It is FINISHED!

The crib is done, folks!  And oh.my.word...

Take a look:

Isn't it absolutely gorgeous??!  I am so stinkin' proud of the man I married.  :)

So the nursery still isn't really complete as we're still adding things here & there but I'm taking photos as we go and hopefully I'll have some more to post later on to show you a more complete version of the nursery.  For now, I am SO excited to have this crib done!  :)

doctor's appts #24 & #25...

We had our last 2 doctor's appts today.  The first was at my OB office for the standard NST.  That went fine.  Deacon is still doing beautifully.  He has no clue what's about to go down but he'll adjust wonderfully to that, too, I'm sure.  :)

My blood pressue was up, as usual, but Dr. Hall seemed pretty unconcerned at this stage, just mentioning that she wanted us to monitor it to make sure it doesn't climb any higher before tomorrow.

They did check my iron one last time and it was 38 which is perfect.  Never did have trouble with my iron, so I'm thankful for that.

We had a couple of hours to kill before we had our pre-op testing appt downtown so Jeff and I ran a few errands to pick up some last minute things -- things like a 2nd car base for his truck, another changing pad cover, some envelopes & labels, etc.

At the pre-op testing center, we were both impressed with how friendly everyone there was, despite the fact that they.were.slammed.  We saw 3 different people -- one to get us into the system, one to draw blood and the last to explain to us what to expect tomorrow.

I guess I've read enough that I wasn't really surprised at any of the things that Anne told us concerning tomorrow.  Except maybe the fact that I have to shower twice (once tonight & once in the morning) with this specific soap that they gave me.  I guess that gives them a head start on killing any bacteria growing on my skin.

Dr. Hall had told us that she wanted them to take my bp before I left, after lying still on my side for a minute or two, just to see what it was and to make sure it wasn't climbing.  It was perfectly fine, 125/69.  :)

We are the first surgery of the day tomorrow, scheduled at 7:30am, so we'll be heading to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning to get there by 5:45am.  Sheesh.

I think we're as ready as we're ever going to be.  Jeff and I have enjoyed spending these last few days as "just the two of us" and even though we both feel a little bit sad at the "ending of an era", we're ready to expand our family of 2 to 3 and welcome our little man with open arms tomorrow.

39 weeks today...

I'm 39 weeks today and I suppose this will be my last "weeks" post since we're not going to make it to 40 weeks.  That's okay, though.  I think we're just about ready to meet this little guy!

Here's what babycenter.com says has been going on this week:

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

And this is what whattoexpect.com says:

Coming down to the wire, your baby weighs around seven to eight pounds and measures 19 to 21 inches. Those measurements won't change much from now on, but his brain is still growing at an astonishing rate, a pace that will continue for the first three years of life. His pink skin has now turned whitish (even babies who'll eventually have darker skin appear whitish now — they haven't yet developed pigment). His head may have dropped into your pelvis by now, which makes your breathing easier but walking harder.  **Nope.  Not his head...**

Yeah, this seems about right.  :)

Got some photos to post here.  First, the comparison of the last 8 weeks of progress:

Then the standard "weeks" photo:

And lastly, the "weeks" photo with regular clothes on:

Remember this shirt?  I was tempted to post the original photo of me in the shirt (when we announced we were pregnant) in comparison to these, but it wasn't the most flattering comparison so I decided against it.  Just as I decided not to post the 12 weeks vs. 39 weeks photos comparison (in the white tank & pink pants).  Most definitely not a very flattering comparison!

So this is it -- these will be the very last photos of me to count down the weeks.  Can't believe we're to this point...but we're ready for the next phase to begin!

doctor's appt #23...

I had another ultrasound with Wilmington Maternal on Thursday morning.  Just a standard appt to check the fluid levels around the baby which they said were really good.  Once again, they did a biophysical profile on the baby and he got great scores.  His breathing is still really great and because I drank orange juice before this appt (his fave :), he was moving all around for Melissa, the u/s tech.  We got to see a really great set of leg and foot movements.  And those were down in my pelvic area.

