Week 34

Yesterday, I had another doctor’s appointment and an ultrasound. They took a bunch of measurements and looked in at his various organs to make sure that everything is still going okay. They confirmed that he is still, in fact, a he and that he’s swimming around in a healthy amount of amniotic fluid. They even have a way of measuring the blood pressure through the umbilical cord to make sure the baby’s getting enough nourishment.

They took measurements of his head and his thighbone and everything was in the proper proportion. Their measurements placed his length of gestation at 34 weeks and 3 days, which is exactly what we had it at, based on my last menstrual cycle, so I guess he’s right on target. The technician also placed his current weight at 5 lbs and 4 oz, which indicates that if I carry him full term he should be somewhere between 7-8 lbs. I found this to be quite a relief, because I’ve been afraid that my husband and I and would end up producing a 9 pounder, which would make delivery much harder. On the flip side, if I need to deliver early he's not at a worrisome low weight, although he might still need a little extra time in the hospital for his lungs and other organs to be quite ready for the world.

As for my health, the doctor was guarded. Despite all the extra rest I have been getting, again my blood pressure was up from my last visit. She was reassured that the baby seems to be doing well and there wasn’t any protein in my urine, which would indicate preeclampsia and is what we are on guard for. She seemed to be a bit reluctant to tell me that it’s okay for me to continue working part-time though, and she added that if my blood pressure has increased at all on my next visit she’ll want me to stop working all together.

So, I’ve been redoubling my effort to take it easy a bit more. I had just been starting to feel guilty for not working more, but now that’s been replaced by a nagging fear of a whole month of bed rest. I don’t sit still well, so while it’s nice to have permission to be lazy, that’s exactly how I feel, lazy. I’ve finished up the 4th season of West Wing episodes and am not sure if I’ve ever bother to view the 5th season; they definitely went down hill somewhere along the way. I’ve been making headway on my reading pile and am at the point where I may even begin to conquer that long list of odds and ends that I’ve been meaning to take care of for ages now.

Once again, I had an indulgent ultrasound technician who presented me with this wonderful profile shot for me to add to my collection. Click on image to see more photos.