29 weeks and all it's glory
So folks, as of Friday June 8, I am 29 weeks into this pregnancy. That means that I get to go to the OB every week. Every week I have an ultrasound and a non stress test (NST). Every other week, I see the OB in addition to the ultrasound and NST. This also means that I'm at the OB office FOREVER! Really, it's a minimum of 2 hours every week and some weeks longer.
Yesterday I went in for my weekly ultrasound and NST. I always get the ultrasound done first. This week they were just watching the babies movement and checking their heartbeats and the blood flow through the umbilical cord.
Once again Baby A had her head turned towards my back. We weren't able to see her face, sometimes I wonder if she will ever turn around. Baby B was facing us as normal. We were able to see her sweet little profile. Both babies had heartbeats of 143 and everything else looked great.
Next I was off for my NST. I've never had a NST done before so I really didn't know what to expect. I was put into a small room. Beatrice was my tech. She was a sweet African woman with a lovely accent. I failed to ask where she was from originally....I'll have to remember to do that next time. Anyway, Beatrice put the monitors on each baby. Baby A was easy to find. Baby B was also easy to find, but she kept moving around so the monitor didn't always pick up her heartbeat. I also had a monitor to see if I was having any contractions (I wasn't) and I had a button to press every time I felt one of the babies move. For those of you who have asked if I constantly have movement I pressed that button 45 times in 30 minutes. So yes, there is CONSTANT movement.
Now, one thing that was not apart of my appointment was that I got a call that morning from my OB's nurse. She was calling to let me know that I am anemic. My hemoglobin was at 8.something and I guess that is really low. She said that Dr Voelkel wanted me to start on an prescription iron supplement and I needed to get more blood work done to figure out why my hemoglobin was so low. It's probably just because of the pregnancy. She also said that they were going to start the process to refer me to a hematologist. If my levels don't go up, I may have to get a blood transfusion. As the babies grow, they are going to zap everything that they need from me. So if I do nothing, my hemoglobin will continue to go down. Hopefully the iron takes care of it and I don't have to do a transfusion. But if I do have to have a transfusion, Nolan and I have the same blood type, so he should be able to donate for me. It is kind of weird to think about someone else's blood flowing in your body, so it's a little bit better knowing that it would be from Nolan. But here's the thing about Nolan.....he HATES to give blood. In college we were giving blood and he passed out from the finger prick. He's also passed out after he's given blood. Needles are not his thing and it just makes him very nervous. So I'm really hoping that he doesn't have to do that for me. I know that there is nothing that he wouldn't do for me, but I also know that this would be difficult for him. So I hope he can avoid it.
And the other thing that the nurse wanted to tell me was that I failed my glucose test. Boo! Remember last week when I talked about drinking that awful stuff? Well now I have to go back to the office and do a fasting glucose test. So, nothing to eat that morning, drink that terrible stuff, and wait three hours and have my blood drawn to see how my body reacts to the sugary sweet drink. Luckily, I am able to do this test on a day that I'm already at the OB's office for at least 3 hours. I would hate to be at the office twice in one week for three hours each time. Ugh. So fingers crossed that I pass the 3 hour test, otherwise I will have to start following a diabetic diet for the rest of my pregnancy and monitoring my sugar.
So, it's no wonder that I've been extremely tired lately. I just assumed it was because I am growing two humans, but part of it is the anemia. Both gestational diabetes and being anemic are fairly common with a twin pregnancy. So, hopefully, we take care of things and I start feeling a bit better than I have been.
UPDATE: The hematologist's office just called to set up my appointment. So, if the iron doesn't work to bring my hemoglobin up, I will be going there June 25 for a consult. They will discuss the transfusion at that point and see if it is needed.
Yesterday I went in for my weekly ultrasound and NST. I always get the ultrasound done first. This week they were just watching the babies movement and checking their heartbeats and the blood flow through the umbilical cord.
Once again Baby A had her head turned towards my back. We weren't able to see her face, sometimes I wonder if she will ever turn around. Baby B was facing us as normal. We were able to see her sweet little profile. Both babies had heartbeats of 143 and everything else looked great.
Next I was off for my NST. I've never had a NST done before so I really didn't know what to expect. I was put into a small room. Beatrice was my tech. She was a sweet African woman with a lovely accent. I failed to ask where she was from originally....I'll have to remember to do that next time. Anyway, Beatrice put the monitors on each baby. Baby A was easy to find. Baby B was also easy to find, but she kept moving around so the monitor didn't always pick up her heartbeat. I also had a monitor to see if I was having any contractions (I wasn't) and I had a button to press every time I felt one of the babies move. For those of you who have asked if I constantly have movement I pressed that button 45 times in 30 minutes. So yes, there is CONSTANT movement.
Now, one thing that was not apart of my appointment was that I got a call that morning from my OB's nurse. She was calling to let me know that I am anemic. My hemoglobin was at 8.something and I guess that is really low. She said that Dr Voelkel wanted me to start on an prescription iron supplement and I needed to get more blood work done to figure out why my hemoglobin was so low. It's probably just because of the pregnancy. She also said that they were going to start the process to refer me to a hematologist. If my levels don't go up, I may have to get a blood transfusion. As the babies grow, they are going to zap everything that they need from me. So if I do nothing, my hemoglobin will continue to go down. Hopefully the iron takes care of it and I don't have to do a transfusion. But if I do have to have a transfusion, Nolan and I have the same blood type, so he should be able to donate for me. It is kind of weird to think about someone else's blood flowing in your body, so it's a little bit better knowing that it would be from Nolan. But here's the thing about Nolan.....he HATES to give blood. In college we were giving blood and he passed out from the finger prick. He's also passed out after he's given blood. Needles are not his thing and it just makes him very nervous. So I'm really hoping that he doesn't have to do that for me. I know that there is nothing that he wouldn't do for me, but I also know that this would be difficult for him. So I hope he can avoid it.
And the other thing that the nurse wanted to tell me was that I failed my glucose test. Boo! Remember last week when I talked about drinking that awful stuff? Well now I have to go back to the office and do a fasting glucose test. So, nothing to eat that morning, drink that terrible stuff, and wait three hours and have my blood drawn to see how my body reacts to the sugary sweet drink. Luckily, I am able to do this test on a day that I'm already at the OB's office for at least 3 hours. I would hate to be at the office twice in one week for three hours each time. Ugh. So fingers crossed that I pass the 3 hour test, otherwise I will have to start following a diabetic diet for the rest of my pregnancy and monitoring my sugar.
So, it's no wonder that I've been extremely tired lately. I just assumed it was because I am growing two humans, but part of it is the anemia. Both gestational diabetes and being anemic are fairly common with a twin pregnancy. So, hopefully, we take care of things and I start feeling a bit better than I have been.
UPDATE: The hematologist's office just called to set up my appointment. So, if the iron doesn't work to bring my hemoglobin up, I will be going there June 25 for a consult. They will discuss the transfusion at that point and see if it is needed.
Nancy, I was also anemic when I was pregnant. It really does zap your energy levels. I had to take iron supplements in addition to my prenatal vitamins. I had some issues with things after delivery, and my hemoglobin levels dropped down to a 6 at which point I had to have a blood transfusion. I can remember asking the nurse all kinds of questions about the blood because it was just so odd to think of someone else's blood in my body. It saved my life though, and I'm so thankful for that.
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