OB Appointment (33w 2d; includes photos)

I had an ultrasound this afternoon to measure Petit's growth. It's been awhile since I've had an ultrasound now, so it was nice to get a look at the baby again! I can never get tired of hearing the heartbeat. Honestly. I'm seriously thinking of taking the recording we have into Build A Bear and having it incorporated into a bear for myself!

Long story very short: Petit is measuring right on track. It's ridiculous how things seem to be going so well. Kinda scary in fact. But that's just my worry talking, right? RIGHT?

Petit was moving around like crazy! That always makes the tech's job more difficult, but as she reiterated, movement is a VERY good thing! Petit is head down, very close to the cervix. No wonder I'm feeling such pressure! The heartrate is 152. My cervix length is 3.5 cms so all is good there too; no worries about a cervix that isn't holding up. Petit's estimated weight right now is 4.7 lbs, with a head circumference of 30 cms (10 cms from front to back and 8 cms from side to side), and an abdominal circumference of 29 cms. And the length of a femur measured at 6.2 cms. There's LOTS of amniotic fluid (high levels within the normal ranges) so that's okay too. All in all, the 'corrected' gestational age is 33.3 weeks... right on track.

This is a shot of Petit's head, with a bit of a profile on the left side. We saw fists flailing around as this was taken. SO cool!

As for me, I've lost the weight I gained apparently. I'm down 7 lbs, so I've not gained or lost anything over the course of the pregnancy so far. With luck, that will continue! My blood pressure is normal at 136/74 and there's no protein or glucose in my urine. I still have a cyst (outside the uterus) and it's now at 8x6 cms. Damn thing! *shakes a fist* The good news is, the fibroid I had earlier on seems to be gone... it's not visible on the ultrasound and the tech did both an abdominal and a vaginal ultrasound to be certain. So I'm glad. The presence of large fibroids near the cervix can mean a c-section so I'm more than thrilled that it's no longer there/visible.

And I talked to the nurse about our visit to L&D last week. When I described the pain to her, she immediately thought round ligament pain and stretching to prepare for delivery. I usually get round ligament pains lower, near the low abdomen and groin area. But this was up high, like under my left breast, up in the ribcage. VERY high. She said that the ligaments do stretch up high, so it might have been that. She's not entirely certain. Regardless, I've not had another episode since, but the nurse was glad that I went last week to get it checked anyway.

So far, so good. I'm glad to know that everything is going well and I'm chugging right along. I've begun to pack up some stuff at my office; personal stuff will come home with me while papers for the office will be boxed up to move. I know my team will be relocating at least once while I'm on maternity leave so I want to make things easy for them to handle if at all possible.

At home, the washer got fixed the other day (YAY! And thanks for the offer Mary!) and I'm waiting for the new curtains that my aunt made to arrive. This weekend I hope to tape off Petit's room so that hubby can do some painting. As I mentioned, I want to change the colour in there to a brighter yellow. Something more appropriate for a baby. And no, I won't be getting on any ladders to do any of this. What I cannot reach, hubby will do and he's offered to paint as well, even though it's latex that we'll be using.

I've heard from two of my aunts who've booked tickets to come to see us and meet Petit in mid to late September. There was a sweet seat sale on the other day and they couldn't pass it up. I can't blame them. My mom and my other aunt are still hoping to catch a seat sale and are thinking about arriving around one week before my due date... around about the time I finish working.

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the real possibility that in six weeks or so, we're going to have another member added to our family. We're going to get to welcome a little baby into our lives, into our world. It's so incredible to me, there are no words. I'm in awe that we have gotten this far and I recognized how blessed we are. Daily. I give thanks. Daily. I am moved to tears. Daily. I don't know how this all happened, but I continue to hope that in the end, our rainbow will appear.

Two "belly" shots follow. It's been interesting to track Petit's development based on the changes we see. I hope the pics do not offend those of you who are TTC; that isn't my intention of course. But I ask that you understand how very badly we want to share our joy with other family members and friends and realize that this blog is one of the few ways that we can get word out to those who are celebrating alongside us. Thank you so much for your understanding.