28 week OB appointment

I saw my lovely sweet OB doc this morning. I have 12 weeks to go until my due date, which is starting to sound like less and less time.

As expected, my frequent and increasingly intense Braxton-Hicks contractions aren't the best thing at this stage. Since I'm having so many strong ones, I have been instructed to cease and desist from all activity that brings them on, which means no more stairs, walking fast or long distances, carrying Pequita in her carseat, amongst a couple other more personal activities. Bother. He said that once I hit the 34 week mark I can do windsprints if I want, as getting Monita/o out at that point is just fine, but to do what I need to in order to keep it in me for now. Makes sense - the fetus is only 2 lbs, and at fairly significant risk of complications if I went into labor now. So I will increase my water intake (even if I weren't pregnant I'd be peeing every hour given the quantity I drink), triple my magnesium dose, and rest more. Darn. I KNEW we should have budgeted for a butler to help out.

At the next appointment I get my initial glucose test and Strep-B test. I'm allergic to both meds typically used to treat Strep-B, so if I end up having it, we could face a challenge. Also, if my nosebleeds continue I get to have the inside of my nose cauterized - whoopee, eh? Since breaking my nose in a car accident, and then years later breaking it on a softball, the framework of my nose is decidedly non-standard. I always get nosebleeds in the winter, but since getting pregnant they have been coming fast and furious. It is not unusual for me to be up for 45 minutes in the middle of the night trying to quell the deluge. Most disconcerting.

On the plus side, the fetus is already head down, and the heartbeat was 136. My doc always points out that low heart rates are associated with boys, but Pequita hovered in the 130's until she got out, so maybe it is just a family thing. Also, despite the several gallons of chocolate ice cream I have consumed since my last OB appointment, plus the lime sherbert I have been utilising as a palate cleanser, I have only gained a half pound. This will, I imagine, begin to change as I decrease my exercise level to stop the B-H contractions. Plus, the little bugger in me has to gain another 5 or 6 lbs, at least. (And please goddess, let that be all it gains!)