Growing a Family

Birth Story, Part 1 (Getting Ready)

Leo
Born August 22, 2010
11:01 p.m.

On Monday, August 16, we had our 39-week appointment with the midwives (Mary and her student, Monika). Cara, Rob, and Rafa had moved in with us the Friday before to wait for the baby's arrival and we were all hoping to hear an "any day now" prediction. We didn't get that, exactly, but everything looked great. My blood pressure looked good, the baby was vertex (head down) and sounded healthy. I asked for a cervical check and was 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced, which was progress from my last check at 36 weeks and more dilated than I'd ever been without being in labor.

Rick had unexpectedly been called to San Antonio for 5 weeks of training beginning that day, but he was on-call and ready to come home whenever we needed him. I kept up the regime of everything I'd been doing to encourage this kid to come out-- red raspberry leaf tea, evening primrose oil, visualizing, walking, pumping, spicy food, greasy food, more water, less water, acupressure, massage, squatting, stairs. On Tuesday, I had acupuncture done, with an assurance that it usually worked within 4-6 hours. On Wednesday, he said the longest it had ever taken was 36 hours. I took that day off from work in case the baby was just to shy to make an appearance there-- no such luck. On Thursday, I went for a second acupuncture session. Still no baby. I had contractions constantly, but none of them hurt and, as far as I could tell, none of them were doing anything.

Friday evening, Rick came home and he, Andie and I had tickets to go see "Jersey Boys." Tickets I was sure we would have to reschedule... nope! We walked to campus, watched the show, and walked home. Normally, the baby had absolutely loved the musicals we'd gone to see and would kick up a storm (Rick had predicted that would be enough to set off labor this time)-- this one, not so much. I can't say I blame him. I didn't like it much either.

Saturday, more of the same. Lots of walking (and man, was it hot!). Swinging and climbing the playscape at the park with the girls. Cara, Rob, and Rafa spent the day with a friend to try to give us some space as a family, but apparently that wasn't what the baby needed either. The possibility of going past my due date weighed heavily on my mind. I knew everyone was eager to get back home. And I really wanted to have this baby while Rick was home for the weekend! Saturday night, I started taking black cohosh tincture. Still nothing to show for it.

I had decided that if nothing progressed by Sunday, I would try a conservative dose of castor oil. Scary, yucky castor oil. I had a teeny, tiny bit of spotting Sunday morning-- just enough to convince me that the castor oil should do the trick. I sent Rick out to find it and psyched myself up for a day spent on the toilet. Yippee! At about 9 a.m., I had 1 T of castor oil mixed with two scoops of chocolate ice cream and a little milk to make a shake. It didn't taste bad at all. And nothing happened. I second-guessed my dosing and decided to add a little more at 11 a.m. Rick made me another shake, this time with 3 T, which made for a total dose of 2 ounces. Still nothing.

We'd sent all of the kids to my mom's house for the morning (in hopes that something would be happening) and Rick and I basically sat around watching bad TV. The kids came home around 1:00 and Cara and Rob took them to an indoor bouncey place. And still no effects of the castor oil. I had the same omnipresent contractions as always, but none of them hurt and there was no pattern to them that I could decipher.

Around 3:30, I thought the contractions might possibly be getting more regular. But they were still completely painless, so I couldn't tell if I was being overly optimistic. At 4:30, the castor oil finally kicked in and I made a quick trip to the bathroom (not the hellish experience I'd read about online). I did think the contractions seemed to have some rhythm at this point, so I called Mary just to let her know labor might be imminent-- I wasn't there yet, but I felt like it was coming.

Mary called back at 6:00, at which point I'd already had my second bathroom trip but the contractions were definitely not any more intense. If anything, they seemed to be dropping off and it was hard to tell for sure if they were anything other than mild intestinal cramping. Mary explained that it very well might be false labor, which is more common in subsequent pregnancies. She said to call her at 10, before I went to bed, just to update her. I updated Cara and Rob and said that if nothing got more serious than it was, I would just be heading to bed that night and hopefully things would pick up the next day.

Rick and I continued our bad TV marathon. Finally, around 8:30, I began to have contractions that I could actually feel. Not painful, exactly, but timeable at least. Progress? I tried using the Contraction Master app on my iPod touch and thought it was annoying, so I had Rick write down contraction times, starting a little before 9:00. From then until I had to make a bathroom run again (the final one-- #4) at 9:20, they were pretty consistently 3 minutes apart, lasting about a minute each.

