I had a very brief appointment with Margaret yesterday. Of course, I went through the regular initial routine of peeing in a cup (I guess everything was fine, as nothing was said), having my blood pressure taken (still good), and getting weighed in (gained one pound since last week, so I now weigh 149). Everything continues to seem fine with Baby Helms. She hasn't managed any crazy acrobatic moves (although sometimes it feels to the contrary!), and still remains head down. Margaret hasn't yet checked to see if I'm at all dilated/effaced -- she said she would yesterday if I really wanted her to, but I figured that I would rather just wait for now. If I'm one centimeter dilated, I would probably start to get crazy excited even though I really know that I could remain this way for weeks. I would rather just remain calm and let things run their course at this point. Besides, she said she would most likely check things out next Tuesday, so it's really not that long to wait.
Jarrett and I have decided to go ahead with banking the baby's cord blood, so I made Margaret aware of that. It sounds like she's been through the process quite a few times, so I completely trust she knows what she is doing. We got our collection kit in the mail yesterday, so that is another item to add to our hospital bag!
They still did not have my medical records, though Margaret did go ahead and fill out the paperwork I need to turn in to work for FMLA/short-term disability. I was ticked enough yesterday about this, though, and since I was taking a vacation day because of several appointments I had, I decided to stop by North Pointe OB/GYN and give them a piece of my mind. I mean, come on, I requested the transfer to be made weeks ago, and had even paid the transfer fee for this second time... AND the check cleared a couple of weeks ago. But in the end, I decided to take the nice approach when I arrived at the office, and that worked out pretty well for me. I told them I was just getting worried that this had not been done yet since I was now 37 weeks pregnant, and my favorite receptionist at that office said she did not want me to be worried and that, though they were short staffed, she would make sure the records were faxed over lunch. She also assured me someone would call when this was done. I got a call while still on the drive back home. So I called Isis and told them to be on the look out, so hopefully everything is okay now. Cross your fingers.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
36 Weeks
What is BabyCenter's fruit/veggie pick for the week? A crenshaw melon. Our little girl is a precious melonhead once again. She is also still packing on the pounds -- at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She is shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body, as well as the vernix caseosa -- the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. She swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture called meconium, which will form the contents of her first bowel movement. Mmm... looking forward to that.
At the end of this week, Baby Helms will be considered full-term (full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term, and those born after 42 are post-term). Jarrett and I finally sat down this evening and made our packing list for the hospital -- now we just need to actually pack! My coworker, who has been walking down this pregnancy path with me, had her baby early this morning, about a week-and-a-half before her scheduled due date, so I do need to keep in mind that an early birth is a possibility. It sounds like her labor and delivery went fairly smoothly, and she, her husband, and her new little boy are all doing quite well.
At the end of this week, Baby Helms will be considered full-term (full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term, and those born after 42 are post-term). Jarrett and I finally sat down this evening and made our packing list for the hospital -- now we just need to actually pack! My coworker, who has been walking down this pregnancy path with me, had her baby early this morning, about a week-and-a-half before her scheduled due date, so I do need to keep in mind that an early birth is a possibility. It sounds like her labor and delivery went fairly smoothly, and she, her husband, and her new little boy are all doing quite well.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
36-Week Midwife Appointment
Let me just begin this by saying that I am so glad that my remaining appointments are already scheduled and -- most importantly -- that they are scheduled earlier in the morning, unlike the appointment today, which was at 11:45 a.m. Like most doctor's offices, I think the later in the day you go, the more likely it is that they have gotten backed up somewhere down the line, and the more likely it is that you are going to sit in the waiting room for awhile. I arrived around 11:30 a.m., and wasn't called back until nearly 12:30 -- not much fun when you're experiencing back pain. The other downer of the visit was that Isis has yet to receive my records from North Pointe, despite the fact that I even broke down and paid the stupid $25 fee to North Pointe again. Needless to say, they got a call this afternoon, but I had to leave a message. I understand that they are probably having to do this for many patients right now, but I'm 36 weeks pregnant! Okay, enough ranting (though that is what Margaret and I did for most of the appointment :) ).
