During our Tuesday appointment, the doctor checked my cervix. I joked with R that it was ironic how we've spent so long trying and there have been so many people inspecting that part of my anatomy, and then ever since we've gotten pregnant, there have been very few physical exams of that area. This was the second or third one at the most.
Anyway, the doctor said Kiddo's head had started to move down and my cervix was starting to soften slightly, but I hadn't dilated at all. She thinks I'll go all the way to the 21st.
We had another growth scan on Friday (36 weeks), and the measurements indicated Kiddo weighs 7 lb. 4 oz. However, the tech said girls tend to weigh less than the estimates, so she thinks Kiddo is in the upper 6 lb. range at this point.
I was concerned again that Kiddo's size could be because of the gestational diabetes, but the tech said it's not just her soft-tissue circumferences (like her belly) that are measuring large, but her bone lengths are also long, so the tech doesn't think her size is due to the GD. I don't know if the tech was just trying to make me feel better, but I'll ask the doctor about it on Tuesday.
It does make sense that Kiddo would be on the large side regardless, since other than me at 5' 7" and R's mom at 5' 1", everyone else in the immediate family, including R's sister, is 5'10" or taller. And all of us are medium or large builds - we aren't exactly a petite bunch.
Last weekend, we ventured out to a baby store with a friend of mine to buy a few more essentials. I was still a bit freaked out about allowing things to cross the threshold, but my friend said it doesn't count if the tags are still on and we still have the receipts, so I'm trying to be okay with it. Everything is still in bags, though - I haven't made progress to the point of washing things yet.
I am, however, now driving around with a car seat base in the back seat of my car.
I called the Fire Department this week to make an appointment because I'd heard it takes a few weeks to get on the schedule for car seat inspections, but when they called me back on Friday, they had an opening for yesterday. So we went, and I'm glad we did, because getting it installed in my car properly was tough.
But I was also really happy to find out that we can also use the car seat in the back seat of R's truck. His truck is old (1998) and has clamshell doors rather than a full crew cab with four full-size doors, so I thought we'd have to put the car seat in the passenger seat in his truck and shut off the airbag. But fortunately the back bench in his truck is deep enough that it fits safely. So yea for that!
8 comments:
Wow you are so amazingly close!! So happy to hear you are checking things off the list :)
So excited for you....
As for the baby's size, the scans can go either way. For example, Raegan was measured at 4lb-15oz at 34 weeks. She was born at 37+3 weighing 5-1....hard to believe she only gained 2 ounces in almost 3 weeks.
Here's hoping for the 6lb range.
As for washing...I washed 3 outfits to pack in my hospital bag, 2 girl outfits and one neutral just in case she turned out to be a boy. And a blanket or 2 to keep her warm. It wasn't until the day my OB sent me to the hospital to be induced that I washed a couple more outfits. It was the beginning of December and I wanted Christmasy outfits for pictures.
I didn't really do laundry until we were home from the hospital. It's ok to leave the tags on...heck I still have some clothes that have the tags on because I haven't washed stuff yet, it might be because she isn't yet big enough to fit in it...
So happy you're so close!!! Congrats on 36 weeks!
WOW, how exciting! Wishing you well these last few weeks!
You are SO CLOSE!!! Yay!!! Counting down with you!!!
Mo
This is getting really real - so excited for you!
I had lots of growth scans and my wee one looked like he was going to be above the 90th percentile, but was actually just under the 50th when they weighed him at birth.
I had NO idea how much to take to the hospital and ended up looking like I was moving in permanently. We stayed in for 3 days but it (stupidly) hadn't occurred to me that my husband could always bring in things we needed.
Top tips (and apologies if it's too much, too soon, but it could happen any time now, so I didn't want to wait too long):
1. Don't go for disposable knickers, they're horrible and a waste of money. Get a multipack of some inexpensive plain ones and you can carry on wearing them for the first couple of months.
2. Go for the best maternity pads you can get - the cheap ones are uncomfortable and don't last long.
3. If you can find Lansinoh nursing pads, get them and don't bother with any other make - they have a gel centre that soaks up the milk and keeps the surface of the pad dry which helps things enormously.
4. Ignore what anyone says about not using disposable wipes on your baby (unless you're morally opposed to them). Just get the fragrance free, sensitive skin ones.
5. If you usually wear underwired bras, try and get an underwired nursing bra - ignore what anyone says about causing mastitis as any ill-fitting bra can do that. If you're like me and you normally NEED to wear and underwire then getting a good fitting underwired bra will make you look and feel much better than a non-wired one. I found the non-wored versions left me looking like I'd stuffed a sausage-dog draft excluder down my front!
6. Cut an old soft towel or flannel into squares and take them in for those first meconium poos.
7. Never underestimate how many muslin squares you're going to need!!!!!!
8. Even if you plan to breastfeed, have a couple of bottles and some pre-prepared formula around, just to be safe.
Oh yay, you are shopping! Yep, just keep the tags on and in the bags, and I bet your mom would be happy to do some washing while you're in the hospital :) Can't believe you are so close. Excited for you!
As long as you have a carseat, something to dress the baby in and a camera to document the happy occasion, all else is gravy. I think that you also mentioned having a baby book in which to put first footprints, so take that too... :-D Beyond that, comfy clothes and you'll be fine. It's getting very close! :-D
I am so excited for you! Best wishes for you brand new life!
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