Sorry y’all…the picture this week is pretty fuzzy, but I am just too tired to take another one, lol!

Overall, I’m in pretty good spirits this week. We went to the doctor, and got to hear the baby’s heartbeat, which was awesome, and definitely calmed me down. It ranged from 150-158, and my parents have cast their vote for Team Boy after hearing that. I think I remember my mom saying that’s about what my brother’s heartbeat was, but we’ll fins out for sure (hopefully!) on Sept. 1st. I also discovered that I can continue sleeping on my back, and that I picked up poison ivy while camping. I told the nurse that it’s hard for me not to have symptoms, but also not to be feeling the baby. She told me to call anytime I’m feeling anxious or nervous, and she’ll do a quick check for the heartbeat with the doppler. I about kissed her.

I did forget to ask the doctor about round ligament pain, which I think I’m starting to have a bit of. I tend to get a sharp pain on my right side, about 4 or 5 inches diagonally down from my belly button. The pain only last for a few seconds, and mostly happens when I get up quickly from sitting down. If it’s not that, my scar tissue from my appendectomy is also on my right side, so I’m sure it’s one or the other. I figure that pain that only lasts a few seconds probably isn’t anything to be too worried about, right?

In terms of weight gain, I can’t remember where I started–before pregnancy, I always varied between about 5 pounds. I’m still within the top end of those 5 pounds with a full bladder, so I think I’m doing pretty good here, even though the “baby body blahs” are starting to settle in a little bit and I feel huge already.

The baby is now about the size of an onion, and its skeleton is turning from cartilage to bone (which means I’m supposed to be drinking my milk). Some people believe that the baby can now hear what’s going on outside the womb, so they recommend talking to the belly, reading to it, or playing music. The doctor told me to be prepared to “pop”, because my uterus is apparently just about ready to push completely over the pubic bone. You mean to tell me that I haven’t popped already?! Seriously though, the doctor said that my fundal height was measuring a little low, but he didn’t seem concerned about it at all. I’ve heard that if you’re tall, which I definitely am, fundal heights can be off anyway.

Justin has already taken to calling me “Kanga”, of Winnie The Poo fame, because he says that I look like Kanga did with Roo in her pouch. I guess it’s better than the lady at church who has already started calling me “Little Fattie”!

Recent research review suggests that infants born with low birth weight are eventually more prone to develop kidney disease in their adulthood. Many studies found link between low birth weight and life threatening health problems like high blood pressure, kidney disease and possibly diabetes.

One theory suggests that restricted fetal growth during gestational period, whether it is due to lack of good nutrition and due to any other factor, can make certain organs in our body to become more vulnerable to diseases.

Some researchers speculate that low-birth-weight infants — those weighing less than 5.5 pounds at birth — may become susceptible to kidney disease as adults because they have fewer and smaller kidney structures called nephrons.

Normally, each kidney has roughly one million nephrons, which are the basic filtering units of the kidneys, extracting waste from the blood and producing urine.

The birth of your baby will be a wonderful and exciting event.

You may have specific desires for how the birth of your baby will be handled.

You will communicate these desires by using a birth plan. Although you should begin thinking about your desires early in your pregnancy and discussing them with your health care provider, you should begin to put something down in writing around the beginning of your eighth month of pregnancy.

There are two things you should always keep in mind when it comes to birth plans. The first is that birth seldom goes according to plan.

While you should anticipate things that might happen and think about how you would like them handled, e.g. would you want spinal or epidural anesthesia for a Cesarean section, you cannot anticipate every eventuality.

Birth is a natural process, but there are sometimes medical issues which arise and must be addressed. Your care providers will do all they can to help you have the birth experience you hope for.

However, this brings us to the other thing you must remember, your health and the health of your baby are what matters most. If your original plans conflict with what is necessary to keep you and your baby safe and healthy, then health and safety must triumph.

Keeping those things in mind, what kinds of things might you want to include in your birthing plan? First consider who will be present in the room.

Do you want only your partner and doula? Or do you want other friends or family members to be present if possible?

How will you manage pain? Some women opt for an epidural injection. Others opt for a non-medicated birth, and prefer that their care providers not bring up pain medication unless they are specifically asked for it.

How active do you want to be during labor? Staying active will help your labor progress and help your baby move into the proper position for birth.

Do you want to walk in the hall ways, or would you prefer to stay in your room? If you plan to leave your room, you need to find out what kind of monitoring will be required; for example, is remote telemetry monitoring available? If you want a birthing ball to labor on, will you need to bring your own? Can you take a shower or labor in the bathtub? These are all things to consider.

These are just a few considerations to get you started on the task of developing your birth plan. Spend some time thinking and talking with your partner about the birth experience.

And keep our two most important points in mind: be flexible, and remember that a safe and healthy delivery is everyone’s goal.