Breech baby, breech baby *

*(sung to the oldies tune Beach Baby--I stand corrected--by First Class)....

Yesterday we did a 4D u/s to get a peek at BG 2.0. My, but she was lovely to see. And yes, she does indeed look like J. We had been wondering if they'll look alike or completely dissimilar. Of course, she's still got a bit of growing to do and looks can change in that process so we'll see. Either way, I've no doubt she'll be gorgeous.

We also saw that she is currently breech. When we did our level II follow up u/s about three or four weeks ago, she was head down so that's an interesting turn of events. The tech did say that she still has room and time to turn back down so we'll see what happens. I'm cool with a c-section or another vag; it's all about getting her here healthy no matter what escape exit she uses.

The random painful contractions have slowed down though they still make their appearance known from time-to-time (last one was at 7:25 last night and it was just one). It's a little unsettling to say the least, but I'm hanging in there--especially since they're not so regular now, and certainly not 4 minutes apart for over an hour! That was some scary stuff.

And then, just when I thought it was safe to eat regularly as I've been doing all along (since I passed all those glucose tolerance tests), the rug was pulled out from under my feet. I met today with the nutritional counselor to go over my new eating plan. Yep, it's back to the 'diabetic diet' for me and finger sticks 5x a day, just to be safe (plus, as the OB said last week, "it's great for weight control" which I think was his polite way of saying, "hey chunky, ease up on the carbs before your ass outgrows your belly").

I did ask the nice counselor if it would be okay for me to cheat this upcoming weekend and have dessert as it's our ten-year anniversary and we're off for our lovely romantic rendezvous. She said that was fine, encouraged it even given the special occasion--but really, even if she said no, there was absolutely no way in hell I was going to skip out on the molten chocolate lava cake after dinner this Saturday night. I may be crazy (thanks pregnancy hormones!) but I'm not stupid. And to skip that dessert would not only be stupid on my part, it'd be a crying shame.

So that's where I am these days. Counting random contractions, drinking lots of liquids, and counting the days to the upcoming anniversary weekend. Oh, and then there is the baby shower next weekend. Yes, I know baby showers for second babies are somewhat verboten but it's to be an intimate affair (unlike the first one which was held on a grander scale) and I think it'll be a lot of fun. I mean, heck, who doesn't love them some cheese fondue and chocolate fondue with 12 or so good friends at the Melting P0t? Oy, wrench in the plans--what to do about the diabetic diet (cheese fondue good, chocolate fondue bad)? Looks like I may have to sacrifice that one and live vicariously through my friends' consumption of said goodies. So looks like it'll be cheese fondue and a house salad for moi...and that's okay by me.

Things get interesting

Last night, I was woken up by a strong, somewhat uncomfortable, contraction at around 5:30. The contractions kept coming, one after the other--each pretty uncomfortable--every 4 minutes for a good twenty+ minutes. I drank a tall glass of cold water, contractions kept coming. Had a second tall glass of cold water, they started to space out. 6 minutes, then 10. After about an hour or so, I managed to fall back asleep...shortly before the alarm was due to go off, and just as J uttered her first peeps of the morning from the monitor. Yeah, then I was up for good.

Luckily, I had a regular OB appt scheduled for this morning, where I told them about the contractions and what took place. I just wasn't feeling like 'myself' this morning. They chalked it up to dehydration and told me to be sure to drink enough--especially since it's been freezing here the past three nights (honest, it's been in the low 40s--completely out of season for this time of year for us) and our heater has been running non-stop, drying me out quite nicely. I had cracked lips when I woke up with those contractions, so I do think I was pretty dry in general but still...scared the crap out of me.

As I laid there in discomfort, I kept thinking, can I drive myself to the hospital (40 minutes away w/the level III NICU)?, should I wake up A?, this baby can't come now, it's too early...etc. It was nerve wracking and I still can't shake the doubts and worry it brought up. Since then, though, I've had two or three very random contractions, with some slight discomfort, so I guess things are okay. Crossing all crossables at that last one and sitting lazily on my ass on the couch today, taking it very easy. Please please please, let this have been a random occurrence.

The other interesting thing that came up at today's visit was that in the three results from my most recent 3-hour GTT last week, one of them came back high. It was my 2 hour result--the one my OB said 'of the three, that's the one you don't want to come back elevated' (though he never did elaborate why this would be the case). So, he thinks I should go on a diabetic diet just to be on the safe side and also because he would like me to be able to deliver this baby vaginally as I did with J. That got me thinking to myself, she can be delivered any which way, I don't care how she gets here, just get her here healthy and preferably about 10 to 12 weeks from now.

So next week, I meet with the nutritionist to go over a food plan. And I'm to start finger sticks 4x a day again after that. Not like I'm a stranger to this but I was hoping to skip it altogether this time and thought I'd managed to since I'd (technically) passed all of my GTTs. Shows what I know.

Anyhow, since my nutritional consult isn't until next week, I've got a small reprieve--meaning tomorrow it's turkey and trimmings time. Good to know that at least I can have a 'last hurrah' before the curtain comes down on my typical eating habits.