Yes, he's still breech.  So we're really going through with this c-section on Tuesday.  And I'm honestly okay with it.  As I've said before, I've had time to get used to the idea that this is how things are going to be for my first one and I trust that this is how God had it planned from the beginning.  Even though, this (surgery/c-section) is not how He originally planned women to give birth, I feel like maybe He's allowed it to be this way for me -- the planner -- so that I don't have any reason to be stressed about what didn't get done.  When we leave this house next Tuesday morning, whatever's not finished will be my own fault so I can't get stressed about it.  :)

But getting back to the appt...

My blood pressure was 142/94 -- the same as what it's been for the last 3 or so weeks but they still freaked out about it.  *siiiiiiigh*  I guess the closer you get, the less chances they take.  So they sent us to the hospital for more extensive monitoring, like we did a month ago.

This time I knew how to put the hospital gown on.  :)

So I got strapped up on the fetal monitors and the blood pressure cuff.  The NST turned out great results -- Deacon has been doing great this ENTIRE pregnancy.  The nurse had me actually turn and lay on my right side because she said that always brings your blood pressure down.

REALLY???  Why don't these other doctors know this?  Why can't I just do THAT at my doc appts??

Sure enough, one of my readings was 116/88, and the lowest one ended up being 112/66!  That's when Jeff said, "Is that too low?  Maybe you need to lay on your back for a little while so it will come up some..."  So I did turn, mostly because my right hip was starting to hurt, and the next reading was 123/75.  Still within in perfect range.

The nurse took some blood (out of my wrist!  that was a first...) and those labs all came back "wonderfully", according to the nurse.  They let me go after seeing the labs.  We were at the hospital for a lot less time this time around.

I promised them I would really "lay low" this weekend and I really am trying.  I actually didn't work yesterday and kept my feet up for a good part of the day while I worked on Jeff's laptop, editing photos, etc.

We have a couple of appts on Monday -- a regular NST at my OB office and then a pre-op appt afterward.  And then...we get this show on the road!

doctor's appt #22...

I had a doctor's appt with my OB this morning for another NST to monitor the baby's heartbeat.  My blood pressure was surprisingly low: 126/78.  Say what?!  Whatever.  I just never know.

The NST turned out fine -- Dr. Hill was pleased with his movement and heartbeat throughout the test.  I drank some orange juice this morning to get him really moving.  Which he was.  He likes orange juice.  :)

While I was on the monitors for the NST, Dr. Hill came in to discuss a "plan for delivery".  As of the ultrasound last Thursday, he is still breech so obviously the course of action is to schedule a c-section.

*cue villian music* Dun-dun-dun.

Now, this child has been breech for quite a while now so I've had time to get used to the idea that we may have to go the c-section route.  Not my first choice, of course, because I did want to try the labor-and-(vaginal)-delivery route, despite being scared to death of it all.  :)  However, it doesn't look like that is in the near future for us unless he turns between now and Tuesday.

That's right -- I said Tuesday.  We are scheduled for a c-section first thing Tuesday morning, October 26.  Um, yeah.  That's a week from tomorrow.

So I've been slowly processing this information all day today.  Hard to believe that in a week, we'll get to meet our little guy, this child I've been carrying for so long, the one who's been wreaking havoc on my body and my blood pressure.  :)

I will have another ultrasound on Thursday to check my fluid levels and if, by some chance, he's actually turned, I guess we'll regroup and figure out Plan B.  In the meantime, we're planning on the c-section next Tuesday.

And Jeff now has a firm deadline for that crib.

38 weeks today...

Good gracious...2 weeks to go.  I'm 38 weeks today!

Babycenter.com has this to say about what our little guy has been up to:

Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after he's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Whattoexpect.com had a little bit more info to add:

 

Hey, your little one isn't so little anymore, weighing close to seven pounds and measuring 20 inches long. Fetal development is nearly complete as your baby tends to a few last-minute details like shedding the skin-protecting vernix and lanugo. He's also producing more surfactant, a substance that prevents the air sacs in his lungs from sticking to one another once he starts to breathe. Most of the changes this week are small but important: He’s continuing to add fat (so he can take advantage of all those photo ops by sporting a round, cute baby look!) and fine-tuning his brain and nervous system (so he can deal with all the stimulation that awaits him once he makes his entrance into the world).

