Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Moving Right Along

I had my five month OB appointment yesterday. All seems to be doing just fine with Miss Emma. She has been kicking up a storm lately, and kicked the doppler off of my belly yesterday when we were trying to get her heartbeat. I am measuring right on track (which is good, since we were a little concerned about her size a month ago) and so I am supposed to bring my daily calorie intake back to what it was before (buh-bye ice cream and Costco cinnamon rolls - which, seriously, you should try them if you haven't yet).

But as I am only up 8 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight, I am not going to be too concerned about that. I think I was about 11 pounds up at this point with Will and I ended up gaining 29 pounds altogether, so since I am about the same this time, I figure I will stay in a healthy weight range, so long as I don't go insane in these next few months. My appetite is much greater this time, but my good old friend heartburn has been rearing its ugly head these past few days. This really kept my food consumption down with Will, as eating too much after a certain time of day (5 PM) meant bad things (painful heartburn and choking on my own stomach acid, lovely).

I finally got my referral to an orthopedic surgeon, though my OB warned me that many tests and procedures would be off-limits while pregnant. I had kind of already figured that out, so I told him we could just wait on the referral until after she is born. Then, he said no, because the shoulder is a tricky joint and if it's as messed up as my PT thinks, it can cause all sorts of problems. He said that it's best to figure out what's wrong now and then put a plan together to fix it just as soon as Emma is born. It has been giving me more pain lately, so I am eager to at least find out what is wrong and know that it can be fixed, since that is the hardest part about pain to me. . . not knowing if it will end.

I was his last patient of the day again, so he gave me tons of time. We talked about my planned c-section again. I am still wavering a bit about doing that instead of trying for a VBAC. He asked what my concerns were and addressed all of them, one of the biggest being in the hospital for so long with Will at home (and currently, our hospital does not allow children under 12 to visit due to H1N1 risks). He told me that he has had patients released the day after their c-section if they are feeling well enough and request an early discharge. This is very good to know, though M felt that would be too soon. But as my doctor reminded me, a scheduled c-section is very different from an unplanned one as far as recovery. He said that based on how well I recovered last time, he thought I would be amazed how fast I recovered this time.

We reviewed her ultrasound pictures again. He told me that she is a "real cutie" which made me laugh. Of course, I agree, but I know he was just teasing! They all look like little aliens on those ultrasounds.

Who can even believe that I am just a week away from 24 weeks. . . viability. . . the Promise Land. Now, as I said to Will when he reached this very point, there is no need to test this whole viability thing and she needs to keep on baking. But it is still so exciting to be getting closer to the time when if she did come, she would be okay.

9 comments:

HereWeGoAJen said...

I can't believe it is five months already! Wow!

Rebecca said...

I loved viability...it's good. Keep up the good work!

K @ ourboxofrain said...

Hooray for being so close to 24 weeks! I must admit, the time since that point seems to have flown by for me.

I will admit to being a bit apprehensive about failing in my attempt at a VBAC -- I'm not sure I can handle a prolonged recovery from doing both labor and c-section again. But I also really want to try for a VBAC. I hope you're feeling more confident in your decision!!!

Jen said...

Costco cinnamon rolls eh? I'll have to look at those the next time I'm there! Not that I need the extra weight gain...

Mazzy said...

I hope this pregnancy is going as fast for you as it is for me. :) (Hahaha... so easy to say when it is NOT you who are pregnant)

Glad everything is going so great! Don't sweat the occasional cinammon roll. Baby girls need extra sweetness, I'm telling you!

And PS-speaking as someone who had a planned c-section, I wouldn't do it any other way. (I am sure several people are judging me, but whatever!) My birth and recovery experience was amazing. I probably could have left the hospital the 2nd day, but I milked the whole sending the baby to the nursery and being taken care of experience to the fullest. I was already quite literally back and up running within 3 weeks of L's birth.

Anonymous said...

Wow! I can't believe your almost 24 weeks! That's crazy! So glad that things are going well. I hope the heartburn isn't as bad with this pregnancy. I had the WORST heartburn with J (as in I had it all day and night every day). So excited for you sweetie!

Sunny said...

How exciting! Glad everything is going well. Sounds like you have a great doc.

I am wondering about recovery after my repeat C-section, too. Last time I had to recover from 24 hours of labor, 3 hours of pushing, and then the surgery. But there were no complications, and I'm worried that there may be this time. Hoping for the best for both of us!

christine said...

My daughter was 16 months when I had my c-section and delivered twins. It was planned but it was still very painful. I would not reccomend being discharged early. My hospital also did not let anyone under 18. They did make exceptions to your own children. However my daughter had a horrible cold and was not allowed. I was away from her for 5 nights/6days.
My husband only spent the night w/me the first night and he made sure he was with her all the rest w/ baby sitters during the day. I missed her so much and when I came home to her I burst into tears.
However she was fine and so will Will. Don't risk your recovery. If you develop an infection it could be more days away from him. Congrats on 5 months

Michele said...

yay for good news!!!