| Feb. 3, 2000
(34 weeks) - Another routine appt. and other decisioons |
Feb. 8, 2000
(34 weeks, 5 days) - A few little twinges< |
| Feb. 16, 2000
(35 weeks, 6 days) - Doctor's appointment, reality setting iin! |
Feb. 18, 2000
(36 weeks, 1 day) - Hospital tour, a little nervous now |
| Feb. 21, 2000
(36 weeks, 4 days) - Baby Shower! |
Feb. 3, 2000 (34 weeks) - Had my doctor's visit yesterday and it was another routine one, which is never a bad thing. Weight and blood pressure were fine, and because I went into the office without getting a chance to stop for lunch first the little one was VERY active. I was in the waiting room getting very strong movements, and as the doctor tried to get the heart rate they continued and she was feeling them. She commented that with each movement the heart rate would increase, which was a good sign. Other than that, all is normal and I see her again in 2 weeks, Feb. 16th, where I'll get an internal exam, a test for group B strep (which is standard) and then I'll begin to see her weekly. I also have to have my blood drawn a few days before the visit and she will be sending me for another ultrasound at 38 weeks to check on the placenta location.
In other news, we have accomplished quite a bit in the last week. We have a home daycare provider that we really like and will most likely use, we visited a pediatric practice Friday evening and will be using them, and my office threw me a little shower where they gave us our carseat. Now we are REALLY ready for the baby. Last night was our first of two infant care classes and it was pretty interesting. It also caused both of us to start thinking - wow, that will really be us in a matter of weeks. Reality sets in and it is a little scary. Next class will be hands on with the dolls so that should be fun. Frank assures me we will be acing this class. So, that's about all for now. We're pretty close to the "point of no return" as someone described it this weekend. Around 37 weeks (3 weeks away) they won't stop labor if it starts. Since a few people seem convinced I'll go early (Frank says the next full moon, which happens to be the day of my shower Feb. 19th) it just makes me wonder if we'll have a February baby instead of March. I still say early March. We shall see...
Feb. 8, 2000 (34 weeks, 5 days) - Well, I spent a good portion of Sunday on my feet at a boat show, and that had me pretty exhausted by the time I came home. Still, I fixed dinner for my family for my dad's birthday and by the evening I just couldn't stay on my feet any longer. No real complaints about my back at all, but I do notice that I have to use the bathroom a little more frequently at times, although not all of the time. It just depends on the day. The other development is that I do notice little twinges now and then that make me stop in my tracks. I've read that at this point the baby can start to hit nerves, and I'm pretty sure that's what it is as they usually don't last very long. I've had a few cramping sensations, but they don't last either.
As for the baby, he/she is still getting bouts of hiccups. They probably bother me more than him/her as I just find myself waiting for them to subside, especially when they occur at night. Baby is still staying pretty active, I get lots of pushing sensations throughout the day and I'm getting them as I type this. Most times they are right above my belly button and if I push back on the hard spots I find that they disappear, but are sometimes following by another strong movement. It's really pretty fascinating, and difficult not to be in awe of what is going on in there. I find myself smiling and laughing about it most of the time. Sometimes the stronger movements will catch me off guard and make me jump, but even that is a good thing to me. I just can't imagine what it will be like to NOT be pregnant anymore. I've really been enjoying it. I still don't think I'm as big as I should be, and I'm not really putting on any weight which a little concerning, but I'm not worrying as long as the baby's activity is keeping up. Still, I just can't wait to meet this little one.
Feb. 16, 2000 (35 weeks, 6 days) - This appointment went pretty well, they took a sample for Group B Strep, which wasn't invasive at all really. I found out my total weight gain to this point is 26 pounds, not too bad. My doctor was very busy, they had one patient in the office with ruptured membranes and she had 2 other patients at the hospital in labor. Wow, that had me thinking, that could be me any day now! So, I was seen by the nurse practitioner instead, who I've seen before and didn't mind at all. Everything went well, she had a hard time getting the baby's heartrate, but was able to tell me that the baby's butt is up high and head down low, which is good. Everything else is fine, and next week will be my first real internal exam. Other than that, not much to report. My heartburn is getting a little worse, but for the most part I'm still pretty comfortable except for the occasional twinges "down low" that I've learned to just walk through. No sign of contractions that I can tell or any other signs of progress. Baby remains pretty active so I'm just waiting for him or her to make their move down. I don't think the full moon this Saturday will do it, but perhaps the approaching storms next week will start something. Anyway, I'm not in any hurry. Looking forward to the birthing center tour tomorrow evening and my baby shower on Saturday!
Feb. 18, 2000 (36 weeks, 1 day)- Last night we toured the hospital and I have to say it seemed pretty nice. You do have labor and delivery in one room, then upstairs are the maternity "suites" for recovery. I wasn't as impressed with the suites as I thought I would be, they were kinda small, but Ritz Carlton it ain't!! Anyway, they also didn't have a couch there, but if husbands want to spend the night they roll in a cot and remove the chairs. Well, with Frank's bad back I can't do that to him, so he'll just be staying with me until 11pm each night and be back by 7am the next morning. I think I can deal with that.
In any event, just looking at those labor and delivery rooms was making me nervous. I'm not afraid of the labor process, but of being in this strange bed in this strange room surrounded by strangers! Not to mention the fact that patience is not one of my strengths and if I'm in labor for hours and hours I think that will just make it worse. Just hope that I can do all this without a c-section, because then I'll REALLY be nervous! They should probably just knock me out if they have to do that one.
Okay, enough of this talk. I've sterilized the bottles and pacifiers that I have and washed all of the baby clothes and items I have so that I could pack the baby's bag. I also have my own bag packed, so there's not much left to do at home. My shower is tomorrow, so I'll end up spending the rest of the weekend putting more stuff away I guess. It should be fun though. Still no signs of this baby coming any time soon, but I think that he/she has definitely made some progress towards the exit as I am definitely heading to the bathroom a lot more often now. Baby is still remaining active and I do spend a lot of time pushing little baby parts back in, even though I don't know what parts they are, I just know they don't need to be pushing out!
Feb. 21, 2000 (36 weeks, 4 days)- Saturday Feb. 19th was my baby shower and also a full moon! Let's just say that baby is still in place and we have lots more stuff! The shower was wonderful, I have such great friends and family, and at this point there really isn't much else that we need. We took a look at our registry on Sunday when we returned a few items and found that the few items that are left really aren't things that we need. We picked up a few more things that we did need and still have plenty of Babies R Us/Toys R Us credit that any time over the spring or summer when we find we need something we're pretty sure we can get it without having to worry about paying for it. Frank has put together all of the items that weren't assembled, I've put away most of the baby stuff that didn't need washing and finished packing the baby bag with a few more things. I still have an entire bag full of things that need to be washed and will probably take care of that this week sometime. So, I'd say all systems are go for baby's arrival, we feel that we are as prepared as we can be, and now it's just up to the baby to decide when he/she wants to arrive!