Swimming Along: Getting a Gold Star From a Medical Professional

28 weeks down and 12 to go. My little head of cauliflower is growing every day!

My man is about 16 inches and 2.5 pounds. And at this point, his brain is so developed that it is now regulating his body temperature. Look at the brain on my boy! He's Harvard-bound for sure! And speaking of his brain, he now enters REM sleep so he might be dreaming. I hope his dreams aren't as bananas as mine. Besides dreaming, he's also coughing, sucking, and breathing in there. And speaking of breathing, his lungs have matured enough that if he was born today, he's have an excellent chance of survival. But I'd like to keep him cooking a while longer.

As for me, some of the things THEY say might be happening to me aren't...his movements aren't bugging me at night, my belly button hasn't popped, I don't have any stretch marks, and my feet and ankles aren't swollen. But some of the things THEY say might be happening ARE...my lower back is pretty sore (though last night I discovered Todd really does make a better body pillow and I woke up pain free) and he is no doubt nestled on my sciatic nerve so my right thigh goes numb. It's a bizarre sensation but if that's the worst that happens in the third trimester, I'll take it! Sure, I'm only a week in but I still feel pretty grrrrrreat!Pregnancy and I really mix. Who wudda thunk it?? Better odds for a second bun.

Yesterday I had an appointment  (and a CHILD in braces from the trade school did my BP and found the heartbeat...it was bizarre) and my doc gave me a big thumbs up all around! My blood pressure is pretty much the same as it was pre-pregnancy, Spencer's heartbeat was a nice 154 beats, I'm only measuring 1 week ahead (instead of 2) which she says is more than fine by her (so he's probably not breech), and my weight gain has been nice and steady. And since things are really "swimming along", she said I can come back in 4 weeks instead of 2! We'll start the every-two-weeks appointments in July.

We discussed whether or not I might want an epidural (DUH!), if Spencer will be circumcised (DUH!), and if we want to do cord-blood banking (which we decided today we will be doing). We also quickly went over what to do when I go into labor: I should wait to call until my contractions are 5 minutes apart for 1 hour. I should also call if I have any weird bleeding (for example, there might be some after an exam but there shouldn't be any 4 days after an exam). And if his movements slow down...of course they'll slow down as he runs out of room...I should do "kick counts" - eat and drink and then lay down and make sure he kicks at least 10 times in an hour. If he doesn't, repeat. If he STILL doesn't, come in for Fetal Non-Stress Test.

Applying mind-over-matter. I have to believe the next 12 weeks will continue to be hitch-free.