Another week… another ultrasound. Most people don’t have ultrasounds as frequently as I’ve been having them lately. It’s all due to that damn “at the low-end of normal” amniotic fluid level issue.
But the results of today’s ultrasound show that my level is up one unit/measurement/point/whatever. And that tiny difference seemed to make the staff VERY happy. The kid also kept putting its hands and feet in front of its face. The baby weighs just over a pound right now.
Most of the things I’ve seen online say that you should start to feel the baby move around week 16-21(ish). As of today I am 23 weeks along. I was a little frustrated that I hadn’t felt anything that seemed like a living baby and that every physical manifestation in this pregnancy has been, well… crap.
At my ultrasound a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that and the tech basically said, “Well, duh. You have an anterior placenta. You’re not going to feel those as soon as most women.”
DUH! How come I didn’t think of that? (Soooo obvious, like I can see where my placenta is!)
This week on Monday I think I started to feel movement. But it’s weird. It just feels like gas bubbles. In fact, sometimes I’m not even sure that it isn’t gas bubbles. It’s probably both.
But since my levels are minimally higher, they are happy enough to let me wait another 4 weeks before I go in again. But when I go back in 4 weeks, I have to do the glucose test. They also said that Kevin and I should start thinking about what we want from our birth experience, if I want natural, drugs, etc. While I hear that recovery is easier for mom and baby with natural, I also don’t want to spend hours upon hours in extraordinary pain if an epidural can knock that out. Basically my “birth plan” is to get the baby that is inside to the outside. We’ll see…
I read the book Expect This
The other pregnancy book I’ve read is Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?: The Essential Guide to Loving Your Body Before and After Baby
Those are the only pregnancy-related books I’ve read. I started to read What to Expect When You’re Expecting
Jill Will Run 
I’m so glad that the fluid level is up enough that they aren’t concerned. I love the picture!!
I really didn’t have a birth plan going into delivery. It seems like everyone has a different experience, and I don’t know how you plan for it. I would vote for less pain, though. I think I like your plan … get the baby out!
Yeah, some of the birth plans I’ve heard are TOO detailed. Like you said, everyone has a different experience and you never know what that experience will end up being like. So if you plan one way and end up having a completely different experience, does that make you feel like a motherhood failure immediately out the gates?
Yay for more fluid! And yes, those little gas/bubbly feelings are baby movements…they should start to get more frequent and then a little stronger. Fun!
Yes! Bubbles! That’s exactly what the first movements feel like. Eventually it might feel like someone is doing yoga inside your uterus, so enjoy the bubbles while they last. 😉
Hooray for more amniotic fluid!
Sigh, the glucose test. I know that sometimes you can eat protein before the test which will help stabilize your blood sugar a lot and helps people not feel sick from the sugar rush, if you’re worried about it. (I didn’t have a problem with the test either time. But if you have to fast, schedule it as early in the day as you can.)
I went into both labors wanting to avoid an epidural. I was freaked out by the possibility of it only taking on one side, or of it being too effective and not being able to walk afterwards, by the idea of a big needle that close to my spine, and I wasn’t crazy about the idea of not being able to feel what was going on with my body, either. But both times I decided I didn’t have a hard-and-fast rule, that if I felt I couldn’t handle the pain I’d ask for an epidural. (It’s a myth that they can only give you one up to a certain point in labor. They can administer it right up till you’re about to push, if they need to.) Both times, I was surprised by my ability to focus on the work that my body was doing as good and necessary. With Elliora the labor happened so fast that I did ask for an epidural after about two hours of labor because I didn’t think I could handle another couple hours of that, but it turned out things were moving faster than we realized (another thing epidurals sometimes do is slow down labor, requiring the use of pitocin to kick it back into gear, which causes more intense contractions) and I was ready to push! So I managed both babies with no epidural. It helped that they were both small, I’m sure. 🙂
Anyway, I encourage you to take a labor and childbirth class at the hospital where you’ll be delivering, or to talk to your midwife about everything you’re worried/wondering about. We took a class at the birthing center where A was born and it was so fantastic.
Also, MAYDAY MAYDAY PUT DOWN “WHAT TO EXPECT” IMMEDIATELY. That book is kind of terrible. Well, that’s not true, it contains a lot of good information, but it also contains a lot of totally unnecessary scare-inducing information. I didn’t read any pregnancy books while I was pregnant at all, and I managed just fine. (I did read stuff online. Have you checked out Amalah’s Zero to 40 Pregnancy Calendar on Alphamom? It’s funny, and as a bonus the illustrations are all by SAJ.
No, I’ve never seen that Zero to 40 Calendar… Just took a glance at my current week and it is entertaining. I’m going to have to hang onto that one! Thanks! (And props to SAJ!)
No fasting for the glucose test, just not supposed to eat for an hour before. It’s at 11:30 though, so I’ll probably end up starving in the middle of it or something. 🙂
I am not nor have I ever been pregnant, so you can take this with a grain of salt. But, I think some pregnant women go way overboard with their “delivery plans”. You can plan all you want, but sometimes things happen and refusing to change your plan can be dangerous for mom or baby. I have a friend who was hoping for natural delivery, but had to get a cesarean after the baby’s shoulder got caught on her tailbone. My mother delivered two big babies (10lbs 4oz and 10lbs 2oz) with no epidural and no drugs at all. Personally I think it’s good to be in a hospital, because things *sometimes* go wrong, but otherwise women have done this for ages, just be flexible and enjoy the experience.
I completely agree that some women go overboard with those plans. Of course, they may think I go too minimal! Baby inside – get outside. 🙂
Yay for more amniotic fluid! Always a bonus to have one less problem to worry about.
I highly recommend a prenatal/birthing class…very helpful. If they teach you how to breathe properly in your class, pay attention! I kept hyperventilating with my first delivery because I didn’t breathe right and the pain was so intense. It would’ve helped me immensely. My husband and brother-in-law were joking around so much during this lesson I couldn’t focus.
I think your plan is great…get baby out as quickly and safely as possible. I had epidurals on all 4 babies and although I had partials on some, I still was grateful for them. It’s your decision to use meds or not and neither way makes you superior or a failure. Word to the wise…the only one who made small babies is Erin…and only because they come in her 2nd trimester. 🙂
❤
Yep, yep, yep… just get the baby out – that’s the ultimate plan! Oh, if you can make it less painful then go for it as well. I’m happy to know that you’re amniotic fluid is getting better (not really the right term…:P)
Hopefully, the level gets higher and better until your delivery date!