This, That, and the Baby

I think I'm going to dedicate this post to a few random thoughts I've had lately and a few doctors appointments that I've had.

• I know people mean well when they tell a pregnant woman that her and her husband will have a beautiful baby, but what does it mean?! Of course you're not going to look at a pregnant woman and say, "You're going to have such an ugly baby." Oh, people don't have a problem knocking your baby's name, that's within bounds, but I don't think anyone would be so bold as to insult how your child will look. I'm not worried, of course we'll have a beautiful baby :) but it was just a thought I had.
• In the quiet times, when I'm reading or watching tv or just being I sometimes have small moments of panic. I'm so excited for Baby B and really can't wait to meet her but those moments really bring home the fact that my life will never be the same. When I get those quiet moments again, they'll be few and far between. The era of ME will be over. Everyone goes through this, I'm sure. And I know that my love of her will take over any feeling of "loss" that, right now, I think I'll feel. But I will miss those times, a little :).
• Most women don't plan to deliver until their due date or after. Because of my diabetes I know I won't go past my due date, but I know that going early is a real possibility too. That's causing me a bit of stress, not really knowing when I'll deliver. It makes me write off all of January and makes me feel so much pressure to get things ready before then. Baby B has been developing perfectly, and isn't even too big so I don't know why I think I'll go early. But one thing I've learned from this gestational diabetes process is I can't control what will happen. If you know me at all, I like control. Losing it is hard on me.
• I had my monthly appointment with my endocrinologist on Thursday. As you know, I've been having issues with my fasting blood sugars being too high so we mostly discussed that. My a1c is 5 which is still non-diabetic so that's good. It means my fasting blood sugars aren't high for very long. He thinks my bedtime insulin just isn't holding it's own for long enough. So he's asked me to test earlier and eat breakfast earlier. He casually mentioned that if I was high for longer the next step would be an insulin pump, which I can say scared me. With only 7 more weeks to go, I think I'd have to fight that. Especially since I won't have to take insulin after I deliver. Anyway, we're just keeping on with the normal process. Insulin at the meals and bedtime, just increasing at bedtime as necessary. He said I'm not perfect, but I'm as close as can be expected.
• I had my weekly visit to the OB on Friday for an ultrasound and non-stress test. I was 10 minutes late which was pretty stressful for me. I think that contributed to my blood pressure being higher than normal. Luckily it wasn't outside of the accepted range. The ultrasound included measuring her for size and doing a biophysical profile. The biophysical is when the sonographer watches the baby for certain movement and scores her from 1-8. If she scores below a 6 I'd have to go to the hospital for more observation. Baby B scored an 8. Her measurements were about a week and a half ahead which is fine and honestly I'm not surprised. Before we visited the doctor for the first time we thought we were a week ahead of what they settled on anyway. Baby B weighed 5 lbs 9 oz! But the best reveal at the ultrasound was that she has HAIR! The NST took longer than normal because Baby B was asleep and didn't seem to want to wake up. They like to see higher heart rates and more movement. They buzzed her three times and it took the last one to get her going a little bit. Next week I'll make sure and have some caffeine before I go in. 

It's hard to see, but it's the hair proof!

33 weeks (8.5 months)

Due Date: January 30, 2012. 44 more days!

Weight Gain: I've gained about 12 lbs. I weighed 2 lbs more than my last appointment. However, the baby also gained 2 lbs so I'm thinking it's all her.

Symptoms: Starting to get tired quicker, sleeping back pain, and stupid heart burn (this is the worst!) . The bathroom is my BFF what with all the visits I've been making to it.

Cravings/Aversions: Still crunching away on ice. There are other cravings that involve things I can't have, so it's not exactly something I indulge in.

Sleep: Starting to get worse. I wake up far more often especially around 1am. It's weird that I find I wake up around the same times every night.

I am loving: Knowing that Baby B is growing and developing as she should.

I miss: Not thinking about my food so much, putting my shoes on without effort, and rolling over without effort.

I am looking forward to: The hospital tour tomorrow.

Best thing about this week: Learning about Baby B's hair! It was long enough to be floating in the amniotic fluid. Also, we found the pack and play we registered for on sale.

Milestones: We picked up the crib yesterday. Now if only we (Johnathan) can get motivated enough to put it together. They tend to be a pain!

Movement: Her movements are less kicks and more just moving around. I guess she doesn't have much room to kick or punch.

It's a...: girl!

Heart Burn: Ugh, so much! I'm starting to have favorite Tums flavors (peppermint).

Belly button in or out?: In still. But the edge is poking out in a funny way, which almost gives the appearance of an outtie. I gotta say, it's rare to get such an in depth look at the bottom of your belly button.

Labor signs?: Nope, not even Braxton Hicks contractions