MFM visit @ 22 weeks, 4 days

Thursday, December 13, 2012

This past Tuesday I had my regularly scheduled MFM visit with my doctor.  No ultrasound this time, so I was in and out fairly fast.  My blood pressure was still fairly consistent with where it has been at every visit to that place, higher than normal.  Tuesday it was a little lower than it has been at their office at 136/66.  They tend to use the machine when I go there and then they sometimes follow up with the manual one.  The machine always has a much higher reading than the manual one.  I am not sure why that is.

The next order of business was checking my weight.  I made sure to shed every non-essential piece of clothing for this, which is something that I have never done before.  For the first time in my life, I weigh more than 130 lbs (134 lbs to be exact).  I know, for some that doesn't sound like a very high number, but for me, the life-long athlete, it not the easiest thing to see.  I asked the nursing assistant how that number measured and she laughed (hopefully not at me) and said it was somewhere in the middle.

After all of that fun ended, the doctor came right in, which is not normal.  He is normally the doctor on call in the hospital.  Usually I wait around for a while, but I guess that today was a slow day or something.  He came in with a medical student, which I agreed was fine.  He mentioned my thyroid and I let him know that I was seeing an Endocrinologist who was seeing me every 3 months, still had me on the 25 mcg. of Levothroxine, and at my last check at the end of October my TSH was 1.07.  We was happy with that and I impressed the medical student by knowing my exact numbers.

The doctor had me lay down and he checked on the baby with the hand-held ultrasound.  Wow was this guy active while we were there (and then for the rest of the day).  He punched and kicked all over.  We even saw my stomach moving from the outside again.  The baby's head was down and off to the right and his feet were up to the top left, which was where we saw most of the outside movement.  I mentioned the Doppler incident and he mentioned that he doesn't recommend those to his patients for the very reason that I got worried the other night.  He checked the heart and said that it looked healthy to him, be he also said that during this time it can get irregular occasionally since it is working so hard to help baby grow.  At this point in time, however, it was beating away normally.  Phew.

We talked briefly about my weight gain, at my request.  I asked him what he thought about it.  I am up about 14 lbs.  He said he would like me to gain 25 lbs.  I gulped.  Note sure how I managed to gain 14 lbs already after losing weight in the 1st trimester.  I am also not sure how I am going to be able to only gain 11 lbs more during the rest of this pregnancy.  Any one have any tips or advice?  I walk at least 4 days a week for at least 2-3 miles at a time.  Plus, I walk to and from the train on most days which is a little under 2 miles round trip.  I eat healthfully (for the most part).  No soda and not a lot of sweets.  My typical day consists of (M-F):

5:30 AM
high fiber cereal (a God send)
fruit (usually a banana, berries, or an apple)
orange juice w/ calcium & vitamin D
water

8:30 AM
S.iggi's yogurt
berries
water

11:30 AM
leftovers from dinner or a salad
water

1:30 PM
fruit
Kind Bar
water

5:00 PM
hand full of trail mix
or
cheese and crackers
water

7:30 PM
chicken or fish (usually)
veggies
rice or quinoa
water

**Occasionally, I have a sweet treat or two in there like a snack sized peppermint patty or half of a Whole Foods triple chocolate brownie (YUM).  Also thrown in there as I prepare dinner might be some olives or some Cape Cod Reduced Fat potato chips.**

After that he asked me if I had any other concerns.  I mentioned my Vitamin D levels might be low and he offered to check them for me (it ended up being  on the lower end of normal at 38 ng/mL, normal being 20-80 ng/mL).  He told me to come in at the sign of any bleeding, prolonged pain, regular contractions, if I fall (in any direction), or for any other reason that I might feel concerned (gosh I love that place!).  He told me that he'd see me in a month and that we would do an ultrasound before the visit so he could better check how things were progressing.  I go back on 1/8.  I am excited to see my growing little boy!

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10 Comments »

10 Responses to “MFM visit @ 22 weeks, 4 days”

  1. From Melis (stupid Blogger!!!)-

    Ahhh, pregnancy weight gain. A topic near and dear to my heart. I also ate mostly healthy and was fairly active throughout pregnancy and I still gained a TON of weight. It was definitely frustrating to be so diligent about eating well and being active just to see the scale go up 4 or 5 pounds in a matter of a week or two (true story). It felt as though it was completely out of my control. I gained more than the recommended amount for both of my pregnancies, but it was what my body needed to do. Believe me, I know how hard it is to see the scale go up and up (btw, 134 is nothing...try 170!). My best advice is not to stress it. Whether you gain 25, 35 or more, you will eventually lose it all. I gained 50(!) with A, and even though it took about 9 months, it all came off (and, honestly, I really didn't even try that hard). Also, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your body will probably never be quite the same again no matter how little or how much you gain. It's the price we pay to grow a human :-)

    P.S., I think you look absolutely fabulous and beautiful (and you are ALL belly, you don't look like you've gained an ounce elsewhere), so I say keep doing what you are doing.

