Friday, May 18/18
I can't lie and pretend these weeks of pregnancy were even remotely fun, but, now that I have my baby here in my arms I will say there were certainly enjoyable parts during this period where you get absolutely humongous, sore and downright exhausted.* It's going to be a hefty post, so get a cup of tea and settle in. It's also important to note at the beginning that my pregnancy only went until 37 weeks, so I apologize for any readers who may be at week 42, jealous of my baby's swift arrival. I am sorry.
*Top tip: Find a pool and float in it. You are weightless, you don't feel sore and you can pretend your huge pale belly is a beluga whales head sticking out of the water.
33 WEEKS
At 33 weeks I had another appointment with my OB, and she told me that with her handy tape measure she predicted my baby was measuring a whole two weeks ahead of schedule. Because my baby was measuring so large, she had told me that I would have to anticipate being inducted even earlier due to the higher risk of a c-section, but that she'd schedule me in for an ultrasound to measure the baby and get a prediction of what it weighs pre-delivery. I also had my first NST (non-stress test) to check the baby's heartrate and ensure that it wasn't getting stressed out in there. Luckily it all went well, and I even had a few very minor contractions showing from the test. Apparently anything reading over 20 is considered a contraction or Braxton Hicks contraction, and I got up towards 30 a few times and sort of convinced myself that this meant labour was slowly starting and I'd have a baby soon. (I was wrong)
34 WEEKS
I had another NST! This time the staff at triage noticed I was having minor contractions, still measuring between 20 and 30, and they decided to do an ultrasound to get a closer look at the baby's lungs and see how well they were developed, and they also did a cervical examination to see if I had dilated at all. I was 1cm dilated which they said was uncommon for a first-time mother, but that they didn't think it was a concern that I was actually headed for active labour and sent me home. They said that if I had any more contraction feelings that I should come back in, so two days later I did. I was still only 1cm, and the doctor on-call theorized that the baby was growing quite rapidly, and my uterus expanding at such a rate was giving me the feeling of contractions- despite it being totally the opposite thing. This week of my pregnancy was a bit of a downer because I'd gotten excited at the thought of contractions and actually having my baby, plus I'd gained 3lbs between week 33 and 34 and I was rapidly growing and stretching. I felt massive and my feet were starting to swell, I couldn't sleep very comfortably and overall I was getting a bit sick of pregnancy in general.
35 WEEKS
This week was another one full of tests. I had my ultrasound to measure the baby, and the results were in! At 35 weeks my baby measured at 7lbs 6oz. To put that in perspective, my OB said that was the weight of her son at full-term delivery. She measured me again and said that I was measuring at 38 weeks, and essentially said when she saw me next she'd schedule me an induction date because the risks of baby being too big to delivery vaginally were increasing with every passing day. She still wanted me to get to as close to 38 weeks as possible, but told me that she wasn't sure that was feasible with all things considered. I was really relieved to hear this because I'd gained another pound and a half within the space of a week, and my belly was getting a little bit out of control. I'd pretty much already almost gained the 25lbs that I was told to gain in December before delivery, only at this point I still had 5 weeks to go until I was considered full-term. I had also noticed a really sharp, uncomfortable pain on the upper right side of my stomach, right by my ribs, and it hurt often. My OB told me to get some bloodwork done to test my liver enzymes and test for preeclampsia. My blood pressure was creeping up, and my mum had preeclampsia with me, which put me at a higher risk. I also had two other high-risk factors including being a first-time mother, and being a type one diabetic, so my OB was quite concerned that it was something I'd potentially experience. Luckily everything came back normally, so we theorized that baby was simply keeping it's foot jammed up by my ribs.
