We've made it to 35 weeks and had a great appointment with the doctor yesterday. We'll see her every week from here on out. Baby Graber is doing just what he's supposed to...he's running out of room! He's still finding a way to give me sore ribs, but he can't kick quite as hard because there's no room to wind up a good kick.
Yesterday's appointment provided two pieces of what feel like really good news. First, if Baby Graber were to arrive today, he might spend a day or two in the Special Care Unit, but we'd probably go home from the hospital together! That feels like fabulous news. After leaving the hospital with empty arms nearly eleven months ago, I think a huge part of me was dreading the idea of having to do that again even though we'd be returning to visit our baby. Somehow, going home together is a goal I'm not sure I even knew I had.
Second, we can expect this delivery to be more like a typical second delivery than a first delivery in spite of the fact that Baby Graber will be much larger than Faith. After hearing about 24-plus hour labors at our childbirth class, M was a bit apprehensive about labor. Given that the average time for a second delivery is 8 hours, we can expect this delivery to be shorter than last time and, to quote my doctor directly, "easier." I think I was expecting that this time would probably be faster, but it never occurred to me that I could actually hope this one would be easier given that Baby Graber is currently around six times larger or more than Faith.
Experience has taught me that Baby Graber's heartbeat could stop at any time and accidents happen, but I think our visit with the doctor yesterday is helping me relax just a little bit more. She would prefer not to induce, but she was very understanding when I mentioned that if we make it to 40 weeks, I'm probably going to be desperate to be done. She jokingly said I've been pregnant for about 3 years! (Some days it really does feel that way!!) The next goal is to keep Baby Graber where he is for about three more weeks, but then we'll all be ready for him to make an appearance anytime!
On another front, we've had other good news lately. First, a small follow up on poor, pathetic, pitiful Simon. He's no longer pathetic because his back foot isn't working! His limbs are all working fine and he seems to be feeling better. It's hard to tell just how much better, however, because his meds make him a bit of a space cadet! He sleeps most of the day on the sofa, which he needs to do in order to heal, and when he's fully awake he tends to sit and stare. He stares at people and off into space. You can tell he's not terribly focused. It's hard to see him so fuzzy, but we have to keep him on his meds for two whole weeks to be sure he has time to heal properly. We also have to make sure we don't let him jump which is quite difficult. He's used to being very independent and without the pain he was having at the beginning of the week he's ready to get back to his normal routine. I'm grateful for a compassionate vet, meds that heal, and a sleepy, spacey puppy snuggled up on the couch!
I'm also grateful for my mom's new principal. We found out yesterday that my mom and dad will be able to come for a couple of extra days at Thanksgiving! With my mom's new job (huge amount of gratitude for that!!), we weren't sure when they'd come meet Baby Graber for the first time. It was really hard to think about the idea of having them come Friday night and have to go home on Sunday. I just hate the idea of having to say goodbye again so quickly. We talked about it and decided it would be better to wait a little longer to come out so that they could come for longer. They're planning to fly out Thanksgiving Day and head home on Tuesday the following week. That gives us four whole days together instead of just one!! We'll probably spend most of Thanksgiving with M's family and then pick them up at the airport in the evening. I'm hoping we can have my grandma come for the holiday, too, so that she can meet Baby Graber, and my brother is looking at possible dates to come meet him as well. I'm sure I'll be exhausted having folks come and stay, but I am so looking forward to such special introductions!
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