Spent some time in Labor and Delivery today without laboring or delivering

I went to my regular appointment with one of the midwives this afternoon. While I was waiting in the exam room laying back on the table I started seeing spots. This has happened in the past but never with any of the other preeclampsia symptoms, so the midwives have always told me to pay attention to it and look for the other signs but they weren't too worried. Preeclampsia is a pretty serious problem in pregnancy and can get very serious if not treated. The only treatment is delivering the baby so even if I had a fairly mild case I would be induced since I'm already at 40 weeks and it's not worth finding out if it's going to get worse. This week my feet were also huge as I showed you all before and my blood pressure was high (138/90). Last week it was high when I first got to the appointment and they rechecked it before I left and it had gone back down again. Susan (midwife) thought that since I'm 40w I should just go over to be fully checked out and make sure everything was OK.

So we walked across the street to the hospital and to labor and delivery. It was 4:30 PM. So we got in and a nurse got me all set up. They put the monitors on my stomach so we could hear and watch the heart beat and watch my contractions. It was cool to see how high my contractions were registering compared to what I could feel (which was almost nothing). They also had me hooked up to a blood pressure cuff that would take my blood pressure every 15 minutes. I peed in a cup and they took a few tubes of blood from me. Then they just wanted me to hang out. They said it would take an hour to two to get all my blood work back so we waited. They ordered dinner for me but of course not for Scott. I shared with him a little bit of my pizza though but he was still starving by the time we left. He was really good and supportive while we were there though.

So everything came back totally normal. They don't think it's preeclampsia at all. They just told me what to look for and to call if I experience any symptoms again. They checked me and I'm only 1 cm dilated. That kind of stinks but at least it's something. They did an ultrasound too and baby looks good. She was practicing breathing. Her diaphragm was moving up and down. Before she's born she gets all of her oxygen through the umbilical cord but babies practice breathing amniotic fluid in and out to prepare their lungs for actual breathing. So it was good to see her doing that. The OB thought she looked pretty big. She said she had long legs. The ultrasound measurements put her at 8 lbs 12 oz. The OB didn't think she'd be that big though. She felt her from the outside of my belly and thought she was more like 8 lbs or high 7s. She said there was a lot of variation in the estimates the ultrasound gives.

So I still have my appointment a week from today. My parents were planning on coming down tomorrow but now they're going to hold off a little bit and see what happens in the next day or so first. Hopefully she'll decide to make her arrival soon.

A couple of blurry pictures from the cell phone camera of me relaxing in the triage room:

38 weeks

How your baby's growing: Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

How your life's changing: For many women, the next couple of weeks are a waiting game. Use this time to prepare your baby's nursery or to take care of necessary tasks you may not get around to for a while after your baby's born. Take naps, catch up on your reading, and spend uninterrupted time with your partner while you can.

Some swelling in your feet and ankles is normal during these last weeks, but call your practitioner without delay if you notice excessive or sudden swelling of your feet or ankles, more than slight swelling of your hands, any swelling in your face or puffiness around your eyes, or have a sudden weight gain. Also let her know immediately if have severe or persistent headaches; visual changes (such as double or blurred vision, seeing spots or flashing lights, light sensitivity, or a temporary loss of vision), intense upper abdominal pain or tenderness, or nausea and vomiting. These are symptoms of a serious condition called preeclampsia.

How I'm doing: Today was my first day of maternity leave. So far it hasn't been all that relaxing. I had a bunch of errands today and my 38 week appointment with the midwives so I didn't get a lot of rest. Our midwife said I need to nap during the day to get used to getting some sleep during the middle of the day since when the baby comes I'll need to sleep when she sleeps. The baby is doing well. Her head is still down. Her back was running along my left side. Her heartbeat was nice and strong at about 137 bpm. My belly growth is right on track and I didn't gain any weight in the last week. I might not gain any more at end and might even lose a little.

