Hardheaded Baby

Took this image of a baby at 32 weeks from BabyCenter.com. Can't believe how much the baby looks like a BABY!

Saw Dr. Norwood this morning. LOVE him, and I know I'm getting great care, but his office has not been on schedule once! This morning I waited for an hour before I saw him. Usually I cut him some slack and assume he was delivering a baby or something, but I don't know. It's just a little frustrating when I have to reschedule conference calls because I'm still sitting in a waiting room an hour after my five-minute appointment was supposed to be.

But enough complaining. There's much to be happy about! As I said, my appointment only took about five minutes, but we were able to hear the baby's strong heartbeat and measure my growth (right on schedule). My blood pressure was good and my weight was on track... I only gained a pound in the last month! What?! I have been eating SO BAD -- burgers, pizza, cake, cupcakes, cookies -- that I thought I was going to get lectured at. The doctor told me I can afford to gain about five to seven more pounds until the baby comes... When I do the math, the baby should gain three to four more pounds, so I have a little wiggle room. Just a little.

There was one very interesting moment during the appointment... The doctor was palpating to feel the baby's position, and he dug his fingers into my lower abdomen and goes, "WOW!" like he was shocked. Not something I really want to hear. When I asked him what was going on, he said, "Your baby has a very hard head! Proves paternity, huh?" Cute joke, but I don't want my baby to have a hard head! His head can suddenly become very hard immediately after birth, but I want it to be soft and sponge-like until he's out of me! You know?

So I haven't googled "unborn baby hard head" yet, but I probably will. Google... frenemy.

The good news is that the baby is head down, yeahhh! I asked Dr. Norwood what the chances of him flipping to head-up are, and he said not high. Apparently our little dude has discovered the most comfortable position, and he's unlikely to want to get out of it until we're ready to meet him. So that's an answer to prayer!

I have had about three Braxton Hicks contractions over the past week and a half. The first two took my breath away because they were so painful, but I have read that they aren't supposed to hurt. So I asked Dr. Norwood, and he said that's baloney -- that in a lot of patients they hurt worse than real contractions because the muscle groups are pulling APART (Braxton Hicks) rather than working together (real contractions).

Now that I'm 32 weeks, I'll start seeing Dr. Norwood every two weeks for the next couple of visits, then every week. Exciting! I can't believe how it's flying by!