36 Week Doctor Visit and MORE

Today we saw Molly's doc. This was the visit where we needed to make a plan. What if he doesn't turn around on his own? What are the best options? After finding out that the accupuncture was $400+, and talking about c-sections and cathador's and what not, Molly was naturally feeling pretty stressed.

Well, after a few minutes of just talking w/ the doc, she felt around on Molly's belly to see if she could gauge how he was laying. After just a few moments (and an ultrasound, just to be sure), she confirmed that he is in fact in position!!! We of course gave him many congratulations on his acheivements and treated him to some left over cake from the baby shower at work. I was talking to one of my friends about it today, and i felt like I proud dad bragging about how his kid got straight A's for the 1st time...it was a cool feeling (but strange and unfamiliar)...

Oh, and Mary M---This part is especially for you:





















For those of you who are not Mary M, she gave us the bib that Flat Belly Bear is wearing (as well as a matching one piece outfit, which sadly doesn't fit the bear yet). Mary was sure to tell me that the bib was specifically for Beef, not the bear. Well, Flat Belly Bear wouldn't take no for an answer. Sorry Mary.

work shower

Had a suprise baby shower at work today. Got lots of neat stuff. Thanks work Peeps!

Beef's Room

Our diaper changing station is an old piece of furniture that Molly found at an antique shop a couple years ago. Parts of it were falling apart (click here to see before pictures). We just got it back from the restoration people a week ago.

We're borrowing the rocking chair with rocking ottoman from my sister, Susi. It's pretty comfy.
















And the crib, which you've already seen from an earlier post. This room used to be Molly's craft room. The baskets on the wall were used for holding yarn and fabrics and the like. Now, they're filled with stuffed animals, other toys, and blankets.

Latest Pics

Here's the latest picture of my little guy





















Oh yeah, here's a picture of his mom, too.

Baby In A Bag

Molly made me a sweet monkey sling. The fabric has a monkey pattern; it is not a sling for monkeys. Although Parker (the kid with the pacifier in his mouth) can be kinda like a monkey. Molly will have her own sling too and we'll just wall around wearing our kid(s). Good times will be had by all. Parker was the test kid to make sure that the sling fit me. It appears to fit, and Parker seemed kinda snuggly in it, though he did try to get out quite a bit, and was leaning out to see if he could reach his mom...Think that was just because he's got a cold and is crabby, not cause it wasn't comfy.

Timberland

Shannon the Beaver sports Beef's Timberland gear and velcro wrist-rattle. What else can I say---we like dressing these guys up in Beef's stuff. Can't help it.

Week 35

We're now in Week 35.

Beef has very little maneuvering room now and isn't likely to try somersaults anymore. He should be around 18 inches and 5+ pounds. His kidneys are fully functioning and his liver can now produce waste. Yummy. Since most of his basic development is done now, he just needs to focus on packin' on the pounds (which should be coming at a rate of about an ounce a week).

Went to the doctor today with Molly. He's still facing the wrong way. His head is towards the top left side of the uterus, with his bottom towards the bottom right hand side. We're going to continue (and probably step-up) the exercises to coax him down, but he's got about two more weeks to get his act together before we need to discuss alternatives.

Option One:
Accupunture. The Chinese culture has been doing this for thousands of years. No one is quite sure why, but accupuncture combined with the burning of specific herbs has a 80% success rate of getting the baby the turn around. The doctor gave us a business card to a local accupunturist who can help us with this. Not sure if our insurance will cover this or not. (Since I typed this paragraph---found out that it is NOT covered under my insurance and it costs like $400---not gonna happen---too bad, it sounded cool)

Option Two:
External Cephalic Version (ECV). This is the intense belly massage I mentioned last week. It's supposed to be pretty uncomfortable and has some risks:

1. It might not work. They may make some progress, but he might decide that his original position is simply more comfortable and go right back to where he was.

2. The membrane that holds the amniotic fluid (and Beef) could break.

3. The placenta could become dislodged/damaged/ruptured.

Both 2 and 3 would require an immediate emergency C-Section, which is why this is always done at a hospital with staff at the ready to do it.

Option Three:
We could just schedule a C-Section. We would of course prefer that he be born normally, but the ball is pretty much in his court. Our doctors won't even consider trying a "regular" birth if he's not in the right place.

At this point, we're trying not worrying about it, but we'll have to take his cues when the time comes.

We asked the doctor about getting copies of the ultrasound pictures from the last visit, but they've already been sent out to whoever rights up ultrasound reports and are in storage there...the only way to get new pictures is to have a new ultrasound. So, probably no new pictures until he's born, unless there's a need in the next couple weeks to have another ultrasound.

blog from my cell

Discovered today that i can post new info and pics directly from my cell phone. that will make things nice and easy on beef's birthday from the hospital. :) That's Flat Belly Bear, hanging out in Beef's high chair with a Golden Graham snack. (he never ate them...wasteful bear)

Week 34

Well, according to Baby Center, our boy should be somewhere around 4.75 pounds, and about 18 inches long. He's got some good fat layers growing to help regulate his body temp once he's born, so he's getting good and round. He's got very smooth skin and his central nervous system and lungs are getting more mature by the day.

Statistically, babies born between 34-37 weeks will do just fine (assuming no other health issues), though they may need a short term in NICU to make sure.

As of our last Doctor visit, he was breech, with his head up. There're some excercises we're doing at home to try to coax his head down to the right spot. If that doesn't work, the doctor will try to force him down by doing a pretty uncomfortable massage of Molly's belly. If that still doesn't work, we may be looking at a C-section. Most doctors these days will not try to deliver a baby breech because there's so many risks involved.

Last week we started a Pregnancy and Labor class at West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park. It's every week for 5 weeks on Wednesday nights. Learning stuff I never thought of before.

Next Dr appointment set for 9/18 at 11am, at 35 weeks.

The Boy's Bed is Ready

Well, his crib is ready for occupancy. His room isn't quite done yet, and stupid me, I forgot to put the crib mattress pad in the wash before I made the bed, so it's not even on there. Oh well, we have 6 weeks or so (hopefully).

Flat Belly Bear seems to be enjoying his recently found temporary freedom, though kinda weird that he's decided to wear diapers now?

In other news, we had another ultrasound last week on Tuesday 9/4. We didn't get copies of any of the pictures they took. Will try to butter up the doctor at the next appointment.