33 Week OB appointment

Today I went to the doctor for a routine appointment with my OB. First I did the routine things like pee in a cup, get weighed, check vitals, etc. Then when Dr. Winkleman came in the room I asked her to clear up a few things that I have been wondering since my last appointment. She said that she is only scheduled to be at the hospital on Wednesdays but if one of her patients goes into labor during the week, she will reschedule her clinic appointments and come over to deliver the baby! So, that's good news. She asked if I was concerned about her not being there and I told her since I didn't know any of the other doctors in the practice I would prefer her to be there but not demand it. Then she asked if I had a bad experience last time and I told her that the actual labor & delivery part was an absolute dream and if I could repeat that experience, it would be wonderful. But then I started telling her about my old doctor and how he didn't want me to gain any weight and she was absolutely appalled. It was really nice to hear that I wasn't a big fat cow and that gaining weight is normal during pregnancy and she was SHOCKED that he was actually happy with the fact that I gained less than 10 lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight with Brock. Man, I really love her!

Second, she told me that I will do my Group B Strep Test at my next visit (which also happens to be the last 2-week visit that I will have with her. After that it's every week!). Which is not really fun but it's good to know if I have it so that they can give me an IV antibiotic during labor so that baby G doesn't get it and (potentially) get very sick from it.

Third, I told her about being in the hospital last weekend with a couple of contractions and she told me to take it easy and to drink plenty of water. Yeah, I know. But, as previously discussed, we were super-busy that weekend and I think Baby G was just throwing her weight around. She agreed and since the FFN test (think: dry speculum) that they did came back negative (which is good) and I wasn't having any contractions on the monitor, she agreed with me. Plus, we have discussed in detail the facts about my job and she has been very understanding and I don't think I would have any trouble getting a note from her saying that I need to be on lifting restrictions or light duty or something similar if it came to that point. However, it hasn't so far and I'm not going to ask for it unless I truly feel like I need it.

Fourth, I asked about induction relative to if I go past my due date. She said that she likes to induce between 40-41 weeks depending on what my cervix is doing at that time. She said that if I were a first time mom and still locked down like Fort Knox at that visit she would probably let me go another week as long as I wasn't feeling too uncomfortable. But neither is true in my case. However, she also said that once we start doing internal exams (at 38 weeks) we would have a better idea of where we would go from that point. I suppose this means stripping membranes, etc. if I haven't started to efface or dilated past a fingertip. But, I'm not in a big hurry to get her out at this point so I figured that I still have plenty of time to discuss induction options if it comes to that. Another thing on this topic, she said that if we were to induce, it would likely be on the Wednesday of that week (because she is at the hospital on those days). So, rather than July 31, it looks like Baby G's eviction date has been moved up to July 29th! But, that's assuming that she doesn't come any sooner, and I still think that she will.

Fifth, she also told me that 34 weeks is the point that she won't try to stop labor if it happens naturally. I was sure to ask her, "Even though 37 weeks is full term?" She assured me that Baby G's lungs would most likely be developed enough to do okay without a ventilator if she were born at 34 weeks and if they suspected otherwise, they would give me a steroid shot prior to her being born just to be sure. However, she also told me that based on my history and (other than last weekend) not having any signs of labor she doubted that I would go that early. But I couldn't get a guess as to when she thought I would go, either! She told me that the baby will come when she is ready. Which I know is the truth but for planning purposes it would be nice to know something more specific besides between now & July 29. Oh well, life does still have a few surprises!

Sixth, she LOVED Brock (or at least told me that she did) and she even let him play with her stool (which he loved) and the giant light that they use during an internal exam. He was in heaven. It was really cute when she listened for the heartbeat because Brock just looked at me with this sly little grin on his face and said, "Bebe" and she thought that was really cute too! Of course, I agreed with her. Baby G is still head down which is wonderful news because each week that she stays in that position makes it more likely that she will stay that way when D-day arrives (I'm hoping to not have a C-section just because Baby G is breech and stubborn and refuses to turn). Also, I'm still not having any swelling in my ankles (just in my hands when it's really hot; but I had that pre-pregnancy) and my uterus is measuring right at 33cm (which is exactly where it should be at this point).

All in all, it was a great appointment and as long as little Miss behaves herself I won't go back for another 2 weeks.