Busy, busy, busy!

Life has been a whirlwind these past few weeks. So much is going on and I am having trouble keeping up with everything.

We had a terrible storm in the beginning of August and were fortunate that our home owners insurance covered the damage to our house. After dealing with adjustors, contractors and middlemen for weeks, we finally had a new roof put on this week and it has really given the house a face-lift. We ended up upgrading the shingles to the three dimensional 30 year shingles and went with a charcoal black color. With our black door and shutters, it really looks amazing, see….

Before:

After:

The only downfall to this story is that our deductible is very, VERY high to help keep our premiums low so that part wasn’t fun but is a necessary evil I suppose.

Work is in its busiest season right now. I’ve been working 12+ hour days, weekends, and even while on vacation. I’ve come to realize that the work doesn’t stop and wait for me to return, so I’ve had to make myself available almost always.  With everything else going on, it has been trying but I am confident that if I can make it work now while I have competing priorities and so much else on my mind, I can do anything.

Mr.A and I slipped away for the weekend and went to our place in the Florida Keys. We spent a few days doing absolutely nothing but relaxing in the pool and walking on the beach. It was a much needed retreat from reality and I am feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of our to-do list.



Commence Third Trimester: 27 weeks

I had my 27w appointment yesterday with my OB practice. I did the GTT (1 hour) for the third time and really hope I pass. The thought of sitting here for the 3 hour is not appealing with how busy work has been as of late.

I am up 2 pounds from 4 weeks ago, which brings  me to a total weight gain of 18 pounds at 27 weeks. I am very happy with this and right on track.

With my swollen ankles I was a little worried about my BP, but BP was 110 over 60. This is back into my normal (low) range.

I tried my doppler last week when I was concerned because I had felt almost no movement throughout the day one day. I had a very difficult time finding her heartbeat because she was moving constantly. The movement was reassurance by itself, so it did put me at ease, though I was only able to find her heartbeat for a couple of seconds at a time here and there. I mentioned this to the doctor, and he was disappointed that I didn't call. He said they would have had me come in immediately for monitoring. Thankfully she had likely just switched positions and/or was tired that day and now everything is good. I know in case it happens again.

Thankfully he is a pro with the doppler and found her beating heart right away. BBs heart rate was around 150bpm and she was squirming around the whole time thanks to the high-glucose fruit drink. My belly is measuring at 30 weeks so still a little ahead, but good nonetheless.

I have my final appointment with my MFM on Monday and will get to see little BB once again. If all is well at this appointment, she will be releasing me back to my OB for the duration of my pregnancy and consider me "normal". While being a higher-risk patient thus far has meant more appointments and more doctors, it has really helped give me the reassurance I needed to know little BB was growing happy and healthy. I was fortunate in that my insurance covered a multitude of ultrasounds and follow-ups which has meant that I have many ultrasound pictures of my little girl growing from the blob stages, to the gummy bear stages, all the way through to the "holy-moly, that is a baby" stage.

I am past the terrifying first trimester, past Viability Day and now into the third trimester. I am hoping the duration of my pregnancy remains uneventful and I will have smooth sailing throughout until the day I get to finally meet my baby girl.  

Progression of d'Bump (2.0)

If you would like to go back for reference, here are my photos from month's 1, 2 and 3.

I've heard that most of the changes in your body happen during the second trimester; that is surely evident below.

I haven't really noticed the changes because they have been so subtle over time but when I look at these pictures, my goodness! I cannot believe just how much I have changed in such a short period of time.

4 Months

 

5 Months (Halfway there!)

 

6 Months (VDay!)

 

 

There is no hiding it now. I am undoubtedly pregnant, with a squirmy ninja girl reminding me each and every day that she is growing stronger every day. 

 

 



Six Months

I cannot believe that I've made it this far. I am truly in shock, but so utterly thankful. 24 weeks is sometimes referred to as "Viability Day" or "VDay" for short. This means simply that if God forbid something happen and I go into labor, after 24weeks the baby will have more than a 50% chance of survival. More than its true meaning, my MFM's goal from day one was to get me to and beyond VDay; we've made it.

I know there are so many mothers who haven't made it this far. Some had early losses. Some had to have emergency surgeries to remove the baby they so deeply loved, because that baby had snuggled into one of the mom's fallopian tubes and would kill the mother if left to grow. Some women found out late in their first trimester that their placenta was failing and their baby may not survive. Whereas others have gone into pre-term labor naturally and have lost the one thing they have strived to attain for years, their beloved baby Boy. My heart breaks for each one of them. I've only experienced early losses, and as hard as those have been, I am thankful that I have not had to endure the pain and suffering each one of you are feeling.

I am sending many thoughts and prayers out to all of the women I know who have struggled to attain their dreams. You are all amazingly strong women, and caring mothers. You will survive this, you will triumph over IF and pregnancy/infant loss, and you will win.