[again, not such a pretty image of our little guy...]

Good thing I only have a couple weeks left -- I'm not sure this little tank top is going to fit over this belly much longer!

Just as I did a couple weeks ago, I thought I'd post another set of photos with me in regular clothes.  This is another shirt that we found on our shopping trip when Momma and I met in Raleigh.  It's pretty comfy and it was only $3!

daddy-to-be is getting ready...

Ya'll, my husband is so cute.  Over the last few weeks or so, he's been doing his own things to get ready for Deacon's arrival, just like I have.  We'll call what he's been doing "nesting", too.  Just on the more masculine side of things maybe.  :)

Of course, the biggest thing he's been doing as a daddy-to-be is building that beautiful furniture for the nursery.  As you know, the dresser/changing table is done and you can see that here.  But this weekend, he officially finished building the crib!  It's not stained or anything but all building & production is complete.  Woot, woot!  It looks absolutely incredible and I promise to post about it -- once it's stained and in the baby's room.  :)

I came home from work one day last week and he had cleaned our kitchen sink with "this new product" he found at Lowe's -- Perfect Sink.  Our stainless steel sink gets pretty nasty and then usually when I clean it, it has a terrible metallic odor.  Well, I didn't even notice the clean sink at first because of that very thing -- there was no odor.  But Jeff kinda hung around watching me rinse something out and I said, "What?"  He said, "Well, I just cleaned the sink today and..." and of course, I looked again and then just went on and on about how it looked.  It really was so nice and clean.  And with no odor.  Outstanding.

Another thing he did was to put fresh new pine straw out in the front yard.  I told him that folks would not be the least bit concerned with how our yard looks when they come to see the baby but he said it was important to him to get the pine straw down.  And to be fair, I can compare it almost exactly to how I would like the house to be clean when people come to see the baby -- folks won't care one iota about how the house looks, but it's important to me to have the house clean.

Something else he did was to purchase a flip video camera.  We've never had a video camera before but up until I got my SLR camera (and sold my old Kodak one), we've had a regular camera that had short video capabilities on it.  He said that having a video camera to document certain things was a big deal to him so he found a really.great.deal. on one at Target and has been playing around with it.  I'm sure we'll be SO GLAD to have that when Deacon starts making sweet little noises and doing all that "first year" stuff.  :)

He also ordered these:

Love it.  :)  Love him.

Oh, one more thing...

One day at work this past week, I walked into the breakroom and found the sweetest set up:

This, of course, is how I set it up at home on our kitchen table, but the card was in an envelope that had "For Deacon's Mom" on the outside.  The card itself is exactly what I needed, just at the right time.  And the pumpkins -- a daddy, mommy & baby pumpkin.  PRECIOUS.  He also brought me lunch that day.  He is THE BEST.

doctor's appt #21...

I had another doctor's appt at Wilmington Maternal yesterday for an ultrasound to check the fluid around the baby.  Everything was fine there -- as a matter of fact, the levels are on the higher end of average and normal so it appears that the kidneys -- something they're keeping an eye on, remember -- are still working just fine.

They also did another biophysical "test" on the baby and he scored another perfect score: 8 out of 8.  George was our ultrasound tech and he remarked, just as everyone else has, that he is breathing really, really well.  Perfect.

My blood pressure was 138/90 -- elevated higher than they prefer, but not any higher than it has been, and, with my history of hypertension, not at an alarming level.  Just something for them to mention to me in the consult room afterward, as they always do.  :)

The only downside, really, to this appt was the fact that the kid is still breech.  Yes, he is.  Grrr.  However, George, gave us hope -- he said he's seen babies turn even later than this.  Yay.  Our doula, Kelley, told us about a few positions, some exercises, that I can do to, um, encourage him to turn.  So we will set about doing those.  For sure.

