36 weeks!

I am 36 weeks along. I started my weekly prenatal visits today. I started my day with a quick ultrasound to check baby's weight. He didn't gain much since last time and came in at about 5 lbs and 9 oz. So that eased my gigantic baby worries a bit. Maybe he will hit a very respectable 7 ish lbs after all. Dr. Sankiat said everything looked really good and that if I were to go into labor now, he wouldn't do anything to stop it. Next, I was sent to Labor and Delivery to have a NST which is a non-stress test. This test is conducted for 30 minutes and measures heart rate with movement. When the baby moves you push a button. With each movement you should see a rise in heart rate. This indicates that the baby is not experiencing any stress. Our baby passed with flying colors. The NST also records any contractions that you may be having and makes a graph. I had a few Braxton Hicks (prelabor contractions) but they weren't all that strong. Being in Labor and Delivery gave me a flood of memories and some butterflies too. Both Gracyn and Aidan were born at this hospital and with Dr. Sankiat attending. All the memories of their births came back and I felt overwhelmed. It was the sights, smells, sounds and the brigade of Thai midwives swirling around me that did it. I had the " I don't think I can do this again" moment. Oh, I know it'll be fine and once you are in labor you don't have tons of time to indulge your fears as you are just trying to cope with what is happening at that moment. But, the flashbacks were really taking me back and causing me to remember that labor is difficult and it is work! The midwives were all trying to assure me that this being my 3rd child would make my labor a piece of cake. They were telling me I wouldn't need any pain relief and it would be "ngai ngai" (easy). I'll be the judge of that thank you. I will have this test weekly until the baby is born. Maybe going each week will help prepare me for the impending situation upon me. Thankfully there were not any screaming women in Labor and Delivery today! :) I know in the end when our baby is placed in our hands that I will be proud of my birth experience and overjoyed to have the baby with us. It really is a wonderful gift and the culmination of a rough 6 months. I just need to face my fears right now and pysche myself up for the inevitable. We've gone through a lot and this is just our final hurdle and the trophy is waiting! After, all this I still had to have blood drawn and then I got to treat myself to a bagel and pink lemonade at Au Bon Pain bakery in the hospital. That soothed me. Will I make it to get a bagel next week? Stay tuned!