Last long weekend get-away pre-baby

This past weekend Tim and I joined Jarrett, Christi, Elsa, David, Shelly and Christian at a cabin in North Georgia just outside Ellijay to enjoy the changing leaves, and some fishing. It was LOVELY- relaxing & chatting with the girls, cooking and knitting for me- fishing and chatting with the guys for Tim. On Sunday Tim and I hung out- going back to one of the fishing spots he'd gone to on Friday. I didn't actually fish...thought about it, but instead decided to be a bit lazier and just take pictures and cheer him on when he caught a fish. I'm not really fitting into any of my winter sweaters or coats so I am wearing Tim's brown sweater (that I truly love and wore last winter without the great belly excuse) and his fleece vest...also wore the hat I knit him since he was wearing a different hat I knit him (more about that later).
First thing in the morning my belly doesn't look too huge- 37 weeks.
I might be one of the world's unhairiest people, but being pregnant has given me a modest amount of blond peach fuzz on my belly. The bedroom we stayed in had wonderful morning sunrise sunshine pouring in making the fuzz glow...my belly button still hasn't really popped out and at this point I don't think it will since I only have 2 weeks until my due date.
At the pumpkin patch the girls went to while the boys fished. Looks like I stuffed a pumpkin under my sweater.

37 Week Appointment

On Tuesday I had yet another appointment (was hoping I'd be checked to see if any effacement or dilation has occurred, but I wasn't checked as they like for you to have already hit the 38 week mark and I was only 37 weeks and 4 days).
Results from the appointment:

• Fundus measured 38cm (right on target)
• urine clean
• gained 1 lb (166lbs on home scale for a grand total of 34lbs so far)
• Blood pressure...well when the nurse took it it was 130/? (not sure about the 2nd number) so the midwife took it again during my appointment and it was 118/80- still high for me but okay in general. I think it was high the first time b/c I was already running late out the door and then spilled coffee on the driver's seat getting in which I had to clean up before I could sit down to drive which made me even later, I had had a dream where I was in a storm and couldn't find Tim and thought he had drowned in the flood so I had woken up anxious and then when the nurse was taking my blood pressure she was chatting with me about how I was feeling and I was saying a bit anxious...all of which contributed to the higher reading I'm sure. I just hope it's not the beginning of a trend as I REALLY DO NOT WANT to have to be induced because of high blood pressure. I want to do it without pain meds and I don't know that I could if I was on pitocin which I hear gives rip roaring contractions.

Next appointment is Wed. 28th and hopefully I can get checked out!

36 Week Appointment

Stats:

• 170lbs (theirs), 163 (mine)...their's is high b/c it was late afternoon
• 100/62
• heartrate good
• urine good
• Strep B test NEGATIVE!!! Yay! No automatic IV!

Stephanie said that Friday I am full-term (37 weeks) and go ahead and try whatever I want to make the little guy come soon. But since Sharon (Tim's mom) is out of the country until the 30th we don't want him coming too early.
She also said that since we are trying to go natural I don't need to call them when I go into labor until the contractions are 2-3 minutes apart--as opposed to our birthing class advice of calling when contractions are 5 minutes apart.
One thing I forgot to mention from my appointment last week was being told that I will have to give birth on the bed...when I had my very first appointment with the midwife I specifically asked if there are any restrictions on what positions I gave give birth in and was told that the only one was squatting- so I was relieved to have so many options.
Then a couple of weeks ago I had a dream that I asked again at an appointment and was told that I would have to give birth on the bed laying on my back and I was so furious and frustrated and decided I would have to find another practice to attend my birth. Last week when I met with Jill she confirmed that I would indeed have to give birth on the bed! But in any position I would like except standing (who would want to stand on a bed to give birth?). So I am a bit disappointed that I can't have all options open to me, but I suppose I'll find a position on the bed that will still work best to get this little one out.
I got the on-call calendar for the month of October so I will know who will be at the hospital if he decides to come soon. And I am almost finished submitting my paperwork to work for my maternity leave.
I still need to finish packing our hospital bags...started on it last night; get down the bassinet from the attic; and install the carseat in the wagon...just in case!
The hardware for the shed doors came today so hopefully we will get the doors installed this week and then we can move out the tools and get started on the nursery!
Still need to blog about both baby showers...
Christi has begun the lending of baby stuff...this week was the breastpump & bottles and other nursing aids...and she is patiently waiting until I get the crib set up in the nursery to lend me baby clothes and many other things that I will most likely store in the crib until I sort the nursery out. A friend, Jill, is also waiting patiently to lend me her swing and bouncer type chair (she lives in a rather cozy duplex without much storage). So once the backroom is empty of the tools it will rather quickly refill with baby odds and ends.
The rocker is shipping this week too!

