How far along? 30 weeks (and 3 days)
Due Date: August 2, 2011
Total weight gain/loss: 14 pounds
Maternity clothes? Pretty much everything at this point and I may never return to regular pants since maternity pants are so comfortable!
Stretch Marks? Nothing yet (KMFX it stays this way)
Sleep: A little better lately. I seem to be getting 2-4 hours stretches of sleep, which I'm loving!
Best moment this week: My mom and my friend, Angie, came and helped paint the baby's room, which is now completely done!
Movement: Still my hiccupping ninja. I wish she'd use all those movements and get her head down where it's supposed to go!
Food cravings: McDonald's, guacamole, Ramen noodles...you know, all the healthiest things in life.
Food aversions: Chicken and eggs
Gender: Girl (if not, this little boy is gonna have one brightly colored room and a lot of dresses to wear)
Labor Signs: Well, I did have a little excitement in this department in the last week. Last Thursday (at 29 weeks 2 days) I had worked all day and had way more contractions than I normally do. By the end of the day, they were getting more intense. I wouldn't call them "painful", just "uncomfortable." By this I mean, the worse they got, the more every one made me feel like I had to poop AND pee my pants at the same time and made me wince and want to try to hold my belly up to relieve some pressure. I put myself on the monitor after work (one of the perks of working in labor and delivery) hoping to just reassure myself that baby girl looked fine and that my contractions were nothing to worry about and I would go home. It was then that I realized I was contracting every 2-3 minutes and they were feeling worse and worse, not better as I rested. I called one of the doctors in my group (who happened to be doc in the box that night in the hospital...how convenient) and of course he wanted me to go to triage so he could check me and send a fetal fibronectin. I protested and did not want to be a patient. (Nurses are so great at being on the other side of the bed.) But he convinced me that it was the right thing to do. I had already taken some Procardia and my contractions were not spacing out, so I agreed to be checked. I waddled over to triage and was happy to find out my cervix was still long and closed and very posterior (all good signs). He did a fetal fibronectin and after waiting for awhile, it came back negative (also a good sign that I would not go into labor in the next 2 weeks). However, I was still contracting every 2-3 minutes and they were getting more uncomfortable, not less, despite laying down on my side and drinking a crap-ton of water and emptying my bladder. I wanted to go home at this point since everything looked reassuring, but Dr. Cleary wanted me to get some terbutaline. I protested again. I didn't want it and I didn't think I needed it, but he was not going to let me go home contracting so frequently and threatened me with staying overnight in the hospital and getting Magnesium, so I gave in. About 5 minutes after getting the shot of terb, my contractions completely stopped. It was the most relaxed my uterus has felt in months! Although it's not without it's side effects for me.....I felt crazy jittery and shaky and my heart rate increased considerably. Finally he let me go home, but took me off work for the rest of the weekend and told me to take Procardia every 8 hours at home and to follow up on Monday with Dr. Gaudreau in the office. It was incredibly hard to "take it easy" at home for the next few days and I really didn't want to be off work. Although it sounds like a dream not to have to work, that only holds true if you can actually be productive and do fun things in your time off. Also, I didn't want to be using my paid time off at home by myself....I want to use it for my maternity leave once my baby girl is here. Thankfully when I saw Dr. Gaudreau on Monday, I was still long and closed and posterior and she agreed to let me return to work full time, but still continue taking Procardia 3 times a day. Here I am, over a week after my initial "episode" and I'm still pregnant and growing our little girl! Yay!
Belly Button in or out? Still in
What I miss: Being able to paint my own toenails. I got my first pedicure of the pregnancy today.....it was fabulous!
What I am looking forward to: Getting the baby's room all set up!
Milestones: Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)
