Week 36

24 days to go?!  OMG!  (Excuse me while I hyperventilate a little…)

Well my Doctor’s appointments are weekly now.  I was just in to see her yesterday and we covered the same old, same old.  (Any contractions? Bleeding? Baby moving well?) I am up 44 lbs so that’s worth celebrating…NOT!  It’s all baby of course. lol  She broached the subject of writing me off from work.  Foolish, loyal me said “That’s OK. There are too many loose ends to wrap up at work.  Let’s re-evaluate next week”.  I think I’m determined to go into labour in my cubicle!!  I also had the pleasure of getting the GBS test done. Gram B Strep is normally present in about 30% of the population, but can sometime cause problems to infants when passed during birth.  It’s a simple, “invasive” test that involves getting all your “nether” regions swabbed (inside and out) with a dry Q-tip. Pleasant!  At least they provided a coat rack to hang your dignity at the door!  It’s a good thing woman are tasked with this job of baby making or our species would be doomed.  Take the “Man Cold” for example….doomed I say!

Dr. Daisy provided me with some consent forms on cord blood banking…which seems to be a new thing since Bryce.  It’s run through the Red Cross, not a private blood storage company.  The Red Cross asks that you donate the available blood from the placenta and cord (not from Baby) to establish a bank of usable stem cells to treat things such as Leukemia. (Otherwise it goes to the incinerator)  If for some reason there is no match or the collected blood is otherwise unusable (due to collection technique or amount retrieved) it will go to research.  Having checked out their website, there are a lot of interesting projects on the go.  Stem cells are incredible little things….and I think it’s good Karma to give.  (God forbid we ever be in a situation where we could use some ourselves!!)

What’s happening with baby this week? “You’ve been pregnant for most of the year, and you’re probably exhausted and ready for this baby to come out already! Try not to stress or dwell on this; your baby will be here soon enough. You may still have a few weeks to go, so try to keep your mind occupied. Your baby will be here when he or she is ready. While most babies will do well if born now, it is best for them to be born after 39 weeks. This is why your doctor will not induce labor or perform a cesarean delivery before that, unless medical necessity dictates otherwise. Your caregiver may recommend a Group B strep test. Group B Strep (short for Streptococcus) is a type of bacteria that can be found in or around the area of the vagina or the rectum. It is not a problem unless your baby becomes infected as he or she comes out, in which case some serious conditions may develop. If the test is positive, however, antibiotics can be prescribed to take care of the problem. Your baby is growing at a much slower rate these days, about ½ ounce per day. Before, his or her skin was very loose and wrinkly. These days it’s becoming much smoother due to the fat building up under the skin. His or her lungs are well developed, and breathing movements are more frequent as the baby gets the hang of the inhale/exhale process. The amniotic fluid continues to decrease as your baby grows, and he or she weighs approximately 6½ to 7 pounds and is about 19 inches long by now. The baby’s hair has been growing rapidly, and depending on genetics he or she could have a full head of hair at this point.”

The countdown is on!!