37 Weeks

   I had a check-up on Wednesday and everything looks good. My BP was a little high, but they rechecked it at the end and it was back to a normal range (116/84). I was probably just antsy from having to wait so long. The office has always been good about taking me on time, or even 5 minutes early, but they were running 45 minutes behind. May I add how annoying it is when people treat a shared public space, such as a waiting room, like their own personal playground?! The lady beside had her feet run over by a 6 y.o. pushing her older brother in a stroller, and at any moment I could have been shot with a Nerf gun by the precious child beside me. I'm really looking forward to the pediatrician's waiting room. Anyways, the baby's heart beat is still strong and I am measuring right on track at 36cm. I was tested for strep B which is a normal procedure at this stage of pregnancy. Then I had blood drawn to recheck my B-12 levels to see if the injections helped a few weeks ago. I go back on Tuesday, but I will be seeing a different doctor. My doctor is getting married, so she will be out of town for my next two visits. She'll be back on the 22nd, and hopefully I will still be in tact. I really hope she will be here for the delivery, but when the time comes I'm not sure how much I'll care. My parents will be here on the 23rd, so I'm just hoping to make it until then. I feel pretty good. My legs get tired easily, and sleeping is not the joy it used to be. I wake up at least 4-5 times to change positions. I check the clock and think "Yes! I made it 2 solid hours without waking up." Is it sad that I look forward to 5 am because the infomercials end and "real" TV resumes? 

   I found another great bargain this week. I've been drooling over some zebra wood lamps at West Elm for a couple of months, but there was no way I was going to pay full price for them. They are on sale for 50% off, so I snatched them up and they arrived on Wednesday. I think they look great in our living room and add a nice contrast to the dark furniture. 

   I'm sad that softball isn't on TV anymore. I was really pulling for Florida to win for the SEC, but I have nothing against Washington. I read an interesting article this week about childbirth practices in other cultures. Here are some fun facts, or you can read the whole thing through the link. In the Netherlands a nurse goes home with the family for a week. She provides medical care, cooks, and cleans. In Germany, women are forbidden to return to work sooner than 8 weeks after birth and receive pay the whole time. They can take up to three years off without pay and either parent can use the 3rd year. The government keeps a list of acceptable names and if parents pick one that's not on the list they must convince the government to let them choose it. In Japan, fathers can be in the delivery room only if they have taken prenatal classes with the mother. So there's your geography lesson for the day. 

   Sunday we went out to breakfast and ran a couple of errands. Then we practiced installing the car seat and base. I've seen too many episodes of "A Baby Story" where the parents spend 45 minutes to an hour in the parking lot of the hospital trying to install the car seat when it's time to go home. Ryan figured it out in about 5 minutes without the instructions. He's a handy guy to have around. We finally got a grill. The little one we had didn't survive the move last summer. We grilled burgers with a Fuddrucker's copycat seasoning recipe Ryan found online. It was pretty good, but not as good as the restaurant. Anyways, there's not a lot on my agenda this week except my appointment and trying to finish my "to do" list. I'll update tomorrow if anything exciting happens at my check-up.