Category: baby

We had our 36-week doctor appointment on Wednesday. From here on out, this means doctor visits are weekly, and pelvic exams come back into the picture — huzzah!

The baby’s heartbeat was 152, which is pretty much where it’s been hanging around lately. My blood pressure was good, so these swollen legs are just a result of normal water retention.

I’ve been sneaking a peek at my records every time I go to the doctor because I am always curious what the “fundal height” is that week. Just in case you don’t know, the fundal height is the way they measure your uterus (aka stomach in my opinion) to see how the baby’s growth is. The doctor hasn’t told me anything about the baby’s size, but I saw that my fundal height has been matching my number of weeks since sometime in the 2nd trimester. If you are 36 weeks, they expect you to measure 36 cm. So yay!

No dilating going yet, which is fiiiiiine by me. The baby was in head-down position at the appointment, so we’ll see how much she wiggles each week and changes position.

My doctor asked us to make a Birth Plan, which I never wanted to make because I am not that high maintenance…but after that crazy birthing class, I realized the things I do NOT want. No mirrors. No 10 person party in the delivery room.

I’m pretty open to my doctor’s recommendations though. I think she’s a smart woman. She’s educated. She went to school for this (several times). She delivered thousands of babies. I have never done this and have never taken a medical class before. I value her opinions and her expertise in this area. With that being said…if you are reading and thinking that Peter and I might make poor or uninformed choices, please don’t worry. We are educated people also, and you will be able to make all of the decisions you’d like for your own labor and delivery.

For the past 2 days, I’ve noticed that my lower back has been popping a lot. I think the relaxin hormone is kicking in again — it’s never fun. My pelvis has returned to being pretty sore, and now that my lower back is feeling achy, my body thinks it’s 92 years old.

I am pretty bad at drinking water just for the heck of it. I usually drink when I eat, so I’ve been trying to make myself drink more. I’m not sure if that’s why peeing in the middle of the night has increased or if it’s all of this internal pressure going on.

This stage of pregnancy is pretty uncomfortable, but even with that being said, I don’t feel horribly unlike my normal self. I just miss being able to get off the couch without assistance :). Wiping my woman parts on the toilet is also pretty hilarious.

There is still a lot to do. We need to install the car seat, pick a pediatrician, actually do one GOOD cleaning of the entire house, hope that the new hallway carpet gets installed this week or sooner, make a stock pile of sugar glider food, etc. I’d say for the most part we have all of the baby equipment and stuff we need. It’s just a matter of making sure we do all of the things that probably won’t get done again for months.

Today is Christmas Decorating and Hospital Bag Day.

*Warning: Contains graphic information and a lot of use of the word “vagina.”

Peter and I had our Childbirth Prep Class last weekend. We opted for the 8-hour weekend course instead of the 4-day event during the workweek.

When we arrived, we were the only couple there for a while, but they slowly started trickling in. Soon our room was filled with 9 other couples.

We had to start by introducing ourselves, and everyone said their name, due date, doctor’s name, and any other little tidbits of information we wanted to provide. I was surprised to hear that 8 of the 10 couples were due after me because I thought everyone looked like they were going to pop any minute now. Shh — never tell them I said that!

Everyone seemed pretty normal, and most of their stories made us laugh because we could relate. So naturally, I thought this was going to be a pretty mild 8-hour day.

As a side note, I would like to state for the record that I am now terrified of child birth. I have seen The Joy of Life video in health class before, watched A Baby Story on TV, and have heard horror stories about childbirth from just about every mom I’ve ever met…but when you know that childbirth is inevitable, it takes on a whole new scare factor.

The little “intensity” — this is another word for “pain” — charts made me want to cry. Here is my interpretation of the Stages of Labor charts we saw.

Well, this guy just wasn’t having it. This absolutely disgusted him, so he raised his hand. “Hear me out…what if…we took some sort of tube…and shoved it up there, so it would just whisk the poop away?” A POOP TUBE.

Once again, the instructor had to explain that he was really focusing on the wrong thing. I think he was imagining an active “spray” that just continued during the whole pushing phase.