The final doctor visit...

It was time for our final non-stress test.  We got there early so that I wouldn't feel rushed (and my bp wouldn't be too high), but my bp was still a little high - 139/93.  But we'll come back to that later.

The nurse checking out the babies identified their locations - apparently it gets more difficult as they're getting bigger because they start overlapping each other and crowding together.  But she found them, then found how much fluid each had in their sacs (looking good!)  There was a brief wait to identify the fetal breathing, but they all performed well.

The only thing remaining was heartbeats.  You'd think it would be easy...but the babies moved!  At this point Dr. Collingham poked his head in to say that we could forego the OB visit as long as everything went well with the scans.  The nurse asked him to verify the babies' locations and he placed Baby A low on the bottom lying on his side, Baby B scrunched up breech on my right, and Baby C curled around up top and over to my left side.  I'm sure they've all moved again by now, but it's always good to know where they're hanging out.  Once their locations were more concrete, the heartbeats were much easier to find and all were beating well.

Finally it was time to sit up, relax, and take my bp.  This time it was 127/93.  Still 93...3 points higher than my parameters.  So I was sent over to the OB side of the floor to check again.  So much for skipping out on the appointment!  The nurse let us know they like the readings on their machine better, and their machine showed my bp at 120-something over 76.  76!  They also took me to be weighed - I've now officially gained 15 pounds with this pregnancy.  We're hoping that the babies will be in the 5 pound range when they're born, so that could balance out!

We waited in an exam room to be cleared to go home.  The RN for the floor came to chat (about the Giants) for a while and then the doctor came and told us to "go home!" and that everything was fine.  They quizzed me on the symptoms I should watch for (headache, vision change, pain, leaking fluid, babies dropping out, and the like) and what I need to know for next Wednesday (no eating or drinking ANYTHING after midnight, show up at 7, procedure scheduled for 9, babies out and cleaned by 10).

Did you catch that?  BABIES BY 10AM!  132 hours until we have babies!  SCARY!

I came home exhausted and rested until it was time for dinner.  Just before we were about to leave, we heard about the fire in San Bruno.  We sat, transfixed, in front of the tv and I couldn't help but cry.  Part of it is hormones, I'm sure.  Part of it is the amazing loss.  So I'm focusing on the good news about the countdown to babies to distract me, while hoping that everything works out as well as it possibly can for the folks in San Bruno.

One week to go...

Blood pressure is still an issue, but nothing to worry about so far.  After hearing that it had trended high over the holiday weekend, my doctor had me do a bunch of lab work - blood and urine tests.  All the results have been in the normal range so far, so they don't seem too concerned.  I went into the lab today to drop off a sample and went up to have my bp checked and it was within the parameters they've given me, so the doctor said to just relax and put my feet up.  So I'm typing with my lapdesk propped on my belly. :)  I also stopped by to weigh myself and found that I have not gained any weight on the scale since my appointment two weeks ago, though this morning when I got out of bed Joe mentioned that it looked like the babies had done a lot of growing over night.  The little leeches are taking all my nutrients!

This week's belly picture was taken in the nursery...sorry for those of you waiting for the 'teenies to finally block out the handle on the door behind me!

I swear I'm standing up straight!!!

Tomorrow is the final non-stress test and the final OB appointment.  Less than a week left until the scheduled date now, so we're crossing our fingers (all 50 of them!) that no surprises pop up!

The countdown is ON...

When last we chatted here on the Blog de Salvateenies, my BP was a little high at the non-stress test.  It has continued "a little high" over the weekend - it's nice and low when I take it while lying down, slightly (and I do  mean slightly) elevated if I'm sitting up.  The nurse at the pre-term birth prevention center is not terribly concerned because I'm not having any other pre-term labor symptoms (headaches, nausea, spots before my eyes, etc.) and because I am taking blood pressure medication that can be adjusted.  She's having me take my bp in the morning and evening before I take my medication, and then an hour after the medication, and they'll consult with the doctor and see if I should raise the dosage or frequency (I'm betting they will).  We've got just nine days to go, so if they tell me I need to lie down for the rest of the time until delivery, I think I can handle it without going too stir crazy.

And why, do you ask, would I be more "OK" with having to be bed-resty now?  Well, as you all know this festive long weekend we've just had is designed to honor labor - work performed by laborers.  While I've had no "laborers", per se, in my home, I have been lucky to have some wonderful friends and family come over to help get things ready.