I might be done with my yoga classes until the baby comes. My instructor is away on a trip to London so there are substitutes for the next two weeks. So I might just do some yoga at home every day. I always do my cat/cow poses each morning (imagine being on your hands and knees and then alternating between mooing into the sky and arching your back like a cat stretching).

I was quite sad to leave work actually. More than I expected. It is strange to think about not going in for so long. I'm sure my mind will be focused on other things once the baby gets here but for now it's weird. Plus there's a lot going on at work and it's hard not to think and worry about things getting done.

Happy Passover!

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.

31 weeks

I didn't realize I was a week behind. Hopefully the 32 week post won't be too far behind.


How your baby's growing: This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

How your life's changing: Have you noticed the muscles in your uterus tightening now and then? Many women feel these random contractions — called Braxton Hicks contractions — in the second half of pregnancy. Often lasting about 30 seconds, they're irregular, and at this point, they should be infrequent and painless. Frequent contractions, on the other hand — even those that don't hurt — may be a sign of preterm labor. Call your practitioner immediately if you have more than four contractions in an hour or any other signs of preterm labor: an increase in vaginal discharge or a change in the type of discharge (if it becomes watery, mucus-like, or bloody — even if it's pink or just tinged with blood); abdominal pain or menstrual-like cramping; an increase in pressure in the pelvic area; or low back pain, especially if you didn't have it before.

You may have noticed some leaking of colostrum, or "premilk," from your breasts lately. If so, try tucking some nursing pads into your bra to protect your clothes. (And if not, it's certainly nothing to worry about; your breasts are making colostrum all the same, even if you don't see any.) If your current bra is too snug, you might also want to pick up a nursing bra. Choose a nursing bra at least one cup size bigger than you need now. When your milk comes in you'll be grateful for that extra room!

How I'm doing: I haven't noticed any Braxton Hicks contractions since much closer to the beginning of pregnancy. I'm sure they'll be coming back soon. We had a midwife appointment this week (or last week now that I'm a week late on this update). The baby was doing just fine. Her heartbeat was still nice and strong. I only gained .7 lbs in the two weeks since my previous appointment so I did well on that front. We made it out to a nice dinner one night to one of Mario Batali's restaurants in LA Osteria Mozza. Even though Scott can be a picky eater we both enjoyed everything we ate and dined next to Lionel Richie in the process; unfortunately his new grandbaby wasn't with him. We're trying to get in a lot of things we won't be able to do with a baby. For Valentine's Day we purchased tickets to Wicked! at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. We'll be going to see that next week and sitting in something like the 10th row. We're really looking forward to that.

We also had an additional birthing class which was mainly on nutrition and a bit about early labor, when to go to the hospital, etc. And we also had our hospital tour. It was a busy week; especially since I didn't return from Redding until Monday evening. The hospital tour was exciting. It was cool to see the place our baby will be born. Or might be born. As it turns out UCLA Ronald Reagan Hospital will be opening on May 4th (Happy birthday Dad!). My due date is on April 25th according to me or April 30th according to my midwives. So the baby's birthday could be very close to or after May 4th. So it's likely we'll find out which hospital our baby will be born at very close to her actual birthday. Luckily they are across the street from each other so it doesn't require any advanced planning. I'm holding out hope that she'll stay put until after the 4th. We saw pictures of the new hospital and I'd rather go there. Even if just for the private rooms. At the old hospital the recovery rooms are semi-private and Scott would have to go home at 9 PM every night if I had a roommate. Babies room-in at UCLA (the nursery is only for babies with problems) so obviously I'd much prefer if Scott were there. If we go to the old hospital, we may consider upgrading to a private room for $330/night (yikes!). But then Scott would have his own twin bed to sleep over in. But of course insurance won't pay for that.

We feel very fortunate to be having our baby at UCLA though. It's a wonderful hospital. Our tour was given by the Director of Labor and Delivery who's a nurse and we liked her a lot. We feel confident that with our midwives and the staff at UCLA we'll get the birth experience we want in a very safe environment.

But I'm leaving out the best part of my week. My mom and sister, Kellie threw me and my (also pregnant) sister, Melody a shower on February 16th.

