24.5 weeks

How far along?  24 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: our scale= +12lbs, doctors scale= +7lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes. Some regular clothes still work - workout pants, cardigans and Tall size shirts or tunics. I don't know if it's because of the c-section scar but my mid-panel maternity pants aren't as comfy as last time.

Stretch marks? Nope.

Sleep:  Was awesome until this week with Madi sick and me congested again. Breathe Right strips are the best invention ever as far as I'm concerned. Every pregnant, congested lady should have a supply.
Best moment:  Madi starting to talk about her baby brother.
Miss Anything? FREEDOM!!

Movement: Just like Madi, this guy shimmy shakes all the time. I can feel it on my belly now too. First time I could feel him on the outside was Thanksgiving at bed time - wonderful gift.
Food cravings: old standbys - milk and sweets plus new stuff all the time - pickle chips, real french fries, big juicy hamburger, sushi

Anything making you queasy or sick: for a bit I didn't care to handle raw meat
Have you started to show yet: Oh yeah, belly sticks out farther than boobs. I think I'm bigger now than I was with Madi. 

Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: braxton hicks there for a while resulting in bed rest
Belly Button in or out? still an innie

Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy

Looking forward to: passing 25 weeks

 

 

Things are going well. Our last check-up showed baby boy is just a little bigger than expected. All organs and limbs have developed perfectly. There are no markers of developmental or physical issues. Doc was pleased with the lack of contractions when lying down so we continue what we’ve been doing –progesterone shots every week and bed rest. He did advocate for getting up for some social interaction – go to dinner, take a drive, watch a movie. Just be careful and if/when the contractions start coming close together, lay down on my left side, drink a couple glasses of water and start timing the contractions. 5-6 in an hour and we call the doc. We’ll see. It seems like we have a pretty good thing going now, why jeopardize that?

We go back next Thursday for another check-up. I’m supposed to get a shot of steroids to kick baby’s lung development into high gear, should an early delivery occur. We should do a test for fetal fibronectin. Fetal fibronectin is a glue-like protein between the fetal sac and uterine lining; made to hold the sac in place. Later in pregnancy fetal fibronectin (fFN) is detectable as it breaks down to allow labor to progress, usually around 35 weeks. Those known to be high-risk may start fFN testing at 22 weeks. At our next appt I’ll be 25 weeks but more importantly, as far as we made it with Madi. A positive fFN test doesn’t tell you much other than fFN is present. Studies say a positive test means you have a pretty good chance of going into labor within two weeks. Negative just means we’ll test again in two weeks. Other than steroids and the fFN test, should be a regular appointment. Typical and boring is what we like to hear!!

I know I’m a bit behind so I’ll catch you up on the past 7 weeks:

November 9^th we had our 18 week ultrasound appointment, first one since the cerclage. Unfortunately things didn’t look the best as my cervix had continued to shorten and funnel out. Dr. Mernitz didn’t put me on bed rest but highly encouraged us to start slowing down. Said gravity was quickly becoming my enemy. Whenever I could, lay down. As far as gravity, sitting is no better than standing so laying down is best. Cervix as close to horizontal as possible was how he explained it. We figured that at work, every couple hours up meant one spent in the recliner. We had a plan and started implementing it. Remember what they say about the best laid plans? Yep, you’ve got it. Monday night, November 12^th, I started having contractions but they were intermittent and not painful. I kept hydrated like they said to do, laid on my left side. Tuesday when they continued I called the doc because I was also feeling this burning sensation. Said to track the contractions and if more than 5 in an hour, call back and get ready to come in otherwise they’d see my the next day. I swear all I did that night was enter contractions in my phone! Never hit the 5 in an hour mark though. When I went in on Wednesday the ultrasound showed my cervix had shortened twice as much from Friday and was twice as funneled. Bed rest was now imminent. Sure enough, when the doc came in that’s what she said. 20 minutes up at a time, 30 min MAX. That included travel time so we wouldn’t be headed to Marshall for Thanksgiving. Honestly, the news was a bit tough to take. Had a minor freak out in the parking lot. Once again, I wasn’t ready. How can I work, take care of Madi, Dan and the house from the couch?? What do we do for Thanksgiving and Christmas? The lack of independence felt paralyzing. Can’t afford to keep getting worse by 50% each time – we’ll run out of percentages. It was too early to have “real” trouble. 25 weeks is the cutoff for intervention, we have to make til then. But, nothing I could do to change what had happened so might as well deal. It took a good couple of weeks for the attitude adjustment to set in though. *wink   As is usually the case, doc knew what he was talking about. A week of bed rest had stopped the contractions. When the contractions stopped so did the burning sensation. I figure the burning sensation was scar tissue stretching with each contraction.  

