NaBloPoMo Day 8: 23 Weeks, Hypnobabies, Midwife Appointment

This post is about pregnancy. If you're not in a good place, please feel free to pass. Take care of you!

First and foremost:

Please go visit Erika and congratulate her on the birth of her daughter, Ellison! Praise God!

Now that you're back, hi! So, here we are at 23 weeks. Wow. Well over half way through this pregnancy and in the teens in the countdown. It's crazy to think that Aaron's due date is four months from YESTERDAY! Woot!

I'm SUPER excited to say that a fellow blogger agreed to sell me her HypnoBabies materials! They went in the mail yesterday and I'm hoping they arrive before Friday next week. I can't wait to start working on the program! I know it's early but I really want HypnoBabies to work for us and I have a feeling it will take me a while to really get into the groove. There's some really great information here, as well as an article on hypnosis and Christianity. I'm feeling really good about this method of birthing and am excited to get to work.

Plus, the blogger sold me her materials at less than half price of retail. Love how the Lord provided for us in this!

So, I had a midwife appointment this morning. Overall, it went pretty well. I actually arrived early, which was SO great. My weight is up 6 pounds from the last appointment, which the midwife had *opinions* about. And I had *opinions* about her opinion. Whatever. It's reasonable to gain 1 to 1.5 pounds per week at this point, which I totally did. I am glad that Halloween is over and most of the candy is out of our house. I'll be working at being more intentional about NOT eating sweets. But not because she said so! (This is me pouting, think nothing of it.)

The best part of the appointment was hearing Aaron's heartbeat (130's) and feeling his head! How cool!!! She was feeling my abdomen and asked if I wanted to feel something neat. She placed my hands about three inches a part on the upper part of my uterus and kind of wiggled them a bit. And I felt the sides of his head! It feels about the size of a tennis ball. And then he moved away from our hands. Heh. It was a really special moment for me.

My blood pressure is 105/60, which is awesome. The midwife did ask if I've felt dizzy at all so I told her about getting hot and a little lightheaded if I stand for too long (more than 30 minutes at a time). I specifically notice this during worship on Sunday mornings, so I've started setting up a stool behind me on stage so I can sit down if needed.

I wasn't thrilled with my fundal height measurement: measuring 22 instead of 23. When I mentioned my concern, she immediately reassured me that anything 2cm above or below the current week was normal. That made me feel a little better. And I bit my tongue about the whole "normal range" thing (*cough*seeweightabove*cough*).

Then the midwife talked with me about the marginal placenta previa. I let her know that we moved my ultrasound to 31w6d for a better chance at a good measurement, which she agreed with. She asked if I understood what the outcome would be if the placenta didn't move (cesarean delivery). Yes, trust me, I get that part. Then she talked about warning signs and reasons to call the midwife, based on my current previa diagnosis. Basically, any spotting, bleeding, cramps, or unexplained nausea. If anything seems abnormal, I need to call. Which is fine. I would definitely rather be safe than sorry.

We are testing for gestational diabetes at my next appointment, which kind of stinks. I was really hoping to avoid all of that. But it is what it is. I'm very thankful that they have a new flavor (lemon lime) which doesn't have the artificial coloring like the orange and fruit punch options. They sent me home with a bottle with instructions to drink it 45 minutes prior to my appointment and to let the receptionist know what time I drank it upon check-in that morning. She also recommended drinking it ice cold. Ich.

So, mostly normal over here and certainly nothing to worry about. I hope most of you have a long weekend to look forward to. And, if you or a family member have served or are serving in the military: Thank You!

Can I just say: one week until viability! Woo-hoo!!