24-Week Appointment

A rather uneventful appointment.

The nurse weighed me (up a total of 7-8 pounds for the entire pregnancy). I peed in a cup (proteins and sugars seem fine). My blood pressure was normal (low, as usual). The doc then measured the height of my stomach/uterus (23 centimeters, which is in the normal range). At my next monthly appointment, I will have a glucose test to see if there is any indication of gestational diabetes. Everyone has to do it, so no worries there.

Instead of listening to the heartbeat with the doppler, my doc did a quick ultrasound, probably because a machine happened to be in the room I was in. The baby is still moving around a lot and her heartbeat is steady and strong. She continues to keep herself pretty stretched out and long. The placenta remains low, but looks healthy. It was a very short ultrasound, primarily to check for the heartbeat and to catch a quick glimpse of the kid and placenta. No pictures to post; only the good sonograph machines at the hospital print the pictures and videos.

An interesting tidbit of information I learned ... the top of my uterus stretches almost to the bottom of my chest. My doc asked whether I was experiencing heartburn. Not much that I have noticed, but I do feel like my stomach gets really full really quickly, and when I eat, the food feels like it is sitting right at the base of my throat. I guess it only makes sense that the stomach has to shift upwards as the uterus fills the abdominal cavity.

Before leaving, my doc gave me the choice to continue having ultrasounds every 2-3 weeks to monitor the movement of the placenta or to wait until approximately 32-weeks for the next one. I decided to wait because I do not like being so vigilant; it just makes me worry. Depending on where the placenta is at that time, she and the perinatologist will decide whether they want nature to run its course or whether a c-section should be scheduled around 36 or 37 weeks. In the meantime, she told me to continue plodding along as usual. She assured me again that I do not need to be worried about the placenta previa, unless I start bleeding. And apparently, it would be A LOT of blood, so I could not possibly miss any important warning signs.

So, all in all, it was a good appointment. The best news is that I do not have to go back to a doctor for another 4 weeks. Yippee!

A Boy's Ski Trip

Marc & Pierce came to SLC for a weekend ski trip, leaving their wives at home this year. It is always great to see them; and I know they enjoyed their time skiing. I just wish the girls were able to come this year.

Snowshoe Tour

Kim, Nikki, RJ, some of RJ's work friends, and I went on a full moon snowshoe tour in Park City. The evening started with a fantastic chilli dinner and entertainment from a real live yodeler accompanied by a guy playing an accordian. After dinner, we strapped on some snowshoes and wandered through the trails at McPolin Farms. Thankfully, the storms let up for a bit and cleared the skies right about the time the event started. We could not see the moon from where we were, but lots of stars. A great event! Definitely a fun Saturday night.

It's a girl

We had another ultrasound yesterday and she finally got the cord out from between her legs. Yep, that's right ... there is a little baby GIRL in my belly. Her name is Carolyn. She seems to be developing nicely and doing what she is supposed to be doing.

As for the placenta previa, the perinatologist was pleased that the placenta had moved, a whopping 0.18 centimeter over the past four weeks. I thought I misheard her because it does not sound like much movement to me, but apparently even the slightest movement is a good thing at this stage. I continue to feel great, so have decided not to worry about it. I figure my docs will tell me when/if I need to be concerned. Too much technology and information during pregnancy is not always the best thing ... it does nothing other than cause the mother to have anxiety.

The baby has grown a lot since I last posted, making the ultrasound pics more difficult to see. Can you identify what you are looking at? The first pic is of the foot. The second is the right hand; she is giving the thumbs up sign. The third is a frontal view of the face. The fourth is the hardest to see, but that is her girl parts between her legs (as if she were sitting on a glass floor and you were looking up to see her). The three white lines indicate girl.

The hives are back

I noticed patches of small red bumps dotting my core after I woke up itching like a monkey the other day. They are not nearly as bad as they were the first three times, but they are still annoying. I wonder if the baby will have as sensitive of skin as I do.

Mom & Dad in Utah

After the Sundance guests left, my dad flew out and joined my mom for a few days in Utah. My parents almost always do a project when they visit, but I cannot say we accomplished that much, primarily because everyone was sick and because we were hit with snow storm after snow storm. We spent a lot of time napping and relaxing inside. Our primary accomplishment was the installation of a new washer and dryer and plans for where the TV should go in the living room and how to make the mud room more useable. Oh yeah, we also had to go out shopping for some winter clothes for my dad because he failed to bring a winter coat and anything other than dress shoes. They are now on their way to Vegas, hopefully to win a fortune but more likely hoping to not lose too much money.

It is funny, I rarely get homesick on an ordinary day, but when they were out here just hanging out at our house, I did feel a bit homesick. After they left, both steve and I commented that it would be nice to see them more often.