Today, on the 2 year anniversary of my first miscarriage, was my 34 week check-up at the hospital - this time with a Doctor instead of the midwife. And guess what? It was a GREAT appointment! The female Doc was so down to earth and easy to chat to, I felt comfortable immediately. Last year on this date I cried as I recalled the horror of losing my baby; and this year there's such a feeling of excitement and joy within me. It's been quite a journey, but I'm so completely grateful to have reached this point.
Here's a quick run-down of the appointment:
- I firstly had a blood test to check on my iron levels since my last report was that my iron levels were a very low 8. I'll get the results back at my next appointment.
- My low-lying placenta is no longer low-lying. She confirmed that for me to have my placenta at 3cm from my cervix at week 31 means that I will not need a c-section. It will continue to rise up as my uterus grows, so there's no need to worry about it.
- We went through my expectations of a 'birth plan'. This kind of took me by surprise, as I didn't know when they'd ask me about this stuff. I told her that I didn't really have any major expectations other than to meet our baby boy after a safe arrival, I was just hapy to be guided through the whole process. She smiled and said that women who don't have major "musts" or "must nots" are far easier to manage in the labour ward because they don't have a rigid birth plan in place (and no one ever knows what might end up happening when it comes to labour/birth). So she went through a number of questions, which I was able to answer. We covered off how I felt about different pain relief methods; breast feeding; cutting the cord; and what to do with the placenta. She told me to eat some fruit or something light when I go into the early stages of labour because it could be 24 hours before I'm able to eat a meal and I'll need the energy.
- She got me up on the bed to check my belly and find out the position of the baby. I had to breathe in deeply, then breathe out while she pushed on my lower abdomen. She then told me that his head was definitely in the right position and is no longer breech! His bottom was on the right of my belly button, and his feet were to the left of my belly button. Great news! She measured my belly, and it's now 34.5cm from my pubic bone to the top of my belly, so we're spot on for 34 weeks.
- I stepped on the scales and weighed exactly the same weight as I was 3 weeks ago. That makes it about 6 - 8 weeks where my weight has remained the same! Remember when I thought there was something wrong with my crappy bathroom scales? Well it turns out that they're fine. I'm still 64.4kg (which means I've only put on 10.9kg so far during the pregnancy). The Doc said it just means that I've been losing weight during the pregnancy while the baby is putting on weight. Amazing. I certainly do not feel as though I've been losing weight. Everything about my body is softer and puffier than ever before.
- I asked a few questions about the length of stay in hospital for a normal birth Vs a c-section; and also about who would be in the room when I'm giving birth.... I am terrible at thinking up questions! These questions were neither important to me, nor interesting. I just felt like I needed to ask something.
- She then asked me if I needed a letter for my employer to say that I was able to continue working after 34 weeks. Now this WAS a bombshell for me. I didn't know that 34 weeks was often a cut-off point for employers to allow a pregnant lady remain at work. I asked the Doctor what was a 'normal' time for a woman to stop working, and she said that many finish up at 34 weeks! She then said that, it's more common to stop working about 2 weeks before the due date. This was all inconceivable to me! What the? I'm planning to work up until 18th June (when I'm due on 20th June). I work in an office and would rather get paid to do my job than be sitting at home and waiting and wondering when I will go into labour.
When I got to work after the check-up I asked my boss if she knew about her business insurance, and how it may be affected by my pregnancy after 34 weeks. She said she'd find out for me. The good thing is, my boss is also a friend and a Mum, so she personally has no issue with my decision to work up until 18th June. We just need to find out the legalities of it.
That's all for now - I'm completely exhausted after a fairly sleepless night last night (I woke up choking and coughing up acid reflux at 2am then couldn't get back to sleep). I'm going to have an early night tonight :-)
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What a great check-up! So happy to hear the low lying placenta is now just a REGULAR placenta! All great stuff.
ReplyDeleteEverything sounds great! I worked right up until I had both of my kiddos, so it seems strange to me to stop working so early too. Especially since I went overdue with both! I can't believe how close it is!
ReplyDeleteAnd on your last post... I went,in,with my only goal to try to have the baby vaginally, with both. It was the best thing as my first delivery was chock full of interventions. I look bavk and feel it was a great.experience even with them and a long labor, and I know it's because I didn't set up too many expectations for the labor and delivery.