Pregnancy Update: Weeks 34-36

No joke, these were probably the most chaotic and busiest weeks of this pregnancy (maybe the entire year). 

34 Weeks Pregnant

Week 34 started out like most, with a trip to the doctor. I went to see the high risk OBGYN, had an ultrasound, had an NST, and a meeting with my diabetic counselor. Stu and the kids came with me for the ultrasound, but they took off after. It was going to be a long morning. 

Everyone was super excited to see the baby. Ultrasounds are so much fun. Reagan and Riley have LOVED being able to check in on their growing brother. This one was especially excellent since the baby looks much more like a human. According to the tech and doc, the baby was about 5.5 pounds (give or take half a pound). 

34 weeks pregnant - Reagan and I on our way to church on 12/23/18.

My 34th week included Christmas. One of my prego goals was for Baby 3 to stay in longer than Riley did. If he decided to come out at 34 weeks and 5 days (like Riley), we were going to have a Christmas baby. 

I think I mentioned this in my last post, I have NST (non stress tests) twice a week for the duration of this pregnancy. The docs don't let you skip these. So when Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day fall on weekdays, you get to have the NSTs done at the hospital. For week 34, I chose to (after discussing it with Stu) go to the hospital on Christmas Eve for the test. I prayed and prayed nothing abnormal would pop up and that I would be allowed to leave the hospital after the NST. 

Luckily, all went well. I left without incident. And, BONUS, I got to enjoy a delicious lunch at Cheesecake Factory with my mom and one of my aunts. 

After lunch, I went home to finish Christmas cookies with the kids (our Christmas Eve tradition).

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Christmas came and went. It was awesome. The kids like their gifts. Stu and I really LOVE the shirts Reagan ordered for us. She's so cute and sweet. 

35 Weeks Pregnant 

The beginning of the 35th week started on Reagan's 11th birthday. Again, more prayers went up: Please do NOT come on your sister's birthday. Please behave during the NST so she can have her friends over. 

Reagan went with me to the doc and NST on her birthday. After the doctor, we were picking up her BFFs to bring them to our house for the day. I felt terrible, my appointments lasted forever. No kidding, 2 hours. I wasn't upset about it. (Sometimes the OB takes a while, they are giving exceptional care to someone and taking their time. I like it when I am having concerns and they aren't rushing me out the door. So if you are there and it's taking a while, try not to get upset about it.)

Reagan was not so understanding. But that's ok. She's only 11. She was a trooper though. During the NST, the baby fell asleep. And was therefore unresponsive. Ugh. The nurse came in, handed me a cup of cold water and told me to chug it. Then she asked me to cough several times.

Neither worked. 

Nurse came back in and giggled my belly a few times. And we were all yelling at the baby to wake up. 

Finally, it worked. Thank God. They saw what they needed to on the NST, and Reagan and I were free to go. 

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Reagan and I ready for the last Sunday morning church service of 2018.

I spent January 1st at the hospital having the NST done. I was SO happy to have made it to 2019. Luckily this NST was perfect. I was sent home. Yay! 

36 Weeks Pregnant

​Oh, one thing I have failed to mention, this entire time my sugars have been on the rise. Each week, when I email my numbers in, my insulin dosage gets increased. So, on January 2nd, I received another increase and adjusted accordingly. I don't think the baby liked it much. He was quite active (as per his norm) for a while that night. Then we went to sleep. 

When I woke up on January 3rd (the beginning of week 36), he was not moving. This is not typical. Baby 3 likes to rock and roll in the morning. He almost always wakes me up around 6am. And he parties off and on for most of the morning/day/night. 

Stu called me after lunch to check in. I mentioned that I thought I should probably call the doctor. I haven't felt the baby. So Stu came home. 

I called the doctor. No surprise, they wanted me to come in right away. 

My mom met us at the doc's office, and she took the kids to her house. It was nice to have my husband there. We met with one of the midwives. She checked me out, no labor progression. She tried to force the baby to move around. He responded a little, but still not a ton. We discussed the day's lack of events. Then she ordered an NST and an ultrasound. 

The ultrasound was first. Nothing too exciting. We did get a few photos from it. Luckily, my fluid level was still excellent. 

The NST was a little less awesome. The baby was kind of "flatlined" - he was not moving around. His heart rate was even (no ups and downs). I had a minor panic attack when the midwife walked in with my OB. For the next several minutes, the four of us discussed the baby's actions, the potential outcomes, the ever-so-slight possibility of delivering right away. My OB was hesitant about delivery. He said he didn't want to turn a perinatal problem into a neonatal one. We agreed. Both medical professionals breathed a sigh of relief when they found out I was scheduled to come back into the office in the morning for my weekly prenatal check-up. 

I wish I could say the rest of my week went according to plan. But that would be a lie. 

My 36th week included 3 visits to the doc's office (including the one described above) and a trip to the hospital. The last day of week 36, I woke up thanks to a contraction. Pulled me right out of a deep slumber. I thought that stinks, and that's new. But it was the only one like it. I had minor, little, weak ones sporadically throughout the day (Again, not unusual. I've been rocking Braxton Hicks for nearly a month). So I did not give much thought to the contractions. I was, however, considerably uncomfortable for the entire day. Cue pelvic pressure, lower back pain, and the worst cramps ever. All day. 

Late in the day I was chatting with my mom and mentioned all of my discomforts (sometimes it's nice to just complain to someone). She told me I should call the doc. Same thing happened to her when she was pregnant with my sister, and in the middle of the night her water broke. 

So I gave Stu the good news... we will probably be going to the hospital tonight. 

The hospital trip was so fun. Not. I spent a few hours in triage. I was having baby contractions every 2 minutes. But again, a physical exam showed nothing moving forward. The hospital gave me an IV of fluid in hopes of slowing them down or stopping them altogether. If the IV did not work, the next step was a shot of something to stop them. If that failed to work, we would be meeting our baby that night. 

Obviously, since I am still pregnant, the hospital was able to get my contractions under control. We were sent home. Although, it would not be long before I was back in triage. That story is for next time.