Today's Doctor Appointment & New Pod Pictures

Today Joe & I went to our doctor's appointment to see how things are progressing. This time no weight gain for me! YEAH!!!! However, the blood pressure was up again. We went in for the ultra sound and you can see what we saw! A cute little smooshed up baby boy! He is head down and in position ready for his big debut! ;)

According to the measurements taken in the doctor's office today, I'm officially at 37 weeks and 6 days. We found out why he was measuring big last week.... it's his belly. He has got the biggest belly ever! I can't believe it! It's measuring 38 cm and his head is measuring 33 cm. So, he's got a big ol' belly!

The doctor did an exam and found that I am not dilated and my cervix is not thinning. So he's still got some more "baking" time! Although at 37 weeks he is considered full term, they usually try to go as close to 40 as possible.

The doctor saw my swelling feet and with the high blood pressure decided it was time that I quit work. So today was my last day at the office. I feel really good that I left my coworkers in a great position to where they really don't have much to do on my files. I tried to get as caught up as possible. By the end of the day today, my queues were zero'd out and my calendars were current with what needs to happen on each file.

Because of the blood pressure issues, the doctor wants to see me again on Monday. He said I am borderline hypertensive. If I go in to the doctor's office and my blood pressure is about where it is now and there's no dilating or thinning of the cervix, he'll allow nature to take it's course. However, if I go in on Monday or have any readings over 180 this weekend, they may induce me. The problem with them inducing me on Monday is that since I'm not dilated and the cervix isn't thinning, there's a high probability for a c-section rather than a vaginal birth. As long as the baby is healthy is all I'm concerned about.

His heartbeat was measuring at 140 beats per minute today and he's continuing to have great movements. So, they're not concerned at this point. I just have to keep an eye on things.

The doctor advised that even if they didn't induce me on Monday, he doesn't think I'm going to make my due date at all. In fact, although I'm not supposed to hold him to it, he said he didn't think I would make it through next week without delivering. He said he could be wrong, but there's a good possibility.

Since the blood pressure was high and I'm borderline hypertensive, the doctor ordered blood work on me to check to make sure my liver was okay. He told me that if it came back elevated, he would call me today otherwise consider everything okay. I didn't receive a phone call from the doctor this afternoon or this evening, so good news there!

Anyway, it's getting late and I need to get some rest. So I'm going to call it a night. Just wanted to update you on the doctor appointment and share the pics of the baby. Sorry they're so blurry. Our scanner isn't hooked up yet so I took a photograph of the ultrasound picture! LOL

Good night!!!

New Tummy Picture

Well, here I am in my last month of pregnancy. The birth of Jace is right around the corner! Today Joe and I go to the doctor. We are going to have an ultra sound done to determine how far along we really are, what the projected birth weight is going to be, etc. So this picture I labeled "Either 37w2d or 39w2d" As of right now, I really don't know if I'm actually 37 weeks along or 39 weeks along (see previous post to see why). You can barely see it in this photo, but did you notice that the "turkey timer" is popped out?? I have an outtie belly button... YUCK!!!

Oh well! I hope I can get rid of this weight. Just look how fat my face is! Ewww... That's what adding 60 lbs will do to you! Yeah, that's right.. as of last week, I had put on 60 lbs. Isn't that just the most depressing thing? I've got my work cut out for me! I hope I have a 50 lb baby!!!! Knowing my luck, Jace will weigh 5 lbs. Then I'll just sit and cry! LOL

Well, enough for now. I'll post more about the doctor's appointment later today.

Update on Doctor's Appointment

Friday, August 29th Joe & I went for our scheduled OB appointment. We were supposed to have had an ultra sound done, but the doctor didn't do one as the U/S techs were backed up. When we arrived at the appointment, I went in and did the usual weight, blood pressure check, and urine test. Then the nurse came in and got us. We went into the exam room and she measured my tummy from the pelvic bone to the top of the fundus. She asked me if I had measured "big" before. I advised that I had not. I've always been told I was measuring "Right on target". However, this appointment I was measuring at 38cm. I told her that would be about right because I was at 36 weeks and 3 days at that point and the doctor had told me before that the measurement could give or take 2 weeks. So at 36 weeks, it should be normal for me to be at 38 weeks. She said that close to 38cm. So then she checked the Jace's heartbeat. It was 144, which was normal. She said that because my blood pressure was high, she wanted me to lay on my left side for 5 mins and then would be back in to check on me. After the time was up, she came in and the blood pressure went back down. The doctor then came in and took me and Joe back to his office to talk. He advised that our next appointment we'll have an ultrasound done. He said that I had a good spike in weight since my last appointment. He also said that the measurements were measuring at 38 weeks. He wouldn't change the due date and advised that we should know more next week when we have the ultra sound done. He stated the reason for measuring big could be a growth spurt in the baby, extra fluid retention, or just the way the baby was laying. He talked to us about the contractions, etc. and how to tell the difference between Braxton Hicks and the "real thing". He stated that after the "real" contractions got to 5 mins apart for about an hour time, it's time to get to the hospital. He did say that we're at a point in the pregnancy now where he won't stop the labor as it's more dangerous now to stop it than to just let it go. Also, he stated that we're far enough along that we can deliver at the hospital that we wanted to deliver at. No need to go to UT for NICU purposes. YEAH!!!

Anyway, Friday was also my birthday. Joe took bought me an iPod Nano, which I love. I'm trying to get used to all the little features. It's pink and just so cute! I've got a ton of music downloaded into it already as well as a ton of pictures! He took me for dinner to my favorite restaurant - Season's Cafe. He had a New York Strip and I had meatloaf and mashed potatoes. I also got a bowl of tomato and blue cheese bisque. MMMMM it was good. After dinner we went Jerome & Sue's house for my favorite cake.... mandarine orange cake.... and they bought me some birthday gifts, too. I got two pairs of PJ's and a pair of slippers. Joe's neice bought me a little necklace that is reallly cute, too.

The remainder of this weekend I have spent laying down. My blood pressure has been somewhat elevated all weekend. I haven't had any contractions until tonight. Joe and I went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few odds and ends and then went to Cracker Barrel. I started contracting during dinner. So now, I'm getting ready to go change my clothes and get back to laying down.

Good night all!