I hit 34 weeks on Tuesday. That means I have one more pregnancy update at 38 weeks and then I will deliver the following week, if all goes as planned. So 5 weeks from yesterday, our baby will be here. Please do not tell me how fast these last 5 weeks are going to go - I've had multiple people say this to me. If it was a normal pregnancy - i.e. no flares to contend with - I could probably 'enjoy' these last 5 weeks of being a family of 3.... but it's hard to enjoy life when you are getting a new flare every 2-3 days... I'm not asking for sympathy by saying this - I knew pregnancy was going to be hard but we decided it was worth it to have a 2nd child. I just don't want any comments about how fast time is going to go between now and December 3rd!
Baby size: he was measuring about 5#13oz at the growth ultrasound last week so he continues to measure ahead. They said Paul was measuring ahead on his ultrasounds and then he was 7#5oz which is pretty average so who knows! |
| Feeling very large and in charge at 33 weeks... I am so much bigger this time around. |
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| 34 weeks - I feel like I look a little less large than 33 weeks? Who knows! |
Sex of the baby: boy!
Name progress: We've made a final decision on this. Woo hoo!
Symptoms/RA management: My RA is bad. Way worse than it was with Paul. I have no options at this point so I just need to grin and bear it. I'm on oral steroids and even at my max dose (which I had to start decreasing last week), I was getting flares every 2-3 days. I just hope things improve once the baby is born. I am going to start taking my weekly RA injections as soon as the baby is born, but it can take 4-6 weeks for them to be effective. So I just hope and pray I won't have terrible flares after he's born. Phil will be home for 2 weeks of paternity leave so that will help, but being in pain while caring for a newborn is not ideal... Outside of RA, I feel pretty ok although I have had a lot of cramping/discomfort which might be a UTI (did a urine culture today). Because of course I need another thing to contend with/another medication to take.
Sleep: Meh. I'm up at least 3 times during the night to go to the bathroom and tend to have trouble falling back asleep after 1 of those wake-ups. But this is typical for sleep at the end of pregnancy.
Cravings/favorite foods and aversions: Fairlife Chocolate Milk and Whole Milk SF Vanilla lattes are treats I'm leaning on heavily. I have a glass of chocolate milk every night as part of my bedtime snack and have been getting lattes nearly daily... Typically I would only get a latte once/week but right now I'm leaning into lattes because it's something I enjoy that gives me that 'ahhhh this is good' feeling.
Exercise: walks have really tapered off due to the RA pain I've had... So when I have a good day, I make sure to take a walk. Also the weather lately hasn't helped. It's felt like January out there! But it will warm up this weekend, thank goodness, so hopefully I have some good days so we can take advantage of the milder temps!
Recent baby prep/decisions: I moved all of the baby stuff out of storage and have it piled in the guest room in the basement. Phil 'gets' to move it all upstairs but probably won't do that until close to when the baby is born or shortly thereafter. There really isn't much a baby needs in the early days - just a bassinet, diapers and clothes really. And a car seat of course, so Phil will install the base sometime this month so we are all ready to go. I also washed all the newborn and 0-3 month clothes and ordered some more newborn stuff. It will be interesting to see how this baby grows. Everyone told me you use newborn stuff for like a week - Paul was in it for 2 months! We had borrowed a lot of newborn stuff and that friend gave it to another friend so I ordered 5 more newborn sleeprs more clothes and will probably order more - but will wait and see what this baby's growth trend is like.
Mood: eh. Not great. The RA flares are a real drag. I can't really 'enjoy' these final weeks as a family of 3 so I am very much wishing time away and ready for it to be December 3rd. I want to emphasize that we are very grateful to be pregnant/growing our family but pregnancy is very very hard for me, so I keep reminding myself that you can be grateful for something and absolutely hate it at the same time.
Name progress: We've made a final decision on this. Woo hoo!
Symptoms/RA management: My RA is bad. Way worse than it was with Paul. I have no options at this point so I just need to grin and bear it. I'm on oral steroids and even at my max dose (which I had to start decreasing last week), I was getting flares every 2-3 days. I just hope things improve once the baby is born. I am going to start taking my weekly RA injections as soon as the baby is born, but it can take 4-6 weeks for them to be effective. So I just hope and pray I won't have terrible flares after he's born. Phil will be home for 2 weeks of paternity leave so that will help, but being in pain while caring for a newborn is not ideal... Outside of RA, I feel pretty ok although I have had a lot of cramping/discomfort which might be a UTI (did a urine culture today). Because of course I need another thing to contend with/another medication to take.
Gestational diabetes management: things are going better in this realm. I have some ketones in my urine but my endo isn't concerned about it. I've adjusted to the low carb diet which is just not fun. But I get to eat as much fat as I want so bring on the peanut butter and whole milk lattes. ;) I am not a big meat eater, so this diet is challenging for me as you really need to get your protein in, so I will be glad to be done with this diet in December in time for the holidays! I miss beans and lentils. And tacos.
Recent/upcoming appointments: I have weekly marathon appointments that include a biophysical profile (ultrasound where they check for things like practice breathing and big/small movements, etc), growth ultrasound every 3-4 weeks, and non-stress tests (you get hooked up to a monitor and I have to press a button when I feel movement - they look for heart rate acceleration during movements and then deceleration after movement). I end up being at the OB practice for at least 1.5 hours, so am gone for 2 hours with the drive to/from. I'm very glad my company does not micromanage me and doesn't care when I am gone for appointments. In my previous jobs, that would not have been the case and I would be very stressed about the frequency/length of these appointments. I don't know what I would do if I was a pharmacist or teacher or had a job where you can't just be gone for 2 hours every week...
