27 Weeks

How Far Along: 27 weeks

Weight Gain: 20 pounds

Aches, pains and other: My back is starting to ache at the end of the day so I'm taking baths every night. I assume this will continue until February. More concerning is that I occasionally get a second of the sciatica that brought me to my knees at the end of my last pregnancy. I am terrified of that coming back.

Milestones: 85% chance of survival if he was born today. ::knock on wood::

This picture is actually from Saturday but I decided to put up a picture that proves I can actually look decent and don't always look like hammered shit.

27 weeks!! By some guidelines that is the third trimester. I generally consider 28 weeks to be the start of the 3T though, so I have one more week to go.

I had an OB appointment this morning that included my glucose challenge to test for gestational diabetes but did not include any mention from my doctor about the fact that for the second month in a row I gained 8 freaking pounds. I guess they know that pregnancy weight gain has it's own pattern for everyone. I'm onto appointments every 2 weeks now and that really hit home that I am no longer newly pregnant but actually entering late pregnancy. Holy Moly!

The appointment also included a real discussion on my decision to VBAC. He is so supportive and encouraging. He told me that they won't put a deadline on me and that we won't even start discussing Plan B until at least 41 weeks. He gave me a 60-80% chance of success if I go into labor on my own.

I am so encouraged. I've read so many stories from women who's OB's are not at all supportive of their decision to VBAC and do everything to set them up for failure. Given that my OBs let me try to induce for 4 days last time around before calling for the knife, I truly believe that they understand that vaginal birth is the most preferable choice.

I still have so much to do. The baby has almost no clothing. I still need to sign up for the newborn diaper rental, my toddler needs a new bed so that the baby can have a crib. We need a new stroller but that is a post in itself.

19 weeks

How far: 19 weeks
Weight gained: 6 pounds according to my scale. 4 according to the doctors
What's happening? Baby is growing, moving. I'm really starting to notice a change in my gait.

Doctor visit this morning. Nothing exciting to report. I did get the go ahead for a VBAC assuming my body knows how to go into labor. So, yay!. I really don't savor the idea of recovering from a c-section while trying to care for a toddler and newborn. I can't lie, I also just really want that birth experience.

All the water, I took on last week went away this weekend. Just in time for my Dr. visit weigh-in. My last weigh in was inflated by the salty movie popcorn I had eaten the day before. As a result I weighed in today at the same weight I did last appointment. The reality is that I gained about 2 lbs over the last month. Which is perfect. I'm really aiming for about .5 lb per week. That is plenty for the baby without adding to my already ample fat reserves. My Dr. is pleased with my weight thus far. All of my stats were good and despite being 38 and "elderly", I am having a perfectly healthy pregnancy. Just like my last "elderly" pregnancy.

7 days until the big ultrasound!!!! Pink or Blue?

Planning the escape route

For anyone who doesn't know the birth story for my daughter, the quick version goes like this: 4 days of induction resulting in less than 3cm dilation and a c-section. 6 nights in hospital, 2.5 hours before I held baby for first time, 5 days for my milk to come in. The long version is here.

It was not the nicely medicated, textbook birth that I had envisioned. I honestly didn't give the possibility of a c-section any thought because if there is one thing the women in my family can do well it is push out babies.  I secretly thought that if I really wanted to I could do it without an epidural. That's how badass at delivering I thought I would be.

I was wrong.

But now I have a second chance. At my first doctor's appointment this pregnancy at 7 weeks, my doctor brought up the possibility of a VBAC. I said I couldn't think that far into the future. And that was true, at that point I was only focused on the keeping the little pea sized embryo in it's cozy home through the first trimester.

Now that I have managed that goal, I have begun thinking about how I'm going to get this kid out of me when the time comes. I previously thought that you couldn't go overdue and still have a VBAC, but I was wrong. That really opens up the door for me (I can't envision me going into labor before 420 weeks). The more I think about it and research it, I really, really want this).

This gives me a little added motivation to limit my weight gain and work on toning on flexibility. Excess weight can hinder chances for a successful VBAC and extra muscle is useful for pushing large parasites out of your ladyhole.

So that's my goal for February. That mean accepting that I likely won't have a baby before my 39th birthday on the 11th. It means considering my due date to be February 20th instead of the 6th. It means 6 months of worrying that maybe my body doesn't know how to go into labor. And 6 months of hoping that it does.