I had been convinced I would hold off until 10:00 to call Mary, but I suddenly felt like things were not just "going," they were going fast! After telling Rick I really needed him to fill the birth pool, I got on the phone with Mary and paced the backyard while bringing her up to speed. She said she'd head over. I also called my mom and told her to come on over-- that the baby would be coming tonight and she could just sleep here until we were closer. Then I called our photographer, Julia, and let her know that we were starting to get closer and that someone would call her after the midwives arrived and checked my progress, so she would know when to come.

By this time, I had started speed-walking everywhere. Just like with my labor with Mariela, the easiest way to deal with contractions (that were definitely getting stronger) was to be walking when they hit, so I stayed on the move. I craved being outside and spent time walking up and down the front steps during the contractions as they got stronger. The guys were working on filling the pool and I was getting slightly nervous about it taking too long and added a few big potfuls of water myself (and then handed that job off to my mom when she arrived).

I told Cara to go ahead and call Julia back, even though the midwives still hadn't arrived. By now, I knew we were speeding towards the finish line and I had a mental deadline of midnight for the baby's arrival. I grabbed my bathing suit and tried to find enough space between contractions to change into it-- that was tough, but I'm definitely not a naked birther, so it needed to be done!

Birth Story, Part 2

I had hoped to wait until Mary and Monika arrived before getting in the pool, but when Rick said it was ready, so was I and I got in. Just a couple of minutes later, at about 10, Mary walked in. She said since Monika wasn't there yet, she'd like to go ahead and check me. I asked if I had to get out of the pool and she said no (thank goodness). She listened to the baby (heart sounded good) and did a cervical exam at 10:05 p.m. She said "Oh, wow! That baby is really low; he's right there" and then "You're complete-- no, wait-- your cervix is just really thin. You're 5 cm, but he's really low."

20100822 006 Simi

The contractions were feeling really strong and I was a little unsure of how I'd get through another 5 cm! I told Rick that I'd forgotten how much labor sucked. Ha! Somewhere in there, Monika and Julia both arrived. I was quickly shutting down, though, and I wasn't looking at anybody except Rick sometimes and my Mom, who happened to be in my line of vision if I looked straight ahead. Oh, and the dog! Gracie was looking at me the whole time with her ears cocked up. Ready and willing to render aid!

Rick later told me that at this point, every contraction was noticeably more intense than the one before. I was making a lot more noise each time. Everything felt really intense to me and I stole a couple of looks at the clock, really wondering how I would get all the way to midnight-- and was that being too optimistic? I got out of the tub between contractions to go to the bathroom to pee and the labor train just kept on coming. When I got back in the tub, I started talking to my body, trying to convince it to ease up a little and give me a break. I said "It's ok" over and over again. And it just kept coming.

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Finally, at about 10:45, I asked Mary to check me again-- I needed to know how much more there was to endure. She did and said I was 8 cm, but that the baby was really low and I'd probably feel like pushing soon and I could go ahead and do that when I felt like it. When she was done, Rick asked if I wanted my bathing suit bottoms back on (I'm modest!), but I didn't-- I knew we were close and I told my mom to go wake up the kids, but to tell them I was making noise. Sure enough, the next contraction or two were hybrids-- half like regular first-stage contractions, half with an edge of pushing contractions to them. During that time, I vaguely remember that Monika was checking the baby's heart rate. Everything still sounded good and strong.

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I reached down to feel the baby's head, so I would know how far I had to push him out. I had this feeling that if I tried some pushes and could feel him making progress and descending, I could really power through the delivery. With the next contraction, I pushed two or three or four times and I felt nothing. He was exactly where he started! Not what I'd hoped for. I was on my knees-- pretty much in the same position I'd used with Mariela. I really thought I'd be more effective.

20100822 034 Simi

But on the very next contraction, I got out of my head, moved my hand, and gave one amazingly strong push. And I felt his head come move past my pubic bone and come out! I remember saying "there's his head!" -- but I actually don't know if the words came out of my mouth or I just thought them. I was expecting to have a good pause between the delivery of the head and the rest of the body, and was even starting to wonder why everybody wasn't commenting on the head, when WHOOSH! It felt like someone grabbed the baby and PULLED him out as fast as they could. I couldn't believe that was happening-- I knew Mary and Monika would never do that! But I felt it! I was so confused, but also elated that I was done! No more labor! He was here! About an hour after the midwives arrived and two and a half after active labor began. And 59 minutes before his due date.

