Had my weekly doctor's appointment this afternoon. Went over our birth preferences with her; she said the list looked pretty good. We aren't asking for crazy stuff, just general preferences. First on the list is Safety First, and second is Help my husband in his efforts to help me. So that pretty much set the "low-maintenance" tone. I also said "please" and "we'd prefer" and "if possible", etc, throughout and ended it with a big thank you and that we are totally open to suggestions and coaching from the nurses and staff involved.

The Group B Strep swab came back negative, so no antibiotics for me. Dr. Monaghan (Dr. Rhone is back for my appt. next week) felt around my belly and said he's pretty average size and if he was born now she figures he'd be between 6 - 7 lbs. So that made me relax a bit! We talked about epidurals - I want to make sure I can do three things:

1. change my mind if I don't want one after all
2. still walk around and feel enough to know when to push (when it feels natural to)
3. up the dose if I choose!!!!!

It's a Yes to all three (although various dosage affects people differently), so I can let that one go now. I was so stuck on that, almost panicky actually. It's funny, some of the small things that drive you batty.

We've decided that we're going to pay for the Preferred Accomodations while we're there too. It's $150.00 but SO worth it. And it's covered by medical so we'll get that money back anyway. It eases my mind for a few reasons:

1. same room for labor, delivery and remainder of stay
2. same staff throughout stay. If there are 10 people that have to poke around my va-jay-jay for a few days, I'd rather it be the same 10 people, ya know?
3. so calm! Calm, easy, gentle energy up there in that wing.
4. bigger rooms. Donald and I would like everyone that wants to visit to come to the hospital instead of our home afterwards. These rooms are a great size, so there's lots of room for our huge family in there. We'd rather have our little guy at home, in his new home, getting to know us and not necessarily being passed around to alot of people in his first few weeks here. And we're private people (even though I'm broadcasting to the world!) and would prefer it to be just us three for a few weeks. Doesn't mean we don't love our friends and family, just means we're putting our own family first.

I weigh 153 (up 3 lbs from last week and 30 lbs gained overall). I think it's hilarious that I weight that much, but it's great that I didn't gain a crazy amount.

He's dropped much lower now. I'm not as short of breath as I've been throughout. AND the heartburn has eased up a bit. YAY! But wanna know something weird? I can feel his head way down there. And when he changes position or just moves or whatever he's doing in there, I can feel it. Way. Down. There. I can physically feel his head move.

F-R-E-A-K-Y.

But delightful.

The cats know something is up -that the time is getting nearer. They're BOTH sleeping with me at night now. And when I say, "with me", I mean, "on me". Chicken sleeps up on my arm/shoulder with her little face next to my ear and paw on my cheek, and Ling Ling sleeps between my legs and 1/2 on my belly/pelvis. She can't quite reach the top of the belly, unless I'm on my side totally and then she's on the belly with Chicken on the shoulder. It's the strangest thing. Anyone have pet & pregnancy stories to share? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear!

Welcome to Lisa, the newest follower. Lisa, you MUST blog about your dogs, you have the BEST! And you're such a great foster mom to the little ones (and big) you bring into your home. Even just a photo blog with your comments for the world to see and share in! Thanks for following!

That's it for tonight!

S.

35 weeks along and what the heck is sticking out of my belly all the time?

I'm studying the picture above and trying to figure out if it's his butt that pops out above my belly button (bellybutton update: a full outie now) ,which I think it is because it's pretty big and pretty round. And when I say "big", I mean "almost the size of a tennis ball". Is that the size of a newborn bum? And then there's the mystery of smaller bits sticking out on either side of my belly button and even up under by my boobs/rib area. And sometimes little things sticking out all the way on my sides! Bizarre. He is still so active!

So there's alot going on as he's getting ready to make his public appearance!

He's around 5.25lbs and is about 18" from head to toe. Jesus, that's big. I'm still getting nervous and how much he's growing in there. His kidneys are fully developed and his liver can process some waste. My, how far he's come!

Freaky fact? My uterus has expanded to 1000 times it's original size.

I'm still only about 25 lbs heavier than usual. Didn't make it to the doctor appointment on Monday due to the snow, but weighed myself at home and still at 147. Which is HUGE for me, but all in the belly! Still pretty breathless - but I mean, my uterus is up under my ribs. Apparently when he drops, some of the breathlessness will ease up. Wish the heartburn would. I get it just from breathing for crying out loud. And I've been storm-stayed for three days and I only have 3 tums left and nothing is open tomorrow due to Christmas. Just delightful. I'll have to ease up on the turkey dinner (although mom already cooked it to get everything ready in advance, so really, our Christmas dinner is nothing more than leftovers.) (But leftovers ARE the best!)

And for mom?

I've got a few things left to do - forgot about his room for the past few weeks, so am packing away everything for him that is over the 3 month mark to make room in his dresser for all the newborn - 3 month clothing. We have SO much, it's insane. And I've only bought a handful of items. The rest were hand-me-downs and gifts. Just so much. It's great!

I have everything (almost) ready for the "hospital bag" so am packing that tonight. And will type up the birth plan and go over it with Donald. I just want to make sure we're on the same page - especially if anything happens to me and I am unable to communicate with the nurses or Donald. I've booked my hair appointment and massage and will book the pedi soon too. Then it's smooth sailing!

Just hope the rain comes soon to wash this snow away. Don't want to be 8 months pregnant and driving Vancouver streets with people that aren't used to the snow!

All for now.

S.