Tomorrow the baby will be 38 weeks! I just thought I'd post a quick update about my doctor's visit today. Everything checked out fine for me - I've gained just about 20 pounds, my blood pressure was 100/68, and there are no signs of protein spilling in my urine. The doctor also checked the baby's heart rate which was exactly where it should be in the 150s. She also measured my belly and said that she thinks the baby "isn't too big" (not small, but saying he/she hasn't grown bigger than they would expect). Finally, she checked and said that the baby's head is settled down in my pelvis where it should stay to be ready to be born.
The last time I went to the doctor's office I had a test done for an infection called Group B Streptococcus (GBS). Many healthy women are colonized with this bacteria without having any active signs of infection which is why they need to be screened for it between 35-37 weeks of gestation. Having this bacteria only is worrisome for women in labor because it poses an infection risk to the baby. Treating women ahead of time hasn't been found to be helpful because the bacteria are likely to come back once the treatment course is over. What this means is that women who test positive will receive IV penicillin during labor to protect the baby - in Pediatrics we consider the baby "safe" if the mom received at least 2 doses of Penicillin at least 4 hours prior to delivery. All of that said, my test was negative so I don't need to worry about treatment.
That's everything for now!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Can't believe it's almost time!
Howdy, Matt here! Hard to believe that really, it could be any day now... or it could be weeks, who knows! I get pretty anxious thinking that any minute I could get a call from Melissa saying she thinks she's in labor... but, of course it's more exciting than anything!
Speaking of "the call", just wanted to fill you in on how we'd like to spread the news... As you all know, labor can take a long time, and Melissa said that there's wifi in all the rooms so I plan on sending out periodic emails about how things are going...
Because of this, we ask that you please don't gather at the hospital to wait for something to happen... Once the baby is born we'll let our parents know and have them and Katrina come to the hospital to visit to give them "first viewing" ... after that anyone that wants to visit is welcome to. I'll most likely have baby pictures up to send out via email right away as well.
Sorry if this seems harsh, we just know how well loved we are and how well loved the baby already is and don't want to be overwhelmed... Like I said before, I'm already having panic attacks just thinking of the process ;-)
Of course, for all we know this whole process could happen overnight and you could wake up to the news that Baby Veino has been born! haha... we shall see.
Speaking of "the call", just wanted to fill you in on how we'd like to spread the news... As you all know, labor can take a long time, and Melissa said that there's wifi in all the rooms so I plan on sending out periodic emails about how things are going...
Because of this, we ask that you please don't gather at the hospital to wait for something to happen... Once the baby is born we'll let our parents know and have them and Katrina come to the hospital to visit to give them "first viewing" ... after that anyone that wants to visit is welcome to. I'll most likely have baby pictures up to send out via email right away as well.
Sorry if this seems harsh, we just know how well loved we are and how well loved the baby already is and don't want to be overwhelmed... Like I said before, I'm already having panic attacks just thinking of the process ;-)
Of course, for all we know this whole process could happen overnight and you could wake up to the news that Baby Veino has been born! haha... we shall see.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Full Term!
I know, I know...in the *real world* everyone considers all babies born before 40 weeks to be "early", but in the medical world anything beyond 36 weeks 6 days is considered to be a full term baby! This is based on the fact that babies born after the 36th week rarely have any of the complications that pediatricians associate with being premature. So as far as I'm concerned, this baby can make it's appearance any day now...
In terms of baby development, as I said, the baby is basically done with all it needs to do to come out a nice happy, healthy baby. All that he/she is really doing is gaining weight and developing the brain, both things that can happen just as well outside of me!
In terms of how I'm doing...well...let's just say it's not a pretty picture. I'm working 80 hours a week on the general pediatrics floor and am up for another 24 hour call tomorrow-Saturday. To complicate matters further, sometime between last Sunday night and Monday morning the baby decided to "drop." For anyone who is not familiar with this term, it means the baby moved down further in my belly to be closer to assuming the right position to be born. This is a good thing in that the baby isn't kicking my rib cage anymore and breathing is much easier (I didn't even realize it was harder until the pressure was relieved), but it also means my whole center of balance has been upset and there is constant pressure on my bladder. I routinely need to get up to go to the bathroom at night twice during the 6 hours I get to sleep, but Tuesday night I was actually up 4 times!
Now please don't think I'm complaining, I knew I was going to be working like this when I got pregnant and am more than happy to do it because I'm really, really glad that I'm able to be achieving all of these goals for myself and Matt. I really just find it interesting to point out all of the strange things that happen during pregnancy. And, I am also wondering more and more how in the world my grandmother managed to have 9 children (8 pregnancies because she had twins)...
More to come soon!
In terms of baby development, as I said, the baby is basically done with all it needs to do to come out a nice happy, healthy baby. All that he/she is really doing is gaining weight and developing the brain, both things that can happen just as well outside of me!
In terms of how I'm doing...well...let's just say it's not a pretty picture. I'm working 80 hours a week on the general pediatrics floor and am up for another 24 hour call tomorrow-Saturday. To complicate matters further, sometime between last Sunday night and Monday morning the baby decided to "drop." For anyone who is not familiar with this term, it means the baby moved down further in my belly to be closer to assuming the right position to be born. This is a good thing in that the baby isn't kicking my rib cage anymore and breathing is much easier (I didn't even realize it was harder until the pressure was relieved), but it also means my whole center of balance has been upset and there is constant pressure on my bladder. I routinely need to get up to go to the bathroom at night twice during the 6 hours I get to sleep, but Tuesday night I was actually up 4 times!
