Midwife appointment this afternoon was at 3 p.m., smack dab in the middle of Spencer's naptime. Nothing we could do, as it was the only available appointment, but boy, did we have a crabby kid on our hands tonight. During our now-regular 40-minute walk after dinner, he actually asked Gary to pick him up and carry him for the last block, he was so tired.
The appointment went fine, though I wanted to smack the nurse when she said, "What happened? Wasn't yesterday supposed to be the day?" Doesn't she see enough women going past their EDDs to know that it happens all the time, and dontcha think she would have learned by now that most women probably are not in the mood to hear comments like that? Blah.
The baby's heartbeat was great. Ginger had been sleeping like she usually does in the afternoon, but she woke up in the car on the way to the office, I think because of the loud music I was playing. She was movin' and groovin' all over the place when Mary tried to use the Doppler. [Cute anecdote: lately Spencer's been taking various toys, like a small flashlight, and placing them on my belly while making "whoosh" heartbeat noises. Future midwife?] I'm measuring 38 weeks, Mary said the baby is lower than ever, my blood pressure was good . . . and I gained SIX pounds. Six pounds in one week! Geez. I did have five Klondike bars over a period of nine days, but still. So much for gaining less than I did the last time.
After much discussion between Mary, Gary, and myself, I decided to have an internal exam. It was more for my mental health than anything else; I've been in such a low place lately that I figured even the tiniest bit of progress would give me some hope that yes, the baby is eventually going to come out. It had been three weeks since the surprise exam when Mary said my cervix was very soft, and she said she would bet good money that I'd made some progress. So she checked, and I had. Two centimeters dilated, 80% effaced. Which doesn't tell me anything about when the baby will come, but it makes me feel better that there's something going on down there. Maybe all this walking isn't for nothing.
Mary said that she thinks the baby will come by September 7th. I'm not sure where she gets that date, I guess she's basing it on twenty years of midwifery? We did have to schedule an ultrasound, non-stress test, and regular appointment for next Thursday, the ninth, hoping of course that we'll have to cancel it. I'm really really hoping it doesn't get that far and that Ginger decides that maybe this weekend or early next week would be an excellent time to make her appearance. Mom and Carrie will both be here this weekend for the holiday, so that'd be a huge weight off our minds in the Spencer-care department.