Pregnancy: 20-34 weeks

Pregnancy Thus Far

26 weeks

(get ready for a long story)

I started having really bad low back pain all of a sudden this week.  I dealt with it for a couple of days, thinking that this was just a side affect of pregnancy.  I tried yoga, pilates, stretches, cold/hot packs; nothing worked.  It just got worse.  I went and had a prenatal massage, and even though it felt good, it still did nothing for my back pain.  I had a panic attack and told Kevin through my tears that I wanted this baby out now.  I could not go on throughout the rest of my pregnancy feeling this way.  I always imagined that the worst thing that could happen during pregnancy is bed rest, and that was what I was looking forward to.  I couldn't do anything.

On thursday I finally called my doctor's office and talked to a nurse and she told me that she would look at my charts and see if anything popped out to her.  She came back with "Oh, you have actually had a lot of bacteria (3+ leucocytes;  4+ is the highest) in your past few urine tests". Umm...why are you telling me now that this had happened?!  She told me I probably had a UTI so I needed to go in for a urine sample at the lab.  I went in that morning and was told that I would have the results by Friday morning or afternoon.  

I called Friday morning and asked for my results.  They still hadn't received my results.  I told them that it was urgent, I was in a lot of pain and I needed to know the results and get antibiotics before the weekend.  She told me to call at noon.  Called at noon and they non-chalantly told me that they didn't get the results back and they were closing the office right then for the weekend.  I told her I needed to talk to my OB, it was again urgent, and she told me she would have her call me that afternoon.  

She never called me.

By now, I (and the rest of my family) was worried that this was effecting my baby so my husband made me go to an Urgent Care medical center.   

They saw me quickly, did a clean urine sample in literally 3 minutes and told me I had a really bad UTI.  Great.

They prescribed me some antibiotics and I started taking them.  

Now forward 3 days.   No relief.  

I decided since I had paid for the urine sample from my OB's office I would call them to see what my results were (Again, they didn't call me with the results).  They told me that my test came back negative.

Funny.

I told them that I had gone to an Urgent Care center and I was told that I had a really bad UTI.  My nurse (I had yet to talk to my OB) told me that I did have bacteria in my test but it probably was just normal vaginal bacteria.  I couldn't believe it.  They still believed this with all my bad symptoms.  She told me that the back pain was just a side effect of pregnancy and that she would prescribe me some pain killers for it (HA).  I was fed up at this moment and told her that I believed I had a UTI, I was already on antibiotics, they weren't working and I needed stronger ones before it became a kidney infection.  She said she would talk to my OB and get back to me.

She finally called me back and prescribed me stronger antibiotics that were "safe" for my baby.

When I went to pick them up, right on the bottle they said to not take when pregnant.  I started to cry and told Kevin I wouldn't take them (I have been very cautious with everything I put into my body since finding out I was pregnant) and Kevin calmed me down and told me I needed to get this taken care of, I had been miserable for a week. 

I called my (nurse) back and told her I wasn't comfortable taking this.  She told me that they were fine, that my OB knows I am pregnant and believes the risk of it getting worse out weighs what could (if anything) go wrong.  I still wasn't comfortable, so I did some research on it and realized that their was very little risk taking while pregnant (a cleft-lip formed in earlier pregnancy), the company just had to cover their butts.

So I began to take this set of antibiotics and began to eat and drink anything and everything that would help me naturally get rid of the UTI.  Coconut water was a huge help I believe.  

I didn't find relief until the very last day of the antibiotics.  My UTI had been really bad.

So finally after 2 weeks of bed rest, I was cured.  And my back pain was completely gone.

HALLELUJAH.

It felt amazing to just feel normal again.

And then I told baby he could stick around in there for a little while longer.

26 weeks.

After this whole fiasco I switched doctors.  Did some research and ended up with a male OB at Riverton Hospital.

I really like him.  I never thought I would like a male doctor better. 

And bonus: I get to deliver at Riverton Hospital which is only 3 years old and way nicer than Alta View.  I will never go there again. 

Fitness

I have continued to do my prenatal pilates throughout my entire pregnancy and have loved it.  I do this video almost every morning.  

I was able to run up until 24 weeks or so.  With all the extra weight at this point, it felt difficult and weird to run.

I now try and go on 1-2 mile brisk walks in the morning.  Sometimes this is hard with round ligament  muscle pain, side aches and foot aches, but I try and power through it because I always feel better and have more energy that day.

Not being able to be as active as I was before I was pregnant has been the hardest thing for me during this pregnancy.  I was always really active before.  Me and Kevin would go on hikes, mountain bike rides, boating, runs, and road biking.  I haven't been able to do any of that and it has been a struggle.  Summer hasn't felt like summer.  

32 weeks in my pilates outfit.
And a well-oiled belly.  I oil that big ol' belly every morning and I haven't had any stretch marks yet (knock on wood)

I had a random week of bad sciatica at 31 weeks.  I did a lot of stretches and pilates but they just weren't doing the trick.  Work doesn't help this either since I am on my feet, moving all night long.  I ended up talking to a lady who was pregnant at my work and she told me that seeing a good chiropractor will do amazing things for a pregnant women's body.  So I called up my families chiropractor that I hadn't seen in 7 years and made an appointment.  He bases everything on the alignment of your spine (NUCCA).  I was definitely off, being 6 lbs heavier on one side.  He fixed me right up and I haven't had any problems since!  

32 weeks

 At my 33 week appointment, my doctor was worried that I was measuring small (29 weeks).  He knew that I was tall and had a long torso, but I hadn't grown at all in the past 4 weeks.  So we ended up doing an ultrasound that day and found out that baby is actually big!  He was 5 lbs 3 oz (75 % percentile) and my amniotic fluid looked great.  I was able to see baby for a little bit (hadn't since 20 weeks) and the tech measured all of him and said he was perfect.  He even kicked her while she was trying to find his private parts.  Sensitive that boy.

He also had a big head which is not what I want to hear.  But if that means he will be a brainy boy by all means, let that brain continue to grow.

33 weeks.

I started to get random low back pain only at night for a few nights and ended up getting the Snoogle pillow.  It has changed my pregnancy life.

Kevin showed me how to use it (even with all the instructions, I could not figure out what position I needed to use to sleep with it) and that first night I had immediate relief.  I have slept like a baby ever since.

I love my Snoogle and Kevin is jealous.

33 weeks.

 So basically, during pregnancy:

Dont let symptoms go unchecked.

Make sure you are happy with your OB and switch even if you are 28 weeks along.

Exercise.  It doesn't have to be anything big, but you will have more energy if you do something every day.  I truly believe that exercise (and diet) is why I am feeling great and loving these last weeks in my pregnancy.

See a chiropractor at least once during pregnancy.

Snoogle pillow.