Pregnancy Progression - 2nd and 3rd Trimester

PREGNANCY PROGRESSION ~ PART II

8/5/10 ~ Week 28
Left for our drive moving cross country on 8/4/10. First stop was our friends' house Leisha and Billy near Ann Arbor, MI. I am 28 weeks pregnant and can't believe I am driving cross country! But so far so good. The only hard part is our dog Clementine likes to use my belly as her personal pillow during the trip.





8/9/10 ~ Week 29
Still on the road on our trip cross country (final destination near San Fran in the bay area in a place called Sunnyvale). Here is John, Clemmie, and I visiting Uncle Paul in Denver, CO. Still doing pretty well along the drive. Moving cross country at 28-29 weeks pregnant isn't too bad. Although I can only drive a few hours at a time because my back starts to hurt, but luckily John drives a bunch and we are making good progress. We just loved Denver and visiting Uncle Paul. The trip has been much better because we broke it up visiting family between driving days. (See John's post prior to this for full trip pics). The rest of the trip we will be in hotels.








8/21/10 ~ Week 30
Finally made it to Sunnyvale, CA and our new apartment!! This week was harder than the drive because we spent the week on an air mattress waiting for our furniture to arrive. My hips and lower back were really hurting. I am a happy camper in this pic because the furniture had just arrived that day. Yay!






8/30/10 ~ Week 31
Sleeping much better on my queen size, pillow top mattress, but back and hips still hurt a bit. I guess it comes with the territory. I am up about once per night using the bathroom. It is usually around 4am and then I have trouble returning to sleep. So use my CBT-I skills on myself and go watch TV on the couch until I feel sleepy again. It usually works and helps not to disturb John and Clementine.







9/5/10 ~ Week 32
Started my new job at Stanford as a postdoc this week. Everything is going well. I find it a bit uncomfortable to sit still through therapy sessions and seminars, but am managing. Starting to experience a lot more heart burn and shortness of breath. Also, I seem to waddle more and baby is starting to push on bladder when I walk. John and I are busy unpacking and getting the nursery ready.






9/12/10 ~ Week 33
Still feeling pretty good. Went for 1st appointment with new OB, Dr. Ann Wong. It went well. She checked me out and all still seems well. Had blood sugar test to check for gestational diabetes, which came back negative. Whew! Found I gained about 15 pounds since my last appointment in June. I have to start watching my diet better. Belly is measuring 32cm. We decided we will be delivering the baby at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, CA. We also found out my platelets are a little low at 122,000. They were normal at 150,000 when last checked in April. Anyway, they will continue to monitor.





9/21/10 ~ Week 34
Still feeling pretty good. Went to an HR appointment this week to figure out my maternity leave. Found I will be paid for 8 weeks and will hopefully cover November and December, if everything goes as planned. We took a child birth prep class, which was a great anxiety reliever. It helped me to get a handle on what to expect during labor & delivery, taught me signs and stages of labor. We also learned breathing and relaxation techniques and took a tour of the hospital. I am starting to get really big. Strangers are commenting on how big I look or I look like I am having twins! It is funny looking back at pics early in the pregnancy because my tummy seems so flat compared to now.







10/3/10 ~ Week 36
Feeling some fatigue, heartburn, and general discomfort. I had another appointment with Dr. Wong (starting to meet bi-weekly now). My platelets appear to continue their downward trend and are now at 112,000. Dr. Wong mentioned if they get too low they may have to induce because around 80,000 I can not have epidural and 50,000 risk needing a platelet transfusion due to blood loss of delivery or c-section. I am starting to feel some cramps again, but have been stretching and doing some light exercise in prep for labor and delivery.






10/11/10 ~ Week 37
I am now full term. I went for another OB appointment (now weekly) and found that baby is in the correct position (head down), but not that low yet and cervix is not dilated at all. My regular OB is on vacation for 2 weeks, so I am hoping not to go into labor. I did get a flu vaccine and tested negative for Strep B. However, my platelets did drop more to 106,000. Belly is measuring 37cm which is perfect, but people keep asking me when I'm due. I decided to sit to take a break on some boxes while shopping at Costco and 2 ladies approached me and asked if I was okay. I guess I look like I could go into labor at any time. For now it appears body and baby aren't quite ready. Baby is kicking and moving a lot. It is fun to watch my belly move and baby responds to rubbing the belly. Hanging in there and waiting to see where nature takes me and if I will need to be induced. Hoping to hold out until the end of the month.






Well nursery is all set, we managed to get all the essentials we think we might need, have installed car seat and had it checked, packed a bag for the hospital, and found a peditrician. Watched about as many videos, birth reality shows, and read as many books as I can digest. If we are not set now, we'll never be ready. I guess the rest of learning is on the job and trial by fire. The picture about is a message from by brother-in-law, Dave, that we found when we opened the crib box to the crib they passed down to us. It was really cute and touching!






Here is a picture of the crib they gave us (well a little -- more to come when John posts pics of the new apt so check back). They also gave us some decorations for the nursery and crib bedding. The crochet blanket on top is from my mother-in-law. She is so sweet to hand-make all these beautiful blankets for the baby. We put one in the crib and put a smaller one in my suitcase to bring with us to the hospital. She sent gender-neutral because we kept the sex a surprise. Clementine was checking out the crib and mobile. I am sure it will be a huge adjustment once baby comes in a few weeks. I can only imagine she won't be happy to have her sleep disrupted by a crying baby and less quality time with us. She'll still be our first baby though.

MORE TO COME DOCUMENTING THE LAST FEW WEEKS OF PREGNANCY AND ARRIVAL OF OUR LITTLE PUMPKIN (DUE 10/30/10), SO CHECK BACK SOON!!