And Baby Makes Three

Nine Month Pediatrics Appointment

22 lb. 11 oz.
30.25" tall

Two Month Appointment

Gabrielle had her two month appointment this past Thursday. She weighs 13 pounds, 3 ounces, and is 24 5/8" tall; that places her in the 90th percentile for weight and the 97th percentile for height. Her sweet little head circumference is only at the 50th percentile, so I hope it catches up to the rest of her. (Moms always have to worry about something.)

She is currently taking 32-36 ounces of formula a day, despite what all the baby books say (that at her age she should be eating a maximum of 24 ounces). Some babies need more food, according to the pediatric nurses I've asked. At the appointment I asked the pediatrician about introducing cereal. Again, according to the books, you should wait until the baby is 4 months old before giving her cereal. The dr. said that they don't usually advocate starting cereal at this age because it is not as nutritionally dense as formula, but that if we wanted to give her a little bit, it would be ok. He said to just make sure it was rice cereal. So, I think I will buy some today and see if she likes it.

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.

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.

32 Weeks and All's Well

Had an appointment this morning. My blood pressure was good -- 120/70 -- and I'd actually lost 1.5 pounds between the last appointment and this one. The nurse/midwife said she would have been concerned except that I told her about having that stomach bug a couple of weeks ago. The baby's heart rate is 140 beats per minute, strong and steady; my uterus is measuring exactly where it should be. I had the one hour glucose test again and am hoping, of course, that the level is normal this time. I ate a couple of eggs for breakfast because there are hardly any carbohydrates in them.

This is a sketch of what a baby in utero would look like at eight months. See where the little butt and the little feet are located? When I'm semi-reclined on pillows reading in bed at night, the top of my belly is often lopsided, as if he/she has nestled his/her little bottom up there on one side or the other. Or maybe it's a foot. Either way, it's kinda funny.

Sixth Prenatal Appointment: Glucose Test & Rhogam Shot

Well, neither of those things was bad at all. The glucola that you drink for the glucose test was like an orange soda, so that didn't bother me. I had blood taken an hour later -- three vials -- one for glucose, one for hematocrit (to see if I'm anemic), and one for the Rhogam screening. Then this afternoon I went back over to receive the Rhogam shot. The nurse let me decide whether to receive it in the arm or the behind -- I chose the arm. It was over quickly. Yay!

My weight gain is still on track -- three pounds in three weeks; I've gained 19 pounds overall and I will be 29 weeks along by the end of this week. I forgot to ask what my blood pressure was; it must've been fine, because it was not remarked upon. I heard the baby's heartbeat, which is always a highlight. The nurse/midwife thought that the baby was in head down position; as he/she gets bigger it will be easier to tell that for sure. My next appointment is in March.

Fifth Prenatal Appointment

My blood pressure was good (which gives me hope that I won't develop toxemia/preeclampsia later on). My weight gain is back on track. My uterus is now measuring right where it should be; that's a great relief. The baby's heartbeat sounded great. Woooooohoooooo! And I really liked the nurse/midwife with whom I had the appointment.

I got to ask all the questions I had written down ahead of time. My husband will be able to stay overnight in the hospital with me after the baby is born. The report from our Level II ultrasound in December was good; everything that was supposed to be seen, was seen. I'll get my Rhogam shot at the next appt. and will also have the glucose test, which screens for gestational diabetes. It is ok for my husband and sister-in-law to paint the nursery; the fumes might make me nauseated, but unless it was lead-based paint there is no problem with me being exposed to them. My right thigh has been feeling numb. I asked what might cause that and the nurse/midwife said either it is just "falling asleep" or I am beginning to experience sciatica. If it gets debilitating, they can refer me for physical therapy. Hopefully my yoga can help with this, too.

We probably won't have another ultrasound, unless there is a clinical reason to do so later in the pregnancy. So, I'll have to remain patient as far as finding out for sure if Roo is a girl or a boy.

4th Prenatal Appointment

I'm feeling good. Had an appointment this morning; have gained six pounds since my last appointment, which put me out of the recommended range. Not hard to figure out why, since I've been eating a lot and too much of the wrong stuff. The midwife thought if I exercised more and watched the junk I could get back on track. My uterus is measuring at 23 weeks and I'm about 21 weeks. She said we'd just see where I was at the next appointment. I'm trying not to worry, but now that twins have been ruled out, the other possibilities are not ones to wish for. All I can do right now is control the things I can control -- my diet and exercise.

Ultrasound!

It went great! We are having one baby (whew!) and while the ultrasound person didn't see any boy parts and leaned toward it being a girl, she said, "Don't run out and buy all pink clothes based on this!" The baby was really active so the technician had a hard time getting the shots she needed. This was the best grainy black and white TV show I've ever seen. :-) We saw the baby's heart, brain, arms, legs -- very cool.

It's amazing how much closer I feel to the baby now, especially since I realized some of the random tingly feelings I'd been feeling when drifting off to sleep are almost certainly the little one moving around. I guess I'd been expecting repeated sensations in one spot. Now that I see what a circus he/she's got going on in there, the randomness makes a lot more sense.