Last week's 36-week appointment marked the beginning of my once-per-week doctor visits...which means that Alex's arrival is right around the corner! My doctor was out of town, so I saw one of the other docs in her practice for the 36-week check-up. At this point, I've met about 5 of the doctors in the practice, which makes me feel more comfortable with the idea that I could get any one of them when I'm in labor, depending on who's on call. They are all great, and I am confident that I'm in good hands no matter what. And at this point, having a complete stranger exploring my nether regions is just par for the course...anyone else want to take a look?! There's no dignity in pregnancy, after all!
The appointment was pretty quick once again, but from here on out they'll always do a pelvic exam to check the progress towards labor. The doc cautioned me against getting too excited, because she said usually at week 36 nothing is really going on. So, I was a little surprised to hear that I was actually dilated to "fingertip" which translates to about 1 cm. It means nothing, of course, because I could stay like that for weeks...OR I could go into full labor at any point. It's all up in the air and very much NOT up to me at this point. So, we wait. Nonetheless, I felt a little braggy after hearing that - my body is actually doing something it's supposed to do...how 'bout that?!
I also got the standard 36-week lovely strep swab (NOT in my mouth, in case you were wondering) to make sure I don't need to be on antibiotics during labor. They'll tell me the results of that next time.
Here's a couple bump pics from the morning of my 36-week appointment:
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| Just look at the joy on my face! |
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| The face of someone who is pretty much over it! |
At this point, my stomach feels as if it can't possibly stretch any more. My poor FLAT belly button feels paper thin, like it might just rip open at any moment. I have been over-zealously applying the stretch mark cream twice a day and crossing my fingers every time I look in the mirror. So far so good, at least on the belly. Can't say the same for my hips/thighs/butt, which already were prone to stretch marks (got my first ones in high school with my big growth spurt). So I wasn't as horrified to see a couple new ones pop up in those areas - it was pretty much unavoidable. They aren't terribly dark. though, and I've had good luck with them fading to clear/white in the past.
More updates later this week after the 37-week appointment!
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