The past month plus has been going really well, considering. The baby is happy and healthy and BIG. I had a couple of growth ultrasounds. At 29 weeks, Wicket weighed about 3.5 lbs, and now at 34 weeks, weighs in at a whopping 6 lbs! We’re looking at about the 76th percentile for size and weight. I guess we’ve quelled any concerns about my problematic placenta getting lots and lots of nutrition to the baby. The Boy and I have taken to referring to Wicket as GIANT BABY!!. At this rate, I’m afraid of delivery.  One day at a time, though. People are starting to place bets on whether or not I’ll go early.

Last weekend was my baby shower. It was a great time. I was worried about the weather, but things worked out perfectly and it was a true party where the wine flowed and a good time was had by all. Of course, I was humbled by the generosity of our family and friends. With that behind me, I feel like I’m in the home stretch… all that’s really left is baby-having.

Here’s a picture of the present opening extravaganza:

The Boy got nearly the whole nursery together. He spent his entire February break getting the house in order for the baby shower. We held it at our house, since it was the most party-friendly, non-restaurant venue available. I’ll post some pictures once it’s all done.

Physically, I’m doing fairly well considering. Don’t get me wrong, I move at a snail’s pace and have the requisite aches and pains. I’m sleeping fairly well, though, although I sometimes wake up not able to move right away. I started seeing a chiropractor last week, which has been a huge help. My sciatica has subsided, and things are much more tolerable. I own the fact that it’s all downhill from here, but I’m just trying to make as smooth of a ride as possible.

Right now, I’m freaking out about everything I have to do between now and the coming of the Wicket. I have a ton of things to do to wrap up stuff for work, in addition to all of the baby-related stuff. Yikes!

Okay, cool… I’d been measuring right on the whole time, so the odds were in my favor. I arrived at my appointment with my fingers crossed.

In addition, while I was in for that appointment, we would also do our 1 hour glucose test. It’s early in my pregnancy for it by a few weeks, so I was a little paranoid as to why my doctor wanted to do it so soon. In reality it was more of a well, you’re here, so may as well get it out of the way type of thing, rather than any real cause for concern.

The great news? The tear is completely gone! My low lying placenta? Moved up! My doctor’s imposed rest? Eased (I just have to be smart about what I do, since I’ve been sitting on my ass since September). My glucose test? Passed with flying colors. Baby Wicket is looking fantastic, which is great!

The only minor cause for concern is that my iron was a touch low. This honestly doesn’t shock me, since I’ve struggled with borderline anemia in the past and have had to take iron supplements. All this means for me now is that I have to take an iron supplement every other day along with my regular prenatal vitamin. I’ve been so exhausted, I’m hoping that maybe it is partially because of the iron deficiency, and once I get those levels up, I’ll feel better.

With all the other things I’ve had to worry about, I’ll take slightly low iron. I’m so relieved.

As an aside, my doctor said that I just need to keep Wicket contained for another 14 weeks and the rest is just gravy. Ummm… what? 14 weeks? That’s like… soon! I’ve got to get cracking, it seems.

Where is your cell phone? charging
Where is your significant other? basement
Hair color? red
Your mother? excited
Your father? worried
Your favorite thing? snuggling
Your dream last night? upsetting
Your dream/goal? entrepreneur
The room you’re in? great
Your hobby? reading
Your fear? solitude
Where do you want to be in 6 years? stable
Where were you last night? fireside
What you’re not? comfortable
One of your wish-list items? gadgets
Where you grew up? CT
The last thing you did? decorate
What are you wearing? sweatshirt
Your TV? old
Your pet? dogs
Your computer? Mac
Your mood? decent
Missing someone? no
Favorite store? petco
Our summer? short
Love someone? boy
Your favorite color? purple
When is the last time you laughed? today
Last time you cried? yesterday

The say that fetuses of this age (nearly 21 weeks!) can actually taste the things that their moms eat, so I am prepared to provide Wicket with a wide variety of Thanksgiving cuisine. Just because I’m a good mom like that.

