2, 50%, -3

To many of you, those numbers may not need to be explained.

For everyone else, we had our first 'in depth' dr's appointment.

The good news is, baby is head down.

The rest of the news isn't bad, but we're hoping I don't progress much in the next 6 days since Justin is leaving on Monday until Thursday night.

I'm dilated 2 cm, 50% effaced, and -3 station.

These numbers don't mean a whole lot, other than, as Justin puts it, baby is at the starting point. I could walk around dilated to a 2 or more for months (or at least weeks) and my doctor said being 50% effaced is pretty typical at this point in first births.

From now on, we're in the office every week, so we'll see what happens next Friday.

Waiting for... when?

I'm used to waiting for things. Who isn't? We wait for school to start, for summer vacation to start, or just the end of the day. My job is full of schedules, some appointments are set frequently, other's are 6 months out or more. Christmas, birthdays, even hair appointments and massages (I'm going tomorrow, yay!).

This waiting for some unknown date is starting to get to me though. I have never felt like November 28th is some magic day that I'm waiting for. The chance that the baby will actually come that day is pretty slim (probably less than 20%) so it doesn't hold much security for me. I'm not quite at that moment where I'm feeling 'any day now'... but that's not far off. Probably another 2 or 3 weeks to go before I get that feeling.

It's no surprise that the impending birth and baby is the frequent topic of conversation from close friends and family to near strangers. I wouldn't trade the 'not-knowing' for a date set in concrete (a definite c-section or induction date). Even then, concrete wouldn't be the right analogy, maybe stiff mud. Most of that comes from the fact that I'm very much looking forward to have a natural child birth (laugh if you must), and drugs obviously get in the way of that.

I have been scheduling things for work next month, just assuming I will be the one to make it to all of the appointments. And, I've been making more solid decisions on leave from work, when and how much, and what it will be like when I come 'back' for a short time. So far I would say I've had a pretty typical, text-book pregnancy, and all signs point to a delivery date on or around the 28th of next month. But who knows. And the waiting is killing me.

On second thought, maybe it's the lack of sleep, pains in my back and neck, inability to breathe without sounding like Darth Vader (thanks, Justin), constant heartburn and overall feeling of uncomfortableness that's killing me.

Yeah, it might be that.

Melons

Last week the baby was a cantelope and this week baby graduated to a honeydew. According to babycenter:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds. Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

We had our last class with our Bradley Method teacher. So... according to her, we're ready to have a baby. I don't feel that ready. To tell you the truth, I'm very ready to not be pregnant anymore, but I'm not so sure I feel ready to have a baby. Too bad it doesn't work that way.

Could be worse!

I've never really thought to myself, "Boy, I'm glad I'm not an elephant" until this week at the Hogle Zoo.

To Be

It's hard to express the complexities of life. Lately I've been thinking about "bringing a child into this world" (oops too late!), and just how difficult an undertaking it will be. Now I'm not talking about diaper changes, sleepless nights, and vomit. I'm talking about learning, developing, and most of all spiritual strength. Our child will be born into a world where the economy is declining (including job loss), a historical election has just ended, we are at war (which people at home don't seem to understand), and moral values are being challenged many times daily.

Luckily, our child's parents have been taught correct principles and strive to live them. With great challenges come opportunity for continued growth - that is the entire plan. I heard a writer's words a couple days ago and he basically said that thinking we can protect our children is a myth we use to cope. I partly believe that. We teach and exemplify and in the end, our children will make their own decisions.

I hope they are good ones.

Too close for comfort

This could explain any number of feelings lately.

However... I am due in 7 weeks, which seems awfully soon. In a week or two, if I were to go into labor, they would do nothing to stop it. That's right... I could have a baby at anytime. Which, although you have 9 or so months to prepare for it, seems a little weird. We've got just about all of the 'big' stuff (still haven't bought our recliner or a pump) and after a couple of baby showers at the beginning of next month, we'll probably have most of the small stuff. Or, at least know where we need to fill in the blanks.

Justin is going out of town for a few days at the end of the month. When he made the travel arrangements (for work) it seemed like (to him) it was ages before the due date. But... I'll be 36 weeks by then, and at that point it's anybodys guess. We talked to our birthing class instructor and she will most likely be available if I needed her, and I'm in the process of finding myself a couple of 'babysitters' who want to come and spend the night -just in case!

Baby is still moving around alot- and everything seems right on schedule after our last doctor's appointment. One more this month, and then we start going every week. Which, again, just seems too soon. I suppose the more uncomfortable I get, the more I'll feel ready have this baby here... but right now, I could use a bit more time!

Close to my heart(burn)

Okay... here's our weekly (or mostly-weekly) update from babycenter:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

To accommodate you and your baby's growing needs, your blood volume has increased 40 to 50 percent since you got pregnant. With your uterus pushing up near your diaphragm and crowding your stomach, the consequences may be shortness of breath and heartburn. To help relieve your discomfort, try sleeping propped up with pillows and eating smaller meals more often.

I had heartburn early on, but it was very manageable, didn't keep me up at night or extremely uncomfortable... then the 3rd trimester came.

These are my new favorite friends... Nothing I do regarding the food that I do or do not eat seems to have any affect on the burn... and sleeping with my head propped up is giving me a kink in my neck and a morning headache. So... Tums it is. Tums, and spending 2 or 3 sessions during the night of sitting at the side of my bed for a couple of minutes.

That's okay though, I have to pee that often anyway!