My appointment went well, per usual. Baby Girl's heartbeat was around 140 bpm, and the nurse said it was perfect (of course she is!). I told her that we were those weird people who bought our own heart rate monitor and she didn't think we were weird. She said that she was in the office almost every day, so it was different for her, but can understand why we would. I told her that it took more effort to find the heartbeat earlier, but now I can usually hear it on both sides of my belly. Nelson mentioned that one side sounds like a galloping horse and the other is more "swooshy" sounding, and she said that's because (and she complimented his analogy) the galloping horse is hearing the heartbeat through the backbone and the "swooshy" sound is hearing it through the placenta. Pretty neat! I will say I don't listen quite as often now that I feel - and see! - her moving around consistently throughout the day.
Dr. Cowan came in and said I was one of his role model patients :) But I wonder how many pregnant ladies he tells that to in order to make them feel better as their blowing up? He's very pleased with how everything is progressing and happy that I'm doing well. I came, for the first time, with a list of questions that have come up over the past month:
- I often wake up (and fall asleep) laying on my back. Is that bad?
- No, there really aren't any official, legitimate studies that show that I can't be on my back. So long as I'm comfortable, that's fine, so sleep how I want. Woohoo!
- I stopped running about five weeks ago due to a very sore right hip flexor that seems to be sore every day. Is this a problem (the hip flexor, not the no running)? Could my hip dysplasia as a baby be a cause and, if so, will it get worse? What about during childbirth?
- The sore hip flexor is caused by more than likely a change in my gait. I have a lot more weight up front that I'm not used to carrying and I've adjusted how I walk to accommodate. Just keep stretching and taking care of it, and if it gets really bad, he would recommend physical therapy. He doesn't think it has anything to do with my hip dysplasia, but if my right leg does pop out during childbirth, he will be creeped out. (Really? You deliver thousands of babies and see everything down there and that's what creeps you out?)
- My friends with Dr. Wang get a sonogram with each visit to see position and size of the baby. Does he not do that because Baby Girl will be moving all over the place?
- Yup, he doesn't see the need to do that each time since it's most important at 36 weeks.
- I have a blood blister on my face. My sister had one and a friend has one. Is this from having more blood and the capillaries are full and one happened to burst?
- Uhhh... No, he didn't think they were related.
- If there's a cake with whiskey in it, is it bad or can I have a piece? (Note: I asked this for Jenni because Meagan made some for dinner the other night and I didn't eat a piece... because Nelson didn't want me to. I had to clarify this with him because I got a look when I asked the question.)
- If the whiskey is in a cake, it is so diluted. It's perfectly fine to have a piece. Plus, he emphasized that she's just gaining weight and everything's developed (except lungs are being refined). He said, "Off the record, having a drink every now and then during the third trimester is fine. It actually might help you sleep some nights!"
We go back in three weeks for my 32 week appointment (since we were a week late for this one), and then I start going every two weeks until 36 weeks when I switch to weekly. EEK! Nelson doesn't like to think about this too much.... The next 11 weeks are going to be super busy with a lot going on: five baby showers, Jackson's birthday, a breastfeeding class, a child and infant CPR class, and getting everything ready at home. Ladies and gentlemen, we are in the home stretch!
Mom's Take at Week 28: I can see and feel her moving all the time now. She has a pretty consistent schedule, too. I often wake up to my alarm and lay there while she tumbles around for a bit. I can tell she's awake in late morning, around 10:00 - 11:00am, and then she gets pretty active towards the end of the work day around 4:00pm. I start feeling her, again, at night before heading to bed. Dr. Cowan said we'll notice that same pattern after she's born, too. Luckily she still isn't waking me up at night and I don't have to wake up to pee (yet). My tummy lurches sometimes, too, and that's really bizarre. I've tried to get it on camera, but the best one thus far is below (you can vaguely see it on the left). I mainly took this for my co-worker who sits in front of me that thought I'd fallen asleep at my desk one day as I just sat there watching my belly intently haha :) I haven't figured out how she's in there, but I feel most kicks / punches on the left and right sides, so maybe she's horizontal? I'm still trying to do the work-outs that I can, mainly Body Pump and RPM (spin). I've done some barre and pre-natal yoga, too. The elliptical doesn't hurt my hip flexor, so I try to mix that in for my cardio. I'm starting to work on my maternity leave plan at work, and that's proving to be more stressful than I thought. Mostly because I don't have a whole lot of motivation to do much there these days ;) But I'm pretty good about planning everything at home and to prepare for her arrival, so these next few months will be plenty busy with that!
Dad's Take at Week 28: Nelson's the same. He's Nelson haha :) He has been more open about his worries and what stresses him out, so we've spent time talking through that and making him more comfortable. Unfortunately year-end just hit, so he's working super long days right now. That certainly doesn't help things, but I'm just thankful it'll (hopefully) be done before Baby Girl gets here. He likes to put his hand on my belly or stare at it in hopes of feeling or seeing her move, and I love that <3 I have to talk about the time we have left as little as possible because he starts to rub his temples or his eyes get wide or he looks around frantically. Nelson does like to ask interesting questions; for example, we were sitting at Taco Deli during breakfast yesterday morning and he asked, "What do you think our Saturdays will look like once she's here?" Uh.... I don't know. But that's the stuff he thinks about, so I go along with it and come up with ideas that aren't too far off from what we do now or his comfort zone. And that's been good enough for him now haha ;)
