Bed rest - not free yet.

Back from the doc and have good news/bad news. Good news - they say the baby is looking good (4lbs, measuring large for his age), cervix is closed and long, all good things. Bad news - still on bedrest for another week. If I don't have any more cramping or contractions, they'll *probably* let me off of bedrest next week. So, happiness about the baby being fine, but slightly bummed about being home bound and couch bound for a while longer. All for a good cause though :)

Strange smell (TMI)

So here's the "ewww, what's that all about?" post for the day. Over the last 1.5 to 2 weeks, I've noticed some "leakage" (I've been slacking off on my Kegels so I suspect it's urine) in my panties. However, it doesn't smell sweet (like they say amniotic fluid does) and it doesn't smell like urine - it smells strange, almost like popcorn but not quite(odd, I know). Guess I'll ask the doc about it tomorrow...

Baby Safety article on CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/family/11/13/par.baby.safe/index.html
I hadn't even thought about the hot water thing....

Christmas is coming...

I already hate bed rest. The day before I went to the hospital, John brought all the Christmas decorations down. I had planned on putting them up the next day. Now, I'm stuck here on the couch, not allowed to lift anything or do anything. And there are boxes *everywhere*. Argh!

3D ultrasound, hospital visit, bedrest

Yesterday: I woke up in the wee hours of the morning with some pretty unpleasant cramping. We had a 3D/4D scheduled for that day, so I figured I'd just ask them about it when we got there. So, after the ultrasound, they had me talk to the nurse who did an FFN (Fetal Fibronectin) test to determine if I was in preterm labor, then did a pelvic exam. She thought I was slightly dilated so she sent me to L&D. After a couple of hours of fetal/blood pressure/pulse monitoring and another pelvic exam, they decided to send me home. I took a nap for a couple of hours, got up, went to the bathroom, and when I wiped, there was bright red blood. Not a lot, but not a little either. So, called the doc back and she sends us back to L&D. They set up an IV with the rest of the monitoring gear and I get to spend the night (ugh).

Today: They can't figure out why I'm still cramping - baby is perfectly fine, and I'm not dilated at all, and the bleeding stopped. So they've given me some drugs to stop contractions (seem to be working) and sent me home.

The doc says I'm on bedrest for the next week. Then I get to go back and get reevaluated. whee! Hopefully everything will be aok and I will be off bedrest after that. Happily, everything is fine with the baby - they are just being careful so he doesn't try to put in an early appearance.

3D/4D Ultrasound: The Baby-in-the-Womb Whisperer

So John and I go in for our 3D/4D ultrasound. I get up on the table and she starts looking. After a few minutes she says "Sorry - he's turned towards the back. Drink this gatorade and walk around until you feel him turn then come back." So, up I get and down I drink and around I walk and after 15 minutes "fwump" he turns. Hooray. Back in, getting up on the table "fwump" he turns back. D'oh! John says "Shhh...don't tell her..." just as the technician walks back in.

"Well, get back to walking." she says. "Just tell me where he is and where you want him" John tells her. "What're you going to do? Reach up in there and yank him out?!?!" she asks (ha ha). "Just trust me." he says. So she tells us he's head down, facing my spine and need to turn around to face my belly. John takes a deep breath and claps his hands together loudly, rubbing them to build up the energy then puts his hands on my belly. "Fwump" - the baby turns right over to face John's hands. "Whoa - that's cool!" she says and starts recording pics. Each time the baby would start to turn over again, John would move his hands and sure enough, the baby would face him (and give him a few kicks too).

I told John he is the Baby-in-the-Womb Whisperer! :)

How big around are we today?

43.5 inches around! Hooray for the glorious baby belly!