36 Weeks and Waiting!

I had my 36 week check-up this afternoon and shared plenty of complaints with my doctor....I have a cold/cough and Pinkeye, my Braxton Hicks are VERY PAINFUL, my back is killing me and my heartburn is so bad that I get sick sometimes. Of course, the doctor's answer for everything is "it's normal".

Today I was down 1 lb. from 2 weeks ago (go figure!), my blood pressure was high (142/90), the baby's heart rate was 140 and I'm dilated to 1 cm (nothing really to get excited over). The doctor confirmed that baby is in position, but is facing the wrong direction for delivery, which was part of my problem with delivering Toby. Overall, doctor says that I could go into labor anytime. (Next appointment: 12/14/05)

We're getting ready at home. The nursery is near completion. The carpeting was supposed to be in on Friday, so hopefully we can set up an appointment for installation this week. We also have a new couch on the way (anyone looking for an old beat-up couch?) and plan to have the living room carpeting cleaned this week. I have most of the baby stuff washed and ready to put away once the nursery is ready.

Baby news:
Your baby is still putting on the pounds — about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds and is a little less than 19 inches long. At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Babies between 37 and 42 weeks are considered full-term; a baby born before 37 weeks is pre-term and after 42 is post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position by now, which is optimal for a smooth delivery. While your baby continues to grow and crowd your internal organs, you may find that you're not as hungry as you were a few weeks ago. Smaller, more frequent meals are often easier to handle at this point. You might also notice that your Braxton Hicks contractions are a little more frequent now. As a general rule, you should call when you start having regular contractions coming every five minutes for about an hour. You should also call without delay if your water breaks (or if you even think you're leaking amniotic fluid), if you notice a decrease in your baby's activity, or if you have any vaginal bleeding, fever, severe headaches, abdominal pain, or changes in your vision.