35+4

So, we're probably coming home with a baby this time is starting to sink in. (And I don't think I'll be able to get rid of that probably that's always lingering in the back of my mind until we're putting him in his carseat.) Anyway, it's exciting and overwhelming and oy, we have so much still to do. The good part of that is that the days are flying by. The bad part of that is this "nesting" energy I've heard about is seriously lacking. I just want to sleep.

It still definitely feels very surreal. Random people keep asking me when I'm due (someone must be looking out for me because in the 5 or so times I've been asked when I'm due, no one has asked if this is our first, not this week, at least. That almost makes up for the 6 or so times I had to go over that question and my medical history in the 2 days we had our hospital stints a few weeks ago. Funny how they manage to keep track that I'm allergic to penicillin but we have to talk over that our first baby died and why every single time and with multiple people when I was admitted. Even the wheelchair lady who brought me down for the follow up biophysical asked.)

Anyway, this week was mostly uneventful with a few minor touches of excitement. On Monday we had monitoring and I was apparently having some contractions. But I wasn't feeling them so they weren't worried, though there were 2 in 20 minutes. And on Thursday I didn't have any and Luke did great again. Wednesday was my last (hopefully) high risk appointment for this pregnancy. I say "this pregnancy" because both my high risk doctor and my OB have said how much easier my "next pregnancy" will be. And I'm permanently high risk so even if everything ends up better than they could have expected, I'll still be on lovenox and low dose aspirin and have growth ultrasounds and everything. Although high risk doctor said she'll be a lot more mellow with me next time. I'm not really up for even thinking about a next pregnancy at this point, though.

Last Friday at 34.5 weeks, Luke was measuring in at 6 lbs 11 oz or 6 lbs 6 oz, depending on which u/s tech you believe.  (There was one in training who got the smaller estimate and the real tech who got the bigger estimate.) But they both have a margin of error of a pound at this point, so my guess is he was right at 6 lbs and if he's born as scheduled, he'll be right at 7.5 pounds.

Next week I see my OB on Monday. Tuesday I have the amnio (assuming that labor is not threatening and everything else looks stable), we do that around 9 am and I believe we'll know the results for his lungs by the time we leave, afternoonish. I also believe they keep me most of the day on monitors, just to be sure the baby is still doing okay. (The most serious risk for these late term amnios is that it might break my water, which wouldn't be a big deal, they'd just deliver, and it's extremely rare for even that to happen. I have read a story about a baby moving into the amnio needle and they have a little scar on their foot from it, but they do them at the baby's feet and as far from the baby as possible- plus babies usually generally instinctively stay away from needles in that situation-so it's really really unlikely and not a huge problem other than the poor baby got poked in the foot with a needle. It's scheduled for a time when Luke is pretty mellow.) Anyway, I'm told that it doesn't really hurt anymore than the lovenox injections I've put in my belly for 20+ weeks of this pregnancy, (actually they said it hurts a lot less) so I'm not that worried about that part. I am a little worried that his lungs might not be ready to go yet and then we've done the amnio for nothing because they'll just have me deliver at 37 weeks without a follow up amnio. But both of my doctors are really convinced they'll be ready especially since I had steroid shots. My high risk doctor even said she'd "bet money on it." Since she hasn't been wrong about anything this pregnancy, even when I've worried anyway and she wasn't, I mostly believe that he will be ready to come out. But I try to brace myself for the possibility that it might not turn out that way so I'm not really disappointed just in case he's not ready yet.

But, if everything goes as planned, we are down to just 4 days left until we meet Luke!