So due to the blood pressure issue, they wanted to take some more blood and test for anything that looks preeclamptic.  Well, sure, it's been what, a week since they did that?  Go right ahead.  Let's see what the labs say.

Everything came back normal -- platelet counts were fine, urine creatinine was normal (also no protein in my urine which is always a warning sign), liver function is fine.  Just a caution from Cindy to keep watching my blood pressure and report any serious spikes, and to keep an eye on how I'm feeling.  Roger that.  That good lab report bought us 4 more days to wait it out.  

That's what we want.  My concern at this point is that my care providers are going to start pushing me to start making decisions about "this or that" before I'm ready.  As long as I'm fine and everything is healthy with the baby, then we're fine to wait.  Not so much on the medical front -- it's just more convenient to go ahead and schedule induction or a c-section so that my docs don't have to worry about my blood pressure or risk of preeclampsia or the baby turning on his own anymore.  I see their side -- I really do -- but I also have my preferences and those take precedence for me, as long as nothing turns into a dangerous situation for me or the baby.

All my docs are now hinting around about bed rest but also suggesting that it's maybe something I can avoid them ordering if I take my own precautions like, for example, limiting my hours at work, etc.  It's not as if my job is real strenuous or anything, but I think the thing that works against me is that in those last few hours of the day before bed, after working 8 hours, I'm trying to cram a lot of things in and not really taking time to put my feet up.  Maybe if I can figure out a way to limit my workday hours, I can spread those "after work things" out a little bit and find chunks of time to put my feet up and rest more.  You think?

It's worth a try to avoid the doc's official order of bed rest.  So we're gonna try it.

My next OB appt is Monday for an NST and they will probably want to discuss the whole "your-baby-is-breech-and-your-blood-pressures-have-been-elevated-and-we-just-think-we-need-to-get-this-baby-out-of-you" thing.  So we'll be going in with guns to stick to.  Just sayin'.  :)

office shower...

The office where I work threw me a shower yesterday afternoon and it was a lot of fun.  I work with a great group of girls (and guys, but they weren't invited to this shower :), and they were all so generous, bringing lots of yummy finger foods and gifts galore for baby Deacon.

Here are a few photos to summarize the fun time we had:

[37.5 weeks pregnant]

[this elephant is a special gift -- straight from the heart of Africa!  My coworker, Beth, picked it up for Deacon while she was abroad on a trip...]

[diapers & wipes -- always a good choice!]

[love those sweet little stuffed animals :)]

[my office manager, Carol, hand-stitched this bib for Deacon -- so precious!]

Many, many thanks to all the girls who helped make this shower so special for me!  It's been recorded in my special memories that accompany all the other special memories throughout this pregnancy.  You girls are the best!

doctor's appt #20...

I had a doctor's appt this morning at my OB office for an NST and bp check.  My blood pressure was 145/95 -- not what they would prefer, but it was in keeping with the "trend" (i.e., not any higher than it has been over the last week and a half) so they were okay to let it go.

They strapped me up to the monitors for the NST and had a listen to the little one for a while.  He wasn't as active as they would've liked, despite the frosted mini-wheats cereal I ate for breakfast (I'm really on a cereal kick recently!) and the grape juice they gave me about halfway through.  But there weren't any dips in his heartrate so they were fine with the results of the NST today, too.

They did take my bp after the NST (I had been sitting still in a reclined state for about 45 min or so) and it was down to 130/74.  Nice.  :)

The only other thing that Dr. Cunill did was check to see if she could tell if the baby had turned.  She just poked around and prodded my belly a little bit to see if she could tell if he was still breech or not.  She thought maybe she felt him head-down but was afraid to say for sure.

She scheduled an ultrasound for Thursday morning to check fluid levels and of course, they'll be able to check the baby's position then, too.  Hopefully they will be able to tell us that he's turned head-down.  As much as delivering vaginally scares me, I'd really like to try, so I'm hoping they'll have good news Thursday.

37 weeks today...

