This morning was my OBGYN appointment and I left feeling so much better than I had been this past week. I met a new Dr. like I do every time but he was great. First thing I said was ” I am very anxious about this lobed placenta thing and no one has given me any explanation about it.” He sat down and drew out a picture for me and explained it: My placenta is in two parts with the cord in between. Normally the placenta is one piece and is up towards the women’s chest and posterior to the baby. Mine is in front on the baby a bit but it’s still up where it should be. If the placenta is low and the cord crosses the cervix then it can be fatal to the baby once the membranes rupture. This is called Vasa Previa and I do not have it…thank goodness!! He said that succenturiate lobed placenta isn’t common but they do see it quite a bit since they deliver so many babies. The only danger it poses ( as of now ) is if part of the placenta doesn’t get removed  it can cause problems in the mother.  I go back in 3 weeks to the pregnancy specialist and to the OBGYN and hopefully it’s all good from here. After that I am seen every 2 weeks. I can’t believe the end in near…

My Glucose test results still weren’t in but he said that they will only contact me if there is a problem. Fingers crossed I don’t get a phone call!

This morning was my follow-up appointment with the pregnancy specialists. I went in hoping that baby girl is growing along with her age and that the tear is better if not gone, that’s what I hoped to hear. Icing on the cake would be that I can start some swimming or anything to burn some calories. Guess what? That’s exactly what I got 🙂

Baby K is looking good, weighing 1lb 7 oz putting her right where she should be. They couldn’t see the tear or any bleeding anymore…phew! I have been taken off restrictions for the most part. I can slowly start some low impact exercises like swimming, the stationary bike, walking and stretching but if I have any symptoms ie; cramping, contractions, fluid leaking ect. I have to stop. I am supposed to ease my way into this and then I will go back in 4 weeks to be checked out again. Looks like my teaching days are done for a while though. I guess it’s just too much “on my feet” and she called it a “strenuous” job, which is true. 

The other thing she said was that I still had the Velamentous insertion and something called succenturiate lobed placenta which is when there is two parts of the placenta and one is significantly bigger than the other. The cord is running between the two. She didn’t give me much more info than that, just said they need to continue to monitor her growth. Scary how it’s always something when I go in for an exam! Next week I have my OBGYN appointment and a Gestational diabetes test. FUN!

Picture this all together …we have the grey walls, brown recliner, espresso furniture and a white area rug. Here is my newest idea for wall art and crib sheets. I wont make a final decision until the furniture arrives.

                                                                     The trunk will be white with the pink dots 

The sheets will be in the same shade of pink, either solid or pattern.

Yes, I have gone from yellow to pink. I found the white area rug at Target for a lot cheaper than any of the yellow rugs I saw online. There are a lot more choices in pink anyhow!

According to The Bump.com, baby is about the size of a papaya at weeks 22-24.  Average size: 10.5-11.8 inches, 12.7-20.8 oz. Nipples are sprouting, and face is fully formed. Exciting stuff huh?  5 months pregnant and I feel the best I have this whole pregnancy. I would love to get some exercise, even if it’s just some walking and swimming. My next appointment is in 2 weeks, I am really hoping for some good news this time.

We went out yesterday and bought the glider/recliner I wanted from Babies R Us. Our friends went to Australia and left us their truck so it was the perfect time to go get it.  Here is a picture:

I wanted a chair that was a glider and a recliner, I imagine I will spend some nights in the chair. I would probably get a better nights sleep in the chair then I do my bed.

Today was my 20 week appointment with my OBGYN and all looked good. Although, I have something called velamentous insertion of the umbilical cord. Normally the cord runs from the middle of the placenta to the baby but with velamentous insertion it runs along the side of the placenta. This could affect how much oxygen she is getting. My Dr. said not to worry, she is getting plenty of oxygen, just not as much as if the cord was placed normally. They will check her growth at each appointment to make sure she is growing accordingly to her gestation. If she seems to stop growing or shows signs that the cord is affecting her then I will start to be monitored at the hospital 2 times a week. Just another thing in this long hard journey to motherhood. So far she is growing normal, moving around constantly and is a strong kicker..She’s gonna be a soccer player, she is, she is! We just cross our fingers that this continues. My Dr. said as long as I feel her move at least once a day right now, we are good!

Today I am 20 weeks, also know as half way to meeting my baby girl 🙂 I can happily say that I am starting to look prego and not just like I ate too many cupcakes.  

Thanks to my dad, the nursery is now painted a nice shade of gray! It turned out exactly how I had hoped. Here are two pictures, one with the light on and one with it off.                  

I also got a chance to go to Babys R Us with Shane. I haven’t been able to do any in store browsing since I have been pregnant. I also got to glance at some of the stuff we registered for and I couldn’t leave without buying baby K at least one thing.     

Aren’t those cute? Now that I am more mobile I am slowly hoping to get the nursery all cleaned out, start purchasing off my registry and get the room ready for her arrival!

This morning I had a follow-up appointment with the pregnancy  specialist and it seems things are looking up. Baby is measuring at 20 weeks which is great since I am 20 weeks on Wednesday and the subchorionic tear seems to be getting smaller. The Dr. said at our last appointment my tear measured 5cm and now it’s down to 2cm. This is great news however I am still a little skeptical. Last time the tear wasn’t noticed at its full size until a second look was taken before the amnio. I expressed my concerns and we asked if she was going to take another look but she seemed sure that the tear had indeed shrank. Soooo in spirit of the holidays she said I can start moving around some. I can do some errands and  make some food, ect. ect.  Still no exercising or over doing it. She told me to take a lot of breaks in between tasks and that if I experience any cramping or bleeding I need to stop and put my feet up. I go back in a month for another checkup. This was great to hear, not only because we are heading in the right direction but because I am dying to do a little shopping! 🙂

Some say that your fifth month of pregnancy starts at 17 weeks and goes until week 20. But according to What to Expect While Your Expecting the fifth month starts at 18 weeks. I don’t know who is right but either way I am officially in my fifth month! . My belly is getting a little firmer and rounder even though I still don’t think I look pregnant.  I have felt her moving around a lot the last 2 days. That is the neatest and strangest thing I have ever experienced.
With all this time on my hands I have managed to finish our Babys R Us registry. It seems like so much stuff but the fact that I can’t go looking and shopping myself, most of it has to be done online. I think I did a pretty good job!
As for the nursery, my dad went and picked up some paint swatches that are now taped on the wall. I am definitely going with grey paint and espresso furniture. Now it’s deciding on the accent color. Pink, the obvious choice, really looks nice with the grey.

 

Yellow is usually used as a neutral color but it looks really good with grey, white and espresso too.

Then of course we will need an area rug. This will probably be the hardest purchase as rugs tend to be pricy..Expecially the cute ones!

Hmmm! Well I have plenty of time to make these decisions I guess.

I have spent the entire day adding stuff, researching stuff, deleting stuff and adding more stuff to our baby registry. I am sure I will be doing this for the next month.  Between the Babys R Us site and my books one would think I have everything covered but I know I am missing some stuff. The question is how much does one register for? They say you want to have 5 onesies, 3-6 rompers,2 two piece outfits..ect. ect. I don’t want to put all of that on the registry because it’s fun to get things that others pick out, Babys R Us’ selection is not the best, in clothes that is!

I also got a call from the genetic counselor yesterday with our full amnio results and all is good!! YAY!