Yesterday was my 37 week prenatal check up. The last two appointments I have had to do the CST monitoring. That basically involves sitting in a big recliner for about 20 minutes with the fetal heart rate montior attached and the contraction monitor. These are the same ones (or seem the same ) that they use in the hospital when you go into labor. I am having to do the monitoring because I am 38 and they want to make sure that the baby is still thriving and the placenta is providing her with her needed essentials. I weighed in at 144 lbs- so Ive gained over 25 pounds in all! Yikes! I really cant run anymore - which is frustrating. I do still walk on the treadmill but it is getting harder and harder. So far - no swelling! And everything else has been good. I was a little worried at the last appointment when the midwife said that the baby was measuring small- 28 percentile. The doctor yesterday reassured me that it was okay and that judging by my size- she was probably close to 6 lbs at least.
Jamey came with me appointment while Rudy was at school. We just got back from Orlando the previous day. I had a three day FLVS professional development conference that I had to attend for school. Last week, my midwife told me that I shouldn't travel that far. It takes about 6 hours to get from Panama city to Orlando. But my husband had a meeting there on Monday anyway so I felt safe with him driving and with me. I was worried on the way down and honestly during the whole conference, it was in the back of mind. I even thought about packing a towel to carry with me in case my water broke but honestly my past pregnancies have all gone over my due date - except my oldest daughter. So I made it through the 3 days and even saw a lot of other pregnant teachers there. In fact, one of the art teachers that I work with is 11 weeks pregnant so it was a relief to see that I was not the only one.
I am so glad I decided to go for so many reasons. First I got to meet my principal, lead teacher and whole team. It was great to really meet face to face because it can be difficult to get an accurate reading on personality/ temperament/etc over the computer and phone. We even got to celebrate a birthday of the other art teacher on Wednesday night at one of my favorite restaurants in Orlando called Cafe Tu Tu Tango. It is a super artsy restaurant with local art, an artist in residence and there was even a tarot card reader/psychic!
Everyone on my team is wonderful and I learned so much! They even surprised me on Thursday with a baby gift card, tons of diapers and baby wipes. It was so thoughtful and sweet- especially since I will not be having a baby shower.
Our stroller/carseat was supposed to be delivered today but it is delayed until December 5th. My mom's birthday is tomorrow- she said that baby Emerson was waiting to be born on that day- which would be tomorrow! I just do not feel ready. We also ordered bedroom furniture for the room but that wont be here until much later either.
I did get Jamey to get me a Shiatsu heated pillow to use to help with back pain. I am going to try to go as long as I can without pain medication/epidural. I have read that it is harder to forego the pain medication if you have to be induced/get pitocin, since it exponentially increases contractions without a gradual buildup. Jamey is the best hubs ever. He also stayed up late to set up Rudy's Elf on a Shelf, Eddie. He put him in a bowl of rice krispies and wrote a cute note with his left hand (so it would not look like his handwriting).
I fell asleep early and didn't know he had set that up so when Rudy woke early- I tried to get him to go back to bed for a bit so I could go downstairs and set up Eddie. I was so touched that Jamey already set it up! I added Rudy's Lego Advent calendar too so he could open that. It was cute. Rudy is 7 and he really still believes in the elf, santa and everything. I kind of think that might be partly due to his autism. I think it is sweet- sometimes I worry that it might make him vulnerable in some situations but we just take it one day at a time. Like everything else. Well- I'm off to bed. Maybe Emerson will make her appearance tonight!
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