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December 22, 2004

December 22, 2004

37 Weeks

I had my twice weekly OB appt. on Monday (12/20) and my BP was 118 over 40 – pretty low compared to what it’s been in the past, so my doctor was happy. I guess it’s safe to say my BP meds 4 times/day are actually working. Dr. S measured me, said everything looked like it was right on target and that unless my BP spiked or the baby or I were in distress, he would not induce me any earlier than the 30th (drat). So, I told him that I had been doing my kick counts and that initially the baby would kick at least 10 times in the immediate 20 minutes after a meal, but in the past couple of days it was starting to take closer to an hour to get ten kicks. So Dr. Stokes said that as a precaution, he wanted to do a non stress test to make sure the baby was all right. I was soon hooked up to a monitor with a belt like thing around my abdomen with a button I was supposed to push every time the baby moved. He was barely moving the first five minutes (though he had been moving the whole time I was waiting in the reception area – he always moves more when I am sitting vs. lying down), so the nurse used this buzzer/zapper type device to wake him up and boy, did it ever. The buzzer emitted this annoying sound right by my abdomen and the baby jumped like someone had poured cold water over him, but clearly he heard it, so that was a relief! After that, he moved a lot and it was determined that he was doing just fine and there was nothing to worry about. So, on my way I went.

On 12/21 (Tuesday), I had my 37 week u/s to determine if this baby’s size was where it should be. Without belaboring the subject, the doctor said the baby was exactly the size he should be for this stage in my pg, that he is not too big at all, nor too small, but that he was just right and after inputting into the system all the measurements they took, the baby’s estimated weight at this time is 7 lbs 3 oz. Of course, this is just a guess, he could be a little more or a little less, give or take a pound, or so they said. But most important, they told me everything looked fine, the baby’s organs all looked wonderful, he was active and as far as the could see, in great shape. I was just thrilled to learn he wasn’t a gargantuan like everyone tells me he is going to be – it’s all I ever hear. Not that I mind, per se but geez – after awhile it does get old hearing that you are “simply huge!” It’s like, umm, yeah – I got that. Thanks for letting me know though, I was feeling kind of happy until you broke the news to me…Anyway, the really best part of the visit was getting to see the little guy yet one more time – it was just too cute – he was sucking on his hand at one time and waving it everywhere. The u/s tech says he has a ton of hair – now this I can’t wait to see. I mean, Cameron had a covering of hair all over his head too but it was really short/thin/fine and not what I would call a lot of hair at all. So it will be interesting to see something different. Neither Charles nor I had a lot of hair at birth so we never really expected any child of ours would either.

My physical progress – well, let’s just say I am slowing down quite a bit. My hands have suddenly swelled up tremendously, as have my feet. My carpal tunnel is worse than ever and just typing this much has been pure torture but I really wanted to try and keep up if I could, so here you go. Sorry that this entry is not more interesting as I had promised last time, but it took all of my effort just to type this little bit. My fingers alternate from feeling as though they are on fire to feeling like they are freezing to feeling itchy to feeling as though they are not even there. And they just look bad in general besides. My feet look like little old lady feet in that when I am wearing shoes, all the extra skin falls over the side of the shoe the way old ladies’ feet do because the shoes are so orthopedic and the feet are so swollen. Better yet, my feet have that sort of Daisy Duck quality to them and if you don’t know what I mean by that, don’t worry, just instead imagine the most horrible feet you have ever seen on the planet, and then imagine something 100 times worse and then you’ll understand exactly what my feet look like.

God, I just want my body back.

I am still stunned that I enjoyed being pg so much last time and this time (at least at the end), it is something that I basically want to forget. Of course the baby is what is so wonderful about it all and makes it worth it, but I don’t have him in my arms just yet, instead all I have is this bullet belly and these huge cow breasts and these two chins and these cankles and the look of someone who has seen happier times. (See Cameron’s webpage, with newly updated pictures at http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/s/swiss/ (the last picture), to understand what I mean). I know I had all of this last time, but it was different because I think every time I would start to think about how tired I might have been, or how hideous I might have looked, I would simply lie down and fall asleep and forget about it all. Clearly I can’t do that anymore.

I think what it basically boils down to is that when I was pg with Cameron, I had never known the joy of my own little baby before, I was so focused on being pg and experiencing a pg firsthand, that I sort of underestimated how wonderful the baby himself would be. This time, I know for a fact that the baby is the best part of the entire experience and the pg just pales in comparison – I’m really just anxious to get to that best part and forget about all the rest. Let’s just hope that part comes soon, because I am so done with this. If my belly gets any bigger, I will need a wheelbarrow for it just to move around the house. I’m telling you, I was in Target today and looked at one of those motorized carts the same way someone stranded on a deserted island, looks at a cruise ship on the horizon.

Counting Down the Days,
Corinne and the boys