It’s only been a couple of weeks since I did my last update but this one will be slightly different and most definitely the last…
Week – I am now 38+5 weeks and officially into single figures of only 9 days until our due date. I can now officially say that we are not going to make it to our due date!
As everyone predicted, this little baby is coming early…like soon!
Here’s my 38 week bump picture taken last Thursday, I am hoping to snap my 39 week photo this week if all goes according to plan…
So here’s what’s been happening – It feels like it all started last Tuesday when I caught Freshers Flu. No I’m not a student, but my husband works at the University and he caught it the week before. He was able to take all the medicine he could get and it only stuck around for a couple of days. Then it hit me…like a truck!
Obviously all of the flu drugs are not an option for me and I’m so grateful I had the flu jab at the start of my pregnancy otherwise it could have been so much worse. I felt awful, truly rotten for about 5 days with only paracetamol and increased fluids to help. I was pretty miserable to be around too, sorry Kev!
I started to feel a little better at the weekend but that’s when I noticed that baby wasn’t kicking as much as usual. Since being at home and getting more rest she has been so active. Mostly when I am sat watching TV or just after I’ve eaten but on Saturday it just didn’t feel right.
Emergency Scans – We headed to the hospital at 9pm for a CTG scan to see if everything was alright. As is always the case, she perked up as soon as they put the machine on her. As we are so far along and had been to see them a few weeks prior with the same concerns they insisted we have a growth ultrasound to check everything was ok with her growth and organs.
The scan was booked for today but that also meant I had to go back on Sunday and Monday for further CTG scans to check her heart beat and movements before they could scan me. Everything went perfectly at these scans so I expected today’s ultrasound to be a bit of a waste of nurses’ time as I was convinced I was just over reacting on Saturday.
Growth Ultrasound – Turns out I wasn’t over reacting at all. Although baby is measuring just right and is a healthy 7.3lbs there was a reduced amount of fluid than expected. The sonographer even asked if my waters had already broken? I was sure I would have noticed this but apparently it’s not always as obvious as you think.
It was so difficult to see anything on the ultra sound machine, baby is too big to fit in the viewing window and it’s really just blobs and shapes but the sonographer pointed out her heart, stomach, kidneys and bladder all working just as they should.
We were referred to a consultant to check on my fluid levels and whilst she was happy that baby is in no immediate danger they don’t want to wait for me to go into labour naturally as this could take another couple of weeks if I go over due.
We’re not entirely sure why my fluid levels are low but the consultant believes that the weekends reduced movements and this fluid situation are linked. Her theory is that baby isn’t getting enough nutrients from my placenta and so she isn’t weeing as much as she should, this is leading to the low fluid. Equally, if she’s not getting enough nutrition, she’s not moving as much because she’s conserving energy.
It all sounds so scary but we’ve been assured that if there was a real concern baby would have been delivered immediately.
Induction – At the consultants request I am going to be induced on Friday! Oh my god, that is this week!
We will be 6 days ahead of our due date when we go into hospital on Friday but I’ve been warned that an induction can take several hours or days so we’re not sure exactly when she will arrive yet.
I am keeping hopeful that I won’t need to have all the endless drugs and hormone drips or resort to a c-section but I’ve been warned to prepare for it.
Final pregnancy figures:
Week – hopefully I will make it to 39 weeks but not quite to 40 weeks.
Weight – As of Monday (my last weigh in before going into hospital) I have gained a total of 39.5lbs since finding out we were expecting. This quite a shocking number to me but it’s just below 40lbs which is nice and works out at about 2.8stone added over all which actually isn’t too bad. I’m quite excited to find out how much will drop off in the first few days and weeks after birth.
Overall Symptons – I’ve been so so lucky, yes I’ve had horrible back ache and swollen legs and feet but other than the general discomfort of carrying around an extra human and an additional 2.8stone in weight I’ve been fine. I’m so grateful to have been able to enjoy being pregnant without being plagued by sickness and I really feel for ladies who suffer badly with it.
Here’s a little comparison for you, my first baby bump photo versus my most recent…
So, I’m not going to pretend I’m not totally shocked and a little bit terrified about being induced on Friday. I knew labour was imminent but now there’s a start date it feels so real and so soon. Most likely by this time next week we will have our little baby girl with us and be a family of three at last…
Rachel xx
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