1% Baby

Yes, he still hasn’t been born yet!

Yesterday we went to two doctors - the usual OB/GYN and then to the super-ultrasound doctor. First at our usual doctor’s office we were officially told that he’s “dropped” some. Then she checked me out and, yes, finally, some dilation! Only a fingertip’s worth - but after three weeks of hearing “you’re thinning out” and nothing else, I was thrilled to hear about more progress. Phew!

Then we went to the super ultrasound doctor where she did a new ultrasound to measure the amniotic fluid levels (if they are low they can justify inducing.. but, of course, my levels are at around 15 which is perfectly normal and healthy for baby). She also checked his heart and the rest of him and found that he is still totally happy and healthy. Apparently I make a good home! She took some measurements and estimates that he is about 7lbs 9oz now. That’s also good news since I was nervous about having a big 9-10 pound monster baby. As long as they don’t let him continue to bake for 2 more weeks, he’ll be born under 9 lbs - at a nice, normal, average baby size. Phew! The doctor also says he has a lot of long hair on him - which she could see on the ultrasound. Pretty cool - he’s just like Daddy, as I predicted. We are just curious if it will be light or dark hair when he’s born. (He’ll lose all this birth hair anyway but it’s fun  to wonder.)

Then she did the fetal heart rate monitoring for a while. He fell asleep while we were being monitored so we had to wake him up so she could get the measurements she needed. She also did the contraction monitoring but didn’t really say much about what, if any, contractions I might be having. All I know is that the contraction monitor was flying all over the place - from 10 to 100. It looked crazy, but since I’m sitting here a day later still pregnant, I guess it wasn’t anything to get excited about.

And, yes, finally, she did give us a new profile picture of our little guy. Not sure if you can make him out but it’s pretty similar to the profile picture from 20 weeks - only blurrier and he’s a lot bigger. Center of the screen is his nose, under are his lips and you can see his little eye socket. That should be his left side. 

Can’t wait to see him in real life -  if that ever happens!

Today is officially our baby’s due date. I kept hoping maybe he was dedicated to punctuality and planning to wait to be born on his exact due date - something that only happens in 5% of births. Alas, it is 7:39pm and so far, no baby.

As I’m sitting around watching Dodgers games and reading books and craving ice cream, I look out the window and see the full moon rising in the sky. Well, the almost-full moon. This makes me wonder: is there a connection between when babies are born and the fullness of the moon?

So I turn to the Internet to find out. Of course, it’s the Internet so there’s no truth to be found. Just a handful of believers and a handful of naysayers. Since I am in that frustrating part of pregnancy when you pretty much want to put your faith into anything that helps you cope with the waiting, I’m giving more credit to the believers than I probably should.

So, is there any relationship between the times when babies are born and the lunar cycle?

According to a few sites, the rumor is that hospitals do “staff up” on full moons. Some claim more women experience more Braxton-Hicks contractions on full moon days (those are the fake, precursor contractions that don’t actually lead to real labor). Other sites say that the moon affects the gravitational pull on the amniotic fluid and can lead to more water-breaks-before-labor than on other days. All very interesting!

Today is not technically a full-moon day. The full moon is actually due on Monday, September 15. That is also the day when I go in to the doctor next. Perhaps that means we should put extra bets into Lennon’s birth day baby pool for then.

Fun to think about. I’ll take any help I can help - lunar or otherwise.

Off to Cold Stone Creamery. Gotta live up the daily ice cream indulgence while I still can.

Here we are, one week away from baby’s due date. So far, nothing to report. I was all kinds of optimistic about baby coming the first week of September, but I guess he pays no heed to my optimism. Instead we remain firmly and largely pregnant.

The fun of the last week or so is focused on all the wild rumors of tricks for inducing labor. The most popular recommendation seems to be to eat spicy food and have sex. If you’ve ever been a 39 weeks pregnant lady, you know full well that the last two things on your mind are sex and spicy food. Mixing spicy food with my heart-burn and indigestion would most definitely induce something to be forced out, but a baby probably is not that thing. As for sex, well, as I’ve said before.. It’s quite hard to give anyone a convincing “come hither” look as you waddle around with an extra 40 lbs on your body, most of which is centered around a huge watermelon baby-belly. Nevertheless, I’ll admit that Rick took one for the team and gave it a whirl, but so far, no positive results.

The next trick we’re on to trying is the Labor Inducing Salad from the infamous Caioti Pizza Cafe in Studio City. Rick’s sister first mentioned it to me and now Jamie says she’ll pick one up for me this weekend to give it a try. Apparently the magic ingredient is balsamic vinegar. I’ve heard about that separately and have been enjoying mixing balsamic with fresh mozzarella since last week. Again, so far, no results. Who knows though.. I read a review that says someone from Good Day LA went there to try it while she was pregnant and she went into labor the next day.

Next on the list: foot massage. More gossip claims there’s a pressure point on a woman’s foot that can induce labor. Sounds interesting to me. I need a pedicure anyway, so it’s worth a try.

Any other ideas folks? Suggestions?

Oh yeah, and another fast fact: Only 5% of babies are born on their actual due date. Since we all know we’re dealing with the 1% baby already, we wouldn’t put it past him to tack on an additional against-all-odds bit to his record. If that happens, we’ll definitely have to take him to Vegas and bet it all on double-zeros on roulette!

Just set this up for my coworkers and anyone else who wants to play…

http://lennon.babypool.com

No monetary prizes.. Just bragging rights!