I wonder if that will be the only time I type the words “past-due baby”? I’m referring to the fact that I haven’t blogged about the bub in 6 weeks. I’m such a slacker! The little dude (dudette?) seems pretty comfy in my tummy so I wonder if he’ll come early or just settle in for the long haul. We’re still waaaaay too early to be sure, so I guess that’s a matter of time.
Since it’s been… well… honestly 6 weeks since I did an update… I should probably hit all the basics. At this point I’m nearly 27 weeks pregnant. It’s hard to believe, because I still feel incredible and have little to no complaints! My back pain is still present but I’m finding ways to manage it with minimal doses of Tylenol and less complaining (Bronce may disagree with that last part!).
Birth Plan
Right now we’re working on our birth plan. I’m not sure how in-depth I’ve been on the blog before about our plan, but the goal is a full natural delivery – no drugs, full mobility in the delivery room, etc. I’m still doing some research about the specific decisions that entails, and we’re starting by hiring a doula to be our partner and advocate in the delivery room. She comes with high, high recommendations from multiple friends and the UT Medical Center prenatal department, so we’re feeling really good about that. Ironically, Coleen was the head of Fulton’s PTSO last year when her 5th child graduated from my school.
We’ll begin the childbirth and breastfeeding classes at UT in November and thankfully they’ll be led by our doula! Coleen is one of the ladies they have do the classes and we’re excited that we’ll be getting her perspective throughout the remainder of our pregnancy journey.
Baby Position
We had our last doctor appointment this past Monday and found out a few concerning things about the baby’s positioning. First off, I have an “anterior placenta” which the What to Expect website explains as follows:
It means your baby is taking a backseat to the placenta. The term "anterior placenta" refers to the location of the placenta within your uterus. Most of the time, a fertilized egg will situate itself in the posterior uterus — the part closest to your spine, which is where the placenta eventually develops, too. Sometimes, though, the egg implants on the opposite side of the uterus, closest to your abdomen. When the placenta develops, it grows on the front (or anterior) side of your uterus, with the baby behind it.
that’s from http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/ask-heidi/anterior-placenta.aspx
In and of itself, it’s not concerning… I’ve read a lot about it and it seems many women can’t feel the baby’s kicks very well with this placenta placement, but I’m not having that problem at all! The baby’s kicking regularly and I can feel (and sometimes see!) the sharp punches and kicks. Bronce has felt her moving around a bunch, too, though normally when I call out “come feel these kicks!,” by the time he gets nearby the baby goes still.
At our last appointment we also found out the baby is in breech position. As my doctor explained, nearly 80% of babies have turned to a normal head-down position by this point in pregnancy. He said another 10% will turn naturally between now and 32 weeks so we’re praying we’re in that small group of women. I know there are some exercises I can do to assist the baby’s repositioning which I’ll gladly do, though I’m hoping she’ll turn on her own.
Getting this news of breech position was surprising to me… the baby seems to be moving so much I assumed she wasn’t in a set position yet but might have been actually flipping around some. Turns out she’s upright and located mostly on my left side, facing the right. So the sharp kicks I feel on my right abdomen are truly foot kicks and the lighter movements on the left side of my stomach would be the punches or shoulders moving around. When I lay flat we can actually press on my belly and feel the baby’s head on my upper left side near my ribcage – something totally surreal!
We’re hoping the baby turns and that the anterior placenta shifts (which is common) so we have no added complications for the natural delivery.
Body Changes
Well, I’m 100% in maternity clothes by now (of course) though I’m not nearly as uncomfortable as I expected I’d be by now. My weight is still very much under control – only up 9 pounds right now and that’s mostly belly-weight. I’m writing this email from the beach (more on that in another post!) and I’ll probably have Bronce take a picture of me if I decide to brush my hair in the next few days, so hopefully I’ll have a new Facebook profile pic and something to put here on the blog to show my weight gain for all you thin people who want to laugh at my giant belly. :)
Okay, enough typing. I’m going to put on my awkward maternity bathing suit and head out to the beach to soak up some rays!
[This post was written Friday morning, October 15th, but is not set to upload until Sunday morning – to keep the creepy stalkers from knowing we’re not home!]
No comments:
Post a Comment