We had another obs. appointment today, following our 20 week scan yesterday. All was well with the scan, the placenta is sitting in a good spot, there is a normal amount of fluid for Pebble to swim in, and the heart beat was confirmed. There were no abnormalities in Pebble’s morphology.
Some stats:
BPD (diameter between the 2 sides of the head) = 5.0cm
Head Circumference = 17.8cm
Abdominal circumference = 16.2cm
Femur length (leg bone from pelvis to knee) = 3.8cm
All of these suggest that my estimated due date of 11 January 2010 is accurate.
The nicest surprise at the appointment today is that we got to hear that little whoosh-whoosh of the heart beat for the first time. We’ve seen it a lot in scans, but never heard it before. It’s pretty magical!
Questions I had answered at this appointment:
Q. Can I have a bath?
A. Yes, as long as it’s not crazy hot.
Q. Can I take cold and flu vitamins, ie. garlic, horseradish and Echinacea?
A. There is no research to prove if these are safe one way or the other, so the obs. could not say.
Q. What is your policy regarding being overdue and proceeding with induction?
A. This doctor will induce at one week overdue (fingers crossed I don’t get to that stage!!!)
Q. When do we do a birth plan?
A. We don’t. Birth plans are for me to consider, and how I want the birth to go is completely up to me, unless there are medical reasons for the Dr to intervene. She said “you can' do whatever you want until I tell you otherwise”. Fair enough. She also said that they can’t do anything without my consent, which is good to know. I don’t want to be shot up with labour inducing drugs without being asked first! Even if I am writhing in pain and crying for my mummy….
WARNING – BOOB TALK COMING UP!
Q. Is it normal for my nipples to have white spots and some discharge?
A. Yep! Welcome to the beginning of boob leakage! The midwife suggested using laniloh cream, and a tissue to protect my bras, if it becomes a problem.
Finally, I figured out how to make video work, courtesy of Vimeo. Here is a VERY dodgy video of a scan on 5 August, in the obs. office with the mini ultrasound machine.
Ultrasound 5-8-09 from Mrs Rock Garden on Vimeo.
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteI stumbled across your blog and I am a sucker for pregnancy related posts(I've got 4 children and hubby said no more...for now).
I would definitely write a birth plan, I was so glad that I did one because at one stage I felt like I couldn't cope and begged for some drugs even though I had stated that I DID NOT WANT ANY DRUGS WHATSOEVER. The midwife was fantastic, she knew what I wanted and suggested she check to see how dialated I was and then I could have a nice warm bath, which I agreed to and ended up having a drug free birth like I wanted to.
You can also write that you would like to hold your baby straight away before getting weighed, etc unless there is an urgent medical reason. That skin on skin time right after birth is so important, it helps you bond with baby and can help with reducing post natal depression.
Anyway, I've waffled on enough, but I've added you to my blog roll so I can follow your journey to motherhood! :)