I had my 36-week appointment yesterday morning and it looks like everything is progressing well!

Stats:
- my blood pressure: 124/77 (this has been going up incrementally each visit)
- total weight gain: ~ 27 lbs.
- William’s heart rate: 131 bpm

I had to get tested for Group B strep, a bacteria that 30-40% of women have naturally occurring around their lower regions. It doesn’t affect the mother at all, but because a baby is born with a compromised immune system, it can have adverse affects for the baby. So, if I test positive (I won’t know till next week), I will be given antibiotics during labour.

I also had an internal exam. This revealed to the doctor that: William is head-down! Yay!!! Two weeks ago he was still in a breech position. Hopefully now he will stay head-down. (Darryl thinks that William has gotten lower in my abdomen, so that may be a good sign). The doctor also said that I am fingertip dilated and 70% effaced; he thought I could deliver early.

Of course, we are still worried about William potentially being born next week while Darryl is in Florida for work for 3 days! I think it would be entirely awful to go through labour without Darryl’s support and, even worse, for Darryl to miss such an important moment. But, I guess William will be born whenever he decides is the best time for him.

Five or more people on the pregnancy.org board have already given birth! Darryl set up the pack & play in our bedroom and I did some laundry, yesterday evening, to help get things ready. Still have to do some more laundry today. This weekend I would like to get the house clean and have a bag packed for me and one for William, for the hospital. Then, I think we will have everything as ready as reasonably possible! I can feel that William is sitting lower in my abdomen (even though to me it doesn’t look like it from the outside) and it feels as though the bones of my pelvic girdle are being stretched or strained. Although I don’t think Darryl or I can truly understand (I mean, viscerally) that we are going to be parents within the month, nor do we understand how our lives and emotions will be affected, we are both really really looking forward to William’s arrival!