Eleventh Prenatal Dr Visit

Joe and I went to the Dr today.  I’m 37 weeks and considered full term now!  She did an ultrasound but the baby is so big now I can’t make out anything on the screen.  It all looks like a blob to me.  She did point out the hand and a foot but even the head wasn’t recognizable to me.  The baby is literally in the perfect position for birth.  Its head is way down low.  Like all the way down.  She said that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’ll go into labor soon but she has a feeling I won’t go past my due date.  Joe said that the baby is ready for launch which was pretty funny.  She asked if I felt any tightening.  I’m not sure about tightening but I’ve definitely been having cramps lately.  Sporadic and not as severe as menstrual cramps but painful enough to be noticeable and sometimes they last a while.  Also, I swear I can feel when the baby moves its head because I feel pressure on my bladder and immediately have to pee. She said the baby is definitely right on top of my bladder.  It was hard for her to get an accurate reading but she estimates the baby is 7lbs 2oz.

Joe and I both got pretty excited by how close we are to finally having our baby.  The doctor said she’d be careful during the ultrasound not to reveal the gender but I don’t think we’d be able to tell anything anyway.  It all just looked like blobby shadows.  Joe said he can’t believe we made it this far not knowing.  It’ll be so exciting to find out when our baby is born.

My Strep B test was negative so that’s all good.  She did put in the order for my breastpump but it will likely take another week.  She gave me some print outs about Epidurals since I had some questions on my last visit.  I really like this doctor.  She’s so informative and thorough.  She answers all my questions in detail.   She and Joe actually got into a casual conversation about the crazy hours they both keep.  As a doctor that delivers babies she’s always on call 24 hours and could get called into the hospital at any time for a delivery.  She said there actually aren’t many OBGYNs that do the actual deliveries of their patients but she loves her job and the work she does is very rewarding to her. 

I asked her if my mucus plug would be the first sign I’d have that I would go into labor soon and she said it depends.  Some women don’t expel it until they’re at the hospital pushing and some may expel it without noticing because it’ll just look like a discharge and might not have any blood in it.  Likewise my water might not break until I’m at the hospital ready to push.  Every pregnancy is different and there’s no way to know how it will go.  I was just hoping there’d be a sign when I’m about to go into labor soon but I guess there are no guarantees.  It could happen any time and take any length of time.  It’s just hard not knowing.