Today I’m 26 weeks 2 days and only 5 days away from starting my third trimester! I can’t believe it! We had another OB appointment today and all was perfect :) Little man is still measuring ahead and starting to get some super cute, chubby cheeks that we can actually see on the regular non 3D ultrasound. In fact he’s got quite a lot of cute baby fat everywhere now and is measuring almost a full 2 weeks ahead. It’s no wonder I’m looking and feeling so huge these days. I feel like I have to hold onto my belly while I’m doing my prenatal exercises because it’s starting to get heavy! I can’t imagine how big I’m going to be after these last 3 months!
The other major thing that happened today is we booked our tentative c-section date. As of right now, it’s scheduled for Dec 30th. For some reason, my doctor’s office goes by the LMP for dating even though my ultrasounds have all been showing baby consistently ahead and they even told me my due date changed to January 3rd at one of my early appointments so that’s what I’ve been going with. And now, as of today, he’s almost 2 weeks ahead of schedule, so I find it pretty weird that they’re going by my LMP. However, Based on my LMP of April 1st, my due date is Jan 6th, and therefore Dec 30th will bring me to exactly 39 weeks according to these dates. I asked if this was a good idea since Dr. S herself told me it’s dangerous for me to even go into labor because of the type of internal incision I have from my first c-section. Thankfully, she addressed my concern and basically said that in California, they cannot schedule a planned c-section before full term which I guess they classify as 39 weeks not 38, but she agrees with me that this little-big guy is probably going to be ready to come sooner then later, given his size. So the plan is that she will be monitoring me like crazy in those last few weeks leading up to Dec 30th, and if my BP climbs up at all or if I have even one weird cramp, she’ll be changing that date. I guess we won’t know until we get closer to the date and thankfully my BP has been really good so far, but I would bet money on it that our little man will be ready to come before the 30th. I want him to stay in there as long as possible if that’s what is best for him, but I would be lying if I wasn’t a little worried that I’ll go into sudden labor a few days before the 30th and have to rush to the hospital and hope my internal incision doesn’t tear!
The great news is that as of today, I’m now starting to go in every 2 weeks for my check ups through to mid November and every week after that, and then even sooner once we reach the mid Dec point. Also Dr. S isn’t going away for the holidays this year, so she’ll be around if I suddenly go into labor and have to rush to the hospital, so I’m sure we’ll be okay.
The other topic of discussion for today was about the weird pain I’m still having in my upper abdomen area. It feels so strange. It is definitely not the same pain I had when I had HELLP 4 years ago. I am certain of this because that was unbearable. Whereas, this is more of a burning sensation on a more musculature level, and it’s very localized to one area. It’s on my upper right tummy and only affecting about 2 inches or so of space in diameter. It feels fine in the AM after I have been laying on my left side all night, but then it gradually starts to ache as the day goes on, especially if I’m sitting up in front of the computer for long hours at a time. I also get these weird sharp twinge like pains in the area if I bend the wrong way. Dr. S, sent me for more blood work today to rule out any organ issues that could be associated with HELLP and thankfully all of these tests came back normal again. She also checked the area with the ultrasound and nothing unusual is going on. She said it is likely muscle tearing in that area due to my abdomen increasing in size which makes sense I guess. Unfortunately, she said it will likely only get worse at this point not better, but at least it’s bearable and nothing more serious to worry about. It’s actually curious that I haven’t gotten a singe stretch mark yet if my muscles are tearing, but I am definitely not complaining!
So now we just wait for my next appointment in 2 weeks. I will have my glucose test to screen for gestational diabetes that day. I have to admit, I’m a little nervous about it. I have been eating well and exercising 5 days a week, but for some reason, I’m scared of this test. I think it’s because little man is measuring so big. They say, babies tend to be larger when the mom has GD so I’m a little scared that I will end up having GD. I guess if I do have it, it won’t be the end of the world, I’ll just have to get rid of my chocolate and ice cream indulgences :(
So that’s basically it for today. I’ll post my complete progress report on the weekend at the 27 week point to celebrate making it officially into the 3rd trimester and being only one week away from being the most pregnant ever :)
Before I sign off, I just have to send a special shout out and a very big thank you to My Perfect Breakdown for sending me a wonderful gift in the mail today. She knows I’m feeling a little home sick for my family and friends in Canada, and that I love maple candy, so she sent me some! She said it was a little something to thank me for helping her redesign her blog, but she really did not have to do that! So thank you My Perfect Breakdown for your very thoughtful gift. And if it turns out I do have gestational diabetes, it could be the last sweet thing I have for a while, so I am really going to enjoy it :) Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers this week. She has a couple of appointments this week that could be very stressful, but will hopefully help her finally get some answers to why she has had so many losses. I’m praying she gets some real answers and some solutions moving forward that will help her have a sticky little bean and bring her her long awaited miracle baby.
