The Elusive Third Trimester

28 weeks means another milestone – we’ve made it to the third trimester!  Since Brady was born in the second trimester, this (like everything else moving forward) is uncharted territory.  I know a lot of women complain about the third trimester, but I couldn’t be more excited to finally be here.  It feels like we are finally in the home stretch.

We had another growth ultrasound this morning.  While it went well, and it also produced anxiety for me and Jeff.  The ultrasound tech we had happened to be the ultrasound tech we had for Brady’s 20 week ultrasound where we found out that he was measuring small.  That’s super triggering in itself.  She was super high-strung  and nervous at Brady’s ultrasound (with good reason, as there was actually something wrong), but she acted the same way at our appointment today too.  She’s not a good communicator and it made both of us feel like something was wrong.

It didn’t help that the first measurement she took was small.  The kid’s femur measured at 27+2, when we expected 28 weeks.  His other measurements both measured ahead though, so he landed in the 45th percentile overall, and weighs 2 lbs. 7 oz.  It already feels like a lot of baby in there, and I think he’s feeling a little crowded too.  It’s hard to imagine that he’ll more than double in weight before our scheduled c-section at 37 weeks.

Another anxiety-inducing moment was that the ultrasound tech had to take multiple measurements of his heart beat.  The first reading was low at 115 beats per minute, but the second two she took had him in the 130s.  They think I probably had a contraction when she took the first measurement, which caused his heart rate to lower.

I was grateful that I had an appointment set up with my OB right after the ultrasound, because she ended up doing a lot of reassuring.  I was nervous because the kid’s measurements varied so much, but she explained that any measurement +/- 2 1/2 weeks at this point is normal, and anyoverall percentile between 10 and 90 percent is normal.  She also took a good, long listen to his heartbeat, and all was good.  She apologized that the ultrasound tech had made us feel like something was wrong when everything is fine.

Our next milestone is 32 weeks when we’ll start weekly ultrasounds and non-stress tests (NSTs).  This means I’ll be spending hours at the doctor each week.  It makes me feel like I’m taking on a part-time job during a super busy and stressful time in our lives.  All that being said, making it to that point would come with a giant dose of gratitude, so I plan to take it in stride, just like everything else.