28 Weeks

Can you believe it! It’s officially the third trimester! It’s the last stretch of this pregnancy and this week has been very eventful. A lot of great things happened like my 28-week appointment, our anniversary, the hospital tour but something unexpected also happened which was extremely scary for me. I’m going to share a more about my crazy week but add my hospital tour and anniversary in another post to try and keep this one from getting too long. My bumpdate will also be at the very end of this post so keep reading! 

Our 28 Week Appointment
The 28 week appointment isn’t a big deal but a lot of blood tests came back and plans for later in the trimester were discussed. I was late to my appointment, and I completely forgot to do the urine sample for them but the appointment went well otherwise. When I was taken back I got my weight checked which is normal for each appointment but again, I haven’t gained any weight. My doctor still isn’t worried since baby seems to be growing and is still very active. My blood pressure was taken, which was normal and then we went over my most recent blood tests. The week prior, I think it may have been Thursday or Friday, I went to the lab to get blood drawn for my 1 hour glucose test and to get my blood count levels. I actually didn’t realize that I would be getting my blood levels drawn for a test beyond the one-hour glucose. To do the glucose test I arrived at the lab at 7 am, fasted the night and morning of and at my 28 week appointment I found out that I passed the test which means that I don’t have gestational diabetes. However, when my other levels came back I found out that I am anemic.

Being anemic is common in pregnancy because you’re producing more blood but everything else gets diluted. So I’ll be paying more attention to my diet and taking liquid supplements until my follow up blood test in two weeks. After we went through my tests and exams I got my RhoGam shot which only women with a negative blood type get. You usually get it at 28 weeks and then again after you give birth. I would have also gotten my flu shot but I decided to get mine at target. My next appointment I will be getting the tDap vaccine and I should be done with shots I think. After all of that, I finally got my belly measured, which was the first time I had this done and we checked baby’s heartbeat which was 154bpm, perfectly normal. We finished the appointment with some questions and expectations for my future appointments which includes starting an appointment every other week! I grabbed my paperwork explaining my vaccinations and discussed the date of my next appointment which is on Halloween. Unfortunately, my appointment ended with me being unexpectedly admitted to the labor and delivery wing.

My Car Accident & Time in Labor and Delivery
I was late to my 28 week doctor appointment because I got into a small car accident on the way. I was stopped at a light and was hit. The car was fine but it was enough of a hit that my seatbelt locked up and with the impact, it put a lot of strain and pressure on my belly and pelvis. When I arrived at my doctor appointment everything was still sore, slight cramping and uncomfortable so when I mentioned it at the end of the appointment my doctor said that I won’t be happy with what we’re going to need to do and I thought I would just have to stay in the office for a little extra time and maybe do an ultrasound but that was not the case. She explained that I needed to be monitored for 4 hours in labor and delivery to ensure that my cramping doesn’t turn into contractions and that my placenta stays put, as well as making sure baby’s heart rate stays in the healthy range.

I left my doctor appointment in disbelief. I didn’t think that I would need to be admitted into labor and delivery. I had been texting Conor this whole time and he mentioned that they might want to do an ultrasound but not that I’d be admitted. The front desk told me where to go but I think at that point I was already panicking everything was such a blur. I had no idea where I was going. I was walking down the hallway and I’d be okay one moment but then I had to stop, walk in circles and have a mini freak out to myself. At one point I called work and very matter of fact said that I won’t be in for a while because of everything that happened. I was more concerned about certain things getting done at work than where I was going in that moment. My manager was super sweet and understanding, I think I completely confused her by being overly concerned about what was going on in the office. Reflecting on this, I have a little bit of an unhealthy relationship with work because I don’t feel comfortable ever disconnecting or not being available. I don’t ever turn my email off and I find it very hard not to do work even on my PTO or sick days or in emergencies like this. That’s a completely different post for another day though. After multiple panic attacks on the way to labor and delivery, I eventually got there.

I found the nurses station and checked myself in, as I was doing this I again had another minor freak out internally because the questions on the paperwork were all delivery based. Will I be open to an epidural, are there any religious customs to be followed, how do I want to labor, etc. I knew I was going to labor and delivery to be monitored but it didn’t click for me until this moment that they’re concerned that our baby could come early. They put me in a private room and I got settled into the gown and the bed. While I was waiting for the nurse to get the monitor bands together I called Conor and explained what was going on. I had texted him but had not spoken to him yet because he is currently on a surgery rotation. I unfortunately just can’t call him whenever so I needed to wait until I knew exactly what was going on. I explained that I’d be monitored for 4 hours and I was currently in labor and delivery. He asked if I wanted to come and I could barely say yes because at this point everything was finally sinking in. All these emotions washed over me so fast and I just sobbed yes, please. Because I had texted him earlier the doctors he was rotating under already knew what happened to me and had already given him the okay to leave to be with me. By the time we finished talking on the phone, he was already in the car on his way to be with me and I really needed him.

