Everything still looks good — fundal height is 34.5 centimeters. I’ve gained 3 pounds in the last 2 weeks, so that puts me at 25 pounds gained at 34 weeks. I was hoping 25 pounds would be my total weight gained but I guess that won’t be happening. I hear a lot of women gain more weight in their third trimester and I’m hoping I’m not one of them.

The doctor also felt around and said she could feel little ‘body parts’ (and I’m assuming she meant feet) right where I get kicked all the time — on my right side, directly under my ribs. She also confirmed that he is still head down and that his back is on the left-hand side. His heartbeat was in the 150’s and she said he was probably upset that she was poking and prodding so much. I think he was just really hungry.

I also got to ask my OBGYN questions that I probably should have asked earlier but didn’t even think about. I asked her if she thought I could make the drive from Bethesda to Frederick (~37 miles) if I started to go into labor and she said maybe, but to see if I could work from home after 37 weeks…. Did they do episiotomies? She said only if they think it’s necessary — they don’t force it on anyone and sometimes a woman will demand it because she just can’t push the baby out without the assistance…. And lastly, are they ok with drug-free/natural births? She said they’re ok but she just doesn’t want the woman to feel bad if she ‘needs’ the drugs to get through it. Then Jay told her that I was trying to do the hypnobabies thing and she seemed totally cool with it. She said she was watching something on some nightly news show (Dateline, 20/20) about hypnosis and how it really works for some people and if she’s not the one delivering our baby (she’ll be out April 22 – May 2 getting married and going on her honeymoon) she wants to know how it goes. So that helped me a little to know that my doctor wasn’t so weirded out by it. I’m a little concerned about the other OBGYN since he is an older man and may be less enthusiatic about our centuries old yet relatively ‘new’ attempt at childbirth.

On Sunday I prepared some sugar cookie dough to be baked on Monday night; I’ve been looking for a good sugar cookie recipe but have been too scared to try any that I’ve found. I finally found one that had excellent reviews so I decided to give it a try. Monday night proved to be too busy since I had to stop off at the Target in Germantown to pick up some more folding chairs (the one by us was sold out) and I didn’t get home until almost 7:30.

After the doctor’s appointment we grabbed some pizza and when we got home it was only 5pm — the perfect time to bake cookies! So I rolled them out and put icing on them — recipes for both were acquired from allrecipes.com — and let me say these cookies are awesome and even look store bought! I’ll post the recipe later but if you want it now, just do a search for Best Rolled Sugar Cookies on allrecipes.com and Sugar Cookie Icing on the same site. Yum, yum, yum.

Time for bed. Tomorrow is my Friday and then it’s time to clean, clean, clean!

From babycenter.com:

How your baby’s growing: Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is probably almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which he’ll need to regulate his body temperature once he’s born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His central nervous system is still maturing and his lungs are well developed by now. If you’ve been nervous about going into preterm labor, you’ll be happy to know that 99 percent of babies this age can survive outside the womb — and most have no major long-term problems related to prematurity.

How your life’s changing: You may be feeling a little fatigued lately, and that’s perfectly understandable. Let yourself slow down and save some energy for labor day. If you have to spend a lot of time on your feet, try wearing a maternity belt that supports your abdomen and helps redistribute some of the weight. And if you’ve been sitting or lying down for a long time, don’t jump up too quickly. Blood can pool in your feet and legs, which may cause a temporary (but rapid) drop in your blood pressure and make you feel dizzy when you get up.

Many midwives recommend massaging the perineum (the area around your vagina) to help prevent tearing during childbirth. This is a good time to start, though not everyone is comfortable with this technique and it may not help in every case.

You may notice itchy red bumps or welts on your belly (they might even spread to your thighs and buttocks). This is usually a harmless condition called pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP for short), but let your practitioner make a diagnosis to be sure. Also be sure to call her if you feel itchy all over your body, even if you don’t have a rash. It could signal a liver problem.