Friday night, my sister-in-law and I sat in the nursery and unwrapped all the tiny diapers that had been rolled up to form my three (count 'em - THREE) diaper cakes at my baby shower back in June.  We separated the diapers by size (preemie, newborn, and "size 1") and put them in assorted diaper stackers and bags.  Then Saturday I did some light organizing until about mid-day when I got a surprise visit from a friend bearing cupcakes and some truly adorable presents for the babies.  Then a visit from three of my friends from work who came over to feed me wonderful foods (tortilla española, veggies and crackers with hummus, and pumpkin pie for dessert) along with some chat and gossip from school.

But Saturday is when the true labor got started (no worries - not the me going into labor type).  Around mid-morning my father came over to survey the baby preparedness situation.  We started in the basement, where we pulled out the car seats and installed the bases into the back seat of my car.  Sorry - can't give anyone a ride or help move your large boxes anymore, but we will be able to bring the babies home from the hospital, so that's good!  Next we moved upstairs and he perused the nursery to see what needed to be done.  Then Nathanael came over with sandwiches.  Time for lunch!  After that, the two of them got working rearranging the furniture.  They moved the babies' chest of drawers into our bedroom so that there was now room to move the cribs around a bit.  Once in the bedroom, they cleared some of my junk out from beside the bed and made room for a glider in there for breastfeeding and soothing babies to sleep.  Then they emptied out more space in the nursery closet and schlepped a few more things up from the basement.  

Just as their energy was starting to wane around 4pm, my friends Chris and Jayanthi (of the aforementioned diaper cakes) and their adorable children came over.  While I got to play and read books with the kids, they set to work.  Chris and Nathanael put up the two remaining blinds in the back - we can now keep it cave-like dark all day long! - and repairing the top drawer of our lovely hand-me-down dresser.  Jayanthi started sorting and separating things in the nursery to get everything organized.  And once she'd done that, she and the kids all pitched in actually SWEEPING THE FLOOR in the nursery (and Nathanael vacuumed in the bedroom).  It was starting to look like a real nursery in there, rather than just a baby gear storage closet.

Monday we all got a slightly later start, though it's because I didn't wake up until 10 (thank you, 'teenies!).  Then Nathanael and my dad showed up to get into some more heavy duty work. We started in the living room, getting rid of recycling, cleaning off table tops, and generally making the room more baby-ready.  As we moved to the next task, Nathanael took my bedroom curtains down to wash -- it's amazing how much dust you can accumulate in just seven and a half years!  It was now time for the big task - my desk!  We cleared off the top, and then cleaned out three of the six drawers.  I found things dating all the way back to sixth grade (though I don't think I bought the desk until after college, which makes it a bit weird…).  We filled three boxes of junk to get rid of, including all my nicely organized bills from 2000-2004!  Who knew they were in that drawer?  The last step was to put up some decorations on the wall.  

Thanks to everybody's hard work, I feel pretty confident that the Salvateenies can actually live here when they get sprung from the hospital - whew!  Happy Labor Day!!!

This is all filled with trash culled from my desk

A greeting to the Salvateenies, courtesy of JoAnna.

Crib #1 (note those boxes beneath? FILLED with blankets!)

Crib #2 and changing table

Such good little test-takers!

Today was our next-to-last (penultimate) Non-Stress Test.  We had a different nurse working with us this time, and she was a big fan of the goop - my tummy was SUPER gooped for all the ultrasounds today. :)

The first step was to find the babies.  Just looking from the outside, I could see that they were huddling over on my right-hand side - my belly was tremendously lopsided, all squishy on the left and mounded on the right.  Once the ultrasound got underway, we found that Baby A had moved yet again.  Having spent the bulk of the pregnancy head down and ready to go, he'd shifted over to the right and flipped over breech a few weeks ago.  Now he's laying out along the absolute bottom of my uterus, stretching from side to side.  The next to be found was Baby C, all the way at the top.  She's been laying on her side the whole time, up on the left.  Now she's shifted over to the right to hang out with her brothers.  And then it was Baby B.  Baby B has not had a "usual" location.  He was the hardest to find this time as well, though eventually we did.  He's currently sandwiched between his siblings,  but again over on the right hand side.  Makes me wonder if these babies know they'll be born into a union family in San Francisco - don't they know they're supposed to trend to the left?

Next was fetal breathing.  And, just like last time, they pretty much performed on command.  It looked a little bit like they were hyperventilating, but since there's no air involved there's really no "ventilating" and the quick little motions are good practice for them.  Once they'd gotten the OK on the "breathing" we got to listen to the heartbeats.  They sound like horse hooves galloping - badabump, badabump, badabump.  Joe practiced working with the new videocamera and recorded them, but the video shows my big, ugly belly and so I don't think I'll be sharing those videos outside the family.  The little girl's heartbeat kept fading in and out as she seemed to squirm away from the little listening pad.  But we got her in the end!  Once all baby heartbeats were recorded, the nurse realized she'd forgotten to find the membrane that separates the babies and check fluid, so I got to get all gooped up again while she did that, but it wasn't too bad.

