{week 36} And we are just about a month out…
This past weekend felt big: we installed Baby Lower’s car seat. Eek! Well, just the base. [The actual seat is in the house and will go with us to the hospital once I’m in labor.] The addition of the seat required us to move both the girls’ seats as well. So, we were able to give the car a much-needed interior cleaning in the process!
Daphne’s seat is now forward-facing (we just turned her around a few weeks ago as she hit the maximum weight for rear-facing) and is delighted to be sitting the same way as Eloise! It’s a whole new world for her in the car (though we still rarely drive anywhere these days) and she is always exclaiming “Wahoo!” Eloise is now in the third row of the car (there are two seats back there) and she is so excited! A few of her school friends with younger siblings have been in the third row of their own cars over the past few years and she has just been waiting to move!
I am definitely feeling all NINE MONTHS of this pregnancy these days. I have to pee all. the. time. And I am certain I am waddling most of the time too. Ha! A few of the (non-maternity) t-shirts that I have been wearing for bedtime are getting really short, and I feel like I am wearing the same few things over and over. [And also perhaps that’s also because I bought almost zero maternity clothes.] My hospital bag is basically packed and ready to go, along with a Post-It note about the last-minute additions.
My OB visits are now weekly on Friday mornings, so my posts may be delayed by a day so I can include any updates. This morning I not only saw my OB for my 36 week check-up but had an ultrasound to see Baby Lower too!
My check-up went well. My blood pressure is nice and low which is something the doctor is closely tracking at this point (high BP can be a sign of pre-eclampsia). I didn’t have any weight gain from my last appointment and my belly was measuring between 34 and 35 cm. My OB was only the slightest bit concerned, to be honest, about the lack of growth in my uterus. I have always measured slightly small though (for this and my other two pregnancies) plus I had an ultrasound later in the morning, so ultimately she wasn’t worried. I also had the swap for my Group B Strep test (which, if positive, would require antibiotics immediately before delivery), and my OB checked my cervix (which is 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced).
I had an ultrasound scheduled to follow my OB appointment. The doctor just basically wanted to make sure Baby Lower isn’t overly large at this point which could mean a recommendation to either induce or schedule a c-section before my due date. I won’t know my OB’s opinion until my appointment next week, but from the ultrasound’s results, it doesn’t sound like either of these options will be required.
Baby Lower, at 36 weeks, was really curled up in my belly so it was MUCH harder for the ultrasound tech to find the body parts and take the measurements she was looking for. It was a lot of moving the wand around and also having me switch from side-to-side and even have the table tilted so my head was down. But we were able to get the measurements needed – femur, abdominal circumference, head circumference – as well as double-check kidneys, umbilical cord, amniotic fluid, placenta, heart, stomach, etc. The heart chambers actually had to be triple-checked, twice by the ultrasound tech and once by the radiologist, which had me nervous for about 5 minutes, but ultimately the baby moved into a good position and the heart was deemed a-okay!
In terms of measurements, it’s been estimated that Baby Lower is in the 30th percentile for weight, measuring in at 5 pounds and 15 ounces. This is subject to + or – 20% (which is a LOT) but based on Eloise’s birth weight and the fact that baby is supposed to gain 1/2 a pound per week, it seems pretty accurate. But guys, it’s the head circumference that has me slightly nervous; it’s measuring a few weeks ahead and around the 98th percentile!
We’ve got almost another week of summer before school starts on next Friday (technically Daphne starts on Wednesday, but we aren’t sending her yet) and we’ll be transitioning back into school. I am hopeful we can get a few weeks of “home school” under our belt before Baby Lower makes an appearance!
And here’s my weekly updates with Eloise and Daphne.
Happy 36 weeks!
M