Pregnancy after bypass: Week 32 pregnancy diary

Eight weeks to go! Suddenly there are many more weeks completed than there are to come and oh my gosh, I’m going to have another baby soon. Like really soon! This week has been a bit up and down with a couple of pregnancy related medical appointments. This week the baby is the size of a kale plant if we go with vegetables or a naked-tailed armadillo if we go with animals. Neither sounds terribly cute to me I have to say!

This week started with my favourite thing, a Sunday at home with nothing planned. I tried to have a bit of a sleep-in but my five-year old just would not leave me alone and kept coming and waking me up. Once I got up I lazed about for a couple of hours before I started baking and getting lunch and food prep done or the coming week. My husband took our little guy to the park for a bit in the afternoon so I even got the chance to sit down and write a couple of blog posts.

On Monday morning I had an appointment with the obstetrician at the hospital, I thought just to talk about my c-section. We did discuss the c-section and the possibility of a VBAC birth but agreed that a c-section was the best way forward. The obstetrician was worried that her growth had slowed in my last growth scan and wants to keep a close eye on that. I had a scan booked for the next day so would be able to see what was happening.

She was also a little bit concerned about my placenta. In the last scan it was still a bit close to my cervix and of course it’s at the front and covering my previous c-section scar. She wanted all of this to the thoroughly checked at the scan the following day. After we talked about all of that she said, depending on how things go we could be getting this baby out earlier than expected. I thought my c-section would be done at about 39 weeks, just after Christmas but if baby’s growth continues to slow it could be done earlier. I asked her if that meant around 37 weeks and she nodded. Cue me start to freak out internally.

I had my scan booked for Tuesday morning and I was super keen to get it done. The lady doing my scan took her time and explained what she was doing and measuring while she was going. This little girl has grown, her line is trending up on the growth chart but not enough. Overall she’s gone from being on the 44^th centile at my last scan four weeks ago to being on the 24^th centile overall. I’m seeing my midwife again on Monday next week and I’m sure she will explain the results and what it might mean then.

Since there is now a chance this baby could be arriving much earlier than expected I, of course, have gone into planning and organising mode even more than usual. I talked to my boss about the possibility of finishing work earlier than expected, if my c-section is done at 37 weeks I don’t want to end up working to 36 weeks and only getting a week off to rest. I have also hit the Christmas shopping list hard and now only have one gift left to get.

I also started on my, when I finish work, list of things I need to do to prepare for her arrival. This has basically consisted of heaps of washing, newborn clothes, towels and blankets, bassinet sheets, our reuseable nappies and my Ergo carrier front-pack. I don’t want to get caught short and have to organise this stuff last minute or once she has arrived.

On Saturday we put the bassinet back up and I was able to put the fresh linen in it all ready. It’s nice to have that done because that’s the one thing you absolutely need when you bring the baby home. I contemplated installing the capsule base in my car this weekend but I think I’ll wait a couple more weeks until I finish work and get it done then.

I went to take my little guy to Chipmunks on Saturday morning for him to burn off some energy and the one we usually go to has closed down. They are doing a motorway widening project and Chipmunks had to go apparently. We went to his favourite park instead but there goes my idea for when I’m home with him on school holidays, a baby and my husband has gone back to work. We may have to find another indoor playground that’s not too bad.

How far along? 32 weeks, I think I’m properly at the seven-month mark now.

How big is the peanut? The size of a kale plant or an armadillo, this just gets more horrifying by the week at this point.

Total weight gain/loss? I went down quite a bit this week, almost a whole kilo. The obstetrician wants me to stop putting weight on now so I am eating less and it seems to have had a fairly quick payoff.

Maternity clothes? I got a new Mrs Smith Maternity dress this week and I love it so while they were still on sale I got two more!

Sleep? Has been a bit patchy this week, either really good or really bad. You just can’t win.

Best moment this week? Seeing that the baby already has some hair on the scan.

What I miss? Pretty much everything at this point. Not being able to eat everything I have to avoid while I’m pregnant, having my body to myself.

What I’m looking forward to? Seeing my midwife next week to get the results of the scan.