Monday, May 07, 2012

28 weeks

I used to get so annoyed when IF bloggers would get pregnant and then drop off the face of the planet. And here I am doing the same thing. The truth is, this whole "normal pregnancy" thing is almost a little boring even to me, so I'm having a hard time finding anything interesting to say about it.

But to bring you all up to speed...at the end of March I had another ultrasound to double check the baby's spine (they couldn't get a good view of it at the anatomy scan), and all looked good. Growth was on track and the tech double checked the sex for me (definitely a boy). Bonus cootercam u/s to check cervical length, which was something like 4.9 cm, so still looking great. I got a mild warning about weight gain (I had gained 6 lbs instead of the recommended 4 in 4 weeks) but everything looked good.

With the confirmation that this baby is, indeed, a boy (and I have the picture to prove it), I've been sorting through and giving away all of Bat Girl's girly clothes from the last 5 years. It's been hard--I now understand why my mom still has some of my Florence Eisemann dresses from the '70s tucked away in the attic. Even a little flimsy cheap Old Navy outfit brings back memories of BG wearing it, and I have to admit that I still cling to a vision of that second little girl that I thought I would have. Honestly, if I could guarantee another girl I would almost go for a third child--but I can say that another kid is 99% not going to happen for us, especially given our ages and financial situation AND the fact that I never want to go through fertility treatment again.

Anyway, luckily we have several little girls in our lives ranging in age from 6 weeks to 4 years old, so I know all the hand-me-downs are going to people who appreciate them. And we're getting boatloads of boy hand-me-downs in return, sweet little onesies with sailboats and dinosaurs on them and striped rompers that almost make up for the lack of little flowered dresses.

A week and a half ago (27 weeks) I had my 1-hour glucose test, which I passed, but it was discovered that I'm mildly anemic, so I'm taking iron supplements and eating hamburgers. That was also my first-ever OB appointment with NO ultrasound whatsoever--so bizarre! Never fear, next week I'm getting another scan to check growth (with the unicornuate uterus, we need to make sure there's no IUGR or other growth issues) and one more cervical measurement.

I'm firmly convinced that Baby Brother (as we've been calling him; turns out we are having a lot of trouble coming up with a boy's name) is and has consistently been breech, based on the movement I've been feeling. But my OB says it's still too early to tell, and she won't make the official call as to whether a repeat c-section is required until 33 or 34 weeks.

I'm torn about whether or not I actually want to attempt a VBAC, if that ends up being an option. The planner in me likes the idea of just having it all scheduled. And although the recovery from a vaginal birth is probably a lot easier, a c-section is a known quantity for me at this point. I'm not particularly wedded to the idea of having a "natural" birth experience--I made my peace with that long ago and I don't feel like I've missed out on something magical and important by not having had a vaginal birth.

And I don't want to try a VBAC and then end up with a c-section anyway, which is of course a significant possibility. If I'm really truly honest, deep down, I also don't want to fail at this. I've had enough breeding-related failures already. I feel vaguely guilty about not wanting a VBAC, or being chicken, or whatever this is. But I bet I'll get over it.

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