It is NOW??

It suddenly feels so real... Bags packed, ready to go!

Car seat from the granny!

We have been blessed by another freebie from the granny (Z's mum).

Just got the seat out of the box and now and playing around with this... 

The Bean Squirms

Bean is always camera shy. He wriggles and squirms a lot usually. But whenever the phone camera is whipped out… he knows it, and stops! Then when I get tired of waiting for him to move again, he goes at it again. It's tough to get a shot.

BUT… I did manage to capture a video whilst at the bookstore. It's a short one… But better short than none!

Week 38 and a non-stress test for the bean

Usual stuff… Went in to see Dr Renbaum for the weekly checks in the midst of my Greenbuild Conference (so glad that Greenbuild was held in Philadelphia this year, and the doc was located a 10 mins walk from the convention centre).

She asked  if the bean was moving as much. Well, he wasn't exactly moving all that much as compared to a few weeks back. I read on google that it was because he's out of space and can't wriggle as much. But doc still did send me over to Penn Hospital for a non stress test. Ahhh… but that meant that I might not be able to attend the Opening Keynote speech by Hillary Clinton and the Bon Jovi concert after.

So, i got strapped and hooked up to this monitor thingy that looked like the EEG machine. He didn't move for the first 20 mins. So they decided to keep me for another hour. In the next hour, bean moved, kicked and squirmed so much, that he passed the test. Phew. This meant that he's ok…

The whole procedure took about 2+ hours… and yes of course I missed the opening keynote speech and concert. But it was more because I couldn't grab a cab to North Philly. Taxi shift ends at 7pm and seems like every driver lives in south philly!

Atlantic City

Since I'm approaching 38 weeks, there is not exactly that many places we could go to…
Even so, we were brave enough to make the 1.5 hours bus journey to Atlantic City in New Jersey. Still, we had our fingers cross that the little bean wouldn't decide that he's had enough fun with his placenta friend.

Anyhow, we made it there and back… Though my legs didn't enjoy the journey at all. It was almost numb throughout the journey!

Weather wasn't great, but it was a nice experience walking along the boardwalk, and doing a bit of outlet shopping, and spending the last 20 mins in the casino winning back our bus tickets. We bought a $15 bus ticket, and got $25 in casino voucher. Not bad huh! We ended up with more than $40. So that's a free bus ride! The preggers lady got funny stares from people at the casino… Am I not supposed to step into one when I've got a big belly???

Would definitely bring the bean here next summer… not the casino.
The beach is just awesome.

Week 37 now!!

And the bean is considered full term!

Today, I made a trip to Penn medicine to see Dr Renbaum again...

Blood pressure in check

Weight still in check at 150lb (68.1 kg) - probably due to the Big Mac meal I gobbled down before rushing to the doctors.

Group B strep test negative!

All is good except for massive bleeding nose that happens twice daily over the last 2 weeks!

Diaphragm and aches

Not sure what this is exactly but in the last couple of days I have been getting pains in the diaphragm and my upper back and shoulders when I'm slouching. But it gets better when I'm sitting straight or standing up!! Docs have no idea too and think it's gas and acid... Google doesn't help either!

Week 36 visit to Penn Obgyn

Today I got to see Dr Allison Bloom. I really like her... Anyway, usual routine checks. Again I'm at 50th percentile.

Also had an ultrasound done (separately). But unlike the ultrasound I'm used to in Dubai, this is like disappointing in terms of image quality. 

This was by far the best image of the face of the baby... How? Where? I couldn't tell!! See earlier post... At least I could see the bean's face clearly. The above image is just a mass of black and white bits... All fuzzy and no definition. Guess we have been totally spoilt by Dr Jozsa's cool images! 

When you've set your baseline that high, it's tough taking a step back. Fortunately the bean is about to pop in 4 weeks or so. So not that many anticipating U/S.

Presents and more!

More presents from Aunty Rachel & Uncle Jon in Texas!!

Thanks a million! We are looking forward to using this in the coming months when the bean can sit up!

Stroller Up and Running!

We finally set up our stroller today! 

Loving the forward and rear facing features!!

From the Bean's Grand Aunt and Uncle. Thanks :)

Bean's Movements

So... I felt the little bean as early as 16-18 weeks... and it's been little pokes. Then it graduated to kicks and punches.

Suddenly, one day at Week 30, I didn't feel a thing for 2 whole days. Then I started to panic, and was almost going to call the doctor, when he just decided to prod me again to put the phone down.

Last week, the bean was massively at it again... Swishing, swirlling, swimming... You name any movement, he's probably done it. We think it was his way of saying good bye to his Placenta Friend. They've been together for a good long 8 over months... Time to pack his bags and move out to the real world in a few more weeks.

Again, he's gone quiet over the last 2 days... Probably taking time off after his 1 full week of non-stop topsy turvy activity with his friend.