When I was pregnant with Kate, I wrote a note on facebook for each trimester about how things were going. I haven't done quite the same thing this time around, since I've updated here more frequently, but I thought I'd take a minute to talk about the last two trimesters overall....
The Second Trimester
The second trimester with pregnancy #2 was much like the first. Not much going on other than a growing belly. I felt pretty well and had decent amounts of energy. We found out baby #2 was a boy. That's about it.
The Third Trimester
Oh where to begin. It didn't take long for the third trimester to become complicated. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Good fun. I got it under control with diet and an insulin injection at night. No biggie. I even lost 8 pounds. Not too shabby. At 32 weeks pregnant, I traveled with our youth group to Tennessee to attend a summer conference there. It was hot and miserable, but I survived by driving myself nearly everywhere we went. It was just too much walking. My muscles were really starting to ache about this point and walking very long got to be pretty painful. That hasn't stopped. At 33 1/2 weeks pregnant, I tripped and fell while carrying Kate. Kate and Jack were fine. I tore up my leg and spent two weeks sleeping on the couch because of it. Walking was very painful. At 34 1/2 weeks pregnant, I was in a car accident. That was 2 1/2 weeks ago, and I've had steady contractions coming at least every 15 minutes since then. It's good fun. After the accident, I spent seven hours one day being monitored and three the next. Fortunately, the contractions haven't yet caused any dilation. As of tomorrow, we'll be full term. I'd love to get him out of here, but I'm grateful that he won't be considered a preemie at this point. Also at 34 weeks, I started having doctors appointments twice a week. I have NSTs at the hospital on Mondays and one at the doctor's office with a regular appointment on Thursdays. Things have definitely been busy! I'm very glad this pregnancy is coming to an end. I've loved most of it, but I'm done. These last few weeks, especially, are hopefully enough to make me remember in the future that I don't want to do this again. Two are enough for me!
All in all, with gestational diabetes and the fall and accident, things could have been much worse during this pregnancy. I'm very grateful that God has really watched over us through all of this and I'm very excited to meet our little boy. At this point, if I don't have him in the next 15 days, they'll induce. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to go into labor on my own this time, especially since my blood pressure is staying where it should. So the countdown continues. When will Jackson arrive?!
Showing posts with label third trimester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label third trimester. Show all posts
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Twelve minutes
I have twelve minutes to post before it's time to check my blood sugar again. Yay.
My doctor's appointment on Monday was kind of disappointing. I had already been scheduled to see one of the other doctors, which is a routine thing at 28 weeks when you're seeing the midwife. The doctor I saw, however, was not the one that I will be seeing for the remainder of the pregnancy. She was nice, but I'm glad she's not mine. She talked briefly about the diabetes thing. I'll be seeing the doctor more frequently now, since I'm considered high risk. I'll start doing weekly non-stress tests (NST) at 32 weeks, I think. I'll have an ultrasound again at 36 weeks to check the size of the baby again. There will be another ultrasound at 38 1/2 weeks, if I make it that far. She said they definitely wouldn't let me go past my due date and would start considering induction around 38 weeks. If, however, any ultrasound reveals that he may weigh ten or more pounds, they'll make me have a c-section. Not news I wanted to hear. I can't imagine having a c-section to recover from while dealing with a newborn and a 2 year-old. Hopefully, it won't come down to that.
The gestational diabetes management class yesterday was very helpful. I met with a dietitian to create a diet for my needs. We had an actual class about what diabetes is, how to control it and how to eat. The meal planning section was especially helpful. I'm feeling a lot more in control of that aspect now, thankfully. I'm testing four times a day. So far my numbers have been good, except for in the morning. I'm going to experiment with a few things in the next few days and see if I can't get that to level out. If not, I'm guessing they'll put me on medicine to control my insulin overnight. We'll see. I go back next Friday to meet with a nurse there again and review how things are going. My next doctor's appointment is the Monday after that.
That's the update:) Other than that, I'm feeling pretty good. I officially began the third trimester on Monday. When did that happen?! In other news, I'm stripping my cloth diapers for the first time today. Hope it goes well! I'm planning to travel with them this weekend, so we'll get to test out how cloth does on the road. More on that next week!