28 week prenatal appointment

I had my 28 week prenatal appointment yesterday. Just a quick note about how we're doing.

My stats:

weight gain - 20 lbs up so far. The goal is 25-35 overall, so I'm at the upper limit of that if things progress similarly.
blood pressure - 130/80 pretty much right on target
fundal height (i.e. how big the belly is) - 28", right in the middle of the target zone.

Baby's stats:

heart beat - 154 bpm, right on track. Some people think readings in the 150s indicates a girl.
kick counts - baby is kicking at least once a day.

I had my Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) which tests for gestational diabetes yesterday. I may not get the results until my next appointment (February 20th). I imagine they might call earlier than that if I screen positively and need to go back for the 3-hour test. The orange sugar drink wasn't that horrible. It tasted like a non-carbonated orange soda. I also got my rhogam shot which turned into a big hassle because they had to go pick it up from the hospital due to some special storage requirements. I left with band-aids all over my left arm (blood draw and a shot); thankfully I don't mind needles.

Yesterday was also Super Tuesday here in California and 23 other states. I hope you made it out to vote if you were in one of those states and I know many of you are. Scott and I both had busy days and we didn't make it to our very crowded polling place until 7:40 PM. Scott and I were both born in an election year (Reagan) so we'll share that stat with our first baby.

24 weeks

How your baby's growing: Your baby's growing steadily, gaining about a quarter of a pound since last week, when she was just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), that makes a pretty lean figure, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon put on more baby fat. Your baby's skin is thin, translucent, and wrinkled, her brain is growing rapidly, and her taste buds are developing. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance **that helps the air sacs inflate easily.

How your life's changing: The top of your uterus is now an inch or so above your belly button, which means it's about the size of a soccer ball. With the skin on your abdomen and breasts stretching, you may feel a little itchy now and then. If your skin is dry, keeping it well moisturized may help. Also, your eyes may be sensitive to light and feel gritty and dry. This is a perfectly normal pregnancy symptom known as dry-eye. To ease your discomfort, use an artificial tears solution to add moisture. Most women will have a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between 24 and 28 weeks. This test checks for gestational diabetes, a high-blood-sugar condition during pregnancy. Untreated, high blood sugar increases your risk for having a difficult vaginal delivery or needing a cesarean section because it causes your baby to grow overly fat, especially in his upper body. It also increases your baby's risk for complications like low blood sugar at birth. A positive result on your GCT test doesn't mean you have gestational diabetes, but it does mean that you should have the more involved glucose tolerance test (GTT) to find out. It's also a good idea to be aware of the signs of preterm labor. Contact your caregiver immediately if you notice an increase in vaginal discharge that is watery, mucus-like, or pink or blood-tinged; any vaginal bleeding or spotting; abdominal pain or menstrual-like cramping or more than four contractions in an hour; an increase in pelvic pressure; or low back pain that you haven't had before.

How I'm doing: I'm doing great. I had a prenatal appointment this morning. Thankfully UCLA Medical Plaza was just letting patients and employees back in the building after a fire drill so I missed the evacuation. I did walk up 3 flights of stairs to the 4th floor so I wouldn't have to wait in a line that looked to be about 200 people long to take the elevator. The baby is doing fine. We briefly listened to her heart beat and everything sounded normal. The midwife said I'm an easy patient because my "problem list" is very short. So we had a nice and quick appointment today.

Our next appointment is scheduled for February 5th. At that time I'll have the glucose screening test mentioned above. I'll have to drink a liter or so of a very sugary orange drink and then get my blood drawn. At the same appointment I'll also get a rhogam shot which I need since my blood type is O- and Scott's is A+. This prevents my body from developing antibodies to the baby's blood if she has a positive blood type. I'll have one more shot at the end of pregnancy and one after delivery. This blood-type incompatibility doesn't present any problems for this baby but it might for future babies.

