Friday morning I had my appointment with the Perinatal Specialist to have an ultrasound done. The ultrasound itself went rather well. The Sonographer showed us Bean's foot was much bigger than at the 20 week ultrasound! (I'm 29 weeks now). She also confirmed that he was no longer breech, which I could have told you after getting a few rib nudges! He has gained 15 oz in the past two weeks which was pretty startling to hear! And fortunately his heart looked good to both the Sonographer and the Doctor. They did say that I have low amniotic fluid again. It's very very low, 4.4 cm. At this point in pregnancy an average woman has 14.5 cm of fluid give or take. So again I have what's called Oligohydramnios.
The reason for it can vary. Anything from my water breaking or leaking, to dehydration to baby's kidneys not working properly. I am drinking as much water as I can a day, a minimum of 3 Liters and I get to go back next week for a follow-up appointment. If there's no improvement I could be admitted.
There are real risks with low amniotic fluid. My biggest concern is cord compression, facial deformities in the baby and the risk of baby getting stuck in the birth canal during delivery. There is a reason why you need a certain level of fluid, that's for sure. My biggest worry is not being able to deliver and having a Cesarean. I want to avoid that as much as I can.
That morning was pretty stressful. The Doctor sat us down and outlined a few things for us, and told me to pack a suitcase for my next visit. I left the Hospital in a daze and spent a good while crying on the way to lunch. I admit that all of these doctors appointments are getting a little hard to handle. There's always something wrong it seems. All I want to know is if I am going to have a healthy baby Boy at the end or not.
For Lunch I really surprised myself and didn't binge. Believe me, when you're emotional, pregnant and you've just gotten bad news it's like a right to binge as much as you like. Well I didn't! Dan and I went to Montana', which is a restaurant we don't have at home. I got the coolest salad!
Grilled Chicken Watermelon Feta Salad
There where spicy pecans, watermelon, cucumber, feta, lettuce, chicken, balsamic glaze with a kiwi lime dressing! How neat! It tasted really good, the feta wasn't salty which would have ruined it in my opinion. Unfortunately because it's a summer feature there was no nutrition information. There where lots of pecans so I'm pretty sure it was higher in calories, but it was yummy!
We spent the afternoon doing a bit of shopping, then headed back to the hospital for my afternoon appointment with the Fetal Echo Cardiologist. They use an ultrasound machine, but instead the ultrasound is performed by a Doctor who specializes in Fetus' hearts and I'm guessing circulatory system too. The first doctor had a really tough time seeing anything so he had to switch wands a few times. Eventually he called in another Doctor to help him. After about 15 minutes I started to get very hot and nauseous and sweating everywhere so I had to get up. Once the second doctor took over it happened again but I also started getting panicky too. It was a really terrible experience.
I realized afterwards that during this whole pregnancy I've never had a Male doctor, and specifically I've never had a male doctor poke and prod at my stomach let alone two in the same room. The first doctor had me hold up my stomach fat while he did the ultrasound. Dan told me later that if he touched my skin he would stop and wipe off his hands every time. I felt very very ugly and demoralized. The second doctor was better but it still was a bit much to handle.
In the end they found nothing wrong with Beans heart and it was no longer skipping beats. Either because I have cut out caffeine or because he outgrew it, they're not sure which. So that means I still have to avoid caffeine until after birth just so it doesn't happen again. Did you know that some forms of Tylenol have caffeine? It's insane the amount of items have caffeine in them!
This blog has taken a serious turn from a weight loss blog to a personal blog unrelated to weight, fitness or nutrition. I am still counting calories, it has wavered on really bad days and I have even binged on the worst of days. It is stress bingeing absolutely. This has been a stressful 7 months and my diet didn't go through it unscathed, however I'm so grateful for the healthy habits I already had in place. Even if I didn't count calories for a whole day in my journal I was always mentally calculating calories, almost always picking smaller portions of "bad" foods, and noting how I felt emotionally before and after I ate.
A few weeks ago I looked in the mirror and noticed that my neck and chin where bigger than a few months ago and I flipped out. I haven't gained a ton of weight this pregnancy a little more than I would like but my occasional bingeing was as clear as the fat on my face. That was the kick I needed to get back to writing in my journal everyday No. Matter. What.
Remember how I mentioned my Food.ee box, and how it was being replaced because of a broken jar? Well it arrived today!
This is last months box, but the Chocolate Hazelnut Butter had broken open and there was oil and gunk everywhere so they replaced the whole box for me!
Here are the Contents:
Hemp Hearts
Raspberry Lemonade
Freeze Dried strawberries and bananas
Chocolate Hazelnut Butter
Kind Granola Bar
Gummy Bears
Dried Mango
Dehydrated Plantain chips
Corn puffs
Coconut Cream and chocolate Bliss ball
Vitamin C Lollipops
Gluten free crackers
I've tried everyone of these items except for the butter and I like them all! Dan and I are very interested in the Hemp Hearts. They're high in healthy fats and protein and relatively low in calories. They also have a nicer taste than flax and lower in carbohydrates too. If you have kids the Vitamin C pops are delicious and pack 300% of your Vitamin C into one pop.
These are the best kind of treats to get when you don't feel like going to the store! Instead you go to the pantry and you have to have something relatively healthy! I hope to post more soon. My July box should be in tomorrow!