Surprise, surprise, I peed in a cup (I guess everything was fine, as nothing was said to the contrary), the nurse checked my blood pressure (it was good), and she weighed me as well (I gained one pound since the last visit). Then to the examination room I went. After Margaret came in and we chatted for just a bit, I got up on the table and she felt my belly and said she was going to wait just a moment, as I was having a Braxton Hicks contraction. I was a bit surprised because I experienced this several times before -- just kind of an overall tightening of the belly -- but just always thought it was the baby pushing against me, which is what I told her. She said that, yes, the baby does push against me and probably creates a similar sensation, but that this was definitely Braxton Hicks. Anyway, it's no big deal since these are really just "practice contractions," with no regularity and no pain, but it was kind of cool to find out what was really going on. Once the contraction released, Margaret could feel the baby's feet kind of move over to one side, which I have also definitely felt before. So at that point she went through her routine, and everything seemed to be fine. She didn't really comment on the heartbeat, so I'm assuming that was because it sounded okay, and she said the head is definitely still way down low. She also had to do a swab test for Strep B, and I will find out those results at my next appointment. If I test positive, I'll have to have antibiotics through an IV when I first get to the hospital. Because I'm trying to avoid IVs altogether, if possible, I hope it will come back negative, but I don't have any control over that. Some women just naturally have Strep B present in their bodies.
Other than that, we just went over the procedure for when I actually do go into labor, which is basically that Jarrett and I will call the office and then choose the option to dial Margaret's phone directly, which then rings her cell. If for some reason she doesn't pick up, we are to try again about ten minutes later. If, again, we don't get an answer, we are to call the hospital in case she is already there and is either not receiving the best connection in one of the rooms or is busy with another patient, and then someone at the hospital will get her for us. At that point we will have a conversation over the phone to determine whether it's time to go the hospital -- basically the same sort of conversation we will likely have with the doula.
So it's really coming down to the wire now, which is very exciting -- and often still seems quite crazy. I'm starting to gather items to pack in a bag for the hospital for both us and the baby, and we still have to get our car seat and install it and everything.
As far as how I'm feeling, I'm definitely starting to be a bit more uncomfortable, especially when sitting for any length of time, but I'm hanging in there. My ankles haven't been swelling quite as much as they did that previous day, but they still look decently puffy by the end of the day. If they're swollen to any extent, I sleep with my feet elevated a bit on a pillow or two, which seems to help. I'm still not really scared or worried about labor and delivery -- I think maybe just a little anxious to really experience it more than anything else. Right now I don't really know what to expect. Most importantly, though, Jarrett and I are just both super excited to meet our little girl.
Surprise, surprise, I peed in a cup (I guess everything was fine, as nothing was said to the contrary), the nurse checked my blood pressure (it was good), and she weighed me as well (I gained one pound since the last visit). Then to the examination room I went. After Margaret came in and we chatted for just a bit, I got up on the table and she felt my belly and said she was going to wait just a moment, as I was having a Braxton Hicks contraction. I was a bit surprised because I experienced this several times before -- just kind of an overall tightening of the belly -- but just always thought it was the baby pushing against me, which is what I told her. She said that, yes, the baby does push against me and probably creates a similar sensation, but that this was definitely Braxton Hicks. Anyway, it's no big deal since these are really just "practice contractions," with no regularity and no pain, but it was kind of cool to find out what was really going on. Once the contraction released, Margaret could feel the baby's feet kind of move over to one side, which I have also definitely felt before. So at that point she went through her routine, and everything seemed to be fine. She didn't really comment on the heartbeat, so I'm assuming that was because it sounded okay, and she said the head is definitely still way down low. She also had to do a swab test for Strep B, and I will find out those results at my next appointment. If I test positive, I'll have to have antibiotics through an IV when I first get to the hospital. Because I'm trying to avoid IVs altogether, if possible, I hope it will come back negative, but I don't have any control over that. Some women just naturally have Strep B present in their bodies.
Other than that, we just went over the procedure for when I actually do go into labor, which is basically that Jarrett and I will call the office and then choose the option to dial Margaret's phone directly, which then rings her cell. If for some reason she doesn't pick up, we are to try again about ten minutes later. If, again, we don't get an answer, we are to call the hospital in case she is already there and is either not receiving the best connection in one of the rooms or is busy with another patient, and then someone at the hospital will get her for us. At that point we will have a conversation over the phone to determine whether it's time to go the hospital -- basically the same sort of conversation we will likely have with the doula.