We picked out the fabric below to use as the starting point for the baby's nursery corner.
We holding out on buying anything pink until after the baby comes in case she turns out to be a he. My mom is going to work on making a window valance and a crib skirt for the baby's area and my maternal grandmother has generously offered to make the baby a quilt. If you've seen any of her quilts you know what a special gift this is for us and the baby.

Scott is pretty sure he felt the baby kick just over a week ago for the first time. She likes to play games with her dad and kick away until he puts his hand on my stomach and then she stops. I was able to see my stomach move from one of her kicks as well. But again, Dad wasn't home.

I'm continuing with prenatal yoga which I enjoy very much. I'm swimming and trying to increase that more as my midwife said it should help with some minor swelling I'm getting in my ankles and hands. We've just signed up for a CSA which means we'll be getting a box of locally grown organic produce every other week automatically. Which should challenge my culinary skills and get more fruits and vegetables into our diet.

Oh, and I got a raise! I asked for, negotiated and received a raise at work. It will take a month and a half to process and receive the first paycheck at my new salary since I'm only paid monthly--but it's coming.

It's a GIRL...Maybe!?!

As it turns out we have a stubborn baby. She was nice an cozy in her little corner and didn't want to move around to show us anything. We got a decent view but the doctor was only about 75% sure she was a girl. So now we have to wait. Perhaps until when she's born to know for sure. So we have to hold off on buying anything pink and frilly that can't be returned. Luckily we weren't really planning on going that route anyway.

The actual purpose of the scan was to make sure she's healthy and growing as she should. The good news is that she is. Everything looks perfect. Her spine look perfect. The doctor measured some of her bones and organs and everything looked good. Her stomach and bladder were nice and full so she's eating a lot. Her heart was pumping and the blood was flowing nicely through each ventricle. We could see all four chambers. Her brain is developing nicely. There's no excess fluid. The umbilical cord developed properly with two arteries and one vein. She weighs 12 oz now and her heart was beating at 159 bpm. And of course, she's beautiful.

For those of you who can't read ultrasounds well. Here's a few landmarks for you (click the picture and it will open bigger in a new window).

16 weeks

How your baby's growing: At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's even started growing toenails.

How your life's changing: Have people been telling you how wonderful you look? The "glow of pregnancy" is real, thanks to increased blood flow to the skin. You may be enjoying yourself more, too, now that your hormones have stabilized and nausea has eased up. You're also probably less anxious about something happening to your baby (the risk of miscarriage drops dramatically after the 14th week) which likely adds to your overall sense of well-being.

Soon you'll experience one of the most wonderful moments of pregnancy — feeling your baby move. While some women notice "quickening" as early as 16 weeks, most don't until about 18 weeks or more. If this is your first baby, don't be too anxious — you may not be aware of your baby's movements until 20 weeks or so. The earliest movements may feel like little flutters, gas bubbles, or even like popcorn popping. Over the following weeks they'll start to feel unmistakably like kicks.

How I'm doing: Things are going very well today. We had another prenatal appointment this morning with a different midwife. We're slowing meeting all of the midwives in the group since whomever happens to be on call when I go into labor will deliver our baby. We got to hear the heart beating again. It's such a wonderful, reassuring sound. It's heart was beating at 153 bpm. This is much faster than our hearts beat. Prenatally babies hearts beat fast and they still beat faster than an adult's even after they are born. Some people think that a faster heart beat throughout pregnancy indicates the baby is a girl. Our baby's heart rate would fall into that "faster" range. We'll see if that holds true pretty soon.

Our next appointment is scheduled for December 11th. This is the BIG DAY. We'll finally find out if this baby is a boy or a girl. It seems like we've been waiting forever to find out.

We had another prenatal screening test done today. This is a blood test (my blood) that looks for chromosomal abnormalities (like Downs syndrome and others). Previously I was screened for other chromosomal abnormalities through a finger stick and measurements taken at my last ultrasound. Those results were completely normal showing that our baby had a 1 in 10,000 chance of developing one of the disorders (this is very low). The doctor that reviewed the ultrasound also said that he could see that the heart was appropriately developed, the limbs all looked normal and that the bladder was filling as it should be. So this baby is a rockstar so far.

