My Appointment Today
Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2004
5:05 p.m.
Here's what I posted on my preggo board, just so I don't have to type it again:
I had my 33-week appointment today. For the first time (finally!), the midwife tried to figure out the baby's position. Actually, first the nursing student tried, then the regular midwife, then the head midwife. They were all poking around my belly. (I didn't mind it, though...I'm such a sucker for human touch!)
It turns out the baby might be breech! Ugh! Though I've felt most of the movement up high and assumed it was his legs, it might actually be his arms. The heartbeat was really stong quite high up; the midwife said that at this point, the heartbeat is usually the strongest between the shoulder blades and since it was so high, that may mean his head is on top, rather than pointing down. Also, the head midwife said she felt a lot of firmness up high and nothing quite so defined down low.
So, now I need to get an U/S in about a week and a half to determine his position. Of course, he may turn on his own by then (I hope!). And if he's still breech, I'll get to try all those fun "flip over" exercises.
I feel like I've been worrying about the wrong things during this entire pregnancy. I've worried about GD, preeclampsia, placental problems, preterm labor, posterior positioning. But never breech!!!!
Can you believe this shit? I hope he turns out to not be breech or else he turns around before delivery or else the exercises work. Or else my midwife will be able to turn him manually. I'll try to have a vaginal birth even if he's breech, but I know my chances of a c-section are so high. Ugh! This interferes with my perfect birth scenario!
Oh, I was really worried today about preeclampsia. I've been having a lot of swelling every day lately. Sometimes, I even get out of bed swollen. And lying down in bed for 8 hours is about the best thing you can do to reduce swelling. And when I tested my urine at my appointment, the glucose was still negative, but the protein had gone up to +30. It's been at a "trace" every single visit up until now. And +30 is, like, the next step up, so it's not super-high or anything. And the midwife was like, "Your BP is still fine" (119/78, I think) and "You haven't gained a lot of weight all of a sudden" (3 pounds in the past 16 days). So the elevated protein in my urine, as well as the swelling, could have just been from being dehydrated. Which I was.
Oh, yeah, the head midwife, when she checked me out, said that he was still a very nice-sized baby. Like, he hasn't gotten big and bulky yet. That was great to hear. But, if this is still nice-sized, what the hell will it be like when he gets big? Oh, my god!!!
Miss One?
Moving On - Wednesday, Sept. 05, 2007
I remembered my password - Friday, Jul. 20, 2007
I need someone - Thursday, Apr. 20, 2006
I miss him - Tuesday, Apr. 18, 2006
Possibly the worst weekend of my life? - Sunday, Apr. 16, 2006
