34 week check-up

Monday was a marathon day of doctor's appointments for Dylan & myself! We started the morning off at the hematologists, Dr. Spero Cataland, at the OSU James Cancer Center. (I am oh-so-grateful to be a patient of benign hematology, and not the hematology-oncology department. I heard some very sad conversations in that waiting room while I was there.) I have a bleeding disorder called vonWillebrand's Disease (vWD) Type 1A. It's the most common bleeding disorder, affecting 1% of women. Often it is best managed by being on birth control - the hormone regulation helps the vonWillebrand's factor level out as well. And if you follow that same line of logic, it often self-corrects during pregnancy due to the consistent (and higher) level of hormones, and lasts till sometime after delivery & recovery. When I was pregnant with Haley, there was so much going on with her that somehow I never made it to a proper hematologist, and though my OB/GYN ran the bloodwork it seemed that my vWD had not corrected itself even though I was pregnant. Because of this, it was important that I deliver in a Level 3 ER hospital and that I received an infusion called DDAVP during delivery. That made everything a little nerve-wracking since I live far away from any such facilities in Logan, and basically meant that I had to be induced. So it was a huge relief to hear on Monday that as of bloodwork that was drawn in June, my vWD HAS corrected itself this pregnancy! Dr. Cataland decided to re-run the bloodwork, just to have something closer to the actual time of delivery and be extra-sure. We should get those results by the end of the week, though he anticipates that they will be similar to June's, and in that case I am free to deliver anywhere (and even have an epidural if I decide I want one this time, which I hope I will not!) We will still certainly try to be in Columbus, but at least now if I do go into labor in Logan and can't make it that far, we will be okay to deliver in Lancaster. (I was seriously worried about this, considering my first labor was 1 hour & 50 minutes - if the second labor is supposed to be faster, I just couldn't see making it through an hour long car ride!) I really didn't want to be induced, and it's just a big weight off my mind as our due date draws closer and closer.

After the good news at the hematologists, Chadmo picked us up and we had a tasty lunch at NorthStar Cafe (my favorite restaurant in Columbus - homemade Ginger Ale - YUM!) Then we trundled over to Dr. Copeland's office for yet another Non-stress test, ultrasound, and OB check-up. Dylan did excellent on her non-stress test yet again - Go Dylan! During the ultrasound, the tech repeatedly remarked about Dylan being a big baby & a very active baby. She already weighs 5 pounds 15 ounces - that's only 1 ounce less than Haley weighed at birth! Her head is still measuring a couple of weeks ahead of schedule (lucky me ;)), and she'd gained 3/4 of a pound a week in the last 2 weeks. I think the little sister is going to be the bigger sister, though I guess that's really no surprise. I told Dr. Copeland if he wants me to have a 6.5 pound baby, I think it's going to have to be next week! He said he'd rather have a slightly bigger baby and have her stay in there a little longer, and I agree entirely. :) Also, my amniotic fluid was up to 13, which is the best it's been since we've been monitoring it, and Dr. C was very pleased. All my sitting around and drinking multiple Nalgenes full of water every day must've paid off! ;)

I'd been having more contractions again last week. I'd actually been so lucky as to have a case of mastitis the week before that, and felt fairly miserable on Thursday and Friday. (Luckily it wasn't nearly as bad as when I'd had it after Haley was born.) Then we'd had a very busy weekend, and I just chocked the extra contractions up to being sick and then pushing myself too hard while I was recovering. But those contractions were obviously doing something, because I'm now dilated to 3 cm. I was actually at 3 cm at this point in my pregnancy with Haley too, in fact at 35.5 weeks I was dilated to 4 cm and stayed that way until they induced me at 37.5 weeks. So Dr. C really didn't get too worked up about it, but now I'm on even stricter instructions to stay off my feet, no exercise, and keep Dylan in there as long as possible. Dr. C is optimistic though that we'll still be able to hold off at least 2-3 more weeks, and he said sometimes he even has people that will dilate to 5-6 cm and make it to 40 weeks. On occasion he even ends up just breaking their water at 40 weeks, and that's a level of induction I could deal with. (Though to be perfectly honest, if we make it to 38 weeks, I think I'll start going for walks and bumpy car rides to see if we can't inspire Miss Dylan to make her arrival!)

All in all it was a day full of good news, something we're still getting used to when it comes to doctor appointments! Now we are just hoping and praying that Dylan will stay in there till at least 37.5 weeks, and that when she does decide to arrive that everything goes smoothly & safely and we have a healthy, adorable Smooch-Pickle safe in our arms!

32 week check-up

Chadmo & I went in for Dylan's 32 week check-up yesterday and once again got all good news! Miss Dylan now weighs 4 pounds 6 ounces, which means she's been steadily gaining half a pound a week - good girl! My amniotic fluid level was 9.something this week, so a little lower than 2 weeks ago but not significantly. (Plus I probably over did it a little bit on Friday & Saturday doing stuff around the house.) Once again Dylan did wonderfully on her non-stress test, and even during her ultrasound Dr. Copeland remarked repeatedly on how much she moves around and how active she is. So between her weight gain, great non-stress test, and lots of movements, she is thriving even in my slightly-low-though-consistent amniotic fluid level environment. Now she just has to keep it up for at least 5.5 more weeks (in my opinion!) and then she can decide to arrive any time! :)

Now for some doting parent details: our ultrasound was too much fun yesterday! Dylan was making all these adorable facial expressions - we could actually see her blinking, and one time it looked like she kissed my belly - what a sweet little girl! She had her hand curled up above her head and we could see her fluttering her fingers. She's already head down, and while she's getting more and more crammed in there, she still likes to roll from side to side. She also seems to like to stretch out, I swear sometimes she's in there like da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, pressing on as many ribs & bladders at once as she possibly can!

