35 Weeks

Well, folks, we have made it through 35 weeks of pregnancy! I can hardly believe it! I am shocked when I consider that I should be meeting my son within the next five or so weeks. I can't wait!

We had an enjoyable Thanksgiving here in San Antonio. My mom came to visit Tuesday through Saturday, and it was nice to see her. She was able to go to my monthly doctor's appointment with me on Wednesday, and she was able to hear Tyler's heartbeat--he put on quite a strong and loud little show! That was special for her and means that both grandmothers have been able to hear his heartbeat before his birth. Pretty cool, I think.

Other news at the doctor's visit included a brand new doctor that I didn't expect to see. I thought I'd see Dr. Donnelly once more, but he was already out-processing for his deployment. The doctor I saw was pretty reserved and quiet--quite a change from Dr. D. The good news was that I didn't get in trouble about my weight, and after eating Ms. Bobbie's food for two weeks this past month, I would have been in major trouble with Dr. D. I was impressed that this doctor wanted to recheck my thyroid levels. Normally, when I see a new military doctor, I have to go through my entire thyroid history before they will connect the dots to the fact that my thyroid was totally removed four years ago. I don't know why it always takes a while for that to sink it, but this guy really had it together. I appreciated that.

My measurements were all good, and Tyler's heartbeat was the strongest it's been in months. I tell you, this is a tough little guy I'm growing! With all his ferocious tossing and turning, I'm beginning to think that he's going to break through my abdomen instead of coming into the world the usual way.

The funniest part of the entire visit was when my sweet husband had a question for the doctor. Here's how the conversation went:

Danny: "So, her due date has been December 30th the whole time. Do you see any need to adjust that date at this point?"

Doc: "Well, as you know, due dates are just guesses anyway. You should expect the baby to be born anywhere between two weeks before and two weeks after that date. As far as her measurements are concerned, I have no indications that there is a need to change the due date at this point."

Later, in the car:

Danny (exclaiming): "I can't believe that he said there is a whole month in which the baby could be born. I thought he could do some kind of witch-craft or voodoo or something to give us a better guess. A month? I mean, that's not even close to what I was looking for."

I cracked up until I thought I would hyperventilate. I guess Danny has missed those parts of the pregnancy books where they explain that 38-42 weeks is considered full-term. Bless his heart! He was so disappointed.

In short, baby Tyler seems healthy and happy right where he is. We just hope he doesn't hang out in there for too long. We'll return to the doctor in two weeks for another check-up.

With his pending arrival, Danny and I went shopping for some hospital necessities today. It is time to start packing a bag, and there are lots of things I didn't have yet. Thank God for the best sister-in-law in the world whose vast child-birthing experience is immensely helping me with this whole process. Lou Anne gave me some fantastic information about things I'm going to need that none of the books or lists have told me. For example, since I'm having a boy, I need to have some Vaseline on hand for circumcision care. Who would have thought?

That's all the updating I have for now. I hope to have some nursery pictures and some Christmas decor pictures later in the week. There is so much to do around here!!!