36 WEEKS
The week of hell. On the Monday of this week I met with my OB. She was all set to leave for vacation the following week, but scheduled my induction for March 20th when she was away because the baby was measuring so large and she didn't want me to have to have surgery. I appreciated this, of course, particularly because I was so sick of being pregnant at this point. My insulin needs had decreased quite shockingly over weeks 35 and 36, and after emailing the endo-pregnancy team I had seen throughout pregnancy I was told that I should go into triage right away to potentially be induced and have my baby. I went into triage with my hubby and we were admitted to the antenatal ward. At this point of pregnancy I was huge, very uncomfortable and hormonal and frankly, quite frustrated that the baby hadn't made an appearance yet. Day one in antenatal I was sent for an ultrasound to take a look at the placenta, I had several NST's each day and my blood pressure and sugar was monitored almost hourly. By day two my insulin dose had decreased by 70%. I hadn't heard much, but I was told to anticipate staying until the baby was born, which annoyed me because I was feeling okay and a little worried I was taking up precious bed space. Day three in antenatal was the worst. I was told I really did have to stay, but they wanted to wait until Monday to induce because getting me to 37 weeks (term) was of the utmost importance. I was annoyed because this was only one day ahead of my scheduled induction and I felt silly having to wait around in hospital when I could be doing all the same things from my bed at home. I was hormonal as hell, I cried whenever I thought about my cat at home, and I was being delivered meals that weren't vegetarian so I had barely eaten. It was all a bit overwhelming. And then came day four in antenatal. I had spent all of day three crying that I had to stay, so when I woke up on day four I had adjusted my attitude and realized I was in the best place for me and baby, and I was ready to stay and deliver as and when the doctors had decided it was best. Shockingly, by 11am I was told that I was going to be discharged, sent home, and my induction on the 20th that I'd booked with my OB was to be cancelled, and that I was to try and get to 38 weeks instead. I was devastated. So I did all I could do, and pack my things up to go home, despite taking 80% less insulin and my baby still growing rapidly- the only light at the end of the tunnel was that I was scheduled to meet the doctor who discharged me and cancelled my induction at the start of 37 weeks to plan another induction, and I was ready to fight for my original date. It was an incredibly stressful week where I had a meltdown pretty much every day, and sobbed my way around the halls of the antenatal unit while simultaneously waddling past other pregnant ladies who had been there for weeks or months, and nodded at them all as I went by and felt like they understood how I felt- mainly because they had it much worse than me.
37 WEEKS
Now I've only got a few days to write about in this week. On the Monday I had met with the evil doctor who discharged me and cancelled my induction, pleaded my case and was told I could be induced on the 21st, on the condition that I had two steroid injections to help my baby's lungs develop. I agreed very quickly, and headed to triage for the first shot and an NST. Everything looked good on the NST and I had a huge needle injected into my lower back, and then we headed home. The next day (Tuesday) I went back to triage for a Foley Catheter and another steroid injection. It was very painful. So painful, in fact, I will write another post dedicated to the devil that is the Foley Catheter. I came home, napped, and then didn't sleep all night in anticipation of the call, calling me in to finally deliver my baby. At 10:45 in the morning I received the call to head in to be induced, and that's where I'll leave this post! Labour and delivery story headed your way next!
I can't lie and pretend these weeks of pregnancy were even remotely fun, but, now that I have my baby here in my arms I will say there were certainly enjoyable parts during this period where you get absolutely humongous, sore and downright exhausted.* It's going to be a hefty post, so get a cup of tea and settle in. It's also important to note at the beginning that my pregnancy only went until 37 weeks, so I apologize for any readers who may be at week 42, jealous of my baby's swift arrival. I am sorry.
*Top tip: Find a pool and float in it. You are weightless, you don't feel sore and you can pretend your huge pale belly is a beluga whales head sticking out of the water.
33 WEEKS
At 33 weeks I had another appointment with my OB, and she told me that with her handy tape measure she predicted my baby was measuring a whole two weeks ahead of schedule. Because my baby was measuring so large, she had told me that I would have to anticipate being inducted even earlier due to the higher risk of a c-section, but that she'd schedule me in for an ultrasound to measure the baby and get a prediction of what it weighs pre-delivery. I also had my first NST (non-stress test) to check the baby's heartrate and ensure that it wasn't getting stressed out in there. Luckily it all went well, and I even had a few very minor contractions showing from the test. Apparently anything reading over 20 is considered a contraction or Braxton Hicks contraction, and I got up towards 30 a few times and sort of convinced myself that this meant labour was slowly starting and I'd have a baby soon. (I was wrong)
34 WEEKS
I had another NST! This time the staff at triage noticed I was having minor contractions, still measuring between 20 and 30, and they decided to do an ultrasound to get a closer look at the baby's lungs and see how well they were developed, and they also did a cervical examination to see if I had dilated at all. I was 1cm dilated which they said was uncommon for a first-time mother, but that they didn't think it was a concern that I was actually headed for active labour and sent me home. They said that if I had any more contraction feelings that I should come back in, so two days later I did. I was still only 1cm, and the doctor on-call theorized that the baby was growing quite rapidly, and my uterus expanding at such a rate was giving me the feeling of contractions- despite it being totally the opposite thing. This week of my pregnancy was a bit of a downer because I'd gotten excited at the thought of contractions and actually having my baby, plus I'd gained 3lbs between week 33 and 34 and I was rapidly growing and stretching. I felt massive and my feet were starting to swell, I couldn't sleep very comfortably and overall I was getting a bit sick of pregnancy in general.
