Well some of you may have heard through the grapevine and for some this all may be new... but Mark, Mango and I had quite the exciting week/weekend! I'm going to start the story with where we are now... comfortably resting and home and gearing up for baby! We had gone to the Dr. for a regular check-in and although baby looked great, my blood pressure was a bit higher than normal for me, so combined with some mention of swelling the Dr. wanted to run some labs to just be sure everything was on track. Well he was just as surprised as we were when the labs came back indicating that I may have preeclampsia. So what is that? A very complicated and very poorly researched complication that they believe you actually have from the moment of implantation but that doesn't show itself until later in pregnancy. So to cut a long story a bit shorter, the Dr. had us come back a few days later to check in again and my blood pressure had unfortunately gotten a bit worse, leading him to recommend a stay in the hospital just to be monitored and looked at a bit more closely over the weekend.
Mango and I spent the weekend in the hospital, with Mark there most of the time of course, and we got a visit from a specialist who deals with more "high risk" pregnancies at our Dr's recommendation to ensure that we covered our bases. He did an ultrasound and again everything looks great with baby and as far as preeclampsia goes mine is still classified as mild. So both Drs are very comfortable with me being home on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy. We will check my blood pressure at home and visit the Dr. weekly to check in.
So where does the countdown come in?? Well... Mango is going to be coming out a little earlier than his due date! With preeclampsia there is no "cure" other than delivering the baby... and the further you carry the baby the more you are running the risk of further complications and therefore further interventions. So again, both Drs agree there is no reason to heighten that risk once we get baby full term, which is 37 weeks. So right now our goal is to keep him happily baking up until 37 weeks at which point we'll get to bring him home!
So like I said at the beginning, we're all home and happy and under the watchful eye of a very thorough and caring doctor. We're excited to have this time to focus our energy on getting ready for baby! Thanks for all your support and don't be worried, Mango much prefers excitement and happiness in preparation for his arrival rather than unnecessary concern!!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
32 Weeks
How time flies when you are baking a baby! I'm having quite a bit of fun getting ready for the arrival of our little one! I spent just about all day Sunday getting all of his fabulous gifts (thanks everyone!) from the shower laundered and put away... I also got my first taste of what it's like to do laundry and clean all day and yet somehow all my clothes are still dirty and most of the house is still a disaster! I suppose that's a good thing to get used to right about now?
Today I'm going to meet a potential pediatrician, hopefully the only one I'll have to go meet given our schedules are pretty packed these days with work, bradley classes, meeting with our doula, prepping for baby... oh yea, and of course, not over doing it in my last trimester! So anyways, as Mom and Dad continue to prepare ourselves and our home for the new arrival, this is what he's up to in my belly:
By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. In case you can't tell what this is, he is supposedly about the size of a large jicama:
Of course, I also had my photos with Katy last week which was super fun! We go to go walk around a really nice park by their house, and I even convinced Mark to be in a few with me. I haven't seen all of the photos just yet, but Katy was kind enough to get a few to me quickly so I could put them on the blog this week:
Of course, I also had my photos with Katy last week which was super fun! We go to go walk around a really nice park by their house, and I even convinced Mark to be in a few with me. I haven't seen all of the photos just yet, but Katy was kind enough to get a few to me quickly so I could put them on the blog this week:
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
31 Weeks
Wow, 31 weeks, so exciting! Mark and I had a fabulous weekend, thank you so much to Sandy and Charlie for flying all the way out here to visit with us! We enjoyed our apple picking with his parents and made a super delicious apple pie with the apples. We also had a fun trip to the Wild Animal Park with Katy, Ben and family...and actually I have a few photos from that, but unfortunately didn't take them off the camera yet, woops! Then of course, my shower, which was fabulous! Thanks to Aunt Bonnie it was delicious as always and so nice to get to see everyone and celebrate little Mango! He also got lots of awesome presents, now Mark and I just have to actually set it all up and get his room ready for him!
Other than that, we have our first appointment with our new doctor (and the only doctor we'll have to go to for the rest of the pregnancy! yay!) on Friday. I've still been feeling really good, the fun of having him kicking around in there is far outweighing the little gripes that come along with feeling quite huge. :-) I'm also excited for this coming weekend, for Katy to take some maternity photos of me, so finally I'll have some cute ones to show as opposed to ones like this which are great for showing off my new double chin (haha!)
Here are Mango's "stats" for this week: This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy. Other than the comparison to the oranges, Mango is still compared to the same fruit size as last week, so no fruit picture this week.
Other than that, we have our first appointment with our new doctor (and the only doctor we'll have to go to for the rest of the pregnancy! yay!) on Friday. I've still been feeling really good, the fun of having him kicking around in there is far outweighing the little gripes that come along with feeling quite huge. :-) I'm also excited for this coming weekend, for Katy to take some maternity photos of me, so finally I'll have some cute ones to show as opposed to ones like this which are great for showing off my new double chin (haha!)
Here are Mango's "stats" for this week: This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy. Other than the comparison to the oranges, Mango is still compared to the same fruit size as last week, so no fruit picture this week.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
30 Weeks!!
Wow, the time has flown by and suddenly I am 30 weeks pregnant! What an exciting week to celebrate too!! Mark's parents are coming in to town on Thursday and we have lots of fun things planned... Friday we're going to go out and go apple picking in Julian (yum!) and then out to dinner at the always delicious Stone Brewery with my parents. Not sure what we're up to Saturday just yet, but then Sunday is a big day for Mango...the baby shower!! I'm so excited to see everyone and celebrate our growing baby boy! Can you tell I'm excited for this weekend?
So now that I'm at 30 weeks I don't know if I have too much to report for myself... I am pleased to say it appears I have the feet swelling under control for now thanks to the suggestion of our Bradley teacher, that nettle leaf tea really seems to be helping! Other than that we're just trucking along, watching this belly grow and trying to adjust to the little aches and pains that come along with suddenly carrying a large squash in my belly.
So without further ado, here are Mango's THIRTY week "stats": Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision – which means he can only make out objects a few inches from his face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.) This week, he is the size of a:
For my photo this week you can tell I had another photographer than myself and my self timer, hehe... but I'm sure Katy would like me to let you know that this was with my camera and very spur of the moment, so clearly not up to her regular standards. :-) This was actually taken two days ago when we had our glorious spa day (thanks mom!) but it was so much better than my normal photos I had to use it even though it's a few days pre 30 weeks:
So now that I'm at 30 weeks I don't know if I have too much to report for myself... I am pleased to say it appears I have the feet swelling under control for now thanks to the suggestion of our Bradley teacher, that nettle leaf tea really seems to be helping! Other than that we're just trucking along, watching this belly grow and trying to adjust to the little aches and pains that come along with suddenly carrying a large squash in my belly.
So without further ado, here are Mango's THIRTY week "stats": Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision – which means he can only make out objects a few inches from his face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.) This week, he is the size of a:
For my photo this week you can tell I had another photographer than myself and my self timer, hehe... but I'm sure Katy would like me to let you know that this was with my camera and very spur of the moment, so clearly not up to her regular standards. :-) This was actually taken two days ago when we had our glorious spa day (thanks mom!) but it was so much better than my normal photos I had to use it even though it's a few days pre 30 weeks:
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