Thursday, April 19, 2012

38 week checkup

Yesterday I went to my 38 week checkup at the birth center.  My blood pressure was good, urine was clean, and weight was right on target.  I'll just go ahead and share that I began my pregnancy (at my 8 week appointment) at 121 pounds (my scale at home said 114 lbs on the same day, but that's another thing) Yesterday, I weighed 146 pounds.  So, as of now, I have gained 25 lbs.  They say for a healthy baby, you should aim to gain 25 to 35 pounds, so I guess I've done pretty well.

My belly is still measuring right on target for my due date and Jonah's heart-rate sounded healthy and happy!  I was wondering if they would check my cervix to see if it was dilated yet, and they told me that they don't do routine checks of the cervix.  She said that she would if I wanted her to, but that checking for dilation is a waste of time.  This is because someone can walk around at 3 or 4 cm dilated for a month or more....and someone else could be at 0 centimeters and give birth the next day.  It doesn't matter at all.  

They also don't try to make predictions about how much a baby weighs.  They say they are never right (unless you get a late 3rd trimester ultrasound) and that doctors just use their predictions to try to scare women into getting a planned c-section (which is more convenient for the doctor).

So, no, I don't know if I'm dilated....and, no, I don't know how big he is either.  Sorry.  For some reason, these are the questions that people ask.

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