's rehearsal dinner and when he got home our house was already hot. I was still in the closet laying on the floor having tons of contractions. We tried to sleep but it was just so hot. At about 3:30 am we went downstairs to try to sleep on the couches where it was a little cooler. Unfortunately, it wasn't cool enough and my contractions really started to pick up. When we realized I was having about 12-15/hour, we called my doctor and headed to the hospital again. We were at the hospital from 5:30 am-1:30 pm. Again, luckily they were able to stop my contractions. I still wasn't dilated, but the baby's head was even lower and I was 60% effaced. Again, a reminder about super strict bed rest. The doctor also told me that this could have been caused by the heat and dehydration and that I needed to go somewhere with air conditioning. On a positive note the doctor did say that this was the most active 32 week old baby he had ever seen. (Little does he know that I normally has about as much energy as Tyler so it must run in the family). I also feel like Baby Bluey is moving so much more in the past couple of weeks...very active little fellow!
We found a hotel in Pentagon City with A/C so we headed there along with my parents and sister. It ended up being a fun improtu vacation and ironically Chris and Licia's wedding was right across the street so that made it very easy for J.D. to go and feel like if he needed to come back to the hotel he could.
Again, as if that wasn't enough...... at 10:30 pm at the hotel, the fire alarm goes off. UGH! I had to walk down 4 flights of stairs (definitely not on the bed rest protocol). Because the 911 call centers were down, they didn't even know that our fire alarm was going off. The manager of the hotel had to drive his own car to the fires station in order to alert them that they needed to come. We waited in the lobby for over an hour.
Tyler got to sleep in a big bed (he shared with mommy). His first big bed besides his own and he did amazing!
Silver Diner with Buh Puh and snuggling with Gee Ga Jo
We got power on at about 11 pm on Saturday night so on Sunday morning, we went home where I've been either on the couch or the bed ever since. Every day that I can keep this baby inside is a good day. Today is Week 33 Day 5! The doctor said that I will be on bed rest until 36 weeks (if I make it that long) and then after that I'll be allowed to do anything I want.
Week 33 day 5 with Baby Bluey (sorry for no makeup...but there's not a lot of need for cute clothes and makeup when you're on bed rest)
2 pictures of week 33 with Tyler (J.D. thinks I was bigger with Tyler at this point. Thoughts?)
We are so lucky to have our families here. If we didn't have them, I guess J.D. would just have had to take a month off of work because someone has to take care of Tyler and someone has to take care of me. Our parents have been incredible. At least one of them has been here every day. We also have so many wonderful friends. We appreciate all of the food, phone calls, grocery story runs, texts, etc. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you thank you thank you.
Tyler has been really understanding that Mommy can't do a lot of things right now so he's taken advantage of lots of snuggling on the couch, reading books, watching his first movie (Cars)...well a few minutes of it while eating popcorn, reading magazines, playing games, and playing ipad.....all on the couch. This has also been a really special time for him because of how much quality time he's gotten to spend with his Daddy. They have been really into tennis so here are some pictures and videos from their latest tennis escapades. Day 1: Tyler was Federer and J.D. was Djokavitch (spelling?). Day 2: Tyler was Federer and J.D. was Murray. Pretty convenient that Ty picked the winner every time!
Tyler marching around on 4th of July singing Yankee Doodle (Thanks Aunt Allie for teaching him that song!)
J.D started teaching Tyler football plays
Tyler also started an art class 2 weeks ago and after learning (from the Today Show, of course) about someone defacing the Picasso painting, proudly announced (while painting): "I'm an artist just like Picasso!" Needless to say, the teacher was rather impressed.
One more funny thing this week:
Going to the potty continues to progress and has been going incredibly in the past 3 weeks. Tyler now tells us on his own when he has to go potty by yelling "I HAVE TO PEE". Very exciting! We still use the timer sometimes but he has been telling us more and more. He also has been going pee standing up on a stool which is pretty fun for him! He loves making bubbles!
The other day he yells from the potty: "Daddy come in a see my smelly poop". He is excited about absolutely everything in life. I love you Tyler!
Welcome to Week 33: Baby Bluey is a Pineapple!!
Length: 17.2 inches (43.7cm) Weight: 4.23 pounds (1918gm)
Information about the baby:
This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.
Your baby's crown-to-rump length is about 11 1/2 inches. She weighs about 4 1/2 pounds and gains about eight ounces every week. Your baby has probably moved to the head-down position and may descend into your pelvis at any time in the next six weeks and begin to press into your cervix. This position not only prepares her for birth but allows blood to flow to her developing brain. The dark quiet of your womb is perfect for this activity. Right now, your baby is also in the process of receiving your antibodies. If she were born right now, her immune system would be immature, and extra care would need to be taken to keep her in a sterile environment.
- Amniotic fluid is at its highest level during your pregnancy.
- Your baby's head size has increased 3/8ths of an inch due to rapid brain growth.
- Neurons and synapses are developing in huge numbers -- forming connections in your baby's brain will give him the skills he needs to thrive as a newborn. This week, he may be able to coordinate sucking and swallowing with breathing.
- While most of his bones are hardening, his skull is quite pliable and not completely joined. The bones will be able to move slightly to make birthing easier.
- You baby takes intermittent deep breaths -- of water! That's okay, though since she gets oxygen from the placenta. This breathing exercises muscles and encourages her lung cells to produce more surfactant (a protein essential for healthy lung development).
- If your baby is a boy, his testicles will be descending from his abdomen into his scrotum. Sometimes one or both testicles won't move into position until after birth.
- Your infant is now 17.2 inches (43.7cm) long and weighs 4.23 pounds (1918gm).
What's going on with me:With midnight bathroom runs, leg cramps, heartburn, and your basketball-sized belly, it's no wonder sleep is elusive. Third-trimester insomnia strikes about three-quarters of pregnant women (who may also be coping with a mind that races all night long). But your body needs rest, so do your best to get comfy. Grab a pile of pillows, wedge them where you need to, and look on the bright side: Pregnancy insomnia is great training for those sleepless nights to come! Your baby is still gaining weight (about half a pound a week), and she could grow up to another full inch this week. With that much baby inside your uterus, your amniotic fluid level has maxed out, which explains why some of her pokes and kicks feel pretty sharp these days. (There's less fluid to cushion the blows.) Antibodies are being passed from you to your little one as she continues to develop her own fetal immune system, which will come in handy once she's outside the womb and fending off all sorts of germs.
No comments:
Post a Comment