Pregnancy Update for Weeks 31-33

Pregnancy Update: Weeks 31-33

1/14/2019

We are rounding the corner, heading toward the finish line. And, as I expected, we have come across some speed bumps.

It seems my body does pretty well (relatively speaking) in the first two trimesters. Then I get to the third trimester, and it says "Meh, I don't really love this anymore."

31 Weeks Pregnant

Let me back up a bit. At my 27th week, my OB ordered my glucose test. No surprise there. Every pregnant woman experiencing this test with varying degrees of disgust. I was diet-controlled diabetic with both Reagan and Riley, so I was absolutely mentally prepared to fail the test. But much to my shock, I was told I passed. I said "Really? Are you sure?" Doc said, "Yes. Whatever kind of studying you have done has paid off. You passed the test."

Cool.

Then some strange things started happening. I was getting these horrible dizzy spells. I was sweaty and nauseous. Twice at church, I nearly passed out. A doc friend at church told me she thought I needed to retake the glucose test. And sure enough, my perinatologist thought the same. And she reordered the sugary nightmare during my 31st week.

This time, I failed. By one bloody point. My fasting sugar was one point too high.

At first this annoyed me. But as the month progressed and my sugars kept climbing, I realized I would have just been sent back a third time.

Another difference with this pregnancy is that I have not been able to control the diabetes with my diet. I was put on insulin within a week of failing the test. And each week my insulin dose has been increased. I'll be really happy when I can stop pricking my fingers 4-6 times and administering injections 3 times each day. I have been told that I will need to be retested after the baby is born - once at 6 weeks, once at 6 months and then every 2-3 years for the rest of my life. Joy.

One huge benefit (at least as I see it) to being "high risk" is the number of ultrasounds I get. Usually, a prego will have an ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy, then another one half way through to check baby's growth and find out the gender (if you choose to and have not already found out via blood tests).

I've had at least one every single month. And I LOVE them. I have really enjoyed watching my little dude grow. His personality has already shown through... He's a stinker. He does what he wants. Sometimes he will be quite cooperative for the ultrasound, others times he will roll over right before and hide his face (The photo above was one of the latter. He was curled up so tight for the entire scan, he kept both hands in front of his face. And he had rolled over just before so he was facing my back. It took forever to get the face pic.) .

32 Weeks Pregnant

This was literally the last uneventful week.

33 Weeks Pregnant

Week 33 started out fine. I was getting used to the insulin and new diet - still trying to find a good balance. 33 weeks and 5 days was my first NST (non stress test). The NST is another thing I enjoy. Usually. I go to the doc's office twice a week for this test. The nurse hooks me and the baby up to a machine. I recline in a super comfy chair and chill for 20-30 minutes (sometimes longer). The monitors check the baby's heart rate and movements and another tracks any uterine activity (contractions).

Side note: Riley was delivered at 34 weeks and 5 days. I was at the doctor's office for my biweekly NST. Riley's heart rate was not behaving the way they wanted it to. So I was unhooked from that and sent in for an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that my amniotic fluid was quite low. The doctor immediately sent us to St. Mary's for "probable delivery."

So, thanks to Riley, nothing surprises me in pregnancy. It's best to just roll with it.

Ok, so there I am. Happy, hooked up, chilling at the doctor's office sans older children. Then the midwife walked in.

Midwife: Can you feel those?
Me: The contractions? Yes. (they were not painful, just tiny little tightenings)
Midwife: They are coming consistently every 2 minutes. I cannot send you home. You need to go to St Mary's for an evaluation.
Me: Ok. (then I laugh, and tell her about Riley)

I'm unhooked and sent off to the hospital. I call my husband from the car. He doesn't answer (eye roll). I call my mom, she has the older kids and needs to know it's going to be a while. She laughs.

Finally I get ahold of Stu. He answers and I say, "This is NOT a joke. I am NOT messing with you. I am heading to St Mary's right now. Apparently my contractions are too regular. And I need to get checked out."

Stu doesn't find it as funny as I did.

Super long story short, I was checked out. Nothing was progressing. My contractions slowed down and essentially stopped. The team decided it would be in our best interest to give me steroid injections (one today and one tomorrow at the hospital). The boosters help speed up the baby's lung development. Since my last baby was early, there was a chance this one would be too.

Fun fact: The steroid shots do NOT feel awesome. You know it's not going to be fun when you have to get a shot in the butt. I had a bruise for nearly a month! Also, these shots totally messed up my sugar levels. WOW! They were so high. It looked like I binged on cake.

Good times.