32 Weeks, baby!

First of all, I would like to THANK ALL DEITIES who happen to be listening for this glorious Summer weather!!! If it were a typical, humid Summer, I would be absolutely miserable. As it is, this puffy lady is holding it together. Some days, just barely. I should offer up a goat (if I had one), or dance naked around a fire under a full moon. Or something.

Speaking of puffiness (fluid retention), I found out from my midwife this morning that two foods are natural diuretics: watermelon and lemon. Bring 'em on! I also may need to reign in the sodium intake. We learned in our Bradley course that I should NOT eliminate salt, for that could have adverse affects (quite the opposite of a non-pregnant diet). But, I may have gone in the opposite direction. I'll need to scale it back a bit, and just find a balance. I may be consuming so much that no amount of water is flushing my system, and flushing is what I need right now. I DON'T HAVE ANKLES.

My prenatal visit this morning went really well:

-No protein in my urine :)
-Blood pressure is still in the safe zone, considering all the water retention :)
-Belly measuring "really good" :)
-Baby's heart rate has slowed (typical at this stage), and is in the "excellent" range of 120-130 :)
-Midwife was fairly certain the baby is backside-up, which means head down :)

We also went over the birth plan (or, birth "preferences", as they prefer it to be called), and the midwife was pleased with it. Said to leave it at the three pages (!), and not to pare it down like we had thought of doing. She said she'll scan it in and it will be with my chart for everyone to see on Birth Day. There are only a couple of things she seemed to question, and said that they really are "standard practice", even for nurse midwives. These things are: rupturing membranes: if I'm dilated 5-6, for instance, rupturing membranes "speeds up the process" by releasing more of the hormones my body needs to signal progression; the other is giving Pitocin to release the placenta after birth, to reduce the risk of my losing too much blood. These things will take a bit more research on our part, and probably some discussion with our Bradley teachers. Regardless, she says, at the time, we always discuss what's happening, and what's going to happen, always analyzing the risks vs. the benefits. I really like this particular midwife. If only we had a choice in who will be delivering. Unfortunately, as I've mentioned before, it's a matter of who is on call.

I must be in good shape, because the midwife gave me the option to go 4 weeks out on the next prenatal visit, as opposed to the typical 2 weeks (standard at this stage). It's hard to believe that the next time I have an appointment, I'll be 36+ weeks!

That's about it for now. Still working on getting our home in order and ready for Jellybean. I decided, last weekend, to paint the crib. That has been an exercise in patience as well as a test to see how far my fingers will allow me to go before they scream, "Stop Now Woman!!! You're Killing Us!!!". The crib has 48 spindles, of the extra "spindly" shape. Not easy to paint anyway, but with the carpal tunnel syndrome, it's a bit more difficult. It's looking really pretty though. Can't wait until it's done, and to get the room put together. But, if I know me (and I think I do), I'll find some other project in that room that will keep me from getting it done any time soon.