Week 33 Check Up & Belly Casting

We had our bi-weekly check up today, and as always everything is great. I only gained 1 lb these past two weeks, blood pressure is good (120/47 I think), baby's heart beat was around 123-130 bpm. We had a few questions to ask this visit: I have concert tickets and Greg wanted me to check that it was OK to go, OB say yes. I asked her how long she would let me go before she would want to induce labor if all signs are still showing healthy baby and Mom, she said 1-1.5 weeks (I sure hope we can get things stated naturally and won't need any medical intervention). We also heard that the hospital is now letting patients have a self-medicating epidurals (meaning I would have a push button to up the baseline level of medication when I see fit, you can't over medicate the machine won't let you), and the answer was yes again. We were told studies find that when woman can self medicate, they tend to use less medication than if just given the highest dosage possible, and Greg and I agree the more control we have, the better. Then my last question was when for baby boys they preform a circumcision, she said they do this the day after the baby is born, and neither Mom or Dad are present for the quick procedure. Poor little dude, as if being born was not traumatic enough for him we are going to send him off the next day alone with the nurse, to well... I don't need to spell this out for you.

Anywho on to a more fun topic. Last night I had my belly casted in plaster! Our friend Carla is a newly trained Doula (don't know what a Doula is - click here), and she was looking for someone to try this out on, so it can be something she can offer future clients on top of her superior services and a birth Doula. Greg and I made the decision after much discussion to give this birth thing a shot on our own, but if you are someone who may be interested in having a Doula help you though the process of giving birth (especially if you hope to go completely natural - aka no pain medication) we both highly recommend her! She is very knowledgeable, open minded, and enthusiastic about all things related to the birth of babies. Greg and were picking her brain the whole time she was with us, she is going to have to start charging to visit pregnant friends, rather than bringing them ice cream :-) I look forward to seeing the final product, but we though it best to let Carla keep the cast so she has a visual to show new clients. Here is a funny photo of me mid-cast for your enjoyment.

And what would be a post without belly photos from the last few weeks:

32 Weeks

33 Weeks