27 Week Update

I can't believe I haven't updated since 20 weeks! Here are some of my pregnancy photos from this last week.

 The 26 week belly, 1-29-2012

26 week profile shot, 1-29-2012

Due date: May 4, 2012


How far along: 27 weeks


Maternity clothes: Ha! With a belly like that it has to be maternity. The shirt in the photo is a size small maternity top and it isn't going to fit another 3 months.


Baby bump: This last week I definitely "popped" again. Between 26-27 weeks I started to feel huge and there is no question I have a big baby bump. I can't even imagine how much bigger it will get in the next 3 months. Hubby and I were looking at Brennan's baby book and I'm about the same size as I was at 35 weeks with Brennan.

Gender: We aren't going to find out the gender. We are really excited to announce both the gender and the name once the baby is born.


Heartbeat: The baby is getting bigger and their heart rate has slowed a bit. At my 26 week appointment it was 145-150 depending upon if the baby was moving or not. This last time the baby didn't want to stay still and let the midwife get a good heart rate.


Movement: I do have an anterior placenta which was confirmed at my ultrasound. I don't feel as much movement as people generally feel at this stage of pregnancy. I do feel at least 10 spontaneous movements throughout the day but rarely feel more than 1 kick or punch in a row. Yesterday the baby was extremely active and moving all over the place so maybe the baby is finally getting big enough that I can feel the movements despite the placement of my placenta. This past week I've definitely gotten some rib jabs and punches to the cervix. I've haven't felt the baby get hiccups yet but I know that is coming too.


Symptoms: Overall I still feel great and honestly feel really blessed to have avoided terrible morning sickness in both my pregnancies. I have been sleeping better these past few weeks. We started our Hypnobabies childbirth preparation and I think that has really helped me to relax and sleep better since we do our practice before bed. I'll write a separate post about why we chose Hypnobabies and what our experience with it has been so far. My back is starting to hurt, especially at the end of the day or if I have to do any extended periods of sitting. 

Tests and midwife appointment updates: Baby was back to measuring right on track after measuring 2 weeks ahead at my 22 week appointment and 5 days ahead at my ultrasound. I guess the baby must have just been in the middle of a growth spurt around 22 weeks. At 26 weeks I had my gestational diabetes screen which I passed with flying colors. The solution wasn't as bad as I remembered it though I did request lemon lime and drank it ice cold. At my 26 week appointment there was a moderate amount of protein in my urine as well as trace amounts of white blood cells. Due to my first trimester high blood pressure this warranted further testing. My midwife explained that there was a note in my chart to due the testing at 28 weeks due to my first trimester high blood pressure and that due to the protein it was safer to do it now rather than wait two weeks. My blood pressure was still 116/74 so at least that was good. in order to officially have pre-eclampsia you have to have both high protein levels (mine were moderate) and high blood pressure (mine was still normal). I had to do a 24 hour urine screen and a metabolic panel, both pre-eclampsia tests, to make sure that wasn't beginning to develop. I was stressing out over the weekend about the tests and the possibility of developing pre-eclampsia this early in my pregnancy since the only cure is delivery of the baby. I ended up getting several bad headaches but was able to determine they were sinus (and probably stress too) related. I completed the test Sunday since I had to essentially be home for 24 hours straight which rarely happens. Monday afternoon I heard back from the midwife and got some decent news. First my blood test results were all great and someone developing or who has pre-eclampsia should have markers in their blood to indicate that as well. My protein results were only ok. A normal result would be 50-70, mine was 168, but the 24 hr protein level has to be 300 or greater to be considered pre-eclampsia. My midwife said I would have to repeat the 24 hour urine screen and blood work at 28 weeks but to not worry and carry on like normal until then. She said it is possible with my Crohn's and medication I take that my baseline protein number is just simply higher. I'm slightly unsure about that because according to the in office screen at 8, 10, and 14 weeks I didn't have an protein in my urine (I transferred care at 14 weeks and this midwife practice doesn't routinely screen your urine in office until 26 weeks). Reading online there is a small possibility that a UTI can cause protein or white blood cells to show up in your urine. It doesn't seem like the likely cause but I am going to ask at my next appointment whether my urine was tested for a UTI and if not request it is before we do another 24 hour urine screen. Send prayers and good thoughts my way that this is just normal for my body and not the beginning of pre-eclampsia. Also in monitoring my blood pressure at home this week it has been slightly higher but staying under 130/85. My midwife did not seem concerned about this at all since she said they said now that I'm in the 3rd trimester that they expect my blood pressure to return to 1st trimester levels which for me were high. Every pregnant woman has lower blood pressure during the 2nd trimester due to hormonal changes in pregnancy. 

Exercise: I'm doing much better with exercise! I love my prenatal water aerobics class. It is great to have 2 days per week with a full hour of physical activity. It is nice to get out of the house and spend time with other pregnant women. My first session ended and I just started a 2nd session this week. We've also had several days  of weather in the 40's and 50's and the kids and I have been going for walks of about 2 miles or so. Between the walking and water aerobics I am getting 4-5 days of exercise which makes me happy. The water aerobics class isn't very strenuous but it is still a full hour of physical activity so I'll take it.

Next Appointment: I'm in the third trimester now so I have appointments every 2 weeks. My next appointment is on Friday, February 10th. Last appointment was the first pregnancy related thing hubby couldn't make it to. Now that my appointments are more frequent I am going to schedule them for Friday mornings because it is hard for him to get out of work at 3:30pm and then we have the problem of who is going to watch the kids. He's met a few of the midwives and I'll make sure at the end of the pregnancy when I schedule appointments with midwives he hasn't met to make the appointments for when he can go.

Here is the link to the Baby Center Your Pregnancy: 27 weeks . Some of the highlights: your baby weighs about 2 pounds now (size of a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping at regular intervals and waking at regular intervals and opening and closing her eyes and perhaps even sucking her thumb. Your baby's brain is very active. While her lungs are capable of functioning outside the womb with a lot of medical help they are still immature. Hiccups are common for babies at this point in pregnancy. At this point in pregnancy back pain and leg cramps are common.