35 Week Appointment

The Stats:

• 163 lbs (mine), 167lbs (theirs)
• 110/62
• clean pee (I didn't understand until recently that they are looking for protein as a sign of pre-eclampsia)
• fundus height 36cm

Jill, this week's midwife, told me that I am now far enough along that if I go into labor they will not do anything to halt it...Yikes!
She took the Group Strep B test, and I will find out the results next week (next appointment is with Stephanie on Monday). If I test positive (25% of women do at any given time, it apparently comes and goes) then it means I would have to come into the hospital earlier in labor to get on IV antibiotics, if it is negative then I can stay at home as long as I dare. And I am hoping I will be quite daring so I can get to the hospital and they will tell me I am already at 8cm...probably wishful thinking.

After the appointment I drove to the hospital and found out where we need to go once we are there...so at least I know that much even if I can't get a hospital tour. Jill also told me that the Women's wing changed the visitation policy as a result of how many people are sick from the normal and swine flus--before siblings could come visit and any other friend's children needed to be 12 or older. Now NO children are allowed- you have to be 18 or older. I am sure there are quite a few families who are saddened by this. But as Christi pointed out, it is reassuring that they are taking the health of the new mothers and babies seriously. So I am thankful for that.

The best laid plans

I like to plan, write lists (thought once they are jotted down I don't necessarily do anything with them- it's just the act of composing them that I enjoy), daydream about possibilities and in general anticipate things.
So for this baby I've been planning and listing for quite a while off and on. Now that it is just around the bend I've been doing a bit more planning in earnest.
Officially I have about 5 and half weeks to go- so between now and my due date I have planned to pack my bag, Tim's bag and the babies bag; to cook some meals to freeze (there is a list of those floating around the house somewhere); put the nursery together; stock up on stuff that I think we'll run out of (like toilet paper, soap, dishwashing detergent, cereal, deodorant, etc) once the baby is born and we aren't getting out of the house; installing the car seat before our weekend cabin trip mid-October- just in case!; and, finally, taking the hospital tour so we know where to go and what to expect.
This last item has already fallen through...and was one of the more important priorities in my mind. I tried going online to register for the tour last night but couldn't find it in their offerings so I called this morning. Maria, who answered the helpline, was very friendly- took all my information and then said because of the CDC stance on pregnant women and the flu they have suspended tours of the Women's Pavilion ... uh... so that means I am going in blind? No, they are in the process of putting together a virtual tour on DVD and will be done with that soon and they'll mail me a copy. oh, okay.
So even though I think it would be helpful to know where to go once I am labor before I am in labor and that it would be helpful in trying to relax at home if I know what to expect once I get to the hospital (rather than wondering all the time I am at home what the labor room will be like) it looks like that will not be happening.
Maybe the DVD will be enough...I hope so!

Patterns on the IQ test

When I was in kindergarten my teacher contacted my mom and implied that I needed to be in a special class or held back because she thought I was slow...not too talkative, not trying to learn to read, shy, etc. My mom knew I wasn't slow because I behaved totally differently at home (granted I had been slow to speak...learning a word then no one would hear it again for ages, then finally one day I decided to use all the words I'd learned in the past two years and began a lifelong habit of nattering on and on) and I wasn't shy or withdrawn in the family. So she insisted they give me an IQ test to prove I wasn't slow.
Of course, mom is always right and I tested in the 130s- obviously not slow- but there was one question that I failed because the test is looking for specific answers...and those are very context specific (have you ever heard of the arguments proposing the IQ tests are dramatically in favor of middle class white demographic?). Well the question was a word association one...what do you think of when you hear the word 'screen'- the answer sought was window...but as I had just spent the summer camping with my family I said 'tent'.
Anyway, I think IQ tests also have a lot of pattern recognition parts and if I had to take one now I wonder how I would do as I have completely failed to recognize a pattern for the past few weeks.
For quite a while now when I lay down to rest during the day or to go to sleep at night I get to enjoy this baby doing some amazing acrobatics in my belly. But sometimes he gets pretty still and then it is just a very small, rhythmic movement down lower and I've been stumped as to what the heck he could be doing over and over...I've thought maybe it was something my placenta was doing, or perhaps he was just making small movements with his hand...
Probably most of you who've had a baby already know exactly what it is, but I truly didn't recognize this pattern until last night (I'd score much lower on a IQ test these days with my pregnancy brain)...hiccups!
Now that I know where his back is I put my hand on there last night (and again this morning when I woke up to him having them again...and then I woke up Tim so he could feel them as well) I could completely tell that is what is going on. Incidentally, Tim HATES is when he gets the hiccups...he's normally a very calm person but when he gets the hiccups (which thankfully doesn't happen very often) it actually gets him ticked off...which I probably don't help because I think it is highly amusing that it can cause him such angst.
Kindergarten turned out great...got a crush on Gary when he dressed up as a vampire for Halloween, met my friend Abby who had the curliest hair ever, told my first lie (that I remember) trying to convince my teacher that the dried up Elmer's glue blob I had put on my finger nail was really a press-on fake nail that my mom had given me, ate green eggs and green ham after our story time was that story, and had my mom be a volunteer at Christmas time and she made everyone in the class brown felt gingerbread men with red rick-rack edging and ceramic Santa boots with everyone's names on them to take home as ornaments - I still have mine and use them every year on my tree.
So I have high hopes that this baby boy will also be a great joy this coming year...and perhaps I'll make him a few ornaments of his own.