Recent/upcoming appointments: I have weekly marathon appointments that include a biophysical profile (ultrasound where they check for things like practice breathing and big/small movements, etc), growth ultrasound every 3-4 weeks, and non-stress tests (you get hooked up to a monitor and I have to press a button when I feel movement - they look for heart rate acceleration during movements and then deceleration after movement). I end up being at the OB practice for at least 1.5 hours, so am gone for 2 hours with the drive to/from. I'm very glad my company does not micromanage me and doesn't care when I am gone for appointments. In my previous jobs, that would not have been the case and I would be very stressed about the frequency/length of these appointments. I don't know what I would do if I was a pharmacist or teacher or had a job where you can't just be gone for 2 hours every week...
Sleep: Meh. I'm up at least 3 times during the night to go to the bathroom and tend to have trouble falling back asleep after 1 of those wake-ups. But this is typical for sleep at the end of pregnancy.
Cravings/favorite foods and aversions: Fairlife Chocolate Milk and Whole Milk SF Vanilla lattes are treats I'm leaning on heavily. I have a glass of chocolate milk every night as part of my bedtime snack and have been getting lattes nearly daily... Typically I would only get a latte once/week but right now I'm leaning into lattes because it's something I enjoy that gives me that 'ahhhh this is good' feeling.
Exercise: walks have really tapered off due to the RA pain I've had... So when I have a good day, I make sure to take a walk. Also the weather lately hasn't helped. It's felt like January out there! But it will warm up this weekend, thank goodness, so hopefully I have some good days so we can take advantage of the milder temps!
Recent baby prep/decisions: I moved all of the baby stuff out of storage and have it piled in the guest room in the basement. Phil 'gets' to move it all upstairs but probably won't do that until close to when the baby is born or shortly thereafter. There really isn't much a baby needs in the early days - just a bassinet, diapers and clothes really. And a car seat of course, so Phil will install the base sometime this month so we are all ready to go. I also washed all the newborn and 0-3 month clothes and ordered some more newborn stuff. It will be interesting to see how this baby grows. Everyone told me you use newborn stuff for like a week - Paul was in it for 2 months! We had borrowed a lot of newborn stuff and that friend gave it to another friend so I ordered 5 more newborn sleeprs more clothes and will probably order more - but will wait and see what this baby's growth trend is like.
Mood: eh. Not great. The RA flares are a real drag. I can't really 'enjoy' these final weeks as a family of 3 so I am very much wishing time away and ready for it to be December 3rd. I want to emphasize that we are very grateful to be pregnant/growing our family but pregnancy is very very hard for me, so I keep reminding myself that you can be grateful for something and absolutely hate it at the same time.
11 comments:
I'm sorry the flares are so bad and sort of spoiling time leading up to the baby. I suspect it feels like the days are crawling when you are reminded so often with that. I'll be glad when all is said and done and you guys can have your sweet new baby boy at home with the three of you. But good news on the GD. And you look great.
You're almost there! I know the next 5 weeks are going to suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck but having the bonus kid is going to be so worth it in the long run. 12 years from now Pablo will be able to drive his little brother around everywhere and they will grow to be the best of friends.
So sorry you're having a hard time! If it's any consolation, you look adorable! All I can say is keep on keeping on. :) Not that you have much choice! Don't feel bad about not "enjoying" every second. I think pregnancy is so very specific to each individual woman. The ones who usually go on about enjoying it most likely have relatively easy pregnancies. Unfortunately, that's just not the case for everyone. Feel free to wish the time away in this case. :) Can't wait to see pics of the new little guy in those little tiny adorable furry onesie suit things that winter babies all wear. :) We had several when Asher was born (Dec 2nd b-day) and they were sooooo cute!
Im grateful for your honesty. When I was pregnant, I felt so guilty for being miserable because so many women say how much they love it and the media creates that expectancy. It is just not pleasant for some and to add RA AND GD on top of it...with a pandemic...
Hope your family has a fun Halloween as much as possible this year.
Ugh, that is so crappy that this pregnancy has been even harder than with Paul, as I know how rough that was, and how long it felt for you. Treat yourself a lot in these weeks leading up to your due date! You deserve allllll the lattes. I hope you can find ways to take care of yourself and maybe pamper yourself a bit. Anything to take your mind off the pain, or to add something happy to your day.
That's exciting that you have chosen a name!!
What. A. Year.
2021 needs to be awesome.
You’re getting so close! Although I remember how unfun it was having gd for Thanksgiving when Kaylee was born. I was so excited though to finally get to have holiday treats. I made my husband bring me a gingerbread latte in the hospital which was delicious especially since I hadn’t really had caffeine the whole time.
I like what a previous commenter said: pregnancy is so individual! You can be grateful for your pregnancy and excited to have a baby while also hating every single second of the pregnancy. Even women who don't have to also deal with RA flares and a GD diagnosis have miserable pregnancies, and you just seem to have it worst than most. <3 I will pray that the next month goes quickly for you because I know how much you want to just get to December 3rd!
I hope this waiting time goes fast so you can stop the diet and start the good meds! I can't imagine having flares that often, and can only imagine how frustrating it is. But hopefully in a few weeks you'll have your newest healthy boy and things can settle down a bit. bring on the tacos!
I'm so sorry your flares are so, so awful. I hope the next several weeks go quickly for you... and that you start to feel better as soon as possible postpartum. The weather should warm up a bit this week, so maybe that will help, too. Hang in there - you are so close!
Ok, well, I will be the jerk to say these last weeks will drag ;) I suppose the bright side is you KNOW when the end will be! I am just so sorry about the endless flares. It seems like this pregnancy you didn't get a break at all. Praying for really quick relief once this little one arrives.
I am so sorry about the RA flares and diabetes. I can imagine how much you'd like this pregnancy to be over. Not much longer!
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