In the spirit of the day, I want to share the things in my life that I am thankful for:

• The Boy – Dave is the most wonderful husband a girl could ever ask for. He is a perfect complement to me.
• Wicket – We’re grateful that you’re coming and can’t wait to meet you.
• Logan and Bobo – My two boys are the most loyal companions and the best dogs ever.
• My extended family – Can’t say enough about my parents, brothers, and their families, including my 7 always-entertaining nieces and nephews.
• My home – I never believed that I could live in such a nice place that is mine. We’ve worked hard to get here, but I’m thankful for every second we spend here.
• My friends – Old and new, in person and online, the support I get is immeasurable and I hope that I am able to give as well as I get.
• My colleagues and students – The people in my department gave me opportunity that I barely dreamed possible, which I am eternally grateful for. My students challenge, frustrate, and teach me every day.
• My life – It’s not without its bumps, but I wouldn’t trade this ride for the world.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Anyways, after my previous bummer post, I wanted to share some good news about our fair Baby Wicket.

Our ultrasound went fantastically! Everything with Wicket looks right on and we tested extremely low for all genetic disorders. My blood work had come back a little high with a protein that suggests a potential for Spina Bifida, but the ultrasound was also able to eliminate that. They said that a bleed can raise the protein levels, which is what they attributed my levels to. I wasn’t worried, as I figured this was the case. All in all, we’re in the less than 1:20,000 (20k being the highest they go) for pretty much everything, which is fantastic. Out tech told us that most people would kill for our numbers.

The only down note is that I threw up during the ultrasound. As usual, Wicket was moving all over the place and generally uncooperative, so they were pushing down a lot on my belly to get a good shot of the babe. There was also a doctor in there that I think was a newbie-ish resident who was having a hard time getting a good shot, so she was all over the place on my belly.

Well, all of that pushing on my abdomen caused me to get heartburn, which turned into acid reflux, which quickly became nausea. It came on like a freight train and I made friends with the trash can in the room. Once the deed was done, I felt a lot better, but was embarrassed. They said that it was a combination of drinking a ton of water on a near empty stomach, the pushing on my stomach, the fact that I was flat on my back, and a hot room that caused me to feel so sick. I don’t have a lot to complain about, since it was my one and only puking episode during this pregnancy. I was able to pull myself together and go teach my normal 5 hour block of classes that night.

Best of all, I got pictures!

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Giving a wave

As for me, I’m still status quo. I’ve been on pelvic rest since the incident back in September. There is still a small tear in my placenta, but the good news is that it hasn’t gotten any bigger. The hope is that when my placenta moves over time, the issue will take care of itself. It’s just been rough, because I’m not able to do anything. I’m a pretty independent person, so it’s been tough to sit around and watch people do everything while I watch from the couch. Plus, my body is getting sore from sitting on my ass all the time. It could be worse, but I’m generally frustrated.

I mean, wow! Believe it or not, I’ve only gained 3 lbs in this trimester. By the way my clothes fit, it feels like a whole heck of a lot more. I’m fully in maternity pants, but can still fit into many of my regular skirts… for now.

This past week has been kind of rough for me. The effects of last week’s incident have finally started to rise up from the place where I neatly pushed them down. I’ve been a bit of a wreck, but am doing my best to deal with everything. I’ve got my NT scan tomorrow, so it’ll be nice to have another opportunity to see that everything is okay. In my heart of hearts, I know it will be.

On a funnier note, my mother has been shaking down the neighbors for their unneeded baby items. Their across-the-street neighbors were piling things for Goodwill. She managed to get me great things: 2 strollers (one regular, one umbrella), a pack and play, 2 baby bjorns, a video baby monitor (something I’d never buy for myself), 2 baby swings… the list goes on. It was really generous of them to give me so much, even if they were just planning on giving it to charity. I told my best friend who’s getting married in two weeks that she better clear some space, because when I’m done with everything, it’s going to her.

My mom tells me, “oh, this is only the beginning.” She’s bursting at the seams to make it public to the world. My parents have informed us that they are outing us to the rest of the family this weekend. That should be interesting… especially seeing the reactions of my 7 nieces and nephews at the news of a baby cousin.

