Appt. with Dr. Vuoung

We haven't seen Dr. Vuoung in a while, and she clearly remembered us and was excited to see Amy so far along and with such a big belly! A lot of the doctors are fairly subdued and matter-of-fact during these appointments; Amy and I wonder if they enjoy more the work they do at the hospital when it's time to get hands-on and deliver babies, instead of meeting with a bunch of couples and talking to them for 4-5 minutes during daily appointments. Dr. Vuoung, though, is always really happy and excited, which is great. I told her that the surgery she did on Amy last fall clearly worked, and she laughed.

Just like every other appointment, we heard Baby Niner's heartbeat immediately once the nurse put the jelly and the "sonar detector" on Amy's belly - his heartbeat was loud and strong. Dr. Vuoung said Amy is measuring perfectly, and her weight is just right - not too much, not too little. I know Amy was especially relieved to hear that, since a couple of doctor's told her she was gaining slightly more weight than they wanted during the second trimester. Those yoga sessions and taking Bailey and Daisy on walks clearly helped!

We told Dr. Vuoung that we picked a pediatrician, Dr. Barrocas, who is the same doctor that sees her daughters. We brought a copy of the birth plan Amy typed up, but after talking it over with Dr. Vuoung, we didn't even add it to our doctor's paperwork - the "plan" is so straightforward and hands-off, we all agreed we don't need a formal document. Dr. Vuoung also confirmed that the baby is head-down, which for me was a huge relief since I've heard Nana's stories about how Jenny and I were breach - I'm excited that he's head-down and getting ready to go! Finally, we talked over the details of the 2 circumcision options we have: one is the normal procedure any adult can image, but there's another one where they place a plastic contraption over the little guy's thing and he wears it for a week or so while it does its job. We'll probably opt for the normal procedure, done at the hospital a day or so after he's born.

Amy is 36 weeks today, and she's less than a month away from the 10/22 due date. She's having trouble sleeping and she's uncomfortable all day, but her health and the baby's health is fantastic, and her spirits are really high. One month to go - or less!

Sean