Friday, September 28, 2012

35.5 weeks update...with pics


Thanks for all of your thoughts about last names. Great food for thought. Will and I will continue to discuss and we'll let you know what we decide on : )

In other news, the most well-monitored fetus in NYC continues to do well. She passed this week's biophysical profile with flying colors and she did well at her non-stress test today as well.

I'm now on 7 units of insulin...an amount that seems to be steadily creeping upward as my pregnancy progresses. At some point (maybe soon?), I'm told my insulin needs will stabilize but so far, my fasting numbers look ok for a bit but then start rising again, necessitating another insulin increase.

I've been switched over to heparin from the lovenox I was previously taking. It was a bit of a fiasco - first because my doctor didn't specify a dose (the Rx read "take 1 dose twice a day"), and then because the pharmacy dispensed heparin preserved in benzyl alcohol. According to the FDA, this preservative is contraindicated in pregnancy as well as for infants and pediatric patients, something my OB says she had never heard of (Oops!). So this took some monkeying around, but I am now on a preservative-free version. The heparin is a lot of liquid volume - or feels like it anyway - compared to the lovenox, but the needle (an insulin needle) is smaller and easier to deal with, which is nice. The 12 hour administration schedule is a bit of a drag but no big deal really.

I saw the OB this week, and will do so weekly for the duration. She checked my cervix and said it is high and closed but softening. Baby has not yet descended. She will check me for Group B Strep next week, and in the meantime I'm on a garlic protocol that my doula says will make it less likely I'll test positive. Google it if you want...it's a bit gross to me, not to mention pungent, but hey, if it works... And this may not affect Group B Strep, but at the very least I'm assured I'll have no vaginal vampires : )

Still hanging in there else-wise. I am starting to really slowdown and my legs are really uncomfortable and crampy, it seems no matter what I do. I am supplementing with magnesium and calcium, getting massages from Will, and soaking them in a hot bath at night. This part of my body will so appreciate this child being born!

We are busy still trying to get Ms. Magpie's room all cleared out so that she can have her own furniture, clothes, and decorations. Five years of infertility have made what was once deemed the nursery quite the storage room. But we're getting there! And in the meantime getting the rest of the apartment super organized as well. When you live in a very small space, you have to be very thoughtful about how much to keep and where to put it!

Here is the babe this week, in 3-D. I wonder if seeing all these pics will help me recognize her better when she comes?

Magpie at 34 weeks 4 days, her hand up at her mouth

Mo

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31 comments:

  1. So happy to see that you're making room for her! :) You've come a long way.

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  2. Wow...so close! Within a months time you will meet that baby girl who will make you a mother. There is nothing like it. Continued good luck and peace if mind.

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  3. I thought heparin was MUCH better than Lovenox in terms of needles, too.

    You know, sometimes I look at Tiny Boy when he's sleeping and he looks JUST like the ultrasound baby (and mine were only 2d!).

    Wow...Mo, you'll be having a baby here quite soon!!!

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  4. Loving these 3d pictures! So excited for you!

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  5. Things are progressing so nicely....she's looking beautiful as always...have fun with your weekly appointments!!

    So excited!

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  6. I'm so glad things are going well, even with the bumps in the road you have encountered during your pregnancy. Nesting can be so much fun...and cleansing! Your little Magpie is just adorable. I love her chubby little cheeks!

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  7. Yay- getting her room ready for her homecoming! Not much longer go go! She is beautiful.

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  8. She looks lost in thought! The Thinker!

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  10. Good on you for being on top of the heparin problem (not the dosing -- I mean, I assume that problem was obvious -- the other ingredients and their inappropriateness!).

    FWIW, we had the front half of our home remodeled when my son was a newborn because really, what better time (er, in case you're tempted, I'm kidding! This was one of those "I'm infertile, so what are the chances of actually having a baby?" moves, coupled with general disorganization.) and as a result for roughly the first, I don't know, year of his life (the remodel was actually finished by about month 8 -- well, uh, technically there's some trim still missing and he's now in kindergarten. But I mean, you know, mostly.), most of our living room (etc.) furniture was crammed in his bedroom, and he slept in ours. And for roughly months 2-8, the living room/kitchen area were being remodeled (for awhile there, the only running water we had was in the bathrooms, and our kitchen consisted of a fridge + a microwave in a corner of what had been the living room. Oh, and the gas grill out on the deck. So, I'm just saying, don't worry if Magpie's room's not, you know, spotless and flawlessly appointed when she arrives. Word is many babies don't even begin to show interest in the finer points of interior decorating before their first birthday.

