35 Week Check-Up

It's hard to believe that I've got only 4 1/2 weeks to go! The way I feel, I can't imagine this baby holding out longer than that. I feel like I have ZERO space in there and this baby has some pretty strong limbs.

Yesterday I had my 35 week check-up. When I arrived, I noticed that the doctor's car wasn't in the parking lot. That usually means that she is delivering a baby, so I figured there was a chance my appointment might be canceled. Well, I was right that she was delivering a baby...but she did arrive for my appointment shortly after I did. By 10am, she had already delivered TWO babies and had THREE more first-time moms in labor. Needless to say, she was exhausted! It made me hope that this little one comes when things are quite so busy with her and at the hospital. We did the usual routine check-up stuff and she measured my growth. Surprisingly, she said I measuring more at 34 weeks than 35. At this point, I guess I shouldn't be worried about that -- but, I suppose if that pattern continues there might be cause for concern. But, I won't worry about that just yet. I'm scheduled for weekly appointments from now on and will go back next Tuesday.

In my mind, I'm looking forward to December 9th -- the day that I'm 37 weeks. Not only will the baby be "full-term" but I'll be able to deliver at my hospital of choice. It's the hospital where Ella was born, and I pre-registered there yesterday. I was able to show Ella where she'll come visit me and we got to peek at the baby in the nursery. As we left, I got excited and asked Ella if she was too. Her response: "I'm excited to go to Auntie Jill's house to play." (We were headed there after the hospital stop.) I guess she can't get too excited about something that is still a month away!

The last couple of weeks, I've had a hard time knowing what "normal" is during this pregnancy and have been worrying that I'd go into early labor. Being away from home from Thanksgiving did not help my concerns. Although, it was nice being with my family for Thanksgiving AND it was nice to sleep in every day. Papa Jack was kind enough to do "Ella Duty" so Brett and I could get extra rest. However, with every pang of discomfort, I quietly worried that I'd go into early labor. I did NOT want to have to have my baby early AND at Henry Mayo (the hospital does not have the best reputation). So, I was relieved to be back at home and near SB hospitals for that reason.

Today I found a pregnancy journal that I wrote in with Ella, and I turned to the section where I was this far along in pregnancy. It is reminding me what it was like with Ella and is helping to calm some of my fears. Strangely enough, a lot of my fears are what they were back then -- delivering early, delivering in SCV, baby's strong punches, tightening, etc. But, it was neat to see that my weight and girth gains seem to be about the same as they were the last time. One thing that is different is swelling -- with Ella my feet and ankles swelled up significantly more than this time. My sister Jamie gave me a pedicure last time and I guess my toes were pretty fat then! On Saturday, Jamie gave me another pedicure -- she said that I need to have cute feet when I'm in labor & delivery! This time, she painted my toes hot pink with a silver fleur-de-lys on each big toe. On each fleur-de-lys, she put a rhinestone -- pink on one toe, blue on the other. They look very cute and thankfully my toes aren't fat like sausages...at least not yet. We'll see what happens in the coming weeks.