24 weeks and counting

I had my third ultrasound on Thursday. The first was at 6 weeks to determine how far along I was, since I had no stinking clue. The second was the typical one at 20 weeks. They weren't able to get a great look at his spine that time, so they wanted to give it another shot. They had also told me I had a low placenta, and they wanted to check on that as well. I didn't think anything of the low placenta thing until I went to the doctor the next day. He asked me if they had mentioned anything about pelvic rest. Uh, no? So I went home and checked about low placenta and pelvic rest. I had thought when they said low placenta they meant, like, volume wise. Apparently it means geographically. If you have a low placenta it can either partially or fully cover the cervix, which can cause complications in a vaginal birth, so a lot of times they do a c-section. I didn't have any problems with that, but it was the pelvic rest that kind of worried me. When they put you on pelvic rest from the low placenta, it has a very specific purpose. I'll let you look it up in case you're not familiar with it. But, needless to say I was none too happy. While the ultrasound people hadn't recommended that I go on pelvic rest, and the doctor just mentioned that I should let them know if I have any related symptoms, I was concerned about the possibility of causing early labor with certain activities. So, at my 24 week ultrasound they were able to confirm that the placenta had moved and it wasn't low anymore. Thank. God. They also were able to get images of his spine, though I don't know if it was any easier this time than last--the tech specifically mentioned that he was moving a lot and she had to move fast. Wand-click; wand-click; wand-click. It seems like he is always moving. I wonder if this is an indication of things to come post-birth. Whew!

I had my 24 week appointment at the doctor on Friday. They hadn't gotten the results of the ultrasound yet for some reason, but I had several questions that they were able to answer. I'd been starting to get short of breath from sitting. I had a feeling it was just from less real estate for my organs, but I wanted to double check. Sure enough, that's pretty much it. He did say if I was gasping for air or had chest pains when breathing, that I shouldn't ignore it. Luckily, it's nothing like that. I had also gotten an appointment reminder card in the mail for my annual wellness exam. I didn't know if I still needed to do that since I was pregnant and/or coming in anyway. I figured if I did, it might be possible to piggy back appointments. But, he was actually surprised that I had gotten the reminder card and said I didn't need to do the annual exam. That's a relief! Additionally, I had been kicking around the thought of prenatal massage and several of the places I was looking at were requiring a prescription or prenatal care notice from the doctor. I brought this up to him and he was incredibly supportive of the idea. I got my prenatal care notice so I can get something schedule. It probably won't be until after the first of the year, because things are tight financially for us and I may just use some Christmas money to cover it. But, at least I know it's something that my doctor has given his stamp of approval on.

I also asked about how I'm doing in the weight-gain department. I have thus far gained 18 pounds. I was trying to keep it under 25, but I don't know if that will happen. It's hard when I had *just* lost 26 pounds. From what I had read, if you were already overweight, which I was (but working on), 25 pounds was the top end of what you were recommended to gain. The doctor said 18 pounds was pretty normal and he said as long as I keep it somewhere around 30 pounds I should be ok. I think I can handle that. He also asked if I felt like I was eating everything in sight. I really don't. I actually don't always have the appetite I feel like I should have. It's not unusual for me to not finish my food anymore. I asked Ben if he felt like I was eating everything in sight, wondering if I just had rose-colored glasses on in terms of my own interpretation. He agreed with me that I haven't been. I also don't feel like I'm gaining excess weight; in fact, many people have commented that I am all baby-belly.

The other thing that got established at the doctor's appointment is that I'm at the point where I need to do the gestational diabetes check. Wheeeee. In a couple weeks I have to go, chug a super-sugar drink and then get my blood drawn an hour later to test my blood sugar. That should be tons of fun. Also, starting with the next appointment, I'm going to be seeing the doctor every 2 weeks rather than the 4 week interval I've been keeping for the last 18 weeks. It's crazy that things are progressing so quickly...but I know it's not quickly at all, it's perfectly routine. The days haven't passed any faster, the weeks haven't been shorter and there hasn't been any distortion to the space-time continuum. It just does not seem like it was that long ago that I took my positive pregnancy test. Before I know it, April and little Baby Jonas will be here. Two weeks from this Tuesday will be 90 days until my due date. I can hardly believe it.