Yesterday's visit to the doctor was not what I expected.  I thought that I was getting another growth ultrasound, when in fact I was not.  I just had a regular ultrasound where they checked the welfare of the baby (including the heartbeat and the fluid level).  The baby checked out great.  We got to take another look at his cute (but large) head.  He had his hands up in his face which he likes to do when they try to disturb him with the ultrasound wand.  I am wondering if he is a thumb-sucker.  I was!

I asked the radiologist if she could check on my cervix while she had the wand out.  I explained to her my cramping ordeals.  She said she would try, but that at this stage in the game, it is hard to get a good look at the cervix, not to mention super uncomfortable.  She tried, but with no real luck.  She mentioned that the doctor would do an internal check which would give me a better idea of what I was working with.  Oh joy, my first internal!

On the way to the doctor appointment, I was having more cramping.  As my husband drove over the many craters and bumps on the way from my work to the hospital, all I could think about was how uncomfortable it was now with mild cramping and how incredibly miserable it would be while in full out labor.  Something to look forward to in the coming weeks.

The doctor appointment went well.  I gained 1 lb in a week (gulp).  Hopefully it was me gaining the weight and not the baby (maybe the cookies I made and have been enjoying every night :).  My blood pressure was good.  The doctor came in and we first discussed how the insulin was going and how my numbers were looking.  He was quite impressed with my 1 hour post-meal readings. Looking at most of them, would suggest that I am not even borderline GD.  This is due to the strict diet, though.  My fastings on the other hand are a whole different beast.  Still very difficult to control, even with the insulin.  Yesterday's reading was 93.

We discussed the times that I was sleeping and I explained to him my wacky schedule.  When I go into the office, I go to sleep around 9:30 PM and get up at 4:30 AM.  When I work from home, I go to sleep at 10:30 PM and get up at 6:30 AM.  On the weekends, I go to sleep around 11 PM and get up at 7 AM.  He asked if there was any way that I could go to sleep around 10 PM every night, taking the insulin at that time, and get up at 6 AM.  I told him, yeah sure if you write me a note so that I can work from home for the remainder of my pregnancy!  He said he would do that, but he first wanted to try me taking the insulin earlier, at like 8-8:30 PM if I am getting up at 4:30 AM.  I agreed to try this first.  I was hoping for the early WFH pass.  If I am still having trouble with things then I may take him up on the offer.  Today my reading was 88, with taking the insulin at 8 PM.

Next we talked about the cramping and contractions.  He asked some of the same questions the nurse asked and said he thought it sounded normal, but that he wanted to do an internal check to be sure and put my mind at ease.  I was expecting a ton of pain with this, but it didn't hurt more than a pap smear.  Turns out I am not dilated, AT ALL.  My cervix is tightly closed and still very long.  His head is way down low, though, which may be adding to my discomfort.  I am not sure how I feel about this.  I figured I would maybe be a centimeter (knowing that you can be a centimeter for weeks), so now I am back to thinking induction again.  Crap.  I am actually surprised that after 2 D&Cs and being forcefully dilated both times, that things are still so...umm... tight in there.  I guess my surgeons both knew what they were doing.

Knowing the state of the baby, my blood sugar, and my cervix, I don't have another appointment until 3/11.  I will be getting yet another ultrasound at this appointment and I assume that they will check the growth this time.  I think I am going to dial back my work-out routine until he is born.  I am not sure what keeping the 5 miles of walking a day is a good thing at this point.  I am going to cut it down to 3ish and see what happens.  I still need to get moving or I feel anxious!

The past few days I have been having more and more Braxton Hick's contractions.  I notice them mostly in the middle of the night when I get up one of 5 times to go to the bathroom.  Three nights ago I woke up with a rock hard belly.  Then the same thing the next night.  No pain, just tightening.

Yesterday I woke up with what felt like minor menstrual cramping.  I tried to sleep it off, but it didn't go away.  I got up and ate breakfast and it was still there.  I called my husband and asked him what he thought I should do.  He said call the doctor.  I call the doctor every day (or it feels like that anyways) so I didn't want to do that.  I drank about a liter of water and then put my feet up while I worked. I was working from home, luckily.  Along with the cramping I was getting the contractions randomly.

I felt better after drinking the water and resting and so I went on with the rest of my work day.  I felt fine until about 3 PM when I started getting the cramping again.  This time I decided to take a break from working,drink some more water (seriously, I think I drank 2 gallons yesterday), and then lie on my left side.  I ended up falling asleep for an hour.  When I woke up, the cramping was still there so I decided to suck it up and call the doctor, again.

The nurse on the other end was the one I have talked to every day for the past 3 days.  I explained to her my symptoms and what I had done to try to alleviate them.  I also told her that I had an appointment the next day.  She asked if the baby was moving and I told her yes, he is moving around like a crazy acrobat.  She didn't think, based on my description, that it was anything to worry about at this point.  She told me to take some acetaminophen and put my feet up for now.  She mentioned that if I started to have any regularly timed contractions or if I started leaking any fluid or bleeding to go to L&D immediately.  She didn't think that this was preterm labor, but she said she obviously couldn't rule it out.

I got off the phone with her and did what she said.  The acetaminophen helped and I didn't have any menstrual-like pain for the rest of the night.

This morning I woke up and felt fine.  I had to commute to work in the lovely rain and wind and so, rather than walk from the train, I took the subway.  Just walking from the subway to work was uncomfortable.  I felt the cramping coming back and some definite pressure.  The stairs definitely did not help with the discomfort.  I am glad I am going in this morning because I'd like to see what is going on.  I may be looking at more days working from home in my future.  I wouldn't be too upset about that.  I get a lot done when I work from home and I don't have the commute time or the distractions from other co-workers.

I am anxious for this appointment/ultrasound this morning.  Please pray that the baby hasn't grown too much.  I feel huge today!  See for yourself.