T minus one week and one day

Had my final OB office visit today...that's right, final. We talked about our options and Dr. H recommended that we not go too far over one week past the due date (which was yesterday), so we picked a date. On the evening of August 25th we'll check into the hospital and they'll apply a cervical softener overnight, which in and of itself sometimes induces labor; on the 26th, if nothing's still happening, we'll use the pitocin and go ahead and have a baby. (Thus no more office visits.) He suggested that date as Lesley, one of the midwives, will be on the ward that day and can spend one on one time with us.
This is, of course, if Acorn decides not to make his/her appearance sooner. This week I was 1.5 cm dilated and 50-60% effaced according to Dr. H. The dilation may be subjective (since I see a different person each week, Sue's 1cm last week could be the same as Dr. H's 1.5cm this week) although the effacement appears to be a significant change from last week. When he checked, he could also feel the baby's head, which means the rather squeamishly-named "mucous plug" disappeared at some point without me noticing. Again, the slight dilation, effacement, and loss of the plug don't necessarily mean I can expect labor to happen right away, but they are all signs that my body is thinking about it, along with the somewhat regular Braxton-Hicks contractions I've been getting this past week.
I am still hopeful that this will happen the natural way -- I don't love the idea of being induced, although Dr. H reassures me that while it makes the earlier stages of labor happen faster, it's not more painful. We'll see about that!
Send some momentum vibes our way this week!

"Pregatory"

Today I met the final mid-wife at the practice, meaning I've now met all of the staff who might show up on labor day. And this mid-wife, Sue, informed me that I am 1cm dilated. While it's nice to hear that something is happening, there are many tales of people walking around 1-2cm dilated for weeks, so I'm not allowing myself to get anxious or excited.
I was not, however, surprised to hear of the change. Yesterday I had about 1/2 hour of Braxton-Hicks contractions (essentially translating to "practice cramps") that I was able to relieve by lying down and hydrating (which is one of the ways one knows they're not the real thing -- they go away). They felt a little different from the belly-tightening I've felt before but were not painful, and I thought to myself "I bet when I go to the OB I will have dilated a little bit." Pure supposition on my part, and yet, lo and behold!
By Sue's estimation, since I'm not really effacing and only dilated a tiny bit, I will probably make my Wednesday appointment next week without having gone into labor, at which point we will start to talk about how long we'll wait past my due date, inducing labor, etc. Still, I think I'm finally going to pack that hospital bag and get the car-seat set up. We have a waterproof liner on my side of the mattress and we wrapped up the rest of our registry shopping on Sunday, so we're just about ready in terms of practical preparations.
Mental preparations, however, are still in progress. Steve and I chatted a bit and both agreed that however we feel about having a baby in our lives, we are good and ready for it to come just so we can start adapting to it already. This waiting around stuff is pregatory (= pregnancy + purgatory, in case that's not obvious). Once baby comes, we can adapt to it with hopefully just enough time to adapt to all of the girls returning to school in early September and my job starting, and then...finally...routine. After a summer-long period of transition after transition, it's hard to imagine a routine again!
But I digress. One centimeter, people. With the actual speed of the events to follow still unknown, at least we can say, "it has begun."

