The Bump- 35wks

35wks- The Honeydew

We had an appointment with Betty on Thursday, we'll be on the weekly plan from here on out. Everything was good. She was measuring right on schedule- 34cm. Betty estimated her weight at about 5lbs and said she's head down- hopefully she'll stay that way. She's still very busy in there. I know it's normal to start feeling a little less movement around this time, but so far she seems more active than ever. I like to have music playing on the laptop anytime I'm on it and she seems to really respond to that. She almost always starts wigglying around as soon as the music starts. And if I'm singing along, she's even more active. I guess we won't be soothing this baby with music!

This week's update:

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

34wks- The Cantaloupe

I had an appointment to meet with the other pediatrician who had been recommended to us, Dr. Pilgrim-King, on Wednesday. Jeff ended up having a meeting he couldn't get out of, so I went alone. I waited about 30 minutes or so, then the office manager came over, introduced herself, gave me a written statement about their vaccine policy, and told me they would hopefully have a room soon. I read the vaccine policy while I continued to wait. Basically, it said they wouldn't see patients who were not vaccinated or vaccinated on their schedule. While I do plan on ultimately vaccinating, probably the complete schedule, I do not appreciate being told I have to in order to be seen at that practice. I just think it's my decision not theirs. So, I told the office manager that their policy was a deal breaker for me and I didn't want to waste any one's time meeting with the doctor. Dr. Sweet it is! I was pretty sure that was going to be the case anyway, so I'm not really upset about this. We did have one other recommendation we're going to try to check out if we have time.

I don't have much else to report this week. The baby's been moving a lot. Jeff finally got to see when she moves so much my whole abdomen shifts. He's very impatient about waiting to see or feel movement, so he usually misses it. I've been having some very mild contractions. Actually, I've been having them for a while, but they've gotten a little more frequent lately, usually two or three an hour. They don't hurt at all, just get my attention. Sleep is getting a bit more elusive, but I suppose that's pretty much par for the course at this point. I have a feeling that will be getting a lot worse before it gets better!

This week's update:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

The Bump- 32.5wks

33wks- The Pineapple

We had an appointment with our midwife Thursday, everything was good. We discussed the blood sugar issue at length. She agreed it's probably safe to say I do have gestational diabetes. But, she was very happy with how well I've been able to control my sugars. She feels like as long as I'm able to continue doing that, the risks are minimal. We agreed to get another sono early Oct. to check the baby's growth, etc. Other than that, she's leaving it up to me. If I have any concerns or feel like I need additional monitoring, she'll arrange whatever I want. Overall, it was pretty reassuring.

This week's update:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

32wks- The Jicama

Jeff and I started interviewing pediatricians this week. Early in the pregnancy I started asking people about their pedis, especially people who had similar ideas to mine regarding medical care. After asking a lot of people, I only came up with two pediatricians I'm interested in. We met with the first one, Dr. Sweet, on Monday. We both really liked her. I couldn't have been more impressed if I had given her a script to read from for answering my questions. The only thing that's not so great is that her office is about 20mins from us in Midlothian. But I can live with that. We meet with the other pedi, who is a good 20min the other directions, the week after next. I can't imagine liking anyone more than Dr. Sweet, but I figure we should explore all our options- all two of them.

I've been monitoring my blood sugars at home for the last week. My friend Amber let me borrow her monitor. They were not great a first. Not terrible, but not good. I was able to quickly get them under control with a few tweaks to my diet. This really surprised me. I already take a diabetic medication and assumed that along with eating pretty healthy, my blood sugars would already be well controlled. Wrong! So it's definitely taking the medication and a perfect diet to keep them where they're supposed to be. On the bright side, at least I can control them.

This week's update:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) 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.