26 weeks… almost to 27

I sit here writing this today from the uncomfortable seats in the Sonora Quest Laboratories waiting room.  I am currently taking my test for gestational diabetes.  I hope I pass, as I really don’t enjoy drinking that crappy sugary drink.  But whatever happens, if I have to redo it, I will. 

Unlike last time when I was pregnant with Noah and told right from the start I’d have to do both the 1 hour and the 3 hour test, due to my advanced maternal age, this time I haven’t heard the same thing…at least yet. 

While Dr. A acknowledges I am in that magic category because I’m now 35, he doesn’t seem as worried about having to take extra precautions because of my age.  Maybe it’s because they are being proactive about everything else that he figures this is one area, where seeing me twice a week, they can address any concerns as they come up. 

So I sit here today, at least for the next 55 minutes, and wait.  This gives me plenty of time to think about week 26 and how thankful I am to be here.  This week has been extra busy, me working 4 days instead of the normal 2.5.  While the number of hours I’ve worked is still the same, its amazing to me how big of difference being up 4 days versus the 2.5 can make in how I feel and the contractions I’ve been having.  If I needed any further proof that my body just needs more hours of horizontal resting, this week has shown me that.  I haven’t felt that great this week, with more contractions, achy feeling, and just overall exhaustion.  That is why today my plan, after this fun outing, is to just go home and rest in bed.

Being that I never got to experience this part of pregnancy with Noah, I feel like everyday is a clean slate and I don’t know what to expect or what this week will bring.  In a way, it’s a great way to experience pregnancy.  Unlike the first 24 weeks when I had something to compare my feeling to, now I don’t.  I don’t know what is normal, what are things to worry about and if what I am feeling is normal.  So I go forward with little expectations and fewer fears with each week.

This week baby girl has decided to position herself in a way that my sciatic nerve on my right side is pinched.  Well at least it feels that way.  I have a constant shooting pain in my lower back and an alternating pain and numbness feeling that radiates down my leg.  Sometimes the pain is so great is makes me shout with joy (not), other times I laugh uncontrollably because the pain is so sharp (instead of crying) and even once in the middle of the night it became so painful I started screaming for Jarrett to come help me by rubbing my butt.  He was sound asleep and with the shouts of me from the couch in the living room, he must have thought I was in labor again and he came running out of the bedroom and started racing around trying to figure out what he needed to do first, before I screamed…. Please JUST RUB MY BUTT!  It was then he stopped, looked at me and said, “Seriously, that’s why you are waking me up?”

Here's what happens after you wake your husband up in the middle of the night to rub your back.  He sits down after work to talk about the day, and a few minutes into Mom telling him about the day she's had, she looks over to see this.... guess Dad needs some extra zzzzz's too.

No matter how painful, I’ll gladly take it as long as it means baby girl is safe, thriving and inside growing.  Thankfully, she is.  Earlier this week, we had our weekly ultrasound to monitor her fluid level.  Not only does the fluid level look good, but she does as well.  The valve in her heart they are monitoring to make sure doesn’t close early, is still open and guess what else?  Baby girl is starting to plump up.  By no means is she a chunky monkey, but it was amazing to me to see this week, just how fuller her face looks compared to just last week.  Where before her face was pretty thin and her bone structure right below her skin, now we are starting to see fuller cheeks and a button nose… I love it.   

 While baby girl has been head down for several weeks, another change is that last week she flipped again and is now breech again.  I’m back to feeling her jabs, rolls, arms and legs very clearly.  Last night I was laying on the couch when I went to rub the side of my belly.  As I put my hand along my side, I clearly felt her hand pressed up against my stomach.  In the same moment I realized it, baby girl must have felt me pushing it, she moved her hand as quickly as the smile appeared across my face.  It was SO COOL! The other feeling I experience so much more when she is breech is that I feel like she’s performing the Irish River Dance on my bladder.  Seriously, like tap dancing on my bladder.  As much time I spend in the bathroom, I am so thankful she’s so active.  With every movement, I feel like baby girl is telling me, “Hey Mom- I’m okay.  Don’t worry.”