All quiet on the Southern Front

Met with midwife #2 today, a woman named Sara who I'd also be happy to have show up in the delivery room. I measured the same weight and centimeters; my belly and baby growth seems to enjoy an echelon style of giant leaps rather than the old slow and steady method. Sara reported that there's nothing new in indications-of-oncoming-labor town; the shop is still closed up and quiet. The midwife said I could take evening primrose oil supplements and that those supposedly help loosen things up (but only if they were on the verge of loosening up anyway) but I'm feeling kind of que sera sera about it. On the one hand, am I about ready to meet this baby and have my body back to being a one-horse town again? Yes. On the other, am I ready for the huge major enormous monstrous life change of delivery and having a baby? Not sure that anyone can really be ready for that. So let the little one make its own decision about when to emerge without prompting from me, and I'll be ready when it tells me to be.
Another interesting note -- I mentioned that they had not yet re-tested me regarding my previous low iron count results, so Sara looked back through the notes and surprised me by saying my iron count had actually been pretty darn normal for a pregnant woman, just a little low for a non-pregnant woman. She said she wouldn't have bothered to put me on iron in the first place, although it doesn't hurt. So we're not going to bother with the retest after all. Maybe the CO doctor's concern was an altitude thing?
I have had one annoying symptom to speak of this last week or so -- Symphysis pubis dysfunction, or SPD. The name is a pretty fancy way of saying 'pelvic girdle pain,' meaning that the hormones that loosen up the ligaments and tendons to make the pelvic girdle bones roomier for birth are doing their job, only a little too well and a little too soon. It's not perpetual, it mostly occurs when I do things that stretch my legs apart -- like, say, take the big step up into a pick up truck -- which gives me a pretty sharp and stabby pain. The only real treatment is to avoid said stretching apart, so I sit a little more carefully and put pants on a little more carefully.
The good news about this is that the stronger onset of SPD (I'd had it slightly for a while now) is a good indication among others that the baby has "dropped," or at least started to, meaning that it's starting to line itself up into birthing position. This normally happens at 2-4 weeks out for first pregnancies and it's right on time. I've noticed I feel a little less compressed, I can eat a little bit more in a given sitting, I use the bathroom more, and the appearance of my belly has lowered. The midwife confirmed that Acorn's head is pretty low while she was palpating my belly to check for its positioning so she could get a good read on the heartbeat (which is as strong and clear as ever).
Acorn, true to form, squirmed and swirled underneath her hands.

Contents under pressure

At my weekly OB appointment I discovered that I'd gained 3lbs and 3 centimeters...since last week! Let it be understood that it is no coincidence that after one week of my dear husband being home I have gained and grown! As usual, everything else seems to be coming along nicely. I'm not dilating yet or anything like that just yet.
I met the third and final doctor from the practice today and liked her a lot; I'd be happy to have her show up on "labor day." She was easy to talk to and her first name is Elisa, so we could relate on the many permutations of our respective names that we've heard over the years.
In other news, our storage pod arrived yesterday and with half of the contents removed, so far we've only seen damage to one lampshade and everything else seems just as we left it. We steam-cleaned our new apartment's carpets yesterday so today we'll begin the furniture odyssey...it's frustrating to be stuck spectating, but at least Steve has my mom and family members to help this time around!

Midwife #1

I am at 36 weeks and officially in my ninth month -- the birth could happen any time now and the baby would be just fine out in the world!
Had my weekly appointment today and met one of three midwives who might be at the delivery - she was very nice. More exciting was the fact that Steve was with me! He has safely arrived in Connecticut. The OB's office is right by the hospital they use for births (literally connected by a walkway) so we took a minute after the appointment to take a quick tour of the OB ward. It wasn't anything fancy but all the rooms are private so that's a plus; it will do just fine.
In other news, I am measuring exactly the same and weigh exactly the same for the third week in a row! I swear I'm going to start growing a 'bump' out my back!

Another week, another doctor

Met the second of three doctors at the OB practice today for my latest visit; yet another very nice man. I measured at 33 cm again and the same weight again and asked him about it, and he said that such plateauing is normal and if I measured 40cm at 40 weeks they'd be very concerned for the baby's size! He said if they were worried they'd order an ultrasound, to which I said, well, the other doctor did just that, but only because he said it couldn't hurt. Too which he replied, nope, it can't hurt. He was very reassuring.
The ultrasound happened 45 minutes later and everything looks great -- Acorn is ~5.9lbs edit: 5 lbs 9oz! Which means (s)he weighs right about average for this stage. The ultrasound tech commented that both the heart and lungs looked great and were pumping away, and that there was plenty of fluid. By her estimation the baby looks totally healthy. She measured the diameter of the skull at 8.6cm, with me silently thinking, okay, no bigger than that; you stay at 8.6 and I'll get to 10 and everyone's happy!
And yes, I avoided learning the gender one last time, so yes, it's still a mystery. 5 more weeks or so and we'll all find out.
Up next week: I meet the first of three midwives at the practice and my husband comes home!