I'm 37 weeks today.  Less than a month to go -- this is nuts!

Here's what babycenter.com says has been going on with our baby boy:

Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Whattoexpect.com says this:

With just three more weeks to go and at about six and a half pounds (though weight and height vary from fetus to fetus), your baby is doing just fine. You can expect weight gain to be about half an ounce per day. (Boys, though, are likely to be heavier at birth than girls. And here's a bit of boy baby trivia to back that one up: Moms carrying boys tend to eat more than moms carrying girls — a foreshadowing of teenage refrigerator raids to come.)  Since your little one is considered full-term at 37 weeks pregnant, if your baby was to leave the wet nest this week, he would likely thrive. That's because Mother Nature God and you have done such a fine job.
 
So what's keeping your little one busy while waiting it out until D-day? Practice, practice, practice. Your baby is simulating breathing by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, sucking on his thumb, blinking, and pivoting from side to side (one day you feel the tushy on the left side, another day it has swung around to the right side). All these are skills needed for his next gig  — starring as newborn.

Here's an interesting fact: Your baby's head (which, by the way, is still growing) will, at birth, be the same size circumference as his hips, abdomen, and shoulders. And guess what's making an impression (literally) these days on those shoulders and hips: fat — causing little dimples in those cute elbows and knees, shoulders and hip, and creases and folds in the neck and wrists.

[okay, that's a pretty ugly depiction of our sweet little boy...just sayin'.]

We're on the home stretch now so at all our doctor's appts, the nurses & doctors are gearing up to see how both of us are doing and when we might have some exciting action.  Our plan is to let the baby "cook" as long as he will and to go into labor naturally, as long as everything is good with me and him.  We're hoping he's turned from breech to head-down by now so that a scheduled c-section will not even need to be in the discussion.  We'll find out Thursday at our next ultrasound whether he's turned or not.

doula meeting #2...

We had another meeting with our doula, Kelley, Thursday night and it was mostly to go over our birth plan, to practice some pushing techniques and to just make sure we're all on the same page.

The pushing techniques we ended up practicing on our bed since we have one of those (fantastic) sleep number beds that raises your head/feet up.  We set it up basically like the hospital bed would be and then went through some different positions and Kelley and Jeff worked together to help me through the pushing phase.  It was weird, I gotta be honest, but I feel better about that part of the labor/delivery after having done that.  I think we're going to be a great team.  :)

Kelley left us a short DVD to watch and asked me to just pay attention to how the women in the DVD worked through their labor.  It was pretty interesting.  And frightening.  And helpful.  :)

I have to say that if we weren't going into this thing with Kelley by our side, there would be A LOT more fear than there is right now.  And there's a pretty fair amount of fear as it is.

We covered our birth plan with Kelley and for the most part, I pretty much knew what I wanted.  Kelley agreed with most all of it.  There were a couple of things I was unsure of (terms, etc.) and talking through them with Kelley helped me to work through those concerns and firm up our plan.

At this point, we haven't planned another meeting but since we see Kelley often and are keeping her in the loop with all of my doctor's appts, I don't foresee needing another meeting with her.

Unless she wants to see if we've been practicing our "stuff" like we're supposed to.  :)

doctor's appt #19...

I had an appt with Wilmington Maternal yesterday afternoon for an ultrasound to check growth and fluid levels.  Jeff ended up going with me which was a sweet surprise.  I don't ever assume that he'll be able to get away from work to come with me to an appt so when he called me yesterday and said, "I'm on my way so don't leave without me!", I was very pleasantly surprised.  :)

Everything went relatively well at the appt.  Deacon got lots of "points" for all the movements he was making as they did their thing -- both ultrasound techs that came in said he was "breathing like a champ".  I mean, they must've made that comment or one similar at least 3 or 4 times.  Yay.  :)  So glad he's not having any trouble with that task.

According to the measurements they took, he weighs 6 lbs 3 oz now.  His kidneys are still a bit enlarged but still nothing to worry about, only to monitor in the future.  Dr. Wright said she'd mention it to our pediatrician so they can scan the kidneys soon after birth and keep an eye on them.

