Yeah! I'm so happy! I just received a call from my midwife. I had an appointment on Monday but they hadn't received the results from my last ultrasound yet. She got them today though and the venous lakes are all gone!! My midwife said they see this a lot in the early stages of the placenta development and then they go away. I guess it's just normal for some people's placentas to develop that way and they just were being cautious by putting me on bed rest. I don't need to worry anymore she said because they won't be coming back. And I can go about my life as usual again too - NO MORE BED REST!
At my midwife appointment on Monday she measured my belly for the first time. I was measuring an inch smaller than normal but she said that's fine and I should be measuring normal by my next appointment. It's funny that the baby's supposedly measuring a little bigger than normal and I'm measuring small.
The baby's heart rate seems to be averaging in the 140's these days... consistent with the theory that boy's heart rates are slower than girls :).
I'm finally sure I'm feeling the baby move too recently! It feels like little bubbles for the most part, but sometimes it also feels like a kick. It's so fun!
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In other news, I'm busy preparing this week to go on my annual scrapbooking retreat in Gettysburg this weekend. My friend Sarah and I leave Friday morning and we'll be gone until Sunday afternoon. I can't wait to catch up on my albums in preparation for starting our baby's album after he's born. It'll also be fun to get away and have fun chatting with girls and shopping at the outlets that are right next door :).
Jon's also been busy: working during the day and then after work he's been creating websites for a few people on the side. He's not looking forward to me being away this weekend, but at the same time he is looking forward to some free time to catch up on his ever growing list of things he wants to do :).
Well, I better jump off now and keep getting things done!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Pregnancy & Baby Update - Week 20
Wow! It's been a while since I gave an update, and now's a good time because yesterday I went for another ultrasound.
I should back up a little bit though before telling about the latest ultrasound. Back on February 4th I received a call from my midwife who had just been looking over the results from my 16 week ultrasound. Remember that pocket or collection of blood that they saw at my 12 week ultrasound, and that I thought was gone at my 16 week ultrasound? Well, apparently it wasn't gone and I actually had another one as well. My midwife told me these were called Placental Venous Lakes which are just an area of blood flow that is wider than usual - could be a larger vein or just a collection of my blood (not the baby's).
My midwife was not too concerned about them, but as a precaution they put me on a modified bed rest and told me to take it easy at least until after my next ultrasound. Venous lakes can slow the placental circulation and possibly make it harder for the baby to get as much nutrients as usual. The point of my taking it easy was to conserve energy so the baby could get as much nutrients as possible. I'm also supposed to be eating as healthy as possible and drinking lots of water.
My modified bed rest is not too bad. I'm not supposed to be lifting, exercising or straining in any way and I'm supposed to be sitting down and resting my body often but I don't have to be lying down to rest and I can still do things like make meals, vacuum, go grocery shopping and things like that. I was even allowed to go register with Jon a few Saturday's ago, as long as I sat down and took a break for 10 minutes or so every hour.
So that's what I've been doing these last few weeks - taking it easy - or at least trying to. It's really hard to take it easy now that I'm feeling great and not nearly as tired as I was. I'm ready to really start preparing for the baby's arrival. I've been doing as much as I can, even on bed rest. Jon and I started registries at two different stores and I've been working on picking out all the things we'll need for the baby. Last Saturday we started baby room furniture shopping - that was fun! We've still got a ways to go before finalizing our registries and deciding how we're going to decorate the nursery, but we're getting there.
Alright, there's other things going on but I'll pause to tell you about yesterday's ultrasound.
It seems that the baby's not having any trouble getting enough nutrients - despite the venous lakes. He's weighing about 11 oz. now and is measuring in the 56th percentile! Given that the 50th percentile would mean a baby born at 7.5 lb's, our little guy is on track to be born just a little bigger than that. That could easily change though!
