37 Weeks

 

The NST today showed that Rowan’s heart rate looks excellent.  He still has plenty of fluid.  He is making breathing motions and is in a head down position.  All wonderful things.

My vitals look great, despite the fact that I feel horrible.  My doctor offered me a prescription of some sleep aids to combat my averaging less than 3 hours of sleep a day.  Not sure if I feel comfortable using them.  Even though I feel worn and tired and on the edge, my body apparently is doing super D-duper.

So this means that it is unlikely that my body will go into labor soon.  Good for Rowan.  The longer he is in, the better for him.

Bad for me.  He is pretty large.  They will officially measure him again next week, but since my daughter was 9 lbs and it took me 2.5 hours to push her out, they are worried about the stress level on Rowan if he is equally big.

Which means that a c-section is becoming more and more likely.  Either he comes out earlier, which could or could not be a big deal, and everything is fine – or we end up looking at a c-section.  Not ideal.

The important thing here is what is best for him.  We’ve got to give him his best chance – even if that means I have to suck it up and get over my fear of having someone cut on me while I’m awake.

We’re in the days of waiting it out now.  Any day now, or not. 

Generosity

Thanks to the generosity of the wonderful people I work with, we are now all set and ready for Rowan’s arrival.  We purchased several very soft and warm snap up outfits as well as warm hats, socks, and mittens for him to wear while he is in the NICU and afterwards from Amazon.com.  We even had money left over after buying everything he needs so should any surprises arise, we have back up funds to buy clothing or other things he might need.

The ladies at work threw us a shower last week.  It was beautiful (green and blue, our family colors) and amazing to be at a shower surrounded by women and I know and care about.

My daughter helped open several of the gifts and was really excited about some books that Rowan got.  She’s practicing reading them right now so she can read them to him when he comes home.

When I opened a card from everyone and saw that they had all pooled together to get us an amazon gift card for way more than I could have ever expected I was speechless.  It was all I could do to try to turn off the waterworks.  I was borderline weepy all day long thinking about how blessed I am to have women (and man) who were willing to help us when we needed it.

I have no doubt that Rowan will be provided for.  We are all going to take amazing care of him.  He is loved by many and has yet to take his first breath.

Just a few more weeks and I will get to meet my son!

Dr. Update at almost 35 weeks

Rowan’s heart rate looks great.  His fluid levels look awesome.  He is doing everything he should be, placenta still looks good, head down and engaged and he weighs….

6 pounds and 11 ounces?  Really!?!?  At one point, one of the measurements that SHOULD have been reading around 35 weeks +/- a week or two read 39 weeks 5 days….

She measured again and his measurements would put him at the average size of a fetus at 37 weeks 5 days gestation.  That’s consistent with the about 3 weeks ahead he has measured since we hit about 24 weeks.

No, I’m not diabetic.  They checked.

No, the due date isn’t wrong.  He was RIGHT ON measurement with his original due date until he hit 24 weeks and started growing like crazy…right around the time we found out about his heart defects and told him that he needed to grow big and strong so he could fight hard.

Guess he listened!

I cannot wait to meet him!  We are hoping that I can manage to carry this big kiddo until at least 38 weeks, which would be December 2nd.

So NO ROOTING FOR NOVEMBER! NO getting excited about an early baby.  He’s staying in as long as possible.  Anybody hoping otherwise is not thinking about what is best for him and needs to readjust their thoughts/prayers/wishes so we’re all on the same page.  Lots of thoughts for a December baby!

He’s going to get here, and he’s going to fight, and I cannot wait to hold him in my arms and tell him Happy Birthday.

34 weeks and all is well!

Quick update:

Dr. visit was uneventful – the best kind!

Non-stress Test looked good.  Rowan’s heart rate is doing wonderful and no sign of contractions yet either.

He’s head down, moves a ton, practices breathing movements, has a good level of fluid, and placenta still looks okay.

Next week they will take precise measurements of him to assess his size and compare his growth to our last growth scan from a few weeks back. 

I am finding that I do get tired much faster these days and “comfortable” is rapidly becoming a delicious memory – but the reassurance that he is doing well and the increasing likelihood that he will be developed enough to be stable when he is born do wonders to keep me moving. 

Plus, the tree in our living room and stockings over the fireplace mixed with the cool weather change are helping me remember that my discomfort is temporary and that he will be here in no time at all.