Pregnancy Update: Week 36

Woo hoo, I am getting to the end of my pregnancy updates! I didn’t do a 34 week one since I was so miserable, so I am doing a 36 week one and then I will do a 39 week one and then I will be induced and DONE with what’s been a pretty tough (ok, really tough) pregnancy. Yea!!

Baby size: The baby is the size of a head of romaine lettuce this week and the typical baby weighs  almost 6 pounds. Our baby was about 6 pounds at the ultrasound last week, though, so is measuring a bit ahead.

31 weeks

32 weeks - the baby must have had a growth spurt as my bump grew quite a bit this week

33 weeks

... and that is the end of the bump shots. I live in yoga pants and long-sleeve running t-shirts since I'm working from home/always on the couch. Even though the baby is measuring a bit big, my bump is measuring small. I don't have any stretch marks (woo hoo!) and my belly button has not popped out so I kind of doubt it will but we'll see! Because my bump is on the small side, I'm not as uncomfortable as other friends have been in the final month of pregnancy. But I've got other issues to contend with instead.  ;)

Feeling: ready to be done with this pregnancy. But the end date is in sight now that I will be induced around 39 weeks. I'm feeling thankful that my boss is letting me work from home, though, as I am still in pain from the blood clot and it would be a pain to give myself the blood thinner injections at work. Right now I give them at 8 am and 8 pm, so I'd only have to do one at work, but it would still be a pain as I'd have to do it in the bathroom since I work in a cubicle with no privacy.

One "person" that's enjoying having me home is Oscar. In this photo, she is laying on the side of my hip.

Excuse me, is there room for me up there?

She lets me know when she thinks my work day should be done or when I should take a break.

GD/RA management: I'm doing ok with managing my gestational diabetes (GD). I occasionally have a high blood sugar but the endocrinologist told me not to worry about the occasional high so I am trying not let the occasional high bother me. This is easier said than done as a perfectionist. But all in all, I'm doing the best job I can. And once the baby is born, the GD should go away - especially after I taper off of prednisone (which I will do once I start RA medication injections after the baby is born). So this, too, shall pass.

My RA remains active. I had a nice 3 week break from flares around Christmas/NYE but now I'm getting them about once a week. For awhile there they were only lasting for a few days, but I got one last week that kept spreading to different joints and I'm still having pain/inflammation. Really, really can't wait to be able to take some good RA drugs. My doctor put in the order yesterday, though, so hopefully I will have them in my fridge by the time the baby is born so I can take them right away when I get home from the hospital!!

Blood clot management: My blood clot is getting smaller so my pain is subsiding. This definitely has made my pregnancy more complicated to manage, especially since the blood clot came on so close to when I will be full term. My OB is working with a perinatalogist, though, so I am in good hands and I now have a weekly ultrasound/biophysical profile and a non-stress test.

Having a blood clot just makes delivery more complicated as they want me to stay on my current blood thinner injection, because it's more effective than the blood thinner they typically move women with a history of blood clots to weeks before they deliver (they can't move me to this other blood thinner since I still have an acute blood clot). So if everything goes as planned, I will be admitted to labor and delivery around 39 weeks and will be put on an IV of a different blood thinner that they can reverse if need be, and then I will be induced. If I happen to go into labor early and have taken my blood thinner injection within 24 hours of delivery, I can't get an epidural and I'd have to go under general anesthesia if I needed a C-section (I wasn't planning to get an epidural, but I'd like to have the option if I feel I need it). But the chances of me going into labor early are so small and I'm being closely monitored at my weekly OB appointments so if it looks like I'm getting close to going into labor, I'll immediately stop my current blood thinner injections. It's all just way more tricky than a typical pregnancy. I'm just thankful I live in a major city with excellent specialist. The perinatologist that is managing my case has consulted with all of her partners so I've got a team of really smart people making decisions on my behalf!

This is the blood thinner injection that I give to myself in my stomach twice a day.

I will also see a hematologist later this month. He will do some testing to see if there is a genetic explanation for why I got this huge clot. Being pregnant puts you at a higher risk of having a blood clot, but it's still very rare (~1/1000). The hematologist will also determine how long I need to stay on blood thinner injections after the baby is born. The perinatalogist thinks I will need to continue with injections for 3 to 6 months.  Le sigh.

I'm really covering all my bases with specialists between the perinatalogist, rheumatologist, endocrinologist, hematologist, and pediatric urologist. Plus my OB, of course. We definitely met our out of pocket maximum in January. But I'm thankful for good insurance and access to all these specialists!!

Sleep: has been kind of meh. Between the pain from the blood clot and my flares and going to the bathroom 4-6 times a night, my sleep isn't great. I take naps when I can fit them in, though, which helps.

Cravings and favorite foods: My favorite treat is Fairlife Chocolate milk. I usually have a glass as part of my evening snack. Since it's filtered many times, the protein and calcium content is high. The protein is actually equivalent to the carbs so it's a great snack for someone with GD.

Recent baby prep/decisions/purchases: We had my family/friend shower and my coworkers hosted a shower (on what ended up being my last day in the office), so we have LOTS of baby stuff. I feel much more prepared for the baby's arrival. There are very few things left on our baby registry so we feel very grateful that we have such generous family, friends, and coworkers! Luckily I washed all the baby stuff before the blood clot set in so everything we've received so far is washed and put away!

Classes: Our childbirth class wrapped up in late January but we had to miss the last class as I was hospitalized that night. We had already told the instructor we weren't coming as I knew I couldn't sit up for 3 hours due to the pain in my groin. But the last class focused on breastfeeding and infant care so I feel ok about missing it since we took a 3-hour breastfeeding class earlier this month. Phil probably would have benefited from the infant care aspect as he's never held a baby (!!!) but I did so much babysitting when I was young and have so many nieces and nephews that I feel like I'll be able to figure out how to care for our own infant. And I'm confident Phil will, too!

I also signed up for a new mama class that meets once a week for 6 weeks starting on 3/19. All of my local friends who have had kids in the last couple of years have taken this new mama class and they rave about it. It's led by a RN/lactation consultant and there are different topics that are discussed each week. They also encourage the group to meet on their own one other time each week. I think it will be great to meet up with people who are in the same situation as me!

Mood: Knowing that there is an end date of this pregnancy has been helpful. Before the blood clot, I was very, very opposed to being induced, but now that my situation is so complicated, I feel differently and know that induction is the right decision.

If you made it through this novella-style post, congratulations!!