(almost) 31 weeks

We had another biweekly doctor's/midwife appointment today. Since we're getting close to the end we have to go every two weeks. Lily's getting used to the process. Even though Daddy's there she has to stay with mommy the whole time, including while I give my urine sample (!) and get my blood pressure taken at the nurse's station. Thank goodness the bathroom is really big. The baby is doing well. Today we saw a doctor and he said that we definitely have another full-sized baby in there this time. Lily was 8 lbs 13 oz and he thinks this one will be big too. I think this baby might be bigger than cousin Bella is now at nearly two years old (are you reading Aunt Melody?). The baby was very active during the visit so much so that her heart rate was increasing. But she's active most of the time so that wasn't surprising. It seems like she's more active than Lily ever was but maybe I'm more impatient this time around.

I'm doing well. This pregnancy is quite a bit different than Lily's for me. Heartburn has been pretty consistent the whole pregnancy, with Lily it didn't start until late in the pregnancy. I've had quite a bit of pregnancy insomnia. I wake up in the middle of the night at least once or twice a week and then stay awake for a couple of hours. Usually this is around 3 or 4 in the morning so it's not a good time to get up for the day. My blood pressure is also very, very low. Today it was 118/60! 118 isn't that low for me, when I'm not pregnant, it's usually around 125. But the 60 is low, in my non-pregnant self my diastolic blood pressure is usually around 80 or so. And at random times during the day I see spots like I just stood up quickly (even though I didn't). My doctor didn't think this was a problem unless it doesn't go away but he did encourage my to stay hydrated so I don't pass out! He also said this is the point in pregnancy when my blood pressure is the lowest it will probably get but with Lily I was watching out for my blood pressure to get too high towards the end. We'll see if that happens this time.

I've also been having a lot of contractions, at least a few every day. They don't hurt really but I can feel my whole stomach get tight for 20-30 seconds, which doesn't feel like nothing. Our doctor says it's nothing to worry about unless they become regular and it's pretty typical to start having the Braxton Hicks contractions a lot earlier the second time around. I think this feels like what was happening after about 37 weeks and on with Lily when we would walk for an hour or so in the evenings trying to bring the contractions on. At this point, of course, I try to take it easy and get them to go away. Usually just sitting down does it.

I don't think I ever mentioned who's delivering this baby. Lily was delivered by a midwife who was assisted by a resident (OB-GYN), but our midwife, Ann, was definitely in charge. I don't have a problem with doctors delivering babies but OB-GYNs are trained to be surgeons are trained to deliver moms with problems, midwives are trained in normal births--which thankfully we had. Midwives are also usually more hands-on during the whole labor process rather than just there to catch the baby. This time we're using midwives again but the practice is a little bit different. The practice is not located directly at Yale (but only few blocks away) and it contains midwives and doctors. At my visits I rotate through seeing all of the midwives AND all of the doctors. Then my delivery will be attended by both a midwife and a doctor--hopefully the best of both worlds. We'll be having this baby at Yale-New Haven Hospital. When we're ready to go to the hospital, a midwife from our group will meet us there and then they'll call a doctor in when we're admitted and they're sure a baby is on the way. But evidently we're delivering in "high season" so they may already be at the hospital when we end up going in.

In other good news, our doctor today assured me that second deliveries are almost always easier than the first so that's welcome news. Compared to some I don't think Lily's birth was particularly difficult or traumatic, but even so just writing "labor" and "easy" in the same sentence is almost laughable. The "plan" again is to do this without an pain medication. We'll see if I'm as dedicated when I have less to prove since I know I can push a baby out on my own without medication.