2003-07-09 - 1:33 p.m. - Cycle day: 32 weeks, 3 days

Okay, where were we? Oh yes, the last OB visit. As documented, everything looks good right now. We asked casually if Dr. Hippie could tell how the baby was positioned - not because we were worried about it being breech at this point, just out of curiosity and wanting to be able to figure out what parts were what - and since I was being examined in the ultrasound room and he was having trouble figuring the baby's location through palpation, he fired the u/s up and took a quick look. (I'm not a fan of the overuse of ultrasound, but I didn't think 2 minutes would hurt, especially since he wasn't trying to check size or anything.) It was nice to get that little surprise peek of the baby, although he went so fast I didn't really see much of anything other than an eyeball. Turns out the baby was head down, a position that I think it's stayed in for quite some time. Hopefully it's comfy there. The way it's facing seems to change pretty regularly, though. Sometimes I feel a lot of movement on my right side, and other times on my left. I'm guessing the big bulge that appears once in a while is baby butt, but I can't make out anything more distinct than that.

They also checked my iron, which had been a little low (32) the last time they ran it. My hematocrit was up to 34 this time, which they said was still a little low but within acceptable limits. So that's good, considering I'm not taking an extra iron supplement. I've been trying to just get more iron into my diet, which is hard considering I still haven't regained my pre-pregnancy carniverous appetite - yay for Total Raisin Bran.

In other news, both The Husband and I are taking our last big pre-baby trips this week. He gets back from Vegas today, and I leave for Los Angeles tomorrow. Somehow a large number of my friends ended up in the L.A. area, and my sister lives in San Diego, so the folks out there are throwing a baby shower for me. It should be a great time. And highly unconventional. Most of my friends are twentysomething males who have never really dealt with pregnancy close up. I think some of them are nervous that this will be some sort of bizarre female baby ritual (even though the invite makes it clear that we're just going bowling ... which has led at least three of them to ask, with deep concern, "are you allowed to do that?"). I've felt a little weird because some of them have asked me directly about presents (I guess they don't know shower protocol, or it didn't occur to them to ask one of the hosts). I maybe should have suggested that the guests be asked to bring a favorite book or movie from childhood so none of these guys have to worry about going into Babies R Pricey. It would be nice to have them each bring something that they grew up with, since I think they all grew up into very cool people.

Someone asked me yesterday how far along I am, and when I said "Eight months" I couldn't believe it (nor could she; I always get "You're so little!" when I tell people when I'm due - I know they're being nice, but I hear it as "Wow, your baby must be sickly or something."). Eight months. Man. It's finally starting to sink in that we're actually going to have a baby. Maybe this is why pregnancy lasts so long.

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