Week 36 appointment

Yesterday marked "week 36" and to commemorate the occasion, I had a prenatal/OB appointment at the National Naval Medical Center.

I was pleasantly surprised when the doctor rolled in an ultrasound machine. I've been wanting to have another ultrasound since week 22, if nothing else but to "confirm" that we're having a girl. In this case, its purpose was to check for Sabrina's position in the womb. It was clear that she is head-down, which I sort of suspected because I feel her kicks up high under my rib cage these days. All good news, because we can try for a vaginal delivery versus a C-section. We may still end up with a C-section, of course, but for various other reasons according to the doctor.

Sabrina's hear rate was in the 130s and my belly measured at the upper end of the normal range for this stage of the game.

I also received a special parking permit that allows for parking in a reserved obstetrics section of the NNMC parking garage. For those who have never had the pleasure, parking can be hard to come by if you're there anytime after 8 a.m. This will also help us avoid any delays when the big day arrives.

It's hard for me to believe that July is finally here. When we got the call about the positive pregnancy test back in mid-November, July 29th seemed like it was a lifetime away, yet here we are, so close to the finish line. We're super-excited and somewhat nervous about the unknowns. Gene and I are both planner-types but at some level we recognize that a birth is something only mother nature controls (unless medical intervention steps in with a scheduled induction!).