41 Weeks and Holding

March 10, 2008Well, here we are - at least 5 days past Julie’s due date - and only increasing discomfort and “softening” to suggest we are near the end. We had a couple of doctor appointments today to check in on the little man.Th first was a bi-weekly test done at the hospital (Non Stress Test - NST) that measured the baby’s heart rate. They are looking to see if his heart rate goes up when he moves and, as usual, everything registered normal. The other half of the hospital visit is an ultrasound they do once a week (Thursdays) to measure the placenta and amniotic fluid level.And then this afternoon we had our regularly scheduled prenatal appointment. Julie’s doctor, Dr. Finegan, has been much more mellow and easy to work with since those early days when she advised us to carry around a clean shoelace to tie off the umbilical cord in case she delivered so quickly we couldn’t make it to the hospital 8 blocks away. It was a pretty routine exam in most respects: blood sugar - normal; blood pressure - normal; baby heart rate - perfect. The doctor did “noodle” her a bit more again today and there was some fact-finding about the possibility of having to induce her but no decisions were made. We have a second prenatal appointment this Wednesday to make that decision.

It’s kind of funny that for most of this pregnancy we were slightly worried about Julie going into labor prematurely and she was fairly cautious about what she did that might trigger her going into labor. And now, there seems to be nothing we can do (non-medically) to make it happen!On a Lola note, things are going along just fine. She has been spending a lot more time with the grandparents which has been terrific. She has spent a couple of weekends with Nana and Grandpa (the O’Donnells) now as test runs for when they take her while Julie and I are in the hospital. And this week, Grandma B. is on vacation and is spending the days with Julie and Lola hanging and helping out. Lola is doing quite amazing with her words and expressing her thoughts lately but, I’ll save that for a new post.Take care and check back again soon. Something’s got to happen eventually. (right?)