Week 34 Doctor's Appointment

Another week has passed and little Frankie is still baking. The doc said his heartbeat is perfect! I have to go back in one week to get checked again. For now, the doctor said to stay on bedrest! It is kind of depressing as I was hoping for permission for a slight increase in activity but I know this is what is best for Frankie. So I will countdown until next Monday when I have my 35 week appointment and hope for permission to increase my activity then.

To pass the time the past month, I have been working on a cross stitch for the nursery (which is close to being completed), and watching tons of TV and movies. Netflix streaming through the PS3 has been great! I am currently watching the first season of Heroes and Frank and I are working on season 3 of Dexter and Season 2 of NCIS.

Here is a pic of what the final cross stitch design will look like and a pic of how far along I am on it:

Doctor's Appointment 33 weeks

I went back to the doctor today for another check up. Frankie looks good. He is now measuring normal instead of a couple of weeks big. My cervix has increased a bit and the doc just said to keep doing what I am doing. I have to go back in a week to get checked again. Only two more weeks to 35 weeks and they said I may be able to increase my activity.

Belly pictures: 33W

My belly seems to be growing out of control!

Nursery Furniture

The crib and dresser/changing table combo came in last week. Frank went and picked it up and put them together this past weekend. The room is actually starting to look like it is almost ready!

Nursery status

Before all the bed rest started, Frank and I worked on the nursery over the Christmas holidays. We bought moulding and I assisted Frank in putting it up in the room and then I painted the moulding. Here are some before and after pictures. There are still some areas that need to be touched up but that will have to wait until I make it to 36 weeks or after Frankie arrives.

The before picture (below)

The moulding before Frank cut it (above).

The saw Frank rented (below).

 

The first two walls completed. (above)

The last pieces in place (above)

And the final pictures after painting the moulding (below)

Strict Bed Rest

I went back to the doctor Monday morning hoping to be told I could return to work for at least partial days. Well, that did not happen and looks like it won't happen for the remainder of the pregnancy. My cervix had shortened again and since I had been on bed rest for a week, the doctors were not happy with the decrease. The doctor gave me a shot of steriods to help mature Frankie's lungs and set up another appointment for Tuesday afternoon to recheck my cervix and get another shot of the steriods. The doc also said she would prefer that I not only rest but try to stay horizontal as much as possible! She told me it would be a good idea to be prepared to be admitted to the hospital Tuesday so I had to go home and throw together a bag.

So with my hospital bag packed and a plethera of things to do (book, cross stitch, puzzle book, etc), Frank and I headed to my doctor's appointment Tuesday. My cervix was back up to a little of 2 cm so the doc gave me the steriod shot and said keep resting and sent me home! YAY! I am so much happier cuddling with the cats on the couch than I would have been in a hospital room! I have to go back in a week to get checked again but the docs are hoping that I can make it to at least 35 weeks.

Bed Rest

I went back to the doctor today for a follow up visit. She checked my cervix again and found that it had shortened compared to Thursday's visit so the doctor ordered bed rest for the next week to see if my cervix would stabilize. It is so hard to sit at home knowing there are many projects around me that I cannot work on! Luckily the nursery is almost done. We ordered the furniture this past weekend and the only other major project for the room is picking out the carpet. So this week I am going to try to fill my days with video games, thank you cards, movies and maybe a puzzle. Tomorrow, I will spend some time posting the updated pictures of the nursery.

Belly pictures: 30W4D

Crazy week!

What I thought would be a pretty laid back week turned out to be anything but! Tuesday morning I noticed some spotting and called my doctor to let them know. I was asked to come in immediately to get checked out. Turns out the spotting was unrelated to the pregnancy so it was not an issue but the doc did an ultrasound and discovered my cervix was only 1.6 cm (it was previously 3.5 cm). Frankie had also positioned himself head down and the amniotic fluid was funneling downward towards my cervix leading the doctor to believe that my body was preparing for labor soon! He sent me to the hospital to be monitored for contractions. I arrived at Cedars Sinai around 3:30 pm and was admitted to the Labor and Delivery floor and hooked up to a fetal heartbeat monitor belt and a contraction monitor belt. Turns out I was having lots of contractions even though I was not feeling them. Frank arrived shortly after I got all hooked up on the machines. The OB doctor came in and did another ultrasound and my cervix was measuring 2.0 cm which they were much happier with than the 1.6 measurement at the doctor's office. They decided to keep me overnight to monitor the contractions and check my cervix again. They also checked to see if I was dilating and thankfully I was not but I was already 50% effaced (the doc said this was ok since I was not dilating). I continued to have contractions but I only felt one of the them all night. At 6 am, they did another ultrasound and exam and nothing had changed so they let me go home but ordered me to rest until I could talk to my doctor on Thursday.  I went in Thursday afternoon for my 30 week appointment and my doctor said everything looks great. She did an ultrasound and Frankie kicked the ultrasound sensor causing the doctor to laugh. She was amazed how active he was the whole time she was checking him out! My cervix was back up over 3 cm but I have to go back again on Monday to have it measured again before they will clear me to go back to work. Luckily we had Thursday and Friday off anyways so I didn't miss much work last week. After sitting in the hospital for over 12 hours and then at home doing nothing all day Wednesday, I really don't want to get put on bed rest! I think I would go crazy! But Frankie seems to have settled down for now and decided to stay put. I did have two real contractions last night (not Braxton Hicks) but they were 2 hours apart so nothing to worry about. Coming soon: recap of our Christmas, pictures of the new additions to the nursery, and this weeks belly photo.