Friday, February 26, 2010

Seven Months Pregnant

This photo should win some sort of prize for "best location for a belly shot". Here I am at 30W, standing about halfway up the Mayan ruins of Ek Balam:


This weekend I'm 31W pregnant (also known as seven months). I went in for an ultrasound this afternoon and everything is looking good. There had been some concern that the placenta was a little bit too low (based on the 18W ultrasound) but fortunately there was no sign that it had moved down since then, which is exactly what we were hoping to find today. The baby is in the head-down position and weighs about 3.5 pounds, which is right on track for 31 weeks. I was wondering whether the baby was growing enough since I have only gained 9 pounds so far this pregnancy, but the baby's size looks good so no need to worry about that!

At this point with Jude, I was having a lot of contractions and I was about 50% effaced, so I asked that my cervix be checked today. It looks like it has not started to thin at all yet, which is basically what I expected since I've been having only sporadic contractions so far. Hopefully I won't have the same preterm labor issues this time!

I've been having some minor third-trimester complaints, like heartburn and back pain, but these things are pretty common and expected. I was diagnosed with borderline gestational diabetes a couple of weeks ago so I've continued to follow the GD diet and monitor my blood sugar. Thankfully I don't have to check as often since I'm just borderline this time, so instead of four times a day I'll only be poking my finger a few mornings a week and after any big meals (which I mostly avoid).

The baby is very active, especially when I lie down and after meals. I'm taking a prenatal yoga class and plan to start swimming again soon. I did a lot of swimming in my third trimester with Jude and it was great exercise. It is a little harder to walk with the rainy weather, but I'm getting out as much as I can. In general, this pregnancy has been very easy (other than my almost-constant sickness). I'm hoping that the next nine weeks go smoothly!

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1 comment:

Etta said...

I hear you on the 2nd pregnancy being easier (and the smaller weight gain). I'm having the same heartburn and back pain - I remember the backpain but didn't have the same "need my tums" the first time around. Glad things are going well and you guys had a good trip!