34 Week Appointment

This was the last "normal" appointment. It has been 3 weeks since my last one and the next one is on Oct. 5th --only 11 days...and then I start having to go in every week. Next time I take the Group B strep test that will determine whether or not I have to have an IV during labor and delivery.

But back to today's results:

• 164 lbs (theirs) 161 lbs (mine), 27 lbs gained (theirs) 29 lbs (mine) YIKES (both)
• 90/60 blood pressure
• 35 cm fundus measurement (this is actually a tiny bit bigger than normal, but it could be a growth spurt)
• good pee (I guess this means no extra proteins or something)
• Birth Plan approved with some comments
• heartbeat sounded good- and the position in which she listened to it confirmed her manual palpation of my belly that indicated he is head down (though unlikely to be engaged at this point) with his back towards the front left and feet kicking my ribs on the right.
  

The midwife- Kim, whom I met for the first time- asked that I think about what alternatives, or Plan B, I would be comfortable with...if I need to have some kind of help or medication what would I prefer...like epidural versus IV meds, etc.

I also asked a few questions:

• Thoughts on enemas...They don't do them (sounds good to me!)
• Can I get a new prenatal prescription as my last one couldn't be filled by CVS-something about it being on backorder...Kim said that one's factories didn't pass the FDA's inspection! So she wrote me a new one. Hope nothing was awry with the pills I've been taking for the past 7 months.
• If I end up with a c-section can I nurse in the recovery room...yes
• How much will the midwife be with me?...depends on how many women are in labor and at the same time. It is very rare that the midwife has two delivers at one time, but if that occurs then they will call in one of the practice's doctors and he will attend one of the deliveries.
• Since it will be the labor nurse who is really with me all the time, if I don't get along with her can I ask for another nurse?...yes, though Kim as been working with these nurses for 9 years and she likes them all very much, and they really like supporting natural births. In her 9 years only twice has someone asked for a different nurse.
• And as I am the kind of person who showers before exercising I wanted to know how soon after birth I can shower (my birthing class teacher had said some doctors want you to wait 12 hours!)...as soon as I feel like I am stable enough to get to the bathroom/shower I can bathe, I just need someone in the bathroom with me just in case I faint. Yeah!

I also asked about getting the flu shot. I don't think I've ever even had the flu- I don't really get sick that often...perhaps a cold once a year... I do have days where I feel like I am about to come down with something, but then I just get some extra sleep and it usually doesn't turn into anything. (I attribute this to my habit of eating dirt out of the sidewalk cracks when I was little- I swear I built up all kinds of immunities for life from whatever was in that Texas dirt.)
An article I read the other day said that when a pregnant woman gets the flu vaccine some of the antibodies and protection is passed onto the baby...so since this baby boy is going to be born right in the middle of what is expected to be a pretty bad flu season I thought I might as well do all I can for him. The midwife agreed...so I got it right then and there. So hopefully I won't be exposed to another strain of the common flu (I didn't use to understand that there were different strains - I honestly thought there was only one and didn't understand how you could still get the flu if you had received the vaccine - but I finally read something that explained the annual flu vaccine is created to combat what the experts think will be the most common strain- but that other strains will still be around so you could possibly still get the flu). I will also probably get the H1N1 when it comes out. Strange to get the flu shot at all, I think I've only gotten it once before in college and that was only because it was so darn easy to get it since the nurses were stationed in the college post office and you walked by them all week long.

Full-term in just 3 weeks! But could go as long as almost 8 more before they'd induce.