So it's really coming down to the wire now, which is very exciting -- and often still seems quite crazy. I'm starting to gather items to pack in a bag for the hospital for both us and the baby, and we still have to get our car seat and install it and everything.
As far as how I'm feeling, I'm definitely starting to be a bit more uncomfortable, especially when sitting for any length of time, but I'm hanging in there. My ankles haven't been swelling quite as much as they did that previous day, but they still look decently puffy by the end of the day. If they're swollen to any extent, I sleep with my feet elevated a bit on a pillow or two, which seems to help. I'm still not really scared or worried about labor and delivery -- I think maybe just a little anxious to really experience it more than anything else. Right now I don't really know what to expect. Most importantly, though, Jarrett and I are just both super excited to meet our little girl.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
35 Weeks
What does BabyCenter have to say about the little munchkin this week? Apparently she does not have much room to maneuver now that she is over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5.25 pounds (compare her to the weight of an average honeydew melon... mmm... I ate some this afternoon as a snack). Because it is so snug in the womb, they say she is not likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but I would have to say that she has been going quite crazy the past few days -- maybe not somersaults, but moving quite a bit all the same. I think poor Tim was a little freaked out the other night when he saw my belly moving around in waves. Baby Helms's kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete -- she will spend the next few weeks putting on weight. I wonder how big she will get...
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Atlanta Baby Shower
My dear friends, Kate and Shelly, threw me an incredible baby shower on Saturday. I was already so lucky to have the fabulous shower Jarrett's mom threw us in North Carolina, and then this. It was a girls-only shower, and I was surrounded by many of my closest friends, including Valerie and my mom, who were both able to make it down from North Carolina. I don't know if the photos will adequately show how lovely everything was, but the day could not have been more perfect. I think my favorite part of the whole occasion was first walking through Kate's front door and taking in all of the decorations. They went with a country theme (since I'm kind of doing farm animals in the nursery), and there were flowers everywhere; clotheslines with the cutest clothes strung from them; mason jars from which to drink; a cute straw bunny centerpiece on the dining table; and an awesome spread of food, including deviled eggs, pimento cheese sandwiches, chicken salad on croissants, a tomato/basil/mozzarella salad, cucumber dill salad, and my two of my favorite sweets (which is saying something for a girl who is not big on sweets to begin with) -- a layered strawberry cream cake and molasses crinkles. There was a scrapbooking table, where guests created scrapbook pages with words of advice, and Alison supplied a revised version of her Baby Shower Cranium game, which was just as much fun as when we played at Shelly's shower (thanks, Al!). And the photos -- there were photos of me and Jarrett everywhere you turned. It was amazing. Thank you so much, girls! And thank you to everyone who was able to come and share and the festivities. For those of you who weren't able to make it, know that you were there in spirit!
Meanwhile, Jarrett and a few of his guy friends and my dad had Man Day over at our house, and Tim and David supplied the extravaganza, complete with steaks, au gratin potatoes, Caesar salad, beer, cigars, Xbox... and pork rinds (don't ask).
Meanwhile, Jarrett and a few of his guy friends and my dad had Man Day over at our house, and Tim and David supplied the extravaganza, complete with steaks, au gratin potatoes, Caesar salad, beer, cigars, Xbox... and pork rinds (don't ask).
Waterbirth Class
Last Thursday evening, Jarrett and I attended a waterbirth class at the hospital, which is required for those who desire trying for a waterbirth when the big day arrives. The class, though only about an hour and a half in length, was quite informative, and left us both feeling more prepared and better equipped with the knowledge of what we should actually expect with a waterbirth. We also left with a list of rather odd items that we are to bring with us to the hospital, specifically for use during the waterbirth. I'll let you figure out what they might be for:
- Two small kiddie swim rings (and possibly one of the small inflatable kiddie rafts)
- Bath pillow (optional)
- Swim trunks for Jarrett
- Aquarium fish net
- Antibacterial soap
- Flip flops
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