Jan. 7: Andrew and I had our first joint prenatal visit to my midwife today. Andrew thought the whole thing was really cool, and my midwife was nice about including him. They measured my belly together (33 cm from bottom to top). Andrew was excited to keep the tape measurer. They also put some jelly on my belly and used a doppler to listen to the heart beat. She was at 148 beats/minute today. Andrew was a little concerned about the noise of the doppler…it’s a loud swishing sound with lots of static instead of a quiet “ba-dum” heart beat. When my midwife stepped out, Andrew said, “That lady put peanut butter…I mean jelly on your belly. And I was nervous.”
My midwife was having a hard time confirming that the baby was head down, so she brought in an ultrasound machine. More jelly on the belly, and Andrew and I got to see “pictures” of little sister. Andrew quickly lost interest because the images look nothing like a person. She confirmed that the baby is indeed head-down, which is a really nice thing. It also means that the lump that moves around up by my ribs is her baby bottom. She spent a couple moments confirming that there was a good amount of amniotic fluid, and she took a peek at the heart and the umbilical cord. Amazing to see her heart valves pumping and the arteries in the umbilical cord!
As we left, Andrew received a sticker. Later in the day, he woke up from his nap and said, “We measured you with the measurer. Then we put jelly on you and listened to the baby’s heart beat. Then we saw a picture. And I got a sticker of a warthog!” He clearly thought it was a pretty neat experience. My next appointment is in two weeks. I’ll be 37 weeks!
Althea, Bryan, Andrew, and Sylvia