The Third Trimester Begins

Yesterday, Drew, the baby and I had our 28 week appointment.  This marks a pretty big milestone in pregnancy because it's the start of the third and final trimester- the home-stretch.  In about three more months we will be holding our first child!

But before that happens, medical professionals like to test new parents-to-be by having them go through a series of challenges.  The first 28-week challenge was one I'd heard about from formerly-pregnant friends and relatives, who must have satisfied the medical professionals' standards because they are all now parents.  It's called the gestational diabetes screening.  For some women, hormones in pregnancy cause insulin resistance, which makes it harder to process sugar.  The test requires drinking an extremely sweet, tang-like drink, waiting an hour, and then giving away some of your blood so they can send it to a lab. (one of my very least favorite things)

From all of the accounts I'd heard, I was expecting to have to chug some sort of disgusting concoction that would be hard to keep down.  Maybe it's because I was an avid kool-aide drinker as a child, or because when given the choice my regular diet would consist of 90 percent sugar, but I found the drink absolutely delicious!  It was no problem to defeat challenge #1: disgusting drink, and move on to the second challenge which I believe was specifically designed for people who defeated the first with too much ease, and have a paralyzing fear of needles.

My blood type is A negative. That means it doesn't have something called an RH factor, which I would try to explain more specifically if the last biology class I'd taken was more recent than 10 years ago.  Basically, if my blood mixes with my baby's blood (like during labor) my body would see it as a foreign body and attack it. Usually this doesn't pose a problem with a first child, but could impact all subsequent pregnancies.  How do the medical professionals fix it?  By sticking a big needle in my right hip.  While Drew's hand may be a little worse for the wear from my grip during the RhoGAM shot, I defeated the second task.

The great thing about this challenge-laden appointment is the ultrasound.  I'm still amazed at what technology allows us to see and hear in there.  This week, our baby boy is measuring about a week ahead of schedule at 3lbs 2oz.  After 14 weeks, all babies grow at their own pace so this doesn't mean he will come out a week early, although I wouldn't protest.

Drew and I got to see his brain, his spine, the bones in his legs, and other indicators of his growth that all show he's a healthy baby.  He's in the correct position for labor, so we hope he stays that way for the next three months.

While we were looking around in there, our baby boy showed a little of his personality, knocking right back at the ultrasound tech with his tiny balled up fists, and even smiling a little, which we tried to catch in this 3-d image.  Seeing his face for the first time only makes me want to meet him sooner, but we'll let him cook a little while longer.