    It's wonderful seeing where you are, though I'm sorry it includes leg cramps.

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  11. She's just lovely. You and Magpie will recognize each other. Remember, she's been listening to your voice for months. It was incredible when Sunshine was born. She howled with indignation about being yanked out of her warm, dark space, she calmed a bit as I spoke to her as they cleaned her and took her little footprints, but she totally stopped crying when she was placed in my arms. Oh, Mo! I'm just so happy for you!! xoxo

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  12. Totally agree with Dora. Just so happy for you both. X

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  13. its getting so close!
    its hard to believe what a difference a year can make...

    please keep the frequent updates coming!

    are you planning on working right up to delivery? when will your maternity leave begin?

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  14. Will you share pictures of this wonderful mecca for Ms. Magpie? How about a shower? Have you opted not to have one, or will there be/ was there one? Nosey ole me would love to see pictures!

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  15. Glad you are doing so well - I hear you on the legs. Mine have started to swell like crazy (I look like the Elephant Man down there) and all the extra weight is really putting a strain on them. After this week I am DONE! Incidentally, I have the exact same dilemma with names as you, since I didn't take my husband's last name either. I don't love hyphenated last names, but worry about not having the same last name as my children - I've heard this can be a pain when traveling internationally. I think we may make my last name the twin's middle names...but then it's kinda weird that they have the same middle names? I dunno...
    Anyhow, congrats, we are SO CLOSE!

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  16. SUPER excited that you're at 36 weeks!!!

    Yuck, heparin! I bled like crazy with that stuff, with the injections and just nosebleeds. They had to tweak the dosage with me.

    They could only get a 3D of one of my girls, because the other was so deep. But she looked/looks SO MUCH like that picture! I was kind of amazed.

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  17. My gosh, you are so close to meeting your gorgeous little Magpie - how exciting! Sending you positive thoughts and wishes!

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  18. Ughgghhh, kinda wish i hadn't just gotten out of bed to check my Heparin and found that it's preserved with the bad stuff. I've been on it for 10 days. I have my MFM appt tomorrow, so I will ask about it.

    You're so close... CONGRATULATIONS!!

    I'm 36w2d :)

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  19. You will definitely recognize her when she's born from the ultrasounds-- I noticed Smudgie had my chin and mouth then there it was when he popped out :)

    On last names: I never changed my name on marrying (and neither did LG). We gave Smudgie LG's last name. We gave him a different surname from my family for a middle. I might have argued for more equitable naming, but Smudgie was baptized in my religion (we're an interfaith couple) so it felt like the fair thing for him to have LG's family name. I sometimes use LG's last name socially--especially in mommy situations. My passport and ID are obviously all in my own name. Hasn't been a problem traveling yet-- But with all the familial permutations out there these days (step- and half-sib families, etc.), I have to think they can handle it.

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  20. Hey! So quiet here in Mo, Will, and Magpie land. Full term tomorrow! Or did you already deliver that precious girl? xoxo

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  21. Getting nervous out here in reader-land... everything okay???

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  22. You do know that you're at the point where we all are refreshing like crazy. Happy 37 weeks! Full term, baby! xoxo

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  23. 21 days to go! please, comment!

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  24. Yahoo-- full term! Oh my goodness; it's getting real! Hope that all is well there.

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  25. ok, we do need an update, mo.

    maybe you have delivered? maybe you are nesting and need space?

    i hope all is ok...
    thinking of you all.

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  26. Update?? It's been quiet around here...

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  27. Girl, ya gotta give the peeps a quick update. I know you were still gestating as of 2 days ago, but ...

    xoxo

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  28. is there an alternate way of getting news about how things are going? is there a person who you can designate as a secondary news-giver in case you can't give an update?

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  29. Yup - anxious for a full-term update!

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