And Baby Makes Three

39 weeks and all's well

Just over a week until the due date and I'm doing well. I get tired by the end of the day, but that's to be expected. My belly has really blossomed in the last month or so; people have begun to say things like, "When are you due?"

I had an uneventful appointment Wednesday. My blood pressure was 120/70, the baby's heartbeat was in the 130's, and I'd gained another pound since my last appointment. The practice where I receive care doesn't believe in doing internal exams just for the heck of it. The nurse/midwife said that they're not medically necessary, they're uncomfortable, and they're not predictive of anything, meaning that the effacement/dilation of the cervix doesn't really predict when, or how soon, the woman will deliver.

The cradle is assembled, thanks to my father-in-law, and the baby's room is freshly painted -- even the closet -- thanks to my sister-in-law and my husband. We have a great lamp on a bookcase with a CD player on the middle shelf and baby's books on the bottom shelf. I've laundered all of the baby clothes, blankets, etc. and need to finish sorting them out by size. The crib is in the house, but not assembled. We still need a changing table/dresser combo. We have diapers and wipes and all that good stuff.

Baby Showers & Baby Shopping

My sister's and my baby shower was the 3rd of April and we had a great time. My sweet husband came home with a couple more baby items (the travel system & Diaper Champ) on 4/6. On April 10th hubby and I went to Babies-R-Us to finish the rest of our baby shopping. On April 16th my husband's side of the family threw us a surprise shower. On April 22nd friends at one of my husband's jobs threw him a surprise shower.

37 weeks and all's well

A good appt. -- I've gained 4.5 pounds since the last time, which is fine because I hadn't gained for a while; I've gained 22.5 pounds total for the pregnancy. My uterus is measuring at 38 weeks and my blood pressure was good (108/50). The baby's heartbeat was 130-140 bpm and strong. I also got to go see the birthing center and meet the last nurse-midwife in the practice that I hadn't met before. My hematocrit level from the test two weeks ago was 37, so that's great. It was 24.5 before I started taking the iron pills, so I guess they're working!

35 Weeks and All's Well

Had an appointment today. My blood pressure was something like 115/62 (can't remember the exact top number, but it was in the teens) and my weight stayed the same as three weeks ago. I don't think my eating habits have changed any. The midwife said she'd like to see me still gaining weight, so I guess I'll try to add some more calories to what I eat. (First and last time in my life I'll be getting that advice, I'm sure!) Heard my sweet baby's heartbeat and inquired as to his/her position -- he/she is head down with his/her back on the left side of my belly and arms to the right. They did a swab test for Group B Strep -- commonly done at this point in pregnancy -- and had me give another vial of blood so they can check my hematocrit (iron levels) again. Sigh. Three straight appointments where I've had to have blood taken. Hopefully that's the end of that. I asked about traveling ~1 hour from home (which would put us ~1 hour, 40 minutes from the hospital) next week (to finish our baby shopping) and the midwife said as long as I was feeling OK with no signs of possible labor, there shouldn't be any concern. I asked how far past my due date they'd let me go before inducing; the answer -- two weeks past the due date -- which would be the 21st of May. Lordy, lordy. Hope I don't have to wait that long. Next appointment in a couple of weeks.