Monday, May 31, 2010

36 Weeks (or a little trip to the hospital)

I guess this is technically a 35 week update but this past Friday, Beau and I spent an exciting evening in Labor and Delivery! I'm still baking the baby so nothing to be worried about but here is the story....

Since I'm technically a "high risk" pregnancy now (with Grayson's breech position, the chord around the neck and some excess fluid), Dr. Jacoby told me to monitor my fetal movements. And after a day of not feeling this normally very active child Friday (like I didn't feel him move once - scary), I decided that I needed the peace of mind of knowing that everything was okay. Also, I now knew, from my doc appt the day before, that I wouldn't have to go to the Emergency Room, I would just simply need to walk into Labor & Delivery and tell them I haven't felt him and they would take care of me. SO, that's what we did. I really did not want to be the overly dramatic one but the nurses assured me it's never the time to be overly cautious and they repeatedly told me that coming in was the right thing to do. The nurses were wonderful! And 5 hours later (did I really think I would be out in 20 minutes after a quick sono to show that he was healthy and fine? Yes, yes I did.), I was free to go. The doctor determined that I probably wasn't feeling him due to the increased amount of fluid. The baby was probably also a little lethargic b/c I was dehydrated. I was contracting like crazy thus the extended time they kept me. BUT, we got to see this kid's amazing lips. I mean, he has really good lips. I'm worried about saying that before I know for sure but with the nurse and ultrasound tech both saying this at the same time with huge smiles on their faces, I feel fairly confident that I can tell you - our kid is going to have some lips. AND HAIR! That's right....keep reading....

One of the plus sides to being high risk is that I get a sono every week! I mean, pretty cool since typically you don't get to see your baby again until delivery, I'm feeling like I know this little guy already. He was 6 1/2 lbs a couple of weeks ago and my usual tech just can't get over the amount of hair he apparently already has. SO, if he comes out with teeny little bitty lips and completely bald, we can all be really surprised! :-)
The down side to this little not-so-quick-trip to the hospital - we missed the going away party of our dear friends, the Pharrs :-( Words can't tell you how bummed we were that we missed them before they moved to NYC but I'm glad to hear all of our friends were there to see them off the right way...on a patio with cold beer! Beau and I can't WAIT to travel to Manhattan to see them and their new digs - Beau has never been, I can't WAIT to go back and we are so proud of them and this next step in their lives - win, win, win!!

How your baby's growing:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) 

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