Now please don't think I'm complaining, I knew I was going to be working like this when I got pregnant and am more than happy to do it because I'm really, really glad that I'm able to be achieving all of these goals for myself and Matt. I really just find it interesting to point out all of the strange things that happen during pregnancy. And, I am also wondering more and more how in the world my grandmother managed to have 9 children (8 pregnancies because she had twins)...
More to come soon!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Baby Stuff!
It's my non call night so I thought I would make a quick post with some updates and pictures of baby things Matt and I have been working on...
First, I've been knitting some baby hats and booties in the evenings while Matt and I watch TV. I like knitting baby accessories because they only take a few hours to finish. The first picture is a set I made for a boy and the second picture is of a girl hat - I haven't finished the booties yet!
Another thing we did to get ready for the baby was to clean out the bathroom and put all of the new bath toys, shampoos, and lotions for the baby onto the shelves in the bathroom...
Last weekend I realized I needed to find a place to put all of the wonderful books that the baby and I received at the showers. Matt and I went shopping and found a bookcase that *almost* matches the baby furniture. We rearranged all of the furniture in the nursery one more time, found a good place for everything, and then I was able to put all of the books away on the shelves. Here is how the nursery looks now...
And finally, I realized that Matt and I don't have any pictures together with me looking all pregnant, so we set up the tripod and took this picture:
And that's it!
First, I've been knitting some baby hats and booties in the evenings while Matt and I watch TV. I like knitting baby accessories because they only take a few hours to finish. The first picture is a set I made for a boy and the second picture is of a girl hat - I haven't finished the booties yet!
Another thing we did to get ready for the baby was to clean out the bathroom and put all of the new bath toys, shampoos, and lotions for the baby onto the shelves in the bathroom...
And finally, I realized that Matt and I don't have any pictures together with me looking all pregnant, so we set up the tripod and took this picture:
And that's it!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
35 Weeks!
I haven't posted in awhile so I figured it was time for an update. The time of being pregnant is getting short, so I'll try to post updates as frequently as I can:-)
Today I'm 35 3/7 weeks pregnant. The baby should be about 18 inches long and weigh 5 1/2 to 6 pounds. About 99% of babies born by this time of gestation are completely capable of functioning on their own and surviving outside the mom. The reason for this is that the baby is basically done with all of his/her physical development - the kidneys are fully developed, the liver is starting to process some waste products, and the lungs are just about fully developed as well. Over the next month the baby's central nervous system will continue to develop further and he/she will work on building up extra fat stores which will help them regulate their temperature once they are born.
From my perspective, things are going as best as can be expected for someone almost 8 months pregnant working 80 hours a week. My weight is fluctuating like crazy these days as the doctor said it's more common to hold on to water at this point in pregnancy. Last time I went to the doctor I was up 6lbs from the previous visit, but the next day I was down 4lbs. My best guesstimate is that I've gained about 16-18lbs since this whole ordeal started. Despite this, I definitely feel like the baby is taking up every single inch of space in my belly and everyday activities (like putting on socks and picking things up off the floor!) are requiring much more effort. Oddly enough, the reflux has gotten much better, but I'm now experiencing the joy of having to use the bathroom at least twice as frequently as usual. I can't sleep for more than 3 hours at a time without needing to get up, but I suppose that's good preparation for getting up to feed the baby. As of right now I've got seven 14 hour shifts and three 24 hour shifts (or 22 days!) left to go at work before maternity leave...
I'm not too fond of these anymore, but Matt enjoys them, so here's a 35 week belly picture
Today I'm 35 3/7 weeks pregnant. The baby should be about 18 inches long and weigh 5 1/2 to 6 pounds. About 99% of babies born by this time of gestation are completely capable of functioning on their own and surviving outside the mom. The reason for this is that the baby is basically done with all of his/her physical development - the kidneys are fully developed, the liver is starting to process some waste products, and the lungs are just about fully developed as well. Over the next month the baby's central nervous system will continue to develop further and he/she will work on building up extra fat stores which will help them regulate their temperature once they are born.
From my perspective, things are going as best as can be expected for someone almost 8 months pregnant working 80 hours a week. My weight is fluctuating like crazy these days as the doctor said it's more common to hold on to water at this point in pregnancy. Last time I went to the doctor I was up 6lbs from the previous visit, but the next day I was down 4lbs. My best guesstimate is that I've gained about 16-18lbs since this whole ordeal started. Despite this, I definitely feel like the baby is taking up every single inch of space in my belly and everyday activities (like putting on socks and picking things up off the floor!) are requiring much more effort. Oddly enough, the reflux has gotten much better, but I'm now experiencing the joy of having to use the bathroom at least twice as frequently as usual. I can't sleep for more than 3 hours at a time without needing to get up, but I suppose that's good preparation for getting up to feed the baby. As of right now I've got seven 14 hour shifts and three 24 hour shifts (or 22 days!) left to go at work before maternity leave...
I'm not too fond of these anymore, but Matt enjoys them, so here's a 35 week belly picture
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