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  2. Ive already gained so much weight, Ufff... I want to cry! I can imagine adding pregnancy weight.

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  3. Wow it sounds like everything is just perfect in there! It sounds like the blood pressure is getting a little better, are you still seeing your therapist for the anxiety?

    I can tell you nothing on weight gain, it sounds like you are doing everything right. My advice would be to eat the whole brownie and then follow that up with a big bowl of icecream! Ooh and full fat potato chips! :)

    I'm still so excited for you.

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  4. I am really struggling with the weight gain too. I expected to get bigger but am horrified at the way it seems to have planted itself firmly on my thighs. I suppose we all have to put on this layer to prepare ourselves for breastfeeding and it's down to genetics as to where it goes. I have been going to antenatal yoga and find that being surrounded by mums-to-be of all shapes and sizes helps me accept my changing physique. I also find I feel much worse in the evening thanks to water retention, gravity etc! I feel relatively svelte every morning but by bed time feel like a huge, cellulite ridden hippo! Nevermind- it's all for an excellent cause. We'll both bounce back in '13! Alix xx

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  5. Sounds like everything is going so well. I'm so happy for you! But I do understand your fears about weight gain. I was an obsessive dieter before pregnancy and it was hard to actually allow myself to eat once I conceived, and then I worried about it every day for the next nine months. I mostly ate healthy and exercised almost every day, but I still gained 35-40lbs. My doctor was unconcerned, though, so I tried not to sweat it. And that's my advice to you. Do your best to stay active, do your best to eat well, and then trust that your body will gain exactly what it needs to. It will all work out in the end, friend.

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  6. Friend, that is the healthiest diet plan that I've ever read or heard about from a pregnant lady. If you are gaining weight on that diet plan and level of activity, it is because your body finds it necessary. Like Sunshine, I would eat all of the brownie, too.

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  7. From Elizabeth :: Bébé Suisse (I won't blame Blogger this time. I accidentally deleted instead of publishing) :-0

    You've got a little scrapper in there!

    I agree with the others on the diet and weight gain. You're eating healthfully, you're exercising frequently, and if your body takes on extra weight, it's because it needs it for the little one.

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  8. Umm I would KILL to be 130 pounds. KILL. LOL
    You'll be fine girl. Trust me. Enjoy!

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  9. You would hate to see what I am eating on any given day. You are eating great and still exercising, which is more than I can say for myself. At my 8w1d appt, I was already up 4 lbs. and I suspect most of it was between weeks 4 and 6 when I was still starving but not yet nauseated. But like you, it's hard to see the number go up. I let myself go in 2009 and got up to 150, which doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm only 5'2". Over the next several months, I dieted and exercised and got down to 113. That was hard to maintain, so my weight slowly inched up to 117, then 124...and I was 129 at my first pre-natal appt. at 3w5d. It sounds crazy to be upset about being over 130, but I totally get it. When you're used to being fit it's difficult to accept that the weight HAS to go up no matter what!

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  10. I'm glad everything looks good with your baby!
    On the weight gain front- I have to be honest that this post worries be a bit. You are at the highest weight of your life because you are pregnant! That isn't unusual or anything to be alarmed by. That said I get that it can be hard to see those numbers, especially if you are used to being on the thin/fit side (not that 134 is high!). I too am now at the highest weight of my life, but I'm doing my best to not stress about it because I know the baby needs me to be well nourished and it is for a very good cause. If you started out the pregnancy at a "normal" BMI the recommendation is to gain 25-35 pounds which means your weight gain thus far is completely within the realm of normal. Did your doctor say he wanted you to ONLY gain 25 pounds? Honestly your body is going to gain what it needs to gain and you will be able to lose it once the baby arrives. Try to let go of the need to control your weight gain if possible. You're eating healthier than most people and exercising far most than most pregnant women do so chances are good that your weight won't spiral out of control over night and you'll be in a great routine for healthy living post-partum. Honestly I think you can give yourself permission to eat a little more! Especially because as you enter the third trimester it will become harder to eat normal sized portions as you run out of room in your stomach.

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