Almost there - with pictures!

These will probably be the last pictures of my pregnant tummy, which is exciting for everyone! I had Robert take two, so you can see the difference - I feel like I don't look as huge when I'm clothed. He also took these pictures from sitting down, which makes them a little off, but overall they're a fairly accurate depiction of how large I am. I even developed a few stretch marks here at the end, just in the last couple of weeks. They are just hiding below my belly button, which means that I can't really see them - even in a mirror they're difficult for me to find. The only ones I can see are a fairly amusing "x" that has appeared atop the scar from my naval piercing. That was looking odd enough without the stretch marks.
After the past couple of weeks excitement about when the doctor would decide to induce, it now seems that she has decided that my body can handle itself. This going back and forth is making me a little nuts, but I can't really complain, since I would like to be able to go into labor naturally, if my body will do so. I guess that just shows how well I've done over the past few weeks, in terms of keeping my blood sugar under control and what-not. It's still not great, but Gabriel is still doing fantastic, and the doctor is no longer as worried about either of us suffering terrible side effects. I don't even have to go to the hospital for extra monitoring this week! Now I just get to hope I go into labor this week. My due date is this Saturday, and I don't believe the doctor will let me wait for labor on my own after next Monday. And we are ready for this baby! We really thought that she would want to induce early this week, so we are pretty good to go. My mom is flying in tonight, so that she can be here for the birth. I'm glad we'll have at least a day or two with her without the baby, because she'll be able to help me look at the baby's room with new eyes, and hopefully figure out how to organize it a little better, I think.
So we should all think labor-ful thoughts for me this week! I have been feeling stronger contractions since early this morning, but still nothing regular, or even strong enough to pay much attention to. Maybe we'll get a New Year's baby after all!
And just for fun, I thought I would include a picture of our little Christmas tree, and the other member of our small family, George. We had a lovely Christmas just with our own small bunch. I missed seeing all of our family as we are so used to, but it was nice to be able to be relaxed and just focused on ourselves for this year. As I mentioned before, we feel as though Gabriel is already here enjoying it all with us. We are so ready for him!! Soon . . . and maybe by the next time I post it will be with a new baby to show you!

Whew! That was a close one!

As some of you may already have heard, I almost had a baby this weekend! Because of all the stuff going on with my body (see last post) the doctor was concerned that we would run into complications that could affect the baby. So far he looks great, and he is considered full-term as of this weekend, so she was not worried about him being born early. She felt that the risks of complications were higher than the risks of inducing labor. But when she examined me, she discovered that my body is no where near ready for labor, even being induced. She was still going to go ahead and do it, but after conferring on it with some of her colleagues, she decided that the monitoring we are already doing is enough to catch anything that might be going on with me or the baby.
So, probably no pre-Christmas baby for us, which we are grateful for. At least I am - I knew I was not ready. There is the potential that my body could still go into labor on its own, but that's unlikely I think. Or after our visit on Monday, she could still potentially decide that we need to have the baby this week - but I doubt it. She still wants me to have the baby early, but she's giving my body more time to get there as well. That way even with induction it will remain a more "natural" birth experience. So I'm thinking weekend after Christmas, when he'll be at 39 weeks.
Also, my brother told me a funny story that I want to share. He was talking to his daughter (who's about two and a half) about me being pregnant and having a baby, and he asked her, "What's the baby's name?" Her response? "Bacon."

So Close!

First, some apologies about not posting for so long. I've been meaning to, but we've been having some serious issues with our internet connection. Robert is working on it, so hopefully soon it will be totally fixed.
Lots of big news, mainly, little Gabriel may be coming into our world a little earlier than we'd thought! Last week at my doctor's appointment, my doctor decided to get super concerned about the fact that I am still having glucose show up in my urine. In addition to that I am still putting on more weight than I really should be. Those two things combined made her go, "Okay, you know what, I don't care if your gestational diabetes test came back normal all those weeks ago, we're going to do something about this." Like I've said before, I am a relatively healthy eater - not great, I do have my weaknesses, but I really shouldn't still be having these issues if everything is normal. So she did some more bloodwork. They also did some bloodwork to see if there was anything going on with my gallbladder and liver, because that constant pain I have had in my ribs has gotten much much worse recently. I've had a few times where its seriously made me a little bit incoherent and panicky, it gets so bad, and I have to lie down to make it go away. And apparently, that is where my gallbladder and liver are! So she just wanted to make sure they were functioning properly.
When the results came back, everything looked fine except for my blood sugar levels. I had already made an appointment with a dietitian to put me on a meal plan to handle my blood sugar levels. When I saw her, she also showed me how to check my blood sugar levels with a little meter, so now I'm poking myself in the finger four times a day to get a record for my doctor. After the blood results came back, my doctor said she was basically treating me as though I have gestational diabetes. So I had to go to the hospital on Saturday so they could do some monitoring of the baby. They did what they call a non-stress test, where they make sure his heart rate is fine and that he's moving. They are also looking to see accelerations in heart rate with the movement, because that shows that his blood is properly oxygenated (I think). Gabriel did fine, but had a little trouble with the acceleration part. According to their protocol, they have to see certain signs before they can let me leave, so I was sort of stuck there until he had another heart rate acceleration. Thankfully he did, and then they had to call my doctor for her to authorize my release. That was when I realized that if they didn't like something that they saw, they would just check me in, call the doctor, and I'd be having a baby! It was a little eye-opening.
On Monday I had an ultrasound, just to make sure that the baby looked good - there were a variety of measurements the doctor was looking for that would tell her whether or not he was suffering from my excess blood sugar. I was very glad to hear that the doctor thinks he looks great - she is not worried about him at all, right now. However, I will be very closely monitored for the next couple of weeks until my due date, and I have a feeling that the doctor will not be interested in waiting beyond that for this baby. Until my due date (so for the next three weeks or so) I'll be going to the hospital once a week for non-stress tests (my next one is on Friday), and getting an ultrasound every Monday morning with my doctor. When we made the appointments for the ultrasounds, the receptionist said, "She likes to do these in the morning, in case you need to head to the hospital afterward."
So, at any of these visits, basically, the doctor could potentially decide that she doesn't like what she's seeing, and I could be checked into the hospital to have the baby. Presumably there won't be any emergencies, and he can be induced, rather than requiring a c-section. But I'm really not sure. She also started me on a medication to lower my blood sugar, because even with my diet changes (which are honestly not that much), it's not where she would like to see it. I have one more final project for this semester, which is not due until Sunday, but which I am planning on getting done tomorrow or Friday at the latest. I would like to get it done tomorrow, so that when I check into the hospital for my test on Friday, I have no worries, at least where school is concerned. After that, I am obviously going to make sure the baby's room is ready, and that we're ready for him whenever he comes!!
I'm not worried, I think the baby will be okay no matter what happens - the doctor is being super extra cautious right now just to make sure that's the case. It's just a little strange to think that it may happen this way! And I want to reiterate that the doctor does not think that he is in any trouble right now, and in fact, he looks fantastic. I think it's me, and what my body could still potentially do to him, that they're a little worried about. Thank goodness gestational diabetes goes away after pregnancy! Now I know the value of taking care of myself so I don't get type 2 diabetes in the future. It is seriously no fun. Oh, and I will try to post a picture soon! I am rather large, as you might imagine.