28 Weeks

Earlier this week, my back started hurting.. and kept hurting. It was a crampy constant feeling, one I didn't remember having with either of my other kids. I was going to wait to see if it continued another day but then remembered it was my midwife's day off, so I called to ask about it & they wanted me to come in & get checked out. The weather was pretty crappy, and I did not want to go at all! I told her I really didn't want to unless I had to, and they said they'd feel more comfortable if I came in. They checked for a UTI or early labor, but neither seemed to be the case (thank goodness!). She thinks the baby is just lying a weird way, and she showed me some pictures and how it can affect the back. It continued hurting for a day or so after that but then went away.

The midwife went ahead & went over things as a regular appointment, so I was able to cancel the one for next week and reschedule for the week after. I'd gained NO weight over the last two weeks, which included Thanksgiving, so I thought that was pretty amazing! I'm really pretty happy with my weight gain overall so far. I've gained 21 lbs at 28 weeks pregnant. I know some people gain very little, but with my first I gained over 50 & with my second, I gained over 40. This one puts me on target for around 33.. If so, this will be my first time within the recommended range! I really credit that to knowing a WHOLE lot more about food and eating much healthier than I ever have before AND to all the walking we were able to do at the beginning of the pregnancy.

Everything else looked great and at first she thought the baby could be head down and in exactly the position I was thinking of... but then the heartbeat was very loud at the top of my stomach, so she wasn't sure. She said we'll schedule the sono at my next appointment, so it should be in about a month. I brought up how baby's can change position at any time, and she said that's true but that we could look at fluid and things like that to see if baby would be likely to turn or not. I did tell her that we've decided on trying for a VBAC. This means I'll have to leave their practice because they're not allowed to do them. We talked about the doctor that's closest to me and my concerns. She knows others who have had VBACs there and had great experiences. She also recommended having a doula, which I will have (and I do agree, it should definitely help!). The two main risk factors I've come across for uterine rupture are single versus double stitching during the c-section and where the placenta is lying. She wasn't sure what stitching I had but looked at my last sono and the placenta was up high, which is perfect.

On my way home, two people had wrecked- one had flipped completely over. There were tons of ambulances and police cars. I'm so thankful it wasn't me! It did make me think about the fact that anything can happen at any moment, though, and that while I'm scared of having a VBAC, I'd be scared of childbirth in any case, just as I have a certain amount of fear on any day that something could happen to any of us. I just have to believe what's meant to be will happen.

Aeson's changed his behavior recently about the pregnancy. He was always lovey and interested before, just like his brother, but now he doesn't want to talk about the baby, he doesn't want us looking at my tummy, etc. In looking back at prior diary entries, I saw that Westen began acting weird around this same point with Aeson's pregnancy (not wanting to ever be home!). They must sense that it's getting closer or something.

Completely unrelated, Westen's teacher made each child a chain as a countdown to Christmas and on each piece of the chain is a different activity to do. We've had a lot of fun doing them, and I really appreciate her taking the time to make it! Some of the things have included making a card for someone at school, making an ornament to hang in the window (we made snowflakes instead b/c they'd already painted ornaments a couple weeks ago), cleaning his room, and tonight we wrote a letter to Santa. He had me write all the things he wants and about all the times he's been good and bad! He said he thought Santa would bring him presents if he was honest! :)