Thirty-Two Weeks

Another month has flown by! At my last appointment, my doctor was concerned that I had actually lost weight and said if I didn't gain by the next visit we'd have to do another ultrasound. I've gained ten pounds so far, which is really not worrying me at all. I'm not exactly thin to begin with and by my third pregnancy, I think a pattern has been established - I don't gain the average amount but my babies are perfectly average sized. Even a month early, Claire weighed six pounds and Maggie was just over eight, despite the misdiagnosis of IUGR. 

I'd rather avoid another ultrasound if possible because that's what got us into the whole IUGR mess with my previous pregnancy. I've been eating healthily and having a snack of hot chocolate with shortbread every night, so I've been doing my part. I wore a dress and leggings to my last appointment. On Monday I'll wear my heaviest clothing just to be on the safe side - pants, shirt, cardigan, scarf, maybe two pairs of socks...

We interviewed three doulas last week - two recommended from friends and one we met at the VBAC class we attended back in September. They all seemed really nice and had lots of experience with VBACs. We went with the one we met at the class because we felt the most comfortable with her. Everyone we know who's worked with a doula had nothing but good things to say and you can use your HSA to pay the fee, so we figured it was worth a shot. 

I also saw an acupuncturist and chiropractor and started going to prenatal yoga last week. My doctor is the one who recommended acupuncture. Apparently studies show it helps induce labor and women who've done it have shorter labors? Basically, the acupuncturist sticks tiny needles in you (mostly in your ears and feet) and then has you lay on her comfy table (her office looks like a treatment room at a spa) and nap for twenty minutes. I'm a member of the Seattle chapter of ICAN and practically everyone who's had a successful VBAC recommended a chiropractor and yoga. The chiropractor really just seems to pop your back, but yoga has been very enjoyable. Again, our health insurance covers everything, so why not? 

 In between all these appointments, we've been making progress on our "before baby" to-do list: 

We finished two big projects - a new family altar and some toy cubbies for the living room (pictures coming next week!) 

We hired a cleaning service to come once a week for January and February. We'll see what we need at that point, but we're definitely open to keeping it in some fashion through the spring and summer. 

We signed up for a hospital tour, got a newborn photo session on the books and scheduled Betsy's baptism. 

We registered Claire and Maggie for gymnastics in the spring. We'll replace Claire's Wednesday cooking class with this on Saturday mornings. We figured it would be nice to have something scheduled for Adam to take the girls to on dreary Saturdays, giving me time to take a nap or catch up on chores. We did the the same thing after Maggie was born and it worked out really well. 

We also booked Claire's birthday party at an indoor playground. We realized weekday morning parties were only $120, which is almost as much as we spent on the food and decorations for Maggie's simple party at home. We still want Claire to have a special birthday and this way we won't have to host a bunch of preschoolers in our home with a newborn. 

Of course, we've also been busy with Christmas preparations. Our house is decorated (except for the tree, which will go up on Christmas Eve), our cards are in the mail, and our presents are wrapped. 

Things are moving along! On the agenda for this weekend: cookie baking and garage decluttering.