Usually.
My 24 week appointment started off with an abnormally long wait time. This means I waited 20-25 minutes instead of the usual 5 or so. When I got taken back and I got my blood pressure taken (perfect) and got weighed (not perfect), I noticed that I had gained more weight than I really expected, since I had been better about what I had been eating since my last appointment. I obviously expected to gain weight, I mean I am pregnant, but not that much. Since 16 weeks, I have gained about 15 pounds. And that. is. a. lot.
When I finally got back to a room to see a doctor, I started asking her about the size of my belly (it's big), and the the weight gain. She started asking me about my diet and whether I have been drinking water (she thought she'd catch me on the sugary drinks), but they have both been fine. I drink mostly water and I hardly ever eat out any more and I eat a lot of vegetables and lean meats. Once she got through with that part, she suggested that we do some blood work to check my thyroid.
Then she measured me.
And was surprised.
Because I am measuring at 30 weeks. I am only 24 weeks. That's 6 extra weeks worth of belly.
This made her reconsider. I got sent in for an ultrasound to see if I had any extra amniotic fluid, and to give my organs a once-over. They found that it did look like I had a little extra amniotic fluid and, as far as they could tell, that my organs were fine. This is when all the craziness started.
They brought me in to an empty exam room and told me that they wanted to send me to a perinatal specialist because of my size and because of the amniotic fluid. and they threw around the term "high risk" which is just terrifying to a first time mom who was fine 20 minutes ago. With all of my extra baby-mama hormones, I naturally got worked up and started to cry. The good thing about this is that, because I was all worked up, they told me they would call the specialist and make the appointment for me. The appointment was that day, so I headed over to the hospital (which thankfully was right around the corner) and filled out paperwork and waited to see this specialist.
They told me that they wanted to do an ultrasound, and so they did the entire anatomy scan again (still a boy) and found that he was measuring a little ahead. Babies this gestational age usually weigh about a pound and a half, give or take a few ounces. Guess how much my little dude's estimated weight is? 2.3 pounds. Wowza. He is in the 95th percentile for size, and the 97th percentile for weight. A biiiiiiig baby.
Because of this and the obvious amount of extra fluid I am carrying around, the specialist said that he thought it was a good idea to have me checked for gestational diabetes. Either way, I have to go in every 4 weeks to check his growth. So, I did my glucose test the same day. I drank that drink that tasted surprisingly like Hawaiian Punch (enough to convince me to never ever give it to my child) and I went home to await the results. Thankfully, the doctor called me the next day and said...
I did not have gestational diabetes!
Woo! He told me, verbatim, "you just have a big baby." Because of this, he might come a little early and I have a higher chance of having a c-section due to his size.
So, there you have it. Along with some almost-diagnoses of placenta previa and echogenic intracardial foci, which both were cleared in the end, I had a VERY eventful day. But the good news is, I'm fine. The best news is that little man is fine.
And I really need to thank my husband for going to every appointment with me and offering me support in a would-be-hysteric moment. He is the best.
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