We are in the third and final trimester!
I have had some very intense and real-feeling contractions since just under 28 weeks. I've never had Braxton-Hicks that have felt this strong and painful, so they can be worrisome at times. Thankfully, they have stopped each time.
Last Tuesday, I twisted my bad ankle and fell down in the driveway (on the way to pick the kids up from school and just before having to take Hannah to dance class, to make matters worse). I don't think I fell directly on my stomach, but I did end up face down. Initially, I worried I really broke the ankle this time. Thankfully, I could walk, though it was intensely painful. That evening, I was having some sharp abdominal pains and some more contractions, so I called my OB the next day. The on-call doctor asked me to come in to be monitored. I laid there about 40 minutes listening to the bay's heartrate and watching the rhythm strip print the whole time. All was well with that, except that I almost passed out toward the end. I guess it was likely because a hot flash passed over me while I was in that tiny room, laying on the same hard table in the same spot for so long. I'm really glad it passed without actual loss of consciousness. I would have been thoroughly embarrassed. After that was finally over, he decided for a biophysical ultrasound to check the wellness of the baby because of the abdominal pain from the fall. I knew the baby was moving normally and felt strongly that nothing was wrong, but I took the opportunity to see the little guy again. I came back to the office in the afternoon like they asked and this time brought the kids with me and had Rodney meet us there. I thought it would be nice for everyone to see the baby together. I'm so glad we did.
This was the coolest ultrasound we've ever had. The ultrasound tech was trigger happy and not only did she print a lot of pictures for us to take home, she made us a disc with twenty-seven of them, and did them in 4D! And she did all of this for free! Usually they charge for the disc and the 4D costs well over $150 I think. We never opted to have one before because we never wanted to spend the money on it just for the clearer pictures in the off-chance the baby would be facing the right direction at the right time.
It was amazing!
We watched the little guy move his whole body around, breathe, swallow, open his mouth and yawn, and play with his feet.
Everything that they were checking for was completely normal. That and the fact that we got to see him in there doing so well was such a blessing to us. The last couple of weeks for me have been really tough as I am so weary of being fatigued all the time and having pain of some sort mostly all day every day. My thoughts of the last weeks of pregnancy and of labor have been filled with dread and stress. While I am thankful for this little life inside of me, I have felt the weight of burden from all of the pregnancy-induced issues. This little glimpse of this sweet baby's face has helped me so much. My dread has largely been replaced with excitement, and I am very thankful for that! Now, I still dread the process of labor and feeling every bit of pain and anguish that comes with it, but I have renewed excitement of the process too. I'm looking really forward to the moment it is over and I finally see him face-to-face, being able to hold him in my arms and touch him. I can hardly wait!
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| It was so neat to see him holding his feet (That's a foot on the top left of this picture)! We found it both cute and fascinating that he can bend like that! |
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| Oh, that sweet little face! His face in this picture looks like Hannah's as a newborn. |
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| He looks like Andrew here. Maybe a little like Hudson. |
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| Profile view |
We could tell from the pictures that the baby seems to have Andrew and Daddy's strong brow, Hudson's nose and little ears, and a lot of Hannah too.
Hannah was so excited that she took these pictures to her class for "Show and Tell" today. She also showed other grades' teachers and students and took them to church tonight too. It's so cute seeing her this excited. I loved hearing about how she showed the pictures and talked about what was what and how some of the kids offered name suggestions (including Bob and John). So cute!
We will be so excited to hold him!
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