It’s weird, I am kind of afraid to tell anyone. The scare just makes it worse. I think once it’s out there I’ll be a little more comfortable with it, but right now I’m hesitant. But as you can see above, I can’t hide it for much longer!

I had the most terrible scare last night. I’ll start off with EVERYTHING IS FINE NOW, but, last night I wasn’t so sure.

So, I was teaching last night and felt like I was peeing a little during my lecture, which I thought was odd. I went to the bathroom during our break to find my underwear soaked with blood, I mean scary soaked. I immediately call The Boy, send my class home, cancel my second class and go to the emergency room. 7 hours, a pelvic, and an u/s (which they didn’t let us see) later, we find out that everything is okay, baby is healthy, blah, blah.

We had talked to the on-call Dr. at my practice (my regular OB’s partner, who also rocks), who had me go in to see them this morning so that they can do their own u/s and my 12w appointment, which was supposed to be tomorrow. Can I say I love that they took care of everything while I was there, and didn’t make me come back?

Anyways, we saw Wicket, heard the h/b for the first time (crazy shit), and the found the source of the bleed. Apparently it was a blood vessel that broke, gushed blood, and then sealed up pretty much right away. They said it had to do with implantation and are just going to keep a close eye on it going forward. I have my NT u/s next week, and then another one with my doctor Oct. 10th. So, if there’s a silver lining, it’s more Wicket face-time. Although, I’d trade less ultrasounds to not have had to go through last night’s events.

I’m on pelvic rest for the time being, but it’s more for peace of mind than anything else. The Boy and I didn’t get back from the hospital until about 3 AM, and then got up go to the doctor first thing this morning. Needless to say we’re shaken up and exhausted, but we’ve rewarded ourselves with a day of pizza, naps, and movies on the couch.

Baby Wicket is so totally grounded when s/he is born!!!

What a difference from the last shot! Yes, I gave in and bought some maternity shorts. The bella band was okay, but these are much more comfortable. I can’t help but wonder if people are thinking damn she’s getting FAT. Admittedly, I’m pretty self conscious about it. I keep telling The Boy that it’s not baby, but just bloat, but he’s having none of it. To him it’s all “baby related” so it doesn’t matter which it is. He’s so excited about this, it’s adorable.

My second appointment is already coming up next week and my NT scan is coming up on October 1. Once we get the results back from that, I’ll be ready to tell the world. That is just freaky…

I was heading to my car and noticed a campus police cruiser nearby. Grateful that the parking lot was being monitored so late at night, I started loading my bags into the car. The cruiser starts creeping up the aisle opposite the one that I was in. The officer was looking at me and taking into the walkie talkie on his shoulder. In my head, I was going back and forth between what does he want from me? and he’s got to be looking at something else. I was even ready to argue the fact that I was faculty and was legally parked in the lot (being so late, it’s a moot point, anyways).

Finally, the car stops and the officer gets out of the car and starts walking slowly towards me. Completely confused, I speak:

Me: Hi

Officer: Hello… um, I think your husband is looking for you.

Me: He is? That’s odd.

Officer: Yes, he called dispatch.

Me: Hmmmm, well I AM pregnant… (fish my phone out of my purse) Yep… three missed calls.

Officer, after confirming finding the “missing person” with his dispatcher: We worry about you ladies!

Me: Clearly! It’s actually kind of cute

Come to find out that The Boy misread my teaching schedule and thought I was supposed to end at 7:30, not 10:00. Of course, every horrible scenario ran through his head, but alas, I was where I was supposed to be. I’ve actually been teaching this Wednesday night schedule THE WHOLE TIME I HAVE BEEN TEACHING THE PAST YEAR, but I digress. The officer was extremely nice and I thanked him profusely for looking out for me. At least they had something to talk about in this dispatch office that night.

One of the first things I asked him was, “you didn’t call my mother, did you?” She would have lost her shit completely, especially now that I’m pregnant.

It’s good to know that there’s someone in my life who is looking out for my well-being, even if he’s a doofus that doesn’t know how to read the university schedule… a university he works at, as well. I love that man of mine!