7 Weeks and Counting

Today I finally had my appointment with the perinatologist. After two weeks of taking my sugar levels 4 times a day and eating 6 very healthy meals a day, Dr. Dix decided to put me on a small dose of oral medication at bedtime to get my fasting level down, which is the first level I take every morning before eating. This is the only level that I haven't been able to get under control. I'm not very happy about having to take medication, but I'm also kind of tired of fighting...fighting with my diet and anxiety to get that level down. So hopefully this pill will work or they will keep upping the dosage until it does.

She was happy with everything else, including the size and health of the baby. We had another ultrasound, as you can see from the pictures. The technician estimated that Running Bear weighs 4 lbs. 7 oz. which puts her in the 39th percentile for her age, although apparently her head is on the large side!!! She's a Sallie after all! This is very good news (being in the 39th percentile) as one of the main concerns with a diabetic mother is a large baby. So she is just below average which is a good sign that my problems are not affecting her at all. However, because I'm going on medication, I've been put in the "high risk" category and now will have to go in for a stress test every week to make sure baby is thriving. I also will have another ultrasound in four weeks to check her size again. The good part of all of this is that Dr. Dix said I wouldn't be allowed to go past my due date. And while I don't want to be induced, at least we know the latest possible date for the little one's arrival (April 21), which is kind of nice! I'm hoping she'll come before so I don't have to be induced. Despite the fact that I'm planning to have an epidural, I'd like everything else to be as natural as possible.

Not the best picture, but Jay took it with his phone in the ultrasound room today. Me at 33 weeks waiting to see the baby. She was pretty wild today and we put Jay's phone on my belly and watched it roll around. I love her wild days as I don't have to think about "kick counts." Her quiet days are always a little more worrisome, but she always comes back with a vengeance!

Today we got to see what body parts were hitting where. As you can see from the first picture below, her little foot is rather well-developed and was located just on my right side where I often get painfully kicked! It was actually pushing against my side while she was taking the picture! We decided she has her father's foot structure as the technician said it was rather long and thin compared to what she was used to seeing. Short stubby feet run in my family. So that definitely didn't come from me! You can also kind of see her profile on the right. It's harder to see the baby at this stage in the pregnancy because she's bigger and her bone density makes it more difficult for the ultrasound to see through other body parts.



We could also see her little face which is quite a bit more developed than last time we had an ultrasound. She has the cutest little nose and lips! But I'm not biased or anything! We also discovered that the frequent bump that constantly pushes up and misshapes my belly just above and to the left of my belly button is her bottom! So I can start spanking her early as she often gives me a very clear and obvious shot! Her head is down below my belly button and she seems to be properly aligned for birth according to my birthing teacher...if she'll just stay that way for the next 7 weeks!!! It's fun to know where everything is as I was just guessing previously.