34 weeks: ultrasound and an embarrassing trip to labor and delivery

We had a growth ultrasound on Friday and baby's weight was estimated to be 4 lbs 7 oz, in the 40th percentile compared to other fetuses her age. She's continuing to put on fat layers and her lungs and central nervous system continue to mature. The central nervous system coordinates activities of all parts of the body. According to babycenter.com, babies born from 34 weeks on generally do as well as full-term babies. That's a relief given my risk factors for preterm birth (birth prior to 37 weeks).

At our ultrasound baby girl was head down, which is a good thing at this point, and hopefully she'll stay that way so she can come out head first. It's always cool to see her moving around up on the screen when she's on ultrasound. It just makes it all the more real that there's a tiny human in there. This time she was sticking her tongue in and out just like outside babies do. It was adorable. We got a few pictures including a fuzzy one of her foot with her big toe up and the rest crunched against my ribs. Yep, I felt that. She's running out of room!

And here's a profile picture:

I had an embarrassing trip to labor and delivery on Thursday. I really didn't even want to call the advice line. I had been feeling nauseous like I was about to puke (but didn't), decreased appetite, and had a general "off" feeling for a couple days. I decided not to diagnose myself and instead call in to be safe. I apparently had two symptoms of pre-eclampsia, and given my risk factors, the nurse advised me to go in. So in we went and got hooked up to the monitoring belt in triage for a half hour. I had the usual irritable uterus contractions but nothing really. My OB happened to be on duty that day so she came in and questioned me a bit. Diagnosis? Constipation. We picked up a bottle of Colace stool softener from the pharmacy and went home. Yep.

We're starting to feel the crunch of having things ready "just in case." Saturday we drove up to Seattle for Evan's sister's daughter's first birthday (happy birthday, Nora!). On the way I had a new experience - menstrual-type cramps low in my abdomen. Braxton Hicks? I had a few on Saturday, all mild, short-lived, and irregular. And then a few more yesterday. When we got home from Seattle yesterday I immediately installed the car seat in my car and practiced with the buckles and adjustments (thanks for the hand-me-down, Erica!). And Evan and I made a list of little projects we want to wrap up before baby gets here and divided them up. This morning I've had a few more of the menstrual cramp thingies -- maybe 8 over a span of three hours. All lasting less than 30 seconds and irregular frequency. Only one was strong enough to breathe through it a bit. We're going to pack the hospital bag today. And this morning I've been frantically digging into the Hypnobirthing materials I borrowed from my friend, Kellee. Our five-week preparation for childbirth classes start on Wednesday. We have a meeting with a doula scheduled for Friday, which I'm on the fence about in general. I really didn't want to call labor and delivery again because I thought it's probably nothing and I didn't want to go in to be sent away again. Yet at the same time the menstrual cramp feeling is on the "When to call" list so I just did. Thankfully the nurse said it's nothing to worry about unless I'm having at least four per hour. Phew!