35 weeks 5 days appointment

This morning Matt and I went in the first of my weekly OB appointments. They are starting the Non-Stress Tests on me because of my age (if I were a Sequoia, I'd be a sapling).

The Non-Stress Test is this: you recline and they strap you to the monitor. One strap checks the heart rate, the other checks contractions. Everytime you feel the baby move, you click on the clicker (like Jeopardy). You sit like that for 1/2 an hour and the nurse and doctor come in to talk and check on the progress. Everyone likes to stare at the monitor (Matt was glued to it). I'm glued to my belly because that's what matters to me (and I'm focused on the baby's movement so I can click). It's called a Non-stress test because it doesn't cause stress to the baby (but my heart rate was 100, so guess who's getting it all).

When the doctor came in and we started talking (episiotemies for example) she asked if I was feeling contractions. I said no. She said, "well you've had 4 of them since we've been talking, but the best kind of contractions are the ones that don't cause pain." The nurse seemed surprised that I didn't feel them. So then I started thinking about it more -- and sure, OK, I felt something. My belly tightened a little, I had a little more pressure down there, but nothing to write home about or to even make me take notice. I probably had at least 8 contractions during that 1/2 hour and some measured quite large on the monitor. Matt would tell me afterwards, "You just had a contraction." I was glad I wasn't looking at the monitor.

So the NST was fine - the baby is doing exactly what it should, was moving good and still had a resting/steady heart rate of 140's. Then I got swabbed for the Strep B test. 30% of people carry this bacteria and it causes no harm to you, but if you have a vaginal birth you can pass it to the baby with dire effects, so they treat you with antibiotics when you get admitted. I told the Doctor that I'm anxious for the results because a doctor in Mexico (at our Ixtapa resort) told me I was a carrier by checking my throat. She said there's no way for him to tell by that and even if I am a carrier, he had a 30% of being right. So we had a good laugh about that.

Finally, she decided to give me a cervical check because I had so many contractions and I'm already 1 centimeter dialated! I read a little on this and it's nothing too big, but as a first-timer I'm pretty thrilled and I read that sometimes it takes forever for someone to get to 1 cm. So I'm thinking positive!

As of today, if the baby comes, they will not stop my labor (and she added a 5-6 lber is a nice size to deliver).