36 Week Appointment

I had a great 36 week appointment today.  The Group B Strep test that was done last week came back negative, which means that I don't have to get intravenous antibiotics prior to delivery.  That is good news in itself, but the added bonus is that it means I can labor at home longer before going to the hospital, which will hopefully increase the likelihood of an unmedicated birth. I got another internal exam, and was really happy to hear that I am at exactly the same point as I was last week.  When I was excited about this, saying that I was hoping that the baby would cook for a few more weeks, the midwife told me that most of the women she sees at this point feel exactly the opposite! :)  I am measuring at exactly 36 weeks, my blood pressure is great, weight gain is good (18 lbs total) and Pepper's heart rate was 135 BPM.

I'm still feeling good for the most part.  I've started to get really, really exhausted in the mid-afternoon/early evening, which is a little challenging since that's the time that I have to spend with Nathan and Todd, as well as the daily grind of dinner, dishes, and other miscellaneous daily demands.

Since Nathan came at 36 weeks, I was determined to get as much pre-baby stuff done as possible by the 36 week mark of this pregnancy, so that any time I had after that would be bonus time to relax and enjoy my  time with just my boys.  So Sunday was a frenzy of activity, and now the pack and play is set up in our room, items are gathered for the hospital, the infant car seat base is installed, all the essential Nathan details have been typed up and distributed to the grandparents, and numerous other odds and ends have been crossed off the list.  I still have loose ends at work that I'd like to tie up, and I would really love to clean the house from top to bottom before the baby arrives, but the essentials are in place!

My 36 week belly. 

My 36 week belly with Nathan--the last belly photo we took with him; he was born a few days later!  As you can see, I was smaller with him, and carrying him a lot higher.