Quick pregnancy update.

[rivka]

Saw the midwife again today - it'll be weekly from now on. Everything still looks great - good blood pressure for me, strong heartbeat for the baby, good weight gain for both of us (I gained a pound and a half in the last ten days, and she gained an estimated half-pound). I'm one centimeter dilated but still only 25% effaced.

The midwife quizzed us on our baby readiness and reminded us of labor signs. She wants us to call if my water breaks or if I have more than four contractions an hour for more than one hour. I am to continue my current practice of drinking everything in sight, and... that's about it.

We're at full term, so as far as I'm concerned the Li'l Critter can show up any day now.

(Well, I suppose it would be best for her to wait for saoba. And also, we could finish putting her things away. And we still need to buy diapers. Okay, maybe she shouldn't come today.)

Comments

[wiredferret.livejournal.com]

They send you home with diapers. No worries.

squee! I'm so excited for you.

[tammylc.livejournal.com]

wiredferret: I was going to say exactly the same thing about the diapers!

rivka: Speaking of, I know you were at one point deciding between cloth and disposables, IIRC - what did you decide?

[rivka.livejournal.com]

We've decided to go with disposables. I was swayed by Consumer Reports' conclusion that the environmental damage was comparable, and by the lower complexity/hassle level of disposables given that both of us will be working full-time.

[fairoriana.livejournal.com]

As I understand, the amount of time between ready for the baby to come and the baby is here is nearly infinite. ;-) That said, I hope she makes an early and easy appearance!

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

We're at full term, so as far as I'm concerned the Li'l Critter can show up any day now.

Wow, so cool to hear you saying this!

-J

Full term!

[ailbhe]

Congratulations! And I love your midwife; if the various ones I saw had been like that, I wouldn't have many of the problems I do today.

Diapers are easy though. Something you can arrange on very short notice. Putting things away is less so.

Oh wow.

Re: Full term!

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I adore our midwives. There are three of them in the practice and I haven't been differentiating between them in my posts because I love them all. They're so supportive and respectful, and so clear about what's happening and what our options are.

I'm so sorry that you didn't get better care.

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Wow! Half a pound of baby in the last ten days! I can't even imagine what all makes that up: little cheeks with muscles getting ready to drink, and cute little soles of feet, and a tummy, and the beginnings of fat reserves to keep her going until she figures out how to regulate her temperature and digest milk, and little fingernails ... maybe even hair?

[rivka.livejournal.com]

At this point, she should mostly be putting on fat. In the ninth month there are some subtle maturational processes going on for lungs and brain, but mostly it's all about fleshing out and getting more solid. She's had fingernails for months, isn't that amazing?

And she may be born with hair - I had a full, thick head of pitch-black hair when I was born. (curiousangel was born blond. We can't wait to see which one the Li'l Critter chooses.)

Hair!!!

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

I too was born with a full head of thick black hair - the nurses tied a pink bow in it when they first brought me to my mother. galagan has a decent amount of hair himself, though we're not sure if he did as a baby (no one is left to tell us, and his baby pictures are gone, sadly). So I was predicting a headful for the EB - and that's the first thing they started telling me when her head began crowning. Once she was out, all the nurses and doctors who came in our room commented on all her hair.

The next question is, what color will her hair turn now that she's out? I was *born* with black hair, but was blond as a child.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I watched my cousin's baby be born, and she was born not only with thick black hair, but thick black hair that stuck straight up even as she was exiting! How weird! (She's almost 25 now, sheesh!)

I can't imagine anything worse for saoba than your going into labor tonight, but I know you don't want the kid too huge, so I hope she pops out at the ideal happy medium.

[iamjw.livejournal.com]

Full term!! Wow. If I haven't said it before, I'm so happy for all of you.

Re: Quick pregnancy update.

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

woowoo! hope everything goes well!

[dlacey.livejournal.com]

I'm so excited for you and so pleased that things are going well.

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

Do you have any objections if I perform a blessing ritual here?

(It's okay either way...I was just going to ask for her to be blessed with health, love and wisdom.)

[rivka.livejournal.com]

None at all! Thank you very much.

[xopher-vh.livejournal.com]

Oh, me too, me too!!!!

And I was born with a shock of red hair, proving I have Norse ancestry (as does virtually everyone with (natural) red hair). It turned blond shortly thereafter.

Hmm. She might be born on Thursday, then. That'd be interesting. My friend Laurie's baby is being induced on Thursday (she's overdue). They tried to reschedule her because of a double booking; she told them "If YOU want to tell all those MacLaughlins that we're not having the baby on March 17, go right ahead! I'll sit in the waiting room until you're done."

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I would be delighted to have her blessed by whoever wants to do some blessing. :-)

But Xopher, are you actually trying to say that you once had hair?

[xopher-vh.livejournal.com]

Yes, I did. I had fresh-split-pine-log straight blond hair as a child. It turned curly and golden in my adolescence. It thinned and turned dark, then gray. When I realized that the clippings in my hair clippers were exactly the same color as the dust under my bed, I started shaving. I decided the Mr. Clean look was better than the Boring Old Fart look. Not that I'm not a BOF, of course; I just don't want the boys to know.

But you already know I had hair when I was 19. (http://www.livejournal.com/~xopher_vh/8354.html) See #2.