My blood pressure: 130/78
Baby’s Heart Rate: 138-143
Fundal Height: 33.5 cm

So far, so good. My blood pressure is staying right where it should be. The babies heartrate is where it should be and goes up when the midwife is poking at him to check it (this is what should happen). The fundal height is supposed to be 1 cm for each week of pregnancy so 33.5 cm at 34 weeks is right on track. I have gained 5 lbs from my last appointment. Five pounds in two weeks is a lot, but I was wearing jeans and tennis shoes this week and not lightweight shoes and a sleeveless knee length dress. Two weeks ago I had lost three pounds from the previous appointment so net gain in the last month is 2 pounds. Since I should average half a pound a week, I am right on track. I have gained 8 lbs. total, and have about 6 weeks to go. As of the last estimate, the baby will be about 7.5 to 8 lbs, so I am right on track.

I have had a bit more back pain, but the hip pain has disappeared. The physical therapy, especially time in the pool, seems to be helping. I have had some swelling in my ankles on and off, but no cankles. My hands a really swollen every morning, but once I am up and move them a bit the swelling goes away. This was not uncommon in the past with my arthritis anyway, so it is no great concern.

My midwife has said that I should start doing kick counts. For those of you unfamiliar with this, I will explain. Basically this is a technique that is now being used to monitor fetal activity levels and well being. You pick a time of day when the baby is normally active (All babies have times of day when they sleep and when they are active. Trying to do kick counts when a baby would normally be sleeping is just setting yourself up for undo panic.). The first time you feel a kick, you record the time and then count kicks until you have felt 10. If there are 10 kicks in 2 hours, the baby is moving appropriately. If there are less than 10 kicks in 2 hours, you should drink some juice, eat some food, or walk around and try again. If this does not improve the movement, you should contact your doctor/midwife. I have done these occasionally on my own and usually it take only about 15-20 minutes (sometimes less) to get 10 kicks. Also it is not necessarily a kick, but any movement which is good, because I have no idea how you would determine a kick versus a punch. So I will start doing these once or twice a day, probably after lunch and before bed. That is when he is most active.

We have a baby shower on Thursday and our lamaze class on Saturday and Sunday. I will try to post something about both of those events next week.