33-Week Appointment

The first shot is our baby's profile. You can see his adorable nose, and he has his fists right up by his mouth.

The second photo is sideways in order for you to more easily see his face straight on. The whitest portion is his nose, and you should be able to figure out the rest of it. ^^

I don't know how far I will get with this entry since I am still fighting off a cold (that I caught Saturday), but I will try to get as many details in as I can.

Baby is looking wonderful. The tech confirmed that he is head's down, which is of course fantastic to hear. He was facing my back, so she had a difficult time getting a profile shot. She shook my belly up and down quite a bit to get him to move, but it was only mildly successful. He just could not be bothered for photo ops at that time.

After she had taken most of her measurements, she told me to go drink more water to get my bladder a bit fuller. I was actually confused when she was talking to me (in Korean) because last time, I was told to go to the bathroom to get him to stop moving around so much (my last level II, that is), and now she was telling me to fill it up more when I was already looking forward to being able to go to the bathroom instead of holding it all in! I thus went out of the room, chugged down one whole water bottle and just paced a bit to make it go down.

After a bit, I went back in, she shook my belly with the wand a few times, as I mentioned, and we got to have more of his features explained to us. He kept his fists clenched boxer-style the whole time. What I am most excited about is that she pointed out a tuft of hair! It looks like he might just end up with a full head of hair. Either way is, of course, perfectly fine, but it's exciting to imagine his adorable little mane.

We finished up there and went down to go see our doctor. I was so happy to finally be able to use the restroom, let me tell you. It was hilarious, though, because he contorted my belly into just the weirdest shape imagineable at that time. It looked like I really had a HUGE peanut stuck inside of me. Of course, it was only hilarious to me, as I was the only one who saw it.

My Stats
Blood Pressure: 112/66
Heart Rate: 77bpm
Weight: 73.15kg (160.93 lbs)

Can you believe that means I've put on 15.2kg (33.44 lbs)? It's all in two places--baby and thighs. I look at that number and am just amazed because it hardly seems like that much to me. Anyway, my amniotic fluid levels are measuring just fine, and the placenta also looks good.

Baby, by the way, measured at 2.1kg (4.62 lbs). Our doctor said average for this time is about 2.0kg (4.4 lbs), so he is just perfect.

Back to visiting the doctor, she had noticed right away that I was looking unwell. She asked about how I liked the Sophrology class and mentioned that she, too, was excited to see how our delivery goes and see our baby, that she really believes I can do a great job. She has been so kind to us. We are so blessed to have found her!

Setting Blood Aside
I'm sure there is a better term for this, but my brain is totally gone.

Hee Suk remembered to ask about what we should do to make sure that we have blood available for me in case of an emergency. (I am O- in a country where less than 1% of the population is Rh- in general.) We talked about it, and we all decided that we felt most comfortable setting two bags of my own blood aside to use just in case. At two different upcoming appointments, they will check my iron levels to be sure they are high enough, and if everything looks good, I will give one bag at each of those appointments.

Donating blood in general actually scares me a bit. I just get nervous about how I will feel afterwards. I know many people get very woozy, and some even throw up. Hopefully, I won't have to go through that. Any positive stories about donating experiences would be well-appreciated. It's funny that giving blood worries me more than childbirth.

Other than that, Hee Suk was very cuddly with baby after the appointment. He was just so proud of him and so incredibly happy to hear how well everything is going. I think that maybe in the back of his mind, he had a few unspoken worries. He even reconfirmed a few times with the doctor that my fluid levels and positioning were all okay. He's so cute.

I had a whole bunch of details that I had wanted to include, but nothing is coming to mind right now. I will be sure to write them down when they come to mind next time.

Thank You, my Lord, for blessing us with such a great support group and for leading the way through this whole experience. Without You, I don't know if I could handle it. Thank You for the peace You gave me before the appointment, for being there for me to just give all of my worries and fears into Your hands.