We went for an ultrasound appointment this past Thursday, and I got to see my little bean for the first time! The clinic was an interesting experience- we went to a place that has extremely decent rates for paying out of pocket (we don’t have insurance), an outreach clinic for a rural (and apparently largely Amish) area. I was intrigued, because I had never seen an Amish person until I moved to Missouri, and even then only at the Farmer’s Markets and occasionally at Walmart.
On the way there, we saw two buggies clop-clopping down the road (boy do they go quite quickly along!) and the clinic even had a barn area behind the building. When James and I went inside, we were the only non-Amish people in the waiting room. I felt kind of weird when I pulled my phone out to text Hannah to make sure she was doing OK with the kids, but I found it interesting to see how the mother with a newborn expertly bundled up her baby for the cold drive home. In just seconds, she had used three blankets, intricately folded, the outer one had a big flap that she pulled down over the baby’s face.
Finally, it was our turn to go in- and I have to say, this was yet another reason to LOVE having a midwife! She was there with us for the ultrasound, and with her, a nurse, the tech, James and I in that little room it was quite full… We laughed and chatted through it- honestly it felt more like a social visit than a clinical appointment! I told them that I didn’t want to find out the baby’s sex and the tech made sure to be careful not to reveal that to me.
According to the scan: (And I realize that these are just estimates with a margin for error) The baby is three pounds four ounces. Measuring 30 weeks (supposed to be 28) heart 153. Everything they could see looks good. Anterior placenta (I was right!) A bit low but not covering cervix.
That part wasn’t so fun- I had to have a transvaginal ultrasound to make sure the placenta was not covering my cervix, and that is quite awkward at the best of times, never mind in the above-mentioned tiny room filled with people! My midwife and I are thinking the baby might come a little early- she is guessing the last week of April. Since there is a full moon that week (She was surprised I had looked ahead to that, LoL) it is quite possible she may be right!
On my “to do” list for this month:
Finish a stack of paintings.
Ship out as many of my homebirth fund perks as I can.
For next month:
Finish/ship out the last of the perks.
Find someone local to do placenta encapsulation.
Find an AP friendly family doctor or pediatrician.
Get my supplies together for the birth- kit, pool, etc.
Find a carseat we like.
Sort out for sure who wants to be my support for the birth.
Get my cradle fixed and refinished.
Make sure we have essentials for the baby (I’m going very minimal- just tiny shirts, prefolds and blankets, cloth wipes, a nosefrida, etc).
I think that is it…… Not too bad since we still (maybe) have ten weeks!
Yay! So happy for you!
Good luck with the to do list. A very reasonable amount and love how minimalist you’ve gone with baby gear.
Awesome sounds like a great visit and you are doing well.
Amanda Jillian´s last post… Getting Crafty With Valentines Leftovers