Thirty Weeks & Some Change

Things are moving right along here in the Jenkins household. Tyler has started his new job and thus was unable to attend today’s thirty-week appointment. He now works weekends, in preparation for being a stay-at-home daddy during the week; Morgan’s in for a treat! His schedule now, though, is all over the place since he has some training to do as he transitions in with the organization.

We’ve been going to our appointments in the Overland Park office now, since that appointment is connected to the hospital where we’ll deliver. This was our first scheduled appointment there and realistically it’s just as easy as going to Lawrence.

I saw Dr. P today, as Dr. M was again taking a vacation day. The appointment part was fairly serious (Dr. P, too, has a pretty good sense of humor), but he goofed a bit afterwards as we attempted to get me in for a pre-consult with anesthesia. As for the appointment, it was pretty typical- baby’s heartbeat, blood pressure, etc. Morgan still appears, well, from his pushing and feeling from the outside, to be head down (good girl). She was in an odd position today, though, so we had a difficult time hearing the heartbeat the way Dr. P wanted to. Apparently, the beat makes a ‘whoosh’ sound when it is traveling away from the Doppler and the actual ‘beat’ when it is traveling towards it. We eventually heard her heartbeat the ‘normal’ way it typically shows up and it was around 146 bpm. Then, I made a comment about the Herrington rods in my back (from scoliosis surgery) and he noted that he wanted me to do a pre-consult with anesthesia as to whether or not that would interfere with an epidural.

I told him I was fairly sure I’d had an epidural before, but he still wanted me to talk with them. Also, he wants to do a growth scan and formally ensure that Morgan is head down still- so we set that up for our next appointment (when Dr. M will finally be there!) I made sure to schedule this appointment so daddy could tag along and be well rested, too! Next stop? Anesthesia consult.

I met with Dr. G regarding anesthesia. We talked and in talking I realized what I had in 2005 was not an epidural but what he called an epidural injection, which is apparently different. He went over his concerns and laid things out for me, basically saying that the majority of the anesthesiologists would not even consider performing an epidural for a candidate such as I. He explained that doesn’t rule it out, but with the rods and my scar tissue there is only a 50% chance that the epidural would relive any pain. Additionally, there is a risk for infection along the rods, which could lead to damage and future issues. So, he told me he wouldn’t give me a solid ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as to whether or not I can have an epidural, but I made the decision from what he did say that it is pretty much out of the question. If I end up having a C-Section (which is not the plan), then they can do a spinal epidural but there are risks there, too, for infection as well as what he called a spinal headache. At this point (and I know when the time (read: pain) comes I’ll think differently), though, I’m preparing myself to endure what will be and prepare to manage what pain I can through other means.

Tomorrow is our breastfeeding course and I think Tyler is going to try and stick-it-out and attend with me, although he’ll have been up all night with work. What a good daddy!

The nursery is really coming along! We painted last week and have everything up on the walls. Tyler plans on putting the crib together when I’m in Chicago and then it will be nearly Morgan-ready… whew!

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Heads & Tails

Our 28 week appointment was today (28w, 4d) at 11:30a, in Lawrence. We dropped by Hyvee beforehand and I grabbed some fresh fruit from the salad bar to snack on- yummy! We arrived at the appointment and quickly were seen- and of course to drink my ever-so-tasty orange glucose drink.

I drank that and the one-hour count down began! At about 45 minutes the physician's assistant (P.A.) came in for my check-up (Dr. M was out on vacation). We listened to baby Morgan's heartbeat and everything sounded good. I mentioned the intense pressure I've been having (on and off, particularly after walking longer than one mile) and the P.A. decided they would just check and see if it was related to a contraction. So, I got to wear this interesting contraction belt and they hooked up the fetal monitor so that I could also hear Morgan's heartbeat. Again, everything looked great- we got to watch her heart rate fluctuate between the 130's and 150's for about twenty-five minutes!

After that point, I mentioned a couple of other concerns with the P.A. and they drew my blood for the glucose test once my hour had elapsed. The P.A. decided to run a few tests after we discussed my concerns and a couple of them came back with results that left her wanting to know more. Firstly, I have a bacterial infection which is treatable, but could lead to pre-term labor. I have a prescription now, so that should be taken care of in about a week. Secondly, she did a test to ensure that I was not leaking amniotic fluid- the results were inconclusive. So, she decided to send me up to Overland Park for an ultrasound just to be safe.

So, we jumped in the car and headed straight to the O.P. for the sonogram. We got there around 2p and were seen within about 15 minutes. Although I was concerned about the idea of fluid loss, I just had a feeling that everything was a-okay. However, I was thrilled at the idea of being able to see Morgan again, I've SO wanted to be able to, because I needed the reassurance (visually) that everything was developing normally. The tech did many things, including measuring the amniotic fluid around the baby, which measured in at 12 (can't remember the unit of measurement). She said they like it to be anywhere from 10 to 20, so Morgan was fine there! Then, they did a series of battery tests to assess her gross and fine motor skills and her practice breathing, she passed all of them!

She put on quite the little show for us! She had been moving and kicking quite a bit since we were in the waiting room and she continued once the gel was on my belly and we were 'watching' her on the big screen. We saw how well developed her little spine is as well as her arms and legs. She had her knees up at one point and it was really cute- we also saw her female genitalia (as clear as day, developing nicely), so there is no doubt that she is a little girl (I'd had a couple of 'surprise, it's a boy' dreams). She rolled over and looked right at the monitor and we saw her little eyes (both open and closed at different times) as well as her lips. Then, she made an ordeal of putting her little arms up in front of her face. Daddy said this was her 'no more photos, please' pose. She was moving so much it took a while for the tech to be able to check the 'blood pressure' on the umbilical cord. However, that, too looked good. Finally, Morgan rolled over and looked toward my back, giving us a cute little shot from behind.

With that, we checked my cervix and it became pretty apparent to me what the pressure has been about. The little booger is head-butting my cervix! The P.A. in Lawrence felt her head when doing the exam and then we picked it up on the ultrasound too- her little head 'bopped' my cervix a few times and I sure felt it. Now, if we can get her to stay that way for the rest of the pregnancy! :-)

Our appointments now will be every two weeks up until 36 weeks, then we'll go weekly. Our next appointment is actually on my birthday! We scheduled it at the Overland Park office, so that we can get familiarized with the location (it's attached to the hospital we will deliver at).

I introduced Tyler to Chick-fil-a after our appointment. It was delicious and he really enjoyed it, as did I. I was SO worn out when we got home that I went into the bedroom and just rested for a few hours, reading my book (My Name is Memory). Now, I'm up and about to convince Tyler to go on a short walk around the block before dark! I hope to upload pictures once he's back from Wal-Mart with copies!





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