33 Week Update

Well…in the past two weeks, since the last pregnancy update, I’ve managed to see the doctor twice! I made an impromptu appointment at 31 weeks pregnant (the day after the last update) because I wasn’t feeling like my normal self and then a week later Phil and I had the 32 week ultrasound the doctor mandated. (I even have to go back again this week due to potentially low fluid levels found during the ultrasound…but I’ll get to that shortly.)

I called the doctor to get a same-day appointment at 31 weeks because I was having low abdominal pain, I felt exhausted, and there were a few other symptoms that could all be explained away, but I decided to be safe and let the doctor determine if any of the symptoms meant pre-term labor when put all together. After listening to the baby’s heartbeat and checking all of my vitals, the nurse checked to make sure there wasn’t any softening of my cervix or dilation. Everything was totally normal with the baby and my body, except a finger-prick and simple blood test showed me to be slightly anemic. So now I’m taking an iron supplement daily (in addition to my prenatal vitamin) for the remainder of my pregnancy. Prayerfully, all was good with Elle and I felt much better receiving that confirmation from the doctor.

At 32 weeks, while baby was the size of a squash (with all of the same 7^th month measurements), we had our 32 week “doctor ordered” ultrasound. The ultrasound was precautionary after my uterus measured 3 cm small at my 30 week appointment. Phil and I met with the nurse to have my vitals taken, listen to Elle’s heartbeat, and review labor and delivery information (yikes!). That was definitely a reality check reminding me that Elle will be here sooner than I realize!!!

Next we had the ultrasound. Elle was measuring a few days small for her due date, which isn’t an issue, but the ultrasound tech was only able to calculate a fluid level of 9.4 AFI (which is slightly below normal and MUCH less than the 19 AFI measured at my 28 week ultrasound). Elle was beautiful with a strong heartbeat of 140 bpm and an estimated size of 4 lbs 3 ounces (34^th percentile). She had her hands up near her face, just like her older brother always did when we saw him in the ultrasounds. The ultrasound tech said everything looked good, including my fluid level, but the doctor was a little more concerned. When he followed-up after my appointment, he let me know I needed to make another ultrasound appointment in one week to double check my fluid levels. Therefore, I will be back on the ultrasound table this week to see my baby and will be praying for higher fluid levels between now and then.

 

Now that I’m 33 weeks pregnant, I must be in the 8^th month of pregnancy because the measurements in my weekly email finally changed for the first time in weeks! Elle is now the size of a durian fruit (I had to Google that!) and will range in length from 17.2 to 18.7 inches and weigh in the range of 4.2 to 5.8 pounds for the next month!

My weekly emails have done a great job reminding me about different pregnancy symptoms I’ve been experiencing and telling me what our daughter’s development is focused on right now. The weekly emails mentioned overheating is normal because my metabolic rate has increased by 20 percent throughout my pregnancy…which I really noticed for the first time this weekend at the park with Rock. I could barely catch my breath out in the hot sun and it took me hours to cool off once we got home! The emails also mentioned mom’s nipples will get larger and darker throughout pregnancy so the baby has a better defined target for nursing. And “baby brain” may be setting in, but I’m not sure I ever recovered from that after Rock was born! But the most important reminder for me was to get our infant car seat installed and inspected by a professional! Elle could come anytime…and she’s considered full-term at 37 weeks, which is only one month from now!!!

The emails have also informed me about Elle’s development with information like:

·         she is now keeping her eyes open when she’s awake

·         her bones are hardening and her brain is continuing to develop

·         she’s starting to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing

·         she may grow up to a full inch this week alone!

What an amazing time!

Lastly, this past weekend marked the end of summer for our local outdoor pools. The outdoor pools are open from Memorial Day through Labor Day, so we made sure to celebrate the final days with a trip to the pool after church...a routine we’ve enjoyed all summer. The highlight for me was Rock sitting on my lap requesting to see “Baby Elle” while we dried off. Then he proceeded to tell me “baby Elle is crying”, to which I explained that she won’t cry until she “gets out” and he said “get Baby Elle out now.” Then, out of nowhere, he hugged and kissed his little sister (without any prompting) which completely melted my heart. I don’t know how Jesus puts that kind of love in our hearts…but it was amazing to see Rock and his sweet behavior toward his little sister. Thank you Lord for the blessing of our children!