Doctor's visit: 9/3/09

I had yet another appointment with my midwife today. This was for my monthly checkup and to have blood taken for yet another test. This one is called the alpha-fetoprotein test. AFP is a substance made in the liver of an unborn baby. The amount of AFP in the blood of a pregnant woman can help see whether the baby may have such problems as spina bifida and anencephaly. An AFP test can also be done as part of a screening test to find other chromosomal problems, such as Down syndrome (trisomy 21) or Edwards syndrome (trisomy 18). An AFP test can help find an omphalocele, a congenital problem in which some of the baby's intestines stick out through the belly wall.
Well, that sounds lovely......so, I'm confident that the results will be nothing that we have to worry about.
Lonnie (my midwife) also checked the baby's heartbeat with a sonogram device to make sure everything was ok. She said the baby's heartbeat was at 144 bpm, which is good. She then went on to feel around my tummy. It's amazing that she can tell that my uterus and baby is a good size for as many weeks that I am right now (which is 18). She went on to say that I "have a big baby".......hmmmm, is that good or bad? Not the words I really wanted to hear! Ha! I kind of looked at her questioningly and asked just that. She said that it was a healthy baby and a good size. Ok, healthy I'll take! I've also gained about 12 lbs at this point (mostly belly), which led me to ask if that was average. She said yes, but it all just started to get my brain going.....
The comment "big baby" started me thinking, of course, more about my mom's birth with me. Now granted, I was three weeks late, but I came out at 10 lbs! Yeesh! But mom said that she did not get nauseous, like many pregger women do (which I did a little, but very little in comparison to many others). But she said that she gained about 50 lbs! I'm hoping to top out at 30! On the other hand.....mom had a very fast labor and did this all naturally, no drugs. So, as I make plans to hit the gym later (hee hee!), let's all cross our fingers for a quicker labor, an average size healthy baby, and reasonable weight gain!

Love
Aim