33 Weeks

Fruit of the Week
I went to the store but was unable to purchase a pineapple. So this pic will have to do. Really hard to believe that I have a being the size of a pineapple in my abdomen. The most precious pineapple I've ever known, I must say.



As I have mentioned before I am considered a "high risk" pregnancy and with that label comes much testing. We have had so many ultrasounds, I think that I have lost count. About 6 weeks ago we had an ultrasound. During that US they noticed that there was fluid in the baby's kidneys. They wanted to check me in 4 weeks to see the progress. The progress four weeks later was that both kidneys increased in size with fluid. Two weeks after that, which was last thursday's appt, they observed that the left kidney had doubled in size but the right kidney had contracted and the urine was emptied. While the US was happening the baby actually emptied its bladder so that was a good sign that there was not blockage out of the bladder. If the bladder is emptying properly then the amniotic fluid stays stable. When the amniotic fluid is stable normal growth can occur. So why is there fluid in the kidneys, you ask? They believe that there is some sort of blockage. Now they wont know where the blockage is until after baby is born. It could be in several places..the 'valve' leaving the kidney, the urethra may be block or twisted, or the 'valve' going into the bladder could be blocked. I was sent to see the same specialist in DSM that I have seen before just for some extra professional judgement. At that appointment today we learned, again, that there is nothing that can be done while baby is in utero and it will need to be monitored closely both now and when baby arrives. Some times babies will stretch out while in utero and the blockage can open and release that fluid. In other cases there may need to be a procedure done when baby is here to open things up. We are trusting the Creator in all of this and praying that by his hand baby will develop normally.

While at our appointment today they also did some measurements. They found that baby's head is now measuring that of a 38 week old fetus and baby is weighing in at about 6lbs! Oh my stars!! I have roughly 7 weeks left and have been told that baby can gain about a 1/2 pound each week. Wowza! We have a big baby on our hands. The other thing we learned today was that baby has HAIR!!!!

Yeah...Lisa..HAIR! My sister was fully convinced that since I was not having heartburn like she did that my baby would be bald. We have pictures to prove that is not true. Baby's hair was literally flowing in the US. It was comical. We loved every minute of it.
Now our understanding has been that there will be no need to take baby early because of the kidney condition but according to the measurments baby might come early because of other things! :)I will be going now twice a week, because I'm considered High Risk, to have baby's heart rate and movement measured over a twenty minute period. Then it will be followed by an ultrasound to measure the amnionic fluid and to monitor the left kidney. I am so thankful that I am not having to manage my classroom and all of these appointments or this mama might have very well lost her mind by now!! Thank you LORD!

Another joy of pregnancy has been the changes in my body. I developed a little sore on my knee around the fourth of July. I was watching it and noticed that it was getting bigger and turing red. While I was at the State Fair I accidently bumped that sore and it bled all over the place. I couldn't get it to stop bleeding and ended up with it all over my jean capris. While I was at the OB the following week, she told me that it was similar to a Blood Blister. She encouraged me to go see my PA and have it removed. So I scheduled an appointment with my PA a few days later. After my PA and a MD's observation they felt that I needed to go see a local surgeon to have it removed. They shared that the blister was being supported by a blood vessel and if not done properly I would bleed all over. So I scheduled an appointment with the local surgeon only for her to affirm what the past 3 physcians had shared that it was a blood blister and it was pregnancy induced.

She encouraged me just to leave it and it would diminish after birth. I told her that I was tired of wearing bandaides over it and I was truly afraid I would be out somewhere and have it bleed all over. So she agreed to take it off, but I needed to schedule another appointment to have that done. :( Seriously?!!! So 4 appointments later, it is finally removed..TODAY.