Due Date: March 18, 2018
Baby’s Gender: Still a girl! Gender reveal in this post!
Cravings/Aversions: The aversion to lemon water is fully gone and I enjoy a nice cup to get me going most mornings. I still don’t have any real cravings, but I’m seriously missing all of the things I can’t eat while pregnant. A deli turkey sandwich (homemade!) has long been one of my favorite lunches, and I’m telling you that I am ACHING for one right now… with some nice crisp romaine on simple whole wheat bread with a slice of swiss cheese and tomato. I’m sure at this point in the pregnancy I could have it, but I would rather be safe since I only have a few weeks left. That said, I quizzed Mr. R on what was the first thing he should bring me to eat post baby and we’re on the same page now ;)
Size of Baby: Based on some rough intra-uterine measurements, my Dr. said she is about 4 lbs 14 ounces, which is about the same as a butternut squash. She is a little on the small side for her gestational age, but we will talk more about that below.
Total Weight Gain: About 25 pounds. I was very very sick last week but still managed to have an appetite, so I gained a few while basically not getting out of bed all week. No problem though- as long as she is gaining weight I’m happy!
Exercise: Exercising has definitely moved to the back burner with everything I have going on. Being sick all last week followed by what feels like a million home projects and DIYs has not left me with a lot of time to work out. And let me tell you, I can feel it. I can feel my legs getting weaker and my shoulders and back tightening up. My hope is that I can incorporate a few yoga sessions in this week, and maybe even a barre class if I have time. I just know that even the smallest amount I work out now will make my post-childbirth recovery easier.
Favorite piece of clothing to wear right now: Probably pajamas. I picked out a set from Kimi and Kai maternity that I wear almost every night, and bonus that they are nursing friendly. I even got a super cute polka dot maternity jumpsuit from Isabella Oliver that I have been wearing a lot and people keep telling me they love my pajamas… which they’re not. Maybe I’m starting to send a ‘I’ve given up’ vibe? Whoops!
Symptoms: This is weird question at this point in pregnancy because everything is a weird symptom. I have a sharp pain under my left breast that wakes me up often at night, and I can’t figure out what it is. It could be milk coming in, it could be heartburn, or it could just be sleeping pains. I’ve been trying to track it to make sure it isn’t a sign of something dangerous, but haven’t found any correlations or patterns. I’m sure it’s just another weird pain that pregnancy brings on!
Baby Movement: I go to the doctor several times a week now (again, more on that below) and they continually ask me… have you been doing your kick counts? How long does it take baby to make 10 movements, in her most active times? I NEVER do these because this little lady is apparently training to be in the circus, but the other day I made up a number and said 4 minutes (the target is less than an hour). Then I went home and decided I should actually measure so that I’m not caught lying at my next appointment. Sure enough, 3.5 minutes for 10 sharp movements! It feels like she is ready to jump out of my stomach most days, and I’ll tell ya, I think I’m ready for that too!
What I’m stressing about: So since our last bumpdate, I’ve been put on ‘watch’. My weight gain was on par with the target but my belly size was continually measuring small, and I did have one Dr. appointment where I did not grow at all. This meant adding an extra ultrasound into my regimen to take a look at the baby and see her measurements. She was measuring about in the 20% for overall weight (I don’t know how they estimate that) which wasn’t alarming, but her abdomen and actual stomach size was measuring much smaller. Once they took a look at the pressure of the fluids in the umbilical cord, they deduced that the cord and the placenta were working very hard to get nutrients to baby, which is why her stomach was so small. This meant that I was instantly on watch for IUGR (intra uterine growth restriction) where the baby is just not getting enough nutrients in mom.
Now, I have 2x week ante-natal stress tests for the baby, plus a doppler and a measurement test every week to check her growth and determine whether it’s better to keep baby in, or induce labor and get her nutrients outside of the womb. It’s been 2 weeks since the discovery and she is still growing! So they are pleased with the progress, but I will not be taken off watch for the rest of the pregnancy. We had another measurement this past week and her stomach size is in the 8% of all babies, whereas the threshold for IUGR is 5%. The doctors have all told me that her movements and heartbeats are great, so as long as they continue to see some growth week after week then it’s better for her to stay right where she is!
At first, Mr. R and I were very scared because we were worried about her tiny brain and bones getting the nutrients they need to develop, and were concerned that this baby was going to come much sooner than we had anticipated. While she still has a good chance of coming early, we are almost to the point where she wouldn’t have to spend too much time in the NICU, so we feel more confident that she will be healthy. Every day is a little closer toward the target of 37 weeks, and every time I feel her kicks I am reminded that she clearly still has the strength to kick her momma… so things can’t be all bad!
Anyway, we are very confident that everything will turn out fine, but as I’m sure we all know, every pregnancy is different. I am curious if anyone else out there has any experience with IUGR and what their outcome was? Please share- I would love to hear!
Again, let me know if you have any questions for me about my pregnancy, workout routine, registry, etc. and I will be sure to answer them!
See also…
