The Eagle Has Landed

(Warning: There’s some TMI stuff in here for anyone who isn’t interested in the joys of third-trimester pregnancy.)

The eagle has landed.

OK, so that’s a dramatic way of saying, “Little Scout has dropped and is now perched, head-first, smack-dab in my cervix/bladder area.”

I suspected it a couple of weeks ago. I was walking from the bathroom (surprise, surprise) to my cube at work when I was suddenly doubled-over with discomfort. (It was discomfort, not pain.) It was like Little Scout had dived, head-first, deep into my pelvis. Little Scout’s weight has felt different—lower—ever since then. And I’m upped my peeing schedule to, oh, every 15-20 minutes instead of every 30-40 minutes.

But people kept telling me Scout hadn’t “dropped.” There’s no reason Scout should have at that point in the pregnancy; generally, the baby waits until a couple of weeks before delivery. Also, you could still see “baby bump” right under my ribcage. Apparently, after a baby has dropped, the area under the ribcage is flatter because the “baby bump” has moved south.

Lucky me. My frame is so small that even a dropped baby still takes up a lot of room in my ribs so I look and feel both “dropped” and “not dropped” at the same time. My midwife said I’d probably continue to have some trouble catching my breath from now until the baby’s born.

Other news from today’s midwife appointment:

- Scout’s heart rate is 130, lower than usual. I certainly will not complain if we have a laid-back baby. That would mean he/she takes after his dad, not his mom. And that’s perfectly fine with me.

- For those who are interested in exactly what is going on “down there,” I’ve dilated 1 cm and am 50% effaced (thinned). The midwife seemed surprised that I was so far effaced and said it was most likely because Little Scout’s head has been so low for a while.

My midwife also said that the degree of dilation and effacement means nothing in predicting whether Scout will come early or not. Still, I’ve had a feeling for some time that Scout is going to get here before his/her due date. I hope I’m wrong. I have way too much stuff to do before then!

I’m feeling very happy, and so is the Hubster. We have three weeks and three days to go until the due date. Less than that if Scout comes early. Time is flying.

25 Days to Go

Warning: This is a very rambly post.

Scout’s due date is 25 days away. It’s hard to imagine Scout will make it that long, as low as he/she is right now. I went on a walk around town Saturday afternoon, and thought I was going to start crying on the downhills—the pressure from the baby’s head against my pelvis was like nothing I’d ever felt before.

Friday night, Hubster and I went to see a local production of “Annie,” so Scout was able to get his/her daily dose of Broadway musical tunes. The Hubster had never seen “Annie” (the play or the movie), and he loved it. I consider that part of my job as Wife: To introduce my poor, non-cultured husband to Broadway musicals. Some would view that as cruel, but not me!

Saturday was a work day for me. I had no choice but to bring Scout, so the two of us headed to work. Despite all the vigorous kicks to my ribs, I managed to get quite a bit of work done. It’s getting harder and harder to focus on work, between the constant moving in my belly and the constant flow of my thoughts away from work and toward all the things that still need to be done. My last day of work is in just over two weeks, so maybe I’m having some sort of maternal short-timer’s syndrome. Luckily (or, actually, due to the fact that I’ve been putting in so many hours), we’re ahead on our documentation goals, so there’s no sense of urgency or panic.

Saturday night, Hubster and I were going to go see Walkin’ Jim Stoltz in Black Mountain, or, if we were too tired, we were going to go to an event at the church we’re thinking about joining.

Friday evening and part of Saturday, we kept having conversations like, “What do you want to do Saturday night?” “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t really care. Either would be fun. What do you want to do?”

Finally, I said, “Hubster, I know what I want to do. I want you to tell me, honestly, what you want to do, and we’ll see if we’re on the same page here.”

So he said, “I don’t want to do anything. I’m tired, and I’m sick of driving all over creation. I just want to sit in my easy chair and watch football all night.”