20100822 041 Simi

The next thing I knew, the baby was crying and Mary was telling me he was breech. What?! None of us had expected that! My labor notes even indicate twice that he was vertex (the hard round thing Mary felt turned out to be a butt, not a head!). Cara was holding him and I twisted my way free of the cord-- which had a true knot! This crazy baby came out backwards and with a true knot in his cord. Can you believe it? He got APGARs of 9 and 9 and was clearly a healthy guy. He looked nothing like my kids! A full head of dark brown hair and super chubby cheeks. I do grow cute babies. Welcome, baby Leo!

Because of our umbilical cord tether, Cara handed Leo back to me and we all made our way back to my bedroom-- me, Cara, and a parade of husbands and kids and other folks. Once back there, I handed Leo back to Cara and Andie helped me get a dry shirt. We all settled on the bed to deliver the placenta and to check out the baby some more. When the placenta came, Rob cut the cord, and then Mary and Monika checked it thoroughly, because we expected to see the twin we lost midpregnancy with it. They found a large infarcted area of the placenta (new word for me-- means clotted), which we thought was the other twin's placenta, but no evidence of the twin herself. Mary called Dr. Berry (the maternal fetal medicine specialist) for advice and he said the remnant of the baby was probably layered within the placenta. We decided to send it to the hospital pathology lab for more answers. [Today we got the pathology report-- the discolored area on the placenta was actually the other twin.]

Mary and Monika also checked me out for any tears that needed repair. I had one small laceration ("like a papercut") that would heal itself, which was pretty incredible, considering that according to everyone, Leo had literally shot out of me like a cannonball! Cara and the midwives were all on standby ready to catch and nobody caught him-- he just went straight into the water because it was so super-fast. The midwives weren't even sure what they were seeing. Mary thought he was presenting with a nuchal hand (hand by the head), which she eventually realized was a foot! She thinks he was "incomplete breech," which means one leg was straight up by his head (frank breech) and the other was crossed in front of his body (complete breech). In her entire career, Mary has had one other missed breech birth-- in 1979!

After the cord was cut, the Leo family headed to the guest room and I stayed in my room. The midwives shuttled back and forth, learning how to do separate baby and delivering-woman care-- a new experience for them. Cara nursed Leo for something like two hours, which was awesome, but meant we all had to wait in suspense for his weight. And in the meantime, he apparently had a huge meconium poop that definitely lightened him up a bit! But when all was said and done, he was 7 pounds, 9 ounces and 20.5 inches long. And adorable.

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Mary and Monika are still reeling from the delivery-- missed breech is a pretty big deal. If they had known ahead of time, I would have had to try an external version (unlikely to work so late in pregnancy) or go straight to c-section. And even though that's her standard of care, Mary said "Wouldn't it have been a shame to get a c-section for that?" I asked what would have happened if she'd realized he was breech on the first cervical check and she said she would have advised me to transport, which would have meant a probable delivery in the ambulance, given how fast everything went! Or, if not, a c-section with whomever was on-call at the hospital. Ick! I am so grateful that everything worked out the way it did. We had a fast, safe delivery that resulted in a healthy baby. As I write this, three days postpartum, I don't even feel like I delivered a baby. It's probably my easiest recovery yet (though I'm trying to remind myself to take it easy anyway!).

Birth Photography by Julia Robinson

40 weeks

Nope, no 40 week update, because... we have a baby!  I'll wait for Cara and Rob to spread the word before I post details, but everyone is doing beautifully.  Baby was born at 11:01 p.m. on August 22, 2010-- 59 minutes before his due date.  Good job, kiddo!  Very prompt.

39 weeks

I am still a "we."  Still pregnant.

Last week's big news: the second GBS culture came back NEGATIVE!  Twice, actually, because they tested two different ways.  Negative, negative.  Woohoo!  No IVs for me.

Big news #2: my husband got an unexpected promotion and is now in San Antonio in training.  For 5 weeks.  A big difference from the normal 24-on, 48-off schedule.  His first day was today and he found out that he'll still be bale to leave to come home for the labor/baby when we need him.  It's a little more complicated than usual, but not at all impossible.  So that's good.

And today's news:

Chiropractor was boring as always.  My feet/ankles are swollen-- enough that my normal shoes are uncomfortable, but not enough that anybody thinks it's anything more than normal end-of-pregnancy stuff.  I look at them and am reminded of my grandmother's crazy-swollen feet.  Icky.  Anyway, the chiro took note, though I'm skeptical about her ability to do anything about it.