The baby was very active today and wasn't cooperating for the poor ultrasound lady who had to get all kinds of measurements. Knowing that he's moving around inside me is nice though, because as of yet I'm not sure if I've felt him move. There's been a few times where I wonder if what I've been feeling is the baby moving around but it's too hard to tell still. Anytime now I should be starting to know for sure that he's moving inside! The ultrasound technician said that most likely the reason I haven't been feeling too much yet is because my placenta is located in the front so it acts as a cushion and makes it harder to feel movement. I can't wait feel that first movement that I'm sure was the baby!
As I said, our little man was very active today throughout most of the ultrasound... up until the lady was trying to get a few pictures for me to bring home. Then he was lying face down and wouldn't move much so she had the hardest time trying to get a picture of his face. She got a few but they're not that great. Here they are:
Sorry the pics are so hard to see. I was in a hurry to leave for the cabin but wanted to get this post up first. I'll make them look better later and re-post them.
I should back up a little bit though before telling about the latest ultrasound. Back on February 4th I received a call from my midwife who had just been looking over the results from my 16 week ultrasound. Remember that pocket or collection of blood that they saw at my 12 week ultrasound, and that I thought was gone at my 16 week ultrasound? Well, apparently it wasn't gone and I actually had another one as well. My midwife told me these were called Placental Venous Lakes which are just an area of blood flow that is wider than usual - could be a larger vein or just a collection of my blood (not the baby's).
My midwife was not too concerned about them, but as a precaution they put me on a modified bed rest and told me to take it easy at least until after my next ultrasound. Venous lakes can slow the placental circulation and possibly make it harder for the baby to get as much nutrients as usual. The point of my taking it easy was to conserve energy so the baby could get as much nutrients as possible. I'm also supposed to be eating as healthy as possible and drinking lots of water.
My modified bed rest is not too bad. I'm not supposed to be lifting, exercising or straining in any way and I'm supposed to be sitting down and resting my body often but I don't have to be lying down to rest and I can still do things like make meals, vacuum, go grocery shopping and things like that. I was even allowed to go register with Jon a few Saturday's ago, as long as I sat down and took a break for 10 minutes or so every hour.
So that's what I've been doing these last few weeks - taking it easy - or at least trying to. It's really hard to take it easy now that I'm feeling great and not nearly as tired as I was. I'm ready to really start preparing for the baby's arrival. I've been doing as much as I can, even on bed rest. Jon and I started registries at two different stores and I've been working on picking out all the things we'll need for the baby. Last Saturday we started baby room furniture shopping - that was fun! We've still got a ways to go before finalizing our registries and deciding how we're going to decorate the nursery, but we're getting there.
Alright, there's other things going on but I'll pause to tell you about yesterday's ultrasound.
It seems that the baby's not having any trouble getting enough nutrients - despite the venous lakes. He's weighing about 11 oz. now and is measuring in the 56th percentile! Given that the 50th percentile would mean a baby born at 7.5 lb's, our little guy is on track to be born just a little bigger than that. That could easily change though!
The baby was very active today and wasn't cooperating for the poor ultrasound lady who had to get all kinds of measurements. Knowing that he's moving around inside me is nice though, because as of yet I'm not sure if I've felt him move. There's been a few times where I wonder if what I've been feeling is the baby moving around but it's too hard to tell still. Anytime now I should be starting to know for sure that he's moving inside! The ultrasound technician said that most likely the reason I haven't been feeling too much yet is because my placenta is located in the front so it acts as a cushion and makes it harder to feel movement. I can't wait feel that first movement that I'm sure was the baby!
As I said, our little man was very active today throughout most of the ultrasound... up until the lady was trying to get a few pictures for me to bring home. Then he was lying face down and wouldn't move much so she had the hardest time trying to get a picture of his face. She got a few but they're not that great. Here they are:
Sorry the pics are so hard to see. I was in a hurry to leave for the cabin but wanted to get this post up first. I'll make them look better later and re-post them.
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