Hope each of you enjoys your own Thanksgiving 'hurrah' come tomorrow (and if you're reading me from outside the U.S., hope you have a lovely Thursday)!

Rounding third *Updated*

Today I started the third trimester. To celebrate the milestone, I opted to do my (second) 3-hour glucose tolerance test this past Thursday. I'll find out the results at my next OB appt, which is this coming Wednesday. Actually, if I failed it, I'll probably find out before then as they'll call me to schedule a nutritional consult or at least that's what I've been told they do.

Overall, I feel pretty good. No swelling, no headaches, just some shitty sleeping coupled with incredible nasal congestion, along with random contractions every couple of days that are reminiscent of menstrual cramps (and that have me beginning to consider the L&D process, which--even though I've done it once already--still gives me pause and sometimes even scares me a bit).

I mean, I know what it's like, I survived it once but I know that every experience is different. My (induced) labor with J took just over 7 and-a-half hours from start to finish with 1 1/2 hours of it pushing (before the doc threw in the towel and brought out the vacuum--which failed miserably--and then the stainless steel salad tongs, which worked like a charm, an incredibly painful charm). My OB was kind enough to recently tell me, after I asked, that most women who have a forceps delivery with one are usually able to deliver without forceps in subsequent L&Ds. Yeah, my guess is that's because those tongs stretch you out quite nicely, thank you.

Statistics say that subsequent labors are typically faster than first-time labors. I thought that my 7 1/2 hours was pretty quick...but oy, that means it could go quicker with 2.0 (who still does not have a name, btw)...and we've all heard those horror stories about women whose labors go so fast they don't have time for the epidural or any pain meds (I actually know one of these gals IRL). Yeah, please don't let me join their ranks. I loved my epidural. Even when it wore off and I couldn't get another full med dose, I realized that it could have been much much worse since I'm the world's biggest pain sissy.

So here I sit, beginning to ponder the inevitable: that this baby has to come out one way or another. Sometime in the next few weeks, I'll preregister at my local hospital (where I had J) as well as the facility about 40 minutes away that has a level III NICU, standard procedure for a high-risk patient in these parts.

In the meantime, though, I'll continue to spend my days enjoying the kicks that remind me she's really in there, despite the fact that at times I still find it hard to believe. I'll also spend time admiring the stretch marks I've recently acquired. I didn't get any with J and, believe it or not, I felt like I was missing something; like I didn't have any lasting tangible proof (well, besides the revised state of my girly bits post-J) that I had a baby. I've currently got about 3 small stretch marks, they're actually kind of cute I think. And they'll always be a reminder of what I've been through, just as my lap scar below my belly button reminds me of all that we went through long before these babies graced my body, my soul, and my life.

*Updated to say that I passed my 3-hour GTT, again. Heh heh. But...of course, one reading was slightly elevated (132 out of 135) so they may send me back a third time at some point in the next month. Yippee.*

Today's post is brought to you by the number two

Today I had another level II u/s to check on 2.0. She measured right on target (in fact, she is 2 days ahead of actual gestational age) and she weighs just under two pounds.

I followed the appt up with a visit to the ENT who informed me that I have a lovely case of rhinitis of pregnancy and that there is basically nothing that can be done for it save for saline sprays every few hours. My nose is so dry, yet so congested, it's a miracle I'm still able to breathe period. I have been this way for about three weeks or so.

Worst of all, it's making for some truly horrendous sleep--as if sleeping during pregnancy was so great in the first place--actually, calling what I do 'sleeping' is being generous. It's more like go to bed on left side, wake up about an hour or two later to pee, lay back down on right side, wake up a little while later so congested that I'm forced to flip back onto my left side to drain my nose, doze briefly, get up to pee again...lather, rinse, repeat, usually until A's alarm goes off between 6 and 7, and then I can forget about going back to sleep, despite the fact that J typically doesn't wake up until around 7:30 or 8 (yes I have been blessed with a great sleeper, knocking on wood that 2.0 inherits this habit)--with the odd 9 or later thrown in every so often. What I would give, however, to be the one doing the sleeping in.

In other news, I've booked a 4D u/s for the end of this month--just shy of our 10 year wedding anniversary. To celebrate the 10 (!) years, I have booked us a special occasion room package at the Ritz, and made reservations for a lovely dinner at a nationally reknown steakhouse, followed by front row center stage seats to a Cirque du S0leil show. My SIL and her family are coming up to stay with J so us grown ups can get to be a twosome for a special date night/weekend. I even bought a couple of cute little (ha!) maternity dresses so I can scrub up pretty. It's a two-hour drive away but I'm really looking forward to it. It'll be nice to recharge, even if just for a weekend. Heaven knows I'll need it by then as we'll be hosting T'giving dinner at our house in the interim.

And with that, I think I'll go try to recharge right now. I might actually go sneak in a catnap...'cause l0rd, I am ti-red, but you knew that already.