Our 28 week appointment went well (for the most part...). The baby is growing nicely, although the fundal height (measurement of my uterus used to estimate the growth of the baby) is 2-3 weeks behind. This is completely normal, and could be because the baby is small for it's gestational age or even because I have a long torso or am carrying so low. The movements have changed from kicking and poking to more rolling, shifting and stretching. We're now able to see the baby move and have noticed a response to Gerhard's voice at the end of the day. The first few minutes when Papa is talking (usually in German) the baby really gets excited and moves around.
I'm trying to keep up with the baby and stay as active as I can tolerate. My team at work moved from the 11th floor down to the 4th floor, and I'm happy to report that in 5 weeks, I've only taken the elevator twice. The additional weight in front hasn't slowed me down too much. I'm still walking, pool jogging, lifting, doing yoga and even playing a little tennis (Coach Posch's supervision, of course).
Back to the doctor's appointment... The one concern was my gluclose screening. Between 24 and 28 weeks, a routine gestational diabetes test is performed (3-5% of pregnant women develop diabetes during pregnancy). So I had to down 50 grams of glucose and an hour later my blood was drawn to measure my blood sugar levels. They came back slightly over the recommended limit, so I had to spend a good 4 hours at the Diagnostic Center this past Saturday for further screening. This time, my fasting levels were taken, then I had to drink 100 g of a glucose (probably more sugar than I usually have in a week!) and my levels were taken at 30 minutes and then every hour for three hours. Other than the inital drinking of the solution, the test wasn't that bad. I had time to catch up on some reading and I made real progress on a blanket I'm making for the baby.
Needless to say, this blood test has been in the back of my mind for a week now. I was even considering limiting my fruit intake! During my pregnancy, fruit is one thing that I cannot get enough of. And with my middle name being ice cream, I couldn't bare to think about doing without our "monthly" yogurt treats. Well, today I got good news; the worrying was a waste (as it usually is). My results can back: all 5 blood draws were safely under the limit of being at risk for diabetes. Phew! If that's the hardest part of this pregnancy, I'll take it!
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| A little more than 28 weeks with the nursery furniture |
In more good news, we're heading to Colorado for the weekend for my brother's wedding! We are all so happy for Michael, and we couldn't have asked for a better young lady to welcome into our family!!! Congrats Michael and Mallory!!! We'll also be celebrating Gerhard's birthday on Sunday. It will be a weekend full of celebrating!
