I know, I know...

... You all have been checking the site every day, on pins and needles to see when I would next update it. Well, wait no longer, the time has come.
A lot has happened since the last time I posted anything of significance (not counting the Donger's gender). I've got prenatal yoga in an hour, so I don't have time to fill you in everything. I'll just start chronologically and try to catch up over the next week or so.
But first, let's check in with the Donger. No, we don't have a name for him yet. We will get one eventually, but we haven't decided whether or not we'll tell everyone what it is before he's born. So, I guess you don't know for sure if we really have a name, or if I'm just not telling you ... we really don't have a name. I'm either 27 or 28 weeks right now (more on that later), which means that the Donger is a bit more than 2 pounds, and is about 15 inches head to toe. It's a wonder that he still fits in me, but it's even more of a wonder that he's going to quadruple in weight before he comes out. I can hardly stand to think about that. His eyes are open, or will be opening soon, so he'll be able to sense and respond to light. He can hear everything, and supposedly is learning to recognize the voices he hears regularly (primarily me—and the dogs barking).
He's very, very active, which has to do with all the amniotic fluid he has surrounding him—I have more than normal (more on that later too). My doctor says it's like a big old swimming pool for him, so he's having a good time splashing around. I, on the other hand, am not so enthusiastic about it. At first, it was cool to feel him poking and flipping. It still is, sort of, but he's beginning to pack quite a wallop, and he really nails me every once in a while. It's starting to get painful. I'm not sure, but I think he might still be transverse (see the ultrasound post for that explanation), and he's developed a habit of wedging himself up under my right arm, so it feels like he's between my ribs and my skin. As much weight as I've gained, that's still not a very big area. Every once in a while he'll kick me in the ribs, too. Yes, it does hurt to get kicked in the ribs by a two pound person. And, the most ... umm ... interesting of his maneuvers is when he decides to tap dance on my bladder, which is full pretty much all the time, since I'm under doctor's orders to drink 12 glasses of water a day. (Have you ever tried to do that? Go ahead, I dare you to.) This is why kegel exercises are very, very important for pregnant women.
So, back to the chronological report. A few days after the ultrasound, I got a call from the doctor (not my usual OB), giving me the report. A couple of things: I have an excess of amniotic fluid, not a huge discrepancy, but enough to be unusual; and the baby is bigger than normal. So, they moved the due date up to May 4 (instead of May 15). Other than that everything seems fine, he's got everything he's supposed to have, as far as they can tell, and so do I.
But, one explanation for the excess fluid and the big baby is gestational diabetes. So, that made me a bit depressed and I didn't feel like writing in the blog before I knew for sure what was going on. I was annoyed because I exercise regularly and I've never been overweight. Those were pretty much the only risk factors I could control, and I was doing it. But when I researched a little, I found out that having been a big baby (I was 9lbs. 13oz.) and having family with type 2 diabetes puts me more at risk. That sucks—I mean, just having been a big baby means I'm more likely to develop gestational diabetes? Who's bright idea was that? And, once you have GD, you've got a 50 percent chance of developing type 2 diabetes, probably in the next five years. Diabetes by the time I'm 35? No thank you.
But, I had my regular checkup with my OB a week later, after a glucose test (routine, even if you're not "at risk"), and in his words my glucose level is "not even close." So, good news on that count. However, that complicates things a little. Apparently, GD is the easy way to explain excess fluid. It could be nothing—it's probably nothing, according to the doc—or it could be that the Donger has a problem swallowing. Normally, babies swallow the fluid and then pee it out, but if he's not swallowing right, there will be too much fluid. The problem with having too much is that it stresses the uterus and can lead to premature labor.
So, I have a level 2 ultrasound scheduled for Friday. This is a fancier one than last time, where they can actually check out his insides to make sure everything is functioning properly. If the last one had been completely normal I wouldn't be having this one. Chances are, there's no problem and the fluid level could have fixed itself by then. But this will just double check. Surprisingly enough, I'm not that worried about it. I read somewhere that an active baby is a healthy baby, and he's nothing if not active. Plus, I think I've felt him hiccuping, which I would think means he must be swallowing, right? I guess it'll all be cleared up on Friday.
So, on to the second complication. He's big. I couldn't get them to tell me how big, but it was enough to move my due date up to May 4. But the margin of error on the ultrasound is plus or minus two weeks. So that still puts us in that margin of error. It's such an inexact science, which is basically what my doctor said. At this point, we probably won't be able to pinpoint it any better than that, but between you and me, I don't think May 4 is plausible. 'Nuff said.
The problem with not knowing is that they don't know how far along I am if I go into labor. So, they're going to treat it like a worst case scenario no matter what. So, if I start labor at the end of April, they'll treat me like I'm, say, three weeks early instead of just one. But, if it gets to be the 10th or 11th of May and I still haven't had the baby, they'll start thinking about inducing because they'll treat it like I'm a week late. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Tune in next time to learn how to be a bridesmaid when you're six-and-a-half months pregnant.