The nurse came back and started getting me all setup. I had a fetal heart rate monitor constantly recording baby’s heart rate, a contraction monitor to make sure I wasn’t contracting, a blood pressure cuff and a heart rate monitor for myself which I was able to take off pretty quick. I think I had only just been settled with everything on and working for maybe 10 minutes before Conor finally walked in. Once he came in I felt so much better. I honestly thought that everything would be fine and baby was okay but being sent to labor and delivery really freaked me out and made me worry. We sat, holding hands and just talked as I was monitored for 4 hours. The nurse would come in every so often checking the monitors and the resident came in to introduce herself and do an ultrasound. The ultrasound was a little funny to me because as the resident was pressing on my belly our baby was very clearly kicking at the ultrasound wand. The time passed so slowly but we were entertained by how often our baby was kicking because you could hear it on the monitor each time. My husband couldn’t believe how active and how often she kicks me. He kept asking if this was normal and yes, yes it is normal. She is such an active baby.

Finally, the four hours were up, but no one came to talk to us immediately so we were a little worried but were just hoping that they were held up with someone else. The resident eventually came in and explained that I needed to be monitored for an additional hour since the baby’s heart rate had decreased multiple times and there were contraction waves on the report from the monitor. My heart dropped when she said this. The next hour Conor and I kept talking and holding hands but I couldn’t help but keep checking and looking at the report being printed. Finally, after an hour and a half my doctor came up from downstairs (my normal ob/gyn) and she said everything was looking good and I could finally leave. I was disconnected from all the monitors and was discharged. I went straight into work after being admitted and I stayed until 6, I wanted to stay longer but I just was getting too tired. When I finally did get home, I didn’t actually realize how exhausted my body and my mind was until I literally passed out after sitting on the couch. It was such an emotional day.

Our Anniversary and Hospital Tour

The day after I was admitted into the hospital following my car accident, was actually our 3 year anniversary and our hospital tour. I’ll share more about both of these in another post.

The basics:
How far along?
28 Weeks and 5 days.

Due date:
January 8th, 2019

All about baby:
Size of baby
The size of a tropical coconut. Just so you know, a tropical coconut is not the little brown one that you see in the grocery store, a tropical coconut is about the size of your head! We have these all over the ground at our home in Puerto Rico. Baby is about 15 inches now and officially weighs about 2.5lbs.

Have you decided on a name?
Yes, we have a name. We are struggling to figure out a middle name though so we’ve had our eyes searching. To be honest, I haven’t really been looking for a middle name but the ones we’ve thought about don’t really quite fit. I’m sure once we see it, we’ll know, or at least I’m hoping! We are still holding strong with our decision to not share the name until we announce we have our little one in our arms.

All about momma:
Weight Gain:
Well as of my last appointment I did not gain anything. Every week our little baby should be gaining at least half a pound so my next appointment I should be at least one pound heavier. Fingers crossed.

How are you feeling?
I was feeling good until I hit this week. Now my heartburn is out of control and I think it’s brought on by stress as well. I’ve noticed that my pelvis and back are also starting to really hurt throughout the day. I have not noticed though anything becoming swollen like my feet or hands which is nice.

Are you having any cravings?
The only thing I really want is a turkey sandwich and some sushi or a poke bowl but other than that, I have not really had any cravings at all this pregnancy. I don’t know if I will either at this point.

How are you sleeping?
Sleeping has been good and bad, some nights it’s tough falling asleep because my legs and belly just make me uncomfortable and other nights I think I’m just so tired that I pass out. I have noticed that I’ve been having a tough time in the morning because Conor wakes up at 5am and I for some reason wake up too. When I wake up though I cannot for the life of me fall back asleep. Typically this wouldn’t be an issue since I’m normally a morning person but I’ve been so much more tired at the end of the day.

Maternity Favorites
My robe is still my favorite thing and my slippers since it’s been so cold in the morning.

What are you excited about?
We officially cleaned out the nursery and I have the furniture to be scheduled for delivery this coming weekend so I’m extremely excited to get the dresser and the crib together finally. We also have the baby shower coming up the first weekend of November.

Since this is being published when I’m 29 weeks, here’s a picture of my 29 week bump.