Miss Dylan also seems to be living up to the Stevelt-Mitchell standard of big noggins. Dr. Copeland commented twice yesterday on her big head! She's right at the 57th percentile when it comes to body & leg size, measuring at 32 weeks & 4 days, but her head is already at 34 weeks & 2 days! (Woe is me! ;)) Haley had a big noggin too of course, I don't think we could have a baby that didn't, but it sounds like Dylan's might be even larger. I just keep telling myself that big heads are good, more room for brains!

We head back in 2 weeks, and I'll also meet with my new hematologist, Dr. Cataland, for the first time that day. Hopefully after talking with him I'll be able to get my birth-plan in order. With Haley-bug I chose not to have an epidural, and after talking to Dr. Cataland I'll find out whether or not it would even be an option for me to have one if I wanted one this time around. (I'm hoping I won't, but it's good to know your options.) It finally feels like we're getting close to the big delivery day and meeting our sweet Dyl-pickle! We can't wait for late September/early October to get here and to meet our little girl!

Dylan's Sprinkle

Chadmo, Dylan, & Me (31 weeks pregnant) - posing next to the delicious & adorable carrot cake!

Some of the many onesie decorators at the party - we like to use our guests as slave labor to make our children's clothes! ;) Susie Klingelhafer & Kelly's fiance Jesse tied for first place in the decorating competition!

All of the decorated onesies & burp cloths on the clothesline after the party - Dylan will be well dressed!

A sample of some of the hand-decorated onesies. From right to left, these were made by: Poppy, Jess Steinbrink, & Tom Steinbrink. Tom's also had a Bob Dylan quote, "The times they are a changin'" stenciled over the butt - too clever!

Kelly didn't get a chance to make hers till I ran home and got more onesies after the party was over, but it's so cute I have to post it on here too. And this is just the back!

It was a lovely, sunny day filled with fun, friends, and tasty food - thank you so much for the wonderful 'sprinkle' Kelly, Katy, & Mom! And thank you to everyone who came to celebrate Dylan's upcoming arrival with us! :)

1 week recheck

We went in for our 1 week recheck yesterday, after our rather scary appointment last Monday, and our hopes and prayers were answered as we received all good news! Also, Dylan gained 1/2 a pound in 1 week and is up to 3 pounds & 9 ounces now!

Last week my amniotic fluid level had been 7.3, and this week it was back up to 10.5! Dr. Copeland told us this week (thank goodness he didn't tell us this last week), that an amniotic fluid level between 1-5 means you need to plan to deliver ASAP, between 5-10 means you're in a grey zone and need to be watching it like a hawk, and 10-25+ is within normal limits. He said ideally he likes to see numbers around 18, but 10.5 is at least back within the normal range even if it is very low normal. On a fun side note: the ultrasonographer who did my recheck yesterday was my favorite tech, and she did a brief 3-D ultrasound for us which was really cool. Unfortunately Dylan's umbilical cord is hanging out pretty much right in front of her face, so it made it hard to get a good clear picture of her face on the 3-D, but we got a glimpse anyway which was really fun to see! She's so cute already! :)

Dylan's non-stress test looked perfect again this time, like it did last time. She is a kicky, busy, rolly-polly loch ness monster! It's fun to get to listen to her heartbeat and all her movements for 20 minutes while they run the test. I know I can feel her moving all the time, but it's just cool to get to actually hear her moving around in there too, and hear how her heartbeat accelerates when she moves around - just like it's supposed to. They also managed to catch one of my contractions on the monitor during the NST, and her heart rate went up during my contraction which is good too they said. They just don't want her heart rate to go down when I contract, so that's good to know that she's tolerating my contractions well too.

As for my cervix, last Monday it was 25 mm long when I was relaxed and 21 mm long with pressure. This week it's still 25 mm long, but won't shorten to less than 24-23 with pressure. YAY! So in short: my fluid is better, though still low normal; my cervix is better, though still just 'okay'; and Dylan is still a very happy baby in her environment. All of this was good enough news so that we don't have to go back in for a recheck for 2 weeks now and Dr. Copeland seemed very relieved! I'm still supposed to be taking it easy and drinking lots of fluids, but I'm allowed to do a little bit more now, so long as I'm careful. Basically, if I'm doing something and I start having any Braxton-Hicks, then I just need to quit right away and go be a lazy lump again. So at least now I won't feel like a terrible mother if I attempt to do a load of laundry or make some dinner (though of course maybe I'll have to quit half way through, poor Chadmo.) Baby steps, but we're incredibly happy that we are better this week than we were last week!