OB upate and MIL

The visit went very well. Due to the heavy snowfall a few people had cancelled their appointment so we had plenty of time with Dr. L. Elvis is growing well (belly measures 33 weeks), fluids all around look good but the placenta is still low. So we have scheduled a more accurate scan for the 10th of December, just before my next appointment with the OB on the 14th. Note that for both visit Mike won't be with me as he's off to a conference in Mexico, so my mum will come along instead. Urine sample and blood pressure checked out perfect which is great. We also chatted a bit about how things are going and so I told him that like he predicted I'm getting a bit nervous about the due date and vaginal delivery. Not for the pain of labour at all, but mostly about things that can go wrong (I know, same old me). I told him I have this image of the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby (which he then checked with the scan and the cord is nice were it should be with plenty of room and seemed to be going from his belly up into the placenta!) and that he may get oxygen deprived during birth. Again he said they will be monitoring the baby very closely during labour and intervene immediately if they think there is any sign of distress, but that all the options are open to me, that there is no rush in deciding as we can schedule a c-section at a very late notice (it would happen a week before the due date). Once again I was very reassured and happily went on my way. I so love the appointments being so close together!

So all was good. Until I got a call from Mike. I had not written about this as I was hoping to be able to write part 2 of MIL story when everything had settled down, but things have taken a turn for the worse unfortunately. MIL has been in hospital for the last 8 weeks (with a brief time off in the middle) for clots in her right leg. They have attempted several procedures to by-pass the clots and restore blood flow to the foot, but her veins and arteries are so compromised that there is no improvement in her circulation. This is such a painful condition she's on pain medication almost constantly. They evaluated the possibility to do a chemical block to the nerve so that she wouldn't feel pain and could exercise the leg a bit. As of Friday this was no longer an option as the nerve the would need to intervene on is too close to the kidney (she had a kidney transplant 20 years ago) and they could not risk it. Last night we were informed that they were considering amputating her leg towards the end of the week. This morning the situation must have looked different as Mike got the call from the consultant that they are going ahead with the surgery today. While this would be a dreaded solution to most people, MIL is looking forward to being pain free (it may give you an idea of how painful the leg is). I believe she's in surgery now. They couldn't tell where they would amputate, if below or above the knee until they are operating. Any thoughts you have to spare for her please do so, she is a fantastic woman and I want Elvis to spend plenty of time with her grandmother. I'll update when I have news.

32 weeks and lots of snow

Yesterday I turned the page on the book that brought me officially into the 8th month of pregnancy! Woohoo! Everything is great thankfully, the only thing I have to mention is that I'm getting cramps in my calves at night (it seems to be the right one mostly) and I started having very vivid dreams/borderline nightmares!! Last night I dreamt something like "28 days later" the movie...not sure what prompted it but sure when I woke up (heart pounding and Elvis kicking!) I had to pee and was afraid to go to the loo!! Yes yes silly I know, but in daylight all is good!

My weight is pretty much stable this week, sure with the scale I'm using we have to allow for a plus or minus a Kg, but I considered it still +14 as of yesterday.

I thought Elvis has somewhat a pattern in his movements but not quite. He used to be active around the time the alarm went off but this is not happening anymore (well in the last few days anyway) so I think he's active beforehand and after breakfast. I still panic a bit if I think he should be moving and he doesn't, but then he starts and there's no doubt he's happy! So I calm down again, until the next time...

Tomorrow I have the OB visit, I look forward to it, hopefully it'll all be well.

On Saturday we woke up to a white landscape, it snowed!! I love snow but like last year people panic a good bit and don't really enjoy it. It's very cold, like, unusually cold for this time of the year, it should last until friday which is also the LAST DAY of term!!!! Oh my God I'm soo counting, mainly so that we can come into work without the fear of not finding a car space LOL! Patches and The Dude are fascinated by the snow and spend ages looking outside the windows.

The attic is almost ready for the cosmetic work, windows are in, plasterboard too and I can't wait to see what it will look like at the end of the week! Like my friend Saige suggested, I may make a little slide show once it's done!

