Hospital Visit #1 for the Week

Today Rock and I went to my nonstress test and amniotic fluid index test.  All tests came back fine and she fell "exactly in the middle of normal" for all the results!  This is such a relief to me because of course I was worried that with an aging placenta that she wouldn't be getting enough oxygen.  The ultrasound technician assured me that my level of placental calcification was actually pretty normal for a pregnant lady at this stage, it is just that unless there is a problem (like how they wanted to check Abby's growth because she was measuring 34 cm at 38 weeks), they wouldn't ever find out the extent of the calcification until the placenta was birthed because late-pregnancy scans aren't the norm.  Again, this was wonderful for me to hear!

During the nonstress test my little stubborn daughter, who otherwise kicks me all day long, decided that she'd sleep...the WHOLE time!  Nothing woke her up that would normally get her going.  I tried poking her foot which usually elicits at least a kick back; I tried jiggling her head; I tired calling to her and talking loudly; and I finally I tried sitting up and switching positions.  And...nothing.  Her little heartbeat stayed at a regular 140 beats per minute as she snoozed, blissfully unaware of anything around her.  The nurse said they had to see her awake because they want to make sure that her heart rate goes up when she is active, much like ours does if we go from a seated position to standing up.  Since nothing else worked, the nurse got out a buzzer that sounded like an annoying, vibrating alarm clock, and got it as close to Abby's head as possible and set it off.  It was so cute because Abby instantaneously jumped when the buzzer sounded and kicked around afterwards for a while.  Her heart rate went up to 180 and she was clearly upset for about 2 minutes at which point she must have been satisfied again because she went back to sleep.  She woke up two other times during the test and one of them was in response to Rock's voice.  You could hear her little heartbeat rise as her daddy talked to her!  It was so sweet!  And then she woke up one other time on her own, just to kick around for a bit and then went back to sleep.  The nurse was satisfied with her bouts of energy because they all showed her heart rate increased to the 180 bpm range and then went back down to a resting 140 bpm range.

Then it was off for the amniotic fluid index test (AFI) where they use ultrasound to measure the amount of amniotic fluid around the baby.  One of the first signs that a placenta isn't working properly is a decrease in amniotic fluid, so they want to make sure that everything checks out.  Again, the fluid around Abby in the womb checked out as completely normal and we even got to see her suck the back of her hand, stick out her tongue and swallow a big mouthful of "water" (...research what is in amniotic fluid if you dare...) in the 2D ultrasound.  The tech took a couple 3D images of her face, too, but really only one came out because in the other images Abby moved (of course!  LOL!) at the last second and the image got blurred.  In the image I'll post below you can't see her eyes or forehead because they are tucked snugly into my pelvis (her face is actually pressed up against the uterine wall, but we can just see the features because the scan goes through them), but you can make out her nose, cheeks, lips and chin.  Remember how last week they told me she is 7 lbs (ha!)?  Well I told the tech that (along with my severe doubt at the accuracy of said estimate) and she said "well if she is a 7 lb baby, at least 1 lb is in her CHEEKS!"  LOL!  She definitely has some chunky monkey cheeks and I can't WAIT to kiss them!

Rock's mom scanned me some pictures of Rock right after he was born and one of the pictures looked strangely familiar...

Please tell me that you can see the resemblance!  The same mouth, nose, double chin, and chubby CHUBBY cheeks!!!  They even seem to have the same expression!  When Rock and I saw how similar they looked we just giggled!  It'll be interesting to see if she still looks like him when she comes out, too!

As for my infant pictures, I look like a grumpy old man with a receding hairline!  I was pretty skinny and long, too, so "noodle-y" is an adjective that comes to mind.  Here is a picture of me sleeping with my tongue out:

My mom said I did in fact have hair, it was just so light blonde and fine that it's hard to tell in the pictures.  So it's anyone's guess what Abby will have.  I definitely think she'll have some hair, but not a wild amount.  

I have my OB appointment for 39 weeks tomorrow and will be sure to tell you if there is any progress in the dilation/effacement/softening department.  If Abby doesn't come on her own before this weekend, we are scheduled for induction THIS Sunday evening!  That means we'll have an Abigail Stevens by Monday!  YAY!!! :)