Saturday, March 25

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 I had just been starting to feel guilty for not working more, but now that’s been replaced by a nagging fear of a whole month of bed rest.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.

10 comments:

Bearette said...

I'm so happy that he is healthy and everything is going well! :) Yay!

SK said...

Me too! I wish I had more time to entertain you on your "down" time.. I could try to do a tap dance. 'Try' being the key word. I'm sure you'd get a laugh out of it. Heh... So glad to hear, er, read that everyting is going well. Soon you'll be very busy and probably begging for a few extra minutes of sleep so enjoy it now!

Mike said...

Cool that everything is going well so far. My sister had blood pressure issues during her pregnancy, and her daughter was perfectly healthy. As for fear of baby size, I was over 10 pounds, and about 22 in long, but my mom had a 25 minute labor period with me...

Janet said...

Glad to hear that you are doing well and that baby is too! I envy that you are resting, though I know what you mean about not being able to sit still!

Sue said...

Wow, 34 weeks. How exciting! I'm glad to hear all's going well, and hope you can cope with the laziness. I'm different from you here, I love any excuse to relax and read! My first was born at 37 weeks and was just on 7 pounds - and I was totally unprepared! By his 'due date' he was over 9 pounds so I was quite relieved he'd decided to arrive early.

Anvilcloud said...

If you need to be still, perhaps you should line up a bunch of good books.

Lisa said...

I can't wait to meet the lil' guy! Take care of yourself. Please call if you need anything---even just someone to restock your book pile or watch a movie with!

Megan Stuke said...

EVERY EVERY best wish I have I'm sending to you now. I can't imagine what it must be like. Really, I can't even begin to.

Bless you!

Contemplative Activist said...

Amazing what they can do these days!

I hope you're enjoying resting up and taking things easy.

Beautiful photos - can't wait to see when the baby is born!

CA

Contemplative Activist said...

PS. Just nosied in your photostream - Lora you are positively glowing in those belly shots!!!