36 Weeks

It's Friday and that means it's doctor appointment day! Today more so than most Fridays as I also had an eye doctor appointment this morning. After my eye appointment, I stopped by the mall to get my eyebrows threaded then picked up some lunch before heading home. It was actually the first time my entire 2 years of being pregnant that I was able to utilize one of those expecting mother's only parking spots! Not very many places around Wilmington actually have them and those that do are always taken by the time I get there. Not today. There were several open ones at the mall's food court entrance so I seized the opportunity and used it!

 My OB appointment wasn't until 1:40pm today and it was my first appointment this pregnancy with a doctor other than Dr. McLean. Normally, they make you rotate at that practice but due to Nolan being stillborn, Dr. McLean had gladly agreed to let us just see her this go round. Unfortunately, she was on vacation this week with her 5 year old daughter to Disney World. So I had to see Dr. Carroll whom Dr. McLean and Tifni both assured me was very nice. In fact, Dr. McLean said she was her neighbor so if Dr. Carroll wasn't nice to me to let her know! First though, I had to do a NST test, or a non stress test. They decided to do that this time instead of the BPP ultrasound so that they could see what the baby's heartbeat was doing during periods of movement and also to see if I was having any contractions yet. The baby did very well and reacted just as they wanted him to during his test and I was not having any contractions yet. His heartbeat increased during periods of extreme activity which the doctor later told me that showed them that the baby was getting enough oxygen and behaving as would be expected. After that was over, I had to have a cervical exam and Strep B test. The cervical exam was indeed as unpleasant as I had anticipated it to be. I am 1 whole cm dilated! Ha. But my cervix is soft which the doctor told me was good for inducing as it would make it go easier. Tifni later told me they also refer to that as a "favorable" cervix as it is easily dilated. A hard or "not soft" cervix is unfavorable as it is harder to dilate. Dr. Carroll told me Dr. McLean had called her about me and then she made a comment about Dr. McLean hogging me all to herself, which I replied "Yep!" Two hours later and I was finally out of the OB's office. Well, if all goes well that will be the last appointment at Wilmington Health OB before the baby is born! I still have an ultrasound appointment at MFM on Tuesday, but no other appointments are scheduled before the amnio next Friday. I am 36 weeks now and exactly one week away from my amnio and hopefully only 1 week and a day or two away from giving birth to my baby boy!