I'm almost a week overdue on this post. I have made some progress on the quilt I'm making for bub, but I still have plenty to do on it. I have Tupperware to pack up and deliver. The nursery is a little better, but still has a heap of stuff in it that needs relocating. I have managed to pack my hospital bag, but it needs repacking since it's missing half my stuff. My house is a mess and baby isn't even here yet. Ok, I'll stop now.
We have had another visit with Dr D. Not a whole lot to report there, but our next visit will be looking at our birth plan. Which is good, since we are getting pretty close now. I don't need anything concrete, just an idea of what she is thinking/planning. Concrete birth plans are a total waste of energy anyway, babies never do what they are meant/expected to do! Still, a rough idea would be good. We had our next scan the same day. They said they were scanning regularly to make sure baby is growing properly. Yeah a small baby isn't the issue here. This thing is huge! It's head is in the 95th percentile (it's really big ok, don't make me explain percentiles right now) and all the other measurements read 2-3 week ahead of the date we got at the dating scan. So I'm hoping either the dating scan was off, or baby decided to come a couple of weeks early. Our scan was at 32 weeks, but baby was weighing 2.6kg (6 pounds) already! They usually get to that weight at about 35 weeks. Thank you Tim, for your big head and generally large frame.
While we were at the hospital, we also went up to the post natal ward again, to see about access for me and bub. It looks like I'll be in a room by myself which is pretty sensible, since those rooms are crowded without trying to fit a wheelchair in them too. With my bathroom habits (I say that like I have a choice in the matter), sharing a bathroom would really suck for any roommate I had too. So, room by myself, and they are going to get me one of the bigger high-adjustable cots from the nursery, with drop down sides. This can come up beside the bed and work as a co-sleeper, so I can get bub out without having to get out of bed, much like the bassinet I have at home, except the hospital one has wheels. We also spoke about what I'll need in the way of equipment. If things go as I hope, then I'll need a shower bench, which is easily fixed. If I am in a really bad way and unable to transfer independently, I might find I need a hoist and camode chair for bathrooming, so we have them on standby if needed.
The lactation consultant also saw us while we were up there (I'm guessing the wheelchair gave me away). I'd asked for the referral to her, since I'd read somewhere in my research that para mums with an injury level above T6 could have issues breastfeeding due to a lack of stimulation. I'd become less concerned about this over the last couple of months, since my boobs don't seem to have any problems with that! Talking to the consultant though, it was T3 that effects that level, but milk production is not controlled by the nervous system anyway, so spinal cord injury should have very little effect on milk supply. I guess we will find out!
As is to be expected, I am continuing to stretch and grow. My big belly is making things awkward, like getting in and out of my chair/bed/car. I've had to change where I do my clexane injections, since there's no fat left in the middle of my belly to poke it into. It's making my stomach massage harder to do, which is part of the reason I'm spending so much time stuck on the loo. While I don't really feel baby move in the way you usually do, I can definitely understand why some women complain they feel like a washing machine when I've got my hands on my belly and baby is going round and round and round and round. It's certainly running short on space in there! I've got myself a pair of maternity jeans a size up, to accommodate for my belly and all the fluid in my legs and, well, everywhere! I had a bit of a nervous moment the other day when I felt a big lump on my leg. Swelling is a sign of deep vein thrombosis. In my case, it was just a big bubble of fluid (I had one the same spot on the other leg) and it went down over night.
I've also done a wheelchair upgrade. No, up size. This isn't an upgrade. I have borrowed an old demo chair, which fits me well sideways, but is much too big in the front, so I keep crashing into, well, everything. It's also so wide that I have to squeeze into the laundry. For some reason I fit into every room except the laundry and second bathroom. I guess Tim will have to clean that one. Actually, to be fair to him, he does anyway. So if I need to get into either of those rooms, it's watch out for my knuckles! Tim has been playing around and is making me a new set of side guards for my farm chair, so hopefully they work and I can use that chair, which does actually me in the front and my legs, so I shouldn't lose my feet so often, and maybe I'll crash less.
There are several para specific side effects that can arise during pregnancy. While I haven't yet had any UTI's, the most common of said side effects, I have got a pressure sore. It's a small one, but it's on my butt, which makes it kind of hard for me to monitor. It's also an area that's at high risk of infection, so I've been through a dose of antibiotics already. Having had a few burns over the years, I'm pretty good at wound management, but since I can't see this one, I'm relying a bit more than usual on my GP and nurses. I've only got 6 weeks left before baby is due (actually it's closer to 5 now, since I'm late posting this week) so I'm not loving my chances of having this healed up before then. My main concern is knowing how easily you can get infections such as staph in hospital, which could be a total disaster from my butts point of view. But we have had a bit of practise at getting these things sorted, so hopefully we can keep on top of it and be most of the way there by the time bub arrives. The other good thing is that it's not located on the sitting part of my bum, so I'm not restricted to bed rest. It kind of looked like a graze, so it could have been from dodgy transfers, but I really don't know.
I have got to the point where it is almost impossible to find a bra to fit me. I had enough trouble finding comfy bras that fit well and didn't mark before I got pregnant. Having gone up about 3-4 cup sizes, that has become basically impossible. I can't find anything in Launceston, so I'm down to two bras that fit. Oh, except the strap buckle thing has broken on one of them! So really, one. So I did something that I never do. I ordered some bras online. I got three, one is fabulously comfy, the other two I've sent back as they are too small. If the don't fit, I'll cut my losses, but either way, I'll be ordering more of the one I'm wearing! It's basically a maternity sports bra and feels amazing. I never found sports bras this comfy when I was playing ball...
I also went and stocked up on some comfy clothes for post birth. I accidentally did something really smart and got a zip up hoodie, rather than a pull over one like I usually wear, which will be much easier to wear while I'm breastfeeding. It totally went over my head when I was in Target, but since they didn't have any pull over ones, I just got what they had. Never mind that I went and bought button up pj's 2 minutes later, so that I could feed wearing them. Clearly, I was having a good day!
My energy levels are right down again. I'm sleeping about 10-12 hours a night and usually only wake up once, but I'm not sure how deep my sleep is, since I'm so tired. It could also be related to my haemoglobin levels. I'll find out about that this week.
Tim went and got his boosters this week, flu vaccine in one arm, whooping cough in the other. Except when you get a whooping cough booster (if you're not pregnant) it comes with bonus things, like tetanus, which makes for a pretty nasty vaccine. Poor Tim was feeling pretty miserable for a day or so afterwards! His shoulder is also starting to feel a bit worse for wear as the cortisone wears off, so he will probably need another dose of that soon.
I think that about covers the last few weeks. Until next time!
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