Visiting the Midwife with my Entourage

Over all my girls are well behaved compared to most of their peers, but I had been hesitant to bring both of them with me to visit the midwife. Unfortunately the midwife I typically see had a change in hours, so the time that I had been using when Justin was able to come home a few minutes early, was no longer available. Technically he's "off" on Thursdays, meaning he doesn't teach class, but he still works that day on preparing notes and meeting with students. The afternoons were convenient for him though, since he teaches late labs several days a week it wasn't difficult for him to excuse himself half an hour earlier than usual to help me out, but mid-morning is harder, since he typically goes to work at seven, so he would loose several hours or have to come home after a very brief start to his day.

I decided I would try the girls today, at what I knew would be a quick visit. Gabby did have some frustration with the fact I made her stay in the stroller in the exam room, but she did really well. As I was being weighed, Kate, remembering that they gave her a sucker the day I took her to see the baby on the ultrasound, and also knowing that I had told her she could not ask for one today, looked at the nurse and said, "Could my sister have a sucker to settle her down? Oh, and if you have them out any way, I'll take one too." Note she didn't ask for one for herself. Stinker! It did work out though. The sucker kept Gabby quiet while we waited. Then they went through the toys and books I brought with us. As the midwife and her student came in, I handed off the cereal I brought (they each had their own bowl--mom's plan ahead!) and they happily munched through the questions, measuring, and listening to the heartbeat. At one point while they were looking for the heartbeat Kate asks Gabby, "Do you hear the baby's heartbeat?"

"Yeah!" answered Gabby enthusiastically.

I couldn't have asked for better behavior from a one and three year old. The midwives and the nurses all agreed too. I'm proud of my girls and glad to report the baby is healthy.

I've not gained any weight in the past couple of weeks, but I wasn't surprised. I had picked up several pounds the month prior with having some company, so I'm sure I'm just evening out from that. The only concern was my initial blood pressure reading at over 150. The nurse rechecked it and it was back down at 118. It must have just been the extra hustle and bustle of getting the girls settled in that caused a little spike, but thankfully there is no concern about it now. The baby is semi-transverse, with the head down and to the side, but he or she has plenty of time to return to head down. We are now measuring almost right for dates, probably due to the change in position, but we'll take it for now.

Five to ten weeks until delivery!