 During my second appointment for the week, I met with Dr. A who said he’s happy with how things are going and hopes they continue to stay on this same path.  He said, “You know you are getting close to the third trimester and then I’ll start seeing you weekly.”  To which he started laughing since he’s been seeing me weekly since around week 18.  Just one of the other blessings of this pregnancy, (there are so many) is that I feel I have developed a close, open and honest relationship with my doctors.  I truly feel like they care about me, Jarrett and especially baby girl.  Dr. A continued by talking with me about what he wants to see in the next couple of weeks, and then he said, “If we can get you to 32 weeks, we are going to celebrate!”  For the first time in this whole pregnancy, hearing him say those words, made me actually believe that just maybe we can get there.  I pray I look back on this post in 6 weeks and am able to still write about her growing inside of me.

Look at that face, doesn't it look like she's filling out? Especially compared to the picture below, taken just a few weeks ago...

I asked Dr. A about my sciatic nerve pain and he said its very common and while he’d normally recommend walking or light exercise, he said, I don’t want you to do ANYTHING like that.  He said, sitting in a swimming pool can help as the buoyancy from the water can relieve the stress or pressure baby is putting on that nerve.  I’ve been so concerned about getting an infection this time around I have avoided baths and swimming pools completely.  He said sitting in a pool might provide relief, we’ll see if I can get over that fear… I’ll probably just deal with it (or ask Jarrett to rub my back and legs constantly).

As we approach the 27 week milestone in just two days, I am starting to get more and more excited that my dream of bring home baby girl into our lives can actually happen.  As scary as it is for me to think of any day in the future, I started making a list of supplies and items we will need to prepare to bring her home.  Papa and Nana assembled her crib this week and put it into Isabelle’s room.  Isabelle is actually excited to share her room with her baby sister and is starting to talk about all the things she can share with her with.  For some reason the crib sheet in the baby bed is NOT one of the things she wants to share but other things like her socks, she's more than willing.  

Isabelle was so excited to help me open a very nice gift from our friend Kristal.  It just so happened, she was wearing her "big sister" shirt. 

 Isabelle also has asked me as of late if she has a baby in her tummy.  As she gets ready to shower in the morning she, rubs her belly and says, “Mom, is my belly big now because I have a baby in my stomach?”  I tell her that while she is growing up, she won’t have a baby in her tummy until after she’s married and is as big as mommy.  She smiles and says, “Okay mommy, just you have a big tummy now.”  Its fun for me to see how she interprets all of the changes that come with pregnancy.  Oh and she’s decided we should name baby girl Joey.

Isabelle opened the gift and with each item she said, "Oh, isn't that so cute?"  

And the boys.  They are starting to get more and more excited as well about the baby.  Michael loves to ask to feel the baby and both boys have asked me if baby girl is now bigger than Noah was.  Thankfully at this point I can say yes.  As a family we’ve also started talking about names, while I think in the end Jarrett and I will get the final say.  Gabriel has said he’d like to call baby girl Kristal, because he thinks it’s the most beautiful girl name.  Michael loves the names Sharlene, suggested by our great friend Janelle, a combination of both Nana and Grandmaa’s names… Sharon and Darlene.  Jarrett and I have only talked about names a few times, although it made me smile yesterday when Jarrett asked me out of the blue about a couple names he liked.  Guess he’s got that thought on the brain too.

Michael asking about the baby after getting to feel her move.

Gabriel and his friend Harlan, in the fort they build in the front yard, when they were pretending to be spies.  While he's excited about the baby, he's just as excited to be a kid and play.

So many blessings to give thanks for.

The weeks seem to be ticking by just like the timer I hear behind the counter next to me, telling me this glucose test is almost over.  While we still have 13.5 weeks to go, I give thanks for the time we’ve had.  And for each day we get, because the truth is, what is happening inside of me is a miracle, something I thought I’d never get to experience.  But here I am today, getting to live it.  So here’s to that sugary drink that tastes terrible… its just another reminder of just how lucky I am.

Love you baby girl! 

Until next time,

Angie