So everything is great with the baby (other than he is still breech -- hmmm...).

My health, on the other hand, is not something that's going as great.  First, let me say that aside from the normal pregnancy issues at almost 37 weeks pregnant (like swelling, fatigue, ligament pain, having a hard time putting any shoes other than flip flops on :), I feel perfectly fine.  I do not have any dangerous symptoms (headaches, blurred vision, etc.) or anything that I can feel going on.

The biggest issue is that my blood pressure has been slightly elevated consistently for about the last week and all of a sudden, everyone is on alert for symptoms of preeclampsia.  I know that preeclampsia:

1) is nothing to mess around with

2) that it can come on very quickly with relatively no signs or symptoms, again, that I can feel, and

3) that it can make a pregnant woman and her baby very sick

And the doctors don't mess around with it, either -- this is why I had to go to the hospital last Friday for extended monitoring and blood work.

So yesterday, when they took my blood pressure and it was 140/90, they sent me down to a lab to have blood work done.  Even though I had just had blood work done a week ago at the hospital.  I guess that's how quickly things can change regarding preeclamptic symptoms.

So that's what we did after my appt.  We went down and I had blood drawn to be sure that, even though I wasn't feeling any symptoms, I didn't have preeclampsia.

And I don't. 

Dr. Wright called back last night with the results from the labs and said that everything is stable for now. She didn't officially order bed rest, but she did say that she thought it would be beneficial to slow down (ha!) and take it a little more easy than I have been.  And she did suggest that I start having twice weekly NSTs in my OB's office.  *siiiigh*  I guess when I head in Monday for my next NST, I'll mention that to them.  This is the part that really aggravates me -- missing work for more appts.  Not that I'm worried about work, but that I'm using more and more of the sick time I'm trying to SAVE for maternity leave.  At this rate, there will be nothing left; as a matter of fact I'll be in the red, probably.

Isn't it silly that THAT is what concerns me?  I'm in no way concerned about my health or that of the baby because I know that God is going to take care of us.  And whatever that means, I'll do, to be sure.  Please don't take my griping and complaining about the doctors' caution to mean that I don't think they know what they're doing.  I trust their judgment and I'll do what they say, no matter how much work I have to miss.

It's just an annoyance to me to be sent here and there to check this and that.  But it is what it is and we're coming down the homestretch now so I'm trying (without much success at this point) to just "roll with the punches".  Thank goodness for my wonderful, rock-steady husband who knows just what to say and do, when to be quiet and when to give me a pep-talk.  He has been absolutely fantastic for me.

But I'm starting to think that maybe he's bad luck and I shouldn't bring him to any more of my appts.

Just kiddin', babe!  You know it's MUCH better for me if you're there than if you're not.  I don't even want to THINK about what kind of state I would've been in at last Friday's appt (and the hospital) and this one yesterday if you hadn't been with me...I love you to pieces.  Truly. 

doctor's appt #18...

I had a follow-up appt with my OB yesterday morning after all that happened Friday.  It was just an appt to take my blood pressure and have another NST to monitor the baby for awhile.  Oh, and they did tell me that my Group B Strep results were negative.  Good.  *wiping brow*

My blood pressure reading was high to begin with (I'm not sure it was accurate -- I'm not a nurse, but I'm just saying, 160/97 is pretty high, even for me), but they took it again later on, after my NST and it was down to 140/83.  They were okay with that.

The NST didn't result in anything they were worried about so that was good.  The baby was pretty active after the orange juice I drank during breakfast, so they were happy to see all the activity.

They did a finger prick to check my iron and the nurse's exact reaction was, "Wow!  Your iron is GREAT!".  Well, good.  At least I passed something today.  :)  Dr. Woodfill asked what the reading was and when Joanne told him 38, he said (jokingly), "Wow.  Yeah, you actually might have too much blood -- we might need to bleed you out a little bit..."