In other big news in the Horrocks clan; we all recently found out that my sister, Melody is also pregnant. She's been married to Dusty a year and half longer than Scott and I have been married. She's less than a month behind me. So these cousins will probably be really close in age. It's too bad we live so far apart (Melody and Dusty live in Corvallis, Oregon which is not too far from Portland). She kept it a secret for a long time compared to us.

Tomorrow's my 27th birthday. So I'll be a fairly young mom. It was important to both Scott and I that we started a family while we were still pretty young.

This weekend we're driving up to Davis, CA to see my family and the UC Davis football probably lose to University of San Diego (not UC San Diego or San Diego State). We're looking forward to seeing my family for the first time since I've been pregnant and seeing the new UC Davis stadium.

Ultrasound #1

So today was a great day for us. It was our 2nd prenatal appointment and our first ultrasound. We met with our midwife, Polly, again first. This time she had a midwifery student with her learning the ropes who was very pregnant herself. We went over general issues and then they brought out the doppler. The doppler is basically a wand (like an ultrasound wand) connected to a speaker. They put some gel on my abdomen and then put the doppler wand on me and looked for the heartbeat. The student was having a little trouble finding it at first but Polly thought she could hear it in the background. At this point my uterus is just starting to peak over the top of my pubic bone so it's a little tricky finding the right spot. Polly took over and found it right away. It was nice and strong and just how it should be. The baby's heart was beating in the 150s per minute; which is right on target. Polly said baby's hearts beat about 120-160 bpm.

I got cleaned up and waited for my turn at the ultrasound. We didn't have to wait long which was nice. We moved into the ultrasound room and started working with an ultrasound tech. Again, more gel and the wand. We saw the baby right away. He was laying on his back on the back of my uterus (so we were both facing forward). He was sucking his thumb (as you can see in the pictures below, the fuzzy blob near his mouth is his hand). He was quite content laying there. The technician was pushing on my abdomen trying to get him to move for a while but he was a bit stubborn. Finally he started moving a little bit so she could take the measurement of the fluid in the back of his neck (the whole reason for the ultrasound). At that point he decided he wanted to move all over the place. We saw him arch his back up several times and stretch one leg up and the other straight down. Unfortunately I can't feel any of this yet but it was neat to watch him moving all around. For the last half of the ultrasound the tech had to chase him around he was moving so much.

At that point a doctor came in to take some more measurements. She double-checked that the technician got a good neck fluid measurement, took some more measurements of the baby from crown to rump, and took a measurement of the baby's nasal bone. If the baby doesn't have a nasal bone, or its very short, this often predicts downs syndrome. Thankfully our baby has a nice little nose just as it should be.

Based on the measurements of the baby taken from crown to rump, his estimated age is 12w6d. According to my midwife (based on my last menstrual period), he is 11w6d. According to MY estimate of his age, he's 12w5d. So it looks like the due date is somewhere between April 24-30th. Since the ultrasound was after my visit with the midwife she may decide to change my due date at the next visit.

You might be wondering why I think my due date is different from the prediction my midwife made. Due dates are calculated based on the first day of your last period assuming that you ovulate on the 14th day of your cycle. This is an average across all women. As the women out there know, we're not all average. In my case, my cycles are shorter (22-24 days) and I believe I ovulate on the 11th day of my cycle. How do I know that? Ovulation can be assumed fairly accurately by taking an oral temperature each morning at the same time when you wake up. Your temperature spikes on the day of ovulation. Other signs can also point even more accurately to the day of ovulation. Many women use this method (called the Fertility Awareness Method) to get pregnant or as a means of preventing pregnancy. This is different from the rhythm method.

Ok, now for the part you've all been waiting for...




Happy Birthday Grandma Sue!

