36 Weeks Pregnant with a "sizable guy"

This is the comparison of my boys at 36 weeks

36 wk was the week I was released from bed rest with Owen, I'm more swollen and carrying more closely to my body. At 36 wk with Baby Brother I'm feeling strong and confident. My belly is bigger but because I've been on my feet I have more room in my rib cage this time around.

Had an OB appointment today and when Owen and I arrived the receptionist told me my appointment had been moved from 915am to 1050am. I told her my appointment has NEVER been moved without someone calling first but she shrugged, handed me my label stickers (for any urine or blood work they run) and said they'd try their best to fit me in sooner. I was pissed so I just folded the labels and shoved them in my purse. Owen was an angel in the waiting room. He ate an oatmeal bar and blueberries I packed for breakfast and played toys. The waiting room filled and emtpied several times over while we still sat there. There was a check out girl who watched Owen playing nicely and asked if he could have some fruit snacks she had hidden in her office. She asked me why we were sitting out there so long... by this time it was 11:45!

She went back and told the doctors a woman and her 2 yr old had been waiting since 9am and they said, "Mrs. Reese no showed her appointment" --- she explained that she had seen me waiting since 9am and then came out to ask if I was given labels. I said yes, dug them out of my purse and they had the WRONG person's name on them with a 1050 appointment time. The check-in girl messed everything up! The doctors and staff were horrified but even more suprized that 1) Owen was AN ANGEL the entire time and 2) My blood pressure wasn't through the roof!

After the doctor apologized like one million times, we went over my birth plan (I wrote about it this week on Kveller) which he said looked great.

Baby Brother's heartbeat was strong, I'm measuring a little over 38 weeks (at 36.5 weeks) and I'm not dilated AT ALL! He checked to see if he was head down and sure enough, he is! Jeremy helped me do some inversions (from this site, thanks E!) one night this week while he tried to move the baby into place and it worked! When the doctor was feeling for baby's position he said, "Wow you've got a sizable guy in there!"  He reminded me to pay careful attention to kick counts/activity and if I feel him getting at all sluggish to call as he's quite big in there and the risks of being born are now lower than the risks of staying in without a enough room. He's an active guy, much moreso than his brother, so I'll be sure to keep an eye on him.

I'll be 37 weeks on MONDAY!! Another prenatal Yoga class and looking forward to FULL TERM status.

I now have weekly appointments on Thursdays :)

****************************** BIRTH VISION *************************************

Hospital birth attended by MFM attending/Fellow

Support person(s): Husband and Doula

I am requesting to NOT be delivered by an OB/GYN resident – would like MFM Fellow or Attending.

After a high-risk pregnancy/induction with my first, followed by a miscarriage we have chosen extra support to help us feel like we’ve done everything we can to have a positive birth experience. Our goal is a healthy baby so we are open-minded and flexible but appreciate your support with these requests assuming all is medically sound. 

Labor: I would like go into labor naturally and progress w/o pitocin for as long as medically possible. I would like to be as mobile as possible - free to walk, use birthing ball or change positions. I want to make every effort to birth unmedicated (I am open to an epidural, but I will ask)

No pharmaceutical opiods (Morphine, Nubain, Demerol).  Would like to be Heplocked (I know I will be treated for Group B Strep) and fetal monitoring via telemetry.

Postpartum:  Assuming this baby is healthy and able I would like to have baby skin-to-skin immediately, Apgars on my chest, and delay non-emergent treatments until after first hour (bonding/nursing) eye ointment, vit K, bath etc.

Breastfeeding only – do NOT offer formula.

We would like to request that the hearing test is done in the room.

No circumcision (We are Jewish & will do it at a later time)