Sunday marked 36 weeks for me. This week has also marked the realization that little Kenneth could be here in just TWO weeks. YIKES. I am not prepared. Thankfully, my OB thinks I have a little longer to go. He said that there was no reason to think that I would deliver early, and expects me to make it to week 39/40.
Jeff got to come with me to this week's appointment, and it was an exciting one. I had an ultrasound and fetal monitoring. According to the ultrasound the baby is in the correct position for birth (whew) and his estimated weight is 6 1/2 pounds, which puts him in the 66th percentile. If his growth continues along the same curve he will be in the 7 pound range. My OB thinks this is super. I do not. I would like to point out that I am not in the 66th percentile for ANYTHING and would prefer to give birth to a baby closer to my size. I decided to look it up (to give scientific weight to my natural indignation) and found that based on my age/ethnicity I am in the 20th percentile for height and 10th for weight (pre-pregnancy). Stinking Jeff and his way-too-tall genes. Have I mentioned that I had the decency to be only 5 1/2 pounds when I was born?
I am feeling particularly unsettled by this news because I spent the afternoon watching some horrifying birthing videos. My mom and Colleen are preparing me for childbirth by scaring the bejabbers out of me! It doesn't help that the library videos tend to be, well, videos, and are therefore 25 to 30 years old and feature excessive amounts of body hair, and loads of body hair just makes everything look scarier. We will be continuing to prepare for the next few days....hopefully I will make it through and still want to give birth.
According to one of the books that I was reading this afternoon there is no more horrible and excruciating pain than childbirth. I found that really encouraging. Also, apparently I am slated to have much higher than usual anxiety due to losing Leah...although honestly I have had so little time to even think about being pregnant (aside from this afternoon's festivities) that I haven't felt as nervous about it as I might were the rest of the circumstances in my life anywhere close to normal. But, it is time to remember that I am pregnant and that I need to be ready to pop this little guy out.
One of the assignments that the OB gave me was to start "kick counts." The sheet he gave me instructs me to lie down an hour after I eat and count the baby's movement to make sure he moves ten times in two hours. Lie down for two hours? In what universe would a mother of two boys be able to lie down for two hours? Ha! I have yet to start my log, although I have been more mindful of the baby's movements, and I will admit that counting to ten kicks/punches/rolling motions would probably only take five or ten minutes of lying around. But I never have time to do so precisely one hour after a meal. Or anytime except right before I fall into bed...
Here is the belly at 36 weeks:
Jeff got to come with me to this week's appointment, and it was an exciting one. I had an ultrasound and fetal monitoring. According to the ultrasound the baby is in the correct position for birth (whew) and his estimated weight is 6 1/2 pounds, which puts him in the 66th percentile. If his growth continues along the same curve he will be in the 7 pound range. My OB thinks this is super. I do not. I would like to point out that I am not in the 66th percentile for ANYTHING and would prefer to give birth to a baby closer to my size. I decided to look it up (to give scientific weight to my natural indignation) and found that based on my age/ethnicity I am in the 20th percentile for height and 10th for weight (pre-pregnancy). Stinking Jeff and his way-too-tall genes. Have I mentioned that I had the decency to be only 5 1/2 pounds when I was born?
I am feeling particularly unsettled by this news because I spent the afternoon watching some horrifying birthing videos. My mom and Colleen are preparing me for childbirth by scaring the bejabbers out of me! It doesn't help that the library videos tend to be, well, videos, and are therefore 25 to 30 years old and feature excessive amounts of body hair, and loads of body hair just makes everything look scarier. We will be continuing to prepare for the next few days....hopefully I will make it through and still want to give birth.
According to one of the books that I was reading this afternoon there is no more horrible and excruciating pain than childbirth. I found that really encouraging. Also, apparently I am slated to have much higher than usual anxiety due to losing Leah...although honestly I have had so little time to even think about being pregnant (aside from this afternoon's festivities) that I haven't felt as nervous about it as I might were the rest of the circumstances in my life anywhere close to normal. But, it is time to remember that I am pregnant and that I need to be ready to pop this little guy out.
One of the assignments that the OB gave me was to start "kick counts." The sheet he gave me instructs me to lie down an hour after I eat and count the baby's movement to make sure he moves ten times in two hours. Lie down for two hours? In what universe would a mother of two boys be able to lie down for two hours? Ha! I have yet to start my log, although I have been more mindful of the baby's movements, and I will admit that counting to ten kicks/punches/rolling motions would probably only take five or ten minutes of lying around. But I never have time to do so precisely one hour after a meal. Or anytime except right before I fall into bed...
Here is the belly at 36 weeks:
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5 comments:
You look beautiful! Thank goodness Tommy didn't get a peek at those videos-I can only imagine the commentary.....! The end result of all the "labor" will be sweet Kenny. Did the ultrasound show if he was really long?
N was 9lbs 11oz so I know you can handle 7. You look adorable by the way.
You look fantastic!
I've had a slipped disc before and I thought that the pain was at least comparable to childbirth - PLUS with that, the pain continued for FAR longer, and I had nothing to look forward to at the end of it.
Yes childbirth is painful - we learn that at the beginning of Genesis - but it is not "unbearable".
Are you going to try drug-free?? (I didn't go entirely drug free - I don't know if that makes my opinion invalid ;) )
You'll do fantastic - we're counting down with you :)
Epidural. That is pretty much all I can say. I was definitely going to go drug free with my first, but that didn't last once those huge pains kicked in. With my other two, I got that puppy as soon as they would allow me. And don't worry about laying down for two hours. That's insane. Just try to recognize if you feel a difference in the amount of time he moves that is regular for him. If that changes then call.
Well, my nephew and his wife just had their little one a couple weeks ago. She had decided not to get scared by all the videos, etc. and will now say that, with an epidural, it was a piece of cake! She didn't feel a thing but was with-it for the whole experience. Sounds good to me! I personally went natural and would describe it more like pushing a piano across the room... hard work, but worth it. Anyway, we all got here this way, so it's gotta be doable.
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