Oh and Hannah was asking if I was wearing maternity jeans in the photos and yes, definitely maternity!

That's it for now, I'll update again tomorrow.

31 weeks, ante-natal course and pictures update

Woohooo we are at 31 weeks!! All is good, sure I'm getting up a bit more often at night and I have this restless legs syndrome which is quite annoying but bring it all on, I'm so so happy to have got this far! Little Elvis is moving regularly, very reassuring and I started feeling him/her a lot at night also. Again I'm certainly not complaining!

Weight is the same as the last week, it wasn't a full kg then but it certainly is this week, so holding at +14kg. For your delight here are my latest pictures, I think I'm growing a bit!

I want to tell you also about my full day ante-natal course. It was great. The midwife who led it was really engaging and I loved her, pity she is not working in the hospital I'll be going to. There were 13 couples and she got us to introduce ourselves stating the due day, one thing we love about pregnancy and one thing we don't like. I was about the third person to talk, I just could not think one single negative thing (maybe I could have said how I worry so much) so I just said I loved it all. The couple next to us said something like "We are just delighted to be finally pregnant" and that sounded quite familiar...can you smell infertility in people? it turned out they had been trying for 7 years with several failed IVFs and finally went to Madrid (where the wife was from) and got their miracle. They didn't share this with the group, but Mike and the other husband met in the loo and got talking. It was great to chat with them, they are maybe a week behind us. Anyway, the highlight of the introduction round was this lady (who arrived very dressed up, heels, skirt, make-up etc) who stated that what she found very difficult to cope with during her pregnancy was... fashion...yes, you read correctly...fashion!! Ah bless her, missing her shoes and nice dresses... there are some real people out there. We all secretly wished her to have a boy who wants to wear nothing other than a scruffy track-suit! Note that her only other contribution to the day was when she asked the midwife if she could wear jewellery during labour and delivery and what about gel-nails and varnish... yes yes I know, this is obviously a clueless one, it was a while since I had met one that bad.

We had a paediatrician coming in giving us plenty of info, overall a great day and I feel much more reassured we can do it!

I promise I will post a special post on the attic project, it's flying!! We think this week major things will happen, the electrician was in last week doing all the cabling, this week the plumber should arrange for the sanitary-ware pipes etc. Windows should arrive also! Mike is taking photos once a week so it's great to see the progress given that I'm NOT venturing up in the attic via a builder's ladder!!

OB visit and everything looks good

Thank you all so much for sharing your stories about belly-comments! I know I'm not alone and it's great to hear it from you all. I admit, I'm sure I am guilty too of having made such comments in the past, and I'll never do that again.

Anyway, I did tell the doctor this morning about the "small belly" comments, he kind of giggled a bit and said that pregnant women are like magnets, they attract all sort of comments! Amazingly, he took out a measuring tape and measured my belly which is an indication of the number of weeks plus or minus 3 and I measure 31!

Elvis still head down and all looks good! Doctor thinks it's very likely it will now stay in that position. Placenta not checked but we'll have a better look in two weeks (my next appointment!) and we'll schedule the more accurate scan then for 34 weeks.

Urines checked out great so nothing to worry about there either.

Crazy week in work, but only 3 weeks till the end of term, so I'm singing in my head "I will survive"!! Love to all and once again thanks so much for your support!

30 weeks down, 10 to go!

And 30! Not much to report since last week, my contractions have eased a good bit and now I get them more occasionally (still every day though). I did call the OB to ask just in case, but he confirmed it's nothing to worry about.

I've put on a bit of weight since last week, maybe not a full kg but almost. I think it's pretty normal and I'm just happy I'm not constantly gaining weight! So I'm at +14kg now.

I have noticed I'm getting more tired in the evenings and I do get up a bit more at night to pee, but other than that all is well. Movements are good, as always some days Elvis is more active than others but I have relaxed a bit about it too which is great.