The only scare was that my blood pressure was slightly (VERY slightly) elevated.  We were a little nervous because there'd been another woman there when we showed up who had been sent to Labor and Delivery for observation because of her elevated bp.  To make it worse, she had her completely adorable 2-year old daughter with her who kept telling the nurse, "Thank you for making sure my mommy is going to be OK." and "Are we all done now?"  But since my BP was only slightly up I'm just supposed to monitor it like I have been and call in if it doesn't come down.

Twelve days to go!!!

OK, I get it now

I can't roll over in bed without holding my breath and grimacing in pain.  My back hurts - upper and lower.  My feet are puffy and sore.  My hands are intermittently numb and pained.  I get exhausted quickly and have to sit more often than not.

And yet, I still feel good enough to get up and out each day to do some little thing.  I'm unhappy, though, that just as I've decided I need to rest and hang out  more in the house (where there are plenty of tasks to keep me busy anyway), it's getting hot again, meaning the apartment will not be comfy. :(

Other observances as I've reached the 34 week mark: the babies are restless.  They move from side to side as they feel like it.  They swim and kick and push against my sides.  This morning, Joe laid his head on my belly and listened/felt them moving around - he was pretty shocked.  But it happens to me all the time...I'll just be sitting, thinking about something, and boom a baby moves.  The nice part is that it doesn't hurt.  I've heard from a number of friends about babies kicking them in the lungs and keeping mom up all night.  These guys are definitely active, and it hurts when they choose a spot that sits on my sciatic nerve or put too much pressure on my groin, but most of the time I just feel big and puffy.

For two more weeks - then I'll be exhausted and overwhelmed!

34 Weeks!

Final Ultrasound

Thursday was full of doctor's appointments.  But first, and more importantly, it was time for a mani/pedi!  Our local nail salon has been taken over by new ownership, so the decor and some of the patterns were different, but most of the personnel was the same and they were all excited to see me - big belly and swollen feet included.  An hour later my fingernails were all cleaned up and my toenails were pretty and pink (well, sort of fuschia), though it didn't really distract from the puffiness of the feet.

Then off to the doctors'.  We were met by a different sonographer than we'd seen before - in hot pink scrubs to match my toes.  Joe and I had gotten mixed up and thought this would be a full biometric ultrasound, but it turned out to be a baseline one.  That means she quickly identified the babies and their locations (Daniel is sitting, breech, on my right side down low; Max is above that, laying out, and Caroline is in her regular spot), then checked to make sure there was enough fluid surrounding each baby (there is), and then checked and recorded all their heartbeats, which are all good and strong.

Then we headed off to the non-stress test area.  We were early, so we waited and watched as four other ladies waddled in and got assigned to beds and monitors.  Because there were so many of us to scan, one nurse slipped away onto the floor to secure (or "steal") another ultrasound machine.  It was top quality, so they wheeled it over and put me in the bed beside it.  The same nurse from last week prepared for her long wait for fetal breathing (since everything else had already been done), but right off the bat, all the babies were practicing their chest contractions!  Five minutes later, the babies had all passed and we were done!

Well, done for that part.  It was back to the other side of the floor to meet with the obstetrician.  She checked my cervix (all is OK), then we chatted about the rest of the pregnancy (only twenty days to go!).  Our final ultrasound was scheduled for the 10th of September, but the doctor figured it might not make much sense to do a full biometric u/s just five days before the babies could all be measured accurately on the OUTSIDE.  So...two more non-stress test, and then the biggest stress test of them all - babies!

We are the first C-section scheduled on the 15th and we have to be at the hospital by 7am to get prepped.  But, we should have babies by noon!!!  I think I may be hyperventilating a bit thinking about it...or maybe a baby is just sitting on my diaphragm...

Catching up with the belly pics

We're up to 33 weeks today, and only 3 weeks away from the end of the pregnancy and the beginning of the real chaos!

Here are the "updates":

31 weeks - in the A's press box for the day

The more traditional side shot

32 weeks

33 weeks!

Today I'm in a pair of the capris I bought when I did my maternity clothes shopping.  I didn't think I'd wear them, as it has been so chilly all summer (seriously - chillier than a normal San Francisco summer...50s most days, with no sun).  And then my ankles became less than attractive, so I was even less inclined to show them off.  But today it's hovering around 90º in our neighborhood and I really don't care much if strangers on the street are disgusted by my Fred Flintstone feet.  As soon as this post is updated, I'm heading to my parents' house, which I remember as a child as having a "Superman's ice cave" effect when you walked in on especially hot days.  My brother promises to be waiting there with a piña colada slurpee and I can think of no better way to spend the day.