I was able to go to Thanksgiving, just ate lunch from the recliner. Let me tell you how hard it is to eat horizontally. Eat a meal, change a shirt! Cuz there will be at least one bite that doesn’t make it from plate to mouth. Once you get the food to your mouth that’s only half the battle. Your digestive system doesn’t work the best at 90* from normal. Never realized how much gas escapes on its own when you’re standing up but you feel each gas bubble while lying down. It’ll get so bad that I sit up and given just a little bit of time the bubble will make its way up and the most unladylike belch erupts. Ahh relief! If it’s not gas it’s heartburn. Oh the burning!! The line from Bucket List – never trust a fart – has been modified to never trust a burp. Same concept, not always just gas that escapes. Yuck. I was using Tums as after dinner mints for a while til doc mentioned taking a heartburn medicine before eating, genius. I have a newfound respect for how Madi felt with her reflux as a baby. It’s horrible! No wonder she’d look at the bottle and have second thoughts. I totally get it.

We have a semi-routine established. If we don’t have Madi’s lunch made the night before I’ll do lunch and then get Madi dressed while Dan’s getting ready for work. If we time it right they’re both ready to get in the truck at the same time. Once they take off I grab some cereal, my water bottle and settle in on the sofa bed. I am lucky enough to be able to work from home during bed rest. I have a VOIP phone so my calls transfer just like I’m at the office. I work from a laptop on the sofa bed, rotating direction every hour or so. There are some things that are easier for me to do with a bigger monitor so Dan set up our desktop computer with the TV as a monitor. It’s glorious. The sofa bed gets folded out on Monday morning and stays out throughout the week, gets folded up on Friday afternoon. At night Madi enjoys coming up on the bed and reading, playing games on my Kindle or watching movies on the laptop. She likes to “share” with me which usually means she has 70% of whatever but hey, at least she’s working on the concept of sharing. My family brings dinner three times a week which is a huge help. It’s nice to have something ready when Dan and Madi get home. Sometimes little missy gets home hungry and she’s ready to eat so if dinner’s already done it’s easier on all of us.

I’ve tried the online grocery delivery service Peapod. Great review! I’m sure they’re prices weren’t as good as the traditional grocery store but they take coupons, have sales but most importantly, the convenience is worth it. I got an email when our order was next to be delivered, when the driver was 15 min away and one when he pulled up outside. He brought everything up to the door, took his shoes off and then brought everything into the kitchen and put it on the counter. The bags were separated by type – frozen foods, refrigerated items, pantry items, household stuff, etc. I knew which bags needed to be put away first and what could wait til the next time I was up. It was so worth it! They also had a test package of Breathe Right strips that came with my order. I don't know that I would've bought them on my own but for a congested pregnant lady that can't take just any decongestant, they're fabulous! I can breathe the whole night through. Wish I'd found them sooner.

Still considering a cleaning company once a week, just can’t seem to keep up with the dog hair tumbleweeds. Hairy beasts! And of the cleaning tasks I could outsource, housecleaning is the easiest. Don't care to have someone else washing my skivvies.

Also discovered both our our banks offer online bill pay. Other than doctor bills and the credit card everything gets paid automatically without me having to do a thing - gas, electric, sewer, cable, trash, cell phone, daycare, mortgage, truck, you name it. Such a time saver!

All in all we’re coping. Of course it’s not exactly what we were hoping for but baby boy is good and healthy plus every week on the couch is one less week in the NICU. I think that brings you up to speed on what’s been going on over here.