Comments I've been getting from IRL people have started worrying me a bit (as if I needed to worry about something else!!). They keep telling me how small my belly is...and while I know the appearance means very little, I can't help thinking what if Elvis is not growing enough? My OB never takes measurements so I don't know how bit he is, but tomorrow I'll ask just in case.

Thankfully I met a very good friend of mine on Thursday for lunch. She's also pregnant and a couple of weeks behind me. This is her second baby and with her first pregnancy she was really small but had a perfectly healthy baby. She is very fit and even with this second pregnancy she is barely showing. Anyway, I shared my concerns and she was brilliant, she said people were telling her the same thing all along and eventually she also got a bit paranoid that something was wrong. Her OB totally reassured her as it has to do with the strength of your abdominal muscles which may hold the uterus more upright instead than projecting forward. Once the baby moves well and there is plenty of fluid around him all is just as it should be.

Our attic is progressing well! Now the house looks like it's been bombed to be honest, there was no way we could have lived there when the works were ongoing. I think this week they should be able to finish reinforcing the roof and floor (steel beams are in) and then they can start building again. Stairs and windows have been ordered so things are on schedule!

Upgraded to a Squash! 29 weeks

We have no broadband in the temporary accommodation, so I could not update yesterday as usual!

Anyway, 29 weeks along and doing well, no weight gain which means I'm steady at +13Kg (now I'm worrying I should actually put up a bit of weight given that I'm the last trimester!!! Same old me...). Sleeping ok, getting up at least a couple of times to pee but I don't feel too tired in the morning. Turning around in the bed is becoming a bit more uncomfortable, I can feel the weight of Elvis, specially if I'm on my right side. Whichever position he is in, I have like a hard "dome" on my upper right side of the belly. I think it's his bum! It doesn't move much and I feel kicks mostly on the left hand side as if there's where the room is but Elvis is all on the right.

I do kick counting even though my OB (and many others) are not really in favour of it as I mentioned before, still, it makes me feel more relaxed as Elvis moves certainly much more than 10 times in 2 hours (when he's awake!) and one main difference I've noticed is that now the movements are more like rolls and shifts and pressure than hard kicks (though I get them as well). And I think I felt hiccups too! Lately I have quite a few Braxton-Hicks and the belly is really hard...I know it's normal but I thought those contractions would come and go while I seem to have a contracted uterus for a long time specially if I'm walking. I'll ask next week just to be sure.

The temporary accommodation is perfect, we've all settled in very nicely (both Patches and the Dude absolutely love it!) and it's so so convenient to our place it's almost a dream. On saturday we picked up the tiles for the bathroom and I think we now have everything. The works are progressing right on schedule, after only one week so much had been done already! This week the windows and stairs will be ordered and the steel beams positioned. We are taking pics every week so I will post a progress update in a couple of weeks to let you see how it goes!

Only four more weeks of term. I can't wait! I have my teaching almost done and it's a great milestone to look forward too.

Vaccinated and Relocated!

Hi had my flu vaccine shot today. Let's hope I won't react badly to it!!

We have moved out of the duplex and into our new superfab-magazine-style penthouse. It's a one-bed top floor apt and a part for being small it's really cute. The first night was a nightmare, Patches and the Dude were very unsettled and I don't think I slept much at all. Teaching and meetings all day long on monday and yoga at 8.10 pm....I don't know how I got to the end of the day. We have only one problem in the new place which is parking. In that part of the estate, there are loads of apartments and very little parking. If the weather was good it wouldn't be a big deal parking one car in our own spot at the duplex and walk back...but it's Ireland! And it's November!! Not such a a thing as good weather unfortunately. Anyway, I crashed on the bed and had a great night sleep so I'm a new woman today! No more spotting so that's good and Elvis seems to like the new bed also with frequent signs of appreciation. Go Elvis!

We had a final meeting with the builder yesterday, all is on schedule and we signed contracts so we will be moving back into the house before Christmas. Fingers crossed!! Can't wait to see how it all goes!!