The new OB office

Everything went well at my new OB office. I handed them all my old records and they found them to be complete; I got a bunch of education around the hospital they use and their practice; and I got to review some information that I already knew, which I assume they have to tell me just to be safe -- no unpasteurized or raw foods, and what medications are safe, for example. The only frustrating part of this process, in which I'll meet a new MD or Midwife each week right up until 40 weeks (6 people total), is having to retell my story over and over again: actually, I used to live in CT. I moved back here for a job and for family. I just got my MSW which is why we lived in Colorado. My husband is wrapping up a job out West. And so forth. Can't they write that stuff down in their notes too? I already miss having one doctor who knows me fairly well and whose memory is easy to jog, but I understand their system of having me meet everyone so there will be no strangers come delivery day.
One perk with joining the new office, though, is in discussing my weight and how I'm measuring and all that, the MD I met this week decided we should do another ultrasound just to check out how big the baby is and how it's doing. So I get to see Acorn one more time!! I'm bummed that Steve will miss it and I'll have to be stubborn about not learning the gender one more time, but I'm still pleased to see the latest baby images. It'll have been 15 weeks since the last one -- nearly four months -- so it's going to be eye-opening. That will take place after my next appointment next Wednesday. If the images are clear at all, I'll scan them.
Other tidbits: the MD told me that in his experience, tall women don't need c-sections, and that I have "birthing hips." Well, thank you very much! (He may be the only man on earth with the possible exception of my husband who can walk away intact after saying such things to me.) Of course, my mom is tall and still needed a c-section because my brother refused to leave the womb*, but I didn't get into that. He also told me that there is a very high chance that this kid is going to come late, that most first pregnancies go past their due date. I was already prepared for that and am hopeful that in5.5 weeks I'll be able to live with those few extra days.
All in all, I feel good about the new office and confident that things will work out just fine with them.

*My brother was due to be born on July 4th, 1976 -- the bicentennial! Instead, he made his appearance FOUR weeks later on July 29th. They don't allow moms to go over their due date that long any more. It's just mind-boggling to think about!

Big AND small...and probably fuzzy

Everything on our last visit went well, with one oddity: I only gained 1lb over the last four weeks (I should have gained 4lbs) but my belly is measuring a centimeter ahead of schedule! (Interestingly, at this point the number of centimeters you're supposed to measure is exactly the same as the number of weeks you're along; so I should be measuring 32cm at 32 weeks, but was measuring 33cm.) I don't understand how I can eat this much and measure this big while still looking kind of small and not gaining much weight? But it's not a point of concern as far as the OB said, so I'm sticking with that.
Also strange trivia: while waiting to see the doc I read in a magazine that there is a correlation between moderate heart burn in pregnant moms and their babies having full heads of hair. Apparently the hormone that encourages one encourages the other too. Since I am experiencing moderate heart burn, our baby should be born looking nice and fuzzy.
I got my records to bring with me and have already scheduled all my appointments in Connecticut...so now it's just time to move!

Results

The OB office called me back with my results today -- I don't have gestational diabetes. Woohoo!! My sugar intake is appropriate! My baby is not going to come out weighing 30 pounds!
But...my iron count was a little low. So I'll be taking an iron supplement on top of the prenatal vitamins.
To tell you the truth, I am not at all surprised to hear this. Back in San Francisco I used to try to give blood at least once a year. For the last four of my five years there, my iron count was always just a smidge too low. I would load up on spinach and red meat but I could never beat the test. (I could never get in the habit of just taking a supplement back then.) So now that my body has extra onus on it, I'm actually kind of pleased to hear that my iron count is just a little too low, rather than a lot.
They want to retest in 8 weeks, which will be once I'm in CT, but I'll make sure the new OB follows up on it. I'll be at 36 weeks and needing all the iron I can get if I'm going to be about to birth a baby!

