I had a bit of an eventful week this week with all things pregnancy related. I was told at the 32wk appointment last friday that I was measuring too big, and that baby was laying transverse. They wanted me to get a scan (as well as more bloods and urine checks). So this friday (14th) I waddled on into the hospital for the growth scan. Sure enough baby-boy is measuring in a good 3-4wks ahead of his gestational age and sitting on the 95% percentile. Fluid levels were totally normal (they thought maybe it was just a lot of liquid in there!?), and all the organ development and placental blood flow was fine. (The photo above shows his nose/upper lips. He has the chubbiest cheeks already and had folded himself into a head down-bum up position with his feet in front of his nose! At least he's sitting better for a normal delivery now).
Both of my own children were large at delivery (9lbs, then 10lbs), so I must say I was curious when I went into this surrogacy journey to see if a baby not of mine/my husbands genetic material would compare.... and at this stage it's looking like maybe it's more about my oven then the genes!? lol
I've been cleared for Gestational Diabetes with all 3 pregnancies too, and have had 'concerning' high blood pressure levels (I honestly think it's more of a white-coat-syndrome thing then actual high blood pressure though as I get consistently normal readings at home) with all three as well - which is supposed to restrict blood flow and potentially cause growth restriction... so I'm not sure what's going on in there! I am a big girl, and I like my food - so maybe the babies just get extra doses of nutrition? I don't know if that's how it works if you don't have GD though? I'm still approx 1kg over the weight I was at embryo transfer too - so feeling good about that. I didn't need to gain any extra weight - and am hoping to maintain this until delivery... though I am SUPER hungry at the moment! And there's still a few weeks to go! lol
This photo was taken first thing Friday morning (33wks, 2days). It amazes me still that the photos don't even begin to show how HUGE I feel I am. My perspective is looking down at my belly though, and I've been unable to see anything beyond the bump for quite some time now. I was trying to explain what it feels like to be pregnant at this stage to my hubby earlier this evening. I want to try and remember as much of this as I can. It's a little like the feeling you might get if you've been to an 'all you can eat' restaurant, and you've seriously over eaten. Your belly feels bloated and hard and you're just generally uncomfortable to the point that even walking back to your car is exhausting. (I don't know how many of you will be able to identify with this - but our family were big fans of 'all you can eat' when I was a kid, so this is a vivid memory for me! lol)
But then you need to imagine your belly about 4 times larger then that with a very strong, wriggly human being inside of it that takes to shifting position at the strangest times and managing to press on places inside of your body that you didn't know you had (nor that you realised hurt so much!). Then - this extended belly of yours also takes to going rock hard whenever you get a bit stressed or try to walk further then 100m (or just because it wants to at 2am in the morning) which feels a little like you've suddenly become a human-vice. There is no 'give' in your bloated belly, so you can no longer bend over or reach things that are just next to you and hunching becomes an impossibility, and if you lay back too far or too flat you may feel like you can't breathe!
Yet at the same time - I do feel proud of this bump. This wriggly, inconvenient bump. And it blows my mind that a human is on his way to the world.
I also decided this week that it was time to book in a pregnancy massage. I had been a little reluctant to get one done earlier after a comment the accupunturist made back in the first trimester (that I shouldn't let my hubby massage my shoulders as the release of tension would make miscarriage more likely. Apparently this was just common sense biology!?). I will admit that I dismissed it as silly - but I still didn't let anyone massage me, just in case! lol
So I went back to my favourite alternative health centre and got a lovely hour long massage. I even got to use one of those crazy tables with the belly-cut out in them! I honestly think that if I suddenly found myself rich beyond belief, I would hire a full-time masseuse and get massages every day! I LOVE them!
I left feeling very relaxed and sleepy! But was quite sore over the next few days. It was totally worth it though!
So the latest on thing is that they want me on weekly check up appointments at the hospital to monitor my pesky blood pressure, and keep a close eye on pre-eclampsia (which is slightly more likely for me as this baby is different genetic material - considered the same as if this was a baby conceived to a new father), and to keep an eye on his growth. There was some talk of an 'early induction' if he continues to grow at this rate... but I will admit I'm very reluctant to be medically induced again. I think once I get to 36-37wks, I'll be trying all of the old wives tales to get labour started on its own. As much as I don't want an induction, I also don't want to go overdue like I have the last two times either... so it'll be an interesting couple of weeks ahead of us all I think!
No comments:
Post a Comment