It's a GIRL for sure!

We had an ultrasound today and the doctor was able to confirm that we do have a baby girl on the way. We were very excited to find out of course. But more importantly, the baby girl looks healthy and perfect. She's measuring right on target and 5 lbs 6 oz. Measuring by ultrasound isn't an exact science of course and I've read that weight guesstimates can be off by as much as a pound. But given the measurements from today she's in the 52nd percentile for weight. But we already knew she was perfect. She was squishing her face into my placenta when we were trying to get a good picture of her face but we did see her heart beating and her little hands. She looked great. My amniotic fluid levels also looked good. She is also head down and getting ready to go.

Her positioning was the purpose of the ultrasound today. Our midwife was pretty certain that she felt her head down at our appointment yesterday but they usually do an ultrasound to be sure. It's much more difficult to deliver a baby breech so being head down is important, especially with our birth plan. Now hopefully she'll stay that way.

As I mentioned we had an appointment with one of the midwives yesterday. The baby is doing great. Her heartbeat was in the 140s and everything else seemed to be fine. She's moving all of the time so that's no problem. She doesn't like when I lean forward when I'm sitting. She'd prefer I recline so she has more space. I'm feeling much more restricted in my lung and bladder capacity. I'm looking forward to her "dropping" or engaging in the next few weeks so I can breathe better but I'm not looking forward to the added pressure that will put on my bladder. I've also had mild heartburn that should ease up with the added space as well.

Not much else to report from the visit. I've set my last day at work. I will go out with a bang on Tax Day, April 15th. That will give me two weeks before my midwife-given due date of April 30th. Remember that I still think my due date is April 25th. Not that any of these dates matter all that much since everything is just an estimate. Babies are on their own schedule. Right now I'm still hoping that the baby will stay put until at least May 4th when the new hospital opens so I can enjoy my private room and plasma TV. I may change my mind as I get closer to the 40-week mark. There is a full moon on April 20th so perhaps that will influence baby's arrival? That is one old wives' tale that does appear to be true.