Thirty-Eight Weeks

Baby's size this week: According to the app, she is almost 20 inches long and weighs in at 6.8 pounds.

Latest update from the OB:  Everything looks good.  My blood pressure was lower yesterday than it was at my first appointment, my weight gain is good, and the baby's heartbeat is still at 145 BPM.  At this point, measurements of my fundal height indicate that Wolverina will be weighing in somewhere in the seven pound range.  Given the large size of Handley/Nobles babies, I'm very relieved to hear this news.  Additionally, Dr. Dixon noted that Wolverina has dropped and asked me if I'd noticed a difference.  I have no doubt she's dropped because the spot under my left ribs no longer feels bruised, and it's a little bit easier to breathe.

We had a really good discussion regarding stripping membranes and the use of Pitocin.  Dr. Dixon did an excellent job of explaining what exactly stripping the membranes entailed and why he wasn't inclined to do it. He drew parallels between doing that and starting Pitocin right now.  Essentially, it boils down to this: while I am clearly at the end of my pregnancy, my body isn't ready to go into labor.  Because my body isn't ready, both would result in more discomfort for me because we'd be trying to force labor before it was time.  He went on to explain that there are other doctors in the practice who disagree with him, so he wasn't saying that it shouldn't be done.  It's just his belief that it wouldn't be helpful for me.  This further solidified my belief that Dixon is the right doctor for me.  He's a good blend of science and crunchiness, and he's very willing to explain his position, his philosophy, and the reasons behind it all.  And, he does it all in layman's terms.

Are you craving anything? I'm craving her arrival!

How do you feel?  Like a 9.5-month pregnant woman.  I'm exhausted, unwieldy, and prone to hot flashes.  The nausea is back.  I did some reading over the weekend, though, about exercises I could do to get some relief in my back and hips, and they have been quite helpful.

What have you crossed off your to-do list this week? Ironed Wolverina's coming-home outfit (which made Ray laugh a lot), packed the hospital bag, made the list of last-minute items to add to the bag before we leave the house, taped that list to the front door, and completed the ABCs of infants class.

What's left on your to-do list? 

1. Paint the wooden letters to hang on her wall.

How is Ray doing? He's doing very well.  He got a big laugh out of the baby last night.  We were sitting on the couch, and to be funny, he stuck his cold feet on my stomach.  Wolverina freaked out and kicked him really hard and started trying to squirm away from the ice blocks.  He said, "She's like her daddy!  She hates it when you put your cold feet on her!"  And so he pulled them away, waited a minute until she'd relaxed, and then put his cold feet back on my stomach just to aggravate her.  He repeated this several times, laughing each time she kicked at him.  If I wasn't laughing so hard at him laughing at her, I would have felt sorry for Wolverina.  But it is so neat to watch him interact with her at this point.