28 week OB appt

Wednesday morning I went in for my penultimate OB appointment here in Denver. Everything is coming along fine. I'm measuring exactly where I'm supposed to, I'm not swelling or cramping, any contractions are blatantly related to exertion (by which I mean going for walks, which is ridiculous but what can I say) and dissipate with rest, the kid is consistently active, and I gained three pounds since last time. She said if I gain a pound a week for the next 12 weeks I'll be weighing in at the low end of perfectly normal with a total weight gain of 25 pounds; they set the range at 25-35.
The only thing I have left to hear about is the results of the gestational diabetes and anemia tests, which should happen early next week. I'm confident all is well and will update when I find out.
So far, so good.

It's a...baby!

We had the 20 week ultrasound today (a week late, but both we and the OB were on vacation last week) and were successful in our desire to avoid unintentional viewing of any tell-tale parts. No gender news for you!
Highlights:

• Getting to see it again, at all. It seemed huge compared to nine weeks!
• Hands, fingers, feet and toes, all flexing and waving! This time it actually looked like a baby!
  
• At one point s/he literally waved his/her hand at us!
• The bone structure -- the spinal cord in particular was startlingly beautiful, and we could see tibia and fibula and radius and ulna and cranium and ribs...like a little cathedral hidden inside.
• Our OB was able to rule out Trisomy 18, a condition which is so fatal that babies don't survive in the outside world. We couldn't afford the blood test (which was not covered by our insurance, sigh) so it was a relief to have another method to rule it out. She also did not see any indicators of Down's Syndrome, although the absence of visual cues does not rule it out completely.
  

I won't bother to post the print-outs we got because they're nondescript to the untrained eye, and seeing them on a computer screen will only make them even harder to read. Also, the little tyke wouldn't give us a solid profile. Seeing the baby face-on during an ultrasound is VERY odd, because bones read better than flesh, so basically we got the shadowy outline of the shape of the face with the skull clearly defined within it. Like a little zombie baby!

So far there are no indications to the contrary that this baby is healthy, growing appropriately, and will be fully formed and ready to meet the world when the time comes!

Party in the front, business in the back

Alright, people, the bump is official. I can still pretty much button pants (thanks especially to the low-rise trend) but it's more of an effort. And while I've had extra padding on my belly for quite some time, now I can feel hard muscle wall behind it. We had our 16 week check up today and she said it's about 3 centimeters below my belly button, which is normal. I also gained 4 pounds, so my campaign to eat more and better is working. It's funny, The Book has me pegged: "You may be feeling some frustration because your normal clothes don't fit but you're still too small for maternity clothes." Yup, that about covers it (or doesn't).
The official presence of the bump happens to coincide with being on my third day of lower back pain. This is very normal in early pregnancy and there's no bleeding or cramping, so nothing to worry about. I finally realized that I'd had to drive instead of walk to classes this week and that meant I got no exercise. I've got two more finals to go (winter quarter ends next week!) and then I hope to build walking into my schedule much more regularly. I know Tika won't object. :) In the meantime I'm keeping an eye on my posture, sleeping on my side with a pillow between my knees, and taking tylenol when necessary.

12 weeks, 2 days, and many more to come

Just a quick post to say: we went to the OB today and...heard the heartbeat!! Acorn's heart was 160 beats per minute. We are officially in the less-than-1%-extremely-rare range for miscarriages. Although the ultrasound felt pretty unreal, that heartbeat...that heartbeat was visceral. I felt a little weepy and ended up giggling as the OB patiently held the dopler in place while S. fiddled with his MP3 player (which has a recording feature). S. did get a recording of it, which with any technological savvy, we may be able to post on this blog at some point.
Our little one is a lover and a fighter. Look out world! :)

First Glimpse

On Tuesday, January 12th, we got to meet Acorn for the first time:

In the second photo I added labels, but you'll need to click the photo to see them:
Acorn is facing upward in the picture, and (s)he's in profile.
So the head is on the left with the face pointing upward, and the little flipper feet are on the right.
The biggest thing for us was seeing the heartbeat. Go baby go!