Week 29

After the excitement of the ultrasound last week, there's not much to report this week. I'm feeling more and more pregnant every day and getting some of the not-so-fun effects of that. Sleep has been less than good, at best. I just can't get comfortable in any position and Baby always seems to wake up start a dance party in my belly right as I'm trying to go to sleep. His movement doesn't really bother me, but it does worry me that he has his days and nights confused, which I hope can be remedied once he's out in the real world (and I'm sure this is laughable to you moms reading this!).

And speaking of movement, Baby has been going crazy lately! The movements are continuing to increase and getting a little more uncomfortable. He has taken to pushing his butt up into my ribs so that I can't get a full breath or sit up straight. It's a good thing my office chair leans back so that I can stretch out a little bit and try and create some more space! And if his butt isn't in my ribs it's usually a foot - but I've learned to push back a bit and he gets the point and will most of the time move whatever body part is lodged in my ribs.

I start having Dr. appointments every 2 weeks now, so we've got another one at our 30 Week appt, which is Tuesday June 2. This will also start a new phase of monitoring the baby a little more closely. We'll be getting something calling a Biophysical Profile. According to the American Pregnancy Association, a Biophysical Profile (BPP) combines an ultrasound evaluation with a nonstress test and is intended to determine fetal health during the third trimester. It is not a common test, but is common for high risk pregnancies (which mine is because of diabetes). Here is what their website says:

There are two parts to the BPP, a Non-stress Test (NST) and an ultrasound evaluation.

The NST involves attaching one belt to the mother’s abdomen to measure fetal heart rate, and another belt to measure contractions. Movement, heart rate and “reactivity” of heart rate to movement are measured for 20-30 minutes. If the baby does not move for a time during the test, it does not mean there is a problem; the baby may be asleep. A nurse may use a small “buzzer” to wake the baby for the remainder of the test.

The ultrasound portion of the test is like any other obstetrical ultrasound performed during pregnancy and is performed by a qualified ultrasound technician who is usually overseen by a perinatologist. The ultrasound may take up to an hour, and the technician will watch for a variety of signs that are important in measuring the health of your baby.

So I'm not sure how often we'll get these, but I think it will be every 2 weeks from here on out. I hate that I'm high risk and have to get stuff like this, but at the same time it will be great to get extra monitoring on the baby and make sure everything is going ok. Plus ultrasounds are a great way for us to bond with the baby, especially for Griffin since he can't feel every kick and movement like I can. We'll let you know how it goes!

Weekly Pics:

Another top down view

And this week is a butternut squash. Baby should be 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 pounds and 15 1/2 - 16 1/4 inches long, however as of last week he was already 3 pounds. Way to go son, already ahead of the curve!