My doctor's appointment on Monday was kind of disappointing. I had already been scheduled to see one of the other doctors, which is a routine thing at 28 weeks when you're seeing the midwife. The doctor I saw, however, was not the one that I will be seeing for the remainder of the pregnancy. She was nice, but I'm glad she's not mine. She talked briefly about the diabetes thing. I'll be seeing the doctor more frequently now, since I'm considered high risk. I'll start doing weekly non-stress tests (NST) at 32 weeks, I think. I'll have an ultrasound again at 36 weeks to check the size of the baby again. There will be another ultrasound at 38 1/2 weeks, if I make it that far. She said they definitely wouldn't let me go past my due date and would start considering induction around 38 weeks. If, however, any ultrasound reveals that he may weigh ten or more pounds, they'll make me have a c-section. Not news I wanted to hear. I can't imagine having a c-section to recover from while dealing with a newborn and a 2 year-old. Hopefully, it won't come down to that.
The gestational diabetes management class yesterday was very helpful. I met with a dietitian to create a diet for my needs. We had an actual class about what diabetes is, how to control it and how to eat. The meal planning section was especially helpful. I'm feeling a lot more in control of that aspect now, thankfully. I'm testing four times a day. So far my numbers have been good, except for in the morning. I'm going to experiment with a few things in the next few days and see if I can't get that to level out. If not, I'm guessing they'll put me on medicine to control my insulin overnight. We'll see. I go back next Friday to meet with a nurse there again and review how things are going. My next doctor's appointment is the Monday after that.
That's the update:) Other than that, I'm feeling pretty good. I officially began the third trimester on Monday. When did that happen?! In other news, I'm stripping my cloth diapers for the first time today. Hope it goes well! I'm planning to travel with them this weekend, so we'll get to test out how cloth does on the road. More on that next week!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
The Things They Don't Tell You, part 3
As I finish up the last two parts of "The Things They Don't Tell You," I'll be transitioning to things more related to the end of the third trimester, labor & delivery and the postpartum period. I have a feeling there are more of these things than of the others!
21) All pregnant bellies aren't cute. Some of them grow in odd ways and you end up looking more like there's a pointy watermelon under your shirt rather than a basketball.
22) Too much physical activity can cause contractions towards the end. They may just be braxton-hicks, but they'll leave you feeling on the edge of your seat until they go away (or until you've wasted several hours and labor & delivery, only to be told you're not in labor).
23) If you think you're in labor, call the doctor. If it's past regular business hours, call labor & delivery (L&D) and talk to a nurse. They may decide you need to come in and be monitored.
24) There's a good possibility you'll think you're in labor several times before you really are. I took at least two trips to L&D before I was actually induced with my first.
25) Your water does not have to break for you to be in labor. Don't wait for it to break if your contractions are coming regularly and close together.
26) The larger you grow with pregnancy, the harder it becomes to breathe as your lungs become constricted.
27) Severe swelling is something that needs to be reported to your doctor. It can be a sign of things like preeclampsia.
28) When the doctor checks your cervix to see if you're dilated or effaced, it will hurt--particularly when you're not very far along in the process.
29) After the doctor checks you, some spotting is normal. If you feel it's excessive, call your doctor's office.
30) You're probably not going to deliver on your due date. I, for example, had to be induced at 37 weeks with my first because of preeclampsia, but there are many women who go to 41 or 42 weeks before they go into labor or are induced. I hate to bring out the negatives, but you should be prepared for whatever happens.
There will be at least one more post in this series in the upcoming week. Stay tuned!
21) All pregnant bellies aren't cute. Some of them grow in odd ways and you end up looking more like there's a pointy watermelon under your shirt rather than a basketball.
22) Too much physical activity can cause contractions towards the end. They may just be braxton-hicks, but they'll leave you feeling on the edge of your seat until they go away (or until you've wasted several hours and labor & delivery, only to be told you're not in labor).
23) If you think you're in labor, call the doctor. If it's past regular business hours, call labor & delivery (L&D) and talk to a nurse. They may decide you need to come in and be monitored.
24) There's a good possibility you'll think you're in labor several times before you really are. I took at least two trips to L&D before I was actually induced with my first.
25) Your water does not have to break for you to be in labor. Don't wait for it to break if your contractions are coming regularly and close together.
26) The larger you grow with pregnancy, the harder it becomes to breathe as your lungs become constricted.
27) Severe swelling is something that needs to be reported to your doctor. It can be a sign of things like preeclampsia.
28) When the doctor checks your cervix to see if you're dilated or effaced, it will hurt--particularly when you're not very far along in the process.
29) After the doctor checks you, some spotting is normal. If you feel it's excessive, call your doctor's office.
30) You're probably not going to deliver on your due date. I, for example, had to be induced at 37 weeks with my first because of preeclampsia, but there are many women who go to 41 or 42 weeks before they go into labor or are induced. I hate to bring out the negatives, but you should be prepared for whatever happens.
There will be at least one more post in this series in the upcoming week. Stay tuned!
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