I'm gettin' outta here.  :)

My next appt is with Wilmington Maternal on Thursday for an ultrasound to check my fluid levels, among other things, one of which, I'm sure, is the baby's position.  I'm hoping that Deacon keeps making his way around until he's head down.  Before his due date.

36 weeks today...

Holy cow -- 4 weeks of this pregnancy left!  I am 36 weeks today.

Here's what's been going on with our little guy, according to babycenter.com:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of his first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely he's in a head-down position. But if he isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an external cephalic version* which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating him from the outside of your belly.

*Babies who are still breech near term are unlikely to turn on their own. So if your baby is still bottom down at 37 weeks, your caregiver should offer to try to turn your baby to the more favorable head-down position, assuming you're an appropriate candidate.

This procedure is known as an external cephalic version (ECV). It's done by applying pressure to your abdomen and manually manipulating the baby into a head-down position. (If your caregiver is not experienced in this procedure, she may refer you to someone who is.)

ECV has about a 58 percent success rate in turning breech babies (and a 90 percent success rate if the baby is in a transverse lie.) But sometimes a baby refuses to budge or rotates back into a breech position after a successful version. ECV is more likely to work if this isn't your first baby.

2 weeks ago when they told us the baby was breech at my last ultrasound, my OB told me that there were ways to try to turn the baby, meaning that a c-section was not automatically considered at this point.  Also?  We still have 4 weeks for him to turn on his own (I'm praying that's what he does) and at this point, he's transverse so it seems as though he's making his way around.  :)

Whattoexpect.com had some interesting things to say about the baby's progress this week:

Your baby's skull isn't the only soft structure in his little body. Most of your baby's bones and cartilage are quite soft as well (they'll harden over the first few years of life) — allowing for an easier journey as your baby squeezes through the birth canal at delivery (and less prodding and poking for Mom along the way). At 36 weeks pregnant, the skull bones are also not fused together yet so that the head can easily (well, relatively easily) maneuver through the birth canal.

So your little bruiser (who you've now learned won't be bruising you all that much with those soft bones) is now about six pounds in weight and measures slightly more than 20 inches in length. Growth will experience a slowdown now, both so your baby will be able to fit the narrow passageway to the outside and also so he can store up all the energy needed for delivery.

By now, many of your baby's systems are pretty mature, at least in baby terms — and just about ready for life on the outside. Blood circulation, for instance, has been perfected and your baby's immune system has matured enough to protect him from infections outside the womb. Other systems, however, still need a few finishing touches. Once such notable example: digestion — which actually won't be fully mature until sometime after birth. Why's that? Inside his little gestational cocoon, your baby has relied on the umbilical cord for nutrition, meaning that the digestive system — though developed — hasn't been operational. So your baby will take the first year or two to bring that system up to speed.

The picture quality seems a little low, I apologize -- it's been kinda cloudy here today and we had to use the flash on the camera.  That sure doesn't hide the belly, though, huh??

I'm kind of over the whole changing into this "white-tank-pink-workout-pants" outfit that barely fits anymore for my progress photos, but I've got what, 2 more photos to take in it?  If I make it that far.  So I bit the bullet and did it today.  But I also realized that there are very few photos of me in some of my cuter maternity clothes on this blog.  So I decided today to have Jeff take some of me in regular clothes.  That fit.  :)

This is what I wore to church today.  The high was only 67 and it was party cloudy (Hello, fall!  I've been waiting for you!).  My mom got me this shirt when we went on our shopping spree back in August and I've been waiting for the weather to cool so I can wear it.  It's very comfy, and I got lots of compliments on it today.  :)

a day of firsts (i.e., doctor's appt #17 +)...

I had a routine OB appt yesterday morning with an NST to monitor Deacon's heartrate, etc.  What started out to be a routine checkup turned into a trip to the hospital for more extensive, prolonged monitoring just to be sure everything was okay.

And it was.  Let me just make that clear right here -- everything is fine with me and the baby.

At my appt yesterday morning, my bp was a little high -- 143/97.  And then during the NST, Deacon's heartrate dropped from his norm, in the 140s, down into the 120s twice, without provocation (no contraction or anything), over the course of about 40 min.