Midwife appointment was more interesting, since she did a cervical check.  I am 3 cm dilated (+2 since 36 weeks), 50% effaced (same), and baby is still floating (same).  I really think that once he gets engaged in my pelvis, we can get this show on the road, so hopefully we can make that happen soon!  Fundal height is 36.5 cm, blood pressure good, urine test still negative for any signs of pre-eclampsia.  All good!

Oh, dinner is ready (feeling spoiled and like a bad hostess, having dinner cooked for me!)-- better sign off here.  Any day now...

Europe - The Final Countdown (Official Video)

38 weeks

Just another typical Monday.   Chiropractor.  Prenatal visit.  Yada yada.  :)

Oh- but I weighed myself this morning, breaking my normal every-4-weeks rule.  198.4.  Back under the 200 mark.  Blame cutting out sugar for that little drop.  Perhaps too many peanut m&ms and too much chocolate ice cream had made its way into my world.  Perhaps.  I know from stints of lower-carb eating in the past that I retain a lot less water when I'm eating that way.  That's what really made the difference, I think-- less water retention.  I'm certainly eating plenty of calories!

Cara, Rob, and Rafa came to the midwife appointment today.  Aside from what is apparently my new normal-for-the-office racing pulse, everything looked good and as expected.  My fundal height grew a bit, to 35 cm.  Blood pressure still low-- 102/68, I think.  Baby is vertex and his heartrate is 130-140.  I came home with a lab slip to do my GBS culture tomorrow.  In addition to cutting out sugar and refined carbs, I've been loading up on immune boosters and probiotics... I hope something worked!  I'm hoping by the end of the week we'll have some nice negative results to show for it.

We all talked a little bit more about the mechanics of the birth.  The baby will go straight to Cara, but the cord is going to be a limiting factor for a while-- we'll have to stick close while I'm still attached!

I also asked for a reminder about when I'm supposed to call when I go into labor.  Four contractions of any regularity, or pretty much any other sign that labor is starting.  I don't have any expectations that labor is going to go super-fast, but there's always a chance it could.  I labored for about 24 hours with Andie and a little less than half that with Mariela, though I knew I was maybe-starting to go into labor soon about 24 hours before she was born too.  I'd be shocked to have a drastically different timeline this time, but who knows?

What else?  The kids seem to be enamored of each other and are playing the "Look how crazy I can be!!!!" game at every opportunity.  We've had a busy couple of weeks, so they haven't spent as much time together as I know they would like to, but we'll make up for that soon when Rafa and family move into our house this Friday.  Yeeha-- party all the time!

And, I'm pleased to announce, I'm starting to feel not as great.  Still not a whole bunch of complaints, but I do *finally* feel like the end is in sight.  Maybe two-weeks-away in sight, but still-- at least I'm feeling like I'm at the end of a pregnancy, rather than just sailing through to oblivion.  I'm not feeling terribly confident about my 8/15 guess anymore (probably not helped by Mary's assurance today that we would make our appointment next week, on 8/16), but I do still think we'll sneak in before the 8/23 due date.  I have lots and lots of braxton hicks contractions these days, but no real indication that they're doing anything.  Yet.

So, if I had to call it right this second, I'd say I'll be back here typing up a "39 weeks" post in a week.  But I'd be happy to be proven wrong!  Come on, baby, you've been a rebel so far.  Show me who's boss!  :)

37 weeks

Yesterday, that is.

And what a day it was!  Chiro in the morning (uneventful as always), midwife in the afternoon (likewise), and Cara, Rob, and Rafa arrived in Austin at about 7 last night!  Woohoo!  I think they may have a little bit of too-much-driving PTSD, but they looked like they weathered the trip well, nevertheless.  My kids were bouncing off the walls when they got here-- Mariela was acting like she was on speed.  But I hope they got settled in last night and are catching up on sleep.  The house they're staying with comes with a full zoo of animals to take care of, so I'm wishing them luck with that.

