35 Weeks

I finally had my first appointment with my North Carolina doctors this week.  I was super anxious for this appointment since we are in the final stretch before the big show and I had TONS of questions for my new doc(s).

The most important question was if they perform Vaginal Birth After C-Section (VBAC).  If they did not, then it looked like I would automatically be having a c-section again due to the very limited amount of time I had left before my due date to find a doctor/hospital that did.  Fortunately, this doctor does perform VBACs  if the lady is a good candidate.  The main concern is where my prior internal c-section incision is located.  If it is a vertical incision, then no VBAC for me.  If it is a horizontal cut, then we're good to go.  Unfortunately, my prior doctor's office sent all of my records except for the actual delivery report!  Ugh!  So, now we have to wait on the records to arrive to my new doctor before they can determine which route we will be going.  

If Bristol is breech, we will automatically have a c-section, as well.  As of this past Wednesday, she was head down and sitting pretty low in my pelvis!  Holla!  As long as she stays that way, we're good to go!  However, I have felt her flipping around this weekend.  I have been feeling her hiccups down in my pelvis, but this weekend, her hiccups were up under my ribs.  This made me think that she may have been head up at that moment.  Baby girl needs to stop being an overachiever and get her butt in the proper position! 

  

I think I look pregnant now!  :)  35 weeks!

I have noticed with this pregnancy that I have had way more sharp pains in my ribs.  I'm assuming this is her kicking me!  If Joey was breech for awhile, that may explain why I never had those types of pains in my ribs.  

I've also had some menstrual-like cramping and pelvic pressure over the past few weeks.  The doctor said that was probably baby girl getting into position.  

Bristol's heart rate was good and she was measuring great, according to the doctor.  My weight gain, or lack thereof, was not even discussed.  However, I did gain three pounds since my last appointment, putting me three pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight.  I'm not seriously concerned about this since I haven't gained any weight until now.  Plus, being with other adults and eating lots of good southern cooking, is not helping!  

I can't believe that I may have another baby in 5 weeks!  If I am going to have a c-section, then I will be having my baby between 39-40 weeks...aka in 4 weeks!!!  YIKES!  I'm not going to lie, the thought of having a newborn again, plus dealing with demanding toddler is seriously stressing me out.  I remember how much I wanted time to fly by when I was at the end of my pregnancy with Joey.  I couldn't wait to not be pregnant and to meet our little guy.  This time around, I am begging father time to slow his butt down!  I am so grateful that I will have lots of family around to help for the first 6 weeks, but I know we're on our own after that and that is a very scary thought.  In my opinion, Joey was a very demanding and high strung newborn.  I didn't like being a mom until he was 4 months old.  I know that most siblings are complete opposites of each other, but I am preparing myself for another "Joey newborn".  Hopefully, Bristol will be the most mellow and easy-going baby and all of this worry and concern was over nothing.  I know there's no need to worry and I can only take one day at a time.  So, for the time being, I am trying to enjoy any free time I have right now and my alone time with just Joey.  If I thought the ride was rough before, I'm in for a rude awakening, I feel.    

Pitter Patter

We had our first official doctor's appointment today to see if there really is a baby in there!  Well, folks, we have a winner!   TBD is now officially alive, in our minds!   We saw and heard the heartbeat, 176 bpm.  The ultrasound actually puts TBD's due date at July 19th, versus the 21st, like we had originally thought. 

Everything looked great for baby, but they did discover that I have a small bleed/clot in my uterus.  No big deal...a lot of women have them.  The doc said that it should be absorbed by my uterus within the next month.  I guess we'll find out if it did at our 13 week appointment.  I am not allowed to exercise, no heavy lifting, and no intercourse.  The heavy lifting was a concern since I have this 22-lb babe attached to me all day.  I guess Mr. Joey will be having to do a whole lot more walking! 
   

We also discussed how we wanted to have this baby.  Since I had a c-section with Joey, I can automatically opt to have another c-section with TBD.  A lot of times, the mother with a previous c-section has no choice in this matter and has to have a c-section if the delivering doctor and/or hospital does not support vaginal birth after cesearan (VBAC).  I really would like to have a vaginal birth with TBD.  I'm not bothered that I had a c-section with Joey, but I don't feel like I "earned" it.   I know that sounds really stupid...I carried him for 10 months, I had major surgery so that they could remove him from me, it took months for me to heal from the surgery, etc.  But, I never felt a contraction.   I never went into labor.  I don't know what childbirth actually feels like.  If you ever hang out with moms, especially ones that had their babes within the past couple of years, childbirth usually comes up at least once in the conversation.   Everyone starts to tell their war stories from the delivery room.  "I was in labor for 24 amount of hours!",  "I pushed for 12 hours straight!", "I pooped all over the table.", and it goes on and on.  I usually just sit there, smile, and nod in agreement to these stories while withholding my story from the group unless someone asks me.  I know there is no shame in my game, but when you tell people that you have a c-section, there's always one in the group that wants to point out how ridiculous it is that there are so many c-sections in our country these days.  Really?   Did you just say that to me?  It's very annoying. 

Anyways, I would like to have a VBAC and see what all this birthing business is about.   I am absolutely positive that I will be regretting this decision while I'm trying to push out out my baby's head through my vagina!  I am also aware that I still may have to have a c-section.  The doc said that one of the main concerns with a VBAC is the tearing of my old incision.  The docs and nurses will keep a very close eye on this and if they notice any tearing, they will perform a c-section.  If TBD is breech like their bro, then I will have a c-section (and no, I will NOT go through the Version procedure (where the docs try to flip the baby from the outside) again).  If I have to have a c-section in the end, I'm okay with that.