:::holds hands out for a slap:::

Yeah, I know, I have been a naughty blogger. But all of you griping at me about not updating makes me feel loved that you are at least checking up on me and people are reading this! Here are the three (yes, 3!) doc appt updates since I last posted:
Friday 12/14/07

• Weight is up 5 lbs this time. I am now officially over 200 pounds and miserable about it
• BP, urine, baby's heartbeat and fundal height are all right on.
  
• Had an ultrasound. Still didn't get great views of the baby's heart (he insisted on covering his chest with his arms and hands the entire time), but we did get to confirm again that there is indeed man-junk down there and we can continue to plan on him being a boy. Also revealed - baby is measuring way ahead of the curve. His head circumference puts him around 98th percentile. That pushes his due date based on size to 2/8/08. Yep, that's like 3 weeks ahead of schedule. His shoulders are broad, and he is long, so at least he isn't just a freak with an "orange on a toothpick" for a head. He's just a big boy. They estimate he is closing in on 4lbs already. Do the math - that puts him at the potential to be as big as 10 lbs if his growth rate doesn't slow.
  
• Due to big size (both mine and the baby's) they rechecked my gestational diabetes test results just to make sure they didn't screw up, but my numbers were indeed perfect. They need to be under 140, and I got a 68.
  
• Doc wrote me a script to let the airlines know that basically even though I appear HUGE, I am indeed only 29 weeks and safe to fly.
  
• I broke down crying in the office after all of this. My worries about going for the natural birth with what could potentially be a ginormous baby finally got to me. It also made me feel badly that maybe I am doing something wrong and that I am putting my kid on the path to weight issues right from birth, and it makes me feel AWFUL. Vince and Dr. McCollum were wonderful and did their best to console me. I had a shitty night and next couple of days. After the pity party, I decided to put on my big girl panties and buck up and deal. So, I am doing my best to just make sure we are prepared, and am getting lots of good advice and support from other parents who have been there and have good experiences delivering big babies. Of course I hope it won't be an issue, and that his growth tapers off and he ends up at a more reasonable weight at birth, but I guess we had better be prepared.

Monday 12/31/07

• Saw the DO in the practice this time. She was super cool. Very talkative, very excited, very passionate. We are trying to finally cycle through all the docs in the practice, so it was nice to meet yet another awesome doc.
• Believe it or not, I actually LOST weight over the past 2 weeks. I was down a whole pound to 202. It's not much, but it absolutely made my day hearing that. Oh, and PG or not, I don't think I have ever had a Christmas holiday or a visit home where I lost weight. To do it while PG strikes me as nothing short of a miracle.
  
• Everything else is perfect and right on track - fundal height was 32 cm today.
  

Monday 1/14/07

• Saw Dr. Cowles today. She seemed nice, if not maybe a little standoffish. But, she answered all my questions thoroughly, so I am happy. All vitals and such are normal. I gained almost 5 pounds over the past 2 weeks (WAHHHH!), but doc was convinced most of this was water retention since my leg swelling has increased a lot.
  
• Today was the very first doctor's appt that Vince was not able to attend. Work is psycho busy for him and since basically appointments now are just pee in the cup, get on the scale, listen to the heartbeat and measure the uterus, he isn't really missing much.
• Next visit will be our last one at 2-week intervals. We'll be going weekly after that.
• Per doc, next visit they will palpate to check the baby's position and use ultrasound to confirm if they think he happens to be breech. Fingers crossed he is in an OK spot. (My suspicion is he is actually transverse right now, with his bum on my left and his head on my right.)
• I talked to her a little about getting a birth plan together and about the practice and hospital's management of couples attempting med-free births. She said only about 10-15% of their patients attempt it (why does this seem shockingly low to me?). She informed me there were explicitly 2 items that, while I can ask for them, neither the hospital nor the doctors will budge on. The first is IV access. I can deny an IV, but they will absolutely require that upon admission that they at least establish the access and put in the port. This does NOT make me happy (mainly because I absolutely despise having an IV stuck in my arm or hand), but I guess I at least have time to deal with it. The other item is that once I am in hard, active labour, they will require continual monitoring of the baby. Intermittent monitoring is not an option at that point. This worries me a little, since that will confine me to a very limited area in our room, tethered to the machines, and it means I likely won't be able to use the tub or the shower to manage my pain. This may require some discussion on mine and Vince's part as to how to handle it. I plan to bring up these 2 items when we take our hospital tour next week just to confirm if they are indeed hospital policy, or if the doc was stretching the truth a bit.

Random stuff:

• Sister's wedding on 12/22 went well. I felt like a whale in a black satin bridesmaid's dress, but everyone was nice and said I looked good. I managed to flash the church my maternity cleavage while signing the marriage register, so that was a nice bonus for everyone, I am sure. I overdid it a bit that day and ended up with some bleeding and cramping by the end of the night, but lots of rest the next few days took care of it.
• Christmas with the family was good. The drive home was hell. Can I say again how much I HATE driving through Montana and Wyoming in the winter? But, we made it home safe and sound. We made a pit stop in Fort Collins as we neared home and checked into the Trailhead for some yummy food. The dogs seemed to do great at the kennel where we had them boarded, so that was a relief too.
  
• I spent the past 2 weeks training my replacement at work, and have shut down my massage practice for maternity leave, and 1/11/08 was my last official day on the day job. It feels weird to officially be a SAHM (stay at home mom). Maybe it will feel less strange once the baby is actually here. : ) In the meantime, the to-do list seems a mile long. I'd better check out now and get on that.
  
• I hope to download stuff off the camera in the next day or so and post some pics.