So, moving backwards-- midwife appointment.  Maybe the most noteworthy part is that my fundal height is *still* 34 cm.  Just been hanging out there since 34 weeks.  The baby is still growing well, so it's not really a concern-- just interesting.  My pulse was crazy high yesterday too (100?!), but they decided maybe it was because I was hot?  We've finally hit the 100+ temperatures around here.  I took my pulse this morning when I was dealing with a stressful situation at work and it was 80, so that's not crazy.  At home, when Rick checks, it's been around 70.  I don't know why it's always higher when Monika checks it.  Baby's heartrate was about 140 and he's still headdown, as he should be.  They said his head is heavy enough at this point that he should stay that way.  My blood pressure is still low (100/70-ish) and everything else is looking good.

I don't think I've mentioned here that I tested positive for Group B Strep-- I found out on Friday.  Group B Strep is present in most people, on and off.  About 1 in 4 women are positive before or at delivery.  In adults, it's generally asymptomatic.  If it colonizes in a newborn, though, it can be very serious.  Transmission is rare, even when the woman delivering tests postive, but it's obviously a risk we don't want to take.  The CDC recommends giving IV penicillin every 4 hours during labor and that will be our fallback position.  However, since the IV is not 100% effective and, in an ideal world, I'd prefer to skip it anyway, I'm trying to do what I can to snuff out the GBS in the next week or so and then reculture to see if I test negative-- that would be best for everyone.  So I'm taking immune boosters (vitamin C, echinacea, propalis, probiotics), I've cut out all refined sugar and carbs from my diet (and cut back on sugars in general-- fruit/dairy/etc.), and I'm using Hibiclens every few days-- all of which has anecdotal support for eradciating the little buggers.  Fingers crossed.  I think we'll reculture on 8/10, which should get us results by 8/13, still allowing for my "chosen" delivery date of 8/15.

In any case, one of the best ways to reduce the risk of transmission is water birth.  Have I mentioned that I have a big inflatable pool hanging out in my dining room right now?  Bonus!

So all of that sounds like more of an update than it feels like.  As far as I'm concerned, everything is still going great.  Baby boy is kicking away right now-- has been all morning.  I have a busy work week-- a speech this afternoon and then a conference in San Antonio Wednesday through Friday.  Rick will be with me in San Antonio, ready to drive me home at a moment's notice (it's only about an hour's drive), but I'm still feeling like labor is not imminent.  I have been having many more braxton hicks contractions, though-- pretty much anytime I stand up and start walking.  And I walk slooooowly these days.  Especially today, in heels.

So that's it for now.  I don't expect to update until next Monday, but I'm willing to be proven wrong!

3D Ultrasound, Part 3

DENSON_15

We had our third and final 3D ultrasound attempt yesterday afternoon.

 

The good news: He's definitely head-down!  Hooray!  No need for lectures this time. 

 

But as you can see from the photo, he's still in love with the placenta and was taking refuge behind a little lip of it.  This was the most we could see of his sweet face-- his nose, his chubby cheeks, and some of his eyes (which were closed the whole time-- I'm not convinced he was actually asleep, but he was faking it pretty well).  He's still showing a preference for hanging out in tight spaces too, so there wasn't much room to manuveur around him. He looks great, though.

 

The neatest part-- and, Cara, I think I forgot to tell you this on the phone-- is that we could see him breathing!  In the 2D view, you could watch his little chest rise and fall, as he "breathed" in the amniotic fluid to get his lungs ready for the outside world.  He's an expert already.  Really, it was just so cool to see and so comforting to know that he really does have everything he needs at this point.

 

The sonographer said that he has enough fluid, but not any extra, so that should mean that him flipping at this point would be extremely unlikely.  I told my girls that he's read the notes they left about the exit when they were in there-- I'm pretty sure he knows the way out and he's not going to do anything to mess that up.  There were lots of giggles in the car last night about them scrawling "Andie was here" and such on my uterine wall.  A family full of reproductive nerds, that's what we are.

 

I texted the position confirmation to Monika, and she and Mary were happy to hear that there were no surprises.  Everything is full-steam ahead now!

 

Cara, Rob, and Rafa start their trip bright and early on Sunday, with a planned overnight in New Orleans and then a late Monday arrival in Austin.  Looking at google maps, that looks like 10+ hours of driving the first day and about 8.5 the second.  Phew.  Sending good travel mojo their way.  We'll be happy to have them here in town, even though I'm abandoning ship for a couple days their first week for a work trip to San Antonio.  After that, though, we'll be strongly encouraging baby boy to make his appearance.  The chiropractor said that she could do things to "speed things up" starting at 38 weeks, which would be August 9th.  I'm still not convinced that there's much to chiropractic, but hey-- I'm open to whatever she wants to try!