First prenatal appointment

We had our first prenatal appointment this morning. We met with one of our midwives, Polli. Before getting pregnant and once we found out we were pregnant we did a lot of research on what we (but mostly I) wanted out of pregnancy and delivery. I read a lot of personal accounts but also research about the effectiveness of midwives vs. obstetricians. Basically, it comes down to the use of interventions during prenatal care and childbirth. Midwives have lower rates of all forms of interventions (cesarean sections, episiotomies, forceps deliveries, etc.). Here's an abstract from a randomized control trial in Canada where low-risk mothers were randomly assigned to be treated by a midwife or an OB/GYN or family doctor. A retrospective study in the US also shows that women under the care of a midwife receive fewer c/s. Women who see midwives are also more satisfied with the care the receive and with their delivery experience as shown in this article. Midwife-assisted births were also studied here in Southern CA with positive results in a longitudinal study of LA County and USC's midwifery program. Although, I've anecdotally heard that UCLA's midwives are much better than USC's. After taking all of this into account we decided a midwife was a better fit for us.

So we're using the UCLA midwife group. I think it's a bit unusual how it's set up but the midwife group sees patients as apart of a midwife-OB/GYN practice. There are 5 midwives and 5 OBs. I'll see all of the midwives over the course of my prenatal care and then whichever midwife is on call when I go into labor will deliver our baby. The midwife we met with today (Polli) told us that they all have different personalities but they really follow the midwifery vision which is that this is a partnership between us and the midwife and we make the decisions together. They are minimally invasive but use technology and interventions when necessary.

So here's the run-down of what happened at the visit:
-Filled out my medical history.
-Met with a nurse to get blood pressure taken, pee in a cup and given a pregnancy book and packet of information.
-Met with Polli for about 20 minutes to go over medical history, determine the due date, explain procedures & prenatal screening/testing and have our questions answered.
-Physical exam (breast exam, overall wellbeing, internal check & swab).
-TB test
-Blood work and another urine test.

Polli gave me a due date of 4/30. So I'm going to say my due date is between 4/25-4/30.

Prenatal testing

We are low-risk since we're both young and healthy and don't have any history of birth defects in our families. Polli recommended that we have two prenatal tests. We'll do an ultrasound at 12 weeks along with blood tests and then we'll do a 2nd ultrasound at 18-22 weeks with some more blood tests. She felt, and we agreed, that these are the only tests that are necessary for low-risk pregnancies. If any of the tests show potential problems then we'll move on to more invasive tests (amniocentesis) if necessary. I'll go back on Oct 16 for the ultrasound and my next visit. After that I'll be seen once a month until close to the end of pregnancy. Polli explained to us the fears some people have about ultrasounds and why this particular one is safer.

Other notables

I will give birth in UCLA Medical Center just like any other delivery with an OB/Gyn. UCLA was recently ranked the #3 hospital in the country by US News and World Report and the #1 hospital in the West. We're confident that we are getting the best care possible especially in the case of an emergency. Their c/s rate is 12%. 50% of their patients do not have epidurals. Intermittent fetal monitoring is ok and I don't have to have an IV so I will be able to move freely during labor. I'm free to eat and drink during labor. The baby will be given to me immediately after birth so it can have immediate skin-to-skin contact (this is probably the most important thing to me for our birth) and can nurse right away. The baby will only be taken away after it's done nursing. Babies room-in with moms, they don't even have a standard separate nursery for babies. I can have an early check-out if I want.

Recommendations
-Start taking an omega-3 supplement. An over-the-counter medication called "Expectalipil" was recommended which is derived from seaweed instead of fish.
-Exercise. Recommended walking, swimming and prenatal yoga.
-Weight gain should be between 25-35 lbs. She reminded me that the less I gain the less I'll have to lose later.
-Call right away with any bleeding, since my blood type is O- and Scott is A+ our baby could have a different Rh factor than I do. I'll need shots at a couple points during pregnancy/delivery but if there's any bleeding during the pregnancy I might need a mini-shot.

That's about it. We will return on October 16th (my mom's birthday) to see the baby for the first time and to meet with the midwife again.