Last night, I got up to go to the bathroom (one of three trips last night), opened a window because I was hot, and climbed back into bed. I didn’t get back to sleep again for about a half hour, because the baby was moving around like crazy and punching me in the something — the kidneys? Intestine?
Mom, I think this baby is getting me back for all the 11:00 p.m. dances I put you through over the years. I suppose I deserve it, huh?
Rob and I went on the hospital tour. Let me start from the beginning — and I promise that this will be the short version. We got there about a half hour early, because we are punctual people. While sitting in the lobby, we got the giggles listening to the player piano pluck out a Disney medley, starting with “Beauty and the Beast” followed by “Aladdin.” It was like an Alan Menken greatest hits disc or something. I think we were both so tired (no one slept well last night) that it just struck us funny.
Finally, we started on the tour. There were about six couples, all in different stages of pregnancy (Rob decided we were in the middle). We went to the second floor and saw the triage area, where we will check in on The Day. (I am already intimately acquainted with Triage, since that is where I went for my little blood pressure mishap.) Following that, we trekked over the the Birth Center where the LDR rooms. (LDR officially stands for Labor Delivery Recovery. Unofficially, it could be Latter Day Reformation, Lutheran Delivery Room, etc. We were tired, ok?) The good news is, we’ll stay there the whole time, from start to finish. The bad news is, there is no internet and no DVD player. (For you that means no updates. And for us it means no romantic comedies that I’ve seen 852 times so that I can fall asleep intermittently and not miss any of the plot.) We got a little tour of the room — blanket warmer (Rob says I need a blanket cooler), newborn assessment area, epidural machine (probably won’t need it), bench/twin bed for Rob to sleep on, etc. After the guide finished her spiel, she asked if there were any questions. I asked if there were telemetry monitors so I could walk around (yes, there are) and someone else asked what “code blue” meant. Then we moved on…
…To the third floor where we saw the postpartum unit and nursery. This is where, after 1-2 hours, we will move to spend the night. Poor Rob will have to sleep on a fold out arm chair. Maybe we should get an egg crate mattress thingie to try to make it more comfortable for him. We did learn it’s a BYOP affair (Bring Your Own Pillows). The guide said that the pillows are horrible and only for the mothers, so dads are basically screwed if they forget to bring one.
On the way out, the guide told us about the candlelight dinner that is offered to new parents. The conversation went a little something like this:
Guide: They serve things like shrimp scampi, filet mignon, lobster. It all comes on a little table with a white tablecloth and a vase with flowers that they set up in the corner of your room. And if you want, you can have champagne or beer or something. Or juice, pop, water, whatever.
Big Guy in Flannel: Can we bring beer?
G: Uh, sure. You can bring beer.
BGIF: Really? Cool.
Nice.
Here are the latest numbers in the highly exciting gender poll. Not much has changed since the last update. I do think there’s another vote coming in shortly (Drew) so expect the numbers to change a little in the comments. The girls are still holding strong, but the boys are creeping up in percentage. (Rob thanks you all for your boy votes.) 🙂
Girl — 10 (62.5%)
Boy — 5 (31.25%)
Baby — 1 (6.25%)
So, if craving sweets means I’m having a girl, and craving salt supposedly means it’s a boy, then what does it mean when I long for all things tart?
We have our first scheduled baby activity tomorrow! It’s the [drum roll…….] — hospital tour! It’s very exciting to think that the baby is coming so soon that we now have to complete the hospital baby stuff. I’m excited to get a visual of the hospital room so when I have baby dreams, I will have an accurate picture in my brain. Or something like that. 🙂
And most importantly, we need to find out two things:
(1) Do they have a DVD player for movie-watching distraction? (Because I don’t think crossword puzzles are going to be a big hit. Call me crazy.)
(2) Do they have wireless internet so we can give you up-to-date information as it comes? (Because we just. won’t. survive. without internet access at all times!)
Stay tuned…
It’s week 26 — the last week of the second trimester. Can you believe it?? Neither can I. 🙂 I get weekly updates from a variety of sources that tell me the developmental milestones that the baby achieves each week. This week’s update is especially fun, so I thought I’d share it with you. This is from Pregnancy Weekly:
“Your baby weighs almost 2 pounds, measures around 14 inches from head to heel, and hears noises, responds to light, and is generally more aware of its surroundings. In the same way that you can see a flashlight if you hold it against your palm, your baby can see the light coming through your belly. You may notice increased activity when in brighter light and decreased activity in darkened rooms. Its hearing is fully developed, and as he or she reacts to sounds, its pulse increases. Your baby may even move in rhythm to music!”
We are definitely going to try it!!
Well, I’ve officially graduated from the high-risk OB group. I no longer have to see them every two weeks. My cervix is completely shut with no signs of softening or dilation, which is awesome. The doctor did assure me that if there was a problem, I would certainly come back to see them again, but as far as they’re concerned, I’m done.
So, not much to report. All is well, as usual. Woo hoo!
Tomorrow I will see the MFM group again (the high risk people). I won’t be having a cervical ultrasound, because at this point in the pregnancy, it is normal for the cervix to start to shorten. Knowing the length at this point offers no advantage in prevention of pre-term labor. I still think it would be nice to know how long it is just for peace of mind. Although it could go the opposite way too — it could just make me worry needlessly. The plan is to have an exam to check for softening and dilation (bad, bad words), both of which I do not want.
So keep your fingers crossed that we don’t hear the bad words tomorrow. I’ll let you know what we find out tomorrow!
1/4 of a lemon + 20 oz. of cold filtered water = delicious
hydrating your fetus — priceless
P.S. I hate the word ‘fetus.’ Feeeeeeeeet-us!
One Fish, Two Fish 
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