In other countdown-related news, I've reached the 35/35 mark - 35 weeks along, 35 days to go until my due date. We had a very uneventful doctors appointment today, which is awesome (in pregnancy, uneventful usually = healthy, good, all systems are go, etc.) Sweet baby boy remains head-down, and probably won't be somersaulting much since space has gotten extremely limited in there. His heartrate remains strong and growth is on-track. My growth has slowed somewhat; I only gained 1 lb. this month, which is actually normal and fine. Since I'm already at the "higher" end of the weight gain recommendations (*ahem, second trimester Ben & Jerry's), I don't need to gain much more, though apparently the baby still gains about a 1/2 lb. per week. My stomach has shrunken so eating a lot is unappealing (i.e., impossible), though I'd like to considering this is one of the few times in life I'd allow myself to go bananas with some banana split ice cream. (Which I did last week.) I'm trying to keep up my intake of fruits, veggies & healthy proteins, otherwise, it's nice to be rather unconcerned with my diet.
We also made some big strides in some last minute baby-related tasks, the biggest of which was taking care of the business of the infant carseat. I could probably title this "Carseat Installation aka It's Not as Easy as You'd Think." Okay, I should back up. To be fair, carseats are seemingly easy to install. They aren't rocket science. They come with clear instructions and have simple install features so even the most ignorant of us (that would be moi) can figure it out. Now, Adam & I have really done our homework on this one. There is a lot of information out there to take in if you want it about safe carseat safety. For example, where in the car is the safest spot? A perfectly simple question. Well, our car manual would tell you behind the passenger seat using the swanky LATCH system that's installed there. However, many of the carseat safety groups advocate for installing it in the middle seat, forgoing the LATCH system in favor of using the seatbelt pulled very tightly, since the middle is the safest in the event of an accident. The carseat manual says either is fine. So that leaves us scratching our heads a bit.
Then, there's the reality of the SIZE of your carseat and the SIZE of your car. We have the trusty commuter's dream, the Jetta, which has a lovely small backseat and somewhat compact features. Thus, it seemed only natural that the carseat should live in the bigger, seemingly safer and made-of-more-steel Toyota Corolla. This week I got the floors and upholstery shampooed and sparkling clean (thank you Groupon for the sweet car detailing deal), and we set out to do the big install. It quickly became apparent that because the carseat isn't supposed to touch the two front seats, they'd have to be moved pretty far up to accomodate the size of the carseat. The passenger seat will now be moved pretty far up, possibly a little beyond the comfort zone of my long-legged husband or my very pregnant belly. So, we monkeyed with it and monkeyed with it. Adam was a great sport since he was doing most of the work, though I tried to glean whatever wisdom I could and looked on. It may be that we figure out a better way to install it, or perhaps one of us will be sitting in the back with the baby for road trips for the immediate future. Either way, we've got it done, so poor Adam won't have to be out in the rain doing it at the last minute if the baby comes early.
Some memorable moments from this week I want to jot down, lest they be lost forver:
- Our baby kicking the doctors hands back as she tried to get an accurate read on his heartbeat with the doppler. We laughed and I sort of half apologized for his behavior, though inside I was secretly pleased he is so strong and healthy. Some really awesome doctors will used warmed gel, and she used the cold kind, so I can't really blame him anyway. It was chilly!
- Eating my first Philly cheesesteak at one of the food carts down the street. Never before has "cheesesteak" sounded remotely appealing. Now I actually crave meat (and beef, specifically), which is totally unlike my normal self. Obviously I'm attributing this to have a little person with half of Adam's DNA inside me. I have to say, it was totally amazing and delicious and there is something very primal and satisfying about eating a bunch of grilled meat, onions and cheese.
- Adam squeezing my hand as we took our hospital tour and stepped foot in the place where some very important life-changing events are about to happen. We were both very impressed with the amenties of the hospital I'll be delivering at. They offer huge, private rooms, labor tubs, a wall of birth balls of varying sizes, and wireless monitoring. The staff are committed to keeping moms and babies together and really promote breastfeeding which I liked. They have the lowest cesarean rate of any hospital in Oregon, and I felt very encouraged about birthing there. It was surreal knowing the next time I walk out through those doors, I'll likely have my son snuggled up in my arms.
- Having my dad over this weekend, sleeping in, making pumpkin muffins, followed by a long three mile walk through the beautiful red and orange leaves along the bikepath near my house. Heavenly.
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