 

I've also started a couple of can't-hurt herbal things that allegedly help with labor.  I used them with Mariela too.  Red raspberry leaf tea is supposed to be a uterine toner, so I'm drinking a cup at night and a cup in the morning and using the spent teabags to make a weak iced tea to drink thorughout the day.  Evening primrose oil comes in caplets and is supposed to be a cervical ripener, so I've started taking that as well-- two caplets a day.  And I'm eating fresh pineapple, which contains bromelain, which allegedly helps soften the cervix as well.  If you eat seven whole pineapples.  Ha!  But I love pineapple, so I'll buy into the old wives' tale and keep on eating it.

 

I scared two guys on the elevator this morning who said something about me being close to the end and took big steps back when I said "Yeah-- it could be right now!"  I do love the shock value potential of the last weeks of pregnancy.

 

Oh, but hey-- there's a contraction now.  See what I get for joking about it?  I'm all for these little practice contractions, though.  Less work for me when the big show is finally here.

 

10 days?  3 weeks?  I don't know.  But soon!

 

Home visit

Just another routine prenatal appointment.

We did a quick tour of the house, since Monika hadn't been there before.  Mary remembered everything except our wavy-glass windows, which she insisted were new but aren't-- I'd know!  Then we did the group B strep test, a blood draw (for state-mandated HIV and, um, other stuff testing-- can't remember what all) the urine strip, and checked my blood pressure (98/64).  That was all in the living room.  After that, we moved back to my bedroom to check the baby's position (still vertex- yay!), measure my fundal height (still 34 cm), listen to the heartbeat (130s/140s-- same as always), and do a cervical exam.  I am still fingertip or 1 cm dilated, and Monika said I was about 50% effaced.  Baby is floating, not engaged in my pelvis yet.  Mary said that I'm not at all close to labor, from what she can tell.  I agree, for what it's worth.  It still feels far off.

So, other than being in my house, it was really the same-old, same-old.  All that cleaning and they didn't even give us a white glove test.  Alas.

Tomorrow is the big show for baby boy, but we're trying to keep it on the down-low so he won't try any acrobatics tonight.  Be cooperative, little guy!

36 week stats/pic

36 weeks

Belly circumference: 43.25"
Weight: 199.8 lbs.

Check out those chipmunk cheeks!

Just as a reminder, here's where I was 20 weeks ago:

16wsh

Belly then: 36"
Weight then: 169.8 lbs.

36 weeks

Woohoo!  It's a milestone!  Though we're still technically pre-term (term is considered 37 to 42 weeks), we are officially in the homebirth-approved zone.  Baby boy is likely about 6 pounds now and has everything he needs to live a happy, healthy life outside the womb.  Hooray!

We spent the weekend preparing for his arrival, since our home vist with the midwives is tomorrow.  Rick, the girls, and I all stayed busy organizing, gathering birth supplies, and deep cleaning the house.  Everything has now been dusted, vacuumed, mopped, scrubbed, and disinfected.  I have all of the birth supplies in bags as prescribed, labeled: Baby, Towels, Sheets, Pan for Placenta, and Postpartum.  The "Baby" bag is a little light at the moment, since it needs fun stuff like diapers and a first outfit and socks, which Cara and Rob will bring.  And I have a big inflatable pool hanging out in my dining room.  Tres chic.

Baby boy must know I'm writing about him-- he's kicking up a storm right now.

When I get home tonight, I'll have Andie take a belly picture and put up my every-4-weeks stats.  For now, I'll reveal that I laughed at the scale this morning because I swear it was just taking pity on me: 199.8.  Somehow I managed to avoid 200 yet again.  I probably won't weigh myself again (at home-- which I put more stock in than doing it in the office, since my clothing/food/hydration are always different) until I go into labor.  I do want to get a final weight, though.  Nothing like big, big numbers to make the weight loss afterwards feel a little better.

On the agenda this week:

- chiropractor appointment in about an hour

- midwives' home visit tomorrow at noon

- final attempt at 3D ultrasound Wednesday at 4:00

It's a busy one!

I guess before I sign off, I should report on how I'm feeling, but it's just the same as always.  No complaints, everything is going great.  No indications at all that labor is imminent-- I'm feeling pretty confident that everything will stay status quo for at least the next two weeks.  So Cara, Rob, and Rafa, who arrive a week from today (!), will get to play tourist for a bit before the newborn craziness begins.