And The Race Is On... Sort Of.

Well, 6 weeks left. Or possibly 8 (they would let me go all the way to 42 weeks as long as the fluid was still good and the placenta was working the way it should). I really don't want to go almost all the way to Thanksgiving! It kind of makes me want to gag. LOL

This morning I had three appointments. Yes, three. I had my growth ultrasound (he's in the 25th percentile (which is good but low because the femur is measuring small, which doesn't mean anything bad) and he's weighing 4 lbs. 14 oz.), my periconsult (read: meeting with doctor to ask questions and talk about OB history), and my MOD-BPP/NST/AFI (read: hook me up to monitors to chart the baby's heartrate and movements, check the level of amniotic fluid, get my blood pressure, etc.). The ultrasound went really well, the doctor answered lots of my questions (see below for that info), and being hooked up went well too.

In the NST (non-stress test), they had me hooked up to the monitors (if you've ever seen A Baby Story on TLC, when the mother is in labor and they have those elastic bands holding the two round monitors on the mother's stomach), with a blood pressure cuff on my left arm and a "trigger" button in my right hand to click every time he moved. It was really kind of cool. His little heart was thump-thump-thumping along, and then she said that they needed to see two plateaus in heartrate and then return to baseline. In order to get his heartrate to plateau, they took this tool that vibrates and held it against my abdomen. Shortly after that, HE WENT NUTS! His heartrate went up to like 170 and he was moving like crazy. She was amazed at how much he was moving, but it happened to also coincide with the time I usually eat breakfast, so I think that probably had something to do with it too. It also explains why when Hobbes lays curled around my stomach on my lap and purrs (she purrs LOUD) that he will start to kick. I mentioned this to the nurse and she said that he probably responds to the sound of her purring. How crazy is that?!

Anyway, meeting with the doctor this morning was great. She answered all of my questions and actually told me that they're pretty excited to have me there because I'm one of the healthiest mothers/pregnancies they have there! So she said it would be great because they prefer to have a midwife-like experience but that most of the pregnancies have complications that preclude that kind of experience. She also explained that they don't foresee any complications ahead of time, ergo I should have a normal delivery. She said that they wouldn't induce me until 42 weeks unless the fluid has decreased or other such occurrence which would necessitate induction before then. She explained that they like to let the pregnancies in their practice go until the mothers progress into spontaneous labor, which is cool. She also explained that they don't foresee any need for a c-section, unless of course, it is a rough labor. So, it was nice to have those questions answered. I will have a standard stay of two days (provided there are no complications), etc. All good things to know. And they are OK with Chad helping to catch the baby and cut the cord, provided that is what he still wants when the time comes.

Well, I think that's about all I've got as regards the latest info from the doctor's visit today. Stay tuned for more. :)

UPDATE: So my mom let me know that I hadn't written anything about the CCAM - it is still there, but it is not getting any bigger.  So now you know.  :)