5 weeks and counting

Well, we had another doctor appointment yesterday. Baby is doing fine, with a heart pumping at 147 bpm, and measuring well. I had lost a pound this week, which is fine, because I had been gaining a little too much -- 2 lbs per week instead of the 1/2 I'm supposed to gain :) My blood pressure was great and baby is head down, ready for delivery. Doctor Peck is going to be gone two out of the next 4 weeks, so that will be interesting. He told me that in two weeks he'd introduce me to his partner, and told me that if I had to have Dr. McFarlane, that I'd like him very much. I hope he's right :) Dr. Peck is such a nice guy -- he seemed sad at the possiblity of not getting to deliver our little girl.

Erin got to go along with us yesterday. She was a big hit in the office. The nurse that did my bp and weight check (Leslie) took her out front to meet the other nurses and she came back stickered with Barbies and puppies. When she came back, she asked me when Erin's birthday was. Erin piped up and told her August 24th. Leslie asked how old she'd be then. When I told her that Erin would be 4, her jaw fell to the floor, and she told us how proud we should be at how well-mannered and poised Erin is. David and I smiled and said thanks, thinking of all the temper tantrums we've had in the past few weeks, the loud comments from Erin about how she doesn't like different names of people we meet, and other "precious" moments. However, it is wonderful to be reminded that we are having some positive impact on our daughter as parents, and that she is a precious creation. Nurse Leslie even wanted to give us her number so she could babysit for Erin sometime. I was very excited about that! As we left, they all invited her to bring her stethoscope along next time, so they could all wear them together (Erin has a real one, compliments of Grandma Gerstenkorn). They tried to convince her that is was okay to wear it around the neck, instead of constantly in the ears, but she was still not convinced, and looked at them suspiciously, as if David and I had bribed them to mention this to her :) She told them she didn't know how they could hear things with it around their neck, she could only hear with it in her ears, and that's how she intended to wear it. Stubbornness roots deeper still!

One funny moment about the doctor visit ... I had forgotten just how they check for "Group B Strep" in new mommies, and when Leslie brought the smock for the bottom half of me into the room, I remembered. Just a quick swipe with a cotton swab ... but this does require me to remove the bottom half of clothing. As I started doing this, I was trying to explain to Erin that Dr. Peck was just going to check me, and that it was okay and a "safe" thing. She was not near the end of the exam table, but up near my head. She looked at me, as I was disrobing, and said, "Mom, it is not appropriate for you to take off your pants here! We are not at home!" I about lost it, and had to agree with her, that most times, it is inappropriate to take one's pants off anywhere other than home, but again reiterated that at the doctor office or hospital, it was okay if a doctor or nurse asked that of you.

What a crazy time we are in ... the bridge between concrete and abstract thought ... learning to make logical conclusions from information that is known and new information. It makes me think twice about using "figures of speech" and other funny sayings as I have to try to explain them -- we use some strange word combinations, I have discovered! Here's to new discovery, new thoughts, and new levels of appropriateness!