A Date With Dr. Delightful (and Wemberly of Course)

On Tuesday I had my 33 week appt with Dr. Delightful. DH came with me and got to meet him for the first time. He wasn't running late so that was nice and he willingly wrote the doctor's note I needed for my maternity leave. He is just the best at answering all my questions with thoughtful, complete answers. You can tell he is very knowledgeable and loves what he does. He teaches at the local UC hospital and he enjoys educating people about medicine. He even said that if I see something on the Internet that I should print it out and bring it with me so we can discuss it together. How awesome is that! DH said I like him so much because he thinks just like me.

I knew I needed a non-stress test at 34 weeks due to being a high risk pregnancy (I take meds for chronic high blood pressure). I was under the assumption (thanks to Dr. H and her short, curt explanations) that it was only one that I would have. Wrong. It will be two every week until delivery. I like the sound of that. I'm all for more monitoring and care. I'm grateful not to be working with all those appointments. I was also not aware that I would get another high resolution u/s at 36 weeks to check the growth. Yay!

Then came the best part of the appt- the time to examine the baby. Instead of getting out the doppler, he motioned to DH and said because he was here (and by now I'm sure he could figure out I'm a bit high maintenance and a worrier) that he would do an u/s instead. I said, "Today?"

It is a whole different experience seeing her on the u/s when she is this big. It is bits and pieces of her body that we made out as he moved around my belly. The resolution was poor and I could not make out much more than her heart and spine (even though he was narrating the whole time). Then we got to her head. It was like one of those pictures you have to stare at in order to see two profiles instead of a vase. When I finally made sense of what was on the screen. I shouted "I see it!" It was the cutest thing. You could make out her forehead, shadows for eyes and a cute little button nose. She had her arm covering her mouth. Dr. D. kept trying to get her to move it by pushing on my belly. He said he wanted DH to see a good picture because he doesn't get to feel her move like I do and he wanted him to feel a part of it all. DH enjoyed this male perspective and felt like he was paid attention to at the appt, instead of ignored by Dr. H. I finally had to stop all the pressure because it started to hurt. I swear the two of them were in their own world and my polite grunts and cries of being uncomfortable were going unnoticed until I said, "It's starting to hurt." Then the surprise u/s was over.

Another added bonus, she was head down. Let's hope she stays that way.

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So it seems a pattern with me that every piece of good news and relief I find with this pregnancy is followed closely by a new worry.

What is it this time you ask? (perhaps with rolling eyes)

Well, yesterday I went to a friend's house for lunch and swimming. She was aware that I could not eat processed deli meats, so she went to a deli that hand carves their turkey meat so it comes out looking like what you'd have on your Thanksgiving plate. I thought, "Oh good. I can eat that." I should have heated it up just to be on the safe side, but my preggo brain was getting the best of me. I felt guilty after I ate it, like I did something wrong. I immediately went home and googled (damn) all I could about listeria and cross contamination in delis and all kinds of horrible things. I felt very stupid for even taking such a "risk." The worst part is the incubation period can range anywhere from 3-70 days. There is no rest for the worriers. I'm sure I'll be less crazy with time.

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Tomorrow I will be 34 weeks along. Only three weeks until I'm considered full term and only six weeks until my due date. Sooo close. Sooo far away. What a great time to eat a turkey sandwich. . . :)

33 weeks