And I said, “Good. I don’t want to do anything either. I’m exhausted. I think I’ll go to bed at 8:00.”

So he watched football and I made split pea soup and homemade biscuits, and we had the most wonderful evening together, just the two of us. And I went to bed early.

Yesterday, I met my mom in Asheville for a shopping spree. I hate shopping sprees and was much too tired to go on one, but with the baby due in 25 days, there were things I needed to get done. Stuff like …

Buying nursing bras: Who knew that buying nursing bras was even more unpleasant than buying regular bras? The only positive of that experience was that nursing bras are a whole lot cheaper than regular ones.

Getting Thanksgiving tablecloths: Is that a “mom” thing? We’re having Thanksgiving dinner at our house (yes, that’s one week before Scout is due), and I needed two tablecloths and some napkins. So we went to Target for that and got to visit my brother, who is a manager there.

Going to Babies R Us: We still needed a lot of little stuff from my registry, some of which we really needed prior to Scout’s entrance. So we went to Babies R Us and got some basics—washcloths, towels, bassinet sheets, a diaper pail, diapers, etc.

Get glasses: By “glasses,” I mean the kind you drink out of. Hubster and I have about four glasses, which works fine for two people but won’t work so well when we have a crowd of people at our house for Thanksgiving.

Spend time with my mom: She’s been in Louisiana since September and just came back to NC in time for Ella’s birthday last week. So it was good to spend some time with her while doing all this shopping. Plus, she bought me some stuff, including a cute maternity nightgown and robe for me to wear at the hospital. Thanks, Mrs. Gwen!

By the time I got home last night, I was more exhausted than I’d been all weekend. Unfortunately for Hubster, I was cranky, too. Fortunately for me, I have a patient and forgiving husband.

OK, time to get to work.

Week 36 Belly Pic

What to do, what to do? Do I post the Belly Pic #1, where you can really tell how big my belly has gotten, but where my posture is horrible and I'm wearing a scary frozen smile because it took the Hubster so long to take the picture?



Or do I post Belly Pic #2, which isn't at a great angle for seeing the belly, but where my smile actually looks somewhat natural?



Oh, I'm so vain. On second thought, maybe I'm not. I'm posting pictures that show my shirt not reaching all the way to my pants.

Less than four weeks till Scout's due date!

Scout's in Familiar Territory

Maybe “familiar territory” is the wrong term. After all, I’m guessing nothing is familiar to Scout, except maybe the sound of my heart beating and the sound of my and Scout’s daddy’s voices. And I’m sure Scout knows every square centimeter of my uterine wall.

But if Scout were on the AT, he/she would be in places very familiar to his/her mom and dad.

Southbound Scout is in the Smokies, somewhere around Charlie’s Bunion, which isn’t far from where we lived in Maggie Valley. And what a view Scout has today!



(This photo is from the Hiking in the Smokys website. Fun, because there's a very good chance that Scout's first hikes will be in the Smokies.)

In map terms, here’s where our Southbound Scout is today:



It amazes me. Do you remember how long it took Scout to get through Virginia? Now it seems like Virginia is a distant memory.

In pregnancy terms, Scout’s at 36 weeks. Four more weeks to go! Such anticipation our Scout must be feeling as he/she nears the big destination. Northbound Scout is at Piazza Rock Lean-to, just four weeks from the Big K.



This was one of my favorite shelters on the whole Appalachian Trail—partly because it was a nice shelter, and partly because it has a cool two-seater privy. When Hubster and I were house-sitting a hostel in Maine, we took a few days to hike on the AT near Andover, and we stayed at this very shelter.

Would you like to know what’s going on with Scout right now? Here's what Scout might look like (though, if you scroll to my previous post, you'll see the latest ultrasound picture):



At 36 weeks, Scout’s main goal is to pack on the pounds at about an ounce a day. Scout is losing the lanugo hair and vernix cerseosa, two substances that have been on his/her body for much of the pregnancy. Want to hear something lovely? Scout is swallowing all of this gunk, and it’ll help make up his/her lovely first bowel movement. How sweet.

