OB update

You know you're bored when you are excited about a doctor's appointment! Albeit I was extremely tired of looking at these 4 walls, I also had a lot of questions for her that have been building in my head for the last week. Here was the rundown of the visit:

-Baby's Health: Still nameless baby boy's heart seems to be fine. It was in the 160s today, sounding regular. She wants to make sure his heartrate doesn't go into SVT (super fast mode) either. That was a good thing to hear. I'm 31 centimeters at 31 weeks-right on track, regardless of hefty 8 lb weight gain in the last 5 weeks.

-Weight gain for 2: I'm up to 154 lbs. Wow. My back feels every inch of it too! She didn't say anything about it, so I guess it was fine. We should expect to gain a pound per week from this point on. The baby will gain 1/2 lb, I'll gain 1/2 lb. (Really, I don't need my 1/2 lb. if the good Lord wants to hold onto it.) He weighs about 3.5 lbs now. So he'll be a whopping 4 lbs next week! I can definitely tell he's getting bigger as his body takes up my entire abdomen now! This is an example of what he looks like in the womb at 31 weeks--cramped!


-Mommy's Health: I'm officially on bedrest until after the baby is born since my heartrate continues to increase with minimal exertion. Some days are better than others. I have days where it increases only a few times, and days where I can barely go pee without it skyrocketing. We're still trying to avoid medication, although Dr. Harper thinks Dr. Patel (the cardiologist) will have to start me on a medication (probably Digoxin) before the baby is born. Medication definitely scares me, but if it's necessary for him we'll do whatever it takes.

(Side rant: My bp was 110/80 today with my technician's 3 second blood pressure reading. Seriously, she pretends to take a blood pressure in less than 5 seconds. I'm not exaggerating here. My bp has been low for as long as I can remember (90s/50s or 40s). Every single time I'm in that office, it's a 3 second bp reading and it's always either 110/80 or 120/80. I wanted to tell Dr. Harper there was no way my bp reading was correct today, but I kept my mouth shut.)

Dr. Harper stated her goal was to get us to 39 weeks, but that she'd be pleased if we made it to 37, making him full term. I've heard my fair share about "wimpy, white boys" not doing as well as other babies so I want him to cook as long as possible. Just in case he does have to come early, she's starting me on a series of steroid injections starting next Wednesday and Thursday. Friday I follow up with my heart doctor. She also relieved me when she said my heart condition shouldn't impede with a normal vaginal delivery. Whew. We're just going to see how my heart and baby's heart does during the long labor process. If anyone gets in distress, we'll head for a C section. Sounds like a smart plan to me.

Well, there's more than you EVER wanted to know about my health! Hopefully we will decide on a name soon. It's about time!