Baby for the Midwife

Bryn drove me to our midwife appointment today. We left 15 minutes late and arrived only 6 minutes late. The drive seems really long from the passenger seat. And the hospital is another 15 minutes down the road and we've only been there once and I was driving. I will not be driving when I'm in labor. I will also be lousy at giving directions. I think I'm going to need to let Bryn drive to the hospital, just to practice, at some point this summer. Panic attack over. For now. 

Our midwife is going on maternity leave. I'm not sure how I feel about this. She is leaving the Friday before Memorial Day and won't be back until the first week of September. Unless I deliver over a week late, she will not be at the birth. She is hopeful that I will deliver on time. I have had appointments with the other two midwives. I really liked one of them. The other one was brusque and I didn't like her as much. She is the one my next appointment is with. Perhaps she was just having a bad day. We'll see.

The next appointment my glucose gets tested. They only stock the orange flavored stuff. I'm not looking forward to it (says the woman who just ate a pint of lemon sorbet). And we are going to schedule another sonogram for 32 weeks. The placenta is attached close to the cervix and they want to make sure that while my uterus is expanding the placenta placement is moving further up. Apparently, if the placenta is placed too close to the cervix when the cervix opens the placenta becomes prematurely detached and bleeding commences. Lots of bleeding. Like, Mom is going to need a transfusion bleeding. 

This visit: I gained five pounds since my last visit. I had lost 15 between my pre-pregnancy visit and my first prenatal visit - and it had stayed off. So, I'm down 10. So far, everyone is okay with this. My uterus is 24cm which is perfect since I'm 24 weeks along. Considering that I had an internship interview, had to visit the courthouse, missed my bus, and was a passenger in the car to the appointment my blood pressure was a lovely 162/80 and the baby's heart rate is about 140 bpm. 

So this was a pretty boring update, but... better boring than not boring at this point. 

I have no self-discipline...

...for which I am eternally sorry. But I'm not going to change. At least classes are over and once my papers are handed in next week I will, sadly, so longer have an excuse - except my thesis.

So, what have I forgotten to blog? Well for one thing, we had our sonogram. SQWEEE!!!!
The baby is healthy. The doctor checked the brain, the stomach, kidneys, the face - no abnormalities at all.

The kid is healthy and apparently has all right numbers:

Five toes

Five fingers

And one penis!

The doctor said that she usually hemmed and hawed, but there was no need this time. She captured a still, walked over to the big screen and pointed out the umbilical cord, both legs, and the penis. He practically sat on the wand for her.

No other big news, really. He's been moving strongly enough that I can watch him move sometimes. And last night, finally, Bryn got to feel him. Again, the look on Bryn's face was fantastic! I am loving Bryn getting all these baby firsts. I shared a lot of Alex's pregnancy with Bryn; but this one is his.

Bryn took all my pregnancy photos when I carried Alex. We haven't taken any this pregnancy. I'm not sure how, or if, we want to commemorate this pregnancy. I'm not happy with my skin, so the idea of photos really isn't doing it for me. We thought about a belly cast, but then we are stuck with a huge belly cast... Where the hell would we put it? And I probably wouldn't want to look at it for the rest of my life.

I have a midwife appointment on Monday, right after my interview for my summer internship. I'll get back to you on how they both go.