No Stress (Week 35)

My 35th week has been extremely hectic.  I've met my new boss at work and she has been trying to spend as much time with me as possible. I don't blame her.  She just started and she needs to learn as much as she can about the business--every aspect of it, and I am going on maternity leave in a few weeks.

This week has been all about meetings, conference calls and one-on-ones that when I'm at work, I'd almost totally forget that I'm near-full-term pregnant until such time that I need to get up from my seat and I feel my back hurt and my bladder getting squeezed.  Then I'd run to the ladies room!  On most days, I couldn't even eat my lunch on time.

Luckily, I have to see my doctor every week now and when it's time to make that visit, I am reminded of the reality that I have to take care of myself and be conscious of this very valuable bundle that I carry with me.

My doctor ordered one more test called Antepartum Testing, which I have to do twice a week.  This test takes about 45 minutes and it involves a brief ultrasound to observe the baby and measure the fluid around him.  Then it's followed by a Non-Stress Test or NST where two monitor pieces are attached to my belly--one is used to listen to the baby's heartbeat and graph his heart rate and the other to detect contractions.  The NST takes about 20-30 minutes and the whole time I'm just listening to my baby's heartbeat.

It's a lot of trips to the doctor's but I can't complain.  I love the sight of my baby's silhouette in that monitor and the sound of his heartbeat is music to my ears.  It also makes me feel better getting this kind of attention and care from my doctors, especially as I get closer and closer to the big day!

I also had a full-blown ultrasound today, and below is a short clip showing my baby's little heart beating (see between the two yellow broken lines). Unfortunately, I couldn't get the sounds to work. If you look closer, you'll actually see a silhouette of my baby and his ribcage.