35 WEEKS
This week was another one full of tests. I had my ultrasound to measure the baby, and the results were in! At 35 weeks my baby measured at 7lbs 6oz. To put that in perspective, my OB said that was the weight of her son at full-term delivery. She measured me again and said that I was measuring at 38 weeks, and essentially said when she saw me next she'd schedule me an induction date because the risks of baby being too big to delivery vaginally were increasing with every passing day. She still wanted me to get to as close to 38 weeks as possible, but told me that she wasn't sure that was feasible with all things considered. I was really relieved to hear this because I'd gained another pound and a half within the space of a week, and my belly was getting a little bit out of control. I'd pretty much already almost gained the 25lbs that I was told to gain in December before delivery, only at this point I still had 5 weeks to go until I was considered full-term. I had also noticed a really sharp, uncomfortable pain on the upper right side of my stomach, right by my ribs, and it hurt often. My OB told me to get some bloodwork done to test my liver enzymes and test for preeclampsia. My blood pressure was creeping up, and my mum had preeclampsia with me, which put me at a higher risk. I also had two other high-risk factors including being a first-time mother, and being a type one diabetic, so my OB was quite concerned that it was something I'd potentially experience. Luckily everything came back normally, so we theorized that baby was simply keeping it's foot jammed up by my ribs.
36 WEEKS
The week of hell. On the Monday of this week I met with my OB. She was all set to leave for vacation the following week, but scheduled my induction for March 20th when she was away because the baby was measuring so large and she didn't want me to have to have surgery. I appreciated this, of course, particularly because I was so sick of being pregnant at this point. My insulin needs had decreased quite shockingly over weeks 35 and 36, and after emailing the endo-pregnancy team I had seen throughout pregnancy I was told that I should go into triage right away to potentially be induced and have my baby. I went into triage with my hubby and we were admitted to the antenatal ward. At this point of pregnancy I was huge, very uncomfortable and hormonal and frankly, quite frustrated that the baby hadn't made an appearance yet. Day one in antenatal I was sent for an ultrasound to take a look at the placenta, I had several NST's each day and my blood pressure and sugar was monitored almost hourly. By day two my insulin dose had decreased by 70%. I hadn't heard much, but I was told to anticipate staying until the baby was born, which annoyed me because I was feeling okay and a little worried I was taking up precious bed space. Day three in antenatal was the worst. I was told I really did have to stay, but they wanted to wait until Monday to induce because getting me to 37 weeks (term) was of the utmost importance. I was annoyed because this was only one day ahead of my scheduled induction and I felt silly having to wait around in hospital when I could be doing all the same things from my bed at home. I was hormonal as hell, I cried whenever I thought about my cat at home, and I was being delivered meals that weren't vegetarian so I had barely eaten. It was all a bit overwhelming. And then came day four in antenatal. I had spent all of day three crying that I had to stay, so when I woke up on day four I had adjusted my attitude and realized I was in the best place for me and baby, and I was ready to stay and deliver as and when the doctors had decided it was best. Shockingly, by 11am I was told that I was going to be discharged, sent home, and my induction on the 20th that I'd booked with my OB was to be cancelled, and that I was to try and get to 38 weeks instead. I was devastated. So I did all I could do, and pack my things up to go home, despite taking 80% less insulin and my baby still growing rapidly- the only light at the end of the tunnel was that I was scheduled to meet the doctor who discharged me and cancelled my induction at the start of 37 weeks to plan another induction, and I was ready to fight for my original date. It was an incredibly stressful week where I had a meltdown pretty much every day, and sobbed my way around the halls of the antenatal unit while simultaneously waddling past other pregnant ladies who had been there for weeks or months, and nodded at them all as I went by and felt like they understood how I felt- mainly because they had it much worse than me.
37 WEEKS
Now I've only got a few days to write about in this week. On the Monday I had met with the evil doctor who discharged me and cancelled my induction, pleaded my case and was told I could be induced on the 21st, on the condition that I had two steroid injections to help my baby's lungs develop. I agreed very quickly, and headed to triage for the first shot and an NST. Everything looked good on the NST and I had a huge needle injected into my lower back, and then we headed home. The next day (Tuesday) I went back to triage for a Foley Catheter and another steroid injection. It was very painful. So painful, in fact, I will write another post dedicated to the devil that is the Foley Catheter. I came home, napped, and then didn't sleep all night in anticipation of the call, calling me in to finally deliver my baby. At 10:45 in the morning I received the call to head in to be induced, and that's where I'll leave this post! Labour and delivery story headed your way next!
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| My belly in the antenatal ward- when I was convinced it'd be my last belly photo before the baby arrived! (Hence the smile) |
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