[this is what the printout of the NST looks like]

Dr. Woodfill didn't think there was anything really to be worried about; it just warranted an extra look and some prolonged monitoring.  I'm grateful for the extra caution, really, but how annoying to have to go down to the hospital.  *sigh*

Before I left my OB office, they did the Group B Strep test and checked to see if he had turned at all (at my last u/s he was breech).  Dr. Woodfill said that it didn't seem as though he'd turned much yet; that his head appeared to still be up and not down.  He's still got a month to turn so I'm not too stressed about that yet.  Not sure when we'll get the results of the Group B Strep.  If I have it (a bacteria found on the skin that isn't harmful to adults but can be deadly to infants), they'll give me an injection for it once we're admitted.

So off we went to the hospital.  Once there, we filled out the paperwork and signed off on all the forms (that's one good thing about this first trip to the hospital -- we're in the system now so we won't have to worry with the paperwork on the "big day").  They put me in a small room and had me change into one of their gowns and put on a belly band (that's what they used to hold the external fetal monitors in place).  That was my first time trying to get into one of their robes.  RIDICULOUS.  I opened it out and all it was was a ginormous piece of fabric with snaps and ties.  Um, excuse me?  Where are the sleeves?  Where's the neck hole?  I had to have Jeff come in and help me into the thing and together we figured out how to snap things together to make sleeves and a neck hole.  Talk about feeling dumb.

So I get into the bed and they place the monitors where they need to be on my belly (which I'm used to because it's just a longer NST than what I've been having), place a blood pressure cuff on my arm and stick a thermometer in my mouth.  All while I'm trying to finish signing off on all the paperwork.  GEEZ, PEOPLE.

So the monitors begin recording what they're supposed to record and the bp cuff takes my bp about every 30 min or so and records that.  A little later my nurse, Ann, takes some blood (out of my hand) to send off for labs to be sure that I don't have preeclampsia (which I don't, but that's the signs that were showing with my elevated bp and the drop in heartrate at my OB's office, I guess).

About the time she gets done with that, Jeff decides to go get us some lunch from one of the cafes in the hospital.   This was our first time eating at the hospital and we're big fans!  Jeff had a grilled chicken panini sandwich and he got me a grilled chicken & pesto wrap.  Oh, yum!  He also got some spicy beans & rice, some mixed fruit and then a couple of other snacks.  Everything we ate was really good.  We were really impressed.

So I ended up staying on the monitors for about an hour and 45 min *sigh* and that report, combined with my blood labs showed no signs of preeclamsia.  As a matter of fact, they kept saying that everything was "perfect" with me and the baby.  My bp was actually really low at the hospital which was the exact opposite of what I expected given the situation.  So that was very encouraging for me.

Dr. Cunill came in and did an ultrasound with a little portable machine just for extra confirmation that everything was fine with the baby (which it was) and was able to tell us that he is transverse in there now, not breech, but not head down either.  He's basically laying crossways in my belly, with his head on my right side and the rest of him on the left.  So he's making progress.  That's good.  :)

Once the ultrasound was complete, I was free to get changed back into my clothes, we signed off on one more thing and then we were released.  At that point, it was so late I ended up not going into work at all.  Thankfully, Fridays are kinda slow at the office so I wasn't stressed about that.  It was a pretty eventful day, though, so I did feel a little drained.

I would like to say how thankful I am that Jeff was with me for this appt.  He hasn't gone to every appt with me (and I'm fine with that) but I wanted him to hear at least one of the NSTs so he could listen to Deacon's heartbeat and hear him moving around.  So he decided to go with me to this one and I'm so very glad.  Just having him with me kept me from freaking out about being sent to the hospital, and then having him with me at the hospital was a God-send, too.  He is just such a calming force for me.  He always seems to know what to do, what questions to ask.  And he knows just what to say to make me smile or keep me calm.  He is a wonderful husband, the best ever, and he's going to be a wonderful father.  :)