A few people expressed an interest in hearing the updates from the prenatal appointment we just had back on Friday so here they go:

We met with the 3rd OBGYN in the practice’s rotation this appointment. They like to have you see each doctor once towards the end of the pregnancy just in case you go in to labor and your doctor isn’t on call. Seems pointless since I am not delivering here huh? Well the doctor still doesn’t know that though…

Did you know without “documented” prenatal care homebirth mothers can be at risk for questions and harassment from the authorities? There is a woman on one of the local message boards who had a homebirth and no documented prenatal care and now her pediatrician called CPS on her. She is sharing her saga with us and it is unbelievable.

Apparently not having medical records to prove you were pregnant, if you’ve chosen to forgo modern maternity practices, is a big deal. It is one of the reasons we’ve chosen to continue seeing an OBGYN and partake in the “dog and pony show” despite our plans to deliver with a midwife.

So back to the prenatal update… Surprisingly I didn’t get pressure about refusing the RhoGam shot from this 3rd doctor. She was actually quite respectful, informative, easy to interact with and she had lots of good stuff to share about the pregnancy progress. She acknowledged N and spoke to both of us about my stats throughout the visit. We were both very impressed with her.

She felt I was progressing well and that I appeared to be quite healthy. I weighed in at 128lbs which is 2 pounds lighter than I weighed in last checkup (29 week prenatal appointment) but she wasn’t concerned. Have you placed your baby weight guess yet? Apparently weight gain stalls and in our case of moving houses it is quite understandable to loose a bit of weight between appointments.

Obviously, we’ll want to see a good weight gain in 2 more weeks so I am focusing on exerting myself LESS and eating MORE now so Tater is not getting deprived of anything. I know my eating slowed down and my activity level was through the roof while we were doing the bulk of the moving. See how fickle my weight is and how fast my metabolism works?

Also, we were happy to see my blood pressure decrease! I was right back at 100/70 which is pretty much where I started out at in the pregnancy. The doctor advised me to watch how fast I change positions and to not overdo things as I am tiny and have lower blood pressure so I am more likely to become faint or to pass out from sudden position changes.

She also commented on the sticky note in my chart regarding my tendency to pass out during blood draws, she said it probably had more to do with my size and blood pressure and less to do with anxiety or phobia. LOL

I measured in at 31 centimeters for my fundal height which is right on target for the gestational age according to her and Tater is still head down. We are still checking out good and I am feeling good as well. My stress level is also way under control now that we are moved and in the home stretch of the pregnancy (which probably has lots to do in my blood pressure change).

We talked with the doctor about my blood glucose monitoring and she gave some diet and activity advice to help me. Like i’ve said  before on my junk food binges I’ve tested at 120 and my fasting levels are in the 70’s-80’s. She just basically said that I needed to keep and eye on those foods and drinks that were elevating my blood sugar (the junk food carbs and sugars) and to lay off them as much as needed to keep within normal range, common sense and easy enough right? Yep!

I told N that if for some reason I do end up in preterm labor and we can’t make it to The Farm in time we need to make sure she was the doctor we asked for at the hospital. She is the ONLY one we could see ourselves under the care of, if need be. It was refreshing to meet and to get some good info from her and the prenatal visit was not even stressful this time! Next pregnancy I am going to use her as my OBGYN.

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For those of you who didn’t already know we planned to spend my birthday weekend in Tennessee. It was our last appointment with our midwife out at The Farm until we come to stay and deliver Tater in early June.

We figured it would also be kind of nice to plan a mini vacation for that weekend since it will be basically the last time we travel for leisure as just the two of us before Tater arrives.

N did have a nice dinner planned for me at The Melting Pot in downtown Nashville on Saturday night. We saw Pamela for our prenatal appointment Saturday afternoon then we stayed at the very unique Hotel Preston that evening.

On Sunday we headed out to the Cheekwood Botanical Garden in Nashville, we also stopped by The Mall at Green Hills to buy me a nice maternity top since the one I brought wouldn’t button around my boobs anymore.

I found 2 at Macy’s for $16.00 that weren’t even maternity tops but fit great, they were my birthday splurge. We also went by the Whole Foods near the mall to pick up a few grocery items and some calcium supplements per Pamela’s suggestion.

Like I said we had a blast together and we captured so many great belly shots for the scrapbook and our baby announcements (that I am not allowed to share with you just yet because they are a surprise!).

The photos I am allowed to share are of The Farm and I figured I would tell you more about the appointment too. First here is a slide show of the photos:

We were late to our appointment again which was a bummer, being late is also a big anxiety trigger for me so that wasn’t pleasant for us. Plus poor Pamela was waiting for us. We got lost on the way there once again thanks to GPS and internet directions.

I think we’ve finally figured out the correct directions there so N will be able to navigate his way there confidently once my labor has begun. It would really suck for him to be lost while I am in labor!

Anyway, once we arrived at The Farm Clinic I got to pee (finally) while N and Pamela talked. N ratted me out about my anxiety and stress levels these days then the appointment got underway.

All checked out normal. I am still weighing in at about 123.5 and my blood pressure is good but I’ve been warned to start laying more and to stop feeling bad about it. Apparently, laying down (preferably on the left side) means better overall circulation which has a major impact on kidney function while pregnant.

Blood pressure and kidney function go hand in hand so if my blood pressure is to stay at a good level my kidneys need to have adequate blood flow which means I need to lay down more… Like I’ve got time to lay! I am making a big effort to lay my ass down more now so don’t worry.

I am also working to drink more water and I’ve added a calcium supplement because calcium and magnesium also go hand in hand with lowering blood pressure. Blood pressure is basically the only potential concern for us right now. We are trying to be proactive so that we don’t have problems later.

We heard Tater’s heartbeat again and she checked out fine, N was having a great time taking video and snapping photos the whole time. We all got to chat about what is going on with life. We told Pamela about the move and all the stuff that is going on for us right now.

My OBGYN said I could lift stuff and not worry about a weight limit on lifting as long as it didn’t hurt. Pamela advised me not to lift stuff during the move at all. She said major lifting could lead to premature labor and that it is better to be safe than sorry, which we totally agree with.

We also talked and have ultimately decided to hold off on getting the RhoGam shot until after Tater is born (if her blood type warrants it). Having the injection while pregnant is just something we are not comfortable doing. We are more concerned with safeguarding Tater now as opposed to safeguarding my future fertility.

Oh and we did talk about the game plan for possible early labor and when to call Pamela or head to The Farm. Right now I am having some of my first practice contractions, fun!

All in all we are feeling good about the pregnancy progress, confident and ready for the last leg of pregnancy! It was a great weekend for us and now we are looking ahead to next weekend with anticipation. We get the keys to our new place, yay!

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