31w4d

Last Thursday was my OB appointment. Everything was great; my doctor was very pleased with me and the baby’s progress. Her heart rate was between 142 and 145. I remember back when it was in the 160s! Of course the bigger she gets, the more she slows down…less room for flipping and acrobatics :) (Though I do believe one of these days her foot is going to burst right through my belly. Nugget is STRONG). She was measuring about 2-3 weeks ahead. This is fine – as the doctor noted, she’s always been big. I see him again on May 23. Once I hit 36 weeks, I’ll start seeing him weekly. He didn’t see the need for an ultrasound just yet. I might get one in about a month, I might not. There’s a good chance that the next time we’ll see her is in the flesh.

We went to our 8-hour Childbirth Preparation class on Saturday. It was great. A little scary, but great. I’ll put it to you this way: no matter how hard I tried to stay focused on NO PAIN, I had nightmares about a bloody and painful childbirth all Saturday night. Some of the most important things I learned are to try and labor from home for as long as possible before rushing to the hospital. This makes perfect sense to me. The rule of thumb she gave is to wait for 4 contractions lasting 1 minute in duration for 1 entire hour. (4-1-1) For us it would be between 5 and 6 contractions since we live farther away from the hospital. We learned how to time contractions and to basically forget everything I just said if my water breaks. If my water breaks I need to head straight to the hospital right away. Apparently this only happens in 10% of pregnancies. It is way more typical for women to begin labor with contractions versus a ruptured bag of water. Another thing I learned is to make sure to wait until I am 4-5 centimeters dilated before requesting an epidural.

Something is to be said for the support your partner can give you. Norman was beyond awesome. He made me feel like he understood everything and would be in total control of the situation. I also feel empowered to find my center and channel the pain. I have no idea what it is going to feel like for me, but at least I am equipped with the knowledge that this pain will have a definite beginning, middle and end. In other words, there is an end in sight – and this gives me a tremendous amount of relief. Still a little scary, nonetheless.

I have my final Cardiology appointment before I give birth this Thursday. I have been feeling great so I don’t expect there to be any out of the ordinary results found during my Echo or EKG.

In other news, we have a lot of work still left to do as far as the second bedroom we are renovating is concerned. The contractor is coming today to finish up with the closet, floorboards and wall. Soon after, we will be able to paint and hopefully finish up before mid-week. My grandmother, who usually lives with my uncle, will be staying with us for 3 weeks or so while they are on vacation in Canada. She’ll be staying in said bedroom so we need to finish it ASAP – she’s coming on Wednesday.

And my BABY SHOWER is on SATURDAY!!!! I am so excited for it. I feel like a little kid. I can’t wait to see everyone and just relax and have a nice time with friends and family. I am also super excited to see how everything turns out. So many surprises for me! My cousins and mom have gone beyond all out for this party. It is turning out to be quite the extravaganza!!!!