37 Week Doctor Visit

From now until this baby boy makes his appearance I'll have the delight of seeing Dr. B every week. Not that I mind - she's a nice lady and all. I'm just not a huge fan of the ol' pelvic exam part of it. Ya know?

So at this morning's check-up all was well. I've gained another pound since last week. (Bringing my total to 9.5) Blech. Must be all the chocolate malts. I've really got to cut back.

My Beta Strep test came back negative - super good news so I don't have to be hooked up to antibiotics during labor. Baby is head down and anterior (facing my back) the way we want. I'm still at 1 cm and -2 station. So no progress that she measured. But that's not to say other things aren't happening. I've been having some good Braxton Hicks contractions pretty frequently.

We went over my actual typed up birth plan this time too. (By the way, I was excited to learn she has 7 of her own children and advocates Natural childbirth.) She's totally on board with all my choices. Her only suggestion was that, though she'll allow me to eat and drink as I'd like, she doesn't recommend overdoing it because the contractions hinder digestion, leaving the stomach contents in tact, increasing the risk of vomiting. But she basically left it up to me. Throwing up is not a big deal unless they have to intubate me for some emergency.

She also checked inside my ear because... oh yeah, did I mention that MY JAW KEEPS COMING OUT OF SOCKET!? Yeah it's probably my least favorite thing right now. Hurts so bad I cry - literally. I was worried it was damaging my ear somehow because it constantly feels bruised inside. She said it's fine, just swollen, but nothing we can do about it.

Speaking of things coming undone. Holy hip replacement batman! This afternoon I took a little nap while Elijah slept, and when I got up I could not put any weight on my right leg. Come to discover my hip had popped out of socket too. Talk about painful. Oh. My. Goodness! It took an hour's worth Manny and me of stretching, rubbing, pulling, pushing, and rotating stuff for it to go back. And even then I don't think it went all the way back to normal. I couldn't walk right for the rest of the day. I feel like I'm totally coming unhinged. As of now the body parts which crack, pop, or come undone at will are: ankles, knees, hips, elbows, and jaw. So far, thankfully, my spine and shoulders are in good shape. This is so strange.

Also, it should be noted that Manny and I got to go on our first date in ages tonight. We had Hawaiian pizza at Turoni's. Then we topped off the evening with ooey gooey warm brownies with my Mom and Elijah. Good stuff. I know we're not very exciting these days, but it was nice to have some time alone as a couple for once.