Scout has one more week before he/she is considered full term. I feel so thankful for that. I know too many people who have gone through the worry and stress of premature babies, and was hoping that wouldn’t happen with Scout.

I must admit, though, with Scout being so low, I wonder if he/she will make it all the way to the estimated summit date of December 4. I can’t imagine Scout would get off the trail before finishing it, can you? I’m hoping Scout holds out; I really want to get Thanksgiving over with before we settle down to embrace our new lives as parents.

Of course, I don’t feel at all ready for that. We still need baby stuff, and the house is a mess. My nesting instinct still hasn’t kicked in. Hopefully soon!

The Latest on Little Scout

Well, we did Scout’s ultrasound today to find out why our little one seems to be measuring so small. And we got an answer:

Scout’s head is really, really low. In fact, Scout is right smack on my bladder. I kind of suspected that already, so it’s good to know that’s the case.

But Scout is a normal size; in fact, he/she is measuring at 35 days, 6 weeks—which is exactly how old we think he/she is!

Weight is five pounds, six ounces. Scout’s expected to gain about a pound between now and Birth Day, which means I’ll have, roughly, a six-and-a-half-pound baby. I can live with that.

And here was a surprise: Scout has hair! I was a baldy and figured Scout would be a baldy, too. Oh, but no! Scout is not a baldy. He/she is no Ella, I must admit, but we could definitely see some peach fuzz there.

They measured the amount of amniotic fluid, and I’m in a good range.

Here was the best part of the whole ultrasound: Scout was making little sucking motions with his/her mouth. I nearly started crying. That’s my husband’s baby, already preparing for his first meal! Scout was also making little breathing motions. Oh, and the heart rate was 142.

More good news: Scout is definitely head-down. Scout’s back is against my left rib, the butt is in the middle, and the little legs are on my right. I knew that, though, from the little foot imprints I keep getting just below my right rib.

So, I’m feeling very happy and relieved today that Scout is progressing normally, and that everything seems to be going fine.

My next appointment is Tuesday. I’m wondering if they’ll check to see if I’m dilated at all. I hope I’m not. I want Scout to wait until after Thanksgiving to make his/her big entrance into the world!

Oh, silly me. I almost forgot. He’re Scout’s latest profile. You can see how he/she is making little sucking motions against the uterus:



And here it is with labels, if you’re like most of us and cannot make sense of an ultrasound.

Little Baby

Well, today was my last biweekly OBGYN/midwife appointment. My next appointment is next week. From now until Little Scout is born, I’ll be going every week.

The big news from this appointment is that my hemoglobin levels are good. I’ve been taking iron pills for several months because my hemoglobin was so low, and it stayed low, even with the iron pills. So it was good to see it was in the normal range today. I guess I should thank the Hubster for making meat-ful dinners for me so often lately.

Little Scout’s heart rate was its usual 140. It’s been 140 forever. That’s good, because “normal” is between 120 and 160.

Scout is still measuring small, though. I’m 35 and a half weeks, and Scout’s still measuring at 30 weeks. My midwife isn’t super-concerned, since I’m so small and they would expect me to have a small baby anyway. But she still wants me to get an ultrasound, just so they can make sure Scout is progressing normally. An added benefit to that: They’ll be able to see what position Scout is in. We think Scout’s been head-down for several weeks now, but it'll be good to make sure.

It just blows me away that Scout is measuring the same thing he/she did five weeks ago. I can tell Scout’s bigger—my belly button has popped right out, and, well, I can just tell. It’s kind of hard not to tell that one’s belly has grown.

But still, it looks like I have a truly little baby. That’s fine with me, as long as Little Scout is healthy. As I’ve said before, I won’t complain about having to give birth to a smaller-than-normal little bundle!

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